Gadgets Smadgets

[Tunnelcat]

Another Microsoft useful "feature" bites the dust because it's become yet another security risk. It looks like they even shut down their gadget webpage for good.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Micro ... sk-643712/

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/secu ... ry/2719662

Unfortunately, if you have the lame Home versions of Windows 7, you have to use their "fix it for me" method. Above that, you have access to your Group Policy Editor.

[Sirius]

This is a head-scratcher... they just discovered this? I'd figured gadgets were not sandboxed, which gives all the potential security issues of regular desktop applications: if it's a trojan horse, yeah, obviously it can take over your system; and if it has vulnerabilities, they'll be like a web browser or Acrobat or anything else - if they can be exploited, the attacker can do all the usual stuff with them.

Though it was pretty clear gadgets were going nowhere, especially after Windows 7. Unfortunately the Win8 start screen is not really a replacement (unless you have a monitor dedicated to it, but who would?).

[snoopy]

I *almost* feel bad for Microsoft at this point. They made a poor decision way back when (assuming that machine would be essentially a single-user device), and are still paying the price.

I wonder how much money Microsoft has lost over user-rights related security issues?

[Grendel]

they just discovered this?

No. "Gadgets installed from untrusted sources can harm your computer and can access your computer's files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time, Microsoft stated in its security advisory, posted July 10." -- just like ANY software from untrusted sources. As usual, use common sense. Also:

Microsoft closed the Windows Live Gallery at which users could select Gadgets to run in Sidebar in 2011.

[TigerRaptor]

Meh. What isn't a security risk these days. I'm still keeping mine.