Assuming I have no Apple-ID on my MacBook (no Activation Lock) and FileVault is set up, would a thief be able to use DFU mode to wipe my drive and reinstall MacOS without any restrictions?
Yes, and you said why:
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Thanks for answering. Does windows or linux have similar mechanisms to act as theft-deterrents or can attackers freely reformat drives?
It couldn’t be an OS feature in Windows/Linux, it would have to be a BIOS/UEFI feature on the device.
I don’t know of any PCs with anything like Activation Lock, no.
In theory you could probably create a custom Secure Boot configuration with your own signing keys and passwords, and configure the UEFI in such a way that the computer is completely unusable without those keys/passwords. It wouldn’t stop someone from reformatting drives (because they could just pull the drive out), but it would stop them from using the device permanently.
I wouldn’t recommend pursuing that idea though.
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