Microsoft is enabling a Windows 11 security feature that can hurt gaming performance
Microsoft is expanding its memory integrity security feature to more Windows 11 devices, which helps protect against malicious kernel-level code. However, the feature can negatively impact gaming performance on older processors, leading Microsoft to suggest toggling it off during gaming sessions.
Why it matters
It balances the necessity of cybersecurity against the performance demands of PC gaming, affecting a large user base.
Microsoft is getting ready to roll out its memory integrity security feature of Windows 11 to more devices next month. The kernel-level protection feature is designed to stop malicious code or drivers running on a Windows 11 machine, but Microsoft previously warned it can also impact PC gaming performance.
“Windows quality updates will begin enabling memory integrity protection on eligible devices,” says Peter Waxman, group program manager at Microsoft. “If not already enabled, these updates will also enable Virtualization-based Security (VBS), helping make additional security capabilities available and reflecting our commitment to making Windows secure by design and secure by default.”
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