microsoft

Windows 8.1 will no longer receive security updates from next month. It is said to effect millions of users. Microsoft has reminded users that January 10th, 2020 is the "end of support" date for the system. That means it will continue to work, but ... users will no longer get any updates or fixes, whether for security or performance bugs. The deadline also means an end to technical support from Microsoft of any kind. (Source: microsoft.com ) The system has already past the mainstream support deadline in 2018. That's when Microsoft stopped adding any new features. No Pay-To-Secure Option Unlike ... (view more)

Microsoft is once again testing advertising for its own products in Windows 11. This time the promotion appears in the Start menu. As with the previous testing, it's unclear how likely the advertising is to be rolled out to all users. It seems ... Microsoft is not just testing the technology itself but also how users will respond. Back in March, a selection of users in the Windows 11 test program started seeing promotions in the File Explorer tool. One suggested the user install a Microsoft-made browser extension for getting spelling and grammar suggestions when typing on websites such as forums ... (view more)

Microsoft has released the first major update to Windows 11. It also says it may issue new features every month, yet another change to its update strategy. One year after Windows 11 first came out, the new update is formally called 22H2, though ... Microsoft has also simply called it the 2022 Update. That reflects an initial theory that updates would be relatively infrequent. Older versions of Windows had new features added as and when they were ready, with a Service Pack bringing everything together every couple of years for users who didn't want to install frequent updates. Windows 10 switched ... (view more)

Microsoft's antivirus tools have mistakenly labeled Google Chrome and other browsers as housing malware. The error didn't cause any harm but may have annoyed or confused millions of users. The mistake affected Microsoft Defender (previously called ... Windows Defender), the built-in security tool in Windows that is likely the world's most widely used anti-malware tool. For most users, the mistake will have been most visible through a beeping noise and on-screen alert every time they opened Google Chrome. Confusingly, clicking on the notification opened up a screen which flashed more details for a ... (view more)

A Windows update that causes bugs is no surprise at this point, but a new one affecting printers has a twist. The bug is with Windows 10 rather than 11. The problem comes from a month-old update, KB5014666, which rolled out from June 28, 2022. ... Microsoft says it has two main problems, affecting users with USB-connected printers. The first is that on some computers, Windows shows two copies of the same printer, with the second one having the same name but ending in "Copy1". That can mean the computer is unable to print to either of the "two" printers. The second problem ... (view more)

Microsoft says it still plans to make a key security move with Microsoft Office, despite already having reversed it. It says it has put the changes to macros on hold to "enhance usability." The back-and-forth involves Visual Basic for Applications ... (VBA) macros. In principle, these are shortcuts that automate detailed processes with multiple steps. In some cases, users will share macros as part of their work. While macros can be very useful, they also offer a security risk. That's because a maliciously crafted macro could carry out unwanted tasks without the user knowing exactly what ... (view more)

A third-party tool can help users get round some of Microsoft's restrictions on upgrading to Windows 11. It won't remove Microsoft nagging, however. Although Windows 11 is a free upgrade for Windows 10 users, three main restrictions mean some people ... may not be able to get it. The first is a series of hardware minimum specifications, with even some relatively recent computer processors judged inadequate by Microsoft. The second is the need for a Trusted Protection Module (TPM), a hardware device aimed at boosting security. Many computers either don't have a TPM or have it disabled by default, ... (view more)

The most recent Windows 11 update has caused bugs so significant that some users may be better off uninstalling it, despite the security implications. It's a situation with some particularly embarrassing elements for Microsoft. The update has the ... code name KB5013943 and was released to the general public on May 10th. It's reported some users in Microsoft's test program who got the update early experienced problems, meaning it's a surprise the same bugs appear to still have been present in the general release. Compatibility Glitches The problem is with the .NET Framework. That's effectively a ... (view more)

Microsoft Edge is getting what looks suspiciously like a virtual private network (VPN). It comes with a catch and requires some serious trust in Microsoft. The "Secure Network" feature is now mentioned in a support document and has also shown up in ... Edge for some users who've signed up for early access to in-development features. It appears to be a variant of a VPN, which involves routing internet connection through a VPN provider. The data traveling back and forth between the provider and the user is encrypted in a setup likened to a "tunnel" that stops it being accessible ... (view more)

Microsoft has gone ahead with plans to make it easier to change the browser in Windows 11. It means an end to a heavily criticized policy that made it more frustrating to use something other than Microsoft's own Edge browser. In recent versions of ... Windows, users could set a rival browser as the default option in Windows relatively easily. Once set, Windows would then use the chosen browser automatically for relevant tasks such as opening a link or a saved web page. In Windows 10, users could set a different browser for every type of file or connection type an app could use, for example .htm ... (view more)