The latest code 'leak' says more about Microsoft's lack of security than about anything else



Summary: The so-called 'leak' of old Windows code (almost 20 years old) is rather meaningless and useless; the world is moving past Windows, plus old Windows code cannot be used (due to the licence) and is barely used anymore, even in binary form

Yesterday in IRC at least three people brought up news about some leak of Windows XP code... in 2020.

Most reactions were something along the lines of, "who the heck cares?"

Rightly so.

"Almost everyone (even Microsoft) recognises that Windows hasn't much of a long-term future. So what use is some very old Windows code?"So there's something to be said about WINE and ReactOS (they can now better provide proof of their code's originality, preventing SCO-like lawsuits) and NSA back doors/holes in Windows, whether deliberate or subconscious (then left open, with only the NSA receiving tips for remote exploitation). But those things don't matter much because the code is very old and outdated. How many people still use Windows XP on a connected (to the Internet) machine? All versions of Windows are like honeypots (insecure by design) and Windows in general is a declining operating system, in relative freefall. According to some Web statistics, the gap between Android share and Windows widened by 2% in the past 2 months (Android commanding 40% of the overall market now, or 74% in mobile where Windows is a minuscule 0.03%). Days ago Lenovo expanded GNU/Linux to a lot more hardware (or pre-installed and pre-configured option). A lot of things are changing for the better. Not everything. But a lot!

Almost everyone (even Microsoft) recognises that Windows hasn't much of a long-term future. So what use is some very old Windows code? Collectors' item? ⬆