In November, a computer programmer spotted a strange code while trying to control a backlit keyboard on a Hewlett-Packard laptop.
It was a keylogger – which, if activated by a hacker, can track every keystroke you make and save that activity to a file. It’s a common hacking technique used to steal passwords, as Google in its study on computer security.
In this case, the code wasn't activated, but TechCrunch reported the discovery of the disabled keylogger to developer Michael Myng. In his note, Myng wrote that he notified HP of the keylogger's presence.
“I emailed HP about the finding. They responded extremely quickly, confirmed the presence of the keylogger (which was actually a debug trace) and released an update that removes the vulnerability.”
Myng calls this code a “debug trace,” a tool commonly used by software companies to “trace” a problem or bug, which suggests that this code was not put there with malicious intent – either by HP or anyone else.
For HP users who want to rid their computers of this keylogger – as a hacker could gain physical access to their computer and activate it – HP's fix (issued on November 7) can be found on their site here, along with an extremely long list of affected models.
In its fix, HP notes that a "potential security vulnerability" has been identified and HP does not have "access to customer data as a result of this event.".
