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Windows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft's forcedWindows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft's forced BitLocker encryption

⁨459⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨moe90@feddit.nl⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-users-reportedly-losing-data-due-to-microsofts-forced-bitlocker-encryption/

source

Comments

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  • zewm@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I had a stroke reading the thread title.

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    • user224@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      The lost data is appearing inThe lost data is appearing in this thread.

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    • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      @moe90@feddit.nl clearly doesn’t give a shit. They’re a serial poster.

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      • brbposting@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        lol @moe90@feddit.nl posted and logged off, they have a life! (I gotchu moe)

        Mod coulda fixed fix huh or maybe that’s dangerous

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    • credo@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It has too much data

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    • PlantPowerPhysicist@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      new form of encryption just dropped

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  • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    DUDE

    FIX YOUR FUCKING TITLE

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    • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      don’t you mean, “FIX YOUR FUCKING TITLEFIX YOUR TITLE FUCKING lazy ass”

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      • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        😂😂

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    • Iheartcheese@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Dude has a stutter be cool

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  • reseller_pledge609@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Surprise, surprise.

    Forcing security measures onto someone who doesn’t understand them or know how to recover their data if something goes wrong is a bad idea.

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  • Landless2029@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Fix that title gore please

    Windows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft’s forcedWindows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft’s forced BitLocker encryption

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    • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Tagging OP @moe90@feddit.nl until they quit being a lazy bitch and actually fix their title.

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    • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I mean, it’s kind of not incorrect:

      Windows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft’s forced Windows 11

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  • ThePantser@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Windows is ransomware now

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    • ogeist@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Nailed it, that is how ransomware works.

      in Italian gangster voice “Hey Buddy, give me your information, fair price for security, eh?, What? Do you not trust me? Buddy, you may lose your information, we wouldn’t want that, right?, just make an account I’ll handle the rest”

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  • Bitflip@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The bot that posted this is not programmed to edit typos.

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    • douglasg14b@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Really wish we didn’t have bots posting at all

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    • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      really interesting to see that they have more posts than comments

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  • Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Your title is borked. Maybe edit that

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    • Atropos@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It’s duplicated in case half of it is lost to Bitlocker

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  • Rooki@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yeah it can happen, when you force people without their consent encrypting their data.

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    • Melonpoly@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Isn’t that what Iphone and Android already do?

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      • Object@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        One major difference is that it is so much easier to lock yourself out of the desktop TPM chip compared to mobile device security chips because they’re not tightly coupled.

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      • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Huh … I never noticed. Probably because my phone OS never failed to boot, requiring me to pull data off the HDD directly.

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      • OfficerBribe@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Android I think just uses same credentials you use to unlock account, at least I am not aware of any recovery key. And you are prompted for credentials from time to time so it is harder to forget. I use fingerprint as main unlock + pattern and I have to enter pattern roughly once a week I think.

        On Windows if you set up Windows Hello (fingerprint or PIN usually), you are not reminded to enter password afterwards so eventually you can forget it.

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      • Lembot_0002@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Most people don’t have anything of importance on their phones. And the tuning options are almost absent on phones, so it is less problematic bug-wise.

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      • Rooki@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        The only phone manufacture that does that is Google with pixel. Any other phone is for my knowledge either “weakly” encrypted or not at all.

        Still your Mobile OS isnt just upgrading and encrypting your SD card and main drive. Thats the point.

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      • MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Different threat model and usage scenario.

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    • cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Forcing people is one thing, not telling them its a thing is completely different. Most Windows users dont even know their Windows has bitlocker enabled and those keys are out of their sight

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  • yesman@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Image

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    • nodiratime@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You can merge the choices and resolve the conflict: Microsoft users are dumb.

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      • IMALlama@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Clearly you’ve never used a Mac. It wasn’t until 2024 that you could snap windows, they have a built in dark mode but the word processor that ships with their computer requires you to use a dark page template if you want black background/white text, and lord forgive you if you want to take a screenshot.

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      • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Thanks?

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      • douglasg14b@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Found the Linux user.

        Not Arc though, they would have said so

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  • ober9000@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    It tech here. Yup sure does. For enterprise customers it gets saved in active directory anyway. But for home users, no way. For new devices I always create a local account and turn off bitlocker if it happens to be enabled. Most people don’t remember their email password, some don’t even remember their email address. So many times I’ve had to remove the drive of a dead PC or laptop and copy all their files off of it, because people just don’t make backups. But already happenend a few times now that a private customer got suckered into making a Microsoft account by one of those full screen pop ups. Probably set it up with an E-Mail some relative of theirs created just so they can download stuff of their Phones App store. And all their stuff just gets automatically encrypted. Bye Bye all the photos you had taken for the last 10 years. Thanks Microsoft.

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    • GoodLuckToFriends@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I just got bit in the ass by bitlocker when my laptop motherboard died. I had to do the unsafe bootloader hack to get back into the drive.

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    • shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Why isn’t this a thing for me? Because I skipped MS account creation? So many Win11 issues I read about on here and I get almost none with my vanilla ISO install.

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      • ober9000@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Maybe it’s a home vs. pro thing? On the pro version you don’t even to do any trickery in the command prompt or the registry. You just choose “join a domain”, create a local account. You don’t actually have to join a domain.

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  • ArkyonVeil@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’m of the opinion that encryption based security should be compartmentalized. IE, an encrypted folder, or “safe” app. Safes in housing are already a concept that is already commonly known so it would be natural to extend a safe into the digital realm. This would also help in the idea that safes are locked with a key, so if the user loses their keys, whatever is inside the safe, might as well be lost.

    Now if EVERYTHING is a safe, (always on encryption). People will never known the difference. Its a dangerous type of security that is likely to be more a loss than a benefit.

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    • ouch@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You are arguing for selective encryption, but I can’t really find any technical argument in your comment.

      Whether we are speaking of encryption at transit or rest, there’s a general consensus that encrypting everything is best in every way except possibly performance for select cases.

      For example, it allows hiding (meta)data about the really important bits, and with computers it’s really difficult to tell which bits of (meta)data could be combined to abuse. Tampering is a consideration as well.

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    • michaelmrose@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      For most folks they could just write down their encryption passphrase in a secure location with the rest of their papers since 99.9% of the risk is thieves stealing their laptops. For most folks the biggest secure item they have is the one they use constantly their browser and all the passwords it stores to all their services. You know the thing they use constantly.

      A compartmentalized approach makes sense when the laptop contains really vulnerable data like laptops which have been stolen with bunches of client data on it or a journalists communication with confidential sources etc etc. In that case you STILL want to encrypt the whole thing but you want to separately encrypt the really important stuff with a different key so that every time you open your laptop to watch cat videos on youtube you aren’t also unlocking all the data you will have to tell your companies users you lost.

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    • dustyData@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      But, houses have locks on the doors. The whole point of the house is to be a safe for people. Security is all about the threat model, your risk assessment should inform the security measures that make sense in the security/convenience continuum. Not everyone will be equally well served by the exact same risk mitigation methods.

      The point of whole disk encryption is to delay or nullify physical device control. If your disk is not encrypted, but you have a single encrypted file a bad actor wants to access. If they get physical control, then it is game over. They have all the time and power in the world to crack down that one file. Now, most people don’t have any one file(s) like that, but instead are worried about their private life in general. Without encryption, physical access to the device means total access to their entire life, the house had no locks and the thieves just waltzed in and took everything of value. Whole disk encryption is opting for a sturdier door, with better locks. Physical control is still bad, but access is orders of magnitude harder. Sure, if you lose the only key to your house, you better be prepared to break windows or walls to get in, but that is a user responsibility.

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  • fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    What a stinker of an OS. Linux never looked so good

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    • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Its why I switched to Linux.

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      • fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I’ve been a Linux user since 2010 and I’m glad I developed that skillset

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      • M0oP0o@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        We use Linux by the way.

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    • FooBarrington@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Image

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  • r_deckard@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    That’s extraordinary, even for Microsoft.

    If you’re on Win 11 Pro, up to 23H2, follow these steps to prevent 24H2:

    win+R, type GPEDIT.MSC, press enter Locate “Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\Manage updates offered from Windows Update\Select the target feature update version”

    Now click the “Enabled” button, type “Windows 11” in the first prompt and “23H2” in the second prompt and click “Apply”

    That will prevent 24H2 from being downloaded and installed. When they’ve fixed this and the “Recall” mess, you can go back and undo the setting.

    You can still do the “bypassnro” thing, it’s just a script that’s been removed. All it did was write a registry entry and reboot. This is the registry key entry - you can still press shift-F10 at the same point and type this manually:

    reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
    shutdown /r /t 0
    

    another method to try is this, instead of the registry entry:

    start ms-cxh:localonly

    but I haven’t tried that one yet.

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    • cute_noker@feddit.dk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I love how Windows fix has terminal and GUI configurations mixed as an unholy concoction directly from the HQ.

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    • dubyakay@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I’ve fixed it by axing my bitlocker encrypted partition that contained my Pro version OS and just installed arch.

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  • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Windows is malware.

    I remember when Linux users used to say that, but it turns out they were right.

    I’m glad I leaved that cursed OS behind.

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  • nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I am LITERALLY in the process of migrating my servers to my new NixOS server after months of prep work. This couldn’t have been more timely lol Funniest part is, I just did my own TPM based encryption on my drives.

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    • cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      SERVERS???

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      • nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Just one server, but multiple “services” (i.e. Jellyfin, Minecraft, Discord bots, Wordpress, etc). Server is kind of a misnomer there

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  • ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’ve decided to switch to Linux come october. I have some reasons I wanna wait as long as I can, but until then I’m leaving Windows behind.

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    • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I’ve decided to switch my gaming PC to Linux…a few weeks ago.

      No ragrets. My games run faster, I no longer need extra shit to make Windows work the way I want it to work, and I can remote into it however I want without running into artificial roadblocks.

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    • muusemuuse@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Get started early so you have time to acclimate and address issues. You are going to hate it if you urgently need your computer for something and something unexpected happens.

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    • captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      If you’re new to Linux, I suggest at the very least starting to learn now. If you have a spare device you can install it on, an old laptop or something, dual boot on your existing machine or use Virtualbox…Start learning now, while you still consider Windows an option.

      My own journey to the Linux platform included several instances of the following scenario:

      I need to get something done. It’s simple, in Windows 7 I know how to do it in seconds. It’s so simple that I don’t know the words for it, just the thing to click to do it. But it doesn’t work that way in Linux, even the vocabulary is different, and you need this done right now because you’re working on something and you don’t have time to stop and learn this right now.

      Boot into Windows, get your job done and turned in. Then look up how to do it in Linux later. Eventually you stop hitting that wall.

      You’ve decided you have seven months. I’d get to it.

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  • KonalaKoala@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    This is already looking like Microsuck is asking for a Windows 11/BitLocker based Class Action Lawsuit against them for this data lose blunder, and hopefully get their currently CEO fired.

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  • Monstrosity@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yes! This happened to me when I turned off the ‘safe boot’ on a laptop via BIOS. It locked me out but I had never agreed to install Bitlocker in the first place, let alone know what key I was supposed to have. It was a total loss & I had to wipe the drive.

    MS is hot trash.

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    • Wispy2891@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      The decryption key is saved in the Microsoft account, the error message explains that

      I also almost got a panic attack when my Lenovo updated the bios and i was locked out

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  • Almacca@aussie.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    They’re making an increasingly compelling case for me to switch to Linux.

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  • polle@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I read the article but am not smarter than before. I heard some time ago that windows does encrypt the drive but you need an active online account and the key will be saved online. So do people forget their online passwords and methods to recover that said account? I dont like m$ and am using linux, but people loosing their passwords, being uninformed about their systems and dont so backups is not the direct fault of the operating system.

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    • InnerScientist@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Lose access to your MS account = lose your data forever. No warnings, no second chances. Many people learn about BitLocker the first time it locks them out.

      It seems like they just got locked out of their Microsoft account (which stores the bitlocker key). Idk why they can’t just reset their password or if this article talks about the times where people couldn’t do that due to missing email access or maybe resetting the password deletes the bitlocker keys?

      Either way though, the problem is that Microsoft is forcing encryption on everyone and not properly educating them on the consequences like “Backup your decryption key if you care about the data” in a way a normal user actually listens to.

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    • pressanykeynow@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      you need an active online account and the key will be saved online

      Is there a legit reason for this? Why can’t they just encrypt the data with the password used to access the online account?

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      • calcopiritus@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Because then you can’t change your password. Since you would have to decrypt all the hard drives that use windows with that account, and then encrypt them again with the new one.

        This also means that if you forget your password you are fucked.

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  • noodlejetski@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Fool me once, shame on you and fool me twice, shame on me; fool me hundred times and what the fuck is wrong with me

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  • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’m in favor of a heavy handed push towards encryption, I think most people don’t realize how important this is (now more than ever), but windows should be guiding and educating on this not requiring, and it should have absolutely nothing to do with an email address or online account.

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  • RedditIsDeddit@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I saw this problem coming a mile away

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  • FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    How are these people losing access to their MS accounts on their computers?

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  • reddig33@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    When are stockholders going to realize that the current Microsoft CEO is ruining Windows?

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  • MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Something broke.

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  • SplashJackson@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    ShitLocker

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  • peetabix@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I had a small Win11 machine that I now have Ubuntu on. Win11 wouldn’t let me use the whole disk because of the BitLocker bullshit. I had to dig through the menus and disable it then wait hours for it to finish decrypting. Fuck Microsoft. I’m proud to say me and my GF dont have a single Microsoft product in our home, and I’m keeping that way.

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  • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    All of the data I actually care about is stored on a NAS and backed up in triplicate. The only data actually on my PC are program files.

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  • Psythik@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Since when is Bitlocker required? None of my files are encrypted, and I’ve been using 11 since it came out.

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