News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Tailscale state file encryption no longer enabled by default by kozziollek on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @04:42PM (#46533382)
> Windows cheats here because it also manages BIOS updates

Is this (relatively) new?

I don't use TPM and I rarely update BIOS unless I really need to, but I thought there was an option on my BIOS/UEFI to use USB drive to update it. How would Windows know about it?

Re:Tailscale state file encryption no longer enabled by default by toast0 on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @04:52PM (#46533554)
Window can get BIOS updates through windows update, if the OEM participates and packages them. I haven't seen BIOS updates through windows update on my systems where I built it from components, I've only seen it on integrated systems from major builders (HP, Lenovo, etc).

The BIOS update instructions for my retail packaged motherboard indicate to turn off BitLocker before doing upgrades to prevent loss of TPM turning into a loss of access, but it'd be easier if it were automated.

Re:Tailscale state file encryption no longer enabled by default by hnuser123456 on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @05:26PM (#46534016)
You can update with a USB drive, but if you have bitlocker enabled and don't temporarily disable it before the BIOS update, you'll need to reformat and reinstall Windows.
Re:Tailscale state file encryption no longer enabled by default by dist-epoch on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @05:55PM (#46534401)
No, you can save a recovery key to a file or enter it from a printed one.
Re:Tailscale state file encryption no longer enabled by default by arjie on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @08:49PM (#46536079)
I believe you can also get it from your online Microsoft account if that's what you logged in with once. I ran into this a while ago and had to do it that way. I didn't even know I'd set up Bitlocker.