Here's what's new in both builds:

[Built-in Sysmon]

Windows now brings Sysmon functionality natively to Windows. Sysmon functionality allows you to capture system events that can help with threat detection, and you can use custom configuration files to filter the events you want to monitor. The captured events are written on the Windows event log, enabling them to be used with security applications and a wide range of use cases.

• Built-in Sysmon is disabled by default and must be explicitly enabled.
• Go to Settings > System > Optional features > More Windows features > checking Sysmon or in PowerShell: Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Sysmon
• To complete the installation, from PowerShell or command prompt run: sysmon -i

[Voice Access]

• Support for the Netherlands locale has been added.

Here's what's fixed:

[File Explorer]

• We fixed a few issues in File Explorer, including accessibility improvements (keyboard navigation and access keys), folder renaming with custom names, and missing icons/tooltips for “Add to favorites”.

[Other]

• We fixed an issue that caused apps to freeze when working with files on OneDrive or Dropbox. Some Outlook setups with PSTs on OneDrive could also hang or reload email data.

Note: If you’ve already installed Sysmon from the website, it must be uninstalled before enabling the built-in Sysmon.

You can find the announcement blog posts here: 26300.7733 (Dev Channel) | 26220.7752 (Beta Channel)

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Posted Wednesday 4 February 2026 at 12:22 pm AEST (my time).

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Chromebooks debuted 16 years ago with the limited release of Google’s Cr-48, an unassuming compact laptop that was provided free to select users. From there, Chromebooks became one of the most popular budget computing options and a common fixture in schools and businesses. According to some newly uncovered court documents, Google’s shift to Android PCs means Chromebooks have an expiration date in 2034.

The documents were filed as part of Google’s long-running search antitrust case, which began in 2020 and reached a verdict in 2024. While Google is still seeking to have the guilty verdict overturned, it has escaped most of the remedies that government prosecutors requested. According to The Verge, the company’s plans for Chromebooks and the upcoming Android-based Aluminium came up in filings from the remedy phase of the trial.

As Google moves toward releasing Aluminium, it sought to keep the upcoming machines above the fray and retain the Chrome browser (which it did). In Judge Amit Mehta’s final order, devices running ChromeOS or a ChromeOS successor are excluded. To get there, Google had to provide a little more detail on its plans.

The filing suggests Google is done with ChromeOS after the current support window.

Credit: US v. Google

Google’s Android chief, Sameer Samat, previously testified that Google was aiming to launch its first Aluminium machines in 2026. However, the new filings expand on that, saying that Google hopes to get Aluminium in the hands of trusted testers by late 2026. A full retail release may not happen until 2028. Google expects Aluminium to supplant ChromeOS in enterprise and education, which puts Chromebooks on the chopping block. Outside of a pandemic-era bump as workers sought cheap at-home machines, Chromebooks have never expanded much beyond those markets.

The documents suggest that Google will wash its hands of ChromeOS once the current support window closes. Google promises 10 years of Chromebook support, but that’s not counted from the date of purchase—Chromebooks are based on a handful of hardware platforms dictated by Google, with the most recent launching in 2023. That means Google has to support the newest devices through 2033. The “timeline to phase out ChromeOS is 2034,” says the filing.

Android goes big

From the start, the ChromeOS experience was focused on the web. Google initially didn’t even support running local apps, but little by little, its aspirations grew. Over the years, it has added Linux apps and Android apps. And it even tried to get Steam games running on Chromebooks—it gave up on that last one just recently. It also tried to shoehorn AI features into ChromeOS with the Chromebook Plus platform, to little effect.

Android was barely getting off the ground when ChromeOS began its journey, but as we approach the 2030s, Google clearly wants a more powerful desktop platform. Android has struggled on larger screens, but Aluminium is a long-running project to fix that. Whatever we see in 2028 may not even look like the Android we know from phones. It will have many of the same components under the hood, though.

Aluminium will have Google apps at the core.

Credit: US v. Google

Google could get everything it wants with the upcoming Aluminium release. When running on powerful laptop hardware, Android’s performance and capabilities should far outstrip ChromeOS. Aluminium is also expected to run Google apps like Chrome and the Play Store with special system privileges, leaving third-party apps with fewer features. That gives Google more latitude in how it manages the platform and retains users, all without running afoul of recent antitrust rulings.

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Posted Wednesday 4 February 2026 at 12:15 pm AEST (my time).

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Expanding on the intelligence features introduced in Xcode 26, which brought a brand-new coding assistant for writing and editing in Swift, this release gives coding agents access to even more of Xcode’s capabilities

Claude Agent and Codex are AI agents that are capable of understanding context, planning multi-step tasks, and executing them. Codex, built on OpenAI's GPT models, can function as an autonomous coding agent that understands codebase structure, generates documentation, suggests optimizations, and even acts as a 24/7 code reviewer that hunts for high-impact bugs.

Claude Agent, on the other hand, utilizes Anthropic's "Agent Skills Framework" to give Claude specific expertise and tools, allowing it to perform complex tasks like generating spreadsheets or fixing bugs with its Code Execution Tool.

Xcode is also integrating support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard introduced by Anthropic in late 2024 to standardize how AI models connect to external systems. In other words, MCP acts as a universal adapter that allows AI applications to plug into different data sources, APIs, and tools without needing a custom-built connection for every single one.

Xcode began including support for large language models with the announcement of Xcode 26 last June. This initial version introduced automatic programming and chat query tools, with ChatGPT as the default model, while also supporting the integration of both local and cloud-based models from other providers through API keys.

Speaking of LLMs, Apple recently announced a new partnership with Google, the makers of Gemini, to use its models to power the next generation of Siri. This came after Apple reportedly failed to bring the advanced Siri it unveiled at WWDC 2024 to life using its own in-house models.

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Posted Wednesday 4 February 2026 at 12:13 pm AEST (my time).

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In what feels like yet another stumble for Microsoft, Windows 10 finds itself caught in an awkward limbo. The operating system was meant to have reached the end of full support, and at a consumer level, that did happen back in October 2025.

However, several versions of Windows 10 remain under extended support for a fee. Windows 10 is now being affected by the same shutdown bug that has also been frustrating Windows 11 users.

This is not a legacy issue being quietly left behind. It is the result of ongoing security updates being pushed to supported Windows 10 builds, even as Microsoft continues to roll out unstable updates across its wider Windows ecosystem. Never fear, though. Microsoft has recently backtracked on several recent decisions and has promised a renewed focus on Windows stability going forward.

Why Windows 10 is still getting broken updates

Late last year, Mozilla announced that it was evolving Firefox into an AI browser as part of new CEO Anthony Enzor-DeMeo's new plan to turn Firefox into a "broader ecosystem of software."

This announcement sparked considerable pushback from Firefox users, much in the same way that Microsoft received backlash when it announced that it was evolving Windows into an agentic OS.

Mozilla quickly dampened the outrage after its announcement by letting users know that the AI tools in Firefox would be optional, and that there would be something like an AI kill switch to make the toggle easy. That promise has now been realized in a new announcement from Mozilla.

In an upcoming Firefox 148 update, expected to arrive on February 24, users will now have access to a one-stop settings section, including a single toggle to block all AI enhancements, within the browser.

Wouldn't it be nice to have something similar in Edge?

Will Microsoft ever implement a similar AI kill switch in Edge?

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently indicated that Copilot's user base has grown “nearly 3x year-over-year” during an earnings call, including AI chats, the news feed, search, browsing, shopping, and “integrations into the operating system.” It's unclear how much revenue the company is actually generating from the offering.

However, a new report suggests that only 3.3% of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 users who interact with Copilot Chat actually pay for it (via The Register). In contrast, Microsoft spent a whopping $37.5 billion on its AI-themed efforts, according to the company's latest financial earnings report for FY26 Q2.

Despite investor doubt and concern, Nadella indicated Copilot is"becoming a true daily habit," further citing "record" AI momentum. Microsoft's report on Copilot adoption and growth looks good on paper; it factors in approximately 15 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats, which translates to 160 percent growth year-over-year.

However, the report doesn't categorically indicate that a huge chunk of Microsoft 365 users have access to the AI-powered chatbot for free, which, as highlighted by Directions on Microsoft analyst Mary Jo Foley, could roughly translate to 450 million users.

As such, beyond the bundled Microsoft 365/Office 365 deals and discounts, Copilot's paid user base is relatively small when compared with Microsoft's broad customer base. More importantly, the software giant's splurge on AI doesn't seem to be attracting similar returns.

In 2023, Microsoft launched its 365 Copilot offering as a $30-per-user, per-month add-on, which it marketed as an AI-powered productivity tool integrated into Word, Outlook, Teams, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The tech giant is seizing this moment to set itself apart from rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It touts Copilot as an AI agent with the capability of acting on behalf of users, searching internal documents, and analyzing meetings and emails.

One of the YouTube Premium features that’s been sought the most by free users is background play, which is only available to Premium subscribers. Free users were using various third-party browsers and extensions to trick YouTube into playing in the background.

But it looks like those days are coming to an end, as Google seems to have patched the loophole that allowed for background play on external browsers such as Brave or Microsoft Edge. If you try this on your phone right now, chances are, YouTube will stop playing as soon as you leave the browser or turn off your screen.

This appears to be true for Premium subscribers, too. Google was probably so strict on patching this that it possibly disabled background play in external browsers for everyone, regardless of the subscription tier.

I’m a YouTube Premium subscriber, and I tested this myself. At first, when I opened a YouTube video in Safari on my iPhone, it immediately stopped playing when I switched back to the Home Screen. However, I found a partial workaround: when I turned off my screen during playback while still in Safari, the video would stop playing, but YouTube playback controls would appear on the Lock Screen. I could resume the video from the Lock Screen, even when I’m outside Safari, and the video would keep playing.

So, there is a partial workaround for Safari. But I assume most YouTube Premium subscribers use the official app anyway, and this “trick” would probably be of no use to them.

Google actually confirmed this in a statement to GSMArena:

“Background playback is a feature intended to be exclusive for YouTube Premium members. While some non-Premium users may have previously been able to access this through mobile web browsers in certain scenarios, we have updated the experience to ensure consistency across all our platforms.”

So, there you have it. If you used external browsers for playing YouTube videos in the background, Google has caught up. Although, as I mentioned above, this has been an unofficial competition between Google and keen power users, so I doubt the latter will settle down for this. Google already made its move, it’s people’s turn now.

Via: 9to5Google

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Posted Wednesday 4 February 2026 at 4:10 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft’s decision to scale back parts of Copilot and rethink how Recall fits into Windows 11 has sparked a wave of responses across the web — and what’s striking is how unified those reactions are. Whether you look at the comments on our original reporting or the discussions happening on Reddit, the sentiment is remarkably consistent.

People aren’t rejecting AI itself. They’re reacting to how Microsoft has handled it: features pushed into the OS without clear communication, shifting priorities that feel disconnected from user needs, and a growing sense that the company isn’t earning the trust it’s asking for. The frustration isn’t about the technology. It’s about the relationship between Microsoft and the people who rely on Windows every day.

So, here's a collection of what people like you are saying about Microsoft and its AI initiatives.

They're not a tech company anymore

Some of the strongest reactions aren't about Copilot itself, but about what Microsoft has become.

On Reddit, DoughNotDoit summed it up bluntly: "For a tech company they're not that tech literate."

That comment quickly turned into a broader critique of priorities. Downtown_Category163 replied that Microsoft is "very shareholder literate," arguing that the company is adjusting its plans not because users complained, but because the hype is slowing down.

Windows Central commenters echoed the same idea in a less sarcastic tone. Several argued that the company is chasing trends instead of focusing on what Windows 11 is supposed to be, a stable, predictable operating system.

AI is fine. Being forced to use it is not.

Across both sites, the most repeated point is also the simplest.

On Reddit, Ihavenoideatall put it like this: "OS should be an OS alone. If anyone wants AI, they can install AI all they want.”

That feeling mirrors comments on our site, where users repeatedly said Copilot would be acceptable if it stayed out of the way. Benji, for example, wrote that Copilot is fine "as long as it's not being the pilot."

The frustration isn't about AI existing. It’s about AI being everywhere by default, with no clear global off switch.

Recall crossed a line

If Copilot annoyed users, Recall has been a loud alarm, even though, from a technological perspective, Windows Recall is one of Microsoft's best applications.

On Reddit, DadMagnum called Recall "a huge trust mistake," arguing users want one AI tool they can choose to open, not something constantly watching in the background. Others were less restrained, with comments such as "Remove recall" and "Scrap it" appearing repeatedly.

Windows Central commenters raised similar concerns, especially around long-term trust. Even users who understand how the photographic memory feature works today worry about what it could become tomorrow. As one commenter put it, once a feature like this exists, believing it'll always remain optional is difficult.

Just make Windows 11 work

One of the most noticeable patterns is how often AI criticism turns into a reliability complaint.

On Reddit, Toby101125 listed a familiar set of frustrations, including broken updates, forced Microsoft accounts, default app restrictions, and constant interface changes, followed by the question of why the company expected no pushback.

On our site, commenters shared a similar view, including File Explorer instability, unfinished interface transitions, and bugs that have persisted for years.

For these users, it's evident that AI has become a symbol of lost priorities.

As one Reddit user put it: "Nobody asked or wants it – just make the OS work properly."

Copilot confusion didn't help

Another shared criticism is that Copilot means too many things at once.

On Windows Central, users complained that Copilot behaves differently in Word, Paint, and Notepad, with little explanation of why it needs to be there at all. Reddit reactions were more brutal, with multiple users calling Copilot in Notepad the low point of Microsoft's AI push.

The issue isn't capability, but clarity, as a lot of users suggested Microsoft should stop branding everything as Copilot and instead offer simple, task-specific AI actions that don't dominate the interface.

Not everyone wants Microsoft to abandon AI

Despite the backlash, a smaller group is defending Copilot. In our community, some users said Copilot saves them significant time in Microsoft 365. On Reddit, a few commenters admitted features like "Click to Do" are genuinely useful, and one even said Recall was something they were looking forward to.

The message is consistent. The technology has value, but Microsoft's way of rolling it out has made people push back instead of appreciating it.

Skepticism about Microsoft’s “rethinking”

When looking at the comments on this announcement, it appears that only a few people believe this pause will help correct the course of Windows 11 development.

Reddit users repeatedly described the shift as "PR speak," arguing Copilot and Recall are here to stay, just repackaged. Windows Central commenters were more reserved, but still cautious, noting Microsoft is "considering" changes rather than delivering them.

That doubt points to a bigger problem. Microsoft can't automatically be trusted anymore.

What users are actually asking for

When you put aside the sarcasm, anger, and jokes, the requests are remarkably consistent across.

User wants AI to be optional and disabled by default. They want a single centralized AI experience, not buttons everywhere. Users want clear system-wide and per-app controls, less clutter, and fewer forced accounts, and they want Microsoft to focus on stability and reliability.

As one Reddit commenter summarized, users don't despise AI. They don't like being told how to use their own computer.

A small window to reset

Microsoft's decision to slow down its AI push on Windows 11 is being viewed as a positive move, but many see it as overdue.

Some users have already switched to macOS or Linux. Others are waiting, cautiously, to see if the software giant follows through on its words.

Windows 11 doesn't need to prove it's AI-first. It needs to prove it's user-first like in the old times.

If Microsoft gets that balance right, Copilot and even Recall might still have a future. If not, this moment will be "recalled" (no pun intended) as another example of the company hearing feedback, but not truly listening.

Since its original publication, the Windows Central exclusive report has received over 55 comments on our site and more than 470 on Reddit, highlighting the strong reactions from the community.

Microsoft can keep refining its AI stack, but none of it will matter if users don’t trust the company’s direction. Windows 11’s AI rollout has exposed a widening gap between what Microsoft wants the OS to become and what users feel comfortable accepting. Closing that gap is the real challenge ahead — and it’s one no amount of engineering alone can solve.

Let us know below about whether you disagree with them or not.

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Posted Tuesday 3 February 2026 at 5:16 am AEST (my time).

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The password icon appears on the lock screen only if multiple sign-in options (e.g., PIN, password, security key, fingerprint) are available. However, if you use only a password, the icon may not appear because Windows 11 shows the password field by default.

As Microsoft said when it acknowledged this bug in November, users with multiple sign-in options enabled may still not see the password icon if they installed the August 2025 KB5064081 non-security preview update or subsequent updates on Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2 systems.

Despite this, affected users can still sign in with their password, as hovering over the space where the icon should appear reveals the hidden button.

"If you hover over the space where the icon should appear, you'll see that the password button is still available," Microsoft explained at the time. "Select this placeholder to open the password text box and enter your password. After entering your password, you can sign in normally."

Microsoft has now resolved this known issue in the January 2025 KB5074105 optional cumulative update for Windows 11 systems released on Thursday, January 29.

You can install KB5074105 by opening Settings, clicking on Windows Update, selecting 'Check for Updates,' and then clicking the 'Download and install' link. You can also manually install this update after downloading it from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

KB5074105 includes 32 changes, including fixes for boot, sign-in, and activation issues. For instance, it fixed a bug that triggered iSCSI boot failures with an "Inaccessible Boot Device" error, and another that caused the system to hang during startup when Windows Boot Manager debugging is enabled.

The same preview update addresses a known issue that caused Explorer.exe to hang during the first login when certain apps were configured as startup apps and fixes an issue in which Windows license migrations could fail during upgrades because the PC couldn't register with the Windows Activation server for its digital license.

In late September 2025, Microsoft fixed another known issue caused by the KB5064081 update that triggered playback interruptions, freezing, or black screens when playing DRM-protected video in Blu-ray/DVD/Digital TV apps.

In the same month, it resolved other issues caused by the August 2025 Windows updates, including severe lag and stuttering affecting NDI streaming software on Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, and app installation problems for non-admin Windows users due to unexpected User Account Control (UAC) prompts.

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Posted Tuesday 3 February 2026 at 5:15 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 adoption appears to have changed direction, at least according to a single month of figures from Statcounter. The latest stats from the tool states that Windows 11 now has a 62.41% market share — a whopping increase of almost 12 percentage points compared to last month.

While that jump is noteworthy, it's important to place the figure in context. Statcounter does not have access to official figures from Microsoft. It tracks billions of page views across more than 1.5 million websites each month. The company explains its methodology on its website.

That data is useful for looking at browser or operating system market share through a wide lens, but we shouldn't get caught up on exact percentage points. Statcounter reports let us look at trends.

Last month, we noted that Windows 11 adoption might have flatlined. That was based on back-to-back months of Windows 11 market share declining and the operating system's market share being lower than it was in July 2025.

This month's figures indicate a change in direction and significant growth for Windows 11. The operating system now sits at around the same market share as what Windows 10 held this time last year.

Windows allows only surface-level customization. You can change wallpapers, tweak accent colors, and adjust a few layout settings—but the core interface remains locked down.

Linux, by contrast, gives users full authority over how the system looks and behaves.

Total UI freedom on Linux

With Linux, you can:

• Swap entire desktop environments (KDE Plasma, GNOME, XFCE, Cinnamon, and more)
• Redesign menus, panels, window behavior, and animations
• Replace system components without hacks or paid tools

Instead of adapting to the OS, Linux adapts to you.

2. Move, Duplicate, or Redesign the Taskbar Any Way You Want

Windows 11 removed the ability to move the taskbar, forcing it to stay at the bottom of the screen. Linux never imposed such limits.

Panels without restrictions

On Linux, you can:

• Move panels to any edge of the screen
• Use multiple panels across monitors
• Create floating, auto-hiding, or stacked panels
• Replace taskbars entirely with docks or custom launchers

This level of flexibility is built in—not an afterthought.

3. Run a Full Operating System Directly From a USB Stick

Windows requires installation before it’s usable. Linux doesn’t.

Live environments and persistence

Linux lets you:

• Boot directly from a USB drive without installing
• Browse the web, edit documents, and access files immediately
• Enable persistent storage to save changes across reboots

This is ideal for troubleshooting, secure computing, and portable work setups. Microsoft’s discontinued “Windows To Go” never matched this flexibility.

4. Revive Old Hardware Windows Has Abandoned

Windows 11’s hardware requirements leave millions of functional PCs behind. Linux thrives on them.

Lightweight Linux distributions

Many Linux distros run smoothly on:

• Older dual-core processors
• 4GB of RAM or less
• Traditional hard drives

Linux turns aging laptops into usable machines instead of e-waste.

5. Use an Operating System That Respects Your Privacy by Default

Windows collects telemetry by default and increasingly integrates ads and AI features users didn’t ask for.

Linux takes a different approach.

Privacy-first by design

Most Linux distributions:

• Collect little or no telemetry
• Require opt-in for data sharing
• Contain no ads or forced AI assistants
• Allow full inspection and modification of system behavior

Privacy isn’t something you reclaim—it’s the default.

Bonus: Seamless Access to Windows Filesystems

Linux can read and write Windows NTFS drives out of the box. Windows, however, can’t natively read Linux filesystems like EXT4 or Btrfs.

For dual-boot users, this makes Linux far more practical for file recovery and cross-system access.

Final Thoughts

Windows is familiar and widely supported, but Linux excels at control, longevity, and freedom.

From running your OS off a USB drive to extending the life of old hardware and reclaiming privacy, Linux offers possibilities Windows still refuses to match. For users who want ownership of their computing experience, Linux remains in a league of its own.

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Posted Tuesday 3 February 2026 at 5:13 am AEST (my time).

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The new "Block AI enhancements" toggle will be available in Firefox 148 on February 24 and will help block current and future generative AI features in the desktop browser from a single location. Users will also have the option to enable specific AI tools while keeping others disabled.

"We've heard from many who want nothing to do with AI. We've also heard from others who want AI tools that are genuinely useful. Listening to our community, alongside our ongoing commitment to offer choice, led us to build AI controls," said Firefox head Ajit Varma.

"Starting with Firefox 148, which rolls out on Feb. 24, you'll find a new AI controls section within the desktop browser settings. It provides a single place to block current and future generative AI features in Firefox."

Firefox users who prefer to block AI entirely can enable the "Block AI enhancements" toggle, which also prevents pop-ups or reminders about existing or upcoming AI features. Once configured, the AI preferences will persist across browser updates and can be changed at any time.

The new AI controls panel will also enable users to manage five AI-powered features individually: browser translations, alt text generation for images in PDFs, AI-enhanced tab grouping with suggested names, link previews showing key points, and sidebar access to chatbots (including Anthropic Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Le Chat Mistral).

"When AI controls become available, the Block AI enhancements toggle will be off by default," a Mozilla spokesperson told BleepingComputer. "AI controls will reflect your existing choices in Firefox: Features you have previously used will appear as Enabled. Features you have previously turned off will appear as Blocked. Features you have not used before will appear as Available."

The feature will first roll out to Firefox Nightly users, the browser's experimental release channel, before reaching all desktop users later this month. Varma has also encouraged early adopters to provide feedback through Mozilla Connect, Mozilla's dedicated user feedback and discussions platform.

Today's announcement comes after Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, Mozilla Corporation's new CEO, said on December 16 that Firefox users would always be able to turn off the web browser's AI features.

"Every product we build must give people agency in how it works. Privacy, data use, and AI must be clear and understandable," Enzor-DeMeo said. "Controls must be simple. AI should always be a choice — something people can easily turn off. People should know why a feature works the way it does and what value they get from it."

Update February 02, 13:38 EST: Added Mozilla statement.

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Posted Tuesday 3 February 2026 at 5:11 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has updated the official Windows Health Dashboard documentation to clarify that shutdown and hibernation issues also affect PCs with Secure Launch and Virtual Secure Mode enabled. The latter is a virtualization-based technology that keeps sensitive information in a protected area for additional security. If your device uses Virtual Secure Mode, it might not properly shut down or hibernate after installing recent Windows updates.

The good news is that the problem does not affect regular customers. It is found on systems with Windows 11 version 23H2, Windows 10 version 22H2, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021, and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019. While there is an out-of-band update to fix the problem on systems with Secure Launch (do not confuse this with Secure Boot, which verifies the bootloader instead of the entire system), computers with Virtual Secure Mode enabled are still waiting for a fix to arrive:

Updated 2026-01-30: Secure Launch-capable PCs with Virtual Secure Mode enabled are also impacted by this issue. We plan to resolve this issue in a future Windows update.

Microsoft has been getting quite a lot of flak from users for botched updates and useless AI features that put Windows 11 in quite a crisis. To do some damage control and calm users, Windows boss, Pavan Davuluri, recently issued a statement that Microsoft plans to fix things in 2026 and focus on pain points, such as performance, stability, and more. Hopefully, we will not get another month like January this year, and Windows updates will be much more stable going forward.

By the way, the latest non-security update for Windows 11 fixed quite a lot of stuff, so check out more details here.

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Posted Monday 2 February 2026 at 3:56 pm AEST (my time).

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Non-security updates for Windows 11 usually bring quite a lot of notable changes, new features, and improvements (all but security updates, hence the name). One of those improvements in KB5074105 is a fix for File Explorer and the shell breaking in specific scenarios. Release notes for the January 2026 non-security update confirm that certain users may have explorer.exe hanging on launch. Instead of getting you to the desktop as usual, you would get a system without the taskbar and a non-responsive shell.

KB5074105 fixes that bug. Here is what Microsoft says in the release notes:

[Logging into your PC] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where Explorer.exe might stop responding (hang) the first time you sign in to your PC, if certain apps were configured as startup apps. This could make the taskbar not appear.

A fix for the non-working tab is not the only important change in KB5074105. One security feature no longer requires a clean Windows installation in certain cases, plus the operating system now has an extra protection layer for its system files by forcing a UAC prompt when accessing storage settings.

Additionally, Microsoft fixed activation issues when upgrading Windows and system hanging when launching Windows Terminal as Administrator. And if your system suffers from desktop icons randomly rearranging themselves, KB5074105 will fix that for you as well. You can check out the complete changelog for the update here.

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Posted Monday 2 February 2026 at 3:55 pm AEST (my time).

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Hey Microsoft, it’s time to loosen the collar a bit and bring Cortana back into the room. Not as a full Copilot replacement, not as some grand rebrand, but as an optional persona for your AI agent.

A little fan service never hurt anyone, and frankly, Windows could use a bit more personality these days.

Microsoft positions SAC as a better alternative to typical antivirus software, as it uses fewer system resources. However, there is one interesting thing about it: you cannot turn it back on after disabling it.

When you clean-install Windows 11, Windows Defender sets Smart App Control into evaluation mode. It analyzes the apps you run and determines trusted software. After a few days of use, it switches to Always on mode, and if you want to turn it off (say, to run a certain app that Windows Defender does not like), there is no way to turn it back on. The reasoning behind this design was that a system can no longer be considered safe after shutting SAC down.

This behavior has some obvious downsides. Recently, ASUS ROG Xbox Ally users started complaining about Smart App Control killing the Armory Crate software, which is responsible for managing the console's hardware. While it was possible to bypass the issue by turning Smart App Control off, that would result in leaving the console less secure. On top of that, reinstalling Windows is probably the last thing a handheld console owner wants to do.

Now, Microsoft is changing how Smart App Control works. The latest update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 makes it possible to enable SAC once again without reinstalling Windows 11 (Microsoft started testing it in December). You can do so by heading to Windows Security > App & Browser Control > Smart App Control. Note that SAC is a Windows 11-exclusive feature that is not available on Windows 10.

It is worth noting that you should not turn Smart App Control off unless you have a solid reason to do so, like running an app you trust that Windows Defender does not want you to run. Or, as was the case with the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, when you encounter a false positive. For everyone else, keeping Smart App Control running is the safest bet.

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Posted Monday 2 February 2026 at 12:16 pm AEST (my time).

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On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, Microsoft is scheduled to begin the rollout of a new Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 in the second month of the year, introducing several new features, improvements, and bug fixes.

In this update, the software giant will be rolling out the ability to resume Android apps on your computer. It pushes a major upgrade to Windows MIDI Services, expands Windows Hello enhanced security for external devices, and lets you manage the Smart App Control without reinstallation.

This update packs some smaller changes to speed up File Explorer, and Voice Access and Voice Typing receive updates as well.

In this guide, I'll highlight the most significant changes in the February 2026 Security Update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2, since both are identical.

Windows 11's new features arriving in February

Microsoft uses the Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) technology to gradually push new features and changes, so it may take some time before you see them.

1. Cross-Device Resume

Start with this quality update, the development team is expanding the Cross-Device Resume feature to more devices.

The feature allows you to resume features from your Android phone on your computer directly from the Taskbar. Currently, you can resume Spotify playback, work in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, or continue a browsing session.

With KB5074105, Windows 11 received an extra layer of security for system files. Now, the operating system won't let you access Storage settings if you do not have administrator privileges. Users will be prompted with a User Account Control when navigating to Settings > System > Storage:

[Settings] New! To help ensure that only authorized Windows users can access system files, Windows now displays a User Account Control (UAC) prompt when you open Storage settings (Settings > System > Storage).

For those unfamiliar, the Storage section in the Settings app lets you manage all storage-related things (obviously) and run cleanup procedures by deleting temporary files, such as Recycle Bin content, Delivery Optimization files, file thumbnails, temporary files, and more. You can also configure Storage Spaces, drive optimization, set Storage Sense for automatic disk cleanup, specify where Windows should save new content, and more.

You can find the entire changelog for KB5074105 in our dedicated article (the official documentation is available here). Although Microsoft does not mention any specific known issues, there are already reports about various bugs and instabilities in KB5074105. Microsoft is aware that everyone hates Windows Updates these days, and in 2026, the company promises to change things and fix key pain points in Windows 11, including the excess of AI features that many consider nothing but bloatware.

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Posted Monday 2 February 2026 at 4:21 am AEST (my time).

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[ January 27, 2026 ]

Cybercriminals are tricking users with fake websites mimicking popular tools like Notepad++ and 7-Zip. These sites push Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools laced with malware.

According to AhnLab’s Security Intelligence Center (ASEC), attackers now use RMM software right from the first infection stage, not just after breaching systems.

This shift makes early detection harder. RMM tools let attackers remotely control infected machines, bypassing basic antivirus scans.

Why Attackers Love RMM Tools

RMM software helps IT teams manage devices remotely for tasks like patching and monitoring. But hackers abuse it as a backdoor, similar to Remote Access Trojans (RATs).

Tools evade detection because they look legitimate. Traditional antivirus struggles with them, as they mimic normal admin actions.

AhnLab EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) spots these threats through behavior analysis. It’s the only Korean solution with a behavior-based engine.

It collects data on suspicious actions, alerts admins, and helps trace root causes. This enables quick response and prevents repeats.

Fake Downloads: Notepad++ and 7-Zip Traps

ASEC found ads leading to phony download pages. Sites fake Notepad++, 7-Zip, Telegram, ChatGPT, and OpenAI pages.

Victims think they’re grabbing free utilities but download LogMeIn Resolve instead a real RMM tool for remote support and patching.

Once installed, LogMeIn registers the machine with attacker servers. Hackers then run PowerShell commands to drop PatoRAT, a stealthy backdoor. 

Similar tricks use PDQ Connect, another RMM for software deployment and inventory. Both lead to PatoRAT installs.

AhnLab EDR flags LogMeIn and PDQ Connect executions as threats, showing logs for admins to review.

Phishing Emails Hide More RMM Threats

Attackers also send phishing PDFs named “Invoice,” “Product Order,” or “Payment.” Previews fail due to “high quality,” pushing clicks to Google Drive links.

These drop Syncro, an RMM used by Chaos and Royal ransomware gangs, plus Iran’s MuddyWater APT group.

Same-signed malware spreads ScreenConnect (abused by ALPHV/BlackCat and Hive ransomware), NinjaOne (cloud IT management), and SuperOps (MSP remote access). All signed with one certificate since October 2025.

Stay Safe: Key Defenses

Users must download from official sites only. Check file versions and certificates before installing. Avoid shady emails verify senders and skip links or attachments. Keep OS and security tools updated.

Organizations should deploy EDR like AhnLab’s for behavior monitoring. Block unknown RMM installs via policies. Train staff on phishing red flags.

This wave shows RMM abuse surging. Early detection saves systems from full takeovers.

Source : https://cyberpress.org/fake-sites-distribute-spyware/

January 2026 has been rough so far, maybe one of the roughest starts to a year in recent history. We receive news of something breaking down daily. It's like an endless lowlight reel of bugs, crashes, server downtimes, and overall instability across all of the company's platforms and services.

The most prominent among the admittedly creative cracks at Microsoft is the one where people accuse it of using AI to generate its own code, or as kids like to say nowadays, vibecoding.

Bashing Microsoft and making memes about “vibecoded Windows” is amusing, as it perfectly blends two things many people aren’t exactly thrilled about: being told AI will replace them and dealing with Microsoft’s recent mishaps. Naturally, that’s the environment where the best comedy happens.

But after the initial laughs, you stop and think about whether the memes could actually be on to something. What if these aren’t just jokes, but an accidental mirror of how Microsoft operates and will continue to operate in the foreseeable future?

Let’s explore.

The Vibe Dunning-Kruger-Effecting

Vibecoding has been sold as the new messiah, a dream machine that can turn non-technical people into software engineers. Anyone who pays a $20 Claude Code subscription to start a million-dollar business, simply by talking plain English to AI.

Twitter (still not calling it X), in particular, is flooded with suspiciously similar posts from all the supposed founders telling you that you’re wasting your life if you’re not making $1m/month with AI right now. All you need is, get this, a Wi-Fi and a MacBook (I guess Windows doesn’t have the same ring to it for developing a SaaS), and you yourself can live the life of your dreams while the software essentially writes itself.

In reality, Claude Code isn’t a millionaire factory. The shininess of AI outputs can easily fool you into believing you’re holding onto something valuable. That is, if you aren’t technical and are amazed by the sheer volume of code on your screen. If you actually are a software engineer, the more you look at the code, the more cracks start to show. It's ironic to see the same people who mock their aunts for interacting with obvious AI slop on Facebook swear by the code generated by the very same tools.

Just like that poor African boy, who’s all alone on his birthday and would greatly appreciate your like, has six fingers and morphs with the sandcastle he’s built on the beach, code written by AI is often riddled with bugs. It's riddled with security issues, crashes frequently, and creates more problems than it solves. Just like... most of the Windows updates lately.

I recently watched a video by How Money Works that explores the broader scale of current AI economics titled “If Not Bubble, Why Bubble Shaped?” And I’m here asking the same question about Windows 11: “If not vibecoded, why vibecode shaped?”

The Clues

First, we need to be clear from the start that there's no way for any of us to tell if anything inside Windows 11 is vibecoded. The OS isn't open source, so nobody outside of Microsoft (possibly not everyone inside, either) can confirm if AI touched any parts of it.

But closed source only stops us from confirming the truth. Enough clues are pointing to some parts of Windows 11 possibly being AI-generated that we'd be naive to dismiss it entirely.

Let’s start with what's almost certainly not vibecoded, and that’s the Windows Kernel. It’s mostly written in C and C++, programming languages in which AI still doesn’t excel. On top of that, I highly doubt Microsoft wants to mess with the most important code in the OS by handing it off to AI.

With the kernel out of the way, we come to our dear friend, possibly the main inspiration for why this debate even exists today, the January 13 Patch Tuesday update (KB5074109). This update caused such havoc for Windows users that it was difficult for me, whose job it is, to keep up with the news, let alone an average user.

KB5074109 was supposed to patch over 100 vulnerabilities and stabilize an already shaken Windows 11. Instead, it triggered a disaster that forced two emergency fixes within two weeks, updates KB5077744 on January 17, and KB5078127 on January 24.

Just take a look at some of the issues that happened in January:

• Outlook Classic became unusable: Many users experienced freezes, hangs, and zombie outlook.exe processes (app appears closed but runs in the background). Unsaved email progress was lost, and users failed to reopen Outlook without killing the process (especially with POP profiles).
• Remote Desktop sign-in failures: Credential prompts failed during connections to Windows 365/Azure Virtual Desktop, preventing sessions from starting.
• Shutdown and hibernate became unreliable: Some PCs restart instead of shutting down or hibernating, or hang entirely during the process.
• Some apps broke down or became unresponsive: Tools like Notepad and Snipping Tool failed to launch, crashed on file operations, or became unresponsive (e.g., error 0x803f8001 tied to app package activation or file handling).

These aren’t kernel-level crashes, but user-facing components where the room for involvement of vibecoding is much bigger. This is the 'safe zone' for experimentation, as potential issues are more likely to result in a frozen window rather than a total system collapse.

And that’s not all. Issues like boot failures due to UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME errors also happened. But these are tightly connected to the kernel, so it’s unlikely they were caused by AI-generated code.

Of course, the counter-argument here is the massive Jenga tower known as ‘technical debt.’ The bugs might just be the result of thirty years of spaghetti code. But that makes the potential involvement of AI even more terrifying. You don't send a chatbot to fix a fragile ecosystem of legacy code and expect it to optimize the codebase without breaking anything.

To be fair, bugs alone don't prove anything. Microsoft, or any other tech company, has shipped broken patches since its inception. Just because something doesn’t work, doesn’t mean it’s automatically vibecoded. However, if we bring the business context into the mix, the clues become harder to ignore.

Satya Nadella admitted Microsoft laid off around 15,000 workers in the first part of 2025 alone, with rumors suggesting the company may cut an additional 22,000 jobs this year. Thousands of experienced engineers who knew Windows inside and out are now gone, and even more will leave in 2026.

These layoffs weren’t caused by financial struggles. Microsoft is currently the 4th most valuable company in the world, worth over $3.5 trillion. The firings happened because the company simply doesn’t need those employees anymore, as the majority of them are now replaced by AI.

Nadella further said that around 30% of Microsoft's code is now being written by AI. Where would that 30% go if not into Windows? Sure, some of it probably ended up in services like Azure cloud, internal tools, and Office suite, but Windows, as a flagship product, is the obvious target for "efficiency gains."

Think about that. Thirty percent of new code, and we're supposed to believe none of it ended up in the January Patch Tuesday that required two emergency fixes?

The Schrodinger’s Links

Here's where it gets interesting. Let's say I'm completely wrong. What if Microsoft doesn't use AI to generate any code for Windows whatsoever, and that 30% of AI-generated code doesn’t end up in shipped products?

That doesn't actually help them.

Microsoft is aggressively pushing AI as the future of productivity. Copilot has been soldered into every corner of Microsoft’s ecosystem, regardless of whether it makes sense for it to be there or not. You can chat with Microsoft’s AI assistant in Paint, Notepad, and even in Photos. In fact, more effort is required to avoid it than to interact with it. Don’t even get me started on the billions invested in OpenAI, datacenters, and the rest of AI infrastructure Microsoft is building.

Now, imagine if, amid all this hype and heavy investments, Microsoft didn’t use AI itself. It would be peak hypocrisy if the company were tenaciously telling users and enterprises to adopt AI workflows while refusing it for its own products.

It would mean they know AI can't handle production code quality, but they're selling it to everyone else anyway. They'd be admitting AI is good enough for your business but not for theirs. Good enough to charge you $30/month for, but not on a level where they would actually trust it with the code that runs on a billion computers.

So, not using AI is out of the question for Microsoft. The company has positioned itself so deeply as AI-first that not using it on Windows would be corporate suicide. They have painted themselves into a corner where they must vibecode to satisfy the narrative, even if they know the quality isn't there yet.

The Bigger Picture

This brings us back to "the aunt test." You can forgive your aunt for falling for AI slop on Facebook. She isn't technologically literate, doesn’t even understand what AI is, and reacts from her soul rather than her logic. But Microsoft is not your aunt. It's a company where the brightest minds on Earth are supposed to work. Expecting them not to fall for the same illusions is reasonable.

If we have established that it is impossible for Microsoft to ditch AI at this point, is it really too much to ask for higher quality control? Or is the company betting that we will accept the broken output because we have no alternative?

But here's a plot twist! I planned to conclude this piece on a pessimistic note, because nothing we knew up until this point gave us any reason for optimism. However, just as I was wrapping it up, I received the news that Microsoft is planning to reevaluate its AI strategy for Windows 11. Apparently, user feedback was getting too hard to ignore.

My first-ever article on Neowin discussed how Satya Nadella said that in order for AI not to be a bubble, it has to provide "genuine value" to users. There, I said that Nadella should listen to his own advice and start making Windows better for the actual users. The latest news hints that he may have started listening.

While there's a glimmer of hope, we still need to see how Microsoft will change its ways with AI in Windows 11. Will this just be a promise to put out a fire, or will we finally see genuine improvement? Because providing genuine value is the only way for the company to stop being Microslop, and start being Microsoft again.

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Posted Sunday 1 February 2026 at 3:58 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of January) 461

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Breeze-themed checkboxes in Plasma 6.6 now always have an opaque background, fixing an issue where their unchecked versions could sometimes be difficult to see when they sat on top of images. Keyboard focus in the Application Dashboard widget will no longer be stolen by selectable items that happen to be under your mouse pointer the moment the widget is opened.

On the bug-fixing side, Plasma 6.6 addresses a rare issue that could leave KWin without control of the mouse and keyboard right after you log in. The logout screen no longer fails to take focus if you have the focus-stealing level raised to "Medium" or higher, and manually de-focusing it no longer breaks your ability to re-focus it.

In addition to that, Plasma 6.6 resolves a bug in Discover when launched with Snap support that could prevent it from launching again after you had previously closed it. The KDE team also fixed a case where the Plasma Bluetooth pairing wizard would fail to pair devices.

Moving on to Plasma 6.7, the team has updated the Emoji Selector window, which now allows you to choose mixed skin tone groupings of emojis through a new, user-friendly pop-up dialog.

You can now set a global keyboard shortcut to clear your notification history, offering a quick way to manage your past alerts. System Settings' subcategory back button received an overhaul, making it more of a traditional back button and eliminating one redundant page title, though the team acknowledges more work is needed in that area.

The Notifications page in System Settings now allows you to preview a notification sound even if the sound is currently disabled for that specific notification. Plasma's network settings now expose additional L2TP VPN options that were previously unavailable to users.

There is a fix slated for Plasma 6.7 for a "very nasty" KWin bug on Wayland that could cause the screen to go black under certain conditions during intensive Alt+Tab usage, with the only recovery being to kill the kwin_wayland process. The KDE team is considering backporting this important fix to Plasma 6.6 if it proves stable enough.

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Posted Sunday 1 February 2026 at 3:53 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 has had a rough start to the year. January's Patch Tuesday update proved disastrous, as it included several bugs and issues that affect users and forced Microsoft to release out of band security updates.

February presents the tech giant with another chance to roll out updates with fewer issues. While the security fixes will not ship until Patch Tuesday in February, you can grab the new features and changes on the way to Windows 11 right now.

Windows 11's KB5074105 update is now in preview for Windows 11 version 25H2 and 24H2. It includes several changes and new or updated features.

Android users with HONOR, OPPO, Samsung, Vivo, or Xiaomi phones can now resume online files opened in the Microsoft Copilot app when they move to a PC. Our colleagues at Android Central looked at the feature from the Android side of things recently.

This Windows 11 preview update includes some features that will roll out gradually and others that will roll out to everyone. That means that even if you updated two PCs to the same version, they may not have the same features.

Below are the highlights from Microsoft's support document.

The future of Windows 11 updates

Following feedback from users, Microsoft has promised to improve Windows 11 and address "pain points" across the operating system.

It’s fair to say that Windows 11’s recent endeavour into AI hasn’t gone down well with its most passionate users. It started in 2024 with the unveiling of Windows Recall, which was met with such backlash that Microsoft was forced to postpone it by an entire year while it addressed major security and privacy flaws.

It seems like things have been downhill since. In the last year, Microsoft has taken every opportunity to enshittify Windows 11 by placing Copilot buttons wherever it can across in-box apps like File Explorer and Notepad, even if the implementation is poor or unnecessary.

This has soured Microsoft’s AI efforts in the eyes of many Windows users, resulting in major pushback online and adding to the overall negative sentiment around Windows 11. This came to a head in November, when Windows president Pavan Davuluri tweeted that Windows would evolve into an agentic OS, spawning thousands of overwhelmingly negative replies rejecting this plan.

It appears this moment of pushback has resonated with internal teams: According to people familiar with Microsoft’s plans, the company is now reevaluating its AI strategy on Windows 11 and plans changes to streamline or even remove certain AI features where they don’t make sense.

Details around how the company is going about this remain light, but sources say Copilot integrations like those found in Notepad and Paint are under review. This may result in Microsoft removing certain Copilot integrations from these apps, or at the very least removing the Copilot branding and pivoting to a more streamlined experience.

This report comes from Windows Central's Zac Bowden, who claims that Microsoft is "reevaluating its AI strategy on Windows 11", which may result in certain features being cut or streamlined. Although there are no concrete details around what exactly may get axed, Copilot integrations in Paint and Notepad are being scrutinized. Bowden further hears that Microsoft has paused integrating Copilot buttons into its built-in apps, with the company being more careful about the actual value being offered by AI integration in its existing tooling.

Another interesting report is that the future of Windows Recall is currently unclear. The controversial feature was deemed a privacy nightmare by security researchers and users upon launch, and while Microsoft has been trying to fix its image, these efforts are seemingly turning out to be futile. As it currently stands, Windows Recall won't be scrapped but Microsoft may reposition the technology to fit some other use-case.

On the other end of the spectrum, Semantic Search, Agentic Workspace, Windows ML, and Windows AI APIs are safe from the chopping block, as these backend technologies do serve developers, and eventually, users.

Overall, it's good news that Microsoft is finally paying attention to all the negativity around AI integration in Windows 11. The company received a taste of this back in November 2025, when Windows chief Pavan Davaluri acknowledged that while he intends to transform Windows into an "agentic OS", there is still a lot left to fix. This is a good start, but keep in mind that Microsoft hasn't officially confirmed this report yet.

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Posted Saturday 31 January 2026 at 6:37 am AEST (my time).

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Judging by the backlash, one might assume Microsoft has alienated a significant portion of its core audience and that an increasing number of users are turning their back on the company. However, recent numbers paint a more nuanced picture.

Microsoft recently reported financial results for FY26 Q2 (ended December 31, 2025), and the figures suggest that Copilot (and the company overall) is stronger than ever. The report reveals that Copilot now boasts over 15 million paid seats, with usage metrics accelerating across the board:

Here are more Copilot stats from the FY26 Q2 report:

• Microsoft now has 15 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats.
• Average Copilot conversations per user doubled YoY.
• Daily active users of the Copilot app increased 3x YoY.
• Daily active users of Microsoft 365 Copilot increased 10x YoY.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot seat adds were up 160% YoY.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot customers with more than 35,000 seats tripled YoY. In fact, Publicis alone purchased over 95,000 seats.

At first glance, these numbers suggest the "Microslop" complainers are merely a vocal minority, and that most people are fine with Microsoft’s recent endeavors. But multiple truths can coexist.

When viewed from a broader perspective, 15 million paid users is a drop in the ocean compared to Microsoft 365’s 450 million total commercial seats. That puts the "real" Copilot penetration at just 3.3%.

Critics also argue that the growth metrics are inflated by "forced" exposure. Copilot is now everywhere across Microsoft’s services, even in everyday applications like Notepad and Paint. This omnipresence makes the AI assistant nearly impossible to avoid. It’s unclear what percentage of those 15 million users are organic versus how many are simply a result of Copilot being on everyone’s desktop.

Nevertheless, assuming that all 15 million people were forced into using Copilot would be naive. But since Microsoft didn’t specify acquisition channels, we can only speculate. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

The report also hints that enterprise customers are looking at Copilot more favorably than regular users, as 90%+ of Fortune 500 companies are using at least some Copilot features. Microsoft is also signing high-profile deals with enterprise partners, which only adds to the total adoption of Copilot.

It is clear that moving forward, the company has to manage a difficult balance: keeping up with the demands of enterprise customers on one side, and appeasing unhappy consumers on the other. If Microsoft can’t achieve both, recent industry trends might offer a telling clue. If we draw a parallel to the global component shortage, where manufacturers are diverting capacity from consumer hardware to power AI data centers, it becomes obvious which side of the scale the company will ultimately choose.

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Posted Saturday 31 January 2026 at 6:35 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

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