DRM - built-in to your motherboard

DRM stands for “Digital Rights Management”. It is a technology that allows someone _OTHER THAN YOU_ to control what goes on inside of your computer.

As reported by Digit Mag of England, Intel has quietly announced a new DRM technology that will be built-in to it’s new chips.

“Officially launched worldwide on the May 26, the new offerings come DRM-enabled and will, at least in theory, allow copyright holders to prevent unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted materials from the motherboard rather than through the operating system as is currently the case.”

Want to watch a movie you paid for on your Linux computer without DRM approved software watching over you? Forget it!

This is nothing new. The big media players have wanted DRM software (prove-them-guilty-first software) installed onto your computers for years, and with Intel and Microsoft playing into their hands, you are going to see more and more of this.

What’s interesting is how this particular form of DRM from Intel is shaping up. They are going after complete control of your computer regardless of what operating system you are running.

“Intel is heavily promoting what it calls “active management technology” (AMT) in the new chips as a major plus for system administrators and enterprise IT. Understood to be a sub-operating system residing in the chip’s firmware, AMT will allow administrators to both monitor or control individual machines independent of an operating system.”

“Additionally, AMT also features what Intel calls “IDE redirection” which will allow administrators to remotely enable, disable or format or configure individual drives and reload operating systems and software from remote locations, again independent of operating systems.”

Now what in the devil makes Intel think that crackers (hackers with evil intentions) won’t figure out how to tap into this little Pandora’s Box?

Just imagine - now instead of having to drop a trojan onto your computer, all the slimeware companies have to do is remotely run your computer - no matter what security procedures you have installed.

Windows firewall installed? Linux firewall operating? HA!!! They’ll blow right under them both. Only an external firewall box might help. And forget routers - even your ISP can go right through them.

If you think AMD has any sense of sanity in this realm, think again…

To date it appears that only VIA is keeping it’s finger out of your nose in the CPU/chipset market. Good thing VIA just introduced a faster chip.

If you would like to get some idea of where Microsoft is going with thier DRM technology, such as the _FACT_ that by installing Microsoft software, you gave them the right to do anything to any software or files on your computer that they want to mess with, then you can read quite a bit on it on many websites on the Internet.

Here are a few links for you to start with:
Microsoft’s Digital Rights Management–A Little Deeper
An addition to Microsoft’s End User Licensing Agreement has alarmed Register readers.
Buy Microsoft, Go to Jail?