Trusted computing: Difference between revisions

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==Why it's considered to be a problem==

One problem highlighted by Stallman and others is user ownership and freedom. Depending on the device, various user actions may be restricted and or completely prohibited. Installing and using third party and or alternative software from operating systems to applications may be restricted and or completely impossible. Modifying certain system settings may be restricted and or completely impossible.

One problem highlighted by Stallman and others is [[Right to own|user ownership and freedom]]. Depending on the device, various user actions may be restricted and or completely prohibited. Installing and using third party and or alternative software from operating systems to applications may be restricted and or completely impossible. Modifying certain system settings may be restricted and or completely impossible.

Other highlighted problems relate to privacy and security. Because of hardware and software level backdoor, an affected system could be vulnerable to remote tampering, sabotage and attack, both when the machine is on and off. Data including files and documents can be edited, encrypted and/or deleted without the user's consent nor knowledge. System settings can be edited without the user's consent nor knowledge.

If a login account, such as a [[Microsoft account]] requires credentials stored in the TPM in order to sign in and unlock data encryption keys, then if the computer with the TPM is damaged, the user may not be able to log in to the account, so they can not decrypt the data on their computer. Thus hardware failure that does not affect storage devices directly can result in data loss and loss of any value associated with the account. It is possible to prevent loss by backing up credentials and decryption keys, but Microsoft Windows, for example, does not do reasonable diligence to make sure people use it safely.

If a login account, such as a [[Microsoft account]] requires credentials stored in the [[wikipedia:Trusted_Platform_Module|TPM]] in order to sign in and unlock data encryption keys, then if the computer with the TPM is damaged, the user may not be able to log in to the account, so they can not decrypt the data on their computer. Thus hardware failure that does not affect storage devices directly can result in data loss and loss of any value associated with the account. It is possible to prevent loss by backing up credentials and decryption keys, but [[Microsoft Windows]], for example, does not do reasonable diligence to make sure people use it safely.

==Examples==

Some notable examples include:

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 ==Why it's considered to be a problem==
-One problem highlighted by Stallman and others is user ownership and freedom. Depending on the device, various user actions may be restricted and or completely prohibited. Installing and using third party and or alternative software from operating systems to applications may be restricted and or completely impossible. Modifying certain system settings may be restricted and or completely impossible.
+One problem highlighted by Stallman and others is [[Right to own|user ownership and freedom]]. Depending on the device, various user actions may be restricted and or completely prohibited. Installing and using third party and or alternative software from operating systems to applications may be restricted and or completely impossible. Modifying certain system settings may be restricted and or completely impossible.
 Other highlighted problems relate to privacy and security.  Because of hardware and software level backdoor, an affected system could be vulnerable to remote tampering, sabotage and attack, both when the machine is on and off. Data including files and documents can be edited, encrypted and/or deleted without the user's consent nor knowledge. System settings can be edited without the user's consent nor knowledge.
-If a login account, such as a [[Microsoft account]] requires credentials stored in the TPM in order to sign in and unlock data encryption keys, then if the computer with the TPM is damaged, the user may not be able to log in to the account, so they can not decrypt the data on their computer.  Thus hardware failure that does not affect storage devices directly can result in data loss and loss of any value associated with the account.  It is possible to prevent loss by backing up credentials and decryption keys, but Microsoft Windows, for example, does not do reasonable diligence to make sure people use it safely.
+If a login account, such as a [[Microsoft account]] requires credentials stored in the [[wikipedia:Trusted_Platform_Module|TPM]] in order to sign in and unlock data encryption keys, then if the computer with the TPM is damaged, the user may not be able to log in to the account, so they can not decrypt the data on their computer.  Thus hardware failure that does not affect storage devices directly can result in data loss and loss of any value associated with the account.  It is possible to prevent loss by backing up credentials and decryption keys, but [[Microsoft Windows]], for example, does not do reasonable diligence to make sure people use it safely.
 ==Examples==
 Some notable examples include: