<s>
Proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
is	O
any	O
firmware	B-Application
that	O
has	O
had	O
its	O
use	O
,	O
private	O
modification	O
,	O
copying	O
,	O
or	O
republishing	B-Application
restricted	O
by	O
the	O
producer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proprietors	O
may	O
enforce	O
restrictions	O
by	O
technical	O
means	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
by	O
restricting	O
source	O
code	O
access	O
,	O
firmware	B-Application
replacement	O
restrictions	O
(	O
by	O
denying	O
complete	O
tooling	O
that	O
may	O
be	O
necessary	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
recompile	O
and	O
replace	O
the	O
firmware	B-Application
)	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
legal	O
means	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
through	O
copyright	O
and	O
patents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alternatives	O
to	O
proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
may	O
be	O
free	O
(	O
libre	O
)	O
or	O
open-source	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
may	O
range	O
from	O
just	O
a	O
few	O
kilobytes	O
of	O
microcode	B-Device
for	O
a	O
network	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
controller	I-Protocol
to	O
megabytes	O
of	O
binaries	O
for	O
a	O
wireless	B-Device
router	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	O
firmware	B-Application
may	O
still	O
be	O
available	O
for	O
certain	O
products	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
often	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
software	I-License
,	O
and	O
is	O
especially	O
popular	O
in	O
certain	O
segments	O
of	O
hardware	O
like	O
gaming	O
consoles	O
,	O
wireless	B-Device
routers	I-Device
and	O
Android	B-Application
phones	I-Application
,	O
which	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
running	O
complete	O
general-purpose	B-General_Concept
operating	I-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
like	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
or	O
NetBSD	B-Device
,	O
which	O
are	O
often	O
the	O
systems	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
manufacturer	O
in	O
their	O
original	O
proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
(	O
and	O
especially	O
the	O
microcode	B-Device
)	O
is	O
much	O
more	O
difficult	O
to	O
avoid	O
than	O
proprietary	B-Application
software	I-Application
or	O
even	O
proprietary	B-Application
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
,	O
because	O
the	O
firmware	B-Application
is	O
usually	O
very	O
specific	O
to	O
the	O
manufacturer	O
of	O
each	O
device	O
(	O
often	O
being	O
unique	O
for	O
each	O
model	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
programming	O
documentation	O
and	O
complete	O
specifications	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
necessary	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
replacement	O
are	O
often	O
withheld	O
by	O
the	O
hardware	O
manufacturer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
potential	O
solution	O
is	O
going	O
with	O
open-source	B-Application
hardware	O
,	O
which	O
goes	O
a	O
step	O
further	O
by	O
also	O
providing	O
schematics	O
for	O
replicating	O
the	O
hardware	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
though	O
both	O
proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
and	O
proprietary	B-Application
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
are	O
shipped	O
in	O
binary	O
form	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
practical	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
binary	O
blobs	O
"	O
is	O
used	O
only	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
proprietary	B-Application
drivers	O
by	O
some	O
people	O
,	O
whereas	O
others	O
use	O
the	O
term	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
too	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
open-source	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
reluctantly	O
choose	O
to	O
include	O
proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
files	O
in	O
their	O
distributions	O
simply	O
to	O
make	O
their	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
work	O
,	O
because	O
manufacturers	O
try	O
to	O
save	O
money	O
by	O
removing	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
or	O
EEPROM	B-General_Concept
from	O
their	O
devices	O
,	O
requiring	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
upload	O
the	O
firmware	B-Application
each	O
time	O
the	O
device	O
is	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
,	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
still	O
has	O
to	O
have	O
distribution	O
rights	O
for	O
this	O
proprietary	B-Application
microcode	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
such	O
distributions	O
rights	O
are	O
not	O
obtained	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
device	O
will	O
not	O
work	O
;	O
this	O
especially	O
presents	O
a	O
chicken-and-egg	O
issue	O
with	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
interface	I-General_Concept
controllers	I-General_Concept
from	O
certain	O
manufacturers	O
which	O
cannot	O
be	O
used	O
until	O
such	O
files	O
are	O
somehow	O
obtained	O
first	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
difficult	O
to	O
accomplish	O
when	O
the	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
card	I-General_Concept
does	O
n't	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proprietary	B-General_Concept
firmware	I-General_Concept
poses	O
a	O
significant	O
security	O
risk	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
direct	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
(	O
DMA	O
)	O
architecture	O
of	O
modern	O
computers	O
and	O
the	O
potential	O
for	O
DMA	O
attacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Theo	O
de	O
Raadt	O
of	O
OpenBSD	B-Operating_System
suggests	O
that	O
wireless	O
firmware	B-Application
are	O
kept	O
proprietary	B-Application
because	O
of	O
poor	O
design	O
quality	O
and	O
firmware	B-Application
defects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mark	O
Shuttleworth	O
of	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
suggests	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
reasonable	O
to	O
assume	O
that	O
all	O
firmware	B-Application
is	O
a	O
cesspool	O
of	O
insecurity	O
courtesy	O
of	O
incompetence	O
of	O
the	O
worst	O
degree	O
from	O
manufacturers	O
,	O
and	O
competence	O
of	O
the	O
highest	O
degree	O
from	O
a	O
very	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
such	O
agencies	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
security	O
and	O
reliability	O
risks	O
posed	O
by	O
proprietary	B-Application
microcode	B-Device
may	O
be	O
lower	O
than	O
those	O
posed	O
by	O
proprietary	B-Application
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
,	O
because	O
the	O
microcode	B-Device
in	O
this	O
context	O
is	O
n't	O
linked	B-Application
against	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
does	O
n't	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
host	O
's	O
main	O
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microcode	B-Device
in	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
interface	I-General_Concept
controllers	I-General_Concept
,	O
video	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
x86	B-Operating_System
processors	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
