[Discuss] "The Manchurian Computer"?

[Kent Borg]

Jerry Feldman wrote:
> Why not install Ubuntu 12.04 as the primary OS, with Windows 7
> Professional in a Virtual Machine, The X230 is a 64-bit processor with
> the Virtualization assist available on the CPU, and the setting can be
> done through the BIOS.
>   

I turned on the virtualization bits in the BIOS, I expect to be playing 
with VMs, but I figured the Windows that came installed on it will be 
happier running on the hardware it shipped with, it is nearly in a 
conventional state, it is a "does the hardware work"-reference, etc.  
And I don't need to figure out how to acquire and install Windows, etc. 

I don't expect to actually use Windows.  In my dying notebook I have a 
similar setup, and I long ago broke the Windows partition and haven't 
missed it nor bothered to restore it.


My "Manchurian" musings are on the theory that the Chinese are 
aggressively trying to break into western systems, and that a Chinese 
company (not just Chinese manufacturer) would have extra opportunity to 
embed lots of stuff in products they ship.  Not just software, but in 
firmware and silicon.  Maybe keyboard recorders that can be read back 
given physical control of the computer.  Maybe network hardware features 
that can offer more deluxe remote access.

Running Linux would break (most) Windows assumptions that remote access 
might depend upon, but clever attackers might be more OS agnostic. 

Lenovo seems like the make that would most likely have backdoors.  If 
the US government makes US manufacturers put in backdoors (as has been 
rumored) the Chinese are certainly not above similar behavior.


-kb