Posted on 11/06/2025 9:34:09 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
So regardless of short-term solutions, in the end you will have an unsafe OS. Also, the reality is that many of you cannot upgrade to Windows 11, and even if you could, my recent videos show that Windows 11 has AI that watches everything you do. I'll never use it as my main OS.
But I do use Windows 11 too, 1% of the time. 99% of the time I use Linux. While I might state clearly that you should abandon Windows and go to Linux, the reality is that this may not be an easy transition.
This may be because you want to run games or do video editing on Windows, or maybe there's some special software you need to use like CAD CAM software for Windows. But it's very dangerous to leave Windows 10 as-is without some security precautions. So what we will learn today is Windows 10 hardening.
I will teach you some things. Most of the attacks in Windows come from very specific areas, and with the right approaches, we can mitigate the risks and even eliminate them. And this may allow you to use Windows 10 for an extended period of time in conjunction with Linux.
Maybe forever. Safely. Find out how.
And everything I will teach you today will be free. Stay right there. Our objective.
Part-time use. I want to make our objectives clear from the get-go. I'm not suggesting that you just keep going as you are with Windows 10 as-is.
I'm suggesting that you reduce your use of Windows 10 to an occasionally used OS, and that alone reduces the attack footprint for hackers. And I'm also recommending a dual boot setup where you install Linux side-by-side with Windows, and I have a recent video that explains how to do that. And it should be easier to do with Windows 10 versus Windows 11.
So the main objective should be part-time use. This is the only safe way to move forward without getting a new computer and using Windows 11. If you're on Linux, you are going to be a lot safer from hacks than Windows, because generally it is harder to hack Linux, and there are fewer exploits on Linux versus Windows.
You will not need an antivirus for Linux. And of course, Linux will always get security updates while your Windows 10 will not. Therefore, risky operations are better suited for Linux, and that will keep you going safely from here on.
But rest assured, the way we harden this, you will not need any antivirus from Windows 10, nor will you care if you don't receive a security update forever. I realize that some of you may say this is a cybersecurity topic and not a privacy topic. But this cybersecurity procedure is necessary to retain our privacy on the OS by not relying on the Windows Fireware product called Windows 11.
What apps not to keep on Windows To achieve this part-time status, we need to examine the apps we use, and certain things must be moved to Linux. If you control what apps you run on Windows, you already eliminate a ton of hacking risks. In a 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations report, it reported that 82% of breaches involve phishing or stolen credentials, mostly via email.
So think of this, if you move your email to Linux, which is the simplest thing, and it's already built in, you basically eliminate a big source of hacking risks. This alone is huge. Secondly, if you move your web browsing to Linux, and again, web browsers are pretty much the same on Linux as Windows, then the second highest source of attacks pretty much disappears.
These two things alone will make you a lot safer. Additionally, if you pass files back and forth with others, like word processing files and spreadsheets, this must be done on Linux. Lots of hacks can happen on Microsoft Office scripts that don't happen on Linux.
But the change I just stated here is huge, and super simple. Windows apps, moving them to Linux The next step to turning Windows into a part-time OS is to review what Windows apps can run on Linux. In case you think this is theory, Steam claims that 85% of the top 1000 games are playable on Steam Deck hardware that used to run only on Windows.
Steam Deck is a portable gaming machine that's actually running Linux and Proton. Proton is doing the Windows emulation, and it is based on Wine. So if Steam can run games on Linux, you can see that it is possible.
I happen to have a Steam Deck, and it is actually cool when you realize that it doesn't use Windows to run these games based on Windows. Steam, of course, has made this seamless for games, and lots of you want to stay with Windows mostly because of games. And yet, there's no reason for it.
Linux will work faster most of the time, so your gaming experience should be better. At least on Steam, only 15% of the top 1000 games are unplayable on Steam Deck's Proton. So at least with that specific hardware configuration, they've solved lots of compatibility issues.
Some of you may be less successful with this, especially with newer computer models, though. The point is to lessen the use of Windows 10 directly, since it is not security patched. But if some of your gaming moves to Linux, then it is another big win right there.
For regular Windows apps, you can use a GUI to manage your executables to run on Wine. This GUI is called Bottles. So the combination of Bottles plus Wine allows you to run Windows apps.
This is a direct execution of Windows EXEs. This is not a virtual machine. Now, I personally find the Bottles UI a bit clunky and hard to understand.
But the point is, it is possible to move Windows apps to Linux. Not all, but certainly some. Another option outside of Bottles with Wine is another GUI for Wine called Lutris with Heroic, which you can use for games from Epic and GOG games.
The rest of this video will focus more on advanced techniques that will really allow you to run Windows 10 for an unlimited period, safely, without caring about security updates. Immutable Windows This technique, which is called Immutable Windows, is the same technique used by the Tails Linux distro or even the typical Linux Live USB. You basically have an instance of Windows that doesn't have persistent storage.
In other words, after a reboot, any changes to data will be removed and restored back to the original automatically. To do this, you need an enterprise version of Windows 10. And the specific version I will tell you to download is called US Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021.
The number one spot to get this is archive.org. It's a non-profit digital library hosting public domain and archive software like this ISO. Multiple verified downloads exist, all pointing to the exact file EN US Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 x64 DVD. This version of Windows can be installed using a local account, so there is no need to ever use a Microsoft ID.
If you run these commands that I show here on your Windows install, the drive will be locked and you cannot store any data permanently after boot. So the feature that restores your OS to its original state is called UWF or Unified Write Filter. It is available only on Windows Enterprise, IoT Enterprise, and LTSC editions.
When enabled, it redirects all your disk write operations to a temporary virtual overlay in RAM. And then on reboot, it will be discarded. Thus restoring your drive to its original state.
For example, running this command will protect your C drive. You can create exclusions, meaning areas where you can allow a write. But be careful here, as malware can write to this as well.
So I would prefer not having any writes on the root drive. But here's an example of how you would do exclusions. This feature is used mainly for kiosks or public computers, but it's very useful here.
Why does this work? In an immutable Windows setup, no malware can survive a boot. Even if you get malware, after a reboot, it will be gone. Here's a good way to use this.
Let's say you like to use your computer for gaming using Steam. What you do is store your Steam files on drive D, so you can still keep your game status data. You can store your real data, like word processing documents, spreadsheets, photos, etc.
also on drive D. So aside from the exception apps, you will use Windows only on C drive in this immutable format. This also means you cannot install new apps, or you have to undo this by disabling UWF. So if you need to, just remember to turn off UWF, install new apps, and then lock it down again with UWF.
This also makes this immune to Windows updates, by the way. To keep things safe, you must also be aware of what data you store on drive D. You must stick to your predetermined apps, like your Steam files and video editing files, and so on, meaning no email or web browsing or office document handling. An important thing is that if you are going to do this, that you followed my advice earlier and moved email and web browsing to Linux.
So there should be no instances where you open email attachments or download from websites from this Windows installation. There are alternate ways to do an immutable Windows, for example, using a virtual machine. If you can use a virtual machine and your apps run well on a virtual machine, you can then just keep an original copy of your VM that you never saved to.
So you always start with a copy. For some of you, this could be the easier answer. However, some apps do not run well on a virtual machine like video editing or gaming.
So unfortunately, the UWF option is still the most practical. Virtual machine. One of the ways to guarantee that your Windows app will work is to install a virtual machine on your Linux computer and run Windows 10 on it.
You can use the same Windows version I used previously. US Windows 10, IoT Enterprise, LTSC 2021. For Linux, the best performing option is to use the KUEMO KVM way of doing virtual machines.
I have an old video on that. Now, there are advantages to using Windows 10 in a virtual machine versus Windows 11. First, the TPM requirements do not exist, so it won't need to create a virtual TPM, which adds complexity.
Things like BitLocker won't be much of an issue. So even if you had the option to use Windows 11, it would be more practical to stick to Windows 10. And just like the UFW procedure we did, you can implement something similar on a virtual machine.
What you do is always work only from backups of your original Windows 10 VM. This way, you can always not save the original state, and thus, again, will ensure that malware doesn't survive the session. If you install new software, start from the original VM, and then save the master, and then use only copies as your VM.
SMB Hacks One of the ways Windows is hacked is by hackers taking advantage of the SMB, or Server Message Block feature, of Windows, which is what allows sharing of files in Windows. In this environment we are creating, we have no need to ever use SMB, so we will turn this off. To verify that SMB is actually disabled, you can run this before and after the steps I just told you about.
RDP Access Another interesting trick to isolating Windows is to leave it on the current computer, lock it down using some of the techniques I already stated, and then remotely access it from your Linux computer using an RDP client. RDP stands for Remote Desktop Protocol and is used to remotely control screens. It is built into Windows and is fairly easy to enable.
To enable RDP in Windows, you need to enable NLA as shown here. Using RDP provides a layer of isolation since it will prevent your Linux computer from ever receiving malware directly from the Windows machine. While it is unlikely with the prior precautions to have hacks on the Windows machine, this is through isolation here and is obviously easier to do, because you do not have to do dual boot.
Just buy a $200 Lenovo ThinkPad 6th Gen, install Linux on it, harden your Windows 10 and use it in a very limited way from there, and access it remotely using Remote Desktop. You can then use an RDP client on Linux to access it. This is very common among system operations techs, so you can do the same yourself.
Most popular Linux distros already have a built-in RDP client called Ramina. Physical Access The other main way a Windows 10 computer will be hacked will be by physical access, typically using the USB drive and using some hacking device like a USB rubber ducky. The assumption I'm making here is that this is for home use, so the threat of an unattended computer accessible by the night cleaning crew isn't a factor.
If this is an issue at your home, then you've got other worries beyond Windows. Obviously, physical access introduces other threats to your person beyond just some hacker getting control of your computer. So this is kind of common sense.
I could tell you to put certain controls on the USB drive and so on, but is that really necessary? Up to you. We need to be able to boot from USB for Linux purposes, so this is not practical in a dual-boot computer. Still, we can add a little safety here for extra insurance.
And what we'll do here before you enable UWF is to prevent autorun in the USB drive. So run this in PowerShell. Beyond this, I think we'll leave the physical access threat to you all.
If this is a risk for your environment, then you can work on physical security, which is outside the scope of this video. What about Windows 11? Well, what about Windows 11? As I talked about in several videos, using Windows 11 as a primary OS is very dangerous as the OS is geared to watching everything you do with the new see-what-you-see technology. And I've stated over and over that I personally use Windows 11.
It came with my computer, which is brand new. And I dual-boot. But 99% of my activity is on Linux, so Windows can watch me all at once.
I do not do email on it, web browsing, searching. I do video editing on it. That's it.
I don't have to spend the time to harden Windows 11 because it is actively updated by Microsoft. I have TPM off, BitLocker off, and Secure Boot off, so it doesn't mess with me. If you're able to upgrade to Windows 11, you can do what I do.
Use it in such a limited way that it is not a threat. But aside from dual-boot, I don't have to do anything special to it. Final thoughts In summary, what we've done here is change the way you use Windows 10.
No, this video does not encourage you to use Windows 10 as is. But it forces you to rethink your computing plan long-term and decide how Windows 10 will fit into it. At some point in the future, you may find that there will be no instance where you need to be on Windows at all.
I'm almost there. I'm at 1% use. You can be there too.
Folks, thank you for watching my videos. As many of you know, this channel does not have sponsors. And we primarily sustain ourselves by just creating products and services that we use to defend our privacy posture.
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See you next time.
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If you have Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
The button only gives us “Windows 10 Extended Security Updates,” but nothing else.
There are certain specifications (?) for a computer to be eligible for ESU.
Here’s more information:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/extended-security-updates
Oh yes, that was EasyOS that was not so easy. The structure and interface took some effort to get used to for sure...
But for a project I am working on it will be perfect. I like that it is very small, runs completely encrypted in RAM from just the USB stick, and then erases all traces from the machine at shut down. The one click ability to create additional completely isolated Cloned containers for specific uses is a great feature.
A stealth Distro... But it will not be designed for everyday multipurpose use, just for plugging in and creating an instant stand alone stealth environment mainly just for encrypted communications and file sharing off the radar that leaves no traces.
One of my pet peeves, oses that have lousy weak sound. Turn it up to max and still not,loud enough (my comp is in living room where tv is blas5ing all day... hard to hear over it)
Where do you get older windows versions from safely? Cznt even get anything but 11 25h or whatever newest version is from ms site i dont think?>>>>>>>>>
https://uupdump.net/ for old versions win 11 image. To use you must make into a bootable flash drive...........the rufus program is easy to use
this for win 11 22h2 is old https://uupdump.net/known.php?q=category:w11-22h2
Yep, that was it- i got that one working, ir was porteus and i think morpheus or something like that that i couldnt get working- they looked a bit better than easyos. It was a nightmare trying to get them working though.
Just adding:
I don’t know whether the button would still be available after this past Oct. 13th. I hope it is... That link in my last post should give more info. Good luck!
I5s not hard, just gotta hit a key before windows or linux on main computer starts to boot- takes you to a s3dtion where ypu can choose ;boot from usb” or something like that. I thunk the key is f4 on my computer. Might be escape key. Jusy gotta be quick cuz main os starts to load pretty quick when compuyer is tu4ned on
“Id have to reinstall my daily driver computer to do it now though.”
No you don’t, just make another Linux USB stick with persistent storage. It will be stand alone and isolated from the rest of the machine and the machine is not smart enough to know you are cheating and booting up a different OS... :)
I have a dozen different Operating systems on sticks I can boot up and be in a completely different environment. And each is just like being in a totally different computer. You can save stuff, make changes to it, Etc. and they remember it...
That is what is great about Linux, you can make a USB stick into another whole isolated computer of it’s own. Unplug it and it was never there as far as the computer knows... And you can encrypt the stick so that even if someone else gets their hands on it they can never crack it anyhow...
Just don’t lose the stick... lol
Gotta link 6our c9mputer to ms account, or redeem windows points (whateverthat is)
i wonder though if you link to ms account, then temove the account after gerting free year if they will cut you off from the year of updates?
Yep, i thought agout that after i posted. Its a good thing 5o do. I do have linux mint on usb. The 9bky prob thohgh is that when i shu5 down, it hangs... gotta power off. Not sure why. Tried a couple of usbs
I agree. Once you activate and bind this to any Microsoft account, you are likely good to go until 2032. The most iffy thing that I did was spending quite a bit of money on a discounted MSFS 2024 Aviator license. It worked and continues to work until this day.
I was only trying to warn the risk averse among us that you should do some research on any company you plan to give your credit or debit card numbers to.
“That’s a good idea — running from a usb. I have no clue how to do that, but it’s something to look into.”
“Mint Cinnamon” is the go to for a first time user. I have been using Linux for ten years now and have test driven just about all of the best major players. It operates almost like Windows 7. If you have used Win 7 you will be able to fly right away.
1. First download and install a program called “Rufus”.
It is the top option: rufus-4.11.exe
2. Download the Mint Cinnamon .iso file from the Mint site. The “James Madison University” Mirror source is known to be a clean download.
https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=322
3. Insert a USB stick that is empty or that you do not mind being wiped clean of current data.
4. Start Rufus and go select the Mint .iso from your downloads. It should autodetect the USB stick as the destination for the .iso to be installed. The default settings in Rufus are all fine. Just answer yes to any options it asks and then select create.
5. When done close Rufus and power your computer off.
Now here is where the only challenge can arise. You now have to make the computer boot from that external Linux stick. There should be no problems doing this. But on some computers Windows has locked out the ability to see that external Operation System and so it will not boot from it. So there is a process of elimination that has to be done sometimes. But 9 times out of 10 the following does indeed work...
6. With the Linux stick inserted power on your Computer, stay right there and be ready to hit the key that will give you your boot options for that computer make. When the Manufacturer’s logo comes up tap that key. Depending on make it might be the Esc key. F2 key, F9 key, or on a Dell it is the F12/Star key. Select the USB as the boot option.
7. Be patient because the screen may go Black a few times as the Linux boots up. And from a stick it is a bit slower to do this.
8. If it does not boot from the stick as it should then there will need to be some configuration in the bios that needs to be done. That can be addressed later as a separate issue.
But it should Boot for you if you did everything above step by step. Now you will be in Linux and running from off the stick completely isolated from your internal drive and Windows. It should auto detect your internet connection and you will have to put in your password to access your internet source. Bottom right in the same place it is in Windows 7.
It will tell you when it makes the connection. Then you can use the Firefox browser to access the net if you like and check out all the stuff it comes with and what can be done with it. Basically you are in test drive mode. But nothing can be installed, and while you can make temporary changes they will be forgotten and it will go back to default when you shut down.
Run it for awhile from off the stick when you have extra time and check it out, Go explore and discover what the apps are and what they do, go look at the System Settings and how they work. Then after you feel comfortable with it then you can install it if you like. There are two options, wipe the drive completely and install only the Linux, or you can install it “Along Side” (Dual Boot) the existing windows and have both. Back up your existing important stuff first...
The installer will do all of the partitioning and disk work for you during the install. So no need to worry about complicated partitioning and disk preparation first, it does it all for you. Just take your time and read the options well as you step through it. Just one note when it asks you if you want to “unmount” the target drive agree.
Thanks, guys!
Have saved your info. When my head’s in the right place I’ll take a stab at it.
No you don’t, just make another Linux USB stick with persistent storage. It will be stand alone and isolated from the rest of the machine and the machine is not smart enough to know you are cheating and booting up a different OS... :)
I have a dozen different Operating systems on sticks I can boot up and be in a completely different environment. And each is just like being in a totally different computer. You can save stuff, make changes to it, Etc. and they remember it...
That is what is great about Linux, you can make a USB stick into another whole isolated computer of it’s own. Unplug it and it was never there as far as the computer knows... And you can encrypt the stick so that even if someone else gets their hands on it they can never crack it anyhow...Just don’t lose the stick... lol
_________________________
Exactly your portable OS on a stick. You can get a faster OS on a stick by buying a 128gb or 256gb NVME used is OK...+..buying an NVME USB enclosure for 10 bux. Use this combo instead of a flash drive
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BX936DCD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 ..... For a USB NVME enclosure at $8
“An NVMe SSD in a USB enclosure is typically 10 times faster than a standard USB flash drive (thumb drive) for sequential read/write speeds in real-world use.”
Here are the instructions to make whatever you store stay there using the Rufus stick maker. “Persistent” storage is an option, It is all the same as I shared but that option in Rufus. So here is how...
https://thelinuxcode.com/rufus-persistent-storage-debian-live-usb/
When you have this done, you can save sensitive stuff, logins, account numbers, Etc. in folders with notes “compressed” with .7z compression and passworded encryption.
Honestly, with Mint off a stick I can barely tell a difference in speed when using USB 3.0. Only just a bit of difference when transferring large files...
It is absolutely not a big problem at all and worth that very small difference to have that system isolated and portable. :)
Just thought of something. In the arricle he says he doesnt use windows 10 for internet browsing or email or anything online.
My qu3s5ion is, wouldnt it be way easier to put a shortcut on ypur desktop to the network connedtions app and simply disable the itnernet completely? Thus oreventing any online activity at all? (5his is what i do with windows 20, and even 11 to an extent, and only allow it for updates in 11)
I m3an i know it would be possible for someone wi5h physical access to instsll virus, but not for a virus to be downloaded from online if that access is shut off it seems?
“My question is, wouldn’t it be way easier to put a shortcut on your desktop to the network connections app and simply disable the internet completely? Thus preventing any online activity at all?”
Yes, absolutely while in windows. But there is the pesky problem of windows wanting an internet connection...
In fact, I shut my wireless radio off and use USB tethering to my phone as an internet modem instead. That way I do not have any WiFi snoops...
Where is the button located you have to click on for continued support. I would appreciate the answer very much!
I got you boss. Your way is the highway. You know more than I. Your idea of OS on a 32gb stick is very good. Especially for Mint. Plus enough space to carry around other files in a dedicated folder.
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