Articles about Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Windows 10 has a lock screen mode called Windows Spotlight that pulls attractive images from the web on a daily basis. In most instances, you’ll only see these when you log on, or lock your PC.

If you see an image that you’d like to use as Windows wallpaper, you can’t simply right-click and save it, but there is a way to easily export Windows Spotlight images to a folder so you can use them as desktop backgrounds.

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It’s no secret that Windows 10 records all sorts of usage information, some of which it feeds back to Microsoft. To help with the smooth running of Windows 10, and to get an idea of how users interact with the operating system, Microsoft collects telemetry data, which includes information on the device Windows 10 is running on, a list of installed apps, crash dumps, and more.

Telemetry data recorded by Windows 10 is, in a nutshell, just technical information about the device the OS is on, and how Windows and any installed software is performing, but it can occasionally include personal information. If you’re worried about that, the news that Microsoft is sharing telemetry data with third parties might concern you.

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Unless you’ve taken steps to actively block Windows 10’s mandatory updates, the chances are the new OS is regularly installing updates without your knowledge, and you'll probably only discover a new one has happened if/when something goes wrong.

For the most part, updates are perfectly safe, introduce occasional new features, and keep your system protected from threats, without you needing to lift a finger. But if you’re the sort of person who likes to know exactly what’s going on with your computer, there are a couple of ways to keep track of the Windows 10 updates.

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Windows Defender can help keep Windows 10 safe from threats, and run as a second line of defense alongside any existing security software you have installed.

Microsoft has added various new elements to the program in the Anniversary Update, including Limited Periodic Scanning and Block at First Sight protection. There’s now a new Windows Defender Hub available to download in the Windows Store.

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Windows Defender in Windows 10 may not be the best security solution, but it will keep your system safe from threats if you don’t have a third-party anti-malware program installed. Microsoft made several improvements to it in the Anniversary Update, and as a result it's now much more useful.

Newly introduced features, available from Build 1607, include Limited Periodic Scanning, which can intermittently scan your system and notify you of any threats (even if you are using another anti-malware program and have Windows Defender turned off), and Block at First Sight protection.

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In a white paper and blog post, Microsoft makes the claim that changes introduced in Windows 10 Anniversary Update make it the most secure version of Windows ever. The company is particularly proud of its ability to fight ransomware, but also points to security features such as Credential Guard and Windows Hello.

Microsoft says that Windows Defender -- recently complained about by Eugene Kapsersky -- is to thank for this. Cloud-based protection and faster updates mean protection is more effective than ever.

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Even after a staggered roll out of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft has managed to push the major operating system update to more than three-quarters of Windows 10 users.

The latest figures from AdDuplex show that uptake of Windows 10 Anniversary Update has accelerated dramatically. The latest version of Windows 10 is now installed on no less than 76.6 percent of Windows 10 PCs.

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September wasn’t a good month for Windows 10. After enjoying uninterrupted meteoric growth since launch, usage share for the new OS actually dropped off last month, according to the latest figures from NetMarketShare announced on Saturday.

That's not the only bad news for Microsoft either. Gamers, who typically prefer to be running the latest operating system, also turned their back on Windows 10 in September.

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It was expected, that once Windows 10 stopped being free, upgrades would slow significantly. That turned out not to be the case last month when NetMarketShare’s usage figures showed it, rather surprisingly, to be business as usual. Growth in August was no different from growth in previous months, although I speculated it might have been buoyed by sales of new back to school PCs.

In September though, according to NetMarketShare, Windows 10 didn’t just show slower growth, it actually went into reverse gear and lost usage share. Yes, you read that right.

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Two months ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the software giant would be changing how it monitors the growth of Windows 10, tracking monthly active users -- rather than devices --  after it became clear slow sales of Windows Phones meant the new OS wouldn't hit the company's stated goal of one billion devices by mid-2018.

Today, at Ignite, however, Microsoft announced another devices milestone, saying the new OS is now running on 400 million devices. It’s a big number, but it does show that growth is slowing significantly, now that Windows 10 is no longer free.

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The bitch-fest that has been rumbling on between Microsoft and Google is showing no signs of abating. We’re all used to the concept of companies engaging in games of one-upmanship, and this has certainly been the case when these two stalwarts have been slugging it out with their respective web browsers.

The most recent battles have been fought over which browser is the most battery efficient. It’s only very recently that Google claimed that Chrome trounced Edge in battery tests -- Microsoft disagrees. The company has re-run Google’s tests and says that it produced very different results. Rather than showing that Chrome offers the best performance when it comes to playing video, this second batch of tests shows -- unsurprisingly -- that Edge is the best by quite some distance.

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It’s been two weeks since Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 10 build to Insiders on the Fast ring. In that time the company has been busy upgrading its build monitoring services.

Today, it's business as usual once more, as the company releases Build 14926 for PC and Mobile. The latest build is well worth the wait as this not only fixes the issue that was killing Wi-Fi for some users, and the problem causing bluescreen crashes for Kindle owners, but introduces several notable new features.

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The latest big update to Windows 10 began rolling out to users a month ago, but while the Anniversary Update officially became available on the 2 August, it was a staggered launch.

Microsoft targeted "newer" devices first, with those on older systems set to receive the update shortly afterwards. If you were keen to upgrade, you could of course hurry things along or take matters into your own hands.

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Microsoft dropped Windows Media Center from Windows 10, citing "decreased usage" as the reason it would no longer be available. In its place the software giant released a DVD Player, but this was expensive and incredibly basic.

If you miss Windows Media Center, and alternatives such as Kodi aren’t filling the gap for you, the good news is you can, with a little trickery, install Windows Media Center on Windows 10.

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Windows Insiders are beta testers for Windows 10. They get their hands on the latest builds, and get to try out the latest features. However, they also get to experience known issues and occasionally encounter show-stopping bugs.

A number of Windows Insiders on the Fast ring who installed the latest new release, Build 14915, which was pushed out just yesterday are reporting that it kills their Wi-Fi stone dead.
Writing at the Community forum, Microsoft says:

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