Microsoft has removed the Windows Journal program from its operating systems due to several security problems that can be exploited by hackers.
Windows Journal Has Serious Security Problems
Microsoft has started to remove the Windows Journal program from its Windows operating systems due to several critical security issues that can be exploited by criminals. The vulnerabilities can be used by using specially crafted files with the Journal files extensions .jnt. These files are used to store notes and drawings created with the app.
Security researchers have discovered several DDOS and remote code execution issues in the application. In the last months, the company amended two memory corruption issues – CVE-2016-0182 and CVE-2016-0038.
In August the security expert Hoggang Ren from Fortinet identified a heap overflow bug that can be exploited to crash Windows Journal. In the latest security update KB3161102, the company decided to remove the application altogether.
Microsoft suggests its users to migrate to OneNote which has numerous added features in comparison to Windows Journal. Computer users can reinstall the application on their own if they wish to do so. However Windows will prompt them with security alerts every time they wish to open Journal Note (JNT) or Journal Template (JTP) files.
The first versions of the program were first introduced in Windows XP Tablet Edition. It was one of the popular solutions that allowed users to compose handwritten note drawn with the mouse or graphic tablets and touch screens.
