Interesting Tech Articles

[stooges44]

https://newsletter.devmoh.co/p/how-google-stores-10000-petabytes?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

[mevinyavin]

https://www.howtogeek.com/can-you-mix-and-match-ram/

[AsherO]

https://newsletter.devmoh.co/p/how-google-stores-10000-petabytes?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

This link seems to have died

[mevinyavin]

This month's PC Pro had an article by Lee Grant regarding Windows encryption. If you aren't 1000% backed up, you should read this.

What you’re about to read is as
Real World Computing as we can
offer without you sitting on my knee.
To my left is a new Lenovo laptop I’m
setting up for a customer. It has 8GB
of RAM, a 512GB SSD and is fuelled by
an 11th generation Core i5, running Windows 11
Home in S mode.
BitLocker isn’t available on the
Home versions of Windows, so no
matter what I try, I can’t set up
BitLocker on this laptop without
swapping the OS for Pro, Enterprise or
Education versions. As it happens, I
don’t have to because what is
beavering away in the background,
unbeknownst to me as the purchaser,
is Windows Device Encryption (WDE).
While it finishes encrypting my
drive, I’ve just time to explain that
although WDE is based on BitLocker
technology, its conceptual origins
date back to Windows 8 and the
introduction of a hardware/firmware
specification known as Modern
Standby or InstantGo. This gave
selected Windows devices (tablets,
phones, Surfaces) the ability to
power on or off rapidly.
Among InstantGo’s hardware
requirements was TPM 2.0, bringing
passive encryption possibilities (not
necessarily BitLocker) to the
manufacturers of these types of
Windows devices. Most domestic
computer users were oblivious to the
existence of TPMs until Microsoft
deemed it a requirement for Windows
11. Microsoft is now continuing what
it began with InstantGo, by utilising
the TPMs required for Windows 11 to
encrypt machines with WDE. If
you’re thinking, “not mine, fella”,
then type “encryption” into
Windows search and brace yourself
for a possible surprise.
Therefore, Alan is correct in his
letter when he says that BitLocker
requires the key to be saved before
encryption begins, but WDE doesn’t.
Steve is also correct. Most Windows 11
users don’t know that WDE exists,
never mind that it’s switched on and
is encrypting Home versions of
Windows. Although disk encryption is
fabulous from a security perspective,
it can be terrifying for a troubled
user to realise that their
data is unobtainable
owing to them not
possessing an unknown
decryption key.
If this is all beginning
to sound uncomfortably
familiar, then take a
trip to account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey to find your
WDE recovery key. May I
suggest that you make an
offline copy and bury it
somewhere safe. If your
login to Windows 11
remains defiantly offline,
then WDE will also
activate, perform a
drive encryption but
not finalise with a
lock process.
The lock is only activated when
an online account is implemented
onto the machine, and I can’t really
imagine how one could be
accidentally invoked once a PC has
been configured with an offline
account. Well, apart from Microsoft
offering to “Use This Account
Everywhere” after you’ve installed
Office 365, obviously. Or perhaps
after all major updates, of course.
Or, you know, when users are forced
to log in to the Microsoft Store to
download apps.
Or when you’ve bought a new
laptop, like the one sitting next to me
– because the damn thing is practically
useless because it’s in Windows S
mode. To make it usable, by freeing it
from the shackles of S Mode, requires
(and this may not come as a shock)
that the machine is logged into a
Microsoft account, but don’t worry,
the upgrade is free, unlike your data,
which is now encrypted and you
probably haven’t realised.
So, with hindsight, Microsoft
provides ample opportunities to begin
the day with an unlocked, partially
encrypted machine and
end it with a fully locked
and encrypted machine.
It is possible to switch off
WDE, but only if you
know it’s there. Again,
search for “Encryption”
and there’s a simple
slider to switch.
As for this laptop, I’ve
logged into my own
Microsoft account to get
it out of S Mode and it’s
currently going through
a full disk erase and
reset. Two setup cycles
for one laptop – yet
another timesaving
innovation for modern computing.
I will create a local user account,
switch off disk encryption and allow
the customer to dictate how they wish
to use their new purchase.
So your free PC Pro tech tips for
this month are to find out if your
Windows 11 machine has been
encrypted by WDE and grab a copy of
the recovery key if it has. If you’re
running an encrypted machine, then
give your backup strategy a review.
Should your machine unexpectedly
splutter like the HP in our first story,
then recovering files from an
encrypted drive adds extra layers of
stress and expense, which are
mitigated by having a decent backup.

[Jojo202]

This month's PC Pro had an article by Lee Grant regarding Windows encryption. If you aren't 1000% backed up, you should read this.

I find it a bit puzzling. I'm running Windows 10 Home and it does have BitLocker. And while I admit it can be a bit tricky if you get locked out, it's similar to dealing with car locks in terms of inconvenience. It's actually a valuable layer of security that comes turned on by default for most users who might not even be aware of its existence. That's great because they wouldn't necessarily know to enable it themselves. Plus, recovering from a lockout is not overly complicated; you can simply log in to your Microsoft account. Why does this seem like such a major issue?

[mevinyavin]

I find it a bit puzzling. I'm running Windows 10 Home and it does have BitLocker. And while I admit it can be a bit tricky if you get locked out, it's similar to dealing with car locks in terms of inconvenience. It's actually a valuable layer of security that comes turned on by default for most users who might not even be aware of its existence. That's great because they wouldn't necessarily know to enable it themselves. Plus, recovering from a lockout is not overly complicated; you can simply log in to your Microsoft account. Why does this seem like such a major issue?

Only a major issue if:
1. You don't know your key.
2. You won't be able to log into your Microsoft account from a different computer. (This may be the case depending on how difficult you made it to log into Microsoft on a different computer or phone.)

I agree it is useful to encrypt BUT - if you try to access the drive on a different system without going through a Microsoft account - such as when Windows is corrupted / the drive is partially corrupted and you just need that crucial project file - the only way to get the files is to decrypt them, with the actual code.
Agav, are you sure it is Bitlocker and not the similar Windows Encryption?

[Jojo202]

Only a major issue if:
1. You don't know your key.
2. You won't be able to log into your Microsoft account from a different computer. (This may be the case depending on how difficult you made it to log into Microsoft on a different computer or phone.)
I agree it is useful to encrypt BUT - if you try to access the drive on a different system without going through a Microsoft account - such as when Windows is corrupted / the drive is partially corrupted and you just need that crucial project file - the only way to get the files is to decrypt them, with the actual code.

Ok I agree things can get sticky, but I dont think that's a reason to make it like it's a terrible unwanted thing.

Agav, are you sure it is Bitlocker and not the similar Windows Encryption?

So this is what happens when I click Bitlocker Settings. And when I log into Microsoft account, or start my computer (in safe mode, etc) it says "Bitlocker encryption key". Honestly if its actually Windows Encryption, and not Bitlocker, Microsoft has a pretty bad way of communicating that.

[mevinyavin]

Ok I agree things can get sticky, but I dont think that's a reason to make it like it's a terrible unwanted thing.

It is from the perspective of the writer, a PC repair shoppe, when he has to deal with the fallout. Maybe its not so bad for the rest of us, especially if you know about it and know how to use it (his people don't, kamuvan).

I get the same on my W10 Home computer, but since Bitlocker is available on Pro, maybe the setting is available even on Home.
Whatever.

[mevinyavin]

CAMM has been approved to eventually replace SODIMM.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/1473126/camm-the-future-of-laptop-memory-has-arrived.html

There goes one more excuse for soldered RAM.

...And here we are - the first implementation of LPDDRX RAM that is not soldered.
That didn't take too long. Now let's see how long it takes to get to market (in anything other than Galaxy Books).
https://www.techradar.com/pro/your-next-laptop-could-run-faster-last-longer-and-pack-more-memory-thanks-to-samsungs-revolutionary-new-technology-but-it-wont-be-cheap

[mevinyavin]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/low-performance-external-m2-nvme-ssd-found-to-have-microsd-cards-inside

[WayBackMachine]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/low-performance-external-m2-nvme-ssd-found-to-have-microsd-cards-inside

[mevinyavin]

Second mention of IL in my tech news feed.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/jensen-huang-mourns-terrorist-murder-of-mellanox-founders-daughter

Didn't know this:

Eyal Waldman, the Israeli high-tech magnate, astounded the tech industry and the entire Arab world by creating research and development centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, all while employing hundreds of Palestinian developers. On Saturday, Hamas murdered his daughter Daniel.

[lcm]

Techcrunch has put it in a few different articles recently also

[mevinyavin]

Techcrunch has put it in a few different articles recently also

Wow, a blast from the past! I haven't read Techcrunch in like ... ten years. I don't remember why I dropped them - I think maybe I got annoyed by their style.

[lcm]

Wow, a blast from the past! I haven't read Techcrunch in like ... ten years. I don't remember why I dropped them - I think maybe I got annoyed by their style.

When I had a whole conversation with one of their senior editors in an airport this past summer I picked them up

[mevinyavin]

https://www.howtogeek.com/computer-noises-you-should-never-ignore

[AsherO]

https://www.howtogeek.com/computer-noises-you-should-never-ignore

No noise is good noise

[lcm]

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/17/23920733/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-ai-robocalls-spanish-mandarin

Really want to know what his Yiddish one sounded like

[mevinyavin]

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2113816/diablo-iv-blizzard-raffles-off-gaming-pc-with-human-blood-in-the-water-cooling-system.html

Note: the Diablo blood donation site needs a filter with image blocking.

[AsherO]

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2113816/diablo-iv-blizzard-raffles-off-gaming-pc-with-human-blood-in-the-water-cooling-system.html

Note: the Diablo blood donation site needs a filter with image blocking.

Creepy