More correctly, it is default on for nearly 100% of computers sold. Large orgs want it that way (it's a feature), makes installs easier. And yes, that includes all servers, workstations and laptops in the world, except perhaps special purpose stuff (military, space, etc).

It's correct. I've never seen any machine with a default BIOS configuration where PXE booting is disabled. This is considered a feature (makes installations faster). You need to switch it off in the BIOS to stop that.

It is not off by default. I have seen a lot of different hardware in my life (I basically do booting for a living), and I have never encountered a BIOS that had PXE disabled by default.

BIOS has a boot order, and as far as I can recall PXE is always the last option. The order of what comes before varies, e.g. whether or not USB boot is tried first.

In fact, on most systems if they cannot boot, they keep rebooting and ending up in a loop trying PXE boot over and over, and then giving up and rebooting again. But it should be noted that of course, if you get access via PXE you already have full control over the system anyway. The new thing here is that you can use a single "malformed" packet with a payload instead of having to set up a DHCP and tftpboot server to deliver a malicious payload. The fact also that this happens before TPM is enabled makes is extra serious, as there is no way to stop any malicious code executing.

BIOS upgrades can be helpful if they contain a fix, but they tend to be unavailable on consumer hardware fairly quickly after the vendor stops selling and supporting it. Also BIOS upgrades are know to be finicky, and it's very easy to brick your system, which means opening up the box and connecting to the chip with a CH341A EEPROM programmer, something which not everyone is going to be capable of. Some machines have way to recover from a bricked BIOS, but in my experience those don't work most of the time and you end up reprogramming anyway. On many laptops the BIOS is on the back of the mainboard which typically means disassembling the system to get the CPU cooler off.

On nearly all machines it's enabled by default, but it's usually the last boot option.

AFAIK it was only put in the PRO versions of Intel NUCs, the other NUCs I have don't have it. It's really handy to have, because you don't need physical access to the box anymore. So I use the PRO boxes a lot for testing.

Of course on server hardware it's a different thing. It's hard to find any server that doesn't have it. On some boxes it's even a licensed feature that you need to buy^H^H^H rent to get it to work (the bastards).

I do believe you reised to the occasion here.

In real countries, worker conditions are subject to negotiations, not dictates.

This is Slashdot :)

This also clarifies things (why am I not surprised):

Muslims believe in Christ too. Does that make them Christians? Or, by the same mechanism, are Christians also Jews (Jesus was a Jew)?

Let me guess, the most secure elections are those that have only white voters.

piece of crap, it was so incredibly bad that we decided to install the binary so that the security peeps were happy, and then we disabled the service.

It was making our servers unusable, and they refused to fix it when we opened tickets.

The period where this was true only started after the second World War.
Before then the US was just as egotistical and self-absorbed as it is today. That is the reason why it joined so late in both World Wars.
So you could say the US is simply returning to its default stance on world affairs.

Having the datacenters in Europe is just one of the requirements. More important is the legal aspects of who has control.

American and Chinese companies have to abide by the laws of their home countries first, so they will screw over Europeans every time no matter where the datacenter is located.

Also, all that money will be going into European pockets. For the longest time all those funds were spent on foreign companies with hardly any footprint in Europe.

I'm personally seeing the effect in Belgium, with companies in my field popping up like mushrooms in autumn. It used to be difficult finding a decent job over here, because my specialty was only in demand by US companies that weren't hiring in Europe. All that is changing,and so I think the money is well spent.