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Pop-ups range from straightforward to cheeky. One calls Chrome "so 2008."

If you're a Google Chrome user setting up a new Windows PC, the most important feature of Microsoft Edge is the ability to download Chrome. Microsoft is apparently aware of this behavior and is doing something about it: Neowin has spotted new Edge pop-ups that specifically try to dissuade users from downloading and installing Chrome, a change that I promise I didn't know about when I wrote about Microsoft's annoying promotion of Microsoft Edge literally yesterday.

So far, panic about the new Covid variant has outpaced actual information.

Starting last Friday, the race was on—between a virus and information about it. And for a while, the information moved faster, even though there was hardly any of it.

Edge can succeed on its merits, and Microsoft needs to start acting like it.

If Microsoft really wants to "put you first," it needs to tweak its strategy with Edge.

The browser will give you the option to make payments through Zip

Microsoft is tacking on a “buy now, pay later” extension to Edge that prompts users to use short-term financing service Zip (formerly QuadPay) when making a purchase on the browser.

ThisIsWin11 (TIW11) version 0.93.0 was released by developer built Bybel earlier today on GitHub. This third-party tool allows for more Windows 11 customization and the maker even touts the app as "The real Power Toys for Windows 11".

Microsoft ships a useful tool called the Group Policy Editor, commonly known as Gpedit.msc or just GPEDIT, with the Pro version of its Windows operating system. It is handy for enabling or disabling functions of various elements in the OS, by changing Registry values, but in a more user-friendly way. Unfortunately, Home Edition users don't get access to this nifty tweaking utility. But, there is a way to enable the Group Policy Editor on Windows 11 Home.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' tops the chart, followed by ‘No Time to Die'. 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' completes the top three.

Microsoft frequently updates multiple versions of Windows, be it through its regular Patch Tuesday updates that happen at the second Tuesday of every month, or optional updates, or even out-of-band fixes. While many people are annoyed by continual updates as they sometimes interrupt their workflow, they are arguably necessary in most cases due to the security holes they plug and the software issues they fix.
 
Although I personally have no complaints about the frequency of the updates themselves, I do have some concerns about the lack of information and context that Microsoft provides through its built-in Windows Update setting. Case in point is above where I have a bunch of updates pending on my Windows 11 machine but I can't directly find out what exactly they update or fix. You'll have a similar user experience in Windows 10 as well.

When you run searches on Windows 11 from the operating system's Start Menu, you will get local results as well as web-based results powered by Bing by default. Microsoft introduced web search functionality in Windows 10 and has kept the feature in Windows 11.
 
Many Windows 11 users see web searching as a way for Microsoft to promote its Bing search engine, and not as something that adds value to the search functionality. Web Search integration broke Windows Search at least once on Windows 10, and there is the chance that this is going to happen again.

Microsoft released Microsoft Edge 96 last week and a small bug fix and performance update on November 23, 2021. The new version of Microsoft Edge includes several improvements for users of the stable channel.

Today Microsoft released Microsoft Edge Build 96.0.1054.29 as part of their regular 4-weekly update cycle.
 
The update brings Webview improvements, new PWA features and Quick Links for Office apps, but the most interesting is probable a new Super Dooper Secure Mode which users can enable on dodgy sites.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'No Time to Die' tops the chart, followed by ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'. 'Last Night in Soho' completes the top three.

We are at the end of yet another week, which has been an extremely busy one in the world of Microsoft due to tons of announcements and the release of several Windows builds. Find out more about this and more in our weekly digest for November 14 - November 19.

Microsoft has confirmed a new known issue impacting client and server Windows versions that breaks apps after updating or repairing them using the Windows Installer (previously known as Microsoft Installer).
 
This issue affects systems where Windows users have installed cumulative updates released during this month's Patch Tuesday.

Google is rolling out Chrome 96 today to all users of their browser, which brings an interesting new feature to Windows users.
 
Using a flag, Windows users can now enable the rounded corners and drop-shadow features in the Chrome browser on Windows 11, and interestingly this is available even on Windows 10.

Microsoft today announced that Windows 10 moving to annual release cadence to align with the Windows 11 cadence. With this change, Windows 10 users will be getting only one feature update in a calendar year. The next Windows 10 feature update will be available during the second half of 2022. Microsoft also announced the following today:

Microsoft has released Windows 10 21H2, also known as the November 2021 Update, and it is available to users running Windows 10 2004 or later as an optional update in Windows Update.
 
The Windows 10 21H1 feature update is a limited release with only a few new features, primarily directed at business users. However, as this is the latest release of Windows 10, and Windows 10 2004 reaches the end of support next month, it is recommended that users install the new feature update.
 
Windows 10 21H2 is being rolled out in stages, with it first offered as an optional update to "seekers" running version 2004 or later. Seekers are those who manually perform a check for new updates in Windows Update. 

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' tops the chart, followed by ‘No Time to Die'. 'Red Notice' completes the top three.

Microsoft locked the Microsoft Edge specific protocol that it created in a recent build of Windows 11. Up until now, it was possible to use programs such as EdgeDeflector to redirect the requests to another web browser. Microsoft uses the protocol in various apps and pages on Windows 10 and Windows 11, but it is an artificial protocol that offers no advantage to the user.
 
The implementation is anti-competitive and designed purely to boost the company's own web browser Microsoft Edge. Now, with the build locking the protocol in place, it is even more difficult to use another web browser. While that affects Windows 11 Insider devices currently only, it is likely that the implementation will land in stable versions of Windows 11 eventually.

We are at the close of another week and while there was no Ignite conference in this one, it was still a pretty packed week due to multiple Windows updates, new Microsoft hardware, and some collaborations. Find out more about the aforementioned topics as well as lots of others in our weekly digest for November 7 - November 12.

Today Microsoft released Windows 11 KB5007262 to Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels.
 
The update fixes an issue where certain processors stop responding when waking from hibernation, and also a very long list of other issues.

Windows 11 has been out for well over a month, but since it's still quite new and is being rolled out in a staggered manner, it's worth it to know what you're getting into before you decide to upgrade. This is why we have been discussing the OS' features in detail in our ongoing Closer Look series.
 
So far, we have taken a look at Search, Widgets, the Start menu, Snap Layouts and Snap Groups, the Taskbar, quick settings and notifications, Virtual Desktops, power and battery settings, default apps configurations, File Explorer, context menus, Teams integration, the updated Clock app in Windows 11, the Microsoft Store, the Snipping Tool, the Paint app refresh, the lock screen, the revamped Photos app, the voice typing experience, the storage settings, the touch keyboard, the Calendar app integration, the Calculator app, and the Settings UI. Today, we'll be taking a look at the Windows Update UI and process at a high level.

Microsoft today released the Windows 11 Preview Build 22499 to the Dev Channel Insiders. This new Windows 11 build comes with the ability to quickly share the content from open app windows directly from the taskbar to Teams meeting calls. The Clock app in this build now supports signing in with Microsoft work and school accounts.
 
Microsoft today also announced that Windows 11 Build 22499 ISOs are now available for download.
 
Users updating from Builds 22000.xxx, or earlier, to newer Dev Channel builds using the latest Dev Channel ISO, may receive the following warning message: The build you are trying to install is Flight Signed. To continue installing, enable flight signing. If you receive this message, press the Enable button, reboot the PC, and retry the update.

Microsoft Edge is continually updated with new features and fixes. The browser is available on multiple platforms, including Linux, and Microsoft has several preview channels set up where it first tests new capabilities with a subset of enthusiasts and developers before generally rolling them out to the public. An example of this is the company exploring the option to replace the HTTPS lock icon with a down arrow because the current icon could mislead users into believing that a site is secure.
 
Now, it seems that Microsoft is working on deepening Edge's integration with its Office apps on the web. Reddit user u/Leopeva64-2 has noted that Edge Canary's latest build has a new option in the tab's context menu. Essentially, if you right-click on a tab in the window, you'll get an updated context menu which will now feature an option called "New Office tab". Nested inside this will be more granular options such as "Word document", "PowerPoint presentation", and "Excel workbook".
 

The new update is now available for Windows 10 version 2004, version 20H2 and version 21H1. As per the official release notes, Microsoft has published cumulative updates KB5007186 and KB5007189.
 
This month's cumulative updates apparently include security fixes for May 2021 Update (version 21H1), October 2020 Update (version 20H2), and May 2020 Update (version 2004). It's also the second last security update for version 2004, which is set to reach the end of service in December.
 
The update is now rolling out via Windows Update, WSUS, and the Microsoft Update Catalog with numerous bug fixes and performance enhancements.