Articles about Windows 10

Google is warning users of Windows 7 that they are at risk from a privilege escalation zero-day bug -- and the advice is to upgrade to Windows 10 as there is no patch currently available for the actively exploited vulnerability.

The problem stems from two vulnerabilities being exploited in combination -- one in Chrome, and one in Windows. Having pushed out a patch to its Chrome web browser, Google is warning that Windows 7 users are still exposed until such a time as Microsoft develops a patch.

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It's been a while since we heard much about Spectre, the speculative execution exploit that sent the security world into a frenzy. Cast your mind back a little while and you'll probably remember that the various fixes that were produced to mitigate against the exploits all had one thing in common -- they resulted in a performance hit.

To help address the reduced performance experienced on older AMD and Intel systems, a new mitigation technique called Retpoline was developed. This new Spectre patch is currently included in Insider builds of Windows 10, but you can install it and enable it right now -- regardless of whether you are signed up for the Insider program -- and enjoy a speed boost for your computer.

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Intel's NUC computers are impressively little, but they are hardly the smallest personal computers. There are PCs shoved into HDMI dongles, for instance, that look like USB flash drives.

ECS has long been making diminutive desktop computers with its "LIVA" line, and today, it announces the latest model. Called "LIVA Q2," this tiny desktop computer is shockingly small, with very few ports -- two USB-A, one HDMI, one Ethernet, and a micro SD port. Plug in a wired mouse and keyboard, for example, and you now cannot plug in a USB flash drive without a hub. While ECS only lists Windows 10 as being supported, it should make an excellent Linux machine too.

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The Windows Insider program is a mess. It used to be as an Insider you got to test just early versions of the next big OS feature update, but now -- depending on which ring you’re in -- you might be testing versions for the first Windows 10 update of 2020, due out over a year from now.

As if that’s not bad enough, Fast ring Insiders are currently receiving new builds at a rate of two a week -- which hardly provides enough time to install and test them -- while Slow ring Insiders get only very occasional updates. It’s no wonder some of Microsoft’s loyal legion of unpaid testers are confused.

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Not many Windows 10 users have upgraded to the October 2018 Update yet, but Microsoft is still hard at work on finishing the next big feature update, codenamed 19H1, which is due out next month.

New builds are coming out thick and fast, and today sees the release of Build 18351 to Fast ring Insiders.

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There are lots of ways to measure Windows share including StatCounter and Steam. Like most other tech sites, BetaNews has always focused on NetMarketShare, and at the start of the year the analyst firm finally reported that Windows 10 had overtaken its main rival, Windows 7 (a move that was a long time coming seeing as others had reported this happening months earlier).

In January, the new OS consolidated its lead, but in February things were far less rosy for Windows 10.

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The idea behind the Windows Insider program is members get to test out preview versions of forthcoming Windows 10 builds.

However, quite how much actual testing can get done when the builds are rolling out thick and fast is a matter for debate. Windows 10 Build 18348 is the second 19H1 build to be rolled out this week, and the fourth build in total, when you factor in Slow and Skip Ahead releases. If it's Microsoft's aim to confuse people, the software giant is doing a bang up job here.

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Three-hundred-and-twenty-four in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.

Microsoft released new builds of the upcoming Windows 10 version 1903 and the Skip Ahead Windows 10 version 2003 this week.

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Being a Windows Insider can be very confusing these days. It used to be there was only one Windows 10 preview version to test -- the next feature update of the OS -- but now there are Skip Ahead flights rolling out which let users test versions of Windows 10 that won’t see the light of day for another year. Crazy.

On Tuesday Microsoft released Windows 10 19H1 Build 18346 to the Fast ring, and today we get Windows 10 20H1 Build 18845 for Skip Ahead Insiders. To access this build you will need to have opted in to Skip Ahead. That branch is now closed, but it's still possible to get access should you wish to. Follow the instructions here.

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[Update] This build is now available on the Slow ring.

Microsoft has released a new Windows 10 build to insiders -- Windows 10 19H1 Build 18342. This new build sees improvements to gaming that fix problems with State of Decay. There is also the new and much-requested ability to access Linux files from Explorer, a host of bug fixes, and the launch of a Chrome extension for Timeline. But while this is a significant update with a lot to explore, it's not for everyone. Microsoft has disabled the rollout of the build for systems with certain processors.

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The Windows 10 October 2018 Update has been a disaster for Microsoft. It caused all manner of problems for users, so much so that Microsoft had to pull it for a while, and even though the update has now been cleared for use on most systems, hardly any users have it.

The software giant will be hoping its follow up, Windows 10 19H1, due out in the spring, will be much more successful, and it has been rolling out new Insider builds at an accelerated rate this past week.

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Microsoft is currently working to finish the next big feature update for Windows 10, codenamed 19H1, which is due to begin rolling out in April.

The trouble is, most users still haven’t installed its predecessor, the often problematic October 2018 Update (aka Windows 10 1809).

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"Elegance" and "value." Those two words are synonymous with HUAWEI. The company is still establishing itself in the USA, but in China, HUAWEI's products are insanely popular. Its laptops, tablets, and smartphones are designed to be beautiful and functional, while also offering a great value. In some ways, it has matched or exceeded the legendary Apple in the design department.

HUAWEI's laptops in particular are top notch, putting the Windows 10 machines from other manufacturers to shame. The MateBook X Pro, for instance, offers insane performance in an affordable and attractive package. Today, the company announces a refresh to that laptop, while also unveiling a new model -- the MateBook 14. After coming away extremely impressed by the MateBook 13 earlier this month, I have very high hopes for the 14. The X Pro and 14 both have the much desired 3:2 aspect ratio, but the former has higher resolution. Another big difference between the two is that the X Pro has Thunderbolt 3, while the 14 does not. With that said, the 14 does have HDMI, so you can output video without a dongle -- a nice feature for some.

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Having recently started public testing of Windows 10 20H1, Microsoft has a new build for Insiders on the Skip Ahead ring to try out.

Windows 10 20H1 Build 18841 is really just a bug-fixing build but it comes with a warning from Microsoft that: "As is normal with builds early in the development cycle, these builds may contain bugs that might be painful for some". If that whets your appetite, dive in!

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If you use a laptop with a small SSD, you'll want to make sure you can reclaim as much hard drive space as possible. Many of the default apps Microsoft installs with Windows 10 can take up more space than you might realise and, better still, most can be removed simply and easily.

Take the Skype app, as an example. This app is now installed by default as Microsoft is keen to encourage us to use their technology. Problem is, it takes up nearly 0.5GB of your SSD, for an app you may never consider using.

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