(reposted from Sysopt Forum)
(Reposted from the Fred Langa's newsletter. Sorry about the crummy formatting. I didn't have time to fix it all.)
Oh No! *Hardware-Based* Phone Home Apps!
It's true: Phoenix, the BIOS people (they make the Phoenix and Award BIOSes), recently launched PhoenixNet, which will work with an advertising-based phone-home app built right into the hardware of your PC. Although the announcement is couched in careful terms, the gist is clear. "...system builders and resellers... can use PhoenixNet's services to distribute... products and services to millions of users." Millions of captive users, that is.
According to the PhoenixNet site:
The PhoenixNet Internet Launch System (ILS) is a patent-pending technology built into the firmware of your PC.
PhoenixNet's technology resides safely within ROM (Read Only Memory). PhoenixNet is activated automatically at the initial launch of your new PC....
Once running, the PhoenixNet software will use your Internet connection to force-feed you downloads, advertising, "sites to see," and support services. The PhoenixNet utility apparently integrates with Windows; it's controlled--- if that's the word--- via a system tray applet.
However, because at least some of this code is operating at the firmware/BIOS level, it's possible for this code to run "below the radar" of the OS or of local desktop firewalls. It could be difficult to know just what this code was doing, or when it's doing it.
Why is Phoenix doing this? The PhoenixNet site (http://home.phoenixnet.com/about/index.html )
spins it one way:
New and experienced users alike face some tough hurdles whentrying to get running on a new computer. From connecting to the Internet to learning about and managing their PC. How do they get started? ... Now, thanks to PhoenixNet, the solution is only a mouse click away. Save time and effort by using PhoenixNet built into the PC.... PhoenixNet services can be individually customized to meet the needs of any user. This service continues over the life of the PC. And it's free.
But despite this happytalk explanation, to me this doesn't look like an impartial third-party advisor to end users, but rather an advertising vehicle. The PhoenixNet site says, "... we select the best providers of these products and enter into partnerships with them in order to provide these tools directly through our network," To me, this sounds like: "Vendors pay us, or give us a cut of their action, to get their stuff listed on PhoenixNet."
PhoenixNet may be hard to avoid: A number of motherboard makers have already agreed to start using PhoenixNet: They include: Abit, AOpen, Chaintech, ECS, EpoX, Giga-Byte, Jetway, Legend-QDI, MSI, Soltek and Zida.
For biased info on this, see the PhoenixNet FAQ at http://home.phoenixnet.com/about/index.html#fre ; for third-party, independent views, see Steve Gibson's GRC newsgroup on 'spyware:" Point your senet/newsgroup reader at news.grc.com, and join the grc.spyware discussion.
(Reposted from the Fred Langa's newsletter. Sorry about the crummy formatting. I didn't have time to fix it all.)
Oh No! *Hardware-Based* Phone Home Apps!
It's true: Phoenix, the BIOS people (they make the Phoenix and Award BIOSes), recently launched PhoenixNet, which will work with an advertising-based phone-home app built right into the hardware of your PC. Although the announcement is couched in careful terms, the gist is clear. "...system builders and resellers... can use PhoenixNet's services to distribute... products and services to millions of users." Millions of captive users, that is.
According to the PhoenixNet site:
The PhoenixNet Internet Launch System (ILS) is a patent-pending technology built into the firmware of your PC.
PhoenixNet's technology resides safely within ROM (Read Only Memory). PhoenixNet is activated automatically at the initial launch of your new PC....
Once running, the PhoenixNet software will use your Internet connection to force-feed you downloads, advertising, "sites to see," and support services. The PhoenixNet utility apparently integrates with Windows; it's controlled--- if that's the word--- via a system tray applet.
However, because at least some of this code is operating at the firmware/BIOS level, it's possible for this code to run "below the radar" of the OS or of local desktop firewalls. It could be difficult to know just what this code was doing, or when it's doing it.
Why is Phoenix doing this? The PhoenixNet site (http://home.phoenixnet.com/about/index.html )
spins it one way:
New and experienced users alike face some tough hurdles whentrying to get running on a new computer. From connecting to the Internet to learning about and managing their PC. How do they get started? ... Now, thanks to PhoenixNet, the solution is only a mouse click away. Save time and effort by using PhoenixNet built into the PC.... PhoenixNet services can be individually customized to meet the needs of any user. This service continues over the life of the PC. And it's free.
But despite this happytalk explanation, to me this doesn't look like an impartial third-party advisor to end users, but rather an advertising vehicle. The PhoenixNet site says, "... we select the best providers of these products and enter into partnerships with them in order to provide these tools directly through our network," To me, this sounds like: "Vendors pay us, or give us a cut of their action, to get their stuff listed on PhoenixNet."
PhoenixNet may be hard to avoid: A number of motherboard makers have already agreed to start using PhoenixNet: They include: Abit, AOpen, Chaintech, ECS, EpoX, Giga-Byte, Jetway, Legend-QDI, MSI, Soltek and Zida.
For biased info on this, see the PhoenixNet FAQ at http://home.phoenixnet.com/about/index.html#fre ; for third-party, independent views, see Steve Gibson's GRC newsgroup on 'spyware:" Point your senet/newsgroup reader at news.grc.com, and join the grc.spyware discussion.
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