Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a bug in Windows 10 which could lead to an NTFS drive being formatted simply by opening a folder. The issue affects the $i30 NTFS attribute, and it can be triggered in Explorer as well as web browsers.

Now Mozilla has released a key update to Firefox which prevents it from activating the bug. To be protected, you need to be running at least Firefox 85.0.1.

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Microsoft has acknowledged that two recent updates for Windows 10 are causing problems for users. People who have installed KB4598299 and KB4598301 are reporting BSoDs as well as app crashes.

The two updates (released Windows 10 versions 1909, 2004 and 20H2) were supposed to address issues in .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8, but they have -- as is increasingly common with Windows updates -- introduced new problems of their own.

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It is only a few days since Microsoft released PowerToys 0.31.1, but there is already a new version for you to install.

While there are no major changes in the latest release of the utility suite, does include important bug fixes. Microsoft detected issues with the FancyZones PowerToy, and deemed them significant enough to push out this patch release.

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Since adopting the Chromium engine, Microsoft Edge has come on in leaps and bounds. Much like Internet Explorer before it, the original version of the browser was much maligned, and now the time has come to retire it.

For some time, Microsoft has been trying to encourage hangers-on to migrate to the Chromium-based version of Edge, and now it's time for drastic action. In an upcoming update to Windows 10, the company is getting rid of legacy Edge once and for all.

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Microsoft has set out its plans for WinUI 3.0 which is due to ship later this year. Described as the "modern native UI platform of Windows", WinUI is the C++-based library of controls and Fluent styles that empowers developers to create a new breed of apps.

The company has shared details of the roadmap for WinUI, explaining how version 3.0 will expand into a full UX framework. It is part of Project Reunion which sees Microsoft bringing together a unified set of tools and APIs to make it easy to develop apps for different Windows 10 devices.

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A serious security vulnerability has been discovered in Chrome, forcing Google to push out an emergency update to the browser. Affecting the Windows, Mac and Linux versions of Chrome, the high severity vulnerability is being tracked as CVE-2021-21148.

Described as a "heap buffer overflow in V8", it is being actively exploited in the wild, although few details of the exploit are available. Because of the severity of the vulnerability, Google has released a fix and is urging everyone to install it.

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Microsoft has changed the status of both Windows 10 version 2004 and version 1909, marking them as being ready for "broad deployment".

In the case of Windows 10 version 1909 (or Windows 10 November 2019 Update), the company says it is "designated ready for broad deployment for all users via Windows Update". For Windows 10 version 2004 (aka Windows 10 May 2020 Update), however, the status has been updated to indicate that it is merely "designated for broad deployment". And there is a reason for the difference between the two.

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We recently wrote about a serious vulnerability in the sudo tool which could be used to gain root access to Linux systems. Now a security researcher has found that the security flaw also affects macOS Big Sur -- including on new M1 Macs.

The Baron Samedit vulnerability -- or CVE-2021-3156 -- is a heap-based buffer overflow bug that was discovered by cybersecurity firm Qualys. While it was initially thought to only affect Linux systems, researcher Matthew Hickey (who also goes by the name Hacker Fantastic) found that macOS is also vulnerable with only very minor changes needed to the original exploit.

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Microsoft has released a new update for Windows 10, addressing various issues that have plagued users.

Although the KB4598291 update is an optional one, it fixes so many problems that many people are going to want to get it installed straight away. This particular update is only available for Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004) and Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2).

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Microsoft has released a new version of its PowerToys utilities collection for Windows 10, bringing improvements to FancyZones and PowerToys Run. The latest update also includes numerous bug fixes.

Included among the new arrivals in PowerToys 0.31.1 are a new dark mode option and an enhanced interface for FancyZones.

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A trojanized version of OpenSSH software is being used to steal SSH credentials from high performance computing (HPC) clusters, reports security firm ESET. The Linux malware has been dubbed Kobalos, and is described as "small, yet complex" and "tricksy".

Despite its diminutive size, the Kobalos backdoor is hitting some major targets including government systems in the US, universities in Europe, and a major ISP in Asia. Security experts report that while the multiplatform backdoor works on Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris, "there are also artifacts indicating that variants of this malware may exist for AIX and even Windows".

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The next big update for Windows 10 is going to be Windows 10 21H1 -- although it should also have a slightly snappier name when it is released. But while previous xxH1 updates have reached users in May, this year it is looking like it could be a little later than expected.

Although Microsoft has said little official about the Windows 10 21H1 release, a developer writing on the Chromium Gerrit appears to have let something slip.

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Waiting for Microsoft to issue patches for bugs that have been discovered in its software can mean having to be very patient -- some updates just seem to take forever to appear. More than this, the bug fixes can introduce new problems of their own, so it's little wonder that third-party patching services such as 0patch have grown in popularity.

And once again, 0patch has managed to beat Microsoft in releasing a patch for a serious vulnerability. The company's latest patch addresses a local privilege escalation 0day in Windows Installer, and it's available well ahead of Microsoft's official fix.

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It is only a few days since we let you know about an aesthetic change coming to Settings in Windows Terminal. Now the big day has arrived, and Microsoft has released version 1.6 of its powerful and versatile command line tool.

Windows Terminal 1.6 Preview is the first update to see the light of day in 2021, and while the new UI for Settings is the big news, there are plenty of other improvements as well.

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It is very difficult for web browsers to be able to honestly make the claim that they have an exclusive feature these days -- the likes of Chrome, Edge, Firefox et al have started to become all but indistinguishable from one another. Looking to stay ahead of the pack, however, Vivaldi has launched a new feature which is unique.

While the likes of Google have been experimenting with tab grouping and pinning to make room for more open tabs in a browser window, the latest version of Vivaldi has taken a new approach. With the new release you have two layers of tabs to play with, doubling your browsing opportunities.

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