Thoughts of a Little Sinchen

Tag: Windows 10

  • Check ALL hardware BEFORE upgrading a part, Sinchen!

    Having decided to upgrade outdated PCs as good as possible for getting the most out of any generation I had to overcome a great fear of mine regarding messing with hardware: CPU upgrade.

    I avoid removing CPU coolers and CPUs because I’m always always worried of breaking something. Bending CPU pins, pushing too hard on the cooler, too little thermal paste, too much thermal paste, installing the cooler crooked, breaking plastic levers.

    I’ve installed CPU coolers a few times and successfully so far… but I never get used to it and avoid it. Avoided it too much.

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  • App Control for Business → Madness

    App Control for Business (WDAC – Windows Defender Application Control) is an extremely powerful function in Windows 10/11. When set up correctly this pretty much rules out that malware is able to start (or can easily achieve persistence). It can be configured in a way that even a user with local admin privileges becomes unable to change, remove or disable strict rules.

    This powerful kernel-mode feature comes at a price. The price is complexity and a steep learning curve. A steep learning curve has never discouraged me despite my serious concentration issues. Once I got into using Qubes OS I never really looked back. My real problem with WDAC lies in it’s complexity.

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  • Windows “Device Encryption” With Automatic Unlock Is Not Secure Enough

    An easy explanation avoiding technical terms (until the box at the very end)

    The Short Version​

    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.

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