GEEZER
8th September 2002, 08:24
As much as I hate to say so, the next time I buy a computer I might just forget about Windows and Intel processors..... I got this article from the PC Answers magazine:
"In Microsoft's computing future, trusted computing will involve 24-hour computer monitoring and security to make sure you don't abuse your PC. Neil Mohr takes a peek into his crystal ball..."
Microsoft's tursted computing future involves one thing: not trusting you to use your own PC. This move, led by Microsoft and Intel through an organisation called the Trusted Computer Platform Alliance (TCPA), will be heralded by the arrival of a completely new generation of PC hardware and software products. This new generation will leave you wondering what all the fuss was about when Microsoft introduced product activation for windows XP.
TCPA is based on a hardware authentication system, with the new operating sysstem tying into this new layer. It works by using a public key encryption scheme that's managed externally - effectively a global digital rights management system (or DRM). The difference here is that the DRM will be built directly into your motherboard chipset and processor.
Because it's been built into the heart of your system it'll kick in the moment you boot your PC up, watchin for any activity that breaks its trusted state, which could include running or copying untrusted software or files. It will be built into the BIOS and maintained from there. Once the OS starts it takes over the tracking.
The other side is run by the new hardware, currently named Fritz. The Fritz chip is a hardware implemented public encryption system. If you try to run or copy protected software the system has to certify this with the third party through the encryption system, which effectively ties software and files to a single system. If the system isn't trusted, it's deemed to be using the software in an illegal manner and the system will block it's use.
At their heart Palladium (part of the next version of Windows) and TCPA provide a vastly powerful system for controlling and limiting what can be copied and run on computers, as well as limiting what they're used for. This can provide some powerful tools - documents could be locked to a specific computer or set of computers. For home use it can remove the threat of viruses, eliminate email spam and provide complete system security. The problem is that someone has to decide what's trusted and what's not. If a company decides a document shouldn't exist it could instantly be removedL censorship on a global basis.
While the system might be lauded for providing unsurpassed protection for the user, it's clear that it's primarily aimed to help the entertainment industry find a foolproof way of controlling distribution of its digital content. More worrying is the level of censorship and exclusion this will provide to certain bodies, such as governments and large corporations (are we cynical in suggesting these are groups that should never be trusted?) :dead:
"In Microsoft's computing future, trusted computing will involve 24-hour computer monitoring and security to make sure you don't abuse your PC. Neil Mohr takes a peek into his crystal ball..."
Microsoft's tursted computing future involves one thing: not trusting you to use your own PC. This move, led by Microsoft and Intel through an organisation called the Trusted Computer Platform Alliance (TCPA), will be heralded by the arrival of a completely new generation of PC hardware and software products. This new generation will leave you wondering what all the fuss was about when Microsoft introduced product activation for windows XP.
TCPA is based on a hardware authentication system, with the new operating sysstem tying into this new layer. It works by using a public key encryption scheme that's managed externally - effectively a global digital rights management system (or DRM). The difference here is that the DRM will be built directly into your motherboard chipset and processor.
Because it's been built into the heart of your system it'll kick in the moment you boot your PC up, watchin for any activity that breaks its trusted state, which could include running or copying untrusted software or files. It will be built into the BIOS and maintained from there. Once the OS starts it takes over the tracking.
The other side is run by the new hardware, currently named Fritz. The Fritz chip is a hardware implemented public encryption system. If you try to run or copy protected software the system has to certify this with the third party through the encryption system, which effectively ties software and files to a single system. If the system isn't trusted, it's deemed to be using the software in an illegal manner and the system will block it's use.
At their heart Palladium (part of the next version of Windows) and TCPA provide a vastly powerful system for controlling and limiting what can be copied and run on computers, as well as limiting what they're used for. This can provide some powerful tools - documents could be locked to a specific computer or set of computers. For home use it can remove the threat of viruses, eliminate email spam and provide complete system security. The problem is that someone has to decide what's trusted and what's not. If a company decides a document shouldn't exist it could instantly be removedL censorship on a global basis.
While the system might be lauded for providing unsurpassed protection for the user, it's clear that it's primarily aimed to help the entertainment industry find a foolproof way of controlling distribution of its digital content. More worrying is the level of censorship and exclusion this will provide to certain bodies, such as governments and large corporations (are we cynical in suggesting these are groups that should never be trusted?) :dead: