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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.

You can catch up on all of this week's news right here!

From hedgehogs on Microsoft's Redmond campus to Phil Spencer surprising us with a major Final Fantasy announcement at this year's Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival, it's been an eventful week.

Thankfully for anyone wanting to catch up on Microsoft, Xbox, and Windows news, we have a roundup of the biggest stories.

Pete Batard, creator of the Rufus app, has released a new feature update in the stable channel. Earlier this month, version 4.2 arrived as beta, and now it is ready to offer the latest improvements for all users.
 
Although Rufus 4.2 does not contain groundbreaking new features, it offers several notable changes, improvements, and fixes. For example, the app can warn users about revoked UEFI bootloaders.
 
This feature is related to changes in the Windows Boot Manager that will cause specific media to stop booting after Q1 2024 (find more information in the official documentation). Also, Rufus now supports ZIP64, allowing you to extract images larger than 4GB.
 
Finally, there is support for saving and restoring the current drive to or from compressed VHDX and FFU images, plus a bunch of bugfixes.

By Susan Bradley (AKA 'The Microsoft Patch Lady')
 
If you haven’t updated to Windows 10/11 22H2, now is a good time because I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4.
 
This month’s updates have now settled down to the point that I don’t anticipate any issues for the vast majority of readers, nor have I seen any surprises in my testing on Windows 10 or Windows 11.
 
22H2 is now my recommended version of Windows for both Windows 10 and Windows 11 for all editions and all types of users — with the single exception of gamers.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'The Flash' tops the chart, followed by 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'. ‘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.

Choosing the right VPN can be a tricky endeavor. There are hundreds of VPN services out there promising to improve users' privacy, but some are more private than others.

To help you pick the best one for your needs, we asked dozens of VPNs to detail their logging practices, how they handle torrent users, and what else they do to keep you as anonymous as possible.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we take a look at the long-rumored Xbox Live Gold replacement called "Xbox Game Pass Core" and its features; Windows Insiders get new builds with Windows 11 23H2 features, energy improvements, and more; plenty of apps get plenty of changes in the latest updates; Microsoft announces Bing Chat for enterprise with a hefty price-per-user; and we recall Microsoft's first attempt to disrupt the mobile market with a cordless mobile phone.

Intel moved to a hybrid x86 CPU design for its 11th generation of Core processors (Alder Lake). Not only that, but the company also made several other changes to other components too, dubbed the "Uncore" portion of the processor, also referred to as the System Agent, which includes the Northbridge. One such change is apparently causing various latency issues and sluggish performance in general on Intel's hybrid chips according to a report by YouTuber Tech YES City (TYC).

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' tops the chart, followed by 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'. ‘John Wick: Chapter 4' 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.

Keyboard shortcuts are an extremely powerful productivity-boosting feature. Sadly, Windows has no built-in shortcut guide, so I decided to list my eleven favorite shortcuts without which I cannot use my computer.

If colours are not looking as they should on the screen, it's probably because the device isn't using the correct colour profile. Here's the fix on Windows 11.

On Windows 11, similar to any operating system, accurate colour rendering on the screen is critical, even more for those professionals working on video editing, photography, or gamers. As a result, in this guide, you will learn the steps to set the correct colour profile for your monitor.