How to Convert your Windows 10 from MBR to GPT

Paul

Securing Windows 10

It’s complicated is what I’ve heard from people all around the world. The idea that We have to figure how to turn our Windows 10 into a secure boot, can seem difficult at best. Just like Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) isn’t always labeled right in the bios and that can be hard to find.   It seems that all the motherboard manufacturers wanted to make it extremely difficult for anyone who might want to enable or disable UEFI to be able to do it.   Then add on to the fact that the Motherboard manufacturers also made it hard to figure out how to turn on TPM in the bios also.   Can seem quite maddening to most because each manufacturer didn’t just call it TPM or UEFI.   Some of them Call it PTT (The intel Platform Trusted Technology) or even the AMD which is called fTPM(Firmware Trusted Platform Module).   Although the AMD version is a whole lot easier to understand since it does say TPM.  Intel on the other hand can be hard to find or even know what PTT stands for unless you google it.

Checking your system

The first step you should always do is make sure you can do this in the first place.   If you haven’t read my other post about this, I’d go over there and check to make sure you can do this in the first place.   As of currently Microsoft has stated that the requirements are the same for the previous few weeks.   So I don’t know if they will change when the final release comes out but it could very well change.

Have backups

Before I talk about the upgrading or updating your boot system to allow you to boot into Windows 10 Secure boot.  I’ll make this statement, please consider backing up all your important files that you might want to keep to a USB Flash Drive or even portable HDD or a HD that you can unplug from the bios to keep your important files safe while the upgrading of Windows 10 is being done.    What you do after this is on yourself and no one else.

can you upgrade to secure boot?

If you have checked the previous post and turned on what you can besides secure boot, but you know you have it.  You’re pretty much set to upgrade Windows 10 from Master Boot Record (MBR) to GPT(GUID Partition Table).  The process for converting your Master Boot record is relatively simple but will require you to boot into a Windows 10 on a USB!  Once you have done that you will then want to get to the command prompt the easiest way is to hit Windows+S and type in cmd then right click run as administrator.  Now you’re at the command problem.  Now is where the fun starts.

Type in :  mbr2gpt.exe  /allowFullOS /convert

Let it do it’s conversion and once done you’ll need to reboot but before you try to log into Windows again, you’ll need to go into the bios and enable secure boot.   Depending on how much Windows 10 needs to go through a new startup process will depend on the way GPT was converted.  It may take a few minutes even on the fastest system for Windows 10 to fully boot or it could be just as quick as before.   Once Windows 10 is booted, I suggest verify all your files are there and that everything is working correctly.   You might need to update software but that shouldn’t be to much a problem.   After That if you are on the Windows Insider Program than go check for updates and Windows 11 should be able to install.  If it still says you can’t upgrade I’d go back and check Whynotwin11 and Find out if you haven’t enabled TPM or what version of the TPM it is.   Other than that you should be set to go.

Enjoy Windows 11 Preview builds.   

 

5 Tips and Trips to Writing an Essay Outline

Paul

Writing

 

Writing Essays

We’ve all been there and it can be very hard not to look at the essays we have to write and just get overwhelmed.   These are what every student in any class is probably going through.  We can do only so much but here are some of my greatest tips for those who are beginning the process of making an essay.   I’ve learned these from writing my blog (check my profile out for my blog) and I am going to share with you what I know.   You’re probably wondering how you can come up with some easy ways to write that much needed essay and not know where to start.

Break the Essay down

This is the easiest part of the whole essay outline.   You’ve got to think what you want to convey and then come up with ways to keep the readers wanting to continue to read your essay.   Funny antecedents  or even funny notions, can keep that reader wanting to continue to read that essay.   Find ways you can relate to the reader or people.   It’s a tricky little step because there are no two people who are the same but that can also help you.   Figure what you want to say and break it down into paragraphs and figure out how you want to approach the problem.

Title each paragraph

Here is another great tip, if you want to make an impact and keep the reader coming back, then make titles that communicate what you are going to say in each and every paragraph.   The reader will want know where you’re going and it makes it easier for the reader to keep up with what your are trying to convey.   Remember the reader may not know nothing about what you are wanting to talk about so you have to be especially clear on communicating the ideas, thoughts, and even motives of the essay.   Draw the reader into what you are talking about and make them a part of the reading experience.   This way, the reader more involved and you create a connection with the reader.

Write the beginning Sentence

This is the most important step.   When you write your essay, you should write the beginning sentence to draw the reader into essay paragraphs.   Remember the first step is to use the Why are you writing the essay and come up with other reasons why you are writing the paragraph.   When you do you will bring in even more responses to your essay.   Draw the reader into making the a personal journey into what your writing.   Once you do that you will make the reader want to keep reading.

Write a quick about what the paragraph will be about

This is another good important step because you want to be able to come back to the paragraph and not forget what you wanted to talk about.   Let’s face it, we are all human, and we’ll not remember what the paragraph was going to be about.   So jot down a quick note about what the paragraph was going to be about.   One or two sentences is really all you need to come back to figuring out what the each paragraph is about.   We are all busy but this will help you to keep on track when writing the esssay.

Write a strong conclusion

Writing a strong conclusion will help you to end the essay on a good note.   Readers don’t like it when you just stop in the middle of the essay.   Why would you want to leave your readers on a cliffhanger?   Are you going to make another essay?  If not, we have to come up with a way to create a awesome conclusion and that makes the reader say ‘um’ and create a good breaking point to allow the reader to come up with their own conclusions.   Some ways you can come up with a good conclusion is to talk about what you have seen or maybe even what you are thinking at the end of the essay.   Make it be something that helps relate the reader to your way of the thinking, or your augment.  When you do that, the reader is more likely to leave on a good note or a happy note.   They may not agree with you but they will at least respect you for what you have said.

Do you agree or disagree?  Do you have your own ideas for writing the essay outline?   You got any tips or tricks that you want to share? I’d like to hear about it and leave a comment or two.

This is why Windows 11 Will fail miserably with Security!

Paul
Photo by TheDigitalWay on Pixabay

Microsoft’s bad Idea

“Microsoft claims that their telemetry shows that they have seen up to a 60% reduction in malware when TPM-enabled features like Windows Hello and BitLocker encryption are used on supported devices — it’s unclear why that would be at all true, unless it’s correlation and not causation”   Steve Gibson (Security Now #825 Podcast)

I dare say it’s a terrible idea.  I have been doing some major research into secure boot and TPM and everything I’m seeing is a little bit worrying to say the least.  Even listening to others talk about what Windows 11 can do or can’t do seems quite obvious.   Afterall, I’ve even had my son get information on how to get around the security requirements for Windows 11 and install Windows a boot logged copy of it onto a USB just to play around with it.   I am quite concerned with this also because it seems Microsoft trying to force users onto a proprietary system.  Microsoft is only doing the complete opposite of what they claim.

Scrutinizing the Boot Process

The goal of a hardware root of trust is to verify that the software installed in every component of the hardware is the software that was intended.  — Jessie Frazelle

The problem with trust is that we should never trust anything and always question it.   How can a system trust that the software wasn’t installed as intended?   These are the basic problems with the premise of a TPM and even the Secure Boot process.

The goal of attestation is to prove to a third party that your operating system and application software are intact and trustworthy. — Jessie Frazelle

The problem with this is even more obvious to the security of a system.   Attestation can’t always witness or even prove a program doesn’t have the right to be run or used in boot up.   Unless Attestations can be programmed to boot Windows a certain everytime in hardware, we will always have the virus developers skirting around the boot process.

Some members of the technology industry have raised the concern that the well-documented, modern, high-level language interface provided by UEFI makes it easier to compromise a platform [12]; that the ability to add modules
and applications to the boot process could compromise security.

Richard Wilkins and Brian Richardson

I wouldn’t call some being a small amount of people but a large amount.  I’ve heard time and time again this idea and it seems to be a growing concern with UEFI and how virus writers / developers will overcome UEFI and be able to install viruses / Malware around the the Windows system to be able to do what they have always been able to do.

Security through Obscurity

Microsoft seems to have take this approach as  their next step through the security door and it’s seems quite evident that they’ve not learned their lesson from others.  I say that with the understanding that Apple tried this with their systems and they still have virus writers who can compromise their system.  It’s not like the security community doesn’t want all operating system to be secure, in fact most would want it so badly because we wouldn’t have to worry as much about the viruses or malware to being on peoples systems.   Let’s not forget we still have users who will do dumb things and that much will always be true.   There is always going to be need to teach the company users, how to be secure while using the company’s computer(s) or laptop(s).

Return-Oriented Programming

Return-Oriented Programming is a security exploit technique used by attackers to execute code on their target system. By obtaining control of the call stack, the attacker can control the flow of existing trusted software running on the computer and manipulate it to their own ends. — Secureteam UK

The ROP(return-oriented programming) has been a constant problem for several years now and will probably grow even more.   I say that not lightly because the Virus writers / Developers will have to start to use it more and more often and even find other exploits techniques to get around the Secure boot and UEFI protocols.  This is often called the Blindside attack and is most often used with IOT(Internet of Things) devices but can be used with Windows operating systems and will become more and more useful to them in the future, I suspect.

Not unlike the previous tutorial we will be crafting [ROP] the parameters to Windows API calls on the stack and then executing them.  — FuzzySecurity

As you can see, there is already programming that people can do with Windows 7 API and that’s been out for quite a while.  I am unsure when someone did this little experient and talked about the vulnerability.  This vulnerability is available on Windows 7.   It could very well be used on Windows 10 or even Windows 11, I suspect.

Mitigation

I will say there has been talk about mitigating this and other attacks but it requires a constant updating of the operating system and CPU (Secureteam UK).   As you know CPU manufacturers will take years to update a problem just because people will not want to go buy a new cpu or even a new computer until the old computer isn’t able to run or something actually breaks in the system.   I know Virus writers / developers will always be having to be a head of Windows updates and that might be what they are already doing.   Looking for vulnerabilities in the UEFI and Secure boot area.  I suspect they are already doing that now.   I can’t say if they’ll succeed but I know the virus writers make so much money on ransomware and getting those companies systems compromised.   So who really wins?  I would hazard a guess no one in the end, the security that Microsoft is trying to force will still fail miserably and I will be there saying “I told you so!”

 

 

The Break Down on Loki Episode 6

Paul
Loki Looking up at Kang Statue

*Spoilers*

(If you haven’t seen the last episode, that’s your fault. I take no responsibility if you continue to read my post!)

The End of Season 1

It’s not over! That’s what I want to say right now. Here’s the breakdown in what I saw on the last episode of Loki.   This is all just speculation but I thought it would be nice to at least talk about it.   When we last saw Loki in episode 5, they were about to enter the castle.  I even talk about it to a point.   My predictions were right, it was going to be Kang and a twist of Loki.   We at least at the end of episode 6 will see a season 2 of Loki.  I am glad now we can hopefully slow the speed of the episodes down and let us explore the TVA and what will happen next.   At least we don’t have to know if there is going to be a season 2.

Loke and Sylvie

The two of them did actually surprised me because of what actually happened at the end.   I am not sure why it happened but I am sure it was thought out by our villain Kang.   During that episode Loki and Sylvie find Kang who for whatever reasons knows that he will die eventually.   He talks about how he got there and what happened  to create the TVA.   He talks about the time line and why he does it.   He even says he would like Loki and Sylvie to become the ones who takes control of the TVA and keeps it going to help prevent the splitting of the time lines and making it branch off.   Kang who doesn’t really say his name but eludes to it by saying he has been called “the conqueror” in the past.   He even talks about where he went to and what he did to a point.  That all lines up with what easter eggs we saw in the show as we progressed in the plot.   We see where Ravonna Renslayer was actually a principle in a school and that is why she had that blue pen she would use to sign off on documents.

The Battle

After all this is done, Kang says he had this all planned out to begin with and even tried other branches to see what the results were for his ending.   Loki seems to take what he says as truths and Sylvie just wants to kill him for taking her life away from her.   So a battle ensures between Loki for all intents and purposes seems to be wanting to be good and thus he still has the TVA clothing on, trying to make Sylvie listen to his way of thinking and not acting out of emotions.  She doesn’t listen and they fight each other, but no one gets extremely hurt just pushed around.   Finally Loki shows her that he doesn’t want to fight her and does care for her.   They kiss and the next thing I know he’s being pushed through a portal to the TVA.   That part, I am quite certain Kang had the forethought to make sure he went to a different reality.   At least that’s what I am thinking.

Sylvie

Sylvie is left alone with Kang who doesn’t want to fight and absolutely doesn’t know what will happen next.   Sylvie on the other hand wants to kill him for everything he has done.   She pushes the desk away and say’s “aren’t you going to beg for your life?”  He just fumbles and says “He could but ..”   Sylvie kills him with her blade and he just winks and says “This is who?”  I’m really trying to figure this one out because I am not exactly sure why he said or if he said that.   I thought he said it instead of who but I could be wrong.

Loki in the TVA

We see Loki walking around the TVA and no one seems to pay him much notice and He gets to B-17 and Mobius talk about the branching of the timelines.  They think he’s an analyst due to his outfit and don’t know anything about him.   He tells them about what he saw but they just ask who he is and what is name.   They seem to not know who he is and that is because  I think Kang intentionally put him in a different timeline or branch so they wouldn’t know who he is.

Branching of the timelines

As we leave the episode we know there are nothing the TVA can do to prevent the timelines from branching and this is where Dr. Strange will probably pick up in the movie in the beginning of the year or just before Season 2 starts, I would assume.   We might have it where there is a two seasons before we see the movie but since it’s in post productions, I can only hope that it is before season 2 is released.   I am sure we will see mobius in that movie also but we don’t know who will be in it.   I’ve heard rumors  he will return to the MCU but I am not sure if that is with anything other than the Loki series or if he will branch out to the MCU movies.  I can only guess that the Dr. Strange would need him for something or to know something that will help him figure out how to solve the problem of the multiverse branching.

Just my two cents. . . .  As I have said before this is just my thoughts and I will have to wait just like everyone else to find out what happens to Loki and Sylvie and even the TVA till next year but they left it off in a good way.   I just hope next year the series progresses a little bit slower so we can get more enjoyment of the series.

Loki and the Time Variance Authority, who really wins?

Paul

Loki to set records

I’ve heard this from other sources that Loki will set the highest watched episodes Disney+ has ever done. I do not know if that is the case but I did want to talk about some of my theories about where Disney+ is going to go on the coming years.   I also wanted to talk about how these episodes really felt rushed.   First off, we should talk about how Loki got the following they did and why it is so popular in the MCU.   I can’t imagine we’d expect it to come like this full circle.   As of writing this we are waiting for the final episode to drop just days from now and I am wondering just what will become of Loki and who is behind the TVA.  I’ve heard many theories from Kang the Conqueror to Loki.   I agree it is most likely going to be Kang just for the facts that they have so many clues in each episode and we’ve seen the progression of the series.   I however have doubts that it could also be Loki because he at one time or place wanted to rule them all.

Loki Episodes Felt Rushed

I know I am not the only who has said it or will say it.  If you’ve haven’t I strongly suggest you do and decide for yourself.  Let’s get back on topic.   The Loki Variant or The Main character as some would call him seemed to be really rushed.   I hate to say that but I do think it is due to the need to bring a character out for the coming movies.   MCU has done this in the past and will give us little glimpse of what is to come.   They are good at that and this just seems to be rushed to get us that glimpse into the future of the MCU.   I really think this is due to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.  I’ve heard rumors that Kang is going to be in there and I wouldn’t doubt it since he is always involved with Time travel.   If anyone who has read the comics will know that Kang was always time traveling and you see that time and time again in the comics.

What’s Next for the MCU

For me I am hopeful that some of this will be even better than before.   If you’d watched the ending to the Black Widow Movie, you’ll see Yelena Belova talking to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine about her next assignment would be Hawkeye aka Clint Barton.  It’s not a leap to think it was so they can tease the Hawkeye Tv Show coming to the MCU this fall.  So we will see the show Hawkeye becoming another hopefully longer series than the last two.  I’d love some really good backstory about Barton or even Yelena.  We only get glimpses of their history in the Marvel Universe the last few years and Yelena is the newest character for us to know about since they just showed her on Black Widow.  I am hopeful this will not be rushed like the others and we get to dig deep into knowing more about the characters and what they have in store for the MCU.   I can’t wait to see the last episode of LOKI and I’ll probably even talk about in the coming days onces it is released.

What’s your thoughts on the Show?  I’d love to hear your reactions or thoughts on what will be next.