Hacking. Disinformation. Surveillance. CYBER is Motherboard’s podcast and reporting on the dark underbelly of the internet.
An operating system marketed to gamers disables a host of Windows security features enticing users with promises of a smooth gaming experience which they may not realize is opening them up to potential attack.
“This is horrible,” Alex Ionescu, an established Windows security expert, said in an online chat after Motherboard showed them the operating system, called AtlasOS.
AtlasOS describes itself as a “transparent and streamlined modification of Windows,” according to the project’s website. The idea is that a default installation of Windows may not provide a satisfactory or optimal level of performance for people who play video games. In response, AtlasOS aims to “maximize performance” and result in higher frame rates while gaming, according to the website.
Advertisement
Do you know anything else about a new threat to Windows security? We’d love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.
“Overall, Atlas aims to bring more of a favour towards performance and usability compared to security,” developers for AtlasOS told Motherboard in an online chat. “However, we are working on making it as customisable as possible, as we understand the importance of security.”
Those tweaks include stripping out Windows Defender, according to AtlasOS. Windows Defender is Window’s antivirus
Read more