Microsoft Adds QR Code to Windows 10 Blue Screen of Death

Microsoft is apparently giving its dreaded Blue Screen of Death a makeover.

As the The Register reports, some Windows Insiders who installed Redmond's latest Windows 10 Preview, Build 14316, noticed a major change for the Blue Screen of Death, which Microsoft left out of its release notes last week. Now, when the operating system fails, you'll see not only a sad face, but a QR code.

According to The Register, you can scan this QR code with your smartphone for more information about the problem. At this time, the code points to a site that lists some common causes for a Blue Screen of Death, but The Register notes that "in future it could contain detailed information about the crash."

Reddit user javalinni was apparently the first to notice the upgraded Blue Screen of Death, snapping the screenshot you see above.

"The first thing the new build did in my VM was crash, but instead of just the usual smiley I was greeted by a QR code as well," the user wrote. A separate user, DSoni98, confirmed that the same thing happened when they tried to install the newest build.

"Seems like a nice addition for those rare occurrences," DSoni98 wrote.

But while this feature seems helpful, The Register points out it could be easily spoofed by those with malicious intent.

Cybercriminals could, for instance, "fake a system crash by popping up a blue screen, show a QR code that links to a malicious website, and fool someone into opening it on their browser," according to the report. "From there you can offer crap PC repair software (your machine just 'crashed,' after all), pretend to be Microsoft offering updates to fix your PC, and so on."