Acemagic Is Selling SPYWARE! Don't Buy These Mini PCs

AceMagic also known as AceMagician is an incredibly popular mini pc manufacture but buying one of their systems is the last thing you should be doing as their systems are riddled with spyware. See this issue was first brought up by The Net Guy Reviews a couple months back calling out Ace Magic for the spyware found on their systems and although they said they fixed the issue clearly that’s not true as after purchasing 6 additional units on top of the collaboration unit sent over. I found 4 with spyware, this came in two forms first in a program file called endev.exe which has ties back to the redline family of trojans that is designed to spy and steal information from users like passwords and person files. And that wasn't even the only form of spyware as I found that three of the units also had two known browser hijackers, upsearches and navwithus. Which take over your browser not only manipulating your search but also looking to steal any vital information or credentials that can be of value, to the installer.
I really hope to see that out of this video both Amazon and AceMagic step up their attack to this issue to resolve it so those affected by these terrible forms of spyware are protected to the best of the companies ability. For now I won't be working with Ace Magic for any form of sponsored video and will be holding all of my sponsors to the highest standard, to ensure any product endorsed is not only good but also coming from a brand that is trustworthy.
Check Out The Net Guy Reviews Video: • This MINI PC ships wit...
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[@Imnotimportant555]

This is why I ALWAYS reinstall windows on ANY machine that I get. I first run Active@ to fully wipe the drives then I install windows from an ISO that I download. If I didn't install windows then I don't trust it at all and it will go NOWHERE near my network.

[@mattscomputerservices]

That’s definitely an excellent model to follow however, majority of the people buying systems like this. Have no idea that they need to do this nor do they know how to do it. And that’s the real problem.

[@Imnotimportant555]

@@mattscomputerservices This is very true. Many people are just not that tech inclined to know that they need to reinstall windows on machines like this.

[@ronlevon4294]

this will not help if virus/malware is present in bios, 0-sector of SSD or special partition in SSD that only visible in Linux (like we have in XBOX)

[@nitinkumar29]

Did you consider that they may even have spyware on the chip on the motherboard...many routers from China were found to have backdoor on a non-suspicious looking ic on the motherboard and that was 10 years ago.

[@jp6568]

Wait until you learn about the Intel Management Engine

[@3mar00ss6]

someone needs to sue tf outta them

[@jamesb2877]

I run linux no spy ware or BSD If it can boot usb I am good to go.

[@Revan-]

Really unfortunate because I thought these Mini PC's were really cool pieces of tech. I even considered buying one. Whats the plan with all the units you bought then? Also I think it would be really cool if you did a video on the steps to nuke the PC and do a fresh install. I'm sure there's people out there who aren't very tech inclined who DID buy these and are frantically looking for answers. Also great video! Subbed 👍

[@peters8181]

I got one and nothing wrong with windows

[@leewalton7403]

nothing wrong with windows lol don't trust it. seriously, wipe the hdd and install a copy from Microsoft. No company should be doing what these are doing & I suspect they will be in court soon(tm)

[@TheOmegaDMM]

At this point I wouldn't trust Microsoft either. Os level ads is just as risky.

[@louman76]

I have the ad08 version with the navwitus found in browser. Just did a clean wipe and install of windows…worked like a charm.

[@TheNetGuy]

Bravo Matt - thank you for the detailed investigating here. I knew this couldn’t be an isolated incident and scary to hear infected PCs are still shipping to this day. Another KZbinr called this a “buying opportunity” and gives them a pass believe it or not 🤦‍♂️ +1 sub from me!

[@Leslielulu]

I heard that the company has already recalled all the problematic products. Maybe it's better to wait and see how the situation unfolds.

[@travisbonzpiercy2660]

This is crazy and scammy as hell and they did acknowledge it and totally gave some bogus ass answers. I have not and will never buy anything from this company. All retailers should blacklist this company.

[@popthatbeep]

Hi, i have this pc, got it as a gift. Haven’t use it yet. What should I do if I want to use it? I really don’t know about these malware and virus. What should I tell my local pc stores tech if I want to clean install it? Would it be able to use it normally? Including the screen thing?

[@gordo8189]

Who buys a PC and doesn't do a clean install of the operating system?? AceMagic 'custom' builds might be spying on you, but plenty of 'big names' have been caught with their pants around their ankles for similarly invasive practices (we're looking at YOU rootkit Sony). Unless you go open-source, it's not a matter of whether or not you're being spied on but rather who you are choosing to allow to sell your information (we're looking at you AT&T, Verizon etc.). The age of privacy and anonymity is dead, and unless you work hard you ARE the product..

[@blackopal3138]

Ya, I contacted my seller to ask if I had to pay MS for windows 11, cz it just felt dodgy using it with no account, lol. now I have a new problem maybe Did they make some with 'mini pc' on the top light, instead of ACE Magic?? Or does that mean I got a copy/knock-off? I bought it on AliExpress

[@fearless6947]

I'm smiling throughout this video 😁. This guy has integrity.

[@resistnonexist]

Reminds me of the superfish spyware Lenovo had on their systems back in the day

[@Trick-Framed]

I received one of these to review last year. It had none of these issues. No built in Chrome. No super fast install. Still wanted internet to download MS updates, which I let it do (Why don't you have a hotspot adapter or another mitigation method so you can test these running netcode?) through my mini 4G hotspot. It was fine. It works fine. Plays some games but at 8GB of DDR5 4800 it's a bit anemic in the gaming dept. Oldrim runs fine, Skyrim not so much but you can get a locked 1080p 60 out of it. Emulation was fine too with CEMU, Dolphin and Redream running just fine on it without issues. Browsing was fine, I installed Chrome and watched KZbin on my 4k. It was fine with it. I had 13 dropped frames total and they were during the initial buffering. After that it was smooth and that was all on Wifi using a Hotspot. Connecting the ethernet cord to the wifi dropped some latency but not much. Jacking it directly into ethernet from a router and cable modem was also fine. Unfortunately, due to the slow HDMI ports on the unit (They didn't use 2.1) you can only see HDR in 1080p. And I feel they should have 12GB minimum in these as the iGPU is literally crying for more memory. The 16GB units run the games I tried with far less issues and at higher resolutions with marginally better performance. In all I had not a single issue. Now, the Beelink SER7 I have for review on the other hand? This is a unit you are better off installing your own OS on. I had to install Windows 11 myself as their copy was grey market like all these mainland Chinese brands use. Other than the Windows 11 issue though, the SER7 is a beast of a miniPC. Just too expensive. Mind you, for the price you still can't build a better performing mITX machine, so there is that, and it uses SO-DIMMS so memory is upgradeable. When the prices come down on the Zen 5 APUs it might be possible to build a comparable mITX for the price but only time will tell that story. I am so sorry you had to go through all of this and had all of these issues. I have a theory that the people tasked with sending out the products for these reviews want to see what you do with them and the malware is for that purpose. To spy on content creators. Which makes sense if you were a commie. They have no copyright laws or privacy laws per se. But I can't condone that. Ever. I can say that there was a time when the commie products didn't come with any OS. You had to supply your own and they were even cheaper for it. They should probably go back to that model. they may sell less, sure, but at least they won't have to deal with the spy department installing malware the rest of the company is unable to do anything about due to the structure of the business being state backed. Can't wait to see North Korean minipcs 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@chj915]

bought a new pc, wipe the whole disk, install whatever the OS you like, don't pay for the Windows OS unless it is free and comes with the pc.

[@PubRunner]

Just a thought is there anything loaded into their bios that could reinfect a fresh window install?

[@mattscomputerservices]

It’s not impossible and I did think of that but it’s probably very unlikely, as it’s not only complicated to setup (doesn’t really rule it out but it would require some dedication) and based on the spyware I found it’s all fairly surface level so I doubt that it’s that deep but I’ll see if I can scan it for anything I missed.

[@PubRunner]

@@mattscomputerserviceswhat about moonbounce or similar? It would be ideal as it can be used as a launchpad.

[@SSpees]

Is it possible some are clones from china. ?

[@SteveMinceraftReal]

im probably gonna buy one and shove linux on it

[@Zman01]

I have had one of these pc’s since November of last year, but it didn’t come with chrome pre-installed, infact I’ve never installed chrome on that pc, however I still want to be sure it’s not infected. I use Malwarebytes free version, but I’m wondering what software you used to scan the computers in this video.

[@artlandmarknyc]

Just format and install a clean windows with the key they provided

[@PeterDB90]

Are the keys typically listed on the outside of the machine? I bought one anyway planning to do a clean install, but I figured I'd first boot it up while not connected to any networks so that I can go to settings and retrieve the key, and then do a clean install with a USB flash drive that I download Windows to using a different PC and use the key I got when prompted.

[@artlandmarknyc]

@@PeterDB90 yes there is a key or you can open cmd and run command "wmic path softwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey"

[@HairyScrambler]

So it’s just on the OS or is there also firmware level malware? If you really want to buy one of these machine you might as well scrap the drive. At which point just buy a minisforum

[@apanapane]

Thank you for this eye-opening video. Made me decide to not buy their products.

[@mattscomputerservices]

So glad it was helpful

[@LieutenantLapdance]

Well that's how they sell those mini PCs so cheap... they're selling your data as well! I wouldn't be surprised if this was bigger than just some gray market Windows installs, there's got to be a lot of breaches based on this kind of malware.

[@EnterpriseKnight]

I guess the deal is still pretty good if you format the hell out of it.

[@onknight]

Here's what you do don't connect it to the internet. Burn a copy of Windows to a thumb drive and format and overwrite the the OS no more spyware

[@PeterDB90]

Make sure to get the key first. If it's not listed on the outside of the machine or in the paperwork, you'll need to first boot it up without connecting it to any network and once you get through the setup and get to the desktop, go to settings and find the windows key, write it down, and THEN go ahead and reinstall fresh windows that you downloaded onto a flash drive from a different PC.

[@azumashinobi1559]

​@@PeterDB90 appreciate the advice gonna do this myself

[@regwatson2017]

Amazon won't do eff all about it. Even when told many times they don't even remove software like Norton's that is geolocked but being sold in Countries that can't install and use it.

[@mattscomputerservices]

Honestly that’s what I think needs to change even more, because I see so many scam products these days on Amazon that it’s just ridiculous and whenever I report one it takes a while before anything seems to be done if at all. The best example of this would include the scam SSDs that I’ve made videos on in the past I’ll report them to Amazon support and usually they’ll still be sold for another month to two after that before being taken down.

[@kpadalldotablet1009]

Please do not buy any Chinese brands. You'll regret it. ACEMAGIC is a GREAT example. Besides, their SSDs, chip sets, caps and everything else Chinese brands use are just complete crap.

[@PeterDB90]

I bought one anyway - I plan to use it as an emulation machine that will not be connected to any networks (I will put all the data on a flash drive and then transfer it to this mini PC). Unless they can somehow get my data from my TV via HDMI cable or are able to retrieve it from my controller (or KBnM) that I'll be connecting to this thing, there isn't a way for them to get any of my data from this machine out to wherever they can steal it.

[@blackopal3138]

Ya, but your sller bought it from them and should be able to get the credit and pass it on to you.... I bought mine in the 3rd week of November. The BT sucks, and the cursor is constantly sticking/delay. Like, long enough to get timed out of a poker hand, it's ridic

[@chrismurphy2769]

That's a legit review. "They sent me free review models, so I bought consumer ones to fully review them..." Also, he bought enough to make a class action lawsuit all by himself.

[@benmobi]

Well done on this. You are wrong in saying it's odd that you can set up without a Microsoft Account, that no other makes do this, In fact, there are several other makers of Mini PCs who do this (allow this). Good article overall.

[@friendly_pyro]

If i change the SSD, the spyware gets removed?

[@foxtrots5223]

Yes it will but you will have to reinstall the os onto the new SSD

[@friendly_pyro]

@@foxtrots5223 yippe

[@orologi1000]

I have one of those and it didn't have chrome pre installed (or if it was pre installed it was a normal installation) and a third party antivirus found no spyware.

[@OsX86H3AvY]

when the biden team tells us as they did the other day about foreign countries in our infrastructure i think of all the cheap IoT products, mini PCs, TV boxes, emulators, etc., we buy everday...this here is an obvious thing...I expect we Americans are building the world's largest botnet for them ourselves.

[@martinparr193]

Rubber bands to hold the heatsink on is nothing new, I have a couple of those myself, bought off of Amazon. I recently bought their AX16 laptop for my daughter to use as her college laptop, I used partition magic to delete all partitions and then created a new partition and did a clean install of Windows using the Microsoft media creation tool. So far I am impressed with their laptop for the price that I paid, $399 on sale.

[@BeyondLumen]

Wipe the hard drive via DOD Gautam format 3x then you can do a clean install of Windows Xo not use the ace magician system restore don't install anything ace magician find the hardware IDs and download the drivers take about 1hr for everything to be installed no virus no worries

[@AnthonyChopra]

maybe also use a Format tool on another windows to compleatly wipe the SSD as i found some hidden parts in my old old SSD from 2017 after fully wiping it then its prob okay tho even getting a new SSD is the best tbh and intall waht ever os you want

[@MrHturtle99]

More people need to see this. These computers are everywhere and I even considered buying the gaming cube one with the rtx 3060 on prime day. Good thing I didn't. Definitely earned a like a sub from me 😃

[@epsileth]

They fixed it quick. Always a good idea to image and wipe the drive.

[@jameshurley224]

Most likely they're using a bootleg os from the Internet

[@cicievie]

how about beelink ser5 max ?? im planning to buy it

[@rch5395]

You can bypass it with cmd (the Microsoft acount requirment)

[@declanheerey3776]

I bought one of these PC's............had it attached to my network for over a week before I worked out what was going on (I was busy)........Google Chrome installed and loaded with spyware..............absolutely no support from Ace Magic OR Amazon

[@DanDan10101]

How did you find that?

[@bondjovi4595]

So does BackMarket. I have a PC with locked bios to prove it.

[@gerakore8948]

one thing to consider is the possibility of resalers doing this then it really would not matter what company makes the device

[@cyberjack]

if you install windows 11 offline it will automatically skip having to make a Microsoft account ... very useful if you don't want one

[@mattscomputerservices]

That’s true, but on this install, there wasn’t an option to set up the device with a Microsoft account to begin with. Which shows how this device was being setup on a custom install of windows.

[@BenjaminWSong]

Install your own OS. You don't just consume food from random strangers, eh? Just purchasing Mac is another solution if you don't know how to install your own OS.

[@PeterDB90]

I consume food from strangers all the time. Nearly 100% of the food I consume is from strangers, except for the couple of things here and there that I harvested myself or got from friends/family who grew it themselves. What are you talking about? Every time you buy food from a grocery store, restaurant, fast food, food trucks, literally every time you BUY food, you are consuming food from strangers. For most people it's nearly 100% of the food, and for the rest it's more than 50%.

[@Supervisor360]

what doesnt have spyware nowadays

[@1Conquistador]

I just wiped the drive & flashed regata OS on it, working fine now!

[@DanDan10101]

What about the lcd display?

[@LORENZOCOLALONGO]

What possible ?

[@bobsmith5096]

I bought mine in 2022, has anyone had problems with units from this time? Thanks

[@peters8181]

There is no problem this guy is full of BS to get views. 12k views and only 500 likes. He is full of it

[@PeterDB90]

@@peters8181 He's not the only one who reported on finding malware on the machine preinstalled

[@dj_paultuk7052]

You can still setup a local account when doing a Win11 install, i build about 10 machines a week so do this all the time.

[@mattscomputerservices]

My concern was more that it didn’t allow you on the initial setup prompt you to setup your device with a Microsoft account. It was bypassed. Plus to bypass it on the official windows installer you have to enter command prompt. Which is why I brought it to attention.

[@dj_paultuk7052]

@@mattscomputerservices I find on the official installer / usb (Current), all you have to do is pull the ethernet cable at that point, click next. 2 mins later it times out and offers you a local account. As soon as you do that, plug ethernet back in and continue.

[@pyronic120120]

wow good thing i saw this. just bought one cause it was the cheapest. i shall perform aclean install on mine as soon as it arives

[@lizethmartinez-arias9238]

Is there a way you could explain how or show how to do this I ordered one recently and I don’t even know this was possible

[@calvinengle2020]

​@@lizethmartinez-arias9238look up how to download the version of Microsoft os you want on there and put it on a USB drive and just wipe the ssd and reinstall fresh you can lookup vids on how to do all of this.. gl and hope it works

[@PeterDB90]

@@lizethmartinez-arias9238 Just search "how to do clean Windows install" and they will take you step by step. It's something that's a bit too long to describe over comment section. You will need a flash drive, preferably one that's MBR formatted, but if not, you can format it into an MBR drive yourself with some software. Anyway, the point is you need to look it up.

[@shanedavenport734]

You seem to forget that Windows 11 is spyware in it's self. Even if you turn off the telemetry that they give you access to. Microsoft has made it clear that should you turn off all telemetry in Windows 11, it will be shutdown by Microsoft. So if you like telling Microsoft everything about you and your life, go right ahead and put Windows 11 on your PC. You don't own your PC with Windows 11 on it. There is an alternative but we don't want Windows people coming over. You ask Why? Windows users need a major shift in thinking and the biggest is they need to be a little humble when asking for help.

[@Re3Ns]

What is the alternative? Linux?

[@goouimeko]

What is the best laptop that stays cool for gaming?My price budget is 1200.What is the best thing for me to get?I would love your advice for help

[@mattscomputerservices]

First, I’ll say most gaming laptops have a cooling issue that’s pretty standard with this past generation of hardware. But one system that I have really enjoyed using did include some thermal results in my last laptop cooler round up is one from Asus: amzn.to/44iV1QF It’s probably a little above your budget right now, but it may be worth saving for. It’s a really solid machine.

[@mattscomputerservices]

Also, depending on the deal, this is the cheapest you can get a RTX 4070: amzn.to/3QoIUvT

[@mattscomputerservices]

One more option to look at is this system from Lenovo. I’m actually working on a review of a system similar to this one and I like it quite a bit. amzn.to/44iVaDH

[@goouimeko]

Thank youu

[@goouimeko]

😊

[@kiendra]

I accidentally read the thumbnail as delaware 😭😭💀💀💀💀

[@33yoal]

Just a thought, if you or others are so worried about spyware, telemetry, etc. , why are you using windows? Linux anyone...

[@declanheerey3776]

DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE PC's - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED......I bought mine from Amazon in Feb 2024!!!!

[@peters8181]

And I bet you found nothing wrong with it

[@JeffStadt]

I find this very funny. Pretty much all devices (PC,Phone,Streaming Devices, etc) has some sort of malware and or spying software. Bios crap needs to be hard coded in the eeprom of the bios chip. I find it really hard to think that this is done. Software maybe. just reload this thing

[@theethans898]

Buy barebones get drives from reputable source

[@RandomBSOD]

you're about 2 months late with this video. acemagic already released clean (iso) images for the windows re-install as the software required for the lcd to work is only included in the aforementioned image.

[@mattscomputerservices]

Actually the point of this video was to raise awareness that the issue isn’t resolved because if you can still by a system from them today with spyware then it’s still an issue that needs to be addressed.

[@CareyHolzman]

@@mattscomputerservices You are buying old inventory. The issue was fixed months ago. Wake up!

[@mattscomputerservices]

The old inventory needs to be pulled then. Because people are still buying these PCs unaware of the consequences, so it’s important to raise awareness that they haven’t taken care of this issue completely if they’re still selling systems with spyware two months later.

[@gabrielfuertesm148]

​@@mattscomputerservicesbut is secure? Now?

[@davebcoolin]

Reason not to purchase

[@francescof1470]

Top 🇮🇹

[@SignalChange]

Funny how he's worried about a bit of spyware on his system when windows 11 is entirely filled with trackers, telemetry, os level shenanigans.. no-one should run it, regardless of what PC its on. Not to mention ' a very specific os installation cd for making a local account ' pish.. just install it without the network connected.