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Windows XP To Block Use Of "Troublesome" Drivers

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the don't-worry-ma dept.

Johnno74 writes "According to this story on The Register, Windows XP rc2 now includes the ability for Microsoft to prevent users from installing certain device drivers. Sounds like a good idea? Well, apparently among the casualties are ZoneAlarm and BlackIce... Two popular free personal firewall products for windows. Guess What? XP includes its own firewall ... So you don't really need then anyway, right? The full details on how this works are in this 1mb word document on Microsoft's site.

The document details how XP will automatically download the latest drivers for your hardware from the windows update site, and more worringly, XP will reguarly update the list of blocked drivers from the site. Quote from the document:

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp"On a related note, Windows XP provides the ability for Microsoft to receive crash dump data on specific drivers (i.e. when a user receives a blue screen, we upload that information for further analysis). When Microsoft reporting systems indicate crashes have exceeded a certain threshold, Microsoft will notify the Vendor that the device is being considered for the blocked driver list. If reports pass an even greater threshold, we will then flag that specific version of the driver as needing to be blocked."

Boy, The site that uploads that crash dump data (and whatever else it snags...) better have a lot of bandwidth... ;-) As The Register points out, this brings back memories of how Microsoft killed Caldera DR-DOS by deliberately crashing Windows 3.1 if you were running on DR-DOS -- for no reason other than forcing you to use MS-DOS."

Note: according to this article, the change does not prevent Black Ice or other programs from running per se -- but it does require them to use updated versions tailored for XP.

14 of 562 comments (clear)

  1. VAPORWARE (tm) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Can you say, can you say, can you say... VaporWare MUahahahahaha!

  2. Re:Funny thing is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    ?

  3. Good morning, niggah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Damn, this stock market is one unpredictable niggah... niggah!

  4. Re: Nope by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Hahaha...yeah...right...2000 is perfect... and IE6 will NEVER do anything wrong...heh.. just because yours didn't blow up, don't assume that someone elses won't... presumtious troll...

  5. yo yo yo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    fp

    1. Re:yo yo yo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      that 20 sec limit got me...

  6. fp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    mwaha, mispelled the title! First post! =D

  7. Re:Interesting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Call me paranoid
    You're paranoid.
  8. Italics on the front page by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Oh God make the italics stop...

  9. Hah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    And people criticize me using a Mac! *I* get UNIX and a sweet UI!

    They have no upgrade options that are pleasent! The know of their impending doom "I'll stick with Windows 2000" yeah that will last maybe another year, when software support magically drops off the face of the earth, as MS focuses all its effort on XP and .NET

  10. Re:o my god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    martijn-s is a TROLL, read his past posts. MOD THIS LAMER DOWN. SAVE SLASHDOT!

  11. Re: Nope by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    If you use a butterknife, you can spread that FUD even a little farther, lil' troll.

    It's shocking sometimes how much ignorance is accepted here on Slashdot as long as it's anti-Microsoft in basis.

  12. Re:o my god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    mod whore, you know as well as anyone else here that every post in the history of Slashdot that has said "Slashdotters are losers, Microsoft is okay, go ahead and mod me down" has been ranked +5, Insightful.

  13. Re:o my god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    how many times does your wife need to sleep with me for you to think she is a whore