• We gave Microsoft OneDrive subscribers storage alerts on the Systems page in the Settings app. The alerts appear when you are close to your storage limit. You can also manage your storage and purchase additional storage, if needed.

• New! We provided the full amount of storage capacity from all your OneDrive subscriptions. It also displays the total storage on the Accounts page in the Settings app.

   

Interestingly, Dev Channel Insiders did not receive the feature as it was disabled. However, one could still force enable OneDrive alert in Settings using ViVeTool or something similar. Previously the alert stated:

Your OneDrive is almost full. Get more storage to keep syncing new files.

Here's a screenshot of the alert:

With the latest Dev Channel builds, however, Microsoft has now updated the alert message with a new variant, and it now reminds users about the drawbacks of running out of cloud storage quota in relation to Outlook mail. The new message instead reads:

You're running low of cloud storage. If you run out of storage, you won't be able to back up new files and send and receive email on Outlook.com.

Twitter user and Windows enthusiast PhantomOcean3 has published new ViVe IDs using which Dev Channel users can enable the new OneDrive upgrade alert in Settings.

Here is how to enable the new OneDrive alert in Dev build 25272:

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before enabling them with the ViveTool app. Remember that using stable Windows 11 is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to the Command Prompt profile with the Ctrl + Shift + 2 shortcut or by clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

    

   
4. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:41540372 and press Enter
6. (For PowerShell try: .\vivetool /enable /id:41540372)
7. Restart your computer.

If you change your mind and want to go back, repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.

In case the above ID, doesn't work, you also try the following ones:

• 41562961
• 40733296

Aside from the new OneDrive alert, Microsoft is also working on a whole bunch of major upgrades in File Explorer. You can have a very early glimpse of next-gen File Explorer and its new features in this article.

Source: PhantomOcean3 (Twitter)

Microsoft making new reminders to push OneDrive upgrades on Windows 11

While this release is still within the v8.0 of Macrium Reflect Free, the changelog has not been updated on the official website since the previous version 8.0.7175. Hence it is a quiet release, to say the least, and one has to wonder why the developers did not publish release notes for the new update.

Over on TechSpot, the new version 8.0.7279 can be found with new release notes. There is a new total progress bar, a fix for hanging backups, and CPU performance issues.

• Backup Progress

  • We've added a live backup total progress bar to the Reflect task bar icon

 

• Backup blocked

  • A few customers have noticed backups hanging after completion which could prevent the next backup from starting. We've improved the communication between backup instances to prevent a potential race condition.

 

• ReDeploy

  • Some customers have noticed poor CPU performance after redeploying to new hardware. ReDeploy has been improved to only reset CPU drivers if a CPU change is detected

 

You can download it from TechSpot's website.

Source

Microsoft announced a host of new Teams features at its Ignite 2022 conference in October last year and shared details about Teams Premium -- its add-on subscription with advanced AI-powered features. The premium subscription rolled out in preview as a 30-day trial in December, and Microsoft plans to launch it next month. Once it goes live, Microsoft will move a few features from regular Teams licenses to Teams Premium, forcing users to pay extra to continue using them.

Microsoft revealed this change in a licensing guide update spotted by The Register (via The Verge). It states that "some Teams features will move from Teams licenses to [a] Teams Premium license" 30 days after Teams Premium goes live. "After the 30-day grace period, users will lose access to features previously available in Teams without the Teams Premium add-on, unless the admin purchases and assigns Teams Premium licenses for their users," the guide adds.

Here are all the features that Microsoft will move behind a bigger paywall:

• Live translated captions
• Timeline markers in Teams meeting recordings for when a user leaves or joins a meeting
• Custom organization Together Mode scenes
• Virtual appointments SMS notifications
• Virtual appointments: organizational analytics in the Teams admin center
• Virtual appointments: scheduled queue view

Along with these features, Teams Premium will give you access to a new Meeting guide to help you choose the right type of meeting, along with custom meeting logos and backgrounds. You'll also get several AI-powered features, like intelligent recaps of meetings, AI-generated tasks from meetings, and intelligent playback to navigate meetings using chapters.

Furthermore, Teams Premium will offer personalized insights for meetings, intelligent search, and security improvements to prevent users from recording meetings and copying text from the meeting chat. For all these features, Microsoft is expected to charge $10 per user per month. The company will reveal final pricing details once the add-on goes live.

Source

According to Microsoft, one of the recent Windows 10 updates caused a mismatch in the hidparse.sys file in the system32 and system32/drivers directories, resulting in signature validation fails during cleanups. Several weeks ago, Microsoft published a temporary workaround, but now users can apply a permanent fix.

Microsoft also says users should avoid unofficial fixes and workarounds, especially deleting the hidparse.sys file from the system32 folder. Only the methods published in the official Windows documentation can ensure safe patching.

If your Windows 10 PC suffers from blue screens of death with the 0xc000021a error code, install KB5022282 update from Windows Update or the Microsoft Update Catalog. The release is available for all affected Windows 10 versions, such as 22H2, 21H2, 21H1, and 20H2. Note that the bug does not affect computers running Windows 11.

Microsoft fixes 0xc000021a blue screen of death on Windows 10

The report comes in from KrisFix-Germany, a YouTuber who repairs graphics cards, and other hardware components. The YouTuber alleges that they received 61 Radeon RX 6800 and 6900 series GPUs out of which 48 were completely dead and were basically un-fixable.

When a multimeter was used to take readings of the electronics, KrisFix noted that the rails for the SoC, the memory, and the memory controller were all shorted. The shorting may have been caused due to the chips themselves breaking and messing up the metal PCB layers.

When the news about this potential issue broke, some Reddit users also chimed in about some similar experiences they claimed to have had with their own cards after updating to the 22.11.2 driver.

Intencities92 wrote:

This is crazy. My RX 6900xt recently died. About a day after I installed the newest driver.

Frendion added:

It is crazy to see this because my 6900xt bought directly from amd died around the 20th of december. I luckily was still within warranty and AMD gave me my money back since they said that they couldn't replace my card.

Another user engineersw writes:

Count mine in. I had to replace my 6900 xt a month ago. I upgraded to the newest drivers at the time.i also used the auto undervolt feature in adrenaline software. then, I played Black Mesa with every setting on ultra at 144hz 4k for an hour. I shut the PC down. The GPU never came back on the next day.

Edit - my GPU is a reference 6900 xt model. GPU died after I updated to 22.11.2 recommended whql. Never mined with it. Just benchmarking/gaming/productivity

At the moment, it is difficult to verify if the issue is indeed related to the display driver or something else. Also, the scale of this supposed issue is hard to determine at this point, since it could be like a bad batch of cards.

Source: Kris-Fix Germany (YouTube) via Buildzoid (Twitter)

Beware: AMD's latest Microsoft certified WHQL driver might be bricking RDNA 2 RX 6000 GPUs

1. Restrict unwanted programs at the startup

Some apps or programs that you install on your PC might add themselves to the boot process and start automatically when you sign into Windows. You can stop them from being an unnecessary drag on your PC resources by following the instructions outlined below.

Click the Windows button on the Taskbar and select Settings. Choose the Apps tile and scroll down to the Startup entry under the side panel.

On the right side, you’ll find all the installed apps set to startup during boot. You’ll also notice the impact these apps have on the startup process. Just run through the list and disable the ones that have a high impact. Following this process, you should experience an improvement in your system's performance.

2. Adjust appearance for best performance

Although visual effects like animations and shadow effects add more appeal to how things look on your system, they can slow down your PC. This is especially true if you have a PC with a smaller amount of memory (RAM). You can change this behavior and adjust the appearance settings for the best performance.

Right-click on the Windows button and select System. Click the Advanced system settings link to go to the System properties window. Switch to the Advanced tab and hit the Settings button under the Performance section.

Enable the Adjust for best performance option under the Visual effects tab.

If you truly can't live without a certain effect, such as drop shadows, you can enable (or disable) the effects individually too.

3] Check if the system is managing the page file size

Windows is configured to control the page file size automatically to improve the performance of your PC. However, if this feature is not enabled, you might experience a lag in performance. To turn this feature On, do the following:

Right-click on the Windows button and select System. Click the Advanced system settings link to go to the System properties window. Switch to the Advanced tab and hit the Settings button under the Performance section.

In Performance Options, select the Advanced tab. Hit the Change button under the Virtual memory heading.

Make sure the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box is checked. If it’s not, enable it and restart your PC to allow the changes to take effect.

4] Pause syncing to OneDrive

Syncing to OneDrive is a handy way to keep files accessible from any device. However, the process can slow down your PC. So, as a temporary measure, you can choose to pause OneDrive syncing and see if it helps in improving your PC performance.

Search for the OneDrive icon near the notification area of the Windows 11 Taskbar. Click the icon and choose the Help & Settings icon.

From the list of options displayed, click the Pause syncing drop-down button and choose an option.

Restart your PC to check if there’s any improvement with syncing paused.

5] Uninstall bloatware

Some software or apps that come bundled with your device are often pre-installed by vendors, manufacturers, or carriers. These apps or software are called bloatware. If you do not find them useful, uninstall them via Control Panel.

Inside the Search button on the Taskbar, type Control Panel and select it to open the panel. Scroll down to the Programs heading and click the Uninstall a program link. Look for a program that’s using a lot of resources. If you rarely use it or if it is bloatware, you would like to remove, right-click the program and choose the Uninstall option.

So, if you don’t mind spending a few minutes breathing new life into your Windows PC and making it less prone to performance-related issues, try out these tips. It will help you speed up your PC without compromising its appearance or functionality.

5 Ways to speed up your Windows computer quickly

Microsoft launched a preview for Teams Premium back in December 2022. It's essentially a more enterprise-friendly version of Teams that is geared more towards webinars, online appointments, and other large gatherings. It costs $10/month/user and is expected to be generally available in early February 2023.

Now, in order to further differentiate Teams Premium from standard Teams and encourage organizations to subscribe to the more expensive option, Microsoft is taking away some existing features from vanilla Teams. As spotted by The Register, Microsoft has quietly updated its licensing documentation to indicate that the following capabilities are about to become Premium-exclusive:

• Live translated captions
• Timeline markers in Teams meeting recordings for when a user left or joined meetings
• Custom organization Together mode scenes
• Virtual Appointments: SMS notifications
• Virtual Appointments: Organizational analytics in the Teams admin center
• Virtual Appointments: Scheduled queue view

Once Teams Premium becomes generally available next month, organizations will have a 30-day grace period to continue using the aforementioned features before they are locked behind the Teams Premium paywall.

The move is likely to infuriate at least some customers as there appear to be no intentions to grandfather in existing customers just so they can avail the existing capabilities. It remains to be seen how successful Microsoft will be in its somewhat hostile upselling activity.

Source: Microsoft via The Register

Microsoft is locking some existing Teams features behind the more expensive Premium tier

The first alpha version of Paint.net 5 was released in November 2022. Paint.net 5.0 is the first major version that does not support older versions of Windows anymore.

Paint.net 5.0 supports 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and 11 only. Older versions of Paint.net may still be installed on Windows 8.1 or Windows 7.

Paint.net 5.0

A blog post on the official Get Paint website provides detailed descriptions on the major changes in the new image editor version.

Highlights include support for pressure sensitivity, which enables users to "draw beautiful, natural-looking brush strokes". The feature requires Windows Ink, which most drawing devices, such as the Surface Pen and drawing tablets by Wacom or UGEE support.

Paint.net users who use the image editor for drawing benefit from path smoothing, which applies smooth to the brush stroke automatically, and a new spacing property, which allows for finer controls. Path smoothing is enabled by default, but may be disabled by switching to Unsmoothed path.

The brush engine has been rewritten and supports all brush tools.

Another major improvement over Paint.net 4.x is extended GPU support to improve the performance and reduce CPU usage. Several user interface components use the GPU now, including the Layers and History windows, the ruler, image list, and the user interface for Curves and Levels adjustments.

Nearly all "adjustments and effects" use the GPU now as well, which improves performance. Bicubic and Anisotropic sampling options use GPU as well in the Move Selected Pixels tool to improve performance.

Paint.net users who use mobile devices with hybrid graphics may notice large performance improvements, as Paint.net 5.0 will use the faster GPU now automatically for rendering. Previously, it picked the integrated GPU automatically for that, which limited performance. The user interface and canvas uses the default GPU, which "helps ensure better battery life" according to the developer.

Options to manage GPU-related settings are found under Settings > Graphics. There, Paint.net 5.0 users may enable or disable hardware acceleration for the UI and the canvas, and select the rendering device.

Embedded colour profiles can now be applied by selecting Image > apply Embedded colour Profile. The developer hopes to introduce support for colour Management System (CMS) in a future update. This will "convert the image to the sRGB colour space and then remove the colour profile metadata, enabling you to make edits while seeing the image in the way that it was meant to be seen".

The image resize option supports the two new resampling modes Adaptive and Lanczos. Super Sampling mode has been removed because of that, as Adaptive mode "produces superior quality" according to the developer.

Paint.net 5.0 features even more improvements. There are new effects, e.g. Straighten and Drop Shadow, the already mentioned new Effect plugin system that uses hardware accelerated GPU rendering using Direct2D, and more.

Now You: do you use Paint.net 5.0 or another image editor?

Paint.net 5.0 Image Editor is now available

One of the cornerstones in 2023 is support for synchronization between Thunderbird clients. The system is based on Firefox Sync, which Mozilla uses in Firefox to synchronize passwords, bookmarks, open tabs and other user data between installations.

Thunderbird Sync allows users of the email client to synchronize accounts, address books, calendars, add-ons and settings across devices. More sync options are planned for the future.

Thunderbird Sync

The Thunderbird team has integrated Sync into the latest Daily version of the email client. Interested users may download it from the Mozilla FTP server.

Search for thunderbird-110.0a1. and pick the right language, e.g., en-US, and architecture, e.g., .win64.installer.exe.

It is recommended to install Thunderbird Daily in a different directory as any regular installation on the device to keep the two separate. The default installation path should be different.

Once installed, select Settings and then Sync. There you find a short description of the functionality and the option to sign-in. Sync requires a Firefox Account, but future versions will support self-hosting as well as using online storage from providers such as NextCloud for the syncing.

The process needs a bit of polishing, as the sign-in / create an account page refers to Firefox and not to Thunderbird.

Once signed-in, Thunderbird will sync all supported items by default. These can be changed immediately with a click on the change button. All five items that are supported in the development build can be disabled individually.

The change button displays a disconnect option as well to sign-out of the Firefox account and stop syncing using it.

The next step is to sign-in to Thunderbird on other devices, as syncing is only useful if at least two Thunderbird instances are configured to sync data.

Closing Words

Sync functionality is a major feature addition to Thunderbird. It is good to see that the development team is working on support for other sync providers, including self-hosted solutions.

There is no official ETA on the feature in Thunderbird Stable.

Now You: do you use Thunderbird?

Thunderbird Sync enabled in latest Development build

Spotted by Windows enthusiast and detective PhantomOcean3, the new build has the new Taskbar search that was introduced in Beta channel build 2262x.1037.

It also has yet to be announced Start menu search as well which is pretty interesting.

The features can be enabled by using ViVeTool. The IDs for the features are given below:

• New Taskbar search: 40887771
• New Start Menu search: 38937525

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before enabling them with the ViveTool app. Remember that using stable Windows 11 is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

Here's how to enable the new Taskbar search:

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to the Command Prompt profile with the Ctrl + Shift + 2 shortcut or by clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

    

   
4. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:40887771 and press Enter.
6. (For PowerShell try: .\vivetool /enable /id:40887771)
7. Restart your computer.

Up next, we have the steps for the new Start menu search:

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to the Command Prompt profile with the Ctrl + Shift + 2 shortcut or by clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

    

   
4. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:38937525 and press Enter.
6. (For PowerShell try: .\vivetool /enable /id:38937525)
7. Restart your computer.

If you change your mind and want to restore , repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.

Source: PhantomOcean3 (Twitter)

Security fix aside, latest Windows 11 Patch Tuesday also has hidden Start & Taskbar search

We covered the update several weeks ago, and it is now available for download from the Microsoft Store (the preview program for Windows Subsystem for Android is a separate thing). Here is what is new in the January 2023 Preview update for Windows Subsystem for Android:

• Windows Subsystem for Android updated to Android 13
• Improvements in boot performance
• Improvements to mouse click input
• Improvements in clipboard stability
• Improvements to application resizing
• Reliability improvements to media files opening in Windows
• Jumplist entries for applications supporting app shortcuts

You can download the updated Windows Subsystem for Android from the Microsoft Store. As usual, Microsoft urges all insiders to file complaints and suggestions in Feedback Hub under Apps > Windows Subsystem for Android.

Are you testing Windows Subsystem for Android and Android apps on your computer? Share your experience in the comment section.

Android 13-based Windows Subsystem for Android is now available for Windows Insiders

Interestingly, the latest release of Chrome also packs Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State (CHIPS), which is Google's alternative to third-party cookies, something that it is deprecating within a couple of years. This implementation has an opt-in mechanism for developers to subscribe to the top-level site, which Google claims should enable "non-tracking-related" use-cases and won't be restricted to cross-site cookie blocking.

Another interesting feature in this release of Chrome is MathML, which is a better way to insert mathematical formulas in web page as it reduces complexity, and improves performance and consistency with the ability to embed notation in HTML and SVG. And yet another capability that may intrigue web authors is the enablement of the Origin Private File System (OPFS) component of the File System Access API on Android for faster performance when accessing files.

There are also some video conferencing improvements in tow, particularly related to the capturing of the correct window through a feature called Conditional Focus. Similarly, web developers can also leverage a mechanism to play window audio captured by a video conferencing app through the local speakers connected to the device. Additionally, there are a bunch of CSS enhancements listed below too:

• Auto range support for font descriptors inside @font-face rule

• CSS `hyphenate-limit-chars` property

• CSS 'lh' Length Unit

• Snap border, outline and column-rule widths before layout to bring Chrome's Blink in line with WebKit (Safari) and Gecko (Firefox)

   

That's not all in terms of new features though. There is also support for bring-your-own-buffer (BYOB) readers for WebTransport to reduce unnecessary memory allocation and same-site cross-origin prerendering triggered by the speculation rules API for faster page rendering, and the addition of a field to indicate the HTTP response code when using PerfomanceResourceTiming.

There are several capabilities behind origin and developer trials (flags) too. You can have a look at them below:

• Developer trial (behind a flag)
  • Compute Pressure: Allows websites to respond to CPU utilization changes to improve performance
  • CSS nesting: For improved modularity and maintainability of styling

  • X-Requested-With in WebView: This header is being discontinued

     

• Origin trial
  • Back/forward cache NotRestoredReason API: Lets developers know why a page is not being served from the BFcache

Lastly, the Event.path method is being discontinued because it is a non-standard API that is causing compatibility problems with other browsers.

Chrome 109 should be available for you now. If Chrome does not automatically update to version 109, head over to Help > About Google Chrome to trigger the update once it becomes available. Next up is Chrome 110 which will hit the Beta channel on January 12, followed by an "Early Stable" release on February 1 and Stable on February 7.

Google Chrome 109 now available, last version to support Windows 7 and 8.1

Highlights

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

Improvements

This security update includes quality improvements. When you install this KB:

• This update addresses issues that affect the Local Session Manager (LSM). These issues might allow users who do not have admin rights to perform actions that only an admin can.
• This update addresses a known issue that affects apps that use Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) SQL Server Driver (sqlsrv32.dll) to connect to databases. The connection might fail. You might also receive an error in the app, or you might receive an error from the SQL Server.

Known isiues in this update

Windows 11 servicing stack update - 22621.898

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

As always, this update is available through Windows Update and eventually, it’ll install on its own accord if you don’t install it. If you need to install this update on an offline machine, you can download the update from the Microsoft Update Catalog website for offline use.

Microsoft pushes KB5022303 update to Windows 11 for Patch Tuesday

The major highlight of the release as usual is security updates for Windows 10.

Highlights

This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

And as is generally the case, the Redmond company has also listed the known issues in the update, which is always handy. Here are the symptoms and their respective workarounds:

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

It is noteworthy here that Windows 10 20H2 and Windows 10 1909 reached the end of servicing.

Microsoft Windows 10 January 2023 Patch Tuesday (KB5022282) Update

Windows 7

Improvements

• Authentication might fail after you set the higher 16-bits of the msds-SupportedEncryptionTypes attribute. This issue might occur if encryption types are not set or if RC4 Encryption type is disabled on the domain.
• Resolves a known issue that affects apps that use Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) SQL Server Driver (sqlsrv32.dll) to connect to databases. The connection might fail. You might also receive an error in the app, or you might receive an error from the SQL Server.

Known issues in this update

Windows 8.1

Improvements

• Authentication might fail after you set the higher 16-bits of the msds-SupportedEncryptionTypes attribute. This issue might occur if encryption types are not set or if RC4 Encryption type is disabled on the domain.
• Starting in this release, we are displaying a modal dialog box to remind users about the End of Support for Windows 8.1 in January 2023. This reminder does not appear on managed devices that run Windows 8.1 Pro or Windows 8.1 Enterprise.
• Resolves a known issue that affects apps that use Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) SQL Server Driver (sqlsrv32.dll) to connect to databases. The connection might fail. You might also receive an error in the app, or you might receive an error from the SQL Server.

Known issues in this update

Both of these updates will be delivered via Windows Update (you need an ESU SKU for Windows 7) automatically. If you have offline machines, you can grab these updates as independent downloads from the Microsoft Update Catalog (Windows 7, Windows 8.1). If you’re on Windows 7, be sure to check earlier coverage about Microsoft adding half-baked UEFI Secure Boot to Windows 7 right before killing the operating system.

Final Windows 7 (KB5022338) and Windows 8.1 (KB5022352) Patch Tuesday updates land

This is the first Patch Tuesday of 2023, and it fixes a whopping 98 vulnerabilities, with eleven of them classified as 'Critical.'

Microsoft gave the vulnerabilities this severity rating as they allow remote code execution, bypass security features, or elevate privileges.

The number of bugs in each vulnerability category is listed below:

• 39 Elevation of Privilege Vulnerabilities
• 4 Security Feature Bypass Vulnerabilities
• 33 Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities
• 10 Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities
• 10 Denial of Service Vulnerabilities
• 2 Spoofing Vulnerabilities

One zero-day fixed

This month's Patch Tuesday fixes one zero-day vulnerability, one actively exploited and the other publicly disclosed.

Microsoft classifies a vulnerability as a zero-day if it is publicly disclosed or actively exploited with no official fix available.

The actively exploited zero-day vulnerability fixed in today's updates is:

CVE-2023-21674 - Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability discovered by Jan Vojtěšek, Milánek, and Przemek Gmerek of Avast.

Microsoft states that this is a Sandbox escape vulnerability that can lead to the elevation of privileges.

"An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges," explains Microsoft's advisory.

It is unclear how threat actors used this vulnerability in attacks, and BleepingComputer reached out to Avast for comment.

Microsoft also stated that 'CVE-2023-21549 - Windows SMB Witness Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability' was publicly disclosed.

However, BleepingComputer was told by Akamai security researcher Stiv Kupchik that they followed the regular disclosure process and the vulnerability should not be classified as publicly disclosed.

Recent updates from other companies

Other vendors who released updates in January 2023 include:

• Adobe released security updates for numerous products.
• Cisco released security updates for Cisco IP Phone 7800 and 8800 phones.
• Citrix released security updates for Cisco Identity Services.
• Fortinet released security updates for various products.
• Intel released a security update for oneAPI Toolkits.
• SAP has released its January 2023 Patch Day updates.
• Synology released a security update for its Synology VPN Plus Server.

The January 2023 Patch Tuesday Security Updates

Below is the complete list of resolved vulnerabilities and released advisories in the January 2023 Patch Tuesday updates. To access the full description of each vulnerability and the systems that it affects, you can view the full report at https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/microsoft-patch-tuesday-reports/January-2023.html.

Source

Speaking of Patch Tuesday, Microsoft seemingly enabled native UEFI and Secure Boot recently on Windows 7. UEFI Secure Boot was something the Redmond company had introduced with Windows 8. Microsoft made this big change in Windows 7 with the September Patch Tuesday (KB5017361), though it was unannounced as release notes did not mention anything of that sort.

Secure boot basically ensures that a device is bootable only with software signed by the manufacturer or OEM and it is a bit bizarre to see the feature coming to Windows 7 after all these years, especially as the OS moves to its deathbed. While it is indeed a good step from Microsoft, it is surprising to see how late in the cycle the firm pushed this feature.

Here is a screenshot that shows the option to enable Secure Boot inside VMware in Windows 7:

However, the implementation is not flawless as many users who tried to enable UEFI and Secure Boot got stuck at the Windows startup logo as the VGA.sys and VGApnp.sys display drivers have not been updated. This means UEFI Class 3 systems, which do not support Compatibility Support Module (CSM) or Legacy mode, will require something like the UefiSeven workaround for display.

Overall, it is an interesting addition but it is probably best to upgrade to Windows 10 or newer if you aren't the most tech-savvy people around.

Source: CSDN via Bob Pony (Twitter)

Microsoft bizarrely adds half-baked UEFI Secure boot to Windows 7 right before killing it

ISSUE

When you access a mailbox in Online Mode and attempt to forward, categorize, or flag a message you may see the error “The operation failed”. This issue can occur if that message has been assigned a label from a Retention Policy or File Plan that is configured to mark items as Record. In this case, Outlook will fail to perform the operations and will display an error message.

Microsoft has also provided guidance for admins so that issue can be confirmed. It explains:

TROUBLESHOOTING

To ensure that the issue is caused by the record, admins can run a Network Trace while reproducing the issue. This should result in the following exception being received from the server:

Microsoft.Exchange.Data.StoreObjects.StoragePermanentException: Record label on the item cannot be moved to archive mailbox and the message metadata cannot be updated

From the Microsoft Purview Portal, admins can also check if the Retention Policy that is applied to the message is configured to mark items as record.

Please keep in mind that the issue may not be observed for all the messages that are marked as record.

Finally, a couple of workaround have been provided, and they are pretty basic ones. Microsoft has recommended that users switch their account settings to Cached mode, or use Outlook on the Web instead of the desktop. Another way is disable the reading pane and forward a mail without opening or previewing it.

STATUS: WORKAROUND

As a workaround, users have the option to switch their account settings to use Cached Mode or utilize Outlook on the Web.

Additionally, users can also Turn Off the Reading Pane and forward the message without opening or previewing it.

You can find more details on Microsoft's support article regarding this issue.

Microsoft confirms Outlook mail forward, categorize, flag "operation failed" error

Why Are Old Games Non-functional?

There are many reasons for old games not working on Windows 11 computers. One of the main reasons is the games are not being updated to run on the latest software. Another main reason is the software/hardware used to run those games are now outdated and this causes problems running them with Windows 11. Also, old games used 16-bit software as compared to 64-bit used today. This causes old games to not be functional today. Despite all these reasons, there are a few ways to get old games on your Windows 11 computer.

Playing Old Games in Windows 11

Here are a few methods you can try running old games on your Windows 11 system. One of these should work well for you.

1. Visiting the Microsoft Store

This is the easiest method. You can visit the Microsoft store and look for the game you need. Follow the on-screen prompts to install the game. Try this step first before any of the below steps.

2. Compatibility Mode

The next thing you can try is checking compatibility. To do this, right-click on the exe file for the game and then click on properties. Under properties, click on the compatibility tab and then run the troubleshooter. This will begin the scanning process. You also need to select the OS you want the compatibility mode to run for. Click on the apply button and then the ok button.

3. Third-Party Platforms

Various sites allow you to download old games on your Windows 11 system. You should try these sites; however, make sure you check reliable sites that won't harm your system.

Nostalgia Is Just a Few Clicks Away

Now that you know how to download and run old games on Windows 11, you should be able to reminisce about the old days of Tetris and Minesweeper. We hope one of these methods is helpful to you.

How to Play Old PC Games on Windows 11?

It’s just what it sounds like. It’s the software version of the little yellow notes you stick onto your computer.

I recently started using them. I don’t use them for anything mission-critical, but I do use them for different information I want quick access to.

To open sticky notes, click start and type “Sticky Notes” and then click “Sticky Notes”.

If you already uninstalled sticky notes from your computer

• Click Start and type store and open the Microsoft Store.
• Then do a search for "Sticky Notes" and download and install it.

When you first open the application, it will prompt you to sign in to your Microsoft Account. This allows you to sync your sticky notes between PCs and also back up your notes should your computer crash.

Be aware that if you delete a note or information in a note, from one computer it deletes it from all computers synced to the same Microsoft account.

You can close the sign-in box and still use the application, just be aware that any notes you create are not getting backed up.

You can also click on the 3 dots on the top right of each not to change the colour of each, allowing you to categorize them.

I would recommend refraining from storing any passwords on sticky notes, but that's just me.

Happy note-taking!

If you learned something today, great! If not, maybe share your own tech tip in the comments below!

Hi, I'm Adam, I'm known as Warwagon on the forum. For the past 19 years, I've been operating my own computer repair business. In doing so, I deal with the average computer user on a day-to-day basis.

Every bit of information I provide for people I do so with the lowest common denominator in mind. It's a common misconception that everyone who joins or browses a tech site is a techie. Some people are just looking for guidance. That is why for some, these tech tips may seem a bit too simplistic but they are educational for others.

How to easily keep notes on your computer

Before we start

As is the norm with any guide, there are a few things we need to discuss first. It’s pertinent to note that while the utility is designed to work on Windows 11, there are still a few requirements that your PC needs to meet. To be able to enjoy Android games on your Windows 11 PC, it must:

• Be capable of running the Windows 11 OS
• Have at least an Intel UHD 630 graphics card (or comparable)
• Have a process with no fewer than 4 cores
• Have 8GB of RAM 
• Be registered with a Windows 11 Administrator account

If you meet these criteria, you should be perfectly able to download and use the Google Play Games Windows 11 app without issue. 

It’s also pertinent to note that while the Windows 11-based Google Play Games library is steadily expanding, not all the games available for Android devices are on the platform as yet. However, you can be assured that you’ll find something you enjoy as the utility currently hosts over 85 games from which you can choose. With that out of the way, let’s get into the guide. 

Step 1: Download

First, you’ll need to download the Google Play Games Windows 11 utility. You can do this on our website or on the Google Play Games website itself. Once you click download, you should see a file appear in the bottom of your browser interface, depending on which browser you use. If you can’t find the file, head into your browser’s downloads folder through the hamburger menu at the top right-hand side of the screen. 

Step 2: Install

Next, you’ll need to click on the downloaded file to initiate the installation. If you have been unable to find the downloaded file through your browser, you’ll also find it in your file explorer utility under downloads. Once you initiate the installation, all you need to do is follow the on-screen prompts until the product has been successfully installed. 

Step 3: Get started

Now that the product is installed, you’ll be able to sign in with your Google account credentials. Once you’ve done this, you’ll have access to the entire Google Play Games catalog for Windows 11. Note that you might be prompted to enable the Windows Hypervision Platform. Simply follow the prompts on your screen, and you’ll be good to go. Once you’ve completed this last step, simply restart your PC. This will be in the form of a prompt as well. 

When your PC restarts, you’ll be free to start downloading and playing Android games on your Windows 11. 

Cross-platform capabilities

It’s a game-changer to be able to play Android games on your PC. But, even better than that is that all your progress on your Android device will sync up with your Windows 11 PC, provided you sign in with the same account credentials. Additionally, you won’t be stumbling around in the dark on PC because each compatible game comes with PC-specific instructions and a short tutorial on how to use the keyboard within the context of the game. 

Although panning around the environment with a mouse in many games is a little less polished than would be the standard Android touch-and-swipe mechanism, it’s still an awesome way to experience your favorite Android titles.

How to play Android games on Windows 11

Most browsers don't allow you to edit a tile properly, the common options to modify it usually just let you change the name of the shortcut, and the URL that it links to. Now, Opera browser has added an option to customize it. Vivaldi has had this option for a long time,  and if I remember correctly it was the first one that introduced this feature.

Opera browser now lets you set custom images for tiles

So, how do you set a custom images for a tile in Opera browser. Click on the new tab button, and you should see your tiles. Right-click on of the tiles, and select the option that is labeled "Set Custom Image". Opera displays thumbnails of recently downloaded images (that are in your downloads folder),  it also detects whether any image is in the clipboard, select it to set it as the new background image for the tile.

If you can't find the image in the list, click on the Show all Files button, it opens the default file picker (Windows Explorer), which you can use to navigate to the folder that contains the picture that you want to use. Once you pick the image, Opera automatically assigns it as the tile's thumbnail. You can undo the change by right-clicking on the shortcut and select the "Remove custom image" option.

The only drawback in this feature is that Opera browser crops the image automatically, which is not exactly great, it really depends on the dimensions of the picture, so you may have to fiddle with an image editor to resize it according to your preferences.

As a fan of speed dials, specifically the Group Speed Dial extension, I think custom images for tiles is such a basic feature, and can be a very useful one to have. I prefer having a thumbnail of the web page because it looks nicer than a logo, but the latter can be helpful if you like a more compact layout.

The experiment's name in opera://flags is Speed Dial Custom Image, and is set as Enabled by default. You can disable it to remove the option from the tiles' context menu.

Download Opera browser 96.0.4660.0 for Windows, macOS and Linux from the official website.

Opera says its browser is 16% faster than before

Last week, Opera published an article at its blog, which claims that the browser is now 16% faster to render web pages and handling requests.Benchmark numbers don't really matter, the technical aspect behind the changes are the ones to care about.  These improvements were made possible with Profile Guided Optimization (PGO) and Link Time Optimization (LTO). Essentially, the browser maker ran tests to detect which parts of a program are used frequently, and optimized them accordingly.

Opera says that it has also improved the graphics components in its engine (out-of-process 2D canvas rasterization), to deliver 14% faster performance in games, animations and web apps that rely on graphics. These changes let your graphics card (GPU) handle the heavy load, while freeing up your CPU's resources for other tasks. The improvements are included in both Opera and Opera GX. That said, I don't really notice any difference in the performance of the browser, even with hardware acceleration enabled.

Opera browser now lets you set custom images for tiles

The new version is available already on the developer website. Just go there and activate the download button to grab it. It is provided as a setup file and portable version, as usual.

Note that Windows SmartScreen may throw warnings; KeePass does not contain any malware and these can be ignored.

Selecting Help > About KeePass in the program interface displays the current version. There is also Help > Check for Updates, but it only reveals if a new version is available, but does not install it.

KeePass 2.53

Most of the changes in the new KeePass release are found under the hood. The program's password history feature, which keeps track of old entries since the creation of the entry in the password manager, includes several new features though.

KeePass users may access the History by selecting any entry of the database and switching to the History tab when it is displayed.

There, they find all records of it to view, delete or restore them. New records are saved automatically when changes are made and saved by the user; this can be a new password, the adding of additional information, or the removal of information.

KeePass highlights the changes made for each history entry. If a user changed the password, password is displayed under modified; this makes it easier and faster when using the history.

History features a new "dialog (unsaved)" item, which represents all data entered into the current dialog.

Compare is a new feature in History that enables KeePass users to compare to entries in History. The compare button becomes active when two history items are selected (using Ctrl-click).

KeePass displays them next to each other and highlights all the differences between the two data sets.

KeePass users find a new History search option under Find. The password manager displays a chronological listing of all modifications of the entire KeePass password database when launched. Each entry is listed with the modified value which reveals password or user name changes, new entries, or removals.

Most reports feature a print and export button in the latest release to print it or export it to supported formats such as CSV or HTML.

KeePass 2.53 includes several other changes. You find the full changelog listed here on the developer website.

Closing Words

KeePass continues to evolve with every release. While some Internet users may prefer a solution with built-in sync functionality, that and many more features are available through the program's plugin system.

Source

Aside from Gallery, Microsoft is also working on many new features in File Explorer. We have seemingly already got a glimpse of one such feature with the new "recommended content" folder option. However, more such features apparently are in development according to Twitter user and Windows enthusiast FireCube.

There will be a new home page for File Explorer and the accompanying details pane can have new options like:

• Insights
• Activities
• Properties
• Related Files
• Conversations [sic]
• Sharing status

Another user PhantomOcean3 has published IDs for several of these features:

• Insights: 41076133 / 38613007
• Recommended content: 38664959 and 40064642

However, they note that the features are mostly force-disabled, and enabling them is breaking File Explorer altogether. Hence, we don't recommend our readers try enabling them with ViVeTool or something similar.

Update: The leakster has published new images of the purported new features. Here is what the new redesigned details pane could look like:

The File Explorer "Insights" feature has also received an image, though it uses a Note icon logo for a placeholder:

The new Gallery app also receives a placeholder image:

Up next, we have very early images of the File Explorer new home screen:

Meanwhile, an updated ID list of File Explorer features were also provided to us by PhantomOcean3:

• Insights: 38613007
• Recommended content: 38664959, 40064642
• Gallery: 41040327
• Updated Home page: 41076133
• Unknown: 39661369, 40950262, 41360093, 42052883

Images via FireCube (Twitter) (1), (2), (3)

Massive Windows 11 File Explorer overhaul in works with new Home page, Recommendations, more

As of today, January 10, 2023, the Redmond tech giant will no longer provide the OS with software updates, technical support, or security patches. You won't immediately notice anything different if you keep using the OS past this date. However, because the OS no longer receives security updates, your system will become more vulnerable to viruses, ransomware, and other security threats.

Also, if your PC encounters any issues, it will be difficult to get support without paying a premium. Finally, some programs may no longer work properly as some software manufacturers discontinue support for Windows 8.1.

Introduced back on October 17, 2013, Windows 8.1 was Microsoft's response to the many negative user complaints about Windows 8. It brought back the Start button (but not the menu), provided users with the ability to boot straight to the desktop instead of the Start Screen, and featured a Bing-based unified search system. Aside from these, Windows 8.1 also had a tighter integration with SkyDrive (now OneDrive), a transparent device encryption system based on BitLocker on compatible devices, and support for 3D printing.

According to Statcounter, 2.59% of PCs worldwide still run Windows 8.1 as of December 2022. If your PC is one of these, you can easily upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost using your current Windows 8.1 key. There's also the Windows 11 option, but it might be more difficult to take this route because of the OS's stringent system requirements. By upgrading to a more modern OS, you regain access to new features, security updates, and support.

Personally, I commend Microsoft for coming out with Windows 8.1. While it wasn't until Windows 10 that I believe Microsoft offered the best of both worlds for touch and traditional PC users, it was an admission from the Redmond giant that Windows 8 needed a lot of work. It also showed that the company remained committed to people still using a keyboard and mouse combination despite the OS having a touch-heavy interface.

To Windows 8.1, we bid you farewell.

PSA: Windows 8.1 extended support ends today