Intel's vPro Core CPUs Can Take SMS ''Poison Pill''

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ceteras

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[citation][nom]4745454b[/nom]Nice. I do hope this is all controlled by a separate chip so that you can't just format the OS and become the new admin.[/citation]

It's controlled by a separate chip, indeed, it's called a CPU, iirc.
 

huron

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I know this has been around for awhile, but this is a really cool technology. Going to seriously look at using this (since we have it in our laptops) for our company.

But for the SMS messages to work, wouldn't the computer need to be on a cellular network?
 

mavroxur

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[citation][nom]KingArcher[/nom]take out the 3G modem and poison pill never reaches its destinationPwn2Own[/citation]


Integrate the 3G modem on the motherboard, and the thief gets owned.
 

Marco925

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[citation][nom]mavroxur[/nom]Integrate the 3G modem on the motherboard, and the thief gets owned.[/citation]
DESOLDER THE 3G Modem!!!! And the thief pwns
 

existencenow

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[citation][nom]Marco925[/nom]DESOLDER THE 3G Modem!!!! And the thief pwns[/citation]
Make a nice lil' thermit pack to go FIZZLE on all data if chassis is opened w/o both a phyiscal and multiple digital access keys :) risky but effective ! PWNT !
 
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Doesn't anyone sees the risk on personal liberties on this?
Let's suppose you are against a government, you really cause troubles, so... puf, they turn off your PC or smartphone?
If that was a consolidated technology, Egyptian revolution would never happen!
 

illo

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[citation][nom]Blaris[/nom]Doesn't anyone sees the risk on personal liberties on this?Let's suppose you are against a government, you really cause troubles, so... puf, they turn off your PC or smartphone?If that was a consolidated technology, Egyptian revolution would never happen![/citation]

i want to strike you with a hammer. if YOUR laptop gets stolen YOU send the poison pill, work on your reading comprehension please.
 

mikem_90

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[citation][nom]illo[/nom]i want to strike you with a hammer. if YOUR laptop gets stolen YOU send the poison pill, work on your reading comprehension please.[/citation]

True, but if this is abused, is this not just another big security hole? You saw how the PS3 keys got out, what is to say that 5-10 years down the road, if this system uses static keys, it becomes a security hole?

Thousands of computers knocked out by some hacker who finds out how to game the system? Since its built in, you MIGHT be able to get it flashed out in firmware, but maybe not.
 
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@illo

Since this can just as easily be sent by the company IT as it can be by the individual, then Blaris is far more correct about his fears than you are in dismissing them.
 

mikem_90

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[citation][nom]illo[/nom]i want to strike you with a hammer. if YOUR laptop gets stolen YOU send the poison pill, work on your reading comprehension please.[/citation]

Not to mention, the ability to switch on tracking for a PC? Whoah man. Unfriendly Ex, work rival, a boss wanting to spy on you, some company that gets pissed you said something about their corporate image?

I'd have serious reservations in case what I want to say or do is not popular.
 
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@Blaris

vPro are found only in business class chips, your standard consumer chips wont sport this, cause it eats up valuable silicone space and requires hardware support, and if really dont trust intel at all then there is always AMD

@KingArcher and Marco925

It is my understanding that vPro can also use the wireless and LAN adapter to disable the machine, in reality the moment the machine even smells internet it's toast

@Reynod

and thats why they have a reactivation code, in case of mistakes and rough IT admin
 

illo

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[citation][nom]Valkyrie_Ice[/nom]@illoSince this can just as easily be sent by the company IT as it can be by the individual, then Blaris is far more correct about his fears than you are in dismissing them.[/citation]

yes, an IT company can just randomly send kill codes to private property...are you guys just messing with me, or are you actually serious?

all the damage done to a computer like this, can be UNDONE with another send code, and since you would(hopefully) have both codes, if someone did kill your compy you could just /rez it.

 
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@mikem_90

seriously you plan on doing that stuff then you do it on a personal machine or one you can secure, come one dude it's a business machine, it's a well known fact that anything you do on a business machine can and is tracked and logged

@Valkyrie_Ice

actually it can be setup so the disarm code can only be sent from an authenticated server which is paired to the hardware during setup and everything is encrypted to high heaven. Now if i recall a hacker was able to obtain the encryption key a while back but this required physical access to the machine, lapping the chip down to bear minimum and a x-ray camera......
 
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@rohitbaran

if you got vPro implemented that you got full disk encryption implemented and tied to vPro
 
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Not sure why Blaris is getting modded down. If the capability is physically present, what is to prevent a country's intelligence service from simply requiring that the kill switch codes for all such laptops also be provided to and usable by the intelligence service? And in similar cases what we see is the corporation eager for additional sales only too willing to comply with the law of the land. Here in the US we've already seen passed or attempted laws requiring law enforcement to receive all decryption keys ahead of time, etc; plus who knows what the NSA requires or can get on demand via advanced decryption technique that is not disclosed.
 

JOSHSKORN

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What exactly does this do? I'm confused. Can't you just remove the hard drive from a PC and connect it somewhere else with an IDE or SATA to USB cable and then get the data from the disk? Does this "Poison Pill" somehow prevent data recovery?
 

mavroxur

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Integrate a very small thermonuclear device into the system so if the thief tampers with anything, removes any screws, tries to disable the modem, anything, the thief and everyone within a 1 mile radius gets owned.




 
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@JOSHSKORN

full disk encryption....... come on you dont read the comments in grey ????
 
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