Between CPU and motherboard, which is more likely to have undisclosed wireless technologies?

[unbuildpain]

Between CPU and motherboard, which is more likely to have undisclosed wireless technologies?

I have a computer which is not connected to Internet, WiFi, there is no wire connected to the ethernet port, there is no wifi adapter on the motherboard or connected through USB. Because of certain things which are happening on that system, I believe it might have undisclosed wifi technologies, there is no possibility of a virus doing this. Either the virus is built into the OS or drivers, both of them are from official sources.

Taking signal-to-noise ratio into account, which is more likely to have undisclosed wireless technologies? CPU or motherboard? I'm ruling out graphics card and hard disk. I think small smartphones are being made which are capable of connecting to WiFi networks and cellular networks, there is nothing to say similar to capabilities cannot be built onto a motherboard or CPU, if someone were creating such things, will they have much success with CPU or motherboard?

 

[betwixt]

Don't fall for conspiracy theories. If something is connecting without cables it has to be either a mobile phone network or a WiFi network or Bluetooth. All of these use RF, so if your computer has a metal case, the signal will not get out. In fact to comply with most World regulations the case has to be an effective screen against interference so signals are purposefully blocked. If it did use a mobile phone network, which one and who is paying the bill? If it uses WiFi it has to log into a network and there should be a record of it. If in doubt do a network scan and see which devices are logged in. Bluetooth only has a short range so to connect by that method it would have to be paired with another nearby device and that device in turn would need an outside connection.

If you have a WiFi router, do what I do for extra security: only allow authorized devices to connect. Most routers have a 'whitelist' and 'blacklist' of allowed MAC addresses, only add the MAC numbers of your own known devices to the 'whitelist' then nothing else can connect even if it knows the user name and password.

Brian.

 

[unbuildpain]

Don't fall for conspiracy theories. If something is connecting without cables it has to be either a mobile phone network or a WiFi network or Bluetooth. All of these use RF, so if your computer has a metal case, the signal will not get out. In fact to comply with most World regulations the case has to be an effective screen against interference so signals are purposefully blocked. If it did use a mobile phone network, which one and who is paying the bill? If it uses WiFi it has to log into a network and there should be a record of it. If in doubt do a network scan and see which devices are logged in. Bluetooth only has a short range so to connect by that method it would have to be paired with another nearby device and that device in turn would need an outside connection.

If you have a WiFi router, do what I do for extra security: only allow authorized devices to connect. Most routers have a 'whitelist' and 'blacklist' of allowed MAC addresses, only add the MAC numbers of your own known devices to the 'whitelist' then nothing else can connect even if it knows the user name and password.

Brian.

I apply critical thinking to and scrutinize everything I come across. The explanation I have in the op is the only explanation I can have for what has happened. If something is connecting without cables, it is possible it has been manufactured with capability to connect over wireless, even the frequency it uses maybe different than published WiFi, cellular and bluetooth frequencies. It doesn't necessarily mean it is connecting to my WiFi, because it would need password, I haven't typed that password in that PC, because there was no need to it, I didn't attach to it anything which could contain details about WiFi, there could be a nearby hidden WiFi or some other wireless connection to which it is connecting to.

You seem to be saying only mobile phones, wifi adapters and bluetooth are manufactured with wireless technologies. Motherboard is a long pcb, it could contain circuitry or technologies similar to mobile phones to achieve wireless connection and it could be hidden from common public for evil reasons.

Between CPU and motherboard, which is more likely to have undisclosed wireless technologies?

--- Updated Nov 11, 2020 ---

The CPU chassis or box I have is metallic and I don't know if it conforms to International standards, if it is happening, either the metallic frame and sides are not conductive enough to block the signals. And these day, most of the cases have openings on the front and back, signals might escape through that. Showing off RGB is all the rage these days, so even the sides are made with plexiglass which are not conductive to block any signals.

 

[betwixt]

it is possible it has been manufactured with capability to connect over wireless, even the frequency it uses maybe different than published WiFi, cellular and bluetooth frequencies

No. While it is possible to hide radio links inside any equipment it would still need an antenna and something nearby to communicate with. It would be obvious because of the antenna and the electrical power it would need to make communication. The chances of some 'secret' frequency that couldn't be observed making a link of long distances is absolute zero. Also consider that there is no space inside a CPU for a transmitter and if there was one it would interfere with normal operation and in any case most CPUs have metal casing which would shield the signal.

Tell us what actually happened to make you believe there is a security leak and we might be able to offer an alternative reason.

Brian.

 

[unbuildpain]

No. While it is possible to hide radio links inside any equipment it would still need an antenna and something nearby to communicate with. It would be obvious because of the antenna and the electrical power it would need to make communication. The chances of some 'secret' frequency that couldn't be observed making a link of long distances is absolute zero. Also consider that there is no space inside a CPU for a transmitter and if there was one it would interfere with normal operation and in any case most CPUs have metal casing which would shield the signal.

Tell us what actually happened to make you believe there is a security leak and we might be able to offer an alternative reason.

Brian.

By default a setting's values were something. After I installed an OS and drivers, I tested for several hours with the default settings. I shut down the computer at night, I didn't disconnect from power socket, I didn't turn off the main power switch. Next day I woke up and ran the tests, the settings's values were altered, no one had access to the computer while I slept. It was not connected to the Internet or anything which has access to Internet.

Your 2nd post is about CPUs, right? It seems possible what you say is true only for CPUs. What about motherboards?

If you have ever disassembled a USB WiFi adapter, you might have noticed that they don't have an extruding antenna, they either have a spiral or winding traces or Vivaldi type structure on their PCB, they are able to connect to 2.4GHz and 5GHz with these. For example:

Motherboards have many traces connected to microcontrollers, capacitors, etc, is it not possible to turn some traces into an antenna? Or some of them could have been designed with multipurpose to be able to transmit and receive data wirelessly. If something so small like above can transmit and receive data, how hard would it be to build something like that into motherboards and keep them secret?

Like for example the trace for audio signal on this motherboard:

It is the yellow trace on the lower left side, connected to a microchip and attached to capacitors, it is separate from other traces and equipment to avoid any noise interference, the trace is of the same width and size as the thin wire used as antennas in smartphones, with capacitors attached to them it could be made to send out an amplified signal.

 

[vfone]

Wau! So many places where wireless devices could be hidden in a PC. Thanks for letting us know.
I opened my computer but I think I am lucky. Is nothing hidden there.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Df2qJ1yUwAA9Pzu?format=jpg&name=large

 

[betwixt]

I'm not convinced that is a trace at all. It looks more like a silk screen print to delineate the different ground plane areas.

Of course it could be printed with conductive yellow ink...

Brian.

 

[unbuildpain]

I'm not convinced that is a trace at all. It looks more like a silk screen print to delineate the different ground plane areas.

Of course it could be printed with conductive yellow ink...

Brian.

Apparently it is an audio guard according to motherboard manufacturers, it separates radio jitter from rest of the motherboard to improve signal-to-noise ratio of the audio components of the motherboard.

--- Updated Nov 14, 2020 ---

Wau! So many places where wireless devices could be hidden in a PC. Thanks for letting us know.
I opened my computer but I think I am lucky. Is nothing hidden there.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Df2qJ1yUwAA9Pzu?format=jpg&name=large

I haven't visited the link you post, the tone of your post is ridiculing. The undisclosed wireless technology could be built into any of the portions of a motherboard, some of the traces could even have been designed with multipurpose in mind, they may be able to send signals in addition to performing their published role.

 

[betwixt]

That is what I stated but I couldn't tell it was the audio section. It is just an ink printed line to indicate where the division is on an internal layer of the board between the audio ground and the digital ground.

Brian.