Windows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft's forcedWindows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft's forced BitLocker encryption
Windows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft's forced BitLocker encryption
How are these people losing access to their MS accounts on their computers?
Step one, be forced to create a Microsoft account.
Step two, create the account with a password you are SURE you remember
Step three, create a PIN so you never have to enter your password
Step four, forget your password
Most likely this is the #1 reason. When Passkeys will become more popular, that will be another problem for regular users unless there is an easy account recovery option.
Another possibility could be switching to local account and deleting MS account, but I would imagine that is more rare and most people would just abandon account. Then it can become the same issue with forgotten password though.
I guess there is a password recovery feature with Microsoft accounts, but people don't remember which email they signed up with?
Maybe it would help to read the initial reddit thread and not this article.
people don't remember which email they signed up with
No. We are the top 5%-10% of users
You can still force local account. Edit: nevermind, first sentence of the article:
Earlier today, we published an article regarding Microsoft's recent removal of the BYPASSNRO script and how it has irked Windows 11 users
Well, fuck.
On setup: Shift + F10 -> click into the CMD window (it opens unfocused)
<>
cd oobe bypassnro
And do not connect to network until you finish setup.
Disabling auto updates was also very simple and intuitive. Couldn't be easier.
Meta + R -> Type gpedit.msc and press enter -> On left click Administrative templates -> All settings -> Configure Automatic Updates -> Select option 2, Enabled and Apply
Bypassnro is the old method, no longer working since 24H2. I've tested this method on GitHub and it works for normal AND S-mode devices.
I'm still creating local accounts using the bypass in the auto unattend file.
If a drive is crypto locked and there is only a local account, it might as well be wiped if nobody has a password.
All the time, then people get ran around in circles, are given a too technical explanation and give up more often than not.
The encryption is not inherently a bad thing, but forcing people into account creation is where the trouble starts. With piss-poor customer support as the cherry on top, this should never be allowed.
I'd say it's a bad thing because it's the wrong threat model as a default.
More home users are in scenarios like "I spilled a can of Diet Sprite into my laptop, can someone yank the SSD and recover my cat pictures" than "Someone stole my laptop and has physical access to state secrets that Hegseth has yet to blurt on Twitch chat". Encryption makes the first scenario a lot harder to easily recover from, and people with explicit high security needs should opt into it or have organization-managed configs.
“Someone stole my laptop and has physical access to state secrets that Hegseth has yet to blurt on Twitch chat”.
Thanks for making me laugh. It's been a while.
I agree, the encryption should be deliberate choice. And we've said nothing yet about the impact on performance.
You used to almost be forced to make a recovery CD or USB when encrypting a drive, now people don't even know how 'important' the MS account actually is.
