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Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

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Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#241

Post by lightedman »

sshine wrote: post #97
cedws wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would never work, they would have to have some kind of override. Microsoft doesn’t have that kind of leverage over Windows users because they don’t have tight vertical integration. If Windows 12 enforced that, users would just stay on Windows 11 and MS’ leverage would decrease even further.

I can’t believe people didn’t stay on Windows 7. It seems to have slid into some always-online ad-filled cloud hellhole since. Office365 is worse than Office 2000. This is the OEM strategy still at play. You gotta hand it to Bill Gates for capturing PCs for decades. People truly don’t care how poor their operating system behaves, because your only other option is to buy a Mac.

"I can’t believe people didn’t stay on Windows 7."

Microsoft forced Win10 down people's throats. I had all of my machines Windows Update processes turned off and somehow it STILL got onto my systems. I suspect Skype was the mechanism through which Microsoft did this, as they owned Skype then and I still used it.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#242

Post by 3eb7988a1663 »

How does this work for secure environments which are supposed to be air-gapped? Does Microsoft offer a special on-premise licensing server? I cannot image they just throw up their hands for such clients and suggest an alternative OS.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#244

Post by sshine »

physicles wrote: post #232
sshine wrote: post #17

Windows is the first thing that gets deleted on a new PC. An acquaintance of mine works for Microsoft. Every time I meet him, he always tells me how much money hey makes. I'm sure it's double of what I earn when I have a good year. A big part of me wants to earn that money, too. But an unwavering part of me knows, I could never work for Microsoft. At this point it is not just bitterness from their anti-Linux, anti-FO…

Always telling you how much money he makes? He sounds like a bundle of fun.

It’s without exception.

I’m sure it’s just because he likes money, and because we have very little in common.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#245

Post by grishka »

baby_souffle wrote: post #240
grishka wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't really exploit something when its attack surface is nearly nonexistent, which is the case for most people who use an outdated OS on their personal device, for example.

What is it about unmaintained software on a personal device that somehow makes the attack service non-existent?

Even if there's an exploitable vulnerability, the exploit has to be delivered to the target system somehow. You don't have much of an opportunity to do that with a device that doesn't have a public IP address. Most likely the user themselves will have to do something that would compromise their system, like visiting a website that would serve them an exploit for their particular combination of browser and OS.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#246

Post by charcircuit »

GoblinSlayer wrote: post #109
charcircuit wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft's idea of security is moving people away from local accounts protected by passwords and to Microsoft accounts protected Windows Hello. The Windows Hello PIN is protected by the TPM. This means you can't brute force it like a password could be.

To brute force a password, attacker needs full access to the system, guessing the password won't give them more access.

No, they don't. They can clone your hard disk and use a different computer. A TPM based pin makes that approach impossible and you must have access to the system itself.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#247

Post by charcircuit »

bitwize wrote: post #220
grishka wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mandatory code signing is meaningless without secure boot though, which can't be made mandatory on x86 systems.

Who decided that secure boot can't be made mandatory on x86 systems? Microsoft. They can reverse their decision at any time. Inasmuch as you are able to boot Linux on your PC, it's only because Microsoft deigns to allow it.

>only because Microsoft deigns to allow it

Other operating systems could still collaborate with manufacturers to have their key be trusted.

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#248

Post by miles »

throwaway48476 wrote: post #178
ohgr wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No you just steal it and pretend it’s ok because the machine came with windows 11. Tech companies taught me it’s ok to steal and do things without permission.

Its not stealing if you don't seed.

Adding for posterity:

Meta claims torrenting pirated books isn’t illegal without proof of seeding https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/02/meta-defends-its...

Re: Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

#249

Post by nialv7 »

erikerikson wrote: post #217
consp wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wine and it's alternatives have greatly profited from valve going this route and as a result all software runs better. It's a gradual improvement over time and we are past the early stages. I'm still running a gaming PC on windows but that is going to end quite soon if Microsoft keeps doing these things.

Stream actually paid for contributions to Wine if I understand correctly. I too planning to use a gaming centric distro for my next gaming PC build. The horseshit they've been pushing at me on 10 has been atrocious. The lie that 10 would be the last. Injecting pages into Chrome. Windows acts more and more like literal malware.

Yes, steam contracts CodeWeavers which is the main company that supports the development of wine.
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