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bbearren
AskWoody MVPIs it correct that Susan’s procedure of paying the minimum would avoid late charges but would obviously still allow for interest charges?
That is correct. Any carried balance will be charged interest.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPMy online banking began in 2000, as soon as my credit union went online. All of my regular monthly payments (auto insurance, ISP, etc.) are setup for autopay from my credit card. I use Microsoft Money Sunset edition (unsupported, but still works very well). I check my accounts daily, download my transactions and update Money, as well as an Excel spreadsheet (belt and suspenders).
I don’t use my debit card or cash (no ATM withdrawals), I always use my credit card (2% cashback on every purchase, no limits) or my phone pay app (setup with my credit card, fingerprint ID) for groceries, gas, etc. I pay the statement balance in full every month, and avoid paying any interest. I write only one check per month, to the guy who does my lawn care. I could use Zelle for him, but I just pay him once a month when he’s here working, so no stamp.
My cashback rewards average ~$50/month, which automatically transfers to my savings account on the 25th of every month. I have direct deposit for my retirement and Social Security checks, and on the rare occasions when I receive a check, I deposit it with my credit union phone app. I don’t carry cash, because I don’t need to.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.1 user thanked author for this post.
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bbearren
AskWoody MVPMay 28, 2023 at 11:37 am in reply to: BlackLotus UEFI bootkit: Myth confirmed. Bypasses all Windows 11 securities. #2562439Since I was relying on Images I removed the Recovery Partition from the drive many-many moons ago so that even with my 9 rotating backup drives (every two weeks) I no longer had an image with the Recovery Partition on it that was current enough to be usable with my constant tweaking.
With TeraByte’s utility to incorporate Image For Windows into the Recovery Environment, (and because of my own constant tweaking) I find it quicker to boot into TBWinRE to restore the OS image than to boot with the TBWinRE USB thumb drive. And from the RE it is just a single click to boot directly back into Windows.
An added bonus to keeping the Recovery Environment around is that the Command Prompt, when booted into the RE, runs at Trusted Installer level, which can come in quite handy from time to time.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.1 user thanked author for this post.
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bbearren
AskWoody MVPMay 28, 2023 at 9:43 am in reply to: How to prevent/disable Bitlocker Automatic Device Encryption? #2562426His reason for wanting to do so is not applicable.
It doesn’t have to be. We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don’t need anyone’s approval, and we don’t all have to do the same things.
The OP expressed his concerns:
I don’t know exactly what this means and am concerned that at some future point installing a Dell update could result in automatic device encryption being activated. Since there is no Microsoft account I am concerned that such an event could be catastrophic due to an unknown recovery key being required.
I’m signing off on this topic.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPMay 28, 2023 at 7:52 am in reply to: How to prevent/disable Bitlocker Automatic Device Encryption? #2562415“On supported devices running Windows 10 or newer BitLocker will automatically be turned on the first time you sign into a personal Microsoft account (such as @outlook.com or @hotmail.com)” is a bit misleading.
I use OneDrive, and every time I sign into Windows, I automatically sign into a personal Microsoft account for OneDrive synchronization.
The OP asked
how can I ensure that automatic device encryption is disabled?
That can be done in Services.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPMay 28, 2023 at 7:27 am in reply to: BlackLotus UEFI bootkit: Myth confirmed. Bypasses all Windows 11 securities. #2562412All those PowerShell scripts I’ve been writing sure speed up the reconstituting it from “clean install” to all programs, shortcuts, scheduled tasks, etc. back to normal. Did it in hours vs days!
I skipped Windows Vista and had to clean install Windows 7 Ultimate (early 2010, two PC’s), as there was no upgrade path from XP. Those were the last clean installs I’ve done. Instead, I rely on “clean” drive images for restoration of my Windows setups.
My OS is separated (on a 100GB partition) from my Program Files and User files (they have their own partitions on different SSD’s), so restoring Windows is down to ~3 minutes, not days, not even hours.
Getting ready for some deep diving into Windows innards takes ~12 minutes to create a fresh, validated byte-for-byte drive image. If I’m messing around in ways that might affect the EFI partition, creating a fresh validated image of that partition takes about a minute. My Windows Recovery Environment also takes about a minute.
I applaud your tenacity and dedication to detail in your PowerShell scripts. We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do. I’ve been hacking and cracking and cutting and splicing Windows for so long that I’m completely comfortable in my reliance on drive imaging to bail myself out of self-inflicted difficulty and things that go bump in the night.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.1 user thanked author for this post.
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bbearren
AskWoody MVPI’ve long since uninstalled Edge, and the only Bing instance I have is the weather app.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPMay 28, 2023 at 6:28 am in reply to: How to prevent/disable Bitlocker Automatic Device Encryption? #2562403My bottom line question — how can I ensure that automatic device encryption is disabled?
Run Services.msc as Administrator, find Bitlocker Drive Encryption Service, right-click on it, select Properties, go to Startup type and change it to Disabled.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPSimply put, immutable backups are backup files that cannot be changed or deleted for any reason whatsoever.
“Air-gapping allows for immutable backups if the devices are stored in a safe location as the data written to them cannot be tampered with. For example, you can store backups on tape, NAS, optical disks, or SSD. If your production site is down or was hit by a ransomware attack, air-gapped backups are not affected.”
That’s what I do, in duplicate. I also run complete drive images (the entire disk) from time to time on all drives, and those are also in duplicate.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.1 user thanked author for this post.
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bbearren
AskWoody MVPMay 27, 2023 at 8:59 am in reply to: BlackLotus UEFI bootkit: Myth confirmed. Bypasses all Windows 11 securities. #2562244FYI: on some motherboards (like my Asus Maximus XI Gene) there won’t be an Enable/Disable option for Secure Boot. On those systems, you’ll need to change the Secure Boot option (Windows UEFI = ON, Other OS = OFF) to do this.
My motherboard is an Asus Z690M.
As for booting other devices, I went into UEFI Settings and turned off Secure Boot (in my case, disabling the TPM) and booted TeraByte’s BootIt UEFI partitioning tool via USB without issue. I then rebooted, went back into UEFI Settings, re-enabled the TPM, and booted back into Windows.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPWhat danger am I in?
Very little; clicking on a bogus link, visiting a maliciously coded web page, etc. In other words, safe surfing and prudent examination of emailed links will likely keep you safe. There’s no need to turn off Secure Boot.
Windows 10 doesn’t get the same update treatment as Windows 11.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPIn computerterms this means equally than that losing functionality is noticeable for the common user?, And if so: what does this mean?
For me, “belt and suspenders” means having the capabilities to overcome any computer malfunction, whether software or hardware. In the mid ’00’s I had a hard hardware failure, to the extent that my desktop would not boot at all, not even the BIOS splash screen. The red “power on” light would light, but the screen remained black. There was no accompanying beep code, so I assumed that the motherboard might be OK, but there could be a severe internal peripheral hardware failure. The desktop had four HDD’s on PATA connections and dual booted Windows 2K Pro.
I powered down, opened the case and unplugged the PATA cable from the top HDD (not HDD0, just the top drive in the case), then powered on; same red light and black screen. I powered down, reconnected that HDD, and unplugged the second, then powered on; same red light and black screen. Same procedure with the third HDD, and I got the red light and the BIOS splash screen. The third HDD was HDD0, and that was where bootmgr was located.
That told me that HDD0 (the third HDD in top-down mounting order) was the likely culprit. I had a spare HDD of the same size on hand (all four drives were the same size and manufacturer), so I removed HDD0 and replaced it with my spare, with a mental note to order a new spare. Then I booted into my BootIT NG USB drive (my earliest connection to TeraByte’s imaging software) and got my HDD0 drive image DVD’s ready (I had previously formatted the spare drive). I restored HDD0 to the spare drive. After the restore, I rebooted, removing the USB drive, and booted into Windows 2K Pro, as if nothing had happened.
Another anecdote I’ve told here a number of times, two of my PC’s died in a house fire in January 2011, but their contents were safely tucked away in drive images on offline HDD’s, and I only lost the hardware. The Windows 11 Pro I’m currently dual booting is an upgrade over an upgrade over an upgrade … of Windows 7 Pro from early 2010.
I have spare drives; I have full-drive drive images going back a couple of months on offline HDD’s. As for “noticeable for the common user”, yes, noticeable. The usual trope is “Windows has to be clean-installed about once per year to get it back up to speed.” A dedicated routine maintenance regimen keeps Windows performance from degrading. Without that maintenance regimen, “losing functionality is noticeable for the common user.”
That’s my version of belt and suspenders.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVP“belt and suspenders” is a common idiom:
“: involving or employing multiple methods or procedures to achieve a desired result especially out of caution or fear of failure”
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPSo the bottom line is that the old boot media will still work, but if we use such media (whether old or new), we will have to add the steps of first turning off Secure Boot, then turning it back on. Is that right?
In my experience, yes it is.
New question: After Microsoft force-feeds these scripts onto customers’ PCs, will it be possible for us to simply do without Secure Boot? That would be one way to simplify matters.
Susan advises that Secure Boot isn’t particularly necessary for consumers, however, I prefer to use it. I use TeraByte’s Image For Windows, and I am unfamiliar with any other drive imaging software. Image For Windows has a utility for incorporating it into the Windows Recovery Environment. Then just go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Recovery > Advanced startup > Restart now, and the Recovery Environment, including Image For Windows, boots without issue, no finagling with settings in UEFI. That’s my preferred method.
I have the USB recovery media (also created with IFW’s utility) in the event of Windows getting pooched and not allowing Advanced startup, or of drive failure, which could include one’s Windows Recovery Environment if it’s located in the standard Windows position, a small partition after the Windows partition. I have mine on a separate SSD in its own 1GB partition, but I’m also a belt and suspenders kind of guy.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things. -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPHardened Windows user.
KB5026446 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems
No hiccups. Now running Windows 11 Pro 22H2 (OS Build 22621.1778)
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.1 user thanked author for this post.
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