Corsair keyboards began typing on their own – but it’s not malware
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If you fancy a new Corsair keyboard (opens in new tab) has started typing full sentences that you first typed days or even weeks ago, seemingly at random, don’t worry – it’s not possessed.
It is also not infected with any kind of malware, keyloggers or infostealers. Instead, it’s just an ugly bug that Corsair wasn’t even aware of and is currently investigating the matter further.
The news that broke out first Ars Technica, came from users of Corsair, with multiple reports on the company’s forum of how their K100 keyboard suddenly started typing full sentences that they had typed in the past. The keyboard literally repeated the user’s keystrokes – if the user made a typo and went back – the keyboard did the same.
No foul play
This clearly caused users to fear that an infostealer might be involved. After all, the keyboard was capable of typing out passwords or repeating sensitive text messages sent confidentially to other people.
However, after analyzing the keyboard’s behavior in safe mode, it was determined that no malware was installed – it was just a bug.
As it turns out, the K100 has a macro recording feature that sometimes turns itself on and starts recording keystrokes and mouse activity. The macros are randomly saved and replayed at a later time.
This was reported by a spokesperson for the company Ars Technica“Corsair keyboards do not record user input in any way and do not have the ability to log individual keystrokes”.
While the company managed to determine how the bug originated, why is still a mystery.
Corsair is currently looking into the matter and the first thing that has been determined is that factory resetting the device won’t help much. But those who want to stop using the keyboard while typing their passwords during a corporate presentation will have to unplug it and hold down the ESC button for five seconds while plugging the peripheral back in.
Through: Ars Technica (opens in new tab)