Criticism of Microsoft Windows
Encyclopedia
The various versions of Microsoft
's desktop operating system
, Windows
, have received many criticisms since Microsoft's inception.
of the computer to run on local time. Since Windows NT
there has been a registry
entry
SP2 and Windows 7 have added support for this registry key), so it is not possible to run the real-time clock on Coordinated Universal Time
, which may be desirable to, for example, avoid problems with multi-boot environments or disk image
s and daylight saving time
, because Windows changes the real-time clock when switching to or from daylight saving time. However, other operating systems or other instances of Windows cannot know if the real-time clock has been changed already. This setting has been revised under Windows Vista SP2 , Windows 7 (RC) and Windows Server 2008 R2 (Beta).
file manager hides filename extension
s for known file types. This can be used to trick users into running malicious programs that they have previously downloaded. If a malware
has the name "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs"
, for example, its name will be displayed as "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT" and appears to be a text file. The hiding of a large number of filename extensions can be disabled via menu settings, but some extensions will remain hidden unless the user edits the system registry.
threats (over 2 million) compared to other operating systems.
Secret cryptography keys have been discovered to exist in multiple versions of Microsoft Windows ever since Windows 95 OSR2, such as NSAKEY. These keys can be used to create digital signature
s that will be accepted by Windows as valid, however Microsoft claims the private key has never been shared with any third party. The chief scientist at an Internet security company believed that these secret cryptography keys can be used by the United States
National Security Agency
(NSA) to provide a backdoor into computers running Windows. However, this is explicitly denied by Microsoft, and no evidence for this accusation was ever presented. Microsoft attributes the naming of this key due to a technical review by the NSA pointing out a backup key was required to conform to regulations.
Microsoft Windows has been criticised for its poor security, such as the Win32 shatter attack
.
in NT-based versions of Microsoft Windows is problematic for some 16-bit
and MS-DOS
programs, such as games, which can fail to work. Windows 2000 and later versions are NT-based versions of Windows (including Windows XP, which was the first NT-based version of Windows for home users); Windows ME
was the last version of Microsoft Windows to support 16-bit MS-DOS software without need of a complete emulator, which allowed these programs to work (although Windows ME removed the real mode
MS-DOS). The use of emulators
, such as the 3rd party DOSBox
, can help users run MSDOS games and programs that cannot be used in newer versions of Windows.
64-bit
versions of Microsoft Windows cannot run 16-bit programs for two reasons: support for some 16-bit programs is encumbered by the hardware limitations of the 64-bit x86 CPU (long mode
) and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows don't include the Virtual DOS Machine
. 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows stopped supporting OS/2
and POSIX
programs. In order to take advantage of 64-bit computing with Windows and be able to run 16-bit programs, Microsoft suggests installing and dual-booting the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows (installed on separate volumes or different hard disks) and booting the 32-bit version to run the 16-bit programs.
Running some older Windows XP programs in Windows 7 using Windows XP mode is only possible on the Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate editions of Windows 7. Windows XP mode is used for running certain legacy Windows XP programs using a virtual machine
, but the performance of the Windows XP mode has been criticised.
Starting with Windows Vista, WinHelp
is no longer included in Microsoft Windows. In older programs which use WinHelp, an error message will be generated upon accessing the program's help. Microsoft offers the WinHlp32.exe as a separate download; third-party software developers are not allowed to distribute WinHlp32.exe.
was introduced in Windows 3.1 to replace the INI files used for storing configuration settings in earlier versions of Windows. The Windows Registry was not heavily used in Windows 3.1 compared to Windows 95 (and later versions of Windows). The Windows Registry creates a single point of failure
for the entire Windows operating system. The Microsoft website recommends some fixes are applied by editing the Registry, but warns users about the dangers of doing so. For other criticisms of the Windows Registry, see: Criticisms of the Windows Registry.
(abbreviated to SP and its version number) to fix many known problems with Windows, using a single installable package. Problems can arise when a user installs a Service Pack for Windows, such as breaking programs,. It is recommended that users back up and be prepared to roll back changes if there are any problems after installing a Service Pack. Microsoft offers a Service Pack blocking tool to temporarily prevent the installation of a Service Pack. This tool is available to users who wish to avoid known problems which are caused by installing a Service Pack.
, Peter Gutmann
heavily criticised the digital rights management
(DRM) that had been included in Microsoft Windows to place restrictions on certain types of multimedia playback in an analysis he released in which which he states that:
The analysis drew responses from Microsoft, where Microsoft states some of the criticized DRM features were already present in Windows XP
, and thus proven not to be a problem for customers, and that these features would only be activated when required by the content being played. Other responses came from George Ou of ZDNet and Ed Bott of ZDNet. Ed Bott also published a three-part rebuttal of Peter Gutmanns claims in which he details a number of factual errors in the analysis as well as points out how Peter Gutmann relied on questionable sources (personal blog postings, friends' anecdotal evidence, Google searches) for his analysis paper and never tested his theories himself.
Windows 7 includes the same DRM.
, Internet Explorer integrated into the Windows Shell
and with its inclusion in Windows 98
cannot be removed without damaging Windows or affecting other programs which depend on Internet Explorer's files. The integration of Internet Explorer in Windows has been criticised because security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer also create security vulnerabilities in Windows, even if the user does not use Internet Explorer as their default web browser
.
This lead to the United States v. Microsoft
court case, which was eventually settled out of court.
In January 2009, the European Commission
started to investigate Microsoft's bundling of Internet Explorer into Windows; the Commission stated:
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's desktop operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, have received many criticisms since Microsoft's inception.
Clock management
Windows expects the real-time clockReal-time clock
A real-time clock is a computer clock that keeps track of the current time. Although the term often refers to the devices in personal computers, servers and embedded systems, RTCs are present in almost any electronic device which needs to keep accurate time.-Terminology:The term is used to avoid...
of the computer to run on local time. Since Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
there has been a registry
Windows registry
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user...
entry
RealTimeIsUniversal=1, but this feature was not supported or fully implemented until Vista SP1 (VistaWindows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
SP2 and Windows 7 have added support for this registry key), so it is not possible to run the real-time clock on Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
, which may be desirable to, for example, avoid problems with multi-boot environments or disk image
Disk image
A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
s and daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
, because Windows changes the real-time clock when switching to or from daylight saving time. However, other operating systems or other instances of Windows cannot know if the real-time clock has been changed already. This setting has been revised under Windows Vista SP2 , Windows 7 (RC) and Windows Server 2008 R2 (Beta).
Hiding of filename extensions
By default, the Windows ExplorerWindows Explorer
This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows Explorer is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface...
file manager hides filename extension
Filename extension
A filename extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding of its contents or usage....
s for known file types. This can be used to trick users into running malicious programs that they have previously downloaded. If a malware
Malware
Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
has the name "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs"
ILOVEYOU
ILOVEYOU, also known as Love Letter, is a computer worm that successfully attacked tens of millions of computers in 2000 when it was sent as an attachment to a user with the text "ILOVEYOU" in the subject line. The worm arrived e-mail on and after May 4, 2000 with the simple subject of "ILOVEYOU"...
, for example, its name will be displayed as "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT" and appears to be a text file. The hiding of a large number of filename extensions can be disabled via menu settings, but some extensions will remain hidden unless the user edits the system registry.
Security concerns
Security vulnerabilities have been discovered to exist in versions of Windows for long periods of time before Microsoft has released the fixes (patches) for users to download and install. Examples include the Windows Virtual DOS Machine (VDM) vulnerability that was unknown by Microsoft for 17 years and a serious networking vulnerability that Microsoft knew about for 200 days before fixing. Windows has been criticised for being the prime target for the highest number of malwareMalware
Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
threats (over 2 million) compared to other operating systems.
Secret cryptography keys have been discovered to exist in multiple versions of Microsoft Windows ever since Windows 95 OSR2, such as NSAKEY. These keys can be used to create digital signature
Digital signature
A digital signature or digital signature scheme is a mathematical scheme for demonstrating the authenticity of a digital message or document. A valid digital signature gives a recipient reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender, and that it was not altered in transit...
s that will be accepted by Windows as valid, however Microsoft claims the private key has never been shared with any third party. The chief scientist at an Internet security company believed that these secret cryptography keys can be used by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
(NSA) to provide a backdoor into computers running Windows. However, this is explicitly denied by Microsoft, and no evidence for this accusation was ever presented. Microsoft attributes the naming of this key due to a technical review by the NSA pointing out a backup key was required to conform to regulations.
Microsoft Windows has been criticised for its poor security, such as the Win32 shatter attack
Shatter attack
In computing, a shatter attack is a programming technique employed by crackers on Microsoft Windows operating systems that can be used to bypass security restrictions between processes in a session...
.
Broken backward compatibility
Backward compatibilityBackward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
in NT-based versions of Microsoft Windows is problematic for some 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
and MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
programs, such as games, which can fail to work. Windows 2000 and later versions are NT-based versions of Windows (including Windows XP, which was the first NT-based version of Windows for home users); Windows ME
Windows Me
Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006....
was the last version of Microsoft Windows to support 16-bit MS-DOS software without need of a complete emulator, which allowed these programs to work (although Windows ME removed the real mode
Real mode
Real mode, also called real address mode, is an operating mode of 80286 and later x86-compatible CPUs. Real mode is characterized by a 20 bit segmented memory address space and unlimited direct software access to all memory, I/O addresses and peripheral hardware...
MS-DOS). The use of emulators
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
, such as the 3rd party DOSBox
DOSBox
DOSBox is emulator software that emulates an IBM PC compatible computer running MS-DOS. It is intended especially for use with old PC games. DOSBox is free software....
, can help users run MSDOS games and programs that cannot be used in newer versions of Windows.
64-bit
64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
versions of Microsoft Windows cannot run 16-bit programs for two reasons: support for some 16-bit programs is encumbered by the hardware limitations of the 64-bit x86 CPU (long mode
Long mode
In the x86-64 computer architecture, long mode is the mode where a 64-bit application can access 64-bit instructions and registers...
) and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows don't include the Virtual DOS Machine
Virtual DOS machine
Virtual DOS machine is Microsoft's technology that allows running legacy DOS and 16-bit Windows programs on Intel 80386 or higher computers when there is already another operating system running and controlling the hardware.-Overview:...
. 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows stopped supporting OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
and POSIX
POSIX
POSIX , an acronym for "Portable Operating System Interface", is a family of standards specified by the IEEE for maintaining compatibility between operating systems...
programs. In order to take advantage of 64-bit computing with Windows and be able to run 16-bit programs, Microsoft suggests installing and dual-booting the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows (installed on separate volumes or different hard disks) and booting the 32-bit version to run the 16-bit programs.
Running some older Windows XP programs in Windows 7 using Windows XP mode is only possible on the Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate editions of Windows 7. Windows XP mode is used for running certain legacy Windows XP programs using a virtual machine
Virtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
, but the performance of the Windows XP mode has been criticised.
Starting with Windows Vista, WinHelp
WinHelp
Microsoft WinHelp is a proprietary format for online help files that can be displayed by the Microsoft Help browser winhelp.exe or winhlp32.exe. The file format is based on Rich Text Format . It remained a popular Help platform from Windows 3.0 platform through Windows XP...
is no longer included in Microsoft Windows. In older programs which use WinHelp, an error message will be generated upon accessing the program's help. Microsoft offers the WinHlp32.exe as a separate download; third-party software developers are not allowed to distribute WinHlp32.exe.
Windows Registry
The Windows RegistryWindows registry
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user...
was introduced in Windows 3.1 to replace the INI files used for storing configuration settings in earlier versions of Windows. The Windows Registry was not heavily used in Windows 3.1 compared to Windows 95 (and later versions of Windows). The Windows Registry creates a single point of failure
Single point of failure
A single point of failure is a part of a system that, if it fails, will stop the entire system from working. They are undesirable in any system with a goal of high availability or reliability, be it a business practice, software application, or other industrial system.-Overview:Systems can be made...
for the entire Windows operating system. The Microsoft website recommends some fixes are applied by editing the Registry, but warns users about the dangers of doing so. For other criticisms of the Windows Registry, see: Criticisms of the Windows Registry.
Service Pack problems
Microsoft releases Service PacksService pack
A service pack is a collection of updates, fixes or enhancements to a software program delivered in the form of a single installable package. Many companies, such as Microsoft or Autodesk, typically release a service pack when the number of individual patches to a given program reaches a certain ...
(abbreviated to SP and its version number) to fix many known problems with Windows, using a single installable package. Problems can arise when a user installs a Service Pack for Windows, such as breaking programs,. It is recommended that users back up and be prepared to roll back changes if there are any problems after installing a Service Pack. Microsoft offers a Service Pack blocking tool to temporarily prevent the installation of a Service Pack. This tool is available to users who wish to avoid known problems which are caused by installing a Service Pack.
Digital rights management
Right after the release of Windows VistaWindows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Peter Gutmann
Peter Gutmann (computer scientist)
Peter Gutmann is a computer scientist in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. He has a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Auckland. His Ph.D. thesis and a book based on the thesis were about a cryptographic security architecture...
heavily criticised the digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
(DRM) that had been included in Microsoft Windows to place restrictions on certain types of multimedia playback in an analysis he released in which which he states that:
- The DRM could inadvertently disable functionality.
- A "hardware functionality scan" requirement could potentially shut out open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
hardware. - The hardware architecture made unified drivers impossible.
- Some drivers were buggy.
- If one driver was found to be leaking content, Microsoft could remotely shut that driver down for all computers that used it, leading to denial of serviceDenial-of-service attackA denial-of-service attack or distributed denial-of-service attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users...
(DoS attack) problems. - The DRM decreased system reliability and increased hardware costs.
- Software makers had to license unnecessary third-party intellectual propertyIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
, increasing the costs for their drivers. - The DRM consumed too much CPU and device resources.
The analysis drew responses from Microsoft, where Microsoft states some of the criticized DRM features were already present in Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, and thus proven not to be a problem for customers, and that these features would only be activated when required by the content being played. Other responses came from George Ou of ZDNet and Ed Bott of ZDNet. Ed Bott also published a three-part rebuttal of Peter Gutmanns claims in which he details a number of factual errors in the analysis as well as points out how Peter Gutmann relied on questionable sources (personal blog postings, friends' anecdotal evidence, Google searches) for his analysis paper and never tested his theories himself.
Windows 7 includes the same DRM.
Integration of Internet Explorer into Windows
Starting with Internet Explorer 4Internet Explorer 4
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 is a graphical web browser released in September 1997 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but also with versions available for Apple Mac OS, Solaris, and HP-UX and marketed as "The Web the Way You Want It".It was one of the main participants of the first...
, Internet Explorer integrated into the Windows Shell
Windows Shell
The Windows shell is the main graphical user interface in Microsoft Windows, and since Windows 95 hosted by Windows Explorer. The Windows shell includes well-known Windows components such as the Taskbar and the Start menu...
and with its inclusion in Windows 98
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
cannot be removed without damaging Windows or affecting other programs which depend on Internet Explorer's files. The integration of Internet Explorer in Windows has been criticised because security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer also create security vulnerabilities in Windows, even if the user does not use Internet Explorer as their default web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
.
This lead to the United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft
United States v. Microsoft was a set of civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 Section 1 and 2 on May 8, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states. Joel I. Klein was the lead prosecutor...
court case, which was eventually settled out of court.
In January 2009, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
started to investigate Microsoft's bundling of Internet Explorer into Windows; the Commission stated:
Criticisms that apply only to a specific version of Windows
- For criticism of Windows VistaWindows VistaWindows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, see Criticism of Windows VistaCriticism of Windows VistaWindows Vista, an operating system released by Microsoft in November 2006, has received substantial criticism by reviewers and users. Due to issues with privacy, security, performance, and product activation, Windows Vista has been the subject of a number of negative assessments by various... - For criticism of Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, see Criticism of Windows XP