Microsoft is using the KB5021751 update to see if you have an unsupported version of Office installed
Earlier this week, Microsoft released the KB5021751 update. Unusually it has no fixes or new features for users whatsoever -- it is an update purely for Microsoft's benefit.
Designed for Office 2007, Office 2010 and Office 2013, the slightly sinister-sounding update "will run one time silently" and gather information that is then fed back to Microsoft.
Microsoft acknowledges Windows 11 22H2 bug that stops apps working after a system restore
Microsoft has issued a warning about yet another known issue with Windows 11. Affecting version 22H2 of the operating system, the problem means that users may experience problems launching certain apps after performing a system restore.
The company says that the bug caused problems with any application that uses the MSIX Windows app package format, and concedes that various titles of its own -- including Office and Terminal -- are affected.
The Office Insider program is dead; long live the Microsoft 365 Insider program
Microsoft has killed off the Office Insider program, used to gain feedback from testers about new features and changes. The death is not one to be mourned, however -- it is followed by an immediate resurrection as the Microsoft 365 Insider program.
The rebranding is in line with Microsoft's announcement last year that Office 365 would become Microsoft 365. In addition to the change in name, the company says that it will be providing information and publishing blog posts about a wider range of products and services that fall under the Microsoft 365 banner.
Microsoft uses KB5022360 update to squash bugs and reduce the number of reboots when upgrading to Windows 11 22H2
Microsoft has released a new update for Windows 11 in the form of KB5022360.
The release is only for Windows Insiders participating in the Release Preview Channel running Windows 11 22H2. Although it may be a little while before it is made available more widely, it sees Microsoft not only fixing a number of issues -- including one relating to searchindexer.exe and another to conhost.exe -- but also introducing changes that reduce the number of reboots experienced by users upgrading to Windows 11 22H2.
Oversight Board recommends Meta change its policies to respect transgender and non-binary people
It is quite some time since Facebook was hit with the "free the nipple" campaign that demanded the company stop censoring or removing images of breastfeeding women. But now Meta is facing new recommendations from its independent Oversight Board to update the Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Community Standard that it applies to Facebook and Instagram content to ensure it is "governed by clear criteria that respect international human rights standards".
The recommendation comes as the Oversight Board overturned Meta's decisions in 2021 and 2022 to remove content posted by a couple -- one of whom is transgender, the other non-binary -- for violating Sexual Solicitation Community Standards. Meta is criticized for taking a simplistic view of gender, with the Board saying that it is "unclear how the rules apply to intersex, non-binary and transgender people, and requires reviewers to make rapid and subjective assessments of sex and gender, which is not practical when moderating content at scale".
Twitter confirms that it is deliberately blocking numerous third-party clients
Users of various third-party Twitter clients have been frustrated over the last week as their chosen apps stopped working. There was speculation that Twitter was blocking apps on purpose, with internal communication appearing to substantiate this.
Now we know for sure that it is the case, with the company confirming it in a tweet. Twitter says that it is merely "enforcing its long-standing API rules", conceding that this "may result in some apps not working". But there is confusion from app developers who say that Twitter is not revealing which rules it is referring to.
Microsoft announces general availability of Azure OpenAI Service and promises ChatGPT soon
AI services are more than a trend, they are a phenomenon, and every technology company wants to get in on the action. Microsoft is no exception; the company has just announced that its Azure OpenAI Service is now generally available, giving access to a far wider audience.
Microsoft is pushing Azure as "the best place to build AI workloads", and part of this involves harnessing the power of GPT-3-powered natural language. On the horizon is ChatGPT, which is described as "a fine-tuned version of GPT-3.5 that has been trained and runs inference on Azure AI infrastructure".
Major security breach exposes usernames and passwords of Norton Password Manager customers
The company behind NortonLifeLock, Gen Digital, has issued a warning to customers about a security breach that took place in December. Hackers used a credential-stuff attack to gain access to hundreds of thousands of Norton Password Manager accounts.
Gen Digital says that its own systems were not compromised, but warns affected customers that "we strongly believe that an unauthorized third party knows and has utilized your username and password for your account".
Microsoft releases a script to restore a 'subset' of shortcuts deleted by rogue Defender ASR rule
Towards the end of last week, Microsoft confirmed an issue that stemmed from a flawed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint ASR rule that results in the deletion of app shortcuts from the Start menu, desktop and taskbar.
The company issued an update to prevent the problem from arising again, but said that there was no alternative but to manually recreate any shortcuts that had been lost. Now though Microsoft has released a PowerShell script that will automatically recreate some -- but not all -- deleted shortcuts. The company has also released a trio of advanced hunting queries (AHQs) to help with the issue.
Tweetbot and other third-party clients stop working as Twitter 'intentionally' blocks API access
If you are a Tweetbot user who found yourself unable to access Twitter, you're not alone. Tweetbot, along with various other third-party Twitter clients stopped working on Thursday, it seems as though this is the result of an intentional block by Twitter.
Although the company has yet to say anything to either confirm or deny that third-party access to the Twitter API has been blocked, it is something that has been confirmed in leaked internal communication from Twitter engineers. One says: "third-party app suspensions are intentional".
Future versions of Chrome will allow browser extensions to be disabled on a site-by-site basis
In a future update to Chrome, Google will give users the option of having extensions enabled or disabled on a site-by site basis.
This is an option that some browser extensions -- notably ad-blockers -- feature as standard, but the update will expand this so it applies to all add-ons. With a few clicks it will be possible to quickly disable all extensions for a particular site for the purposes of compatibility, privacy or performance.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint ASR rule blamed for deleting desktop, taskbar and Start menu shortcuts
Users of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint have been experiencing what has been described as a "weird issue" that not only caused shortcuts to be deleted from the Start menu, desktop and taskbar, but also led to issues with Office apps.
The problem was traced to a flawed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint ASR (attack surface reduction) rule, and while Microsoft has now released a fix, this is not without problems of its own. Users are being warned that any shortcuts that have disappeared will need to be manually recreated.
Microsoft brings the Windows 11 Media Player to Windows 10
The writing has been on the wall for Groove Music for quite some time now, with Microsoft having resurrected Media Player as a replacement in Windows 11.
Now, as expected, the company is doing the same for Windows 10 users. Microsoft is bringing the same Media Player app found in Windows 11 to the older operating system, migrating users away from the Groove Music app.
Use these hacks to unlock hidden taskbar and Start menu search options in Windows 11
Microsoft has been gradually evolving Windows 11, and the insider builds are where much of the innovation is to be found. But even for eager users who install the latest builds as soon as they are available, sometimes a little extra legwork is needed.
And this is true of two hidden search features -- one for the taskbar and one for the Start menu. These secret options can only be enabled using a special third party tool, and they give a very interesting glimpse into what Microsoft has planned for Windows 11 in the future.
Apple TV, Apple Music and Apple Devices apps all launch in beta for Windows 11
They have been a very long time coming, but there are finally Apple TV and Apple Music apps available for Windows 11, meaning that PC users now have an alternative to the web versions of the services.
Both apps are listed as being "preview" versions -- essentially betas -- so what you see now is not necessarily the finished product. Apple has also launched a preview of the Apple Devices app, which can be used to manage iPhones and iPads from Windows 11.
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!
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.