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Windows Vista To Make Dual-Boot A Challenge?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the have-to-raise-a-fuss dept.

mustafap writes "UK tech site The Register is reporting on security guru Bruce Schneier's observation that the disk encryption system to be shipped with Vista, BitLocker, will make dual booting other OSs difficult - you will no longer be able to share data between the two." From the article: "This encryption technology also has the effect of frustrating the exchange of data needed in a dual boot system. 'You could look at BitLocker as anti-Linux because it frustrates dual boot,' Schneier told El Reg. Schneier said Vista will bring forward security improvements, but cautioned that technical advances are less important than improvements in how technology is presented to users."

7 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. Whatever...try fat32 partition by gbrandt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Any body that is dual booting will also know that making a partition formatted fat32 will allow copying of files between os's.

    1. Re:Whatever...try fat32 partition by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Even perhaps having a bug.

      You know full well it isn't a bug. It's the same exact "feature" that has been shared by all in their OSes for the past 20 years. It's not in Microsoft's interest to make it any easier for users to stray from their ecosystem, so this intentionally designed limitation is not going to change.

  2. News Just In: by ettlz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Encrypting a filesystem prevents arbitrary operating system from accessing it!

    I mean — what the fuck?! — isn't that the whole idea?

  3. It will only be in Enterprise and Ultimate Vista by jfern · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At least, according to Wiki.

    As much as we all love to bash Microsfot, I'm guessing it's an optional feature.

  4. Re:Has everyone gone mad? by Tim+C · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I take it you missed the recent story on how Vista's firewall is going to be "crippled" because the default config won't block outgoing connections - just like XP's, just like Mandrake's and RedHat's the last time I set up firewalls on them, just like my hardware firewall in fact.

    Slashdot has long had a strong anti-MS bias. Fine, they've never made a secret of it. Recently however, they've started to allow it to warp the facts, which is not fine.

    Sure, this may well make dual-booting more difficult, in that you won't be able to get at your data. Ever tried getting at data on an NTFS partition with Fedora? ZOMG! Fedora is trying to lock out Windows!

    I've been here a long time, and it's sad to see how the site has declined from a site you could trust, to one that will print almost anything as long as it bashes MS or praises FOSS.

    --
    It's official. Most of you are morons.
  5. Shame on you by Neon+Aardvark · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A company plans to include a very useful encryption tool with it's next OS.

    This is good news in terms of security and privacy, and therefore /. readers will welcome it.

    Oh wait, no they won't, because the company is Microsoft. Microsoft is baaad, therefore everything they do is sinister and evil. You people always manage to find the dark lining to their every silver cloud.

    It's the herd-mentality at work, folks.

    Yawn.

    --
    Azural - instrumentals
  6. Re:And another EU Commision lawsuit in 3... 2... by PsychicX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One slight detail.

    Drive encryption is optional. It's something you may configure while setting up the system for systems carrying sensitive or important data. It's not like a standard Vista install automatically encrypts the entire drive. That would be ludicrous.

    Bruce Schneier may be a brilliant security guy, but like every other person (and company) on the planet, he has an agenda. Don't automatically trust the guy telling you stuff because it's embarassing to the person he's telling you about.