Lenovo Pays $3.5M Fine For Installing Adware On Laptops Lenovo has reached a settlement over accusations that it installed software on some U.S. laptops that bypassed security to deliver advertising. Hong Kong-based Lenovo had faced the accusations from the Federal Trade Commission and the attorney generals of 32 states, and will pay $3.5 million in connection with the settlement. The so-called "Superfish" case -- named for the company that developed the adware -- stemmed from 2014 and involved Lenovo creating "serious security vulnerabilities" so that it could "access consumers' sensitive information without adequate notice or consent," according to the FTC. In a statement on the settlement, Lenovo said that though it "disagrees with allegations contained in these complaints," it halted the use of Superfish's software in early 2015. "To date, we are not aware of any actual instances of a third party exploiting the vulnerabilities to gain access to a user's communications," Lenovo said.