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Firewalls and BIOS's and Coreboot (2020)

https://hagensieker.com/2020/11/08/firewalls-and-bioss-and-coreboot/
14•transpute•5h ago

Comments

bustling-noose•4h ago
Protectli makes great hardware. But unfortunately intel runs plenty of code with things like management engine that requires Coreboot to disable during boot. It may also be possible that the cpu refuses to boot with ME disabled so maybe coreboot doesn’t always mean doesn’t run proprietary code. True opensource will maybe happen with RISC-V when it comes to routers fast enough to be installed at home or small offices.

That being said, home routers are the least supported devices when it comes to security and privacy. People are running age old firmwares that are known to have exploits. These things are literally so cheap and poorly maintained anything with openwrt is going to be better.

For offices I would not shy away from recommending protectli with openwrt or opnsense as long as there are people with enough expertise to maintain these things long term.

bayindirh•3h ago
> True opensource will maybe happen with RISC-V

...assuming that the particular processor you're using won't have any proprietary extensions or requirements to bootstrap during power on (with a closed source blob, not unlike onboard firmware).

transpute•2h ago
It's an older device, but NanoPi R4S 2-port router has blob-free Arm RK3399 with OP-TEE support.
bayindirh•2h ago
That's nice to hear. I don't think it's impossible, but regardless of the architecture, one needs to be diligent while selecting hardware.

Your comment is also parallel to what I tried to say.

josephcsible•4h ago
Malicious hardware can fake a successful BIOS flash. I wouldn't start trusting a computer from a random Chinese company just because I flashed Coreboot on it. (To be clear, I'm just saying to avoid that hardware. If you're going to use it anyway, you're definitely better off at least trying this.)
transpute•3h ago
> Malicious hardware can fake a successful BIOS flash.

Intel TXT DRTM measured launch can verify BIOS hash.

Which non-Chinese router hardware would you recommend? PC Engines (Taiwan, Switzerland) is no more.

On a related note, "US House Passes Bill to Assess Threats Posed by Foreign Network Routers", https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43889149

https://protectli.com/about/

> Protectli was founded in 2016 in a Southern California garage with a clear mission: providing reliable, cost-effective, and secure computer equipment that free users from proprietary vendor lock-in and expensive contracts. Today, we’re a global leader in network security hardware with offices across the United States, Canada, and Europe. We are trusted by thousands of customers worldwide, from home users to international corporations.

Trump expected to announce 'Golden Dome' space missile defenses

https://apnews.com/article/golden-dome-missile-defense-trump-space-e74d637feac06edcfde79214d8acf179
1•rawgabbit•47s ago•0 comments

Rust turns 10: How a broken elevator changed software forever

https://www.zdnet.com/article/rust-turns-10-how-a-broken-elevator-changed-software-forever/
1•CrankyBear•55s ago•0 comments

Good vs. Great Animations

https://emilkowal.ski/ui/good-vs-great-animations
1•jiten99•2m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Sleek, Minimal and unique take on Portfolio

https://www.jaydip.me/
1•jdsane•2m ago•0 comments

Investigation Update: Whole Cucumbers Outbreak, May 2025

https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks/whole-cucumbers-05-25/investigation.html
1•bookofjoe•2m ago•0 comments

Microsoft Confirms Emergency Update for Windows Users

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2025/05/19/microsoft-confirms-emergency-update-for-windows-users/
1•miles•4m ago•0 comments

MCP Server for Windows

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/05/19/securing-the-model-context-protocol-building-a-safer-agentic-future-on-windows/
2•danjc•4m ago•0 comments

I spent 15 years developing a tool to make sense of software version numbers

2•a1tern•5m ago•0 comments

About Ghost

https://ghost.org/about
1•vishnumohandas•6m ago•0 comments

Geek Seeks Gold: Search for Dutch Schultz's Missing Treasure [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVUJP0hv5Y8
1•the_decider•7m ago•0 comments

Microsoft-backed UK tech unicorn Builder.ai collapses into insolvency

https://www.ft.com/content/9fdb4e2b-93ea-436d-92e5-fa76ee786caa
3•fallinditch•9m ago•0 comments

Build a realtime chat app with Ably, Next.js and Netlify

https://ably.com/blog/next-js-vercel-ably-chat-update
1•brianmayshair•10m ago•0 comments

Show HN: I built an iOS keyboard for iOS power users

https://flexiboardapp.framer.website/
1•abdullahajmal•11m ago•1 comments

Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20

https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models
2•open-paren•11m ago•0 comments

Dieter Rams Turns 93

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ3oKhHMrPo/
2•bch•12m ago•1 comments

Agent Commerce Kit – Protocols for AI Agent Identity and Payments

https://github.com/catena-labs/ack
4•jfiadeiro•13m ago•1 comments

Chicago Sun-Times publishes made-up books and fake experts in AI debacle

https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/670510/chicago-sun-times-ai-generated-reading-list
5•01-_-•17m ago•1 comments

AI poses a bigger threat to women's work, than men's, says report

https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/ai-poses-bigger-threat-womens-work-than-mens-says-report-2025-05-20/
2•01-_-•18m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Transform Web, Text-to-CAD in the Browser

https://curranjrobertson.github.io/TransformWeb/home.html
1•cad-vc•19m ago•0 comments

By 2035 there will be at least one protest about turning off an AI (2023)

https://longbets.org/930/
2•Mistletoe•22m ago•0 comments

When Textbook RSA Is Used to Protect the Privacy of Users (2018)

https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.03367
1•Tomte•22m ago•0 comments

When Russia and America Coöperated to Avert a Y2K Apocalypse (2019)

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/when-russia-and-america-cooperated-to-avert-a-y2k-apocalypse
1•Tomte•23m ago•0 comments

Neural Networks, Manifolds, and Topology

https://colah.github.io/posts/2014-03-NN-Manifolds-Topology/
1•skadamat•24m ago•0 comments

The Last Letter

https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-last-letters-of-the-condemned-can-teach-us-how-to-live
6•HR01•25m ago•0 comments

How to Stop Students from Cheating with AI

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/how-to-stop-students-from-cheating-with-ai-online-classes-screens-socratic-discussion-068d6a4a
1•agomez314•26m ago•1 comments

Experiment: My book took me a year to write. I had AI recreate it in an hour

https://www.varu.us/blog/book-vs-ai-book
1•levihanlen•26m ago•1 comments

Show HN: Codex powered language agnostic unit test generator

https://github.com/codeintegrity-ai/redgreen
1•coderinsan•26m ago•1 comments

Ultra-Low-Power Spiking Neurons in 7 Nm FinFET Technology

https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.03764
1•PaulHoule•28m ago•0 comments

Remembering Jayant Narlikar, astrophysicist who challenged Big Bang theory

https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/jayant-narlikar-obituary-astrophysicist-big-bang-hoyle-steady-state-theory-125052000863_1.html
2•rustoo•29m ago•0 comments

Coinbase Data Breach Will Lead to People Dying, TechCrunch Founder Says

https://decrypt.co/321076/coinbase-data-breach-will-lead-to-people-dying-techcrunch-founder-says
2•thm•29m ago•0 comments