New edition of Windows 10 turns security nightmares into reality

Windows 10 IoT Core Pro lets thing-makers opt-out of security updates

Microsoft's released a new flavour of Windows 10.

Windows 10 IoT Core Pro is a version of the OS destined for original equipment manufacturers cooking up connected things.

Redmond says the Pro cut's big differentiator is “the ability to defer updates and control distribution of updates through Windows Server Update Services.”

“With these servicing options,” Microsoft's Billy Anders writes “we are bringing flexibility for our partners and customers to help meet their servicing needs while helping ensuring their devices are secure and managed.”

That's a good thing if thing-makers don't implement updates so they can test them and make sure things won't break.

Or not a good thing, if a thing-maker decides to defer updates and therefore deprive things of fixes. And seeing as things are online … you get the rest, starting with the probe for the state of a Windows IoT Core Pro device, the p0wnage that follows and the red faces as someone explains they had a perfectly good reason for turning off security updates.

Thing-makers have a dreadful track record of implementing patches, as the SOHOpeless state of routers and industrial control kit demonstrate.

The vanilla version of Windows 10 IoT Core has also earned some tweaks. There's a new “'direct memory access bus’ driver that gives you the ability to run native code for the significant performance improvements in GPIO.” Raspberry PI 2 owners “now have full support for the TX/RX pins” and support for Realtek Wi-Fi chipsets RTL8188EU and RTL8192EU. For those of you unfamiliar with those chipsets (shame on you) Microsoft says they're used in plenty of USB WiFi dongles, so support means easier wireless connections for things. ®