Geekom mini PCs were vulnerable to malware. Here’s how to check yours

A few days ago, Tom’s Hardware and Videocardz reported on a Geekom incident affecting several of the manufacturer’s mini PCs. Attackers were able to inject malware onto several devices via a tampered driver—one that was hosted on an official Geekom support page, which, according to the company, had already been taken offline.

Geekom confirmed the incident and explained that, although the outdated website had been replaced by a new one, it could still be found via search engines. The attackers exploited this to insert a backdoor into the driver package, enabling them to install malware on Geekom mini PCs.

According to the latest details, the following models were vulnerable:

• Geekom A7
• Geekom A8
• Geekom AE7
• Geekom AE8
• Geekom AX7 Pro
• Geekom AX8 Pro

Important: You are only at risk of malware on your Geekom mini PC if you manually searched for a driver for one of these vulnerable models and downloaded it from the outdated Geekom site. Geekom’s official driver packages on their current site did not include malware.

This incident is problematic because many users are likely to search for new driver packages using terms like “[device name] driver update” and download from the first result that appears on the search page.

Using this malware, attackers were able to gain extensive permissions on affected Geekom systems, spy on personal data, and steal passwords. You should act quickly if you were affected.

Here’s what you can do

If you own one of the vulnerable devices, you should launch your antivirus software right away and run a thorough malware scan. (If you don’t have one, check out our picks for the best Windows antivirus software.) You can also use the Windows Device Manager to check when drivers were downloaded and installed for which devices.

If you suspect malware, you should disconnect your PC from the network and factory reset it. Ideally, you’ll have backed up your data beforehand using a backup tool. (Again, if you don’t have one, protect yourself going forward with one of the best Windows backup software.)

Learn more about how to factory reset a Windows 11 PC. After the reset, you should change all the passwords you used on the affected device.

As a general rule: Never install updates or drivers from unknown or untrusted sources. In this case, although it was an official manufacturer’s website, it was only accessible via a Google search. Instead of searching, it’s always safer to directly visit a manufacturer’s website and navigate to their support pages for drivers.