Abstract
It is our hope that you are aware of how much of a risk spyware can pose to your business. Your business generates, collects, and leverages truly considerable amounts of data each day that is intended for your business only. While spyware that is introduced by a hacker is clearly a bad thing, what if the manufacturer of the device installed a program that pulled data from your machine?
Well, if you have a desktop workstation or laptop that was produced by HP, there’s a good chance that it is happening to you right now.
It appears that a software, called HP Touchpoint Analytics, had been bundled in with a Windows Update. This software is a part of the larger HP Touchpoint Manager and sends HP an unknown cache of data from the device on a daily basis. According to HP, this is to help relieve “time-consuming tasks of device support and lifecycle management.”
While this may sound like a beneficial service, it still doesn’t explain why HP doesn’t ask for permission to install it.
If you would rather not have a program like this on your business devices, sharing an unknown data sample with HP, it is fortunately simple enough for IT to uninstall. All they have to do is check the Windows Services interface for “HP Touchpoint Analytics Client,” disable it, and uninstall it from your installed programs list.
If your IT team needs assistance in adding this to their other responsibilities, NetMGM is here to help. Give us a call at 888-748-2525 to learn more about how we can give your internal IT resources a helping hand.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafiq Masri
With over 25 years of experience in Information Technology, Rafiq is one of the most accomplished, versatile and certified engineer in the field. He has spent the past 2 ½ decades administering and supporting a wide range of clients and has helped position Network Management, Inc. as a leader in the IT Managed Services space.
Rafiq has built a reputation for designing, building and supporting top notch IT infrastructures to match the business objectives and goals of his clients.
Embracing the core values of integrity, innovation, and reliability, Rafiq has a very loyal client base with some customer relationships dating back 20+ years.
Rafiq holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and has completed graduate programs in Software Engineering and Business at Harvard and George Mason University. Rafiq is a former founder and CEO of Automation, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan as well as a valued speaker on entrepreneurship and technology at industry events such as ExpoTech and others.