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Windows 8 backdoor access?


Bad boy Warrior

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I think so. Again. So, I think that for this and the other handful of rapid-moving threads, the best thing to do is to keep backups of one's own latest half-a-dozen posts, so as to be able to reinsert them into the thread easily, whenever we get back from those lossy crashes/blackouts/database-rollbacks.

What I do is to reopen a post I've just posted, as if for editing it, then highlight all of it, copy and paste to notepad and save as text (.txt). The text file thus generated can be posted back in just another copy/paste operation. Some paranoia is more than required, those days...

That is an excellent idea!

--JorgeA

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Now today, we have the next step in the evolution, hardware based ( like consumer electronics ) but using the promise of "security" to sugar coat their medicine. Expect them to later promise the end of child porn, racism, terrorism, and a cure for Cancer.

Speaking of cancer (it's not exactly OT, keep reading), I fully expect that, 20-30 years from now, there will be a masssive epidemic of brain cancer (and cancers of other nearby areas of the head) that will be wholly attributable to people today living with their cell/smartphones on their ears.

Silver lining (and coming back on-topic): This will cause a quick and dramatic drop-off in the use of cellphones and other mobile Internet-connected devices, which will be distressing to the authorities as they will lose the most important way of keeping track of where everybody is at any given time.

--JorgeA

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I receive an email everytime someone posts which contains the text of each post. This is what i have for the first few emails before the problem occurred

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The article is true. Since there is no way to disable TPM2.0, you'll be losing the authority to decide which software your computer is allowed to execute. And since Microsoft is the one who has a saying in which software is allowed, you're basically at their mercy. The smart screen feature is already a good example, it blocked a few completely harmless (self written) programs just because they weren't on Microsoft's list. At least you can disable it - for now.

I don't know about TPM serving as a backdoor for NSA, if they wanted to have one they'd just build one into windows without having to go through the loops of TPM. it's not like you can read the source anyway.
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Noteworthy excerpt from http://investmentwatchblog.com/leaked-german-government-warns-key-entities-not-to-use-windows-8-links-the-nsa/

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The other realistic scenario is that Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip manufactures don’t sit within reach of the NSA, but in China…
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------------ QUOTE ----------
Bad boy Warrior:
Anyone have any thought on this article true or just complete crap?

http://investmentwatchblog.com/leaked-german-government-warns-key-entities-not-to-use-windows-8-links-the-nsa/
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It used to be that the easy way to shut up suspicious people like us was to label something a conspiracy theory. Expect much of that attempted as these unTrustworthy Computing articles are published.

These days it would be crazy to trust anything at face value, especially this "platform" hatched by industry insiders led by Microsoft. It probably started as an effort to help the Hollywood Mafia exploit PC users ( they were always their nemesis, unlike consumer electronics ) but then the Government(s) pounced and hijacked the effort perhaps over tepid protests of computer industry.

Now it is all coming out into the open and the parties are scared.

Any efforts infringing on the personal computer must be rejected. Make no mistake, it is a huge fight to be had. They can just wait us out and let the existing PC base die and watch them all replaced through attrition, eventually all of machines then becoming locked-down walled-gardens with Hollywood and Government hooks included.

In fact, here is Ed MicroBott already doing his bootlicking schtick ...

Don't let paranoia over the NSA and TPM weaken your security (http://www.zdnet.com/dont-let-paranoia-over-the-nsa-and-tpm-weaken-your-security-7000019791/) ( Edd Bott 2013-08-23 )

He's propagandizing the fact that Trusted Platform is about hardware, therefore Microsoft is innocent. What it really is about is a common hardware interface installed on personal computers and that is the problem entirely. It is about uniformity and the last thing they care about is end-user security and privacy. They need to leave the PC alone and build a separate government spy approved computer for sale by itself rather than sneak it into everyone's homes. Let's see which ones people buy.

'Don't worry, be happy! Trust us, trust our Trusted Platform!'

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Some more coverage of this ...

Did the Germans Catch the NSA Spying on Windows Users? (http://www.tomsguide.com/us/nsa-spying-on-windows-users,news-17433.html) ( Tom's Hardware 2013-08-22 )

German agency warns about Windows 8 use for federal systems (http://www.neowin.net/news/german-agency-warns-about-windows-8-use-for-federal-systems) ( NeoWin 2013-08-23 )

The comments at NeoWin are nothing if not predictable!

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I receive an email everytime someone posts which contains the text of each post. This is what i have for the first few emails before the problem occurred

@Bad boy Warrior ... Thanks! :thumbup I completely forgot about that notification facility because I always opt-out ( less email ).

So it sends you all posts added to the thread except your own, right?

I see that the one I "recreated from memory" was hardly complete. I'll edit it later, maybe.

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Thats correct it sends me an email for all posts except for mine.

Im not sure about the "recreated from memory" but if you could give me a little more info i could go into my deleted emails and see if i can pull any other details? My guess is once a user has submitted a post i receive an email however if they then edit that post and save it i think i dont get the updated version of that post.

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Thats correct it sends me an email for all posts except for mine.

Im not sure about the "recreated from memory" but if you could give me a little more info i could go into my deleted emails and see if i can pull any other details? My guess is once a user has submitted a post i receive an email however if they then edit that post and save it i think i dont get the updated version of that post.

No need. I was referring to post #15 above which I tried to reconstruct from memory from no backup. Your helpful post above at #18 gave me the actual content that was lost.

Thanks again.

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My guess is once a user has submitted a post i receive an email however if they then edit that post and save it i think i dont get the updated version of that post.

Yes. That's exactly right: you get all messages posted (except your own), but further edits/updates are not mailed, only the original posts.

Like Charlotte I never subscribe any thread, so that I also never remember that's a possible recovery avenue. Thanks for reminding us of that, and, of course, for the help in recovering the lost content. You rock! :thumbup

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So in Windows 8 the TPM is always enabled? I recall that it still uses a driver to use it. Can't you just disable or uninstall the driver in Device Manager?

I guess the point is about TPM 2.0 and BIOSes (or EFI/UEFI crap) where the TPM chip cannot be disabled.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/23/nsa_germany_windows_8/

However, as a side note, let's say that hypothetically I find a way to attempt accessing the TPM chip (with totally incorrect/random credentials/password/whatever), I can seemingly lock you out of your system for 20/24 hours:

http://www.wave.com/support/trusted-platform-module-tpm-disabled-unavailable-or-locked-1

Locked TPM chip:

Too many failed attempts to access the TPM will cause a lockout state for the TPM chip on the motherboard. This is by design of the manufacturer of the TPM.

Unlocking the TPM chip requires the machine to be powered on for at least 20 hours continuously. You will need to disable sleep or hibernation in order to allow the continuous time period until the lockout timer expires.

The lockout should be less than 24 hours and starts from a few seconds and will grow exponentially depending on the number of access failures.

Raise your hand if you never managed to lock yourself (or someone else) out of a handy by mistyping thrice the PIN (and needed to find the PUK, that has a known tendency to hide amid a zillion pieces of papers in the back of never used drawers ;)).

There is now an official BSI statement:

https://www.bsi.bund.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/Presse2013/Windows_TPM_Pl_21082013.html

translated as:

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-08-26/german-government-confirms-key-entities-not-use-windows-8-tpm-20-fearing-cont

For specific user groups, the use of Windows 8 in combination with TPM may well mean an increase in security. This includes users who, for various reasons, cannot or do not want to take care of the security of their system, but trust that the manufacturer of the system provides and maintains a secure solution. This is a valid user scenario, but the manufacturer should provide sufficient transparency about the potential limitations of the architecture and possible consequences of its use.

From the perspective of the BSI, the use of Windows 8 in combination with TPM 2.0 is accompanied by a loss of control over the operating system and the hardware. This results in new risks for the user, specifically for the Federal Administration and critical infrastructure.

jaclaz

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  • 2 months later...

"In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed are Kings..."

--Desiderius Erasmus, 'Adagia' (1500)

ZCGNVpZ.png

The nefarious entities we've come to think of as 'government' (actually, private corporations who have infiltrated, captured, and taken over our system) are definitely 1000-percent spying, at all times, in myriad ways. Cameras on every street-corner and parking-lot, and yes backdoors into your os. ADMITTED AND CONFIRMED. And the spying is only the tip of the iceberg.

Watch some of Alex Jones' videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAlexJonesChannel

Many call him crazy, a "conspiracy-theorist" (the new buzzword used to marginalize people who aren't sheeple), but he's usually over 98% dead-on, this I know for a fact.

Evolution is a theory, the actual conspiracies that make up the forces behind 'world government' are facts. With a little effort, you can find all the evidence for yourself.

NSA backdoors have been built-in to Windows since before the Win'95 version. In fact, Microsoft has a 'liaison' office for the NSA right in the Microsoft complex. Google was created to be, from the very beginning, a spy-engine, funded by the CIA and NSA at the very start. Everyone loves Google, right? Google just 'has all the answers', right? Because it's designed as a network that craws the Web, linking keywords and search-terms, indexing EVERYTHING, logging EVERYTHING, storing EVERYTHING, all info accessed 24-hours-a-day by several agencies. Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, all of it....legs of the octopus.

I like my Windows-running machine (right now Win8.1, on an HP Pavilion desktop) ok, but I treat it as a snake that will bite me if I "get too close". Believe me, that's a healthy attitude to have.

Edited by YourNumbr1Fan
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