As The Verge reports, the addition was discovered by Reddit user javelinnl who uploaded an image of the revised Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) to Imgur. The change appears to have been made quietly with the latest preview release of Windows 10, introducing the operating system’s Anniversary Update features for the first time.
Beneath the generic “Your PC ran into a problem” message is a large QR code. New text has also been added, directing you to the Windows website to research the issue and discover possible fixes. The stop code that triggered the BSoD is now clearly labelled as information to be given to a Microsoft support person should you feel the need to seek further assistance.
The update will make it much easier to find out why your PC restarted. You’ll be able to find help by taking a photo of your screen, a much simpler process than searching crash dumps after restarting to find the name of the error. Windows restarts automatically once it has finished collecting data on the bug, often leaving insufficient time to start a Google search for the stop code when it is displayed onscreen.
The last major update to the Blue Screen of Death came with Windows 8 when the current design was introduced. Prior to Windows 8, the screen looked a lot more menacing, using a deep blue background colour and capitalised monospaced text that could easily alienate users who aren’t technically savvy.
Today’s Blue Screen of Death is a lot more user-friendly as critical error messages go. A sad face emoticon and large text explaining what just happened helps to reassure that Windows has the situation under control without displaying lines of confusing “computer text.” The addition of QR codes will make BSoDs even more accessible, letting users find out why their computer just restarted without any warning.
As The Register points out, the QR codes could weaken security though, giving malware creators a new way to market malicious software. A fake blue screen of death could direct users to a malicious website and convince them to download malware advertised as a tool to “fix” the error, using a download link provided by the legitimate-looking QR code. It’s a risk Microsoft will have to consider when implementing the feature.
Microsoft has made no mention of the change in the release notes for Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14316. The updated design will likely make its way to all Windows 10 users in the Anniversary Update coming this summer.
