Vulnerability Development mailing list archives
Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible
From: "Juan M. Courcoul" <courcoul () campus qro itesm mx>
Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 01:21:14 -0600
"Mike A. Harris" wrote:
On Tue, 6 Mar 2001, Ma Gores wrote:Quoting from someone, somewhere, else... "cih erased the software stored on the chip... it should be obvious from that that it is software damage, not hardware damage...But its damage is just as bad"Semantics, maybe.A dead motherboard that has had it's BIOS wiped out by a virus, is a dead motherboard. The cost of repairing this problem is significant enough to most people that it would basically mean purchasing a new motherboard. In other words, the "problem" caused, has a pricetag associated with it. While no physical damage is done, and the BIOS could certainly be replaced, the cost factors basically equivilate that the hardware is destroyed for all practical purposes for 99% of the general case. Joe average does not have the knowhow, nor the EPROM burner in his desk drawer to fix the problem. Hell, the computer store probably couldn't help him much either. *I* know how to fix such problems, but if I had my BIOS flashed, for all intents and purposes, I would be buying a new board too most likely because I don't have ready steady access to a EPROM flasher, not to mention the time and effort involved in trying to track down a copy of a rom - and thus time == money, yada yada.
Nope, a new board is basically your only option. Unless EEPROM technology changed significantly since I last checked, you cannot flash the chip "on the board", cause the rest of the electronics will act up and introduce an error factor. So, pop the chip out, flash it and pop it back in, right ? Before flasheable BIOS, this was an option, for the EPROM was socket-mounted to allow upgrades; then some beancounter somewhere had the "brilliant idea" of saving on sockets by making the thing self-reprogrammable and soldering the EEPROM on the board. Ok, so let's unsolder the thing and we'll just solder a new one back in. Well, unless you have access to a well-equipped board reworking facility (a bit harder to come by than an EEPROM burner...), I wish you the best of luck trying to remove an SMM (surface mount) device without frying the multilayer board. Ain't progress wonderful ? JMC
Current thread:
- Modern hw-killing virus feasible Pavel Machek (Mar 06)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Robert Collins (Mar 06)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Bart (Mar 06)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Ma Gores (Mar 06)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible fejed (Mar 07)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Mike A. Harris (Mar 07)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible A T (Mar 07)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Juan M. Courcoul (Mar 08)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Syzop (Mar 08)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Crist Clark (Mar 08)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Gregor Binder (Mar 09)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Ma Gores (Mar 06)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Daniel Newby (Mar 09)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Blue Boar (Mar 07)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Lincoln Yeoh (Mar 08)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Vitaly McLain (Mar 08)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Blue Boar (Mar 08)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Vortex (Mar 25)
- Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible Jonathan James (Mar 25)