Windows 11 build 25231 introduces a fresh coat of paint for the "Reset this PC dialog." It now supports dark and light modes and features the new modern spinner alongside rounded corners™. Of course, you will not use the redesigned "Rest this PC" dialog daily, but it is still great to see Microsoft making its operating system more consistent and beautiful.

Old

New

The official changelog does not mention design improvements for the Settings app—these require enabling dedicated IDs using the ViveTool app (spotted by the ever-giving source, @PhantomOfEarth).

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before using 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 somewhere convenient.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

   

4. Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have copied ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:36390579 and press Enter. This ID also makes it possible to enable the recently redesigned "Rename this PC" dialog and date/time picker.
6. Type vivetool /eanble /id:41598133 and press Enter.
7. Restart your computer.
8. Open the Settings app, go to Windows Update > Advanced Options > Recovery > Reset PC, and behold the eye candy.

If you change your mind and want to restore the original Windows 8-like dialog boxes, repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.

What parts of Windows 11 do you want to get redesigned next? Let us know in the comments.

Settings app gets more modern touches in Windows 11 build 25231, here is how to enable them

Sidebar is a feature that lets you access various productivity tools side-by-side with the currently open page. It also allows viewing two websites in a single Edge window and pinning a specific page to keep it available on every tab.

What is new in Microsoft Edge 107?

• Microsoft Edge sidebar. The Microsoft Edge sidebar lets users access productivity tools side-by-side with their browsing window. For enterprise customers, the following experiences are currently turned on by default: Search, Discover, Office.com, and Outlook. Administrators can control the availability and configure the Microsoft Edge sidebar using the HubsSidebarEnabled, ExtensionInstallBlockList, and ExtensionInstallForceList policies. The extension ID for each sidebar app can be found at edge://sidebar-internals. For more information, see Manage the sidebar in Microsoft Edge.
• New policy to give more flexibility in Microsoft Edge startup. The RestoreOnStartupUserURLsEnabled policy lets users add and remove their own URLs to open when starting Microsoft Edge while maintaining the mandatory list of sites specified by the admin.

You can find the list of new, deprecated, and obsoleted policies in Microsoft Edge 107 in the official documentation on the Microsoft Learn website. The browser will update itself automatically, but you can force-update it by navigating to edge://settings/help.

Microsoft Edge 107 is out with improved sidebar

Frontpaged:   Microsoft Edge 107.0.1418.24

Microsoft's OneNote app has had a particularly confusing history when it comes to branding. Currently, the company offers two OneNote apps with very similar names: "OneNote for Windows" (also called "OneNote") and "OneNote for Windows 10".

Although Microsoft says that it is consolidating these two apps into a single solution, progress on this front is still underway. Under the unification, OneNote for Windows will become the go-to solution that receives new features, whereas OneNote for Windows 10 will only be in support mode until October 2025 and will not get new functionalities. Now, the Redmond tech giant has announced that OneNote for Windows is now available in the Microsoft Store.

You can find the "recommended", new OneNote for Windows app in the Microsoft Store here and the old OneNote for Windows 10 app on the same storefront here. You'll notice that both the apps have the same "OneNote" name and very similar icons, so it's not confusing at all to find out which one you need. That said, the old OneNote for Windows 10 app does not appear in search results, so it's only accessible via a direct download link or if you already have it installed and it updates through the Microsoft Store.

The main way to find out which OneNote app you are using is to open the app and head over to the File menu. If you have it, you're using the recommended OneNote for Windows app, but if you don't, you're on OneNote for Windows 10. The app's title bar will also show the name of the latter if you're using the older version.

Microsoft also highlighted some recent functionalities it introduced to OneNote for Windows for customers utilizing the Windows 11 2022 Update. This includes the ability to launch the app via a pen or the Pen menu.

Microsoft has recommended customers to download and use the OneNote for Windows app from the Microsoft Store as the older OneNote for Windows 10 app isn't getting new functionalities and will lose support in October 2025 too.

OneNote for Windows is now available in the Microsoft Store to confuse you even more

macOS and iPadOS let you turn on the mobile hotspot without pulling out a phone—your iPhone's hotspot sits on standby in the list of available Wi-Fi networks, just one tap away. The same feature is finally on its way to Windows 11 by means of the Phone Link app. Open the network flyout and select your phone to launch the mobile hotspot feature without typing passwords or searching for hotspot settings.

Unfortunately, like some of the best Phone Link capabilities, the instant hotspot feature in Windows 11 is available only to those having select Samsung smartphones. According to Microsoft, you need to the following:

• A Samsung smartphone with One UI 4.1.1 and newer
• A PC with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and Windows 11 build 22621 or newer
• A cellular plan that supports hotspots
• Phone Link version 1.22082.111.0 or newer
• Link to Windows app on your Samsung device with version 1.22081.142 or newer

Confusingly, the instant hotspot feature is not available even on Microsoft's Surface Duo smartphones with their latest and greatest Android 12L update containing all the Windows 11-like design bits.

Windows 11 gets one of macOS's best features, but it is only for Samsung users

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.875 and Build 22623.875 (KB5018486) to the Beta Channel.

• Build 22623.875 = New features rolling out.

• Build 22621.875 = New features off by default.

Here are the changes and Improvements in Build 22623.875:

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

• Tablet-optimized taskbar which began rolling out with Build 22623.730 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel. The System Tray improvements that began rolling out with Build 22623.746 that include drag and drop is still rolling out so not all Insiders in the Beta Channel will see this right away.

[Taskbar]

• The change that adds Task Manager to the context menu when right-clicking on the taskbar is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel.

Here are the bug fixes in Build 22623.875:

[Taskbar]

• You can now swipe up from within the taskbar with a pen to expand the tablet-optimized taskbar.

[System Tray Updates]

NOTE: These fixes for System Tray are still rolling out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

• The show hidden icons panel in the system tray should no longer block context menus opened after it.

Here are the fixes for both build 22621.875 and 22623.875:

• New! We enhanced the backup experience when using your Microsoft Account (MSA). Some devices might notice visual treatments for this enhancement. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow.
• We fixed an issue that might affect some types of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections. These connections might have handshake failures. For developers, the affected connections are likely to send multiple frames followed by a partial frame with a size of less than 5 bytes within a single input buffer. If the connection fails, your app will receive the error, “SEC_E_ILLEGAL_MESSAGE”.
• We stopped the start of daylight saving time in Jordan at the end of October 2022. The Jordan time zone will permanently shift to the UTC + 3 time zone.
• We fixed an issue that affects transparency in layered windows. This occurs when you are in High-Definition remote applications integrated locally (RAIL) mode.

Finally, the known issues are given below:

[General]

• We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders in recent Beta Channel builds.

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

• The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.

You can find the official blog post here.

New MSA experience reaches Windows 11 Beta channel with build 22623.875 (KB5018486)

Microsoft also notes that a new feature for Phone Link will be rolling out to Insiders today that will allow Samsung phone users to immediately access a hotspot.

Here are the Changes and Improvements for this build:

[General]

• The change that began rolling out with Build 25179 to the spelling dictionary so that it now uses a language-neutral word list and syncs across all devices that use the same Windows account is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Users can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Language preferences. This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

• Tablet-optimized taskbar which began rolling out with Build 25197 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel, as is the System Tray improvements that began rolling out with Build 25211 that include drag and drop.

[Input]

• The cloud suggestion feature Simplified Chinese IME that began rolling out with Build 25217 is now available for all Insiders in the Dev Channel.

These are the Fixes included in this build

• When moving your mouse over the sound icon on Quick Settings, the tooltip will now display when spatial audio is in use – not just that it is enabled.

   

[Settings]

• Removed the backplate from UWP app icons in Apps > Default apps and Apps > Apps for websites.

• Fixed the font used on the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings when Wi-Fi was off, so that it’s consistent with the other text in Quick Settings

• Fixed an issue believed to be the root cause of certain network cameras unexpectedly not being added when you selected them under Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras.

• Improved DPI-awareness when launching setup.exe from a mounted ISO, so the initial logo while it’s preparing should no longer be blurry in certain cases.

   

[Other]

• Fixed a rare issue where FindWindow and FindWindowEx might return an unexpected window.

• Fixed an issue where sometimes you wouldn’t be able to use FIDO to unlock your PC if it was connected to an external display with the laptop lid closed.

• Fixed an issue which sometimes led to crashes in certain apps (like Paint, and Windows Terminal) when attempting to display a tooltip.

   

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Microsoft has also stated that even though some of these fixes are rolling out in the Dev Channel initially, they may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

And finally here are the Known issues:

[General]

• We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders after upgrading to the latest flights.

• We’re investigating reports of crashes with a few different apps and games in recent builds.

• We’re investigating reports that various UI elements in apps appear to be disappearing and reappearing sometimes in recent builds.

• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that some apps like Microsoft Edge are unexpectedly showing thick lines on the side of the window after the last flight.

• [NEW] When using the latest ISO to install the Dev Channel build, you might get a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bugcheck citing an error with win32kfull.sys. We’re working on a fix.

   

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

• The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.

• When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.

   

[System Tray Updates]

• [NEW] Opening the hidden icons flyout can result in a File Explorer entry for it appearing in the taskbar. We’re working on a fix.

• [NEW] Chat apps aren’t flashing with new messages or opening a preview on hover in the system tray. We’re working on a fix.

   

[Start menu]

• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that folders in Start menu don’t open on the first try.

   

[Input]

• We’re investigating reports that the text cursor becomes white on white when hovering over text fields, making it difficult to see.

   

[Widgets]

• In right-to-left display languages like Arabic, content animates out of view before the widgets board resizes when clicking to expanded view of the widgets board.

   

Look at me Ma! I'm build 25231!

You can view the full changelog on the Windows Insider blog here.

Windows 11 Dev Preview enables drag and drop, Tablet optimized taskbar for everyone

In the release notes for this driver, Nvidia has also acknowledged the false reading issue currently plaguing its cards. The company believes it is related to an incompatibility problem with the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) and has provided a workaround.

The company has also resolved a few bugs. They are:

• [Cyberpunk 2077] In game map may display corruption [3829994]
• Dell XPS 9560 may crash and reboot when using desktop applications [3737715]
• [RTX 30 series] Lower performance in Minecraft Java Edition [3702953]
• 165Hz refresh rate option not availlable on Samsung Odyssey Ark monitor [3840122]
• When using two or more monitors, GeForce Experience Shadowplay/Gamestream may select the wrong monitor [200633408]
• Videos played back in Microsoft Edge may appear green if NVIDIA Image Scaling is enabled upon resuming from hibernate or booting with fastboot. [3624218]

Here are the open issues that remain:

• Toggling HDR on and off in-game causes game stability issues when non-native resolution is used.[3624030]
• [DirectX 12] Shadowplay recordings may appear over exposed when Use HDR is enabled from the Windows display settings. [200742937]
• Monitor may briefly flicker on waking from display sleep if DSR/DLDSR is enabled. [3592260]
• Maxon - Cinema4D + Redshift3D vidmemory allocations cause TDR or Driver Crash [3659104]
• RedCine-X Pro potential crash while working with effects during video playback [3809401]
• Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) service may report higher GPU usage on some RTX 30- series configurations [3830387]
  • Workaround: disable Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling from the Windows Settings
• VTube Studio may crash to black screen [3838158]
  • Temporary workaround: Delete the file VTube Studio Data\Plugins\x86 64\GPUManagementPlugin.dll
• [Forza Horizon 5] Some PC configurations may see rainbow like artifacts in game after extended gameplay [3685123]
• [Daz Studio] Application crashes after updating to latest driver when trying to run simulation [3838022]
• [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II] Flashing corruption can be seen randomly while playing the game. [3835099]
• When both NVIDIA Low Latency Mode is set to Ultra in the NVIDIA Control Panel and NVIDIA Reflex is set to “Boost + Enabled” in a game, the graphics card will not return to idle clock speeds after exiting the game until the PC is rebooted. [3846389]

The Nvidia GeForce 526.47 WHQL Game Ready driver is now available for download through the GeForce Experience app, while standalone links can be found below. The release notes are here (PDF).

Desktop GPUs:

• GeForce Game Ready Driver Download: Windows 11, 10 – DCH (US version)

Notebook GPUs:

• GeForce Game Ready Driver Download: Windows 11, 10 – DCH (US version)

Nvidia confirms Windows 11 Task Manager reporting is broken with latest 526.47 driver

Process Explorer, as the name implies, displays detailed information about each process running on your computer. It lets you see which program works with a specific file, folder, or dynamically linked library (DLL). Microsoft says Process Explorer is a must-have tool for tracking down DLL problems, handling leaks, and getting insights into how Windows applications work.

Here is the changelog for Process Explorer version 17.0:

This update to Process Explorer, an advanced process, DLL and handle viewing utility, adds dark theme support, multipane view in the main window with a new threads pane, startup performance optimization and more.

As for the Handle tool, a program for displaying information about open handles for any running process, its latest version adds CSV output with a new switch:

This update to Handle, a tool that displays information about open handles for any process in the system, adds CSV output with a new -v switch and has an option to print the granted access mask with -g.

You can download Process Explorer here, and Handle here. Microsoft has a dedicated set of documentation for the Sysinternal utilities you can access on the official Microsoft Learn website.

Microsoft updates Process Explorer with dark mode support

Thunderbird 102.4.1 is already available. The email client is configured to download and install updates automatically by default; this happens over time and not right after updates are released. Thunderbird users may speed up the installation of the update by selecting Menu > Help > About Thunderbird.

The current version is displayed, and any new version that is detected during an online scan will be downloaded and installed at this point.

The official release notes are available on the Thunderbird website. The update is not security related, it addresses issue for the most part in the email client.

The release fixes the -remote parameter, which could affect the integration of Thunderbird in third-party applications, including in LibreOffice. Three fixes have been made to the application's Calendar integration. The team notes that certain recurring events did not show up on the Agenda on first load, and that Thunderbird would set the "Accept" header of remotely downloaded ICS calendars to text/xml incorrectly. The third and final fix addresses a recurring event issue in the calendar. It happened only when users set monthly events on the 31st of a month on a month with 30 or less days. Thunderbird would place the first occurrence in that case 1-2 days after the beginning of the following month.

Here is the list of the remaining fixes in Thunderbird 102.4.1:

• The interface was not updated by the program's dynamic language switching functionality of the user switched to a right-to-left-language.
• Thunderbird discarded custom header data when messages were saved as drafts and later reopened.
• SMS-to-Email service messages did not display images.
• Vcards with nickname field set could not be edited.

The only new feature adds the catching and reporting of errors when Thunderbird parses vCards that contain incorrectly formatted dates.

Now You: did you update Thunderbird to the new version already?

Thunderbird 102.4.1 fixes various bugs in the email client

Frontpaged:   Mozilla Thunderbird 102.4.1

Launched in 2017, Facemoji was rebranded as Alter. It was also funded by Twitter last year, where it raised almost $3 million in a seed round with support from Play Ventures, Twitter, and Roosh Ventures.

According to an anonymous party, Google has completed an acquisition of Alter for $100 million. The acquisition was supposedly completed two months ago, although no official announcements were made. However, speculations could be made as some Alter executives changed their LinkedIn profiles stating that they are now a part of Google. Nevertheless, these top executives did not acknowledge the acquisition.

A Google spokesperson also confirmed the acquisition to TechCrunch without disclosing financial details. According to an individual familiar with the situation, Google acquired Alter to boost its content offerings and compete with platforms like TikTok. As of now, there have been no official statements nor any comments from Alter’s founders, Robin Raszka and Jon Slimak.

Source

Linux expert Lennart Poettering is suggesting that Linux's boot process needs an upgrade by making changes to the intial RAM disk.

Poettering has been tinkering with a mechanism for tightening up the security of the system startup process on Linux machines, using TPM 2.0 hardware. What he thinks is the problem is loading the initrd.

For those not in the know, the initrd is the "initial RAM disk" and it allows Linux distributions to boot on different hardware without needing a custom kernel for every individual machine.

The bootloader loads the kernel and the initrd into memory, and then as the kernel starts to run, it has a temporary filesystem ready for it in memory, from which it can load any additional device drivers it needs.

But since things like graphics drivers have to be in the initrd everytime the drivers are updated, the distro builds a new initrd.  While this works, it is not secure as malware or an intruder could insert malicious code into the initrd, and it will be loaded every time your system boots, even if no other copy of that malicious code exists anywhere else on your hard disk.

Matters get worse when you apply full-disk encryption into the mix. Some forms of full-disk encryption can unlock encrypted disks without a password using information stored in the TPM chip's Platform Configuration Registers. Agent P is very concerned about the way that code in the initrd has access to TPM PCRs.

Poettering suggests creating a Unified Kernel Image built from a combination of a Linux kernel image, an initrd, a UEFI boot stub program and the blood of a virgin into a single UEFI PE file.  Oddly this is similar to a Microsoft "Portable Executable." So, what he has come up with is a boot component originating in the Linux world, which extends the SecureBoot public key database.

Source

Here is the full changelog for Windows 10 KB5018482 (build version 19042.2193, 19043.2193, and 19044.2193):

• It addresses an issue that causes an OS upgrade to stop responding, and then it fails.

• It addresses an issue that affects the font of three Chinese characters. When you format these characters as bold, the width size is wrong.

• It addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Direct3D 9 games. The graphics hardware stops working if the hardware does not have a native Direct3D 9 driver.

• It addresses graphical issues in games that use Microsoft D3D9 on some platforms.

• It addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge when it is in IE Mode. The titles of pop-up windows and tabs are wrong.

• It addresses an issue that affects the lasso tool in a graphics editing program.

• It stops the start of daylight saving time in Jordan at the end of October 2022. The Jordan time zone will permanently shift to the UTC + 3 time zone.

   

You can download KB5018482 from Windows Update or the Microsoft Update Catalog (manual installation). Note that this is a non-security optional update, and you are not obliged to install it immediately.

Those already running Windows 11 with its latest cumulative update might be interested in checking out the hidden tablet-optimized taskbar that also enables a "compact taskbar" on regular desktops without touchscreens.

KB5018482 for Windows 10 is out with fixes for gaming, updates, time zones, and Edge

There will also be a Moment 2 update rumored to hit the streets early next year. And just like Moment 1, we will be receiving more features in it. At this moment, though, what those features are going to be aren't fully confirmed.

Earlier today, at its 8th Anniversary Webcast on the Windows Insider Program YouTube channel, the company was spotted running what appears to be an internal Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2 preview with build number 23003. It was a pre-recorded demo video of the touch-optimized Tablet taskbar, where Microsoft explained how the Taskbar goes from its 48pixel-tall normal state to an even taller state for touch-based UX.

You can jump to 33:55 to see it in action.

This is the second time references to the Moment 2 update have surfaced. The previous instance happened back in early September. At that time the internal build number was 22940. This means the company has had a few development builds since.

Source: WIP Webcast (YouTube) via Xeno (Twitter)

Microsoft gives an early brief glimpse of Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2 update

Highlights:

• New! It enhances search visual treatments on the taskbar to improve discoverability. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow. Some devices might notice different visual treatments as we gather feedback. To learn more about why you might be seeing these changes, see Search for anything, anywhere.

• New! It enhances the backup experience when using your Microsoft Account (MSA). Some devices might notice visual treatments for this enhancement. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow.

• New! It adds improvements to the Microsoft Account experience in Settings. For instance, you can manage your Microsoft OneDrive subscription and related storage alerts.

• New! It adds Task Manager to the context menu when you right-click the taskbar. This feature rolls out in the coming weeks.

• It addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge when it is in IE Mode. The titles of pop-up windows and tabs are wrong.

• It addresses an issue that might cause vertical and horizontal line artifacts to appear on the screen.

• It addresses an issue in that stops the credential UI from displaying in IE mode when you use Microsoft Edge.

• It addresses an issue that might fail to sync the audio when you record game play using the Xbox Game Bar.

• It addresses an issue that affects File Explorer. It is less dependable when you browse for Microsoft OneDrive folders.

• It addresses an issue that affects the Start menu. It stops working when you use keyboard commands to move pinned items to a folder at the end of a list.

• It stops the start of daylight saving time in Jordan at the end of October 2022. The Jordan time zone will permanently shift to the UTC + 3 time zone.

   

Improvements:

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

• New! It adds improvements to the Microsoft Account experience in Settings. For instance, you can manage your Microsoft OneDrive subscription and related storage alerts.
• New! It enhances search visual treatments on the taskbar to improve discoverability. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow. Some devices might notice different visual treatments as we gather feedback. To learn more about why you might be seeing these changes, see Search for anything, anywhere.
• New! It enhances the backup experience when using your Microsoft Account (MSA). Some devices might notice visual treatments for this enhancement. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow.
• New! It adds Task Manager to the context menu when you right-click the taskbar. This feature rolls out in the coming weeks.
• It enables the ms-appinstaller Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) to work for the DesktopAppInstaller.
• It stops the start of daylight saving time in Jordan at the end of October 2022. The Jordan time zone will permanently shift to the UTC + 3 time zone.
• It addresses an issue that affects Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) authentication hardening. It automatically raises the authentication level for all non-anonymous activation requests from DCOM clients to RPC_C_AUTHN_LEVEL_PKT_INTEGRITY. This occurs if the authentication level is below Packet Integrity.
• It addresses an issue that affects the Windows Search service. Indexing progress is slow when you use the service.
• It addresses an issue that affects cached credentials for security keys and Fast Identity Online 2.0 (FIDO2) authentications. On hybrid domain-joined devices, the system removes these cached credentials.
• It addresses an issue that might affect some types of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections. These connections might have handshake failures. For developers, the affected connections are likely to send multiple frames followed by a partial frame with a size of less than 5 bytes within a single input buffer. If the connection fails, your app will receive the error, “SEC_E_ILLEGAL_MESSAGE”.
• It addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) Application Proxy connector. It cannot retrieve a Kerberos ticket on behalf of the user. The error message is, “The handle specified is invalid (0x80090301).”
• It addresses an issue that affects certificate mapping. When it fails, lsass.exe might stop working in schannel.dll.
• It addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge when it is in IE Mode. The titles of pop-up windows and tabs are wrong.
• It addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge IE mode. It stops you from opening webpages. This occurs when you enable Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG) and you do not configure Network Isolation policies.
• It addresses an issue that affects title bars when you use third-party tools to customize them. The title bars did not render. This update ensures that title bars render; however, we cannot guarantee all text customizations will work as before.
• It addresses an issue that might cause vertical and horizontal line artifacts to appear on the screen.
• It addresses an issue that affects input method editors (IME) from Microsoft and third parties. They stop working when you close the IME window. This occurs if the IME uses Windows Text Services Framework (TSF) 1.0.
• It addresses an issue that might fail to sync the audio when you record game play using the Xbox Game Bar.
• It updates the Windows kernel vulnerable driver blocklist that is in the DriverSiPolicy.p7b file. This update also ensures that the blocklist is the same across Windows 10 and Windows 11. For more information, see KB5020779.
• It extends original equipment manufacturer (OEM) control of Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) enforcement for targeted hardware configurations.
• It addresses an issue that affects File Explorer. It is less dependable when you browse for Microsoft OneDrive folders.
• It addresses an issue that affects the button style BS_PUSHLIKE. Buttons that have this style are difficult to identify against a dark background.
• It addresses an issue in that stops the credential UI from displaying in IE mode when you use Microsoft Edge.
• It addresses an issue that affects Server Manager. It might reset the wrong disk when several disks have the same UniqueId. For more information, see KB5018898.
• It addresses an issue that affects the CopyFile function. It returns ERROR_INVALID_HANDLE instead of ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND when it is called with an invalid source file.
• It addresses an issue that affects the Start menu. It stops working when you use keyboard commands to move pinned items to a folder at the end of a list.

To manually download this KB5018496 update, head over to Microsoft Update Catalog website here. Alternatively, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. In the Optional updates available area, you’ll find the link to download and install the update.

You can find more details about the KB5018496 update in this article.

Windows 11 22H2 KB5018496 update brings better MSA experience, right click Task Manager

A few days ago, we published a guide on how to disable File Explorer tabs in Windows 11, because not everyone cares for it. But, as it turns out, it seems you can switch to the Windows 10 File Explorer with very little effort, thanks to Microsoft's habit of leaving stuff behind when they replace things.

Before we start, this trick works on the general release version of Windows 11, so you do not have to be a Windows Insider to benefit from this choice of File Explorer on Windows.

1. First, open File Explorer and navigate to Control Panel from the Address bar,

   

2. From Control Panel, open the navigation again from the Address bar and click on Home,

   

3. Prepare to be shocked, it's the Windows 10 File Explorer, complete with ribbon!

   

What's more, you can take your pick, open another Windows 11 File Explorer with tabs, and leave your Windows 10 File Explorer open. Go crazy!

Take your pick!

While we know there are ways to restore the Windows 10 File Explorer through the registry if you want, this seems like a low effort way to switch between the new and the old way, depending on your own preference, and so long as Microsoft doesn't clean up old bits of code anytime soon, you won't run the risk of registry tweaks being reset with patch updates.

Thanks to DigitalFox on our forums for sending me this tip!

Here's a low effort way to switch to Windows 10 File Explorer in Windows 11

As it turned out, the tablet-optimized taskbar also works on standard desktop PCs and laptops, providing an alternative take on the "Hide taskbar" feature. It lets you get more space on the screen without sacrificing the clock and network/volume/battery indicators. Like with the "Hide taskbar" feature, you can invoke the taskbar by hovering over the bottom edge of the display.

How to enable a compact taskbar in Windows 11 22H2?

1. Make sure your computer runs Windows 11 build 22621.755 or higher. Install all available updates, including the optional KB5018496.
2. Enable the taskbar-optimized taskbar using the ViveTool app as described in our dedicated guide.
3. Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and turn on the "Optimize taskbar for touch interactions" option.

   

    

4. Press Win + R and type regedit.
5. Paste the following path into the address bar: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
6. Click Edit > New > Dword value (32-bit).

   

    

7. Rename the value to TabletPostureTaskbar.
8. Open the TabletPostureTaskbar value and change its value data to 1. Windows 11 will turn on the "compact" taskbar right away.

   

    

Of course, the tablet-optimized taskbar is not intended for use on traditional PCs, so you will have to deal with some quirks, such as extra thicc taskbar and some blank space on additional monitors. You can remove the latter by disabling the "Show my taskbar on all displays" feature in the Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors section.

What do you think about using a minimal taskbar on a regular Windows 11 PC? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Windows 11 has a hidden compact taskbar, here is how to enable it

Besides changes mentioned in the official release notes, Windows 11 22621.755 contains a couple of hidden features previously available only for Windows Insiders: the tablet-optimized taskbar, redesigned notification area, and improved File Explorer search. These additions are disabled by default, but you can enable them using the ViveTool app.

Caution: Hidden features are often less stable than those publicly available. Back up important data before using the ViveTool app. Remember that waiting for Microsoft to deliver new features "organically" is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

We have dedicated guides that describe how to enable the tablet-optimized taskbar and new notification area. Still, before proceeding, you need to enable another ID; otherwise, you will not get the new features.

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

   

4. Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have copied ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:39281392 and press Enter.
6. Restart your computer.
7. Now proceed with the IDs for each feature you want to enable.

It is worth noting that the redesigned notification area currently lacks some of the latest improvements Microsoft has introduced in Windows 11 build 25227, which means you will have to deal with minor UI glitches and broken icons. And before you blame Microsoft for releasing half-baked features, remember that those are hidden and turned off by default.

As usual, kudos to @PhantomOfEarh for sharing the findings!

Windows 11 22H2 gets tablet-optimized taskbar and redesigned notification area

The browser's automatic updating system should pick up the new version starting later today. Firefox users may select Menu > Help > About Firefox to display the current version and run a check for updates; this check should pick up the new version later today as well and install the new update for the browser.

Firefox 106.0.2

Firefox 106.0.2 addresses five different bugs. Some of the bugs are found in new or improved features introduced in Firefox 106, others appear unrelated to that release.

Mozilla addressed two Firefox View issues (bugs 1792680 and 1794474) . Firefox View was introduced in Firefox 106 as a way to improve using Firefox on different devices. The feature works best if Firefox Sync is used, as it displays tabs from other Firefox instances in that case. The bugs prevented the reload button from working on the Firefox View tab and introduces sync requesting functionality on the page as well. Mozilla argues that users would expect that stale data is updated when the refresh action is selected on the Firefox View page.

Another issue that has been fixed in the new Firefox point release prevented the opening of the browser, it if was installed from the Microsoft Store (bug 1796391)

Firefox users could also run into browser freezes under certain conditions (bug 1793748). On installations with accessibility enabled, the browser could freeze on certain sites, such as Proxmox sites. Firefox freezes completely in that case and the only recourse was to kill the main Firefox process to close the browser and restart it.

The fourth issue fixed in Firefox 106.0.2 addresses a PDF document display issue. Mozilla improved Firefox's PDF reader by adding basic editing support in Firefox 106. Some PDF files with forms would not display correctly, according to the bug report (bug 1794351).

Mozilla fixed the column width of the Notification sub-panel on the Settings page as the final fix in the point release (bug 1793558)

Now You: did you encounter any of the issues while running Firefox?

Firefox 106.0.2 fixes a freeze, opening issue and more

Frontpaged:   Mozilla Firefox Browser 106.0.2

The new languages are available on desktop and Android versions of Brave, and will arrive for the iOS version in a future update. Just like everything Brave tries to do, Brave Translate is run in a privacy-friendly way. Explaining the technical side of the feature, Brave said:

“Chromium’s native translation service caches user translation requests, passing that data along to Google’s API. Brave Translate, however, is privacy-preserving and enables users to privately translate websites in over 100 languages, without exposing browsing activity. Brave uses a self-hosted server and the Lingvanex translation engine to power translations, which means no caching, and no feeding your translation requests to privacy-threatening models.”

Until recently, Brave prompted users to install the Google Translate extension because it didn’t support the feature natively. Now that this functionality is included, users who installed Google Translate are free to remove the extension if desired.

Source: Brave

Brave Translate goes from supporting 15 to 108 languages

Each month, Microsoft adds lots of new features to Excel across various platforms, then pens a recap of all the new functionalities in a handy list. And while the month of October isn't quite over yet, it seems like Microsoft has met its target for this month as it has published a roundup already.

Starting off with Excel for the web, we have a single but handy utility. Users on this platform can now quickly search for commands using the shortcut menu instead of navigating different menus or memorizing complex shortcuts.

Meanwhile, Excel for Windows customers also have the shortcut menu along with a streamlined navigation pane that is friendlier for new users or people who are working with large workbooks. You can check it out in action below:

There are three additional capabilities available on the Insider Beta ring too. These include automation of repetitive tasks using Office Scripts, support for 92 new DAX functions, and the ability to paste values using Ctrl + Shift + V.

Finally, Excel for Mac has the Office Scripts automation functionality available to the Insiders Beta ring for now too.

All in all, it's not a lengthy changelog, but any improvements will likely be appreciated by Excel's users. Microsoft has also stated that the updated navigation pane will soon become generally available for Mac and web customers as well.

Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in October 2022

Last week, Microsoft launched an important feature for OneNote users on Windows, improving its accessibility. And after its successful launch, the software giant has started offering another noteworthy functionality, but this time, it has more to do with distraction-free note-taking.

The new functionality recently launched for OneNote on Windows is Pen Focused View. As explained by Microsoft, it enables you to create with your pen without any distractions. What does that mean? Well, it is just a full-page view of OneNote, where you will only see tools you need to take notes and sketch out your ideas, including customized pen options. You can display or hide the Pen toolbar in Pen Focused View from the top right corner.

This distraction-free note-taking capability in OneNote will not be limited to Surface PCs. It will also work on other Windows PCs with or without touch support. However, things are better if you have a Surface pen. OneNote will automatically switch to Pen Focused View when your Surface pen is undocked. You can disable it by navigating to File > Options > Advanced and clearing the Switch to focused inking when pen is undocked check box.

However, Pen Focused View may not work as you would like when you are using your Surface pen in Select mode. This is because it has the following known issue:

While using your Surface pen in Select mode, the cursor may switch back to the Pen tool if you try to tap on ink.

In its Office Insider blog post, Microsoft said it would roll out this feature to Insiders running Version 2210 (Build 15724.10000) or later.

Microsoft launches new OneNote feature to help you take notes without distractions

“Too much and too soon”—Steven Sinofsky looks back at Windows 8, 10 years later

New users may download Brave from the official website for installation on their devices.

Brave 1.45

Brave 1.45 integrates the Copy Clean Link feature, which I reviewed earlier this year already. It is a privacy feature that allows users to copy only the relevant part of a site's address, cutting any unneeded parameters in the process. A right-click on the address bar displays the new option in the context menu.

Brave introduced a privacy-friendly Translate option in a recent version of the browser. The company uses the same self-hosted solution as Vivaldi for that. Now, in Brave 1.45, comes support for additional language pairs. Announced on the official blog, Brave Translate languages have gone up to 108 from 15 in the previous versions.

Users may also start seeing a new prompt in Brave that allows them to enable the blocking of cookie consent notices on the Web. It is powered by the popular EasyList Cookie List Filter, which blocks these annoying prompts. Brave users who do not see the prompt may follow my instructions on the linked resource above to enable it in Brave.

Brave 1.45 includes a number of additional improvements. Users who install Brave and have Google Chrome Beta or Dev installed may import data from these browsers now. There is also the ability to import extension settings in the new version of Brave.

Brave's Speedreader feature supports themes now in the release, and there is a new gradient background option for the New Tab Page in the settings. Two new privacy-related features are also new. The first improves fingerprinting protection by "adding farbling protections for screen resolution and coordinates", the second prevents that private windows inherit permissions from normal windows.

Brave 1.45 runs Chromium 107. Brave users who use the crypto-functionality of the browser may notice that there is additional password protection for Brave Wallet actions, such as removing the account or showing the private key. Lots of additional crypto-related changes in the release.

Now You: do you use Brave? What's your take on the new version?

Brave 1.45 Stable out with Brave Translate improvements and more

WSA's GitHub repository contains a roadmap describing existing features, unavailable capabilities, and new stuff Microsoft "has on radar" for future releases. According to the documentation, Microsoft plans to upgrade WSA to Android 13 and add file transfer, shortcuts, picture-in-picture, and local network access support.

Unfortunately, there is no information on when Microsoft will ship those features. Still, the company frequently releases WSA updates with features. A couple of days ago, Microsoft released an update with quality-of-life improvements and bugfixes for WSA in the Dev and Beta Channel. You can enroll your device into the Windows Insider program to be the first to test Android 13 and the promised new features.

Windows Subsystem for Android is available for Windows 11 users in 31 countries across the globe, and Microsoft is working on bringing Android apps support to even more users. Note that your computer should meet hardware requirements to run Android apps, which are slightly different than the hardware requirements for Windows 11.

Microsoft is working on Android 13 and more features for Windows Subsystem for Android

HEVC, also known as H.265, is a video compression format that is supported by many modern applications. Chrome 107 now supports it by default, which is interesting because of the viewpoints held by other browser vendors. Although Apple's Safari WebKit team supports HEVC too, Mozilla has historically been against it.

In discussions dating back to 2016, Mozilla can be seen emphasizing that it has no plans for HEVC because it is "patent encumbered". Although it has stated that it will focus on supporting AV1 instead, there has been pushback from developers and other members of the community with one comment on the same thread arguing that:

The request is not for Mozilla to provide HEVC video decoding in Firefox, which would require Mozilla to license HEVC. The request is to support (pass through) HEVC when the device supports it, as Safari and Chrome do. The device handles the video decoding, and as such, the device OEM is responsible for licensing all required HEVC patents. Device OEMs have been licensing and supporting HEVC for many years. As of 2018 the majority of mobile devices supported HEVC decoding.

Either way, it seems like Chrome will go ahead with supporting HEVC decoding by default, regardless of what Mozilla thinks.

Other smaller features enabled by default include improvements to the CSS grid-template properties interpolation to allow developers to achieve specific interactive effects, hints for display surfaces with the ability to exclude the current tab, and showing a button to switch display tabs during screen-sharing. Additionally, there is an ignoreCase option for URLPattern, better render-blocking support, and a "rel" attribute for form elements.

Switching gears to experimental features behind developer flags and Origin trials, we have the following:

• Developer trial (behind a developer flag)

  • Declarative PendingBeacon API

  • Permissions-Policy: unload

  • Same-site cross-origin prerendering triggered by the speculation rules API

  • Style Container Queries for CSS Custom Properties

  • Web Authentication Conditional UI

     

• Origin trial

  • Declarative PendingBeacon API

  • Permissions-Policy: unload

     

Finally, in terms of deprecations, we just have the Expect-CT HTTP header that is getting the ax. It was a way for websites to migrate to Certificate Transparency (CT) enforcement. However, Google says that this is now required by default anyway and since no other browser vendor implemented this configuration, there will be no impact on current use-cases.

Chrome 107 will start rolling out in the later hours of today. If Chrome does not automatically update to version 107 for you throughout the course of the day, head over to Help > About Google Chrome to trigger the update once it becomes available. Next up is Chrome 108 which will hit the Beta channel on October 27, followed by a Stable release on November 29.

Chrome 107 is landing today with HEVC decoding support, despite pushback from Mozilla

Frontpaged:   Google Chrome 107.0.5304.63