Microsoft

Three-hundred-and-seventy-two 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 will make some classic applications, Notepad, Paint and WordPad in particular, optional in the coming versions of Windows 10. Means: you can uninstall them easily if you want.

The last few Insider builds of Windows 10 haven’t been too exciting, with the focus primarily on fixing problems and making minor changes.

Build 19559.1000 for Windows Insiders in the Fast ring is no different, but it does address a number of stability issues.

If you’ve tried to search for something in Windows 10 this morning you’ll likely have been greeted by an empty search window.

Type something in, and you’ll get no results. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge the issue, but the problem seems to be caused by Bing’s new integration.

2019 was the third year in a row that Microsoft technology was most affected by vulnerabilities, with eight of the top 10 vulnerabilities identified targeting its products.

This is a key finding of the Recorded Future annual vulnerability report which also shows that for the first time six of the vulnerabilities, all impacting Microsoft, were repeats from the prior year.

Problematic updates for Windows 10 have become pretty common these days, and now it has happened again.

Microsoft released the KB4532695 update last week to address problems with Explorer which were introduced by the November 2019 Update. But this update has itself been found to cause issues, with users complaining of BSoDs, audio problems and more.

It is now a couple of weeks since Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Build 19551 to the Fast ring, and it seemed like a fairly unexciting build.

But the release actually gave us an interesting glimpse into Microsoft's future plans to give users more control over the operating system. Specifically, it will soon be possible for Windows 10 users to uninstall the likes of Notepad, Paint and WordPad.

Microsoft has changed its mind about the future of the Surface Hub 2. The company had previously planned to release a processor upgrade in the form of the Surface Hub 2X compute cartridge, but this no longer appears to be the case.

A leaked webinar shows that Microsoft's plans to release a processor- and GPU-enhancing upgrade cartridge have been put on hold, with the company now planning to release a "major software update" for Surface Hub and Surface Hub 2

Microsoft launched a limited test of Outlook.com Premium back in 2016. This was a subscription-based service that anyone could sign-up for after the test period ended to gain access to a number of benefits including up to five personalized (custom) email addresses and an ad-free environment.

Outlook.com Premium became available to users from the United States in the same year for an introductory price of $19.99 instead of the regular price of $49.99.

Microsoft has introduced a new feature to its Edge browser that blocks "potentially unwanted apps" from being downloaded.

At the moment, the security feature is available in the beta version of Microsoft Edge, but it will also be making its way to the stable version of Chromium-based Edge later this month. Strangely, Microsoft has chosen not to switch on the feature by default.

Having now embraced the same engine as Chrome, the Chromium-based Edge is now Microsoft's default browser. If you want to keep using Microsoft Edge Legacy and Internet Explorer 11 for some reason, Microsoft has opened up a way to do so -- and to do so safely.

The company has released virtual machine images that include both web browser. Available free of charge, the images are available for a range of virtualization platforms.

Microsoft is no stranger to using bug bounty programs to track down security problems and other issues with its software and services. Now the company has launched an Xbox bug bounty program, offering payouts of up to $20,000 to anyone finding vulnerabilities.

The particular aim of this bounty program is to find issues with the Xbox Live network and services. Microsoft says the amounts it will pay gamers and security researchers who report problems will depend on the severity and impact of the vulnerability, as well as the quality of the submission.

Three-hundred-and-seventy-one 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.

Mark discovered an interesting tool this week called Hidden Windows 10 Features that Windows 10 administrators may use to make modifications to the system to enable or disable certain features.

Friday is finally here, signaling the unofficial start to "Super Bowl Weekend." The big game isn't until Sunday, but there will be plenty of coverage of Super Bowl LIV leading up to the actual game. As a New York Jets fan, I am used to not having a horse in the race, but I will still enjoy watching the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers battle it out for the championship.

To celebrate Super Bowl LIV, Microsoft has teamed up with EA (developer of Madden 20) and sneaker-maker Nike for a very cool limited-edition Xbox One X console. It is so limited, in fact, that there is only one being made. The "Madden NFL 20 Air Max 90 Xbox One X," as it is called, cannot be bought either -- it can only be won.

Another week, another new future Windows 10 build for Insiders to test.

Build 19555.1001 isn’t the most exciting of new releases, but if does offer a number of important fixes, including one that could result in the Start menu and apps not opening.

Microsoft may have dropped Windows 7 like a hot stone, but that doesn't mean everyone is. Recognizing the fact that large numbers of people are going to continue using the aged operating system, most antivirus firms are going to continue to offer support.

Support from the likes of AVG, Avira, Kaspersky and Trend Micro for at least two years is great news for those concerned about the security of sticking with Windows 7. Of course, this doesn't mean that the operating system is entirely safe to use now that it has reached end of life, but with the right software installed, hangers-on can secure their systems somewhat.