Secure Boot Debate

Comments debate the effectiveness of UEFI Secure Boot in preventing boot-time attacks and malware, its compatibility with non-Windows OS like Linux via custom keys, and misconceptions about it enforcing vendor lock-in.

📉 Falling 0.5x Security
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#7135
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Keywords

MS US secureboot.html ARM BIOS IME rodsbooks.com T2 AFAIK TPM secure boot boot secure uefi microsoft bootloader disable keys ms security

Sample Comments

Iv Jul 7, 2017 View on HN

Doesn't this prevent using UEFI secure boot mechanisms?

goodpoint Dec 2, 2024 View on HN

secure boot does not solve such problem.

justaj Apr 2, 2021 View on HN

Wouldn't something like Secure Boot help against that though?

Black101 Jul 17, 2021 View on HN

There is no way that is true the way it is going with UEFI, secure boot, etc...

bubblethink Sep 28, 2018 View on HN

No secure boot doesn't prevent this directly. Secure boot checks for the booting OS. Boot guard is what checks the booting BIOS.

1oooqooq Nov 28, 2024 View on HN

if you can add keys and sign things on the fly secure boot doesn't matter. it only protects you from downward payloads. if the one above the one that cares about secureboot is compromised its useless. you're confused because it's sold differently from this.

wvenable Mar 23, 2022 View on HN

Secure boot works fine on PCs -- it's not all or nothing.

geofft Jan 1, 2013 View on HN

Secure Boot cannot possibly be useful to prevent the installation of other operating systems. Microsoft has a website where they will accept other operating systems to be signed, and there are multiple non-MS operating systems in existence that will boot with no fuss on a machine with Secure Boot enabled. The claim that Secure Boot is bad because MS could decide to stop signing Linux is as ridiculous as the claim that Authenticode is bad because MS could decide to stop signing Firefox, or that H

ktosiek Jun 11, 2012 View on HN

It concerns computers with Secure Boot - technology that checks if bootloader that you are loading is signed (which is supposed to mean it's safe). It will be needed for Windows 8 certification as optional on x86 and impossible to turn off on ARM - and those things aren't easy to hack around.Of course, the problem is whose keys will be in the trusted set in your BIOS? The ones from Microsoft for sure (and they will happily sign anything they are asked to by US intelligence), and probably some

foxfluff Sep 12, 2021 View on HN

Secure boot doesn't preclude using any software you like.