--- title: "Friday Buzz: Why Superfish is So Scary" id: "27321" type: "post" slug: "friday-buzz-why-superfish-is-so-scary" published_at: "2015-02-20T19:11:04+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T13:33:49+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/02/20/friday-buzz-why-superfish-is-so-scary/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/02/20/friday-buzz-why-superfish-is-so-scary.md" excerpt: "The adware installed on a number of recent Lenovo laptops deeply compromises online security. Learn how to get rid of it. Also: Why member personas might help your marketing efforts." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "cybersecurity" - "laptops" - "privacy" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Friday Buzz: Why Superfish is So Scary Own a Lenovo laptop? Be sure to read this. This week, the Chinese computer maker was nicked by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for including a complex piece of adware in its laptops that has been called a “security catastrophe.” The software, Superfish, monitors online shopping and shows a user similar products. The problem is that the design allows others on the same network to make the same work-arounds used to post ads to access encrypted information and perform man-in-the-middle attacks. Any hacker can easily steal your information if your computer is loaded with Superfish, the advocacy group explains. “If you access your webmail from such a laptop, any network attacker can read your mail as well or steal your password,” [EFF writes on its DeepLinks blog (opens in a new tab)](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/02/further-evidence-lenovo-breaking-https-security-its-laptops) . “If you log into your online banking account, any network attacker can pilfer your credentials. All an attacker needs in order to perform these attacks is a copy of the Superfish MITM private key. There is (apparently) a copy of that key inside every Superfish install on every affected Lenovo laptop, which has now been extracted and posted online.” On Thursday, Lenovo emphasized that its goal was not to create security issues for its users, and that it no longer includes the Superfish software on its computers. “We apologize for causing any concern to any users for any reason—and we are always trying to learn from experience and improve what we do and how we do it. Superfish technology does not profile nor monitor user behavior,” the company [stated in a news release (opens in a new tab)](http://news.lenovo.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1929) . (*Wired* [finds the company’s response lacking and says it’s “clueless about the problem (opens in a new tab)](http://www.wired.com/2015/02/lenovo-superfish/) .”) The good news is that the software can be removed relatively easily. You can check to see if your Lenovo computer includes this program [by testing it on this site (opens in a new tab)](https://filippo.io/Badfish/) . ### Create Your Ideal Member > Why Your Association Needs Member Personas – [http://t.co/mCZbpSWwzE (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/mCZbpSWwzE) > [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#smassn (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/smassn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — MemberClicks (@MemberClicks) [February 20, 2015 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/MemberClicks/status/568805697649037312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Making up a person is kind of a weird way** to spend a day at work, admittedly. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. In fact, MemberClicks’ Callie Walker says that there might be a lot you can learn from creating a persona of the kind of member you’re hoping to reach. “Creating personas for your members can actually help you to recruit and retain the right people,” she explains. “After all, if you know what your personas are trying to achieve, you can create content to help them reach their goals.” [Read on for a few ideas (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.memberclicks.com/why-your-association-needs-member-personas) about how personas could benefit your association’s membership strategies. *(ht @[MemberClicks (opens in a new tab)](http://twitter.com/MemberClicks/) )* ### Other Links of Note ***“I’ve encountered so many situations** where business travelers find themselves in dire straits because of the choices they’ve made.”* A new study from On Call International illuminates the risks of sleazy business travel behavior. [Fast Company has the details (opens in a new tab)](http://www.fastcompany.com/3042641/the-perils-of-binge-drinking-conference-hookups-and-other-sleazy-work-trip-behavior) . **Looking for a little inspiration?** The Case Foundation has a list of [conferences and events that nonprofits should check out (opens in a new tab)](http://www.casefoundation.org/blog/2015-conferences-radar/) . **If you’re lucky enough** to have a Gmail account that’s enabled with Google Inbox, word of [new iPad and Android versions of the app (opens in a new tab)](http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/inbox-by-gmail-now-in-more-places.html) might excite you. A Lenovo laptop which is affected by the Superfish adware. (Handout photo) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#cybersecurity](https://associationsnow.com/tag/cybersecurity/) [#laptops](https://associationsnow.com/tag/laptops/) [#privacy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/privacy/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [PodcastSecuring Identity: What Associations Need to Know About Verifiable CredentialsJune 25, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/06/25/securing-identity-what-associations-need-to-know-about-verifiable-credentials/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F02%2F20%2Ffriday-buzz-why-superfish-is-so-scary%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !