Trusted Computing And You

sebFlyte writes "There's an interesting look at the Trusted computing initiative running over on ZDNet UK, written by security guru Bruce Schneier. He looks at the suggestions for best practice made in a recent policy document, and Microsoft's 'Machiavellian manoeuvring' to stall said document. He posits their moves are to avoid having to enforce such best-practice when it comes to Vista's DRM and other copy-restriction technology." From the article: "This sounds great, but it's a double-edged sword. The same system that prevents worms and viruses from running on your computer might also stop you from using any legitimate software that your hardware or operating system vendor simply doesn't like. The same system that protects spyware from accessing your data files might also stop you from copying audio and video files. The same system that ensures that all the patches you download are legitimate might also prevent you from, well, doing pretty much anything."

Comments

Let me be the first

[$RANDOMLUSER]

To say I don't trust "Trusted Computing".

Re:Let me be the first

[garcia]

To say I don't trust "Trusted Computing".

You don't have to trust it. I don't trust the government but I have to put up w/it. Sadly, that's what we have allowed the corporations to become.

Another layer of governance over us.

Ethics

[millahtime]

Well, trusted computing should start with a trustworthy company. That means good, consistant company ethics and ethical people working and representing the company.

Re:Ethics

[garcia]

No, it means that *I* control my computer and content -- not someone or something else that isn't under my direct control.

They need to stop fucking twisting words around because it's good marketing doublespeak.

Call it what it is. A fucking privacy and ethics violation.

Re:Ethics

[Monkelectric]

Yep, and the problem is in the free market you should be able to exercise your dollar votes and not buy their products. However, all the companies who have anything to do with this are all rolling out new hardware at *exactly* the same time so there simply will be no alternative. Longhorn, the new dvd format(s), TCPM compliant motherboards, chipsets, and software, all will be deployed at once. How do you like your omelets now Denver?

Will people realize in time?

[rob_squared]

I'm seriously wondering this. Will people realize the things that Trusted Computing and DRM can do to them? I'm not talking about the slippery slope of "restricting" anti-government documents or mobsters using Trusted Computing to commit crimes. I'm talking about the loss of rights to use media and information THAT YOU BOUGHT, NOT rented, or licensed.

We, as computer users see it coming, just like a satellite sees the storm. We just have to keep broadcasting.

Re:Will people realize in time?

[garcia]

Will people realize the things that Trusted Computing and DRM can do to them?

No, because it's a fucking calculated descision on the parts of hardware and software manufacturers, see here for my comments on this yesterday.

They have known all along that if they do it slowly and under the guise of it being "for your benefit" then people will accept it.

It's really fucking sad that people are willing to put control of everything into someone else's hands. I'm seriously waiting for the day when a corporation will inseminate a woman for you because it's "easier".

You think it's funny or tinfoilish now? Just wait, people will undoubtably get lazy enough that they won't even fuck.

Think of how funny it would have been to you 20 years ago if someone told you that you wouldn't be able to open a document or run a program on your computer because Microsoft didn't give you a code to do so.

Exactly.

Trust...

[Epistax]

You only trust someone if you have good experiences with it again and again.

Like this story, for example.

Flawed Argument

[DreadSpoon]

Your whole argument is based on the assumption that Windows would only allow use of locked formats.

Of course it won't work that way, it'd be corporate/product suicide.

However, only Windows will be able to use these locked formats. Which means that once locked formats come into circulation, you will always forever after have to use the Microsoft-mandated access method. Your old DVDs will still play on your new PC, and your new DVDs will still play on your new PC, but they won't play on your Linux box or your OS X box and so on.

Locked formats will be rare for years to come. It has to wait for market uptake. You won't see locked DVDs released right away, because that means that all existing electronics will be broken, which again would be corporate/product suicide. It'll be years after DRM is already integrated into those electronics, when a large quantity of the user base has those DRM-capable electronics, that you'll see locked formats released on a large scale. Years after people have seen no detriment form DRM and have already accepted their DRM-capable electronics has standard. Years after, for the vast majority of the populace, the DRM actually doesn't hurt them in any way, because it only stops the real thieves and the Free Software nerds.

Re:Why Trusted Computing Will Fail

[Alsee]

While I certianly hope there is a public backlash against Trusted Computing, almost everything you said is wrong. Unfortunately the "common understanding" of Trusted Computing is completely wrong.

Let's say that Microsoft declares that Word 2006 will only open "trusted" documents.

Wrong. It will be able to open both Trusted and Untrusted documents. It will be able to save both Trusted and Untrusted documents. An Untrusted loads can become Trusted saves, but Trusted loads can never become Trusted saves. It has a tendancy to encourage a movement from Untrusted to Trusted and prohibits any movement from Trusted to Untrusted.

The new software can open and save anything. If you have the new software then eveything "just works".

Any normal wordprocessor can only read and save Untrusted documents. A normal word processor cannot touch Trusted documents at all. A normal word processor doesn't work when anyone gives you a Trusted document.

If you have Trusted software it always works, and tends to move more things into the Trust zone. If you have Untrusted software then sometimes it spits out error messages at you.

If Joe and Jane Sixpack find that they can't play their old DVDs on their new PeeCee, they're taking the thing back. If their old MP3s don't play, they'll take it back.

You have it backwards. Old stuff always works on the new computers. The new Trusted Computers "just work". Old DVDs and old MP3s play just fine on the new DRM lockdown computers.

What will happen is that Joe and Jane Sixpack find that they can't play the NEW DVDs and NEW CDs on their OLD PeeCee. Joe and Jane Sixpack will take little Tyffani and Tyler through the McDonalds drive through and get a pair of McHappymeals. And in the pair of McHappyMeals will be a pair of FREE CDs! One CD will be free Britteny Spears Trusted music and the other one will be a Trusted Spongebob Squarepants game. When they get home they will find that the new trusted CDs DON'T WORK in their old obsolete Untrusted computer. Litte Tyffani will yell and scream that she can't play her Britteny Spears CD and ask what's wrong with their crappy old computer... that the CD works just fine on the shiny new computer at her friend's house. Little Tyler will yell and scream that his Spongebob Square pants game doesn't work on their crappy old broken computer... that it works just fine on the shiny new computer at his friend's house. The kids will be whine city: What's wrong with our compyuooooter? Why doesn't it work on our compyuooooter? Why do we have such an old crappy compyuooooter? We need a new compyuooooter!

Joe and Jane Sixpack will go out and buy a new Trusted Enhanced computer just to get the bloody FREE CDs to work and shut the brats up.

Mark my words, there will be all sorts of free crap givaways that only work on the new Trusted Enhanced computers.

Old stuff works on the new computers. New stuff does NOT work on the old computers. If you do not but a Trusted compliant DRM lockdown computer then you're screwed and none of the new stuff works. You get locked out of everything new.

as long as they have to support legacy data, they can't totally lock down the system

Wrong. They *DO* support legacy data. It is all of the NEW data that gets totally locked down. It is all of the NEW software that gets totally locked down, but it can still real old unlocked data. It's the NEW websites that will be totally locked down, unviewable unless you have a Trusted Browser. A Trusted webbrowser can see all of the websites, it is normal old webbrowsers that get locked out of the new websites.

Yes, at first very few websites will be willing to lockout everyone with a nonTrusted browser, but there are MANY reasons for them to do so and the number of such sites will only increase as more of the public is handed Trusted compliant machines. One of the primary reasons for websites to do this is to lock out anyone from using pop-up blockers or ad-blocke