Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Microsoft has managed to do it yet again. With the security update released earlier this month for Windows, the company has delivered a buggy patch which is causing problems for a lot of users.

The problem has hit users of not only Windows 10 and Windows 11, but also various editions of Windows Server. As the update in question is a security update, it was automatically installed on a large number of systems; the unwanted payload is being dumped into a BitLocker recovery screen. Microsoft says that it is aware of the issue but does not currently have a fix.

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For some strange reason, Microsoft made Windows 11 less useful in various ways. One such backwards step was removing some of the settings relating to mouse controls, specifically the option to reverse scroll wheel direction, and enhance pointer precision.

Quite why it was deemed sensible to remove the options from Settings is anyone's guess, particularly as it remained possible to tweak the registry to implement them. Now Microsoft has seen the error of its ways and is placing control back in the hands of Windows 11 users.

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For many people a new version of Windows is about little more than a slightly updated look and feel. With the average user hardly scratching the surface of the operating system's features, looks can be one of the most important things.

You may be one of the many people who see little reason to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11, or it may be that hardware requirements make it impossible. Whatever your reason for continuing to use Windows 10, you can treat your eyes to some of the Windows 11 aesthetics using a neat trick.

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It is the time of the month when Microsoft releases preview versions of updates for Windows, and with the KB5040525 update the company has a large number of fixes that will be welcomed by Windows 10 users.

Among the biggest improvements are fixes for various issues with Windows Defender Application Control. As well as addressing a troublesome memory leak, Microsoft has also taken steps to prevent stop errors caused by certain policies. Elsewhere there are WPA3 fixes, a problem with Windows Backup has been patched, and a DHCP Option 235 gremlin has been thwacked.

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Users of Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Processors have been plagued with instability problems for some 18 months or more. The issue has been causing crashes and blue screens and the chipmaker has now finally announced that it knows what is causing the problem.

Having determined that "elevated operating voltage stemming from a microcode algorithm" is causing incorrect voltage requests to CPUs, Install says it is ready to issue a micropatch. Well, almost ready.

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Last month, Microsoft acknowledged an issue with the Photos app that is included with Windows 11. Anyone installing updates for the app from June 4 onwards may have found themselves unable to launch Photos.

Having already announced that it was working on producing a fix, Microsoft has now provided details of a temporary workaround.

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How many times have you received a voice message on WhatsApp that you have not been in a position to listen to? Maybe you're in a quiet location where listening to a message would be inappropriate or, conversely, in a loud place that makes it impossible to heart a message. Thanks to a new feature that is rolling out, this will no longer be an issue.

Beta testers for the Android version of WhatsApp are beginning to see a new voice message transcription option. The feature works with both incoming and outgoing messages, and it serves several functions. As well as making it possible to learn the contents of a message you are not able to listen to immediately, it is also extremely useful from an accessibility point of view.

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Interoperability between rival platforms, including the ability to easily transfer data from one to another, is something that only really benefits users. There is little, if anything, positive to stem from one company making it easy to move to a competitor.

But when it comes to cloud storage for photos and videos, migrating from Google to Apple is being simplified. While transferring Google Photos to iCloud has been possible for a while, the process has been an uphill struggle. Now this is changing.

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Microsoft has issued a reminder to anyone using older editions of Windows 11 that their operating system is about to reach end of servicing.

Windows 11 versions 21H2 and 22H2 will no longer receive security updates as of October. To avoid the problem of leaving people with an insecure and unsupported operating system, Microsoft has a solution: forced upgrades.

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This month’s update for Windows 11 is pretty impressive. There are the typical bug fixes that you would expect, but there are also lots of additions and improvements to the operating system.

Like Windows 10, Windows 11 Copilot now offers a more app-like experience, and there is the very welcome return of the Show Desktop button on the taskbar. Other improvements mean that it is now possible to create 7-Zip and Tape Archive (TAR) files using the context menu, and there is newly added support for Emoji 15.1. But that’s just for starters.

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Copilot being added to Windows 10 was something of a surprise for an operating system that is very much breathing its last. And more than just bringing the AI-powered assistant to Windows 10, Microsoft is continuing to update it with big changes.

The release of the KB5040427 update for Windows 10 this Patch Tuesday is a good example. Microsoft has used this update to fix lots of OS bugs -- including an infuriating taskbar niggle – and also tweaked Copilot to make it function like an app.

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PowerToys updates are always keenly received, and while users are hoping for new utilities every time, even those releases that are focused on "stability and improvements" can be exciting.

The release of PowerToys v.082.0 does not, sadly see the addition of new modules, but it is a big release. The number of bug fixes and tweaks is impressive, but there are also many new options scattered liberally across the suite of utilities.

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Microsoft goes through phases of deprecating features from Windows and other software and services it produces. The latest for the chopping block is a component of Windows Server Update Services -- driver synchronization.

While certainly not something that is used by everyone, WSUS driver synchronization gives sysadmins a handy way to sync driver updates across networked devices. But now the clock is ticking, as Microsoft has announced that the feature is heading to the graveyard.

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With AI-generated content now proliferating the internet, companies are scrabbling to put polices in place to handle such material on their platforms. Among them is YouTube, and the Google-owned video site has updated its privacy guidelines to better take into account artificial intelligence.

It is now possible for anyone to issue a request to YouTube to remove content if it simulates their face or voice. This is separate to the way in which deepfakes are handled, and it is interesting to see such AI-generated content being seen as a potential violation of an individual's privacy.

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There are many solutions available for anyone who has asked themselves the question "how do I record what is happening on my screen?". Video recording is a recent addition to Windows' Snipping Tool, and Microsoft also includes a screen capture ability in the Xbox Game Bar app -- a versatile option that can be used to record more than just games.

Now there's a new contender from Valve. Currently available in beta, Steam Game Recording is a much-requested feature and one that has been implemented in an impressive way.

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