Microsoft claims Windows 11's visual effects do not reduce performance
For some people, the upgrade to Windows 11 is little more than eye-candy, a visual change for those who have grown weary of the look of Windows 10. There is, of course, much more to the operating system than that, but aesthetics are certainly what most users will notice first.
And one of the concerns about the design of Windows 11 and the various visual effects that it includes is that there will be a negative impact on system speed. Not so, says Microsoft. Optimization has been implemented that should mean users "shouldn’t notice any difference" in performance.
PrintNightmare fixing KB5005033 update is causing performance issues in Windows 10
The PrintNightmare vulnerability continues to cause headaches for Windows users and Microsoft alike. Similarly, Microsoft's seemingly endless stream of problematic updates continues to lead to frustration -- and August's Patch Tuesday updates have not broken the cycle.
Windows 10 users who have installed the KB5005033 update that was supposed to fix the PrintNightmare security flaw are reporting unwanted side effects. Among the problems being reported are issues with reduced performance, particularly in games.
Remote Desktop Connection Manager is back after receiving important security update
Last year, Microsoft issued advice to stop using Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) and turn to either Remote Desktop Connection or a universal Remote Desktop client instead.
The advice came after Microsoft deprecated RDCMan following the discovery of a serious security vulnerability which the company had said would not be fixed. But having been made part of the Windows Sysinternals tools collection, a fix has now been issued meaning that RDCMan is now safe to use once again.
Microsoft finally fixes PrintNightmare vulnerability with KB5005031 and KB5005033 updates
To help address the ongoing problems with the so-called PrintNightmare vulnerability (CVE-2021-34527), Microsoft has announced a change to the default behavior of the Point and Print feature in Windows.
The change has been delivered via the KB5005033 and KB5005031 update and means that in order to install printer drivers, users will have to have administrative privileges. This mitigates against the Windows Print Spooler vulnerability that allowed any user to install drivers via Point and Print, a fact that could be exploited to install a malicious drivers to allow for remote code execution and SYSTEM privileges.
Microsoft launches Xbox Cloud Gaming beta in the Xbox App on Windows 10 and Windows 11
Microsoft has launched a beta version of its cloud gaming service for Windows. The Xbox Cloud Gaming beta is available in the Xbox app in Windows 10 and Windows 11, greatly expanding the gaming options available to PC users.
Using Xbox Cloud Gaming with the Xbox App provides access to scores of Xbox games for Windows users, but there are a few caveats to bear in mind.
Thousands sign letter asking Apple to scrap plans to scan users' photos for child abuse images
An open letter signed by privacy advocates, security experts, technology companies and legal specialists has been sent to Apple, decrying the company's plans to scan the photos of Mac, iPad and iPhone users for evidence of child abuse.
While on the face of it, Apple's "Expanded Protections for Children" plans are a good thing, it has also come in for heavy criticism. With the release of macOS Monterey, iOS 15 and iPad OS 15, the company is implementing CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) detection which will check image hashes to see if they feature in databases of known abuse images. It has been likened to creating a backdoor to users' files and has horrified privacy experts.
ASUS BIOS update gives motherboards TPM 2.0 support ready for Windows 11
ASUS is one of the first motherboard manufacturers taking steps to ensure that its customers will be able to enjoy Windows 11. The company has released BIOS updates for a number of its boards which automatically enable TPM 2.0 support.
The hardware requirements for Windows 11 have proved confusing and controversial in just about equal measure, but it is the need for TPM 2.0 that has caught many people off guard. Even for people with systems that have TPM 2.0 and therefore support Windows 11, there is the potentially difficult process of enabling the feature. With its latest BIOS updates for both AMD and Intel mobos, ASUS has eliminated this step so there is no need to manually enable it.
Microsoft releases PowerToys v0.43.0 with an absolute barrel load of fixes and changes (plus a bit of telemetry)
If it feels like a while since there was an update to PowerToys, that's because the last significant release was a little over a month ago. But now Microsoft has broken the dry spell by pushing out PowerToys v0.43.0.
Sadly, there are no new utilities to play with in this particular release, but it remains important. In terms of bug fixes, improvements and changes, this is one of the biggest updates to the suite of tools in quite some time. There is also the slightly controversial addition of telemetry to one of the utilties.
Microsoft gives further clues about the Windows 11 release date
We know that Windows 11 is on the way, we know that there is a new look, we know that there are new features, and we know that we can test drive the beta version right now. But what about the actual release date for the finished product?
So far, Microsoft has not given much away beyond saying it will be ready for the holiday season. That said, it seems that the only way to get hold of the RTM build this year will be to buy a new computer with it pre-installed; anyone looking to upgrade from Windows 10 will have to wait until next year. We've already had hints that the release date for Windows 11 is October, but now there are further clues -- from Microsoft itself.
Windows 10 will block Potentially Unwanted Applications by default
Microsoft is making a change to the way so-called Potentially Unwanted Apps (PUAs) are handled by Defender and Edge in Windows 10.
Starting this month, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 will default to blocking PUAs. Users who want greater control over the apps that can be run on their computer have the option of disabling the setting, but this does mean missing out on an important protective measure.
How to enable Hyper-V in Windows 10 or Windows 11 Home so you can run virtual machines
With the release of the first beta build of Windows 11, increasing numbers of people are keen to try out the operating system. You could install Windows 11 as your primary OS, you could opt to dual boot with Windows 10, or you could just use an old computer (assuming it meets the minimum system requirements).
But perhaps the least disruptive option is to go down the route of virtualization. There are various tools you could use for this, but Windows offers Hyper-V, an optional component that can be used to create virtual machines. Technically, it is exclusive to the Pro editions of Windows 10 and Windows 11, but with a little tweaking, it's also available in the Home editions. Here's how to enable Hyper-V.
New variant of PrintNightmare exploit lets any user gain admin privileges in Windows
The PrintNightmare vulnerability has indeed proved to be something of a nightmare for Microsoft, and it's one that shows no signs of coming to an end. Security researchers have unearthed yet another method of exploiting the Windows print spooler vulnerability, making it possible for anyone to gain administrator privileges.
The latest method involves creating a remote print server and connecting to it. This causes Windows to install a driver which requires loading a DLL with System privileges -- a fact that can be exploited to launch an elevated Command Prompt. Even on a fully patched and updated copy of Windows 10 21H1, the attack works.
Is graphics card maker 3dfx staging a comeback?
Some names transport you back to the past, and this is certainly true of 3dfx. It is now two decades since the graphics card maker went bankrupt and was swallowed by NVIDIA.
But now it seems that the company is rising from the dead. Over the weekend, a Twitter account for 3dfx Interactive appeared and started posting some interesting tweets. First, there is at the promise of a "major announcement regarding our return this Thursday" (August 5), followed by a poll asking people if they'd like to see a new 3dfx Voodoo card. So, what's going on?
Microsoft just made it even easier to install Windows Subsystem for Linux in Windows 11 (and 10)
Windows Subsystem For Linux has evolved hugely over the years, and with WSL2 things have become really impressive. But in order to enjoy everything the WSL2 has to offer, you have to have it installed, and this is something that Microsoft has acknowledged as being unnecessarily complicated.
So the company has done something about it. In the latest preview builds of Windows 11 and Windows 10, you do not need to jump through endless hoops to get WSL2 installed; a single command is now all it takes.
Linspire-based Linux distro Freespire embraces cloud apps with 'an entirely new direction'
Freespire is a Linux distro with an interesting history. It draws heavily on Linspire, the distro that started life as Lindows until Microsoft took exception to the name, unsuccessfully tried to sue, and then came to a licensing arrangement and acquired the moniker for itself.
Nearly two decades later, Linspire is still going strong and the development team behind it --PC/OpenSystems LLC Open Source Development team -- has announced a move in "an entirely new direction". This sounds like a bold statement. In practice this will involve "incorporating a cloud app approach" and coincides with the launch of Freespire 7.7.
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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