Technology - AP
Intel to Offer New Security Features
Tue Sep 10,10:14 AM ET
By MATTHEW FORDAHL, AP Technology Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - In the latest attempt to protect digital information from viruses and hackers, Intel Corp. will integrate advanced security features into its microprocessors and other hardware.
The security features, announced Monday at the Intel's conference for developers, will be implemented in processors as early as next year, said Paul Otellini, Intel's president and chief operating officer.
Code-named LaGrande Technology, the features will create a "vault" in which data is safely stored and processed. Intel also will secure the pathways within the computer, such as between the vault and the display or keyboard.
"It's a new level of safer computing," Otellini said during a keynote addres
The company did not release many details about LaGrande but said it will work in conjunction with other hardware and software-based security efforts such as Microsoft Corp.'s Palladium.
Such technologies will not only keep hackers and viruses from infiltrating data stored or being processed on a computer but also could lock music or video files onto a particular computer, preventing unauthorized sharing.
In other developments at the conference, Intel said it will soon start selling Pentium 4 processors with a new technology that effectively tricks software into thinking it is running on two processors instead of one.
The technology, called "hyper-threading," is already in production in processors used in servers. Otellini said it will be included in Pentium 4s running at 3 gigahertz by the end of the year.
Intel also said it will continue to boost the speed of its processors. During one demonstration, a Pentium 4 set a new speed record
