Microsoft has opened up more and more towards open source in recent years, but one thing is and remains rather taboo: the Windows source code. Now the source code of Windows XP and a few other products have allegedly leaked.
Windows is of course that product that represents Microsoft like no other. Windows XP, which was released 19 years ago today, has not been supported for many years (more precisely since April 8, 2014), but the source code is still under lock and key, or rather not completely public.
This is because old versions of Windows contain code components that are still used today or have been further developed, as well as the fact that viewing the source code would pose a security problem.
As Windows Central reports, the Windows XP source code should now have appeared online. Caution is advised especially because of the leak source because the links to the archives have been distributed on 4chan. Not only Windows XP appeared there, but also Windows NT 3.5 and the source code for the first Xbox. The latter two came to the surface for the first time last May.
Despite the rather dubious source – the authenticity was also discussed on 4chan – security researchers have set about checking the code. And the initial opinions on this are that the Windows XP SP1 source code looks legitimate. That could change, however, if “digging” deeper.
Assuming the code leak is real, this could be a problem for users who still use Windows XP, because such a source code leak is a treasure trove for attackers. But there are no longer too many, according to the latest figures from NetMarketShare, XP is only used by 0.78 percent of users worldwide. The leak should therefore not be too momentous. In addition, Microsoft has made the source code available to governments and university researchers in the past. The XP source code would be publicly available for the first time.
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