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I have a Lenovo T570 laptop running Windows 10 which yesterday appeared to unexpectedly install a new program.

The program appears in my start menu and has also added itself to my system services which commence at Startup. It is called "Thunderbolt Software".

start menu screenshot

Internet searches for this program show that there is legitimate software developed by Intel with this name. What concerns me is that it installed itself with no action from my side. I did not knowingly download or install anything, I did not plug any device in, and I was not even running a Windows Update. The software is running in the background.

On the other hand, it is making no attempt to hide itself, it appears in my programs list, it displays an icon in the system tray, and it is installed to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel folder.

I have run malware scans on my PC and no problems have been found.

Has anyone else experienced this program installing itself, and is it safe?

I-J
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  • Lenovos come preloaded with a lot of junk, including Lenovo's own "software center" (don't remember the exact name). There's a good chance that this Thunderbolt thing was pushed through that channel as per some distribution agreement between Lenovo and Intel. – Angstrom Sep 06 '18 at 12:57
  • @angstrom I think you've hit the nail on the head. I opened Lenovo "System Update" and checked for updates. The second is `Thunderbolt Firmware Update Utility for T-Series for Windows -10 [64]`. Care to post as answer? – I-J Sep 06 '18 at 13:44
  • Too late it seems :) – Angstrom Sep 06 '18 at 18:14
  • I had this show up on my system out of the blue - kinda scary when that happens. Turned out that it was an intel update utilty just decided one day that I needed it. – Tom May 16 '19 at 19:04

3 Answers3

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Has anyone else experienced this program installing itself and is it safe?

This software was not installed by itself. It was included in a software package installed, you did install, which was either an Intel or Lenovo software package. This legitimate software can be safely removed if you are not using a Thunderbolt device.

Based on my research it was likely installed due to Thunderbolt™ Bus Driver for Intel or some equivalent previous version of the driver package.

I opened Lenovo "System Update" and checked for updates.

System Update is a Lenovo software package that will install software packages released by Lenovo for your device. System Update can be safely removed to prevent this from happening again. System Update does not install Windows Updates, it only keeps Lenovo software packages updated, which all can be downloaded manually.

Since it installed Thunderbolt Firmware Update Utility for T-Series which install the compatible version of the Intel Thunderbolt Bus Drivers for your device. The Intel link was only used to indicate that, the Thunderbolt Software application, is due to the drivers being installed.

Thunderbolt 3 Controller Firmware Update Tool for Intel is the Intel equivalent of this tool that was pushed to you. If you need the firmware tool, you should install the one provided by Lenovo, the Intel links are being used as an illustration that the software is legitimate.

Ramhound
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  • I'm a bit confused as to why it is showing as a new program on my Start Menu programs list and why it is running in the background. I can understand (though not appreciate) Lenovo System Update installing the program but I didn't personally install or request Thunderbolt. I'm not sure I've fully understood your answer. Lenovo System Update came preinstalled on the laptop as @Angstrom suggested - I didn't install it myself. – I-J Sep 06 '18 at 13:56
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    I can understand the Lenovo System Update downloading updates to drivers and so on, but for it to download what is, in my limited understanding, a completely separate program and set it running in the background is very strange and IMHO completely unacceptable. – I-J Sep 06 '18 at 14:01
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    The software is an update to a device driver and firmware that was already installed. That it now *may* have a GUI seems completely irrelevant to me. Users should be thankful for this aftersales supports by which manufacturers intend to make the hardware work better and/or safer, users shouldn't be bitching about it. It's a "personal incredulity fallacy": I don't understand why things were done the way they were (*limited understanding*) therefore what I see now must be "bad" and as such *unacceptable*. –  Sep 06 '18 at 22:30
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    @GabrielaGarcia Lenovo’s software is still trash that violates all sorts of best practices including at one time, performing a man in a middle attack on all secure HTTP traffic, so trash software should be removed. Drivers can be extracted without installing, trash software, resulting in systems that never have to be reinstalled because “they are slow” – Ramhound Sep 06 '18 at 22:36
  • @Ramhound True and true. But at the end of the day driver/firmware or additional software updates are part of everyday life when using computers. Worrying about a whole lot of *nothing* is a waste of time, resources and "mental energy" and it distracts from real issues of abuse and violation of users' rights. –  Sep 06 '18 at 22:41
  • @GabrielaGarcia Fully agree. But to the average user a new program which has apparently installed itself without prior consent is likely to be malware and as such a source of concern. Your comment on the software now having a GUI provides a lot of clarity though - not everyone is going to know this and it didn't occur to me. – I-J Sep 07 '18 at 06:00
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Has anyone else experienced this program installing itself, and is it safe?

First of all, yes this is a legitimate, hence safe, Intel software for a system that supports Thunderbolt. Since Lenovo T570 has 1 Thunderbolt port, you will need this software in order to use a Thunderbolt device, such as a Thunderbolt storage, external graphics, thunderbolt dock etc (https://thunderbolttechnology.net/tech). Without this software, you won't be able to use a Thunderbolt device. Thus, this "required" software comes pre-installed.Even if you uninstall this software (from Program Uninstall or Uninstall right-clicking the app), windows update might install it again--this is not because the software is malicious, it is because windows update installs the drivers that are needed for the system to operate properly.

TechNerd
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The software is legitimate software from Intel, and often re-packaged by different OEMs (Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc.) This software is packaged with the Thunderbolt driver which will be installed by Windows IF it hasn't been installed already, you should be able to safely remove the software, but you will not be able to use the Thunderbolt ports as Thunderbolt ports; they will be limited to the functionality of USB-C 3.1 (non PCIe and only 10 Gbps instead of 40 Gbps).

The problem I have with this software is that it requires admin rights for some odd reason, at least on our Thinkpad Carbon X1s, we set all of our devices and users for least access, which means only higher up IT staff get local admin, thus the people who use these Thunderbolt equipped devices, can't use Thunderbolt devices. No option seems to be given for 'install for all users' on either the Lenovo source, or the Intel source install media. Because it requires admin rights to run, and nearly all users do not have admin rights, we had to remove the software because of the constant prompts for admin UAC whenever a device was plugged into a TB3 port, at login, and periodically throughout the day.

TL;DR: as an institution we can't install this software or use any Thunderbolt devices at all because only we few IT have the admin rights required to run the software after install.  Thankfully Thunderbolt 3 still works as USB-C without this software installed.

Scott - Слава Україні
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PCAdmin
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  • What do you mean by "IF it hasn't been installed already, you should be able to safely remove the software"?  It's typically impossible [to remove software that hasn't been installed.](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/96107) … Please do not respond in comments; [edit] your answer to make it clearer and more complete. – Scott - Слава Україні Dec 04 '18 at 17:08