The Windows 11 update resolves a weird Task Manager bug that would incorrectly show the number of background processes and Windows processes count as zero. The issue would be present when using the Group by Type option in the Processes tab. This can certainly be annoying and inconvenient, considering that Task Manager is an important basic monitoring tool on Windows, and even Microsoft understands that.

It explained:

After installing the October 2024 non-security preview update (KB5044384), users will encounter an issue where Apps, Background Processes, and Windows Processes in Task Manager display a count of zero, despite having active applications running. This issue appears specifically on the Processes page when the "Group by Type" view is enabled.

The tech giant has confirmed that the issue has been resolved with the latest Patch Tuesday updates. As such, if you extensively used the Task Manager for monitoring and tracking processes, you should install the update. Microsoft also recommends that affected users download and install the update. It writes:

Resolution: This issue was resolved by Windows updates released November 12, 2024 (KB5046617), and later. We recommend you install the latest security update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.

You can find the issue here on Microsoft's official Windows health dashboard website.

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With the holiday season quickly approaching, Microsoft plans to take a break. Therefore, Windows 10 and 11 will get fewer updates. While traditional Patch Tuesday updates are still on track (scheduled for December 10, 2024), next month's non-security updates are canceled. Microsoft announced the change in its official Windows Update account on X:

December 2024 is the only exception, so the regular schedule of C-updates for Windows 10 and 11 will continue in January 2025.

For those unfamiliar, non-security updates for Windows 10 and 11 deliver monthly fixes and quality-of-life improvements. Microsoft also uses these updates to provide minor new features outside its traditional "big" annual feature updates, such as the recently released Windows 11 version 24H2. All these non-security updates are optional, unlike Patch Tuesday updates, which install automatically whether the user likes it or not.

While it is nice to receive new features every month, non-security updates are often more prone to bugs. Last month's updates crippled Task Manager on Windows 11 version 24H2 and broke some apps on Windows 10. Therefore, if you want to try them, be ready for some unexpected bugs and glitches. For the majority of users, it is better to stay away from them altogether.

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Here's what's new:

24H2

Highlights

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

   

Improvements

This security update includes improvements that were a part of update KB5044384 (released October 24, 2024). Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

[Task Manager (known issue)] Fixed: The count for the number of groups is wrong or always zero (0) on the Processes tab. This occurs when you turn on “Group by type.”

 

[Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)] Fixed: You cannot access your Dev Drive.

 

[Internet connection] Fixed: A small number of devices cannot connect to the internet. This occurs when a DHCP server response has duplicate DHCP options. This stops IPv4 connections on certain networks.

 

If you installed earlier updates, only the new updates contained in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device.

 

For more information about security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide website and the November 2024 Security Updates.

Windows 11 servicing stack update (KB5047621)- 26100.2303

This update makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates. Servicing stack updates (SSU) ensure that you have a robust and reliable servicing stack so that your devices can receive and install Microsoft updates.

Known issues in this update

23H2 and 22H2

Highlights

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

Improvements

Note: To view the list of addressed issues, click or tap the OS name to expand the collapsible section.

Windows 11, version 23H2

Important: Use EKB KB5027397 to update to Windows 11, version 23H2.

 

This security update includes quality improvements. Key changes include:

 

• This build includes all the improvements in Windows 11, version 22H2.

• No additional issues are documented for this release.

Windows 11, version 22H2

This security update includes improvements that were a part of update KB5044380 (released October 22, 2024). Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

• [Miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality] No additional issues were documented for this release.

   

If you installed earlier updates, only the new updates contained in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device.

 

For more information about security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide website and the November 2024 Security Updates.

Windows 11 servicing stack update (KB5044620) - 22621.4383 and 22631.4383

This update makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates. Servicing stack updates (SSU) ensure that you have a robust and reliable servicing stack so that your devices can receive and install Microsoft updates.

Known issues in this update

These updates will be available from Windows Update and should install automatically in most cases. If you would like to download these updates for offline installation, you can get them from the Microsoft Catalog website. You can find the update for 24H2 here (but check the install instructions here as it's more complex, go to the Catalog tab at the bottom of the page), and 23H2 and 22H2 here.

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The new updates are being distributed under KB5046613, bumping up the builds to 19044.5131 and 19045.5131. You can find standalone links to download the new update on the Microsoft Update Catalog at this link [link fixed]. [Link fixed

The major highlight of the release is security patches.

Highlights

 

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

Microsoft says there are no known issues in this update.

Some of the older Windows 10 versions have also received updates today, which have been listed below with their respective release notes (KB) linked as well as links to download them at Microsoft's Update Catalog:

It is noteworthy that Windows 10 20H2 and Windows 10 1909 reached the end of servicing. Non-LTSC editions of 21H2 have also reached the end of servicing.

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Microsoft promises significant performance improvements with .NET 9, with over 1,000 performance-related changes across the runtime, workloads, and languages. According to the TechEmpower benchmark, .NET 9 can now process 15% more requests compared to .NET 8. You can learn more about .NET 9's performance improvements here. The .NET 9 runtime also includes several performance improvements, including loop optimizations, inlining, and Arm64 vectorization and code generation.

Along with .NET 9, Microsoft also announced the release of .NET Aspire 9 with several new features. Developers can now start and stop resources from the dashboard, keep containers alive between debug sessions, and more. The .NET Aspire 9 release also comes with integrations for OpenAI, Ollama, Milvus, and many more for rapid AI development.

ASP.NET Core in .NET 9 comes with improvements to Blazor, SignalR, minimal APIs, OpenAPI, and authentication and authorization.

Microsoft recently released Microsoft.Extensions.AI and Microsoft.Extensions.VectorData to offer a unified layer of C# abstractions for interacting with AI services, including language models, embeddings, and more.

Microsoft highlighted that NuGet is the fastest-growing package ecosystem year over year. Microsoft recently introduced a fresh new look for NuGet.org with support for dark mode, partnered with GitHub to add native NuGet support to Dependabot, and more.

Accompanying the .NET 9 release, Microsoft announced the release of Visual Studio 2022 17.12 with significant performance improvements, improved debugging & diagnostics, better integration with .NET Aspire, analyzer support for C# 13, improved Git support, and more.

.NET 9 will be supported by Microsoft for 18 months as a standard-term support (STS) release. Overall, .NET 9 is a significant upgrade for developers, offering enhanced performance, new tools, and improved support.

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Last month, Mozilla released Firefox 132 with Microsoft PlayReady encrypted media playback support, which enabled DRM-protected video streaming in up to 4K resolution with better performance and reduced energy consumption. After the update, developers from Mozilla released a small update to address some video-related issues (version 132.0.1), and today's release continues that work with even more fixes.

This time, Firefox 132.0.2 addresses errors with NS_ERROR_DOM_MEDIA_FATAL_ERR and NS_ERROR_DOM_MEDIA_MEDIA_ENGINE_INITIALIZATION_ERR codes when attempting to play DRM-protected videos. Besides addressing playback issues, Firefox 132.0.2 attempts to fix the bug with duplicated push notifications, hangs when printing using the system print dialog, crashes when using Microsoft SSO, and more. Here is the complete changelog:

Version 132.0.2, first offered to Release channel users on November 12, 2024

 

• Fixed possible errors when playing encrypted media content through some streaming providers. (Bug 1929491)
• Added a mitigation to help reduce the frequency of duplicated push notifications reported by some users. (Bug 1928868)
• Fixed hangs when printing from some sites when using the system print dialog. (Bug 1898184)
• Fixed a crash which could occur when using Microsoft SSO on macOS. (Bug 1929622)
• Fixed a crash in the Network Monitor developer tool which could occur in some circumstances. (Bug 1924882)

Firefox will update itself automatically in the background, but you can speed the process up by heading to Menu > Help > About Firefox. If you want to convert from another browser to Firefox, get it from the official website, the Microsoft Store, or Neowin's software page.

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Microsoft Edge has now been caught auto-starting on PCs and promising to "enhance your browsing experience" with Copilot. The option to move data from other browsers, i.e., Chrome, is ticked by default.

Microsoft's browser auto-starting without user consent just to show you an ad and get your data is not the only infuriating part. In a typical Microsoft fashion, just like with that story about Windows 11 update ads with two "yes" buttons, the only apparent choice is to accept and continue. If you want to reject the life-changing offer, you will have to aim for a small close button in the upper-right corner of the prompt, which, some argue, looks way too similar to AI sparkles on the banner art.

Unlike earlier this year, this time, Microsoft openly admits its dark patterns. Here is what a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge:

This is a notification giving people the choice to import data from other browsers. There is an option to turn it off.

In other words, if you have never used Edge, the only way to prevent this annoying behavior is to open the browser, go through all of its nags to share data, deal with it auto-signing into your Microsoft Account, and only then turn off autostart.

Microsoft does not look like it cares too much about the public outcry. From injecting ads into Chrome's official website to showing adware-like popups and spamming with polls, this company cannot deal with the fact that some people prefer Google Chrome. And the worst part (or the funniest, depending on how you look at it) is that despite all this herculean effort and the fact that it is the default browser in Windows, Microsoft Edge is growing extremely slowly.

It is not just people ranting on X or Reddit or me writing angry posts every now and then alongside other websites. Browser makers and consumer rights advocacy groups demand regulators to subject Microsoft and its browser to regulations and put an end to its dark practices. The Recall controversy forced Microsoft to redo a lot of things and make the experience strictly opt-in. If only someone could force Microsoft to tame its browser as well.

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On the topic of accessing elements from past Windows editions, the Action Center is one of those that still live on even on Windows 11 version 24H2.

As noted by X user and Windows enthusiast Bob Pony, you can still get it even on the latest Windows 11 Canary channel Insider build, 27744. The Windows 10 Action is available, although, this one will require some tinkering to the Registry, though it is relatively simple.

It essentially involves setting up a new "Lite Layout" option once we create a "Control Center" key. To do so:

1. Open the Registry Editor app or REGEDIT,
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ key
3. Create a new key called "Control Center"
4. Inside, add a new DWORD named "UseLiteLayout"
5. Finally, set the DWORD value to 1.

You can save and exit and also try a system restart to ensure that the changes have been applied in case the Windows 10 Action Center does not pop up.

If you want a brief background on it, the Action Center is essentially the notification area on the Windows desktop and made its debut with Windows 8.1 back in 2014. It has received subsequent improvements in Windows 10 as well as in Windows 11, though many still feel it needs refinements.

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl is to PC (Microsoft Store and Steam) and Xbox Series X|S on November 20. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be available on November 19 on PCs and consoles, including Game Pass.

Besides adding optimizations for S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl or Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Nvidia 566.14 WHQL fixes the following issues:

Fixed Gaming Bugs:

 

• DSR/DLDSR custom resolutions may not appear in certain games [4839770]
• [Call of Duty MWIII] filename change preventing users from using GFE Freestyle Filters [4927183]

 

Fixed General Bugs:

 

• [Bluestacks/Corsair iCUE] May display higher than normal CPU usage [4895184]
• When "Shader Cache size" is set to "disabled" cache files may still be created [4895217]

As for known bugs, they include only one and affect Windows 10 users:

• Windows 10 transparency effects not working correctly after updating to driver version 566.03 [4922638]

You can download Nvidia's latest driver from the official website, the GeForce Experience App, or the just-out-of-beta Nvidia App. As for compatibility, the driver is available for the following graphics cards:

As usual, supported operating systems include 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. Full release notes for driver 566.14 are available here (PDF). You can also read more about the improvements in the latest driver in an article on Nvidia's official website.

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After several months of testing and a few betas, Nvidia's new unified app with a simple "Nvidia App" name is officially out (contrary to reports about the launch alongside the RTX 50 lineup). The company announced the release on its official website, offering users a single app to replace the old Nvidia Control Panel with its Windows XP-like design and the GeForce Experience app.

Although the app is now out of beta, Nvidia is not ready to ditch its old Windows apps completely. In fact, future Game Ready and Studio Ready drivers will offer Nvidia App as an optional component. That is because the new program still lacks some of the features available in the legacy Control Panel, such as Surround, Multiple Display Mode settings, and more. In the official blog post, Nvidia says those features will be coming in future updates.

Nvidia App is designed to provide you with a single place to manage your graphics card, its drivers, settings, and gaming features. You can fine-tune gaming settings, update drivers, configure display settings, apply optimal performance settings, use a redesigned in-game overlay, monitor performance, and access plenty of Nvidia's AI-powered features on supported hardware.

Many users will also like the fact that, unlike the GeForce Experience app, the new program no longer requires logging in with an Nvidia account. However, you can still sign in to access special offers, redeem rewards, and more. You can learn more about the new app's capabilities in the announcement post.

You can download Nvidia App from the official website. To make it work, you need a computer with a GTX 800 / 800M / 900 / 900M / 10 / 16 Series, RTX 20 / 30 / 40 Series, or MX 100 / 200 / 300 graphics cards. Supported platforms include Windows 10 and 11, plus your graphics driver version should be 551.52 or later.

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Signal, a popular privacy-focused end-to-end encrypted messaging app, recently announced a new call links feature. This allows anyone to share a link to a call with others, who can then join with a single click.

Previously, to start a group call in Signal, users had to first create a group chat, add people, and then initiate the call. This new feature allows Signal users to invite people to a group call without creating a group chat each time.

To create a call link, Signal users go to the calls tab and click "create a call link." Users can name the link and decide whether to allow people to join with or without approval. By default, users must approve others before they can join a call. Group calls created using call links support up to 50 people. Also, call links are reusable, so you can retain the link indefinitely to start group calls whenever necessary.

Taking inspiration from the likes of Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, Signal now supports a "raise hand" option and the ability to share emoji reactions during calls. When people raise their hands, all users in the call can see a list of those who have raised their hands. Emoji reactions can be used to provide quick feedback.

Signal has also introduced a dedicated calls tab on the home screen, allowing users to see all of their call history in one place. On the Signal desktop app, users now have new ways to view call participants: Grid view, Sidebar view, or Speaker view.

Finally, Signal has updated the call control buttons, enabling users to easily turn their camera and microphone on or off, manage the speaker source, and more.

All the above features are now available in the latest version of Signal apps for Android, iOS and iPadOS and iPadOS, and Desktop.

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With the first round of updates about two weeks ago, it fixed a Windows 11 24H2 bug that prevented some of these actions and also devised compatibility with systems that have Registry edit disabled via the DisableRegistryTools policy.

Speaking of updates, the latest version splits Folder View and Explorer into two separate dialogs containing various options.

Here are the Folder View options:

And, here are the Explorer options:

The author has outlined how to use the app in few simple steps:

• Step 1: Select Your Interface Language (Optional)
• Step 2: Select Your Preferred Default View

• Step 3: Select Your Preferred Default Column Headings (Optional)

• Step 4: Set Views for Specific Folder Types (Optional)

• Step 5: Check and Set Your Desired Options (REQUIRED!)

• Step 7: Apply the Selections to Windows File Explorer

The release notes are given below:

2.99.1

 

• Enhancement: Now works on systems that have the DisableRegistryTools policy enabled.
• Enhancement: PowerShell scripts updated to work with PowerShell Core.
• Enhancement: Corrections to French language file (Thank you k3lteris).
• Bug Fix: Fixed error in build version check that prevented Windows 10 Explorer from being enabled on Windows 11 24H2.

...

 

WinSetView 3.0.0 Latest

 

• Feature added: Options have been split into Folder View Options and Explorer Options.
• Feature added: Added button to detect current Explorer Options.
• Feature added: Submit now opens a dialog to choose Folder views and/or Explorer options.
• Feature added: New option to Unhide the Public Desktop folder.
• Feature added: Added a checkbox to enable/disable backup.

You can find the app here on its GitHub repo. As always, though, the best place to try a third-party app is always in a VM.

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Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced similar Recent Files widgets for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for iOS and iPadOS and iPadOS. These widgets allowed users to view and open their recently accessed files from their iPhone or iPad home screen.

Here's how users can add Word, Excel, and PowerPoint widgets to their Mac:

• When running a macOS version that supports widgets, users can right-click on their desktop and select the "Edit Widgets" command.
• In the list of available apps that support widgets, users should select Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
• Once the app is selected, widgets will be displayed in four sizes, ranging from small to extra-large.
• Users can select the desired widget size, hover over it, and select the green + button in the top left corner.
• When the Recent widget is displayed on the desktop, users can click a file card to open a recent file. If users want to open the app's home page instead, they can click anywhere on the widget outside of the file cards.

Microsoft is rolling out the new Recent widgets feature to Microsoft 365 Current Channel (Preview) users running Version 16.91 (Build 24110320) or later on macOS. On iPhone and iPad, the Recent Files widget is available to Microsoft 365 Insiders running iOS and iPadOS Version 2.85 (Build 24042818) or later. By joining the Microsoft 365 Insider program, users can get access to early builds of new features and updates before it reaches wider availability.

These new widgets provide a convenient way for Mac users to access their recent files, streamlining their workflow. With this update, Microsoft continues to enhance cross-platform compatibility and user experience across its suite of office applications.

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With the announcement, effective immediately, VMware Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro are no longer available for purchase. Fusion and Workstation can now be used without any cost. At the same time, existing customers with commercial licenses will remain with their agreements in full effect until the end of the term. Customers can continue using the products after that, albeit with no support ticketing for troubleshooting.

With VMware Workstation and Fusion moving to a completely free model, VMware is offering users the necessary documentation and support via Community Access, Product Documentation, and Knowledge Base articles. Going forward, VMware promises to continue investing in new features, deliver timely updates with reliable performance, and optimize products to "deliver even greater value."

This transition opens up exciting possibilities for collaboration, feedback, and growth within our user community. We’re eager to see how our products will empower both new and existing customers. Thank you for being part of our journey, and stay tuned for more updates as we continue to evolve to better meet your needs!

You can read more about the latest change in VMware's licensing for Workstation and Fusion in a blog post on the official VMware website.

In case you missed it, the latest update for VMware Workstation delivered important fixes for Windows 11 version 24H2, including the proper SKU detection (regular Windows 11 images are no longer flagged as Windows Server 2025) and 0xc0000005 error. Check out the full release notes in our dedicated article.

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Albacore, who goes by the @thebookisclosed handle on X and is famous for uncovering hidden features in Windows 11, discovered a new section of the Settings app that will complement the existing battery consumption graphs.

As is usually the case with early discoveries, very few details are known about the new Settings section at this point. There is no information on how Microsoft will calculate energy consumption or what systems will have access to the new feature. Also, there seems to be no way to turn on the "Energy usage" tab (at least now). We will have to wait for Microsoft to announce and detail this addition to Windows 11 in a future Windows 11 preview build.

Other useful changes coming soon to Windows 11's Settings app include the ability to customize what widgets appear on the Lock Screen. As of right now, you can only have either all of Microsoft's first-party widgets or none. Microsoft wants to change that; here is what the user interface for that feature may look like (courtesy of Albacore):

Finally, Microsoft is bringing a new shortcut to the Snipping Tool app. It will let you trigger optical character recognition and copy text from screenshots with a simple Win + Shift + T shortcut.

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What you need to know

• Microsoft rolled out a pair of Windows 11 Insider builds recently.
• Windows 11 Build 22635.4445 shipped to Insiders in the Beta Channel while Build 26120.2222 was released to Dev Channel Insiders.
• The updates are relatively minor and include changes such as adding a new folder option within the context menu and the ability to launch a program as an admin through a new shortcut in a jump list in Start.

Windows Insiders have some new features to try, since Microsoft shipped a pair of builds recently. Those in the Beta Channel will receive an update to Build 22635.4445, while anyone in the Dev Channel will get Build 26120.2222. The updates are relatively minor, which is why I've combined them here in a single recap post.

If you're in the Beta Channel and update to the latest build, you'll be able to use a new folder option in the context menu after you right-click a location in the navigation pane. Dev Channel Insiders will see a new option to launch an item as admin by holding Shift and CTRL when clicking that item in a jump list within the Start menu.

The new option for opening an item as admin is a small addition, but a welcome one. It's a bit strange it took Microsoft this long to add the feature to Windows 11.

Known issues are common in Insider builds, but Microsoft marked one problem in Build 26120.2222 as "new" and "Important."

"There is an issue in this build which will cause Narrator to crash on launch if you use one of the natural voices (like Jenny)," explained Microsoft. "If you are a Narrator user, we recommend pausing updates from Settings under Windows Update > “Pause Updates”. If you do install this update and encounter this issue, switching to another voice, like Microsoft David, in Settings under Accessibility > Narrator will stop the crashes. As Narrator is crashing, you will need to use a secondary screen reader, or have someone assist in order to do this."

Windows 11 Build 26120.2222 (Dev Channel)

General

• If you hold Shift and CTRL when clicking on a jump list item in Start menu or taskbar, this will now launch that item as admin, just like if you were to do Shift + CTRL and click the app icon itself. For example, if you right-click on Windows Terminal, and hold Shift and CTRL when you click PowerShell, it would open a PowerShell window as admin.

Windows 11 Build 22635.4445 (Beta Channel)

File Explorer

• We’ve added a New Folder option in the context menu when right-clicking locations in the navigation pane.

For those who may not have followed what the fuss about default app choices in Windows 11 is, Microsoft has been making an active effort to limit and influence users to try and make them stick to Microsoft products for default apps, and it is most visible in the case of browsers.

It all started when Windows 11 was first released and accusations came in from third-party app providers about Microsoft's unfair practices. Vivaldi for example slammed the Redmond giant for being "openly abusive" and "desperate" and wanted the EU to step in too. And earlier this year, Microsoft also quietly added a "UCPD" driver to block out third-party Registry hacks for default app switches.

Fast forward to today, the company is now looking to make some UI changes in the Windows 11 Settings app for the default app choice section. Currently though, as discovered by X user and Windows enthusiast Albacore, the page is filled with placeholders like half-baked ViewModels, and misaligned text descriptions.

The change was noticed on Windows 11 24H2 build 26120.2213 which was released recently under KB5045885.

As you can see in the image above, there appears to be an updated version of the text, as the Default apps selection page now says "Set a default for a file type or link type." Hence at the moment, it is not quite clear what the final product post the overhaul will be like.

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Later that day, the tech giant did confirm that it had indeed offered the latest Server version as an optional update on Windows Server 2022 and 2019. While nothing was stated at that time, we speculated that the miss-classification of the client OS update as a Server update likely happened due to this.

Today, Microsoft documented the issue on its Windows health dashboard website and has also explained in detail what exactly happened. Going forward, the company has advised that feature updates like these must be interpreted as "optional" and not "recommended":

Windows Server 2025 is intended to be offered as an Optional upgrade in Windows Update settings for devices running Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022. Two scenarios were observed in certain environments:

 

• Some devices upgraded automatically to Windows Server 2025 (KB5044284). This was observed in environments that use third-party products to manage the update of clients and servers. Please verify whether third-party update software in your environment is configured not to deploy feature updates. This scenario has been mitigated.

• An upgrade to Windows Server 2025 was offered via a message in a banner displayed on the device’s Windows Update page, under Settings. This message is intended for organizations that want to execute an in-place upgrade. This scenario has already been resolved.

 

The Windows Server 2025 feature update was released as an Optional update under the Upgrade Classification: “DeploymentAction=OptionalInstallation”. Feature update metadata must be interpreted as Optional and not Recommended by patch management tools.

Additionally, Microsoft has also outlined its efforts to prevent such upgrade-related catastrophes in the future. The tech giant says it is actively working with such third-party AMMs and is also adding a new group policy "hold" setting for "Select the target Feature Update version."

The company will also be making changes to how it classifies updates using KB (knowledge base), as there will be separate sites for client and Server updates in the future:

Next steps: Microsoft is working with third-party providers to streamline best practices and recommended procedures. The visibility of the feature update offer banner can be controlled by setting the target version to “hold” in the Group Policy “Select the target Feature Update version”. We will update this documentation in the coming days with additional information about this group policy once it is available.

 

Note: The Windows Server 2025 feature update was made generally available on November 1, 2024, as KB5044284, which was the same KB number used for Windows 11, version 24H2. This was the KB numbering for both these client and server Windows updates available at that time. Future updates released for Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11, version 24H2 will share the same KB numbers, but will have different release note sites and links.

You can find the issue here on Microsoft's official Windows health dashboard website.

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Like other tech giants, Microsoft aims to bring the powers of AI to Windows 11. Recently, the company pushed AI features for Paint and Notepad via Insider builds, and AI-powered search, and is expected to roll out more AI features soon. However, it seems Microsoft may not want to refer to these simply as "AI features," which is likely why they've coined the name "Windows Intelligence" (a unique, if not sarcastic, twist!).

Ahead of the actual announcement, a tipster that goes by the handle @thebookisclosed on social media platform X, has shared some images of the Settings page. The images show an upcoming privacy page suggesting that "Windows Intelligence" might indeed be in the works.

Upon turning on the hidden page, it has the title "Generative AI" in Settings, which is speculated to get rebranded as "Windows Intelligence" once the feature goes live in Windows 11. The first toggle on this page, enables the AI features, whereas the second toggle lets users choose which specific apps can use AI features. There is also a "Recent activity" section, which will show a history of AI requests within the last 7 days.

It will be interesting to see Microsoft using the moniker "Windows Intelligence" for the suite of AI features on Windows 11, since the company has previously used it for special Windows security updates.

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The Snipping Tool received a major update in the past few months such as the ability to screen record, optical image recognition (OCR), the ability to copy data tables, etc. Insider @phantomofearth on social media platform X has highlighted a hidden feature in one of the insider builds that adds keyboard shortcuts for the Snipping Tool's OCR feature. As per the tip, the feature can activated by using the shortcut "Win+Shift+T."

This keyboard shortcut will negate the need to go through additional steps to use the OCR feature in the Snipping Tool. Currently, you need to press the "Win+Shift+S" to launch the Snipping Tool, or head over to the Start Menu and look for the application. Then, to use the OCR feature, you have to select the image and choose "Text Actions" from the menu.

For now, there is no clarity if Microsoft will ship this feature. However, you can always sign up for the Windows Insider Program to test out new features and hope you stumble upon this new option with one of the builds.

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One of the recent Paint updates introduced a redundant entry for Windows 11's context menu, letting users edit images in Paint without using the "Open with" submenu (currently available only to Windows Insiders, but a stable release is expected soon). Context menus in Windows 11 are already controversial enough, and the latest Paint update does not make things any better. Fortunately, you can remove "Edit with Paint" from Windows 11's context menus quite easily.

In fact, the procedure is the same as removing "Edit with Notepad" or "Edit with Photos." All you have to do is block a shell extension in Windows Registry. Here is how to do it.

Remove "Edit with Paint" from Windows 11 context menus

Note that the steps below require Administrator privileges.

1. Press Win + R and type regedit. You can also launch Windows Registry Editor using any other preferred method.
2. Paste the following in the editor's address bar: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions. Use this path if you want to remove "Edit with Paint" for the current user only.
3. If you want to remove "Edit with Paint" for all users, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions.
4. Check if the Shell Extension key has a "Blocked" key inside it. If no, click Edit > New > Key and rename it to Blocked. If the "Blocked" key already exists, click it.

   

5. With "Blocked" selected, click Edit > New > String Value.

   

6. Rename the new value to {2430F218-B743-4FD6-97BF-5C76541B4AE9}

   

7. Changes will apply right away without restarting your computer or explorer.exe.

If you do not want to browse the jungles of Windows Registry, launch Notepad and paste the following (for the current user):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked] "{2430F218-B743-4FD6-97BF-5C76541B4AE9}"=-

And this is for all users:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked] "{2430F218-B743-4FD6-97BF-5C76541B4AE9}"=-

Save the file as a .reg file and double-click it. Confirm the changes and restart your computer.

How to restore "Edit with Paint" in Windows 11

The changes above are not permanent, and you can restore the "Edit with Paint" option at any time. Here is how to do it:

1. Open Windows Registry Editor.
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked (for the current user) or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked (for all users).
3. Find the {2430F218-B743-4FD6-97BF-5C76541B4AE9} value and delete it. Changes will be visible right away.

It is also worth noting that you can remove "Edit with Paint" by simply uninstalling the app. It is a quick and easy option for those who do not use Windows 11's stock image editor.

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(Image credit: Windows Central | Jez Corden)

What you need to know

• Windows 11's new Snipping Tool is one of the best "new" programs the platform has received in recent years.
• Replacing the previous Snipping Tool, the Windows 11 Snipping Tool has a wealth of upgraded features, including screen recording, annotations, shape placements, and much more.
• One of my favorite aspects, its Optical Character Recognition (OCR) screenshot-to-text copy and paste is getting a direct keyboard shortcut in an upcoming Windows 11 build.

Windows 11 marches on, with a variety of updates and improvements hitting Windows Insider builds throughout the year. Not all of the updates are particularly welcome, mind. The new Outlook replacing Mail & Calendar leaves a lot to be desired, and other features like Windows Recall lament with delays and other issues. Microsoft has had some wins though. And my favorite is one you might not even know exists.

Although it was missing features I needed initially, the refreshed Snipping Tool has been a delightful success story for the Windows 11 development team. It's something I use almost every day for my job here at Windows Central, given how quickly allows you to crop screenshots for articles and guides and things like that. The updated version also added video recording, stickers in the form of emojis, shapes like arrows and rectangles for highlighting text, and much more.

Last year, though, the Snipping Tool picked up an incredible OCR image-to-text feature, allowing you to copy and paste text straight out of a screenshot with character recognition tech. One of the new Windows Insider Builds also has a great (hidden) enhancement for the OCR feature too, spotted by Insider @phantomofearth on Twitter (X).

It's unclear what has changed, but as spotted by Leo on X, Google is updating its Enhanced protection mode in Chrome’s Safe Browsing feature to include AI-powered protection.

This feature now uses AI to provide real-time protection against dangerous sites, downloads, and extensions.

Previously, it was referred to as proactive protection, but it has now been changed to AI-powered protection. In theory, it could allow Google to use AI to detect and warn users about potentially harmful sites, even those that Google hasn’t previously identified.

With Enhanced protection turned on, Chrome performs deeper scans on downloads and improves protection across all your Google services when you're signed in. 

Group tabs will also use "AI"

Enhanced protection isn't the only feature getting an "AI" makeover in Chrome.

As noticed by Leo, Google has updated the Tab search bubble in Chrome Canary. Previously, the option was labeled as Group tabs with a suggestion to "Check for suggestions."

Now, it’s updated to Group tabs with AI, which helps you automatically organize your tabs using AI to keep them better sorted.

Similarly, the Close unused tabs option has been renamed to Review inactive tabs. Instead of simply closing tabs, the new feature lets users review tabs that have been inactive for 7 or more days.

Google is still testing these "AI" branding changes in Chrome Canary, and we don't know when they will begin rolling out to everyone.

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That is because Microsoft wants more users on Windows 11, and the company likes to frequently push the next feature update on such systems via KB5001716. Neowin noticed that it has been quietly installing this update on both Windows 11 and 10 systems after the Patch Tuesday of October 2024.

The company explains:

KB5001716: Update for Windows Update Service components

 

Summary

 

This update includes a new user interface (UI) functionality for Windows Update in Windows.

 

This article applies to the following:

 

• Windows 11, version 21H2
• Windows 10, version 22H2
• Windows 10, version 21H2
• Windows 10, version 21H1
• Windows 10, version 20H2
• Windows 10, version 2004

 

Notes about this update

 

• When this update is installed, Windows may attempt to download and install feature updates to your device if it is approaching or has reached the end of support for your currently installed Windows version. Feature updates offer new functionality and help keep your device secure.
• After this update is installed, Windows may periodically display a notification informing you of problems that may prevent Windows Update from keeping your device up-to-date and protected against current threats. For example, you may see a notification informing you that your device is currently running a version of Windows that has reached the end of its support lifecycle, or that your device does not meet the minimum hardware requirements for the currently installed version of Windows.

 

Known issues in this update

 

We are currently not aware of any issues that affect this update.

You can find the support article here on Microsoft's official website.

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Microsoft's Paint is getting generative erase feature, which allows you to remove unwanted object from the images. It's similar to Photos app's existing Generative Erase feature, but it's now directly integrated into the Paint app and it works really well.

In our tests, it worked flawlessly to remove unwanted objects from images and fill the background with related colors, making it look like the object was never there.

For example, we used it to erase a dog from a photo, and the AI automatically filled in the area with grass, making it appear as if nothing had been removed.

To use it, simply select the area you want to erase, and click on Generative Erase's eraser icon. This will remove the unwanted inject.

You can brush over the parts you want to remove or use the rectangular or free-form selection tools to select the area. You can adjust your selection with options like “Add area to erase” or “Reduce area to erase.”

Once you’re happy with your selection, click Apply to remove it.

Notepad gets AI Rewrite

Notepad's AI feature, included in version 11.2410.15.0, allows you to rephrase text, change its tone, or adjust its length.

To get started, simply highlight the text you want to change, then right-click and select Rewrite from the menu. You can also use the Rewrite option in the menu bar or the shortcut Ctrl + I.

Once selected, Notepad will generate three different versions of your text, allowing you to choose the best one. If you’re not satisfied, you can adjust settings and click Retry to get more variations.

As shown in the above screenshots, when BleepingComputer tested the new rewrite feature in Notepad, it worked smoothly to rephrase and adjust content using AI tools directly within the app.

We highlighted a block of text and right-clicked to access the Rewrite option. The context menu offers choices like changing the tone or format. Once you select Rewrite, Notepad generates three alternative versions of the selected text, which are displayed in a separate dialog box

You can compare the generated versions side by side. There’s also a Retry button for generating new variations. You can even adjust the tone to be more formal, casual, inspirational, or persuasive, depending on your needs.

Microsoft is still testing the AI integration in legacy apps, so there are some rough edges.

Paint and Notepad's AI update is currently available as a preview for users in the Windows Insider Program, and it will begin rolling out to everyone sometime early next year.

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