Welcome • User Guide
ToS • Privacy • Canary
Donate • Bugs • License

©2025 Poal.co

828

No microsoft products. No Bloatware, no spyware. Can be configured, reconfigured, and upgraded whenever you want.

My current clevo laptop is on it's third charging port now and starting to act up again. I am sick of messing with it. The hard drives are compatible with the DIY Framework laptop so I should be able to just put them in there and start it up. I'm sure it will run like crap for a bit until I get all the settings tweaked to the new hardware but that should not be too difficult (hopefully).

I'm about to pull the trigger unless someone smarter than me has a better idea. Looking at you and anyone else who cares to chime in!!

No microsoft products. No Bloatware, no spyware. Can be configured, reconfigured, and upgraded whenever you want. My current clevo laptop is on it's third charging port now and starting to act up again. I am sick of messing with it. The hard drives are compatible with the DIY Framework laptop so I should be able to just put them in there and start it up. I'm sure it will run like crap for a bit until I get all the settings tweaked to the new hardware but that should not be too difficult (hopefully). I'm about to pull the trigger unless someone smarter than me has a better idea. Looking at you @Level101 @stupidbird @AOU and anyone else who cares to chime in!!
You are currently inside a comment thread.
Click here to see all the comments (25).
[–] • 0 pt (edited )

The AMD version is called Platform Security Processor (PSP). It's been in basically everything since around 2013 I think. There is no escaping the "computer inside your computer" these days.

There were specific hardware configurations that the NSA requested (required) of intel that if detected would automatically disable the IME. I am not aware of something like that for AMD but I am sure it exists.

The short version of this is that there is a very small processor (ARM based usually) that is imbedded in your processor that has full access to the data lines in the computer (usb, networking, direct data going to the CPU/GPU/ETC) that cannot be disabled (usually), cannot be directly accessed by the user (usually) and could potentially be used to steal data from you, secrets for encrypted devices, etc.... (I think the Intel one was running some sort of ultra striped *nix like "os").

I did far too much research on this stuff back in the day but it's still around and it's still a "insider threat" for basically every computer in the world.

[–] • 1 pt

So, no defense against this? That's bullshit.

[–] • 1 pt (edited )

The short version is "yes". The long version is "maybe".

Though, its been a fact of life for intel and amd for at least a decade at this point if not even more (I think IME came out in the early 2000's).

The only real solutions against the bullshit is to have very strict network security and blocking inbound/outbound traffic and never putting the computer to sleep and shutting it down every time you are no longer using it (cold boot attacks exist but fully shutting down makes them harder). Oh, you should also make sure the network and power cables are disconnected. I know it sounds stupid/paranoid but it's not. There are a LOT of even college level projects that have exploited "offline" systems.

Can you tell what I spend much of my not-so-free time on?

[–] • 0 pt

Theoretically, could you boot the device without os and wait for traffic. Then block that. Rinse repeat? I mean it’s gotta access the network.

[–] • 0 pt

I would have to look it up again but I don't think it works like that. Though, It does run pre-boot so there is that.

[–] • 1 pt

So if it’s OS independent, Then it has to comm at some base level I’d think.