Microsoft making it easier to reject Edge and set a different default browser in Windows 11
Despite recently taking away the option to open internal links in other browsers, and stepping up its campaign to convince would-be Chrome users to stay with Edge, it seems Microsoft has made a surprise change in Windows 11 that will make it easier for users to set a different browser as the default.
At least, that is, if a change that crops up in the latest Insider build makes it into a future stable release.
Microsoft is pestering Chrome downloaders to stick with Edge and its 'added trust'
It is certainly not unknown for Microsoft to use Windows and other software it produces to promote its own products. In many ways, the likes of Windows 11 serve as an ad platform for the company. Now the Windows-maker has upped its efforts to discourage people from using browsers made by other companies.
If you use Microsoft Edge to download Chrome, you are now likely to see a message extoling the benefits of sticking with Edge. One prompt which is sure to raise a few eyebrows advises would-be Chrome users that Edge runs on the same technology (that is, the Chromium engine) "with the added trust of Microsoft".
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 22509 with new layout options for Start
Having taken a week off last week for Thanksgiving, the Windows 11 development team today rolls out a fresh new build to Insiders in the Dev Channel.
The key new addition in Build 22509 is a set of improvements designed to make it easier to browse the web in Microsoft Edge using Narrator, but that's not all. The clock and date will now show on secondary monitors, and there are also new layout options for Start, as well as Settings changes.
Microsoft introduces Teams Essentials for small businesses
The pandemic unquestionably accelerated the move to working from home, and the likes of Zoom and Microsoft stepped up to provide the tools needed for this shift.
Today, Microsoft announces the general availability of Teams Essentials, a standalone, lower-priced version of Teams designed specifically for small businesses.
Microsoft releases PowerToys v0.51.0 with lots of fixes, a new mouse utility... and two exciting teasers
The release of a PowerToys update is always exciting, but this is especially true when Microsoft adds new utilities. And with the release of PowerToys v0.51.0, the development team does not disappoint.
We recently told you that the team was busily working away on a new Mouse Highlighter utility, and this has now been officially added to the PowerToys collection. Version v0.51.0 includes a lengthy list of tweaks, fixes and improvements, and there is also the promise of a new tool called Always On Top as well as something intriguingly referred to as "centers of gravity".
Windows 11 edges closer to 10 percent market share
Windows 11 was first released two months ago, and although it has some tough system requirements (most notably the need for TPM 2.0), and it’s still only being rolled out to compatible systems, the new OS is fast gaining market share.
It still has a long way to go before it supplants Windows 10, but it’s showing solid growth.
0patch beats Microsoft to fix serious local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows
Once again, micro-patching firm 0patch has beaten Microsoft to the punch, releasing an unofficial patch for a zero-day vulnerability in Windows.
This time around we're talking about CVE-2021-24084, a local privilege escalation (LPE) zero-day vulnerability in Windows' Mobile Device Management service. The flaw affects Windows 10 version 1809 and later, and Microsoft is yet to release an official patch of its own. Not wanting to leave systems at risk of attack, 0patch stepped in to help out users by offering up a free fix.
Microsoft fixes problems that took GitHub offline
It may be a holiday weekend for many, but few people would be expecting websites and online services to take time off. Unfortunately, that's precisely what happened with GitHub after an outage left developers unable to access the site.
On Saturday evening going into Sunday, Microsoft started to investigate a series of issues affecting GitHub Actions, API Requests, Codespaces, Git Operations, Issues, GitHub Packages, GitHub Pages, Pull Requests, and Webhooks.
KB5007205 update for Windows is breaking Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Microsoft has revealed that a recent update for Windows has been causing problems that could have left systems unprotected and open to attack.
After installing the KB5007205 update, some system administrators have found that Microsoft Defender for Endpoint fails. This makes something of a change from the printer problems that so many updates for Windows have caused in recent times, but there is currently no fix available.
Microsoft releases KB5007253 update to fix MSI issues and yet more printer problems in Windows
It is the time of the month that sees Microsoft releasing preview versions of upcoming updates for Windows, and this is precisely what the company has done with the optional KB5007253 Preview cumulative update for Windows 10.
Available for Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2, 21H1 and 21H2, this update addresses 0x000006e4, 0x0000007c and 0x00000709 errors associated with networking printing. It also includes a fix for the Microsoft Installer (MSI) issue that was causing problems with Kaspersky apps, as well as fixing a laundry list of other problems.
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.
Microsoft's new online museum celebrates 20 years of Xbox
It’s been 20 years since Microsoft unveiled the original Xbox which, incidentally, is the only model of the company’s games console I’ve ever owned.
Although I’m a PlayStation gamer, I’m also interested in consoles of the past, and for that reason I’ve spent an enjoyable hour exploring Microsoft's new Xbox Museum. This site lets you discover the history of the brand and also the history of Halo, Microsoft's most famous gaming series.
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.
Microsoft releases KB5007262 update to bring Fluent emoji to Windows 11
Windows 11 is such a wonderful operating system. Even the typical Microsoft detractors need to admit that it is great. Sorry, haters, but there just isn't anything to bash in this operating system. Windows 11 is fast, beautiful, and very secure. Best of all, Microsoft is constantly making the operating system better with updates.
For instance, today, Microsoft offers KB5007262 (OS Build 22000.348) Preview as an optional update to non-Insiders (it was previously offered to Insiders). While there are many changes (you can view the changelog here), Microsoft is highlighting the inclusion of Fluent-style emoji as the star of the show. The company explains that with this update, all Segoe UI emoji will move to the beautiful Fluent 2D style while also introducing Emoji 13.1.
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.