Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Ordinarily Microsoft uses the less stable Windows Insider channels to try out new Windows 11 features -- something the company reiterated when it launched the ultra-cutting edge Canary channel.

But this week saw the release of a new build of Windows 11 to the Release Preview channel, the channel which is the final stage of testing before a build gets full public release. And this time around, things were a little different because the Release Preview build includes brand new features that have not been seen in other builds -- including notifications for Microsoft accounts in the Start menu.

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While WhatsApp is most commonly used on mobile devices, growing numbers of users are adopting the desktop version of the app. Meta has just announced the release of a significantly improved version of the Windows app.

Speed is a key upgrade here, with load times being reduced, but there are also feature improvements. The latest version of WhatsApp for Windows now supports larger group video and audio calls.

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Microsoft has announced the availability of a public preview of its new collaborative working app, Loop. The public launch follows a period of private previews with enterprise customers.

Microsoft Loop is available on the web, as well as for iOS and Android, and it allows teams to work together in shared workspaces that integrate neatly with Microsoft 365 apps. The app competes with the likes of Asana and Notion and has been in development for a couple of years. As you might expect, there is a dash of AI thanks to Microsoft 365 Copilot's support for Loop.

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Users of Windows 11 have been concerned by the appearance of a message that reads: "Local Security protection is off. Your device may be vulnerable". Microsoft is blaming a recent update (KB5007651) for the warning which implies that an important security feature has been disabled.

The issue affects Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2, and those hit by the message have been left confused about what they need to do. So what is going on?

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For the majority of Windows users, OS updates are just something that happens in the background. But for anyone who keeps a closer eye on things, the monthly Patch Tuesday is an important day when they know the latest "stable" versions of Windows updates are released.

For some time, however, Microsoft has released preview versions of updates ahead of the wider rollout, giving eager Windows users the chance to grab the latest fixes faster -- and also serve as beta testers. Now the company has announced that a new schedule for non-security preview releases is to be used from next month.

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Microsoft Snipping Tool utility has been found to have a vulnerability that means that screenshots that have been cropped can be very easily uncropped, potentially exposing sensitive information.

The Snipping Tool is one of the most useful tools to be found in Windows 11, making it easy to take a variety of screenshots -- and, more recently, record screen activity -- without the need for third-party software. But the way in which the app crops images means that edited images are really just the original screengrab; 'cropped' parts are simply hidden and easily restored.

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Continuing its AI push, Microsoft has announced Bing Image Creator. Powered by OpenAI's DALL-E, the tool can be used to generate images using artificial intelligence.

Microsoft says that Bing Image Creator will form part of Bing chat, and it will accept natural language prompts to create (just about) any sort of image you might want. The tool will also be made available in Microsoft Edge, making it -- the company is quick to highlight -- the first and only browser with an integrated AI-powered image generator.

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While there was much interest and excitement surrounding the release of the Moment 2 update for Windows 11, seasoned users were bracing themselves for the inevitable problems to emerge. And emerge they have.

There are a growing number of complaints from people who have installed the update that their system boot times have massively increased. There are also serious issues with severely reduced SSD performance, leading to slow file transfers and poor overall performance.

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Microsoft is working on a new option for Windows 11 that will give users the ability to receive updates for the operating system faster. With the option enabled, there will be no need to wait until Patch Tuesday each month in order to get the latest bug fixes, or even new features.

It also means that there will be no need to manually hunt down the preview versions of updates Microsoft makes available. If this sounds interesting, it is possible to get on board and try out the early access feature right now.

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Microsoft is working to bring a cryptocurrency wallet feature to its Edge browser.

Known simply as "Crypto wallet" the feature is currently undergoing development and is being trialed on a test group of unknown size. Microsoft highlights the benefits of having the non-custodial wallet embedded in Edge, eliminating the need for a browser extension.

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Microsoft has unveiled plans for what it is referring to as "a principled approach to app pinning and app defaults in Windows". The company has outlined sweeping changes that are coming to Windows 11 that will give users greater control over their computers.

The updates mean that the pinning of apps to the Start menu, desktop and taskbar will respect user choices, and adjusting the default apps used to open specific file types will be much easier. Microsoft says that the changes -- which are due to hit the Dev Channel soon before making their way to everyone else -- will also benefit developers.

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Ahead of next week's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has released a preview of the upcoming KB5023774 update for Windows 11.

This is a non-security update, but it addresses a wide range of issues with Windows 11, including problems with Notepad, USB printer abnormalities, and bugs that were sending PowerPoint awry.

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For fans of statistics, or anyone who has an idle curiosity, Twitter has introduced a new bookmark count feature. As well as making it possible for anyone to judge the interest an individual tweet has generated, the new analytics are useful for companies and individuals looking for a more accessible way to track interactions.

While there will be privacy concerns associated with this, Twitter assures users that "your Bookmarks are still private", promising that "we'll never display which accounts have added a Tweet to their Bookmarks".

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Microsoft has published details of PowerShell scripts which the company has designed to help automate updating the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to address a BitLocker security vulnerability.

The security feature bypass vulnerability affects both Windows 10 and Windows 11, and sample scripts are available for different editions of both versions of the operating system.

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Earlier this month, Microsoft made significant changes to the Windows 11 Insider program including introducing a new Canary Channel. While this caused much excitement for those keen to try out the very latest features as soon as possible, the fact that a clean installation of Windows was needed put off some users.

Now Microsoft has decided to make things a little easier for people, notably those lacking a way to create installation media. The company is sending out free USB drives so Insiders can perform a clean installation of Windows 11 and get started with the Canary builds.

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