Batu69 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 It's always annoying when your PC crashes, but it's that little bit more frustrating when you have no idea why it's done so. Even the updated Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) in Windows 10 - with its empathetic sad face - isn't especially helpful for general users, who are simply told to search for error codes such as "BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO" or "KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR". Users without deep technical knowledge would probably just chuck those terms into a Google search, and end up being overwhelmed by inconsistent and not-always-useful results. It seems that Microsoft is aware that this is an area in which there's room for some improvement - and as MicrosoftInsider.es reports, the company is experimenting with a change that could simplify the process of diagnosing and fixing issues that cause system crashes. As the image above shows, the BSOD looks broadly familiar, but the lower half includes a few changes. The new smaller text reads: Quote For more information about this issue and possible fixes, visit: http://windows.com/stopcode If you call a support person, give them this info: Stop code: BAD_POOL_HEADER But of course, the most noticeable addition there is the QR code, which is ostensibly intended to offer users a fast-track solution to get the support they need on a secondary device like a smartphone or tablet. A further example, shown in a VM, was posted on Reddit a few days ago by user 'javelinnl': In both of these examples, the QR code simply directs the user to the same windows.com/stopcode URL, which resolves to this page, a generic resource for 'troubleshooting blue screen errors'. However, it's not hard to imagine Microsoft providing alternative QR codes that can take the user directly to the precise resources needed to troubleshoot the specific issue that caused their PC to crash, helping them to diagnose and resolve the problem far more easily than before. Source: MicrosoftInsider.es / Reddit Article source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batu69 Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 Windows 10 debuts Blue QR Code of Death – and why malware will love it Interesting idea but we can imagine the downside Quote 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straycat19 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Just what Windows 10 needs is more crap. 99% of the time nothing on Microsoft's site helps fix a bsod anyway. Normal troubleshooting starting with a search of the bsod error message is the fastest way to get to the root of the problem and the fix. 14 minutes ago, Batu69 said: 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. I would like to see this as an actual exploit. Just so I can sit here and laugh my ass off at the stupidity of Microsoft and Microsoft's self proclaimed "Most Secure Windows Ever!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CODYQX4 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Here let me download their shit app so I can get useless information on a smaller screen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haxzion Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 This could have been a great joke for April fool's day and it would make sense but right now it doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macnavarra Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 maybe MS want´s to drop werfault.exe. or minimize werfault.exe hits on there support servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1v1n3D Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 17 hours ago, Batu69 said: Windows 10 debuts Blue QR Code of Death – and why malware will love it Interesting idea but we can imagine the downside it would have to be an exploit for either Android or ios since this would be the devices used to scan this code. Or unless they spent the money on a surface then I think it is the owners fault at that point, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrEzi Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Now --- what they are still missing is an additional QR-Code for a free downgrade coupon for Windows 7 (or "tweaked" Win8.1). //sarcasm off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RejZoR Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Nice idea indeed. I wonder why it took this long for this to happen in the first place considering how long we already use QR codes... Then again, there is an issue of what Batu69 said... a very legitimate issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted April 13, 2016 Administrator Share Posted April 13, 2016 2 hours ago, RejZoR said: Nice idea indeed. I wonder why it took this long for this to happen in the first place considering how long we already use QR codes... Then again, there is an issue of what Batu69 said... a very legitimate issue. Looks I'm not the only one who thinks the idea is good. But yeah, the security issue needs to be fixed somehow by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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