This past year has been one of fantastic growth, opportunity, and optimism for our team at Macrium Software. Let's review our year in numbers.

## 8

2021 saw the release of Reflect 8 and Site Manager 8! These releases were not only fantastic technical steps forward for us, they also represent the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, much of which was done working fully remote during the pandemic.

### +%

Team Macrium has grown in leaps and bounds over the past year, 22% to be exact. We’ve been recruiting the best and brightest all year and in fact, our Denver, Colorado office has grown over 200%! With offices in Manchester, London, and across the Atlantic, we’ve been recruiting the best and brightest all year.

## 55%

We have sold licenses to customers in over half the worlds’ countries and independent territories. You can find Macrium Reflect from Albania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Jordan, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Suriname, and Papua New Guinea.

## 93%

In comparison, Reflect Free has been downloaded, installed, and run in nearly every country across the globe!

Speaking of global reach, 2021 saw the start of Macrium’s concerted efforts to translate our software into even more languages. Currently, we’ve released German, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, and French with Korean up next for 2022.

## 8,600

And if you’re curious, that’s the approximate number of terms it takes to “fully” translate Reflect! I say “fully” because really, it’s a never-ending job.

### 50TB

The amount of installer and patch data downloaded from Macrium per month.

## 1,190

At the time of writing, the number of reviews from genuine, verified customers on [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/macrium.com "uk.trustpilot.com"), with a 4.7/5 rating!

## 3,000

Macrium is proud to have over 3,000 active partners promoting, selling, and using our fantastic products.

And a little surprise cherry on top, Macrium also needed to make sure everything was copasetic with a brand new Windows OS. Because of the way our software works within Windows, we took a significant amount of time to ensure a seamless transition - at least as far as Reflect is concerned. It seems the grand majority of you haven’t said hello to Windows 11 quite yet.

## 11

Seems Macrium users aren’t in love with Windows 11\. Only 11% of recent installs are on the new OS. We have found the transition to Win11 to be much smoother than that to Win10 with very few breaking changes. Rest assured that Macrium will continue to have your back if/when you make the transition.

## 2022

Useful features, new products, localizations galore… as we look over the past year and ahead to the next, it’s difficult to not feel excited. At the heart of it all is knowing we have a fantastic family of users who will be right there with us every step of the way.

From all of us here at Macrium, may the new year find you healthy, happy, and prosperous. Here’s to 2022 and beyond!

202112-20-macrium-in-2021-a-year-in-review.jpg

2021 - A Year in Review  |  Macrium Software 

Macrium in 2021: A year in review

# Trustpilot and Macrium

Macrium has always taken pride in our reputation for not only a technically superior product, but our customer service. No matter what product we’re working on, we try to remember there’s a person on the other side of the screen, not an anonymous user. After crossing the completely arbitrary threshold of 1,000 reviews, we thought it’d be a good time to talk about why we chose to partner with Trustpilot. 

Throughout the years, our users have been kind enough to take the time to send feedback, good and bad. It helps us to know what’s going right and what needs to be improved, so it’s always welcome! Comments like these would be shared within the team and sometimes externally, but never in a formal way. There are inherent issues with sharing reviews like that, not least of which are organization and monitoring. As a developer-led company, we immediately thought of creating our own review portal, but it quickly became apparent that it wouldn't work for our needs. 

A third-party review company seemed like the best solution, but we had high requirements and expectations. Here is why we chose to partner with Trustpilot.** 

### Impartial

One of the main reasons we never shared reviews our customers sent in was the inherent bias involved. Even if internally we knew we were being 100% honest and sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly, because it was coming from us, how could a user truly trust it? After all, we’re people and consumers just like you - we get it. The same thought would cross our minds, too. 

Reviews written on Trustpilot are published instantly, with no moderation or review process. It’s unfiltered and open to everyone. Some review sites allow businesses to remove negative reviews, which is completely counter to what we wanted to achieve. We can’t just delete a comment because we don’t like it. There are very strict guidelines for flagging reviews, take this recent case for example.

A user accidentally left a review for their new, and apparently underwhelming, laptop on our page by mistake. Even though we knew it wasn’t meant for us, we couldn’t just delete the comment. Instead we replied publicly, and the user updated their review.

![screen-shot-2021-10-13.png](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/screen_shot_2021_10_13_6d3565a1ec.png)

More proof of their integrity is the fact businesses can receive reviews, reply, and engage via Trustpilot completely free. One of Macirum’s most popular products is Reflect Free, so to work with a company offering a truly complete, basic service resonates with our core ethos. After exploring the service further, we chose to subscribe to one of the paid plans. 

### Transparent

Subscribing to Trustpilot allows us to automatically send review requests to everyone who purchases Reflect Home. There is no way we can tamper with this process, or cherry pick the users who are asked. We also now have the ability to display all these amazing reviews directly on Macrium.com, as they come in! 

![tp-homepage.png](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/tp_homepage_7fe0aab120.png)

You’ll find this section on every company homepage. It gives you a brief overview of how the company has been using (and hopefully not abusing) Trustpilot. Here’s a section you might not be familiar with, which exists for any company you might check out on there. 

If you navigate to the “See a detailed overview” section, you’ll be able to take a deeper dive into where reviews are coming from, how often the company flags reviews, and any other trends. For instance, a company may have a substantial number of negative reviews about long shipping times, but if they’re from the beginning of the year and have dwindled away, you could assume they’ve resolved their logistics issues. 

[Click here if you’d like to explore ours!](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/macrium.com/transparency "uk.trustpilot.com")

### Trustworthy

Trustpilot is an established company with a good reputation, and continues to grow. We wanted to go where our users already were, and with over 1 million new reviews posted every month, Trustpilot seemed to be the “it” place already. Users who already have a profile on there are familiar with the process, trust their reviews will be published, and know when exploring the reviews of others, they’ll be fair representations.

Of course trust is earned and can be broken. We will always monitor our relationship with any company to ensure we’re still on the same page.

### The bottom line

Reaching the 1,000 review mark feels significant. Working with Trustpilot has been such a positive experience, not only because of the added interaction we have with our customers, but because we’re partnered with a company who shares many of our values. If you’d like to learn more about Trustpilot’s commitment to transparency, check out their [latest comprehensive report](https://cdn.trustpilot.net/trustsite-consumersite/trustpilot-transparency-report-2021.pdf "cdn.trustpilot.net").

** Please note, there are dozens upon dozens of other companies who provide the same type of service. We’re not saying they are less impartial, transparent, or trustworthy than any other. We simply connected with the way Trustpilot operates!

trustpilot-and-macrium-2021-10-21.jpg

Macrium has always taken pride in our reputation for not only a technically superior product, but our customer service. No matter what product we’re working on, we try to remember there’s a person on the other side of the screen, not an anonymous user. After crossing the completely arbitrary threshold of 1,000 reviews, we thought it’d be a good time to talk about why we chose to partner with Trustpilot. 

Trustpilot and Macrium

# Data disaster stories that'll keep you up at night

Data disasters come in all shapes and sizes, from personal to global. From fires and floods to theft and old fashioned human error, it can feel like they lurk in the shadows waiting to pounce.

It’s that time of year where it’s perfectly acceptable to gather loved ones in a dark place, hold a flashlight to your chin, and tell terrifying stories all in the name of fun. So if your old ghost, ghoul, and vampire stories are getting more eye rolls than goosebumps nowadays, these tales of data loss are sure to scare the bits and bytes out of them. 

## Rattling Blockchains

In 2013, James Howells made a mistake that will probably haunt him for the rest of his life. He threw out an old, unused hard drive that’d been sitting in a drawer for years, forgetting the drive held 7,500 bitcoins. He’s tried several times to get permission from his local government to excavate the landfill where the drive most likely ended up, offering a reward of [25% of the total value if they allow him to dig](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55658942 "www.bbc.co.uk"). 

At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin (BTC) is just over $62,000, making the lost fortune approximately $465,755,250. What a nightmare!

## Bump in the Night 

Imagine you’re a busy data analyst working for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Perhaps it was a dark and stormy night, but you had some work you needed to finish. As you’d done for years, you bring your unencrypted laptop home, complete your work, and head off to bed. But in the dead of night, a burglar [ransacks your home and steals the laptop](https://epic.org/privacy/vatheft/  "epic.org"). 

That laptop contained the personal information of 26.5 million veterans, information including Social Security numbers, birthdates, names, and even disability status. It also held the same information for over 2 million additional active duty military members. 

This is exactly what happened in 2006. The laptop was recovered and the VA says none of the information was accessed, but the consequences of what could have been are enough to send shivers down your spine. 

## Invasion of the Data Snatchers

1.1 billion. That’s how many people were potentially affected by one of the [world’s largest data leaks](https://www.zdnet.com/article/another-data-leak-hits-india-aadhaar-biometric-database/ "www.zdnet.com"). Aadhaar is India’s national ID database, and it holds a variety of incredibly sensitive data about nearly every citizen in the country. Biometric information like fingerprints and eye scans, what government services they use, even financial and commercial data is all attached to a 12-digit code. In 2017, a data leak from a state-operated utility company led to the exposure of all this info, some of it even ending up for sale on Whatsapp!

### The Library of Alexandria Massacre

In some context or another, you’ve most likely heard of the [fire that destroyed the Library of Alexandria](https://time.com/5912689/library-of-alexandria-burning/ "time.com"). For centuries we’ve lamented the loss of countless historical documents, wondered at the golden knowledge we could have built upon if it hadn’t been for such wanton destruction. 

Experts now say that the story, as we know it, is largely a combination of multiple historical events. The end result is an allegory that’s been used to teach many lessons throughout time, one of which is the importance of protecting knowledge and information we value most. The mere idea of its loss has been told as a scary story for hundreds of years. 

## 28 Days Later...

And for a data disaster that’s still unfolding, look no further than major broadcaster [Channel 4 in the UK](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/whats-happened-access-services-channel-4 "www.channel4.com"). A month ago, their broadcast center’s fire suppression system went off. Many British TV channels were temporarily affected, but because of an issue with C4’s data recovery, they lost the ability to offer access services like subtitles, audio descriptions, and sign language support. They had backups but their backups failed. It’s a frightening, and very public, reminder to practice the industry standard 3-2-1 backup strategy no matter how big or small you may be. 

## To be continued

If some of these scary tales chilled you to the bone, rest assured - they were all entirely preventable with the right data recovery plan in place. Now might be a good time to double check your backups, ensure you know what to do in case the worst happens, and get true peace of mind. It’s like turning on the lights and enjoying some Halloween candy after a good horror film!

And of course, if you’d like to chat with one of our experts to make sure you’re doing all that you can, [we’d be happy to help](/contact "Contact us").

20211028-data-disaster-stories-that-will-keep-you-up-at-night.jpg

Data disasters come in all shapes and sizes, from personal to global. From fires and floods to theft and old fashioned human error, it can feel like they lurk in the shadows waiting to pounce.

Data disaster stories

Data disaster stories that'll keep you up at night

# What do we know about Windows 11’s security strategy?

_And more importantly, will it work?_

In previous posts [here](/blog/will-macrium-reflect-work-on-windows-11-63dc8e81b865) and [here](/blog/what-to-do-before-you-upgrade-to-windows-11-eab85153cf7a), we discussed how Macrium Reflect and Microsoft Windows 11 work together. In this article, we wanted to take a closer look at the new operating system itself, and what Microsoft’s choices indicate about their plans for what’s to come. But with many things, to get a clear picture of the future, one must briefly look at the past.

### Windows 10 Vulnerabilities

BeyondTrust, a company specializing in Privileged Access Management tools, recently released their annual Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report for 2020. The results were… not great.

> _“A total of 1,268 were reported, which marks a colossal 48% rise over the previous year (858). This is in fact the sharpest spike since the inception of the Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report, and means that, since 2016, total vulnerabilities have increased by 181%.” — [BeyondTrust](https://www.beyondtrust.com/blog/entry/microsoft-vulnerabilities-report "www.beyondtrust.com")_

In any system, in any structure, physical or digital, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. So what doesn’t come as a surprise in their report is how a large number of these exploits could be mitigated by simply removing certain administrative privileges. People — users — will always be the weakest point. BeyondTrust goes on to say:

> _“90% of Critical vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer would have been mitigated through the removal of admin rights_
> 
> _85% of Critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft Edge would have been mitigated through the removal of admin rights_
> 
> _100% of all Critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft Outlook products would have been mitigated by removing admin rights”_

It’s worth noting that these numbers have a double-edge. Microsoft products and services are the biggest in the market — over 1 billion people rely on Windows — making them obvious prime targets. At the same time, recognizing these exploits goes to show that the discovery and patching process is working exactly as it should. Shoring up the weakest link (users) seems to be a foundational pillar of Windows 11.

### Zero Trust

Up until now, Windows has largely operated on the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) when it comes to administrative access. Users are granted the least amount of access as is necessary for their job. For years, Microsoft encouraged users to shore up weaknesses in their security by actively using and maintaining admin rights. It’s fundamental to proper PoLP.

PoLP has been a foundation of computer security for decades. However, to work it needs constant care and vigilance from both software developers and users to be effective. Further, it makes the assumption that the platform (OS, firmware, hardware, storage, and network) upon which the application runs is itself secure. With the increasing value of data, threats to its security and increasing use of diverse computing resources, PoLP is proving insufficient to provide protection.

Zero Trust security is similar, but not exactly the same. The idea is to never trust anyone, anything, at any time. Or, [as Microsoft themselves say](https://www.microsoft.com/insidetrack/blog/microsofts-digital-security-team-answers-your-top-10-questions-on-zero-trust/ "www.microsoft.com"):

> _“Microsoft has adopted a modern approach to security called “Zero Trust,” which is based on the principle: never trust, always verify. This security approach protects our company and our customers by managing and granting access based on the continual verification of identities, devices and services.”_

But for various reasons, users mismanage or simply don’t bother with differentiating privileges, leaving entirely preventable gaps ready for exploitation. Like a parent enforcing stricter house rules for your own good, Microsoft has stepped in.

[Zero Trust policies](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/zero-trust-architecture/introduction-to-zero-trust "www.ncsc.gov.uk") are a new approach to secure system design that promise to deliver where PoLP cannot. In the simplest terms, it enables confidence and trustworthiness in a system to be established dynamically and continuously via a series of user and hardware verification (attestation) steps.

To execute Zero Trust verification and authentication, the platform must support a range of [Trusted Computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Computing "en.wikipedia.org") principles to enable a verifiably secure computing, storage and networking environment. Microsoft’s approach is to utilize the same protections used to securely separate hypervisor virtual machines along with a TPM device to provide a secure host for credential storage and operations.

As an aside, DRM implementers face a challenge; they have to embed the decryption key in all devices that can play the protected content. The most celebrated attack was probably the public disclosure of the DVD encryption key. Since then, they have been an early adopter of many Trusted Computing principles. For an example, see the [Protected Media Path](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_Media_Path "en.wikipedia.org"). Trusted Computing does raise a number of ethical issues, championed notably by the [EFF](https://www.eff.org/issues/trusted-computing "www.eff.org").

The hardware features for VBS have set the controversially high minimum hardware threshold for Windows 11. Limiting the CPU generation also eliminates a range of ‘side channel’ exploits.

To use MS nomenclature, Virtualization Based Security (VBS) provides a secure pathway in Windows 11 to implement some of the following:

*   “Kernel Data Protection” enables protection from rogue kernel mode software (drivers) from compromising the Windows kernel.
*   “Application Guard” utilizes VBS to isolate untrusted websites and documents and “Credential Guard” uses VBS to similarly secure access to credentials.
*   “Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-In” uses VBS to create secure pathways to external components like the camera and TPM when used for authentication.

These principles extend to Microsoft’s Azure ecosystem providing remote attestation features for cloud storage and computing resources.

Microsoft is clearly making an aggressive push to set the baseline for a secure computing platform. However, it remains to be seen how quickly the industry will upgrade both its hardware and the vast base of current applications and systems to utilize modern zero trust principles and services. In the meantime threat actors will continue to target the weakest link, whether that be legacy systems, legacy applications running on modern hardware, or social engineering techniques such as BEC.

It should also be noted that bugs in hardware protections will continue to be discovered and exploited, Meltdown and Spectre being two recent examples (more about that below); it is typically more difficult or impossible to patch such issues.

### From chip to cloud

In 2019, Microsoft announced Secured-core PCs as a proactive solution to growing firmware attacks, which are notoriously difficult to detect and remove.

> _“Secured-core PCs combine identity, virtualization, operating system, hardware and firmware protection to add another layer of security underneath the operating system. Unlike software-only security solutions, Secured-core PCs are designed to prevent these kinds of attacks rather than simply detecting them.” — [Windows Blog](https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2019/10/21/microsoft-and-partners-design-new-device-security-requirements-to-protect-against-targeted-firmware-attacks/ "www.microsoft.com")_

The concept of Zero Trust is now firmly rooted deep within the hardware of your PC, not just in the software that sits on top of it.

### Windows 11 hardware requirements

Given all the above, the [hardware requirements Windows 11](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11-specifications "www.microsoft.com") demands make more sense. These demands mostly likely come in no small part because of [Meltdown and Spectre](https://meltdownattack.com/ "meltdownattack.com"), two computer processor security bugs discovered in 2018.

Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy spoke about it in a recent article in The Verge.

> _“Microsoft’s CPU selections for Windows 11 don’t appear much at all to do with performance but look like security mitigations for side-channel attacks.”_

The scale of these vulnerabilities honestly can’t be overstated — nearly every single device created over the span of decades was at risk. Even more, the problems were OS agnostic, but clearly Microsoft learned valuable lessons.

### Welcome to the real world

Sure, Microsoft is building upon an established foundation for future security steps, but it’s almost as though they’ve ignored conditions in the real world. Some of these were unforeseen, like the pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues, but they’re huge issues to contend with nonetheless.

*   Over [55% of enterprise workstations](https://www.lansweeper.com/itam/is-your-business-ready-for-windows-11/ "www.lansweeper.com") do not meet the requirements for automatic upgrades.
*   Manufacturers across all industries are experiencing a [global semiconductor shortage](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58230388 "www.bbc.co.uk").
*   [Millions of perfectly good](https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555371/microsoft-windows-11-cpu-support-hardware-requirements-tpm-response "www.theverge.com"), new(ish) PCs are suddenly “obsolete,” creating untold costs and waste.
*   The post-pandemic economy [has not completely recovered](https://www.brookings.edu/research/october-2021-update-to-tiger-the-global-economic-recovery-is-in-danger-of-stalling/ "www.brookings.edu"), and many firms are still keeping a close eye on their bottom line.

### Big leap? More like a small step

Given all these problems, it’s not surprising that Microsoft has stepped back slightly and announced that users can technically manually install Windows 11 on older PCs. As long as you have a 64-bit 1GHz processor with two or more cores, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage — and you’re happy to do it — upgrading shouldn’t be a problem, even if you get some [scary warnings about possible “damage”](https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/windows-11-warning-mentions-possible-damage-to-unsupported-pcs "www.techradar.com") to unsupported systems. As it stands now, Microsoft will not offer updates or vital security patches to computers running Windows 11 that don’t meet the above CPU requirements.

 ![Windows 11 upgrade warning from The Verge.](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/20211013_what_do_we_know_about_windows_11s_security_fig_1_e06a8d4ccd.jpeg)

#### Windows 11 upgrade warning from [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/21/22686457/windows-11-health-check-compatible-supported-cpu-old-pc-waiver "www.theverge.com").

For the home and small business user who has a PC that ticks all the boxes, there is probably little practical security advantage in moving to Windows 11 at this time. The new features are either already available in Windows 10 (though not necessarily enabled by default or supported on all hardware) or only relevant in enterprise or highly secure environments. This stance may change if the Windows 11 enhanced kernel space protections prove resilient against a new class of exploit. The end of support date for Windows 10 may prove to be the biggest upgrade motivator for the security-conscious home and small business user.

What Microsoft is trying to achieve from a security perspective is commendable and certainly a move in the right direction. But considering the current issues of economic uncertainty, supply chain disruption, and the fact Windows 10 will be fully supported until 2025… it all sort of feels like much ado about nothing, for now.

20211013-what-do-we-know-about-windows-11s-security.jpeg

And more importantly, will it work? In previous posts we discussed how Macrium Reflect and Microsoft Windows 11 work together. In this article, we wanted to take a closer look at the new operating system itself, and what Microsoft’s choices indicate about their plans for what’s to come. But with many things, to get a clear picture of the future, one must briefly look at the past.

What do we know about Windows 11’s security strategy?

# What to do before you upgrade to Windows 11

It’s the much-anticipated 2021 release that’s taken the world by storm. The hype, the spectacle, the passionate reviews… no, I’m not talking about _No Time To Die_. And maybe Windows 11 doesn’t have quite the star power of the latest Bond film, but it’s exciting nonetheless.

While upgrading a new OS is a relatively painless experience, there are a few things you need to know about Microsoft’s requirements before you dive right in.

### A little about Windows 11

Yes, it looks different. Some would argue, almost Mac-like. Microsoft says that the UI has been designed to help users multitask in a “flexible and fluid” way. For example Microsoft Teams now lives right in the taskbar, making it even easier to chat and call with friends, family, and colleagues. Screen sharing and navigating between apps is pretty seamless, design decisions surely borne from the pandemic’s influence on where the workforce works.

Microsoft Windows 11 says it was designed to bring you closer to what you love. It was also designed to keep hackers and bad actors further from the things they love — your data. Behind the rounded corners and flashy UX lurks a substantial security step.

> “Windows 11 raises the bar for security by requiring hardware that can enable protections like Windows Hello, Device Encryption, virtualization-based security (VBS), hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI) and Secure Boot. The combination of these features has been shown to reduce malware by 60% on tested devices.” — [Windows Insider Blog](https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/06/28/update-on-windows-11-minimum-system-requirements/ "blogs.windows.com")

We’ll do a deeper dive into the security aspect of the new OS in a later post. For today, let’s go through how you can use Reflect 8 to get ready for Windows 11.

### Planning for the Windows 11 upgrade

Because many of the new security features rely on specific, and more modern hardware, you must first check if your PC meets the minimum requirements. According to Microsoft, most devices bought from the last 18–24 months should be fine. If you aren’t sure, we recommend you run a PC Health Check. Download the Microsoft PC Health check app, available [here](https://aka.ms/GetPCHealthCheckApp "aka.ms") if you don’t have a Windows Insider account.

Next, use Reflect 8 to take a [full image backup](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Creating+a+backup+image+of+your+computer%2C+drive+or+partitions "knowledgebase.macrium.com/") of your current system. This way, if something goes wrong during the upgrade process, or you simply don’t like Windows 11, you can go right back to the way things were.

An added bonus is you can use this image to test the upgrade process within a virtual machine with viBoot. Microsoft is claiming that it’s app compatibility rates are at 99.7%, but if you want to see how everything you depend on works within Windows 11 without fully committing, this is a great next step.

Please keep in mind that using [viBoot](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Macrium+viBoot "knowledgebase.macrium.com") isn’t a perfect test since virtualized hardware will be different from that of your computer. Also note that upgrading the viBoot VM will only work in HyperV mode.

Or, if you’re part of the population who needs to upgrade your hardware to enable running Windows 11, [Macrium ReDeploy](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Re-deploying+Windows+to+new+hardware+using+Macrium+ReDeploy "knowledgebase.macrium.com") is the ideal way to move your current setup over.

### Windows 11 update? Maybe just wait

Alternatively, you could just wait. The Windows 10 rollout was pretty much a disaster and while all indications point to Microsoft having learned from those events, it could be a good idea to just let the dust settle a little post-release before you jump in. Remember, a decision to do nothing is still a decision!

20211005-What-to-do-before-you-update-to-Windows-11.jpg

While upgrading a new OS is a relatively painless experience, there are a few things you need to know about Microsoft’s requirements before you dive right in.

What to do before you upgrade to Windows 11

# Is Windows Modern Standby disrupting backups?

If you are running Windows 10 and you have experienced cases where your computer has failed to wake-up to perform a scheduled backup, then you may be an unwitting victim of Modern Standby (sleep state S0ix). The following document attempts to explain what Modern Standby, why it has pulled the rug out from underneath your backups and what steps you can take to mitigate it.

### Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)

In December 1996, Intel, Microsoft and some other hardware vendors proposed an open standard called Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) to provide operating system independent power management and configuration.

Since that time, there have been numerous revisions to the ACPI standard (the latest, revision 6.4, being published in January 2021) and it is now supported in almost all PC components supported by Windows.

The ACPI specification defines six sleep states (S) as follows:

> S0 — The computer is running and the CPU is executing instructions
> 
> S1 — Low wake-up latency sleeping state. No system context is lost in the CPU or the chipset.
> 
> S2 — Low wake-up latency sleeping state. This state is similar to the S1 sleeping state with the exception that the CPU and system cache context is lost.
> 
> S3 — Low wake-up latency sleeping state where all system context is lost except system memory.
> 
> S4 — Sleeping state with the lowest power and longest wake-up latency. To reduce power to a minimum, all devices are powered off.
> 
> S5 — Almost the same as S3, except that the power supply unit (PSU) still supplies power, at a minimum, to the power button to allow return to S0. A full reboot is required. No previous content is retained. Other components may remain powered so the computer can “wake” on input from the keyboard, clock, modem, LAN, or USB device.
> 
> S0ix — Modern Standby or Low Power S0 Idle.

### Windows 10

In Windows 10, two separate power models are supported for PCs: S3 and Modern Standby (S0xi).

Modern Standby starts when the user causes the system to enter sleep (e.g user pressing the power button, closing the lid, idling out, or selecting Sleep from the power button in the Windows Start menu).

Low power usage is achieved by only waking from the lowest power state when absolutely necessary and only allowing specialized software to execute in short, controlled bursts of activity, dramatically reducing the opportunities for software components to execute.

### Windows 11

To date, there are no indications that things are changing but we will provide an update if this changes.

### Native Windows Applications

Native Windows applications, such as Macrium Reflect and the Windows Task Scheduler, cannot be configured to wake from the lowest power state or to prevent a system from entering the lowest power state and do not receive any notifications that the system is transitioning into Modern Standby.

Unfortunately, if Modern Standby is enabled on your system, then you may notice that your computer will not wake to run scheduled backups or that running backups are abruptly cancelled.

### How to determine if Modern Standby is enabled

To determine if Modern Standby is enabled on your Windows installation, you can run the powercfg command as follows:

> powercfg /a

This will produce a report similar to the following:

> The following sleep states are available on this system:
> 
> Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected
> 
> Hibernate
> 
> The following sleep states are not available on this system:
> 
> Standby (S1)
> 
> The system firmware does not support this standby state.
> 
> This standby state is disabled when S0 low power idle is supported.
> 
> Standby (S2)
> 
> The system firmware does not support this standby state.
> 
> This standby state is disabled when S0 low power idle is supported.
> 
> Standby (S3)
> 
> The system firmware does not support this standby state.
> 
> This standby state is disabled when S0 low power idle is supported.
> 
> Hybrid Sleep
> 
> Standby (S3) is not available.
> 
> Fast Startup
> 
> This action is disabled in the current system policy.

### Potential Workarounds

Until Windows 10 version 2004, it was possible to disable Modern Standby and revert to the standard S3 by directly modifying the Registry:

> REG ADD HKLM\\System\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Power /v CsEnabled /t REG\_DWORD /d 0

In Windows 10 version 2004, Microsoft removed this setting, however; another setting was introduced in Windows 20H2.

> REG ADD HKLM\\System\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Power /v PlatformAoAcOverride /t REG\_DWORD /d 0

There are conflicting reports on whether the above Registry keys successfully disable Modern Standby and they appear to be hardware dependent.

It may also be possible to disable Modern Standby in the system BIOS, however; there are indications that this can lead to Windows becoming unstable. There are some reports that re-installing Windows after modifying the setting in the BIOS is required to restore stability.

### Summary

To date, Microsoft has provided very little technical documentation for their Modern Standby support in Windows and software developers across the Internet are struggling with conflicting bits of information on the subject. We are working hard to find a solution and as soon as one becomes available, it will be included in an update.

20211001-is-windows-modern-standby-disrupting-backups.jpeg

If you are running Windows 10 and you have experienced cases where your computer has failed to wake-up to perform a scheduled backup, then you may be an unwitting victim of Modern Standby

Is Windows Standby disrupting backups?

Is Windows Modern Standby disrupting backups?

# Evolving Cybersecurity — Q&A

I sat down with Macrium’s Technical Director, John Pendleton, to discuss how the landscape of cybersecurity is changing — and how it probably always should!

> **Why have the lines between security, backup and storage blurred in the past few years?**

The profitability of data ransom and data theft are proving to be huge. This is driving an increasing trend for multilayered and highly sophisticated attacks.

To counter this, system protection must cover all components and their interfaces, lines must be blurred otherwise you remain exposed; a single vulnerability can be used to gain a foothold to launch the next step in an attack.

A further blurring of the traditional considerations is that software now exists within every network and computer component. This software, typically called firmware, provides further opportunities for exploit.

> **Are backups more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks like ransomware now than a few years ago?**

A backup nullifies the leverage of a traditional ransomware attacker, as data can be quickly recovered without paying the ransom. This has driven the evolution of ransomware to also target and encrypt backup files, hence the increased vulnerability.

However, data security has two core facets, protection against loss (either accidental, hardware failure or by evil intent) and protection against theft. The threat is shifting to data theft, particularly for high value targets. In this case, backups provide no protection.

Despite this trend, backups still provide vital protection against SME or personal data where the inherent value of data recovery is greater to the owner than avoidance of public disclosure.

Note that SMEs that hold sensitive data (health, financial, legal etc) are very much exposed to a public disclosure risk, even if it isn’t currently under active exploit. Now that privacy legislation, particularly GDPR, is finding its teeth, that risk will extend to all companies with a significant customer base.

> **In what ways do modern backup and storage solutions address cyber security today? What are some of the ways they can help detect threats, including both active ransomware and ransomware that hasn’t yet been activated?**

General AV / IDS techniques are very applicable in this space. This is a mature field, and much has been already written.

However there are a few backup specific protection techniques. Our anti-ransomware solution, Macrium Image Guardian, only protects against unexpected backup set access. This is less vulnerable to both false positives and negatives and less resource intensive than generic anti-malware techniques, but cannot provide alerts for non-activated ransomware. There are other vendor solutions such as storing backup sets outside a traditional filesystem.

No software based protection can protect against a physical access attack or a compromised operating system and it is easy to underestimate the effort required to keep a determined attacker out. The old adage of defense in depth is still very relevant however and will generally keep your data safe.

> **What features should a company look for in a backup solution when it comes to cybersecurity?**

Feature wise, a basic but key feature is encryption of backups, given the rise of data theft, this is self-evidently important.

Good backup practice includes keeping the data in more than one location. I would be looking for flexibility here, you don’t want to be restricted to the vendor’s choice of cloud storage.

Backup set specific protection is important. You want to ensure that they are protected against malware encryption (or deletion) before they have been synchronized to a trusted remote location. You can rely on the operating system file security mechanisms. However these can be easy to mis-configure so you may want to look for an additional layer of backup set protection. This can be a focused solution that only protects backup sets, or more generalized anti malware protection.

However, non-feature based considerations are of at least equal importance. Backup software necessarily reaches deep into the Windows storage subsystems; if coded without care, it can itself be used as a malware vector itself, or stepping stone for a system compromise. Look for vendors with a reputation for reliability as this a good proxy also for secure development practices. A published vulnerability reporting process and a track record of quickly responding to bug reports is also a good sign.

If the software is to operate close to, or within operational or other critical environments, check if it will operate without any internet connectivity as this will significantly reduce the attack surface.

A novel and quickly evolving risk to add to the list of concerns is the supply chain attack. This puts a spotlight on the security of the vendor build, release and patch process. Unfortunately, the IT industry is still learning how to address this. We are currently looking at various options including a software bill of materials and reproducible builds hosted in escrow by a mutually trusted 3rd party. There is much to learn from the open source community.

> **Other than backup software itself, how can organizations protect their backup systems from attack?**

Maintain a synched copy of your (encrypted) backup sets, segregated from your main network. Aside from that, following standard security best practices is key.

20210917 Evolving Cybersecurity.jpg

I sat down with Macrium’s Technical Director, John Pendleton, to discuss how the landscape of cybersecurity is changing — and how it probably always should!

Evolving Cybersecurity

Evolving Cybersecurity — Q&A

# Reflectが日本語で利用可能になりました

![Reflect JP screenshot](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/0_Tmj5_YW_iy_A_Xr0k_Fa_42ff854348.png)

私たちは翻訳小屋で非常に忙しくしており、Reflectが完全に日本語に翻訳されたことをお知らせできることをうれしく思います。これは、Reflect8の既存のすべての購入者が利用できます。

[アップグレードオプションが利用可能です](/upgrade-renewal-wizard)

私たちは日本のお客様に全力で取り組んでおり、まもなく地元のパートナーを発表する予定です。

[詳しくはお問い合わせください](/contact "Contact Us")

既存のお客様の場合、言語を変更する方法は次のとおりです

[https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Defaults+and+Settings](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Defaults+and+Settings "Macrium KB")

## Macrium Reflect is Now Available in Japanese

Our translators have been very busy and we're delighted to announce that Reflect is now fully translated into Japanese. It is available for all existing purchasers of Reflect 8.

[Upgrade options are available](/upgrade-renewal-wizard)

We are fully committed to our Japanese customers and will be announcing a local partner soon.

[Please contact us for more information](/contact "Contact Us")

For existing customers, here is how you change language [https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Defaults+and+Settings](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW80/Defaults+and+Settings "Macrium KB")

## Try Macrium Reflect for Free

Keep your data backed up and safe with Macrium Reflect - try it for free for [**home**](https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree#backup-and-recovery-software-for-home-pcs) or [**work**](https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree#business-backup-and-recovery-with-reflect-workstation) with our [**30-day trial**](https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree). 

[Download Your Free Trial](BUTTON_SUCCESS=/reflectfree)


20210816-Reflect-8-Japanese-Release.jpg

We're delighted to announce that Macrium Reflect is available in Japanese for all existing purchasers of version 8.

Macrium Reflect is Now Available in Japanese  |  Macrium

Macrium Reflect is Now Available in Japanese

# Backups and the Big Screen — when backups saved the day!

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re fully in the swing of the summer vacation season. And when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, what better way to relax with friends and family than around a good film? You’d be surprised to know what a big role backups play in Hollywood, on and off the screen. For example, did you know that [Toy Story 2](https://thenextweb.com/news/how-pixars-toy-story-2-was-deleted-twice-once-by-technology-and-again-for-its-own-good "The Next Web: Toy Story 2") almost didn’t exist because of poor backup practices?

_“That’s when we first noticed it, with Woody.”_

Back in 1998, the movie studio Pixar was just making a name for itself. They’d released their first feature-length film, Toy Story, and were hard at work creating the sequel. On one fateful day, they noticed a few of the files had gone missing. After refreshing the folder, more files were gone. Files vital to the animations of Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang were disappearing right in front of their eyes!

Someone on the team, somewhere, had inadvertently run a command at the root level of the production. Like a fast moving fire, it cascaded through the system, recursively traveling through the directory and deleting everything in its path. By the time they shut down the main servers to stop it in its tracks, 90% of the film was gone.

With the initial panic over, they set to restoring to their last backup. The problem was, while they did have a backup system in place, they weren’t regularly checking it to make sure everything was running correctly. They’d maxed out their storage (which at the time was only 4 gigabytes), and while their backup system was technically running perfectly, each new backup would bump the older content off the drive. After a week of trying to recover the full film, and encountering a host of errors and missing files, they realized they couldn’t have any confidence in their backup.

This could’ve been the tragic end to the Toy Story franchise, but by sheer chance, the Supervising Technical Director had been working from home following the birth of her son. Her home computer was unaffected by the issues in the office network, leaving a complete version of the film, albeit a few weeks behind. After a tense transit of her computer to the office, they managed to verify most of the files, leaving a mere 30,000 to comb through by hand over the course of a weekend.

If Pixar had maintained proper backup protocols this near-disaster could’ve been avoided. What amounted to weeks of lost productivity, 72 hours of eye-blurring recovery, not to mention the extreme stress of the loss, should’ve been a quick and easy restoration.

This is a great real-world example of how even the biggest and most well known companies fall victim to data loss and corruption.

## What about on screen?

The presence or lack of backup files plays a role in a number of TV shows and movies. This is a mostly spoiler-free zone, but I can’t promise I won’t give something important away.

### Altered Carbon

Characters in this futuristic cyberpunk TV show live in a world where consciousness can be transferred from one body to the next. The wealthiest members of society have the money to maintain several copies of their personality, thus becoming “immortal”. Much of Season 1 revolves around what are essentially off-site backups!

### Tron: Legacy

CLU has taken over the computer-world of the Grid, destroyed all the ISOs (“isomorphic algorithms”) except for one, and is now building an army to escape from the Grid and take over the real world. All of these problems could be fixed just by restoring the Grid from the last known good backup.

### Terminator 2

Sarah Connor, John and the T-800 set out to destroy Cyberdyne headquarters, with the specific goal to destroy all the research about how to build Terminators. If Cyberdyne had kept off-site backups, their mission would’ve been nearly impossible, and a solid win for the robots. In this case, humanity is lucky Cyberdyne has poor backup processes.

**Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of sci-fi and tech-heavy stories here, but if you can think of any more, please let us know!**

20210804-Backups and the Big Screen.jpg

You’d be surprised to know what a big role backups play in Hollywood, on and off the screen. For example, did you know that Toy Story 2 almost didn’t exist because of poor backup practices?

Backups and the Big Screen

Backups and the Big Screen — when backups saved the day!

# Will Macrium Reflect work on Windows 11?

## Wait, Windows 10 isn’t the last Windows?

In 2015, Microsoft stated that Windows 10 would be the “last version of Windows”. For 7 years, they have been true to their word, publishing changes and new features by way of bi-annual updates. That’s why it came as somewhat of a surprise to many when Microsoft announced on June 24th that a new version of Windows has been in the works. There has been much speculation about why they’ve gone ahead with Windows 11. Here at Macrium, we suspect that it is, in part, to introduce a new set of hardware requirements to support their [Secured-core PC initiative](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/device-experiences/oem-highly-secure).

The new hardware requirements will be in flux for a while, but [this is a good guide](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/heres-what-youll-need-to-upgrade-to-windows-11/) to how they stand at the moment.

## But will Reflect work on Windows 11?

![But will Reflect work on Windows 11?](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/0_N7z2f_G_Awn_HZ_Ij_XZ_8_ed9a1599a5.png)

A new operating system is always met with a mix of excitement and concern for the Reflect development team. To do backups, Reflect reaches deep into Windows and utilizes a set of drivers to enable certain features. Any changes to the core of Windows can have an unexpected impact on how we do things, requiring either small fixes or complete re-implementations of core code components.

The first Windows 11 preview was made available this week, and at this point, we can report that Reflect’s core features seem to work well from our testing so far.

This is good news. However, this is the first preview, and based on experience of previous releases, there will be many changes before the first public release. In particular, we expect the driver HLK certification process to be significantly enhanced after they accidentally approved and [cross-signed a rootkit driver](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/microsoft-digitally-signs-malicious-rootkit-driver/).

Support for Reflect on Windows 11
---------------------------------

We will ensure that Reflect 8 continues to work on new Win 11 previews as they are made available. Given that Win 11 is slated for release in late 2021, on release, we will backport all required changes to Reflect 7 to ensure that it too is compatible — as part of our [product support policy](/product-support-policy).

During the preview period, we welcome support tickets and we will do our best to help you. However, because the platform is not yet stable and likely not bug free, we can’t guarantee that we will have a resolution for you in every case.

Upgrade planning
----------------

Two things to have in mind, if you choose to upgrade a current install to Win11.

First, make a backup. This will not only protect you from any issues during the upgrade process, it also means that if you find that any of your applications will not run, you can access them by booting your backup in viBoot.

Secondly, you might find that your current system is MBR/BIOS booting, even though it is capable of UEFI. In that case, you will first need to [convert it to UEFI](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/mbr-to-gpt), Win 11 only supports UEFI due to its enhanced pre-boot security features. If you are currently running a 32bit install of Windows, you are unfortunately out of luck. Win 11 is 64bit only.

## A final note

During the Windows 11 preview period, our team will only be tracking and fixing compatibility issues for Reflect 8. If you are currently on Reflect 7 or earlier, [we recommend upgrading or trialling R8](/reflectfree) for the safest and most stable environment.

20210702-Windows-11.jpg

Wait, Windows 10 isn’t the last Windows?

Will Macrium Reflect work on Windows 11?

Your #1 resource for data backup, recovery, imaging and deployment insights and tips to help you develop your organisation's disaster recovery plan. | 2021

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