Waiting for Microsoft to issue patches for bugs that have been discovered in its software can mean having to be very patient -- some updates just seem to take forever to appear. More than this, the bug fixes can introduce new problems of their own, so it's little wonder that third-party patching services such as 0patch have grown in popularity.

And once again, 0patch has managed to beat Microsoft in releasing a patch for a serious vulnerability. The company's latest patch addresses a local privilege escalation 0day in Windows Installer, and it's available well ahead of Microsoft's official fix.

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It is only a few days since we let you know about an aesthetic change coming to Settings in Windows Terminal. Now the big day has arrived, and Microsoft has released version 1.6 of its powerful and versatile command line tool.

Windows Terminal 1.6 Preview is the first update to see the light of day in 2021, and while the new UI for Settings is the big news, there are plenty of other improvements as well.

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It is very difficult for web browsers to be able to honestly make the claim that they have an exclusive feature these days -- the likes of Chrome, Edge, Firefox et al have started to become all but indistinguishable from one another. Looking to stay ahead of the pack, however, Vivaldi has launched a new feature which is unique.

While the likes of Google have been experimenting with tab grouping and pinning to make room for more open tabs in a browser window, the latest version of Vivaldi has taken a new approach. With the new release you have two layers of tabs to play with, doubling your browsing opportunities.

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Facebook has issued an apology after posts relating to Plymouth Hoe were erroneously flagged up for containing offensive language.

Plymouth Hoe is an area of the South Western English city of Plymouth, and it caused the same problems as places such as Cockermouth, Scunthorpe and Devil's Dyke for obscenity filters. The social network not only removed posts for using the word 'Hoe', but also closed down groups relating to the area.

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Security researchers have revealed details of a vulnerability in Sudo that could be exploited by an attacker to gain root privileges on a wide range of Linux-based systems.

News of the security flaw was shared by Qualys, and it has been described as "perhaps the most significant sudo vulnerability in recent memory". Worryingly, the heap-based buffer overflow bug has existed for almost a decade. It is known as Baron Samedit, tracked as CVE-2021-3156, and affects various versions of Sudo.

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A couple of week ago, we reported about a critical NTFS vulnerability that left hard drives open to corruption in Windows 10. Security researcher Jonas Lykkegaard revealed that opening a folder with a specially crafted name could wipe out the contents of a drive in an instant.

Microsoft is yet to produce a fix for the problem, but that doesn't mean no one else has. Third party patch-makers such as 0patch have already made names for themselves stepping in to produce updates either for unsupported versions of Windows, or simply beating Microsoft to the punch. Now it is the turn of developers from OSR who have released an unofficial workaround patch for the NTFS flaw.

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Installing updates in Windows 10 can be something of a gamble -- will the latest patches make things better or worse? For people with Conexant ISST audio drivers, there have been numerous issues in Windows 10 May 2020 Update (or Windows 10 version 2004).

Users trying to update these drivers found that the update process would fail or produce errors during or after setup. Having worked with Synaptics, Microsoft has identified a compatibility issue and also provided details of a workaround.

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Apple has issued an extended warning that the additional magnets found in iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max as well as MagSafe accessories could pose a risk to people with pacemakers and defibrillators.

The company had previously acknowledged the potential for the magnets to interfere with certain implanted medical equipment, but has now gone further in explaining the risk and offering advice. Apple says that distancing is important, particularly when charging wirelessly.

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Windows 10 includes various tools to keep you safe, including the likes of Windows Defender and Sandbox. For the most part, these are useful tools that helps to keep your computer protected, but you may well find that some are more irritating than helpful.

One such irritant is SmartScreen, which is used by Windows 10 to block the installation of malicious software. At least that's the theory. In practice, the tool tends to just get in the way and slow you down when you try to install a new app. Here's how to disable SmartScreen.

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There has always been a healthy rivalry between Microsoft and Apple, and with a new ad, the Windows maker is spoiling for a fight -- a Surface Pro 7 vs MacBook Pro fight.

The ad sees Microsoft making the bold claim that its self-produced Surface Pro 7 is a better device -- and a better choice -- than Apple's MacBook Pro. One of the key arguments Microsoft uses is that its own device is much cheaper, helped by the fact that there is a special deal available at the moment.

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Windows Terminal has come a long way since it first appeared in 2019, and Microsoft is not going to give up on moving the utility forward.

The company has revealed details of an upcoming change to the command line tool which sees major changes coming to Settings. For anyone who is less than keen on customizing Windows Terminal using a JSON file, the arrival of a GUI for Settings is great news.

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Microsoft increased the price of Xbox Live Gold yesterday, albeit briefly. The company announced that the cost of one-month membership would go up by $1 per month, with three-month membership increasing by $5.

Unsurprisingly, gamers were not happy at the prospect of paying more, and there was a vocal outcry at what Microsoft had planned. Ever conscious of keeping the customer happy, the company has now backtracked and said that pricing will stay the same. But more than this, it is now possible to play free-to-play games without an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

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We might only be three weeks into 2021, but Microsoft has already issued a number of patches for Windows 10 -- and now it's time for another one. If you have been experiencing unexpected restarts in Windows 10, or crashes when using BitLocker, there's a new update for you to install.

Microsoft has released the KB4598298 update to fix a number of issues including BitLocker-related crashes, and restarts caused by exception code 0xc0000005 (Access Violation) in LSASS.exe. Before you rush to grab the update, however, it's worth noting that there is a known issue relating to system and user certificates that you should be aware of.

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There are a huge number of messaging apps to choose from these days, and the chances are that many people you know use different chat tools. You may use Facebook Messenger with your family, WhatsApp with friends, and Slack for work, for example.

While there are various apps that claim to unify the chat experience and let you chat across multiple networks, they always miss out an important player. The same cannot be said of Beeper. This app lets you chat with people across no fewer than 15 messaging platforms, including Apple's iMessage, across MacOS, Windows, Linux‍, iOS and Android.

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It is a few months since Nitro PDF was hit by hackers in a huge data breach. While the stolen data was initially put up for sale, now it has been made available free of charge.

What this means is that a database containing over 77 million user records is now freely available for just about anyone to download. The database weighs in at around 14GB and includes not only names and email addresses, but also passwords.

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