An easy explanation avoiding technical terms (until the box at the very end)
If your PC meets certain criteria Windows encrypts your files automatically. This is good! But the way it’s set up by default has a hidden problem: the computer unlocks itself without asking for a password, and a copy of the unlock key is stored online on Microsoft servers.
(more…)How about still using Windows XP? Simplicity, lack of bloat, lack of AI, support for old games. I’ve always loved XP. Of course it didn’t feel lightweight in 2002 when installing the first Windows NT version intended for home users. Way bigger than 98SE, more demanding than 2000 Professional and with a nauseating default theme that is as dysfunctional as the (then) newly introduced Start Menu. Over the years I’ve mastered switching off all crap on a fresh XP installation in very few minutes. Still in muscle memory to this day. Using XP gives me a nostalgic feeling just like the boot sound of a PlayStation 1 coming from the powerful speakers of a big CRT TV.
In this entry I want to explore this classic OS from the perspective of security. This could be very short by saying, “There is no way to truly secure it.” Nevertheless I’ll try my best.
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Did you ever find an Symbian based Nokia phone containing an SD in your drawer after many years? Now you want to see if there are any worthwhile photos on there. Where is the charger with the tiny coaxial power connector again? Do you still have it? Nevermind. You will just take the SD card out and put it into a laptop. What’s that? No new drive shows up! Nothing happens. Just like “Magikarp used Splash!” in a Pokémon game. Did the old SD give up the ghost? Not necessarily. It might just be locked with a password by CMD-42
SD cards are really versatile and powerful storage media. Unfortunately much of their interesting functionality is more or less unused. You will have quite some fun reading the easily available PDF file “SD Specifications Part 1 Physical Layer Simplified Specification” (currently version 9.10 with >400 pages).
Two features are of great interest for me: write lock and password protection. This entry will be (again) about setting SDs to read-only.
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