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AMD, Microsoft pair up for security

NTUsEr   on 25 February 2004 - 19:03 · 9 comments & 1210 views

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Thanks xStainDx
Advanced Micro Devices is promoting computer security through processor design.

The chipmaker on Wednesday announced that it has included a feature inside its Athlon 64 and Opteron processors for PCs and servers that will help combat certain computer viruses and worms. The feature, which will work in concert with Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, will be switched on later this year when Microsoft releases its Service Pack 2 update for the OS. AMD also unveiled this week its Alchemy Au1550, a processor for networking gear that comes with a built-in security engine.

As businesses and consumers become more aware of security and begin placing more emphasis on it, chipmakers such as AMD, Intel, Transmeta and Via Technologies have responded with efforts to add more security features to their chips and related hardware. Together, the AMD and Microsoft security features are designed to offer consumers and businesses greater security when sending e-mail or browsing the Web. The Alchemy Au1550 will bolster network security, such as virtual private networks, the company said.

"Computer security has become one of the most important issues in both the home and enterprise, and AMD and Microsoft recognize that it will take a strong combination of hardware and software to battle malicious code," Marty Seyer, general manager of AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit, said in a statement. AMD's Athlon 64 and Opteron security features will work with Windows XP Service Pack 2's Data Execution Prevention feature to prevent buffer overrun exploits, a common method used to attack computers. A buffer overrun or overflow essentially overwhelms a computer's defense systems and then inserts a malicious program in memory that the processor subsequently executes.


News source: C|net
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Patch details for v1.62 English

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Post a comment · Send to friend Comments · There are 9 additional comments
(2 replies) #1 ev0| on 25 Feb 2004 - 20:19
first post
#1.1 longwilli on 25 Feb 2004 - 21:02
congrate you are an offical neowin SPAMER. instead of posting complete crap which you have just done try and write something worthwhile. LAMER
#1.2 ffx on 25 Feb 2004 - 21:17
there should be a rule against this and be deleted on sight
(1 reply) #2 RangerLG on 25 Feb 2004 - 20:20
So they're saying it is dormant now, but will be "switched on" for SP2? Will the service pack trigger it or is there something in the BIOS to adjust?
#2.1 xStainDx on 25 Feb 2004 - 20:56
It's not in BIOS its in the OS. SP2 supports DEP and so does the Athlon 64/Operton CPU's.

OS Makes Call to CPU... CPU Respondes. OS Enables Feature.

Thats It.
(1 reply) #3 ishtar on 25 Feb 2004 - 21:43
Just wait intel will come out in a few days and say they had that technology for years.This is nothing new
#3.1 xStainDx on 26 Feb 2004 - 17:09
It's not. It's been in the Itanium Processor since its induction.
#4 RobertH on 26 Feb 2004 - 02:00
Nice, something i didnt know about. Nice to have features you didnt know you had, congrats to AMD and MS.
#5 divertom15 on 26 Feb 2004 - 04:03
Its called no execute and it confines execuatbles to their own memory space so they can not cause buffer overruns by getting into another programs memory space or something like that

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