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Microsoft should prevent this. It's not in their interest to allow OEMs to circumvent the normal software installation methods for Windows. It should be prohibited in whatever agreement OEMs make with Microsoft, and maybe Windows should prevent execution of such code if it's possible to tell it apart from drivers.

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Pretty sure there was a USG lawsuit about what MSFT could require from OEMs.

I don't think that settlement applies to this. The OEM part of that lawsuit, from my recollection, hinged on the fact that Microsoft's OEM licenses required that the OEM limit the percentage of computers they sold without a Windows OS pre-installed. I don't remember there being anything about how OEMs use their APIs.

I think it would be perfectly fair for Microsoft to require OEM licensees to not use that feature for shitware installations. I can't see how that would fall afoul of antitrust or related regulations. Maybe I'm wrong though, that was a while ago and it wasn't my specialty when I practiced law.

that's something Apple would do, but unfortunately Microsoft doesn't give a shit

I'm inclined to agree. Microsoft's philosophy has been "give vendors all the rope they could think of asking for" for a really long time.

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