You may have several reasons for wanting to change the Windows interface language. Maybe you bought a Windows PC on the last trip abroad or over the Internet, and it comes in a language that you don't favor.

The instructions are in English, but should be easy enough to follow in most languages. It may require a bit of trial and error though depending on the language. If you bought a Japanese or Chinese PC, and don't speak the languages, you will have a harder time than figuring it out on a French PC if you speak Spanish.

Changing the interface language of Windows 11

Begin by opening the Settings application. You may use the keyboard shortcut Windows-I for that, or select Start and then Settings from the Start menu.

Select Time & language from the sidebar on the left.

Select the Language & region option on the Time & Language page of the Settings app.

Windows 11 displays the Windows display language on the page and all languages that are installed. Note that installed does not necessarily mean that it can be set as the interface display language. Languages need to support certain components to be set as the display language.

Select the menu under Windows display language to see if you can set different languages already. If you can't, check the list of preferred languages listed underneath.

Option 1: preferred interface language is installed, but can't be selected as the display language

If the language is listed there, activate the three-dots menu to the right of it and select the "Language Options" context menu entry.

The Language options page displays available language features; these can be installed or not installed. Locate the language pack option and click on the download link next to it to install the feature. The language pack is the requirement for making languages the display language on Windows 11.

Once installed, go back to the main language and region settings page, and click on the Windows display language menu again to see if the new language can be selected from it.

Select the new language. Windows 11 reminds you that you need to sign-out to switch to the new language. Note that you can change the language at any time using the menu, but need to sign-out each time before the change is applied.

Option 2: preferred interface language is not installed

If the preferred interface language is not already listed on the page, then it needs to be added first.

Select the "add a language" button to get started on the page.

Windows 11 opens the "choose a language to install" window. You may use the search at the top or browse the selection of languages manually to find the preferred language. Note that it needs to support "Display language", which is the symbol with an "A".

Select the preferred language with a click on its name and then Next; this opens the installation page. All you have to do on this page is to check the "Set as my Windows display language" box to make it the new display language.

Select Install to complete the process. Windows returns to the main language & region settings page, and you are asked to sign-out to complete the interface language change.

Windows 11 will use the new interface language throughout the operating system starting with the next sign-in.

How to change the Windows 11 display language

The app requires Windows 10 version 22000.0 (ie. Windows 11) and 16 GB RAM is recommended.

Microsoft has confirmed that Android apps will not be available on Windows 11 at launch, but with the work ongoing, it will presumably not take too long after.

The app, which is currently unavailable can be seen in the Store here.

via Firecube

Amazon App Store app for Windows 11 spotted in the Microsoft Store

Like all browsers, Mozilla Firefox automatically configures a browser to a default search engine for performing searches via the address bar.

For example, Google is the default search engine for Chrome, Brave, and Firefox, while not surprisingly, Bing is the default search engine for Microsoft Edge.

While it's no surprise that Chrome uses Google search, it is not as apparent why Mozilla would as well.

This is because Google and Mozilla reportedly signed a deal where Google pays between $400-$450 million per year until 2023 for Firefox to use Google Search as the default search engine.

With this deal being the largest revenue generator for Mozilla, it comes as a surprise to see that they have now started experimenting with Bing as the default search engine for a small subset of users.

Testing Bing as the default search engine

As first reported by Ghacks, a new SUMO search experiment launched on September 6th, 2021, will configure Bing as the default search engine for 1% of all Firefox Desktop users.

"From September 6th, 2021 1% of the Desktop user base will be experimenting with Bing as the default search engine. The study will last into early 2022, likely wrapping up by the end of January," reads the SUMO study description.

To check if you are enlisted in this or other studies, you can type about:studies in the Firefox address bar and press enter. The browser will display a screen with all studies that your browser is enrolled in.

Firefox users whose default search engine is changed can use the following steps to switch to a different one.

It is not clear why Mozilla is performing this test, considering Google comprises most of their revenue stream.

With the current Google contract expiring in fifteen months, Mozilla may be thinking about striking a deal with Microsoft instead.

BleepingComputer has contacted Mozilla with questions about the study but has not heard back at this time.

Mozilla tests Microsoft Bing as the default Firefox search engine

With this update, users will be able to easily identify the right file and access primary commands. The new simplified view will permit users to focus on the content while at the same time being visually pleasing.

The new command bar will be available in both the  OneDrive and SharePoint web viewer.

It will begin rolling out in mid-September and expect to be complete in late September to early October.

Microsoft is updating the OneDrive web app command bar

Whoever dubbed the printer-driver related privilege escalation bug PrintNightmare was very prescient, as it seems Microsoft’s troubles related to the exploit are never-ending.

Microsoft rolled out a patch for the issue in this month’s Patch Tuesday, and the company has now confirmed that the patch does break network printing in some circumstances.

Those affected by the bug will find their PC requesting Administrator credentials every time apps attempt to print.

Microsoft writes:

Error Description

 

After installing KB5005033 or a later update, certain printers in some environments using Point and Print may display a “Trust this printer” prompt and require administrator credentials to install when an application tries to access print to a print server or a print client connects to a print server. This is caused by a printer driver using the same file name on the print client and the print server, but the server has a newer version of the file. When the print client connects to the print server, it finds a newer driver file and is prompted to update the drivers on the print client, but the file in the package

 

Workaround: Make sure that you are using the latest drivers for all of your printing devices and, if possible, use the same version of the printer driver on the print client and the print server.

 

Solution: This problem is fixed externally by adjusting the printer drivers in your environment. If updating the drivers in your environment does not solve the problem, please contact the support of your printer manufacturer (OEM). For more information, see Q1 / A1 in the Frequently Asked Questions section of KB5005652.

Microsoft refers users to their printer company for a fix, but I suspect those affected will likely be in some chaos for some time.

via Winfuture

Microsoft’s PrintNightmare fix breaks corporate printing

As spotted by XDA, a listing for PowerToys has appeared in the Microsoft Store present in Windows 11. It essentially offers consumers another way to get access to the utilities. Prior to this, the only ways to get PowerToys were to either download the installer from GitHub or use a package manager like winget.

Interestingly, as noted by some on GitHub, it isn't a "conventional" listing that we are familiar with on Windows 10. Instead, it downloads a regular installer through which you can then install PowerToys. This is because the Microsoft Store in Windows 11 supports any and all apps, irrespective of their framework and technology. This essentially means that developers can publish Win32, .NET, UWP, Xamarin, Electron, React Native, Java, and Progressive Web Apps directly to the storefront, and will be responsible for its update mechanism.

Unfortunately, the listing does not appear to be live on any of our machines and Virtual Machines (VMs) running Windows 11, so we have not been able to validate the aforementioned claim. Based on the wording of PowerToys lead Clint Rutkas and the release status of a request on GitHub, it seems like it was a premature listing that has now been pulled.

Regardless, this is not the "first-party" application to make its way to the Microsoft Store in Windows 11. Microsoft Edge, Visual Studio, and Visual Studio Code are already available in the storefront in Microsoft's latest OS.

PowerToys is coming to the Microsoft Store in Windows 11

Changelog

Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Apply default sensitivity labels when modifying existing files

Up until now, default sensitivity labels, configured by your administrator, were automatically applied when a file was created. Now, labels are applied whenever a document, worksheet, or presentation is either created or modified. Note that you can select a different label if one better matches the sensitivity of a given file.

Word

Notable fixes

• We fixed an issue that negatively impacted the typing speed in a document when an animated GIF is playing.
• We fixed an issue that caused the Save indicator to stop responding.

Excel

Notable fix

• We fixed an issue that caused an insufficient memory warning to appear when copying and pasting content.

PowerPoint

Notable fix

• We fixed an issue where ink would not be displayed when a PowerPoint slide was pasted in another program.

Outlook

Notable fix

• We fixed an issue that negatively impacted the typing speed in a document when an animated GIF is playing.

Project

Notable fix

• We fixed an issue that caused the Visual Basic Applications (VBA) OrganizerMoveItem method that is used to move custom field information from one project to another to not work properly when the Name parameter is omitted.

To update to the latest Microsoft Office Insider Preview Build, open any Office program and go to File> Account> Update Options> Update Now.

Microsoft releases new Windows Office Insider Preview Build 14509.20000 for Beta Channel subscribers

Released less than a month ago, the LibreOffice 7.2 office suite has been already adopted by hundreds of thousands of computer users as it’s another great release of the popular, cross-platform and free office suite that continues to improve the interoperability with the MS Office document formats.

LibreOffice 7.2 is also the first release of the powerful office suite to add native support for Apple M1 machines, and, as expected, it packs dozens of other new features and improvements across all of its core components, such as Writer, Calc, Impress & Draw, or Chart.

Now, LibreOffice 7.2.1 is here as the first maintenance update to the LibreOffice 7.2 series, fixing as many as 87 bugs across all core components. Detailed about these bug fixes are provided in the changelogs from the RC1 and RC2 development milestones.

Therefore, if you’ve already adopted the LibreOffice 7.2 office suite on your GNU/Linux distributions, it is highly recommended that you update your installations to LibreOffice 7.2.1 as soon as the new packages arrive in the stable software repositories. For Debian and Red Hat Enterprise Linux-based distros, you can download the binaries from the official website right now.

The Document Foundation recommends the LibreOffice 7.2 family only for technology enthusiasts and power users, as the rest of you should install the well-tested LibreOffice 7.1.6 update instead. Of course, for enterprise deployments, you should use the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications.

LibreOffice 7.2 is supported by The Document Foundation until June 12th, 2022, and the next point release, LibreOffice 7.2.2, is planned for mid-October 2021. On the other hand, the LibreOffice 7.1 series will be supported until November 30th, 2021, so make sure you update to LibreOffice 7.2 until then.

Source

As for the fixes themselves, there's a few that are listed below, but readers might need to be aware that this build also introduces the TPM requirements in Virtual Machines, meaning updates will be blocked if you are running Windows 11 in anything but VMWare Workstation Pro or Hyper-V Manager that is included in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows.

• Addressed an issue where if you enable then disable a contrast theme, it would lead to artifacts in title bars, in some cases making the minimize/maximize/close buttons hard to see and use.
• Fixed a crash with certain connected devices that could result in not being able to use Bluetooth.
• Mitigated an issue that was resulting in subtitles not appearing when expected in certain apps, particularly Japanese language subtitles.
• Fixed an issue that was causing certain PCs to bugcheck during modern standby.
• Mitigated an issue when typing with certain 3rd party IMEs into the search box in Settings that could result in the candidate window being rendered elsewhere on-screen (not attached to the search box) and/or characters inserted into the search box not displaying.
• We fixed an issue that causes PowerShell to create an infinite number of child directories. This issue occurs when you use the PowerShell Move-Item command to move a directory to one of its children. As a result, the volume fills up and the system stops responding.
• This build includes a change that aligns the enforcement of the Windows 11 system requirements on Virtual Machines (VMs) to be the same as it is for physical PCs. Previously created VMs running Insider Preview builds may not update to the latest preview builds. In Hyper-V, VMs need to be created as a Generation 2 VM. For more details on the Windows 11 system requirements – see this blog post here.

The build, however, contains a the exact same list of known issues as the previous one, released a week ago. It is anybody’s guess if these issues will be fixed in time for general availability, or if the OS ships with a few known issues, something that has happened in the past with certain Windows 10 versions.

Here is the complete list of issues:

[General]

• We’re investigating reports from Insiders in the Beta Channel where after upgrading to Windows 11, they are not seeing the new Taskbar and the Start menu doesn’t work. To workaround this if you are impacted, please try going to Windows Update > Update history, uninstalling the latest cumulative update for Windows, and the reinstall it by checking for updates.
• We’re working on a fix for an issue that is causing some Surface Pro X’s to bugcheck with a WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR.

[Start]

• In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.
• System and Windows Terminal is missing when right-clicking on the Start button (WIN + X).

[Taskbar]

• The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.

[Search]

• After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.
• Search panel might appear as black and not display any content below the search box.

[Widgets]

• The widgets board may appear empty. To work around the issue, you can sign out and then sign back in again.
• Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors. If you encounter this, you can launch the widgets via touch or WIN + W shortcut on your actual PC display first and then launch on your secondary monitors.

[Microsoft Store]

• We continue to work to improve search relevance in the Store.

[Windows Sandbox]

• Within Windows Sandbox, the language input switcher does not launch after clicking the switcher icon on the Taskbar. As a workaround, users can switch their input language via any of the following hardware keyboard shortcuts: Alt + Shift, Ctrl + Shift, or Win + Space (the third option is available only if Sandbox is full-screened).
• Within Windows Sandbox, the IME context menu does not launch after clicking the IME icon in the Taskbar. As workarounds, users can access the functionalities of the IME context menu with either of following methods:
  • Accessing the IME settings via Settings > Time & language > Language & region > (e.g., Japanese) three dots > Language options > (e.g., Microsoft IME) three dots > Keyboard options.
    • Optionally, you may also enable the IME toolbar, an alternative UI, to quickly invoke specific IME functions. Continuing from above, navigate to Keyboard options > Appearance > Use IME toolbar.
  • Using the unique set of hardware keyboard shortcuts associated with each IME-supported language. (See: Japanese IME Shortcuts, Traditional Chinese IME Shortcuts).

As usual, Beta channel users can check for updates via Windows Update to pull the build. It will not be surprising to soon see Windows 11 builds head to the Release Preview channel for consumers since they have already begun being made available for commercial testing.

Windows 11 build 22000.194 adds update block for Virtual Machines in Beta channel

In the changelog for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.194 Microsoft confirmed that support for TPM 2.0 will now be required to run Windows 11 on a virtual machine.

Microsoft writes:

This build includes a change that aligns the enforcement of the Windows 11 system requirements on Virtual Machines (VMs) to be the same as it is for physical PCs. Previously created VMs running Insider Preview builds may not update to the latest preview builds. In Hyper-V, VMs need to be created as a Generation 2 VM.

Effectively this means Windows 11 will only run in VMWare Workstation Pro (which costs more than £200) or Hyper-V Manager that is included in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows.

The news will introduce a new frustration for hobbyists, who may already have been unable to throw Windows 11 on older spare PCs or laptops they may have had lying around.

via Neowin

Microsoft confirms Windows 11 will not support most Virtual Machines

Users on Twitter are reporting the following issue warning.

Microsoft recently clarified the requirements for Insiders to continue with the program, saying that Windows Insiders whose PCs do not meet minimum Windows 11 requirements (e.g. TPM 2.0) but who could still install the OS would be able to continue with the program.

It is unclear what has changed or if the interpretation of Microsoft’s original clarification has been incorrect. Hopefully, more information will become available shortly.

The latest Windows 11 Insider Build 22458 is enforcing TPM 2.0 requirement for Virtual Machines

Microsoft announced a commercial preview of its LTSC releases in April, and now it has announced that Office LTSC has become generally available (GA) to organizations starting today while Office 2021 will hit GA on October 5, which is the same date as Windows 11's general rollout.

Microsoft has emphasized that Microsoft 365's subscription-based system is its preferred direction for the future, it understands that in some scenarios, organizations can't migrate to the cloud or connect certain services to the internet. As such, LTSC releases has more value for them. Although this LTSC release contains performance enhancements and improved accessibility, Microsoft has noted that it cannot take advantage of cloud-driven hybrid security capabilities, AI automation, and real-time collaboration. The company has noted that it will be making "investments" to make it easier for LTSC customers to shift to Microsoft 365 in the future.

Although you can dive into the full feature-set in Microsoft's documentation here, some highlights are that Office LTSC supports OpenDocument format (ODF 1.3), includes more Office Add-ins JavaScript APIs, and features new languages. It is also getting Dynamic Arrays and the new XLOOKUP function in Excel, Line Focus in Word, and the ability to record a slideshow with narration in PowerPoint.

Another major change from previous releases is that Office LTSC ships with Teams as part of the installed features, rather than Skype for Business, but Teams is treated differently than other Office apps. Unlike the others, it will continue to get updates continuously over time, but you also only get access to the free version of Teams, since the premium version is licensed separately. You can learn more about managing the free version of Teams here.

Office 2021 is the consumer version of "perpetual" Office and will replace Office 2019 on October 5, 2021. It will be available on Windows and macOS just like Office LTSC. If you're an IT admin at an organization looking to upgrade to Office LTSC generally available today, you can go through Microsoft's deployment instructions here.

Microsoft Office 2021 is coming on October 5, LTSC available today

On Tuesday, Microsoft released sixty security updates and fixes for numerous bugs as part of their monthly Patch Tuesday updates, including a fix for the last remaining PrintNightmare vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-36958.

This vulnerability is critical to fix as it is used by numerous ransomware gangs and threat actors to immediately gain SYSTEM privileges on vulnerable devices, as demonstrated below.

However, many Windows system administrators are now reporting [1, 2] that their computers can no longer print to network printers after installing the PrintNightmare fixes on their print servers.

In conversations with multiple Windows admins dealing with these issues, they all told BleepingComputer that the updates are breaking their network printing, and they can only fix them by removing the updates.

"The problem has happened for us on different sites. The print servers were 2012R2 and 2016. All worked fine before the update," one administrator told BleepingComputer.

"After yesterday’s Windows Update, none of the network computers can print to Windows 10 computer we use as a print server," another admin told BleepingComputer.

"As far as i know, this affected both printers with v3 and v4 drivers, but I'm not 100% sure (this issue was different from the issue emerged with the previous update which broke v3 printers). After uninstalling the patch on the server everything got back to normal," another admin told us yesterday.

While all users are experiencing problems with network printing, they do not see the same errors.

For example, one person told us that their devices are displaying a 4098 Warning in the Application event logs. This error states, "The user" preference item in the" Group Policy Object did not apply because it failed with error code '0x8007011b' This error was suppressed."

Another admin told us that their Printer ports tab was blank, while another said they received "Access Denied" errors.

These issues also appear to be affecting all network printers, including HP, Canon, Konica Minolta, and label printers, and for both Type 3 and Type 4 printer drivers.

Those with USB printers connected directly to their computers are not having any issues.

The updates associated with the new PrintNightmare security update and the subsequent network printing problems are:

• KB5005568 (Windows Server 2019)
• KB5005613 (Windows Server 2012 R2)
• KB5005627 (Windows Server 2012 R2)
• KB5005623 (Windows Server 2012)
• KB5005607 (Windows Server 2012)
• KB5005606 (Windows Server 2008)
• KB5005618 (Windows Server 2008)
• KB5005565 (Windows 10 2004, 20H2, and 21H1)
• KB5005566 (Windows 10 1909)
• KB5005615 (Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2)

PrintNightmare fixes causing significant problems

Unfortunately, to fix the PrintNightmare vulnerabilities, Microsoft has had to make significant changes over the past two months to the Windows Point and Print feature and how drivers can be installed from a print server.

These changes include requiring administrator privileges to install a printer driver via the Point and Print feature.

Once Microsoft made these changes, Windows users began receiving errors when trying to print, or Windows would prompt for an administrative password to update printer drivers.

While Microsoft has introduced new registry settings that allow you to control these changes, disabling them will once again make a Windows device vulnerable.

According to security researcher Benjamin Delpy, this week's PrintNightmare fix also introduced new changes that automatically block the CopyFiles directive print driver feature.

Admins can configure this change via the Windows Registry CopyFilesPolicy value under the HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers key. When set to '1', CopyFiles will be enabled again.

If other printer drivers are used in your organization that uses the CopyFiles directive, they will no longer work, leading to further conflicts.

BleepingComputer has contacted Microsoft with questions about these issues but has not heard back at this time.

New Windows security updates break network printing

The official Silverlight hub on the Microsoft website has a banner at the top that reminds users visiting it about the upcoming end of support.

Silverlight is not available anymore already on Mac OS devices, and browser makers such as Google or Mozilla removed support for Silverlight in their browsers in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Microsoft's Edge browser does not support Silverlight, but the integrated IE Mode of the browser supports it. Internet Explorer 11, which is set to be retired on June 15, 2022, is the only browser that supports it natively. After June 15, 2022, Microsoft Edge's IE Mode is the only official option that users have to run Silverlight applications.

Applications that rely on Silverlight will continue to function. Microsoft notes on the official FAQ page that it "is not planning to take any specific action to terminate Silverlight applications".  Companies can continue to run Silverlight assets legally after October 12, 2021 according to Microsoft, as the license is not tied to the continuation of support.

The official Silverlight website will remain available, but Microsoft will remove the Silverlight installer from the website after the end of support date.

Open Source Silverlight alternative

In 2020, the OpenSilver project emerged to provide companies with a modern Silverlight implementation based on modern technologies. The developers behind the project have relased OpenSilver 1.0 Beta recently and revealed plans to release the final version of OpenSilver 1.0 on October 12, 2021.

Designed specifically for companies that use legacy Silverlight applications, OpenSilver may be used to migrate legacy Silverlight applications without losing access to the application or the functionalities it provides.

Closing Words

Most Silverlight applications that are still in use today are used by organizations and companies. It is rare to find a Silverlight application on the Internet that is still maintained and used, and most Internet users have probably not encountered one in a long while, especially since support has been limited to Internet Explorer 10/11 and Microsoft Edge in IE Mode for a long time.

Microsoft Silverlight support ends October 12, 2021: here is what you need to know

Microsoft has just announced the release of Windows 365 and Cloud PC. This new service, built on top of Azure Virtual Desktop, enables you to bring their Windows 10 and eventually Windows 11, desktop, apps, tools, data, and settings to your personal and work devices, including Windows PCs (naturally!) but Macs, iPads, Linux, and Android devices as well.

Let me repeat that: Windows 365 will enable you to run your Windows desktop, apps, data, etc., etc. on Linux. That's the Linux desktop they're talking about.

Also: The best parts of Windows 11 are already in Windows 10. Here's how to enable them

Ever since I started running Linux back in the early '90s, I've heard over and over again that people couldn't possibly run a Linux desktop because it doesn't run this Windows application or that Windows program. Well, guess what kids, that excuse doesn't hold water anymore. 

Microsoft, yes, Microsoft now promises that you can run Windows on your Linux PC. We don't know exactly how they're going to do that. It might be by using a native Remote Desktop application or by a web browser. I'll bet that on Linux -- and probably on iPads, Macs, and Android devices -- it will be done over a web browser.

After all, the Linux-powered Chrome OS has already shown that you can do most of your enterprise work on just a browser alone. Indeed, Microsoft's entire move to a subscription, cloud service-based desktop was foreshadowed by Google's Chromebooks.

According to Wangui McKelvey, Microsoft 365's General Manager, regardless of your platform, "The Windows experience is consistent, no matter the device." This makes me even more inclined to think that you'll be using Windows 365 via a web browser. And, in particular, Microsoft will encourage you to use Edge on Linux. 

So, what exactly can you run with Windows 365 "on" your Linux PC? Microsoft promises it will support most of its business application suite -- Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform -- line. Microsoft also promises app compatibility with Microsoft's Fastrack App Assure. This is a service that will help your business with 150 or more users fix any end-user programs problems at no additional cost. 

Microsoft has also been working with its independent software vendor (ISV) partners. The four biggest who will immediately offer their applications on Windows 365 are Nerdio, NetApp, ServiceNow, and UKG.  In addition,  Accenture/Avanade; Atos; Crayon; Content and Cloud; Convergent; Coretek; DXC; Glueck & Kanja GAB; Insight; and Netrix will bring their programs and services to Windows 365. 

This isn't just for big businesses. For small and midsize businesses, Iconic IT; MachineLogic; and Nitec Solutions are already supporting Windows 365. 

Of course, there are notable exceptions who aren't on board yet. I'm sure you noticed Adobe and Intuit aren't on the list. Sure, some of their programs, like Adobe Acrobat, will be available on Linux via Windows 365, but big name programs such as Photoshop, Indesign, and QuickBooks have yet to make an appearance. 

Give them time. Microsoft's made it clear. The future for Windows in business is going to be on its Azure cloud. Microsoft doesn't really care that much about Windows on the desktop per se, it's all about getting subscribers to its Windows Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS). Whether you choose to run it on Linux or a Mac, whatever, they're fine with that now.

Source

Microsoft today released a redesigned Tips app for Windows 11 with over 114 new tips. This new Tips app aligns well with the new look and feel of Windows 11. Microsoft has also included 100+ new tips related to Windows 11. The new tips are around new keyboard shortcuts, ways to optimize your PC, productivity tips for Office, gaming on Windows, and more. And these tips are available in 36 languages.

And it doesn’t quite stop there with the Tips app—you’ll notice tips appear throughout Windows 11 to help you discover new things as you go! Check out the new Tips widget on the widgets board, tips as First Run Experiences, and tips for specific experiences within Windows 11.

The new Tips app is now available for Windows Insiders in the Windows 11 Dev Channel. Microsoft will soon bring it to Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels soon.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft releases new Tips app for Windows 11 with 114 new tips

WinUI is hosted on GitHub in Microsoft’s Windows UI Library repo. As an open source project, developers can file their WinUI 2 bug reports, feature requests, and community code contributions there.

New or updated features for WinUI 2.7 include:

InfoBadge

Badging is a non-intrusive and intuitive way to indicate notifications, display alerts, highlight new content, or draw focus to an area within an app. An InfoBadge is a small piece of UI that can be added into an app and customized to display a number, icon, or a simple dot.

InfoBadge is built into the NavigationView control. It can also be specified as a standalone element in the XAML tree, letting you place InfoBadge into any control or piece of UI that you choose.

See Microsoft’s usage guidelines and API reference for the InfoBadge control at the included links.

Horizontal Orientation in ColorPicker

Use the Orientation property of the ColorPicker control to specify whether the editing controls should align vertically or horizontally, relative to the colour spectrum.

See the usage guidelines and API reference for ColorPicker at the links included.

Examples

The XAML Controls Gallery sample app includes examples of each of these WinUI features and controls.

If you have the XAML Controls Gallery app installed and updated to the latest version, see the controls in action.

If you don’t have the XAML Controls Gallery app installed, get it from the Microsoft Store.

You can also view, clone, and build the XAML Controls Gallery source code from GitHub.

Other updates

See the Notable Changes list for many of the GitHub issues addressed in this release.

All stable releases (and prereleases) are available for download from the GitHub release page or from Microsoft’s NuGet page.

WinUI packages can be added to Visual Studio projects through the NuGet package manager.

For more information, see Getting started with the Windows UI 2 Library.

Microsoft release WinUI 2.7 with new InfoBadge, more

Microsoft today released a new Windows 11 Dev channel build from the rs_prerelease branch. The build brings just one UI change in the form of a new 'Sign-in options' link to the power menu in Start. There are, as expected, a bunch of bug fixes and known issues accompanying the single new feature.

While the company has been releasing Dev and Beta channel builds simultaneously, it does not seem to be the case today, as there is no Beta channel build in sight yet. Surprisingly, there was no cumulative update for the OS either yesterday as part of the Patch Tuesday updates. As for Dev channel builds themselves, major new features slated for release in the next version will eventually start appearing in these releases.

Generally, the firm releases servicing updates when builds head to the Beta and/or Release Preview channels, which is the case with Windows 11 since it is now available for commercial customers in the Release Preview channel. With Windows 11 slated to begin rolling out to eligible users starting October 5, it is surprising to see the bulk of bug fixes heading to Dev channel builds. The firm does note that it will bring "some fixes" from these Insider builds to the stable version after it releases. It is anybody's guess if these features will come in the way of day one updates.

Here are the fixes made as part of build 22458:

[Start]

• Fixed an underlying issue that was impacting Start reliability.

[Search]

• Folders with # in folder name can now be added to indexing.

[Settings]

• Addressed an issue that was causing Settings to crash sometimes when trying to open the Display page.
• Clicking “More about refresh rate” in Advanced Display Settings now opens the support page it’s supposed to.
• Fixed an issue where the Location page in Settings wasn’t showing warning text explaining why the location services setting was greyed out if it was greyed out.
• Changes made to preferences under Manage App Execution Alias in Settings should now be preserved.
• Fixed a couple typos in the output of dll (Issue #206).

[Windowing]

• Mitigated an issue that could make certain games unexpectedly crash when using ALT + Enter (i.e., switch between full screen and windowed) during with Auto HDR enabled.

[Other]

• Addressed an issue that was causing text truncation in the Encrypting File System window in certain cases.
• Fixed a rare scenario that could result in an uninstalled in-box app unexpectedly reappearing after reboot.
• Appx commandlets should now work with PowerShell 7.0+ printui.dll (Issue #13138).

As is expected with development builds, there are a bunch of known issues that users should be aware of. This includes the taskbar bug that misaligns the Start menu and the app icons, resulting in some icons being cut off. Here is the complete list of known issues:

[General]

• We’re working on a fix for an issue that is causing some Surface Pro X’s to bug check with a WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR.
• We’re working on a fix for an issue that is causing some devices to bug check with DRIVER_PNP_WATCHDOG error when attempting to update to a recent build.

[Start]

• In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.
• System is missing when right-clicking on the Start button (WIN + X).

[Taskbar]

• IMPORTANT: Icons on the Taskbar are shifted to the side when in the default center alignment, resulting in them getting cut off by the “show hidden icons” button when too many apps are open.
• The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.

[Search]

• After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.
• Search panel might appear as black and not display any content below the search box.

[File Explorer]

• If you right click files in OneDrive locations in File Explorer, the context menu will unexpectedly dismiss when you hover over entries that open sub-menus, such as “Open with.”

[Widgets]

• The widgets board may appear empty. To work around the issue, you can sign out and then sign back in again.
• Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors. If you encounter this, you can launch the widgets via touch or WIN + W shortcut on your actual PC display first and then launch on your secondary monitors.

[Windows Sandbox]

• We’re investigating an issue in which Windows Sandbox may not launch for some Insiders after upgrading to this build.

[Microsoft Store]

• We continue to work to improve search relevance in the Store.

[Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) & Hyper-V]

• We’re investigating reports of both WSL2 and Hyper-V not working on this build on ARM64 PCs such as the Surface Pro X.

Lastly, Microsoft is also announcing a refreshed Tips app for Windows 11, complete with UI refreshes and the ability to serve "100+" tips for users. The OS is also receiving the ability to serve tips across the OS showing off new capabilities and features added, such as widgets, the new touch-focused improvements, and much more.

Update: As pointed out by our readers, which was also confirmed by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc, the 'Sign-in options' link has been present in the Dev channel since last week's release. The addition was not mentioned in last week's release notes.

Windows 11 build 22458 for the Dev channel brings a 'Sign-in options' link to the power menu [Update]

Kali Linux is a Linux distribution designed for cybersecurity professionals and ethical hackers to perform penetration testing and security audits.

With this release, the Kali Linux Team introduces the following new features:

• OpenSSL - Wide compatibility by default
• New Kali-Tools site - Kali-Tools has had a complete refresh
• Better VM support in the Live image session - Copy & paste and drag & drop from your machine into a Kali VM by default
• New tools - From adversary emulation, to subdomain takeover to Wi-Fi attacks
• Kali NetHunter smartwatch - first of its kind, for TicHunter Pro
• KDE 5.21 - Plasma desktop received a version bump

OpenSSL: All legacy protocols enabled

Many Linux distributions disable older insecure protocols in OpenSSL, such as TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1, to secure devices and websites properly.

However, as Kali Linux is a penetration test distribution, it makes more sense to enable all protocols so that you can target all systems, even older devices using insecure protocols.

With this release, Offensive Security is configuring OpenSSL for wide compatibility, which means that they are enabling older ciphers and insecure protocols to increase the attack surface.

Increased virtualization support

The Kali Live image gained increased support for running in virtualized environments such as VMware, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, and QEMU+Spice.

Offensive Security states that you can now use the Live image in a virtualized environment and automatically get copy and paste and drop and drop functionality without the need to install guest additions or other guest software.

In BleepingComputer's tests running the Kali Linux 2021.3 Live build in the latest version of VirtualBox on Windows, resizing the display and copy and paste worked out of the box.

However, we could not get the drag and drop feature to work.

New tools added in Kali Linux 2021.3

It wouldn't be a new Kali Linux version without some new tools and utilities, which are listed below:

• Berate_ap - Orchestrating MANA rogue Wi-Fi Access Points
• CALDERA - Scalable automated adversary emulation platform
• EAPHammer - Targeted evil twin attacks against WPA2-Enterprise Wi-Fi networks
• HostHunter - Recon tool for discovering hostnames using OSINT techniques
• RouterKeygenPC - Generate default WPA/WEP Wi-Fi keys
• Subjack - Subdomain takeover
• WPA_Sycophant - Evil client portion of EAP relay attack

Revamped Kali-Tools site

Offensive Security has revamped the Kali-Tools site with a design refresh and speed improvements. In addition, OffSec hopes to make this documentation repository available offline soon.

Enhanced ARM support

The Kali Linux team continues to improve support for ARM devices with the following changes:

• Our Kali ARM build-scripts have been re-worked.
  • Thanks to @cyrus104, we now have a build-script to support the Gateworks Newport board, and he also added documentation for it.
  • @Re4son contributed a build-script for the Raspberry Pi Zero W based “Pi-Tail” (Find more information here).
  • Additionally, the RaspberryPi Zero W based “P4wnP1” build-script has undergone some major changes.
• All images should finally resize the file-system on the first boot.
• We now re-generate the default snakeoil cert, which fixes a couple of tools that were failing to run previously.
• Images default to iptables-legacy and ip6tables-legacy for iptables support.
• We now set a default locale of en_US.UTF-8 on all images, you can, of course, change this to your preferred locale.
• The Kali user on ARM images is now in all of the same groups as base images by default, and uses zsh for the default shell. You can change your default shell by using the kali-tweaks tool which also comes pre-installed.
• Raspberry Pi images can now use a wpa_supplicant.conf file on the /boot partition.
• Raspberry Pi images now come with kalipi-config, and kalipi-tft-config pre-installed.
• Pinebook Pro’s kernel has been updated to 5.14, and you now get messages on the LCD screen as it’s booting, instead of a blinking cursor until X starts.

How to get Kali Linux 2021.3

To start using Kali Linux 2021.3, you can upgrade your existing installation or download ISO images for new installs and live distributions.

For those updating from a previous version, including installs on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), you can use the following commands to upgrade to the latest version.

echo "deb http://http.kali.org/kali kali-rolling main non-free contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y full-upgrade

cp -i /etc/skel/.bashrc ~/

cp -i /etc/skel/.zshrc ~/

chsh -s /bin/zsh

[ -f /var/run/reboot-required ] && sudo reboot -f

Once you are done upgrading, you can if the upgrade to Kali Linux 2021.3 was successful by using the following command:

grep VERSION /etc/os-release

A full changelog for Kali 2021.3 can be found at Kali's website.

Kali Linux 2021.3 released with new pentest tools, improvements

Software Updates: Kali Linux 2021.3

Microsoft has cited a number of issues with the use of passwords, including inconvenience, insecurity, and the fact that a fair share of people simply give up on using a service rather than going through the password reset process.

Starting today, you can remove a password completely from your Microsoft account and instead sign in to the company's services using alternative authentication methods such as Windows Hello, security keys, verification codes, or the Microsoft Authenticator app. The Redmond tech giant says that passwords are highly susceptible to malicious attacks, as people simply reuse them across accounts or utilize simplistic formulas for creating new passwords. These are relatively easy to guess for hackers who can utilize password spray attacks and phishing to gain access to vulnerable accounts. Indeed, even the UK government recently advised the public to use unique passwords that are a combination of three random words rather than thinking up complex passwords or reusing an existing one.

In order to go truly passwordless on your Microsoft account, the tech firm has stated that you should first install the Microsoft Authenticator app and link it to your account. After that, head over to the portal here, and select Advanced Security Options > Additional Security > Passwordless Account > Turn on. On completion of the on-screen prompts, you will be shown a notification saying that "you have increased the security of your account and improved your sign-in experience by removing your password."

You can reconfigure your account to use passwords if you want, but the messaging from Microsoft is clear: It really wants to kill off passwords, and soon. The change will start rolling out today and will be available to all within the next few weeks.

Microsoft has noted that the capability is only available for consumer accounts right now but work is being done to offer the same for enterprise accounts utilizing Azure Active Directory (AAD). As usual, admin configurations to toggle this behavior will be available too.

Source

With the upcoming Kernel Feature Freeze (September 16th) and Kernel Freeze (September 30th) development stages, it would appear that Ubuntu 21.10 (Impish Indri) is sticking with Linux kernel 5.13, which recently landed in the main archives of the distribution as the default kernel instead of the Linux 5.11 kernel used until now from the Ubuntu 21.04 (Hirsute Hippo) release.

Linux kernel 5.13 has been released at the end of June 2021, and it introduces initial support for Apple’s M1 processor, support for the Landlock security module to create safe security sandboxes for mitigating the security impact of various flaws in user space apps, as well as the ability to handle ASN.1 trusted keys.

It also comes with some nice features for AMD users, such as initial support for the AMD Radeon “Aldebaran” GPU series, initial FreeSync HDMI support for AMD GPUs, and driver support for AMD NAVI GPUs. On top of that, Linux kernel 5.13 features support for Apple’s Magic Mouse 2 and Amazon’s Luna game controller.

It’s a great kernel release and it’s nice to see it in the upcoming Ubuntu 21.10 release by default. However, since Linux 5.13 isn’t an LTS (Long-Term Support) series, it will probably reach end of life before (or shortly after) Impish Indri hits the streets on October 14th, 2021.

But that shouldn’t bother users much considering the fact that Ubuntu 21.10 isn’t an LTS release either, which means that it will be supported for merely nine month. After all, the Ubuntu kernel team is always tracking the latest Linux kernel releases, so you’ll be able to install a newer one at any time.

Next week, on September 23rd, we will be able to download and test the beta release of Ubuntu 21.10 (Impish Indri), which will probably ship with the GNOME 41 desktop environment by default, as well as GCC 11, LLVM 13, and PHP 8.0, also as default.

Will you upgrade to Ubuntu 21.10?

Source

AMD has posted a new set of drivers for their AMD Ryzen Chipsets, AMD Radeon Graphics, AMD Radeon Pro Graphics, and AMD Processors with Radeon Graphics which brings official support for Windows 11.

Version 3.09.01.140 of the Ryzen driver brings official support for Windows 11, which means all features in the Radeon Software is now enabled. This includes Radeon Anti-Lag, Radeon Image Sharpening, and more.

The update also addresses Windows 11 issues with other supported chipsets, including the 400-series and 300-series.

“Windows 11 is just around the corner, and we know many users are participating in Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program and have access to an early build of Windows. If you’re one of those people, you can now take advantage of all the features found in Radeon Software,” said AMD.

The updated driver can be downloaded here.

via WindowsLatest

Official AMD Radeon™ Graphics and Ryzen™ Chipset Drivers for Windows 11 now available

Microsoft today released the new v95.0.1011.1 build for Edge Dev channel users. This new build comes with the ability to hide the Picture in Picture overlay control, an element some IE users find annoying.

Find the full changelog of the Edge Dev Channel build below:

Added features:

• Added the ability to hide the Extensions button by right-clicking it on the address bar or in the … menu.
• Added a setting on Mac to hide the Picture in Picture overlay controls.
• Completed feature rollouts:
  • Enabled by default improvements to Windows Task Manager when running on Windows 11.
  • Enabled by default the ability to autofill custom data.
• Mobile:
  • Added support for natural voices to Read Aloud on Android.
  • Enabled the Surf game on Android.
• Management policies (note that updates to administrative templates or documentation may not have occurred yet):
  • Added policies to set an Internet Explorer Integration Window Open Width Adjustment and Internet Explorer Integration Window Open Height Adjustment, which add extra pixels to the size of popup windows opened from IE mode tabs.
  • Added a policy to control if Visual Search is Enabled, which controls reverse image search.
  • Added a policy to control Shadow Stack Crash Rollback Behavior, which controls if the hardware-enforced stack protection security feature in certain devices should be enabled following a crash that’s triggered by it.
  • Enabled support for the policy from Chromium to control if Browser Legacy Extension Points Blocking is Enabled, which controls if legacy extensions are allowed to load code into the browser’s main process for compatibility with other applications.
• Developer:
  • Added support for the No Frame Merging in IE mode tabs.
  • Added support for the navigator.share API in PWAs on Mac OS.

Improved reliability:

• Fixed a crash on launch.
• Fixed a crash on startup when certain extensions are installed.
• Fixed a crash when switching profiles.
• Fixed a crash when changing languages in Settings.
• Fixed a crash when logging into a website.
• Fixed a crash when using Smart Copy.
• Fixed a crash when using Application Guard.
• Fixed an issue where tabs sometimes crash with a breakpoint error.
• Fixed a crash when closing PWAs or websites installed as apps.
• Fixed a crash when using Overlay Scrollbars.
• Fixed a crash when saving autofill info via a popup.
• Fixed an issue where the browser is blank and unusable when opened on a non-default desktop.
• Mobile:
  • Fixed an issue where the browser won’t open.
  • Fixed a crash when signing into the browser.
  • Fixed a crash when closing tabs.
  • Fixed a crash when adding a favorite.
  • Fixed a crash when using the SwiftKey keyboard.
  • Fixed a crash when typing in the address bar.
  • Fixed a crash when using Guided Switch in InPrivate mode.
  • Fixed a crash when using Citrix.

Changed behaviour:

• Reduced the number of one-time validation fields that autofill tries to fill with previous results.
• Fixed an issue where autocomplete doesn’t work in places it should.
• Fixed an issue where certain videos don’t play in HD/4K when they should.
• Fixed an issue where navigations sometimes never complete when using Family Safety.
• Fixed an issue where the Read Aloud controls sometimes don’t work.
• Fixed an issue on Linux where the Collections pane sometimes can’t be opened.
• Fixed an issue where Collections are sorted incorrectly.
• Fixed an issue where the button to close a tab sometimes isn’t visible when the Vertical Tabs pane is too narrow.
• Fixed an issue where spellcheck sometimes triggers even when it’s disabled.
• Fixed an issue where Smart Copy copies more than just what’s selected.
• Fixed an issue where debug.log files sometimes mysteriously appear on the device.
• Fixed an issue where the different headers of the History menu don’t show the correct sections when clicked.
• Mobile:
• • Fixed an issue where SSO no longer works.
  • Fixed an issue where signing into the browser sometimes doesn’t enable sync as well.
  • Fixed an issue where the browser can be signed into with the same account multiple times.
  • Fixed an issue on iOS where signing into the browser fails.
  • Fixed an issue where a sign-in error is shown in Settings even though there is no error.
  • Fixed an issue on Android where autofill sometimes fails.
  • Fixed an issue where images sometimes don’t render properly.
  • Fixed an issue on iOS where certain webpage resources sometimes don’t load.
  • Fixed an issue on iOS where certain popups will close as soon as they’re opened.
  • Fixed an issue where links that open in new tabs sometimes close or navigate back as soon as they’re opened.
• Fixed an issue in WebView2 apps where flickering appears (Issue 1621).
• Fixed an issue where popups opened from IE mode tabs are sometimes scaled incorrectly.
• Obsoleted the management policy to control if Legacy Same Site Cookie Behavior is Enabled.

Known issues:

• Users of certain ad blocking extensions may experience playback errors on YouTube.  As a workaround, temporarily disabling the extension should allow playback to proceed.  See this help article for more details.
• Some users are still running into an issue where all tabs and extensions immediately crash with a STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_HASH error.  The most common cause of this error is outdated security or antivirus software from vendors like Symantec, and in those cases, updating that software will fix it.
• Users of the Kaspersky Internet Suite who have the associated extension installed may sometimes see webpages like Gmail fail to load.  This failure is due to the main Kaspersky software being out of date, and is thus fixed by making sure the latest version is installed.
• Some users are still seeing favorites get duplicated.  This issue should be reduced now that automatic deduplication has been introduced into Insider channels, but we’re still rolling that out in Stable.  We’ve also seen duplication happen when running the manual deduplicator on multiple machines before either machine has a chance to fully sync its changes, so make sure to leave plenty of time in between runs of the deduplicator.
• Some users are seeing “wobbling” behavior when scrolling using trackpad gestures or touchscreens, where scrolling in one dimension also causes the page to subtly scroll back and forth in the other.  Note that this only affects certain websites and seems to be worse on certain devices.  This is most likely related to our ongoing work to bring scrolling back to parity with Edge Legacy’s behavior, so if this behavior is undesirable, you can temporarily turn it off by disabling the edge://flags/#edge-experimental-scrolling flag.

This Edge Dev channel update should download and install directly but in case it doesn’t then you can head to the Edge settings and manually update the browser.

Microsoft releases Edge Dev channel build 95.0.1011.1 which lets you hide PiP overlay controls

Today's cumulative updates include security fixes for PCs with May 2021 Update (version 21H1), October 2020 Update (version 20H2), and May 2020 Update (version 2004).

The update is now rolling out via Windows Update, WSUS, and the Microsoft Update Catalog with numerous bug fixes and performance enhancements.

The full list of today's cumulative updates is below:

• Windows 10 version 1507 — KB5005569 (OS Build 10240.19060)
• Windows 10 version 1607 — KB5005573 (OS Build 14393.4651)
• Windows 10 version 1703 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1709 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1803 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1809 — KB5005568 (OS Build 17763.2183)
• Windows 10 version 1903 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1909 — KB5005566 (OS Build 18363.1801)
• Windows 10 version 2004, 20H2 and 21H1 — KB5005565 (OS Builds 19041.1237, 19042.1237, and 19043.1237)

Like every Patch Tuesday, you can check for and install new updates by going to Settings, clicking on Windows Update, and selecting 'Check for Updates' to install the updates.

If you own multiple PCs or if you would like to patch the PCs manually, you can learn more about how to do so here.

Today's Patch Tuesday updates also fix 60 security vulnerabilities, including a Windows MSHTML zero-day vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-40444.

What's new in the KB5005565 cumulative update

With the KB5005565 update, Microsoft has addressed a bug that causes Bluetooth headsets to only work for voice calls and another bug that provides the wrong Furigana result when you cancel the Japanese reconversion.

The company has also updated an issue that resets syncing for Microsoft OneDrive to “Known folders only” after you install a Windows update.

After installing this update, Windows 10 2004 will be updated to build 19041.1237, Windows 10 20H2 will be updated to build 19042.1237, and Windows 10 21H1 will be updated to build 19043.1237.

This cumulative update comes with the following highlighted fixes:

• Addresses an issue that causes PowerShell to create an infinite number of child directories. This issue occurs when you use the PowerShell Move-Item command to move a directory to one of its children. As a result, the volume fills up and the system stops responding.

• Updates a rare condition that causes Bluetooth headsets to only work for voice calls.

• Updates an issue that provides the wrong Furigana result when you cancel the Japanese reconversion.

• Updates an issue that resets syncing for Microsoft OneDrive to “Known folders only” after you install a Windows update.

• Updates an issue that prevents audio headsets that connect to a device using USB from working if the device has certain third-party audio drivers.

• Updates an issue with resizing images that might produce flickering and residual line artifacts.

• Updates an issue that prevents you from typing any words in the username box during the out-of-box experience (OOBE) process. This issue occurs when you use the Chinese Input Method Editor (IME).

• Updates an issue with copying and pasting a text box into Office 365 apps. If you use an IME, you won’t be able to insert text into the text box.

• Updates an issue that might cause your device to stop working when making a touch input gesture. This issue occurs if you bring more fingers into contact with the touchpad or screen during the middle of the gesture.

• Updates an issue that might cause an external monitor to display a black screen after Hibernation. This issue might occur when the external monitor connects to a docking station using a certain hardware interface.

• Updates an issue that resets the brightness for standard dynamic range (SDR) content on high-dynamic range (HDR) monitors. This occurs after you restart your device or reconnect to the device remotely. 

Windows 10 version 1909 is getting KB5005566 with identical fixes.

Windows 10 KB5005565 & KB5005566 cumulative updates released

As usual, there are two types of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 updates – monthly rollup and security-only updates. While monthly rollups are served through Windows Update, security-only updates can only be manually installed. Both these updates are available for download through the Update Catalog. This month, there is also an IE security update rolling out to Windows 7 and 8.1 users, which you can check out here under KB5005563.

To begin with, Windows 8.1 and the corresponding Windows Server release - Windows Server 2012 R2 - users are receiving monthly rollup KB5005613, which can be manually downloaded from the Update Catalog here. The improvements made as part of the update include the fix for the zero-day vulnerability:

• This update contains miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality. No additional issues were documented for this release.

The known issue listed for the update is mentioned below:

The security-only update is KB5005627 and can be found here for manual download and installation depending on the version. As mentioned earlier, these are not available through Windows Update. The changes and fixes are identical to that of the monthly rollup.

Next up are Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. The monthly rollup heading out to these customers is termed KB5005633 and can be manually downloaded from here. These updates are only available for those that have opted for paid updates. The changes and fixes are as follows:

• Addresses an issue in which a driver might not install if the driver is signed with more than one code sign signatures.
• This update also contains miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality.

As is always the case, the known issues are separately mentioned in the KB article. Here is the list for Windows 7 users to note:

The security-only update for this version is KB5005615 and can be manually downloaded from here. Just like for Windows 8.1, the fixes and known issues in the security-only update are identical to that of the monthly rollup.

As usual, you can head to the linked KB articles to read through more information about the updates and useful links.

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 Patch Tuesday updates are now live