What is TPM / Infineon "Security Platform" ?

Hi

What is Infineon Security Platform TMP? And should I run the initialisation?

Background
An icon has appeared in the bottom right hand corner of my taskbar called "TPM" and when I mouseover it says "TPM initialised, Security Platform not initialised".

What (the heck) is all this?

J

Update your specs.

TPM is just a chip which will help authenticate you to your device. Generally you only get TPM on work laptops and only ever with another way of identifying yourself (fingerprint, key card, eyeballs etc). Something you are, something you know, something you have; and so on.

If you have a home desktop or laptop then this request is probably a scam. Resetting TPM is not hard at all (assuming it was yours in the first place) but you would have to look it up which you clearly haven't or you wouldn't ask.

I am running a "Samsung Series 7 Ultra notebook, Model: NP740U3E-S04UK". I work from home and use it for work. I don't know where you are expecting me to look it up but I googled it and found nothing that I could understand. Since I have had the laptop for about 1.5 years and have never heard TPM I am assuming it *may* well be a scam, which is why I asked the question.

I now have no idea how to proceed. Any further suggestions?

J

Nope.

As far as I know my Samsung laptop does not have any fingerprint, key card, or "eyeballs" whatever they are.

What do you mean by "update your specs" ?

ship69 said:

As far as I know my Samsung laptop does not have any fingerprint, key card, or "eyeballs" whatever they are.

What do you mean by "update your specs".

Click to expand...

Look here http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/49651-system-spec-fill-your-eightforums-system-sp - people need to know what hardware you have as biometrics (and TPM) are reserved to certain - mainly business - models.

Eyeballs are the two things in your head that point forward above your nose that you look through (if you are lucky). Retina scanning (your retinas are in the back of your eyeballs) is another unique biometric thing like a fingerprint.

> http://www.eightforums.com/attachme...eflect-free-installation-problem-p1010863.jpg
Confused. This is a screenshot about Macrium Reflect. Are you saying I need to install that.

Meanwhile I have discovered that the Samsung manual
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201403/20140319152314943/Win8_Manual_eng.pdf
does talk about TPM although it says that it's "optional".

However I cant work out how to opt out of using it. Does the encryption slow down the computer?

The icon on the desktop does say that TPM is already initialised so maybe it's too late to NOT use TPM. However the Security Platform is not intialised....

I have no idea how to work out if this is a scam or not but it's beginning to look like I should initialise the Security Platform after all. What is weird is that there are TWO buttons called "Manage Security Platform" when I right-click on the TPM icon.

Could it be that the reason that the TPM icon has appeared at all is because I have picked up some malicious software?

Sorry to be so pedantic but I feel in my bones that this is something I need to get right for fear of being locked out of my computer forever... !

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754524.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749022(v=ws.10).aspx#BKMK_1

ship69 said:

> http://www.eightforums.com/attachme...eflect-free-installation-problem-p1010863.jpg
Confused. This is a screenshot about Macrium Reflect. Are you saying I need to install that.

Click to expand...

Sorry about that - I really did mean to give you a link to filling in your system specs. How I managed to send you a completely irrelevant picture of Macrium is beyond me. This is what I meant. http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/49651-system-spec-fill-your-eightforums-system-spec.html

I have a TPM chip on my laptop - I use it to unlock bitlocker with a fingerprint. It came initialised by Lenovo but I re-initialised it following this guide. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753140.aspx

The bitlocker encryption slows your system by 5% or so (according to Microsoft) but I can't say I've ever noticed. TPM (without encryption) doesn't slow things at all. If you look at File explorer and there isn't a padlock then you don't have bitlocker turned on.

I'd check the technet link above and see how you get on. Unless you have updated your BIOS recently I can't think of any legitimate reason for it to be bugging you.

OK I have updated my specs on this forum.

First link was unclear what to do. However I have managed to run tpm.msc which ran "Trusted Platform Module Management". However it turns out I need some "TPM Owner Password" but I have no record of such a thing.

Any suggestions?

If you do not know your TPM owner password, click I do not have the TPM owner password, and follow the instructions provided in the dialog box and subsequent BIOS screens to turn off the TPM without entering the password