Now you can pay to get verified on Facebook and Instagram as Meta takes a leaf out of Twitter's book
Not to be outdone by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg has taken to Instagram to announce the rollout of a paid-for Meta Verified program. While it is already possible to receive a Twitter-style blue tick of verification on Facebook and Instagram, the new subscription service will give users the opportunity to pay for the badge.
Echoing the claims of Musk, Zuckerberg says that "this new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services". With a charge of between $12 and $15 per month, there is obviously a financial benefit for Meta as well.
Microsoft is massively increasing the cost of using Bing Search APIs
Twitter has received a lot of attention of late, with one of the most recent controversies relating to the decision to charge for access to the Twitter API, all but getting rid of the free tier. Now Microsoft is up to much the same trick, announcing this week huge increases that are coming for developers who want to use the Bing Search APIs.
New pricing for access to Bing Search APIs kicks in at the beginning of May, and the rise is significant. There are various access tiers available, and the cost of some is due to increase tenfold.
Twitter is going to make you pay for some elements of 2FA -- act now to secure your account for free!
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an important means of securing accounts, making it significantly harder for hackers to gain unauthorized access. So it is perhaps a little surprising that Twitter has announced that it is locking one of the most popular 2FA methods behind a paywall.
The company has announced that SMS-based two-factor authentication will only be available to paying Twitter Blue subscribers. The change will take effect on March 20, and after this date non-paying Twitter users will be limited to securing their account with either an authentication app or a physical security key.
Microsoft gives its approval for running Windows 11 on Macs with M1 and M2 chips using Parallels
While Microsoft would very much prefer that you run Windows 11 on a PC, the company recognizes -- albeit rather reluctantly -- that some people favor Macs. Licensing restrictions have meant that, until now, users have not been permitted to run Windows on Apple Silicon.
Microsoft has published an article that officially permits the use of Parallels Desktop 18 to run Windows 11 on ARM-based Macs. This means that Macs with M1 or M2 chips can be used to run either Windows 11 Pro or Windows 11 Enterprise. There are, however, numerous caveats.
Microsoft is using the KB5022905 update to add new facial recognition features to Windows 11
Microsoft has released a preview version of the KB5022905 update for Windows 11 which not only fixes a host of bugs, but also adds important new facial recognition functionality.
For now, the update is only available to users running Windows 11 Release Preview, and the KB5022905 update which takes Windows 11 up to build 22000.1639. While there are no security fixes in this update, it addresses a lengthy list of issues.
Microsoft is adding a useful End Task option to the Windows 11 taskbar; here's how to enable it now!
If an app starts to misbehave in Windows 11, you may need to forcibly quit it using Task Manager. To help make life a little easier, Microsoft is speeding up the process of killing an app by adding an End Task option to taskbar jump lists.
The new option means that it is possible to terminate an app by simply right-clicking its icon in the taskbar and selecting End Task. The feature is hidden by default, but there is a way to enable it right away.
Microsoft UUP will deliver smaller and faster updates to on-premises Windows 11 22H2 devices from March
Starting at the end of March, Microsoft is going to deliver its first UUP on premises updates to Windows 11 devices.
Available for systems running Windows 11 22H2, UUP (Unified Update Platform) on premises works in conjunction with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Microsoft Configuration Manager. Ultimately, it means smaller updates for clients and faster update delivery, but there will be a hefty download to kick things off.
Microsoft shares an update about the waitlist for the new Bing enhanced with a custom version of ChatGPT AI -- including how to jump the queue
It has been difficult to avoid AI search news of late, with both Microsoft and Google announcing their offerings in the form of an AI-enhanced version of Bing, and Bard. There has been a lot of interest in the new Bing, with the waiting list growing by the day -- and now Microsoft has provided an update about how things are progressing.
If you are very eager to get to try out the AI-powered capabilities of the new Bing, Microsoft has also shared details of how you can "get ahead in the queue".
Microsoft fixes security issues in Windows 11 22H2 with KB5022845 update
With Patch Tuesday having rolled around once again, Microsoft has issued its regular batch of releases. We've already talked about the KB5022836 update for Windows 11 21H2, but if you're running Windows 11 22H2, you will need the KB5022845 update instead.
The KB5022845 update takes Windows 11 up to build 22621.1265, and it also includes the changes and improvements that were part of the KB5022360 update preview released last month.
Microsoft releases KB5022836 update to fix Windows 11 21H2 security issues
It is the time of the month when Microsoft releases updates for Windows, and as such the company has released a pair of patches for Windows 11. Specifically, we have two cumulative updates in the form of KB5022845 for Windows 11 22H2 and KB5022836 for Windows 11 21H2.
The KB5022836 update takes Windows 11 up to build 22000.1574, and it also includes the changes and improvements that were part of the KB5019274 update preview released last month.
Twitter delays the rollout of paid API access yet again, and confirms researchers will lose free access
Free access to the Twitter API was meant to end yesterday, but the company has announced that there will be a brief stay of execution. Having already extended the cut-off by four days, Twitter now says that "we will be delaying the launch of our new API platform by a few more days".
The delay is blamed on "an immense amount of enthusiasm for the upcoming changes with Twitter API", but the lack of detail and clarity about what is happening is causing confusion and anger. Over the weekend, the company also contacted academic researchers to inform them that they will be losing free access to the API as well; it had previously been expected that such education and research-related usage would remain free.
Microsoft is issuing an update to permanently kill Internet Explorer 11 tomorrow
Tomorrow, February 14, is Valentine's Day and this is the day Microsoft has chosen to finally break up with Internet Explorer 11.
As we reported towards the end of last year, Microsoft is releasing a software update that will permanently disable Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 10. Rather than being an update for Windows itself, Microsoft is instead pushing out an irreversible update to Microsoft Edge.
WinGet is down because Microsoft let a security certificate expire
Microsoft only recently updated its Linux-style package manager for Windows, WinGet, adding support for zip files. But at the moment, fans of the tool are reporting that it is not working, with many seeing "InternetOpenUrl() failed" errors.
The problem stems from something of an embarrassing SNAFU for Microsoft. The company appears to have forgotten to renew the SSL certificate for WinGet.
Windows 11 will soon let you control RGB lighting without the need for extra software... but you can unlock the feature now!
There is something of a boom in PC peripherals and accessories brightened with RGB lighting. If you're a fan of such adornments, you'll be aware that the software used to control such lighting is very varied. But Microsoft is working on a solution.
Soon, Windows 11 users will be able to use in-OS settings to control RGB lighting, eliminating the need for third-party software. The feature is currently undergoing development and, while it is hidden away in Windows 11 build 25295 on the dev channel, there is a way to enable it right now.
Microsoft warns of Windows 10 and 11 DirectX issues, apphelp.dll errors after installing KB5019980 update
Microsoft has issued a warning to Windows 10 and Windows 11 users with system Intel GPUs. The company says that people who have installed November's cumulative update for Windows (the KB5019980 update) may experience issues if they also have certain versions of the Intel graphics driver installed.
The problems affect apps and games that make use DirectX or Direct3D to render content, and can cause apphelp.dll errors to appear.
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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