MAUS 0.8.6

MAUS (Maintenance · Audit · Updates · Security) is a free, open-source (GPL-3.0) Windows 11 utility: a read-only audit first, then fixes chosen by the user, each one explained, and reversible unless it says otherwise. MAUS is designed and coded with Claude, an AI by Anthropic, under the direction of its author.

This is an alpha version in active development: some features may be incomplete and bugs may occur.

Download: MAUS-0.8.6-installation.exe (installs to Program Files, .NET included, uninstall from Settings > Apps).
SHA-256: 44BCBE72C7190FC6F4D125EFA1C743FE98B1E22EBDEF8676C232390F37A90BC2
Build provenance: this installer was built by GitHub Actions from this repository; anyone can check it with gh attestation verify MAUS-0.8.6-installation.exe -R TERMINATORmdel101/MAUS.
Program fingerprint: MAUS-0.8.6-programme.sha256, attached to this release, holds the SHA-256 of MAUS.dll; after installing from this page, compare it with the one shown in About > "Check my installation".
Also available with winget install TERMINATORmdel101.MAUS and from the Microsoft Store; each moves to 0.8.6 once its own review is done.

Not signed: this installer has no code signature yet, so Windows SmartScreen may show a warning ("More info", then "Run anyway"). Our application for free signing by the SignPath Foundation was declined for now (the project is still too new); we will apply again later.

Tried for real, on one PC (the maintainer's): the audit with and without administrator rights, one fix applied then undone, a restore point, the Follow-up page, "Close administrator rights", the complete benchmark in 1440p and 4K; and, on the installer built by GitHub for this release, the software list read by the window during an audit run by the engine, the engine's new confirmation window, the list of driver backups, the winget console started without rights, and "Check my installation".
Not tried on a real PC yet: the DISM then SFC repair with its progress, an action on the graphics driver, PawnIO installed or removed without rights, the "Put back in place" button, the complete benchmark in 1080p and 720p, the past battery capacity on a real laptop, AMD processors, DDR5 memory, AMD and Intel graphics cards; and the result of a benchmark started by the engine coming back through its protected folder (changed on 10 November).
Checked by simulated tests and by reading the code: all the paths above, and the BitLocker reading, the update history, the held-back version and the crash list. The Windows event fields behind the crash list and the last real restart were also observed on the maintainer's PC.

What's new since 0.8.5

New "Follow-up" page (Ctrl+7). A reason to come back, without inventing problems. Everything stays on the PC.

• Has Windows undone my settings? Compares your fixes with the last audit (still in place, no longer in place, not checked), with the date and the Windows build. It never re-applies anything by itself.
• What changed? Compares two kept audits (startup programs, tasks, drivers, Windows build, findings) and dates each change without naming a culprit. It says "not comparable" rather than passing a new MAUS check, or an audit that reads less, off as a change of the PC.
• PC health log: one dated line per audit with what it could read (disk wear and errors, battery, startup time), and the heat reached at each cooling test. Compared with this PC only: no prediction, no threshold.
• My PC crashed: the last 30 days in one list, with no culprit, ready to copy (names masked) for a repairer. It tells a blue screen, the power button, an unexplained shutdown, an update, and a requested shutdown or restart apart; for a requested one it gives the program, the reason and the type that Windows noted, not the account or the free comment. It says how far back Windows' System log goes, so that "nothing found" is not read as more than it is.
• Before and after, for real: the startup times measured by Windows before and after a fix session; MAUS says plainly when no effect is visible.
• Weekly audits: how many ran since your last visit and what appeared, or that nothing is new. No window, no reminder.
• I changed a part: the model names (no serial numbers), what changed and since when, and what the findings say about the new part.
• The PC file: a page to read, then print or save, for a resale, a repair or a warranty. No name, serial number or MAC address.
• Benchmark: a marker on the curve when the driver or the Windows build changes between two runs, without deducing a cause.

The audit works without administrator permission. In limited mode it runs with no permission prompt and writes nothing to Windows. Its score is called partial and does not enter the curves or the history (only the health log notes what could be read); fixes stay greyed out.

Home page, first launch, administrator rights

• The last audit is found again when MAUS opens (a dated card with a grey ring, not presented as the current state). "What's going on?" replaces "More tools" on the simple home page: a list by symptom (slow PC, crashes, Internet, sound...) that opens the existing tool.
• A three-step path (run the audit, read the findings, apply the recommended fixes), one line per module during the audit, and on the home page the three fixes that bring the most points and the change after fixes (64 → 71).
• First launch: one single screen (the essentials of the warnings in three lines, the full text one click away, then the choice of mode) instead of three windows. The logo screen closes at most 2 seconds after the window opens.
• Administrator rights: the banner shows each step from the click, the window no longer freezes, the Workshop re-reads its data by itself. While rights are open a strip says so, and a "Close administrator rights" button closes them without closing MAUS. Option: start the audit as soon as rights are granted (off by default). Standard accounts: approving the prompt with an administrator's password now connects MAUS to its engine.

Audit and findings

• Clearer findings: "Why it matters" first, in everyday language; values read, identifier and details under "Technical details". Search and filters. Every state has an icon and a word, not colour alone. When not everything could be read, a "no problem found" summary at the top of the findings begins with "In what could be read:" and is not shown in green.
• Compare two audits: MAUS keeps the summary of the last 12 audits on this PC and shows what got worse or better; after a Windows update it says so and shows what the update changed. Choice of audited modules: an unticked module is reported as not checked and the score becomes partial.
• Thresholds: each finding says where its threshold comes from, a published source or "chosen by MAUS, no published source". The "PC runs too hot" finding now uses the processor's or its maker's limit. No gain figure without a source for XMP/EXPO and Resizable BAR: the benchmark measures it on your PC. A subject seen by two modules counts once in the score.
• Fairer audit: winget recognised by its exact package family and an unreadable list no longer read as "everything is up to date"; a running hypervisor (Hyper-V, WSL2) no longer taken for a virtual machine; no more permanent orange on 13th and 14th generation Core; AMD temperature read from Tdie before Tctl; LTSC editions and more graphics cards recognised; a broken WMI service or event log gives an "undetermined" check instead of a module in error; the proxy is read the same way in every Windows language. Sentences that claimed more than Windows can tell were corrected (OneDrive folders no longer give a green backup result, an unexplained shutdown no longer names a cause, a router that answers without Internet is no longer called "offline"), and more hardware errors are counted.
• BitLocker: with administrator rights, the finding says whether the system drive is encrypted in full or in part (with the progress), instead of a bare "protection off", which could also mean "partly encrypted". When a recovery key exists, MAUS says so and shows the key identifier, which is not secret, on screen only: not in a report, an export or a copy. MAUS does not read the key itself, does not say it is saved (it cannot know), and does not suspend or turn off BitLocker; an automated test fails if the code names a Windows method that would. When Windows does not answer, the finding says "not read: Windows is not responding". Before a BIOS update, a box appears when BitLocker is on or when its state could not be read: find your recovery key, then suspend protection as Microsoft documents (stronger wording with a startup PIN). This box and the note below also appear in the HTML, text and CSV reports you save; the key identifier never does. A factual note, with no fix and no button that acts, says what turning BitLocker off removes and links to Microsoft's procedure. Without administrator rights the finding says that rights are required.
• Updates that failed: which update, how many times, the last code and whether it succeeded afterwards, from the history that Windows keeps (nothing is started, no network). The code is quoted without explaining its cause, with a pointer to Microsoft's troubleshooting tools; drivers and Microsoft Store apps are counted apart and stay informational. The threshold for a repeated failure (3, over the last 90 days) is MAUS's own choice and says so; Microsoft Defender definition updates do not count, and an update that Windows no longer offers stays informational. If the history cannot be read as expected, this finding alone says "not read".
• Held-back version: when Windows notes that a new Windows version is held back, MAUS says what Windows notes and that waiting is enough, and points to the known issues published by Microsoft to find the number. It offers no way around it.
• Optional updates and drivers: neutral information taken from Microsoft's pages (the optional monthly preview carries no security fixes and the next month's security update takes over its content; an optional driver is for a device that has a problem). These notes only inform: they block and install nothing, and security updates are not concerned. A "Before an update" card appears when Windows Update offers something: link to the known issues published by Microsoft, a reminder of the restore point and the backup, how to go back to the previous driver, and what a long pause costs.
• The weekly audit uses no network and no administrator rights: it reads what Windows Update already found and does not ask for the winget list. It reports what it can read without rights, with no score (a partial score would look too good). A task left by an earlier version is re-created without rights at its next start, which audits nothing that time, or with the "Put back in place" button on the home page. A task from another account is reported. Option: notify after this audit (red only, after every audit with the score, never).

Fixes and History

• Lighter fixes page: the recommended fixes straight away, the rest and the tools behind simple links; warnings stay visible and nothing ticked is hidden. A session timeline and a restart reminder.
• History: "Undo all of today", from the most recent to the oldest, which stops if a value could not be put back. A "changed since" value can still be undone, and the result of an undo can be read there. "Keep" for a refresh rate is no longer final: History offers to go back to the previous rate, unless it changed in the meantime.
• System protection turned off: before giving up the restore point, MAUS offers to turn it on, unless a policy turned it off. The restore point targets the Windows drive, even when MAUS runs from D:.
• Repair and software: DISM, SFC and pnputil are started directly, and MAUS shows their progress and result; no administrator command prompt stays open. winget and the PawnIO installer start without administrator rights (each asks Windows for permission if it needs it), and their buttons also work in limited mode. winget is never run with administrator rights, not even to list upgrades: the window reads that list itself, also when the engine runs the audit.

Workshop, tests and benchmark

• The Workshop has three entries: My PC (sheet, storage, memory, drivers), Live (sensors, processes, a curve under each value) and Tests. Simpler tests page: six tiles, a Quick, Normal or Long processor test, "Test everything" with one confirmation.
• New tests: cooling, combined load, the real capacity of a USB drive, screen, keyboard and mouse, speakers, battery, Wi-Fi walk, and a PC check-up. Curves over several weeks: disk wear and temperature, battery capacity, peak temperatures.
• Benchmark page: clickable score cards, the shareable score card opens large inside MAUS, "My ranking" compares two settings with your own runs. A screen between tests shows what comes next and the scores so far; Esc shows a partial summary and a failure keeps the results already measured.
• More accurate benchmark measurement: the final image of the scenes is computed at the compute resolution whatever the screen definition, and the vector test colours its image on all cores. The CPU score was adjusted so that, for the processor, 10,000 points again match the reference machine (its old values gave it about 4 times too many points). The graphics card references were re-measured in 1440p and 4K; those for 1080p and 720p keep their values of 6 October 2026. Scores of this release cannot be compared with those of earlier versions, and the page says so.
• Heat stop: on Intel processors the temperature read stops at the processor's limit. A stability test now stops if the processor stays at its limit for 10 minutes (a duration chosen by MAUS and announced at confirmation). A temperature that was followed and then lost for 15 seconds also stops the benchmark.
• Fixes: the 4 GB disk test now completes; in DirectX 11 the Galaxy scene chains its computations as in DirectX 12; the RAM test starts from a fresh measurement; the latency measurement finds driver names on Windows 11 24H2; an unreadable benchmark history is neither overwritten nor pruned; the analysis of a whole drive completes.
• Past battery capacity (Workshop > My PC, "Battery" card): on a click, in your language, without administrator rights and without the engine, MAUS reads the curve and the values in the XML report that Windows writes with powercfg /batteryreport /output <fixed path> /xml, then deletes the file (it holds the name of the PC; if an antivirus holds it, the next click replaces it). The curve starts where the data that Windows keeps really begins, not "since purchase". No replacement threshold and no proof for a warranty. The content of the file is not documented, so any difference from the expected form shows "not read". A window started as administrator refuses this action and asks to reopen MAUS normally. Not tried on a real laptop yet: the code follows the shape of a desktop PC's Windows report, and no laptop report has been read.
• Last real restart ("Why is my PC slow?"): the date of the last full start of Windows, and whether the last power-on was noted as a fast startup, with no threshold and no gain promised.

Reports, help and installation

• HTML report with a banner and logo, a coloured score ring and print-friendly colours; still one page, with no script and no external resource. It prints from the browser. Also JSON and CSV. Names are masked before being cut, value by value in the JSON export, and the folders of other accounts too; the name of the Wi-Fi network is not read.
• "Ask for help": MAUS says what it removed from the summary and copies it as Markdown for a forum.
• "Check my installation" (About): protected folder, libraries identical to the build, program fingerprint to compare with the published one. The page says this is not an absolute proof.

Comfort, appearance and accessibility

• Settings in three tabs (Appearance, Behavior, Administrator rights), each option with its explanation and recommended value. Technician mode shows technical details everywhere and keeps the original error messages; it is now one single switch, and the full home page and the expert graphics-driver actions ("Remove and re-detect", "Back up the driver", "Delete the driver…", the list of backups, "Reinstall a backup") show only in that mode. The engine and its checks do not change, and backups already made stay reachable.
• Display size from Compact to Very large (Ctrl + mouse wheel, Ctrl + 0). Messages: a human sentence and a "what to do" in place of raw Windows text, in one window in MAUS colours. Help tooltips after two seconds, with a setting to turn them off. Anything greyed out says why.
• Animations (everything stops if animations are turned off in Settings or in Windows), shortcuts Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+7, window reopened where you left it. MAUS no longer closes at launch on a small screen (1080p at 200 %, remote desktop).
• Screen readers: everything has a name (tabs, buttons, cards, the top banner and the left bar), and an automated check requires it. High contrast: the stop button, logo colours and primary buttons follow the Windows colours. Texts brought to English and Spanish.

Security and reliability

• The engine's closed list of operations holds 31 names: one was added ("Close administrator rights") and one removed (the list of winget upgrades, now read by the window without administrator rights). The reads of this release add none; they are listed in section 2.6 of the security design document: the BitLocker state (two read-only Windows methods), the update history, what Windows notes about a held-back version, more of the System event log, and the past battery capacity.
• Writes: stronger protection of what the engine writes, limited to a closed list of registry keys on every write and every undo (see the security design document). Values that start programs or carry security policies need the engine's own confirmation and are undone one by one. No task of Windows itself is touched.
• Engine and launch: stronger protection of how MAUS starts (the published MAUS.exe is a small native launcher), of the folders reserved to MAUS and their logs, of the commands MAUS runs, of the engine's inputs and its shutdown. The list of allowed commands is shorter: netsh, dsregcmd and manage-bde are no longer in it. The only addition is the XML form of the battery report (see "Past battery capacity"), with one fixed path and no other argument.
• winget never runs with administrator rights (see "Repair and software"). A benchmark started by the engine keeps administrator rights so that the processor temperature can be read for its heat stop, but writes nothing in your user profile: it hands its result back through a new folder reserved to administrators, which the engine reads within fixed limits and then deletes, and the window, without administrator rights, keeps the result.
• The engine's own confirmation, before the most sensitive actions, is a window of its own: its buttons become active only after 2 seconds, and again after each return to the foreground; a key press alone cannot answer Yes, and "No" is the default. An elevated MAUS process never writes its diagnostic log in your user profile. Driver backups are checked (owner, rights, links) before they are listed or reinstalled. Programs started by the engine use System32 as their working directory.
• Storage and processes: stronger protection of the disk-space analysis (the profiles of other accounts are not read) and of ending a process (no other account, no vital process). A task that is not MAUS's is not taken over, and re-pointing it after a Store update asks for confirmation. Memory modules: on DDR5 with the BIOS write protection on, MAUS shows only the standard profile and says so. Audit summaries no longer keep the values read in the profile.
• Stability: an error in an engine operation (disk full, file refused) comes back to the screen instead of a cut channel; file writes retry when an antivirus holds the file for a moment; a hand-edited choices file no longer blocks MAUS; the language and theme choice is no longer erased at the first engine start; the past battery capacity, the crash list and the slowness diagnosis say "not read" instead of showing an unexpected error.

Build and command line

• The Store package goes through all the tests and is built on GitHub with a build provenance attestation; it refuses to overwrite a package of the same version. Building the release now needs Visual C++.
• Command line: --force, advised after a refused undo, now takes the value; maus --revert refuses --change without an identifier instead of undoing the whole session; --module reports a missing or unknown name. More than two hundred small defects fixed.