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[winjer]

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-is-raising-the-bar-and-making-major-changes-to-how-drivers-are-built-and-verified-on-windows-11-heres-the-important-details

Microsoft has announced that it's making changes to how Windows drivers are built and signed, extending its new driver resiliency playbook beyond just anti-virus makers in an effort to ensure drivers are safe, secure, and more reliable.

The most important change is that going forward, signed drivers will have to meet a higher security and resiliency bar, passing many new certification tests. Microsoft also says that it expects to see a significant reduction in code that runs in kernel mode over the coming years, including drivers that deal with networking, cameras, USB, printers, storage, and more.

The company also says that Windows is gaining an expanded set of in-box drivers and APIs, which should allow OEM partners to replace their custom or proprietary kernel-level drivers with standardized Windows drivers, which should help stabilize the OS and also has the added benefit of less overall system bloat.

Here's the rundown of the changes being made to Windows drivers:

• Driver signing will require a higher security and resiliency bar with many new certification tests.
• We are expanding Microsoft-provided Windows in-box drivers and APIs so partners can replace many custom kernel drivers with standardized Windows drivers or move logic to user mode.
• Over the coming years, we expect a significant reduction in code that runs in kernel mode across driver classes such as networking, cameras, USB, printers, batteries, storage and audio.

Microsoft says that Windows will continue to support third-party kernel mode drivers, and that it will not limit partners from innovating where Windows doesn't have in-box drivers. Graphics drivers will continue to operate in kernel mode, for example.

"For kernel-mode drivers, we're adding practical guardrails that improve quality and contain faults before they become outages. These include new mandatory compiler safeguards to constrain driver behavior, driver isolation to limit blast radius, and DMA-remapping to prevent accidental driver access to kernel memory."

For the most part, seems like a good improvement for how drivers are implemented in Windows, making it safer and more stable.
But, I bet that the kernel driver mode will eventually be removed and older devices, which no longer have new driver support, will just stop working.

 

[LordCBH]

Can't wait to see how this absolutely breaks Windows.

 

[Wolzard]

Can't wait to see how this absolutely breaks Windows.

It's going to break, every time they mess with it, something breaks. Usually, a lot of devices stop working.

 

[Punished Miku]

Xbox will be able to send screenshots to your office printer. Calling it now.

 

[adamsapple]

and also has the added benefit of less overall system bloat.

 

[RCX]

"and also has the added benefit of less overall system bloat."

 

[DenchDeckard]

There is a shift happening. I honestly feel MS are going to have to step up and invest to make windows great, or we will just all move on. A change could be just what we all need.

It's up to them to retain us. Hopefully Linux distos get more and more support and delivers what we want.