Questions tagged [boot]
"Booting" is the process of starting up a computer from the OFF state. This tag is for attacks and security measures relating to the startup routine of computer hardware, firmware, or operating systems.
108 questions
1 vote
0 answers
134 views
Should I restart or power off/on a phone to clear malware in volatile memory? [closed]
Several sources claim one should power off and on mobile devices weekly. While the effect on overall security might be minor it should (among other things) clear temporary files where malicious code ...
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1 vote
1 answer
513 views
Why does Windows force you to do a mandatory restart once in a while? Apparently, its for 'security purposes.'
I haven't needed to restart my computer for a while now, as I just usually shut down when I'm finished, and then reboot when I use Windows again. I dual-boot, so of course I often restart to a ...
- 4,805
0 votes
1 answer
292 views
Why is the boot key used to access the encrypted SAM database hashes?
A quick something I’ve been wondering: why is the boot key used to access the encrypted SAM database hashes, (and not another key,) and also what encryption mechanism is actually used to encrypt the ...
- 4,805
1 vote
1 answer
275 views
Creating bootable USB from a compromised OS. Is it safe?
If we buy for instance a laptop with an OS pre-installed e.g. Ubuntu and but the original seller was not reputable and there are doubts with the preinstall. My question is: if we use the laptop to ...
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4 votes
1 answer
2k views
How does measured boot work using TPM
Within the measured boot process, consider a scenario where I aim to create a measurement for a specific piece of code, perhaps, for illustrative purposes, a potentially malicious operating system. so ...
- 141
1 vote
2 answers
240 views
Isolating encrypted and unecnrypted Windows installations and protecting the boot loader
I want to use my PC both for gaming and for stuff like keeping cryptocurrency wallets, online banking, etc. I need to install games as admin but of course I don't want them to be able to access my ...
- 111
2 votes
1 answer
881 views
In a secure boot bootloader chain, does a bootloader image contain the RootCA certificate of the next bootloader?
This is coming from Qualcomm's Secure Boot explanation. https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qcomm-martech/dm-assets/documents/secure-boot-image-authentication_11.30.16.pdf Within it, it explains that ...
- 121
2 votes
1 answer
909 views
Using a TPM for host authentication during PXE boot
I have a stateless machine that is PXE booting from some host, and I'm curious if there is some clever way to achieve host authentication by only using the TMP (No UEFI Secure Boot). For obvious ...
- 599
48 votes
2 answers
14k views
Does rebooting a phone daily increase your phone's security?
Recently, the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave some advice to regularly reboot your phone to boost its security. Apparently this advice is somewhat commonly given to legislators. This ...
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0 votes
1 answer
230 views
Will using a hard drive with the MBR virus cause the main system to be infected?
If I have an old hard drive and assume it has an MBR virus. If I install it on my computer using a SATA cable as the D drive to store data, will my system drive (C drive) be affected by the MBR virus?
- 31
0 votes
1 answer
397 views
If I disable CSM (Compatibility Support Module) in UEFI settings, will it protect me from malware that infected MBR boot sector?
As far as I understand, when in CSM mode, UEFI boots using MBR boot sector (from internal hard drive, external USB Flash drive, etc). And when in non-CSM mode, UEFI ignores whole existence of MBR boot ...
- 115
1 vote
3 answers
840 views
Understanding FDE: Is the encrypted Linux protected against a compromised boot volume?
I use this initramfs-based FDE on my headless server. My motivation is to secure my system against physical tampering. I am aware that securing an untrusted hardware is not possible. This question is ...
- 113
0 votes
1 answer
1k views
Boot virus on GPT?
I remember that some rare viruses can hide in MBR(it's 512bytes space). It's difficult to be detected and even if I reinstall operating system, the virus won't disappear. But how about it on the new ...
- 31
2 votes
1 answer
326 views
How do you boot from the network using https?
How do you boot a Linux live image from a CDN using Https as boot protocol? The reason for netbooting using a CDN would be to start fresh with a non persistent operating system image. Booting fresh ...
- 265
1 vote
1 answer
247 views
Is it possible to allow only a certain secure USB boot media to boot an UEFI system?
I want to restrict all USB boot media from my system, except for a certain USB boot drive that I declare secure via a certain key. Is this possible using UEFI/Secure Boot/TPM? Maybe via TPM? TPM gets ...
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