1. {{Anchor|avoid}}Difficult to avoid

2. {{Anchor|dist}}Distribution issues

3. {{Anchor|sec|Security}}Security concerns

4. Examples

5. See also

6. References

Proprietary firmware is any firmware on which the producer has set restrictions on use, private modification, copying, or republishing.

Proprietors may enforce restrictions by technical means, such as by restricting source code access, firmware replacement restrictions (by denying complete tooling that may be necessary in order to recompile and replace the firmware), or by legal means, such as through copyright and patents.

Proprietary firmware may range from just a few kilobytes of microcode for a network interface controller{{r|o/microcode}} to megabytes of binaries for a wireless router. Custom firmware may still be available for certain products, which is often free and open-source software, and is especially popular in certain segments of the more powerful general-compute hardware like gaming consoles, wireless routers and Android phones, which are capable of running complete general-purpose operating systems like Linux, FreeBSD or NetBSD, which are often the systems used by the manufacturer in their original proprietary firmware.

{{Anchor|avoid}}Difficult to avoid

Proprietary firmware (and especially the microcode) is much more difficult to avoid than proprietary software or even proprietary device drivers, because the firmware is usually very specific to the manufacturer of each device (often being unique for each model), and the programming documentation and complete specifications that would be necessary to create a replacement are often withheld by the hardware manufacturer.{{r|kt/4818|p=…|q=there will be no monitor or HostAP support for ipw2200 in Linux (or OpenBSD) until Intel decides so because it requires a special firmware that nobody except Intel can write}} One potential solution is going with open-source hardware, which goes a step further by also providing schematics for replicating the hardware itself.

Even though both proprietary device drivers and proprietary firmwares are shipped in binary form,{{r|kt/6550|p=…|q=Vendors often try to hand off two kinds of binary code to us…}} to be practical,{{r|kt/6550|p=…|q=But in the end, if we wish to support any such devices, we must be practical. We must accept the risk that there is a flaw in the firmware.}} the branding "binary blobs" is used only for the binary drivers.{{r|kt/6497|p=…|q=Firmwares are not considered blobs}}

{{Anchor|dist}}Distribution issues

Many open-source operating systems reluctantly have to include proprietary firmware files in their distributions simply to make their device drivers work,{{r|kt/6550|q=at least the device works}} because manufacturers try to save money by removing flash memory or EEPROM from their devices, requiring the operating system to upload the firmware each time the device is used.{{r|kt/4118}} However, in order to do so, the operating system still has to have distribution rights for this proprietary microcode.{{r|kt/4118}} If such distributions rights are not obtained, then the device will not work; this especially presents a chicken-and-egg issue with wireless network interface controllers from certain short-sighted manufacturers like Intel, which cannot be used until such files are somehow obtained first, which is difficult to accomplish when the wireless card doesn't work.{{r|kt/4118|kt/4818|p2=…|q2=we make it clear that those chipsets are definitely SECOND TIER|opencon06-docs/p13|lor-opencon06|o/microcode|o/ports}}

{{Anchor|sec|Security}}Security concerns

Proprietary firmware poses a significant security risk to the user, because of the Direct Memory Access (DMA) architecture of modern computers, and the potential for DMA attacks. Theo de Raadt of OpenBSD suggests that wireless firmware are kept proprietary because of poor design quality, as well as firmware defects.{{r|opencon06-docs/p13|lor-opencon06}} Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu Linux suggests that it’s reasonable to assume that all firmware is a cesspool of insecurity courtesy of incompetence of the worst degree from manufacturers, and competence of the highest degree from a very wide range of such agencies.{{r|ms2014}}

However, the security and quality/reliability risks posed by proprietary microcode may be lower than those posed by proprietary device drivers, because the microcode in this context isn't linked against the operating system, and doesn't run on the host's main processor.{{r|kt/6550}}

Examples

• Breathalysers^[1]
• Most BIOSes found in IBM-compatible Personal Computers;
• Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI){{r|ms2014}}
• ARCS, used in computers from Silicon Graphics;
• Run-Time Abstraction Services (RTAS), used in computers from IBM;
• The iPod's control menus
• Cisco IOS.
• Wireless LAN infrastructure
• Microcode in wireless network interface controllers, video cards etc

See also

• Proprietary device drivers (binary blobs){{r|kt/6497|p=…|q=Firmwares are not considered blobs}}
• Proprietary software
• Firmware
• Microcode
• ROM image
• Open-source hardware
• BIOS
• Coreboot
• Custom firmware
• Open Firmware

References

• Tomocerota formosana
• Tomocerus
• Tomo-chan
• Tomo Cheeki
• Tomochika
• Tom O'Connell (television personality)
• Tomodachi Collection: New Life
• Tomodachi Life
• Tomodachi Life For Nintendo 3DS
• Tomodachi Life (Nintendo 3DS)
• Tomodachi Life(Nintendo 3DS)
• Tom Odell
• Tom O'Dell
• Tomodon coronarium
• Tom O'Donnell (doctor)
• Tom O'Driscoll
• Tomoe Mami
• Tomoe Yamashiro
• Tomo-ga-shima
• Tomogashima
• Tomo Gluic
• Tomo Gluić
• Tomognathus
• Tomography, optical
• Tomography, optical coherence