Reasons for Intel ME to Exist

>>59553519
Simple, in a business setting it allows sysadmins to remotely control computers in a complete manner. It's like directly SSHing to the processor itself.

I get the appeal of remote access of computers on a hardware level, which is what Intel ME does, but what I find very worrying is how much it undermines the authority of the user on their own machine, and how in the cpu market, there is not really any other cpu manufacturer that is not doing this sort of thing.

It really just comes back to the question of user sovereignty. Personally speaking a man's computer is his castle, and he should have the ultimate authority on that computer.

>>59553550
I get that, but people don't seem to realize that is an extremely slippery slope that has lead us to where we are today, with an atmosphere of paranoia around something that really compromises the sense of sovereignty that people have with their machines.

>>59553519
You can literally remove your ME using the utility.
Flash the firmware with the delete code.

>>59553612
Yes, I know that, I've known about Intel ME for a while now, it's just that this time I actually bothered trying to think if there is any good reason from the hacker (in the traditional sense of the word) for it to exist.

Intel ME has been on my radar for a while, it's just that I haven't bothered caring for it considering that I don't run any cpu's with ME on them.

When I did think about it, it became an internal discussion about user sovereignty in the modern age, which if I were to talk about, I'd be talking to myself considering barely anyone I know is interested in such a debate.

What it really comes down to is options, if someone like Microsoft does a whole bunch of shady shit with their operating system, and undermines the authority of the user on their own computer, I will simply not use their operating system, and if they push, and they try to force me to conform, I won't.

Life finds a way, so will I.

>>59553519
> Why does Intel ME exist, technically speaking?
It exist to make possible spying at any computer with intel cpu. Amd has similar thing (PSP) so they can be pwned too. Also it can be used to slow down you cpu after some time to make you buy new cpu every year or 2

It really just comes down to user sovereignty.

I've already gone down this thought process a couple of years ago when I observed the authoritative nature of the iOS environment.

I'm not particularly interested in programming mobile applications, considering my distaste for smart phone interfaces relative to desktop interfaces, but I found through my previous thought process about user sovereignty is that people simply do not give a shit about freedom.

Civil freedom and liberty are non existent to many people. They only care about convenience.

People like me, enthusiasts, hackers, care about user sovereignty and freedom because what we enjoy doing requires it, if we don't have it, we don't have our convenience, therefore we rebel.

Liberty and freedom are nothing as long as convenience is maintained.

Same thing I observed with ethics and morals, they're bullshit. People will do the most fucked up, inhumane shit imaginable as long as the perceived marginal benefit is greater than the perceived marginal cost.

>>59553519
>Intel ME and its connection to the Trump surveillance story
That's not microwave, not like Trump isn't just shitposted something on twitter..

>>59553689
I hear you, however sovereignty is an alien concept to the vast majority; think about the aspects an individual can enjoy a semblance of sovereignty in this day and age:
your children: owned by the state
your real estate: you only pretend to buy it from someone pretending to own it
your posessions: taxed
your freedom of choice: limited/enforced options by law
your medium of exchange: monopolized and dictated by your gov't
and so on

>>59553519
>Intel ME has come across my daily life
Except it didn't?

all this security discussion had me thinking... is Van Eck Phreaking still a thing?