In a blog post, Microsoft says that Excel users on the web can now create their own Forms directly in the app, without the need to use the Forms app. It states:

Simply click "Insert" and select "Forms" in the ribbon. This will open a new form in Forms where you can add questions. All the questions you add and responses you receive will automatically sync to Excel.

This new feature also works if you want to save your Excel worksheets on your OneDrive or SharePoint account. Microsoft says saving worksheets on OneDrive is best if you want to keep the answers you get from Forms surveys private. Saving them on SharePoint is best if you want to share those answers with your fellow teammates.

Speaking of checking responses to Forms by other team members, Microsoft also supports making group forms in Forms as well. it says:

As new responses come in, everyone on the team can see them sync to Excel. The Excel worksheet for the group form will be saved in SharePoint.

Finally, you can share the link to the Excel spreadsheet with other employees or team members so they can analyze the responses to the Forms questions. When you share the link and they open the Excel file via the link, any responses to the Forms surveys will automatically sync up when new responses are received.

Microsoft says its commercial customers should see a full rollout of Forms data syncing to Excel by mid-July. It's also working to add support for Microsoft account users in the near future.

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This appears to be another minor update, as the change log is nearly identical to the one that was posted for the last preview build. The only difference is that this change log removes a previously listed known issue that has now been resolved.

Here is the full change log:

What's New

 

Delegated Managed Service Accounts (dMSA)

 

A new account type known as delegated Managed Service Account (dMSA) is now available that allows migration from a traditional service account to a machine account with managed and fully randomized keys, while disabling original service account passwords. Authentication for dMSA is linked to the device identity, which means that only specified machine identities mapped in AD can access the account. Using dMSA helps to prevent harvesting credentials using a compromised account (kerberoasting), which is a common issue with traditional service accounts.

 

To learn more about dMSA, visit https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/security/delegated-managed-service-accounts/delegat....

 

Windows Server Flighting is here!!

 

If you signed up for Server Flighting, you should receive this new build automatically later today. For more information, see Welcome to Windows Insider flighting on Windows Server - Microsoft Community Hub

 

The new Feedback Hub app is now available for Server Desktop users!

 

The app should automatically update with the latest version, but if it does not, simply Check for updates in the app’s settings tab.

 

Known Issues

 

Upgrade does not complete: Some users may experience an issue when upgrading where the download process does not progress beyond 0%. If you encounter this issue, please upgrade to this newer build using the ISO media download option. Download Windows Server Insider Preview (microsoft.com)

 

Access denied error when using Diskpart --> Clean Image on Winpe.vhdx VMs created using WinPE: Create bootable media | Microsoft Learn. We are working to resolve this issue and expect to have it fixed in the next preview release.

 

Download Windows Server Insider Preview (microsoft.com)

 

Flighting: The label for this flight may incorrectly reference Windows 11. However, when selected, the package installed is the Windows Server update. Please ignore the label and proceed with installing your flight. This issue will be addressed in a future release.

 

Setup: Some users may experience overlapping rectangle voids following mouse clicks during "OOBE" setup. This is a graphics rendering issue and will not prevent setup from completing. This issue will be addressed in a future release.

 

WinPE - Powershell Scripts: Applying the WinPE-Powershell optional component does not properly install Powershell in WinPE. As a result, Powershell cmdlets will fail. Customers who are dependent on Powershell in WinPE should not use this build.

 

If you are validating upgrades from Windows Server 2019 or 2022, we do not recommend that you use this build as intermittent upgrade failures have been identified for this build.

 

This build has an issue where archiving eventlogs with "wevetutil al" command causes the Windows Event Log service to crash, and the archive operation to fail. The service must be restarted by executing "Start-Service EventLog" from an administrative command line prompt.

 

If you have Secure Launch/DRTM code path enabled, we do not recommend that you install this build.

 

Available Downloads

 

Downloads to certain countries may not be available. See Microsoft suspends new sales in Russia - Microsoft On the Issues

 

Windows Server Long-Term Servicing Channel Preview in ISO format in 18 languages, and in VHDX format in English only.

 

Windows Server Datacenter Azure Edition Preview in ISO and VHDX format, English only.

 

Microsoft Server Languages and Optional Features Preview

 

Keys: Keys are valid for preview builds only

 

• Server Standard: MFY9F-XBN2F-TYFMP-CCV49-RMYVH
• Datacenter: 2KNJJ-33Y9H-2GXGX-KMQWH-G6H67
• Azure Edition does not accept a key

 

Symbols: available on the public symbol server – see Using the Microsoft Symbol Server.

 

Expiration: This Windows Server Preview will expire September 15, 2024.

You can download the new Windows Server preview from Microsoft's site and check out the full blog post here.

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The full changelog is given below:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[File Explorer]

 

• The preview thumbnail title in the taskbar, ALT + Tab and Task View for File Explorer windows will now indicate if that window includes multiple tabs.

 

[Windows Share]

 

• We’re rolling out some minor UI changes to simplify the Windows share window which removes the search box.

 

[For Developers]

 

• Updated the logic for the “End Task” option in the taskbar so that it no longer shows a Not Responding dialog to give confirmation before ending the task.

 

[Other]

 

• Updated the Run dialog to now follow text scaling (Settings > Accessibility > Text size).

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[File Explorer]

 

• Addressed several accessibility issues where File Explorer, Common File Dialog (CFD), and Browse/Shortcuts Dialogs did not respond appropriately to your text size / scaling preferences. Including, but not limited to, fixed an issue where file name was getting clipped in the CFD and the Browse/ Shortcuts dialog.
• Addressed several accessibility issues in File Explorer impacting screen reader users, related to content being read out correctly, and also keyboard focus not going to the correct place. Some examples include, keyboard focus getting lost sometimes when using Shift + Tab, and Narrator stuttering during the search process
• Fixed an issue causing some people to see a thin line between the tab and address bar in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue impacting File Explorer reliability for a small number of people.
• Fixed an issue where the OneDrive icon in the address bar was blurry sometimes for some people.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[Voice Typing]

 

• Fixed an issue believed to be the underlying cause of some Insiders seeing errors when attempting to use Voice Typing in certain languages such as Chinese with recent flights.

 

[Taskbar]

 

• Updated the app icon flashing in the taskbar to be a bit easier to see.

[Other]

• You can now use OneDrive as a RemoteApp in Azure Virtual Desktop.
• This update improves the Virtual Filtering Platform (VFP) within Windows nodes. Now, VFP has more support for packet drop collection. This will make it easier to troubleshoot issues.
• Fixed an issue where Group Policy would fail to detect when a network’s speed is slow. Instead, it assumed that a fast link was present.
• Fixed an issue causing a deadlock which could stop you from signing in to Azure Virtual Desktop sessions.
• Fixed an issue occurring when using Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) and Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA). When you used them with SMBdirect in your networks, the networks would fail, and you would lose the ability to manage clusters.
• Fixed and issue where a firewall profile might drop from domain to public. This would occur when multiple interfaces existed, and you added or removed an interface.
• Fixed an issue where GPUs did not enter the idle state that stops them from consuming power.
• Fixed an issue where when using Snipping Tool to record videos on some PCs, the audio would have distortions.
• This update adds the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM ForceDisableModeChangeAnimation (REG_DWORD). When you set its value to 1 (or a non-zero number), it turns off the display mode change animation. If the value is 0 or the key does not exist, the animation is set to on.
• This update brings Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) profiles up to date for certain mobile operators.
• Fixed an issue occurring in the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) driver. This issue could lead to high system CPU usage. It also reduced throughput under a heavy load. This update boosts network packet processing in WFP. This helps to stop performance from degrading. This update also adds batch processing to reduce CPU load.
• Fixed an issue where the Input Method Editor (IME) candidate list might fail to show or showed in the wrong position.

 

Known issues

 

[Start menu]

 

• We are investigating an issue where the All apps list isn’t being read out by screen readers.
• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing some apps to not be sorted correctly in the All apps list when using certain display languages.

 

[Text input]

 

• [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing text suggestions for the hardware keyboard to not work properly with the previous flight (selecting one unexpectedly concatenates).

 

[Widgets]

 

Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who have the new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars may see the following known issues:

 

• Swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• Unpinning Widgets from the taskbar may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• The Widgets board is incorrectly positioned when Copilot is in side-by-side mode.

You can view the official blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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Here is the changelog:

Changes and Improvements

 

[General]

 

• This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.

 

[Windows Backup]

 

• If you have both Personalization and Other Windows settings toggled on under Settings > Accounts > Windows backup, many of your sound settings (including chosen sound scheme) will be backed up which can be restored via the Windows Backup app.

 

[Settings]

 

• To ensure you don’t lose access to your Microsoft account, we’re beginning to roll out a new banner with a “Add now” button under Settings > Account for adding a recovery email address if you haven’t added one for your Microsoft account yet. This will only show if you are signed in with a Microsoft account.
• We are introducing a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings homepage. The Game Pass recommendation card on Settings Homepage will be shown to you if you actively play games on your PC. As a reminder – the Settings homepage will be shown only on the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 and if you’re signed into Windows with your Microsoft account.

• We’re beginning to roll out a change that redirects links for the Fonts Control Panel page to the Fonts settings page at Settings > Personalization > Fonts. Insiders who see this change can still access the Fonts Control Panel UI by navigating to the system fonts folder in File Explorer and a link to the system fonts folder is also provided on the Font settings page.

 

Fixes

 

[Other]

 

• Fixed the underlying issue causing some Insiders to see a Pcasvc.dll error dialog pop-up with the message “Missing entry: PcaWallpaperAppDetect” after upgrading from Windows 11, version 22H2/23H2 to a 26xxx build.

 

Known issues

 

[General]

 

• [IMPORTANT NOTE] We are investigating reports that some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620. The investigation is ongoing, however if you are impacted by this and really want to get onto the latest build in the Canary or Dev Channel today – you can download the latest ISO here and do a clean install and opt your device back into flighting in the Canary or Dev Channels.

 

[Windows Update]

 

• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that the Windows Update page in Settings is not displaying correctly for Insiders using certain languages after the previous flight (no text shows). If you are impacted by this, the update should still happen on its own, however you may need to wait a little bit.

 

[Task Manager]

 

• We’re working on the fix for an issue where the colors in the Performance section aren’t displaying correctly in dark mode.

 

[Voice Typing]

 

• [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Insiders to see errors when attempting to use Voice Typing with certain languages such as Chinese.

You can check out the full blog post here.

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There is an important new update for Microsoft Edge in the Stable Channel. Version 126.0.2592.81 has arrived with fixes for browser crashes when using long drop-down lists, printing issues, and security vulnerabilities. Here is the official changelog:

Version 126.0.2592.81: June 27, 2024

 

Fixed various bugs and performance issues, improved reliability.

 

Improved reliability

 

• Fixed a browser crash that occurred when a user interacted with a drop-down list with over 1,000 items.

 

Fixes

 

• Resolved an issue that affected printing after scrolling down a webpage. This fix adjusts for scroll offset when printing.

Security updates in Microsoft Edge 126.0.2592.81 include six patches, two of which are for remote code execution vulnerabilities (one of critical severity):

• CVE-2024-35260: Microsoft Dataverse Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (Security severity: critical)
• CVE-2024-34122: Microsoft Edge Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (Security severity: moderate)

• CVE-2024-6290: Use after free in Dawn in Google Chrome prior to 126.0.6478.126 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

• CVE-2024-6291: Use after free in Swiftshader in Google Chrome prior to 126.0.6478.126 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

• CVE-2024-6292: Use after free in Dawn in Google Chrome prior to 126.0.6478.126 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

• CVE-2024-6293: Use after free in Dawn in Google Chrome prior to 126.0.6478.126 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

   

To update to the latest Microsoft Edge release, head to Menu > Help and Feedback > About Microsoft Edge or the edge://settings/help page. You can also continue using the browser as is, and it will update itself automatically in the background (if it has not done that already).

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We can't reach the Windows Insider Program right now. Please try again later or check the forums for info.

Here is a screenshot of the error:

This appears to be a server-side issue, which means a fix should not require any action from end users. In addition, this hiccup should not affect your ability to download and install any update should Microsoft push once while working on fixing the broken settings page. Here is what the official account of the Windows Insider Program on what used to be Twitter posted about it:

There is no information on how much time it will take for Microsoft to fix the stricken page. We will update this post once there is more information or when the problem is resolved.

Speaking of preview updates, Microsoft recently pulled the latest non-security optional update for Windows 11. The company detected that the release was causing significant problems on systems that use virtualization software, resulting in computers failing to boot and getting stuck in an infinite restart cycle.

The problem is less likely to hit home users, plus Windows 10 users are completely immune to it. Therefore, you can go get those optional fixes, which include some much-needed patches for the taskbar and jump lists.

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Driver 31.0.101.5592 does not fix or patch anything except for optimizations for the two games. Also, keep in mind that non-WHQL-certified drivers could be less stable. A WHQL variant of today's release should not take too long to arrive. Also, beware of the following known bugs:

Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

 

• No Man’s Sky (VK) may experience an application crash during gameplay while changing window context with Alt + Tab.
• Enshrouded (VK) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
• Doom Eternal (VK) may exhibit intermittent flickering corruption in the game menu and during gameplay.
• Topaz Video AI may experience errors when exporting videos after using some models for video enhancements.

 

Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

 

• Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (DX12) may experience an application crash on loading to gameplay.
• PugetBench Extended Preset Benchmark may fail to complete on certain Adobe Premiere Pro Processing Tests.
• Topaz Video AI may experience errors on running certain benchmark tests.
• Procyon AI may experience an application crash while running benchmark with precision float32.
• Launching a game with Endurance Gaming engaged may result in VSync persisting on after disengaging Endurance Gaming during gameplay. A workaround is to relaunch the application.

 

Intel Core Processor (12th -14th Generation) Products:

 

• Dragon Quest X Online (DX9) may experience sporadic application crash during gameplay

As usual, Intel's graphics drivers are available on systems with 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 and the following graphics cards or processors:

You can download the Intel 31.0.101.5592 non-WHQL driver from the official website. Full release notes are available here (PDF).

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In addition to improving graphics, FSR also helps with increasing frame rates for supported games. It also works not only with AMD's Radeon GPUs but also with other graphics chips made by competing companies.

In a blog post, AMD offers up the details of what's new and improved in FSR 3.1:

• Upscaling image quality improvements:
  • Improved temporal stability, reducing flickering and shimmering.
  • Enhanced ghosting reduction and better detail preservation.
• Enhanced frame generation:
  • Decoupled frame generation technology that works seamlessly with other upscaling solutions.
• Upgradable FSR API:
  • Simplified upgrades for developers to future versions of FSR.
• Developer Support:
  • Added support for Vulkan and Xbox Game Development Kit (GDK).

The first five PC games that support AMD FSR 3.1 are all from Sony's PlayStation Studios:

• Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition
• Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

AMD also has a video showing the improvements in FSR 3.1 that were put in place for the PC version of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart compared to how the game supported FSR 2.2. Another Sony PlayStation Studios game, the upcoming PC version of God of War Ragnarök, will also support AMD FSR 3.1.

In addition, the now older FSR 3 version is currently supported a number of recently released PC games such as Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Still Wakes the Deep. Upcoming PC games that will include FSR 3 will include Concord, Creatures of Ava, Dungeon Stalkers, Farming Simulator 25, inZOI, Nobody Wants to Die, Preserve, and The First Descendant.

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0patch is no stranger to providing security updates for now-unsupported products. They still offer patches for Windows 7 and Server 2008, Microsoft Office products, and more. Technically, 0patch is already servicing Windows 10 (six of its discontinued versions, to be precise), but customers have the option to update to version 22H2 and receive updates from Microsoft for free. In October 2025, that privilege will be taken away, and that is when 0patch will step in.

With 0patch, Windows 10 users will be getting fixes for critical security vulnerabilities discovered after October 14, 2025 (that is when Windows 10 will receive its final free update). These patches are small, tiny sets of CPU instructions injected into running processes in your PC's memory. The approach allows for quick and easy patching without touching any of the original binaries or restarts. 0patch can also quickly undo changes if they cause issues.

It is worth noting that Windows 10 customers who do not want or cannot upgrade their systems to Windows 11 after Windows 10's end of life will have two extra options: pay Microsoft for the Extended Security Program (three years, available for businesses and home users) or do nothing and stick to the unsupported OS with no updates.

Like the Extended Security Program from Microsoft, 0patch is not a free service. However, it promises much longer support and additional benefits, such as faster and less disrupting patching (the DogWalk vulnerability was fixed two months before Microsoft), fixes for vulnerabilities that were left untouched by manufacturers, and patches for non-Microsoft products.

0patch is a yearly subscription that costs 24.95 EUR (~$27) per computer for individuals and small businesses. There is also an enterprise tier for medium and large organizations, which costs 34.95 EUR (~$37) per device. Microsoft has yet to announce prices of the Extended Security Updates program for home users. For reference, for commercial customers, the ESU program costs $61 per year for one device.

You can learn more about Windows 10 support by 0patch in a post on the official blog.

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In a blog post, Microsoft says:

We're excited to announce the release of Checkboxes to production in Excel. They are great for checklists, managing tasks and visualizing your data at a glance. With just a few clicks, you can insert Checkboxes into any cell, making your spreadsheets more dynamic and user-friendly.

Excel now lets users insert checkboxes by first selecting the range where you want to put them. Then all you have to do is click on the Select option, followed by the Checkbox selection. Checking and/or unchecking one or more checkboxes is handled in Excel by simply clicking on that checkbox and then selecting one or more of those checkboxes. You can then hit the Space button. You can also hit the Delete button to get rid of checkboxes you have selected.

Microsoft adds that If any of the checkboxes were checked, you can press the Delete button to uncheck them, and then press the same Delete button to remove them.

In addition to today's announcements of the Windows and Mac Excel apps adding checkbox support, the web version of the app, along with the iOS and Android versions, will be adding the same feature very soon. The company estimates that "all users on Current Channel to have access by the end of July 2024."

Microsoft recently added new regular expression (Regex) functions in Excel for Windows and Mac for members of the Windows Insider Channel. The app will also soon add some new Copilot generative AI features which include a "chat helper" which will allow users to get more conversational answers to questions about Excel.

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The Unreal Engine 5-powered third-person looter shooter The First Descendant is out July 2, while the open-world survival entry Once Human is releasing on July 10. Both titles have received official support with this driver, readying any Radeon users who are keen on jumping in on day one.

Meanwhile, the HYPR-Tune one-click driver-side tuning profiles have been expanded to include Like a Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth, Overwatch 2, The First Descendent, F1 24, and Outpost: Infinity Siege. Anti-Lag 2 support has now been extended to Counter-Strike 2 as well, with AMD touting latency reductions of up to 40% when using the technology.

For developers, AMD has delivered these updates with the driver:

AI on Radeon
Performance improvements and memory footprint reduction for Large Language Models (LLMs) thanks to 4-bit quantization acceleration support for all RDNA™ series discrete graphics products and RDNA™ 3 series integrated graphics products running ONNXRuntime with DirectML. Click HERE for more information

 

AI Development on Radeon
Technology Preview for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2) enabling PyTorch users with supported hardware to develop with AMD ROCm™ software on a Windows system, eliminating the need for dual boot set ups. See Use ROCm on Radeon GPUs for more information.

Expanded Agility SDK Support
Introducing support for Agility SDK 1.613 and Microsoft's Agility SDK 1.614.0 functionality:

 

• Microsoft DirectX 12 Work Graphs 1.0 API
• D3D12 Work Graphs support for AMD Radeon™ RX 7000 Series graphics cards, learn more HERE
• GPU Upload Heaps
• See the DirectX Blog HERE, or our GPUOpen Blog post on GPU Upload Heaps HERE.
• Shader Model 6.8 – Including Wave Size Range and Expanded Comparison Sampling
• See Shader Model 6.8 specification for more information.
• R9B9G9E5 Support for Render Targets and UAV
• See Microsoft's Agility SDK 1.614.0 for more information.

There are a hand-full of fixed issues here too, including ones to finally let players launch Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas and resolve some Helldivers 2 crashes:

• Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas may fail to launch.
• Improvement to intermittent driver timeout or application crash experienced while playing HELLDIVERS™ 2 on AMD Radeon™ RX 7900 series GPUs.
• AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition Performance Metrics may intermittently fail to update while playing HELLDIVERS™ 2.
• Intermittent system freeze or low FPS on hybrid graphics notebooks pairing certain FreeSync enabled displays.

Known issues still being worked on by the Radeon driver team, and estimated resolution times, are these:

• Virtual Super Resolution or Display Color Enhancements may be set to disabled after driver upgrade. [Resolution targeted for 24.7.1]
• Corruption may be observed while playing Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition with Radeon™ Boost enabled. Users experiencing this issue are recommended to disable Radeon™ Boost as a temporary workaround.
• Intermittent in-game corruption may be observed while playing Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT with AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition™ Record & Streaming and HDR enabled.
• Intermittent black corruption may be observed on scaled 3d models while using Origin or OriginPro application. [Resolution targeted for 24.7.1]
• Audio and video may intermittently become out of sync while recording using the AV1 codec in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. [Resolution targeted for Q3]

The WHQL-certified AMD Adrenalin Edition 24.6.1 driver can now be downloaded via the Radeon Settings app on Windows. Standalone download links hosted by AMD can also be found on its release notes page for the driver.

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Nvidia has a new driver for those with gaming PCs powered by GeForce graphics cards. Version 556.12 WHQL is now available for download with the initial support and optimizations for The First Descendant and DLSS 3 support for the latest PAYDAY 3 update. If you want to get the best experience possible and ensure your GPU delivers the maximum of its capabilities, get to driver 556.12 now.

For those unfamiliar, The First Descendant is an upcoming third-person shooter based on Unreal Engine 5, where gamers fight against the invaders to protect the Ingris continent. You will get to fight various bosses and coop with up to 4 players during multiple missions. The First Descendant is coming to Steam on July 2, 2024, and it will also be available on Xbox and PlayStation.

Here is the official changelog for the Nvidia 556.12 WHQL Game Ready driver:

Game Ready for The First Descendant

This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS 3.5 technology including The First Descendant. Further support for new titles leveraging NVIDIA DLSS technology includes the latest update for PAYDAY 3 which supports DLSS 3.

Fixed issues in today's release include the following:

• [The Last of Us Part 1] Out of memory error with 555.xx drivers.
• [Halo Infinite] Crashing during initial loading screen with 555.99 driver.
• [Valorant] In-game statistics incorrectly shows high latency with 555.xx drivers.

Finally, here is the only known bug in driver 556.12:

• [NVENC] Quality and bitrate settings are ignored at 10-bit encoding

You can download Nvidia 556.12 WHQL on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11-based systems with the following graphic cards:

Full release notes for driver 556.12 WHQL are available here (PDF).

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In a blog post, Microsoft says:

More than just a visual upgrade, the new profile card makes it easier to initiate communication and copy contact information.For organizations, you’ll also find the “Organization” tab, another way to navigate and find people in your organization! We have also added Files (not shown) to help you find recent files you have collaborated on.

Some improvements have also been made to the Mac Outlook app for searching for contacts. Users can now tap on the app's address book icon on the To Do line to see the new version. They can then select the account they want to search and use the app's search box to find the contact profiles they need to access. Mac Outlook users can also view a contact's information and organization chart. When you want to write an email or event invite on Outlook, you can also add or delete contacts as well.

The new version of the app also supports Contact Lists. Here's how Microsoft describes them:

Contact Lists are an intuitive solution for managing large lists of email addresses. These lists simplify the process of sending emails to multiple recipients, saving you valuable time and energy. Contact Lists are available for M365 and Outlook.com account types, and they will sync across your devices.

Users of the Outlook Mac app can click on the People module and then hover the cursor over the 'New contact' primary button, choose the 'New contact list' option, put a name on that list, and then add and save the contacts they want to put into that list.

In addition to these improvements that are available now for Outlook on the Mac, Microsoft says it will be adding support for accessing the Org chart explorer on the app's left rail in the future.

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The new languages include those spoken by small communities of Indigenous people as well as popular names like Cantonese. There are actively revived languages like Manx that almost went extinct when its last native speaker died in 1974.

Google explained in a blog post that it took so much time to get Cantonese onboard because of its similarities with Mandarin, making it difficult to find data and train models.

The latest addition is part of Google's 1,000 Languages initiative, where it wants to build AI models that support the 1,000 most spoken languages across the globe. Google previously used a tech called Zero-Shot Machine Translation to support 24 new languages in 2022.

These new 110 languages represent more than 614 million speakers globally and offer translation for about 8% of the world's population. You can check out the list of all new languages on this support page.

The search giant explained that languages can have a lot of diversity in the form of regional varieties, dialects, and different spelling standards. Picking a language variety is a task in itself, and Google chooses the one that is most commonly used.

"For example, Romani is a language that has many dialects all throughout Europe. Our models produce text that is closest to Southern Vlax Romani, a commonly used variety online. But it also mixes in elements from others, like Northern Vlax and Balkan Romani," it said.

These new languages will start showing up over the next few days on the Google Translate website and its apps for Android and iOS.

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According to a post on the official Windows Health Dashboard website, the problem affects computers powered by client versions of Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2. It is most likely to happen if you use virtual machines and nested virtualization with software like CloudPC, DevBox, or Azure Virtual Desktop.

As there are no workarounds, Microsoft paused the rollout of KB5039302 to prevent the further spread of this quite severe bug.

After installing updates released June 26, 2024 (KB5039302), some devices might fail to start. Affected systems might restart repeatedly and require recovery operations in order to restore normal use.

 

This issue is more likely to affect devices utilizing virtual machines tools and nested virtualization features, such as CloudPC, DevBox, Azure Virtual Desktop. We are investigating to determine the precise conditions under which this issue can trigger.

 

While our investigation is underway, we are pausing the offering of this update via Windows Update and Windows Update for Business. For this reason, this update may not be presently offered to your device.

Microsoft says that Windows 11 Home edition users are less likely to encounter the bug since "virtualization is less common in home environments." But if you do use virtual machines on your Home device, you better stay away from KB5039302 and wait for Microsoft to deploy a fix.

Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide more information soon.

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To achieve this improved performance, the Google Sheets team worked with the Chrome browser team. The calculations in Google Sheets are now powered by a new web technology called WasmGC (WebAssembly Garbage Collection). You can read in detail about how Google engineered this speed improvement here.

In addition to the improved calculation speed, Google is also working to reduce Sheets' initial load time and improve copy/paste and filter performance.

Apart from performance improvements, Google today also highlighted some new features that improve the overall Sheets experience. First, Gemini for Workspace will be available in Sheets via the new side panel experience, allowing you to easily summarize, analyze, and generate content. Since Gemini for Workspace has access to all other content including your email and other documents, you will be able to create a contextually relevant spreadsheet easily with fewer prompts.

Second, pre-built tables will allow you to easily get started without having to create a spreadsheet from scratch. Google has pre-built tables for popular scenarios including project management, event planning, inventory management, recruitment planning and more.

Third, the new tables feature includes an improved design that includes column types, filters, color coding, dropdown menus, and more. For example, if you are a salesperson tracking the different stages of open opportunities, the new tables feature can automatically align all inputs without you doing manual adjustments.

Finally, the conditional notifications feature will allow you to create custom rules to send email alerts when certain criteria are met. For example, when a specific column’s value is updated as 'Completed', you can configure Conditional notifications to send an email to a particular person.

Source: Google

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Microsoft has now assured that the bug is resolved in KB5039299:

This update addresses a known issue that might occur when you right-click some apps. Instead of running the task you choose from the context menu, an “Open with” dialog appears. It asks you, "How do you want to open this file?" This issue might affect any app that has tasks on a context menu. This issue also affects the icons on the taskbar and Start menu.

 

This update addresses an issue that affects an app’s jump list on the taskbar. Completing actions from that list might fail. A jump list is a menu that appears when you right-click an app on the taskbar or Start menu. It gives you quick access to recently or frequently used app items.

Microsoft is still working on fixing several open bugs in Windows 10 version 22H2. For example, you still cannot change the profile picture for local accounts; Copilot does not work if you have the taskbar anywhere but its default position; Microsoft Connected Cache is broken; and there is the 0x80070643 error. The company says fixes for those issues will be available in future updates, except for the 0x80070643, which requires manual fixing.

You can download KB5039299 by heading to Windows Settings > Windows Update and downloading available optional updates. You can also get the update from the Microsoft Update Catalog and install it manually. Check out full release notes with other improvements in KB5039299 here. If you are a Windows 11 user, details about its latest non-security update are available here.

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On Windows 11 version 24H2 (2024 Update), Microsoft is rolling out a slew of new features and improvements, and some of them are related to gaming. However, these changes are mostly aimed at making the ARM platform a suitable architecture for playing games.

Here is the changelog:

Added Features:

 

• Added a Copilot button in the area selection menu for web capture/screenshot features.

 

Improved Reliability:

 

• Resolved a problem that caused browser to crash after capturing a photo on android.
• Fixed an issue that caused browser to crash during operation on iOS devices.

 

Changed Behavior:

 

• Fixed an issue where the ‘Close’ button could not be activated using the ‘Enter’ or ‘Space’ keys on the keyboard when interacting with the 'Magnify image' feature.
• Resolved an issue where the background color of the History search box was black instead of the expected blue.
• Resolved the issue where deleting a tab from a group or window would cause the group or window to collapse.
• Fixed the cluttered appearance of the Send Feedback popover and aligned the radio buttons to the left.
• Fixed an issue where it was not possible to drag certain sites to the pin area in one attempt.
• Resolved an issue where the animation was not appearing during the initial launch of Copilot.
• Resolved a problem where a new tab would automatically open upon conducting a search in the Search app.
• Fixed an issue where the ‘Block Third-party cookies’ toggle was missing a label.

 

Android:

 

• Fixed an issue when turning off the ‘dark theme for all web pages’ would prevent changing the theme on Bing.com on android.
• Resolved an issue when altering the screen orientation from horizontal to vertical caused a significant change in the page size on the Copilot page.
• iOS: Resolved an issue where browser was unable to open links after signing into AAD on iOS.

You can update your Edge installation to the latest version by clicking Menu > Help and Feedback > About Microsoft Edge. If you want to participate in the Edge Insider program, go to the official website and download Edge Beta, Dev, Canary, or all three (you can run them side-by-side). Public release of version 128 is expected on the week of August 22, 2024.

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Here is what is new in the Intel Wireless Wi-Fi driver for Windows 10 and 11:

Release notes for the Bluetooth driver include the following:

• This version supports the latest for Windows 11 OS Update.
• Intel Wireless Bluetooth 23.60.0 driver has been updated to include functional and security updates. Users are encouraged to update to the latest version for best performance.

Supported operating systems include 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. As for the hardware, you can install version 23.60.1 if your computer has one of the following network cards:

Intel Wireless Wi-Fi driver 23.60.1 is available here (release notes), and Bluetooth driver 23.60.1 here (release notes).

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These are the features that Microsoft is rolling out gradually to Windows 11 users who are willing to test the company's non-security updates:

• New! This update adds a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings home page. This home page shows on Home and Pro editions when you sign in to Windows using your Microsoft account. The card appears if you actively play games on your PC.
• New! The show desktop button is on the taskbar again by default. To change this, right-click the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings. At the lower part of the page, you will find Taskbar behaviors.
• New! This update affects File Explorer. You can now create 7-Zip and Tape Archive (TAR) files using the context menu. When you right-click a file, a Compress to item gives you ways to compress a file using tools like gzip, bzip2, and more. There is also a new compression wizard in Additional options. It will help you choose more formats and add details. You can use different types of compression to add many files to archives in other TAR formats. You can also change the compression level and choose the types of data to store in each archive.
• New! This update adds support for Emoji 15.1. Windows supports Unicode symbol-like shapes for family groupings. But Windows will keep using people for them. Also, you can choose the right or left facing direction for some people emoji. The new emoji are:
  • Horizontal and vertical head shake
  • Phoenix
  • Lime
  • Brown mushroom
  • Broken chain
• New! You can now copy files from the Windows Share window. Just click the new Copy button.
• New! This update starts the rollout of the new account manager on the Start menu. When you use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows, you will get a glance at your account benefits. This feature also makes it easy to manage your account settings.

And here are the features all Windows 11 users will get in KB5039302:

• This update addresses an issue that affects Snipping Tool. When you use it to record videos on some PCs, the audio has distortions.

• This update addresses an issue that affects the touch keyboard. You cannot use it to enter special characters. This occurs when you use the Japanese 106 keyboard.

• This update addresses an issue that affects USB devices. Ejecting them using the Safely Remove Hardware option fails. This occurs when Task Manager is open.

To get KB5039302, open the Settings app, click "Windows Update," toggle on the "Get the latest updates as soon as they are available" option and check for available updates. Another option is to download a manual install package from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Windows 10 users are also getting a bunch of fixes and improvements. If you are on the previous-gen operating system from Microsoft, check out what is new in KB5039299.

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Here are the update highlights:

• This update addresses an issue that affects an app’s jump list on the taskbar. Completing actions from that list might fail. A jump list is a menu that appears when you right-click an app on the taskbar or Start menu. It gives you quick access to recently or frequently used app items.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the default Japanese Input Method Editor (IME). The candidate window stops responding when you do not expect it. Then, it goes back to a former composition state at random.
• This update addresses a known issue that might occur when you right-click some apps. Instead of running the task you choose from the context menu, an “Open with” dialog appears. It asks you, "How do you want to open this file?" This issue might affect any app that has tasks on a context menu. This issue also affects the icons on the taskbar and Start menu.

And here is the full changelog:

• This update addresses an issue that affects MSIX applications. When you install them from an HTTPS URI, they fail to open. This issue occurs when the download of the application is not complete. This damages the package.
• This update affects mobile device management (MDM). When you enroll a device, the MDM client sends more details about the device. The MDM service uses those details to identify the device model and the company that made it.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Direct Composition batched presentations. A brief flash of triangles or boxes show on the screen. This issue affects browsers, like Microsoft Edge, and other apps.
• This update brings Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) profiles up to date for certain mobile operators.
• This update addresses an issue that might stop your system from resuming from hibernate. This occurs after you turn on BitLocker.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). The issue copies unsigned WDAC policies to the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) disk partition. It is reserved for signed policies.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a folder context menu. When you choose the command that removes items, the command adds items instead. This occurs when a third-party service implements a sync feature.

Known bugs in this update still include a bunch of now-known bugs, some of which are over a year old now. Here they are with their respective workarounds:

You can get to the latest Windows 10 non-security update by navigating to Settings > Windows Update, clicking "Check for updates," and downloading KB5039299. Alternatively, head to the Microsoft Update Catalog and get the KB5039299 as a manual install package.

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We’re halfway through the patching year!

It’s time to install the June updates, which is why I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4. I’m not seeing any widespread issues or major impacts. Most side effects seem to be with Win11 Insider versions and 24H2.

It appears that new technology allowing you to sync your phone with your computer is causing a bit of a CPU hit in the 24H2 release. Microsoft is trying to fix this issue before it gets released to the rest of us. That’s good news.

In the very good news category is the delay in releasing Microsoft Recall, the much-hyped “reminder” software. The company pulled back at the last minute, due to concerns from security researchers and businesses.

Highlights

Be aware that Microsoft is rolling out a File Explorer fix for what many consider to be a step backward in functionality. Prior to this fix, as noted in an April Insider post, you could not drag and drop files to the breadcrumb trail in the Explorer address bar. This shortcut allowed a file to be moved up the directory tree to a different folder. Many also complained about the loss of the ability to click the icon to the left of the path; this turned the breadcrumb trail into a text version of the path to the current folder, which could be copied for other uses.

Microsoft is changing directions and restoring the old behavior. But even if the update is installed, you may not see this change right away, because it’s being enabled slowly on machines.

This month will be a very quick install, because no .NET updates were released. If you still have some deferred .NET updates because you missed my approval window back in May, go ahead and install the deferred .NET updates along with the June updates.

For all supported versions of Windows, the June updates include fixes for the Wi-Fi driver vulnerability (CVE-2024-30078). An attacker trying to gain access to your machine must be on the same network as you. I’ve seen reports that a threat actor has put an exploit up for sale for $5,000, but I’ve not seen reports that attacks are in active use at this time. I still think it’s easier to use a phishing attack than it is to use this exploit. Nonetheless, once you install the June updates, you’ll be protected.

Even though I regularly recommend not installing Windows updates right away, the same is not true for Apple updates. Back in mid-June 2023, Apple released fixes for two zero days that related to targeted attacks against Kaspersky employees and Russian diplomats. CVE-2023-38606 affected a particularly unusual hardware feature that was not actually used by iOS firmware — it’s been theorized that it was used in debugging. The attackers enabled this debugging mode in order to spy on or monitor transmissions.

Now we’re learning that Apple refused to pay a bug bounty to Kaspersky for reporting the flaw. That’s a concern because it removes an incentive for third parties to do the work to discover such security problems — and thus increases the risk that some problems will not see the light of day.

Most of the AskWoody readership would not be subject to these targeted attacks, but knowing about the situation showcases that even Apple’s secure platforms are not bulletproof. Make sure your phone is supported, and patch aggressively.

KB5039217 is causing some issues not only for Cloud servers but also for — perhaps — on-premises SQL databases running on Windows Server 2022. As Microsoft noted in its most recent “Windows Release Health” email:

Following the installation of the Windows security update released June 11, 2024 (the Originating KBs listed above), you might see an issue on cloud-based SQL servers where Azure Synapse SQL serverless Pool databases go on “Recovery pending” state. This issue is more likely to affect environments utilizing Customer-Managed Key (CMK) and Azure Synapse dedicated SQL pool. We have received reports that this issue might also affect SQL Server 2019 and SQL Server 2022 on-premises when running on Windows Server 2022 with the Originating KBs listed above installed. We are investigating these reports to confirm if on-premises scenarios are also affected.

So while Microsoft is rolling out the fix on the Cloud servers, it continues to investigate the impact on on-premises servers.

Businesses must be aware of beneficial tools that are, in turn, used for malicious purposes. One example is AADInternals, which can be used by attackers to pivot from on-premises to cloud. As Mandiant posts::

AADInternals, which can allow an attacker to vertically move from on-premises to Azure AD, establish backdoors, steal passwords, generate user security tokens, and bypass MFA protections. This PowerShell module has allowed attackers to maintain persistence in the tenant even after initial eradication efforts were conducted.

The risks to both Active Directory Federation Services and Cloud assets should be reviewed. You should ensure that Cloud admins log in only to Cloud properties and (as Microsoft suggests in its Learn post Protecting Microsoft 365 from on-premises attacks) that isolated systems are used to log in to cloud assets for management purposes.

For those of you who love any sort of tool that Mark Russinovich and his team have created, Microsoft released Process Monitor 4.0 and Sysmon 1.3.3 for Linux. Process Monitor includes “Process Start,” a new column that can be used to sort start times.

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Firefox 127.0.2 is here to save the day of YouTube users whose woes with the platform seem to be ever-going. With the latest version, Mozilla fixed the bug where a YouTube video live stream would stop after a while with audio still playing (bug 1900191). Another YouTube-related issue that is fixed in today's update is when the browser stops buffering a video, skips parts of a video, freezes, or shows artifacts on the screen (bug 1878510).

Finally, Mozilla says Firefox 127.0.2 fixes the problem with the browser displaying the Private Window icon on the taskbar when it should not.

Here are the official release notes for Firefox 127.0.2:

Version 127.0.2, first offered to Release channel users on June 25, 2024

 

• Fixed an issue where YouTube playback may experience stalling under certain conditions (bug 1900191, bug 1878510).
• Fixed an issue where the Private Window icon was displayed in the taskbar on Windows when browser.privateWindowSeparation.enabled was set to false (bug 1901840).

Besides those two fixes, there is nothing else in Firefox 127.0.2.

To update Firefox to the latest version, head to Menu > Help > About Firefox. Alternatively, get the installer from the official website or the Microsoft Store if you are a Windows user. You can also continue using the browser as is and wait for it to update itself in the background automatically.

For reference, here are the release notes for Firefox 127.0.1 (it fixed installation issues on Windows and other stuff) and Firefox 127.0 (a big update with a lot of changes).

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Firefox has a new AI chatbot sidebar feature, but there's no love for Microsoft Copilot.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

• Mozilla has added a new AI chatbot sidebar into its Firefox browser. 
• Available on all platforms, the new feature is an experimental addition, currently only in the Nightly build of Firefox. 
• There are four different AI chatbots to choose from, but no sign of Microsoft Copilot. 

There's been a lot of talk of AI integration into web browsers in recent times, with Microsoft Edge being a particularly good example of how to do it. Firefox has decided to join the party now, with a new AI chatbot sidebar feature added to the Nightly builds track of Mozilla's browser. 

There are currently four different chatbots that Firefox users can try out in the new sidebar feature, but none of them are Microsoft Copilot. 

So far, there's a choice of: 

• Google Gemini
• ChatGPT 
• HuggingFace
• Mistral AI

To try it out, first, you'll need to download Firefox Nightly. Once installed, open up the browsers settings menu, head into the Nightly Experiments section and enable AI Chatbot. 

From here you're also given a dropdown menu to choose your preferred chatbot, but you can also switch on the fly from the sidebar if you want to try something else. 

And, well, it works as advertised. However, you don't get the slick integration between AI and browser that you get in Microsoft Edge using Copilot in the sidebar. This looks literally like Mozilla is pulling in the web app for each chatbot, and that's about it. 

For example, you're reading a review on Windows Central and want a quick summary of the article. In Edge with Copilot, you can just ask the AI to do that. In this current implementation on Firefox, the AI chatbot is unable to see the contents of the browser tab, so you still have to paste in the URL. At best, it simply makes using your favorite AI chatbot more convenient in Firefox. For now, anyway.