Articles about Microsoft

It has not gone unnoticed that Microsoft's quality control for updates for Windows has been found somewhat wanting of late, particularly when it comes to Windows 11. We have reported numerous times about problems caused by updates, and then the subsequent fixes -- and, sometimes, additional issues they cause -- that Microsoft releases.

Windows 10 users are also affected by problematic updates, and the recently released KB5014666 update caused issues with printing. But this was not the only problem caused by this devilish update; it was also found to lead to problems with the Input Indicator and Language Bar. Now Microsoft has issued a fix -- of sorts.

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Last week, Microsoft’s new Windows 11 flight, Build 25169 for Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel, came with a lockdown feature for IT administrators and a new Windows Spotlight theme.

Today’s release, has one main new feature -- a Game Pass widget -- and a good number of fixes and improvements.

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Microsoft has launched two new security products, bolstering the capabilities of Microsoft Defender. The company says that the aim of the two tools is to help organizations lock down their infrastructure and reduce their overall attack surface.

The tools, Microsoft says, also provide "deeper context into threat actor activity" making it easier to predict malicious activity and secure resources. Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence works by mapping the internet every day, so that security teams have the data needed to understand current attack techniques, while with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management lets security teams see their system as attackers do.

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It is time for a new build of everyone's favorite Windows utility collection, PowerToys. Microsoft has just released version 0.61.0 of the tools, with the company saying that the v0.61 release cycle is focused on stability and improvements.

But don't let this somewhat self-deprecating description put you off -- there's actually quite a lot to this update. Key changes include updates to the ever-popular FancyZones, as well as Always on Top and PowerToys Run, and updates to the Windows 11 context menu.

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Three weeks ago, Microsoft announced that it would be splitting the Windows 11 Beta Channel into two. The idea behind this is that a group of Windows 11 Insiders in the channel will either receive Build 22622.xxx updates with new features, or Build 22621.xxx updates without them.

Today, the company rolls out Builds 22621.440 and 22622.440. Here's what's new.

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Arriving a day later than usual, this week’s updated Windows 11 Insider build has some new features for Dev Channel Insiders to play around with.

The first of these new additions is a lockdown feature for IT administrators that allows certain apps to run while blocking other OS functionalities.

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Microsoft has finally made it possible to purchase Windows 11 product keys and download the software straight from its servers, an option that has been weirdly unavailable for the year the OS has been in existence. Windows 11 has been available as a free upgrade for quite some time now, but there are reasons for wanting to -- or at least needing to -- buy a copy of the operating system.

If you're building a PC from scratch, for instance, you'll need to install Windows 11 from scratch, and this means you can't take advantage of a free upgrade. But buying direct from Microsoft, while a welcome option, is far from being the only way to buy Windows 11, and it's certainly not the cheapest.

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Microsoft has released a new update for Windows 10 that not only addresses various issues with the operating system, but also adds new notification options for the focus assist feature.

KB5015878 is a non-security update, and it is a preview of the update that will be released more widely next month. Available for Windows 10 version 21H1 and 21H2, as well as Enterprise, Education and Server editions of the OS, the update will be of interest to anyone who has experienced problems with docking station internet connectivity, video playback in games, and other issues.

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It is the time of the month when Microsoft unleashes its C release updates on eager Windows users. As such, the company has released a preview of the KB5015882 update for Windows 11, bringing a number of important changes and bug fixes.

Although this is a non-security update, KB5015882 remains significant for a number of reasons. Not only does it address an issue that caused explorer.exe to hang, but it also introduces new upgrade options and makes changes to focus assist.

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Microsoft has introduced a change to Windows 11 that makes it much harder to use brute force attacks to crack passwords. Starting with the latest Insider builds, there is a new account lockout policy in place by default.

The policy means that should an incorrect password be entered 10 times, the account will be locked for 10 minutes. While this does not make brute forcing impossible, by any means, it makes it much harder and more time consuming, boosting security in an important area.

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Microsoft frequently runs bug bashes to help weed out problems with Windows 11. These often focus on particular areas of the operating system and the company has just announced a "a special Bug Bash" to coincide with the release of the latest beta build.

Just a couple of days ago, Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22622.436 (KB5015888) to the Beta Channel. Now the Bug Bash is underway, running until July 25, with beta testers being asked to complete various quests and provide feedback.

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Happy Wednesday. It’s that day of the week when Microsoft typically rolls out a new Windows 11 build for Insiders in the Dev Channel. Sometimes these builds are interesting, with new features and the like, and other times they only contain a bunch of fixes.

The latest flight, Build 25163, falls into the former category, with some new additions which include a taskbar overflow experience and some improvements to file sharing.

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Efficiency Best Practices for Microsoft 365 covers the entire range of over 25 desktop and mobile applications on the Microsoft 365 platform.

This book will provide simple, immediately usable, and authoritative guidance to help you save at least 20 minutes every day, advance in your career, and achieve business growth. You'll start by covering components and tasks such as creating and storing files and then move on to data management and data analysis.

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Having previously upset software developers by implementing a ban on the sale of open source software in its app store, Microsoft has reversed its decision.

The company says that it has listened to feedback -- which was vocal and negative -- and has updated the Microsoft Stores Policies, removing references to open source pricing. Microsoft has also clarified just why it put the ban in place.

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Windows 11 isn’t especially hard to use, but there are some elements to it that can prove confusing for anyone more used to one of the older flavors of the operating system, such as Windows 7.

Microsoft is, understandably, keen to get as many people as possible to switch to Windows 11 and in a bid to help them get the most out of it, the software giant has launched a new video series to help with the OS "basics, personalization, apps, and tools".

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