Windows 11 Government Edition is what everyone wants, but there is a catch

Martin Brinkmann
Jul 1, 2024
Windows 11 News
|
24

A new edition of Windows 11 has been making the rounds over the weekend. Called Windows 11 Government Edition, screenshots of it were posted on Twitter by Andy Kirby (via Günter Born).

According to Kirby, the edition is "maximally debloated with all telemetry and Microsoft apps removed as well as no hardware restrictions".

Several screenshots show various apps and elements of the edition. The Start menu, for example, shows no pinned icons or recent items. All Apps, another section of the Start menu, lists just five apps and a folder.

Windows 11's Start menu without pinned apps. Source Andy Kirby

The five apps include surprises, as Windows Backup appears to be installed. This cloud-powered backup option is not something that one would expect on government PCs running Windows 11.

Core apps, including Microsoft Edge or Microsoft Defender Antivirus, are not installed as part of the edition.

Furthermore, since the edition does not enforce Windows 11's new system requirements, the operating system can be installed on devices with older hardware.

The truth behind the government edition of Windows 11

The About Windows app of the government edition. Source Andy Kirby

Do governments get a special edition of Windows 11? While there is a possibility that Microsoft is making concessions, this particular edition is not an official version of Windows 11.

It is a custom build of Windows 11 that has been modified heavily. You may remember Tiny11, another custom build that removed many Windows 11 components to create a smaller and lightweight version of Windows.

The government edition is available via P2P. According to an analysis on MDL, it is using an unofficial Windows activation service for activation and is therefore fake.

Closing Words

While it is certainly possible that Microsoft is creating special editions for government, it would likely never remove apps like Edge or Defender.

While this government edition of Windows 11 is fake, it is still something that many users might want. Windows 11 without Telemetry, ads, and other unwanted features that Microsoft seems to add on a constant basis? It seems unlikely that the majority of users would be opposed to the idea.

Add to that the ability to install the operating system on older devices, and you end up with a highly desirable version of Windows, that is unfortunately fake.

Furthermore, even if the edition would exist, it would not be available to mere mortals. Consumers, businesses, and even the majority of Enterprise customers, would not gain access to a Windows 11 government edition.

Even if it may be tempting to download this Windows 11 edition from P2P and install it on a device, it is not recommended unless it is for testing or documentation purposes. Windows 11 ISO images on P2P have been used in the past to distribute malware, and the risk associated with installing and using such an edition is high.

What about you? Would you use such an edition of Windows 11, if it would be real and available for picking?

Summary
Article Name
Windows 11 Government Edition is what everyone wants, but there is a catch
Description
Is the Windows 11 Government Edition a real edition of Microsoft's operating system? We reveal what you need to know about it.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Noris said on July 12, 2024 at 11:21 am
    Reply

    Is windows 11 government edition fake or real?

  2. ThatRandomToast said on July 6, 2024 at 11:01 am
    Reply

    This is a poorly recontructed version. It uses a mix of Windows 10 version 2004 binaries and files from Windows Update servers.

    Quoting from the BetaWiki admin pivotman319 on Mastodon/Wet-Dry World:
    – ISO volume name and creation date are bogus; wrong tools used to generate image (imapi2 instead of oscdimg/cdimage) – final resulting OS image was produced a week ago on 27th June 2024 at 04:09:00 AM (UTC), ISO generated at roughly 04:25 AM
    – OS image is directly based off of the v24H2 RTM build’s Pro source packages – WIM creation times match 1:1 with metadata ESDs from WU
    – the “Enterprise G” edition manifest’s code signing catalog is actually borrowed from win10 v2004’s professional edition; catalog signed on 7th December 2019 (same time as VB_RELEASE 19041.1); the conversion from Pro to “Enterprise G” using these hacked-together files took two minutes, tops
    – author tried to deliberately hide their tracks by removing any and all logs from the CBS logs directory
    – it’s partially set up to auto-activate using massgrave KMS38 and remove edge after installation (the Edge removal thing is not present though)
    – guy who made the ISO also directly modified the media to swap out the setup background image from purple to pitch black to poorly “replicate” a problem present in official MS media for Win11 v24H2
    the real Enterprise G is actually published by CMIT (joint venture between MS and CETC in China), meant for China government employees – first introduced in May 2017. the last release the venture made was based on Windows 10 v21H2 CU build 19044.1345, released on 28th January 2022.

    Original post for anyone who want to participate: https://masto.ai/@winload_exe@wetdry.world/112724770530300269

  3. boris said on July 4, 2024 at 8:53 pm
    Reply

    SomeOrdinaryGamers on YouTube knows a lot more than discussed her. It is real Government Edition, but not for every Government. It is made specifically for Chinese Government with some help from Chinese companies. And yes, it is made this way (almost empty) that it can not have any code that can connect possibly back to US servers or any servers outside China. That is why there is no Edge or Defender there. User/Administrator will have to install Chinese made browser and antivirus from flash drive/local network.
    PS. This article was mentioned in the video.

  4. Benjamin said on July 2, 2024 at 5:00 pm
    Reply

    I suggest having a look at this ; https://www.w10privacy.de/english-home/

    and one finds out that almost all undesired features can be deactivated while booting the system via registry keys. Unfortunately not with altered code of the operating system. That would be avail with a Linux OS.

  5. Li said on July 2, 2024 at 12:55 pm
    Reply

    Enterprise G is a real version. there is a UUP file at uupdump for it https://uupdump.net/getfile.php?id=3d68645c-e4c6-4d51-8858-6421e46cb0bb&file=Microsoft-Windows-EditionSpecific-EnterpriseG-Package.ESD this just links to a subdomain of microsoft.com and the uup is signed by microsoft corperation and contains packages also signed by microsoft corperation

    1. ThatRandomToast said on July 6, 2024 at 10:58 am
      Reply

      But this one is poorly recontructed, according to the BetaWiki admin pivotman319: https://masto.ai/@winload_exe@wetdry.world/112724770530300269

    2. Make COVID-19 Great Again said on July 2, 2024 at 5:34 pm
      Reply

      Even if it’s a real version the fact alone that it says “Insider preview”at the UUP file means that’s not a final product, it also means that is probably the last 24H2 Insider Preview without the POPCNT requirement and that explains why you can install it on Core 2 Duo/Quad machines. So even if this version is a real thing it’s still a beta product with limited update support.

  6. John said on July 2, 2024 at 12:18 pm
    Reply

    Just the fact it can be done is a viable option which I would use if it was officially offered. But since it is not an official release I don’t care to take my chances.

  7. GatesFoundation said on July 2, 2024 at 12:24 am
    Reply

    Real or not. It is still superior than using the official version, which has a finite number of black patterns, malware, spyware, and adware developed by Microsoft themselves.

  8. Pancho Tunacaliente said on July 1, 2024 at 9:52 pm
    Reply

    Essentially all windows versions share the same code, with just some minor tweaks.
    Historically, I’ve liked some of the versions of windows that might not be well know to all:

    Windows ME Retarded Edition
    Windows Vista Unfinished Edition
    Windows 8 Messy Edition
    Windows 10 Idiotic Edition
    Windows 11 Incompetents Edition

    Most likely they are currently working on the Windows 12 We can mess windows a lot more Edition

  9. Tachy said on July 1, 2024 at 5:46 pm
    Reply

    To actually answer your question, Yes, it would be my first choice.

  10. pHROZEN gHOST said on July 1, 2024 at 2:57 pm
    Reply

    BTW, my once main Windows 10 Pro PC (Lenovo Thinkstation S30) is now running Linux Mint Cinnamon v21.3.
    I love it.

  11. Hong Kong Concerned Citizen said on July 1, 2024 at 11:54 am
    Reply

    So there is two scenarios here, either this Win 11 G Edition is indeed a Chinese Goverment edition of Win 11 as some russian site claim to be OR this is a Pre-POPCNT insider preview cutom build release of 24H2, hence the reason why you can install it on Core2Duo/Quad machines.

    If it’s the former then i’ll use it instead of the IoT LTSC 2021 Win 10 which i currently use, if it is the latter though then it’s a hard pass for me.

  12. Iron Heart said on July 1, 2024 at 11:19 am
    Reply

    The no nonsense version of Windows is called Windows 10 LTSC and you can get it very easily.

    1. bob said on July 1, 2024 at 10:08 pm
      Reply

      Win 11 LTSC is also out and can also be obtained easily enough

    2. cheers said on July 1, 2024 at 5:41 pm
      Reply

      You can safely get it easily on massgrave.

  13. TelV said on July 1, 2024 at 11:17 am
    Reply

    Sounds almost as bad as WSLg which to my way of thinking is a feeble attempt by Microsoft to dissuade users from switching to Linux. https://github.com/microsoft/wslg

    As regards the gov version, even it were real I’ve learned that Microsoft is not to be trusted and can move the goalposts any time they choose. So it’s not even worth the time of day.

  14. Bobo said on July 1, 2024 at 11:12 am
    Reply

    One would assume a super debloated version of Windows would be called USER EDITION. This guy is on the right track https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUTdRZNqODY

  15. spork said on July 1, 2024 at 10:29 am
    Reply

    I’ve been working with Windows since 3.11, currently have Win 10 at home, and I swear that this is my last MS OS. It’s a bloated, toxic, privacy-sapping mess.

    I have no intention of “upgrading” (ha!) to Win 11, ever, even if I could get a decrapified version.

  16. John G. said on July 1, 2024 at 8:38 am
    Reply

    Nothing to be worried about fake versions, imho W11 is a fake version too of W10, indeed a bad one! Thanks for the article! :]

    1. Yehdj said on July 1, 2024 at 9:15 am
      Reply

      Windows is 120% POS since 2012. Linux is the only solution.

      1. bruh said on July 1, 2024 at 2:31 pm
        Reply

        @Yehdj

        What, windows is 100% point of sale??

      2. pHROZEN gHOST said on July 1, 2024 at 2:55 pm
        Reply

        Windows XP Embedded is certainly POS.

        I developed and supported a Windows XP OS and a front-end application for a VERY large business. At the peak, before my retirement in 2016, there were over 9,000 retail locations on their network.

        Today that business is using embedded Linux with over 10,000 retail locations.

      3. John G. said on July 1, 2024 at 11:05 am
        Reply

        @Yehdj, I started using Ubuntu 22.04 as a backup OS when W11 broke my home printer connections and now I use Kubuntu 24.04 as my first OS mostly all the time, even while working outdoors in the forest. I only use W11 very sporadically and even I use more W10 in a virtual machine than the W11 itself.

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