Microsoft wants to modernize its Windows operating system at all costs, and to do this, the company is gradually eliminating certain old services which are no longer considered safe or necessary.
In a recent update to the official Windows 10 and Windows 11 documentation, Microsoft detailed the removal of three old servicesthus marking the end of an era for these features appreciated by some users.
The removal of these services follows the recent abandonment of WordPad, which had survived nearly 28 years on the operating system. Microsoft also announced the end of two applications, Maps and Movies & TV, which were no longer used much. Microsoft therefore really seems to want to clean up its OS.
Microsoft separates from three other services on Windows
Among the abandoned services, we find Computer Browser. The latter has been around for a while now, with its roots dating back to the days of MS-DOS. It was designed to locate devices on a network, but over time it has become outdated and, above all, insecure. As a result, Microsoft has disabled the Computer Browser service by default in Windows 10, coinciding with the removal of the SMB1 service.
Microsoft will also separate from web servicet, which facilitates WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) operations. Unlike other services, the Webclient service is not launched by default in Windows. Although it is loved by some users, Microsoft has decided that it is time to abandon it.
Finally, note the disappearance of Remote Mailslots, a protocol now considered a relic of the past, dating from the MS-DOS era. This was a simple and insecure method of interprocess communication (IPC). As part of its commitment to improving security and reliability, Microsoft has disabled the Remote Mailslot protocol by default in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build.
For those who plan to upgrade to Windows 10 and 11 and were still using these systems, they will now have to look for alternatives. It is important to note that these features have not yet been removed, but simply abandoned. This means that they will continue to be present in Windows for the time being, but that Microsoft will not add new features to them or actively support them. These can now disappear for good at any time.