Microsoft has announced a new initiative to periodically remove legacy drivers from the Windows Update catalog to reduce security risks and improve compatibility across Windows devices.
According to the company, this cleanup will start by removing older drivers that already have newer replacements published on Windows Update. The process involves expiring these legacy drivers by removing their audience assignments in the Hardware Development Center, which prevents them from being offered to Windows systems.
“This proactive measure aims to safeguard security and improve driver quality for Windows users,” Microsoft said. The company emphasized that this will become a routine practice, with new publishing guidelines coming to help keep Windows devices secure and reliable.
Microsoft also clarified that hardware partners can still republish removed drivers if they present a justifiable business need, ensuring critical device support is maintained.
This announcement comes amid other recent security efforts from Microsoft, including changes to pre-production driver signing in response to certificate authority expirations, and enhanced security defaults for Windows 365 Cloud PCs and Microsoft 365 tenants to block legacy authentication protocols.
Windows users and IT administrators should prepare for these ongoing driver cleanups to maintain system stability and security in the evolving Windows ecosystem.
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