When it comes to Windows, there are instances when Microsoft fails to update its legacy components, and third-party developers have to step in to add new features. Then, there are other instances where the Redmond tech firm adds new capabilities, and third-party developers actually need to step in and get rid of them. Such is the case of a recent Windows utility, which tries to reverse some of the annoying effects of Microsoft's Copilot integrations.

For the past couple of years, Microsoft has been encouraging PC vendors to design a physical Copilot key to replace the right-side CTRL button on the keyboard of Copilot+ PCs. Although it is not necessary for the certification process of Windows devices, it is still something Microsoft highlighted as a way to quickly launch the Copilot experience. It even removed the option to remap this key, citing bugs. Now, a developer has worked their way around this problem through the NoCopilotKey application.

NoCopilotKey does exactly what it says on the tin. It is primarily aimed at users of Copilot+ PCs who don't like the physical Copilot key replacing their right CTRL button. It simply restores the functionality of the latter, as the developer says that they heavily used it for various tasks. Over on the project's GitHub repository, the developer has also explained how they use a "low-level keyboard hook" to effectively block the Copilot key and replace it with Right CTRL.

This is a fairly simple utility for a relatively niche use-case, but will likely be appreciated by those who despise Microsoft's Copilot integrations. Notably, Microsoft PowerToys does have a Keyboard Manager "toy", but it does not allow the replacement of combinations of keybindings.

Some development communities have called the addition of the Copilot key "dumb", and this is probably the kind of backlash which has led to Microsoft hitting the brakes on injecting Copilot into its latest OS. You can check out NoCopilotKey here if you want to deCopilotify your PC too.

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Posted Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 12:12 pm AEST (my time).

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JetBrains has announced that it is shutting down the "Code With Me" feature in its IDEs following the 2026.1 release.

According to the company, Code With Me will only be available as a plugin from the JetBrains Marketplace after that version. This plugin will get no new features, but will receive critical security fixes for a time. Its public relay infrastructure will also remain operational for some time, but all sales and renewals for the service have stopped.

The service will be completely deactivated in Q1 2027, taking down both the public relays and active sessions with it. When Code With Me shuts down, JetBrains says that those who want remote access should look at its other remote development features.

JetBrains says it is doing this because "maintaining Code With Me alongside the evolving IntelliJ Platform requires ongoing engineering investment." and that shutting down the collaboration tool will "allow [it] to focus [its] efforts on areas that deliver the most value to developers."

Demand for built-in pair programming and real-time collaboration tools like Code With Me peaked during the pandemic and has since shifted, with many teams adopting different collaboration workflows. At the same time, maintaining Code With Me alongside the evolving IntelliJ Platform requires ongoing engineering investment.

 

After reviewing usage trends and the long-term direction of our IDEs, we’ve decided to discontinue Code With Me. This will allow us to focus our efforts on areas that deliver the most value to developers and align with how teams collaborate today.

Code With Me was a tool designed for real-time pair programming and remote collaboration, introduced to the world in late 2020 before becoming generally available a couple of months later, in April 2021. It uses a Host-Guest architecture where the host, the person with the source code, initiates a session and shares a link with guests. These guests then join using a thin client without needing the full project on their own machines

The development tool is not the only feature JetBrains has killed in the last year. The company's dedicated test automation IDE, Aqua, was sunsetted last April due to low adoption rates. In a similar fashion, JetBrains integrated its core capabilities into its more established IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, and WebStorm through a plugin.

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Posted Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 12:11 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft Teams is a solid piece of software that is essential in many enterprise and work environments, especially where Redmond's tech stack is being heavily utilized. Microsoft frequently adds new features to this online communication and collaboration software, ensuring that it continues to meet the demands of users. Now, the company has teased what's next for Teams.

In several recent updates to its Microsoft 365 Roadmap, the Redmond tech giant has revealed what it's planning for Teams. For starters, Teams will finally begin honoring the Do Not Disturb (DND) setting already implemented in Windows. What this means is that if you have enabled DND on Windows, Teams notifications will be paused as well. They'll resume as soon as you toggle off DND. This will make the experience a lot more consistent and intuitive for Windows users.

Next, admins will also be able to utilize the Microsoft 365 Admin Agent directly inside the Teams interface to perform tasks such as adding users, assigning licenses, and providing guidance on organizational settings, password resets, and security configurations.

Additionally, Microsoft is getting rid of manual spoken language selection in live captions and transcripts. This applies to both Interpreter and multilingual speech recognition. Instead, spoken language detection will be automatic, which should make the experience a lot cleaner for Teams customers.

In the same vein, Interpreter will soon support your organization's Custom Dictionary and Traditional Chinese. It will also offer more accurate real-time interpretation of speech and better recognize the names of people and industry-specific terms.

Finally, those who leverage intelligent meeting recaps will be pleased to know that apart from generating textual recaps, this feature will also deliver video-based recaps. These will provide video highlights, which should be great in understanding important takeaways from the meeting.

The good news is that all of the features mentioned above are landing next month, so users don't have to wait too long.

What upcoming feature are you most looking forward to in Teams? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Posted Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 12:10 pm AEST (my time).

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When you think of an update, you usually think about gaining features or existing features being improved. But with Microsoft Edge version 146.0.3856.59, Microsoft is stripping away several features from the browser while clearing the path to retire even more.

The Collections feature is officially retiring and Edge will show a banner to users that states new items can no longer be added.

Microsoft is also ending support for macOS 12, though that's not as much of a loss. The browser will continue to work with macOS 13 or later. The cutoff for the older version of macOS is Edge version 151.

Starting with Edge version 146, users will no longer be able to create a new custom primary password within Edge settings. On June 4, 2026, Edge will forcibly migrate all those using that method of authentication to a different method.

At the moment, people can set a custom primary password to add an extra layer of security to their saved passwords. We covered the change in more detail when Edge 146 was in preview.

Here are the major announcements for Microsoft Edge version 146:

• Collections retirement. Microsoft will begin retiring Collections. A banner will be shown to existing Collections users, and users will no longer be able to add new items to Collections. To keep saved content, users can export it or move all pages to Favorites. For more information, see Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge.
• Microsoft Edge supported operating systems for macOS. Edge version 150 is currently planned to be the last release that supports macOS 12 (Monterey). Under this plan, Edge version 151 or later will require macOS 13 (Ventura) or later.
• Migration to improved V2 architecture for Workspaces. Workspaces, introduced in Edge in 2022, allows users to create durable sets of tabs that can be saved and shared with others. To improve reliability and performance of this feature, the following changes are being made:
  • Migrating data for saved Workspaces from OneDrive/SharePoint to the Edge Sync service.
  • Removing the collaboration/share functionality of this feature.
• For organizations who have disabled Sync through policy, the existing v1 Workspace data will still be migrated to the new architecture. New v2 Workspaces created after migration will not sync across devices and will remain local to each device. This update began rolling out in Edge Stable version 145 and continues rolling out in Edge Stable version 146. For more information, see Getting started with Microsoft Edge Workspaces.
• Custom primary password deprecation. In Microsoft Edge 146, users will no longer be able to create a new custom primary password in Edge Settings (edge://settings/autofill/passwords/settings). Users who already have a custom primary password configured will see a warning that the feature will not be available starting June 4, 2026. On June 4, 2026, users still using a custom primary password will automatically be migrated to device authentication.

Often, losing a feature is a bad thing, but that's not always the case. One of the changes made in Edge's most recent update gets rid of a feature many complained about.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how the Windows Task Scheduler is quite legacy in terms of UI, and while Microsoft has prioritized modernizing other Windows components, this one has been left untouched so far. Rather than waiting for the Redmond tech firm to update this interface, a person took this effort upon themselves and released FluentTaskScheduler, which has now received another version with new features.

Version 1.6.0 of FluentTaskScheduler has been dubbed "The Universal Order" update. It packs a ton of improvements, with the highlight being native support for Windows on ARM, which should bring better performance on this platform. In addition, automated CI/CD pipelines have also been configured for both x64 and ARM64 platforms via GitHub Actions.

In terms of content organization, tasks can be categorized by tags and categories, and you can also search across them name, status, path, or tags. You can also import tasks into folders, which can aid during migration processes.

Following Fluent Design principles for a more modern interface is one of the most important selling point of this software, which is why the latest version also leverages NavigationView for a redesigned and more contemporary experience. Moreover, support for Mica material effect and a Light Theme has been added as well. Finally, the custom title bar implementation has been refined with better drag regions.

In terms of core functionality, FluentTaskScheduler now supports more complex scheduling mechanisms for recurring tasks which follow intervals or time durations. Native toast notifications and reminders for pending tasks have also been implemented.

Although, at the time of release, the developer noted that version 1.6.0 of FluentTaskScheduler contains now known issues or bugs, a few have been reported since then. They primarily relate to app freezes and crashes on startup. The good thing is that the developer has accepted those bugs and is working to fix them.

You can check out FluentTaskScheduler on GitHub here. That said, keep in mind that the developer has posted disclaimers that this is only a personal passion project for them and that they heavily use AI during development.

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Posted Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 5:42 am AEST (my time).

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When you set up a new Windows 11 installation, the operating system automatically creates a user folder depending on your Microsoft account email address or profile name. That does not sit well with a lot of users, as many have odd email addresses or long names that get cut in the process. While having an awkward profile folder name does not sound like the end of the world, it is actually inconvenient, especially when you often work in command-line apps. To address the problem, Microsoft is finally adding the long-requested feature to set a custom user folder name.

It is worth noting that the feature is not really new. Windows 11 received user folder name customization a few months ago, but the initial implementation was not the best one, as it required renaming the folder via Command Prompt (not everyone even knows how to invoke it during the initial setup). Now, Microsoft is giving customers a much more user-friendly way to set a user profile name.

When giving your PC a name during the initial setup, you can click "Show user folder name" and enter anything you want, assuming it meets Windows Naming Requirements. That means your profile folder can only contain letters, numbers, dashes, or underscores. Here is what the new UI looks like:

Here is what Microsoft said in the announcement post:

Expanding on our work which started rolling to Insiders last fall, you can now choose a custom name for your user folder on the Device Name page when going through Windows setup. This most recent update now makes it easier to choose a custom name. The naming option is available during setup only. If you skip this step, Windows will use the default folder name and continue setup as usual.

Microsoft is currently testing the new user-friendly way to rename the user folder in the latest Windows 11 preview builds from the Dev and Beta Channels. You can learn more about changes in those builds here.

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Posted Monday 16 March 2026 at 12:02 pm AEST (my time).

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In 2024, when Microsoft kicked off its Copilot+ PC program and launched the first Snapdragon-powered Windows on Arm devices, the company also promised to add more AI-powered features to the operating system. One of those features was Copilot in notifications, an interactive button that understands the context of a message and offers relevant suggestions. Nearly two years later, the feature is nowhere to be seen, and the new report suggests that it will never see the light of day.

Windows Central reports that Microsoft canned the feature after things went sideways in 2024. Misfired launch of Recall and the massive controversy that followed forced Microsoft to postpone some features as the company scrambled to fix its primary AI feature. Now, with Recall being fixed and no longer in the center of everyone's attention, Microsoft is trying to fix Windows 11's bad reputation, and one of the ways it plans to do it is by removing unnecessary features that feel like bloat.

Sources in Microsoft claim that the company trashed Copilot in notifications. AI in Windows 11 is not going anywhere, and Copilot is here to stay. However, the change is that Microsoft now wants to be more careful with new features and where Copilot rears its colorful logo. While Microsoft has not confirmed or denied the report, a spokesperson said that certain features that the company tests publicly or privately may not make it to the general public based on feedback.

As users react more negatively to each new AI feature in Windows 11 in light of bugs and questionable performance, it makes sense for Microsoft to take a step back and rethink its strategy. While the promise to "fix" Windows 11 is not going to materialize overnight, we already see signs of Microsoft sticking to its word, and it could give users and jaded fans a reason to believe in better days ahead.

Source: Windows Central

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Posted Monday 16 March 2026 at 6:45 am AEST (my time).

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As is often the case, the latest Windows 11 Patch Tuesday update is said to be causing issues for several users as they report a wide variety of bugs. Although Microsoft does deserve blame on many occasions, credit where credit's due, the company has been fast to act recently as it patched a major critical network flaw with a hotpatch update KB5084597.

Besides that, Microsoft has also made the necessary changes to fix a major bug wherein user access to C drive got denied. When the Redmond company first reported the issue, it was also confirmed that the bug was likely isolated to Samsung devices only and that it was a result of a compatibility conflict or something of that sort.

As such, Microsoft has confirmed that the affected application was removed from the Microsoft Store to prevent further downloads. The company has added that it was Samsung's fault and the recent Windows 11 updates were not to blame for this major mishap.

It writes: "Microsoft and Samsung investigated these reports and concluded that the symptoms were caused by an issue in the Samsung Galaxy Connect app. While the reports coincided with recent March Patch Tuesday timing, investigation confirmed the issue is not caused by current or previous Windows monthly updates. The issue has been observed on Samsung Galaxy Book 4 and Samsung Desktop models running Windows 11, versions 24H2 and 25H2, including NP750XGJ, NP750XGL, NP754XGJ, NP754XFG, NP754XGK, DM500SGA, DM500TDA, DM500TGA, and DM501SGA.

The affected Samsung Galaxy Connect application was temporarily removed from the Microsoft Store to prevent further installations. Samsung has republished a stable previous version of the application to stop recurrence on additional devices."

Microsoft adds that it is still collaborating with Samsung on the issue and further details will be provided later as the investigation progresses.

Following the issue, a user on Reddit Theangelo2 did some further digging and uncovered that the problem could have been happening due to a broken discretionary access control list (DACL) implementation on Windows images on these Galaxy devices. Hence it looks like Microsoft's blaming of Samsung software is righteous.

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Posted Sunday 15 March 2026 at 5:56 pm AEST (my time).

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It has been nearly half a year since Windows 11 version 25H2 was released for everyone. Despite being based on the older Windows 11 24H2, as both versions share a common servicing branch and codebase, the latest version of Microsoft's desktop OS is still buggy for some as users report a multitude of issues even on the latest cumulative update release.

Microsoft has also been working overtime recently as the company has had to release several emergency patches over the last few months, due to critical bugs, with the latest one being about a critical network security flaw.

Despite this, for those still on Windows 10, Microsoft does, from time to time, insist that you upgrade to 11, even if you are running an updated system under ESU, which means technically you are almost just as secure on Windows 10, too. And even if you do, there can still be major headaches, especially if you have a Samsung laptop.

Regardless of all those, if you want to upgrade to Windows 11 25H2, Microsoft last year quietly published a new tool on its official website. The utility is a dedicated Windows 11 25H2 update assistant, which has been made available on the Microsoft Download Center website. Interestingly, the app was released right before Windows 11 25H2 hit general availability.

Rather interestingly, none of the official support articles from Microsoft seems to link to this page. Neowin happened to stumble across this randomly.

Named "Windows 11 Installation Assistant 25H2", the utility helps Windows 10 and older Windows 11 version systems in-place upgrade to Windows 11 25H2, provided that you meet the system requirements. So if you aren't quite sure if your Windows 10 PC is eligible for Windows 11, just use this to determine it, as the app automatically checks the criteria and offers Windows 11 on compatible PCs.

Speaking of requirements, these have not changed since the original Windows 11 release, though a 40 TOPS NPU is now necessary to avail some of the AI-based Windows 11 features. Also, for enterprises, there has been an update to the installation requirements.

You can head over to this official Microsoft Download Center website to get the app. Using the installation assistant is fairly simple, as all you need to do is accept the terms and proceed with the installation and upgrade. You can check our dedicated guide on the subject. If, for some reason, Microsoft blocks your upgrade, despite your system meeting the requirements, there can be another compatibility issue at play here.

The app can be useful for those on Windows 11 25H2, too, as re-running the installation will help fix issues like files being corrupted. It will essentially perform an OS repair.

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Posted Sunday 15 March 2026 at 11:58 am AEST (my time).

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Earlier today, Microsoft released an emergency hotpatch update KB5084597 on Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 LTSC, which patches a trio of critical network security vulnerabilities. This was released soon after the latest monthly Patch Tuesday update which is said to be causing a variety of issues for users.

Alongside that, Microsoft also released corresponding new dynamic updates for Windows 11. For those who may not know, dynamic updates bring improvements to the Windows Recovery process in the form of Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) updates, which are also called Safe OS updates. The dynamic updates also affect the Setup file binaries in the form of Setup updates.

These Dynamic Update packages are meant to be applied to existing Windows images prior to their deployment. Dynamic Updates also help preserve Language Pack (LP) and Features on Demand (FODs) content during the upgrade process. VBScript, for example, is currently an FOD on Windows 11 24H2.

This time only recovery updates were released and with the usual generic changelog that does not go into much about what the update has actually done. The company writes:

"KB5079463: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 26H1: March 10, 2026

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE).

KB5079471: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, versions 24H2 and 25H2: March 10, 2026

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE)."

Microsoft notes that both the Recovery and Setup updates will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel.

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Posted Sunday 15 March 2026 at 5:21 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft Edge 146 is now available for all users in the Stable channel. The latest four-week feature update brings important changes to passwords, fixes for tab bugs on Windows PCs, security fixes, enterprise updates, and more.

Starting with version 146, Microsoft deprecated the custom primary password feature. Previously, it allowed users to protect their personal data with a custom password, but now, Microsoft wants you to use system-wide authentication, as it is more secure and convenient. However, if you already use your custom password, Microsoft lets you continue using it until June 4.

Microsoft is also changing how the browser handles data removal. It no longer lists passwords in data types so that users cannot accidentally delete their passwords.

Speaking of privacy-related changes, Edge 146 now has a single setting for tracking prevention. The update removed the ability to set strict tracking prevention only for InPrivate. Now, Edge uses a single setting for both browsing modes.

Edge 146 also has redesigned site permissions. Microsoft says that the page has been redesigned to “better align with user expectations.” Improvements include changes to the Omnibox and Page Info dialog, and permissions are easier to review and modify in Settings.

Finally, Microsoft fixed an issue on Windows that could cause tabs to be discarded unexpectedly on high-memory devices. Plus, there are two security fixes. One is for CVE-2026-3910, a Chromium vulnerability that has been reported as exploited in the wild, and a Microsoft Edge-specific CVE-2026-0385.

Besides releasing Edge 146 to the general public, Microsoft reminded users about the Collection feature retirement. They need to move their content to favorites if they do not want to lose saved pages. Also, Microsoft is dropping macOS 12 Monterey support, but those still using it will remain supported until Edge 150. After that, users must run macOS 13 or newer to continue receiving Edge updates.

You can find the complete changelog in the official documentation. To force-update your copy of Microsoft Edge, go to edge://setting/help.

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Posted Sunday 15 March 2026 at 5:20 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft earlier today released an emergency hotpatch security update KB5084597 to patch a network security flaw. This follows the week's earlier release of Patch Tuesday update for the month under KB5079473.

As is often the case with Patch Tuesday releases, users are reporting problems and bugs with this latest issue. One of the users on Reddit claims that the update can't even install and they can't seem to figure out what is causing the issue. Following which Windows is throwing a "0x80070306" error message, though these messages in themselves rarely help resolve bugs.

The user adds that they tried to fix corrupt update and system files using SFC (system file checker) and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) commands, but to no avail. The user also says they did many reboots in hopes of resolving the underlying bug.

On the same thread, another affected user has chimed in to add that they too experienced installation failure, and the system kept BSODing and blue-screening, and rebooting in trying to fix the update issue.

Meanwhile, aside from installation failures and reboot bug, on a separate thread some users say they are experiencing graphical glitches and other such related problems. One user adds here that they are experiencing system freezes and lock-ups, and that the only thing that seems to work is a hard reset.

Meanwhile on Microsoft's official Feedback Hub, one user reports that their admin privileges were suddenly removed after this update.

Microsoft, on its official support article for the update, states that it is currently not aware of any known issues. We could see the company document some of these problems later as it has been less than a week since the update was first published.

Source: Reddit (link1, link2)

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Posted Sunday 15 March 2026 at 5:19 am AEST (my time).

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This week, KDE's developers worked on bringing back the ability to long-press physical keys to access characters and symbols kind of like the layouts you find on mobile keyboards.

This feature is finally re-launching in Plasma 6.7 as part of the brand new Plasma Keyboard module. You would be able to turn it on by navigating to System Settings > Keyboard > Virtual Keyboard.

Other features to expect in Plasma 6.7 include the ability to install custom sound themes from downloaded files and a cleaner USB printer notification system. Users will also get to configure the Global Menu widget to display menus for active windows located on completely different screens.

Developers initially planned "Press-and-Hold for Alternative Characters" for Plasma 5.21 by merging the necessary code in December 2020. Even at that time, the devs warned that the tool faced problems. The programmers noted that "a few bits are still remaining, including full integration with GTK apps, and compatibility with other input methods."

But by the time the team released Plasma 5.21 in March 2021, users discovered the feature was completely missing because underlying technical issues with Qt input methods forced developers to revert the code.

Other changes coming to the Plasma Keyboard include swipe typing and vocal dictation tools. You can also expect a fully resizable on-screen interface.

Plasma 6.6.3 is expected to land next Tuesday (17th March), with several UI improvements, including a polished "Add Widgets" sidebar that maintains accurate item counts. You will also get a much better pixel-aligned magnifier tool inside the Spectacle screenshot app. The team also improved the Clipboard widget so it no longer generates broken QR codes for non-text items.

As for the bug fixes, Plasma 6.7 will ship with a fix (finally!) for the situation where multiple Electron applications like Discord all register the exact same system tray identifier, causing them to follow each other's settings. The 6.6.3 update also works around a bug in Samsung LS24D60xU monitors where the hardware enters a loop and starts to turn on and off without any user input.

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Posted Sunday 15 March 2026 at 5:17 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft today has released a new emergency update for Windows 11 LTSC 2024. The new update under KB5084597 is a hotpatch out-of-band release as it is meant to fix critical network-related security vulnerabilites. These are tracked under IDs CVE-2026-25172, CVE-2026-25173, and CVE-2026-26111, and they are remote code execution (RCE) flaws affecting the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) management tool.

The description of the vulnerability on MSRC's website is as follows:

"Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability: Integer overflow or wraparound in Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) allows an authorized attacker to execute code over a network."

If you are not familiar, Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) is a Windows feature that provides secure remote connectivity and routing functions. It allows organizations and enterprises to set up VPNs, dial-up access, and site-to-site connections, effectively acting as a software-based router. RRAS supports multiprotocol routing, NAT, and dynamic routing with protocols like BGP, enabling communication between LANs, WANs, and cloud networks, among other such functions.

The changelog for the KB5084597 update says:

• [Networking] Fixed: This update addresses a security issue in the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) management tool. If you connect to a malicious remote server, an attacker could disrupt the tool or run code on your device.

You can find the support article here on Microsoft's official site. The update will be downloaded and installed automatically on hotpatch-enabled devices, the company notes.

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Posted Saturday 14 March 2026 at 5:34 pm AEST (my time).

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While drive C is not something you want to open every day, the problem goes a bit deeper than just opening File Explorer. Microsoft says that because of the bug, some apps cannot start, and those include popular stuff like Outlook, browsers, system utilities, and more. The issue effectively cripples your computer, as common actions like accessing files, executing common tasks, elevating privileges and doing other daily things.

Although the bug sounds absolutely terrifying, the good news is that not every Windows 11 system is affected. Microsoft says that the bug is "predominantly observed" on Samsung laptops, particularly on the Samsung Galaxy Book4 and other models in countries like Brazil, Portugal, Korea, and India. It is possible that the Samsung Share application could be the reason, but Microsoft is not ready to share exact details. Microsoft is investigating the problem, so expect to hear from them soon.

Here is what Microsoft says in the official documentation:

Microsoft has received reports of an issue in which some Samsung device models lose access to the C drive after installing the February 2026 security update (KB5077181) and subsequent updates. Users might encounter the error, “C:\ is not accessible – Access denied”, which prevents access to files and blocks the launch of some applications including Outlook, Office apps, web browsers, system utilities and Quick Assist.

 

Affected devices encounter the issue when users execute common actions, such as accessing files, launching applications, or performing administrative tasks, and do not require any specific user action beyond routine operations. In some cases, users are also unable to elevate privileges, uninstall updates, or collect logs due to permission failures.

 

This issue has been reported across multiple regions, including Brazil, Portugal, Korea, and India, and is predominantly observed on Samsung Galaxy Book 4 and other Samsung consumer devices. Latest investigations indicate that the issue may be related to the Samsung Share application, though the root cause has not yet been fully validated.

As for the affected systems, only Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 were hit. If you are on Windows 10 or Windows 11 23H2 and older, the problem should not affect your Samsung device. Frustrated users on Reddit claim that changing ownership of the Drive C and its folders/files fixes the problem, but it is a risky thing that should be done only in emergencies. For most users, if rolling back the update did not yield any results, the best course of action is to wait for Microsoft to fix the issue.

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Posted Saturday 14 March 2026 at 11:06 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 build for Insiders flighting the Canary channel. The new build, 29550.1000, has landed with some new features and improvements which the company is currently working on. Global power settings are being upgraded such that Hibernate, Power, Sleep, and all such options can function better, instead of being a hit or miss on occasions.

Performance of the Settings page is also getting enhanced as the company notes better performance and faster loading. There are several other changes. The full changelog is given below:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out with toggle on*

• This update includes platform changes in moving to a new active development build.

[Emoji]

• The Emoji 16.0 release introduces a small thoughtfully curated set of new emojis, one from each major category. Each emoji carries timeless symbolism and practical versatility. These new emojis now appear in the emoji panel.

[Camera Settings]

• You can control pan and tilt for supported cameras in the Settings app. The controls appear under Settings> Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, in the “Basic settings” section for your selected camera.

[Power]

• Changes to global power settings (for example, Display, Sleep, Hibernate timeouts, Power/Sleep button, and lid close actions) from Settings are now applied to all power plans. This should help improve persistence of chosen settings.

[File Explorer]

• You can now use voice typing (Windows key plus H) when renaming files in File Explorer.

[Settings]

• Improved performance of loading Settings Home.
• Improved Settings reliability when navigating to Privacy & Security.
• Improved reliability of updating necessary components when prompted under System > Advanced > File Explorer.
• Improved reliability of configuring custom tools in Bluetooth & Devices > Wheel.

[Nearby Sharing]

• Improved the reliability of sending larger files using nearby sharing.

[Other]

• Improved reliability of running sfc/scannow.

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

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Posted Saturday 14 March 2026 at 11:05 am AEST (my time).

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As the name suggests, PowerToys is made for power users on Windows 11/10, and it packs a whole host of features and utilities which allow customization of the operating system. Originally inspired by the classic PowerToys from the Windows 95 era, the modern version offers a wide range of tools that streamline everyday workflows and provide advanced functionality for enthusiast users.

Among its most popular features are Always on Top, Advanced Paste, Peek, or FancyZones, the last of which allows users to create custom window layouts, and PowerToys Run, a fast launcher for apps, files, and commands. Other utilities include a color picker, bulk file renaming, image resizing directly from File Explorer, and a keyboard manager for remapping keys and shortcuts. Plus additional tools such as Awake, File Explorer add-ons, mouse utilities, and a shortcut guide further expand its usefulness.

PowerToys is an open-source project and one of the contributors of the applications, Noraa Junker, has published a blog post today highlighting a major change he has been working on. While still labelled as WIP or work in progress, Junker is porting PowerToys Runner from C++ to C#.

If you are wondering why, Junker has explained it in his blog post in some detail.

Junker notes that the runner (not to be confused with PowerToys Run which we mentioned above), known as powertoys.exe, is essentially responsible for starting modules based on user settings, managing their processes, and piping commands between the settings interface and modules. Until now, these functions relied on multiple C++ projects exporting DLLs, and this approach has been described as messy, over-engineered, and difficult to maintain.

Thus, Junker says that the existing C++ code base has proven inflexible, which in turn slows down feature development and also discourages new contributors. By moving to C#, the project maintainers and contributors can expect faster builds, simpler and easier debugging, and a more accessible code base for the open-source community.

With this redesign, each module will consist of a single class implementing the IPowerToyModule interface. In simple terms, this consolidation should reduce the number of projects required, which in turn streamlines compilation and should help eliminate redundant code for handling configuration files. In essence, Junker is promising that a lot of the underlying code complexity will be significantly reduced as a result.

If you are wondering about an ETA for this, Junker notes that the pull request for the runner refactor is nearly complete, though they add that the finalization depends on the upgrade to .NET 10, after which the new runner will be updated and merged. So for users, while the changes are largely under the hood, they can lead to smoother updates and potentially quicker delivery of new features.

You can view the pull request here on the official GitHub repo.

Source: Round checkbox (spotted by Deskmodder)

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Posted Saturday 14 March 2026 at 11:04 am AEST (my time).

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Here is the changelog:

[Policy-Based Removal of Preinstalled Microsoft Apps]

• We have updated the “Remove Default Microsoft Store packages” policy for Windows ENT/EDU to include a dynamic app removal list. IT administrators can now remove MSIX/APPX apps by adding their app package family name (PFNs) to a dynamic list.
• To access the policy in Group Policy settings, open the local Group Policy Editor (gedit.msc) and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Package Deployment > Remove Default Microsoft Store packages from the system.
• To remove an app via the dynamic list, add its app family package name to the multi-text list under “Specify additional package family names to remove.”
• To find app family package names, run the Get-AppxPackage command in a terminal. For example, here’s a command to get the package family name for Notepad: Get-AppxPackage *Notepad* | Select-Object PackageFamilyName

  

• The dynamic list is currently unavailable in the corresponding Intune CSP. When this feature becomes generally available, you can search for Remove Default Microsoft Store packages settings in the Settings picker.
  • Known Limitation – OMA-URI and Multi-Entry Validation: OMA-URI cannot be used to validate multi-entry ADMX multi-Text policies; therefore, validation for the dynamic list must be done via Settings Catalog in Intune or Group Policy. Given that the Intune setting is not yet available in WIP, you will need to test using Group Policy.

[Windows Setup Experience]

• Expanding on our work, which started rolling out to Insiders last fall, you can now choose a custom name for your user folder on the Device Name page when going through Windows setup. This most recent update now makes it easier to choose a custom name. The naming option is available during setup only. If you skip this step, Windows will use the default folder name and continue setup as usual.

  

[Windows Driver Policy update]

• The Windows kernel has historically allowed 3rd party kernel drivers from the now- deprecated cross-signed root program and the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP). The WHCP program is a major step up in security compared to the cross-signed driver program, requiring driver compatibility testing, identity vetting and verification and virus scanning.
• Starting with this update, the Windows kernel will enforce a new policy removing default trust for cross-signed drivers. The policy allows 3rd party drivers from the WHCP program by default, with an allow list of trustworthy publishers and drivers from the cross-signing program.
• The feature is enabled in audit mode for a minimum of 100 hours and 3 reboots. If Windows determines that the drivers loaded during this time are compatible with the new policy, the feature is enabled. Otherwise, the system stays in audit mode.
• After enablement, while unlikely, some users running in enforcement mode may see cross-signed drivers blocked.

[Point-in-time restore updates]:

• When you launch point-in-time restore, local admins will see a settings dialog (behind a User Account Control (UAC) prompt) where they can view or change the default restore settings.

  

• This experience also now shows a list of restore points available on the device.

  

   

• Updated messaging in the WinRE restore experience:

   

  • Added a recommendation to plug your device into a power source during the restore.

  • The OS version number is now shown in a 4-part format (instead of 2-part).

     

[Drag Tray > Drop Tray]

• Expanding on our work last week, Drag Tray has now been renamed to Drop Tray. We’re also moving the corresponding settings for Drop Tray from Nearby Sharing to now be under System > Multitasking.

[Input]

• Pen settings: we have made refinements to the Pen settings page, including small changes to the options for the pen tail button. A new option, “Same as Copilot key”, enables the pen tail button to launch the same app as the Copilot key.

Note: this is the only change in today's Canary build 28020.1737.

[File Explorer]

• We are stopping the rollout of refinements to the context menu to work on some further improvements. We will bring this back in a future release.

[Other]

• Improved reliability of setting and using preferred display language.
• Removed extraneous unexpected error from sfc/scannow.

You can find the announcement blog post here (Dev build), here (Beta build), and here (Canary build).

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Posted Saturday 14 March 2026 at 4:56 am AEST (my time).

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For those unfamiliar, Media Creation Tool, or MCT, is Microsoft’s official app for creating bootable media and downloading official ISO files. You can use it to write Windows 11 directly to your USB drive or save it as an ISO file for modifications, such as skipping mandatory Microsoft Account, removing TPM and Secure Boot requirements, disabling default BitLocker encryption, and more.

These days, Microsoft updates the Media Creation Tool app every month, just a couple of days after releasing monthly Patch Tuesday updates. As such, users always have access to the latest Windows 11 build, which makes clean-installing the operating system easier, with no need to spend time on downloading additions updates afterwards.

With the latest update, MCT now downloads Windows 11 version 25H2, build 26200.8037, which is the March 2026 Patch Tuesday update. Note that the app itself remains on the previous version, which you can check in Properties > Details. The only change is that it now downloads a more recent Windows 11 build.

You can download the Media Creation Tool app from the official Microsoft website using this link. Besides MCT, Microsoft lets you download Windows 11 ISO as a file directly from the official Windows 11 website. However, you will need a third-party app to write it to your USB drive. Check out this guide if you want to know how to do that.

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Posted Saturday 14 March 2026 at 4:55 am AEST (my time).

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Copilot Notebooks now has an updated three-column layout that combines references, content in Copilot Pages, and Copilot chats into a unified interface for easier navigation and reduced need for context switching.

The next change in tow is richer reference sets, which now support Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, OneNote pages, PDFs, Copilot Pages. More file and content types are on the way too. Additionally, there's a new Overview page, which basically provides you an executive summary across your entire workspace and you can simply refresh it with the click of a button.

Copilot Notebooks also feature a new Quick create with Copilot option that enables users to transform raw information into structured objects like audio overviews, study guides, quizzes, and more. You can also use this in tandem with AI agents like Researcher and Designer. Finally, Copilot Notebooks can now also be shared with others, which should further enhance cross-functional collaboration.

Microsoft has urged users to try out Copilot Notebooks, highlighting assistance in scenarios like project management, tracking recurring workflows, working on short-lived tasks, and performing deep research on topics and skills.

The Copilot Notebooks revamp is generally available and can be accessed from here. It can be leveraged across Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Web, Windows, Mac, and Mobile and the OneNote app on Windows for customers who have a commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot license and an active SharePoint or OneDrive subscription. Unfortunately, it is not available for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium accounts.

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Posted Saturday 14 March 2026 at 4:53 am AEST (my time).

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Google is finally introducing native Chrome support to ARM64 Linux devices. It only took the company six years after bringing Chrome to ARM64-powered macOS devices and two years after doing the same for Windows.

Right now, Google Chrome is only available for x86_64 (amd64) on Linux. But that’s about to change soon, as Google officially announced its plan to bring Chrome to ARM64 Linux devices in Q2 2026. So, expect it to arrive somewhere between April and June this year.

ARM64 Linux users are already running Chromium, which is the open-source base of Chrome, natively on Linux, but with the help of workarounds like packages, snaps, flatpaks, etc. Some users also run the standard x86_64 (amd64) version of Chrome on Linux through emulators. But this usually isn’t optimal, as the entire setup is more resource-demanding.

Running a native version of Chrome instead of a Chromium base means ARM64 Linux users can finally use the browser the same way everyone else does. That includes features like Google account sync, Widevine DRM for Netflix/Spotify in HD, Chrome Web Store payments, and more.

In the same blog post, Google also announced a new partnership with NVIDIA to make Chrome easily installable on its new DGX Spark system. NVIDIA DGX Spark is a compact mini desktop PC designed for researchers and developers that packs the Grace Blackwell architecture. NVIDIA calls it a “personal AI supercomputer.”

If you’re an ARM64 Linux user and want to download the official version of Google Chrome, make sure to regularly visit the official download page. Once Google officially releases it, the download page will automatically detect your architecture, and you’ll finally be able to install Chrome on your device.

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Posted Friday 13 March 2026 at 1:48 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has released a preview of this month's non-security updates for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2. KB5079387 is out as builds 26100.8106 and 26200.8106, bringing users some interesting features and improvements, such as support for extremely high display refresh rates (above 1000Hz), Smart App Control improvements, File Explorer improvements, better fingerprint scanning for Windows Hello, and plenty of other changes.

Here are the features and improvements that Microsoft is rolling out gradually with today's builds:

• [Narrator] New! Narrator provides rich image descriptions on Copilot+ PCs and now works with Copilot on all Windows 11 devices. Press Narrator key + Ctrl + D to describe the focused image or Narrator key + Ctrl + S to describe the full screen. Copilot opens with the image ready, allowing you to enter a prompt for a customized description. The image is shared only after you choose to describe it. On Copilot+ PCs, Narrator gives instant, on‑device descriptions, and you can select Ask Copilot for more detail.
• [Smart App Control] New! You can turn Smart App Control (SAC) on or off without needing a clean install. To make changes, go to Settings > Windows Security > App & Browser Control > Smart App Control settings. When turned on, SAC helps block untrusted or potentially harmful apps. To learn more, see App & Browser Control in the Windows Security App – Microsoft Support. This feature was previously disclosed in the January 2026 release notes (KB5074105) and is now beginning to roll out.
• [Settings]
  • New! The Settings About page (Settings > System > About) has been improved to provide a more structured and intuitive experience, offering clearer device specifications and easier navigation to related device components, including quick access to Storage settings.
  • New!2 The device information card on the Settings Home page simplifies key device specifications and improves consistency across the end-to-end flow from the Home Card to the Settings > System > About page, making information easier to scan and understand.
  • Improved the performance of loading Home in Settings.
  • Improved reliability of downloading necessary updates when prompted in Settings > System > Advanced.
• [Account Settings]
  • New! Microsoft 365 Family subscribers can upgrade to a different Microsoft 365 plan from Settings > Accounts. To remove the upgrade option, turn off Suggested content in Settings.
  • New! This update improves the design of the dialog boxes in Settings > Accounts > Other users to match the modern Windows look and support dark mode. The visibility of the dialog box option depends on whether the device has a domain-joined work or school account.
• [Input] New! Windows introduces a cleaner, modern pen setting experience. You can now choose the new Same as Copilot key option, which enables the pen tail button to open the same app as the Copilot key.
• [File Explorer]
  • Improved reliability of unblocking files downloaded from the internet in order to preview them in File Explorer.
  • You can now use Voice Typing (Windows key plus H) when renaming a file in File Explorer.
  • You can now sort the permissions entries in the Advanced Security Settings window for a folder in File Explorer by Principal.
• [Display]
  • Monitors can now report refresh rates higher than 1000 Hz.
  • While using a native USB4 monitor connection, the USB controller can now go to the lowest power level while the PC is sleeping, saving battery life.
  • Improved reliability of auto rotation after resuming from sleep.
  • Improved HDR reliability for displays with non-compliant DisplayID 2.0 blocks.
  • Monitors with DisplayID now report a more accurate size when using the WMI monitor APIs.
• [Printing]
  • Updated downlevel baseline support for printer connections to be Windows 10, version 1607 / Windows Server 2016 (Build 14393).
• [Windows Hello] Improved Windows Hello Fingerprint reliability for certain devices.
• [Safe mode] Improved reliability of loading components of the taskbar in safe mode.
• [Voice Access] Improved how numbers are detected and written when using Voice Access in English.
• [Start menu] Improved reliability of applying Start menu layout via group policy when desktopAppLink is present in the JSON.
• [Remote Desktop] The Set-RDSessionCollectionConfiguration PowerShell command now recognizes DisableSeamlessLanguageBar.
• [Audio] Improved handling of short MIDI messages in cases where an application was initialized without providing long message buffers.
• [System File Checker] Removed extraneous error message you might unexpectedly see when running sfc /scannow.

And here are the features that are available to all right here, right now:

• [Narrator] This update improves the Natural Voices experience in Narrator. It also makes the Natural Voices setup more reliable.
• [Performance & Reliability] This update improves stability in Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) when you run x64 apps on ARM64 devices. These apps run more smoothly and respond as expected.

You can find the announcement blog post here.

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Posted Friday 13 March 2026 at 6:39 am AEST (my time).

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Several weeks ago, Mozilla updated its support documentation to warn those still using pre-Windows 10 versions and certain old macOS releases that Firefox 115 ESR would be out of support by the end of February 2026. However, Mozilla still cannot make up its mind on when to pull the plug on version 115, as it just updated the document once again.

Mozilla has been postponing the end of support for Firefox 115 ESR several times now, and after 18 months of additional support, the browser is getting six more. This time, Mozilla aims for August 2026, which means users on Windows 7 can continue receiving security updates for Firefox 115 ESR, which is the only mainstream browser still supported on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.

Like before, Mozilla says that its decision is driven by the fact that there are still plenty of Firefox users on Windows 7 and other unsupported operating systems who need a browser with regular security updates. Interestingly, Mozilla's latest message suggests that August 2026 might not be the end of it:

Mozilla will provide security updates for Firefox 115 ESR until the end of August 2026. It was previously announced that support would end in February 2026, but in order to ensure our users can continue to browse the web, we will extend support another six months and re-evaluate. After that, if support is not extended, users should upgrade their operating system to continue receiving Firefox security and feature updates.

Firefox 115 ESR is the last browser release to support Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and macOS 10.12-10.14. Those on Windows 10 and up or macOS 10.15 Catalina and up can use the latest Firefox 148 release, which was released in February, and later received a bug-fixing update as version 148.0.2.

You can read more about Firefox 115 ESR support in the updated support document here.

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Posted Friday 13 March 2026 at 6:38 am AEST (my time).

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A couple of days ago, Microsoft rolled out Patch Tuesday updates (KB5079473) for Windows 11. They contained improvements for Secure Boot, File Explorer, Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC), and more. Apart from this, the release also included features from February's non-security update, the highlight of which was the new Internet Speed Test utility baked into the Windows 11 taskbar.

On paper, this sounds like an excellent tool to have at your disposal, but unfortunately, the reality is kind of disappointing. You would hope that if you open the baked-in speed test utility on your operating system, you'll likely see a native interface for an app that quickly tells you what your internet speed is. However, this is not really the case.

If you right-click the internet icon on your Taskbar and click Perform speed test, it will quickly launch a new browser window and open a speed test utility in Bing. You'll then have to click the Start button in this interface to actually trigger an internet speed test:

So, basically, the Internet Speed Test utility in Windows 11 is just a glorified shortcut to this URL in Bing.com. The speed test itself is powered by Ookla, which also means that you can even open the vendor's site to run the same test, if you want.

It feels like a very bare-bones implementation, and its primary purpose seems like getting those Bing usage metrics up. You would expect a trillion-dollar company to put some more effort into a supposedly native utility that is being touted in an operating system used by over a billion people, but instead, it just feels like someone ticked a box.

To be fair, this implementation could have been a lot worse. Even though it does not respect your search engine preferences, it does respect your browser preferences, surprisingly. It will force-launch the speed test via Bing, but it won't forcefully open Microsoft Edge. This is a bit uncharacteristic looking at Microsoft's history, but we'll take all the wins that we can get. Who knows, Microsoft may launch this utility in Edge with its next Windows update, so enjoy it while you can.

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Posted Friday 13 March 2026 at 6:37 am AEST (my time).

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Here at Neowin, we've regularly covered software that can be used to "debloat" your Windows installation. These pieces are primarily published because many of our readers are clamoring for ways to make their installation cleaner by potentially also getting rid of all the AI features that Microsoft has been stuffing into the OS.

However, a common disclaimer associated on the GitHub pages for these debloating software is also to use it at your own risk. Personally, I am not a fan of using debloating scripts for multiple reasons. For starters, I'm not comfortable with running code that I don't understand, written by a third-party developer who I can't trust, on my Windows PC. Additionally, debloating scripts often tend to modify Windows Registry values, which can have unintended effects, and can even break your current or future installations of Windows. Microsoft releases Windows updates based on the vanilla version of Windows and it obviously isn't aware if your individual PC has a customization that may break your entire PC the next time a Windows update with a compatibility "issue" is pushed.

While I am against debloating software in general, people seem to be going one step ahead in this dangerous direction. That is, using AI to generate scripts that can debloat your PC and make it faster. A recent thread has been gaining traction over on the r/windows11 and r/windows subreddits where u/winguy74 has talked about generating PowerShell scripts with AI to solve their PC's performance issues.

The user says that they installed Windows 11 on old hardware, where menus felt sluggish and startup was slow. To remedy these performance issues, they used AI to generate "a cleanup script that removes most of the unnecessary apps". According to the user, they noticed performance gains and they have also highlighted some metrics from Task Manager below:

Well, well, well... where do I even start? For starters, having 10 fewer processes shouldn't result in a noticeable gain anyway, it's coincidental at best. Secondly, this alone cannot be a metric to measure performance, there are lots of other KPIs that can be tracked. In fact, if you look at the screenshot on the right coming from the presumably debloated version of Windows 11, you'll notice that the CPU utilization is actually three times higher, at 10%. Finally, the user seems to have a very powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor. If you have performance issues while running daily workflows, you have bigger things to worry about.

It honestly feels like rage-bait at this point, and it very well could be, given how naively the Redditor is portraying themselves. They claim that they followed YouTube tutorials to generate the script because they are not an expert who can make manual edits to Windows Registry on their own. They are also countering many of the arguments made by others about how this is a very dangerous way to debloat Windows.

If this is rage-bait, I applaud the Redditor. But even if it's not, this still emphasizes a very important lesson. Do not run code that you can't trust, and especially not one generated by AI that has no idea about the granularity of your current installation. There are tons of documented instances of AI misunderstanding instructions or not following them properly, and deleting crucial user data. Why run a script you can't trust and risk damaging your PC for a few percentage points gain in performance, and even that is not guaranteed? It's just a bad idea to run scripts generated by AI (or any developer that you don't trust, for that matter) on your PC that potentially modifies your Windows install.

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Posted Friday 13 March 2026 at 6:37 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of February) 854

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