[ubuntu-uk] heads up - Secure Boot Problems for Linux Users Are Here Already

[alan c]

On 01/06/12 13:58, Matt Wheeler wrote:
> On 1 June 2012 08:02, alan c<aeclist at candt.waitrose.com>  wrote:
>>  Time has passed.
>>  The problem has now matured, and Fedora have accepted defeat and decided to
>>  pay to be allowed to use Microsoft restricted hardware.
>>
>>  Implementing UEFI Secure Boot in Fedora Linux
>>  http://j.mp/KZykUS
>
> According to an update to that article, the money actually goes to
> verisign, and anyone can get a signing key from them for $99. So
> actually (without having looked into it any further) this looks like
> quite a reasonable solution to securing system booting in general.
>
> Anyone have any further insight?

Only that Microsoft are the gatekeeper,  and can change the rules 
whenever their brass neck allows them to, as they have just done. 
Rather clever, I think. Never trust the smile on a crocodile. Or its 
love of open source.

On a day to day basis, if a machine has a mainboard which has a secure 
boot 'off' switch, then that is what I will use, because I do not want 
  nor need Microsoft stuff. But if someone wants what we used to know 
as 'dual boot', then they will need to run day by day on the mainboard 
which is set FOR secure boot (for Windows 8), so the GNU/Linux OS will 
need to be suitably signed in that situation.

For Ubuntu, WUBI comes to mind although I am aware that there are 
occasionally enough problems with some grub updates that I stopped 
recommending wubi  a long time ago except for very short term trials.

-- 
alan cocks