Unbranded "Anker" ergonomic mouse

[Findecanor]

So... I picked up a semi-vertical "ergonomic mouse" on an auction site. It looks exactly like what is more known around here as an "Anker" vertical mouse, except that it has absolutely no identifying markings: no brand, no FCC ID, no user manual. Came in a plain brown box with only "Ergonomic mouse" printed on it.
Vendor:Product IDs are 30fa:1701 (hexadecimal), which identifies as "Wuxi Instant Microelectronics Co., Ltd." in China.
Works OK. Has a braided cable and an annoying RGB LED, but I have a soldering iron(s).

However...
As I am interested in USB HID stuff, I extracted its report descriptor. Apparently it is also a keyboard, and has some proprietary in/out reports as well.

Is this normal? Is the Anker mouse supposed to be programmable? (I can find no software download on their site.)
Or will this "mouse" input a key combo to open Edge or PowerShell and install malware when I'm not looking?

[Muirium]

This “mouse” has hidden magic powers. It’s something out of folklore!

Given it can control your pointer and type arbitrary input, theoretically it has total access to your system. Good thing mice are relative pointing devices so it can’t know where the OK buttons are on screen. Hopefully it’s just as short for key-logging.

[hellothere]

I don't know anything about the mouse, but there are a bunch of other computer electronics that carry the "Anker" name. (A search for "Anker" on Amazon comes up with over 30,000 hits.) I've got a USB 3 hub with ethernet for my older laptop that's made by Anker. It worked quite well. I just no longer use it.

[Polecat]

There was also Ancer with a "c", which was a marketing branch of Antec, selling cases and rebranded Datacomp keyboards back in the day. No idea if that's related or not.

[Hak Foo]

Practically, I'd wonder if most "sophisticated" mice also present as keyboards, because the pack-in software lets you bind buttons to keystrokes.

Both my Adesso iMouse T50 and Logitech G502 claim to have keyboard and mouse functionality, and so does my QMK-VIAL powered keyboard.

[Muirium]

QMK reports as both because that’s how you implement mouse keys in a keyboard. It inherits this from TMK, where Hasu implemented it as a “hybrid” USB HID device.

I do 90% of so of my typing on TMK/QMK powered boards now, so I obviously trust them doing this. They are open source and made by people I respect (and routinely pester!). I would be a little less willing with a no name Chinese device as described in OP, however.

[davkol]

However...
As I am interested in USB HID stuff, I extracted its report descriptor. Apparently it is also a keyboard, and has some proprietary in/out reports as well.

Is this normal? Is the Anker mouse supposed to be programmable? (I can find no software download on their site.)
Or will this "mouse" input a key combo to open Edge or PowerShell and install malware when I'm not looking?

I asked a similar question on another forum, but about a different kind of peripheral; it concerned USB microphones/headsets (embedded sound cards) or cameras IIRC.

The simplest explanation was that suppliers merely reused the same firmware across a variety of devices, regardless of their respective hardware capabilities.

So there might be a different model that _is_ programmable, but the vendor didn't care enough to disable parts of the firmware build for this one.

[fohat]

This does not directly address your question, but if it was this (or something very much like it), in my opinion that is the ideal configuration for a mouse.

Actual "vertical" mice are a disaster because you have to use your thumb to resist the action of pressing the buttons, but the "diagonal lean" gives you an ergonomic advantage while still resisting the push of its buttons with gravity and friction.

I just wish that they made a left-hand version because I like mice on both sides of my keyboard. Also, I have had both name brand and unbranded versions, and none have lasted more than a couple of years.