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Hi I'm a mostly average Linux user just now learning about these hardware back doors as I'm planning on building a new computer. Can I avoid the disadvantages of ME et al by building my own computer from a separate motherboard and CPU? I remember reading that somewhere but I haven't see it explored again.

My first thought was "Ah ha! AMD CPU!", but they seem to be in on it too. What's a "normal person" to do?

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A few suggestions:

* It might be worth looking into: ARM, Intel Atom, or POWER9 processors

* Intel chips without VPro seem to omit much of the ME functionality, including AMT which provides (all of?) the remote access capability. AFAICT, chips with the Small Business Technology implementation of ME are purposely designed to not have remote access. Maybe use one of those.

* Flash the chip to enable HAP

Today: Buy really old systems and/or patch the firmware.

Soon™: RISC-V, we hope:) Or Talos, or probably a handful of others.

Yep - RISC-V is the best bet for full freedom

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