Windows 8 Taps SUSE Linux for its Secure Boot

Windows 8 is among the youngest OS in the industry. It is young and that means it still needs a lot of improvement. One area that the Microsoft OS is focusing on is its Secure Boot. A firm Secure Boot feature is necessary to stay safe against malicious software applications and prevent operating systems from loading while the system is starting up. In Windows 8, one particular issue that haunts it is its requirements for ARM-based Windows 8 devices, which it will need if it wants to go toe-to-toe with Mac OS in countries such as Germany. The initial release of the OS comes with a mandatory Secure Boot feature that instantly locks down the device and stops them from booting non-Windows systems. To address this issue, the young Windows 8 made a deal with one of the oldest existing commercial distributions in the operating system industry, the SUSE Linux.

Under the deal, the German computer operating system will pioneer the UEFI Secure Boot project that will create a hybrid approach that people have seen from Ubuntu and Fedora. Olaf Kirch, director of the SUSE Linux Enterprise department in SUSE Engineering, said that the project will make “it harder for attackers to hide a rootkit in the boot chain.” He also said that it will come with the “basics of its operation–establishing a single root of trust—conflict with the principles of Open Source development, which must be independent and distributed to work.”

UEFI, which stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), demands that only systems with appropriate digital signatures are allowed to boot. It can be worked out by using two key ways. First is by working with hardware vendors to have them endorse a SUSE key and second is to “go through Microsoft’s Windows Logo Certification program to have the boot loader certified and have Microsoft recognize our signing key.”

Windows 8 is a work in progress and still, it is already one of the most in-demand OS today, even in Mac OS-loyal countries such as Germany. One reason why it is loved by many is its ability to hit on what people exactly want and needs.Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that upcoming Windows 8 platforms will come together with free poker games along with Xbox Live support to let them play with real competitors online. Poker is a sport that is fondly played by many people all over the world. It is played even by huge celebrities like Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker, and Cristiano Ronaldo. This is a nice treat for many poker enthusiasts, especially those who love playing on real-money poker websites like de.partypoker.com. According to Microsoft, the poker games will use World Series of Poker: Full House Pro brand and will be distributed via the integrated Windows Store. Players will get a free stack of chips every day so that means unlimited games for the users.

For those who dream of having free poker games on their computers, security won’t be a problem for you once the UEFI project is completed.