Windows Vista To Make Dual-Boot A Challenge?

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."

Comments

Stupid

[EraserMouseMan]

"You could look at BitLocker as anti-Linux. . . "

No, just anti-dual-boot. Microsoft makes their product more secure and people want to say it's anti-competitive. It's like saying that the locks on your house are anti-neighbor. Oh that's so horrible! You have anti-neighbor devices installed in your house!!! You must want to destroy all of your neighbors. It's just sick that you care about your family, safety and privacy so much that you would deny everybody access to your house!

Re:Stupid

[pallmall1]

It's just sick that you care about your family, safety and privacy so much that you would deny everybody access to your house!

Who said anything about your house? Why worry about the locks, anyway, when you can just come in through the (Microsoft) WINDOWS? If one cares about their family's safety and privacy, the sick thing is to force them to use Windows.

Re:Whatever...try fat32 partition

[DaHat]

You mean beta software didn't act as you would have expected it? Even perhaps having a bug? Amazing! Lets just see if it still acts that way later this year when it RTMs.

Vista

[Terminus32]

Pffft...Windows Vista sounds like dog****! I'm happy with SuSE 10, and i've already got family & friends who are impressed & want me to install it on their boxes.

Re:Whatever...try fat32 partition

[Lillesvin]

The only people who would probably use it, are people with extremely sensitive data, and in that case, they probably wouldn't be dual booting anyway.

No, hopefully they'll be sticking with Linux, *BSD or Mac. Keeping extremely sensitive data on anything created by Microsoft would be like trying to hide a rhino behind the curtain - it just doesn't cut it. ;-)

Re:News Just In:

[s16le]

Well, I guess that just sucks for you, doesn't it? I guess you don't get to "dOoL-BoOt" anymore. So sad. But hey, you don't need M$ Windoze, because lunix is a perfectly suitable desktop replacement.

:)

Re:We're getting good at FUD too!

[mrsbrisby]

First of all, vista won't have this activated by default. Here's how you can turn it on in Vista Beta:

And exactly where in that (albeit very technical) article does it say that BitLocker hands your data over to Microsoft?

Where is the materials that describe how to "decrypt" a Bitlocker "protected" drive when the motherboard explodes? or Windows eats itself- either by user fault or by design?

just like the linux system.

You're completely wrong.

Linux's offerings encrypt the drive to a key (or using key material) the user knows- instead of material that only Microsoft and the TPM manufacturer knows.

The difference means that with Linux you're protecting your data, but with BitLocker, Microsoft is protecting your data- which by itself probably wouldn't be so bad, except that it means that Microsoft is protecting your data from you !