A group of Lenovo customers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the computer manufacturer for pre-loading their products with adware that allegedly allows the company to spy on their customers and it opens up the customers to dangerous malware.

After the news went viral, Lenovo issued a number of fixes to remove the pre-loaded secret monitoring device called VisualDiscovery (formerly Superfish) software. Lenovo also updated Windows Defender.

The complaint filed alleges that Lenovo’s adware allowed the company to profit due to strategic ad placements put into user’s browsers after spying on their internet search histories. The lawsuit also alleges that the adware is a security concern because it places a user’s personal information at risk.

The Lenovo models that were impacted include: Yoga, Miix, Flex, E, G, S, Y and Z. Customers impacted were the ones that purchased a Lenovo laptop between September 1, 2014, and February 28, 2015. About 800,000 laptops were allegedly sold.This case has spent three years in litigation, but that may all end soon.In July, 2018, the group of Lenovo users who filed the lawsuit as a California federal court to approve an $8.3 million class-action settlement. A hearing for the settlement will take place on September 20, 2018. [formidable id="7" title="1"]