Microsoft Weekly: Windows Security, Edge Leakage, and the End of Windows 10

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Microsoft Weekly graphic with the Edge Kent logo on the left and the red Windows 10 logo on the right

It’s Saturday, which means it’s time to recap all the big news from the Microsoft world over the past few days. It was a full news week as you’ll soon find items about Windows security, Microsoft Edge, and the end of Windows 10. Find out more in our latest digest from April 23rd – April 28th!

Windows Security

Windows logo on black background with red circles

Windows security was a hot topic in our news coverage this week. Microsoft released various PowerShell scripts to help IT admins identify whether recent patches have mitigated security vulnerabilities in their Windows 10 and 11 environments. He also shared a timeline covering the next few months of Windows hardening for various protocols, including Netlogon and Kerberos.

However, the firm continues to struggle with existing security issues in its operating systems. It confirmed yesterday that the latest Patch Tuesday update broke local account logins on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, issuing a fix. It has also warned about interop issues in its Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) but has recently fixed most, if not all, of them. IT administrators can also leverage an unofficial third-party GUI tool to manage both versions of LAPS at their own risk. Another issue related to Local Security Authority (LSA) protection in Windows Defender has also been resolved.

Additionally, Microsoft revealed more details about the security features in its new Teams desktop app. Some of you may be interested to know that the firm has moved Teams from its Office suite of apps to empower Teams users on Android to satisfy EU regulators and disable automatic firmware updates. Considering unbundling.

And if you want to mess around with Windows installations, you might want to check out AtlasOS, a third-party, lightweight version of Windows 10 that’s optimized for gaming. It received updates this week and is set to get Windows Defender back soon as well, with the developer seemingly at length claiming that AtlasOS will be even more secure than the official Windows 10. On a smaller scale, you can check out Wintoys for Windows 11 instead.

Edge leakage

A melted Microsoft Edge logo with Kent written on it.

Edge and Microsoft’s other browser-related efforts have found themselves in the news a lot this week, for both good and bad reasons. For starters, someone made a surprising discovery that Edge is apparently leaking all the websites you visit in the browser to the Bing API, even if you don’t use Bing. Microsoft is still investigating the claim and has promised swift action once its findings are complete. Brave has also decided to stop using the Bing API to serve search results and its search index is now 100% independent.

We also found that Microsoft has started inserting ads for the new AI-powered Bing in the search bar if you visit Google Bard through Microsoft Edge. BingChat itself received some updates this week to further reduce the churn rate and improve responses to travel and cooking questions.

Speaking more about browsers, Windows 11’s Mica effect is coming to Chrome soon. Additionally, the latest Edge Dev 114 update has added several fixes and a shortcut to toggle the sidebar. A recent build of Canary also makes it easier to adapt Windows 11-style rounded corners in Edge. In fact, Microsoft has announced that Edge users will soon be able to disable some unnecessary features as well.

The Microsoft 365 sector also had to cover other items. All Microsoft 365 apps and services will soon start using the more neutral “cloud.microsoft” domain. Microsoft has also been improving its own Microsoft 365 apps and services in recent days. It details all of the improvements that will be made to Excel in April, including the accessibility ribbon in Outlook for Windows, the integration of the Today tab in the latest Skype Insider build, and the e-mail for Outlook mobile users. Implementing a way to make replying to mails easier. on time.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Loop can now be tested via personal accounts on iOS and Android while Microsoft Designer is now fully available via public preview. What will upset users of the Windows Weather app is that Microsoft has decided to infuse it with MSN News content, which is ridiculous to say the least.

The end of Windows 10

A black and white stock Windows 10 wallpaper with a shutdown script

Microsoft announced earlier this week that version 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10. This means that while users using the OS will continue to receive minor improvements and security updates until October 14, 2025 (and beyond if you’re an LTSC customer), there won’t be any more feature updates. In addition, Microsoft has also announced that the LTSC version of Windows 11 will arrive later next year. Windows 10 also recently received the April Non-Security Preview Update with a lot of improvements.

Another thing that is being discontinued is Microsoft branded mice, keyboards, webcams. The rest of the accessories will only be sold until the current supply runs out, after which Microsoft will focus only on Surface-branded accessories.

In more support news, the Steam client has triggered an “end of life” alert for some users as it drops support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 on January 1, 2024. About 2% of Valve’s user base uses these three operating systems, which means the majority will not be affected.

When it comes to operating system releases this week, Windows 11 continues to be the center of attention for Microsoft. In addition to the non-security preview updates expected in April for Windows 11 versions 21H2 and 22H2, there were also some internal releases. Windows 11 Beta build (KB5025303) fixed LAPS and ReFS issues, and added new widgets. Meanwhile, Canary build 25352 brought a new widget picker experience.

It may also be interesting to some that Microsoft is pushing to make Rust part of the Windows 11 kernel because of the numerous benefits it offers in writing safer and more efficient code. But in terms of what’s generally available right now, we have PhoneLink for iOS and a guide on how to get Windows 11 updates faster. And if you’re still on the fence about giving Windows 11 a go, be sure to try out the Redmond tech firm’s latest evaluation virtual machines for the OS.

Good

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard logos

Microsoft faced its biggest setback yet in its bid to buy Activision Blizzard when the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked its deal, citing potentially less competition in the cloud gaming space. Decided to stop. Activision as a stock tankMicrosoft has decided to appeal the decision, with chairman Brad Smith calling the preliminary findings “bad for the UK”.

Although another report claimed that Microsoft could close the deal without US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approval, the rumor was based on the fact that the UK CMA had previously given its blessing. Now that that hasn’t happened, it’s unlikely that the buying will stop anytime soon. For now, Microsoft’s acquisition has been approved in Ukraine and the firm has also signed another 10-year cloud gaming deal with a European firm (Nvidia GeForce Now will continue to acquire Xbox games despite the setback. ). Activision CEO Bobby Kotick fully expects the CMA’s decision to be overturned on appeal.

In other gaming news, there have been some Xbox Insider builds to fix game art issues and other bugs. And if you are impatiently waiting. Red Fall, you can create game-themed Xbox controllers with the Xbox Design Lab. Similarly, if you live in London or NYC, you might want to check out the Gaming Zones that Microsoft has created with Samsung.

Coming to the game updates, Flight simulator World Update XIII is now available, targeting Oceania and Antarctica. Quantum break Fans will also be happy to know that the title is back on the digital storefront and is also available on PC Game Pass for the first time. during this, terrestrial Players can tackle steams as a new enemy, with the game also confirming a steam deck. And in a big win for accessibility, Turn 10 Studios has announced that it’s working on a number of accessibility options for the next one. Forza Motorsportallows even blind players to enjoy the game.

Finally, talking about the deals and promotions going on right now, Xbox Free Play Days is offering four games, viz. Crusader King III, Hell let loose, Don’t starve togetherAnd jump. The May Games along with Gold have also been announced and they are be And Star Wars Episode I Racer. And if you’re looking for cheap games, check out the latest Xbox deals with gold and this weekend’s PC game deals, curated by our news editor Plasthi Aryasinghe.

Dev Channel

A spouting whale emoji

Under the spotlight

Windows Server 2003

News reporter John Callham takes a look at Windows Server 2003, which launched 20 years ago this week. It was the server version of Windows XP and is reportedly still in use in some enterprise environments. Read more about its interesting, but short, history.

Microsoft Adventure

John took another trip down memory lane this week when he reminisced about Microsoft’s first PC game, simply called. Microsoft Adventure.

An example showing a Windows PC with a laptop

Meanwhile, news reporter Taras Buria wrote a guide on how you can use a Windows laptop or tablet as a secondary monitor.

onilne form tab

Finally, forum member Adam Botgen posted his latest TechTip Tuesday guide on how you can easily fill out online forms quickly.

Logging off.

Javagpt

Our most interesting news item for this week involves building a ChatGPT client in Java that runs on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11. It’s called JavaGPT and weighs just 6MB, although it’s doubtful that it has any real-world use considering that you can only access the service from a browser, such experiences from time to time. It’s interesting to see. Get more details about the open source Java utility here.


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