Battle brews over unlocking PC secrets

CNet News ^ | 5 April 2005 | John G. Spooner

[HAL9000]

The solution's pretty simple, though - if you find current mobos philosophically objectionable, go build your own, soup to nuts, and make your own BIOS to go with it.

Here's a much better solution - Get a Mac. It's 100% BIOS-free and uses Open Firmware instead. Unlike BIOS, it simply boots the machine without tracking or restricting the user.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Well yeah, but it's not like Microsoft's Windows Updates.

[ShadowAce]

Uh--Open Firmware is a version of a BIOS.

Every computer uses a BIOS of some sort.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

These pee-pee-headed geeks seem to think they own the companies that make the hardware and software they use.

[antiRepublicrat]

What people take for granted...is the reliability of the (BIOS) firmware today

... which currently often can be flashed using software while the system is running. This is a non-argument.

[ShadowAce]

which currently often can must be flashed using software while the system is running.

Fixed it for ya. :)

[kimosabe31]

bump

[Cicero]

Screw up the BIOS and there may be no way to fix it. A boot sector virus that require reformatting the hard drive is bad enough. A BIOS virus that screws up the BIOS might necessitate junking the whole motherboard.

I just did a couple of BIOS upgrades on two of my Dell computers, and it gives me a chill every time I do it. I cross myself, knock on wood, breathe a prayer, stick in the floppy, and reboot. If this process screws up, forget about it. No way to fix it. The last thing we need is a bunch of hackers out there messing with BIOS codes.

[HAL9000]

Uh--Open Firmware is a version of a BIOS.

In the generic sense, Open Firmware and PC BIOS serve similar functions. But the Mac environment, noone calls Open Firmware "BIOS".

The point is that Open Firmware works transparently. There are no backdoors to bypass the BIOS password, no embedded digital rights management, no serial numbers, etc.

[Bush2000]

"DRM is theft," he said. "The idea of the free software movement is you should be in control of your own computer. Treacherous competing (his term for so-called trusted computing) is a scheme to make sure you're not in control."

Stallman is an idiot. It's that simple.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Well yeah, but it's not like Microsoft's Windows Updates.

You say that like it's a bad thing. ;^P

[antiRepublicrat]

Fixed it for ya. :)

I can still flash off a floppy. But the point is someone could right now make a virus to flash your BIOS into oblivion, so this guy's scare tactics don't work.

[ShadowAce]

...so this guy's scare tactics don't work.

I know. Just funnin' wit' ya a little. BTW--even flashing off a floppy means the system has to be running.

[PAR35]

Screw up the BIOS and there may be no way to fix it.

I play with my hardware. I play with my software. I even play with Regedit. I wouldn't think of playing with my BIOS.

[antiRepublicrat]

The last thing we need is a bunch of hackers out there messing with BIOS codes

I still don't see any increased danger. So, the BIOS is closed. Reverse-engineer the flashing software and modify it. That's what people did with DVD drive firmware. In direct opposition to MPAA schemes, I can play all of my legally purchased Region 2 DVDs on my computer now that I've flashed my DVD drive with a reverse-engineered firmware updater that stops the reader from counting down to the time when it'll be stuck at only one region.

It is exactly this kind of consumer control and fair use that will be hindered when DRM is embedded into the hardware. That's why it's a bad thing and why Stallman is right in concept (stripped of all the extremist hippie talk).

[antiRepublicrat]

ven flashing off a floppy means the system has to be running.

I guess I should have written what I meant -- Operating System.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Not on any of my mainboards...winflash is junk..

[KoRn]

Very interesting article. Thanks for posting!

Soon we will have 'The Microsoft BIOS' making the operation your BIOS easy and fun!

Be sure you run your Microsoft BIOS update software regularly to take advantage of easy updates, and also remember to run your Microsoft BIOS Easy Firewall and BIOS Antivirus.

/sarcasm

[Arthalion]

But the point is someone could right now make a virus to flash your BIOS into oblivion

Actually, it's happened numerous times already. The problem with these viruses is that they tend to nuke the computer before they can spread very far, so their propogation is self-limited.

The biggest one I remember was in the early 90's, and it was a floppy transmitted self propogating trojan. IIRC, it sat on your computer spawning itself onto whatever unfortunate floppy you inserted until D-Day arrived. That morning, many thousands of people found bricks in their offices where their computers once sat.

Nobodies tried one recently because most virus writers are more interested in setting up dumb proxies, email relays, or DDOS zombies, not in doing actual damage to the computers. Still, there's no reason to think that someone couldn't attach the same kind of payload today to a more modern email Trojan and do serious damage.

One advantage we'd have, though, is that the virus has to specifically support the bios in the host machine. A bios virus written to attack a Dell bios won't do any real damage to a machine with a Phoenix bios, so the bios virus writers would have to specifically support all of the major bios types on the market. That tends to make the virus fairly large, and would slow its propogation.

[ShadowAce]

I guess I should have written what I meant

LOL! I know. I can get kinda anal at times. But it was to be in good fun.