HP laptops have keylogger to their Synaptics Touchpad driver !

HP laptops have keylogger to their Synaptics Touchpad driver !

The logging was disabled by default but could be permitted by setting a registry value,” said a security researcher going by the Title of ZwClose, who identified the flaw earlier this year.

The keylogging code was embedded in the SynTP.sys file, which is a module of the Synaptics Touchpad driver that ships with HP notebook models.
That registry key is:

HKLM\Software\Synaptics\%ProductName% HKLM\Software\Synaptics\%ProductName%\Default

Malware devs can use this registry key to enable the keylogging function and spy on users using native kernel-signed tools, undetectable by security products. All they have to do is to avoid a UAC prompt when changing the registry key. There are tons of methods of bypassing UAC prompts currently available.

The company has released a Driver update for all the affected HP Notebook Models. If you own an HP laptop, you can look for updates for your model. The list of affected HP notebooks can be found at the HP Support website.
This is not the very first time when a keylogger has been detected in HP laptops. In May this year, a built-in keylogger was found in an HP audio driver that was silently recording all of its users' keystrokes and storing them in a human-readable file.

HP published a list of affected notebooks. The list is 475 models-long and adds 303 consumer notebooks and 172 business notebooks, mobile thin clients, and mobile workstations. Affected model lines include HP’s 25*, mt**, 15*, OMEN, ENVY, Pavilion, Stream, ZBook, EliteBook, and ProBook series, along with several Compaq models.