Sale lost because of Lenovo recommendation ....sigh

[JustInspired]

So a customer thinks my recommendation for thinkpad laptops is a really poor show because everyone knows Lenovo laptops are not safe except me.
Turns out Lenovo had been banned as a vendor by various security and governmental organisations due to the fact that their equipment may have hardware or firmware installed that facilitates spying on end users.
Anyway, I must have been living under a rock because I have not heard about this until now!

The customer is also unhappy that his daughter's school has issued ThinkPads for IT classes. "how do we protect the kids from cyber pedophiles!?"

Sigh. Most of the refurbished laptops we sell are ThinkPads, generally because they are half decent machines and we like them.

 

[Paul Rodgers]

So your customer is an idiot?

The whole thing against Lenovo is overblown.

 

[Markverhyden]

Sad to hear. This whole "spying" thing has been bounced around for some time, especially with M$ being a culprit. Been a popular subject in many non-US locations.

The reality is the vast majority of components are made in China and all of the OEM's use them, pre-programmed from the factory.

 

[mr m]

.

The reality is the vast majority of components are made in China and all of the OEM's use them, pre-programmed from the factory.

Excellent point.

I'm not happy about the Chinese or the NSA spying on me but that's the world we live in. Move off the grid or submit.

 

[AndyM]

Challenge the customer to remove all of his electrical (and non-electrical) items that are either made in China, or have Chinese components, and see how much he has left!

Andy

 

[SynergyCompSys]

We sell more ThinkPads than any other laptops combined. I still recommend them.

 

[SilverLeaf]

Excellent point.

I'm not happy about the Chinese or the NSA spying on me but that's the world we live in. Move off the grid or submit.

It's a tough call sometimes. As soon as I find a comfortable cave.......

Seriously though, this is another reason that open source is so important...and not just for the O/S and applications. Firmware should be open sourced as well. The security implications are huge.

 

[oldtech]

Lenovo products are most definitely banned from secure networks by multiple western countries due to hardware "anomalies". This is since about 2007 so yes you are a bit behind the news cycle

I presume this is similar to the hardware "anomalies" we ( the U.S.) were introducing into Dell products for the longest time. If your client is a subcontractor to, or does any government business they are wise to steer clear.

Strange that they would not allow you to bid an alternative however.

 

[cypress]

That blows! Got a ThinkPad in the shop and it's an excellent laptop. Like the way they are built. They coulda at least let you submit an alternate like oldtech mentioned.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Like Windows doesn't have back doors in it....

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

The reality is the vast majority of components are made in China and all of the OEM's use them, pre-programmed from the factory.

Remember when the HP Proliant server BIOS story was out? Pretty much similar thing. Although seemed to mostly be a supply for the UK/European market...not US.

 

[Markverhyden]

http://investmentwatchblog.com/leak...-entities-not-to-use-windows-8-links-the-nsa/

and

http://steveblank.com/2013/07/15/your-computer-may-already-be-hacked-nsa-inside/

 

[coffee]

http://investmentwatchblog.com/leak...-entities-not-to-use-windows-8-links-the-nsa/

and

http://steveblank.com/2013/07/15/your-computer-may-already-be-hacked-nsa-inside/

I have been following threads in certain linux forums that have discussed this topic a lot. To me its a very irritating thing that the government is doing. It just goes to show that you cannot trust the gov.(insert your gov here) on about anything. Thats not the type of gov. I wish to have but its the inevidable outcome I guess of any gov.

As far as the discussions go and as I know, Linux does not provide NSA backdoors and actually frowns on it. Of course the one exception would probably be ubuntu if any at all.

coffee

 

[paristotle]

Everything can be cracked. Has your client chosen their car carefully? Could be the Thinkpad is the least of his worries. https://www.blackhat.com/us-14/briefings.html#a-survey-of-remote-automotive-attack-surfaces

 

[tek9]

I believe NASA has Thinkpads aboard the ISS. They're not concerned about these backdoors in outer space?

 

[MobileTechie]

I would imagine all sorts of things we use in everyday like are not safe enough for security agencies. Doesn't mean they are unsafe for a kid to use especially given that they are giving away huge amounts of information by using Facebook, Twitter, search engines, email, the internet in general, store cards and so on.

Seems a little paranoid to be particularly worried about one brand of laptop.

 

[JustInspired]

The whole issue seemed to be that his kids wouldn't be safe from online predators if he bought a Lenovo laptop.
Some people won't listen to reason.

 

[nlinecomputers]

The whole issue seemed to be that his kids wouldn't be safe from online predators if he bought a Lenovo laptop.
Some people won't listen to reason.

LOL. So really the guy is a racist and this is his best excuse.

 

[Markverhyden]

The whole issue seemed to be that his kids wouldn't be safe from online predators if he bought a Lenovo laptop.
Some people won't listen to reason.

LOL!!! Probably just as well you lost him. I briefly had a customer who obviously had problems. Thought that someone could sit outside the house and wirelessly connect to their wireless network when it was shutoff off to do mischief. His "proof" was log file entries that he could not explain.

 

[brandonkick]

I have a Lenovo ThinkPad T410 and I LOVE IT!

I paid $250 for it on eBay and I've had nothing but great experiences so far. Blows me out of the water and it's WAY better than any of the junk your going to get for $300 at Walmart, Best Buy, or Staples.

They are solid machines, and I really like the design.


My advice to anyone like the guy wondering how to keep his daughter safe from cyber pedophiles? Don't let her online.... ever. And better yet, don't let her ever leave her room either. Guess it takes all kinds to make the world go round, unfortunately.