Just as TPMs can perform many other functions besides their basic purpose of providing boot-up protection for PCs, so too can they take many different forms besides a standalone chip. Plenty of consumer tech besides PCs uses TPMs, as well, from printers to connected-home accessories. The Firefox and Chrome web browsers also employ the TPM for certain advanced functions, such as maintaining SSL certificates for websites. The Thunderbird and Outlook email clients use TPM to handle encrypted or key-signed messages. In fact, many apps and other PC features make use of the TPM after the system has already booted up. While that’s how modern TPM implementations function on a most basic level, it’s far from all they can do. A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) add-on for Asus mainboards. If there’s a problem with the key-perhaps a hacker stole your laptop and tried to tamper with the encrypted drive inside-your PC won’t boot up. If everything is normal, the drive encryption is unlocked and your computer starts up.

Likewise, after you press the power button on a newer PC that uses full-disk encryption and a TPM, the tiny chip will supply a unique code called a cryptographic key.

If you don’t key in a code within a short period of time, alarms will sound or you won’t be able to access your money. In this scenario, turning on your computer is analogous to opening the front door of your home or entering your username and password into the login page. The chip is akin to the keypad you use to disable your home security alarm every time you walk in the door, or the authenticator app you use on your phone to log in to your bank account. What Is a TPM?Īt its most basic, the TPM is a tiny chip on your computer’s motherboard, sometimes separate from the main CPU and memory. Let’s take a look at what TPMs do and how they work in the latest version of Windows.

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