Windows 8 and new hardware features are bringing many changes to the PC world: one of them has Linux users worried about their ability to run the open source operating system on hardware designed for Windows. Systems with a “Designed for Windows 8” logo must ship with UEFI secure booting enabled, which is likely to rule out Linux distributions. Luckily for Linux users, they should be able to disable the secure boot mode in order to dual-boot Linux alongside Windows, but they will have to rely on hardware vendors to make the option possible. Microsoft insisted that it is not attempting to limit users’ control over PCs, but said secure booting will protect users from rootkits and other malware that targets the boot process.
