Items tagged with Windows 10
Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system has been plagued with numerous bugs recently, but one issue in particular is frustrating a large segment of its customer base. As we all well now, COVID-19/coronavirus has necessitated that many Americans work from home to adhere with quarantine guidelines. However, this particular Windows 10 bug is preventing some users from connecting to the internet with the apps they need most. For those that are working from home, and need to access their work system using a virtual private network (VPN), a recent cumulative update, KB4535996, is making those connections unstable. "Devices using a manual or auto-configured proxy, especially with a virtual...
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Microsoft has had more than its fair share of Windows 10 quality control problems over the past few months, with one of the most recent ones relating to its Windows Defender anti-malware software. As we reported earlier this week, users encountered a problem where initiating a system scan would result in Windows Defender failing during both automatic and manual scans. Windows 10 users were presented with a message that stated "Items skipped during scan" when using Windows Defender version 4.18.2003 or later. There was no indication if this was simply a bogus message, or if Windows Defender was actually failing to scan items on a user’s system. Although a workaround was...
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Ever since Microsoft released Windows 10 way back in 2015, the company has made continual improvements to the operating system to make it more palatable for tablet users. Microsoft has come a long way from the basic tablet functionality that was included in Windows 7 and Windows 8.x, but there's still room for improvement. Enter Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19592, which has now entered the Fast ring for testers. Microsoft is adding what it calls "tablet posture" improvements for 2-in-1 convertibles, which are increasingly becoming popular in the marketplace as an alternative to traditional laptops. It should be noted that tablet posture was trialed in earlier Insider builds (18970 through...
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Apple iPhones and Macs go together like peanut butter and jelly, but Dell is looking to improve the experience of using an iPhone with a Windows PC. The company is achieving this with an update to its Dell Mobile Connect iOS app, which has now been bumped to Version 3.0. Dell Mobile Connect for iOS has now gained screen sharing functionality, which was previously only available for users of the Android app. With this feature, whatever is currently displayed on your iPhone is mirrored on your Dell computer’s desktop. You can fully interact with the apps and navigate the UI using your computer's mouse and keyboard (or touch display), just as you would with your fingers if...
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Companies around the globe are finding themselves altering their way of business due to COVID-19/coronavirus. That burden even falls on massive multinational companies like Microsoft, which has been making adjustments to its cloud business to handle increased demand. Today, Microsoft has announced changes to Window 10 that will affect the way that cumulative updates are delivered to customers. Starting in May, Microsoft says that it will pause optional updates for Windows 10. Microsoft refers to these optional updates internally as C and D updates (C and D reference the third and fourth week of the month, whereas A and B are obviously the first and second week). This delivery...
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Microsoft has issued a security advisory warning users that hackers are known to be exploiting a zero-day vulnerability affecting most versions of Windows, including Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008-2019. The vulnerability, labeled as Critical, as not yet been patched by Microsoft's engineers. What that essentially means is even if your PC is fully patched, you are still vulnerable to this exploit. The exploit exists within the Adobe Type Manager Library, which deals with the way Windows manages and renders fonts. "Two remote code execution vulnerabilities exist in Microsoft Windows when the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library improperly handles a specially-crafted...
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Few Windows 10 users will be surprised to hear that Microsoft has issued a Windows 10 update that has caused problems. This time out, an update for Windows Defender appears to have rendered the antivirus scan on Windows 10 unable to function. Reports indicate that when the antivirus protection software runs, it ends with a message that says "Items Skipped During Scan." For some Windows 10 users, the Defender scans fail after a couple minutes with a message that says "items skipped" and a statement that no threats were discovered on the device. The problem is that it's not clear which items are being skipped by Windows Defender and it's unclear if the antivirus software is actually scanning for...
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It may have taken a bit longer than Microsoft originally anticipated, but Windows 10 is now installed on more than one billion active devices (for real this time, unlike back in January when an Italian-language Microsoft website jumped the gun). To celebrate the achievement, Microsoft teased a fresh look headed to Windows 10. Panos Panay, chief product officer of Microsoft's devices group, posted the teaser video on Instagram. It's a catchy little clip that highlights some of the visual changes users can expect to see in future builds of Windows 10, which notably includes a refresh of the Start Menu. At long last, Live Tiles are getting the boot in favor of app logos. View this post on Instagram...
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A March Windows 10 Update Is Causing BSODs, Meanwhile Microsoft Is Readying A Great New Storage Tool
I've mostly had good luck with Windows 10 (*knock on wood*), though the last time I made the same claim, I experienced a blue screen error for the first time in a very long time—I take some responsibility for failing to knock on wood. I'm not making the same mistake twice, especially with some users reporting blue screen of death (BSOD) errors related to a recent update. The troublesome update is KB4540673. The list of highlights include the following fixes and improvements... Updates to improve security when using Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. Updates for verifying user names and passwords. Updates to improve security when using external devices (such as game controllers, printers,...
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Back in late January, Microsoft's Italian language website jumped the gun when announcing that Windows 10 had finally crossed the 1 billion active installs threshold. However, the corporate folks in Redmond, Washington never officially confirmed that 1 billion figure, and told is in an email at the time that it "wanted to clarify that Microsoft’s most current, official number is still 900M active devices." However, Microsoft is now finally ready to make its achievement official. "Today we’re delighted to announce that over one billion people have chosen Windows 10 across 200 countries resulting in more than one billion active Windows 10 devices," wrote Microsoft Corporate...
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Microsoft is making a change to how it bundles the Linux kernel within its Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in Windows 10. Starting with the Windows 10 version 2004 update (20H1) that will soon be made available to the general public, the second version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) will see the Linux kernel removed from the Windows OS image and pushed out via Windows Update instead. This is essentially how third party drivers are installed in Windows 10 PCs, and according to Microsoft, the move to deliver the Linux kernel inside of WSL2 in the same fashion is based on hearing "lots of community feedback" on how the installation could be streamlined. Microsoft says this is the first...
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Microsoft is pushing out a fresh new Windows 10 preview build (version 19582.1001) to Windows Insiders who are subscribed to the Fast ring, and with it comes a couple of notable upgrades, including eye control improvements and better functionality with Samsung's latest Galaxy handsets (Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z Flip). Eye control in Windows 10 lets users use eye tracking technology to control the mouse, type using an on-screen keyboard, and communicate with people using text-to-speech. It supports a bunch of Tobii eye tracking devices (including some that are integrated into laptops and monitors), as well as EyeTech's TM5 Mini. In the latest preview build, Microsoft updated the eye control...
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Earlier this week on Patch Tuesday, Microsoft issued its usual bevy of security update for its software products, including Windows 10. However, what the company didn't plan on doing was accidentally revealing details of a critical "wormable" exploit that had been discovered in the Server Message Block 3.1.1 (SMBv3) network communication protocol. Not only was this vulnerability not supposed to have been revealed to the public in this manner, but Microsoft [at the time] did not have a patch available to properly address it. Over the past two days, Microsoft has been working overtime to undo some of the damage that it caused in its mistaken reveal with the release of its latest cumulative...
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This month's Patch Tuesday collection of security updates came with an added surprise—a disclosure of a "wormable" vulnerability affecting the Server Message Block 3.1.1 (SMBv3) network communication protocol. What made this unusual is that the fix was not included in the Patch Tuesday package, so the vulnerability should not have been disclosed. That's a big 'oops' moment by Microsoft. Though it was not initially published to the public, several security partners that are part of the Microsoft Active Protections Program were alerted to the bug and posted details on the security flaw, labeled as CVE-2020-0796. One of them has since removed its posting after finding out it was not fixed....
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Microsoft is working on a modernized File Explorer for Windows 10X, and some images of the alleged File Explorer have now leaked out. The new File Explorer will be preloaded on Windows 10X when it launches later this year, and it can be used for browsing OneDrive or the local storage drives inside a computer. The new File Explorer also allows users to sync files back and forth between the cloud and their local machine. Images seen here are said to be from a very early build of the new File Explorer. Since it's an early build, the user is only able to manage and download files stored on OneDrive. File Explorer doesn't appear ready to support local file management in this incarnation. The assumption...
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Windows 10 users have been encountering more problems with updates in recent months, with the optional KB4535996 causing the most recent problems. However, some Windows 10 users have also been facing issues when manually installing drivers, which has prompted a warning from Microsoft. We're not talking about drivers that are downloaded and installed automatically from Windows Update; this specifically pertains to drivers that you have downloaded directly from a device maker and choose to install yourself. Updated drivers are the lifeblood to keeping your system running at peak performance, and can provide critical boosts to performance or enhancements to security. So, anything that...
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Microsoft has admitted that there was a problem with the KB4535996 update that it released in late February. Microsoft admitted the issue in the update only a couple of days ago, several days after users first began complaining about problems after installing the update. Microsoft said that it is "aware of issues" with signtool.exe after installing the KB4535996 optional update for Windows 10, version 1903, or Windows 10, version 1909. The workaround Microsoft offers for the flawed update is to uninstall KB4535996. Microsoft has also promised that it is working on a solution to the problem with the update and expects a new update to be available in mid-March. Windows users everywhere certainly...
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Microsoft introduced “Live Tiles” to its desktop operating systems with Windows 8, and it continued with the Windows 10 Start menu in 2015. Live Tiles have proven to be controversial with users and it now appears that Microsoft may soon ditch them. The Windows Insider team recently showed off a potential new Windows 10 Start menu design that would forego Live Tiles and introduce a more streamlined design. Live Tiles were originally intended to allow users to quickly access information. Users can check up on the weather forecast, view emails and messages, and scan news headlines without needing to open an app. However, certain issues have emerged since the release of Live Tiles. Many...
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For many Windows 10 users, the point was reached long ago where there is little trust that the updates and hotfixes that the software giant puts out aren't going to cause new problems. With that in mind, it will be no surprise to many that the KB4535996 update that was released late last month is causing issues for some users. Multiple users have posted to the Microsoft Answer Forum and the Feedback Hub reporting issues with the update. Some are reporting they are unable to install the KB4535996 update completely; the installation fails with generic error messages like 0x800f0922 and 0x80070003. One user reported that when trying to install KB4535996, it downloads to 100%, and the...
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We fully realize we are preaching to the choir, but never open up unsolicited and/or unexpected email attachments. Remind your friends and remind your family members. Lest anyone need a reminder of why this is a bad idea, security researchers are warning of a group of attackers who have been phishing for victims as part of a TrickBot malware campaign. The hackers are using the remote desktop ActiveX control in Word documents to carry out their malicious deeds. Once initiated on a Windows 10 PC, the ActiveX control automatically executes a malware downloader called Ostap, which was recently adopted by TrickBot for delivering payloads. And it all starts with phishing. Malicious actors send out...
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Microsoft has been trying for months to root out and eliminate various bugs related to the Search box in Windows 10, and the company thinks it finally has things figured out. By way of a new optional Windows 10 update (KB4535996) for builds 1903 and 1909, Microsoft says a stubborn search issue is no more, along with a few other other fixes. The trouble with Search first began with the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (1903) delivered last year. After the issue arose, Microsoft pushed out an initial fix, stating in the patch notes that it "addresses an issue that causes high CPU usage from SearchUI.exe for a small number of users. This issue only occurs on devices that have disabled searching the web...
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Microsoft is investing heavily into its next-generation Microsoft Edge browser, which is based on Google Chromium. And as you might expect, Microsoft wants to get as many people over to the new Edge as soon as possible. With that in mind, the company has announced that Windows Insiders who are currently enrolled in the Release Preview ring will begin seeing Edge pushed to them automatically. If you are a regular consumer that hasn't already manually installed Edge, and don’t have any plans to use the browser anytime soon, the update will eventually makes its way to you whether you like it or now [more on that later]. “You can wait for it to be installed in a future...
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