Re: [tlug] Flash Memory History & BIOS Durability (or lack thereof)

[Stephen Lee <sl-tlug@example.com>]

Edward Middleton <edward.middleton@example.com> wrote:
> There was a bit of a controversy when flash roms were introduced because 
> it meant you could potentially plant viruses in the BIOS and they would 
> be pretty hard to detect & remove.  Obviously this wasn't possible with 
> a EPROM[1].

People were sane back then, so you needed to move a jumper on the
motherboard before you can flash the BIOS.

That jumper then became just a CMOS setting, although a reset was still
needed to change it.

Nowadays that has mostly disappeared also, or defaulted to the
dangerous state, all in the name of convenience, just so you can flash
the BIOS directly from inside Windows.  It is a disaster waiting to
happen IMO.

-- 
Stephen Lee <sl-tlug@example.com>