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Any individual can purchase a system intel ME disabled. Dell, System76, and Librem all sell at least some systems with ME disabled and those are just the ones

Any individual can purchase a system intel ME disabled. Dell, System76, and Librem all sell at least some systems with ME disabled and those are just the ones I can think of without trying. https://puri.sm/learn/intel-me/ https://puri.sm/learn/intel-me/ https://blog.system76.com/post/168050597573/system76-me-firmware-updates-plan/amp https://blog.system76.com/post/168050597573/system76-me-firm... https://m.hexus.net/tech/news/systems/112835-dell-now-offers-pcs-intel-management-engine-disabled/ https://m.hexus.net/tech/news/systems/112835-dell-now-offers... As far as risk goes, the risk is very small and my personal opinion is that hardware is not worth replacing unless you are worried about being the target of a state-level actor who will spend the resources to gain clandestine physical access to your machine in order to surveil you. ME attacks require a level of sophistication that is only worth it to a small number of entities pursuing extremely important targets.

AinderS 4y ago
Those Dell systems are "not for the general public, and had found their way to the website only inadvertently. The laptops are available only by custom order and only to military, government and intelligence agencies", and the other two have to hack the Management Engine, fighting Intel every step of the way. That's basically an admission that the ME is a backdoor, and calling ME-free systems something any individual can purchase is farcical or malicious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine#Commercial_ME_disablement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine#Commer...
- rocket_surgeron 4y ago
  Wikipedia is not correct. I have, right now, in my lab, multiple systems with ME disabled. I do not work for the government, military, or any intelligence agency. Dell systems that have ME disabled come with a sticker of the number "3" on them, and linux tools exist that can verify the fact that it has been disabled. My Precision 7760 mobile workstation can be purchased with ME disabled and it is listed as a BTO option at: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/workstations-isv-certified/precision-7760-workstation/spd/precision-17-7760-laptop/ https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/workstations-isv-certified/p... Scroll down to "System Management". "vPro disabled" == "ME disabled"

AinderS 4y ago

Those Dell systems are "not for the general public, and had found their way to the website only inadvertently. The laptops are available only by custom order and only to military, government and intelligence agencies", and the other two have to hack the Management Engine, fighting Intel every step of the way. That's basically an admission that the ME is a backdoor, and calling ME-free systems something any individual can purchase is farcical or malicious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine#Commercial_ME_disablement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine#Commer...

rocket_surgeron 4y ago
Wikipedia is not correct. I have, right now, in my lab, multiple systems with ME disabled. I do not work for the government, military, or any intelligence agency. Dell systems that have ME disabled come with a sticker of the number "3" on them, and linux tools exist that can verify the fact that it has been disabled. My Precision 7760 mobile workstation can be purchased with ME disabled and it is listed as a BTO option at: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/workstations-isv-certified/precision-7760-workstation/spd/precision-17-7760-laptop/ https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/workstations-isv-certified/p... Scroll down to "System Management". "vPro disabled" == "ME disabled"