Columbia University researchers have discovered a vulnerability in some Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer lines that could allow attackers to install a modified firmware to steal information, run attacks from within a network or cause physical damage to the printer.

Attacks can be carried out from different vectors. Printers that support a remote firmware update process could allow attackers to take control of a printer’s firmware over the Internet in less than a minute if the printer is not protected properly by a firewall. The researchers during a scan were able to find more than 40,000 devices that they said could be infected within minutes.

Local attacks are another possibility. The researchers were able to send print commands from Macintosh and Linux computer systems to trick the printer into reprogramming itself. It is not clear at the time of writing if Windows environments are safe or also affected by this.

Printers that the researchers analyzed do not verify the source of the firmware with the help of digital signatures. A HP spokesperson stated that all modern HP printers do require digitally signed firmware upgrades since 2009.

Even worse for consumers and companies, there is no way of telling if a printer’s firmware has bee compromised short from physically disassembling the printer and analyzing its chipset output.

According to RedTape, HP is currently analyzing the claims made by the researchers. HP could release a firmware update of their own to resolve the vulnerability. Compromised printers however may have been programmed to block new firmware updates. That’s bad on the one hand as companies would have to throw away the printer in this case (or talk to HP to find a solution) and good in another as they have just identified a compromised printer in their network.

The researchers have started analyzing printers manufactured by other companies recently but no results have been posted yet. They say it is likely that printers and other devices with Internet access are also vulnerable. (thanks Jojo for sending in the tip)

With smartphone’s and other similar computing devices there are usually tangible benefits to updating.  These commonly include new features, extra functionality for existing hardware such as cameras and most crucially, bug fixes and security patches.  It can be difficult to argue against these types of software updates then, but given the recent update problems with iOS (and it’s far from the only smartphone platform to experience problems) the question still needs to be asked if it’s really necessary to do?

Commonly, smartphones will nag you to update your device’s operating system.  Windows Phone is awful for this with a daily nag  on the handset and another nag whenever you plug the handset into your computer.  Should the smartphone makers back off and allow us to use the device as it was originally programmed?

So what are advantages?  With smartphones it’s a simple case of just having less hassle and less chance that something will go wrong and either ‘bricking’ the handset or losing all your data.  This happening can at its best cause you to lose text messages, files and photographs, but at worst can result in having to send you phone away for reprogramming.  If you’re not being nagged then, security issues aside and I’ll explain why in a minute, you should ask the question does the phone do everything you currently need it to do?  If this is the case then it’s likely you won’t be a prolific downloader of apps or a heavy user of the phone’s features.  If you are a casual user who will use a phone for a year or two and then get a new one why bother with an upgrade that may not change anything for you.

While it’s difficult to avoid operating system upgrades for your smartphone though, it’s much easier to avoid them for other hardware.  I’m a fan of saying that firmware should only be upgraded if it’s really necessary and as the author of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out I’ve seen many of the problems that firmware updates bring.

If you have a faulty update to your router’s firmware you could bee offline for a fortnight.  If you have a bad update to your NAS drive’s firmware you could lose all access to your files and data for weeks and if you have a bad firmware experience with your PC you could, at the very worst, have to dismantle the entire innards of the machine to send the motherboard back.

So why do I advise so strongly against upgrading the firmware of devices?  Frankly it’s because unlike the updating of smartphones, the upgrading of firmware is still not a user-friendly and user-serviceable task.  Things are getting better, my new NAS drive can download and install firmware automatically, but I’ve learned over the years not to trust the software updaters supplied with PC motherboards.

As I said at the beginning of this article, this is an issue that tends to polarise opinion.  It can easily be argued that the new features and greater stability that firmware updates often bring makes it well worth updating the firmware on a device on at least a semi-regular basis.  My argument though would be not to do so unless it’s strictly necessary, for instance if you have a stability issue or a hardware feature needs an update to switch it on, such as USB3 on a motherboard or a card slot on a tablet.

It would be very interesting to hear how you feel about firmware and embedded OS updating.  Is it something you do regularly or perhaps something that, like me, you leave and forget about unless it becomes necessary?

Apple releases regular firmware updates for their devices, which often add new functionality and improvements like a better performance or battery life. Firmware updates may on the other hand invalidate jailbreaks or tools used to jailbreak devices. In rare circumstances, they remove features from a device.

Firmware downloads are usually offered on Apple’s official support website. The site is a big mess to navigate, and the best option is to filter downloads by product to quickly find out if a new firmware is available.

A better solution is the free program IpswDownloader which is available for Windows and Macintosh computer systems. Ipsw is the file extension that Apple firmwares are provided in. The free tool offers firmware information and downloads for a variety of Apple devices. Supported devices include the iPhone 4G, iPad 1G and 2G or the Apple TV 2G.

Each supported device is selectable from a pulldown list in the application interface. Next to the device pulldown menu is a second menu that lists all available firmwares for the device.
Each Firmware is listed with its version and a code.

The main interface displays additional information about the selected firmware. This includes its total file size, which jailbreak tool is available to jailbreak it and whether it is possible to unlock it. The tools that are mentioned are not linked, which means that users who want to jailbreak their Apple device need to find the program on their own to do so. The device firmwares are large files, usually between 200 and 700 Megabytes in size.

The question that remains is this: Do you really need a tool to download the firmware? It simplifies the process greatly. You only need to run it to download the latest firmware, and provided that the developers maintain a list of available firmwares that is all you need to do.
The jailbreak information are handy for users who jailbreak their devices. Security conscious users on the other hand may prefer to download the files directly from an official Apple website instead.

IpswDownloader is available for Windows and Mac at the developer’s website.

You see, the firmware of the DVD writer contains information, so called media codes, that tell the writer how it has to handle the media inserted. This includes reading and writing speed. If media are not stored in the firmware the default read and write speed will be used which is always slower than what it could be.

Media Code Speed Edit is a software that reads the firmware of a DVD writer and displays the current list of supported media. It can also modify entries and replace entries. Supported are many DVD writers from companies like LiteOn, LG, Pioneer, NEC, Philips, HP and Benq.

The first thing you need to do after starting Media Code Speed Edit is to load a firmware file. You need that file locally which means that you have to either visit the manufacturers homepage and search for a firmware for your device or visit a website like the firmware page to grab an already modified one. Once you have done that you will see a screen that looks like the one below.

Media Type, name and write speed are displayed in a large list. Media Type is the type of the media, e.g. DVD+R9, DVD+R aso. The name is the media identifier used by the manufacturer and the write speed is the max write speed available for that media on your computer.

We do have two possibilities now. We can change settings immediately if that feature is supported in the firmware by selecting a line in the list and changing the speeds or we can use a program like DVD identifier to identify the media that we are using and replace a line that we are not using with the new media.

Open DVD Identifier and click on Options > Clipboard and activate Attach ‘Media Code’ Block. Now put the media in your DVD drive and click on Identify. The DVD will be identified which takes a few moments. Click on Clipboard to copy the results to the clipboard.

Now open Media Code Speed Edit again and select an unused media code. Make sure that it is of the same media type, e.g. replace a DVD+R with a DVD+R code. Once the line is selected click on Import on the left and paste the contents of the clipboard into the form. Click on OK and you are done.

Once you are done click on Save to save the firmware and patch your DVD writer afterwards with the new firmware. Reboot your computer and test if the changes had a positive effect.

This are lots of information at once. A good place to get started are the forum threads discussing DVD writers of several manufacturers which tell you what can be done and what can’t be done. Below are some forum threads to get you started.

Media Code Speed Edit
BenQ / Philips discussion / results
LG discussion / results
NEC discussion / results
Pioneer discussion / results

The major annoyance is most likely the fact that users can’t add third party applications to their iPhone anymore which is in my opinion a major mistake by Apple. The community is always creative no matter if the product is a PSP, an iPhone or an Nintendo DS. They create so many useful applications that people will stick with the device no matter what.

I do not own an iPhone and have no intention to buy one. I’m perfectly happy with my Nokia N73 which allows me to install any applications that I would like. (supported ones only of course.) I nevertheless thought it would be good for all iPhone users to copy and paste the instructions on how to downgrade the iPhone firmware from version 1.1.1 to 1.0.2.

1.0.2. is the one that can be modified.

Downgrading iPhone Firmware Instructions:

1. First, download the iPhone1,1_1.0.2_1C28_Restore.ipsw from Apple. On a Mac, do not unzip the file, iTunes will do this for you in step 4.
2. Then connect phone to dock, and hold down home button and power button for about 10 seconds or until the screen goes black.
3. Now release the power button but continue holding the home button. After about 10 seconds the computer will detect the iPhone in restore mode, and iTunes should tell that the phone needs to be restored.
4. Hold down SHIFT key (Windows) or Option/ALT-key (Mac) when clicking the Restore button, and select the file you downloaded in step 1.
5. Let the restore complete and ignore the error at the end. (Should be error 1013).
6. Now your phone should show the “Connect to iTunes” screen with the yellow triangle.
7. Run AppTap to jailbreak your phone – it will restore it to a working 1.0.2 firmware it even though you will get an error at the end. Just dismiss the error and quit the installer.
8. Run AppTap again to actually install the installer.app. It should successfully complete. Keep rerunning AppTap if it doesn’t work the first time – it may take a few tries.
9. At this point you will have a jailbroken iPhone that still needs to be activated (as usual). Google is your friend.
10. AT&T Users: Reset your iPhone before you start using your phone again. Failure to do so may result in you being charged for your “free services.”

Read More:

Downgrade Iphone Firmware

• support for additional sound codecs such as ogg and flac
• support for games such as Doom, Sokoban and Sudoku
• support for applications like calculators, battery related and text editors
• video support (yes even for ipod nanos 1st gen for instance)
• Gameboy emulator

Installing Rockbox is not as difficulty as it sounds. Take a look at the manual pages which contains all the information you need for all supported mp3 players. Again, you should be very careful before you proceed. Everything is explained in detail and it should not be that much of a problem to install the new firmware. The rockbox forums are also a great way to have any remaining questions answered before making the changes.

I tried utilities like speedfan which were compatible with my card but I was not able to alter the fan speed at all. The option was not active. I then found a forum entry from a user who changed the firmware of the card and was able to reduce the fan speed afterwards. I decided to give it a try and it worked like it should. The cards fan is now running at an ultra low level when I´am working and at full speed when I´am playing games. The way it should be.

In computing, firmware is software that is embedded in a hardware device. It is often provided on flash ROMs or as a binary image file that can be uploaded onto existing hardware by a user.

Now, what I want to explain with this little story is that firmware updates might be worth looking at for your hardware. They can make your hardware faster, enable features or get rid of bugs. I decided to create a list of good sites that offer firmware updates for various products like graphic cards, dvd drives, raid systems, motherboards and routers.

Before I start with the list I´d like to remind everyone that firmware flashing is no easy task and could damage your hardware. Make sure you know what you are doing.

DVD Writers:

Dvd writers can benefit in several ways from new firmware versions. Some could get added double layer support, increase their writing speed or disable the regional code.

Flashing a dvd drive is a simple task. You need to know the manufacturer, the model and the firmware version. To find this information do the following: (in windows xp)

Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – System Information

Click on components and select CD-ROM.

Look at the row PNP Device ID. There is a large underline in the middle, after that you see your firmware. Now visit a site like the firmware page and search for your manufacturer. It should show a entry and give you a link to all the firmware versions that are available. If you find one that enables new features download it and follow the guidelines from there on.

General links:

club.cdfreaks.com – A forum with a firmware section.
etnas firmware page
The dangerous brothers
The firmware page

Specific links:

Liteon, Memorex and Pioneer firmwares
Nec firmwares
Nec firmwares 2

Graphic Adapters:

New firmwares speed up your card, enable temperature sensors to work or even change the model of the card into a newer one.

Ati and Nvidea cards need different tools to flash the firmware. I recommend the atitool for ati cards and for nvidea cards a utility like nvflash

Search for your card, download the latest firmware if it adds new features and follow the guidelines of the text file.

General links:

Mvktech
Techpowerup.com

Raid Controller:

I never updated a raid controller. They can be updated to support additional raid and udma modes. A very good site is storage-raid-forum.de which offers downloads for many companies.

You use the same flash utility when flashing your motherboards bios if the controller is an internal one. Take a look at the homepage of your manufacturer to recieve the information on how to flash a motherboard.

Router:

I never flashed a router myself but flashing could enable features or allow you to change parameters. Good sites with lots of information are openwrt.org and sveasoft.com

[tags]firmware, update, bios, flash, rom, ram, dvd, graphic[/tags]