Absolute Software

Question

My XPS 8960 desktop apparently has the Absolute agent (from Absolute Software) embedded in the BIOS, and currently set to Enable.

The Absolute software, which is really quite impressive, can be very useful to an organization but has no value to a home user like myself, and having the agent installed increases my computer's attack surface and gives me an uneasy feeling that someone has the ability to remotely monitor my computer, although I doubt that Dell has any interest in doing this.

The BIOS gives me the option to Permanently Disable the agent. However, since Absolute is embedded in the BIOS at the factory, I don't see how it's possible to permanently disable it, even with a clean install.

Does anyone know if permanently disabling Absolute in the BIOS actually disables it permanently?

MastiffX · Accepted Answer

My question is solved. According to Computrace Replaced by Absolute Module in Newest BIOS Revisions, a 15-Dec-2022 post in Dell's knowledgebase, the Permanently Disable setting means that 'the Absolute Persistence Module Interface is permanently disabled. Permanent: Cannot be changed.' The post goes on to explain that the Enable setting does not mean that the feature is active, and in fact, my BIOS says Absolute Status is Deactivated. For Absolute to be Activated, the Absolute server needs to sends an activation command to my computer. Thus, it seems that I can leave the Enable setting as is, or I can choose to Permanently Disable the agent.

robleh717 · Answer

I am concerned as mastifx was back in 2022. I see absolute software running in services and in my bios. I have tried to remove it thru the registry to no avail. Of course this b/c of the embedding the BIOS. I bought this machine used w/o really thinking and now realize there is the strong possibility for remote intrusion via this software. I want to flash the BIOS to have non-absolute version. Can Dell help?

(edited)

XPS Desktops

Absolute Software

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