Do not do it. Most people will not experience browsing to Windows 10 folders, but only if someone could dig into the software content of their PC, it is best to stay away from entering this file path in your browser: ” \. globalroot device condrv kernelconnect ”. Not only will it instantly crash your computer, but it will also give you the dreaded blue screen of death (BSOD), from which your PC may not be able to recover. Do not do it!
Conformable Tom’s guide, the error was recently discovered by the Windows security researcher Jonas Lykkegaard, who posted on Twitter about this issue in October 2020. Lykkegaard explained that when the above path is opened in Windows 10, whether or not the user has administrative privileges, the system cannot properly check for errors when trying to connect to resulting in a BSOD block.
Aside from developers, there aren’t many reasons why an average Windows 10 user would want to search their root folders, especially at the kernel level; The Windows kernel is a crucial program that allows the operating system to run, controlling everyday processes such as running drivers and starting and ending programs. It is what connects the user to the hardware. But it is still important to be aware that this bug exists.
While Gizmodo hasn’t tested the connection ourselves (out of a lot of precautions that it could kill one of our few test PCs), both Tom’s Guide and BleepingComputer they sacrificed a PC for the cause. The PC used by Tom’s Guide got stuck in an auto-repair load loop. BleepingComputer did not say if his PC made it live, but confirmed this error is present in Windows 10 version 1709 and later.
The bug could also give hackers a way to carry out denial of service (DoS) attacks, which can shut down a computer or network, making it completely inaccessible to users. But in this case, a hacker may not need to flood the system with repeated requests, as would normally happen in a DoS attack – entering the file path above might be all that is needed. .
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Lykkegaard explained that a hacker could easily trick someone into downloading or clicking on a Windows URL file (.url) that would automatically lead them to the problematic path and then block their computer.
A Microsoft spokesman told BleepingComputer, “Microsoft is committed to investigating reported security issues and will provide updates to affected devices as soon as possible.” So it looks like Microsoft knows about the problem and is working to fix it, but it doesn’t have a timeline for when a patch will be released for Windows 10 version 1709 or higher users. In the meantime, don’t try to navigate the file path, and be sure to watch out for suspicious links and files that may appear in your inbox or elsewhere on the Internet.