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We'd be screwed without it though. Their views on tech companies is such a small part of what they do, you should realise that.
Why would we be screwed? We were screwed before these rules? Are we screwed now after this outage?

If your answer to the last question is "yes," then while it can be debated whether the EU caused or contributed to this problem, it's beyond debate they didn't prevent it.

CrowdStrike has already been busy figuring out what they screwed up and how to prevent it from happening again. Their competitors are already ready to capitalize on this screwup and offer their alternative. Some of the affected companies likely already installed, or are planning on installing, these alternatives.

All of that is already underway, even before the first EU MEP or US Congressman angrily grills CrowdStrike execs to demand answers! and seek assurances that this will never happen again!

It's fair to point out that markets didn't prevent this from happening, either, by they are already addressing it and would address it with or without the EU.
 
Why would we be screwed? We were screwed before these rules? Are we screwed now after this outage?

If your answer to the last question is "yes," then while it can be debated whether the EU caused or contributed to this problem, it's beyond debate they didn't prevent it.

CrowdStrike has already been busy figuring out what they screwed up and how to prevent it from happening again. Their competitors are already ready to capitalize on this screwup and offer their alternative. Some of the affected companies likely already installed, or are planning on installing, these alternatives.

All of that is already underway, even before the first EU MEP or US Congressman angrily grills CrowdStrike execs to demand answers! and seek assurances that this will never happen again!

It's fair to point out that markets didn't prevent this from happening, either, by they are already addressing it and would address it with or without the EU.
I said we'd be screwed without the EU. This is like less than 1% of all the things the EU does, but people (especially those not living in Europe) like to think the EU is a meddling governmental body that only makes tech rules.
The EU brought a huge amount of prosperity to their member states, freedom of movement, freedom of coorperation etc.
 
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Only 1% of windows machines were affected and yet airports all over the world were brought to their knees? Dang!
CrowdStrike's software is extremely expensive but considered among the best in the industry. It's overkill both in terms of cost and use case for most consumers and small/medium sized businesses, and is instead used heavily by large businesses to secure mission critical systems. That's why 1% of computers had such an outsized impact.
 
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Or, I don’t know, maybe do not allow kernel access to any app, like Mac OS. A very similar update in Windows Defender could have caused a crash as well. Just an unsafe practice. It is pathetic blame game from Microsoft.

The kernel developer having preferential access to the kernel itself seems perfectly reasonable to me. If it were a Defender crash, then MS would have to answer for it-- but it wasn't a Defender crash.

But EU = bad is popular here.

You might think so if you're particularly sensitive to opposing points of view. Even in this thread pointing to the failures of government interference, you're finding some very outspoken support for EU meddling.
 
It's cheap even for Microsofts already low standards. If you have no idea what you are doing and produce one cluster **** after another, just blame the lawmakers who have nothing to do with the problem at hand in the first place.

There is a simple solution: Create secure software and follow the laws of the country you try to do business in. 🤷‍♂️
 
Ok but the last time I looked, windows 11 was an utter mess that still allows crappy software written in the 00s to run, with all the compromises to stability that you might expect.
 
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I love my Mac so I don’t have a windows machine. I don’t plan on ever getting one if Mac Gaming works out. Even then, I could just get a Steam Deck
 
1) I don't see why it's Microsoft's fault for what happened with a third party vendor.

2) In a sense, this argument is reminiscent of anti-virus software complaining that their apps are not available on iOS, when the reality is that the design of iOS makes the need for their services redundant in the first place. A corollary would be someone like McAfee complaining to the EU that Apple should deliberately weaken the security of their devices and allow viruses and malware onto their platform just so said companies can have a viable business model.

You can see how ridiculous an argument it would be. It would be like expecting the government of a country to make a particular narcotic legal just so you can sell it in their country, while also expecting them to manage the fallout from drug addiction, and simultaneously blaming them for the social problems that ensue.

Which is precisely how all this began in the first place. Symantec filed a complaint with the EU about Microsoft wanting to block off kernel-level access some time prior to 2009 (because it threatened their business model), and Microsoft backed off. As a result, Microsoft was never allowed to implement the shift in security that it knew was necessary two decades ago.

3) In light of this, I wonder if it is feasible for Microsoft to consider creating a forked version of Windows just for the EU (where kernel level access is available to third parties) and blocking this for everyone else in the world. Let the EU have their "competition" in their own region. You also confine the risk of "crowdstrike 2.0" to the EU. Sure, it also risks devastating a lot of businesses (remember that for all the problems caused by this 1 company, it represented only 1% of all windows PCs worldwide) because it may not be financially feasible to serve just one region in the entire world.

But I don't work for any of these businesses, and it seems like they exist only because of a vulnerability in the OS caused by an anti-competitive ruling from the EU some 15 years ago. There is simply no reason why a law affecting only devices within the borders of the EU should apply to the rest of the entire world. If the EU wants to legislate something, it should (rightfully) start and stop at their borders.

But I think as what Apple is proving now, regulators need to understand that everything is a tradeoff. They wanted to create new markets by limiting what Windows could do with their OS, but at what cost?
 
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The EU drove the policy that if the kernel vendor has access then everyone should
There are tons of kernel-level drivers provides by hundreds or thousands of vendors.
Including computer games, such as for anti-cheat drivers.
In fact, just read what the first googleable such anti-cheat driver has to say about it:

"Developing an esports anti-cheat that depends on cheaters making mistakes or requires shipping exploits in commercial software is not in line with Denuvo’s values, and thus we have opted to deliver our security in the kernel, as recommended by Microsoft."

https://irdeto.com/denuvo/qa-about-denuvo-anti-cheat-and-windows-kernel-mode-drivers


As to the danger of kernel-level drivers, yes, they can be dangerous.
As you can also read that straight from the source:

"a kernel-mode driver isn't isolated from other drivers or the operating system. If a kernel-mode driver mistakenly writes to the wrong virtual address, it could compromise data belonging to the operating system or another driver. If a kernel-mode driver crashes, it causes the entire operating system to crash."

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/gettingstarted/user-mode-and-kernel-mode
 
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That’s a reach, Microsoft. The EU has no problem with security, just anti-competitive behaviour. The two are not equivalent.
You assume the "EU" can draw that distinction on a technical and enforcement level. They probably cannot.
 
3) In light of this, I wonder if it is feasible for Microsoft to consider creating a forked version of Windows just for the EU (where kernel level access is available to third parties) and blocking this for everyone else in the world. Let the EU have their "competition" in their own region. You also confine the risk of "crowdstrike 2.0" to the EU. Sure, it also risks devastating a lot of businesses (remember that for all the problems caused by this 1 company, it represented only 1% of all windows PCs worldwide) because it may not be financially feasible to serve just one region in the entire world.
Microsoft are not blocking it for everyone else in the world.

They're allowing it to everyone and their kitchen sink drivers.
Even recommending it, according to gaming anti-cheat vendors (see above).
 
Apple puts the United Kingdom in the same brackets as the EU - even though we are not part of the EU anymore - it's not right
 
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