How To Remove HP Touchpoint Analytics Spyware That’s Installing On PCs Without Permission

Some HP laptop customers are outraged over the discovery a piece of hidden software that is getting installed and running without their consent. It is a Windows telemetry serviced called HP Touchpoint Analytics Client that harvests telemetry information that is used by HP Touchpoint's analytical services. it seems to send data to HP once per day, though users are also complaining that it bogs down system performance. As Ricky Ricardo would often tell Lucy, HP, you have some explaining to do.

"HP Touchpoint Analytics Client was installed on my computer without my consent, I'm assuming it was installed in the background as an update to H{ support or framework. However it happened I don't appreciate its sneaky takeover of my computer's system resources. From yesterday to today it's been making my computer work so hard I can hear it like cranking away and the light in the back of my computer is flashing rapidly in tune with the cranking," an HP customer wrote on the company's support forum.

The service that is causing such a fuss is an updated version of the standalone HP Touchpoint Manager software for IT admins. Billed as a one-stop solution, HP Touchpoint Manager allowed IT admins to log into and troubleshoot systems over the cloud. They could also use it to locate devices, lock them down, and delete data if needed.

When visiting the software's landing page on HP's website, a message pops up saying it is "now being delivered as a part of HP Device as a Service (DaaS) Analytics and Proactive Management capabilities. Therefore, HP is discontinuing the self-managed HP Touchpoint Manager solution." That is where HP Touchpoint Analytics Client comes into play, only it's being rolled out without user permission and run in the background. Hence why many are considering it spyware.

HP disagrees with that assessment.

"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 (PDF)," HP said in a statement.

How To Remove HP Touchpoint Analytics

Call it what you will, but if you want it removed, there are a couple of ways to get rid of it. The first method is to press Windows Key+R and type services.msc in the Run box, and hit enter. Look for HP Touchpoint Analystics Client in the Services listing. If you see it, double-click on the service, set it's Startup type to disabled, and select Stop to end its current session.

If you don't see the service, bring up the Run box again and type appwiz.cpl to jump straight into the Control Panel's Programs and Feature section. Look for HP Touchpoint Manager and uninstall it.

Thumbnail Image Source: Wikimedia Commons (Vespertunes)