Keyloggers on Samsung Laptops?

Shocker! Sorta.

Security consultant Mohamed Hassan made a shocking discovery when he bought a Samsung laptop last month: Pre-installed software was recording his every keystroke.

Pre-installed snooping, eh?

Hassan says he discovered the key-logging software, called Starlogger, on a Samsung R525 laptop after running a full system scan with commercial security software, and before installing anything else on the computer.

Starlogger captures all text entry, including passwords and emails, and can even take screenshots. The software then discretely transmits its findings by e-mail.

Hassan found the same software on a different Samsung laptop from a different retailer and complained to the company. A Samsung support team supervisor confirmed the existence of Starlogger, saying it was installed "to monitor the performance of the machine and to find out how it is being used."

Meanwhile, a strong denial has been issued by Samsung

The statements that Samsung installs keylogger on R525 and R540 laptop computers are false.

Our findings indicate that the person mentioned in the article used a security program called VIPRE that mistook a folder created by Microsoft’s Live Application for a key logging software, during a virus scan.

The confusion arose because VIPRE mistook Microsoft's Live Application multi-language support folder, "SL" folder, as StarLogger.

Typical customers may need more convincing.