15 votes

Dark patterns killed my wife's Windows 11 installation

6 comments

  1. [3]
    teaearlgraycold
    Link
    This was actually a very interesting mystery. I'm lucky I can migrate away from Windows as needed, but people who aren't as technically inclined are imprisoned in the ecosystem.

    This was actually a very interesting mystery. I'm lucky I can migrate away from Windows as needed, but people who aren't as technically inclined are imprisoned in the ecosystem.

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      CannibalisticApple
      Link Parent
      Yeah, that's my concern with my mom. She's not as bad as some people, but she's still not the most technically inclined. She often asked me to help with applications that I barely knew, but I...

      Yeah, that's my concern with my mom. She's not as bad as some people, but she's still not the most technically inclined. She often asked me to help with applications that I barely knew, but I could get the hang of it and use Google well enough to figure out how to accomplish whatever she needed faster than she could. She continued using her Windows 7 laptop from her job even after they gave her one with a newer Windows because she couldn't get used to the new interface.

      All these posts and articles about how bad Windows 11 is make me wary of getting another Windows machine, but I'm also wary of her ability to use something as complex as Linux given all the troubleshooting it involves. Though uh... Actually, not sure she'd be able to use Windows 11 either since I'm pretty sure that's what that second work laptop had, so it may be a moot point?

      2 votes
      1. skybrian
        Link Parent
        For someone in a similar situation who isn't working, I think a Chromebook makes a lot of sense. (If they're working, they might need Windows for something.)

        For someone in a similar situation who isn't working, I think a Chromebook makes a lot of sense. (If they're working, they might need Windows for something.)

        1 vote
  2. [3]
    Aldehyde
    Link
    Doesn’t the utilman.exe process basically provide root access to anyone who has your computer? Why does it even exist?

    Doesn’t the utilman.exe process basically provide root access to anyone who has your computer? Why does it even exist?

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      Areldyb
      Link Parent
      Replacing it with cmd does, yes, as long as the attacker is able to decrypt the drive and boot into recovery (both are common). Replacing utilman is not a normal troubleshooting process, it's a...

      Replacing it with cmd does, yes, as long as the attacker is able to decrypt the drive and boot into recovery (both are common). Replacing utilman is not a normal troubleshooting process, it's a privilege escalation exploit.

      1 vote
      1. zestier
        Link Parent
        I suspect the question could be rephrased as asking why this known privilege escalation exploit still exists.

        I suspect the question could be rephrased as asking why this known privilege escalation exploit still exists.

        1 vote