April 8, 2026
When your lock needs a permission slip
Microsoft Abruptly Terminates VeraCrypt Account, Halting Windows Updates
Users erupt as “Microslop” locks out beloved disk-encryption app with zero warning
TLDR: Microsoft cut off the account VeraCrypt uses to publish Windows updates, leaving users without new releases. Commenters erupted—some blasting “Microslop” and warning against one company holding the keys to your PC, others hoping it’s a screwup—but everyone agrees it’s a big deal for anyone who relies on encrypted files on Windows.
Microsoft reportedly cut off the account VeraCrypt uses to sign its Windows components—meaning no fresh Windows updates for the wildly popular, free tool that locks down your files—according to developer Mounir Idrassi in 404 Media. And the comment sections? Absolutely on fire.
The loudest chorus is pure rage at Big Tech gatekeeping. One top take snarled, “With Windows, you get what you pay for,” accusing Microsoft of running an unaccountable empire that can “take application software away” without notice. Another zinger hit harder: the same company that controls your PC’s “secure boot” just iced the account for your disk encryption—cue the dystopian vibes. A third camp leaned into comedy, reviving the classic “Microslop” burn and calling for a mass exodus from Windows.
But it’s not all pitchforks. A smaller group urged caution, suggesting this could be a bureaucratic screwup or overzealous fraud check rather than a war on encryption. Still, the optics—no email, no warning, per the dev—had people linking the saga across threads (dupe patrol in action) and asking why a crucial security tool depends on one company’s switch.
Between gallows humor (“who guards the bootloader guards us all”) and genuine alarm, the community’s message is loud: when one gate closes, millions of users get locked out.
Key Points
- •Microsoft terminated the account used by VeraCrypt to sign Windows drivers and the bootloader, according to the developer.
- •Without the signing account, VeraCrypt cannot publish Windows updates; Linux and macOS updates remain possible.
- •VeraCrypt’s developer, Mounir Idrassi, said he received no prior warnings or emails from Microsoft.
- •Idrassi said the termination occurred in mid-January and he discovered he could no longer use the account.
- •VeraCrypt is an open-source encryption tool based on TrueCrypt, and most of its users are on Windows, making the outage a major setback.