The Redmond tech giant has highlighted the multiple ways in which it is bringing AI to the center of your user experience on Windows 11 rather than a background process. Some examples of these include Copilot Voice, Copilot Vision, Copilot Actions, and Click To Do. Together, all of these open up new avenues and opportunities for interacting with PCs in a natural manner, and have AI do most of the heavy lifting.

Microsoft has emphasized that it is transforming Windows 11 into an AI-native platform that offers you the latest agentic capabilities in a secure manner, suitable for both consumers and enterprise customers. This is not only being made possible through Copilot+ PCs, but also Windows 365 offerings, which are discounted by 20% for new customers looking for Cloud PCs.

Through all of the technologies mentioned above, Microsoft believes that the future of work is already here, thanks to Windows 11's integration with AI capabilities in an invisible manner. Windows 11 also acts as the glue between Copilot and Copilot Studio, allowing users to craft AI-powered workflows to boost productivity.

Although all of the AI features discussed in this piece are available generally or through Insider builds, Microsoft plans to share more about commercial opportunities in this area for enterprise customers next month at its Ignite conference. Microsoft's vice president for product marketing, Stefan Kinnestrand, believes that "the next chapter of Windows and AI is on the horizon, and it’s built for business."

Source

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Posted Tuesday 21 October 2025 at 12:59 pm AEST (my time).

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While no huge surprises were encountered this time, Torvalds did say that this release was on the bigger side and that some of the regressions are still outstanding, but slow progress will be made over the course of the release. He said that it’s still early days for Linux 6.18 so he’s not very worried and things look “fairly normal”.

Regarding trivial configuration issues mentioned earlier, Torvalds said there was a case in big-endian SH4 which had bugs in the QEMU test environment. He said, luckily, that these were not actually new kernel bugs.

The announcement was topped off with a call for developers to keep testing the new kernel update, this is pretty standard. If you do decide to have a look into testing it, be sure to do so on a virtual machine or non-production machine as the kernel is a low-lying component and can easily cause you a headache if things go wrong.

The second release candidate brought with it plenty of subsystem fixes for major components such as KVM, AMDGPU, BPF, and filesystems like Btrfs and ext4. There was also a commit made by Torvalds himself that says a long-standing ext3 defconfig option was removed, suggesting some minor clean up and maintenance is happening too. It’s important to keep in mind that these release candidates aren’t about introducing new features; that is done during the merge window. The release candidates are for stabilizing features before they’re given to the public.

Source: LKML

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Posted Tuesday 21 October 2025 at 4:01 am AEST (my time).

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In an update on its Microsoft 365 Roadmap, the Redmond tech giant has stated that it is migrating the PDF Viewer in Edge to WebUI2. This should result in better performance and responsiveness while viewing PDF documents. It will also allow a few "subtle" visual upgrades that will enhance the overall usability. The details of these aesthetic changes are currently unknown but they should align the design of the PDF Viewer with other elements of the browser. Microsoft has assured users that only improvements for performance, design styling, and interaction are in tow; no existing workflows will be impacted.

This development item is being tracked as ID 516043 on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, but general availability still seems quite far off. The roadmap currently indicates that rollout will begin in May 2026, but keep in mind that the dates listed on this roadmap are tentative and subject to change.

There is also the possibility that an item listed on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap does not arrive for the public at all, but the chances of that happening are pretty slim with regards to this update, at least. Over the past few months, Microsoft has been migrating portions of Edge to WebUI2, highlighting significant performance gains along the way. We'll just have to wait and see to find out what the performance gains are like when it comes to the PDF Viewer in Edge though.

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•     Zorin OS, a Linux distro, has boasted about a flood of new recruits
•     In two days after Windows 10 support ended, Zorin OS 18 saw 100,000 downloads
•     Almost three-quarters of those were from Windows PCs, we're told

Some of the best Linux distros have been looking to capitalize on the end of support for Windows 10 with various initiatives or projects, and apparently one of them – Zorin OS – is going great guns following the End of Life of Microsoft's OS last week.

Neowin reports that the latest version of Zorin OS was launched on the same day that Windows 10 shuffled off its mortal codebase – October 14 – pitched as a "modern alternative that makes your computer feel brand new".

The developer of the Linux distro informed us on X that in just two days, Zorin OS 18 notched up 100,000 downloads, almost three-quarters of which (72%) were made on Windows systems, indicating that these were Windows 10 users migrating to the Linux OS.

Zorin Group also posted about a city in France, Échirolles, which has shifted some of the Windows 10 PCs in its town hall to free and open-source software which includes Zorin OS.

(Image credit: Zorin Group)

Zorin Group bills this as a victory for alternative desktop platforms over the "incumbent operating systems from Big Tech", meaning Windows. However, when you look into the latter Linux transition in France, in actual fact only 10% of the town hall's PCs are running Zorin OS (or another distro), and much of the movement has been away from Microsoft's Office apps (to LibreOffice) rather than Windows.

At any rate, the official end of Windows 10 is certainly prompting some people and organizations to think about Linux as a genuine alternative, and a boost of something like 70,000 Windows 10 users in a couple of days is quite impressive to see for a relatively minor player in the desktop OS world like Zorin.

If you want to know more about Zorin, it's one of the better Linux choices for those coming from Microsoft's operating system, seeing as it's quite similar in design to Windows 11, as we explore in more detail in our hands-on Zorin 17 review. You might also want to consider some of the other recommendations we have for the best Windows-like Linux distros.

While switching to Linux could be a good alternative, particularly for users of older PCs that can't get near the system requirements for Windows 11, there are compromises involved in such a move. You may run into issues with hardware drivers, or software compatibility, and games could be especially problematic – for starters, lots of online PC games won't work due to their anti-cheat systems.

It's also worth noting that you don't have to abandon Windows 10 just yet – there's another choice in terms of taking up Microsoft's offer of extended support for an extra year of security updates. Yes, you are just putting off the decision of where to go next with your Windows 10 PC to next year, but if you need some breathing room the option is there (with a small catch, albeit that caveat doesn't apply to everyone).

Source

The issues stem from update KB5066835, rolled out earlier this month as part of the company's regular security cycle.

According to Windows Latest, the patch disrupts locally hosted network connections, meaning applications or web servers that rely on localhost (127.0.0.1) can no longer communicate properly.

The publication stated that Microsoft has acknowledged the issue and confirmed that a hotfix is being released to address it.

However, the rollout may take up to 48 hours before it becomes visible to all affected devices.

Technical Fault Traced to HTTP.sys Regression

The bug appears to originate from a regression in HTTP.sys, the kernel-mode HTTP server used by Windows to process local and web-based requests.

Windows Latest reported that when a browser or application tries to connect to HTTP/2 services hosted on localhost, HTTP.sys mishandles the handshake process and resets the connection.

This fault has impacted developers and IT professionals who depend on Internet Information Services (IIS), ASP.NET, or similar frameworks for testing and hosting applications.

Ongoing Issues Reported

Windows 11 KB5066835 is causing a series of problems for some users on versions 24H2 and 25H2. Among the most common reports:

• The October 2025 Patch Tuesday update fails to install, returning error codes such as 0x800f0922, 0x800f0983, 0x800f081f, 0x80071a2d, and 0x800f0991.
• File Explorer document previews are blocked in the Preview pane due to a false security warning.
• Certain Logitech peripherals have stopped working correctly. Mouse and keyboard devices are unresponsive in WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment).

Users encountering installation failures are advised to download the patch manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog or use the Media Creation Tool for an in-place upgrade. Internet "fixes" circulating in forums are strongly discouraged, as they appear ineffective or risky.

Windows Recovery Environment Rendered Unusable

A separate, equally serious problem has also surfaced. The same update has effectively disabled USB keyboards and mice within the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), leaving users unable to troubleshoot or repair their systems if they encounter startup issues.

Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), as the name suggests, is a built-in suite of tools that allows users to diagnose problems, boot into Safe Mode, or access system restore options. It is a crucial component of Windows—but under the new bug, USB peripherals stop working entirely, meaning users cannot navigate the recovery interface.

Windows Latest confirmed that the fault originates from the October build of Windows 11, noting that the issue 'renders WinRE useless because a bug blocks the mouse or keyboard from working.'

Users Advised to Wait for the Fix

While some users have shared unofficial workarounds online, Windows Latest and The Register both caution against manual registry or system modifications, which can make Windows unstable or prevent it from booting.

Microsoft has not yet issued a formal statement beyond acknowledging the issue, but reports suggest an emergency update is being distributed and should reach most affected systems within the next few days.

Users are advised to check Windows Update regularly and reboot their PCs once the patch becomes available.

Wider Context

The disruption follows Microsoft's decision earlier this month to end free security updates for Windows 10, affecting around 500 million users worldwide.

Those who wish to continue receiving protection can subscribe to the Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme until 2026.

The back-to-back issues highlight 'how fragile Microsoft's ecosystem still is,' even as the company continues to push users toward its latest operating system.

Source

ExplainingComputers (1.13M subscribers)

October 19, 2025

Video length: 23m 01s

Zorin OS 18 review and demo, including installation, Zorin OS 18 Core vs Pro, OneDrive and Wine integration, and removing the Brave browser. You can download Zorin OS 18 from https://zorin.com/os/

00:00 Titles & Intro

00:49 Getting Zorin OS 

04:14 Installation 

08:14 Zorin OS 18 Core 

11:34 Web Browser 

15:29 Windows Applications 

17:45 OneDrive Integration 

18:44 Zorin OS 18 Pro 

21:58 Wrap

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Posted Monday 20 October 2025 at 4:02 am AEST (my time).

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So the situation is not exactly confidence-inspiring as the very first update is leading to such a large-scale problem, and also at a time when Microsoft is rolling out the 2025 Windows 11 feature update to everyone.

Meanwhile, on Windows 10 which received its final Patch Tuesday update this past week with the October release (under KB5066791) also received the final WinRE Dynamic updates for every supported version of Windows 10.

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

Once again, as was the case with Windows 11, the updates mention improvements related to the WinPE, but nothing about any known issues is specified. The changelogs are given below (note that the WinPE improvement applies to each of the KB updates for every Windows 10 version and so we have not repeated the same release notes):

"KB5068164: Windows Recovery Environment update for Windows 10, version 21H2 and 22H2: October 14, 2025

Summary

This update automatically applies Safe OS Dynamic Update (KB5067017) to the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) on a running PC. The update installs improvements to Windows recovery features.

....

KB5067017: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, version 21H2 and 22H2: October 14, 2025

Summary

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE) in Windows 10, version 21H2 and Windows 10, version 22H2.

The following is a summary of the issues that this update addresses when you install this update. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

• [Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE)] New! If WinPE is unable to start an application, a message box will now be displayed instead of the debug command prompt that previously appeared.

.....

KB5067016: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, version 1809 and Windows Server 2019: October 14, 2025

.....

KB5067015: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, version 1607 and Windows Server 2016: October 14, 2025

....

KB5067018: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10: October 14, 2025"

Microsoft notes that the Recovery update will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel. You can also avail of them on Microsoft's Update Catalog website at the following links: KB5067017 | KB5067016 | KB5067015 | KB5067018.

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Posted Monday 20 October 2025 at 3:46 am AEST (my time).

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Windows Recovery Environment (RE), as the name suggests, is a built-in set of tools inside Windows that allow you to troubleshoot your computer, including booting into the BIOS, or starting the computer in safe mode. It's a crucial piece of software that has now, unfortunately, been rendered useless (for many) as part of the latest Windows update. A new bug discovered in Windows 11's October build, KB5066835, makes it so that your USB keyboard and mouse stop working entirely, so you cannot interact with the recovery UI at all.

This problem has already been recognized and highlighted by Microsoft, who clarified that a fix is on its way to address this issue. Any plugged-in peripherals will continue to work just fine inside the actual operating system, but as soon as you go into Windows RE, your USB keyboard and mouse will become unresponsive. It's important to note that if your PC fails to start-up for any reason, it defaults to the recovery environment to, you know, recover and diagnose any issues that might've been preventing it from booting normally.

Note that those hanging onto old PS/2-connector equipped keyboards and mice seem to be unaffected by this latest Windows software gaffe.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Therefore, it's not just as simple as avoiding Windows RE, especially for the less tech-savvy of us who wouldn't have control (or knowledge) over what to do. Thankfully, though, as mentioned earlier, Microsoft has said it is "working to release a solution to resolve this issue in the coming days" and that "more information will be shared when it's available." So, not exactly a sense of urgency floating in the air, but we hope this gets resolved soon and not sidelined like the recent SSD fiasco which killed many drives and was never really properly addressed by any sides.

This is also just the latest in the line of ever-present bugs that break the OS with recurring Windows updates. With the same KB5066835 update, Microsoft was forced to release an emergency fix for localhost connections, where you couldn't access your own computer, which is crucial for many devs. Speaking of, IT personnel will also be particularly affected by the Windows RE bug since a lot of sensitive system repairs are tied to that toolkit, and they'd need to be put on hold for now. This issue is currently present in Windows 11 25H2, 24H2 and even Windows Server.

Source

Microsoft introduced BitLocker storage encryption to Windows Vista in 2007. It was initially limited to only the Enterprise and Ultimate editions at the time, but since then, BitLocker has become an integral part of the operating system. Starting with Windows 11, BitLocker is turned on by default when you sign in with a Microsoft account in the OOBE. In theory, this is a novel practice — encrypting your storage without manual interception, but it can easily lead to unwanted problems.

That's what happened to an unfortunate user on Reddit, who was locked out of their data that vanished into the binary mazes of encryption, seemingly forever.

Feeling that their PC was lagging and not working to its fullest potential, u/Toast_Soup (let's call them Soup) decided to reset their PC and install a fresh copy of Windows. It's important to note at this point that Soup had six drives in its system; one of which is the boot drive, of course, and two massive data backups, each worth three terabytes, on the 😧 and E: disks. After the reinstall, when Soup booted into Windows, the latter two drives were essentially gone, encrypted by BitLocker, despite it never having been turned on in the first place.

See, Soup wasn't aware of the automatic encryption Microsoft enforces these days, so the thought to check first never even crossed their mind. Windows kept asking for a key that Soup never noted down (or even knew existed, for that matter), and without it, the drives are encrypted forever. There's no way to retrieve any data through recovery software — which Soup tried many of — because they can't break the BitLocker encryption. Its entire point is to act as a safeguard against bad actors, so as far as the drives are concerned, you're just trying to steal the data stored inside.

Lost and feeling hopeless, Soup performed another fresh reinstall, but to no avail, as the BitLocker screen appeared again, requesting a new key for the boot drive. Thankfully, Soup was aware of the game by now and knew to jot down that one, so they got inside Windows, but the two earlier drives were still locked. The comments on the post attempted to help our victim, suggesting that they check their Microsoft account settings. However, Soup clarified that only the key for the boot drive (C:) appears there, and nothing else.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The best part is that this isn't even the extent of BitLocker's overreach. While nothing quite beats getting permanently (we hope not) locked out of your own data, a couple of years ago, we found out that BitLocker is surprisingly resource-intensive as well. In our testing, it slowed down random read/write speeds of the affected SSDs by up to 45% because it forces your CPU to encrypt and decrypt every single thing. This can genuinely slow down performance and make your PC feel sluggish, which is likely what Soup was experiencing in the first place. The signs were all there.

It's important to note that the software version of BitLocker that runs on your CPU differs from the hardware version (called "OPAL"). That runs even better than no drive encryption at all, but it's not the one that automatically turns itself on. Some comments from the Reddit thread suggest that even with a local account on Windows 11 Home, changes as small as tweaking the boot order can trigger BitLocker — if it isn't already enabled when you first set up your OS.

BitLocker doesn't behave like this on Windows 10, or if you upgraded directly from that to 11. But, at this point, for Soup, there's nothing else that can be done beyond wiping those drives and starting over. We suggest staying vigilant in matters like these, where unwieldy corporations take away your autonomy to exercise what they feel is right. Check and turn off BitLocker following our original guide. Make sure to note down any important keys, and always keep backups of sensitive data that you can't afford to lose.

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Case in point is the recent announcement of Copilot Vision in Windows 11 with "Hey Copilot" voice activation. This brought back memories of "Hey Cortana" from 2015, which was a similar wake phrase to use the digital assistant with your voice.

The problem with this approach in general is that the vast majority of people don't really talk to their PCs. On phones, talking to digital assistants makes more sense because it's sometimes easier to talk than type when you're on the go, but PCs (including laptops) rarely benefit from this use-case.

Let's also not forget that Copilot on Windows is also meant for enterprise use-cases, but talking to your PC in the workspace may be too distracting for those in your vicinity and there's also the chance that you'll end up divulging information that isn't meant for anyone other than you.

Then there's also the fact that "Hey Copilot" is clearly geared towards English-speaking customers, and this is the same cardinal sin that Microsoft committed with Cortana. The Redmond tech giant's efforts in this area have historically focused on its U.S. customer base, with little care for anyone else. When it comes to an OS that is being used by hundreds of millions of customers around the globe, this is not a good look. Copilot and AI models trained on English language in general tend to not perform well when it comes to different accents from people who don't have it as their first language.

In most cases, it is actually faster to use your hands to point and type rather than rely on the dictation capabilities of a software. Imagine asking Copilot Vision to "analyze my PowerPoint presentation and generate me a summary" and it ends up doing something completely different altogether, resulting in lost productivity.

Now, I am not saying that voice activation for Copilot is a bad thing - the fact that it's strictly opt-in is good actually. I'm just emphasizing that we've been down this road before and it didn't have a happy ending the last time around. Microsoft had been teasing this feature for a couple of days on X (formerly Twitter) prior to the actual reveal and based on the hype-laden phrasing, it's clear that the company thinks that voice activation is a pretty big deal. But based on Microsoft's own attempt in the past, there is no indication that there is high demand for something like this.

Will Copilot end up dead in a ditch a few years down the line, à la Cortana? Only time will tell, but in the words of Taylor Swift, "I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending".

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Posted Sunday 19 October 2025 at 4:55 am AEST (my time).

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Following those Microsoft has announced that the new Windows 11 feature update is available for everyone to download and install. A couple of days back it updated the status of the version to confirm broad deployment was now possible, as it explained how to get the update. This is because Microsoft has recently removed the last safeguard hold that was put in place to block Windows 11 24H2 due to compatibility issues. Head to this dedicated article to know how to fix it as the company notes it can be a bit tricky to figure out this time.

It writes that users will need to have the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" toggle enabled on their Windows Update settings page for the new 2025 feature update to appear. Microsoft has clarified that it is available for every user on Windows 11 and 10, though the obvious necessity is that you need an eligible device that meets the system requirements.

The company writes: "Starting today, Windows 11, version 25H2, also known as the Windows 11 2025 Update, is available to all eligible Windows 11 devices for users who have turned on the setting Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available."

If you have an eligible Windows 10 or Windows 11 device, you can check if the update is available by selecting  Settings > Windows Update and selecting  Check for updates. If your device is ready for the update, you’ll see the option to Download and install  Windows 11, version 25H2."

However, do note that Windows 11 25H2 is not without its troubles. Recently, Microsoft confirmed that it broke localhost auth on several instances. Meanwhile, those on unsupported Windows 10 systems can look into Linux as there can be several compelling reasons to upgrade.

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Posted Sunday 19 October 2025 at 4:54 am AEST (my time).

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First up, Microsoft was forced to issue an emergency workaround as the update broke localhost auth and following that the company today has confirmed another problem where recovery can become impossible if you happen to use a USB keyboard or mouse.

The company has confirmed that following the installation of the latest Patch Tuesday update USB keyboard and mouse inputs no longer register inside the WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment). Thus if you happen to get stuck in recovery and use such a device you will be out of luck.

Microsoft did publish new Recovery updates this week alongside Patch Tuesday under KB5067039 and KB5067019, though the company does not specify anything about this issue in its release notes.

On the issue description, Microsoft writes: "After installing the Windows security update released on October 14, 2025 (KB5066835), USB devices, such as keyboards and mice, do not function in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). This issue prevents navigation of any of the recovery options within WinRE. Note that the USB keyboard and mouse continue to work normally within the Windows operating system."

This is potentially a really big problem considering the WinRE provides various key OS recovery functions like troubleshooting, Reset, Startup Repair, Command Prompt, and more, that can be essential to help troubleshoot and repair unbootable systems.

Also, most users nowadays probably rely on USB-based inputs. PS/2 ports can still sometimes be present on motherboards but getting a PS/2 mouse or keyboard can become a problem as they can be scarce in many regions of the world. Bluetooth mouse without a USB dongle may not work inside WinRE either.

Right now the company says that it is working on a fix as it investigates the issue. Ironically Microsoft's new "Hey Copilot" voice input feature—that is hoped to replace mice and keyboards entirely someday—would also prove useless here as it does not work outside the OS.

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Posted Sunday 19 October 2025 at 4:52 am AEST (my time).

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Alongside that the company also released new accompanying dynamic updates. For those who may not know, dynamic updates bring improvements to the Windows Recovery in the form of Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) updates, also called Safe OS updates, as well as to the Setup binaries in the form of Setup updates.

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

This time only recovery updates were released for all supported versions of Windows 11. The updates also apply to Windows Server 2025.

It is one of those rare few times that the update is accompanied with an actual release note instead of a general changelog that does not specify any particular changes. Microsoft has mentioned changes in how WinPE communicates an app error or app crash with the new WinRE updates. The changelogs are given below:

KB5067039: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and 25H2, and Windows Server 2025: October 14, 2025

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE) in Windows 11, version 24H2, Windows 11, version 25H2 and Windows Server 2025.

 

The following is a summary of the issues that this update addresses when you install this update. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

• [Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE)] New! If WinPE is unable to start an application, a message box will now be displayed instead of the debug command prompt that previously appeared.

....

 

KB5067019: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 22H2 and 23H2: October 14, 2025

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment in Windows 11, version 22H2 and Windows 11, version 23H2.

 

The following is a summary of the issues that this update addresses when you install this update. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

• [Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE)] New! If WinPE is unable to start an application, a message box will now be displayed instead of the debug command prompt that previously appeared.

Microsoft notes that the Recovery update will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel. You can also avail both of them on Microsoft's Update Catalog website: KB5067039, KB5067019.

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Posted Sunday 19 October 2025 at 4:51 am AEST (my time).

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KWin's Dim Inactive effect in Plasma 6.5 has been clamped to strength levels between 10 and 90 percent, because settings outside that range produced nonsensical results. In addition to that, the KDE team ironed out several bugs, including a KWin crash that occurred when you woke a laptop from sleep after disconnecting an external display.

The update also corrects a problem that caused remote desktop connections to fail when using a recent version of ffmpeg. Another fix addresses an issue where screen content would not update frequently enough when a user enabled full-screen colorblindness correction effects.

Finally, for NVIDIA users, a bug that made System Monitor sensors display the wrong values for certain GPUs has been squashed.

Plasma 6.5.1, the bugfix release for Plasma 6.5, will ship with fixes for multiple user interface issues on System Settings' Remote Desktop page. The team also fixed a bug that could cause minor visual glitches when moving the pointer in and out of the windows of certain applications.

Even though Plasma 6.5 is not out yet, KDE is already working on the next major release, Plasma 6.6. This will bring an updated Application Dashboard widget that can be configured to follow the system color scheme, although the default is dark mode.

You can also resize the area between the widget's "Favorites" and "Applications" sections. The top-level menu items have been modified with slightly rounded highlights, and the Bing Picture of the Day wallpaper provider will now show a thumbnail that reflects the image's actual aspect ratio instead of always showing a portrait version of it.

As for the bug fixes scheduled for Plasma 6.6, they include:

• Discover no longer crashes when Flatpak is installed, but is unavailable for some reason.
• A bug that incorrectly stored IPsec passwords for some VPNs, which caused them to ask for the password every time you connected, has been fixed.

You can find out more from the official KDE blog post.

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Posted Sunday 19 October 2025 at 4:49 am AEST (my time).

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The Document Foundation, the folks behind LibreOffice, started its push as far back as June this year, criticizing Microsoft's decision to end support, which would render millions of perfectly functional PCs obsolete, and presented Linux as a cost-effective and secure alternative. We have also seen initiatives like The "End of 10" Campaign by KDE, making the case for Linux and providing guides and info on how to switch.

Of all the projects trying to poach Windows users, Zorin Group might be the most aggressive, launching its biggest OS upgrade, Zorin OS 18, on the very day Windows 10 died.

In a recent post on X, Zorin Group celebrated the launch of version 18, claiming that it hit 100,000 downloads in "a little over 2 days". The company called it its "biggest launch ever" and claimed that over 72% of those downloads came from Windows.

So what's the big deal with Zorin OS 18? The new version comes with a redesigned desktop that feels a lot more modern. It uses a lighter color palette and a taskbar that has a floating, rounded style by default. The developers also introduced a much better window tiling system. If you drag a window to the top of the screen, a layout manager pops up, similar to Windows 11's Snap Layouts. The main difference here is that Zorin allows you to create your own custom tiling layouts.

As for Windows app compatibility, Zorin OS 18 now includes an updated version of WINE 10 for better support of Windows software. On top of that, there's also an expanded database that helps when it detects a Windows installer. The system checks the file and suggests the best way to run over 170 popular apps, whether that means installing a native Linux version, using the web-based alternative, or firing it up through WINE.

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Microsoft has emphasized that the browser is the "universal workspace" where cloud, AI, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) converge, which is why the future is browser-native. The Redmond tech firm has highlighted that the average company accesses 106 SaaS applications from within the browser, and users spend an average of 6 hours and 37 minutes per day inside this particular piece of software.

There are lots of drivers behind this high usage, including hardware-agnosticism, universal accessibility, no friction installation, and AI as an "invisible layer". This is why it is imperative that organizations protect against areas which act as lucrative attack surfaces for malicious actors. Some examples are listed below:

• Phishing & Social Engineering 2.0: Still a popular way to lure targets through copying of legitimate websites, pop-ups, deep fakes, QR codes, and more
• Malicious OAuth and Consent Phishing: Malicious OAuth apps exploit legitimate authentication flows to get illegal access, and are greatly underestimated
• Session Hijacking, Token Theft: Includes exploitation through reused passwords, weak MFA, ignoring warnings, weak cookies/session token management, session hijacking, and social engineering
• Zero-day, Sandbox Escape, Engine Bugs: Sophisticated malware may be able to perform a sandbox escape and compromise the system
• Malicious Extensions. Plugins, and Add-ons: Malicious extensions are known to steal data without your knowledge, we covered a recent example here
• Evasion, Smuggling, Last-mile Reassembly: Microsoft describes this as "network-level, traffic-inspection, URL-filtering vs what the browser sees remains a gap. Attackers exploit encoding fragmentation, chunking, content-decoding differences, obfuscation, ephemeral domains, interpretation mismatches and other mechanisms which let malicious payloads slip by filters and be executed by the browser."
• Persistent Client-side Compromises, "Man-in-the-Browser": Involves keyloggers, credential stealers, session hijackers, cookie theft, and form-grabbers
• Clickjacking and UI Redress Attacks: Invisible overlays that trick users into clicking harmful UI elements
• Supply-chain, Trusted-component Compromise: includes dependencies such as compromised third-party libraries, web pages, browser extension stores, misused certificates
• New and Expanded API Surfaces & User Data: Browsers now offer some very powerful APIs in terms of privileges, which can be targeted for exploitation
• AI Integrated Browsers: This is a relatively new attack surface targeted by prompt injection attacks, context leakage, and data exposure.

Microsoft has noted that while browser usage has significantly increased over the past few years, there is still a notable gap in terms of implementation of security controls around them. This is something that the enterprise space needs to be mindful of, as it adopts this technology for even more use-cases.

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Posted Saturday 18 October 2025 at 5:14 pm AEST (my time).

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Here is the changelog:

[Mobile Device Settings]

• You can now directly add and manage your mobile devices from Settings on your Windows PC by navigating to “Mobile Devices” under the Bluetooth & Devices section. This page allows you to view your mobile devices, add new mobile devices, and manage features such as using your device as a connected camera or accessing your device’s files in File Explorer.

[Accounts]

• We’ve added a new entry point in the account control on the Start menu that takes you directly to the benefits page on https://account.microsoft.com/, making it easier to explore and manage the benefits that come with your Microsoft account.

[Game Pass]

• In this build we have modified references to Game Pass plans in Settings to reflect updated branding and benefits.

[File Explorer]

• We’re continuing to make improvements to the dark mode experience in File Explorer. You will now see a consistent dark mode experience in the Folder Options dialog.

[Drag Tray]

• We’ve added the ability to turn Drag Tray on/off from Settings->System->Nearby sharing.

Here is what was fixed:

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which could cause File Explorer to show a Catastrophic Error (0x8000FFFF) when extracting large (1.5gb+) archive files.
• Fixed an issue which could cause an old white toolbar to randomly appear in File Explorer sometimes.

[Display and Graphics]

• Fixed a recent issue which was causing some videos and games to be unexpectedly red.
• Fixed an issue where apps and browsers could have partially stuck onscreen content when other maximized / full screen apps were updating in the background. This may have been noticeable particularly when trying to scroll the window content, as only some parts would update.
• We’ve improved the performance when apps query monitors for their full list of supported modes. When this happens could lead to a momentary stutter on very high-resolution monitors, and this work should help prevent and reduce stuttering in these scenarios.

[Windows Update]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to updates failing to install with error 0x800f0983.

[Other]

• Fixed a hang which could impact Outlook in recent builds, where if prompted for your credentials, you wouldn’t be able to bring the pop up to the foreground and it would go unresponsive.
• Fixed an issue which was causing Remote Credential Guard scenarios between the latest Windows 11 builds and Server 2022 (and below) to fail.
• Fixed an issue which could cause the print preview screen to stop responding in Chromium-based browsers.

Here is the list of known bugs:

[General]

• [NEW] Text actions that use Phi Silica in Click to Do and Recall will not work correctly on this build. A fix is on the way.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Our new animations on taskbar previews have been turned off temporarily because they were interfering with the ability to share a window from its preview, we will note when they’re brought back.
• [NEW] We’re investigating an issue which is causing the Start menu to not open for some Insiders on click, although it will open if you press the Windows key. It’s believed this issue may also potentially impact the notification center (which you can open with WIN + N).

[File Explorer]

• Copy progress might flash when clicking more or less details in dark mode version of the copy dialog.
• Scrollbar and footer are missing and showing a white block instead when text is scaled in dark mode version of the copy dialog.

[Gaming]

• Some Insiders are experiencing an issue where using their Xbox Controller via Bluetooth is causing their PC to bugcheck. Here is how to resolve the issue. Open Device Manager by searching for it via the search box on your taskbar. Once Device Manager is open, click on “View” and then “Devices by Driver”. Find the driver named “oemXXX.inf (XboxGameControllerDriver.inf)” where the “XXX” will be a specific number on your PC. Right-click on that driver and click “Uninstall”.

You can find the announcement post here (Dev build) and here (Beta build)

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Posted Saturday 18 October 2025 at 5:12 pm AEST (my time).

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It is a bit interesting because while major companies, like Microsoft and Google, are busy adding AI features to their browsers, the Tor developers are actively working to remove them. A contributor to the Tor Project (@henry) noted that the team has not audited the code and cannot realistically audit the trained "black box" behavior of these machine learning models.

They acknowledged that some users might "want to accept the risk of local black box from Mozilla" for certain features, but the project is opting for exclusion first. Components that were removed include the AI chatbot sidebar, which Mozilla rolled out in March, and the link preview feature from May that summarizes pages.

Apart from the removal of the ML stuff, Tor Browser 15.0.a4 removes several Mozilla/Firefox-related branding, like the "cute" little fox graphics, Firefox Home, and the new History Sidebar. Speaking of the History Sidebar, it has been replaced by the old history panel from Tor Browser 14.5, which you can access with the Ctrl + H shortcut.

Tor Browser will no longer hide the protocol (like http or https) of the URL in the address bar on desktop, but it will still remain hidden on Android.

Other small changes include better emoji rendering on Linux thanks to the now-included Noto Color Emoji font, a new Jigmo font which the Tor devs believe results in better rendering for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) glyphs, and better dark theme support for Tor Browser-specific UI components.

You can check out the full release notes here.

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Posted Saturday 18 October 2025 at 5:11 pm AEST (my time).

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This bug affects both Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 systems, where users will see connection reset errors when loading pages or using apps that try to connect to the localhost (127.0.0.1) IP address.

As BleepingComputer reported on Wednesday, the issue is triggered after installing the Windows 11 KB5066835 Patch Tuesday update, and even September's KB5065789 preview update, causing errors such as "ERR_CONNECTION_RESET" or "ERR_HTTP2_PROTOCOL_ERROR".

These problems have been reported by Windows users on Stack Exchange, Reddit, and Microsoft's own forums, who state they are no longer able to make HTTP connections to 127.0.0.1. This bug has impacted the Duo Desktop app and features in many widely used applications, including Visual Studio debugging and SSMS Entra ID authentication.

Following these widespread reports, Microsoft confirmed the known issue and linked it to a bug in the HTTP.sys Windows-based web server for ASP.NET Core. The company added that this bug can be triggered by a variety of conditions, including the timing of recent device restarts and update installations, as well as the device's internet connectivity.

"Following installation of updates releases on or after September 29 (KB5066835), server-side applications that rely on HTTP.sys may experience issues with incoming connections," the company explained in a Thursday update on the Windows release health dashboard.

"As a result, IIS websites might fail to load, displaying a message such as 'Connection reset - error (ERR_CONNECTION_RESET)', or similar error. This includes websites hosted on http://localhost/, and other IIS connections."

Microsoft asked affected users to go through the following procedure to resolve the issue on impacted devices:

1. Open "Windows Update" in the "Windows Settings" app. This can be accomplished by opening the start menu, typing "check for updates", and selecting from the results to the right.
2. Click on "Check for updates". Allow any updates to install.
3. Restart your device even if no updates are installed in the previous step.

Redmond has also automatically resolved the issue on non-managed business devices and for most home users via Known Issue Rollback (KIR), a Windows feature that reverses buggy updates delivered via Windows Update.

To fix it on affected Windows enterprise-managed devices running Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, and Windows Server 2025, IT administrators must install and configure the following KIR group policy.

Admins can find additional guidance on deploying and configuring KIR group policies on Microsoft's support website.

Redmond says a permanent fix will roll out with a future Windows update, so organizations will no longer need to install a group policy to address this issue.

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Posted Saturday 18 October 2025 at 3:45 am AEST (my time).

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The company has confirmed that Windows 11 24H2 as well as version 25H2, break many IIS (Internet Information Services) websites after the recent October 2025 Patch Tuesday update and its preview update. As a result, localhost loopbacks and various other IIS-based authentications are broken at the moment due to conflicts between the Windows updates and the HTTP stack (or http.sys) driver. Consequently, an "ERR_CONNECTION_RESET" error message is displayed.

Microsoft has explained: "Following installation of updates releases on or after September 29 (KB5066835 / KB5065789), server-side applications that rely on HTTP.sys may experience issues with incoming connections. As a result, IIS websites might fail to load, displaying a message such as "Connection reset - error (ERR_CONNECTION_RESET)", or similar error. This includes websites hosted on http://localhost/, and other IIS connections."

The company has added that the problem may occur due to a "variety of conditions" like "device's internet connectivity, as well as timing of recent update installation and device restarts" and as such it may not appear in every environment.

Microsoft says that it is working on a fix but for now it has asked to deploy a known issue rollback as a workaround. It writes:

IT admins can resolve this issue ... by installing and configuring the Group policy listed below. The special Group Policy can be found in Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > [Group Policy name].

 

Group Policy downloads with Group Policy name:

 

• Download for Windows 11, version 24H2, Windows 11 25H2 and Windows Server, version 2025 - Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2 and Windows Server 2025 KB5066835 251015_22001 Known Issue Rollback.msi

You can view the issue here on the Windows Health dashboard web page on Microsoft's official site.

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Posted Saturday 18 October 2025 at 3:44 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft is bolstering the Paint app in Windows 11 with a couple of new AI abilities, one of which allows for easily putting together short animations, and another is very much shades of yellow (by which I mean: think Google's Nano Banana).

Windows Latest reports that both features are part of Windows AI Labs, which is the proving ground for testing AI-based functionality.

The new 'Animate' option can be clicked to turn any image (or sketch) into a full animation, with AI doing the hard work therein.

Based on Windows Latest's testing – the tech site shows two examples – there's still a fair way to go here, though. The feature doesn't ask for any prompt, so there's no control over the end result, the AI just decides on the direction to take.

And in the case of the sample pic of Pikachu flying through the night sky, the finished animation based on this goes off the rails. It's okay to start with, then weirdness creeps in towards the end.

The second feature coming to Paint is 'Generative Edit', which, in Gemini Nano Banana style, allows you to take an image and apply a complex edit to it via a simple AI query. Windows Latest shows one example of taking a banana and turning the background into a "fruit jungle" – and this actually works very well.

Analysis: generation game

(Image credit: Windows Latest / Microsoft)

Both of these abilities take quite some time to be realized in the examples provided by Windows Latest, and as noted, the results can go awry, but this is still early testing. We're told that Microsoft is using its own in-house model for creating animations, so if you thought it was based on third-party tech, apparently not.

We can't even be sure these AI features will ever leave testing, but it's likely a fair bet. They're obvious pieces of functionality to look to include in Paint, an app that is gradually becoming more packed with AI, and more complex in general.

If you're wondering about how to join the Windows AI Labs to access this kind of experimental functionality, you'll need to sign up for the program. However, right now, invites are only rolling out to select Windows 11 testers, so you need to be a Windows Insider – then you'll see an invitation pop up at some point in Paint (as Windows Latest did). So, for now, all you can do is sit tight and wait (and join the Windows Insider program if you aren't already a member).

Note that the AI Labs is just for Paint to begin with, but it will incorporate other Windows 11 apps eventually (Photos is likely next in line).

There are already quite a few AI features in Paint, the major one being Cocreator, alongside various other abilities. Microsoft isn't afraid of making its default Windows 11 apps more complicated these days, as noted, and Paint is very much moving away from its original concept as a basic image editor. The same is true of Notepad, much to the chagrin of some people.

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The issue, tied to update KB5066835 released on October 14, affects builds like 26100.6899 and has sparked widespread complaints on forums, including Microsoft’s support pages, Stack Overflow, and Server Fault.

This breakage halts critical tasks such as debugging in Visual Studio and testing ASP.NET projects, impacting both individual developers and business environments reliant on local servers.

The problem manifests as HTTP/2 protocol errors, such as ERR_HTTP2_PROTOCOL_ERROR or ERR_CONNECTION_RESET, when attempting to connect to localhost-hosted services.

Users report that applications using IIS Express or Kestrel servers fail to respond, turning routine local development into a frustrating ordeal. For instance, Autodesk confirmed disruptions to its Vault software, urging customers to roll back the update where possible.

Community threads highlight how the bug extends beyond hobbyists, affecting production desktop applications that depend on loopback communication for internal processes.

One developer noted that even simple web previews in Chromium-based browsers now encounter unresponsive connections post-update.

Investigations point to modifications in HTTP.sys, the kernel driver handling HTTP traffic, as the culprit behind the localhost severance.

This component, updated in KB5066835 to address security vulnerabilities, inadvertently breaks loopback HTTP/2 negotiations, especially in configurations with the prior September preview update KB5065789.

Affected users have found relief by often uninstalling KB5066835 alongside KB5065789 using command line tools like wusa.exe, followed by a restart.

Alternative workarounds include disabling HTTP/2 through registry edits under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IIS\Parameters or updating Microsoft Defender Antivirus definitions via KB2267602, which resolves the issue without full rollback in some cases.

Fresh Windows 11 installations appear immune, suggesting the error stems from interactions with existing setups rather than a core flaw.

As of October 17, 2025, Microsoft has not publicly acknowledged the bug on its KB5066835 support page, though forum responses from engineers indicate internal awareness and ongoing fixes.

Some reports claim a subsequent Defender intelligence update or minor patch has mitigated it for rolled-back systems, but variability persists across hardware and configurations.

With Windows 10’s support ending soon, this glitch underscores challenges in transitioning users to Windows 11 amid recurring update regressions.

Developers are advised to pause updates temporarily and monitor release health dashboards for official resolutions, ensuring minimal downtime in their workflows. The incident joins a pattern of post-patch issues, prompting calls for improved quality control at Redmond.

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Open-source operating system Linux may have lagged behind its better-known competitors like macOS and Windows for decades—but it looks like it may finally be getting its day in the sun.

According to Statcounter's June 2025 stats, spotted by TechSpot, Linux now has a 5.38% share of the US desktop operating system market, its highest-ever result. But though Linux is holding a bigger slice of the pie than ever before, OSes from tech giants like Apple and Microsoft still control the vast majority of the market.

Windows maintains a clear lead with 63.2%, while Apple controls 24%, split between OS X at 16.57% and macOS at 7.72%. But this might be a story of Windows’ recent dip as much as Linux’s rise. According to Statcounter's figures, it's lost 5.1% of its market share since December.

TechSpot posited a few explanations for Linux’s recent rise, noting issues like dissatisfaction with the Windows ecosystem. Windows 11 had much slower uptake among users than its predecessor, with issues like high performance requirements as a result of the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security feature coming into play (which Microsoft insisted was necessary for security). Windows 11 Copilot+ has also been hit with controversies and regulatory scrutiny over alleged privacy concerns, attracting the eye of UK regulators. Windows 11 only overtook Windows 10 this month.

But Linux has also scored some significant wins, with Denmark’s government moving to adopt it for some of its IT systems, citing pragmatic issues like cost-cutting as well as "digital sovereignty." It's also in use by some high-profile consumer tech, like the handheld Steam Deck.

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Over the past few years, the Ubuntu-based Zorin OS has rightfully earned its place among the top desktop Linux distributions, especially for its clean, polished, and user-friendly design, giving a great user experience.

It’s built mainly with newcomers in mind—particularly those considering making the jump from Windows to Linux—purposefully providing a desktop that feels comfortably familiar to anyone used to Windows.

As we informed you, the latest Zorin OS 18 release landed just a few days ago. And whether by coincidence or clever timing, it was announced on October 14—the very same day Microsoft ended support for Windows 10. The message couldn’t be clearer: Windows users, Zorin OS is ready to welcome you.

Why am I saying this? In a recent social media post, the Zorin OS team shared an impressive milestone — in less than 48 hours, Zorin OS 18 has been downloaded over 100K times, and that number keeps climbing, making it, in Zorin’s words, “our biggest launch ever.”

That alone is pretty remarkable, but here’s what’s even more interesting — about 72% of those downloads came from Windows users. Now that really makes you stop and think.

It seems that the recent push from several Linux distributions to attract frustrated Windows 10 users — following Microsoft’s decision to end support — might actually be starting to pay off.

This brings up that age-old question that’s become more of a running joke in Linux forums than a serious debate: Is this finally the year of Linux on the desktop? Well, just like years ago, the answer is still the same—no. Honestly, I don’t think that day will ever really come. But that’s a whole other discussion.

Still, what Zorin has pulled off here is impressive. Hitting 100K downloads in just 48 hours is a strong indication that the distro’s user base is expanding fast. Whether this surge is directly linked to the end of Windows 10 support remains uncertain, but the timing is hard to overlook as a possible contributing factor.

Finally, it would be interesting to see comparable numbers from other major players in the Linux desktop space—and, more specifically, from Mint or Ubuntu—but no such data has been shared so far. In any case, congratulations to the Zorin team; the achievement is well earned.

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The culprit was the SenseShield sprotect.sys driver which was responsible for providing encryption protection. Now Microsoft has confirmed that the hold that was placed under ID 56318982 has now been removed as the issue has been resolved.

However, since there can be many different software programs that use SenseShield's technology underneath, Microsoft says that it can be hard to exactly pinpoint which software is the one that requires that update. Thus it recommends updating the various apps on your system to see if it works and you are able to get the Windows 11 24H2 update. It explains:

"Recent versions of software that employ the sprotect.sys driver have resolved the compatibility issue. Please note that many applications employ SenseShield technology and the sprotect.sys driver is automatically installed with some applications. As a result, it may be difficult to determine which update may be necessary. If an application using sprotect.sys loses functionality, updating it to a newer version can resolve the issue.

The safeguard hold has been removed as of October 15, 2025." 

Hence, although the safeguard hold for Windows 11 24H2 is no longer there, Microsoft is leaving the figuring out part of the necessary app update to users and admins alike. As always, Redmond has reminded that users may need to wait for up to 48 hours for the feature update to appear even though the compatibility block may be lifted.

For those wondering, the SenseShield Technology Co., Ltd (formerly "Senselock") is a company that offers software/IP protection and enterprise data security with tools like VirBox.

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Posted Friday 17 October 2025 at 5:59 pm AEST (my time).

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