Paddywack said:
Not to be paranoid, but if you manufacture it, you can make it do anything you want.
Used computers? Reformating the h/d
For new machines from the factory Reformating Hard drives? Not so sure that'd be enough. They can always embedd their spying s/w in the EEPROMs. A machine always need s/w (and the first place is the EEPROMs when its first powered) to instruct the PC how to boot up, where/how to read the Hard drive etc. The US govt won't use ThinkPad notebooks for any security related concerns (DOD, FBI, CIA) as the ThinkPads and other ex-IBMs machines are now manufactured by Lenovo, a Chinese owned company.
I certainly don't trust China. Are they our Friends or Enemies? If friends then why are they supplying bad stuffs to rogue regimes, the ones that aren't exactly pals-pals with the US, meanwhile they're raking in US dollars by stocking Walmarts merchandise.
tbones, they're not your friend or enemy. You are their friend or enemy. It's their way or the highway. And for supplying rogue regimes, the US can't say it hasn't done the same.
OP, yes I've used a 2nd hand computer before. Back in '03 for online casinos. This issue didn't bother me as it seems a little extreme (tin foil hat??). Seems like an inefficient method of stealing info/identities.
Back to the US not trusting thinkpads, it's probally only a matter of time before governments start installing software on all of our computers. Along with the chips in our brain and barcodes on our neck.
OP, yes I've used a 2nd hand computer before. Back in '03 for online casinos. This issue didn't bother me as it seems a little extreme (tin foil hat??). Seems like an inefficient method of stealing info/identities.
Back to the US not trusting thinkpads, it's probally only a matter of time before governments start installing software on all of our computers. Along with the chips in our brain and barcodes on our neck.
