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The #1 feature of Dell laptops is the repair manual which allows you to, among other things, physically remove the camera and microphone without damaging the ha

The #1 feature of Dell laptops is the repair manual which allows you to, among other things, physically remove the camera and microphone without damaging the hardware. Would be nice if they would release signed, flashable firmware images for remediating compromise.

m463 6y ago
This is fascinating to know. I also have a dell monitor - I downloaded all the pdf manuals including one that said: "Statement of Volatility – Dell U3219Q Monitor The purpose of this document is to certify that the Dell U3219Q monitor will not save, retain, or reproduce a signal to any internal or external component after power has been removed and reapplied to the unit. The Dell U3219Q monitor contains both volatile and non-volatile (NV) memory ICs. Volatile memory(s) lose their data immediately upon removal of power. Non-volatile memory ICs continue to retain their data even after the power has been removed. However, no input video data is written into these memory ICs during operation. List below contains volatile and non volatile memory ICs used in the Dell U3219Q monitor." Then it had a table for each storage chip within the monitor with its purpose and characteristics including: - system eeprom - hdmi edid eeprom - system flash rom - usb hub eeprom - pd controller flash rom
- moftz 6y ago
  These sort of documents are usually necessary when bringing in devices with memory in them into secure areas. Security likes to know what is in a device and if there is any special procedure that needs to happen to wipe any non-volatile memory. If there's no way to zero out or replace any memory that may have stored sensitive data, the device cannot leave the area.
robocat 6y ago
I believe that having no camera and no microphone is necessary for some controlled security environments (especially government). Dell is big enough to consider that use-case? PS: very happy with Dell’s Linux support for XPS laptops (still getting Linux specific Bios updates long after purchase).

m463 6y ago

This is fascinating to know. I also have a dell monitor - I downloaded all the pdf manuals including one that said: "Statement of Volatility – Dell U3219Q Monitor The purpose of this document is to certify that the Dell U3219Q monitor will not save, retain, or reproduce a signal to any internal or external component after power has been removed and reapplied to the unit. The Dell U3219Q monitor contains both volatile and non-volatile (NV) memory ICs. Volatile memory(s) lose their data immediately upon removal of power. Non-volatile memory ICs continue to retain their data even after the power has been removed. However, no input video data is written into these memory ICs during operation. List below contains volatile and non volatile memory ICs used in the Dell U3219Q monitor." Then it had a table for each storage chip within the monitor with its purpose and characteristics including: - system eeprom - hdmi edid eeprom - system flash rom - usb hub eeprom - pd controller flash rom

moftz 6y ago
These sort of documents are usually necessary when bringing in devices with memory in them into secure areas. Security likes to know what is in a device and if there is any special procedure that needs to happen to wipe any non-volatile memory. If there's no way to zero out or replace any memory that may have stored sensitive data, the device cannot leave the area.

robocat 6y ago

I believe that having no camera and no microphone is necessary for some controlled security environments (especially government). Dell is big enough to consider that use-case? PS: very happy with Dell’s Linux support for XPS laptops (still getting Linux specific Bios updates long after purchase).