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PC Thieves: the BIOS has you

Posted by cheekymonkey on 27 May 2003 - 08:32 · 25 comments & 1881 views

Pilfering a PC may become less appealing, if software makers Phoenix Technologies and Softex have their way.

The two companies are teaming to offer software called TheftGuard, which is designed to be anchored in the guts of PCs and automatically disable any stolen machine connected to the Internet.

TheftGuard by Softex is designed to run independently of a computer's operating system. It is installed on Phoenix software called the Core Managed Environment, which resides on the computer's underlying hardware and on part of the machine's hard drive.

Every time a computer outfitted with TheftGuard connects to the Internet, it pings the TheftGuard site. A computer-theft victim can register the machine at the site. If the stolen machine is brought online, the original owner can arrange to have the machine crippled or crippled with all data erased, and can determine the Internet Protocol address used--which can help in hunting down the thief.

News source: news.com

HP may have picked a good time to announce the robot. Fear of flying after Sept. 11, 2001, has led to a rash of interest in videoconferencing. And the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak has put a further crimp on already sluggish business travel.

The promise of such technology is that a remote co-worker can hear the formal part of a meeting as well as participate in the chitchat within the room. Using a joystick, the distant participant can pick up on a sound in one part of a room and join in that conversation. However, those present at a meeting should be forewarned that the microphone on the robot is sensitive; hushed conversation in a corner might not be so private.

But for all its potential, the current model is still very much a work in progress. HP still has no commercial plans for the robot, which was built using a number of Windows-based PCs. Although the robot allows people to see the face of a co-worker in near-real time,there is about a one-second delay before the remotely connected colleague can be heard. And although an earlier version of the robot was designed to travel around the office via a joystick controlled by the person, HP has made the latest version static while it tries to work out some of the kinks.

HP is not unique in pursuing robots as a replacement for travel. For example, Los Angeles-based InTouch Health sees robots as a way to allow expert doctors and health care providers to be virtually at the bedside of patients that are hundreds or thousands of miles away.

But HP's lead researcher says that the company is far ahead of other such projects.

"So far the best things that have been done--they still kind of look spooky," said HP Labs researcher Norm Jouppi.

To be fair, HP's first attempt was rather off-putting in its own right--resembling a slightly bulkier version of No. 5 from the '80s movie "Short Circuit."

Mechanical engineer Stan Thomas said that when he joined the team, he noticed that people spent more time looking at the robot's shiny metal parts than at the video screen that's displaying their co-worker. Thomas helped redesign the device to have a more human-looking (and less jarring) form--the current blue, plastic model resembles a giant Lego.

People seem to like the fact that the new model doesn't have arms, Jouppi said. Although the arms on the first version allowed the robot to perform simple tasks such as pushing an elevator button, researchers say people were put off by the fact that the robot could touch things.

"They'd seen too many movies" with robots crushing things, Jouppi said.

HP wouldn't say how much such a robot could cost--though it is certain to be more than the price of a few plane tickets. The current setup for the distant co-worker uses five PCs, five cameras and a surround-sound system, creating a virtual environment. The in-office robot is made up of two PCs, a number of cameras, four directional microphones and several speakers. A high-speed 802.11a wireless network is needed at the meeting site to transmit the information back to the remote colleague.

Jouppi wishes that his pet project was already a reality.

"I'd like to have something like this," he says. "I have to go on a business trip next week for a two-hour meeting."

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#1 Posted by leebobs on 27 May 2003 - 08:34: Can't we just get rid of the BIOS... have SSD based OS's and instant power on... None of this extra junk... just do your job!!

#2 Posted by TheFamousGeoff on 27 May 2003 - 08:50: Crippled and all data erased, eh? Great idea; let's hope it never goes wrong, or somebody types the wrong digits in when they're reporting their stolen computer

Neat idea in theory though

#3 Posted by DWZ on 27 May 2003 - 08:59: Sounds like a nice idea, unfortunately I'm sure the thieves will work a way around it.

#4 Posted by eosKENuids on 27 May 2003 - 09:23: Nice idea, but I'm sure that somebody will screw with it. Also, if this is going to stop people stealing computers and all, what is going to stop the people from disabling the stuff before they go online?

(3 replies) #5 Posted by mrk on 27 May 2003 - 09:49: well has it never entered their minds that any thieves stealing a PC would just replace the harddrive??

#6 Posted by Tager on 27 May 2003 - 10:56: How about not even going online? hmmm?

#7 Posted by AshMan on 27 May 2003 - 11:07: I just wonder what would happen if someone hacks into the TheftGuard servers and sends a signal to all computers in there DB instructing them to erase all data. Hmmmm

#8 Posted by Mr. Black on 27 May 2003 - 12:05: I think all of you are too skeptical...yes, professional thieves can get around it easily. Hell, they are called professionals for a reason...if they want your computer, they are going to get it AND disable this "disabling" BIOS.

But hell, I'd give it a try. I think it's a neat idea

#9 Posted by bits on 27 May 2003 - 12:48: how bout just blocking all theftguard address's (these would circulate first.)

i spose blocking couldnt be done on the localmachine.. so you'ld need an external device/pc to do it for you..

not hard. the pc would be then unrestricted except couldnt access theftguard sites (im sure thats no loss)

(4 replies) #10 Posted by kwyjibo on 27 May 2003 - 13:11: Wow. Spyware right in the BIOS. Thanks, Phoenix. Now Phoenix knows whenever I turn on my computer. And **** knows what else.

#11 Posted by evilroy on 27 May 2003 - 13:24: 2 points.

Professional thieves don't steal $1k PCs, amateurs do so they can get a quick fence.

How hard would it be to block outgoing comms to the TheftGuard site (or any other site for that matter). Any good gateway package should be able to do that.

(1 reply) #12 Posted by Glen on 27 May 2003 - 14:31: Ashman, that was exactly my first thought as well. Someone will find a way to use this against the everyday user, and then we'll have BIOS attacking virii again.

Another point to consider is this is just another way of fingerprinting the PC. It's like that Intel ploy to ID all their CPUs a few years back. I'm not real thrilled about that either.

(1 reply) #13 Posted by DrunkenMaster on 27 May 2003 - 15:42: So smart theives just have to seel the product with a stolen router blocking off the ports Theft Guard uses. It'll add $5 to the cost. I'm sure if they sell it to a fence, they'll probably re-rig the BIOS.

Maybe they should do this to laptops instead. I'm sure there's more stolen laptops than PCs.

#14 Posted by OPaul on 27 May 2003 - 16:43: Didn't Intel try and do something like this a couple of years back? The end result was for the option to disable the feature.

(1 reply) #15 Posted by WishX on 27 May 2003 - 17:41: Just THINK of how this could go oh-so wrong...

Husband buys computer... wife wins computer in divorce... husband has it crippled and erased.
Mom and Dad let Junior use computer... Junior get grounded for being bad... Junior get pissed off and cripples/erases Mom and Dad's computer with a phone call.

Oh, the revenge tactics alone make this scary, not to mention the idiocy factor (ie. entering the wrong digits and screwing someone else's system). The sky's the limit...

"The only difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits."

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