Looks like it only affected their consumer lines and not the ThinkPads.

Didn’t Dell and Sony have similar controversies?

That’s how I feel about Notepad++ they had an update which would hijack your keyboard and type a message can you open the new window.

I recall Dell and Sony doing something similar. Maybe not with ads but had some kind of root kit. Then again, if you have an Intel processor I guess it’s already somewhat compromised.