Boot and BIOS – Purism https://puri.sm/ High-quality computers that protect your freedom and privacy Wed, 01 Oct 2025 18:29:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.28 https://puri.sm/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-purism-logo-rectangle-1-32x32.png Boot and BIOS – Purism https://puri.sm/ 32 32 Hidden Operating Systems in Chips vs. Secure, Auditable OSes: A Cybersecurity Comparison https://puri.sm/posts/hidden-operating-systems-in-chips-vs-secure-auditable-oses-a-cybersecurity-comparison/ Tue, 10 Jun 2025 15:18:36 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=83347 The Threat Beneath: The Invisible Operating Systems Inside Your Devices Beneath the surface of nearly every modern computer lies a hidden threat—one most users never see or control. Today’s Intel and AMD processors ship with embedded subsystems like the Intel Management Engine (ME) and AMD’s Platform Security Processor (PSP)—proprietary, low-level firmware environments that operate outside and below your main operating system.

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]]> PureBoot Not Vulnerable to UEFI Exploits (Again) https://puri.sm/posts/pureboot-not-vulnerable-to-uefi-exploits-again/ Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:16:48 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80949 LogoFAIL: Subverting UEFI Secure Boot The Binarly Research Team recently presented LogoFAIL, a new exploit defeating UEFI Secure Boot. In short, an attacker with access to the hard disk of a UEFI system could gain firmware-level control over the computer, even on a device using UEFI Secure Boot.  LogoFAIL appears to affect most UEFI implementations. […]

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]]> Librem 11 Memory Adventures https://puri.sm/posts/librem-11-memory-adventures/ Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:04:42 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80511 A Recent Memory When I started porting coreboot to the Librem 11, one of the first few tasks was to get memory working. Like the Librem 5, the Librem 11 has soldered memory (“memory down”).  This has implications on the firmware.  Socketed memory carries a small SPD EEPROM with information about the memory module.  Memory […]

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]]> PureBoot Framebuffer Boot Support https://puri.sm/posts/pureboot-framebuffer-boot-support/ Wed, 05 Jul 2023 13:00:46 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79869 The latest release of PureBoot, Release 27, now boots memtest86+, Debian netinst, and other OSes that rely on framebuffer output! We worked with the Heads team to implement this change upstream, and it is now in our latest release. Update your firmware with our update instructions! If you’ve ever tried to boot from PureBoot, and […]

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]]> Protect Infrastructure with Librem L1UM v2 (Press Release) https://puri.sm/posts/protect-infrastructure-with-librem-l1um-v2-press-release/ Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:58:34 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79187 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- Purism has added a new model to the Librem L1UM product line with new hardware designed to protect infrastructure, including critical infrastructure. There are numerous threats posed by nation-state hackers, criminal organizations, and bad actors who are constantly exploiting vulnerabilities within networks that operate critical infrastructure posing numerous security, privacy, and safety […]

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]]> New Automatic Power-On firmware for Librem Mini https://puri.sm/posts/new-automatic-power-on-firmware-for-librem-mini/ Wed, 29 Mar 2023 15:27:43 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=77648 Our latest coreboot/SeaBIOS and PureBoot releases bring new firmware configurations for the Librem Mini v1 and v2!  Many users use the Librem Mini as a headless server and have asked for firmware that would boot up automatically when powered, like an appliance. Once enabled, the setting persists as long as the RTC battery is plugged […]

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]]> Introducing PureBoot Restricted Boot https://puri.sm/posts/introducing-pureboot-restricted-boot/ Thu, 03 Nov 2022 22:54:10 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=76293 We have been busy on the PureBoot front! Recently we announced “PureBoot Basic Mode” which is a low-security option for PureBoot that disables tamper detection, but leaves you with the robust PureBoot recovery console for debugging boot issues. To balance our last “low security” feature, our most recent PureBoot release, version 23, offers a new […]

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]]> Introducing PureBoot Basic https://puri.sm/posts/introducing-pureboot-basic/ Thu, 01 Sep 2022 18:02:12 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=75803 PureBoot is our high-security, tamper-detecting boot firmware that we offer as an alternative to our default coreboot firmware on hardware like our Librem 14 and Librem Mini. The combination of PureBoot, our anti-interdiction services, and the option of Qubes as the pre-installed OS makes hardware like the Librem 14 among the most secure computers you […]

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]]> Privacy in Depth https://puri.sm/posts/privacy-in-depth/ Thu, 14 Jul 2022 15:52:51 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=75493 In the security world there is a concept called “Defense in Depth” that refers to setting up layers of defense so that if an attacker bypasses one layer there are other layers they must contend with. In physical security this might take the form of a lock on the outside door of an office building, […]

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]]> PureBoot’s Powerful Recovery Console https://puri.sm/posts/pureboots-powerful-recovery-console/ Thu, 09 Jun 2022 18:39:05 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=75219 Normally when we talk about our high-security boot firmware PureBoot, it’s in the context of the advanced tamper detection it adds to a system. For instance, recently we added the ability to detect tampering even in the root file system. While that’s a critical benefit PureBoot provides over our default coreboot firmware, it also provides […]

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]]> PureBoot 101 | First Boot, First Update, and Detecting Software Tampering https://puri.sm/posts/pureboot-101-first-boot-first-update-and-detecting-software-tampering/ Wed, 09 Mar 2022 16:20:21 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=74328 Whether you face serious threats or just want peace of mind, PureBoot lets you detect tampering starting from your boot firmware down into the OS itself. The PureBoot bundle is comprised of the BIOS, Librem Key, and USB vault. This video dives into what each part does. This next video shows you what to expect […]

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]]> The Beat of a Different DRM https://puri.sm/posts/the-beat-of-a-different-drm/ Sat, 15 Jan 2022 02:40:10 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=73683 Canon made big news this past week when it started telling customers how to defeat the Digital Rights Management (DRM) in its toner cartridges because of supply chain issues with the chips they normally use to enforce it. That Canon explained how to bypass the DRM when it suited them, and that it didn’t negatively […]

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]]> Librem 14: Adding Librem EC, Freed Embedded Controller Firmware https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-adding-librem-ec-freed-embedded-controller-firmware/ Mon, 22 Feb 2021 12:35:16 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=71068 Starting with the Librem 14 laptop we are including fully liberated Embedded Controller (EC) firmware with all the source code available. This is something we set as a goal a long time ago, and now we are finally here. Let’s first start by explaining what the EC is and does. A PC these days is […]

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]]> Librem 14 Status Update: Shipping Starts in December https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-status-update-shipping-starts-in-december/ Mon, 09 Nov 2020 08:00:15 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=69848 Librem 14 will begin shipping in December with all backorders shipped in January and reaching shipping parity in February.

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]]> Why the GRUB2 Secure Boot Flaw Doesn’t Affect Purism Computers https://puri.sm/posts/why-the-grub2-secure-boot-flaw-doesnt-affect-purism-computers/ Thu, 30 Jul 2020 18:03:11 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=68918 Whenever a new security issue gets announced one of the first questions we all ask ourselves is: am I vulnerable? We have started to get questions from our customers after the announcement of a series of major security bugs in GRUB2 so I felt that it was appropriate to write up a quick post to […]

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]]> Librem Mini Shipping with Active Cooling https://puri.sm/posts/librem-mini-shipping-with-active-cooling/ Fri, 03 Jul 2020 17:44:07 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=68625 There’s nothing like making a public announcement to ensure that a situation will change. That’s certainly been true in the case of our Librem Mini. Just over a week ago we announced the Librem Mini was ready to ship and highlighted one issue we intended to solve with a future software update: If you ordered […]

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]]> Librem Mini Update: Hardware is Here, Finishing Coreboot https://puri.sm/posts/librem-mini-update-hardware-is-here-finishing-coreboot/ Mon, 08 Jun 2020 18:50:11 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=68465 In our last Librem Mini Update we mentioned that the hardware should be arriving around the end of May and we’re happy to announce that our estimates were mostly on track: we received the first Librem Mini batch a bit over a week ago! In parallel we have been working hard to port coreboot to […]

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]]> Librem Hardware and the Intel CSME Vulnerability https://puri.sm/posts/librem-hardware-and-the-intel-csme-vulnerability/ Fri, 20 Mar 2020 09:06:59 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=67777 Whenever a security vulnerability comes out one of the first questions that come to many peoples’ minds is: am I affected? The last couple of years in particular have seen a lot of hardware-based vulnerabilities in Intel processors and in those cases generally it’s a matter of looking at the affected list of hardware and […]

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]]> 2019 Year in Review: Security https://puri.sm/posts/2019-year-in-review-security/ Mon, 30 Dec 2019 15:24:43 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=66884 PureBoot The big news for Purism and security in 2019 was PureBoot, the name we gave to the many different technologies we use to secure the boot process including a neutralized and disabled Intel Management Engine, our coreboot firmware, our TPM chip integration, Heads our tamper-evident boot software, our Librem Key USB security token we […]

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]]> Librem 5 November 2019 Software Update https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-november-2019-software-update/ Tue, 24 Dec 2019 13:32:33 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=66849 General In November, we shipped the Birch batch of Librem 5, fixed audio routing, made changes to various apps and shared Librem 5 at various meetups and talks. A couple of other articles appeared about software development: Oxidizing Squeekboard described the use of the Rust programming language in the Librem 5’s virtual keyboard, and the […]

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]]> PureBoot Best Practices https://puri.sm/posts/pureboot-best-practices/ Tue, 22 Oct 2019 01:57:42 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=66007 PureBoot is our cutting-edge secured boot process that combines a number of technologies including: Neutralized and Disabled Intel Management Engine where only the code absolutely essential for the system to boot is left in the ME. Coreboot the free software BIOS replacement. A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. Heads, our tamper-evident boot software that loads […]

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]]> Announcing the PureBoot Bundle: Tamper-evident Firmware from the Factory https://puri.sm/posts/announcing-the-pureboot-bundle-tamper-evident-firmware-from-the-factory/ Tue, 03 Sep 2019 18:39:16 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=65391 We have been promoting the benefits of our PureBoot tamper-evident firmware with a Librem Key for some time, but until now our laptops have shipped with standard coreboot firmware, that didn’t include tamper-evident features. To get tamper-evident features, you had to reflash your Librem laptop with PureBoot firmware after the fact, using our standard firmware […]

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]]> Security Advisory: Kernel and Firmware Updates for Intel MDS Vulnerability https://puri.sm/posts/security-advisory-kernel-and-firmware-updates-for-intel-mds-vulnerability/ Mon, 20 May 2019 22:31:05 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=63788 Last week Intel announced a new group of speculative execution vulnerabilities in its processors related to the well-known Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities from over a year ago. These new attacks have been labeled as the MDS (Microarchitectural Data Sampling) vulnerabilities by Intel, but in the age of branded vulnerabilities they also have been given more […]

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]]> Complete PureBoot Demo and More Progress https://puri.sm/posts/complete-pureboot-demo-and-more-progress/ Mon, 29 Apr 2019 16:10:43 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=63353 Hi again! Things have been busy on the PureBoot front since our last blog post on overall coreboot progress. – and we can prove it: we now have a video that walks us through the complete PureBoot demo we showed for the first time at SCALE a few weeks ago. The video, as you can […]

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]]> Purism’s Librem 5 Progress in Videos https://puri.sm/posts/purisms-librem-5-progress-in-videos/ Wed, 17 Apr 2019 15:10:05 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=63071 The Purism team is making a remarkable progress to deliver the Librem 5 phone. Nothing shows the progress we have been making quite as clearly as a demonstration of the Librem 5 status from the devkit itself – so let us take you through a handful of (short) videos showcasing the current possibilities and development […]

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]]> Coreboot News: New Script, Pre-built Binaries and PureBoot on Non-TPM Laptops https://puri.sm/posts/coreboot-news-new-script-pre-built-binaries-and-pureboot-on-non-tpm-laptops/ Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:05:17 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=63149 Things have been busy in the coreboot department, lately, and we are excited to announce a number of new improvements: Pre-built binaries of our default coreboot BIOS firmware Pre-built binaries of our tamper-evident PureBoot firmware Improved script to automate coreboot builds and flashing from pre-built binaries PureBoot tamper-evident support for non-TPM Librem 13 version 2 and […]

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]]> Protecting the Digital Supply Chain https://puri.sm/posts/protecting-the-digital-supply-chain/ Tue, 13 Nov 2018 20:21:44 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=61307 You first learn about the importance of the supply chain as a child. You discover a shiny object on the ground and as you reach down to pick it up your parent says “Don’t touch that! You don’t know where it’s been!” But why does it matter whether you know where it’s been? When your […]

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]]> Adventures with coreboot and NVM Express storage https://puri.sm/posts/adventures-with-coreboot-and-nvm-express-storage/ Thu, 11 Oct 2018 23:11:21 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=17164 Let me tell you how I made NVMe SSD support work on the first generation Librem laptops. This story is pretty old, from before the Librem 13 version 2 was even released, so it has been simplified and brought back to the current state of things as much as possible. The solutions presented here have […]

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]]> The Librem Key Makes Tamper Detection Easy https://puri.sm/posts/the-librem-key-makes-tamper-detection-easy/ Mon, 24 Sep 2018 14:38:35 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=59616 From the beginning we have had big plans for the Librem Key. When we first announced our partnership with Nitrokey to produce the Librem Key all we could talk about publicly was the standard USB security token features it would have and some of the integration possibilities between the Librem laptop and Librem Key that […]

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]]> Introducing the Librem Key https://puri.sm/posts/introducing-the-librem-key/ Thu, 20 Sep 2018 15:03:39 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=58801 A few months ago we announced that we were partnering with Nitrokey to produce a new security token: the Librem Key and I’m pleased to announce that today the Librem Key is available for purchase on our site for $59. What is a USB Security Token? In case you haven’t heard of USB security tokens […]

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