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• Exclusive Interview: Going Three Levels Beyond Kernel Rootkits

  Today we have the pleasure of chatting with Joanna Rutkowska, one of the top computing security innovators in the world. She is the founder and CEO of Invisible Things Lab (ITL), a boutique computer security consulting and research firm. Alan: Joanna, thanks for taking the time to chat. Let's start with the basics for our readers. You've carved out a niche in the security world with your expertise on stealthy attacks, such as rootkits, and more recently by exposing vulnerabilities with virtual machines and low-level hardware. But before we go into all of this, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? Joanna: I'm a researcher focusing on system-level security issues like the kernel, hypervisor, chipset, etc.  Researcher--not a bug hunter or a pen-tester. I'm more interested in fundamental problems rather then specific bugs affecting specific user software. For example, can the OS/platform provide any security to the user, despite its apps such as Adobe Reader or IE being potentially compromised? I believe in “Security by Isolation.” Business-wise, I'm a founder and director of Invisible Things Lab (ITL), a boutique security research and consulting firm. I'm very proud of the team I managed to create at ITL, which includes Alexander Tereshkin and Rafal Wojtczuk, who are two of the most skilled researchers in the field of system-level security. Recently, I've been becoming less and less of a "debugger-attached-researcher," gravitating towards a higher-level role, which is needed to supervise the work done by my team. I enjoy this new role of a director a lot, in fact. Alan: It’s good to be the boss.  How did you get started in security research? Joanna: That was so long ago that I don't remember now. ;) Alan: Easier question then. What was your first computer and first computing memory? Mine’s a TI-99/4A, playing Parsec and Alpiner. I can still remember typing “OLD DSK1” as a three-year-old. Joanna: It was PC/AT 286 running at a blazing speed of some 16MHz, if I remember correctly, and also having 2MB of RAM (I think that all was after a motherboard upgrade though). I was 11 when I started playing with it, and almost immediately started my adventure with GW-BASIC, and then after a year or so I switched to Borland’s Turbo Basic--that was really a killer, with its beautiful GUI and ability to actually build executables! Alan: What’s a typical week at the office like? Joanna: We're proud to be a truly modern company. We don't have any physical offices. Everybody works from home and we exchange all the stuff via encrypted email. There is no such thing as 9-to-5 work hours here. The work we do requires lots of creativity, and it would be silly to enforce any strict working hours. For me personally, it’s especially important to take a nap during an afternoon. I cannot actually function too long without decent amount of sleep. I have actually never worked a single day in an office. Alan: (laughs) So who’s the typical ITL customer? Joanna: We direct our services primarily to system-level vendors. Alan: So, the likes of BIOS manufacturers and individual corporations looking for a secure computing environment? Joanna: I would stress the word vendors here, as we really are interested in being able to affect the technology. In my opinion the only rationale behind doing offensive research is to provide constructive criticism and change or improve the technology we have now. As such, ideally, we would like to work with both hardware (CPU/chipset) and software (BIOS/OS) vendors, as some of the cool new hardware technologies can be fully engaged only with the system software that is properly designed. Alan: What's the configuration of your primary system? Joanna: My primary desktop machine is an eight-core Mac Pro (2 x 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon) with 16 GB of DRAM and with a gorgeous 30" Apple monitor. It's the most beautiful desktop machine I've ever had--both when it comes to its aesthetics as well as GUI experience. I also use a rather old black MacBook (Santa Rosa, Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz, 4 GB of DRAM) as my general-purpose laptop. I've been postponing buying a new unibody sexy MacBook Pro because up until recently they have not supported more than 4 GB of DRAM (at least the 15" versions, which I prefer) which I've found discouraging. I can still see the weak point of the Mac hardware though: the lack of TPM, TXT, VT-d, and the OS X system. I try to get around some of the limitations of the OS with virtualization. I also use a number of PC-based hardware, both laptops and desktops. It strikes me how ugly most of the PC laptops are compared to Apple’s products, though. One exception being the Voodoo Envy 133--I just wish it came with a newer chipset, so I could rationalize the decision to buy it. ;) Alan: I’ve been running two generations of 13” unibody MacBooks now. The 9400M is perfect and the Li-polymer battery in the new one is absolute amazing. Flying across the US with in-flight Wi-Fi while on a single charge is an epiphany.  Joanna: Our conversation is becoming an Apple ad I guess. Maybe somebody at One Infinite Loop reads it and sends me a new 15” MacBook Pro in return? Alan: Last of the intro questions: what’s your favorite non-tech hobby? Joanna: A non-tech hobby? Hmm, you mean programming an autonomous hexapod robot with a brain based on two 8-bit AVR microcontrollers doesn't count?

• The Apple Mac Cost Misconception

  Note: This isn’t a guide to evangelize and convert people from Windows to Mac OS X. It’s a guide to give people options. If you’re happy with what you’ve got, great! But if you’re interested in alternatives read on. After my first article on Macs and OS X, there were several readers who just down right bashed Macs for pricing and OS X without solid reasoning or legitimate hand’s on experience of Macs. So this is a follow-up. Let’s get straight to the point. Tom’s Hardware isn’t about being a "PC fanboy." It’s about finding the best hardware, revealing up and coming tech and debunking predetermined notions. That begs the question, especially here: what’s so special about a Mac anyway? Here’s the short answer: nothing really, just some very elegant aluminum chassis designs. The key, is the operating system. Even still, let’s settle this issue about price. In a recent comment, someone came up with an analogy that a Mac isn’t really a BMW, but rather a Hyundai dressed up in a nice exterior. One problem: Hyundai’s don’t have nice European car exteriors. And to generalize it this way shows the lack of willing to understand the core of the Mac: it’s operating system. Because that’s really what it’s about. But for the sake of these first few pages, let’s leave Mac OS X out of the picture for now. Let’s just see where Apple comes in on hardware. In terms of hardware, there’s nothing really special about a Mac aside from elegant designs, be it a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro, that makes it incredibly more worthwhile than the PC equivalent. And there’s no doubt that you can get an equally equipped PC, or build one yourself, for less money. In fact, I mentioned this in my previous article, although some people seemed to have completely missed the page where I complained about Apple’s outrageous prices altogether. However, building a PC to do the same isn’t the point, because you can always buy a cheaper car to get you from A to B. Instead, let’s see what you can get for $2000, from Apple and from others. For $2000, do you really get much less? Let’s take a quick look at some of Apple’s competition and their pricing structure compared to Apple’s: We went to Dell’s website and picked out what Dell indicated was a serious gaming laptop. We also took the XPS model that was priced the same as the baseline MacBook Pro. Let’s take a look at the results. Apple vs. Dell Price Comparison $1999 MacBook Pro$1999 Dell XPS M1730 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo 2 GB of RAM2 GB of Shared RAM NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MBNVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT with Shared MB 200 GB HDD200 GB HDD 15.4-inch LED LCD17-inch LCD 1440x9001920x1200 Dual-Layer DVD BurnerDual-Layer DVD Burner 802.11n Wi-Fi802.11g Wi-Fi Bluetooth Built in WebcamBuilt in Webcam Backlit KB with Ambient Sensor        Optical Audio Output/InputSPDIF through Dongle Dual-Link DVI OutputDual-Link DVI Output Remote MagSafe PowerStandard female/male Jack 5.4 lbs10.6 lbs 1 inch thick2 inch thick For the most part, the two systems are comparable, indicating that at least for a laptop, Apple’s pricing fits in line with comparable hardware. Certain things like shared memory for graphics leave some performance desires for the XPS, but the XPS has a strong leg up on the MacBook Pro with the larger screen size. Apple’s MacBook Pro has several small advantages over the XPS, mainly with the MagSafe connector and it’s nearly take-for-granted use. I have seen several incidences where people have tripped over or through someone else’s MacBook Pro power cord and the MagSafe design literally saved the laptops from flying. The biggest differences are the screen size, weight, thickness, and shared memory. For absolute performance, the screen size won’t matter here, but the slow shared graphics memory on the XPS will. For a laptop that Dell indicates is a gaming machine, shared memory is a disappointment, as graphics is an important area for 3D gaming. For another comparison, let’s look at the MacBook Air to VoodooPC’s Envy 133: Apple vs. VoodooPC Price Comparison $1799 MacBook Air$2099 Envy 133 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo 2 GB of Shared RAM2 GB of Shared RAM Intel GMA X3100 Shared RAMIntel GMA X3100 Shared RAM 80 GB ATA HDD80 GB HDD 13.3-inch LED LCD13.3-inch LCD 1280x8001280x800 External eSATA Super Multi Drive 802.11n Wi-Fi802.11n Wi-Fi BluetoothBluetooth Built in WebcamBuilt in Webcam Backlit KB with Ambient SensorBacklit KB with Ambient Sensor DVI OutputHDMI MagSafe PowerStandard female/male Jack 3.0 lbs3.37 lbs (with SSD) 0.16 to 0.75 inch thick0.70 inch thick iLife ’08 SuiteNo software package At this point, the Envy is $300 more expensive than the MacBook Air. Although the Envy 133 does include an external optical drive, tacking on Apple’s quite expensive $99 MacBook Air SuperDrive to the purchase of the MacBook Air still leaves a $200 gap. Bottom line: Macs aren’t "way more" expensive than PCs. So where do things get really hairy with Apple? Upgrades. Apple really stabs you in the face when you’re upgrading your Mac. All goes well when you want to buy a base system, but as soon as you want to add options, be prepared to be murdered. I’ll talk about this later. Let’s take a look at desktops.

• CES 2007: VoodooPC introduces new Envy gaming notebook

  Las Vegas (NV) - VoodooPC introduced its newest product, the Voodoo Envy HW:201 notebook PC, today at CES 2007. The Envy HW:201 notebook features two Nvidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX GPUs running in Nvidia SLI mode and AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core mobile technology. The ENVY HW:201 lets users choose between two NVIDIA graphics cards - the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX with 512 MB of RAM for gaming or the NVIDIA Quadro FX 2500M with 512 MB of RAM for workstation tasks. The HW:201 also features a 20.1" high-resolution screen, which VoodooPC says is the biggest notebook display on the market. VoodooPC, which is now part of Hewlett-Packard following last year's acquisition, demonstrated the new notebooks at its booth within the massive HP domain of the exhibit hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. While I didn't get a chance to play any games on the Envy HW:201, I did have a chance to see how well the notebook displayed video on its large hi-resolution screen. The Envy HW:201 was playing "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," and the picture clarity was excellent. The ENVY HW:201, which measures 18.75" x 13.5" x 1.9", also boasts 320 GB of storage using two hard drives, as well as a Voodoo Envy webcam, Bluetooth and wireless A/B/G networking and the Voodoo Envy theater audio system. "We had this in our product roadmap prior to the HP acquisition," Rahul Sood, co-founder and chief technologist of VoodooPC. "We wanted to make a faster notebook with more power and storage for playing games and DVDs." Now that the acquisition has been completed, Sood says VoodooPC will take advantage of HP's technology, brain trust, and connections to make even more powerful and better designed notebooks. "Usually with notebook makers, you're stuck using the same parts as everyone else," Sood said. "That's not going to happen anymore. We're going to be able to leverage HP's technology. Plus, being part of HP has opened up some doors for us, so manufacturers are calling us now instead of us calling them. So we're going to create some deadly products very soon."