windows

Thu
16
Sep
John Lister's picture

Mozilla, Microsoft in Browser Dispute

Mozilla has found a way to make it easier to set Firefox as a default browser in Windows. The move may raise eyebrows at Microsoft, as it involved getting past measures designed to combat malware. By default, Windows doesn't let users set an ... application as the default for a particular task (web browsing or otherwise) within the application itself. That's in principle a sensible idea as it reduces the risk of malware setting itself as a default app or tricking a user into doing so. Once established as a default app, the malware would have a big advantage as it would be opened more often, ... (view more)

Tue
08
Jun
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Tech World Abuzz Over 'Windows 11' Rumor

The rumor-mill is filled with claims Windows 11 is imminent. It doesn't seem to be based on much concrete and would certainly be a major change of attitude from Microsoft. Most of the speculation seems to trace back to a Microsoft post on Twitter ... which includes an animation of a window in the shape of the Windows logo, casting a shadow into the room. (Source: bgr.com ) The excitement comes from the fact that although the window has the horizontal line in the middle (making a cross), the shadow intentionally does not. That means the shadow somewhat resembles an 11 (or 111 depending on your ... (view more)

Tue
02
Mar
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Apple Suffers Malware Scare

Apple says it has dealt with the risk from a newly-discovered piece of malware affecting macOS. It's a reminder that macOS isn't completely immune from malware - which may have been the point of the attack. Security company Red Canary discovered the ... malware and dubbed it Silver Sparrow. It says data from Malwarebytes showed it was present on 29,139 computers. (Source: redcanary.com ) It appeared to target computers which have the M1 chip. That's an Apple produced processor designed specifically for Macs. It's combines multiple functions on a single chip, the idea being to increase efficiency ... (view more)

Thu
17
Dec
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Turning Old Laptops Into Chromebook May Get Easier

Google has bought a company that helps people turn old laptops into Chromebooks. It will turn "CloudReady" into an official way to use the Chrome operating system. Chromebooks run on ChromeOS, a system that's based largely around using the Chrome ... browser to access online tools and applications. It's aimed particularly at people who mainly use a computer for web browsing, light document editing, and watching streaming video. One of the big advantages is that much of the processing is done remotely rather than on the computer itself. That means a Chromebook can run on cheaper low-spec ... (view more)

Tue
08
Sep
John Lister's picture

1/4 of PCs Running Win7 Despite Security Risks

More than one in four computers are running an unsupported version of Windows according to the latest monthly estimates. Around one in 80 machines are still running Windows XP, which was first released 19 years ago. The stats, spotted by TechRadar, ... come from Net Market Share. That's a company which provides statistics and analysis to websites. As part of this work, it's able to track the operating systems of sites that visit its clients sites. (Source: techradar.com ) Net Market Share believes it has data from enough sites to make reliable estimates for the Internet as a whole. If anything, ... (view more)

Wed
02
Sep
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Windows 10 Bug Could Strain Hard Drives

Microsoft is testing a fix for a bug that could theoretically shorten the lifespan of some hard drives. The bug means Windows 10 was mistakenly running the defrag tool more frequently than designed. Defragging has long been available as a way to ... make hard drives run more efficiently. It deals with the problem that when a computer deletes a file, it leaves empty physical space behind on the drive. The next time it writes a new file it will look for the first available suitable sized space. Over time this can lead to wasted gaps on the physical drive. In turn, this means traditional hard drives ... (view more)

Mon
24
Aug
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Windows 8.1 Users Must Install Emergency Patch

Windows 8.1 users should make sure to install an emergency patch just released by Microsoft. The company rates the risk as critical based more on the potential consequences than the risk of exploitation. The bug is patched with a security update ... that has the reference KB4578013. It affects all versions of Windows 8.1 along with Windows Server 2012. The bug doesn't affect Windows 10. In theory it could affect Windows 7 and earlier, but Microsoft no longer patches those systems as they are no longer supported. (Source: microsoft.com ) The fix comes in an "out of band security update", commonly ... (view more)

Mon
13
Jul
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Zoom Video Conferencing a Major Risk on Windows 7

Windows 7 computers running the Zoom videoconferencing tool are at risk from a "zero day" vulnerability. It's a reminder of the dangers of an outdated operating system. The problem will be fixed in a patch by Zoom itself rather than from Microsoft. ... Microsoft dropped support for Windows 7 on January 14 this year, meaning it doesn't offer security updates or fix any bugs. A zero day vulnerability is one that is known by somebody other than the developer or manufacturer before a fix is ready. In effect, the developers have "zero days" of head start distributing the fix before people can start ... (view more)

Thu
28
May
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Next Big Windows 10 Update Now Available

Microsoft has unveiled full details of the next big Windows 10 update, dubbed the May 2020 Update. Users can manually download it right now, though that might seem unwise option for the average home user in due to any unreported bugs in the ... software. The May 2020 Update is one of the two major updates this year that introduce new features, rather than making minor tweaks or fixing security bugs. Five years into the initial release of Windows 10, and it appears that the threshold for "major" changes appears to be getting lower. The May 2020 Update really only has two completely new features to ... (view more)

Thu
14
May
John Lister's picture

Windows 10 Search Glitch: Don't Panic

Windows 10 has been hit by another bug affecting the search function. Fortunately it seems the problem looks much worse than it really is. The bug in question pops up for some users when they use Windows Search, which looks through both the names of ... files and the contents of documents. Users have reported a range of unusual effects, the most common being a message reading "This is taking too long to load" above a reload button. In most cases it seems hitting the reload button - or indeed restarting either the search tool or Windows itself - doesn't make any difference. What's particularly ... (view more)

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