Software & Apps - Page 2

In the latest push towards a password-free Windows, Microsoft has implemented a new initiative that prompts new users to set up their accounts with passkeys, push notifications, and security keys over traditional methods.

The recent update, launched alongside Microsoft's new sign-in window, changes the behavior for new accounts to be "passwordless by default." The sign-in screen has also been adjusted to smoothly facilitate passwordless logins.

Windows has supported alternative login methods for years, but the recent move signals Microsoft's intent to prioritize simplified UX and to reduce friction in the sign-up process.

Your PC crashing is not something you look forward to, but this experience will soon change in Windows 11 - arguably for the better, or maybe for the worse - as Microsoft is testing a new BSOD.

The Blue Screen of Death is a more than familiar sight - though it's considerably rarer since Windows 10 rolled around a decade ago - but Microsoft is changing how it's implemented, albeit just in testing for now.

In the new Windows 11 preview that just debuted in the Canary channel (build 27842), Microsoft informs us that the idea is to bring in a more streamlined UI for what it calls unexpected restarts. (It's a line we've heard so many times before: 'Oh gosh, my PC has unexpectedly restarted, what a frightful bore.')

Microsoft is once again banging the drum to encourage folks to upgrade to Windows 11, and has outlined the security benefits of doing so in a new blog post.

Neowin noticed the recently published article in the Windows Learning Center, which has seen a fair few additions of late in terms of cajoling Windows 10 users to make the leap to Windows 11.

It's entitled 'What is Trusted Platform Module in Windows 11?' and as you'd expect, the post explains not just that, but the benefits of TPM 2.0, which is part of the compulsory system requirements for Windows 11.

Microsoft has confirmed that there's a bug in Outlook for Microsoft 365 - the classic version of the email app, that is - and it's an odd one that can ramp up the workload on your CPU.

Yes, for some business users, just typing an email message in classic Outlook can cause their processor fan to suddenly kick up a notch and spin faster to cope with a 30% to 50% usage spike, as Microsoft describes it.

Commonly users report around the lower end of that spike, but still, it's pretty alarming to have this happening when just typing some letters on your keyboard.

If you've ever put off a Windows 11 update because you weren't sure if you had the time to run through the full process before, say, you had to leave the house, then you might be interested to learn about a new feature Microsoft is working on.

This falls neatly into the category of 'simple but useful' in terms of feature additions. Windows Latest caught sight of it in the most recent preview of Windows 11, buried later in the blog post for build 26100.3902 in the Release Preview channel.

The change for Windows Update is simply that it "provides an estimated time for how long your PC will be offline to install updates."

AIDA64 is a popular PC diagnostic, monitoring, and benchmark tool. It's one of those solid apps that has been around for several years. The latest update, AIDA64 v7.65, brings several additions to the app, including support for the nVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti. AIDA64 has existed for so long that it still spells NVIDIA as "nVIDIA."

It's no secret that the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is coming very soon; months of leaks, rumors, and listings point to a mid-April launch, with NVIDIA set to launch GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB and GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB models. The only thing is that with all of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti chatter, including AIDA64 developer FinalWire confirming the existence of the GPU in its latest patch notes, NVIDIA has yet to announce or even tease the RTX 5060 Series formally.

AIDA64 v7.65 also supports the new AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE while improving support for Intel Panther Lake CPUs and Zhaoxin KX-6000G and KX-7000 Series processors. And if you're in Greece, AIDA64 has finally added Greek localization. Here's the list of new features as part of the update.

You probably didn't miss the recent fuss about Microsoft cutting off a workaround to enable a Windows 11 installation to be carried out with a local account, rather than being tied to a Microsoft account - but it turns out that when one door closes, another two open.

To recap on this, the door being closed was the so-called 'bypassnro' method (used in the command prompt during Windows 11 setup), although there remains a way to do this via the Registry still (although that's clunkier, and surely likely to be stripped out soon enough, anyway).

WitherOrNot subsequently highlighted a better workaround on X, and on top of that, Neowin noticed that there's now yet another way to fudge a local install of Windows 11 - check out the post above from XPower7125 on X.

Microsoft has made its PC gaming handheld and Xbox on Windows 11 plans pretty straightforward in that its goal is to offer a seamless experience like booting up an Xbox console. In recent days and weeks, rumors of this initiative getting a release have been ramping up with word that Microsoft is partnering with ASUS to launch a new version of the ROG Ally to sport this updated version of Windows 11 designed for PC gaming.

Thanks to some sleuthing from Xeno Panther on BlueSky, we now have our first confirmation that PC gamers will be able to boot up Windows 11 into a full-screen Xbox and PC gaming interface that they can navigate with a controller.

The language pack for an in-development build of Windows 11 under Gaming contained references to "Boot into the Full screen experience at device startup" and "Choose your Full screen experience," which means Windows 11-based PC gaming handhelds are about to get a Steam Deck-like upgrade that is less clunky and desktop-free.

Windows 11 has seen a sizeable growth in its adoption, although that's hardly surprising given that Windows 10's end of life is now only half a year away.

Clearly, that prospect is getting folks thinking about migrating, and according to Statcounter, which publishes monthly statistics pertaining to the usage of different Windows versions, Windows 11 is up by 4.53% in March 2025. This means the newer OS is now on 42.66% and is finally closing the gap with Windows 10.

That said, Windows 10 is still on 54.23%, with more than a 10% lead, but it lost 4.43% this past month, and that kind of erosion is likely to continue apace as 2025 rolls on.

The Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD, has been a part of Windows since Windows 3.0 launched in 1990. The latest version has been around for a few Windows versions, where errors necessitating a complete system restart display a sad smiley face with a QR code and some information on what happened.

As part of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3653, Microsoft is "previewing a new, more streamlined UI for unexpected restarts which better aligns with Windows 11 design principles." For Windows Insiders, this new screen is green, drops the sad smiley face and QR code, and presents a simple "Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart" message alongside information on the error at the bottom of the screen.

Green is a more neutral and positive color than blue, so maybe the idea is, "Hey, it's okay; we just need to reboot." However, a new report at Windows Latest says that once the Blue Screen of Death disappears, it will be replaced by a Black Screen of Death.

CrystalMark Retro 2.0, from Crystal Dew World, is a free benchmarking tool that has just been updated to support Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me systems. It took a year of development to extend the tool to cover retro hardware older than Windows XP.

"I decided that Windows 95/NT 4.0 compatibility was necessary to call ourselves a true retro benchmark," Hiyohiyo, the President and CEO of CrystalMark Inc., wrote in the release notes. "It really took a whole year." In addition to supporting ancient beige machines rocking Windows 95, users can post their benchmark results and compare them against modern machines at https://crystalmarkdb.com/retro.

CrystalMark Retro is a complete benchmark suite that measures CPU, storage, 2D graphics, and 3D graphics (OpenGL) performance. It's compatible with VMware, so you can see how Windows 95 runs on a system with an AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995X 64-Core CPU - per the screenshot above.

Microsoft is working on a new feature for Windows 11 called 'Quick Machine Recovery' which is designed to help companies (or individuals) quickly recover from serious problems with their PCs.

Bleeping Computer spotted the revelation of this tool as one of the elements of Microsoft's Windows Resiliency Initiative, which just as the name suggests aims to make the desktop operating system more bulletproof from gremlins that can cause serious havoc with Windows 11 systems.

The Quick Machine Recovery facility is currently in testing for Windows 11 in the Beta channel (see some screenshots from a well-known Windows Insider, XenoPanther, above), and can be accessed via the Startup menu. (It's in the Advanced Options page, and is labeled as replacing the Startup Repair functionality).

The debut of Windows 11 22H2 introduced the requirement of a Microsoft account for both Windows 11 Home and Pro versions, but users who were particularly annoyed at this requirement and technically inclined enough, discovered a workaround that bypassed the dreaded Microsoft Account.

What is considered to be one of the most popular workarounds is "bypassro," which is a command line prompt that's entered during the setup process that circumvents the requirement of an internet connection to continue the setup process and a Microsoft Account. Unfortunately, this workaround is now being removed by Microsoft, as confirmed in the latest Windows 11 preview build, with Microsoft's reasoning being to "ensure that all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account."

As you can probably imagine, this change will be quite annoying for any Windows 11 user who doesn't want a Microsoft Account or an internet connection during setup, but this doesn't mean it's impossible to bypass the requirements. Notably, "bypassro" can be manually re-added in a command line by typing the following, "reg add HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionOOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f shutdown /r /t 0".

Instagram is rolling out a double-speed toggle for its reels, allowing users to consume short-form content even faster.

According to an Instagram representative, the feature was 'highly requested' by the community and aimed to give users more control over the Reels experience. Reels currently operate at lengths of 15 seconds up to 3 minutes, and the new settings would allow users to long-press on the edge of the screen to double playback speed.

The impact of short-form social media content is a topic of increasing concern, particularly among youths. Reels on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are designed to be short, engaging, and algorithmically driven, and studies have identified detrimental effects on attention spans, cognitive function, and academic performance.

The maker of Vivaldi has bundled a well-known VPN in its web browser, giving additional security to users in a hassle-free way.

Neowin reports that the service in question is ProtonVPN, which is a weighty name in the security scene, and a trusted brand (with a strict 'no logging' policy, as is expected from any good provider in this arena).

With the VPN being right there in the browser, there's no need for Vivaldi users to install any software, they can just flick a switch and benefit from encryption of their data, and of course online anonymity. Not to mention the other boons associated with a VPN (like being able to access streaming content you otherwise wouldn't be able to view, for example).

The Pentagon has released a statement regarding the messaging app Signal following the White House fumbling causing a national security issue when it added a reporter to a group chat with government officials discussing military strikes in a foreign country.

For those who are out of the loop the warning from the Pentagon about Signals came after The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported he was added to a group chat that among others, included key officials such as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The topic of discussion was military strikes in Yemen, with the mention of timings, weapons used, and targets.

Reports indicate that a 2023 Department of Defense memo states government officials are banned from using mobile apps for "controlled unclassified information (CUI)." NPR states that military operations are many degrees more sensitive than CUI, which can include proprietary business information, tax records, law enforcement data, and personally identifiable data. The debacle is still unfolding in the Senate, with members of the Signal group chat now appearing before officials to answer questions about the legitimacy of the plans.

Apple has announced that its Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off on June 9 this year.

In fact, WWDC 25 will run from June 9 to 13, as revealed by the brief press release Apple has posted.

The company states:

Microsoft has finally lifted a block preventing some Windows 11 users from installing the 24H2 update that applied to one particular game, a restriction that's been in place since the upgrade was first released.

In other words, it has taken very nearly six months - Windows 11 24H2 arrived at the very start of October 2024 - to resolve this compatibility block, albeit to be fair to Microsoft, the PC game in question is far from high-profile affair.

It's Asphalt 8 (Airborne), which was released well over a decade ago now (for Windows 8, in fact, in 2013). This game was prone to freezing up with an exception error under Windows 11 24H2, which could happen during gameplay, or while exiting a session (the latter being a scenario that was a good deal less annoying no doubt).

We're more used to Windows 11 patches clattering through the door and causing strife thanks to various bugs - including some very odd glitches - and now the latest Windows 10 update appears to be following suit.

Windows 10's patch for March (KB5053606) came with a problem that's already been widely reported, namely the Copilot app being accidentally deleted (a really weird glitch that also affected Windows 11, and Microsoft swiftly resolved).

Aside from that, there's a known issue with some USB printers that Microsoft has admitted, but that's a bug affecting enterprise users, not consumers.

File Explorer just got a big upgrade for Windows 11 users, with performance of the native app being increased following a new update rolled out by Microsoft.

Microsoft announced the performance hike in a new blog post where it explained the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27818 within the Canary Channel includes big improvements to File Explorer, particularly in the area of extracting zipped files.

More specifically, the performance increase will be felt when unzipping a large number of small files. The update to the Insider Build also includes various others fixes such as known problems with the Taskbar and System Tray, the removal of "Suggested Actions" when you have copied a phone number or future date, various crashes and more.