Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Microsoft has announced a public preview of a new feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint that makes it possible to isolate Linux devices.

The company explains that it is possible to isolate a Linux device using APIs, or via the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. The update means that in the event of a security breach it is now possible to cut off Linux devices from a network, just as it has been possible to do with Windows devices.

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It is no secret that the updates released for Windows 11 have been rather more problematic than updates for previous versions of Windows. Microsoft has managed to earn itself an unenviable reputation for poor quality control, with update after update causing a wide range of issues over the past year and a half.

The problems with updates tend to rear their heads once they have been installed, but there is also an issue that is preventing people from installing updates in the first place. The recently released KB5022303 and KB5022360 updates are among those that fail to install, generating various unhelpful error codes including 0x800f0988 and 0x800f0831.

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Microsoft has revealed details of an upcoming visual update to Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows which is due to hit general availability by the end of this quarter.

"Vivid" and "vibrant" are words Microsoft is using to describe the new look and feel that will be making its way to the software soon. A quintet of new themes will be added for greater customization options, and there are new buttons, an updated calendar and better alignment of interface appearance across Windows and Android.

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GitHub has issued a warning about "unauthorized access to a set of repositories used in the planning and development of GitHub Desktop and Atom" in a hack that took place back in December.

Users are being advised to ensure that they install the latest updates for the affected software, but there is currently no suggestion that GitHub.com has been impacted. With the attackers having stolen code signing certificates, GitHub is revoking the certificates for some versions of Atom and GitHub Desktop on February 2, so users should update before this date.

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Since consigning Internet Explorer to the trash can and adopting the Chromium engine, Microsoft has developed Edge quite rapidly and it has evolved into a browser that does a lot to make up for its predecessor.

And Microsoft is showing no signs of slowing down. The company is currently working away on a revamped version of Edge, code-named Phoenix. In addition to a more Windows 11-like look, there are some new features on the horizon, including the ability to split an Edge window into two tabs -- and you can even try this out in the preview builds of Edge right now to get a taste of what the future holds.

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Fans of the Windows Package Manager app -- also known as WinGet -- have been treated to a new version of the tool this week. In WinGet 1.4 there is quite a lot that's new, but the headline addition is support for .zip-based packages.

Other important changes in this release include new command aliases, new installation options, and numerous improvements and new functions.

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Updates for Windows 11 have proved to be astonishingly problematic over the last year and a half. Just about every patch and update that has been released has ended up causing new issues that have had to be addressed with yet another update.

Considering the problems caused by Windows Update, it is interesting to see a new option Microsoft is working on at the moment. Hidden in the latest Insider builds of Windows 11 is a new addition to the Recovery tools in the System section of the Settings app: Fix problems using Windows Update.

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Ahead of a full, wider release next month, Microsoft has made available a preview version of the KB5022360 update for Windows 11.

This is a non-security update, but it does include -- in Microsoft's words -- "quality improvements". What this means in practice is that the update addresses a number of Windows 11 problems such as an issue with searchindexer.exe and another with firmware Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). It also introduces a change to the way .NET Framework update previews are installed.

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More than nine months before the end of support for Windows 11 21H2, Microsoft has started to forcibly upgrade users to Windows 11 22H2 -- or the Windows 11 2022 Update as it is also known.

While the upgrades may be unwanted, Microsoft is not being quiet about what it is doing. The company is using a security angle to try to win over those who may be unhappy with what is happening.

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It is not all that long ago since Microsoft gave File Explorer something of a revamp with the addition of tabs. Now the company is planning something even bigger, with a dramatically restyled and updated version of the Windows 11 app due for release later this year.

While a precise release date has not yet been revealed, it is likely that the new version of File Explorer will ship as part of either the next Moment update for the operating system, or in Windows 11 23H2. So... what can you look forward to? Better cloud integration, a redesigned toolbar, a new Gallery pane, and a potentially controversial Recommended header.

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Multiple Microsoft 365 services have been hit by an outage that is affecting users around the world. The problems have disrupted access to a large number of services including Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and Outlook.

Microsoft says that it may have found the source of the issues,  but they are yet to be resolved, and no specific details have been revealed. The company is also looking into Azure connectivity problems.

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Microsoft has confirmed an issue in Windows 10 and Windows 11 that can leave the Start menu unresponsive, as well as causing problems with Windows Search and the launching of UWP apps.

The company is continuing to investigate the matter and says that it will provide a fix in a future update. In the meantime, however, Microsoft has provided details of a workaround.

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The cut-off date for buying the download version of Windows 10 directly from Microsoft has been revealed. Even though the company will be offering support for Windows 10 until late 2025, you have just until the end of this month to purchase a downloadable license.

Microsoft is obviously keen for anyone still running Windows 7 or Windows 8 to make the move to Windows 11, and in cutting off one source of accessing Windows 10, the company is reducing options for users.

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While WhatsApp is most commonly used on iOS and Android devices, there are plenty of reasons for wanting to use the messaging service on the desktop. There has been a web-based version of WhatsApp for quite some time, but for many people this is a poor substitute for a dedicated app.

Windows users have been able to use a desktop app for ages, and now the same is true for those who are more at home on a Mac. There has been a beta version of WhatsApp for a number of weeks, but only through TestFlight which has a strict limit on user numbers. But now it is possible to download the macOS version of the beta direct from WhatsApp,

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League of Legends publisher Riot Games has announced that it suffered a security breach last week. While it is not clear precisely what was compromised in the social engineering-driven attack, the company says that personal information and player data was not accessed by the hackers.

The impact of the hack is that key updates and patches for numerous titles will be delayed. In addition to League of Legends, games including Teamfight Tactics have also been affected, forcing developers to change the release schedule for hotfixes.

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