From: Ben Nell (enemy.cow@gmail.com)
Date: Wed Jun 28 2006 - 20:32:04 EDT
> Part of a small audit i did in the company some laptops are found to
> have a password(either PoP or just to change values in the BIOS).On a
> desktop most of the time all you need is to take out the battery to
> get rid of it, but for laptops (DELL in this case) i know that it is
> in (if memory serve correct) an EPROM.In case of theft i know that the
> PoP will protect form a casual thief but i know first hand that DELL
> has a backdoor system , they send the serial number to the mother
> company (always wanted to say that) they check if it stolen and if not
> they send a password to be entered.
> Now is there a possibility that someone has created a generator for
> these password?Is it known ? I mean security throughout obscurity (if
> you can call it like this in this case) is obviously something that i
> wouldn't trust.
>
> Any comment /Ideas?
Well I don't know about a backdoor password (I doubt that it exists)
but I can tell you that if you take the CMOS battery off of the unit
and remove the unit's battery, the CMOS information (including PoP)
will eventually dissipate. You may have to go days or longer without
providing power to the unit, but this is a sure fire way to reset the
password.
BN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This List Sponsored by: Cenzic
Concerned about Web Application Security?
Why not go with the #1 solution - Cenzic, the only one to win the Analyst's
Choice Award from eWeek. As attacks through web applications continue to rise,
you need to proactively protect your applications from hackers. Cenzic has the
most comprehensive solutions to meet your application security penetration
testing and vulnerability management needs. You have an option to go with a
managed service (Cenzic ClickToSecure) or an enterprise software
(Cenzic Hailstorm). Download FREE whitepaper on how a managed service can
help you: http://www.cenzic.com/news_events/wpappsec.php
And, now for a limited time we can do a FREE audit for you to confirm your
results from other product. Contact us at request@cenzic.com for details.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Sat Apr 12 2008 - 10:56:12 EDT