Why does Microsoft enforce TPM for Windows 11?

Discussion in 'Windows 11' started by JBenal, May 26, 2022.

  1. case-sensitive

    case-sensitive MDL Expert

    Nov 7, 2013
    1,681
    731
    60
    Thank you . I havent seen any recent comparative tests but am interested if you / anyone knows where i can find any recent ones ?

    Another thing i read but dont know if its valid is that the HDD writing is more durable than the writing on an SSD is ? The HDD is physical cuts in a disk and the SSD is electricly charged ?
     
  2. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream

    Dec 21, 2012
    6,358
    7,077
    210
    ???

    HDDs use magnetic domains to store data. Magnetized disk platters, that is. Nothing physical is ever done to the disk platters (except upon a head crash, which usually ends the HDD's life immediately), the read/write heads are floating a very tiny bit of space above them (contrary to the old floppy disk, where the heads actually touched the surface). All cylinders/tracks, sectors etc. on the disk are only magnetized information, no "physical cuts".

    SSDs use electron tunneling into NAND floating gate transistors (via quantum tunneling). So, electrically charged is not entirely wrong, I guess. Electrons are locked into the NAND flash memory cells and then used to represent ones or zeros. Unfortunately, that tunneling breaks the cells eventually, so, the write and erase cycles are limited (the read cycles aren't).


    HDDs will break down, too, no question, but more due to mechanics, not electronics. SSD's life is already limited by its very design, however, normal usage will outlast the computer's life time by a fair margin.
     
  3. case-sensitive

    case-sensitive MDL Expert

    Nov 7, 2013
    1,681
    731
    60
    Thank you .

    I supose its what one reads , how old it is and how acurate it is ...... and my grip of terminology :)

    With SSDs i thought that a componat ( transistor ) was charged / loaded by electricity .......... to represent ON and OFF = 1 or 0 ........... and it was read by detecting wich componats were charged on and off .

    I'd read in popular computer magazines that an HDD could be over written around 10 thousand times .......... and with an SSD its a lot less . The things i read said that the writing on an HDD is more durable than on an SSD .

    Because of that i was under the impression that the writing on an HDD is physical .

    I stand corrected . Thank you . I learnt something :)
     
  4. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream

    Dec 21, 2012
    6,358
    7,077
    210
    The overwrite cycles on an HDD are essentially unlimited. Its life is limited primarily by "wear and tear" of the mechanical components, and by the unavoidable aging of the magnetized metal surface. That, of course, excludes freak accidents due to heads crashing (impact on surface) or other shock damage from falling laptops. Actual physical changes to an HDD's surface will kill it.
    HDD aging is greatly accelerated by running in a hot environment, so, you might want to keep it as cool as possible. 50°C (122°F) is too hot, 55°C (131°F) is critical. Laptop (2.5") drives are more vulnerable to heat.

    Example: This HDD of mine has a running time of over 5 years. It has been written to countless of times, with a tremendous amount of data. It's still going strong. Written data and number of Write accesses aren't counted in any way for an HDD exactly because they don't matter. Development of bad sectors due to aging of the surface and thus loss of proper magnetization is the usual end of its lifetime.

    oldhdd.jpg

    I also have some HDDs from the 90s, still working till today. The smallest is a 52MB from Quantum.


    About the SSDs (based on Flash memory technology), an ELI5 description would go like this: You trap electrons (defined electric charges) in little cages, the resulting charge can be measured and interpreted as data. No charge means 1 and charge means 0.
    Originally, one cell could hold only one electron (Single Level Cell, SLC), then two (Multi Level Cell, MLC), then three (Triple Level Cell, TLC, or "3D NAND"), and now four (Quad Level Cell, QLC). SLC is the most expensive with the most lifetime, and QLC the cheapest to make, with the least lifetime. In the order: Pro SSDs are MLC, average TLC and budget ones QLC.

    These cells itselves cannot be modified directly, but are organized into blocks. To modify even a single cell's contents, the whole block must be read into a RAM area inside the SSD's controller, then the contents modified, the block completely erased and re-written. This can be done only a finite number of times (about 1000 times per cell). Thus, the controller keeps track of the usage history of each block and distributes writes evenly over the whole disk. This is called Wear Leveling and dramatically increases the lifespan. The controller has far more up its sleeves, like spare blocks, TRIM etc.

    Note there were very early attempts to do SSDs, but it was primarily just battery-backed RAM. Flash technology started the SSD we know today.
     
  5. case-sensitive

    case-sensitive MDL Expert

    Nov 7, 2013
    1,681
    731
    60
    #46 case-sensitive, Jun 13, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2022
    Thank you Carlos .......... i had a brain fart and mixed some meomorys up ........... then brain took a short cut and i f**ked up :)


    @ Windows 11 Security book from Microsoft

    Thats realy plump commercial adverts . The first lie is in the title .

    >Built with Zero Trust principles at the core to safeguard data and access anywhere, keeping you protected and productive.

    = Built on false placed trust in microsoft ........ zero trust = one has to have 100 % trust in microsoft ? ...... When could microsoft ever be trusted ?

    Then it carrys on with more psycho bulls**t ---- >

    > And now more than ever, employees need simple, intuitive user experiences to collaborate and stay productive, wherever work happens.

    When was windows ........... since XP ........... ever simple ? Is win 10 / 11 simple ? Are they intuative ? .............. Thats pure bulls**t . Those things are some of the biggest problems and complaints that users have .

    > We’re committed to helping customers get secure—and stay secure.

    How many microsoft links are not / were not untill recently HTTPS ?
     
  6. Dark Dinosaur

    Dark Dinosaur X Æ A-12

    Feb 2, 2011
    3,761
    5,225
    120
    #47 Dark Dinosaur, Jun 13, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2022
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  7. P40L0

    P40L0 MDL Senior Member

    Jul 14, 2009
    343
    187
    10
    Because hardware and software move on.
     
  8. case-sensitive

    case-sensitive MDL Expert

    Nov 7, 2013
    1,681
    731
    60
    Yes ....... its pure altruism .......... the fact that it revives a dieing / stagnating industry ............. and makes trilliions of $$$$$$ for microsoft and the hardware industry is just a coincidence .

    Anything else is PURE conspiracy theory !!!!!! :)
     
  9. boe323

    boe323 MDL Expert

    Jul 19, 2011
    1,600
    469
    60
    TPM can stop an attack directed at your security information ie, passwords, face unlock and much more.
     
  10. kvdr

    kvdr MDL Novice

    Nov 2, 2017
    4
    6
    0
    Enhanced security for end-users that comes with using TPMs: convincing pretext, plausible deniability
    Accelerated hardware obsoletion in the face of consumer demand stagnation: happy (& lucrative) coincidence

    The key to understanding true agenda behind TPM enforcement lies in its technicalities:

    All current methods of creating an unique Hardware ID (HWID) are ephemeral, there are always ways to reset it. With TPMs, it will become trivial to unique identify your PC, and very costly to change that ID. This is, coincidentally of course, very beneficial to anti-cheat companies, for reasons that should be obvious to everyone. Not many people can afford a new CPU each time they get banned.

    Okay, let's extrapolate a bit (not to be confused with a slippery slope). Let's assume that everyone has a TPM now, no need to worry about those who don't. Manufacturers can now implement copyright holders' wet dream:

    Three corporate birds with one stone! What a coincidence that the ramifications align so perfectly with corporate interests. There's no way corporations would slow-boil their consumers into lucrative compliance, right?
     
  11. AveYo

    AveYo MDL Expert

    Feb 10, 2009
    1,836
    5,694
    60
    But they have an ocean of useful-idiots not even getting paid for controlling the narrative online. Even smart people are brushing it off as "conspiracy", which stems from being afraid of such perspective, so going for the head-in-the-sand approach.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  12. kvdr

    kvdr MDL Novice

    Nov 2, 2017
    4
    6
    0
    Mind posting some examples?

    Also, I forgot to mention my sources:

    Windows 11: TPMs and Digital Sovereignty
    @ secret club

    What's the difference between the endorsement key and the attestation identity key within the TPM?
    @ security stackexchange
     
  13. gailium119

    gailium119 MDL Addicted

    Oct 12, 2021
    769
    466
    30
    Wait for experts to write a fake tpm driver to trick those anti-cheat programs
     
  14. atgpud2003

    atgpud2003 MDL Addicted

    Apr 30, 2015
    532
    86
    30
    Microsoft wants you spend your money new parts that required TPM 2.0.. For my Computer I am currently on Windows 10 (with TPM 2.0) for now until to hear butt-head just use TPM (without worry CPU un-support or support).. I had tested my PC with Windows 11 with TPM 2.0 and disable non-sense with CPU support B.S. it works.. Not ready for that couple of years..

    ATGPUD2003
     
  15. nosirrahx

    nosirrahx MDL Expert

    Nov 7, 2017
    1,245
    592
    60
    There is probably something to be said about counteracting the "My PC is good enough" phenomenon. Once you get to the point where a PC has 8+GB or RAM, 4+cores (8+threads) and a SSD, the average user that just does regular PC stuff could not possibly benefit from new hardware in any perceptible way.

    If Windows 10 just went on for the next 15 years, there is a big chunk of the population that would only buy a new PC if their existing PC actually died. Microsoft would not benefit from that at all. A free upgrade to 11 from 10 is also not helpful if you keep your local account.

    A new PC with a fresh 11 install requiring a MS account moves the needle forward for Microsoft and their plans for everything as a service.