Microsoft, once in a while, kills off varied options in its apps. The corporate defined intimately earlier this 12 months how that is good for customers.

Most lately, Microsoft introduced the deprecation of Bing Search APIs and one other Edge function in favor of one thing extra commonplace and safe. The corporate additionally confirmed some main modifications to Home windows {hardware} drivers because it introduced the deprecation of Home windows System metadata and the Home windows Metadata and Web Companies (WMIS). In the meantime, an Excel function can be going away as the corporate feels it is not definitely worth the effort and price to keep up help for it.

Likewise, VBScript removing has additionally been on Microsoft’s radar for some time. The corporate first expressed the need to take away it again in Might 2023. Later that 12 months, in October, Microsoft formally deprecated it.

Nonetheless, in case you are not acquainted, a deprecation announcement doesn’t mechanically imply that the function goes away in a single day. As a substitute, the function is marked for removing and enters its “deprecation part.” This part, as Microsoft defined earlier than, is supposed to assist organisations reliant on such a function transfer on.

As such, Microsoft had offered a timeline of occasions in Might 2024 and divided the deprecation part into three elements. The primary part is ongoing as VBScript remains to be enabled by default as a function on demand (FOD).

That is the place issues get tough, although. Microsoft had beforehand talked about in its timeline that VBScript FOD could be disabled by round 2027, and that may coincide with future Home windows updates in 2026 and 2027.

Microsoft’s newest steering put up, printed at this time, about VBScript removing means that the FOD accessibility could also be eliminated early in model 24H2 itself or maybe in 25H2 (there are already traces of model 25H2). The corporate writes:

On the present deprecation part of VBScript, it is accessible as a function on demand (FOD) and is enabled by default in Home windows 11, model 24H2. Earlier than VBScript is disabled by default on these and future OS variations, it is important that you simply to determine the place and the way vbscript.dll remains to be getting used inside your enterprise setting.

Thus, the wording appears to counsel that VBScript may go away early as a default FOD, and this will likely even be why the corporate has shared this new steering to assist corporations transfer on sooner. Regardless, it’s now time to “proactively disable VBScript on Home windows 11,” says the tech big.

On this information, Microsoft has highlighted 4 mechanisms that may assist an enterprise detect the utilization of VBScript of their workflow in order that they’ll take the following obligatory steps to take away all dynamic hyperlink libraries (.dll information) based mostly on VBScript.

The corporate has beneficial utilizing its official SysMon (System Monitor) utility to hint and monitor down VBScript DLLs and evaluation VBScript dependencies like these associated Group Coverage and PowerShell scripts for logon, logoff, startup, shutdown, scheduled duties, in addition to these for invoking VBScript.

To assist, Microsoft has additionally offered a PowerShell script to scan for VBScript information throughout the system:

$pathsToScan = @("C:Customers", "C:ProgramData", "C:Scripts")
$logPath = "C:VBSScriptScanVbsFiles_$(hostname).csv"
$outcomes = foreach ($path in $pathsToScan) 
   if (Take a look at-Path $path) 
           Choose-Object FullName, LastWriteTime, Size
   

$pathsToScan = @("C:Customers", "C:ProgramData", "C:Scripts")
$logPath = "C:VBSScriptScanVbsFiles_$(hostname).csv"
$outcomes = foreach ($path in $pathsToScan) 
   if (Take a look at-Path $path) 
           Choose-Object FullName, LastWriteTime, Size
   

Talking of PowerShell scripts, Microsoft has additionally offered one other pattern script for detecting the presence of embedded VBScript in Microsoft Installer (MSI) packages:

Get-ChildItem -Path "C:MSIRepo" -Recurse -Filter *.msi | ForEach-Object {
    $msiPath = $_.FullName
    $sql = "SELECT * FROM CustomAction"
    $installer = New-Object -ComObject WindowsInstaller.Installer
    $database = $installer.GetType().InvokeMember("OpenDatabase", "InvokeMethod", $null, $installer, @($msiPath, 0))
    $view = $database.OpenView($sql)
    $view.Execute()
    $file = $view.Fetch()
    whereas ($file -ne $null) 
        $actionName = $file.StringData(1)
        $actionType = [int]$file.StringData(2)
        if ($actionType -eq 6 -or $actionType -eq 38 -or $actionType -eq 50) 
            Write-Output "⚠ VBScript Customized Motion: $actionName in $msiPath"
        
        $file = $view.Fetch()
    

As talked about above, Microsoft recommends proactively disabling VBScript on Home windows 11 any more. The corporate has defined how to take action as soon as an enterprise has detected VBScript utilization in its methods:

Use the next Deployment Picture Servicing and Administration (DISM) command to take action: Dism /On-line /Take away-Functionality /CapabilityName:VBSCRIPT~~~~

Use Microsoft Intune, GPO Startup Scripts, or Microsoft Configuration Supervisor to deploy this command throughout your fleet.

Upon operating the above DISM command, Microsoft says that VBScript will probably be disabled. Thus, all processes trying to make use of VBScript will probably be blocked and can both “fail silently or with errors.” You possibly can learn the weblog put up right here on Microsoft’s official Tech Neighborhood web site.