Boycott Phoenix BIOS (O.T.)

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Corliss
  • Start date Start date
Read this before they take it down:

http://news.com.com/2100-7339_3-5111993.html?tag=nefd_top

Makes me wanna puke.
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They've been down a closely-related road before:

http://www.cexx.org/phoenix.htm

"PhoenixNet is a combination of Windows software and
functions embedded in the BIOS of PhoenixNet-enabled
motherboards. It presents users with (sponsored) Web site
links and (sponsored) software downloads, "Special
Offers" (!), company logos on the boot screen, and the
like. It also allows the PC vendor (or third-parties?) to
change your browser's Home and default search pages, and
determine the hardware in your system, as well as perform
remote troubleshooting/support (i.e. tinker with your
system settings)."


The screams were so loud that PhoenixNet was immediately pulled from the
market. In usual Internet fashion, word that it had been pulled by
various manufacturers didn't spread nearly as fast or as far as the
original news that their motherboard products were infested. A year
after PhoenixNet was taken off the market, some motherboard
manufacturers were still getting charbroiled by customers who'd recently
bought motherboards and then, after reading old PhoenixNet warnings,
just assumed thier new motherboards were infested. I remember a comment
from one motherboard-manufacturer that "We wish we'd never heard of
Phoenix Technologies" - and this was a YEAR after PhoenixNet had been
pulled.

One can only hope the outcome is the same this time.
 
Bloody shameful.. Thanks JC
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Talk about a tempest in a teapot. You can disable the function from
CMOS. Newer versions of the BIOS have the function disabled as
default. They messed up, but they hardly committed a crime and learned
from their mistake. Intel had their moment too. Remember "CPU ID"?
 
Klein said:
Just something else for a sharp, highly motivated (read that P-O'ed) high
school kid to circumvent with about 2 weeks work.
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Exactly. But with "Trusted Computing", it might be a bit more difficult
than, say, the DeCSS crack.

Still, I doubt that the security notions of "Trusted Computing" will hold up
for long ... not if it is rooted in BIOS code.What's to stop someone from
removing/overwriting the BIOS?

Now, what if the security were designed into the chip sets? That's a
different matter ... not so easy to hack.
 
Exactly. But with "Trusted Computing", it might be a bit more difficult
than, say, the DeCSS crack.

Still, I doubt that the security notions of "Trusted Computing" will
hold up for long ... not if it is rooted in BIOS code.What's to stop
someone from removing/overwriting the BIOS?
Click to expand...

Already been done. Linux replaces the BIOS with its own low-level code.
Now, what if the security were designed into the chip sets? That's a
different matter ... not so easy to hack.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like the XBox already does. Now all MS has to do is figure out a
way to get me to buy a hardware platform crippled by DRM, when I have so
many other choices that run Linux and all my favorite applications.
 
monkeyman said:
Talk about a tempest in a teapot. You can disable the function from
CMOS. Newer versions of the BIOS have the function disabled as
default.
Click to expand...

For now.
They messed up, but they hardly committed a crime and learned
from their mistake. Intel had their moment too. Remember "CPU ID"?
Click to expand...

I think the whole industry is making a mistake by trying to close
down. Remove the freedom to use the computers, and the market for new
products will fall off. If it falls off too far, the computer market
will go into recession and we will have a very serious shakeout.
 
Offbreed said:
For now.


I think the whole industry is making a mistake by trying to close
down. Remove the freedom to use the computers, and the market for new
products will fall off. If it falls off too far, the computer market
will go into recession and we will have a very serious shakeout.
Click to expand...

Thanks for saving me the time to reply to Monkeyman. You literally
took the words right out of my mouth.
 
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