Category Archives: Computing

ARM9 SBC with 7-inch Touchscreen

Now you can have complete HMI or Human Machine Interface with the Linux-ready ARM9 Single Board Computer from Premier Farnell. It comes with a 7-inch touchscreen and you can use the SBC for home automation as well.

The EDM6070AR-01 is a single board computer with an integrated Embedded Display Module or EDM, which makes it suitable for supporting a variety of embedded HMI applications. These include data acquisition and analysis, network terminals, medical products, intelligent instruments and industrial control terminals. Farnell has included a Smart Home demo application with the SBC and it features a smart-LED controller. With the home automation application, users can set light levels independently in each room. Additionally, they can also set flexible states for humidity and temperature using the smart-climate feature. Moreover, the SBC also allows management of room-specific surveillance cameras and audio streaming.

The brain behind the EDM6070AR-01 single board computer is the Mini6935 COM or Computer-On-Module, which is based on the ATMEL ARM9 processor AT91SAM9X35. Compared with the SAM9G35, the 400MHz SAM9X35 is more advanced, offering 16KB each of data and instruction cache along with additional interfaces such as UART, ISI and CAN. However, unlike the closely related SAM9X25, the SAM9X35 does not have a second Ethernet controller, but adds a second CAN interface along with an LCD interface.

Within the Mini6935 COM are 256MB of NAND flash, 128MB of DDR2 SDRAM, 4MB of data flash and 4KB EEPROM. The COM has a 10/100 Ethernet MAC, while it routes all signals via two rows of connectors on the back of the module.

The EDM6070AR-01 includes an 800×600-pixel LCD controller, two USB host ports, a USB device port and two SD card interfaces. One hundred and eight GPIOs, dual SPI and CAN interfaces form the industrial IOs. The EBM6070AR-01 SBC ships with a Linux 2.6.39 BSP supporting QT GUIs and numerous file systems.

The 108 GPIOs are each 32-bits, of which three are peripheral IOs, and the rest are programmable multiplexed. The SBC is also equipped with a 12-channel, 10-bit ADC for the touchscreen and a 4-channel, 16-bit PWM controller. With dimensions of 64x45mm and running on 3.3V, 1.25A power, the SBC has a watchdog, can operate as a soft modem, and perform safely within a temperature range of 10-70°C. Apart from this, the EDM6070AR-01 also integrates three GPIO inputs and outputs along with various LEDs, buttons and buzzers.

The 800×480-pixel, 7-inch touchscreen stacks on top of the board. The LCD module is TFT, with 800×480, 24-bit resolution and a 4-wire resistive touch panel. The SBC networks through a fast Ethernet port controlled by a DM9161CIEP chip. Other features include two power LEDs, an IO button and Reset button, RTC with battery backup and a watchdog. The SBC also provides an output DC supply of 5V.

Among the real-world ports available on the EDM6070AR-01 are a USB high-speed host port, a USB device port, Audio in-out, Debug interface, RS232 interface, RS485 interface and CAN interface.
You can drop the EDM6070AR-01 SBC into your product with negligible integration efforts. It is also possible to wrap an enclosure around it, add software applications and allow it to become your finished product.

Wireless Energy Management with Linux

Home and commercial builders often need appliances for automation and energy management. Check-It Solutions has a product just for this purpose. This is the CG-300 Controller, a Linux-based monitoring and control appliance for managing energy for home and commercial establishments.

Running on a Marvell Armada 300 SoC, the 88F6282, at 1.2GHz, the CG-300 offers its users short-range wireless services such as Z-Wave, ZigBee, Ethernet and optional LTE. Users can access the turnkey Energy Management Starter Kit for the device with a web-portal service on their smartphone. With the kit, users can run a Dent metering service and use its Energy Star benchmarking.

If your building already has an existing automation system, CG-300 can communicate via protocols such as Modbus or BACnet for centralizing monitoring information or controlling functions. CG-300 can operate as a standalone controller also and communicate with sensors at multiple locations for retrieving data. It can report and conduct data analysis on the information it receives from the sensors. Check-It Solutions has a turnkey Energy Management Starter Kit, which the CG-300 can access via a web portal.

Spread of home automation systems has arguably slowed because of the lack of consensus for a single short-range wireless technology – the battle between ZigBee and Z-Wave supports this. By offering both the radio technologies in one product, the bipartisan approach of Check-It has made it easier and more affordable for users. For a more uniform and predictable RF coverage, CG-300 offers individual RP-SMA dipole antenna for the two. Moreover, users can upgrade the Z-Wave stack on the device from the host SoC, because the device has a built-in programming circuit for the Z-Wave ASIC.

The CG-300 operates with 1GB of SLC NAND flash and 512MB of DDR3 RAM offering dual USB ports and a single gigabit Ethernet port. The SLC NAND flash is of high write-endurance type. If you need a 4G LTE/HSPA radio, go for the CG-300c model, which uses an external SIM card slot of the MiniPCIe type. The Z-Wave on CG-300 operates at 900MHz with a 168mm RP-SMA external antenna, while the ZigBee operates at 2.4GHz with a 76mm RP-SMA external antenna.

The Operating System for the device is a 3.4 kernel customized Linux. With the main application based on Java, it offers flexible IO scheduling with event-driven script execution. For additional optimization on ARM, Check-It has gone with a licensed, proprietary Oracle JVM rather than OpenJDK.
Using Oracle JVM, the controller can utilize the cellular and Ethernet connectivity for automatic failover for Internet connectivity. However, local traffic always prefers Ethernet connectivity and the process is useful for communicating with local PLCs and BACnet devices.

The CG-300 comes as a part of the turnkey solution that Check-It offers – the Energy Management Starter Kit. The CG-300 functions to manage communications between installed devices, while forwarding information to the secure hosted web portal, the Check-It Solutions Platform.

The web portal allows users to monitor energy and water usage and benchmark the performance of buildings, while identifying potential savings in energy usage. The system allows control and automation of lighting, HVAC and electrical loads.

ARDUINO 101: The Curie-Powered Sensor-Packed Arduino

Intel and Arduino have teamed up to generate a new single board computer, the Arduino 101. Scheduled for market availability in the first quarter of 2016, the Arduino 101 is powered by the Curie module from Intel. Aimed at educating youngsters in the emerging technologies, the SBC is packed with sensors, yet affordably priced.

Arduino 101 has the input and output capabilities of the classic Arduino UNO, but also includes hardware for Bluetooth wireless communication. In addition, Arduino 101 comes with a gyroscope and a 6-axis accelerometer.

Intel and Arduino are promoting their cobranded board for furthering their initiative, Arduino 101 in the Classroom. This is a computer science and design curriculum meant for educating students in the age group 11-14 years in emerging technologies. The Arduino 101 will also be following the hardware configuration of the Curie module. Contestants will be using this board during the upcoming reality television show, America’s Greatest Makers, by the Intel and Turner Broadcasting System.

Those familiar with the Arduino UNO will find Arduino 101 has the same form factor of 70x55x20mm. Differences are an on-board antenna on the bottom right-hand corner of the circuit board and a new main processor. This is the Intel Quark, a low-power 32-bit micro-controller also known as the Curie module. The specialty of this particular Quark is the Bluetooth communication hardware, the gyroscope and the 6-axis accelerometer are on its die.

Users can program the Arduino 101 in the same process they followed for the Arduino UNO. You write your code and compile it with the Arduino IDE, before uploading it to your board. To allow programmers utilize the unique features of the Curie module, Intel is expected to offer special libraries. Initially, Intel had packaged the Curie module in the size of a tiny button and it was supposedly meant for wearable projects. Later, they changed direction towards the Curie-powered Arduino.

Intel is following this go-to-market strategy for its system-on-chips. Intel also packaged an earlier SOC, the Edison. Intel also designed accessory boards for the Edison and Sparkfun produced these boards for Intel. Intel and Arduino had teamed up earlier for the Intel Galileo – the micro-controller board certified by Arduino had Arduino-compatible headers.

The specifications of the Curie indicate it is powered by 1.8V, the popular voltage of a coin-cell battery. However, to power the IO on the Arduino 101 properly, the voltage requirements as dictated by the Arduino ecosystem are at least 3.3V. Limitations imposed by the Arduino 101 design rule out the possibility of a coin-cell battery powering the Curie.

The Curie module also has a 128-node neural network built into it, which users could use for machine-learning applications. However, Intel will not be providing software support for the technology at the time of Arduino 101 launch. They may support it later.

David Cuartielles, the co-founder of Intel’s marketing of Arduino, will be using Arduino 101 in their Creative Technologies in the Classroom or CTC. Earlier, the curriculum used the Arduino UNO for teaching students in a playful way. Now, they will be using the Arduino 101 for teaching basic programming skills in electronics and mechanical design.

Wi-Fi or Li-Fi, What Should You Choose?

Although difficult to believe, but Wi-Fi is running out of steam, or more technically speaking, running out of spectrum. With almost all devices connected with Wi-Fi, our consumption of ever-increasing amounts of information is actually pushing the capacity of Wi-Fi to handle data, to its limits.

Presently, we use radio waves for transmitting information using Wi-Fi, but this method has its limits and it can only transfer so much at a time.

According to the latest estimates, by 2019, we will be exchanging roughly 30-35 quintillion bytes of data each month. We are already consuming huge chunks of radio frequencies and these are heavily regulated. That means Wi-Fi will be starved of bandwidth as data transfer amounts shoot up.

However, work is already underway at providing better technology for increased data transfers. Light Fidelity or Li-FI is showing great promise using light waves to transmit information. Scientists at Tallinn, Estonia, have conducted field tests to achieve speeds of 1GB per second. Although that is only about 100 times faster than traditional Wi-Fi, scientists in their labs claim to have achieved speeds up to 224 GB per second.

Apart from limited capacity, Wi-Fi arrangements are notoriously inefficient. For example, the base station responsible for generating the radio waves works only at about 5 percent efficiency, with the major part wasted as heat. A second part of the problem involves security, as Wi-Fi can penetrate solid objects such as doors and walls, raising concerns for those transmitting sensitive data.

Although light waves are a part of the same electromagnetic spectrum to which radio waves also belong, the difference lies in their wavelengths. Light waves use wavelengths more than 10 thousand times smaller than the wavelengths of radio waves. That means light waves have the capacity to carry enormous amounts of information as compared to radio waves, a fact already established by improved data transmission rates using fiber-optical technology.

However, Li-Fi uses a slightly different method of transmitting data. It works by flashing an LED light on and off at incredibly high speeds when sending data to a receiver. This is essentially sending binary code, only at ultra-high speeds. You will not see any flashes because the LED switches so fast. The communication is primarily line-of-sight, as light from the LED will not penetrate walls and other solid structures. That makes the technology endearing to those looking for security. A person sitting on the other side of the wall cannot eavesdrop on communication using Li-Fi, as they can with the one using Wi-Fi technology.

We already use illumination devices in our homes, and this could double up as potential communication devices as well. What is necessary is to fit a small microchip to every light bulb to convert it into a wireless data communication hub, while also providing the necessary illumination. In other words, we already have the infrastructure in place. The LED bulbs in use in our homes and offices, with some tweaking, can work as incredibly high-speed high volume data transmission and receiving devices.

Neo Smartpen N2 Connects with Bluetooth

Although computers and keyboards have taken out much of the efforts of writing, some situations still demand we keep this skill alive. Then, some people are unwilling to give up the feeling of writing with a pen to pounding on a keyboard. Engineers have tried to modernize the humble writing instrument with the Bluetooth pen of Livescribe. Now, an improved Smartpen N2 is in the market.

Neo Smartpen N2 has a sleeker design compared to that of Livescribe. According to the manufacturer, the pen has a shape users will find more comfortable and it is lighter than most smartpens in the market. Without the cap, Neo Smartpen N2 is only 22gms as against the Livescribe, which weighs 34gms. Although the difference is not much, to someone who writes extensively with a pen, this could count for a lot.

An ARM 9 dual-core Processor powers the Smartpen N2, which sports a built-in 90MB NAND flash drive. The pen connects via Bluetooth to a tablet or phone. However, it works even without them. N2 has a built-in camera that captures 120 pictures-per-second while recording about 1,000 pages of notes to store in its memory. Later, you can synchronize this content over to another device.

To conserve battery, Smartpen N2 turns itself off automatically when it detects idle time and turns on to be ready for writing. This convenient feature helps to conserve battery and the pen can write for about five continuous hours before it has to be recharged. A full recharge takes about two hours.

The entire Smartpen N2 writing system has three parts. The first is the pen itself, to be followed with the special paper, which records the motion of the pen. Then there is the app, which translates these motions into an image on the tablet’s screen. The app can also send the notes to popular services such as Dropbox or Evernote. Neo Notes app is available for free for Android and iOS phones and tablets.

Both Livescribe 3 and Smartpen N2 translate their ink notes scrawled on special paper for capturing them in digital form. However, the Equil Smartpen 2 uses a sensor that you can clip onto the top of any kind of paper you are writing on. While both Equil and Neo N2 are cross-platform compatible, apps available for Android and iOS, Livescribe 3 remains an iOS-only device.

Apart from recording written notes in the form of images, Neo N2 can also record voice memos in real-time, simultaneously as you write. Other features of this amazing pen include translating features that convert handwritten notes into text, after you have selected the language. Additionally, you only have to draw a check mark on the mail icon in the corner of your page and the app will email the page attached as a PDF. At the same time, the app will synchronize any new notes you make automatically to your Evernote account.

The only thing limiting the appeal of Neo Smartpen N2 is its need for special paper. Therefore, this is a device for serious writers only and not meant for scribblers.

3D Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner for Improved Security

Most people are familiar with the biometric sensors used in offices and other places for checking fingerprints. So far, these fingerprint sensors were flat and sensed only 2D images of the surface of your finger. Now, researchers at the University of California, Davis and Berkeley have an improved ultrasonic 3D fingerprint sensor that measures not only a volumetric image of the ridges on fingers, but also measures the tissues beneath the finger’s skin. That makes it almost impossible to spoof.

Most smartphones now sport a fingerprint sensor to verify the authenticity of its user. Apple first introduced this technology in 2013, when it incorporated the fingerprint scanner in its iPhone 5s. Unless you have just come back from swimming, the sensor was accurate enough, and now, many other smartphones use it.

However, most of these sensors are of the capacitive type, and subject to serious security leaks. For example, you can easily fool it by placing a printed image of your fingerprint on top of the sensor. This is because the sensing is only in two dimensions. That is why the 3D fingerprint sensor is assuming such importance.

Using low-depth ultrasound, Professor David Horsley and his team has now overcome this issue. Ultrasound images the valleys and ridges of the finger’s surface and a part of the tissue under it in three dimensions. The main reasons why portable gadgets manufacturers are interested in this technology is its ultra-compact size and the capability to operate with a supply of only 1.8V.

Inspired by sophisticated medical equipment, the technology for the low-depth ultrasound technology for measuring fingerprints started to come together in 2007. This was when the researchers were working with PMUTs or Piezoelectric Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducer arrays. Later on, they found this array to be a good fit for sensing fingerprints.

The group built their imager by embedding the PMUT arrays within a chip and integrating it. This technology is similar to the MEMS or micro-electromechanical systems that today’s smartphones already use. Using MEMS is very effective for accelerometers, gyroscopes and microphones.

According to Prof. Horsley, the chip is made from two wafers. One of the wafers contains the ultrasound parts, while the other carries the second circuit to take care of the signal processing. After bonding the two wafers, the MEMs wafer part is shaved off partially to expose the ultrasonic transducers.

The researchers explain that collection of the ultrasonic images follows the same method as that of medical ultrasound. From the chip’s surface, the transducers first emit a pulse of ultrasound and then process the echoes returning from the valleys and ridges on the surface of the finger.

Scanning a finger in 3D makes the mechanism more secure and increases the challenge several folds for those trying to get around it. As the world moves towards mobile payments, such secure systems will assume increasing importance.

When manufactured in high volumes and with modern manufacturing techniques, OEMs can expect the cost of the sensor to dip to very low levels. Apart from making better fingerprint scanners, this technology is likely to find use in personal health monitoring and low-cost ultrasonic medical diagnostics as well.

IDEASTICK: Windows Goes Into Your Pocket Now

At last, users of the Operating System Windows will also be able to enjoy the simple portability that Linux users already have. Lenovo has come up with an oversized memory stick – the new Stick 300. Actually, instead of being just an oversized memory stick, Stick 300 is full-fledged Windows PC. Although the specifications are rather low-end, the ideastick from Lenovo makes it up with being portable and having a more appealing price tag.

Obviously, the tiny chassis cannot offer an exciting hardware. However, Stick 300 runs on an Intel Atom Processor, Z3735F, with 2GB of RAM and has 32GB of storage. And, with the ideastick Stick 300, you can transform your HDMI-TV or monitor into a fully functional Windows PC. Since Stick 300 is only 100x38x15mm in dimension, it is portable and affordable. You can easily take it along when on vacations and use it as a media hub.

Initially, Stick 300 will ship with Windows 8.1, but it will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10. You do not need to bother about connectivity, as Stick 300 has both Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 built-in. It also has a micro SD card slot and a tiny speaker.

Stick 300 is comparable to other products in the market. This includes Compute Stick from Intel, which they had released in March and an Ubuntu Linux powered lower-end option. Therefore, if you are in the market looking for an ultra-portable Windows solution, Stick 300 is a simple and functional option.

On its side, the Stick 300 has a USB 2.0 socket, which allows you to use your keyboard and mouse wirelessly; that is, if your monitor or TV is not touch-enabled. Powering up is through a second micro USB port. The hardware included is good enough for browsing the web, watching Netflix and even doing some light gaming. Therefore, instead of lugging along a hefty notebook on the road, you can conveniently carry the Stick 300 and plug it into a TV in a hotel for a spot of catching up.

In comparison, Compute Stick from Intel is also an entire PC crammed inside an HDMI stick, which you can fit in your palm. The Compute Stick instead uses an Intel Atom quad-core processor. It has a full-fledged USB 2.0 port on one side and a micro USB port on the other for powering up. However, the Lenovo Stick 300 is $20 cheaper.

If you can do with somewhat lower specifications, there is another stick with the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS OS on it. Since it has 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage, the Ubuntu stick is less expensive than those from Lenovo or Intel. For keeping it cool, the Ubuntu stick has vents on top and sides. It also has a tiny fan for circulating air.

You may have to use the included HDMI cable to connect the stick to your TV, as most TVs do not have much space surrounding the HDMI socket that will accommodate the width of your portable stick computer. In addition, since all these sticks have only one USB port, you will need a unifying wireless solution – such as from Logitech – to get both your keyboard and mouse connected.

How do Airplanes Offer Onboard Wi-Fi?

Not long ago, air travel meant you had to switch off your phone and other electronic devices carried. Even for long-distance air travel, people had to put up with in-flight magazines and movies for entertainment. Fortunately, changes have been made – with more to come.

Today, people value connectivity more than ever. Passengers admiring aerial views prefer tweeting about their experiences and follow up with pictures – not content with merely complaining about the food to their neighbors. Airlines are responding to such demands and nearly 40% of the US fights now provide in-flight Wi-Fi, as do several international long-haul flights.

Onboard Wi-Fi technology is still in the nascent stages and significant problems abound. Fliers are not happy with the slow speeds and unreliable connection, especially when the cost for each device for a full flight is high. A FlightView survey of 600 US passengers inferred Wi-Fi offered in-flight satisfied only about 28% of business travelers. The key problem lies in the manner an airplane’s onboard Wi-Fi technology works – there are two main routes.

A US provider, GoGo, has a network system of 3G ground stations all across the US. Planes communicate with these stations when flying overhead. Although the system is simple, bandwidth can be as low as 3Mbps for the entire flight, making it inadequate per customer for streaming videos.

The company is now moving over to ATG-4 technology, with planes requiring dual modems and directional antennas. That boosts the total bandwidth to about 9.8Mbps – still not a significant increase. Planes flying over the seas cannot link to ground stations, which further worsens the connectivity.

As an alternative approach, some airlines allow planes to connect via a satellite. Earlier, they used legacy L-band technology, which was slow and rather expensive. Now using the higher-frequency Ku-band satellites is more common as they work at 12-18GHz. Not only does this offer good performance, it is economical as well. For example, the FlyNet system from Lufthansa claims its download speed to the aircraft reaches 50Mbps, even at the middle of the ocean.

Passengers can optionally connect in two ways. For example, OnAir, a telecom company, allows connections via GSM and Wi-Fi. If you are using a mobile phone, turn on your GSM mobile phone network and use it just as you would on international roaming. Your regular phone bill reflects the costs.

Wi-Fi connection within the aircraft depends on the airline’s own rules. You pay for bandwidth, time of use or distance traveled. Most service providers offset operational expenses and cost of technology (bandwidth) against the number of passengers opting for the service. That decides the rate the airline charges its passengers for the service.

Airlines are discovering the future for on-board connectivity lies in moving towards the Ka-band, which works at 26.5-40GHz via satellites – potentially increasing the capacity nearly 100 times that offered by the present Ku-band. According to ViaSat, a satellite company, this can mean offering each passenger a speed of about 12Mbps, while lessening the cost about five times – a significant progress for frequent, long-distance fliers.

What are Counterfeit SD Cards?

Many of us use SD or Secure Digital memory cards, but seldom do we check if the total capacity actually matches that specified on the card. According to the Counterfeit Report, several dishonest sellers on Alibaba, Amazon, eBay and other reputed sites offer deep discounts for high capacity cards. They use common serial numbers with cards and packaging nearly identical to the authentic products from all major SD card brands.

According to tests conducted by the Counterfeit Report, although the cards work, buyers usually purchase a card based on the specifications printed on it. What they think and buy as a 32GB SD card, may turn out to be a counterfeit with a capacity of only 7GB. Counterfeiters usually overwrite the real memory capacity, imprinting a false capacity figure to match any model and capacity they prefer. Usually, the actual memory capacity cannot be determined by simply plugging the card into a computer, phone or camera. Only when the phony card reaches its limit, it starts to overwrite files, leading to lost data.

According the Craig Crosby, publisher of the Counterfeit Report, such fake cards also come in capacities that do not exist in any product line and counterfeiters target mostly cards above 32GB. They make a great profit on selling fake cards, with practically no consequence.

Usually, people cannot make out counterfeit cards from real ones, until these stop working. Usually, the blame falls on the manufacturer for making faulty products. This may happen even if you buy from a major retailer, as counterfeiters buy genuine items, only to exchange them unopened with their fakes.

Although software packages are available to test whether the card capacity matches the specifications on its packaging, organizations find it time-consuming, especially if they have bought cards in bulk. Additionally, the problem is not with SD cards alone, counterfeiters make fake portable flash drives including USB sticks as well.

Although the SD Association does make standards and specifications for SD cards to promote their adoption, advancement and use, they do not monitor the trade of products such as SD memory cards. The responsibility of counterfeit SD cards falls in the realm of law enforcement.

Manufacturers of SD memory card products can contract with several SD standards-related organizations for different intellectual property related to SD standards. Additionally, SDA member companies can resort to compliance and testing tools for confirming their products meet the standards and specifications, providing assurance to users about interoperability with other products of similar nature.

Consumers, especially bulk purchasers, should be careful to buy from authorized resellers, distributers and sellers. The best resource for any enquiry is the manufacturer of the SD memory card product.

This malaise is not restricted to counterfeit SD cards alone. It is a part of a larger problem. According to the Counterfeit Report, several other items face the same situation. Phony items exist for iPhones, other smartphones, airbags and many other peripherals such as chargers. It is very difficult for consumers to make out the counterfeits and many are even unaware of the existence of such phony high-end items.

What are UEFI and Secure Boot?

When you first turn on the power button of a computer at the start of your day, your PC or laptop goes through a set of procedures before allowing you to log in. The first thing that happens is the reset signal generated sets the registers of the CPU to their pre-defined values. The reset vector within the CPU now points to the start address of the BIOS or Basic Input Output System.

BIOS is a small firmware stored in a flash memory on the motherboard of the computer. It functions as a startup process for setting up the various hardware peripherals attached to the motherboard. BIOS starts with the POST or Power-on Self-Test, which checks for the presence of basic stuff such as the monitor, keyboard, mouse and memory – primary and secondary. Next, it looks for the MBR or the Master Boot Record on the secondary memory storage – the hard disk or a Solid State Device.

The MBR contains the Primary Boot loader that redirects the CPU to the Secondary Boot loader. What you see on the screen as GRUB when booting into Linux is the Secondary Boot loader is responsible for loading the actual Operating System present on the memory device of the computer.

Hackers planning to usurp the control of your computer have been targeting some of the elements in this chain of the booting process. Malware planted in the computer can modify the boot loaders so that it first enables a sleeping Trojan horse (a form of virus), before actually loading the Operating System. That allows the virus to control whatever you are doing with the computer and report it back to its original master.

To prevent this from happening, members of the PC industry have modified the plain and simple BIOS to a UEFI secure boot type. When booted through UEFI or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, the firmware ensures that the system boot loader has a cryptographic key as authorized by a database within the firmware. The next steps involve the boot loaders in a series of signature verification for the kernel and possibly of the user space. That prevents any unsigned code (the Trojan horse) from executing and compromising your computer.

The computer requires no specialized hardware to implement and operate UEFI Secure Boot. The firmware resides in the non-volatile flash storage on the motherboard. This storage also stores the UEFI implementation itself as well as the protected variables including the trusted root certificates of the UEFI.

Therefore, unless presented with a signed next-stage boot loader, the UEFI Secure Boot will prevent your computer from functioning, unless you disable or switch off the Secure Boot mode. Note that UEFI Secure Boot does not verify signatures when installing or changing the boot loaders. Signatures are verified only when booting up and any tampered boot path leads to a display of invalid signature, preventing further operations. Unlike web server certificates, there is no information as to who issued the certificate and the user has no way of overriding the decision to reject the signature of the boot loader.