Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

The system requirements for Windows 11 have been confusing from the moment they were announced, and Microsoft's changes to them has done nothing to make the situation clearer for most people

Microsoft's own PC checking tool, released to help people determine the compatibility of their system with Windows 11 was criticized and then pulled for failing to provide enough helpful information. It has since been updated, but now Microsoft has launched a new way to check whether your computer will run Windows 11 -- performing a check via Windows Update.

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Ahead of September's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has released a preview of the KB5005103 update for Windows 10.

This non-security update addresses a number of issues, most notably fixing a problem which prevented certain MP4 files from playing. A second key fix sees Microsoft addressing a problem that reset syncing for Microsoft OneDrive to "Known folders only" after installing an update for Windows.

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Security researchers have discovered a serious security vulnerability in Microsoft Azure that could given an attacker unfettered access to any and all of the databases stored on its Cosmos DB service.

Researchers from security firm Wiz found that it is not only possible but trivial to obtain the primary keys to databases. The vulnerability, dubbed ChoasDB, may have existed since the introduction of the Jupyter Notebook back in 2019, and it gives attackers the ability to access, edit and delete data or entire databases. Microsoft is unable to change primary keys itself, and has emailed customers to advise them to do so; but the company has been criticized for failing to contact sufficient numbers of users.

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When Microsoft first released details of the system requirements for Windows 11, there was a mixture of confusion, annoyance and disbelief. The need for TPM 2.0 sent people running off to find out what on Earth this is, and many were disappointed to learn that a number of relatively recent CPUs were not supported.

Seemingly aware of the frustration the minimum requirements were causing, Microsoft has relented a little. Even though there will be no official upgrade path from Windows 10 to Windows 11, it will be possible to manually install Window 11 on hardware that is not technically supported. Microsoft, of course, is hardly shouting about how to do this, and points out that the system requirements exist to ensure the best possible experience. And while these warnings are to be expected from the company and will be ignored by many people, there is one very important factor to keep in mind if you are thinking about taking advantage of a loophole to install Windows 11.

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Microsoft has released a compatibility fix to Windows Setup to address a problem in Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2 and 21H1. The issue means that some people trying to install the latest cumulative updates (LCU) for Windows see a PSFX_E_MATCHING_BINARY_MISSING error.

The procedure for installing the update and then fixing the problem is a little out of the ordinary, but Microsoft has provided full details about how to complete the process so future LCUs can be successfully installed.

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The PowerToys collection of utilities is much loved, and understandably so. Over the last couple of years, developers have been busy bringing more and more tools to Windows 10 users and now there is something for Windows 11 users.

For now, there is no word about new, Windows 11-specifc PowerToys utilities, but users of the latest version of Microsoft's operating system do have a design overhaul to look forward to.

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Just about every piece of software worth its salt has embraced the dark mode trend. Both visually appealing and gentle on the eye, there is a great deal of love for darker hues, so it's little surprise that Windows 11 includes a dark mode.

But there's more; Microsoft has taken dark mode to the next level. In addition to dialing down the color, Windows 11 also includes special sound effects that accompany dark mode to create a different experience.

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We already know a lot about Windows 11, thanks in part not only to the Microsoft PR machine, but also the preview builds that are available for everyone to try out. One thing that has been partly clouded in mystery, however, is just when the operating system will be released.

Microsoft has given various vague suggestions about Windows 11 being ready for the holiday season, and documentation shows the company accepting driver updates from hardware manufacturers until the end of September. The company has once hinted at an October launch date for Windows 11, and now this has been repeated, strengthening the belief that the release is now less than two months away.

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The official launch of Windows 11 is just two months away, but Microsoft is not done with tweaking and testing the operating system yet. Windows Insiders have already been treated to a number of increasingly interesting preview builds, and these have proved to be surprisingly stable.

But this is about to change. As development of Windows 11 ramps up ahead of the October launch, Microsoft has issued a warning that future builds are likely to be less stable -- at least for people who are part of the Dev channel.

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A worrying security flaw has been discovered in Razer Synapse software which can be exploited to gain administrator privileges in Windows 10. What is particularly concerning about this vulnerability -- aside from the fact that there is no patch available yet -- is that exploitation is possible by simply plugging in a Razer mouse, keyboard or dongle.

Pretty much the only thing that isn't disturbing about this security hole is that it is a local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerability, meaning an attacker would need physical access to a system to exploit it. Nonetheless, the zero-day can be taken advantage of by anyone splashing out a few bucks on a cheap Razer peripheral.

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When it comes to operating systems from Microsoft, the focus is very much on the launch of Windows 11 later this year. But this is not the only OS to come out of Redmond.

The company has just released Windows Server 2022, LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) edition which has support for five years as standard, and a decade of extended support. Microsoft has in fact released, with very little in the way of trumpeting, three editions of this latest version of Windows Server -- Standard, Datacenter and Datacenter: Azure Edition.

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It is almost too easy to joke about the Paint app that has been included with Windows since time immemorial. Sure, it's basic when compared to… well, just about anything really... but it's a tool that people love regardless.

With the launch of Windows 11, Microsoft is giving Paint a much-needed overhaul and Panos Panay has given a sneaky peak at what we can expect from the redesigned app. As ever, it's Windows Insiders who will get first dibs, but for now, a quick video will have to suffice.

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Microsoft is so keen for you to use Edge in Windows 11 that it has made the process of changing the default web browser absurdly and unnecessarily irritating. You would think -- and, indeed, expect -- it to be easy to change the default app used for anything, but here Microsoft seem determined to draw ire.

And if causing anger and irritation was the company's aim, well... mission accomplished. If you do want to change the default web browser, you have to tweak the settings for an incredible 10 file types! Mozilla is fighting back, using a hack to achieve the "impossible", but it's only a matter of time before Microsoft closes this loophole.

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It's been a while since we last reported about a problematic update for Windows 10. Only joking! Of course it's not! We haven't stepped into a paralleled universe in which Microsoft releases patches that, you know... work properly. As such, it's time to share news of issues people are experiencing with KB5005033 which was released last week.

If you thought you'd already read about problems with this particular update, you'd be right -- gamers have been complaining about a reduction in performance after installing this patch that was meant to fix the PrintNightmare vulnerability. But now there are reports of further problems with KB5005033 that are not limited to gaming fans. The latest complaints are that this update is breaking everyone's favorite keyboard shortcut, Alt-Tab. This time, however, there is a workaround.

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With the launch of Windows 11 coming later this year, and with large numbers of people already using the beta build, hardware manufacturers are gradually starting to release updated drivers for the latest version of Microsoft's operating system.

Intel has already released Windows-11 compatible graphic drivers -- as has its rival NVIDIA – and now the company has updated its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth software. With the latest updates, Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Intel Wireless Bluetooth both offer support for Windows 11 and address issues in Windows 10.

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