Filed under: Desktops, Hardware, Bad Apple, Apple, Mac Pro
Apple Drops Trusted Computing
When Apple announced the move to Intel processors, there was a good deal of talk regarding whether the company would make use of the content protection offered through Intel's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to ensure OSx86 could only be run on Apple's own hardware. Although Apple did eventually include the Trusted Computing chips in the machines, it seems that they never actually used them. For some however, the mere presence of the chip without a a statement from Apple as to what it was being used for was enough to make them switch away from Macs. Amit Singh brings news that with the introduction of the Mac Pro, the TPM is absent from the motherboards of Apple's new machines; something that should lay to rest any remaining conspiratorial fears. Singh had previously released a piece of software that allowed users of machines containing the TPM to use Trusted Computing to protect their own data. [via BoingBoing]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nicholas said 1:19PM on 11-02-2006
This doesn't seem to be a good thing, unless one really is paranoid. The TPM offered the hope of several useful functions, including one avenue by which a computer owner could ensure that only authorized software runs. While these uses have yet to materialise in the real world, a properly implemented hardware approach to security will offer end-user benefits and is not something always to be condemned.
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Mark D. said 1:47PM on 11-02-2006
Through true, Nicholas, the risk remains that content accessed on the machine could be restricted with the same technology. Considering the hard push for more DRM in the developing digital marketplace it would only be a matter of time before the hardware would be used to restrict or withhold access. Cory makes a good point in his BoingBoing post, if Apple had promised that the chip was for user security and not to exert control over the user's machine, then the inclusion of TPM would be a boon for privacy and security.
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Sam said 3:36PM on 11-02-2006
I read through Amit's page on the TPM, but the purposes of enabling the chip were still fairly abstract to me. Can anyone explain in simple english the benefits of using the chip?
Can you hardware encrypt your whole hard drive, or just use it to encrypt some files? For the benefit of those who are not familiar with advanced security methods, an explanation might be beneficial.
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Dan Lurie said 4:34PM on 11-02-2006
Sam,
Essentially what TPM provides is the ability for content owners (either individual users or corporations) to control on what machines and with which applications (and even which users) can access files. The most obvious use-case for TPM would be Apple putting something into OS X which checks to see that the proper TPM chip is present on the motherboard (thus ensuring that it is an Apple machine) before booting the system. Additionally, content with DRM can more easily be locked to individual hardware devices.
What Amit did was create a program which allowed individual users to protect their own files with TPM. So, for instance, I could specify that I only want hello_world.txt to be able to open in Text Edit and only on my PowerBook, and only when I'm logged in.
Hope this helps,
Dan
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