摘要 |
A technique for authenticating software in a computer system is provided that can be used to prevent unauthorized users from accessing or using certain features or resources of the computer system. In accordance with the technique, a relatively small hash table is authenticated at system boot up and then used during run-time to authenticate selected portions of a software image. The technique advantageously permits software to be authenticated in a manner that does not impose significant delays upon the boot-up time associated with the computer system. The technique is applicable to both general-purpose and special-purpose computer systems, including embedded systems.
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