Thinkpads Forum

Hey all...

I would like to acquire some knowledge and opinions as to what you all think about the significance, or lack thereof, the embedded SecureChip, the TPM, Client Solution (Password Manager, etc.)?

I do like and use the APS (Active Protection system), for its obvious usefulness to protect the hard drive from damage. I also use the Fingerprint reader for the convenience factor. One swipe takes me from pre-desktop authentication and its 2 passwords (BIOS, and HD) as well as the Windows logon, all the way to my desktop.

Now, about the secure chip. In theory, I can see that passwords being stored on any hardware-based security, such as the embedded chip could be far superior to any software security solution. And again, the convenience of storing passwords, which I used to make a policy to NEVER do, but again, being that it is hardware based, should I go ahead and "trust" it? Will it slow down my system at all? If so, how bad?

Thanks everyone...

The TPM is writable media bonded to the system board and to its covering in such a way that accessing hte TPM media to read it without the password should destroy the media and probably the system board as well.

It is possible for a sufficiently well-equipped lab to uncover the writable media on the TPM chip without destroying the media and to read whatever is on the media. However, the labs are very expensive and the work is very difficult to perform. The data (your passwords and other stuff) on a TPM probably are safe from everyone except government agencies and very large electronics companies that have their own labs. This is why MS and other security sites state that TPM chips are vulnerable to "certain hardware attacks" or words to that effect.