Remote ‘Kill Switch’ Added to Intel’s Newest Processor.

[MohawkAngel]

It's not new. Far Far long time ago the old intel had each one a serial number to recognize them over internet and used for transactions. But after people complained for privacy they stopped using this feature. My Celeron 1.2 still have it and i remember that even pentium 667 had it.

 

[Frizz]

No matter what they say it's intended for, in the end it is just another form of control. I initially planned to move to Bulldozer anyways.

A "Remote Kill Switch" and a "Clock Limiter" that comes with the CPU you've spent hard earned money for, the idea just really sucks to me, so this is the last straw for me. Although my current i7 CPU is definitely worth every cent I've worked for so I don't know why they just couldn't keep things as they are

 

[<<Onafets>>]

I guess they'll figure out the hard way when people move to bulldozers to shovel sandy bridges out of the way...Get it! That was a PUN!

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Remember, Google (and other search providers) has an unbelivable amount on of data on virtually everyone that uses the Internet. The reason why they keep that information safe and secure is so that they don't alienate their customers (everyone who uses their software).

Intel is going to behave the same way with this. If it isn't the owner of it calling it in, it should take nothing short of a court order for Intel to do it for anyone else. Most likely, the feature will be completely disabled unless you register your processor with Intel (the software aspect of it) much like OnStar is useless without first registering your VIN with OnStar.


Still, I could see that technology being very useful on a $40,000 stolen vehicle moving at 80+ MPH on the highway with five cops in pursuit but I can't really see that being useful on a $1000 laptop that typically doesn't pose any serious threat to anyone. As such, the "fear" comes into play when Uncle Sam twists what "threat" means and tries to pressure Intel into killing some poor hacker's computer. The sad thing is that such behavior isn't a stretch of the imagination. My hope is that Intel would fight tooth and nail to protect their customers from governmental oppression.

 

[Yukikaze]

Still, I could see that technology being very useful on a $40,000 stolen vehicle moving at 80+ MPH on the highway with five cops in pursuit but I can't really see that being useful on a $1000 laptop that typically doesn't pose any serious threat to anyone.

The whole concept of this is not aimed for controlling people (although it could definitely be used for that) but rather for disabling stoled corporate property. Our laptops at work already have a similar remote disable ability in their chipsets somewhere - It is nothing new. Intel's main customers are large OEMs, and they are probably the ones who requested in on behalf of their large corporate customers. This thing needs to be enabled from the machine itself, and if it is not enabled, it will not function.

 

[motasim]

... Sandy Bridge CPUs are made in occupied Palestine (aka Israel), right? Could the Zionists have something to do with it? ... it seems like one of their ideas in their continuous efforts to control the world ... they already control most of the world's media, so why stop there? ...

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

I think we should avoid runaway diarrhea of the mind here. That's how you get most conspiracy theories and ancient alien programs on the history channel. Yukikaze's explanation makes sense and has the plus of not being insane.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Not a traitor, but they are talking espionage. The person that stole the info,however is an american at the pentagon, in the army and is a traitor.Assange has the right to print it, but the person who gave him the info should be prosecuted. And yes, this coincides quite nicely with the internet regulation they are wanting to pass. Problem though is this: the FCC is voting on Dec 21 amongst themselves whether they will regulate the internet, without a bill from congress, who previosly voted it down, and without permission from the courts, who already ruled they could not do it. No matter what, they are gonna regulate the internet, whether we like it or not. They are simply going to deem themselves as having the power to do so, just like the EPA has deemed themselves to have the power to decide what gasses are harmful to the environment, with no oversight. Sorry a bit off topic..

So the US is trying to become the new China.... the very country the Western World has been criticising for the past 30 years for their Human rights record

 

[W1zzard]

please dont tell me anyone who read the original article assumed "can be remotely disabled via 3g" means that the cpu has a little cellphone chip inside that is always on and is just waiting for "kill" input

also it seems this feature is for a special processor called "core vpro" that you probably have to pay extra for

 

[motasim]

I think we should avoid runaway diarrhea of the mind here. That's how you get most conspiracy theories and ancient alien programs on the history channel. Yukikaze's explanation makes sense and has the plus of not being insane.

... I was clearly joking, and I'm surprised that you didn't get it, was it so hard to understand? Anyway; for the second part; the Zionists control over world media is a fact and not fiction, and definitely not a part of any conspiracy theory. If you are interested I can refer you to some enlightening references ...

PS ... why were you offended? using terms like "diarrhea of the mind" and "not being insane" is uncalled for ... please keep the discussion within the limits of decency ...

 

[fusionblu]

please dont tell me anyone who read the original article assumed "can be remotely disabled via 3g" means that the cpu has a little cellphone chip inside that is always on and is just waiting for "kill" input

also it seems this feature is for a special processor called "core vpro" that you probably have to pay extra for

I heard of the vpro series of the Intel Processors too, their main purpose though is to be disabled in the event that the system it is a part of, such as a laptop, is stolen so that the system it is a part of cannot be accessed. Also with the cell phone chip you would find that it would mean that the processor can be traced without the need of the internet which does traces through the use of IP addresses, not a bad way to counter proxies and those hiding behind them.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

... I was clearly joking, and I'm surprised that you didn't get it, was it so hard to understand? Anyway; for the second part; the Zionists control over world media is a fact and not fiction, and definitely not a part of any conspiracy theory. If you are interested I can refer you to some enlightening references ...

PS ... why were you offended? using terms like "diarrhea of the mind" and "not being insane" is uncalled for ... please keep the discussion within the limits of decency ...

And I'm surprised you didn’t realize it was a general statement, as there was no @ and plenty of conspiracy crap was mentioned before your post. As for the joke, how could someone know you're not serious when you're seriously going on about zionists. The media is naturally controlled by the wealthy, the religious label they’re stuck with at birth is irrelevant as most are non-practicing. They align their religious views with whatever will get them the most reader/viewership to maintain that wealth, regardless of their personal beliefs. Or at least that’s how it works in the states. Now when someone brings some random polarizing off topic crap into a thread you can always expect me to respond negatively. Hot button issues should simply never be mentioned here unless directly relating to tech.

 

[MatTheCat]

I guess they'll figure out the hard way when people move to bulldozers to shovel sandy bridges out of the way...Get it! That was a PUN!

Perhaps the two CPU's are then very aptly named.

My mind was made up for quite some time to get a 2600K the very minute I could get my hands on one. But now, bulldozer all the way (Unless I hear something similar about AMD).

oops...erm..what Wizzard and Yakiyuze said.

But I will keep my eyes peeled to see if the remote kill switch is a default feature on the Sandy Bridge chips or not. The article seems to suggest or at least states nothing to suggest that it isn't.

 

[newtekie1]

Not even.
Device serial number is all they would need, and of course that the driver for the chipset in the OS was enabled to look for the kill bit.

They would also have to know where to send the kill bit. If it is over a 3G network, the machine obivously has to have a 3G reciever, and they have to know the IP for the 3G reciever given by the network provider or the MAC address.

If they are doing it over wireless or LAN connection again they have to know MAC address or IP of the interface card to send the signal to.

The processor by itself isn't smart enough to constantly be monitoring the airwaves for the kill command, it has to be specifically sent to the machine.

It has nothing to do with the driver for the chipset in the OS being enabled to look for anything. Read the article again, the kill switch can be activated even why the OS isn't running. Meaning it can be activate when sitting at the BIOS screen, or when booted off a bootable CD to bypass the original OS.

please dont tell me anyone who read the original article assumed "can be remotely disabled via 3g" means that the cpu has a little cellphone chip inside that is always on and is just waiting for "kill" input

also it seems this feature is for a special processor called "core vpro" that you probably have to pay extra for

I think that is exactly what the "AMD is the way to go because of this" people are assuming.

 

[AphexDreamer]

The only people this seems good for is those who have extremely private data and don't want anyone to see whats on their HDD/SSD.

Otherwise its completely moot. If someone steals your laptop and you turn it off, they are just going to steal another one.

 

[motasim]

And I'm surprised you didn’t realize it was a general statement, as there was no @ and plenty of conspiracy crap was mentioned before your post.

Sorry, I thought that you were replying to me since it was sent directly after my post, my mistake.

As for the joke, how could someone know you're not serious when you're seriously going on about zionists.

The big grin should have given me away there!

The media is naturally controlled by the wealthy, the religious label they’re stuck with at birth is irrelevant as most are non-practicing. They align their religious views with whatever will get them the most reader/viewership to maintain that wealth, regardless of their personal beliefs. Or at least that’s how it works in the states.

Not all Jews are Zionists, in fact only a few are, and there are some non-Jew Zionists as well. Zionism has nothing to do with religion, it's only about power and influence, although it uses religion often to facilitate achieving certain objectives.

Now when someone brings some random polarizing off topic crap into a thread you can always expect me to respond negatively. Hot button issues should simply never be mentioned here unless directly relating to tech.

In this point you are right; one should not bring in controversial political topics to a tech forum, it just doesn't fit. Then again, you are not a moderator, so don't self-appoint your self as one.

 

[Thatguy]

I support this feature for users who like to remotely turn on and off the computer. However, if other 3rd parties have this feature, and it is known to the public, I will simply not buy the processor, cause I am paranoid, as well as scared to death of the government.

I understand that some modern computers do in fact have a kill switch already, such as shown when Israel flew in planes under the Iranian radars, only to have the radars not fire on them, and mysteriously not work.

anyone who would leave their computer setup for such things is a absolute fucking fool.

 

[DrPepper]

Yeah I'm sure intel has nothing better to do than disable their customers CPU's for lols and lose billions. Get a grip people, there is obviously a demand and a reasonable explanation for it.

 

[W1zzard]

i remember seeing a presentation that "security in case of loss/theft" is the 2nd most requested feature for mobile users, like 60%

 

[cadaveca]

Yeah...lost a phone or laptop with sensitive info? No problem.

However, real security requires all hardware have some sort of function like this..I suppose a TPM module might be the second part of it.

I understand why they'd so this, and how it's useful, but that doesn't mean I like it.

 

[MatTheCat]

Yeah I'm sure intel has nothing better to do than disable their customers CPU's for lols and lose billions. Get a grip people, there is obviously a demand and a reasonable explanation for it.

No.

They are not going to to do that as that would be suicidal. But the implementation of this technology is definitely a step further towards a situation where censorship by remote CPU locking is possible.

I for one don't want to live in a world like the world that is slowly developing around us and oppose any incremental measures that serve towards the creation of a tightly controlled and suppresed global population.

This is one of them.

 

[ShiBDiB]

Holy shit people, take off the tinfoil hats.

 

[MohawkAngel]

Conspiracy going on! Intel and Santa Claus working hand in hand to kill random computers to make more sales! They will control what you buy over the net to share it with publicist and make you expense!!! Intel make money, Santas make money with transport and big corporations makes moneys by selling their products....Damns thats one of a hell conspiracy going there !!!!

 

[MatTheCat]

Conspiracy going on! Intel and Santa Claus working hand in hand to kill random computers to make more sales! They will control what you buy over the net to share it with publicist and make you expense!!! Intel make money, Santas make money with transport and big corporations makes moneys by selling their products....Damns thats one of a hell conspiracy going there !!!!

Yeah yeah. Whilst the creeping confiscation and infringment of basic freedoms spreads, lets all just laugh at people who dare to notice the changes that are going on.

I will no doubt see you and all the other ignorant asses in the Happy Work Camp for ignorant stupid proles in 20-30 years time.

 

[ShiBDiB]

Yeah yeah. Whilst the creeping confiscation and infringment of basic freedoms spreads, lets all just laugh at people who dare to notice the changes that are going on.

I will no doubt see you and all the other ignorant asses in the Happy Work Camp for ignorant stupid proles in 20-30 years time.