Editing DLL hell (section)

===Windows File Protection===
The DLL overwriting problem (referred to as ''DLL Stomping'' by Microsoft) was somewhat reduced with [[Windows File Protection]] (WFP),<ref>[http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winlogo/drvsign/wfp.mspx Windows File Protection and Windows].</ref> which was introduced in [[Windows 2000]].<ref name="endofdllhell"/> This prevents unauthorized applications from overwriting system DLLs, unless they use the specific [[Windows API]]s that permit this. There may still be a risk that updates from Microsoft are incompatible with existing applications, but this risk is typically reduced in current versions of Windows through the use of [[Side-by-side assembly|side-by-side assemblies]].

Third-party applications cannot stomp on OS files unless they bundle legitimate Windows updates with their installer, or if they disable the [[Windows File Protection]] service during installation, and on Windows Vista or later also take ownership of system files and grant themselves access.  The [[System File Checker|SFC]] utility could revert these changes at any time.