VBScript’s end of life and what it means for you

VBScript’s demise is certain. Let’s see if it affects you in any way and what to do when VBScript gets deprecated.

VBScript (Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition) is nearing its end of life. Let’s see how it may affect you and what alternatives you have. Will many people miss it? That’s open to discussion. Be sure to let me know in the comments. For now, let’s start from the top – here’s what VBScript is and when it’s going to “push up daisies”.

What is VBScript?

VBScript is quite an old scripting language for Windows. Introduced in 1996, it was a welcome change since it provided much more room for automation as compared to its predecessor – batch language.

VBScript deprecation timeline

In 2024, VBScript still works. But its last stable release (5.8) dates back to 2010. In other words, it has remained unchanged for over a decade. There have been no security or functionality updates since then, and VBScript, in its current form, remembers the good times when Windows XP was still alive and well.

You don’t have to imagine how many potential vulnerabilities exist in VBScript. You can simply search for VBScipt mentions in the National Vulnerability Database. There are quite a lot of them. Some of those vulnerabilities have been patched in newer OSs, but, in general, it’s risky to consider VBScript secure.

VBScript will be deprecated in 3 phases:

Phase 1 – we’re here. VBScript is available as a FOD (feature on demand) in Windows 11 and is switched on by default. If you’re running any VBScripts, nothing should break at this point.

Phase 2 – planned for 2027. VBScript will still be a FOD, but it will be 1disabled by default.

Phase 3 – to be announced. This will be the complete end of life, which means that the VBScript-related DLL files will be removed, along with any support for the feature.

VBScript alternatives

To paraphrase a popular song:

PowerShell, PowerShell,

Does whatever VBScript can

PowerShell is the go-to scripting language that works in all Microsoft environments. You might need to get acquainted with some new modules and methods, but once you make the switch, it should be easier to use than VBScript.

Another popular alternative is JavaScript. Currently, the greater part of the Internet is built with JavaScript, at least to some extent. What’s more, JavaScript is platform-agnostic, so, unlike VBScript, it will run on non-Windows OSs like Linux or macOS.

Both of these scripting languages have a relatively shallow learning curve and should make the transition manageable. But other alternatives are aplenty, so if you want a full picture, just search for the complete list of scripting languages.

How to block or unblock VBScript via FOD

FOD – feature on demand – controls which features are available for users in Windows 11 and up.

To block or unblock any feature, you’ll need to go to Control Panel > System > Optional features. That’s where you’ll find VBScript.

Practical examples of VBScript usage

VBScript was incredibly popular since it offered automation across networks on a whole new level.

You can use (or, more appropriately, could have used) it together with Task Scheduler and Group Policy Objects. In other words, VBScript lets you apply your code to all or selected machines within a domain and launch a specific action at a set time.

But that’s not all. There’s a lot of classic ASP web applications that still successfully run on VBScript, even as you read this article.

If you’re not a VBScript developer and want to get an idea of what you can achieve (err… could have achieved) with it, here’s a list of some popular applications:

Monitoring of Windows-based environments
Automating mundane tasks within Windows (like adding personalized email signatures for each user within a domain)
File and data manipulation
Creating Outlook forms or VBA applications for Excel
Adding functionality and interactivity to web pages (although JavaScript has taken a huge slice of that pie)

How to check if my company still uses VBScript

The easiest way to check if VBScript’s end of life will affect you is to search through your company’s resources for files with the following extensions:

.vbs
.vbe
.wsf
.wsc

However, this list is not exhaustive. VBScript can also hide in files with extensions that have much broader use:

.hta
.htm
.html
.asp

That’s still not all – if you’re using any web applications that have been around for years, there’s a chance that VBScript is lurking somewhere in the background. The timeline gives some… time to prepare, but it’s best to start acting now, rather than realizing one day that some of your crucial company workflows have stopped working.