Software Upgradable BIOS (PC)

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Article #4377

#4377

From: Jeroen. W. Pluimers
Date: Sat, 25 May 1991 03:02

38 lines
1835 bytes

>Intel has announced a chip which would allow users to upgrade their
>BIOS using a floppy disk.  The term I saw was "erasable programmable
>read-only memory (EPROM)," but more likely the actual technology
>in the chip is EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM) or
>EAROM (electrically alterable ROM).

>From what I understand this is quite common, most ROM BIOS
manufacturers use EEPROMS which can be repogrammed when you have:
a) the new EEPROM image (on disk or as an (EEP)ROM)
b) and EEPROM programming device that can program that kind of EEPROM
c) a very strong UV lamp to erase a programmed EEPROM

At first sight I wouldn't be too much afraid from what Intel says
now. It would be a whole other story if PC's became able to deliver
the programming voltages and some way of eraseing pieces of an
EEPROM. That way, virusses might possibly alter the BIOS in such a
way a virus would be effective from before the POST and protect
itself in a very nasty way.

Cheers,
Jeroen W. Pluimers

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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw
From: PLUIMERS@rulcri.leidenuniv.nl (Jeroen. W. Pluimers)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Software Upgradable BIOS (PC)
Message-ID: <0002.9105281939.AA08091@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 25 May 91 03:02:00 GMT
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