If I'm not mistaken, Laptops/Desktops bought from System76 have the IME disabled

https://system76.com/

I remember reading this from Michael Bazzell's book "Extreme Privacy"

https://inteltechniques.com/book7.html

"Extreme Privacy: 4th Edition"

Page 15 of the pdf (Page 2 in the book) for info on Intel Management Engine

https://files.catbox.moe/adbrcp.pdf

I have successfully installed Ubuntu on practically every Windows and Mac machine I have possessed. If you are considering purchasing a new machine specifically for Linux, I highly recommend System76 (system76.com). All of their laptops have the Intel Management Engine disabled. This tiny operating system within the firmware of the processor could potentially allow unrestricted, and unknown, remote access to your machine. There is much debate about the likelihood of this happening, but I welcome the paranoia. | use a System76 machine as my daily driver. This is not a paid endorsement, and I purchased the machine myself (through anonymous payment of course). The following will install Ubuntu Linux to your machine and harden the settings.

Insert the Ubuntu USB device and power on the computer. If the Ubuntu install screen is not present, research the appropriate option to select a boot device for your computer. This is typically the F1, F2, F10, delete, or escape key. Pressing these immediately after powering on should present an option to boot to USB or BIOS.

On the Welcome screen, choose “Install Ubuntu” and select your language.

Choose “Normal Installation” and check both download options under “Other”.

If you no longer need any data on the drive inside your computer, choose “Erase disk and install Ubuntu’. This will destroy any data present, so please be careful.

Click “Advanced features”, select “Use LVM with the...” and choose the “Encrypt the new...” option. Click OK to proceed, then click “Install Now’”’.

Enter a secure password which you can remember and is not in use elsewhere.

If you are overwriting a used computer, consider the “Overwrite empty disk space” option. This will delete all data on the drive, and could take a long time.

Click “Install Now’, ‘Continue’, choose a location, and click “Continue’’.

Provide a generic name such as “Laptop”, and enter a secure password. This could be the same as the encryption password for convenience, or you could select a unique password for additional security. You will need both of these passwords every time you boot the computer. Most people use the same password.

Confirm your selections, allow the installation to complete, and reboot.

Provide your password(s), then click “Skip” on the welcome screen.

Select “No, don’t send system info”, “Next’’, “Next”, and “Done’”’.

If you receive a notice about updates, click “Install Now” and allow to reboot.

Note that these steps may appear slightly different on your version of the installation software. You should now possess an Ubuntu Linux installation with full disk encryption. This prevents someone from accessing your data even if they remove your hard drive. Right away, you are very private and secure, but | always make a few modifications before introducing Ubuntu to a client. The first three Terminal commands disable Ubuntu’s crash reporting and usage statistics while the remaining steps harden your overall privacy and security. Click the nine dots (ower left) to open the “Applications” menu, scroll to “Terminal”, open it and execute the following commands. You may be prompted for your password