Posted on 04/11/2016 8:42:46 PM PDT by dayglored
Microsoft has added a QR code to its infamous Blue Screen of Death in Windows 10.
As of Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14316, when the operating system falls over, you get not only the sad ASCII smiley but also a QR square that contains an encoded URL that leads you to a webpage about your problem. Scan it with a smartphone or other handheld and your browser will be taken to the embedded web addresses.
Right now, it just points to windows.com/stopcode, which explains typical Blue-Screen-of-Death causes, but in future it could contain detailed information about the crash – or something a little more user-friendly than something like MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION.
The QR code feature isn't mentioned in build 14316's release notes, although it hasn't escaped people's attention. The version was emitted last week to testers.
Here's what the QR Code of Death looks like:
Neat idea, huh. Except we can imagine the fun malware will have with this. Fake a system crash by popping up a blue screen, show a QR code that links to a malicious website, and fool someone into opening it on their browser. From there you can offer crap PC repair software (your machine just "crashed", after all), pretend to be Microsoft offering updates to fix your PC, and so on.
We'll wait to see where Redmond's engineers take this.
bfl
smb
Bkmk
ping
You'd have to do it the other way. Linux as the host with a VM of windows to accomplish what you want.
BFL
I suspect Redmond engineers are dealing with this possibility ... might be why the 'solution' isn't out yet.
Will we get shut down ans self start in the event of a major cyber attack? That's got to be next.
I suspect Redmond engineers are dealing with this possibility ... might be why the 'solution' isn't out yet.
Will we get shut down and self-start in the event of a major cyber attack? That's got to be next. The shut down would STOP American computers from assisting with the attack.
Yeah i thought so- but the reason for wanting windows as main os is because photoshop doesn’t run well in virtual machine- I rely on photoshop for my photography— and need it to run full steam under windows- VM just doesn’t cut it for photoshop unfortunately- I also do not wish to switch to gimp as i have way too many custom photoshop actions and programs tied into photo shop to make a switch
Read the code with your cell phone and now your phone is infected.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/worried-that-windows-10-is-spying-on-you-here-how-to-take-back-control/
Both programs require tweaking, and both can cause problems. Watch out for high CPU usage from Anti-Beacon.
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