How to write BIOS program that connects to the internet?

Question

I am aware that there are programs out there like lojack for laptops that get installed on the BIOS, but I'm still a little confused. When reading about lojack, it seems to me that they can't fully located the laptop's location until the user logs in and tries to access the internet. So I'm thinking that it's a BIOS application so that it wouldn't matter if the thief reformats the HD.

So my question is, does anyone have any ideas of how an internet enables BIOS application would be written. I'm not looking for full answers -- just ideas or resources to get started. For example, is such a thing written in assembly? Once one such app is written, how does it get transfered to the BIOS. Does the BIOS program itself recognize that there is an internet connection (when the thief logs on to the OS). Or upon logon, does additional processes get spawned? Are there any resources/websites that anyone can direct me too?

Answer 1

You didn't mention whether you were interested in legacy BIOS or EFI BIOS, but I would mention that with EFI there is the capability of writing EFI applications. See Intel Press:

Harnessing the UEFI Shell

The EFI Application toolkit comes with a complete TCP/IP network stack:
http://www.intel.com/technology/efi/toolkit_overview.htm

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