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Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

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Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#111

Post by BizarroLand »

p_ing wrote: post #37
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have been holding back the tech industry for decades now.

What does this even mean ? It's like throwing around the word 'bloat'.

We can explain it to you, but we can't understand it for you.

Explanation: Microslop is a power hungry, greedy and frankly evil corporation whose only goal is complete financial domination of the government, business, and personal tech industries. They actively promote making regressive software, increasing complexity, and hiding straightforward processes behind an information veil.

Example: Go to learn.microsoft.com and try to actually learn HOW to do anything. You'll read 35 pages of text talking about the concept of working with a specific microslop product but not 1 single explicit example of HOW to accomplish a specific task.

Example: Windows 11

Example: Copilot

The whole company is run by backassward tech hicks and digital yokels who can't think past a dime on the floor for a dollar in customer satisfaction, and somehow they run the majority of non-server space or personal device tech on the planet.

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#112

Post by prerok »

pjmlp wrote: post #49
romaniv wrote: post #22

I still hope that one of these days people in general will realize that executable signing and SecureBoot are specifically designed for controlling what a normal person can run, rather than for anything resembling real security. The premises of either of those "mitigations" make absolutely no sense for personal computers.

If only people didn't install Ask Jeeves toolbars all over the place and then asked their grandson during vacations to clean their computer.

Geez, this brings back memories.

At one time at our university we had table desktop dancers installed everywhere. Was kind of funny when it turned up just as a student wanted to defend their work in a lab.

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#113

Post by VadimPR »

riedel wrote: post #103
VadimPR wrote: post #58

A year ago I used Azure Trusted Signing to codesign FOSS software that I distribute for Windows. It was the cheapest way to give away free software on that platform. A couple of months ago I needed to renew the certificate because it expired, and I ran into the same issue as the author here - verification failed, and they refused to accept any documentation I would give them. Very frustrating experience, especially s…

I like the idea of a central signing authority for open source. While this might go against the spirit of open source, I think it eventually creates a critical mass and outcry if Microsoft or Google would play games with them. Also foundations might be a good way to protect against legal trouble distributing OSS under different regulations. I am imagining e.g. an FDroid that plays Googles game. With reproducible or a…

If someone is willing to put in the work in governance, FOSS projects would be willing to fund it - at least Mudlet would be. We get income from Patreon to cover the costs.

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#114

Post by saltamimi »

Someone1234 wrote: post #98
saltamimi wrote: post #79

I'm confused why they can't just generate their own signing key and deploy it alongside the installer. Using arbiter platforms like this sounds like a great way to footgun yourself.

Because a bad guy can also generate their own signing key and deploy it alongside the installer. See Notepad++ for how that winds up.

Then you can publish the public Code Signing certificate for download/import or publish it through WinGet.

Using Azure Trusted Signing or any other certificate vendor does not guarantee that a binary is 100% trustworthy, it just means someone put their name on it.

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#115

Post by miki123211 »

ghighi7878 wrote: post #67
tosti wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Computers should abide by their owners. Any computer not doing that is broken.

Its a simple solution in law to enable. Force manufacturers to allow owners of computer to put any signing key in the BIOS. We need this law. Once we have this law, consumers csn get maximum benefit of secure boot withiut losing contorl

But that's how it already works.

If you install Windows first, Microsoft takes control (but it graciously allows Linux distros to use their key). If you install Linux first, you take control.

It's perfectly possible for you to maintain your own fully-secure trust chain, including a TPM setup which E.G. lets you keep a 4-digit pin while keeping your system secure against brute force attacks. You can't do that with the 1990s "encryption is all you need" style of system security.

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#116

Post by brookst »

kelseyfrog wrote: post #94
arcfour wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree on the Secure Boot front. It's necessary for FDE to have any sort of practical security, it reduces malicious/vulnerable driver abuse (making it nontrivial), bootkits are a security nightmare and would otherwise be much more common in malware typical users encounter, and ultimately the user can control their secure boot setup and enroll their own keys if they wish. Does that mean that Microsoft do…

Anything that restricts user freedom is entirely bad, even if it's at the expense of security.

So like banks requiring you to have a PIN on your ATM card, even if you don’t want one… that’s bad? Seatbelt laws are bad?

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#117

Post by Zak »

wat10000 wrote: post #78
ghighi7878 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We dont need to get philosophical here. You(the admin) can require you (the user) to input a password to signify to you(the admin) to install a ransomware when a link is clicked. That way no control is lost.

What if the cat pictures are an app too? The computer can't require a password specifically for ransomware, just for software in general. The UI flow for cat pictures apps and ransomware will be identical.

A computer that can run arbitrary programs can necessarily run malicious ones. Useful operations are often dangerous, and a completely safe computer isn't very useful.

Some sandboxing and a little friction to reduce mistakes is usually wise, but a general-purpose computer that can't be broken through sufficiently determined misuse by its owner is broken as designed.

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#118

Post by cyberax »

serf wrote: post #97
arcfour wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree on the Secure Boot front. It's necessary for FDE to have any sort of practical security, it reduces malicious/vulnerable driver abuse (making it nontrivial), bootkits are a security nightmare and would otherwise be much more common in malware typical users encounter, and ultimately the user can control their secure boot setup and enroll their own keys if they wish. Does that mean that Microsoft do…

>It's necessary for FDE to have any sort of practical security why? do you mean because evil maid attacks exist? anyone that cared enough about that specific vector just put their bootloader on a removable media. FDE wasn't somehow enabled by secure boot. >bootkits are a security nightmare and would otherwise be much more common in malware why weren't they more common before? serious question. Back in the 90s viruses…

> serious question. Back in the 90s viruses were huge business,

No, they were not. They were toys written for fun and/or mischief. The virus authors did not receive any monetary reward from writing them, so they were not even a _business_. So they were the work of individuals, not large teams.

The turning point was Bitcoin. Suddenly it provided all those nice new business models that can be scaled up: mining, stealing cryptowallets, ransomware, etc.

Re: Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates

#120

Post by gusfoo »

romaniv wrote: post #22

I still hope that one of these days people in general will realize that executable signing and SecureBoot are specifically designed for controlling what a normal person can run, rather than for anything resembling real security. The premises of either of those "mitigations" make absolutely no sense for personal computers.

> I still hope that one of these days people in general will realize that executable signing and SecureBoot are specifically designed for controlling what a normal person can run, rather than for anything resembling real security

For home/business users I'd agree. But in Embedded / money-handling then it's a life-saver and a really important technology.

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