[ale] SSH attempts

Jim Kinney jim.kinney at gmail.com
Mon Sep 19 13:41:38 EDT 2011


Sun systems had a password lock on boot and bios(whatever Sun called it)
that was NOT erasable with a jumper.  Lost password meant new board and
LARGE repair bill.
Admins who were evil would document a wrong bootup password so their
dismissal would cause pain.
On Sep 19, 2011 1:01 PM, "Michael B. Trausch" <mike at trausch.us> wrote:
> On Mon, 2011-09-19 at 12:56 -0400, Bob Toxen wrote:
>> On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 12:30:45PM -0400, Michael B. Trausch wrote:
>> > On Mon, 2011-09-19 at 12:10 -0400, Bob Toxen wrote:
>> > > This is why it is critical to have both a bootloader (grub or
>> lilo)
>> > > password and also a BIOS password. They can be set so that the
>> > > password is needed ONLY when booting other than the default device
>> > > (BIOS) or default kernel environment (bootloader).
>>
>> > I have seen that functionality in a bootloader, but never before in
>> a
>> > BIOS. What systems come with a BIOS that has that feature, do you
>> know?
>> > That would be a nice feature to have. Then again, I'm not sure that
>> it
>> > would matter: physical access means that you can wipe the BIOS
>> password,
>> > and then we're back at square one, being able to pwn the box.
>> EVERY i86 BIOS I have seen has this feature. Boot into the BIOS and
>> go through the screens looking for an option to set the password,
>> sometimes called the "supervisor password". Just don't forget it.
>> (Yes, it can be erased by those who know how.)
>
> On my systems, this simply prevents entering the BIOS.
>
> It does not disable or password-protect the boot list feature, however.
> So, I'd still be interested if you know a BIOS that does that.
>
> (I'd also be interested if you know about a secure BIOS that doesn't
> have the "feature" of being able to have its password wiped in 45
> seconds...)
>
> --- Mike
>
> --
> A man who reasons deliberately, manages it better after studying Logic
> than he could before, if he is sincere about it and has common sense.
> --- Carveth Read, “Logic”
>
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