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You can catch up on all the news from the week right here.

Confirmation of a Surface event, the maker of ChatGPT reportedly marching toward bankruptcy, and a $5.4 billion Intel deal falling through are just some of the news stories that hit the headlines this week.

With so much going on, it's easy to miss a few pieces. Don't worry, our weekly news roundup is here with all of the biggest stories from throughout the week in one convenient place.

Microsoft released Windows 11 with a slew of intriguing new features and enhancements, making it an alluring operating system for users across the globe. You will need to use the correct software to take advantage of all the improvements while contributing to your productivity and efficiency.
 
These are the top Windows 11 apps available right now. We’ve covered everything from productivity and entertainment tools to customization apps.

A high-severity vulnerability has been fixed in WinRAR, the popular file archiver utility for Windows used by millions, that can execute commands on a computer simply by opening an archive.
 
The flaw is tracked as CVE-2023-40477 and could give remote attackers arbitrary code execution on the target system after a specially crafted RAR file is opened.

Google Chrome is a popular and feature-rich web browser that undergoes frequent updates to enhance security and performance. However, these updates can occasionally lead to compatibility problems with certain websites, extensions, or even your operating system.
 
Downgrading your Chrome version can help restore stability and resolve such issues.

What started as criticism over errors in recent YouTube videos has escalated into allegations of sexual harassment, prompting the company to hire an outside investigator.

Linus Sebastian’s Linus Media Group YouTube empire is currently in crisis, with accusations of theft, lapses in ethics, and most recently, allegations of sexual harassment. The company has currently paused all production to improve its review processes, and CEO Terren Tong tells The Verge an outside investigator will be hired to examine the harassment allegations.

Anonfiles, a popular service for sharing files anonymously, has shut down after saying it can no longer deal with the overwhelming abuse by its users.
 
Anonfiles is an anonymous file-sharing site that allows people to share files anonymously without their activity being logged.
 
However, it soon became one of the most popular file-sharing services used by threat actors to share samples of stolen data, stolen credentials, and copyrighted material.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' tops the chart, followed by 'No Hard Feelings'. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' completes the top three.
 
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends.
All data are gathered from public resources.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly we look at a surprising new feature for Windows 10 in the latest preview update, Intel making seriously head-scratching changes in its GPU drivers, August 2023 Patch Tuesday updates, changes for the Microsoft Store, gaming news, and more.

We saw plenty of news this week from the worlds of Windows, Xbox, and PC gaming, and you can catch up right here.

We're ramping up in the world of Windows and Xbox news. The slower days of summer in the northern hemisphere are almost entirely behind us, paving the way for product announcements and back-to-school season. This week Microsoft released a preview of Windows 365 Switch and made changes to the trial for Xbox Game Pass. The company also cut Windows 11 support for 44 CPUs.

In May 2023, when Windows 11 build 23466 was released in the Dev Channel, Microsoft announced a new app for backing up settings, files, apps, and other things on your computer. Some thought the Windows Backup app would be exclusive to the upcoming Windows 11 23H2 update, but as it turned out, Microsoft also wants Windows 10 users to have access to the new backup experience.
 
This week, Microsoft released build 19045.3391 for testing in the Release Preview Channel. After installing the update, users discovered an announced change: the new Windows Backup app. You can run the program from the Start menu to back up folders, apps, credentials, and settings in your OneDrive.

In early 2023, Microsoft started to test Start Menu promotions in its Windows 11 operating system. These have since then landed in release versions of Windows 11 and will launch on Windows 10 systems next month.
 
The badges are displayed when users select the profile icon in the Start Menu. They provide "quick access to important account-related notifications" according to Microsoft.

Passwords are a necessary evil. They protect our accounts and devices from unauthorized access, but they can also be a pain to remember and manage. They’re often the weakest link in our security chain, and they’re a prime target for hackers – so why not go passwordless on Windows 11? 
 
That’s right. Passwordless authentication is a more secure way to sign in to your devices and accounts without using a password. Instead, you can use a more secure method, such as the Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, or a physical security key.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' tops the chart, followed by 'Insidious: The Red Door'. ‘The Flash' completes the top three.
 
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources.

Microsoft has released the Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 22H2 (KB5029263) and 21H2 (KB5029253). The updates bumps 22H2 to Build 22621.2134 and 21H2 to Build 22000.2295. Please be aware that many of the highlights and improvements below are from the updates pushed at the end of July.

It's the second Tuesday of the month, which means it's Patch Tuesday time again. As such, today Microsoft is rolling out the monthly security update (also called "B release") for August 2023 on Windows Server 20H2, and Windows 10 for the latest supported versions, 21H2, and 22H2. The new updates are being distributed under KB5029244, bumping up the builds to 19044.3324 and 19045.3324. You can find standalone links to download the new update on Microsoft Update Catalog at this link here.

With the introduction of Windows 11 23H2, Microsoft has modernized File Explorer on Windows 11, bringing a fresher look and feel to the system's integral file management tool.
 
This update is not only visually pleasing but also comes with enhanced features and functions aimed at boosting productivity and making navigation simpler.
 
Among the new enhancements, the redesigned File Explorer now features a modern home page powered by WinUI, which integrates the Fluent Design System into all controls and styles.

Microsoft plans to ship a new feature update for Windows 11 later this year (stand by for our feature overview coming soon). Besides some neat features like Dynamic Lighting, native RAR support, Ink improvements, Windows 11 version 23H2 will introduce a redesigned File Explorer with the Gallery feature, improved tab management, modernized UI elements, enhanced OneDrive integration and more.
 
The update is already available for testing in the Beta Channel, meaning the release is getting nigh. However, there is one big problem with the redesigned File Explorer: performance.
 
To put it mildly, Windows 11's upcoming File Explorer is... not fast. In fact, users may experience severe performance downgrades even when running the update on supported hardware.

Microsoft has time and again iterated how it believes Windows 11 is the best OS for gaming, and in general. For example, when DirectStorage became generally available on PCs, the company promised an "amazing experience" on Windows 11.
 
However, tests, since the early days of the original Windows 11 21H2 release, have shown that certain features on the new OS do hurt the performance, at least when gaming, which is why Microsoft itself has recommended disabling them.

Microsoft has accidentally revealed an internal 'StagingTool' utility that can be used to enable hidden features, or Moments, in Windows 11.
 
When developing new features, Microsoft adds them to public Windows preview builds in a hidden and disabled state. These features, or Moments, can be enabled when they want to perform public A/B or internal tests.
 
For years, Windows enthusiasts have been searching for hidden features in new Insider preview builds and using specialized third-party tools, like ViveTool, to enable them for a sneak peek into what's coming in the future.
 
Now, Microsoft has revealed its own tool used to enable these hidden features.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at Microsoft Edge taking screenshots of the websites you visit for your own convenience, new features for Windows 11 in preview builds, leaked tools for turning on and off Windows features, gaming news, new hardware, and various app updates. Besides, as usual, you get a few look-back articles remembering old hardware and software from Microsoft.

All of this week's news is right here in one convenient spot.

From Surface Go disappointment to exclusive reports about a handheld gaming PC from Lenovo, this week was packed with all sorts of news. We even got to share a story about Linux surpassing macOS when it comes to gaming on Steam. Whether it's Microsoft Loop coming to the Microsoft Store or another trending topic, you can stay in the loop here with our weekly news roundup.

Microsoft Edge has numerous features to make the browsing experience better. For example, Startup Boost ensures Edge launches instantly, and improved text rendering delivers better fonts on Windows. These, in addition to several more, make Edge stand out among competitors. However, some services are head-scratching at best or outright bewildering at first sight.
 
Recently we covered a feature that could make one think Microsoft can see every picture you view online. Here is another one: an upcoming release will add a toggle enabling Edge to take screenshots of each page you visit. And no, it is not a clickbait-like assumption: Microsoft clearly states it wants to screenshot everything you view online.

Remember installing Windows 7 and not getting a metric ton of bloatware? Those were the good days. Nowadays, modern Windows versions come bundled with all sorts of third-party apps pinned to the Start menu, a sad reality for a premium product with a price tag of $139 and up.
 
PC enthusiasts have plenty of tools to fight back Microsoft's attempts to fill Windows to the brim with unnecessary software. However, you do not need complicated scripts or third-party utilities to get a clean Windows 11 installation without TikTok, Instagram, ESPN, Spotify, and other programs. All you need is one simple setting most users ignore when clean-installing Windows on their machines.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' tops the chart, followed by 'The Little Mermaid'. ‘The Flash' completes the top three.
 
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends.

All data are gathered from public resources.

In this issue of Microsoft Weekly: Microsoft's latest financial reports, new Windows 11 builds in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels, Edge's new cute mascot, an antitrust investigation in the EU, and a bunch of reviews.