windows

Wed
24
Apr
John Lister's picture

Microsoft Issues Mega-Security Patch

Microsoft has released one of the biggest Patch Tuesday updates ever. It includes 149 security fixes, including two "zero day bugs". Some reports suggest this is the most fixes in any monthly Microsoft update while others suggest it is "merely" the ... biggest in the past seven years. Either way, this is not a month for anyone who chooses to install Windows security fixes manually to hang about. Three of the fixes are for bugs Microsoft classes as "critical", meaning attackers could exploit them without requiring any action by the user. Almost all the rest are "important," meaning the attacker ... (view more)

Mon
05
Feb
John Lister's picture

Windows 10 Support Deadline Raises Questions

Windows 10 devices are set to become insecure next year unless users pay an extra fee. But with warnings of 240 million devices "going to landfill", it remains possible Microsoft will blink at the last moment. That Windows 10 reaches the end of its ... support period on October 14, 2025 is no secret: it's long been on Microsoft's support calendar and is in line with the company's policy of 10 years support. From that date, Microsoft will no longer issue free security updates. As happened with Windows 7, Microsoft will offer a paid update service for people in "circumstances that could prevent you ... (view more)

Tue
05
Sep
John Lister's picture

WordPad to Disappear from Windows

Microsoft is to finally ditch WordPad after nearly three decades. It will add a few new features to Notepad for lighter word processing tasks. WordPad first appeared as a free tool in Windows 95. Microsoft says it will no longer update WordPad and ... will remove it in a "future release of Windows." It's not clear if that means a potential Windows 12 or simply one of the major updates to Windows 11. Announcing the move, Microsoft perhaps unwittingly pointed out one of the major flaws of WordPad. It says: "We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad ... (view more)

Fri
25
Aug
John Lister's picture

Windows 11 SSD Slowdown 'Fixed'

Microsoft appears to have fixed a bug that slowed down solid state drives (SSDs) in Windows 11. Despite the fix, some users are upset that the company doesn't appear to have publicly acknowledged that anything went wrong. Solid state drives don't ... use any moving parts like old-style drives which use both a spinning mechanism and an arm, a little like a vinyl record player. That means that SSDs should last longer without physical wear and can access data faster. The downside is that they tend to be more expensive. As a result, a common setup is to use an SSD to run Windows and applications and ... (view more)

Fri
21
Jul
John Lister's picture

Windows 11 Reinstalls May Get Easier

Windows 11 should soon have an option to repair a broken system without a complete reinstall. The feature will work through Windows Update. If it works as described, users will be able to fix problems by switching to a stable and working version of ... Windows 11 without the two major hassles that often come with a reinstall. For example, it won't require users to download an entire copy of the Windows 11 and write to USB, then boot from the USB in order to perform the install; but, most importantly, it won't wipe out installed applications after the reinstall has completed. The new feature is ... (view more)

Tue
04
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Report: Windows 11 Currently Running on 1 in 5 PCs

A recent report from StatCounter (March, 2023) suggests that Windows 11 is running on one out of every five Windows PCs (approximately 20 percent). Windows 11 has experienced a steady growth rate, increasing its market share from 19.13% to 20.94%, ... gaining 1.81 percentage points in March, 2023. While Windows 10 also saw an increase, it was not as significant as in February 2023 when Microsoft stopped support for Windows 7 and 8.1. Despite the increase in Windows 10's market share, Windows 11's growth rate indicates that users are more interested in the newer operating system. These numbers may ... (view more)

Thu
05
Jan
John Lister's picture

Millions Will Lose Chrome Updates

Google's Chrome browser will soon be unsafe to use on Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. Google is about to finally ditch support for the systems, meaning no more updates. Version 109 of Chrome, scheduled for a full public release on January 10th, 2022, will be ... the last available for those editions. Starting with version 110, expected in February, new versions will only be available for Windows 10 and later. (Source: google.com ) Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users can still run Chrome 109 (or earlier versions) but the browser will become increasingly outdated with no new features or performance fixes. More ... (view more)

Tue
29
Mar
John Lister's picture

Scammers Get Creative With Disguised Downloads

Scammers who don't want to write their own malware can now pay just $20 to start a campaign of attacks. They can then customize their "bait" with Windows installations and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) among the ways to target users. The malware is ... available on dark web sites. These are sites that are part of the world wide web, but set up in a way that means they aren't indexed by search engines. That makes them suitable for people who don't want their activities easily traced. A piece of malware called BitRAT costs just $20 for lifetime access. The name derives from "remote ... (view more)

Fri
24
Dec
John Lister's picture

Microsoft 'PowerTools' Make Windows Easier

Microsoft has a bunch of potentially-useful Windows 10 and 11 tools available to install. Rather oddly though, they aren't part of the Windows Update system. Instead users must manually download and install the "PowerToys" tools from independent ... software site GitHub. While that site is generally safe, users can follow the link from Microsoft's powertoys page to make sure they get the latest edition. The package includes 11 tools which generally offer simple solutions to very specific problems. Many are based on the work of independent developers. Find Your Mouse Easily Mouse utilities is ... (view more)

Fri
03
Dec
John Lister's picture

MS: Want Windows 11? You Have 10 Days to Decide

Microsoft appears to have cut the period during which users who upgrade to Windows 11 can change their minds and roll back to Windows 10. They'll now have just 10 days to roll back without much hassle. Upgrading to Windows 11 seems to have proven a ... relatively straightforward process for most users, or at least those with the option to do so. Microsoft is rolling out upgrade availability starting with those machines it assesses as least likely to experience problems, though some will never officially be able to run a fully supported Windows 11. Whether to cover cases where Windows 11 doesn't ... (view more)

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