RGB Peripherals Are A Red Line For Windows Anti-Cheat Software Now

Yet again, another monthly update for Microsoft Windows is causing
machines to crash
<https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsoft-blames-rgb-peripherals-for-crashing-windows-11-rgb-software-is-causing-blue-screens-crashes-and-game-freezes>.

This time, Microsoft is blaming an interaction between the drivers for
RGB peripherals (the ones with colourful LEDs that can be made to
cycle in different patterns) and anti-cheat mechanisms built into some
of the more expensive games.

Quote:

    RGB software installed on affected PCs was interfering with core
    system components, causing Windows 11 to become unstable.

Actually, no it wasn’t. The article goes on to make an educated guess:

    Microsoft didn't explain the underlying cause, but it's likely
    tied to anti-cheat not appreciating a kernel-mode driver in user
    space. RGB software, like other apps, should be limited to user
    space, but the driver it uses to interface with peripheral
    controllers runs in kernel space. For anti-cheat software, this is
    essentially an exploit waiting to happen, so it tries to block the
    driver to make sure it doesn't inject malicious code.

(Of course, by “malicious” they mean “having the ability to snoop into
their game”.)

So the RGB drivers on their own were fine. But bring in something from
some paranoid multi-billion-dollar company that thinks it has a right
to control the way you use your machine, and then the wailing and
gnashing of teeth will start.