Custom Windows ISOs for gaming aren't new, they just don't surface into the mainstream that often because they mostly distribute through word of mouth, these days mostly via Discord, YouTube, and Tiktok.[1] One such ISO, EVA, was made by one of the AtlasOS contributors.[2]
Though EVA raises another problem with this whole trend of ISO distributions over distributing the tweaks and install steps — it's trivial for a malicious actor to impersonate any of them and distribute a build full of exploits:
> The custom ISO from the previous project is discontinued so please do not ask for it as it has been recreated with malware.
The social, and typically decentralized, nature of the distribution means the only way to know a legit build is to already be inside the community distributing them. If you're not in the community and get hacked, nobody cares anyway.
That's why I'm surprised AtlasOS has such a big presence, and uses GitHub to host their ISOs - they're kind of asking Microsoft to hit them, maybe in hopes of raising their profile.
Hi, EVA is now a guide to create and tailor a Windows image to the user's needs, similar to Chris Titus Tech's tutorials except it is not a prebuilt ISO being distributed. I use built-in tools such as DISM to modify the image which is what other popular tools such as NTLite use.
Though EVA raises another problem with this whole trend of ISO distributions over distributing the tweaks and install steps — it's trivial for a malicious actor to impersonate any of them and distribute a build full of exploits:
> The custom ISO from the previous project is discontinued so please do not ask for it as it has been recreated with malware.
The social, and typically decentralized, nature of the distribution means the only way to know a legit build is to already be inside the community distributing them. If you're not in the community and get hacked, nobody cares anyway.
That's why I'm surprised AtlasOS has such a big presence, and uses GitHub to host their ISOs - they're kind of asking Microsoft to hit them, maybe in hopes of raising their profile.
[1]: Several channels offer roundups and reviews of different ISOs with links buried in video descriptions or subtitles, such as https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSyKK_dtmNzCyp0O8TLVHAQ
[2]: https://github.com/amitxv/EVA