Should Microsoft make Windows 7 open source? The Free Software Foundation thinks so!
Windows 7 is dead to Microsoft -- unless, of course, you're willing to pay. It's now ten days since the operating system reached end of life, but many people, for various reasons, are choosing to stick with it rather than upgrading to Windows 10.
This means missing out on security updates, but the Free Software Foundation (FSF) thinks it has a solution. It suggests that Microsoft 'upcycles' Windows 7 and makes the operating system open source so that the community can "study and improve" it.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-seventy in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.
Check out Mark's guide on using the free screen recorder tool in Windows 10. Microsoft is preparing to include a new launcher in the company's PowerToys tools collection.
Microsoft confirms that most Windows 7 users won't get a critical Internet Explorer security patch
Internet Explorer may be a relic from the past, but it's still out there and used by surprising numbers of people. Not all versions of it are supported by Microsoft anymore, so when a critical bug was discovered in the Windows 7, 8.x, 10, Windows Server 2008 and 2012 versions of the browser, there were questions about who was going to be protected.
The bug was revealed just days after support ended for Windows 7, and it wasn't clear whether Microsoft would stick to its guns and leave those people still using this operating system out in the cold and unprotected. The company has now confirmed what's going to happen.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 Insider Build 19551 to the Fast ring
Microsoft continues to roll out new test builds for future feature updates of Windows 10, and today sees the release of Build 19551.1005 to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring.
There’s not too much to get excited about here, although Microsoft is now conducting an experiment regarding how driver updates get delivered through Windows Update.
Microsoft's Your Phone app for Windows 10 now displays 2,000 photos from your Android device
Microsoft’s Your Phone app connects your Android smartphone to your Windows 10 PC, making it possible to view and reply to text messages directly in Windows, receive and manage phone notifications, and -- most recently -- make, receive, and decline phone calls directly on your PC.
One of the app’s more useful features is the ability to view and save copies of the most recent photos on your phone, but this did have one particularly annoying limitation.
You can still get Windows 7 updates without paying a penny to Microsoft
It can hardly have escaped your attention that Windows 7 has now reached end of life. For companies and enterprise customers unwilling to pay for Extended Security Updates, this means there will be no more updates. The average home user who has decided to stick with Windows 7 has been completely abandoned by Microsoft, leaving them with an operating system that could be found to contain an endless number of security vulnerabilities.
But, actually, there is another option for home users, and it does not involve paying any money to Microsoft. We're talking micropatches. Specifically, we're talking about micropatches from 0patch. We've covered the work of this company in the past, including its recent fix for the Internet Explorer vulnerability.
0patch releases micropatch for Internet Explorer vulnerability -- including for Windows 7
At the end of last week, a serious vulnerability was discovered in Internet Explorer, affecting all versions of Windows. Not only is the bug (CVE-2020-0674) being actively exploited, but for Windows 7 users the vulnerability was exposed right after their operating system reached the end of its life.
Even for users of newer versions of Windows, and despite the severity of the security flaw, Microsoft said it would not be releasing a patch until February. Stepping in to plug the gap comes 0patch with a free micropatch for all versions of Windows affected by the vulnerability.
Microsoft exposed 250 million customer service and support records in massive privacy blunder
A new report reveals how Microsoft exposed nearly 250 million Customer Service and Support records online late last year.
The security research team at Comparitech discovered five servers, each of which contained the same 250 million logs of conversations with Microsoft support agents and customers. The records, which spanned 2005 to December 2019, were accessible to anyone with internet access; no password protection or encryption was used.
Microsoft has a new PowerToy utility on the way -- PowerLauncher
Over the last nine months Microsoft has been drip-feeding us new PowerToys for Windows 10. So far we've seen FancyZones, Shortcut Guide and PowerRename, and now the company is preparing to add another one.
PowerLauncher is -- or will be -- a quick launch tool for launching apps, and it's aimed at power users. Not only is it open source like the rest of the PowerToy collection, there is the promise that it will be extendible through the use of plugins.
Windows 7 desktops are turning black
Anyone who has decided to stick with Windows 7 now that the operating system has reached end of support has probably seen the full-screen warning advising them that it's time to upgrade to Windows 10. But while this warning was known about in advance, some Windows 7 hold-outs are now reporting something peculiar post January 14 -- a black desktop.
On the last day of support for Windows 7 Microsoft issued one final update, and it seems that this update has been causing problems with desktop wallpapers.
Microsoft is testing ads in WordPad in Windows 10
Over the years Microsoft has taken numerous controversial decisions with Windows 10, including installing sponsored apps, using the Start menu to advertise apps it thinks you might be interested in, and -- of course -- the various forms of data-collecting telemetry.
Now it has been discovered that more ads could be on their way. A Windows researcher has uncovered ads in WordPad encouraging people to try out Word, Excel and PowerPoint online.
How to find and use the free screen recorder tool in Windows 10
When you need to take a screenshot, you can just hit Print Screen, or use Windows 10's Snipping Tool. But what about if you want to record a video of your desktop?
It might surprise you to learn that Window 10 has a screen recording tool built in. For some reason, Microsoft has chosen not to make much of a fuss about it, but for people in the know, it is an amazingly useful tool. Read on to learn the secret!
Microsoft pledges to patch Internet Explorer bug that is being actively exploited
Microsoft says it is working on a fix for a serious security vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The bug affects versions 9, 10 and 11 of the browser in Windows 7, 8.x, 10, Windows Server 2008 and 2012.
The memory handling bug can be exploited by an attacker to run malicious code on a target computer, but despite its severity, Microsoft is unlikely to release the fix before next month's Patch Tuesday. News of the vulnerability comes just days after Microsoft ended support for Windows 7.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-sixty-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.
Microsoft launched a new tool this week to help customers find the perfect Windows 10 computer.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build 19546 with new Graphing Mode in Windows Calculator
It’s been a big week for Microsoft this week. Windows 7 reached its end of life, and the NSA discovered a major flaw in Windows 10, which thankfully has been fixed as part of the software giant’s Patch Tuesday.
Not as exciting, but always interesting, Microsoft has also now released a new Windows 10 build for Insiders on the Fast ring.
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