Suddenly, the screen went black. A single line of white text appeared: Encrypting File System.

He had heard of EaseUS Partition Master. It was the gold standard for moving data without losing a single file. But as he reached the checkout page, his eyes drifted to a different tab: a forum promising the "Latest Update Activated Free Download." Against his better judgment, he clicked.

For three seconds, nothing happened. Then, the Partition Master interface flickered onto the screen. It looked legitimate. It showed his drives, the unallocated space, and the "Activated" status in the corner. Relieved, Elias set the resize operation and clicked "Apply." The progress bar reached 42% and froze.