https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
Peter Jason wrote:
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
A better link is:
<https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-microsoft-bitlocker-keys-fbi- privacy/>
There was no need for all the tracking parameters that followed it:
?email_hash=b5071c158b86f6d263a8db8d5c6bc600
&utm_source=Sailthru
&utm_medium=email
&utm_campaign=MicrosoftWeekly_1.28.26_UST%20AI_86b85e9g8 &utm_term=microsoft-active-weekly
Peter Jason wrote on 1/28/2026 12:51 PM:Thanks, they changed it because it always worked in the past.
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
Hi, Peter. Thanks for the reminder.
No fixed timeline for retiring the original TinyUrl short link; though
seems obvious it will happen in the future.
Until then and thereafter, Use the older, current free version or another >service.
Optionally, the new API TinyUrl free version, $0/month with account
signup, 100 free shortlinks per year limit.
Note: Account signup provides user specific authorization token
necessary for the new API Tinyurl use.
On 28/01/2026 19:51, Peter Jason wrote:
https://tinyurl
I don't know what this warning is about, but what do you expect
Microsoft to do when the authorities have subpoenaed user data??ÿ Do you expect Microsoft to refuse and face consequences, including the break-up
of its business empire?
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7There have been several post to his original Warning. I still don't
On 01/28/2026 2:51 PM, Peter Jason wrote:I'm upset; and I'm off the "cloud" for most things. Like the
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7There have been several post to his original Warning. I still don't
know what the warning was, and if I should get upset by it.
Peter Jason wrote:
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
A better link is:
<https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-microsoft-bitlocker-keys-fbi-privacy/>
There was no need for all the tracking parameters that followed it:
On 28/01/2026 19:51, Peter Jason wrote:
https://tinyurl
I don't know what this warning is about, but what do you expect
Microsoft to do when the authorities have subpoenaed user data??ÿ Do you expect Microsoft to refuse and face consequences, including the break-up
of its business empire?
On 01/28/2026 2:51 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
There have been several post to his original Warning.
I still don't know what the warning was, and if I should get upset by it.
On Wed, 1/28/2026 5:32 PM, knuttle wrote:
On 01/28/2026 2:51 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
There have been several post to his original Warning.
I still don't know what the warning was, and if I should get upset by it.
For a lot of people, their C: drive has been encrypted without their knowledge.
I experienced that two days ago, while testing in a VM.
(That's the *first* time that has happened here, for the record.)
A copy of 24H2 Win11 Pro, started to encrypt itself after installation.
I stopped it.
Depending on the encryption scheme, it can greatly increase the size of backups (if the backups are done of the encrypted volume at rest ant
not mounted). Presumably unlocked volumes back up as normal
in a plaintext format.
To check your encryption status, in Administrator terminal you can
manage-bde -status
and see.
If the FBI sweep up all the hardware in your house,
they will be asking Microsoft for Recovery Keys for
anything which has Microsoft encryption on it.
*******
If you really intended to protect your privacy with
Veracrypt, then only you have the key, and only
you can cough up the materials to make your C: into
plaintext again. If you encrypt, encrypt like you
really mean it.
*******
If you take your laptop through the border, and the border
thug discovers encryption, he is going to assume you're
Matt Helm and a secret agent, and you'll be held in
the back room for a couple hours while they fart around.
This is why you want to present a lily-white image
while carrying your electronics across a border.
Paul
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself,
when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
torsdag, 29-01-2026, Paul skrev:
[CUT]
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself,
when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing
QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
"2. BitLocker recovery key
Starting with the release of version 24H2, Windows 11 turns on
BitLocker automatically on new installations.
Although drive encryption is essential for protecting your data, many
users get stuck during startup when an issue occurs, unaware that a
recovery key is required to unlock the device. But the biggest problem
is that they don't know where they can retrieve the key.
Fortunately, if you have configured the operating system with a
Microsoft account, Windows 11 backs up the recovery key automatically
in your online account. For this reason, it's important to know how to retrieve the recovery key before it's too late.
To find your BitLocker recovery key, use these steps:" <https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/6-key-setup-steps-i-usually-find-users-miss-after-installing-windows-11>
https://tinyurl.com/25umgsn7
You can use "manage-bde" even on Win11 Home, to check your encryption status.
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself,
when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that.
torsdag, 29-01-2026, Paul skrev:
[CUT]
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself,
when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing
QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
"2. BitLocker recovery key
Starting with the release of version 24H2, Windows 11 turns on
BitLocker automatically on new installations.
On 2026-01-29 14:01, J?rgen Nielsen wrote:
torsdag, 29-01-2026, Paul skrev:
[CUT]
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself,
when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing
QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
"2. BitLocker recovery key
Starting with the release of version 24H2, Windows 11 turns on
BitLocker automatically on new installations.
Ok, so not on upgraded W10 systems. Good.
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-29 14:01, J?rgen Nielsen wrote:
torsdag, 29-01-2026, Paul skrev:
[CUT]
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself,
when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing >>>> QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
"2. BitLocker recovery key
Starting with the release of version 24H2, Windows 11 turns on
BitLocker automatically on new installations.
Ok, so not on upgraded W10 systems. Good.
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
manage-bde -status
On 2026-01-30 23:07, Paul wrote:
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-29 14:01, J?rgen Nielsen wrote:
torsdag, 29-01-2026, Paul skrev:
[CUT]
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself, >>>>> when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing >>>>> QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
"2. BitLocker recovery key
Starting with the release of version 24H2, Windows 11 turns on
BitLocker automatically on new installations.
Ok, so not on upgraded W10 systems. Good.
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
manage-bde -status
Command not known.
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> manage-bde -status
manage-bde : El t‚rmino 'manage-bde' no se reconoce como nombre de un cmdlet, funci¢n, archivo de script o programa
ejecutable. Compruebe si escribi¢ correctamente el nombre o, si incluy¢ una ruta de acceso, compruebe que dicha ruta
es correcta e int‚ntelo de nuevo.
En l¡nea: 1 Car cter: 1
+ manage-bde -status
+ ~~~~~~~~~~
ÿÿÿ + CategoryInfoÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ : ObjectNotFound: (manage-bde:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
ÿÿÿ + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
manage-bde -status
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
On 2026-01-30, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:
manage-bde -status
I did that and I do not understand the answer., which includes
| Conversion Status: Used Space Only Encrypted
| Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
| Protection Status: Protection Off
| Lock Status: Unlocked
I guess that means I have an encrypted drive. Very uncool!
Now I have to figure out how to get rid of the encryption.
On 2026-01-31, Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
On 2026-01-30, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:
manage-bde -status
I did that and I do not understand the answer., which includes
| Conversion Status: Used Space Only Encrypted
| Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
| Protection Status: Protection Off
| Lock Status: Unlocked
I guess that means I have an encrypted drive. Very uncool!
Now I have to figure out how to get rid of the encryption.
I asked Bing, and it pointed me to the page
| Control Panel > System ans Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption
... which says:
| Windows (C:) BitLocker waiting for activation
... with an option to "Turn on BitLocker"
I am GUESSING this means that the drive is not yet encrypted, but will
be as soon as I click that link?
I am REALLY confused now. I do NOT want my drive to be encrypted.
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
On 2026-01-30, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:
manage-bde -status
On 2026-01-31, Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:
I did that and I do not understand the answer., which includes
| Conversion Status: Used Space Only Encrypted
| Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
| Protection Status: Protection Off
| Lock Status: Unlocked
I guess that means I have an encrypted drive. Very uncool!
Now I have to figure out how to get rid of the encryption.
On 2026-01-31 14:51, Lars Poulsen wrote:
I asked Bing, and it pointed me to the page
| Control Panel > System ans Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption
... which says:
| Windows (C:) BitLocker waiting for activation
... with an option to "Turn on BitLocker"
I am GUESSING this means that the drive is not yet encrypted, but will
be as soon as I click that link?
I am REALLY confused now. I do NOT want my drive to be encrypted.
It is waiting for the password creation, I think.
IIRC, there is a procedure to "unready" it. Ask an AI. I did that some
years back, but I don't remember what I did.
On 2026-01-30 23:07, Paul wrote:
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-29 14:01, J?rgen Nielsen wrote:
torsdag, 29-01-2026, Paul skrev:
[CUT]
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself, >>>>> when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing >>>>> QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
"2. BitLocker recovery key
Starting with the release of version 24H2, Windows 11 turns on
BitLocker automatically on new installations.
Ok, so not on upgraded W10 systems. Good.
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
manage-bde -status
Command not known.
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> manage-bde -status
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
On 2026-01-30, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:
manage-bde -status
On 2026-01-31, Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:
I did that and I do not understand the answer., which includes
| Conversion Status: Used Space Only Encrypted
| Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
| Protection Status: Protection Off
| Lock Status: Unlocked
I guess that means I have an encrypted drive. Very uncool!
Now I have to figure out how to get rid of the encryption.
On 2026-01-31 14:51, Lars Poulsen wrote:
I asked Bing, and it pointed me to the page
| Control Panel > System ans Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption
... which says:
| Windows (C:) BitLocker waiting for activation
... with an option to "Turn on BitLocker"
I am GUESSING this means that the drive is not yet encrypted, but will
be as soon as I click that link?
I am REALLY confused now. I do NOT want my drive to be encrypted.
On 2026-01-31, Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
It is waiting for the password creation, I think.
IIRC, there is a procedure to "unready" it. Ask an AI. I did that some
years back, but I don't remember what I did.
It seems to mean that it is already encrypted (100%, but only the files,
not the free space. But Microsoft has not yet been gives the keys, so
the keys are not "Protected".
To remove the encryption, you type (in an administrator shell):
| manage-bde -off c:
... and in a few minutes, the drive will be decrypted (in the
background).
Now I need to do this on the PC I set up for my colleague as well!
On Sat, 1/31/2026 9:31 AM, Lars Poulsen wrote:
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Now I need to do this on the PC I set up for my colleague as well!
There may also be a slider in Settings to turn off Bitlocker, as well.
If you start Googling this topic of "I didn't know it was encrypted",
there are some pretty complicated failure cases already. Someone
took their laptop to Geek Squad, without knowing the disk was encrypted.
The service person installed a new OS (they do that, just to make a dime), and in the process, a new Bitlocker key was made. But... the key was
on the service persons MSA, not the customer MSA. And the customer
later had a problem and needed the key. And the key on the Microsoft
server was for his old OS copy. Then he had a problem trying to trace
down the service person. Apparently some companies send all the
computers to a central location for service, instead of using "Timmy-behind-the-counter" to do the work.
Expect more weird tales involving customers who got screwed by this.
Encryption is a "write once-read never" technology, and it is just
asking for trouble to be using it. You need a good reason
to be applying it.
On 2026-02-01 00:05, Paul wrote:
Encryption is a "write once-read never" technology, and it is just
asking for trouble to be using it. You need a good reason to be
applying it.
Like, a laptop can be stolen or lost, and I don't want the thieves
to read my data. But it has to be my decision to do it. I do it in
my laptop, running Linux. I am the only one that knows the password,
there is no backdoor.
On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 23:16:22 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-01-30 23:07, Paul wrote:
On Fri, 1/30/2026 5:03 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-29 14:01, J?rgen Nielsen wrote:
torsdag, 29-01-2026, Paul skrev:
[CUT]
I was installing a Win11 Pro into a VM the other day, and for the
first time I witnessed an install encrypting the C: drive for itself, >>>>>> when I don't recollect doing anything to encourage that. I was testing >>>>>> QEMU-KVM rather than VirtualBox (as the VirtualBox may not have a
working swtpm yet). QEMU-KVM has a working swtpm.
"2. BitLocker recovery key
Starting with the release of version 24H2, Windows 11 turns on
BitLocker automatically on new installations.
Ok, so not on upgraded W10 systems. Good.
How can we check if it is enabled, anyway?
manage-bde -status
Command not known.
It's not a powershell command. Run it from a plain cmd prompt.
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> manage-bde -status
<snip>
On Sat, 1/31/2026 9:31 AM, Lars Poulsen wrote:[...]
It seems to mean that it is already encrypted (100%, but only the files, not the free space. But Microsoft has not yet been gives the keys, so
the keys are not "Protected".
To remove the encryption, you type (in an administrator shell):
| manage-bde -off c:
... and in a few minutes, the drive will be decrypted (in the
background).
Now I need to do this on the PC I set up for my colleague as well!
There may also be a slider in Settings to turn off Bitlocker, as well.
On 2026-01-31 21:57, Char Jackson wrote:[...]
It's not a powershell command. Run it from a plain cmd prompt.
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> manage-bde -status
<snip>
Argh. As my daily driver is Linux, I thought a shell is a shell, all
shells have the same (external) commands.
Microsoft Windows [Versi?n 10.0.26200.7623]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. Todos los derechos reservados.
C:\Windows\System32>manage-bde -status
Cifrado de unidad BitLocker: versi?n de la herramienta de configuraci?n 10.0.26100
Copyright (C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. Todos los derechos reservados.
Vol?menes del disco que se pueden proteger con el Cifrado de unidad BitLocker:
Volumen C: []
[Volumen del sistema operativo]
Tama?o: 73,78 GB
Versi?n de BitLocker: Ninguno
Estado de conversi?n: Descifrado completo
Porcentaje cifrado: 0,0%
M?todo de cifrado: Ninguno
Estado de protecci?n: Protecci?n desactivada
Estado de bloqueo: Desbloqueado
Campo de identificaci?n:Ninguno
Protectores de clave: ninguno
C:\Windows\System32>
Curious that it says Windows version 10, when it is clearly 11. Anyway,
no encryption.
| Sysop: | Jacob Catayoc |
|---|---|
| Location: | Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Users: | 5 |
| Nodes: | 4 (0 / 4) |
| Uptime: | 25:36:34 |
| Calls: | 117 |
| Calls today: | 117 |
| Files: | 368 |
| D/L today: |
561 files (257M bytes) |
| Messages: | 70,948 |
| Posted today: | 26 |