HP Accused of Quietly Installing Spyware on Windows PCs

Editor's Note: This story was updated on 11/29 at 4:30 a.m. ET with comment from HP.

If you own a HP-branded Windows PC or laptop, it may be running a new "service" that you never opted to have installed and had no idea was constantly running in the background. It's called HP Touchpoint Analytics Service, and it is being branded spyware.

According to Computerworld, the software appeared earlier this month and seems to have been deployed as part of a Windows update. It installs without asking for permission and then "harvests telemetry information that is used by HP Touchpoint's analytical services." The Analytics Client forms part of HP Touchpoint Manager and, according to ghacks.net, sends data to HP once every day.

It is currently unclear what data is being sent to a HP server on a daily basis. Some users are even reporting it slows their PC down, but thankfully that can be solved by uninstalling it. The official website for HP Touchpoint Manager describes it as a way off offloading "time-consuming tasks of device support and lifecycle management." But surely this is a service you sign up to first?

To check whether the Analytics Service is installed and running, simply load up the Windows services interface by using Windows Key+R to bring up the run box then typing services.msc before hitting Enter. Check the services list that appears for "HP Touchpoint Analytics Client." If present, double-click the entry, change startup type to disabled and select stop for the current session.

After the service has been stopped on your system you can uninstall it by using Windows Key+R once again and this time typing appwiz.cpl. When the installed programs list appears locate HP Touchpoint Manager, right click the name and select Uninstall. Once finished your system is free of the service.

We have contacted HP to ask why this service is quietly being installed on Windows PCs. HP responded with the following statement:

"HP Touchpoint Analytics is a service we have offered since 2014 as part of HP Support Assistant. It anonymously collects diagnostic information about hardware performance. No data is shared with HP unless access is expressly granted. Customers can opt-out or uninstall the service at any time.

HP Touchpoint Analytics was recently updated and there were no changes to privacy settings as part of this update. We take customer privacy very seriously and act in accordance with a strict policy, available here."