Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Bill Gates “Security as a Lock-in”: Thy Name is TPM?

Ogg Theora
Introduction to "Trusted Computing":





Summary: Microsoft uses the Windows zombies disaster to promote computing whose operation can be controlled by remote authorities

BASED ON A MEMO that we shall publish one day in the future, Bill Gates intended to use "security" as a lock-in mechanism. It is very common -- not just when it comes to Microsoft for that matter -- to use "security" as an excuse for seizing greater control. We saw it when comes to OOXML very recently.



It's no exaggeration to say that Microsoft totally dropped the ball when it comes to security. According to the following new report which stems from Microsoft friend and pusher for software patents in Europe (namely Finjan [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]), even governments are severely impacted by this.

Botnet 'ensnares government PCs'



[...]

The Cabinet Office would not give details of what the compromised machines had been instructed to do, nor the names of the different government departments that had been infiltrated.


This one particular report mentions Windows, but many similar reports so characteristically do not; they must be too shy. And here we have another new report from a security conference where Microsoft proposes ineffective cure for a disease it created. Microsoft uses this catastrophe to promote TPM, which would have many devastating effects.

Regarding this article, says one person:

The most successful security model would be to deny all Windows computers connection to the Internet. There, all done. No more viruses, no more spam, no more bot nets.


Another says that "this stuff is scary" and the last message explains what Microsoft could be up to.

I don't mind TPM as long as *I* get to control it. I'll even be willing to *permit* it to participate in Microsoft's chain of trust, as long as I can also use it to boot my own OS that *I* trust.

Prediction... As soon as new PCs come with TPM that trusts only Microsoft, we'll see just how trustworthy that whole business/software model is. It'll either get cracked, or the market will head in the other direction. It isn't just Freedom-Heads here, it's also companies that want to control their own images. Customer-controlled TPM is good for them as well as me. Microsoft-controlled TPM is good only for Microsoft.


As we showed before, IBM may be trying to do the same thing to Linux, so we are appending some information below. _______ [1] IBM Brings Trusted Computing to Linux

The architecture involves the "Trusted Platform Module" (TPM) chip that provides hardware storage of private keys, making it impossible for hackers to spoof computer systems. Any attempts to hack into the system would change the system code, which could be easily detected. By adding a new feature to Linux, the research team has successfully performed security checks that go above and beyond checking the first few steps in powering on the system, the feature designed by TCG. The new solution validates the operating system kernel and all application software running on the system. €  €  € 


[2] Cisco, Microsoft, Others Get Together On Security

Microsoft, Cisco Systems and the open-standards Trusted Computing Group each developed their own NAC approaches, which use a variety of software and hardware to boost network security.


[3] Why the world needs openness, not interoperability.

This NAC/NAP lovefest would be laughable if it weren't such a kick-in-the-teeth to the rest of the industry, enterprise IT, and all Internet users. A Cisco/Microsoft oligopoly stalls implementation, stifles innovation, and makes the network less secure. In this way, Cisco and Microsoft are standing in the way of progress.


[4] Trusted Or Treacherous Computing?

Microsoft describes how to revoke rights to render based on 'who the user is, where the user is located, what type of computing device or other playback device the user is using, what rendering application is calling the copy protection system, the date, the time, etc.' Someuch for Microsoft's you-should-have-control assurances.


[5] The Future of Trusted Linux Computing

TC With User Freedom At Helm. The idea of TC in the Linux world is actually a fairly reasonable one. Providing a root-locked, buttoned down environment that system administrators will be able to control the security of the controlled network and those workstations within it.

With the absence of proprietary code in the mix, users will indeed, find themselves more inclined to trust their own administrators to make the best choices under such a controlled environment.


[6] Root-locked Linux for the masses

Eddie Bleasdale, open source evangelist and the man behind NetProject, has a new plan. Secure, managed desktop computing: Linux for the non-techies.

At the heart of the Trusted Computing Project is a €£200 black box, about the size of those funny little Mac boxes, running a root-locked Ubuntu distribution. The user pays an annual fee of €£50 for secure support from a proper Linux geek.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
 
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web