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I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:58 am
by Bensam123
Serious... I didn't even know you could do this till I saw the F/W label on the back of it and went hmmm...

I have an Accell active Displayport to DVI cable and they have firmware updates with tweaks and performance enhancements on their website... Really cool all things considered, as it's just an adapter.

http://accellcables.com/support/FAQDP_Firmware.htm

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:46 am
by Arclight
What the EF? It's a brave new world......

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:58 am
by esc_in_ks
So, how long is it until we have the first 0-day DisplayPort cable security vulnerability?

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:02 am
by tanker27
esc_in_ks wrote:
So, how long is it until we have the first 0-day DisplayPort cable security vulnerability?


Its already happened

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:29 am
by just brew it!
tanker27 wrote:
esc_in_ks wrote:
So, how long is it until we have the first 0-day DisplayPort cable security vulnerability?

Its already happened

I think he meant an attack that actually makes use of a vulnerability in the cable's firmware.

Not as far-fetched as it sounds, but I think in order to make it work someone would probably need to load hacked firmware into the cable first. DisplayPort spec has a provision to allow USB to be piggybacked on it, though I have no idea if anyone actually implements this part of it; there's all sorts of nefarious stuff you could do with a hidden USB connection into the system. For example... watch for the display to go to sleep indicating nobody's sitting in front of the system and start injecting keystrokes.

The piggyback USB interface (if implemented) could even provide an opening for malware in your monitor's firmware to mess with your system!

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 12:23 pm
by Flatland_Spider
Oh, wow. That's just asking for trouble. I'm sure there are certain state players that are excited by the possibilities.

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:59 pm
by lilbuddhaman
OH THE POSSIBILITIES!

Inside the second: Are cheap displayport cables adding to your frametimes?

Newest Geek Prank: Hacked Displayports - Simply swap cables on your buddy's rig and watch as his image randomly rotates 45 degrees every 15 minutes !

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 2:17 pm
by just brew it!
I know you meant this as a joke, but...
lilbuddhaman wrote:
OH THE POSSIBILITIES!

Inside the second: Are cheap displayport cables adding to your frametimes?

Unlikely, given that this would imply a lot of buffering in the cable's electronics (and lots of fast buffer RAM costs money).

lilbuddhaman wrote:
Newest Geek Prank: Hacked Displayports - Simply swap cables on your buddy's rig and watch as his image randomly rotates 45 degrees every 15 minutes !

Haha, I want to do this! Rotating would be difficult, but mirroring left/right would be relatively easy (minimal processing and only one scan line worth of buffering). Or selectively dim areas of the image to make it look like the backlight is failing. :lol:

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:46 pm
by cynan
Wha? We're not taking about just a cable per se, we're talking about an active (powered) adapter. These active DisplayPort to dual link DVI adapters have a built in chip that reclocks the DP signal to make it compatible with DVI (as DP is not the same signal as HDMI and DVI).

As to why you would need a firmware update, I don't know - maybe for improved power management, signal handshaking or for making the adapter potentially compatible with a future DP spec?

Anyway, any device with a built in control chip has firmware (though many may not be intended to be flashed/upgraded)... So what if it is a DP --> DVI converter?

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:58 pm
by geekl33tgamer
And in other news, AMD's new displayport firmware address micro-stutter...

(yes, I went there)

Re: I just flashed my displayport cable with new firmware...

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 12:20 am
by Bensam123
According to the website: "The new firmware increases the threshold in the adapter allowing it to better respond to the signal strength from the graphic card. This is a performance enhancement that would benefit your adapter and we suggest that you update the adapters firmware. "