I want my keyboard to only input into the computer the keys I press. Not auto-install bloatware. k? thx
On Windows my Razer keyboard somehow auto-installs Razer’s Synapse program. It’s meant for customizing the RGB lights on the device and tweaking settings, but it’s also bloatware. It’s safe to assume it collects data. It runs in the background and tries to auto-update once it is installed.
In theory, any USB peripheral can do this, not just gaming ones. How do some USB peripherals execute code on computers, and how can one disable that?
A keyboard is always a keyboard, even an old “dumb” PS/2 keyboard can technically emulate malicious keystrokes (which is how the BadUSB attack that made the rounds works, it emulates a keyboard). Though reputable peripheral manufacturers aren’t that underhanded. It’s unlikely they’ve bothered to make vector for data collection before the app installer is executed.