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Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

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Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#71

Post by Rooster61 »

jseliger wrote: post #38
sneak wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s astounding. Suddenly my “zero the entire storage, including partition table” methodology which I always somewhat regarded as overkill appears to be reasonable and/or necessary.

Such are the problems Purism is said to be attacking: https://puri.sm/products/librem-13/

After a quick gander, I'm actually more interested in their phone. The idea of a phone that can not and will not track me, and which I know is doing only what I want it to do is pretty damned exciting.

The laptop is certainly nice though.

Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#73

Post by hammock »

cryptonector wrote: post #63
mro_master wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forgot the last part: OEM: Profit

That doesn't happen in the first case. The second case costs less in terms of engineering and PR/reputation, so there's more profit there.

Tell that to Pixel.

Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#74

Post by bediger4000 »

davidw wrote: post #8

Dell Computers running Windows, it looks like?

My question, too. I've got Linux on my Dell laptop, but I still had to read a lot of the article to figure out if my laptop had the RCE. I wish they'd put "Windows" in the article headline, but I guess "market forces" prevent them from doing that. I am a firm Free Market person, but this does inconvenience me personally.

Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#75

Post by cryptonector »

tssva wrote: post #67
cryptonector wrote: post #50

OEM: Let's differentiate our otherwise commodity hw product! OEM: I know, let's add value with bundled software the customer can't uninstall! Then the bundled software turns out to (inevitably) be useless vulnerable garbage. Inevitably because a) the customer doesn't need it, b) it's engineered with all the effort that normally goes into adware for captive audiences (i.e., _minimal_), which means it will be vulnerabl…

The author chose to download the software from the OEM and the software can be uninstalled.

My impression was that a normal user wouldn't know not to take the offer, but fair point.

Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#77

Post by zknz »

_bxg1 wrote: post #66
Tehnix wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like a WiFi at a café or airport?

I was thinking in enterprise contexts, but, yes, that's fair. Still, anybody doing anything important on public WiFi should be using a VPN.

How will a vpn protect the user if the target laptop is listening on a public wifi connection?

Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#78

Post by mwexler »

tssva wrote: post #67
cryptonector wrote: post #50

OEM: Let's differentiate our otherwise commodity hw product! OEM: I know, let's add value with bundled software the customer can't uninstall! Then the bundled software turns out to (inevitably) be useless vulnerable garbage. Inevitably because a) the customer doesn't need it, b) it's engineered with all the effort that normally goes into adware for captive audiences (i.e., _minimal_), which means it will be vulnerabl…

The author chose to download the software from the OEM and the software can be uninstalled.

Dell SupportAssistant was preinstalled on my machine. It was the easiest way to find Dell's customized driver updates since they are difficult to find (which of the many network drivers does my machine need?). It's sad that it has problems, but it's supposed to make maintenance easier. HP has something similar.

Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#79

Post by Skunkleton »

Rooster61 wrote: post #71
jseliger wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such are the problems Purism is said to be attacking: https://puri.sm/products/librem-13/

After a quick gander, I'm actually more interested in their phone. The idea of a phone that can not and will not track me, and which I know is doing only what I want it to do is pretty damned exciting. The laptop is certainly nice though.

If it has a SIM card, it is tracking you. If you leave Bluetooth or WiFi enabled, then it is being tracked. All the Librem 5 can do is 1) give trusted RF kill switches, and 2) not add additional tracking on top.

I will probably still buy one if it materializes, and is functional.

Re: Remote Code Execution on Most Dell Computers

#80

Post by singron »

ravar wrote: post #54
jseliger wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such are the problems Purism is said to be attacking: https://puri.sm/products/librem-13/

For anyone who has bought one of their laptops, how does the build quality compare to an old macbook or thinkpad?

I have a librem 15. The screws inside the case seem to come loose every once in a while. Also I wish the body was a little more rigid (I'm guessing the librem 13 doesn't have this issue since it's lighter and smaller). Otherwise I like it. The speakers also aren't very loud so I often have to make the volume higher than 100% to hear clearly. I think the trackpad is fine using libinput (I haven't tried other drivers).

I didn't want to use PureOS so I installed NixOS and everything seems to work fine.

I used to have an issue where the fan would get stuck on high after resume, but I think that was fixed when I updated coreboot to the latest version.

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