David Gillett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On  9 Apr 98 at 12:02, Dan Epure wrote:
>
>
> > I also heard that MicroCode can be modified by software (on Pentium or
> higher
> > CPU).
>
>   There are persistent rumours that Intel has included this facility.
> But I don't know of any details being available -- imagine the havoc
> that a virus could cause with something like this.
>   I don't think there's a useful difference between "Intel can't tell
> anybody about this" and "Intel never did it".  Microcode is a useful
> thing for CPU designers to study, but not something anybody else
> needs to worry about.

I read a little about this a while back. Supposedly, newer CPU's had the ability
to get small patches for the internal microcode (if you want to cal, it that).
These were RAM based (volatile), so the PC BIOS has to support it. There is also
supposed to be a security "certificate" so a virus cannot make affect these
patches.


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