The standard BIOS has all sorts of problems, not least of which is its susceptibility to malware. For example, there are rootkits that hook themselves into the BIOS OS-loader code, permitting them to run underneath Windows. They're difficult to remove and will reinfect Windows over and over.
And because the BIOS sits on a chip on the motherboard, it's more difficult to update than an operating system or an application. So most PC users never update their BIOS, leaving the PC possibly incompatible with newer operating systems. (The early PC BIOS was hard-coded on a chip, so upgrading required replacing the entire chip or PROM.)
The UEFI is a more sophisticated system that runs before your primary OS kicks in. Unlike the BIOS, UEFI can access all PC hardware, including the mouse and network connections. It can take advantage of modern video cards and monitors. It can even access the Internet.
And as you can see in Figure below, UEFI offers a modern, easy-to-decipher user interface. It could make dual-booting simpler, more visual, and controllable by mouse or touch. If you've ever played your BIOS, you discover that UEFI is in a whole new dimension.
Figure: The view of a UEFI-interface screen.
Unlike the BIOS, the UEFI can exist on a disk, just like any other program — or in nonvolatile memory on the motherboard or even on a network share.
At this point, it's important to note that systems can run either the BIOS or the UEFI — or both. When they're both used, the BIOS goes first to run POST, then the UEFI takes over and hooks into any calls that may be made to the BIOS. (Windows typically doesn't make calls directly to the BIOS, but other operating systems might — and the UEFI will handle them, not the BIOS.)
The UEFI can also run without the BIOS — it can take care of all OS loading/interface functions previously handled by the BIOS. The only thing the UEFI can't do is perform the POST or run the initial setup (configuring the CPU, memory, and other hardware). PCs that have the UEFI but no BIOS have separate programs for POST and setup that run automatically when the PC is powered on.
As we all know, the BIOS initialization process — including POST — seems to take a long time. The UEFI, on the other hand, can run quickly.
Moreover, a BIOS is easily reverse-engineered and typically has no internal security protection, making it a sitting duck for malware. A UEFI can run malware-dodging techniques such as policing operating systems prior to loading them — which might make rootkit writers' lives considerably more difficult. For example, the UEFI could refuse to run OSes that lack proper digital security signatures. And that's where the UEFI controversy begins.
