Microsoft Sign

In a break from tradition, a recent Microsoft updated removed, or deprecated, code in older Windows platforms that had to do with the Indeo Video Codec. Microsoft chose to disable the utilization of this codec instead of patching it to fix some recently discovered security vulnerabilities.

Last year, Microsoft took a similar measure regarding a flaw that was discovered in its Windows 2000 Server’s implementation of TCP/IP, but in that case, Microsoft simply chose to do nothing, which leaves these systems vulnerable.

These actions are siginificant in that Microsoft has always tried to patch the holes that were found in its software and make everything work together. They have always chosen to make their products backwards compatible with older versions of software, but these actions may signal that the software company may be softening this policy.