Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Hackers are increasingly turning their attention to attacking Linux servers and workstations, according to security researchers from Kaspersky.

While it is Windows systems that have traditionally been in the cross-hairs of attackers, advanced persistent threats (APTs) are now a serious issue in the Linux world. Linux systems are being specifically targeted with an ever-widening selection of malware tools.

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Since adopting the Chromium engine for Edge, Microsoft has been eager for people to move away from the legacy version of its web browser.

To help ensure compliance with its wishes, the company has released the KB4576754 update which forces the installation of the new Microsoft Edge and removes the old version. With the update being mandatory, anyone wanting to avoid Edge will have to take action.

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After suddenly hitting the big time during the coronavirus pandemic, video conferencing tool found itself the center of attention for both good and bad reasons. While people welcome the app facilitating remote working, Zoom's security and privacy credentials were called in to questions in a series of incidents.

The company subsequently promised to take action to improve things in these areas, and over the summer there have been ongoing updates to Zoom. Now two-factor authentication (2FA) has been made available to all users.

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Another month, another Patch Tuesday. Earlier this week Microsoft released a series of updates for Windows 10, including KB4571756, a cumulative update designed to fix a range of security issues.

But many people installing KB4571756 have found that the update breaks Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. Microsoft is yet to acknowledge this as a known issue, but many people are experiencing "Element not found" errors in WSL 2 as well as seeing the message "Process exited with code 4294967295".

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People like to be individuals, and in the computing arena one way to be a little different is to change the look of Windows by using themes. But a security researcher has warned of a technique that could be exploited by hackers to trick users into divulging their Windows login details when applying a theme.

Malicious theme packs can be used to execute a "pass-the-hash" attack which sends passwords to a remote server. The specially designed themes are easy to create, andthe way the credential stealing attack works will fool many people -- but there are protective measures that can be put in place.

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We have written a lot about Windows 10 here on BetaNews, and many of these articles have been about problems introduced by new updates. For some time now it has felt as though the updates and patches that are released have not been fully tested, and users of the operating system are being used as guinea pigs when Patch Tuesday rolls around each month.

There is, of course, the argument that Microsoft has an impossible task when it comes to ensuring that patches and updates do not cause problems for people with near unlimited combinations of hardware and software. But that's little consolation if it's your system that gets borked by a patch.

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Earlier in the year, Intel announced that it had completed software validations on fixes for a series of security flaws affecting many of its processors discovered a couple of years ago. Now Microsoft, in conjunction with the chip-maker, released microcode updates for Windows 10 to fix these issues.

The four problems are connected to the now-infamous Spectre and Meltdown flaws from 2018. They relate to problems with the speculative execution function of many chips, and could allow for sensitive data to leak.

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It's a little over a month since Linus Torvalds announced the release of version 5.8 of the Linux kernel -- something he previously described as "one of our biggest releases of all time".

But despite the fact that Linux kernel 5.8 was released so recently, VirtualBox has already been updated to include support for it. This means that the virtualization software can be used to run distros like Ubuntu 20.10 (Groovy Gorilla), which is powered by version 5.8 of the kernel. The software can also run under distros based on the newest kernel.

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Microsoft has released a new non-security update for Windows 10 version 2004. KB4571744 for Windows 10 May 2020 Update was previously delayed, and it is designed for testing purposes; it will be included in a future cumulative update.

But what is notable about the KB4571744 update is the sheer number of issues it fixes. Among the problems the update addresses are issues with blurry screens, problems with Windows Update itself, and it also fixes an issues that resulted in SSDs being defragmented too frequently.

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It seems like it has been a little while since Microsoft made any significant changes to PowerToys for Windows 10, but now the company has pushed out a pair of new releases.

For people who want to stick with the more stable releases, there is PowerToys v0.21.1 which is largely about bug fixes and addressing stability issues. For anyone looking for new PowerToys utilities, however, there is the "experimental" version 0.22.0 which features a new 'Video conference global mute' tool.

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Microsoft is taking steps to improve game performance in Windows 10 by implementing some of the Velocity Architecture used by the Xbox Series X.

Specifically, Microsoft is bringing the DirectStorage API to Windows 10 to help overcome NVMe bandwidth bottlenecks. With compatible hardware, the change will not only mean that games load faster, but also that graphics can be even more detailed.

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Microsoft is blocking the installation of Windows 10 version 2004 on laptops with LTE modems. The company is investigating why the May 2020 Update is causing connectivity problems for some systems with such modems.

Microsoft has acknowledged that "certain WWAN LTE modems might not be able to connect after waking from sleep" and has implemented a block on the update to prevent more people from suffering connectivity issues. The company has also issued advice for anyone who has already installed Windows 10 version 2004.

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Many of the updates and patches Microsoft releases for Windows 10 prove to be unpopular, usually because of the new problems they can introduce. But with the KB4023057 update, people have another reason to consider avoiding installing it.

KB4023057 has been pushed out by Microsoft several times before, and the company has just started to push it again. The aim of the patch is to address issues that have been preventing some people from upgrading to newer versions of Windows 10, and also override any blocks that users have put in place to stop feature updates from being installed. The problem is that there are many people with good reason to stick with an older build of Windows 10, but KB4023057 is ready to ride roughshod over such plans.

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Microsoft has released two new updates to the Windows Terminal app, starting off with version 1.2 for the main release.

But for those looking to try out the very latest features, the newly launched Windows Terminal Preview 1.3 is probably of more interest. A raft of new features and options have been added including a command palette and an advanced tab switcher for easier navigation.

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In light of the Coronavius pandemic, Microsoft has thrown a lifeline to people who are doggedly hanging on to older versions of Windows.

Some people running Windows 10 version 1803 (also called Windows 10 April 2018 Update) have been granted an extra six months of support.  Version 1803 of the operating system will now reach end of service in 2021 rather than this year, but the extension does not apply to everyone.

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