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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusYou should have your laptop Bitlocker setup so that you must type in a PIN before it will boot. This is the best and safest way to use Bitlocker. This vulnerability does not apply if you are setup with a Pre-Boot PIN. In other words, it will prevent this exploit.
If TPM+PIN BitLocker protectors are being used, can the vulnerability be exploited if the attacker does not know the TPM PIN?
No. To exploit the vulnerability the attacker needs to know the TPM PIN if the user is protected by the BitLocker TPM+PIN.
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-20666Here is how to add a Pre-boot PIN:
https://www.howtogeek.com/262720/how-to-enable-a-pre-boot-bitlocker-pin-on-windows/Critical: You must keep a copy of your Recovery Key. This is mandatory!! if you don’t, you risk losing everything on your drive permanently.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-your-bitlocker-recovery-key-e63607b4-77fb-4ad3-8022-d6dc428fbd0d -
Intrepid
AskWoody PlusI do NOT recommend you do ANYTHING about this error at this time. Do NOT attempt to resize your Recovery Partition. Just wait until Microsoft fixes the issue (probably next month). There have been reports of it failing EVEN with a large recovery partition. You should not be installing January updates now anyway…
Our standard policy is not to install Monthly Quality Updates for 19 days. This policy is based on Microsoft’s proven incompetence over the last couple of years. An update that causes business disruption and loss of revenue is unacceptable. We’ve found that Microsoft will address serious bugs within that 19 day period (3 work weeks).
8 users thanked author for this post.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusJanuary 8, 2024 at 10:51 am in reply to: Microsoft removes Win10 File Explorer features without notice #2619347Microsoft is incompetent. Another example is removing the ribbon and many options from the Windows 11 File Manager in Folders. Microsoft has been consistently dumbing down Windows 11 and removing features and options everywhere. It’s like they believe GenX are easily confused idiots. And other companies are doing the same thing in their products. It’s sad…
By the way, I use this excellent product that indexes everything including file and email content:
X1 Search — https://www.x1.com/products/x1-search/2 users thanked author for this post.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusMicrosoft fixes Windows printer issues with new troubleshooter
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-fixes-windows-printer-issues-with-new-troubleshooter/Overly complicated nonsense for most users. This should have been released as a KIR (Known Issue Rollback) or incorporated into an Out of Band Windows update. Usual MS incompetence.
I ran the tool and rebooted. If then took an hour for the fixes to be implemented. Before that time, all printer icons and names were missing – don’t panic, just wait.
Note: This fix is mostly a cosmetic fix as the original bug did not prevent the printers from printing. Although it did break double-clicking on them – right click still worked.Update: Double clicking still broken when using the legacy Control Panel “Devices and Printers”. Also, some printers are using generic Windows printer icons. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝. The cosmetic model name was fixed in the printer info bar though.
Tool Info: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=105763
Observation: This will never really be completely fixed without removing and reinstalling the printers (in some cases, this must be done in Device Manager).
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusThe store does not require a login or MS account to update or install apps without your consent. Works similar to Windows update without the prompts. You would need to disable store updates (see n0ads post above) and even then I don’t know if that would have prevented this bug.
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Intrepid
AskWoody Plus -
Intrepid
AskWoody PlusOften due to negligence and incompetence.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusSee these posts right here? Well, you won’t be able to make them in a timely manner anymore. Every post would need to be reviewed and moderated before appearing – which could take days or weeks. This would affect all online user comments, social media and forum posts. Do you understand what that means?
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusActually, the last time I tried PC Health Check app to check on Win11 compatibility, it said it would not run because my pc was managed by group policy. Yeah, I know – it’s my GPOs. So what. It’s trash. Microsoft is incompetent. Use WhyNotWin11.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusThis is infuriating. Microsoft has been proven incompetent with things like this and there dangerously buggy updates that close down businesses. Sad.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusYou’re promoting propaganda under the guise of a computer technology article. Sad. Of course you should quit Smoking. If you can’t or won’t, Ecigs are VASTLY safer than tobacco. Nearly all doctors agree. But the current administration has decided to decimate the industry with the ultimate goal of destroying it completely. In other countries, such as the UK, vaping is encouraged as a safe alternative to tobacco. Smoking tobacco claims millions of lives to lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.
What you inhale with Ecigs:
Vegetable glycerin and/or Propylene Glycol (food grade)
Nicotine (pharmaceutical grade)
Optional natural flavorNote: The other chemicals you claim are in e-liquid were only found in a tiny percentage of products from a few disreputable brands that are no longer in production. In fact, the ALA has deceptive information on that webpage. For example, they claim that Propylene Glycol is dangerous because it’s used in antifreeze when in fact it’s Ethylene Glycol that is poisonous – a completely different product.
What you Inhale when you smoke Cigarettes:
Tar: Proven Carcinogen – Causes Lung Cancer & Kills Millions
Ammonia: Household cleaner
Angelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals
Arsenic: Used in rat poisons
Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber
Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid
Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas
Cadmium: Used in batteries
Cocoa: Toxic when burned and inhaled
Cyanide: Deadly poison
DDT: A banned insecticide
Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals
Freon: Used in Air conditioners
Lead: Poisonous
Formaldehyde: Used to preserve dead specimens
Methoprene: Insecticide
Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs
Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in India
Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element
And Hundreds of Other Chemicals. -
Intrepid
AskWoody PlusAugust 3, 2023 at 9:10 am in reply to: CVE-2023-32019 – a bit more info from the researcher #2577554This attack requires an “authenticated user (attacker)”. This poses an extremely low risk for home users / small business users. If you have an authenticated criminal on your system, you have a lot more to worry about than this vulnerability.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusOn Windows 10, it was a fast install for us.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusIt probably won’t affect most users. VC-1 has been largely superseded by newer video codecs such as H.264 and H.265/HEVC, which offer better compression efficiency and other advanced features. However, VC-1 remains a legacy codec that is still used in some applications, particularly in some video games.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Intrepid
AskWoody PlusThe Microsoft 365 Semi-Annual Channel is not deprecated. And I would think you would agree with using it for the same reasons you recommend delaying installation of Windows updates. The Current Channel and the Monthly Enterprise Channel might as well be called the beta tester channels. In addition, Microsoft states “If needed, security updates for Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel are released on the second Tuesday of the month.” Therefore, you should be recommending the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel.
See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/updates/overview-update-channelsYou can change update channels at https://admin.microsoft.com/#/Settings/Services under “Microsoft 365 app installation options”
See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/updates/change-update-channels
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