Windows XP | Windows Server 2003 source code leaks online | 4chan
Microsoft's long-lived operating system Windows XP—that still powers over 1% of all laptops and desktop computers worldwide—has had its source code leaked online, allegedly, along with Windows Server 2003.
The source code for Microsoft's 19-year-old operating system was published as a torrent file on notorious bulletin board website 4chan, and it's for the very first time when source code for Microsoft's operating system has been leaked to the public.
This latest XP leak isn’t the first time Microsoft’s operating system source code has appeared online. At least 1GB of Windows 10-related source code leaked a few years ago, and Microsoft has even faced a series of Xbox-related source code leaks this year. Original Xbox and Windows NT 3.5 source code appeared online back in May, just weeks after Xbox Series X graphics source code was stolen and leaked online.
- Windows 2000
- Windows CE 3
- Windows CE 4
- Windows CE 5
- Windows Embedded 7
- Windows Embedded CE
- Windows NT 3.5
- Windows NT 4
- MS-DOS 3.30
- MS-DOS 6.0
So, the leaker decided to share the source code to the public, saying that "information should be free and available to everyone."
"I created this torrent for the community, as I believe information should be free and available to everyone, and hoarding information for oneself and keeping it secret is an evil act in my opinion," the leaker said, adding that the company "claims to love open source so then I guess they'll love how open this source code is now that it's passed around on BitTorrent."
Besides containing source code, the torrent also includes a media folder (files and videos) related to conspiracy theories about Bill Gates.
The leaked source code should not come as a surprise as Microsoft does have a history of providing its OS source code to governments worldwide via a special Government Security Program (GSP) the company runs that allows governments and organizations controlled access to the source code.
Microsoft ended its support for Windows XP back in 2014, so its source code leak doesn't make the systems running the outdated OS version more of a target, because there's probably a ton of other unpatched vulnerabilities already exist. So hackers may find malware software for that source code and may threat for your system
Windows XP source code still present in Windows 10 can allow hackers to target newer versions of Windows operating system altogether, which would be a real threat to billions of users.
Jai Hind 😊
