Paint and other legacy features to get axed in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

The upcoming feature update to Windows 10, the Fall Creators Update (FCU), will see some legacy feature trimming. Microsoft has released a list of features that will either be removed or deprecated in the FCU. This is likely in the interest of streamlining the codebase for performance and security.

Features that are deprecated include —

• IIS 6 Management Compatibility 
• IIS Digest Authentication 
• Microsoft Paint 
• RSA/AES Encryption for IIS 
• Sync Your Settings 
• Screen saver functionality in Themes 
• System Image Backup (SIB) Solution 
• TLS RC4 Ciphers 
• Trusted Platform Module (TPM): TPM.msc and TPM RemoteManagement 
• Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Remote Management 
• Windows Hello for Business deployment that uses System Center Configuration Manager 
• Windows PowerShell 2.0

Features that will be removed include —

• 3D Builder 
• Apndatabase.xml 
• Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) 
• Outlook Express 
• Reader app 
• Reading List 
• Screen saver functionality in Themes 
• Syskey.exe 
• TCP Offload Engine 
• Tile Data Layer 
• Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Owner Password Management

While removing or deprecating legacy features has always been a standard practice, the above list might bring cheer or disdain based on how one looks at it. For example, long time users of Windows attest to the ease of use of the classic Paint program for basic picture edits. Similarly, the 3D Builder app was received well for basic 3D model creation and 3D printing. Microsoft wants users to use the new Paint 3D program that debuted in the Creators Update for both 2D and 3D work, which might not augur well everyone. Some of the legacy features however, are getting an upgrade. We reported earlier about the new features in Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, which will supersede legacy features such as the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) that is getting removed in the FCU. Also, Sync Your Settings is undergoing a back-end change that will unify both enterprise and consumer sync settings under one cloud storage. Microsoft Edge has features from the Reader and Reading List apps therefore, removing them is probably justified to reduce redundancy. As for deprecation of System Image Backup (SIB), Microsoft recommends using third-party solutions.

Microsoft notes that the list of features removed or deprecated is not final and is subject to change. The list is being made available so that admins and end-users can start the necessary planning and testing before migrating their systems to the FCU. The FCU is scheduled to launch sometime this October.