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On the back of earlier issues this summer with system startup and BitLocker recovery, and the messy process of Secure Boot certificate updates, Microsoft’s fumbles no longer feel like occasional one-offs. Nor are they minor. (Not when you can’t boot your system at all. Or you have a momentary heart attack because BitLocker unexpectedly demands its recovery key.)
Family members have asked me to explain Secure Boot certificates to them and why they weren’t updated automatically. If they run into Defender’s latest woes, I’ll have to explain Microsoft Defender Antivirus to them and field questions on why the error even happened. These conversations aren’t easy because they sit on top of a continual pile.
And that heap of trouble started even before Windows 11’s release. Remember the TPM requirement? Then Microsoft walking back the TPM requirement? Then the restriction on unofficial installations? Then the threatened death of Windows 10? Heck, that stay of execution even got a surprise extension out of nowhere.
I’m not surprised by this chaos—AI truly has changed the game. At a product launch event in late July, several Microsoft representatives said that hackers and other bad actors are ahead of those protecting against attacks. The defenders are playing catch up. Microsoft has increased the frequency and number of security patches for this reason.
But Windows keeps changing and breaking. In the absence of a reliable warning system, people will increasingly make decisions without thinking too deep about what Windows is or isn’t doing. Microsoft is training us to not believe the very systems we’re supposed to put our faith in.
That goes directly against what Windows 11 aims to be. It’s a real pity.