What is the role of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) in a computer system?

The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) plays a crucial role in modern computer systems primarily through its ability to enhance boot security and support for 64-bit CPUs. UEFI serves as a software interface between the operating system and the platform firmware, providing a more flexible and reliable method for booting a computer compared to its predecessor, the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS).

One of the key capabilities of UEFI is its support for Secure Boot, which helps prevent unauthorized code from running during the system start-up process, thereby protecting against bootkit attacks and ensuring that only trusted software is loaded. Additionally, UEFI accommodates 64-bit architecture, allowing operating systems to take advantage of the larger addressable memory space and improved performance characteristics, which is increasingly essential in today’s computing environments.

By facilitating these advanced features, UEFI provides significant improvements in system security and capability, making it particularly suited for use with modern hardware configurations that employ 64-bit CPUs.