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Windows Master Control Panel shortcut

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The Windows Master Control Panel shortcut, labeled All Tasks and also called Windows God Mode by bloggers and All Tasks folder by at least one Microsoft developer,[1] is a short-cut to access various control settings in Windows Vista and later operating systems. By creating a folder with a certain name, users have access to all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder. The hack was apparently first published outside of Microsoft documentation in 2007[2] but gained viral attention when the name GodMode was used by bloggers. There are different folder names that access different settings, these variations have also been called 'God Mode' folders.

Intended purpose of 'Master Control Panel' folders

The functionality that was discovered and named 'Master Control Panel' or 'God Mode' was designed to allow Microsoft developers to test various aspects of Windows, and to easily access all settings from one convenient place. These folders were never intended to be used by normal Windows users.

Creating the original 'Master Control Panel' folder

Create a folder with a name ending in ".{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}", e.g. create a folder named "GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}" (without quotes). Note that the GodMode prefix was the original one that brought this feature to attention, but it can actually be any phrase the user chooses.

Use in worms and other malware

Many worms - malicious software, which can "reproduce" itself in different locations - create copies of itself on USB devices, in a folder posing as the Recycle Bin using Windows Master Control Panel Shortcut; E:\Recycler\bin.{645ff040-5081-101b-9f08-00aa002f954e}\VIRUS.exe. The file VIRUS.exe cannot be viewed (opening the Windows Master Control Panel Shortcut in order to view/delete would redirect to the Recycle Bin) and deleting the Recycler folder or Windows Master Control Panel Shortcut would be impossible, if the worm was running due to autorun).

The Windows Master Control Panel Shortcut can be bypassed with the use of an active antivirus, or by booting off another operating system, such as a LiveCD one.

Discovery

  • Malicious Software have exploited WMCP Shortcuts as early as Windows Vista [citation needed]
  • The general method of creating the shortcuts seems to be well documented by Microsoft[3], but the specific GUID ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C does not appear to have been published by Microsoft.
  • This hack has been published at least since 2007[2] under the more modest title "[Registry Hack] VISTA - All Control Panel & Setting tasks at one place", although this seems to have received little attention at that time.
  • Numerous blogs and tweets on the subject appeared in December 2009[4][5][6] and January 2010[7][8][9] as 'Windows 7 Godmode', with many sites simply repeating the same information available elsewhere.

The general folder shortcut format is <FolderDisplayName>.{<GUID>} where <GUID> is a valid class id, as found in the registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID with a System.ApplicationName entry. This technique is documented by Microsoft as 'Using File System Folders as Junction Points'[3] The CLSID {ed7ba470-8e54-465e-825c-99712043e01c} is of particular interest because the associated widget allows access to allegedly all Windows settings.

Other ways of creating these shortcuts (which are apparently less prone to crashing) are

  • Create a normal Windows shortcut with the path "explorer.exe shell:::{<GUID>}".
  • Create a read-only system folder, with a Desktop.ini file in the folder that includes the extension's CLSID[3].

Microsoft document the list of regular Control Panel applets on MSDN[10]

A CNET article[11] attributed the following list to the head of Microsoft's Windows division, Steven Sinofsky:

  • {00c6d95f-329c-409a-81d7-c46c66ea7f33} - Default Location
  • {0142e4d0-fb7a-11dc-ba4a-000ffe7ab428} - Fingerprint Scanner Preferences
  • {025a5937-a6be-4686-a844-36fe4bec8b6d} - Battery
  • {05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9} - Taskbar Icons
  • {1206f5f1-0569-412c-8fec-3204630dfb70} - Windows Vault
  • {15eae92e-f17a-4431-9f28-805e482dafd4} - Network Install
  • {17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966} - Default Programs
  • {1d2680c9-0e2a-469d-b787-065558bc7d43} - Assembly
  • {1fa9085f-25a2-489b-85d4-86326eedcd87} - Wireless Networks
  • {208d2c60-3aea-1069-a2d7-08002b30309d} - Network (workgroup)
  • {20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d} - Computer
  • {2227a280-3aea-1069-a2de-08002b30309d} - Print and Fax
  • {241d7c96-f8bf-4f85-b01f-e2b043341a4b} - Remote Desktop
  • {4026492f-2f69-46b8-b9bf-5654fc07e423} - Windows Firewall
  • {62d8ed13-c9d0-4ce8-a914-47dd628fb1b0} - N/A (Region and Language)
  • {78f3955e-3b90-4184-bd14-5397c15f1efc} - Windows Experience Index

Problems caused by using <prefix>.{<GUID>} folders

There have been some reports that using <prefix>.{<GUID>} folders may cause unexpected results or repeated crashes, particularly with 64-bit Windows Vista versions. In 64-bit Vista, creating a GodMode folder will cause explorer to crash and restart in a loop. To recover from this, one has have to shutdown and boot into safe mode as an administrator and delete the folder.

Alternatively, one could open the registry editor and search using the keyword "ED7BA470", then delete it and close the registry.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The So Called "God Mode"".
  2. ^ a b "[Registry Hack] VISTA - All Control Panel & Setting tasks at one place".
  3. ^ a b c http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc144096(VS.85).aspx
  4. ^ "[Windows 7]使用 GodMode 控制台總覽模式".
  5. ^ http://stadt-bremerhaven.de/windows-7-godmode/
  6. ^ http://www.k840.com/windows-7-godmode/
  7. ^ http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2010/01/04/windows-7-god-mode.aspx
  8. ^ http://www.windowsvalley.com/blog/windows-7-god-mode-behind-the-scenes/
  9. ^ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10423985-56.html
  10. ^ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee330741(VS.85).aspx
  11. ^ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10426627-56.html
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