Hidden software designed to record every letter typed on a laptop has been unearthed pre-installed on hundreds of HP laptops.
Security researcher Michael Myng discovered the software – dubbed keylogger – in drivers preinstalled on laptops to make the keyboard work.
According to HP, more than 460 laptop models are affected by this “potential security vulnerability”.
The keylogger is preinstalled on laptops in the HP EliteBook, HP ProBook, HP Pavilion and HP Envy ranges, amongst others.
The American technology company has published a complete list of affected devices, dating back to 2012.
It has also provided a patch for the issue.
According to the company, “neither Synaptics nor HP has access to customer data as a result of this issue.”
However, HP advises customers to act upon the information as soon as possible.
According to Michael Myng, a fix to the issue will also be available to download and install from Windows Update.
Although the keylogger is disabled by default, hackers could activate the software to record your keystrokes – from passwords, to personal information and banking details.
Researcher Michael Myng unearthed the keylogger while inspecting the Synaptics Touchpad software, trying to work out how to control the keyboard backlight on an HP laptop.
According to HP, the keylogger was built into its Synaptics software to help debug errors while it was being tested.
It has acknowledged that this software could lead to “loss of confidentiality”.
Earlier this year, a similar keylogger was discovered in the audio drivers pre-installed on a number of HP laptop models.
At the time, the US company said the code was mistakenly added to its machines.