Zero-day vulnerability could give an attacker admin access in Windows 11 and older
A security researcher has revealed a serious vulnerability affecting Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server. By exploiting the vulnerability, an attacker would be able to easily gain administrative privileges on a victim's system.
The discovery and revelation were made by Abdelhamid Naceri, during his research on a Microsoft patch for another vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-41379. He was able to bypass the patch for the Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability and also discovered another serious zero-day for which he has shared a proof-of-concept exploit.
You can now download a free Windows 11 Enterprise virtual machine from Microsoft
Microsoft has made no fanfare about it, but the company has made available a virtual machine based on Windows 11 Enterprise that developers -- or anyone else -- can install and use free of charge.
A few days ago, Microsoft updated a page in the Windows Dev Center to include download links for Windows 11 VMs for VMWare, Hyper-V, VirtualBox and Parallels. The development environments have been designed to help users "start building Windows applications quickly" but they could be put to other uses instead.
How to view saved Wi-Fi passwords in Windows 11
There are times -- such as when you get a new laptop or phone -- when you will need to know the password for your wireless internet connection. You may have set this password yourself, or you may have stuck with the default password your router came with.
While it is possible that the password is printed on a sticker on the bottom of your router, this is not always the case; even if it is, your router may not be in an easily accessible place. So how can you determine what your Wi-Fi password is in Windows 11? Read on to find out!
Spotify no longer shuffles albums by default because Adele has spoken
Following the release of her latest album, 30, Adele has had a greater impact on Spotify than the artist -- or anyone else -- expected. The new LP has already been streamed millions of times, and this is hardly surprising for Adele's first album in six years. But the singer has also managed to convince Spotify to make a big change to the platform.
The streaming music service has stopped shuffling albums by default, in recognition of the fact that bands and artists craft albums with a great deal of attention to detail, carefully curating track order to create a narrative or mood.
Meta says there will be no end-to-end encryption for Facebook and Instagram messages until 2023
WhatsApp users may enjoy the benefits of end-to-end encryption, but the same cannot be said of messages sent via Facebook or Instagram. What's more, this is not going to be changing any time soon.
While Meta (or Facebook as it was at the time) previously announced plans to introduce encrypted messaging to the Facebook and Instagram platforms, there was heavy criticism from campaigners and organizations for child safety. Now the company has said end-to-end encryption will not be arriving until 2023.
Want to know how to speed up Windows 11? Just wait...
Do you like the idea of a bit more speed from your computer? Would you like Windows 11 to run a little faster? Of course, you would! But just how can you achieve this?
There are two pieces of good news. Not only will speeding up Windows 11 not cost you any money, you won't have to do anything either -- other than wait, that is.
Microsoft releases KB5007262 to fix installer-related app issues in Windows 11
Just yesterday we wrote about an issue with the Microsoft Installer which is causing problems with various apps.
The MSI issue affects a wide range of versions of Windows and Windows Server, and in the case of Windows 11 Microsoft has been fast to act. The company has issued KB5007262 as a cumulative update to fix the recently acknowledged problem with, among other software titles, Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Windows .
Microsoft Installer is causing huge problems for some apps in Windows 11 and other OS versions
Microsoft has acknowledged a new issue affecting numerous versions of Windows. Everything from Windows 7 to Windows 11 on the client side of things, and Windows Sever 2008 to Windows Server 2022 may experience issues relating to the Microsoft Installer.
The problem causes the installer to run into issues updating or repairing apps, and it has been connected to KB5007215 or later updates.
Windows 11 is drawing inspiration from PowerToys utilities
The Windows 11 development team and the one behind PowerToys are entirely separate entities, but it seems like one is being inspired by the other.
While the PowerToys utilities exist to improve on the features found in Windows -- as well as adding completely new options -- sometimes the utilities collection has an influence on the operating system. A good case in point is the new microphone-muting keyboard shortcut that has just been added to the latest builds of Windows 11.
Microsoft releases KB5007253 update to fix problems in Windows 10
For Windows 10 users on the Release Preview channel, Microsoft has an important new update.
The KB5007253 update is available to testers of Windows 10 21H2 and Windows 10 21H1. It will be of interest to business and enterprise users thanks to a fix for a Window Hello issue.
Microsoft is preparing to release a great new PowerToys utility for your mouse
It is only fairly recently that Microsoft added a new utility to PowerToys -- the incredibly useful Find My Mouse. Now the company is getting ready to launch another addition to the new Mouse Utilities section.
While Find My Mouse makes it easy to locate your mouse cursor when you are unable to track it down yourself, the upcoming Mouse Highlighter takes a slightly different approach. It's a utility that will appeal to anyone who uses their computer to give presentations, and Microsoft has shared details of what we can expect.
Spotify now gives you lyrics to the songs you listen to
It is something that has been a long time coming, but Spotify has finally launched its eagerly anticipated Lyrics feature.
Thanks to a partnership with Musixmatch, the streaming music service is helping all of its users to avoid the problem of misheard lyrics. Available to users of Free and Premium tiers, Lyrics gives you the chance to sing along to music karaoke-style.
How to enable the Windows 11 look in Chrome 96
Google has launched Chrome 96, and the latest version of the search giant's web browser is making its way to users around the world.
Visually not much has changed, although there are lots of improvements and additions to be found elsewhere. However, by tweaking a hidden setting it is possible to change the look of Chrome so that it uses Windows 11's menus, complete with rounded corners and drop shadow effects -- and this even works in Windows 10.
Microsoft is dropping x64 emulation from Windows 10 on ARM, making it exclusive to Windows 11
Back in December last year, Microsoft launched a preview of x64 emulation for Windows on ARM. The emulator makes it possible to run x64 apps on ARM devices, and at the time it was available to Windows 10 on ARM users.
But Microsoft has had a change of heart which means Windows 11 on ARM is needed for 64-bit Intel app emulation.
Intel audio drivers are causing blue screens and errors in Windows 11
Microsoft has acknowledged an issue with compatibility between Windows 11 and audio drivers from Intel.
Some versions of Intel Smart Sound Technology (Intel SST) drivers are causing BSoDs, leading to Microsoft placing a compatibility hold on systems with affected hardware. This means that until the issue is addressed by either Microsoft or Intel, such systems will not be able to upgrade to 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 Facebook, Twitter and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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