Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

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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It does not seem all that long since browser version numbers were single digits, but Microsoft Edge has now reached the 111 milestone -- for Insiders on the Dev channel, at least.

Available for Windows, iOS, Android and Linux (with the macOS edition promised "at a later date"), Microsoft Edge 111.0.1619.2 includes a number of interesting new features and settings. Highlights include a new option to personalize top side in the Sidebar, the ability to hide duplicate entries from History, and new protections against unwanted Start page and search engine changes.

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At the same time as sharing its Q4 2022 earnings report, Netflix has revealed that its much-hyped crackdown on password sharing will roll out before the end of this quarter.

In a letter to shareholders, the company reveals that more than 100 million households currently share their accounts with others, pointing out that this "undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve Netflix". Having already tested charging for account sharing in Latin America, the plan is to expand this to a much larger proportion of the subscriber base.

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If you want to be among the first to try out the latest features and options of Window 11, being part of the Windows Insider program is the place to be. But even if you are signed up to the Dev Channel, there are hidden secrets to unearth, and this is true of the latest release.

For anyone who has Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25281 installed, there is a new Volume Mixer. While Microsoft has not made it easy to activate the feature, it is possible. Here's what you need to know.

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After taking a month off in December, Microsoft has now released the first preview update of 2023 for Windows 11. The KB5019274 update does not address any security issues, but it does fix various problems and adds new features and options.

The KB5019274 update is available for Windows 11 21H2 and it, among other things, makes it easier to discover and turn on the Windows Spotlight feature. There are important changes in the Settings app, including the arrival of storage alerts for Microsoft OneDrive in the System section and the addition of Xbox subscription information.

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Microsoft has released a Windows 10 update to address a series of bugs in the operating system. The preview version of the KB5019275 update is due for a wider release next month, but is available now for those who would like it sooner.

This is a non-security update but with it Microsoft has fixed a series of problems afflicting Windows 10, including issues with searchindexer.exe and conhost.exe, as well as adding support for longer URLs.

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While there has still been no announcement, Twitter has updated its developer agreement so that third-party clients are now prohibited. Over the course of the last week or so, we've already seen the likes of Tweetbot and Twitterific rendered useless after the company blocked API access.

Twitter later said that it was merely enforcing long-standing rules, but failed to provide any details or clarification. But now a new developer agreement has been published that slaps a ban on the creation of, "a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Applications" -- in other words, third party Twitter apps are now forbidden.

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