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What is a Firmware computer program?

Firmware is a type of computer program in electronic and computing systems that delivers low-level control over the Hardware of a unique device.

Hardware can be a standard operating environment for high-complexity devices (with less hardware dependency). It can be complete control, monitoring, and data processing for less complex devices as the whole operating system. Do. Standard hardware devices have internal computer systems, home appliances, computers, computer peripherals, and more. Almost all electronic devices, even the simplest ones, have Firmware.

The Firmware is also incorporated in devices with read-only memory such as ROM, EPROM, or flash memory. Changing the Hardware of a device may be rare or may not occur at all during the life of that device; Some internal storage devices are permanently installed and cannot be returned after production. Also, Common reasons for firmware updates include bug fixes or adding new elements to the device. This may need to physically produce the integrated ROM circuits or reprogram the flash memory in a straightforward way. Hardware such as the ROM BIOS on a personal computer may have only the essential parts of the device and may only serve higher-level software. Therefore Hardware may be the only executable program in an internal system containing all its functions.

History of Firmware

Ascher Opler used the term “firmware” in an article published in Datamation magazine in 1967. The primary meaning of the Firmware was the editable contents of the CPU (a special small high-speed memory) that contained microcodes to determine and execute a set of computer education. So This microcode could be reloaded to customize or change instructions executable by the CPU. The concept of Firmware is at odds with Hardware (CPU itself) and software (standard instructions that run on the CPU). The Firmware does not have the CPU machine language but consists of lower-level microcodes used to implement the machine language. Hardware is located on the border between hardware and software, hence Firmware. Over time, the term “firmware” refers to any hardware-related computer program, including machine language.

Extender for BIOS, computer bootstrap loaders, or control systems for simple electronic devices such as microwave ovens, remote controls, and computer peripherals.

Firmware applications

•  The Firmware on PCs
• Firmware in consumer products
• The Firmware in cars

Firmware on PCs

The various parts of the Firmware are as significant as the operating system of a computer. Yet, unlike many modern operating systems, Firmware seldom has a grown auto-update mechanism to fix performance problems while in use.

The BIOS can be updated manually by a user using a small application. In distinction, the Hardware of data storage devices (such as hard disks, DVDs, and flash memory) is seldom updated, even if flash memory (instead of ROM) is used for the Firmware; There is no standard mechanism for detecting or correcting firmware versions.

Firmware in consumer products

Since 2010, most mobile music players have upgradeable Firmware. Some companies operate firmware updates to add new playable formats (codecs); Like the Vorbis codec supplied by iriver. So Other specifications that can be changed with firmware updates have a graphical user interface or even battery life. Most cell phones have the power to upgrade Firmware for similar reasons; Updating some of them may improve the rate of sending or receiving audio. This suggests that complex product firmware (such as a CPU-like microcontroller as fought to a digital signal processor) can be used on more than one level.

Firmware in cars

Since 1996, most cars have been provided with internal computers and various sensors to mechanical problems. Since 2010, advanced vehicles have been equipped with ABS anti-lock brakes with computer control and automatic transmission with computer function.

Examples of Firmware include:

• Consumer products
• Computers
• Routers and firewalls
• NAS systems

Consumer products

I was washing machine scheduling and control system and Control audio and video components and channel list on advanced TVs and EPROM chips used in the Eventide H-3000 series of digital music processors.

Computers

• BIOS on IBM compatible PCs
• EFI (U) respectful firmware used in Itanium systems, Intel-based Apple computers, and multiple Intel motherboards used in desktop computers.
• Open Hardware used in SPARC-based PCs from Sun Microsystems and Oracle Corporation, Apple PowerPC-based PCs, and Genesi PCs
• ARCS used in Silicon Graphics computers
• The kickstart used in Amiga model computers (Also including computer self-assessment process, hardware startup process, auto-configuration process, operating system kernel, etc.)
• RTAS service used in IBM product computers
• Common Hardware Environment (CFE)

Routers and firewalls

• LibreCMC – an utterly free router software based on the Linux kernel
• IPFire – a source firewall or router – based on the Linux kernel
• fli4l – a source firewall or router – based on the Linux kernel
• OpenWrt – a source firewall or router – based on the Linux kernel
• m0n0wall – An internal firewall for the operating system

On NAS systems:

• NAS4Free – an open-source NAS operating system based on FreeBSD 9.1
• Openfiler – a source NAS operating system – based on the Linux kernel

Hack of the Firmware

Occasionally, a third party makes an unofficial or modified (“hot market”) version of Firmware to offer new elements or show its hidden capabilities; This version is known as custom firmware. Rockbox, for instance, is an alternative firmware to portable media players. There are several homebrew tasks for video game consoles, which overcome computational limits on earlier devices (such as running Doom on iPod).

On many devices, the firmware hack can install or run itself when the Firmware is upgraded. In addition, Some hacks need malicious code to run, as the designer has tried to stop unauthorized code by locking the Hardware.

Security risks

Ubuntu Linux co-founder Mark Shuttleworth explains proprietary Firmware as a security risk, saying “your device’s firmware is the NSA’s best friend” and calling the firmware “an amazingly sized Trojan horse.” “Low-quality packet source software is a serious threat to system security,” he said. “Suppose that due to the incompetence of plants and the adequacy of such a wide range of organizations, the full firmware has become a source of insecurity.” Shuttleworth sees a potential solution to this problem as a defining firmware that states “hardware connections and dependencies” and “should not contain executable code.” This Firmware must be open source to be able to verify its code.

Conclusion

Shared hardware hacks have also concentrated on malware implanting smartphones or USB devices. One of the most intrusive Symbian OS smartphones was shown at the MalCon conference. Also, A USB firmware hack called BadUSB was revealed at the Black Hat USA 2014 conference, which demonstrated how to reprogram a USB microcontroller to mimic other devices to control a computer, extract data, or spy on it. Do the user. Other security investigators have researched how to manipulate BadUSB and have also released source code for hacking tools that can change the performance of various USB devices.

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