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MINIX: ​Intel's hidden in-chip operating system
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MINIX: ​Intel's hidden in-chip operating system

Buried deep inside your computer's Intel chip is the MINIX operating system and a software stack, which includes networking and a web server. It's slow, hard to get at, and insecure as insecure can be.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/minix-intels-hidden-in-chip-operating-system/

Thanked by 3Yura Pwner erkin
«134

Comments

  • NeoonNeoon Community Contributor, Veteran
    edited November 2017

    There are actually multiple operating systems, Google released some stuff about it:

    https://schd.ws/hosted_files/osseu17/84/Replace UEFI with Linux.pdf

    https://osseu17.sched.com/event/ByYt/replace-your-exploit-ridden-firmware-with-linux-ronald-minnich-google

    Interesting to read.

    AMD FX, the old CPU gen does not have such a backdoor, Ryzen does.

    Thanked by 2Yura netomx
  • cunts

  • Tagged: microsoft government spying backed-up-by-nsa

  • Pretty sure that the Core2Duo was the last-of-breed that didn't have a way to fuck with the underlying system transparently to the OS.

  • @WSS said:
    Pretty sure that the Core2Duo was the last-of-breed that didn't have a way to fuck with the underlying system transparently to the OS.

    As far as Intel is concerned i think you are right. AMD has some "newer" CPUs without the management crap though iirc.

  • I am tagging @Intel

    Thanked by 1bugrakoc
  • deankdeank Member, Troll

    And I am tagging @endisnigh

  • @jesus this is scary

  • rm_rm_ IPv6 Advocate, Veteran
    edited November 2017

    mksh said: AMD has some "newer" CPUs without the management crap though iirc.

    Yep, all the way through the aforementioned 4.0 GHz 8-core FX-8350.

    Probably the FX-9370 and FX-9590 are safe as well, but those are rare, hot and expensive (and are nothing but factory-overclocked, voltage-hiked versions of the 8350).

    Thanked by 1mksh
  • I'm dain bramaged today: is this in the actual CPU itself? Or is this UEFI? If I have a hybrid board and disable UEFI, does this still execute?

    Thanked by 1hostdare
  • mfsmfs Banned, Member

    Interestingly enough this article comes out right when I was fiddling with me_cleaner...

    puts tinfoil hat on

  • raindog308raindog308 Administrator, Veteran

    It's like Tannenbaum's revenge. "OK, you won that USENET argument, but now you can't run your precious Linux except on top of my MINIX!"

    Thanked by 3scaveney emg vimalware
  • @raindog308 said:
    It's like Tannenbaum's revenge. "OK, you won that USENET argument, but now you can't run your precious Linux except on top of my MINIX!"

    Do you remember his shit-talking to Linus way back when- saying a monolithic kernel was a shitty stupid design?

    I do. It was one of the better run-ins. Personally, though, I still prefer the jkh vs deraadt IRC dramas. Those were fucking hilarious.

  • @Damian said:
    I'm dain bramaged today: is this in the actual CPU itself? Or is this UEFI? If I have a hybrid board and disable UEFI, does this still execute?

    Both. uefi adds a massive shit layer but much of it is in modern bioses, too. Plus, of course intel amd.

    That said, it's not simply a matter of "intel (somewhat more) and amd (somewhat less) are eeeevil!!".

    Most of that shit has grown over more than a decade and mainly based on two factors, a) large corp clients ("we want centralized remote management!") and b) what I call the "us american model", i.e. an unhealthy mix of incompetence, ignorance, make-shift rather than engineering, and above all profit greed without limits. And hey, it worked and until recently almost nobody complained.

    And don't you worry. Technically the evil inventor is neither intel nor amd. It's arm who invented the "trustzone" cancer which has become the core at intel and amd, too.

    As for Tanenbaum/Minix vs linus/linux: Tanenbaum has already forgotten more about OSs than linus could ever hope to learn. When Tanenbaum talks I listen, when linus talks I laugh. So, while that fame is somewhat smelly I'm very pleased to see that Tanenbaums work is used in by far more systems than linus' funny computer game.

  • @bsdguy said:
    preferred payment: vague promises of rich great-grand-children supported by a mod.

    What? You don't take miners built in PHP that need to be executed as root anymore!?

  • @WSS said:

    @bsdguy said:
    preferred payment: vague promises of rich great-grand-children supported by a mod.

    What? You don't take miners built in PHP that need to be executed as root anymore!?

    Bullshit! Of course I do. It's just that I enhanced sakkurity by putting the whole thing into a browser plugin, you clueless cunt.

  • If you don't stop calling me cunt, I'm going to send @ricardo to live with you.

  • @WSS said:
    If you don't stop calling me cunt, I'm going to send @ricardo to live with you.

    Miguel is still alive?

  • @AuroraZ said:
    Miguel is still alive?

    As is custom, someone else took over the dormant account. Squaturd rights, and all.

  • @WSS said:

    @AuroraZ said:
    Miguel is still alive?

    As is custom, someone else took over the dormant account. Squaturd rights, and all.

    Ahhh gotchas.

  • How goes the pooping? Had some fruit today, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. Didn't even leave a ring around the grundies.

  • Mostly the same of course need to eat to poop so.......there's that

  • but if you eat the poop then can you crap out food?

  • WSS said: but if you eat the poop then can you crap out food?

    Intel seems to think so.

    Thanked by 2WSS scaveney
  • Hmm... so Intel installs backdoor into people's PCs and you can't do much about it without risking the chance of bricking the system... Well.... you learn something new everyday!

  • @Edmond said:
    Hmm... so Intel installs backdoor into people's PCs and you can't do much about it without risking the chance of bricking the system... Well.... you learn something new everyday!

    Or, you know, ten years ago..

  • Meanwhile AMD EPYC has Secure Memory Encryption and Secure Encrypted Virtualization. They still have an ARM TrustZone though I believe but that's to be expected I suppose.

  • @WSS said:
    If you don't stop calling me cunt, I'm going to send @ricardo to live with you.

    Inacceptable. You are much more handsome than him; he's not even a cunt, cunt!

  • WSS said: Pretty sure that the Core2Duo was the last-of-breed that didn't have a way to fuck with the underlying system transparently to the OS.

    I'm curious if you have any more details like that, or a link. I just put together a new Tor box and deliberately used an Intel Pentium 4 511 on a 915GEV mother board. That's probably safe and it certainly is plenty powerful for secure communication and basic browsing.

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