Software & Apps - Page 10

It was only last week Microsoft clamped down on the hardware restrictions of Windows 11 by requiring systems to have TMP 2.0 for Redmond's latest operating system. Now, the company has seemingly changed its mind with a new blog post detailing the process of how to get Windows 11 onto a machine with hardware that doesn't meet Windows 11's hardware requirements.

Microsoft explained in its recent blog post that it doesn't recommend running Windows 11 on hardware that doesn't meet its specifications, as it means the machine won't receive critical security updates, making the system exponentially more vulnerable to progressively sophisticated cyber attacks. However, Microsoft writes that if the OS needs to be installed on an older machine, it can be, but a watermark is added to the Windows 11 desktop, along with a notification displayed in Settings to notify the user the hardware requirements haven't been met.

For those wondering if getting Windows 11 running on an outdated machine will cause more headaches than leaving it on Windows 10, don't worry, there is always the option of rolling back the machine to the older generation OS. Microsoft writes users can do this by going through the system recovery process. Right-click on the Start menu and select Settings > System > Recovery.

Microsoft recently took to its blog to announce that Copilot has become available for Windows Insiders and that the new software is "native" to Windows 11. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.

According to recent reports, Microsoft appears to have mistakenly labeled Copilot's new app as "native" to Windows 11, as the new Copilot loads copilot.microsoft.com. The difference between the new and old versions of Copilot is Microsoft's new AI companion no longer uses Microsoft Edge's Progressive Webb System (PWA) but still uses the rendering engine that powers Edge, WebView 2. Notably, WindowsCentral reports that the only part of Copilot that is "native" to Windows is the menu in the title bar and the About screen.

It's likely that Microsoft is referring to the new hotkey functionality as being "native" to Windows, as Windows Insiders are able to press Alt+Spacebar keys to bring up a new quick view interface for Copilot. However, this is still the Copilot website, just in a smaller window. Additionally, this new feature adds Copilot to Windows' System Tray. It should be noted that Copilot is still in preview, meaning many of these problems or lack of features will be added to or fixed before Copilot becomes available to the wider public.

Microsoft has taken to its blog to announce the availability of Copilot Vision, a new Copilot Pro feature that is designed to provide a helpful AI companion for internet browsing.

Microsoft has detailed the new feature in its blog post where it states Copilot Vision will require permission of the user and, if enabled, will be able to see what webpage a user is on, digest the information on the webpage, and provide helpful answers and information about what the user is searching. The new feature is currently only available in the US to a small group of Copilot Pro subscribers, which is a $20 per month subscription that unlocks Copilot across Office applications, priority access to Copilot during peak times, and now Copilot Vision.

The Windows maker explains that Copilot will be able to "understand the full context of what you're doing online," and when Copilot Vision is enabled, it "sees the page you're on, it reads along with you, and you can talk through the problem you're facing together. Browsing no longer needs to be a lonely experience with just you and all your tabs." For those worried about security, Microsoft has emphasized that Copilot VIsion is an entirely optional feature that needs to be manually switched on by a user for it to be enabled.

Microsoft has just shattered any hope that older machines that don't meet the requirements for Windows 11 will get some leeway leading into the official ending of the world's most popular operating system.

Windows 11 was released three years ago, and when the new operating system became available, users were faced with a slew of hardware requirements in order to upgrade. One of the biggest hurdles for users to get around was the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware requirement, which is a hardware-based security requirement that resides within a motherboard or CPU processor. Most modern PCs shipping today automatically ship with TPM 2.0, making them Windows 11 eligible, but that doesn't help millions of machines with older hardware that don't meet the specification.

Microsoft explains in a recent blog post that TPM 2.0 will be required for how it integrates into the security side of a system, with The Verge explaining features such as Windows 11 like Credential Guard and Windows Hello for Business, BitLocker disk encryption, and Secure Boot, are all being helped by TPM 2.0. Microsoft even goes as far as to write, TPM 2.0 will be "a non-negotiable standard for the future of Windows," which means Microsoft won't be going back on any of its hardware requirements for Windows 11.

Microsoft has been pushing Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 as the cut-off date for Windows 10 support slowly approaches.

The Redmond-based company has been pushing Windows 10 customers via various in-operating-system advertisements to upgrade to Windows 11, as support for the world's most popular operating system will end on October 25, 2025. Following the severance date, Windows 10 machines will no longer receive security updates, resulting in affected machines becoming exponentially more susceptible to security breaches or hacking. Notably, Windows 10 is still by quite a margin the most-used operating system in the world, with it holding a 61.8% market share versus Windows 11's 34.9% market share.

What's interesting is Windows 11 went from 35.6% in October to 34.9% in November, meaning it lost millions of users. As for Windows 10, the older generation operating system managed to grow its market share by just under 1%. It should be noted that these figures aren't official from Microsoft, as Redmond doesn't make those kinds of statistics public. However, Statcounter calculates its results with data from more than five billion page views across 1.5 million global sites, making it quite a reliable indicator for market share.

It was only earlier in the month the Australian House of Representatives voted to pass new legislation that bans social media for anyone that isn't over the age of 16.

That new legislation has now been voted upon in the Australian Senate, where it was passed, meaning the details of the Bill "Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age)" will be brought into effect. According to the new legislation, social media platforms will now be obligated to implement age verification checks and strategies to prevent social media platforms from being used by underage people.

Services that will fall under these new policies enable users to post material, interact with two or more people, and interact with all other end users, which all of the popular social media platforms, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and X, all fall under.How this new widespread regulation will be implemented is up to the companies behind the social media platform, not the Australian government.

Windows 11 24H2 is Microsoft's latest update that's currently available in the company preview channel for those that wish to opt-in to the Windows Insider Programme.

However, Windows 11 24H2 has been riddled with problems, most of which have been identified and confirmed by Microsoft, with fixes meant to be on the way. One of the biggest problems with 24H2 is the seemingly widespread error that stops PCs and laptops made by Dell from shutting down or even entering sleep mode.

The problem was first discovered by Windows Latest and later confirmed by Dell in an official statement on the company's website. According to the reports, the problem can be traced back to the Dell Encryption app and the latest installation of Windows 11 24H2. Compatibility errors between these two resulted in affected Dell systems being unable to shutdown.

It was only last week The Onion announced it was purchasing Alex Jones' InfoWars website from the media moguls bankruptcy auction, following the more than $1 billion in damages Jones was ordered to pay after being found guilty of spreading misinformation about the Sandy Hook shooting.

The Onion announced it purchased the Infowars website and said its goal of the acquisition was to "end InfoWars' relentless barrage of disinformation for the sake of selling supplements and replace it with The Onion's relentless barrage of humor for good". The Onion didn't reveal how much it paid for InfoWars, or if the deal included the website's social media accounts, which have now been brought into relevancy as X has filed a limited objection to the transfer of ownership of InfoWars' X accounts to The Onion.

X Corporation cites its own Terms of Service (TOS) agreement in its objection that was filed in a federal Bankruptcy Court on Monday. The objection states the following, "Because the X accounts are governed by the TOS, the TOS make clear that X accounts are X Corp.'s 'exclusive property." According to X's TOS, accounts cannot be transferred, gifted, sold, or assigned to other parties "without express written consent" from X.

Microsoft is currently working out several key problems with Windows 11 24H2, the company's latest version of Windows 11.

According to Redmond, the latest Windows 11 24H2 update contains several bugs that result in some issues presenting themselves within the operating system. Users have previously reported that if administrative privileges weren't granted, it would be difficult to change the time zone in the Date & Time view, which Microsoft confirmed was the case but only within the Settings app. This problem, along with others widely reported by users on Microsoft's community forums and Reddit, was confirmed by Microsoft in a Windows health release on Friday last week.

Some of the most prominent issues were related to USB connectivity issues, which Microsoft has responded to by blocking the Windows 11 24H2 update on computers with USB scanners that support the eSCL protocol, which is a driverless scanning protocol that works over Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB connections. Windows 24H2 users began reporting compatibility problems with a wide list of devices approximately a month ago, and the list covers devices such as multi-function printers, scanners, modems, and network-connected devices that utilize the eSCL protocol.

Microsoft deservedly received criticism over its unveiling of Windows Recall, the company's latest AI feature that enables users to "recall" what they were doing on the PC by asking via natural language or scrolling back through a provided timeline.

When Recall was first unveiled, it was met with heavy criticism from security experts as the new AI tool works by indiscriminately taking screenshots of a user's desktop and then storing those images locally within a folder. This means Recall would also capture user passwords and other sensitive information, and since all of that data is stored in a single folder, a hacker or bad actor gaining access to that folder would compromise all account information, potentially leading to fraud, theft, and other cybercrime.

Microsoft responded to these concerns by pulling Recall right before the rollout of its new Copilot+ PCs and then announcing additional security layers for users. After what was meant to be only weeks of delay, Microsoft re-released Recall this month, but this time to Windows Insiders who have Copilot+ PC hardware. Since the release, Windows Insiders have been reporting problems with the new feature, with the main problem being a delay in the time Recall takes snapshots of the desktop, which results in there being gaps in the feature's memory or timeline over the course of a session.

Three men have been killed after following directions by Google Maps off an unfinished bridge that was damaged by flooding a few months ago.

A new report from The EconomicTimes states three men from Uttar Pradesh, India, were killed when they drove off an unfinished bridge that was spanning the Ramganga River. The bridge was incomplete, as portions of it were damaged and swept away when the region endured flooding a few months ago.

The publication reports the three men were traveling in a taxi from Gurugram to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, and because they were traveling at night and at the time were following the directions of Google Maps, they didn't notice the end of the bridge, resulting in them driving off and plummeting to their deaths.

Microsoft Office, which includes popular productivity apps like Word and Excel, has been accused of scraping user-created content to train its internal AI systems. The feature, called 'Microsoft Connected Experiences,' is enabled by default, and to opt-out, you need to navigate various settings and options.

Linux expert @nixcraft on X called 'Connected Experiences' "unethical" because the feature's name doesn't convey that it's all about AI training. Microsoft's knowledge base states that connected experiences are "designed to enable you to create, communicate, and collaborate more effectively" by analyzing your content. There's no mention of AI or data being used for Copilot features or to train Microsoft's AI models.

Various media publications have picked up on these allegations, and Microsoft has responded to them using the official @Microsoft365 account on social media, denying the claims.

Windows 11's Photos app got a pair of smart new features recently, but now one of them has been put on ice - following the first (AI-powered) capability going awry in the past.

The features - which arrived in preview for Windows Insiders towards the end of October - are Super Resolution (that's the AI effort) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

It's the latter one which has just been ditched from Photos, as we were informed by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc on X (hat tip to Neowin).

Microsoft has confirmed that its latest Windows 11 24H2 update breaks some aspects of the operating system, such as USB audio, time and clock, and game playability.

Redmond confirmed the bugs within Windows 11 24H2 in a support document where it states some users who didn't have administrative privileges were experiencing difficulty changing the time zone in the Date & Time view. Microsoft writes that this issue is only limited to Date & time within the Windows Settings app, and that a workaround for afflicted users can be achieved through changing the timezone within the Control Panel.

That wasn't the only issue, as some users are reporting problems with the latest Windows 11 24H2 displaying the incorrect time after being awoken from Sleep. Additionally, reports state that some users are also seeing incorrect times after daylight savings have ticked over. Moreover, Windows 11 24H2 currently has a bug that causes audio devices to stop working entirely, and it's even more frequent with USB audio devices.

Google may be forced to sell off Google Chrome, the world's most popular internet browser that is home to 61% of all internet users.

The possibility of Google having to sever one of the arms of its core business comes from people familiar with the matter who recently spoke to Bloomberg, which reports top antitrust officials are planning on asking the court on Wednesday for Google to be forced to sell off Chrome, to bring fairness back to the browser market that has been heavily leaning in Google's favor for quite some time.

The changes to Google were proposed by the Department of Justice in a court filing last month and list other measures that would be a blow to Google's business, such as the requirement for data licensing, transparency for advertisers to see where the ads they are paying for appear, and guardrails for consumers to protect them against Google hoarding user data.

Only weeks after Apple unveiled its redesign of the Mac Mini line-up, Microsoft has unveiled a new mini PC that's even smaller than the Mac Mini and is scheduled to be released in April next year.

Microsoft has taken to its blog to announce the Windows 365 Link, which the company says is the "First Cloud PC devices for Windows 365". Microsoft states in the blog the upcoming device is strictly designed for cloud computing, and won't even have any local storage available to users. Moreover, Windows 365 Link measures just 4.72 by 4.72 inches and stands just 1.18 inches high, making it slightly smaller than Apple's Mac Mini.

As for connectivity, the Windows Links 365 will come with three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an HDMI port, DisplayPort connections, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Keeping to connectivity, Microsoft has added support for two 4K resolution monitors, along with Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 6E. On the blog, Microsoft writes the device "takes seconds to boot" and "instantly wakes from sleep".

Microsoft has announces its closing the Beta Channel for the world's most popular operating system after making it available just five months ago.

The Redmond company committed to adding new features to Windows 10 last year despite its looming support severance slated for October 2025. With less than two years left of official support for Windows 10, Microsoft added the Insider Beta Channel, which would roll out new features to beta testers who opted into the program. Now, Microsoft has announced via a blog post that it's closing the Insider Beta Channel, indicating what seems to be the beginning of the end of new features for Windows 10.

Microsoft writes that it will still continue to release new builds in the Release Preview Channel, and that all users in the Insider Beta Channel will be moved over to the Release Preview Channel. For those wondering what's in the Beta Channel, admittedly not much, as most of the additions are simply features that direct users to adopt Microsoft services. For example, Microsoft added Windows 11's lock screen widgets, along with the new Copilot app, OneDrive, and Microsoft 365 advertisements within Settings and Start.

Windows 11 has witnessed another bug creeping into the mix of various glitches that have been seen since the 24H2 update kicked off, and this is a weird issue (again), though apparently it has just been fixed.

What's happening is that those running Windows 11 23H2 (and 22H2) who have installed the latest Patch Tuesday update (KB5046633) are being told their version of the operating system is out of date.

As shown by a Windows 11 23H2 user on Reddit (hat tip to Neowin), the OS informed them that their version of Windows has reached end of service just after the installation of KB5046633 had finished.

A group of cyber criminals have claimed responsibility for a hack that resulted in 1.469 terabytes (TB) of data being stolen from the American Associated Pharmacies (AAP).

The AAP has taken to its website to post a notice informing its customers that the passwords to their accounts have been reset as the APP suspects its servers have been compromised. The AAP wrote that all existing credentials will no longer be "valid to access the sites" and that users will need to navigate to "forgot password" and follow the prompts accordingly. The group called Embargo has claimed responsibility for the attack, writing on its website the AAP paid $1.3 million to have their systems decrypted, but now the group is demanding an additional $1.3 million not to release the stolen data.

Notably, as always with ransomware stories, take the claims by the hacking group with a healthy amount of skepticism as sometimes they aren't exactly what is being alleged or completely false. As for what Embargo wants ransom for, it isn't exactly clear as details, such as the type of stolen data, haven't been released to the public. However, Embargo has given the AAP until November 20 to pay the additional $1.3 million, and if that date is exceeded, the hacking group will leak the stolen data online.

Microsoft is taking its traditional break from updates in December, so Windows 11 and 10 users will only get a monthly cumulative update next month - and no preview release.

November updates are happening as usual, what with the Patch Tuesday release just having landed, and there's going to be a preview update (of the non-security variety) that'll be deployed late in the month for those brave enough to download an optional upgrade.

However, in December, there won't be any such preview update at the end of the month due to it being the holidays, with Microsoft staff taking a break. As noted, Windows 11 and 10 PCs will still receive the main monthly cumulative update for December (of course).