Reminder: "Most secure version of Windows ever" is setting a very low bar

Closely on the heels of last week's Windows 11 announcement event, we've received a timely reminder of just how riddled with bugs Windows has actually been for a long time, from Tom Warren at The Verge:

Microsoft is warning Windows users about an unpatched critical flaw in the Windows Print Spooler service. The vulnerability, dubbed PrintNightmare, was uncovered earlier this week after security researchers accidentally published a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit. While Microsoft hasn’t rated the vulnerability, it allows attackers to remotely execute code with system-level privileges, which is as critical and problematic as you can get in Windows.

[...]

Microsoft admits “the code that contains the vulnerability is in all versions of Windows,” but it’s not clear if it’s exploitable beyond server versions of Windows. The Print Spooler service runs by default on Windows, including on client versions of the OS, Domain Controllers, and many Windows Server instances, too.

Microsoft is working on a patch, but until it’s available the company recommends disabling the Windows Print Spooler service (if that’s an option for businesses), or disabling inbound remote printing through Group Policy. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has recommended that admins “disable the Windows Print Spooler service in Domain Controllers and systems that do not print.”

This isn't the first time that a long-standing vulnerability of Windows has come to light over the last few years (see here, or here, for other examples), but it does come at a particularly awkward time for Microsoft. Windows 11's announcement wasn't met with the kind of rapturous universal acclaim that I think Redmond were expecting, and additional reminders of just how secure Windows isn't couldn't come at a worse time.

In case you were wondering, the most secure desktop PC OS is actually Linux. If you're a gamer with a Steam library, and also security conscious, I'd recommend Pop!_OS, the 21.04 version of which was released just days ago with its most user-friendly UI ever, including a "front and center" task bar launcher. Kinda like the one which Windows 11 will include, when it finally exits beta in 2022. Just sayin'.