Microsoft has improved the security of the Windows operating system, but this has led to the disabling of an important feature. The company has subtly updated the face unlock capability of Windows Hello, which now stops functioning in dimly lit rooms.
According to the tech giant, this is not a bug but a conscious modification made in April to address a significant spoofing vulnerability. While this fix boosts security, it eliminates a vital feature that many Windows 11 users depended on.
The alteration, identified by Windows Central, has been observed by some Surface Laptop users who reported that they can no longer use facial recognition to log into their laptops in dark environments.
“After installing this update or a subsequent Windows update, for enhanced security, Windows Hello facial recognition requires color cameras to detect a visible face during sign-in,” Microsoft states in its April Windows Update patch notes.
How Windows Hello technology operates
Windows Hello utilizes a mix of color cameras and infrared (IR) sensors, enabling authentication even in total darkness.
The vulnerability was identified by researchers at Nanyang Technological University.
“Automated recognition mechanism with inadequate detection or handling of adversarial input perturbations in Windows Hello allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing locally,” the researchers said.
Microsoft rated the flaw as “important,” although the company mentioned it was “less likely” to be exploited by malicious actors locally on a device, and it has not been publicly revealed or exploited.
In the meantime, for users who heavily depend on unlocking in dark rooms, a temporary workaround is available: disabling the webcam in Windows 11’s Device Manager. However, there is a downside. This ‘change’ by users makes the camera unusable for all other applications, including video calls, rendering it an impractical solution for most users and highlighting a clear trade-off between convenience and security.
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