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- Path: sparky!uunet!auspex-gw!guy
- From: guy@Auspex.COM (Guy Harris)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun.admin
- Subject: Re: writing down root password (was Re: Disabling L1-A sequence?)
- Message-ID: <15502@auspex-gw.auspex.com>
- Date: 15 Nov 92 20:32:35 GMT
- References: <1992Nov14.235543.20106@infodev.cam.ac.uk> <j!x1Hpfxwa@atlantis.psu.edu> <1992Nov15.141614.17380@infodev.cam.ac.uk>
- Sender: news@auspex-gw.auspex.com
- Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
- Lines: 17
- Nntp-Posting-Host: auspex.auspex.com
-
- >|> Okay, so you take the battery out and reset the PROM. All security is
- >|> meaningless if you have physical access to the machine. (Other than
- >|> low-level encryption of the hard drive itself)
- >
- > I haven't taken it apart to find out, but if it is a "Prom", then it
- > doesn't need a battery.
-
- The "Boot Prom" is an EPROM that holds the monitor code. It doesn't
- need a battery, but then again, it doesn't hold the password.
-
- In newer machines, the password is stored in an NVRAM chip (SGS/Thomson,
- formerly Mostek, MK48T02 "Timekeeper" chip). That chip is a bunch of
- static RAM, plus a time-of-day clock, plus a built-in battery.
-
- I don't know if the PROM security option is available for machines that
- didn't use that chip; I suspect it may be. Those older machines use
- some EEPROM chip to store data such as the password.
-