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All Windows 10 Kernel Mode Drivers Must Be Digitally Signed By Microsoft (i-programmer.info)
"Last year, we announced that beginning with the release of Windows 10, all new Windows 10 kernel mode drivers must be submitted to the Windows Hardware Developer Center Dashboard portal to be digitally signed by Microsoft," reads a MSDN blog post. "However, due to technical and ecosystem readiness issues, this was not enforced by Windows Code Integrity and remained only a policy statement. Starting with new installations of Windows 10, version 1607, the previously defined driver signing rules will be enforced by the Operating System, and Windows 10, version 1607 will not load any new kernel mode drivers which are not signed by the Dev Portal."
Slashdot reader mikejuk quotes a report from i-programmer.info which argues "the control of what software users can run on their machines is becoming ever tighter," and compares Microsoft's proposal to an XKCD cartoon: Before you start to panic about backward compatibility with existing drivers the lockdown is only going to be enforced on new installations of Windows 10. If you simply upgrade an existing system then the OS will take over the drivers that are already installed... Only new installations, i.e. installing all drivers from scratch, will enforce the new rules from Windows 10 version 1607... Be warned, if you need to do a fresh install of Windows 10 in the future you might find that your existing drivers are rejected.
Slashdot reader mikejuk quotes a report from i-programmer.info which argues "the control of what software users can run on their machines is becoming ever tighter," and compares Microsoft's proposal to an XKCD cartoon: Before you start to panic about backward compatibility with existing drivers the lockdown is only going to be enforced on new installations of Windows 10. If you simply upgrade an existing system then the OS will take over the drivers that are already installed... Only new installations, i.e. installing all drivers from scratch, will enforce the new rules from Windows 10 version 1607... Be warned, if you need to do a fresh install of Windows 10 in the future you might find that your existing drivers are rejected.
Just last week, Windows 7 rejected a driver from modern software. Guess the company was small enough they didn't want to waste the periodic license fee just to license their driver. Which means we did a really goofy workaround that puts the VM image into test mode every time it boots up. Sure, maybe we're in the minority but to have Microsoft as the gatekeeper is ridiculous - they're expensive as well as highly untrustworthy.
It means any new device that comes out will be unable to be used on Windows without first jumping through hoops. Of course Microsoft will abuse this power. I mean they're OUR machines, we should be able to do whatever we want with them.
1. Upgrade: MS wasted tens of millions of manhours worldwide with their all-but-forced upgrade
2. Telemetry: They listen to you using your computer
3. Ads: They push ads at you via the OS, taking over what remains of your attention span
4. Kernel Mode Drivers: No more can your programs manipulate Windows 10 internals (bye bye www.colinux.org)
5. UEFI Secure Boot: No more can you boot another OS on a Windows 10 tablet or mobile device. For now, you can do so on a desktop, but manufacturers now have the 'option' (wink) to remove this 'security risk' (nudge).