Our Picks

By Susan Bradley (AKA The Microsoft patch lady)
Every month, I read headlines claiming that the latest patches for Windows 11 22H2 are causing major issues and impacting gazillions of users.
Every month, I also note that the deployments of Windows 11 in my home and office are well behaved. Some of that is surely the result of my tender ministrations, such as using an alternate menu system. But for the rest, Windows 11 is not some sort of monster stomping through neighborhoods and ruining lives.

Back in July, Microsoft for the first time, publicly announced Windows 11 version 23H2. Alongside that, the company also clarified that the system requirements for the feature update will remain unchanged.
 
While many thought, including Neowin, that the recent September 26 feature update was 23H2, Microsoft clarified later that it had been planned for a different date. However, Microsoft did roll out a bunch of 23H2 features early with the Moment 4 update. In case you missed it, it has been live since last night.

The Patch Tuesday update, which is the monthly Windows security update, is known to often arrive with some issues or bugs. However, the latest one for September, KB5030211, had no known issues, and very few reported issues online or on the Feedback hub. Microsoft though has managed to ruin it as it has seemingly begun pushing the new Windows Backup app on Windows 10 Pro 22H2 and LTSC systems without the option to easily uninstall it.
 
The Patch Tuesday update brings this change unannounced as the release notes did not mention such a thing. The issue was brought to the attention by a Reddit user Esky013, who is presumably an IT administrator, on the Intune subreddit. They explained:
 
After applying the September CU for Windows 10 22H2 (KB5030211), there is a shiny new Start Menu shortcut for Windows Backup. It doesn't work in any of the environments we look after ("This feature is not supported by your organisation") due to policies applied, and we don't want or need it in the Start Menu. If it's not there it will save the questions from users, too.

Do more in less time with our pick of keyboard shortcuts.

Getting around Windows 11 is a lot easier if you know a keyboard shortcut or five. You can then speed through tasks and across apps without having to fumble around for the mouse and trackpad (or even take your eyes off the screen).
 
These are some of my favorites that I turn to again and again on a daily basis. From helping you go between apps more quickly to navigating your system, there should be at least something here for everyone.

Microsoft has been repeatedly caught showing unwanted ads in Windows 11, including in notifications, Bing, and Edge. This has been a growing concern for users for some time — so, of course, people want to disable ads in Windows 11 whatever it takes. 
 
You may recall that Microsoft tested ads on Windows 11’s Settings page in an insider build back in May. It wasn’t the one and only time: they once showed huge banner ads promoting Edge on Chrome‘s download site, and the list goes on. 

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Blue Beetle' tops the chart, followed by 'Barbie'. ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' 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.

The next Windows 11 feature update, unofficially called "Moment 4," will be available for the general public in the Stable Channel on September 26, 2023. However, you can install it now if waiting is not an option. This guide will show you how to install Windows 11 Moment 4 update now and after the September 26, 2023 release.

Not so long ago, X (formerly Twitter) user @NTDEV_ released tiny10 version 23H2, giving users a clean and lightweight Windows 10 modification. tiny11 23H2 followed suit shortly. Although there is no shame in using Windows 10, most users will upgrade to Windows 11, or whatever comes after it, sooner or later.
 
What if you want to try tiny11 but do not want to perform a clean install? The good news is that you can upgrade from tiny10 to tiny11 without losing your apps, settings, and files, even if your PC's hardware is not eligible to run Windows 11 officially. Here is how.

Fan-made concepts are always fun to look at not only because they often offer a drastically different version than what the official one is, but also because they show what the enthusiasts and fans of that product deeply desire to have.
 
This is why they are generally quite popular among readers and viewers as some of the User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) ideas presented in such concepts deeply resonate with people.

Update: Microsoft says the upcoming release is "an update to 22H2," not version 23H2. Original article below.
 
During its special event in New York, Microsoft announced the next feature update for its operating system. It will be available as a free update for all users on September 26, 2023.
 
The upcoming update will bring plenty of various changes and new features, with the biggest upgrade focusing on AI and the recently announced Copilot. Like the update itself, the Copilot will come out of its preview stage on September 26, 2023. Other AI-powered features include background removal in Paint (also layers, transparency and PNG support, and more), optical character recognition in Snipping Tool, background blur in the Photos app, and more.

Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system may show suggestions as popups regularly on the computer using the notification's system. Initially designed to give users tips and suggestions on improving workflows with Windows 11, the suggestions system has been turned almost entirely into an advertising system that promotes Microsoft services and products.
 
Suggested popups may advertise Microsoft 365 subscriptions to the user, suggest to link Android phones to the device, or set up a backup solution.
 
If these popups annoy you, you may tweak the system to disable them entirely. The following guide provides step-by-step instructions on disabling popup suggestions on devices running Microosft's Windows 11 operating system.

Microsoft plans to launch the fourth Moment update for Windows 11 next week as part of the month's optional updates for the operating system.
 
The Moment update includes a preview version of Windows Copilot, Microsoft's AI-powered helper, File Explorer changes and some other changes. You can check out our review of the most important features of the update here.

Mozilla plans to change the information that its open source Firefox web browser displays in the address bar. Once the change lands, Firefox won't display https:// in the browser's address bar anymore, but the http:// protocol. This switcheroo changes the display of the protocol in the browser as current versions of Firefox display https:// but not http://.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Barbie' tops the chart, followed by 'Retribution'. ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' 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.

The next feature update for Windows 11 is just around the corner, and with it comes Windows Copilot. In this guide, we explain how you can turn off Windows Copilot entirely. Most guides out there focus on hiding the Windows Copilot icon on the taskbar, but that does not put the feature to rest entirely.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly: lightweight Windows 11, Patch Tuesday updates, AI-powered features for inbox Windows apps, plenty of Surface updates, Xbox-branded credit cards, Surface leaks with eye-watering price tags, weird Windows shortcuts, and more.

Last month, @NTDEV_, creator of the popular tiny10/11 Windows modification, released tiny10 version 23H2, a modern Windows 10 image with unnecessary components removed. Those who left Windows 10 behind and moved to Windows 11 can also taste a lightweight operating system as tiny11 23H2 is now available for download.
 
Like its Windows 10-based counterpart, tiny11 23H2 is a modified Windows 11 ISO rebuilt using the open-source OSDBuilder tool with a few extra tweaks. The latter ensures the project is compatible with most Windows components, apps, and updates. As a result, you get a modern and reliable operating system that takes significantly less space on disk than the "vanilla" Windows 11.

Microsoft is rolling out a new Windows 11 (Original Release) version for members of the Release Preview channel of the Windows Insider Program. The build number for this version is 22000.2479 (KB5030301). It mostly consists of bug fixes but does have a few small improvements.

Back in 2021, when Windows 11 was new, Microsoft acknowledged that there were problems and promised better performance in 2022. Again in 2022, Microsoft's Panos Panay reiterated the company's new OS was all about delivering the "highest quality". Earlier this year, the tech giant also expressed in detail the performance improvements it delivered over the last year.
 
Sadly though, evidence suggests Windows 11 remains sluggish as tests indicate Windows 10 is generally snappier and the more responsive OS. However, things could be changing as Microsoft is seemingly getting serious about fixing File Explorer performance and issues.

A software vulnerability could give hackers easy access to your computer. Major browser makers have fixed it, but the problem is more widespread than that.

Google, Mozilla, Microsoft, and Brave have each issued critical security patches, reports Stack Diary. The patches address a vulnerability that an attacker could use to gain access to or run malicious code on your computer, and the companies acknowledge it’s been actively exploited in the wild. NIST classifies the vulnerability as severe. Other companies’ applications are affected — the vulnerability is linked to code used to render WebP images, which are widely used.

Microsoft has released the Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 22H2 (KB5030219) and 21H2 (KB5030217). The updates bump 22H2 to Build 22621.2283 and 21H2 to Build 22000.2416.

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 September 2023 on Windows Server 20H2, and Windows 10 for the latest supported versions, 20H2, 21H2, and 22H2.

But Todd Howard says it's optimized and you should upgrade anyway

For as good a game as Starfield is at its core, the PC gaming community hasn't all been too thrilled with its performance.

A YouTuber has run some tests with a PCIe 5.0 SSD that shows even the absolute fastest storage you can get still isn't enough.

After many took exception to Bethesda's Todd Howard saying we should just upgrade our PCs, what exactly are we supposed to upgrade to?!

It is always a sad day when a respected and, at least somewhat, popular software developer or development company is shutting down the business.
 
KC Softwares was first mentioned here on this site in January 2008. We tested the company's flagship product SUMO, Software Updates Monitor, against four other programs designed to improve the updating of Windows applications.
 
Lots of mentions followed, as well as an extensive review of SUMO in 2015. SUMO was not the company's only program; there were others, like DUMO, designed for driver updates, Startup Sentinel, to manage autostart entries, or Video Inspector, a program to display information about the codecs that a video file required for playback.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' tops the chart, followed by 'Barbie'. ‘Meg 2: The Trench' 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.