Microsoft first launched Your Phone three years ago, allowing Android users to access their text messages and photos on a computer, as well as run Android apps and make and receive calls in Windows.

Today, the software giant announces the app has a new name, and a new interface with an updated design for Windows 11.

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After enjoying a couple of months of stellar usage growth which saw Windows 11 double its share, putting it on close to 20 percent of PCs, the new operating system had a nightmare March.

AdDuplex’s report for the current month -- still presented in the Ukraine flag colors of blue and yellow --  will make for shocking reading for Microsoft and for fans of the new operating system.

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Microsoft is giving Windows users an easy way to avoid drivers that are known to contain vulnerabilities, helping to improve security.

The company is adding a vulnerable driver blocklist option to Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) which will help to ensure that only trusted drivers can be installed. The new security measure is available to users of Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2016 on systems with hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI) enabled, and Windows 10 in S Mode.

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Microsoft has made numerous missteps with Windows 11, but one that drew a lot of attention was the convoluted method involved in changing the default web browser. But following complaints and criticism, the company has backtracked and dramatically simplified the process.

The change was quietly introduced with the release of the KB5011563 update for Windows 11. This is currently an optional update, but the fact that Microsoft has now made it so much easier to set the default browser to something other than Edge is one very good reason to get it installed right now.

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Microsoft has released a new optional update for Windows 11 in the form of the KB5011563 preview. The update takes Windows 11 up to build 22000.593, and as well as fixing numerous problems with the operating system, it also introduces an important change to the way notifications work.

The KB5011563 update has previously been released to Windows Insiders, but now the preview version is available for anyone who wants it to install ahead of its full release this coming Patch Tuesday. Among the fixes included in this update are a patch for an issue that causes OneDrive to lose focus, and a speed boost for slow start times.

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Four-hundred-eighty-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft started to roll out a new search feature on Windows 10 and 11 devices that it calls Search Highlight.

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It’s Wednesday, which typically means a new Windows 11 build for Insiders in the Dev Channel, but today's flight, Build 22581, is being made available for those in the Beta Channel as well, giving those users the opportunity to at last try out new features, such as Live Captions, Start folders, the redesigned Task Manager, and the tablet optimized taskbar.

The fact that both Dev and Beta testers are receiving the same build means that Insiders will now have the rare chance to switch Channels, should they wish to. Dev Channel releases have become much more experimental recently, which won’t suit everyone.

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With Windows 11 now very much Microsoft's focus, it might come as something of a surprise to find that the company is still adding things to Windows 10 -- but with the release of the KB5011543 update, this is precisely what is happening.

This is a preview of the update that will be officially released on April's Patch Tuesday, and it is designed for Windows 10 20H2, Windows 10 21H1 and Windows 10 21H2. What can you expect in this update? In addition to the arrival of search highlights -- with slightly different looks for enterprise users and ordinary consumers -- there are numerous bug fixes, and changes to the Action Center.

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Looking for another reason to be annoyed by Windows 11? Microsoft delivers yet again. It is not very long since the company started A/B testing a watermark on the desktop of people who had installed Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. Now, for reasons best known to Microsoft, the decision appears to have been taken to roll out this irritating banner.

In the latest update pushed to the Release Preview Channel, the watermark is present for everyone running Windows 11 on hardware that doesn’t make the grade. The message has changed slightly, now reading "System requirements not met. Go to Settings to learn more". The good news? You can take steps to hide the watermark if it grates on your nerves

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Microsoft runs occasional bug bashes for Insiders to help find and eradicate flaws in preview versions of its operating system, and the latest one is live now and will run until March 22.

The software giant didn’t roll out a new build to Dev Channel Insiders on Wednesday this week, as is usually the case, so instead it’s delivering new build 22579 today, along with ISO files for it. There are some new features and improvements to be enjoyed in this flight, including the ability to name your folders on Start, and site suggestions in the Get Started app that you can pin to your taskbar.

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Four-hundred-eighty-two in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft removed the last Windows 11 upgrade block this week; all compatible Windows 10 devices should have received an upgrade offer by now.

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It is a year-and-a-half since Microsoft first talked about bringing the DirectStorage technology used by Xbox Series X to Windows. Now the company has finally released the API for both Windows 10 and Windows 11, promising not only faster load times for PC games, but also more detailed game worlds.

The API enables developers to take full advantage of PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 speeds. The DirectStorage SDK is available right now, and while it offers Windows 10 support, Microsoft is really pushing Windows 11 as its recommended path for gaming.

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News recently came to light about Microsoft's apparent plans to bring ads to File Explorer in Windows 11. Like many of the other recommendation engines the company has introduced to its products over the years, the reception was less than warm.

The ads appeared for some -- but not all -- users of the latest insider build of Windows 11, leading to the assumption that Microsoft was testing the water to see how people reacted. Now there has been something of a backlash and Microsoft has issued a statement indicating that users were never meant to see this "experiment".

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Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels today get a new Windows 11 build to install.

Build 22000.588 (KB5011563) comes with one big new feature and a number of major fixes including one for an issue that added an annoying delay to Windows startup.

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Although Windows 12 likely won’t be making an appearance any time soon, that hasn’t stopped designer Addy Visuals from sharing his take on Microsoft's future operating system.

If you haven’t viewed it yet, you can watch his video in our post here. Now Addy has made the wallpapers from his Windows 12 concept available to download for free.

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