- Windows 11 24h2 now has better safety levels
- This is due to Microsoft Improvement of the Script engine in the operating system
- Consequently, pirates will have more difficulty discovering and taking advantage of exploits in Windows 11
Windows 11 has just taken a step to tighten safety, but Microsoft only applied that in the latest version, 24h2.
So, if you have not yet upgraded to Windows 11 24h2 – perhaps because you have heard of some of the bugs of this version of the desktop – could be the right time to finally press the trigger (especially since certain clever new features have just arrived).
Neowin reports that Microsoft has announced a switch to the default script engine in Windows 11, from JSCRIPT execution to the new JSRCRT9 elegation.
If it looks like GobbleGook, the long and the short is that it is the engine that executes JSript, Microsoft’s own vision on JavaScript for use in Windows (and Internet Explorer at the time).
All applications or web pages take advantage of JSCRCT will be more efficient with the new version, and security will have a boost – there will be less likely than holes in JSCRICT appear in Windows 11 on which the attackers could capitalize.
Microsoft explains: “JSCRCRT9LEGACY is designed to be more compatible with modern web standards, which helps to mitigate the risk of inter-site (XSS) script and other web attacks.
“The new engine incorporates advanced security features such as improving the management of JavaScript objects and stricter execution policies, which makes it more difficult for malicious scripts to exploit the system.
“By replacing JSCRCT.DLL by JSCRCT9LEGACY.DLL, the operating system can better defend itself against a wider range of security threats, ultimately providing a more secure environment for users.”
Analysis: make life more difficult for pirates
All of this happens in the background, so you will not notice any difference in your experience on the desktop. However, you will be more secure with Windows 11 24h2 now (without doing anything).
As Neowin points out, Windows was vulnerable to the exploits exploited by this script engine in the past – there was a defect which allowed a distant code execution (an attacker performing remotely the code on the host PC at the harmful ends) a year ago. This has been corrected, of course, but having jscript with much stricter defenses by default, so fresh attacks are less likely to succeed in the first place, is obviously very useful.
Thus, Windows 11 24h2 now has stricter security than 23:2 by default, and this is a sufficient reason to consider upgrading if you have been suspended. And I understand why you could also be careful, given the prevalence of fairly unpleasant (and strange) bugs which afflict those who made the jump to 24h2 (especially the players). However, these seeds have settled a little – so it is perfectly possible that you will not meet any stumbling block at this stage.
Of course, at some point, you will have to go to the 24H2 version – Microsoft has recently made the update compulsory. Indeed, Windows 11 25H2 is now on the horizon (exciting the same improvement in the security that we see here, of course).
