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Microsoft Operating Systems Security

No Known Ransomware Works Against Windows 10 S, Says Microsoft (betanews.com) 160

Posted by msmash from the comforting-news dept.
An anonymous reader shares a report: According to Microsoft, "no Windows 10 customers were known to be compromised by the recent WannaCry (WannaCrypt) global cyberattack." That's great news for anyone running the latest version of the OS, and the software giant says it is working to ensure Windows 10 remains safe from other future attacks. However, if you want to guarantee your safety from ransomware, then Microsoft points out there's an even more secure option to consider -- Windows 10 S. The new, hardened Windows 10 variant only runs apps from the Windows Store, which means it can't run programs from outside Microsoft's ecosystem, and that includes malware. Which is why, as Microsoft says, "No known ransomware works against Windows 10 S."
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No Known Ransomware Works Against Windows 10 S, Says Microsoft More

No Known Ransomware Works Against Windows 10 S, Says Microsoft

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  • Oh yeah (Score:2, Insightful)

    by ArchieBunker ( 132337 )

    Jailbroken and rooted phones say otherwise.

    • Jailbroken and rooted phones say otherwise.

      But jail-breaking and rooting, that's not "ransomwear".

      In any case there are significant differences between the phone OS and the desktop OS, just because they both share the same basic name doesn't mean one hack works on the other

    • They prolly said the same thing about unreleased XP.

  • Neither do the applications (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    None of the applications I regularly use are supported on Win10 S, so I guess it's as useless for me as it is for the ransomware developers.....

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      The most secure system is one that nobody can access

      • Back in the day when MacOS 9 was still non-multitasking the US Army ran their webserver on it with the assumption that if you can't log in to the machine remotely (the server did not support SSH, telnet or anything else) you can't hack it. Apparently it worked for them.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gtall ( 79522 )

        And the most useless.

    • I have the most secure operating system ever. It does nothing but play minesweeper. Internet connections automatically fail to protect the system integrity. The OS and the single minesweeper application are stored in ROM and cannot be modified either with or without a password.

      This is more secure than Windows 10 S and slightly more useless.

    • I'm with you on that... of course, I see this as a huge advantage. :)

      Here's my evil plan!

      1) Install Windows 10 S on the system
      2) Install Hyper-V on Windows 10 S (hopefully this is allowed)
      3) Configure RemoteFX graphics so I can run the Guest VM with good performance
      4) Setup a SMB share with an ACL only accessible by the Guest VM on the host
      5) Install Windows 10 Professional as the guest
      6) Run Windows Update.
      7) Install Office, Visual Studio, Docker, Linux Subsystem, some other crap as well.
      8) Snapshop the VM

    • Re:Neither do the applications (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Flea of Pain ( 1577213 ) on Friday June 09, 2017 @08:54AM (#54584587)

      I just assumed Microsoft deleted their database on known ransomware so they could claim that no KNOWN ransomware works.

  • None? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Carnildo ( 712617 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:00PM (#54580927) Homepage Journal

    I believe the correct response to this is "Challenge Accepted".

    • I agree. I remember when Crapple came out and said that viruses n such were a Windows problem and tooted their horn. Week later all these viruses for Mac popped up and they began crying

    • No known ransomware runs on my pet rock, either.

    • It's not much of a challenge. That's like betting someone you can buy a bag of chips from a vending machine.

  • Also.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Groo Wanderer ( 180806 ) <charlie@@@semiaccurate...com> on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:01PM (#54580933) Homepage

    Also, no known useful software works on Windows 10 S either. Quite the tradeoff.

    Before you scoff at this as random trolling, think about what the odds are that Adobe, Autocad, and any real software packages are going to take a 30% haircut required by the MS store to run on this turkey. Sure MS programs will be there but Steam worn't be, nor will much else useful other than a sub-section of Windows Phone apps.

    But no malware as of today will run. They said the same thing about Windows 8.x upon release. And Windows 7, and.....

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Photoshop Elements 15 is already available on there

    • Re:Also.... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @07:20PM (#54581371) Homepage

      Windows 10S is ransomware, why would it let other ransomware run. It's like kidnappers, allowing other people who claim to be the kidnappers, getting the ranson and make no mistake, M$ is kidnapping your digital life with windows 10$ and holding it to ransom, pay or lose it.

      M$ knows most consumers dislike them, just buy their gear because of existing lock in and now seeing that it is their only source of customers, they are attempting to force more people into the XBox domain. Seriously gullible idiots, who are paying to hand over control of their computer and their digital life to one corruptly monopolistic corporation, how popular is M$, just look at the lose phone (calling a winphone would be a lie).

      Yet the moronic fuckwits, rather than reforming and trying to become a better supplier and regain popularity, is simply trying to force more lock in, to extort it's customer base, either sign and pay for life or be cut off. It looks like people are preferring to be cut off.

      • This is what Apple calls duplicating functionality in its own store rules.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        "M$ knows most consumers dislike them"
        Consumers don't give MS a second thought. They don't care about the OS they are running. They actually use their computer to run applications. They don't sit around nitpicking every perceived flaw in the underlying OS. MS discontinued their phone development because they are making more money from the patent licensing fees they receive on every Android device sold. And now they are doing something that is going to piss off the crusading MS haters. They are in the proces

      • Irrelevant when your entire customer base suffers from Stockholm syndrome.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Windows 10 S sounds about as useless as the Windows surface RT that I was given, for free, as payment for work done. I sold it for $100. Had a lovely screen, great battery life, and just SO much potential. But, at the end of the day, the ONLY useful program on it was OneNote. And I already have that on my phone and other devices.

      Useless. Useless. Useless. So much potential. Couldn't even run OpenVPN. Come on, Microsoft. You're trying to turn the world into a walled garden like iPhone and Android. The thing

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 )

      Before you scoff at this as random trolling, think about what the odds are that Adobe, Autocad, and any real software packages are going to take a 30% haircut required by the MS store to run on this turkey. Sure MS programs will be there but Steam worn't be, nor will much else useful other than a sub-section of Windows Phone apps.

      adobe and others already moved to subscription as a pre-emptive move during windows 8 launch. they saw it coming and did that.

      and that did put a little damper on MS. it wasn't a secret that all the pushing of the unfinished win8 store and metro apps was fueled by the hope that they could get 30 percent of all desktop sw.

    • What is stopping Microsoft from giving a special deal to Adobe et al.? They could let the big guys in free... Wouldn't even need to be all of them, just enough to jump start their app market. The little guys would often, I think, be willing to pay for the exposure, for access to that market. Why I think this hasn't happened is because stuff like Premier and AutoCAD isn't what the average computer runs. Those generally run on "workstations" in an office somewhere, where they are already paying MS directly f
  • "Challenge accepted!" -PLA Unit 61398, Fancy Bear, Bureau 121

  • Yeah but nobody wants to USE Windows 10 S! (Score:3)

    by Chas ( 5144 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:08PM (#54580967) Homepage Journal

    Because the amount of software that works on Windows 10 S bites syphilitic camel wang.

  • S for S*** Commodore 64 was not affected either.

  • well.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:10PM (#54580977)
    No known ransomware works on a TURD, either.

  • Yes there is (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    It's called Windows Update

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:15PM (#54581003)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • That was my first thought too. Linux has a fantastic protection scheme offered by the fact that it's different and that it is a small and not very valuable attack surface for desktop users.

      Windows 10S currently is the same. Will it still be the same this time next year? Well I hope so because the idea of locked down OSes should fail and die, but if it does become popular let's see how long it stays malware free.

  • Key Word (Score:3)

    by amiga3D ( 567632 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:16PM (#54581007)

    Known is the key word here. It's not the problems you know about, it's the ones you don't that get you.

  • So, let me get this straight... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:20PM (#54581027)

    If the S version is supposedly better, why offer a $50 "upgrade" to the less secure non-S version? You can't have it both ways. Either you own your walled garden or you accept your open platform. You can't offer an upgrade to a version you're claiming is superior.

    Moreover, they're basically arguing that their software is more secure because it's hobbled by design. A rock is similarly secure against WannaCry, but that doesn't mean it's actually useful for everyday computing tasks.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by aliquis ( 678370 )

      A rock is similarly secure against WannaCry

      Just as any liberal is secure against any counter-arguments, because <BLOCKED>

    • You can't offer an upgrade to a version you're claiming is superior

      Aside from the typo in that sentence, of course you can. "Superior" is not an absolute for an entire package. It depends highly on a use case. The most secure OS in the world can be free and I still won't consider it superior most likely because I won't be able to do anything with it.

  • ... this is like Alberta claiming they "don't have any rats" LOL

  • the other shoe drops (Score:3)

    by beckett ( 27524 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:25PM (#54581057) Homepage Journal
    Windows 10S is the ransomware.
  • That's easy when No Known Software Works In Windows 10 S. Time will tell. However if no malware breaks into Windows 10 S in the future, will this end up being the most secure OS to run on the desktop?

  • I tried to convert back to Windows 7, but none of the tools would do that for me.

    Just kidding. I never changed to Windows 10 in the first place

  • I've yet to encounter any ransomware on my stone tablets either. And the charge lasts a damn long time. I'm not sure when they were plugged in last, it was before I was born and I haven't had to charge them yet. They are kind of old, so a little dim to use in in the dark, but I never have issues with them being washed out in the sun, and there's never any glare on the screen. Plus they are fairly durable. I dropped large plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce on one, so I powered it down and put it in the dis

  • 10S, a push to education, doomed to fail?? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by labnet ( 457441 ) on Thursday June 08, 2017 @06:33PM (#54581107)

    Windows 10 S is clearly a push into the education market: but google has has had Chrome For Education for several years now: and the big advantage of Chrome Management Console (CMC) is it being active directory in the cloud done right. CMC makes it super easy to lock down, manage and update education targeted computers (it's also great for digital signage)
    I haven't used Azure AD, so it would be interesting if any /.ers have a comparison of the two systems.

    Apple had an awesome opportunity here after they created a whole new locked to a store OS niche, but never capitalised on it by giving schools the tools to manage the platform.

    Now the only reason PC's are still selling, are office and legacy programs. Think custom business programs written in .NET and specialised CAD/CAM software. MS have lost the first mover advantage to chrome, and I doubt this move will get it back.

    • I regularly use exactly two programs for which I still need Windows. (I don't consider Apple a contender because of hardware lock-in and boutique pricing.) Neither of them are Office -- there are already reasonable alternatives for that. The moment Lightroom and Photoshop are available on Chrome or Mint, Microsoft has seen the last of me. (There are things called "lightroom" and "photoshop" on Android, but they're still mostly toys.) Apple saw the last of me some years ago, when I finally retired the G

  • Apple says
    no mac is infected by wannacry

    • Macs can dual boot. I'm sure there is at least one mac user who had WannaCry hit their Windows version, and it encrypted the data files on their OSX partition.

  • "No known ransomware works against Windows 10 S."

    Until the moment ransomware gets snuck into the Windows Store. Which, if it hasn't happened already, will probably be next Thursday.

  • Microsoft has invested in technology to avoid knowing any thing about malware, ransomware etc. So it will not know any ransomware ever. So, for ever, it can honestly say, "No ransomware known to me will work in Windows 10"
  • i am sure some clever hacker will make you eat those words, and win_10 will be dinner for the black_hats until you make a fix, but like with all your 20+ years of history with windows software it is always playing catch-up with the latest vulnerability

  • "No known ransomware works against Windows 10 S."

    Read: "No one can compete with us on our home turf."

  • MS likes to invite trouble??!!

  • "Challenge accepted" ....said the 12 year old Lithuanian kid in his mom's basement. Expect ReallyWannaCry S Edition in weeks.

  • Pretty much by default, if software is known to be ransomware, Microsoft will remove it from the store. Thus, no known ransomware is on the store.

    It's the unknown stuff that's the problem. It won't be known until after the timebomb has been released and the damage is done.

    Gotta love word salad and technicalities.

  • Malware is a business. For the same reason there is no malware working on some obscure NeXT clone OS, it doesn't work on Windows 10S: Why bother writing malware for a system nobody uses?

  • can't run programs outside store? (Score:3)

    by sad_ ( 7868 ) on Friday June 09, 2017 @05:47AM (#54583733) Homepage

    you can browse the web right? because it has the edge browser (you know, the most secure browser of the big 3).
    sure, edge might run in a container or something similar, and those are secure, right?
    better read up on the last pwn2own - https://arstechnica.com/securi... [arstechnica.com]

  • They made sure that no known *software* will run on Windows 10 S, so obviously Wannacry won't run.

    The next generation of Wannacry though, is another story. Someone just has to use a fraudulent code signing certificate or whatever else Microsoft does with their store apps, or somehow masquerades as another application, and we're back to status quo.

  • Whichever M$ employee who wrote that press release will be looking for a new job when the "Challenge accepted" group goes berserk to prove him wrong. And they give the reason that M$ needed to be taught a lesson (again).

    Anyone looking for a cheap ex-M$ marketing person?

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