Boot Order or BIOS Password?

About this interactive

A computer's firmware decides what the machine may boot from and holds settings that an attacker with physical access could abuse. Two hardening steps lock this down. Restricting the boot order controls which sources the machine will start from. Older machines tried the network (a PXE boot), then optical or USB, before the internal drive, which lets someone boot their own operating system, for example Linux on a USB stick, and bypass the installed security. You disable the sources you do not need and leave it booting from the internal drive. Setting a BIOS/UEFI password protects the firmware settings themselves. Without it, anyone can enter setup and change the boot order back. With it, the configuration screens require a password, so the settings, boot order included, cannot be reached or altered. To sort a card, ask whether it changes which sources the machine boots from, or locks the firmware settings behind a password.

What you'll learn

Restrict a machine's boot order so it starts only from trusted internal media, closing off USB, optical and network (PXE) booting
Set a BIOS/UEFI password so unauthorized users cannot reach or change the firmware settings, including the boot order itself

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

4.1 Given a scenario, apply common security techniques to computing resources.

Key terms

Boot Order: The sequence in which a computer's BIOS or UEFI firmware attempts to load an operating system from available storage devices and interfaces.
BIOS Password: A password configured in BIOS settings to prevent unauthorized users from accessing or modifying system firmware configurations.
Preboot Execution Environment: A network boot standard that allows computers to start and load an operating system or diagnostic image from a network server rather than a local storage device. PXE is used for mass OS deployment, diskless workstation configurations, and remote system recovery.
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface: A modern firmware standard that replaces the legacy BIOS, providing a graphical pre-boot environment, support for drives larger than 2 TB, faster boot times, and Secure Boot capabilities. UEFI is now standard on all modern PC hardware.

Topics

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