As Microsoft continues to implement AI features on users of its Windows operating system and other critical software, serious issues continue to emerge. Executives have promised to turn the platform into an “agent OS”, disappointing many users, something CEO Satya Nadella has boasted about the company Code is now being written by AI – Condemning those who use the newly coined derogatory term “microslop”.
While new bugs are certainly common in operating system software updates, some people have noticed that the problem getting worse More than usual these days. Just last month, some Windows 11 Enterprise users were alarmed to find that their systems were stuck in an endless shutdown loop, a security risk Abandoned if ignored.
Even the company’s Notepad app, which once allowed users to write notes in plain text, has turned into a bloated, AI-enhanced security liability. Collectively as malware researchers found vx-undergroundThe app has a “remote code execution zero-day” – meaning a vulnerability in the software that is unknown even to its creators.
according to Microsoft documentation of the bug“Inappropriate disassembly of special elements used in a command (‘command injection’) in the Windows Notepad app could allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute code over the network.”
“An attacker could trick a user into clicking a malicious link inside a Markdown file opened in Notepad, causing the application to launch unverified protocols that load and execute remote files,” the document reads. (Markdown is a language for formatting text.)
While the bug was patched in Microsoft’s monthly security updates, it’s another example of a tech company pushing AI features on its customers against their will — with potentially disastrous consequences. Case in point, Microsoft’s AI “Recall” feature, which was designed to silently take screenshots of users’ screens every few seconds, turned into a huge security nightmare in late 2024, forcing the Windows team to go back to the drawing board. Although it was pushed to users in mid-2025, experts continue to warn that it is a privacy nightmare And too risky to use.
The latest Notepad bug is symptomatic of a much bigger struggle for the tech giant. last week, wall street journal published an investigationQuoting current and former employees who found that Microsoft’s confusing branding and lack of cohesion between its AI products has left users frustrated and disappointed. What’s worse, the adoption rate of its Copilot AI chatbot, which was included in Windows 11, is extremely low, indicating a significant lack of public enthusiasm for the flagship feature.
For VX-Underground, the latest Notepad vulnerability is a great example of mission creep for an app that once performed a very simple function.
“Hot Take: Text editors don’t need network functionality,” the collective argued do.
Others seemed to agree with that assessment.
“Notepad (remote code execution) in 2026?”. Account of digital security firm Secure.com replied. “We’re actually weaponizing the .txt file here because we had to have AI in our native editor.”
The account further said, “If your text editor has enough network functionality to trigger a remote shell, you are basically creating a playground for attackers.”
Some people lamented the end of a very simple, basic text-editing tool.
“Microsoft is turning Notepad into a slow, feature-heavy mess that we don’t need,” says Manel Rodero, computer engineer at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. TweetedI am attaching a screenshot of the documented vulnerability. “We just want something to open text files, not an AI-powered editor with security flaws like this.”
“Who is in charge of this development?” He added.
“Obviously, this kind of issue puts polarizing characteristics under the microscope, and I totally get the quest for innovation, but this seems like a prime example of a solution looking for a problem,” said IT systems engineer Nathan Kasko. express reaction.
roadero argued There are plenty of areas in Windows that “need real improvement,” but instead, we keep getting visual tweaks and AI tricks that most users will never touch.
Microsoft has struggled to convince its millions of customers of the benefits of AI in its latest operating system users By the end of last year, everyone was refusing to upgrade to Windows 10.
Many of the AI features introduced are not desirable. Last month, programmer Ryan Fleury demonstrated that Windows 11’s AI-powered search bar was struggling with the basics, leading many other netizens to call the company a “microslop.”
Meanwhile, system administrators are forced to clean up after the company’s core product is messed up.
“This means that system administrators have to waste countless hours trying to deploy a clean, well-configured machine,” Rodero said. expressed regret at.
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