5 ms·
What does the IME or PSP do?
by BlueFalconHD 2y ago
What does the IME or PSP do?
- timschmidt 2y agoShort answer: anything it wants. IME has privileged access to the MMU(s), all system memory, and even out-of-band access to the network adapter such the the OS cannot inspect network traffic originating with or destined for the IME.
- CobrastanJorji 2y agoLots. It's basically an extra processor that runs at all times, even when your computer is supposedly "off." Its firmware is bigger than you'd think, like a complete Unix system big. It's frankly terrifying how powerful and opaque it is. It provides a lot around remote management for corporations, lots of "update the BIOS remotely" sort of features, and also a bunch of those stupid copy protection enforcement things. Plus some startup/shutdown stuff like Secure Boot.