Dell admits installing security hole on laptops, apologizes,offers fix

[Borg 386]

Dell acknowledges a root certificate it installed on its laptops was a bad idea and is pushing a patch to permanently remove it.

In a blog post company spokesperson Laura Thomas says eDellRoot was installed as a support tool to make it faster and easier for customers to service the devices. But some of those customers discovered the certificate and recognized it as a serious security threat.

“We have posted instructions to permanently remove the certificate from your system here,” Thomas writes. We will also push a software update starting on November 24 that will check for the certificate, and if detected remove it. Commercial customers who reimaged their systems without Dell Foundation Services are not affected by this issue. Additionally, the certificate will be removed from all Dell systems moving forward.”

For those who don’t want to use the pushed patch, instructions for removing eDellRoot manually is a 17-step process that takes up 11 Word document pages, including screenshots. The patch - Click Here – can also be downloaded.

Dell admits installing security hole on laptops, apologizes, offers fix | Network World

Dell acknowledges security hole in new laptops | Reuters

 

[indianacarnie]

Whats up with these manufacturer's anyway? Do they not have any software people/consultants to LOOK at what they are installing in the machines they are peddling to us?

 

[Borg 386]

Whats up with these manufacturer's anyway? Do they not have any software people/consultants to LOOK at what they are installing in the machines they are peddling to us?

It's because it's all one big data grab nowadays. Instead of considering security, they were considering $$$$$$ :sarc:

How to remove Dell's 'Superfish 2.0' root certificate - permanently | ZDNet

 

[Borg 386]

The fallout from a serious security mistake made by Dell is widening, as security experts find more issues of concern.

Researchers with Duo Security have found a second weak digital certificate in a new Dell laptop and evidence of another problematic one circulating.

The issue started after it was discovered Dell shipped devices with a self-signed root digital certificate, eDellRoot, which is used to encrypt data traffic. But it installed the root certificate with the private encryption key included, a critical error that left many security experts aghast.

Dell PCs root certificate security error widens as researchers dig deeper | PCWorld

 

[ThrashZone]

Yep never good to see happening,
But if you don't make sure the manufacture sends a clean install disk with a purchase or accommodate buying one outright then you must of just fell off the moon

Personally I would clean install on a new ssd and put the oem in a drawer incase hardware failure occurs within the warrantee period

 

[Computer0304]

Does this affect desktops too? I have a XPS 8700 I bought last year in May.

 

[Borg 386]

Does this affect desktops too? I have a XPS 8700 I bought last year in May.

I sure as hell wouldn't take any chances. It's easy enough to do a search for the problem file.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit though if you found something. Keep in mind these are the things coming to light we know about. Heaven knows how much other insecure crap is on there that we DON'T know about.

 

[ThrashZone]

Best cure is a clean install
If you're out of warrantee there's little to be lost in doing one.

 

[jamis]

Wouldn't surprise me one bit though if you found something. Keep in mind these are the things coming to light we know about. Heaven knows how much other insecure crap is on there that we DON'T know about.

I agree. I got really paranoid about all of the ASUS code that was on this PC when we bought it. I didn't like it "phoning home" to China all the time. I moved all of the ASUS folders to a separate USB drive and renamed all of the folders/files with an "OLD" suffix. Never had a "file not found" message afterwards, but at least the system stopped communicating with ASUS. After several years, I still have the code on the disconnected drive, but haven't seen the need to use any of it so far.

 

[Computer0304]

Wouldn't surprise me one bit though if you found something. Keep in mind these are the things coming to light we know about. Heaven knows how much other insecure crap is on there that we DON'T know about.

I agree. I got really paranoid about all of the ASUS code that was on this PC when we bought it. I didn't like it "phoning home" to China all the time. I moved all of the ASUS folders to a separate USB drive and renamed all of the folders/files with an "OLD" suffix. Never had a "file not found" message afterwards, but at least the system stopped communicating with ASUS. After several years, I still have the code on the disconnected drive, but haven't seen the need to use any of it so far.

It's actually Taiwan, but I guess same thing. At least Dell is an American company. :sarc:

 

[A Guy]

Concerns Regarding eDellroot Certificate | Dell SecureWorks Security and Compliance Blog

Translation... DOH!

A Guy

 

[jamis]

It's actually Taiwan, but I guess same thing. At least Dell is an American company. :sarc:

Yes, the company is in Taiwan. I wrote China because that's where the IP address was it was communicating to whatever it was sending.

 

[groze]

Does this affect desktops too? I have a XPS 8700 I bought last year in May.

I sure as hell wouldn't take any chances. It's easy enough to do a search for the problem file.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit though if you found something. Keep in mind these are the things coming to light we know about. Heaven knows how much other insecure crap is on there that we DON'T know about.

Borg 386 or anyone else

I have done clean install with the dell oemslp disk provided by dell. I can't recall if I downloaded that dell tool during that time that listed on one of those links.

What would I search for in the registry to see if has even been installed?

 

[Borg 386]

Does this affect desktops too? I have a XPS 8700 I bought last year in May.

I sure as hell wouldn't take any chances. It's easy enough to do a search for the problem file.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit though if you found something. Keep in mind these are the things coming to light we know about. Heaven knows how much other insecure crap is on there that we DON'T know about.

Borg 386 or anyone else

I have done clean install with the dell oemslp disk provided by dell. I can't recall if I downloaded that dell tool during that time that listed on one of those links.

What would I search for in the registry to see if has even been installed?

This link will give you the names of the files & the places to look for them as well as removal instructions.

Second Dell Root Certificate Problem Discovered; How To Check For And Remove eDellRoot And DSDTestProvider Security Risks

 

[Borg 386]

Update:

Dell said that customers should take steps to remove the certificate from their laptops, offering instructions on how to do that manually. Starting Tuesday, it also plans to push a software update to computers to check for the certificate and then remove it.

Dell to fix flaw of its own making that puts its computers at risk - CNET

 

[groze]

Thank You Borg 386, Didn't have any of those installed. I even search the registry & hard drive nothing found. I also suspect there maybe another way to remove those issues by uninstalling the dell detect tool but haven't been able to confirm this.

 

[Computer0304]

One of the articles say it affects computers shipped since August but I'll still check. How is the update being pushed though? Through preinstalled software?

 

[thelma]

That's what I ask myself as well. My DELL laptop is from early 2010 so should be without danger, but then I did a big restore in May this year .... so I am not sure

 

[Borg 386]

That's what I ask myself as well. My DELL laptop is from early 2010 so should be without danger, but then I did a big restore in May this year .... so I am not sure

Well, it's not hard to take a look to check if the files are there. I have an older Dell & I still did a search. Why take a chance?

And now this article points to the fact that older Dells may also have the certificates.

After the certificate's existence came to light earlier this week, Dell said that it started deploying the certificate through a Dell Foundation Services version released in August. This led many people to believe that only Dell devices bought since August were affected.

That's not true. Older devices that had Dell Foundation Services (DFS) installed might also have the certificate, if the tool was configured to receive automatic updates. A Dell Venue Pro 11 convertible Windows tablet in PCWorld's possession that was bought in April was affected.

Older Dell devices also affected by dangerous eDellRoot certificate | PCWorld

 

[thelma]

Dell admits

Hi Borg 386 .

Yes. I had already looked for that SDellRoot certificate, did not have it.

But now just found out I do have the other one, the DSDT Test Provider, that's deleted now as well.

Makes sense, because I have used Dell System Detect just recently because of my battery problem.

Quite frightening when you seen all these certificates on you PC you are not aware off.

About half a year Y took some away under the guidance of a list provided by Black Viper.

Thanks a lot for this thread, good information