Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft is Leaving Windows -- Including Vista 8.1 -- Vulnerable to Non-Government Crackers, Not Only to NSA

Install the latest back doors or be left vulnerable to crackers other than the NSA

Back doors



Summary: Microsoft makes it ever more evident that securing users of Windows is not at all a priority, and perhaps not even a desire

MICROSOFT WILL never brag about it to the public (only to the government), but Windows, including Vista 8, contains back doors for the NSA. While FOSS developers work hard to ensure security of their programs, with Microsoft any such concerns are irrelevant because security is not even a goal.



It was rather amusing to see this report which says "Microsoft TechNet blog makes clear that Windows 8.1 will not be patched; users must get Windows 8.1 Update if they want security patches" (the report is titled "Microsoft confirms it's dropping Windows 8.1 support" and it was published by the Microsoft-affiliated IDG).

But wait, it gets worse than abandonment of users and NSA back doors. According to this: "If you still have XP and use Microsoft Security Essentials you will have problems today.. You will get errors relating to MsMpEng.exe when trying to go into windows and windows will slow down to a crawl mimicking a virus.. You need to boot into safe mode and disable the Microsoft Antimalware Service in your services then boot into your normal profile and uninstall the program."

"Microsoft makes shutdown of their meaningless "security" application cripple XP," wrote Will Hill. "I'm surprised that I have not gotten any calls about this. Oh yeah, no one is at work yet. I don't think the treatment planning computers use this, but I'm going to sent a heads up."

So Microsoft goes further in making Windows XP users less secure from non-government crackers. Wonderful!

Recent Techrights' Posts

Claims That IBM Research Brazil is Shutting Down, Japan Impacted Also
As usual, the corporate media won't mention this
"GNU/Linux" No Longer a Pandora's Box
Cannot even make or crack a joke... when you have a target painted on your back
The "Nazi Bars"
We don't condone or condemn the label "Nazi Bar"
TV Programmes in Geminispace
Sort of like teletext except more cross-platform
 
Links 19/11/2025: Several Sites Admit Slop Bubble "About to Burst", US Government Tacitly Endorses Assassination of Journalists
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Up to 5% in analytics.usa.gov, Apple and Microsoft Only Sell Fantasies
As for Microsoft, it tries to rebrand Windows as "AI" something or "agentic" (AI) something because it's not selling well and Microsoft needs to engage in "creative" storytelling with shareholders
They Want to Take Humour Away
If society starts gravitating towards jokes being taboo and abuse/violence/online trolling being "jokes" (they're not), we're worse off and more like North Korea
The New Stack, Sponsored by Microsoft: Pay Us Money to Read Promotion of Slop Composed by Microsofters to Sell Their Proprietary Slopware
it's a self-promotional plug for someone who came from Microsoft
Links 19/11/2025: Google Nest Surveillance and Daily Telegraph Still Up for Sale
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/11/2025: "Slack is a Sauna" and ClaudeBot Nuisance
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, November 18, 2025
We Don't Keep Logs
Not for any considerable length of time
Wall Street Journal is Publishing Puff Pieces About Quantum
For IBM [...] a lot of articles about "AI" are basically a form of spam
Is the Lid Being Shut on Top of LLM Slop?
It sort of "feels" like slop is becoming passé
Celebrating Digital Sovereignty
Digital Sovereignty is connected very closely to the concept of Software Freedom
Your Web Site is Connected to the Net and the Server is Powered On, But Cloudflare Takes It All Down
Anything outsourced means that yet another party can get things wrong, resulting in problems for everyone else "in the chain"
The Register's Latest Slop Spam, Another Paid-for Article to Inflate the Bubble
Remember when celebrities advertised FTX?
Quite a Few Red Hat Layoffs These Days (or Departures)
Remember that if there are Red Hat Layoffs, they won't be called "Red Hat Layoffs" but instead be "IBM RAs" or some thing to that effect
Today is an Excellent Day To Remind People to Dump Clownflare (Cloudflare)
If people think that Clownflare (Cloudflare) will improve uptime and make access better (it sure makes accessibility far worse), remind them of all the times this clown show goes wrong, taking down with it a lot of the Web
Links 18/11/2025: Asbestos Fears, Delays for GAFAM Undersea Cable
Links for the day
Links 18/11/2025: "Bitcoin Showing Signs of Severe Collapse" and CEOs of GAFAM Finally Speak About a Slop Bubble
Links for the day
Apparent Red Hat Layoffs in "AI" (Supposedly a Strategic Area for IBM)
What is going on there?
Gemini Protocol as a Growing Source of Audience (Mostly Technical People)
Clients for Gemini Protocol are available for almost every platform imaginable
Techrights' Assessment of Red Hat Layoffs in 2025 (Yes, They Happened!)
In short, Red Hat layoffs did occur this year, but even when they did the media did not mention these (and those would count as "IBM" regardless)
The GPU Bubble (GPUs Marketed by Useless Slop)
"they're selling GPUs for the sake of selling GPUs"
EPO Change May be Afoot, Keep Pushing and Hold Those Feet to the Fire
Backlash is brewing and societal trends reinforce backlash right now
Links 18/11/2025: CISA Advisories, Climate, "U.S. Layoffs Surge and Blaming AI is Part of the Smokescreen"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/11/2025: "Block Them All", Annex, Signed Commits, and "Cryptography of the Internet"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, November 17, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, November 17, 2025
Right Under the Nose of Mainstream Media
That the media fails to cover the matter mostly speaks volumes about the media
Formalities Officers at the EPO Face Uncertain Future, Administration Gets Asked About That
They're being too polite (perhaps) to people whose agenda is detrimental not just to the EPO but also the EPC
Spanish Focus Coming Soon and Maturity of Site Search
We'll soon be focusing on Spain
Slopwatch: LLM Slopfarms Seem to be Slowing Down Somewhat
LLM addiction is a very unhealthy addiction
Thailand: Windows Down Sharply, Microsoft Loses Share to GNU/Linux
the Thai economy is strategic and relatively important in the region
EPO General Consultative Committee (GCC) Agenda: Reduction of Staff's Salaries (Compared to Inflation)
knocking salaries down some more
Gaming Journalist and Guru Jason Schreier Says Microsoft is Indeed Behaving Like It Exits the Console Market
Remember that many shops no longer sell or stock XBox
Links 17/11/2025: ‘Agentic OS’ Backlash and Facebook ('Meta') Loses Yann Le Cun
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/11/2025: Technology's Harm in Schools, 3D Printer Blurb
Links for the day
Coming Soon: EPO Trip in Spain
António Campinos being 'Marcosed'
Links 17/11/2025: "You Don't Need Animations" and Blocking Copyright-Infringing Sites Inevitably Goes Wrong
Links for the day
The Register MS: Slop is "FOMO" (Fear of Missing Out), FOMO is Funding Us
even former management (Editor in Chief of The Register MS) admitted to me it was aware of this issue
What's 4Chan and Why It's So Problematic
Incels and losers converge around online echo chambers
Difficult to Win Arguments When the Simple Facts Are Not on One's Side
Starting arguments over things when you know the facts (unlike money!) aren't on your side is a dumb move that can only ever result in severe loss of credibility
Python is Attempting an Outreach to African-Americans, Microsoft Lunduke Has a Problem With That
Did he manage to brainwash himself into this ideology wherein bigotry is in fact tolerance, inclusion, equity?
Tribalism Injures Projects
In Free software communities, there are many species and "breeds". Some developers are happy to work with everyone else based upon technical merit
IBM is Googlebombing Its Way Out of Trouble and Criticism
IBM is a dying giant
No, There is Nothing Impressive About Slop Plagiarism-Enabled, Computer-Generated Images in Your Web Site...
When people use slop they do not broadcast an embrace of innovation; they merely signal they're lazy, unethical, and unscrupulous
After Denial (of the Issues) Comes Censorship
Every critic of the status quo is "racist" and every criticism is "racism"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, November 16, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, November 16, 2025
Intel, Facing Mass Layoffs (Including Many Key Engineers Who Work on Linux Kernel), is Pushing for Slop Inside Linux
replacing proper, well-tested code (and documentation thereof) with slop
More People Want to Quit Windows (Vista 10 is "End of Life"), Restricted Boot (UEFI) Makes That Harder
It's widely agreed (a consensus) that Restricted Boot is a bad thing for GNU/Linux
IRCNow Helped Techrights
If you want to gain more independence or "sovereignty" over your communications and need help setting things up (no prior experience setting up/configuring IRC), go to IRCNow
How We Managed to Make IRC Inclusive and Free Speech-Tolerant Without Banning People
People in IRC seldom agree on everything, more so if politics are aired and especially in the wrong context/s
UEFI 'Restricted Boot' Will Usher in Rootkits Into Linux
Those of us who understand and value what it means to truly own our devices should definitely be alarmed by these trends
Plan for European Patent Office (EPO) Coverage This Month, Next Month, and Next Year
How much longer can European politicians ignore all this corruption?
Germany-Based Focus Online is Apparently Covering Up Cocaine Use at Europe's Second-Largest Institution, the European Patent Office
More contact details for the German press - Focus online
opensource.net Dead Since Middle of Summer, opensource.org (OSI) Still Leaderless
At the moment the brand "Open Source" is misused so heavily that we have considered adding a new category to our Daily Links, focusing a lot less on "Open" and more on software freedom as a concept
Photos From Richard Stallman's Talk in Argentina Earlier Today (Remote Talk)
Dr. Stallman's talk went ahead