Linux Mint 20.3 coming Christmas 2021
Windows 11 is rumored to be released in October, and since it is already in the Beta Channel, that rumor seems plausible. So, yeah, Microsoft is sure to dominate headlines in the final quarter of the year.
While a new version of Windows is surely exciting, that won't be the only operating system getting a new version later in the year. You see, the Linux Mint developers have shared some exciting news about when version 20.3 of the Ubuntu-based distro will be available for download.
Ubuntu-based Linux Lite 5.6 RC1 is here to replace Microsoft Windows 11 on your PC
Windows 10 is not a terrible operating systems. In fact, other than the extreme telemetry (spying), it is pretty good. With that said, the upcoming Windows 11 is very polarizing, featuring radical changes to the user interface. Not to mention, the system requirements will leave many still-capable computers unable to upgrade. These unfortunate computer owners will have to decide whether to continue using Windows 10 or buy a new Windows 11-compatible PC.
Thankfully, there is an arguably better option -- just switch to Linux! Yes, modern Linux-based operating systems are very well-supported and most will run great on aging hardware (unlike Windows 11). Linux Lite, which uses the Xfce desktop environment, is one of the best Linux distributions for Windows-switchers, as it is lightweight, modern, and familiar.
Microsoft releases KB5005392 and KB5005394 emergency patches for Windows printer and scanner problems
There have been a spate of problems with printing in Windows recently, including issues introduced by updates from Microsoft.
The most recent problems came for people who installed updates released this Patch Tuesday. Some found they were unable to print or scan after installing the updates, and now Microsoft has released a couple of out-of-band patches -- KB5005394 for Windows 10 and KB5005392 for Windows 7.
Microsoft issues advice after hackers bypass Windows Hello security
Security researchers have shown that it is possible to bypass the biometric security of Windows Hello. Using a fake web, the CyberArk Labs research team was able to fool the facial recognition component of Windows Hello to send infrared images.
Windows Hello requires a camera with RGB and IR sensors, but the security tool actually only uses IR imagery. Using a custom USB device, hackers can manipulate the stream of data that is sent, injecting IR imagery of an authorized user.
Microsoft issues emergency patches for critical PrintNightmare security flaw
Microsoft has released a series of out of-band security patches for the PrintNightmare bug that was recently exposed. The remote code execution vulnerability exits in the Windows Print Spooler; it affects all versions of Windows, and the company is even offering patches for the unsupported Windows 7.
Previously, Microsoft had only been able to suggest workarounds to mitigate against the security problems, so it was left to 0patch to help out with a free bug-fix. But now patches are available for this serious security issue (CVE-2021-34527) that leaves systems at risk of attack.
0patch comes to the rescue with free micropatches for Windows PrintNightmare vulnerability
Micropatching specialist 0patch has stepped into help out with a fix for the PrintNightmare vulnerability that was recently accidentally leaked by security researchers.
While Microsoft has acknowledged that there is a security flaw in Windows Print Spooler that could lead to remotely compromised systems, the company has only offered workarounds rather than a patch. And so 0patch -- no stranger to helping out in such situations -- has stepped up to the plate and issued free micropatches of its own.
Ubuntu-maker Canonical will support open source Blender on Windows, Mac, and Linux
Blender is one of the most important open source projects, as the 3D graphics application suite is used by countless people at home, for business, and in education. The software can be used on many platforms, such as Windows, Mac, and of course, Linux.
Today, Ubuntu-maker Canonical announces it will offer paid enterprise support for Blender LTS. How cool is that? Surprisingly, this support will not only be for Ubuntu users. Heck, it isn't even limited to Linux installations. Actually, Canonical will offer this support to Blender LTS users on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Wow!
Microsoft accidentally publishes document confirming Windows 11 name
The operating system Microsoft will reveal this week being called anything other than Windows 11 is about as likely as Apple allowing Android to run on iPhones. We've had the rumors, we've had the leaks, we've had legal action confirming the name, and now we've got further confirmation.
In a support document seemingly published to GitHub by accident, Microsoft confirmed the Windows 11 name. This should quash the rumors about the leaked build of the operating system not being genuine, and the belief that Windows 11 could not possibly exist because of Microsoft's previous proclamation that Windows 10 was the "last version of Windows".
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Dell issues critical security update to patch serious driver flaws on hundreds of millions of systems
Dell has patched a recently discovered series of security flaws in a driver installed on hundreds of millions of computers. Tracked as CVE-2021-21551, no fewer than five high severity vulnerabilities were found to exist in Dell's dbutil_2_3.sys firmware update driver since 2009.
The flawed DBUtil driver is installed on consumer and enterprise desktops, laptops and tablets around the world. If exploited, the vulnerabilities could be used to "escalate privileges from a non-administrator user to kernel mode privileges". The problem only affected Windows systems, not those running Linux.
You can finally run Windows 10 along with Ubuntu Linux on Apple M1 Mac computers
When Apple switched from Intel to its own ARM-based processors for new Mac computers, some people were dubious that the transition would go smoothly. Well, guess what? Apple did it, folks. The company moved to a new chip type without any major negative issues. In fact, Apple's M1 chip has been universally praised as being both fast and energy efficient.
Earlier this year, some people got Linux-based Ubuntu running on the M1 hardware, and that process is getting better all the time. Sadly, owners of M1 Mac computers have been unable to run Windows 10 like they could on older Intel-based Mac machines. Until now, that is. Yes, you can finally run Windows 10 on Apple M1 Mac computers -- sort of.
Microsoft launches a public preview of the 64-bit version of OneDrive
It has been a very, very long time coming, but Microsoft has finally decided to dole out some 64-bit loving to OneDrive.
The company has announced the availability of a public preview version of the 64-bit OneDrive sync client for Windows. For anyone running the 64-bit version of Window, making the switch makes complete sense thanks to improved performance and better handling of large files. The bad news for now is that there is no 64-bit ARM version available, only one for x64-based systems.
Protecting Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) from attack
The pandemic forced many employees into remote work, and cybercriminals are looking to exploit the situation by directly attacking remote desktop services as they become publicly available. Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has become a prime target. According to a study released by the cybersecurity firm ESET, attacks against RDP have increased a stunning 768 percent over the course of 2020. Malware packages like Trickbot now include RDP scanners to search for open RDP ports, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks have begun using RDP as a way to magnify their impact.
This is not to say that RDP or Windows are inherently bad. RDP is an extremely useful, complex, and functionally rich protocol for remote access. The open source project I work on, Apache Guacamole, leverages RDP internally as one of its supported protocols.
Windows 11 is the Microsoft operating system we need!
Although Microsoft is expected to begin giving Windows 10 a bit of a long-overdue redesign later in the year, the truth is that operating system has become a bit, well, boring. The last feature update, and the next one due out in he coming months (21H1), have made only minor tweaks to the OS.
Isn’t it time for a full, proper new version of Windows? Isn’t it time for Windows 11?
Microsoft forcibly installs KB4577586 update to remove Flash from Windows
The death of Flash has been on the cards for quite some time. What was once a staple of the online experience soon became little more than a security nightmare, and all of the major web browsers have slowly but surely dropped support for the software. Back in October, Microsoft released an update to not only remove Flash from Windows, but also prevent it from being reinstalled.
Now the company is upping the ante, and is pushing out the KB4577586 update to Windows users. The update is installed automatically and kills Flash once and for all.
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