Gregory's Serverlol, a way to bypass the Microsoft account requirement in Windows 11 - type username no@thankyou.com, any password, and it bumps you to local account creation.
Kevin Beaumont
87 comments
🦊.rawr => lambda yip: yap(yip)
@jwatts @GossiTheDog After working with machines that have touched GRCs software I now outright consider it malware. In this case, many security updates are brought in as preparation for a major feature release. What he says on his website is patently false (A lot of people don't get feature updates because of known and discovered issues) and how it does it is through undocumented regkeys, not group policy (as it should be done).
Kay Ohtie 🎈:ms_coyote:
@indrora @jwatts @GossiTheDog I hate that the weird concern noise about feature update packages have prompted "I pirated Windows XP"-era update paranoia from people again.
Charlotte 🦝 θΔ
@indrora @jwatts @GossiTheDog also it feels kinda unrelated, as this appears to be windows OOBE which is run before you have any chance of installing any 3rd party software (minus drivers)
EvilKiru
@GossiTheDog Did Windows 11 remove the option to skip over using a Microsoft account on the dialog prior to the add your Microsoft account dialog that Windows 10 had?
segv11
@EvilKiru @GossiTheDog 
Tagomago
@segv11 @EvilKiru @GossiTheDog Disconnecting from the Internet before installation worked for me, it jumps to local account creation. Idk if this still works for win 11 tho, haven't tried.
Air Dinghy Interactive
@EvilKiru @GossiTheDog They removed it in Windows 10 for home versions a couple years back...
DeltaLima 🐧
@EvilKiru @GossiTheDog
schrotthaufen
@DeltaLima @EvilKiru @GossiTheDog The wrong credentials trick still worked as of last Friday. I wonder how long that’s going to work, and after that when (if?) the EU forces them to provide an option for local accounts without having to sign in first.
Darkglade
@EvilKiru @GossiTheDog Later versions of Windows 10 eliminated the option, you have to unplug/disconnect your network before you get to that step in order to be able to create a local account.
Joe Uchill
@GossiTheDog I like to think it's performing a politeness check and rewarding you for the "thank you". 
Fellows
@GossiTheDog I got past it last week by getting to the screen requesting it, pressing shift+f10 to bring up a command prompt, then doing a dhcp release (ipconfig /release), followed by hitting the back arrow. I was then able to create a local account.
Fellows
@eselet @GossiTheDog I sometimes like to imagine that a computer is a fresh piece of canvas ready to have creativity poured all over it. Sometimes people literally try to get creative with $hit because art is subjective and well they’re artists and know best. I think some large companies like to operate this way with their “creative” efforts. 
🇺🇦 haxadecimal
@eselet @fellows @GossiTheDog You seem to have the mistaken impression that it is YOUR computer. If you have Windows on it, it is Microsoft's computer, any payment(s) you have made notwithstanding.
Fellows
@brouhaha @eselet @GossiTheDog I don’t know if any of you guys have watched “For All Mankind” on AppleTV+ but the premise behind the show is that it takes place in an alternate reality where the Russians landed on the moon first. Thus changing the trajectory of the space race and all the developments that come with it. Wonder what would have happened if OS/2 Warp got the desktop market first? Would IBM have been a better steward?
Håkon O.
@fellows @brouhaha @GossiTheDog I kind of doubt that too.... I guess Slackware or FreeBSD would be valid choices for purists with too much time on their hands :)
Jimmy Jim
@GossiTheDog That or you can do shift + f10 then OOBE\BYPASSNRO (with internet off), but yeah I don't like the direction MS is headed in. Especially when studies suggest more identifiers are sent with telemetry logged in than with a local account. 
rellik moo
love seeing the mention of shift-F10 to get the prompt, since I had to look that up this week to get the used Thinkpad I bought to do a proper, complete shutdown (ie, not to send me back into Windows via fast boot, but rather to allow me to pick the USB drive with the bootable "live" image)
Jens
@JaxxAI @GossiTheDog nothing to do with the domain. You can register a MS account with your own email address, that's what that is. a@a.com is also (not) working and blocked now, so the account tool is skipping because of the blocked account error and let's you create an offline account as a fallback. But very annoying they again removed the option to do that ina regular way without having to use such measures.
Tommy_Boy
@GossiTheDog it's incredibly infuriating if you were unaware of this little bypass. About an hour and a half yelling about the bastards at Microsoft until I found a forum post for someone mentioning that trick lol. Technology is moving in reverse. 
piofthings
@GossiTheDog I think the dark pattern they use is, you enter any random email, click next, the click Back, then they show you local account options. This though is just taking the pi**...
DELETED
@GossiTheDog I’ve bypassed that requirement already 18 years ago. By never installing Windows since then.
ISO8601
@GossiTheDog test@test.com also works - a work & private MS account exists for it, and it's perpetually locked.
Patrycja
@GossiTheDog i usually did this with some random email like 
QueensRambleRoom 🍌
I don't think you actually have to type an "email address" you could just type a username or something and it works. At least it worked for me when I did it. :) (IDK if they changed it by now but I hope not!) 
jackson
@GossiTheDog does "nobody@nowhere.invalid" work similarly? the "invalid" TLD is well, invalid. there can't possibly be a domain with the "invalid" TLD because someone said so (basically). this is because thankyou.com is under a TLD that exists (and is also a domain that exists), and probably like asdf.com, opening up it's emails is just a big mistake (https://asdf.com/asdfemail.html).
Ethan Pow
@GossiTheDog I don't want to be those fools that fight against change but win11 is shit in my eyes and I will avoid upgrading unless absolutely necessary 
Ferles
@drakealexe @GossiTheDog I have no desire to switch to 11 and have never tried to, yet Windows continues to make a point of telling me that computer does not the requirements for upgrading. I know it doesn't and I don't it to, so stop acting like I do, Windows
Joe Ianni
@GossiTheDog Is this for the Home edition? I just loaded a fresh Windows 11 Pro and avoided it by choosing the domain join path and never joining the domain. 
Cykonot
@GossiTheDog or you could try Linux mint (or fedora, or mx Linux; I use fedora) and NOT train the AI m$ is gonna replace you with
chillbruh
@GossiTheDog 
✨メッツォ✨ :sabakan: :mastodont:
@GossiTheDog lolwat. Still doesn't make me want to approach Windows 11 any closer than a nautical mile, but it's good to know in case I need it some day. 
Kevin Karhan :verified:
@GossiTheDog or just install it with no network & internet connectivity. Or just don't use #Windows11 in the first place.
Kevin Karhan :verified:
@GossiTheDog wtf? Then I just boot an ubuntu installer and not even bother with Windows 11 to begin with... 
Topher 🌱🐧💚
You should not have to do this. You should not have to do this. You should not have to do this. You should not have to do this. You should not have to do this.
Cadence of Life :VeryQueer:
@GossiTheDog I just have a custom installer set to bypass it from the get go.
BogDrakonov
@GossiTheDog allegedly a fresh install of Windows 11 immediately connects to scorecardresearch[dot]com which is tracking and marketing company. I’d rather just not have Windows 11 at all. 
Stephen Gentle
@GossiTheDog I only have one Windows machine (mostly Mac and Linux at home) but I swear I’m eventually going to have to set up a Samba AD DC on a Raspberry Pi to shut Windows up about attaching an account and to be able to push group policy that disables all the tracking!
/usr/bin/felsqualle
@GossiTheDog It also works by using "microsoft" as username combined with a random password. 😄 
Eli the Bearded
@GossiTheDog Can confirm. Heard this trick from my son who was setting up a new computer earlier this week. The poor mail server at thankyou.com 
djsumdog
Weird. I've heard you can also start a terminal and bypass it. I still haven't installed Windows 11 on anything; don't intent to.
Margaret McGaffey Fisk
@GossiTheDog I haven't read all the comments on this, but I can verify you can create a local account by turning off the wifi or disconnecting the cord while creating your account. However, you will then be prompted to switch to your Microsoft account practically every five seconds (it seems) to get the full featured use and even logging into your MS account at specific points as worked in Win10 doesn't work.
Margaret McGaffey Fisk
@GossiTheDog (...part 2) However, when you finally give in out of frustration, your local account information isn't removed. You can still use it to log in anytime you're working off the Net and you'll have full access to your account. Accessing the computer over the network, however, requires your MS email and MS password. I couldn't find a way to use the local account credentials at least coming from a Win10 box. 
butterflyoffire ⏚
@GossiTheDog Is it hardcoded or does it check some DNS record or data to bypass it ? :thaenkin:
butterflyoffire ⏚
@GossiTheDog Humm va falloir tester ça sur une VM. CC @shaft :thaenkin: … avec un NDD pointant sur [127.0.0.1] peut-être. 
Jernej Simončič �
@GossiTheDog Doesn't work with 23H2 any more – you have to press Shift+F10,
Jernej Simončič �
@GossiTheDog But why would you want to skip the glorious Microsoft Account anyway‽
Jernej Simončič �
@GossiTheDog (I just changed the script I use to prepare my install media to include BypassNRO Registry entry, letting me skip the reboot that the bypassnro.cmd script enforces).
Annime Wong
@GossiTheDog Weird. I set up a windows 11 machine a few weeks ago, and it didn't ask me to make an account at all.
operat0r
I'm about to add move defender and remove edge scripts to this but this is what I run on every single Windows box I touch... https://github.com/freeload101/SCRIPTS/blob/master/Windows_Powershell_ps/Win10Hardening_Debloat.ps1
Brett Haines
@GossiTheDog @dangoodin you should tell Andrew Cunningham to check if this still works and update his Win 11 article accordingly. 
OrbitalMartian :GoToSocial:
@GossiTheDog Wait what does it say about if it's for a child? Yeah, if it's for a child, let's sign you in with an account to connect you with the world wide web.
Arun Sivadasan
@GossiTheDog I am sharing this on my LinkedIn too. I just don't understand why MS cant give both options right away
Nicolas SAPA
@GossiTheDog I don't know if it also works on S mode.
I know that bypassNRO don't (because you cannot run cmd.exe in S mode). 
Richard W. Woodley NO THREADS 🇨🇦🌹🚴♂️📷 🗺️
@GossiTheDog
Still
@cR0w @GossiTheDog I actually don't think this is an intended feature - as in, this email is not what causes the account fallback. Apparently this local account creation can still be triggered if the account is locked due to too many retries on Microsoft's end, so it can technically be any email that you'll have to sacrifice by spamming it with password attempts. Either that, or it was a legitimate bypass at some point and is no longer the case in current Windows 11 builds.
sbug
@GossiTheDog I click “sign-in options”, then connect to a local Active Directory. 
🇩🇪 くら Woomy (:smug_kura:)
@GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social Good! Now I can finally install Linux without a..... Waaaaaait.... You tricked me! |
@GossiTheDog Have you tried this? https://www.grc.com/incontrol.htm