● 08.13.13

●● How EFI/UEFI is Harming Digital Freedom and Technology Rights Like Privacy and Anonymity

Posted in Debian, GNU/Linux at 10:25 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Image by Alexandre Dulaunoy

Summary: Tor is stifled by complications associated with UEFI lock-in, which limits what can run on computers and lets companies/governments control computers remotely

Now that privacy is a hot subject, with a lot of people’s ‘paranoia’ confirmed to have been justified, there are many vigilant citizens or businesspeople who turn to privacy-respecting services, some of which, like secure E-mail companies in the US, shut down due to bullying from their government (Mega has a new services like that in New Zealand). We have just found out that EFI is impeding Tails development. For the uninitiated, Tails is a distribution of Debian GNU/Linux with Tor in it. Unlike Windows bundles [1, 2], this one is secure.

According to this new video, Jacob Appelbaum, a prominent Tor developer, confirms that EFI (and by extension UEFI) weakens user control. Towards the end of this new talk he speaks “garbage EFI stuff that’s force down our throats.”

How do tweakers of Linux who facilitate UEFI with their hacks feel about it? For most users, UEFI has almost nothing to offer. Boycott UEFI. █

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