> > At the BIOS level, though? Wouldn't that at least require a reboot to
> > reinitialize it?
>
> No. I've written code to run in protected mode for hardware
> diagnostics, etc. Even things as drastic as protection mode
> don't need rebooting. It is just a bit on some control register. You
> don't have to go through the BIOS or OS to turn the bit on or off.
Let me rephrase that... To get supervisor privileges, you have to
appeal to the current supervisory program or operating system... Once you
have that, you can do anything, especially crash the machine.
_IF_ the serial number control bit is in a privileged register, then
you do need to "get permission" or have the OS or BIOS set/clear it for
you. If not, _any_ application should be able to do that. (Given some
assembly language code, that is.)
Once the serial number is available, the CPU will not broadcast it to
the net. It takes an application program or the operating system to read
the register and use it for some purpose, such as verifying that the CPU
is the CPU it was licensed to run on, or sending it to the web. Anything
along the line between the CPU register and the modem can subvert that
number. This will probably be done in response to a request from the
other end. No doubt some Linux users will have programs that respond with
random numbers.
The only reason most BIOS' force a re-boot, is to make sure that
drastic things like disk drive configurations, etc. are properly updated
in the operating system. (That, and saving the time to write a decent
handshaking setup with the operating system.) Many notebook machines DO
let you jump into the BIOS, change power-down timings and such, and return
to the operating system without having to reboot.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------------------- IMAGINEERING --------------------------
----------------- Every mouse click, a Vote -------------------
---------- Do they vote For, or Against your pages? -----------
--- Have you analyzed your viewer's footprints in the logs? ---
--- Webmaster's Resources: http://www.mall-net.com/webcons/ ---
--- Web Imagineering -- Architecture to Programming CGI-BIN ---
---------------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________________________________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Join The NEW Web Consultants Association FORUMS and CHAT:
Register Today at: http://just4u.com/forums/
Web Consultants Web Site : http://just4u.com/webconsultants
Give the Gift of Life This Year...
Just4U Stop Smoking Support forum - helping smokers for
over three years-tell a friend: http://just4u.com/forums/
To get 500 Banner Ads for FREE
go to http://www.linkbuddies.com/start.go?id=111261
---------------------------------------------------------------------
