Turns out, Microsoft’s August 2024 security updates are disabling the GRUB bootloader. That’s the program that runs at boot time and allows users to select between multiple operating systems. Erasing that means users can’t boot into any operating system other than Windows.
This reminds me of the shenanigans they pulled in the 90s with Netscape. Microsoft hated the idea that people were browsing the Web with a competitor’s product, especially one that didn’t have a marketing agreement with them.
So they did two sneaky things. First, they went to IT departments and told them to discourage people in their companies from installing Netscape because it might be a vector for viruses and other stuff.
Then they released an “internet jumpstart” service pack for Windows 95 that installed Internet Explorer without asking. The fun part was, once IE was installed, it took control of hyperlinks. So if you clicked on a link in an email message, it would open IE instead of Netscape. Continued...