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Google has filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) against China-based hackers who are behind a massive Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) platform called Lighthouse that has ensnared over 1 million users across 120 countries. The PhaaS kit is used to conduct large-scale SMS phishing attacks that exploit trusted brands like E-ZPass and USPS to Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

Microsoft has resolved a bug causing incorrect Windows 10 end-of-support warnings on systems with active security coverage or still under active support after installing the October 2025 updates. [...]

As AI agents gain autonomy to act, decide, and access data, traditional Zero Trust models fall short. Token Security explains how to extend "never trust, always verify" to agentic AI with scoped access, continuous monitoring, and human accountability. [...]

Western European organizations are ramping up investments in local and regional cloud providers because growing geopolitical tensions are raising concerns that access to global cloud services could be disrupted for political reasons.

A survey of 214 CIOs and IT leaders in Western Europe, conducted by Gartner between May and June, found that more than 61% plan to increase their reliance on local and regional cloud providers due to geopolitics. More than half (53%) plan to restrict future use of global cloud providers for the same reason — and 44% reported they’re already limiting use.

“It shows that geopolitics absolutely have an impact on the decision making of organizations when it comes to cloud,” said Rene Buest, senior director analyst at Gartner. 

There are several reasons for an increased focus on digital sovereignty, according to Buest. 

One is a fear the US government could block access to cloud services. For instance, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, reportedly lost access to Microsoft services earlier this year, several months after US President Donald Trump placed sanctions on the organization. Microsoft has since denied it suspended services for the ICC. 

Other cases, such as Adobe cutting off Venezuelan customers in compliance with US  sanctions against that country, reinforced concerns about who has access to their data.

“Digital sovereignty has a lot to do with control — who has control over the technology or over the cloud I’m on,” said Buest. “And if I’m not able to control it, there’s the likelihood that I won’t be operational at some point anymore.”

There’s also uncertainty around trade negotiations, with many worried that tariffs could be placed on US cloud services.  

Amid geopolitical uncertainty, many European organizations are turning to alternatives to established cloud providers, and 55% plan to expand their use of open-source software, according to the Gartner survey.

Several public sector organizations in the region are moving to open source digital workplace apps. The German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein is replacing Microsoft software with LibreOffice, Nextcloud, and Open-X-Change, while the city of Lyon in France, will replace Windows and Office with open-source alternatives. And the Austrian Armed Forces will reportedly deploy LibreOffice to 16,000 workstations.

Digital sovereignty is expected to grow as a priority globally, according to Gartner. By 2030, the analyst firm forecasts that more than 75% of all enterprises outside the US will have a digital sovereignty strategy that involves local or regional cloud usage. 

Heightened interest in digital sovereignty will result in increased spending on local clouds and open-source applications, but the likes of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are unlikely to be too troubled. These hyperscalers account for 70% of the IaaS, PaaS, and hosted private cloud market in Europe, according to a report by Synergry Research Group from July. US tech giants also lead in SaaS, with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace widely used by private and public sector organizations.

Buest expects some cloud spending to shift to European providers in the coming years, boosting revenues for local suppliers. But a mass exodus of customers from global cloud providers is unlikely. 

“We won’t see a big shift, or that the hyperscalers lose an immense amount of market share,” said Buest. “It’s still a drop in the ocean.”

For CIOs and other IT leaders, his advice is to select which workloads are appropriate for a sovereign cloud and when to rely on hyperscalers — a room booking application would contain less sensitve corporate information, for instance. They should assess the current level of sovereignty and control over their data and understand the likelihood of various risk scenarios. 

“So basically, [it’s] good old risk management,” said Buest.

The United Kingdom has introduced new legislation to boost cybersecurity defenses for hospitals, energy systems, water supplies, and transport networks against cyberattacks, linked to annual damages of nearly £15 billion ($19.6 billion). [...]

Amazon's threat intelligence team on Wednesday disclosed that it observed an advanced threat actor exploiting two then-zero-day security flaws in Cisco Identity Service Engine (ISE) and Citrix NetScaler ADC products as part of attacks designed to deliver custom malware. "This discovery highlights the trend of threat actors focusing on critical identity and network access control infrastructure –Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

An advanced threat actor exploited the critical vulnerabilities "Citrix Bleed 2" (CVE-2025-5777) in NetScaler ADC and Gateway, and CVE-2025-20337 affecting Cisco Identity Service Engine (ISE) as zero-days to deploy custom malware. [...]

When you pick up an iPad Pro equipped with an M5 processor you’re not only picking up a tablet more powerful than most laptops, you’re also picking up a passport to tomorrow, with a tablet that’s quite capable of running on-device AI.

Tomorrow’s tablet is here

Why does this matter? Well, look at the speed with which AI technologies are evolving and the billions of dollars being spent on improving the models they use. This rapid pace of innovation means that while much AI processing takes place in the cloud today, in the months to come we’ll see more and more models appear that run on-device. We’re already seeing this in Apple Intelligence, and also in my personal favorite app, Drawthings.ai, which I’ve been using on an M5 iPad Pro Apple made available to me.

In hand, I have an 11-inch iPad Pro with Wi-Fi + Cellular, 1TB of storage, standard glass screen. It costs $1,799 (and can easily power an external display at up to 120Hz).

Working with the iPad showed me two things: 

• That it is absolutely more powerful than a user like me needs most of the time.
• That it can happily handle complex apps and workflows.
• That this surplus performance means it will be equally capable of handling really demanding apps that haven’t even been introduced yet.

The system’s computational performance and capabilities cement the iPad’s place as a viable computer replacement and makes it highly suitable for use by professionals who need access to a bit of power while working in hyper-mobile environments. (Think image and video editors, both of which can use these systems as laptop replacements in some scenarios.)

That no other tablet comes close to this level of performance is why the new iPad Pro is tomorrow’s tablet today. It should keep users happy for years and will continue to remain popular across second-user markets.

What it replaces

The M5 iPad Pro replaces the M4 iPad Pro, which used to be the best tablet money could buy and has now become the second-best tablet you can get. 

The only effective difference between both models is the processor, Wi-Fi 7 support, and support for fast charging — the M5 iPad Pro can get to a 50% charge in around 30 minutes with a 60W adapter. Everything else — display technology, cameras, speakers, capacity, size, and weight is exactly the same (bar memory bandwidth and installed memory, which is higher). 

The differences between the newest model and the M2-powered iPad Pro introduced in 2022 are a little greater; these include the processor, better display technology, more CPU cores, camera improvements, and greater screen brightness and resolution.

The processor power that is core to Apple’s current hardware story means that those using an M4 iPad Pro are likely still really happy, while those with an M2 almost certainly remain cheerful, as well. This means the M5 iPad Pro is really intended to be an upgrade to people choosing to move to Apple or those upgrading from older tablets, including the M1 iPad Pro. Apple recognizes this, which is why] it helpfully pointed out that the M5 iPad Pro is “up to 5.6x faster than iPad Pro with M1.”

Speeds and feeds

Since the upgrade story here is primarily around speed and performance, it’s time to look at some benchmarks.  These are the scores I yielded in my own testing.

Geekbench 

• CPU: 4,109 single-core; 16,561 multi core
• GPU Metal Score: 73,889.

3DMark: 

• 3,928 at 29.1fps. 

AnTuTu Benchmark

• CPU: 119559,
• GPU: 1423031,
• Overall: 3634694

It is worth noting that the Geekbench aggregate data shows the M5 iPad Pro to be significantly faster than the 3,658 single-core scored by the M4 model, or 2,593 single-core of the M2 iPad Pro. (The M1 model delivered a 2,307 single-core score.) Multi-core scores for older models were 13,517 (M4), 9,795 (M2), and 8,330 (M1) respectively. What that data shows is clear and significant performance improvements over time. Iteration by iteration, Apple is consistently making massive improvements in silicon design; this shows itself to customers in the form of faster performance, more capable systems, and longer usable lives.

Not only are these the best tablets you can get today, but they are likely to remain so until Apple introduces the next upgrade.

A note about an additional improvement in this model: memory bandwidth is improved by 30% on the last generation with throughput at over 150GBps. This isn’t necessarily an improvement you’ll see in normal use, but you’ll find the system feels much slicker as soon as you begin doing anything computationally intensive. Faster storage read/write speeds and more on-board memory also boost the experience.

Apple Returning to the AI thing

Apple is transparent that it sees its systems — Macs, iPads, Vision Pro, and iPhones — as being the go-to devices with which to build, use, and develop artificial intelligence. It’s a story it can easily prove, all the way back to the pre-Chat GPT M1 Macs, which included dedicated GPUs and a Neural Engine with which to support these complex technologies.

Track back on the Mac, or the iPad, and you know that Apple’s adventures with machine intelligence go back further than Siri; the company understands what it needs to bring to the table to support development of future AI systems. In that respect, it doesn’t matter whether Apple has built its own AI or not, what matters more is that its systems can support AI made by others.

Did Apple achieve this? You bet. From webAI to the astonishing DrawThings, a wave of AI applications is coming to Apple Silicon. I worked with DrawThings to create fantastic illustrations in a myriad of styles, on the device, no cloud required (beyond access to download models). The iPad got a little warm to the touch, but the images were complex, interesting, and absolute proof you can use the device to run high-performance AI.

I also worked with MicDrop 1.1.0 to make some truly awful sounds, which I’ll make no claim for other than saying this was not the application’s fault.

In demos, I’ve seen an iPad crunch through other AI augmented apps, including DaVinci Resolve, and Image Playgrounds; I can easily imagine that Final Cut, Logic Pro, and iMovie sessions will see major benefits from the performance boost.

Apple promises that video transcoding on Final Cut Pro for iPad is six times faster on one of these iPad Pros than it was on M1-powered models. This graphics performance boost is anecdotally equally evident when playing games — it was a hoot replaying Divinity: Original Sin 2 for a little and becoming a little frustrated in Genshin Impact (again). 

Who is this tablet for?

Boiling it down a little, what I’m saying is that if you need an iPad that’s capable of handling the toughest possible applications, games, or for artificial intelligence, then that’s what you’ll get with the M5 iPad Pro. If you don’t need that power yet, but might need it in the next 12 months, then it’s still worth upgrading today.

Equally, if you are using an M2 iPad Pro or earlier or just want to upgrade from another older iPad model, then the M5 is a good upgrade. It’s built for the future and should see you devouring all available tasks for the next few years.

The only tablet that comes anywhere near this one is, of course, last year’s iPad Pro. Which is the point, really, because with Apple Silicon, Apple is now only really competing with itself, and anyone investing their way into the company’s ecosystem is purchasing products with the power to handle the next wave of AI computing.

It’s tomorrow’s tablet, and you can get it today.

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, and Mastodon.

Synnovis, a leading UK pathology services provider, is notifying healthcare providers that a data breach occurred following a ransomware attack in June 2024, which resulted in the theft of some patients' data. [...]

Every day, security teams face the same problem—too many risks, too many alerts, and not enough time. You fix one issue, and three more show up. It feels like you’re always one step behind. But what if there was a smarter way to stay ahead—without adding more work or stress? Join The Hacker News and Bitdefender for a free cybersecurity webinar to learn about a new approach called Dynamic Attack [email protected]

Meta researchers have unveiled a new reinforcement learning framework called SPICE (Self-Play in Corpus Environments) that enables large language models (LLMs) to improve their reasoning skills without human supervision.

Developed with the National University of Singapore, SPICE trains a single model to act as both a Challenger, which generates complex, document-based problems, and a Reasoner, which solves them.

By grounding the learning process in real-world text corpora rather than synthetic data, the system avoids the hallucination loops that have plagued earlier self-play methods. It achieves an average improvement of nearly 10% in mathematical and general reasoning benchmarks.

The researchers described the approach as a “paradigm shift” toward AI systems that can self-improve through interaction with the vast, verifiable knowledge embedded in web documents rather than static human-curated datasets.

Why self-improving AI is difficult

The idea of self-improving AI has begun to take shape with the rise of LLMs capable of reasoning. However, most existing methods face fundamental barriers after some initial progress.

“Without external grounding, models inevitably plateau or collapse due to two critical issues,” the researchers said in the paper. “(1) hallucination amplification, where factual errors in both generated questions and answers compound as models train on their own unverifiable synthetic data, and (2) information symmetry, where both the problem generator and solver share the same knowledge base, preventing genuine challenge and leading to simpler, more repetitive patterns.”

Even new techniques that aim to keep training data diverse, such as variational synthesis, still encounter limitations. They can only work with what was already captured during pretraining, essentially remixing the same information in new ways.

What makes SPICE effective

SPICE is built on the concept that a single LLM assumes two alternating roles, one that creates challenges and another that tries to solve them.

In one phase, the model acts as the Challenger, drawing information from a large document corpus to generate complex, document-grounded questions. In the next phase, it switches roles to become the Reasoner, attempting to answer those questions without seeing the source material.

The Challenger earns higher rewards when it creates problems that sit right at the edge of what the Reasoner can handle, making the tasks difficult but still solvable. The Reasoner is rewarded for producing correct answers.

This back-and-forth process, supported by real-world data, allows the system to keep discovering new challenges and improving its ability to solve them without human supervision.

This approach removes the verification bottleneck that has limited earlier research to specialized areas such as mathematics and coding. Because the answers are based on real documents, the system can verify them against factual sources rather than relying on synthetic or assumed data.

What the tests show

When tested across different LLMs, the researchers found that SPICE showed clear and consistent improvements in reasoning performance.

On the Qwen3 4B model, performance rose from 35.8 to 44.9 percent, while the larger Qwen3 8B model climbed from 43.0 to 48.7 percent. A stronger impact was seen in OctoThinker models, with improvements from 14.7 to 25.2 percent on the 3B version and from 20.5 to 32.4 percent on the 8B version.

“The adversarial dynamics between Challenger and Reasoner create an automatic curriculum: the fixed Reasoner’s pass rate decreases from 55% to 35% as it learns to generate progressively harder problems, while the fixed Challenger’s pass rate increases from 55% to 85%, indicating successful co-evolution of both roles,” the study said. 

The researchers also found that grounding the training process in real documents was essential for lasting improvement.

Models trained without this external reference quickly hit a ceiling and stopped getting better. But when SPICE drew on real-world text, it kept progressing steadily, using fresh document material to generate new and more complex challenges throughout training.

Implications of the study

By using large document collections as external sources of knowledge, SPICE helps models improve instead of stagnating on their own data. Industry analysts say such frameworks could eventually influence how enterprises train domain-specific AI models, but adoption will come with new responsibilities.

“SPICE opens new possibilities for adaptive AI, but enterprises can’t afford to set it and forget it,” said Tulika Sheel, senior VP at Kadence International. “Self-improving systems need self-checking mechanisms. Human oversight, audit trails, and compliance guardrails must stay front and center.”

Sheel noted that while the Challenger–Reasoner setup could, in theory, be replicated with corporate data such as financial or legal documents, it would demand “deep infrastructure, clean datasets, and a strong focus on transparency.”

She also warned that autonomous learning loops introduce risks like bias amplification and compliance drift. “SPICE nudges AI closer to self-sufficiency, but autonomy without accountability is dangerous,” she said.

Anish Nath, practice director at Everest Group, suggested that enterprises would benefit more from frameworks like SPICE by treating them as a training capability, not autonomy in production.

“Run self-play in sandboxes with gated releases; start on low-risk/internal workflows, then graduate to critical processes as evidence accumulates,” Nath said. “Enforce guardrails: schema-constrained outputs, policy engine, least-privilege tool whitelists, drift/anomaly detection, signed actions + audit trails, rollback/kill-switches, and human approvals for high-impact actions.”

Nath added that self-generated training data does point toward autonomous development loops, but warned of risks such as model collapse, data poisoning, and untracked drift. “These can be mitigated with independent evaluation models, provenance tracking, versioned datasets, and human gates for capability upgrades,” he said. “Improvement has to remain controlled, auditable, and compliant.”

** Norské testy odhalily, že autobusy Yutong lze vzdáleně vypnout i za jízdy ** Velká Británie a Dánsko nyní také prověřují stovky svých čínských elektrobusů ** Problém se netýká jen čínských, ale všech moderních vozidel připojených k síti

Active Directory remains the authentication backbone for over 90% of Fortune 1000 companies. AD's importance has grown as companies adopt hybrid and cloud infrastructure, but so has its complexity. Every application, user, and device traces back to AD for authentication and authorization, making it the ultimate target. For attackers, it represents the holy grail: compromise Active [email protected]

No matter what type of Android phone you carry or how you usually use it, one thing is a near-universal constant:

You’re gonna spend a ton of time messing with messages.

The messages may be from clients, colleagues, or your cousin Crissy from Cleveland (damn it, Crissy!). But regardless of who sends ’em or what they’re about, they’re all poppin’ up on your phone and cluttering your weary brainspace.

My fellow Android adorer, I’m here to tell you there’s a better way.

Google’s Android Messages app has gotten surprisingly good over the years. That’s no big secret. If you only rely on what you see on the surface, though, you’re missing out on some of Messages’ most powerful and underappreciated efficiency-enhancing options.

[Hey: Want even more advanced Android knowledge? Check out my free Android Shortcut Supercourse to learn tons of time-saving tricks — for messaging and beyond!]

Today, we’ll explore the Android Messages app’s most effective out-of-sight superpowers. They may not be able to cut down on the number of messages you send and receive on your phone (DAMN IT, CRISSY!), but they will help you spend less time fussing with ’em. And they might just help you have a more pleasant experience, too.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

(Before you splash forward, take note: The tips on this page are all specific to the Google Messages app for Android. If you’re using a phone where that exact app wasn’t preinstalled or set as the default, you can download it from the Play Store and give it a whirl. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.)

Android Messages trick #1: Custom icons

We’ll start with what might be my favorite little-known trick within Google’s Android Messages app: With a couple quick adjustments, you can turn any of your contacts’ faces into a custom notification icon. That icon will then show up at the top of your phone whenever that person messages you for extra-easy visibility and access.

See?

A quick bit of simple setup, and bam: Anyone’s face can become their notification icon (for better or for worse!) on your phone.

JR Raphael, IDG

The only catch is that your phone needs to be running 2020’s Android 11 operating system or higher for the feature to be available. (And honestly, if your phone isn’t running Android 11 at this point, you’ve got bigger fish to fry, Francesco.) Also, Samsung has screwed around with this system for no apparent reason — a frustratingly common theme with Samsung’s heavily modified approach to Android, especially as of late — so you may or may not be able to take advantage of this on a Galaxy gadget, depending on how recently its software has been screwed up updated. (Exaggerated sigh. What more can I say?!)

On any reasonably recent Android device that sticks close to Google’s core Android interface, though, here’s how to make the magic happen:

• The next time you get a message from someone, press and hold your finger to the notification.
• That’ll pull up a screen that looks a little somethin’ like this:

Android’s Priority conversation setting is the key to creating custom notifications that really stand out.

JR Raphael, IDG

• Tap the “Priority” line, then tap “Apply” to save the changes.

And that’s it: The next time that person messages you, you’ll see their profile picture in place of the standard Messages icon in your status bar, and the notification will show up in a special section above any other alerts.

Hip, hip, hoorah!

Android Messages trick #2: Custom sounds

In addition to making it easier to spot an important contact by their notification icon, you can also create a custom alert sound for messages coming in from different people — or even from specific threads within the Google Messages app — so you immediately know what they are, even before you have a chance to look.

This is one of those things that’s super-basic but also awkwardly out of sight and consequently unknown to an awful lot of Android-owning organisms. But once you know where to find it, it really couldn’t be much easier to get going. And it’s all connected to Android’s notification channels, which let you get incredibly nuanced on how different types of notifications within apps behave.

The quickest way to zip where you need to be is to open the thread you want to customize within Messages itself — whether it’s a one-on-one text with an individual person or a group conversation with multiple contacts. Once you’re inside the thread, tap the three-dot menu icon in its upper-right corner and select “Details,” then select “Notifications” on the screen that comes up next.

And hey, wouldya look at that? You should now be staring at a series of options about how that exact notification behaves — including, at least in the standard Google version of Android, the all-important “Sound” setting.

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JR Raphael, Foundry

Tap that, then find and select any sound you like. The next time a new message comes in for this conversation, there’ll be no mistaking what awaits you from the second it arrives.

Android Messages trick #3: Contact prioritizing

While we’re thinking about making certain conversations stand out, ever wish you could keep your most important messaging threads at the top of the list for easy ongoing access?

Poof: Wish granted. No matter what kind of Android phone you’re holding or how needlessly meddled with its software may be, just hold your finger onto the conversation in question on the main Messages app screen, then tap the pushpin-shaped icon in the app’s upper bar.

You can now pin up to 20 conversations that way, as of just the other week, and they’ll always appear above all other threads in that main inbox view.

Android Messages trick #4: Short-term tune-out

Some incoming messages always require your immediate attention. Others, in contrast, are best tuned out and caught up with much later.

Surely you’ve been in that type of thread before, right? Y’know, the one where people are getting just a little too active — sending message after message, typically either during your workday or while you’re trying to focus on anything other than their uninteresting missives?

Google’s Android Messages app actually has a great way to deal with such struggles. It’s a temporary snoozing mechanism that lets you opt out of notifications from one specific conversation and that conversation only and stop receiving alerts from it for a set amount of time.

To try it out, press and hold your finger onto any thread in your main Messages list, then look for the clock icon with a “z” inside of it at the top of the screen. Tap that, and you can then decide to snooze notifications from that single conversation for one hour, eight hours, 24 hours, or — if you really want to tune it out — forever.

The sanity-saving Android Messages snooze option. (Don’t worry: I won’t tell.)

JR Raphael, Foundry

You’ll continue to get notifications from all other conversations in the meantime, and you’ll still be able to see new activity from the snoozed thread by opening up Messages and actively looking at it. But you won’t be interrupted by its alerts again — for a little while, at least.

Android Messages trick #5: Gemini be gone

Speaking of tuning out distractions, if you rarely to never interact with Google’s Gemini chatbot from inside the Messages app — perhaps because, y’know, it’s also available in approximately 7 gazillion other in-your-face places — you might appreciate the distraction-free satisfaction of an interface without a prominent Gemini button begging for you to caress it every frickin’ time you open up your messages.

(The Gemin icon is that starbust-shaped symbol that sits perpetually above the “Start chat” button, in Messages’ lower-right corner, if you haven’t ever tapped it to find out.)

And good news: You can actually send that icon a-packin’, if you’re so inspired: Just tap your profile picture in Messages’ upper-right corner, select “Messages settings,” then tap “Gemini in Messages” and flip the switch on the screen that comes up next into the off and inactive position.

All that’s left is to pat yourself on the back and celebrate the fact that you’ll only have to see Gemini in 6.9 gazillion other places from this point forward.

Android Messages trick #6: Free in-flight Wi-Fi

Gemini may be little more than a distraction within Messages most of the time, but one moment when that capability can actually come in handy is while you’re flying the allegedly friendly skies.

A while back, a crafty reader alerted me to the fact that you could use Gemini’s Messages integration to effectively give yourself free in-flight Wi-Fi access even when you haven’t paid for the privilege. It’s a heck of a clever hack and a moment when you genuinely may want to activate Gemini within the Messages app, at least for a little while.

I’ve got a complete breakdown of how it works and how you can put it to use on your next flight.

Android Messages trick #7: Calendar connection

Whether from the sky or on the regular ol’ ground, the next time you’re working to plan a meeting or event with a fellow Homo sapien in Messages, make yourself a mental note of this:

Anytime someone sends you a message that includes a specific date and time, the Messages app will underline that text. See it?

That underlined time is a covert link from an incoming message to your Android calendar agenda.

JR Raphael, IDG

You’d be forgiven for failing to realize, but you can actually tap that underlined text to reveal a shortcut for opening that very same day and time in your Android calendar app of choice. It’s a great way to get a quick ‘n’ easy glimpse at your availability for the time you’re discussing.

And if you then want to create a calendar event, just look for the “Create event” command that should appear right below that very same message. That’ll fire up a new calendar event for you on the spot, with the appropriate day and time already filled in.

That button to the left of the text suggestions is a spectacular time-saver for on-the-fly event creation.

JR Raphael, IDG

Don’tcha just love simple step-savers?

Android Messages trick #8: Seamless scheduling

If you’re ready to hammer out a response to a message right now but don’t want your reply to be sent for a while, follow the advice shared by a reader in my Android Intelligence newsletter recently and simply schedule your message for some specific future time.

The Android Messages app’s scheduling system is spectacularly useful. You can rely on it for setting reminders to be sent to clients, business-related messages to be pushed out the next morning, or context-free middle-finger emojis to be delivered to your cousin in Cleveland at ungodly hours in the middle of the night.

To tap into this productivity-boosting power, just type out your message normally — but then, instead of tapping the triangle-shaped send icon at the right of the composing window, press and hold your finger onto that same button when you’re done.

No reasonably sane person would possibly realize it, but that’ll pull up a hidden menu for selecting precisely when your message should be sent.

Send any message, anytime — no matter when you actually write it.

JR Raphael, IDG

And the person on the other end will have no way of even knowing you wrote the thing in advance.

Android Messages trick #9: Swift saving

When you run into a message you know you’ll want to reference again, save yourself the trouble of trying to dig it back up later and instead star it on the spot to make it fast as can be to find in the future.

It couldn’t be much easier to do: Whilst viewing an individual message thread, just press and hold your finger onto the specific message you want to save, then tap the star-shaped icon that appears in the bar at the top of the screen.

Then, when you want to find the message again, tap the search icon at the top of the main Messages screen and select “Starred” from the menu that comes up. That’ll show you every message you’ve starred for exceptionally effortless resurfacing.

Android Messages trick #10: Smart searching

Speaking of that Messages search system: Starring is sublime, but sometimes, you need to dig up an old message that you didn’t go out of your way to save.

The Android Messages app makes that even easier than you might realize. Tap that same search icon at the top of the app’s main screen — and in addition to searching your entire history message for any specific string of text, take note:

• You can start typing out the name of anyone in your contacts, then select them from the suggestion that appears — and then type in some text to look for something specific only within messages from that one person.
• You can use the options within the main Messages search screen to look specifically at images, videos, locations, or links people have sent you.
• And you can combine any of those variables for even more granular finding — looking for links you sent to a particular client, for instance, or locations an out-of-town colleague sent to you.

The Android Messages app’s search system is chock-full of helpful info.

JR Raphael, IDG

How ’bout them apples?!

Android Messages trick #11: Instant marking

I don’t know about you, but I find it impossibly irksome to see messages sitting with bold emphasis in my Android Messages inbox. That, to me, is a marking that means I need to read (and possibly also respond) to the message in question. And I can’t possibly rest for the day until I know that everything in my Messages inbox is open, addressed, and dealt with (or at least opened and with a reminder set to deal with it at some specific future time).

Sometimes, though, it’s all too easy to fall behind and get a backlog of bolded messages — and in such scenarios, sometimes, you need a quick ‘n’ easy one-switch reset button to bring everything back to read status and give yourself a fresh start.

Well, surprise: Messages has such an option! Tap your profile picture in the app’s upper-right corner and look for “Mark all as read” in the menu that comes up to find it — then breathe a sigh of relief as all that attention-demanding boldness melts away once and for all.

Android Messages trick #12: Easier-to-read text

On the subject of more noticeable text, file this next Android Messages feature under “accidental discoveries”: The next time you find yourself squinting at something in a messaging thread on your phone, try a good old-fashioned zoom gesture on the screen — placing your finger and thumb together and then spreading ’em slowly apart.

You’d never know it, but the Messages app supports that standard gesture for zooming into a conversation. The inverse applies, too: When you’re ready to zoom back out and make everything smaller, just bring your two fingers closer together.

And if those actions aren’t working for you, tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the main Messages screen and select “Messages settings,” then make sure the toggle next to “Pinch to zoom conversation text” is in the on position.

Android Messages trick #13: Custom colors

While we’re thinkin’ about easier reading, a relatively recent Android Messages addition can let you create a custom color palette for any conversations you’ve got goin’.

That way, you can always remember that texts with your significant other are in, say, purple, whereas messages with your most important client are in red. (Best not to get those two threads confused.)

This one works only with messages sent using the modern RCS messaging platform, which basically means messages that don’t involve pesky people still carrying around iPhones with outdated software on ’em. (It’s always the iPhone people, isn’t it?!)

With any currently supported conversation, open up the thread within Messages — then:

• Tap the three-dot menu icon in the screen’s upper-right corner.
• Select “Change colors” from the menu that appears.
• Pick the color scheme you prefer, then tap the Confirm button at the bottom.

Every Android Messages conversation can have its own distinctive color, if you take the time to set it up.

JR Raphael, IDG

Repeat for any other compatible conversations, and you’ll always know exactly what you’re looking at even with a fast glance — and without having to give it an ounce of active thought.

Android Messages trick #14: Meatier media

You know a fantastic way to waste time? I’ll tell ya: moving from one app to another just to glance at something someone sent you (like those blasted Bangles video Crissy is always blasting your way).

But get this: Google’s Android Messages app can let you preview and get the gist of both text articles and even YouTube videos without ever leaving your current conversation — from right within the app and that very same message thread.

The key is to make sure you’ve got the associated options enabled:

• Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the main Messages screen.
• Select “Messages settings,” then tap “Automatic previews.”
• Make sure the toggle next to “Show all previews” is on and active.

Now, the next time someone sends you a link, you’ll see the associated item’s thumbnail and description right then and there, within the Messages conversation:

Videos expanded in-line within Messages — easy peasy.

JR Raphael, IDG

With web pages, Messages will show you just enough of a preview to let you make an educated decision about whether you want to tap the link or not.

Web links gain useful extra context once you enable the right option within the Android Messages settings.

JR Raphael, IDG

Almost painfully sensible, no?

Android Messages trick #15: Smarter shortcuts

If I had to pick the simplest Android Messages trick for enhancing your efficiency, it’d be embracing the built-in shortcuts Google gives us for faster message actions.

From the main Messages screen, you can swipe left or right on any message to perform an instant action — archiving the conversation, permanently deleting it, or toggling it between read and unread status.

All you’ve gotta do is mosey your way back into the Messages app’s settings areas and tap on the “Swipe actions” item to set things up the way you want…

Step-saving swipes within Messages — now available for your customization.

JR Raphael, IDG

…and then, just remember to actually use those gestures moving forward. (That part’s on you.)

Android Messages trick #16: Quicker cleanup

Certain services love to send confirmation codes via text messaging when you sign in or try to perform some action. It may not be the most advisable or effective form of extra security, but — well, it’s better than nothing. And for better or for worse, it’s a pretty common tactic.

Core security considerations aside, the most irksome part of these confirmation codes is having ’em clutter up your messages list at every Goog-forsaken moment. But the Google-made Android Messages app can actually take care of that for you, without any ongoing effort — if you take about 20 seconds to make the right tweak now.

Here’s the secret:

• Tappity-tap that comely character in the upper-right corner of the main Messages screen (y’know, the one whose appearance has a striking resemblance to your oversized head).
• Tap “Messages settings” in the menu that comes up, then select “Messages organization.”
• Within that curiously created section, you’ll see only one option: “Auto-delete OTPs after 24 hrs.” OTP may not exactly be an everyday, universally known abbreviation, but fear not — for it isn’t an erroneous reference to an early 90s rap hit with equally ambiguous meaning. Nope: It stands for one-time password, which is the same thing we’re thinking about here.
• Flip that toggle into the on and active position, then flip a finger of your choice to all the confirmation codes in your messages list and rest easy knowing they’ll be auto-purged a day after their arrival from that point forward.

Who’s down with OTP? Every last homie. (I apologize.)

Android Messages trick #17: Readable reactions

Slack-style reactions may seem silly on the surface, but they serve an important communication purpose in allowing you to quickly acknowledge a message without having to carry the conversation on further. Whether it’s a thumbs-up, a clapping hands symbol, or even perhaps an occasional burrito emoji, it really can be a handy way to say “Yup, got it” (or “Yup, want beefy goodness”) without having to use a single word.

You probably know you can summon a reaction within the Android Messages app by pressing and holding a specific message within a conversation and then selecting from the list of available emoji options — right? But beyond that, Messages packs an even faster way to issue a reaction in the blink of an eye.

And here it is: Simply double-tap your finger onto any individual message within a conversation. That’ll apply the thumbs-up reaction to it without the need for any long-press or symbol selection.

It’d be nice if there were a way to customize which reaction is used for that action by default — so that, obviously, we could all change it to the burrito emoji, since that’s what any sane person uses most often — but if and when an upward thumb will do the job, now you’ve got a super-easy way to bring it into any conversation with a fast finger tap.

Android Messages trick #18: iRritation elimination

Last but not least in our list of magnificent Messages enhancements is something specific for your conversations with the Apple-adoring animals in your life. And it relates to those very same sorts of reactions we were just going over.

One obnoxious side effect of Apple’s “no one exists outside of iOS” mentality, y’see, is the way the iPhone’s equivalent of those reactions show up on Android. Plain and simple, they show up as — well, plain and simple text messages, instead of coming through as reactions.

Surely you’ve encountered this, right? Those pointless messages you get from iGoobers that say stuff like “Loved ‘Please stop texting me, Crissy'”?

Well, scribble this on your metaphorical mental iPad: Google’s Android Messages app is actually able to intercept those absurd platform-specific reactions and turn ’em into standard reactions instead of plain-text interruptions. And it’ll take you all of 12 seconds to enable the option:

• Head back into the Messages app’s settings.
• Tap “Advanced.”
• Look for the line labeled “Show iPhone reactions as emoji” and make sure the toggle next to it is in the on position.

All that’s left is to breathe one final heavy sigh of relief — and to send Crissy a well-deserved burrito reaction.

Hey: Don’t let the learning stop here. Get six full days of advanced shortcut knowledge with my free Android Shortcut Supercourse. Tons of time-saving tricks await!

Microsoft has resolved a known issue preventing users from quitting the Windows 11 Task Manager after installing the optional Windows 11 KB5067036 update. [...]

Microsoft on Tuesday released patches for 63 new security vulnerabilities identified in its software, including one that has come under active exploitation in the wild. Of the 63 flaws, four are rated Critical and 59 are rated Important in severity. Twenty-nine of these vulnerabilities are related to privilege escalation, followed by 16 remote code execution, 11 information disclosure, three Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

Google on Tuesday unveiled a new privacy-enhancing technology called Private AI Compute to process artificial intelligence (AI) queries in a secure platform in the cloud. The company said it has built Private AI Compute to "unlock the full speed and power of Gemini cloud models for AI experiences, while ensuring your personal data stays private to you and is not accessible to anyone else, not Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

A Windows launch isn’t the end a process — it’s really just the beginning. Microsoft continually works on improving Windows 11 by fixing bugs, releasing security patches, and occasionally adding new features.

In this story we summarize what you need to know about each update released to the public for the most recent version of Windows 11 — currently version 25H2. For each build, we’ve included the date of its release and a link to Microsoft’s announcement about it. The most recent updates appear first.

The easiest way to install updates is via Windows Update. Not sure how? See “How to handle Windows 10 and 11 updates” for full instructions. Note that Windows 11 version 25H2 is being released as a phased rollout and may not be available to you in Windows Update yet.

If you’re still using Windows 10, see “Windows 10: A guide to the updates.” And if you’re looking for information about Insider Program previews for upcoming feature releases of Windows 11, see “Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build?”

Updates for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 KB5068861 (OS Builds 26200.7171 and 26100.7171)

Release date: November 11, 2025

This Patch Tuesday build fixes several bugs, including one in which closing Task Manager with the Close button didn’t fully end the process, leaving background instances that could slow performance over time.

It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and November 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5068861.)

KB5067036 (OS Builds 26200.7019 and 26100.7019) Preview

Release date: October 28, 2025

A variety of new features are being gradually rolled out in this build, including several for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs — notably a streamlined interaction between Click to Do and Copilot. You can now type a custom prompt directly into the text box, which sends your prompt and selected on-screen content to Copilot. Suggested prompts appear below the text box and are available for text selections in English, Spanish, and French. 

New features are being gradually rolled out for all Windows 11 PCs as well, including a redesigned Start menu, which includes scrollable “All” section and category and grid views. The menu now adapts to your screen size.

A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which text sometimes didn’t render correctly when editing content within a multiline text box in certain apps.

Get more info about KB5067036 Preview.)

KB5070773 (OS Builds 26200.6901 and 26100.6901) Out-of-band

Release date: October 20, 2025

This build fixes one bug, in which USB devices, such as keyboards and mice, did not function in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). This issue prevented navigation of any of the recovery options within WinRE.

This build has one known issue: some digital TV and Blu-ray/DVD apps might not play protected content as expected after installing the August 29, 2025, Windows non-security preview update (KB5064081) or later updates. Apps that use Enhanced Video Renderer with HDCP enforcement or Digital Rights Management (DRM) for digital audio might show copyright protection errors, frequent playback interruptions, unexpected stops, or black screens. Streaming services are not affected. 

(Get more info about KB5070773 Out-of-band.)

KB5066791 (OS Builds 19044.6456 and 19045.6456)

Release date: October 14, 2025

This build fixes several bugs, including one that caused the print preview screen to stop responding in Chromium-based browsers.

It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and October 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5066791.)

KB5065789 (OS Builds 26200.6725 and 26100.6725) Preview

Release date: September 29, 2025

This build gradually rolls out a wide variety of new features, including one in which you can use AI actions in File Explorer to edit images or summarize documents. To do it, right-click (or press Shift + F10 on the keyboard) on the file and select AI actions. 

Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which you might not have been able to connect to shared files and folders if you were using the Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol on NetBIOS over TCP/IP NetBIOS (NetBT).

(Get more info about KB5065789 Preview.)

Windows 11 25H2

At the end of September, Microsoft upgraded Windows 11 from version 24H2 to 25H2, in a slow rollout that could take months to complete. Typically in the past, Microsoft would introduce new features in a once-a-year update like this. That’s not the case with 25H2, though.

Microsoft has been introducing new features in smaller updates all year round, so 25H2 doesn’t include any major new features. Rather, it includes all the new features that have accumulated in all those smaller updates.

As the company explains, “While this update doesn’t introduce major new features, it activates enhancements that have been gradually rolled out over the past year ensuring your device is up to date with the latest refinements.”

Here are some of the most important features in 25H2 that have been introduced for end users and IT pros since 24H2 was released last fall:

New features for users:

• File Explorer has several useful new features, notably AI actions, which can edit images or summarize documents. AI options such as Blur background, Erase objects, and Remove background are all now displayed in the context menu.
• Task Manager gets a number of minor tweaks, including performance improvements when changing the sort order of processes.
• You can now display the apps that have recently used on-device generative AI models provided by Windows. You can also choose which apps are permitted to use the generative AI technologies. To do that and more, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Text and Image Generation.

New features for IT:

• IT admins can use policy-based tools to easily remove preinstalled Microsoft Store apps from Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 11, version 25H2 and later. This can streamline device provisioning and prevent removed apps such as Microsoft Clipchamp, Media Player, and Microsoft Teams from being reinstalled. For more information, see Policy-based removal of preinstalled Microsoft Store apps and RemoveDefaultMicrosoftStorePackages in the ApplicationManagement Policy CSP.
• Enterprise access points now support Wi-Fi 7, which enables increased speeds, greater throughput, improved reliability, and enhanced security. For details, see https://aka.ms/WiFi7forEnterprise.
• Windows Backup for Organizations is now generally available.
• A new feature called Quick Machine Recovery can recover Windows devices when they encounter critical errors that prevent them from booting. Quick machine recovery searches for remediations in the cloud and recovers from widespread boot failures, reducing the burden on IT admins on cases when multiple devices are affected. For more information, see Computerworld’s Quick Machine Recovery explainer.

Updates for Windows 11 24H2 KB5068221 (OS Build 26100.6588) Out-of-band

Release date: September 22, 2025

This update fixes a bug that affected Microsoft Office applications running in Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) environments. The failure occurred due to a double handle closure in the AppVEntSubsystems32 or AppVEntSubsystems64 system component.

There is one issue in this build: you might fail to connect to shared files and folders using the Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol on NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT). This issue can occur if either the SMB client or the SMB server has the September 2025 security update installed.

(Get more info about KB5068221 (OS Build 26100.6588) Out-of-band).

KB5065426 (OS Build 26100.6584)

Release date: September 9, 2025

This build fixes several bugs, including one that caused non-admin users to receive unexpected User Account Control (UAC) prompts when MSI installers performed certain custom actions, such as configuration or repair operations in the foreground or background during the initial installation of an application.

The build also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and September 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5065426.)

KB5064081 (OS Build 26100.5074) Preview

Release date: August 29, 2025

A wide variety of new features are being gradually rolled out in this build, including a new personalized homepage in Windows Recall that displays your recent activity and top-used apps and websites (available only in Copilot+ PCs). Among the changes rolling out to all users is a new grid view for Search from the Windows taskbar that helps you more quickly and accurately identify the desired image within your search.

Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which some system recovery features did not work properly due to a temporary file sharing conflict. This affected certain device management tools and disrupted key functions on some devices.

(Get more info about KB5064081 Preview.)

KB5063878 (OS Build 26100.4946)

Release date: August 12, 2025

This build fixes a bug that caused delays during sign-in on new devices. The delay was due to certain preinstalled packages. It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and August 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5063878.)

KB5062660 (OS Build 26100.4770) Preview

Release date: July 22, 2025

A wide variety of new features are being gradually rolled out in this build, including a new agent in Copilot+ PCs that is designed to help you find and change settings on your PC. You can describe what you need help with, such as “how to control my PC by voice” or “my mouse pointer is too small,” and the agent will suggest steps to resolve the issue. The agent uses AI on your PC to understand your request and, with your permission, can automate and complete tasks for you. It is rolling out to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs now, with support for AMD and Intel PCs coming soon. 

Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which If you have an app pinned to your desktop and it updates, the app icon might not display correctly and instead show a white page.

(Get more info about KB5062660 Preview.)

KB5064489 (OS Build 26100.4656) Out-of-band

Release date: July 13, 2025

This update fixes a bug that prevented some virtual machines (VMs) from starting when Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) was enabled. It affected VMs using version 8.0 (a non-default version) where VBS was offered by the host. In Azure, this applies to standard (non–Trusted Launch) General Enterprise (GE) VMs running on older VM SKUs. The problem was caused by a secure kernel initialization issue.

(Get more info about KB5064489 Out-of-band.)

KB5062553 (OS Build 26100.4652)

Release date: July 8, 2025

The build fixes several bugs, including one in which notification sounds didn’t play. Affected sounds included those for on-screen alerts, volume adjustments, and sign-in. It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and July 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5062553.)

KB5060829 (OS Build 26100.4484) Preview

Release date: June 26, 2025

A wide variety of new features are being gradually rolled out in this build, including a new Settings home page that includes enterprise-specific device info cards for commercial customers on PCs managed by an IT administrator. The taskbar also now resizes icons to fit more apps when space runs low.

Users in the European Economic Area will see several small changes related to default browsers, such as mapping additional file and link types to the default browser and pinning it to the taskbar and Start menu.

A variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one that prevented the automatic renewal of expiring certificates in Windows Hello for Business.

There is one known issue in this build, in which blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text appears when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. 

(Get more info about KB5060829 Preview.)

KB5063060 (OS Build 26100.4351) Out-of-band

Release date: June 11, 2025

This out-of-band update replaces the KB5060842 Patch Tuesday release, fixing a bug in which Windows sometimes restarted unexpectedly when users opened games that use the Easy Anti-Cheat service. Easy Anti-Cheat automatically installs with certain games to enhance security and prevent cheating in multiplayer online PC games. 

Note: In this build there are reports of blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. The issue is due to limited pixel density at 96 DPI, which can reduce the clarity and alignment of CJK characters. Increasing the display scaling improves clarity by enhancing text rendering.

(Get more info about KB5063060 Out-of-band.)

KB5060842 (OS Build 26100.4349)

Release date: June 10, 2025

After installing this update, Windows will retain system restore points for 60 days only. Restore points older than 60 days are not available. This 60-day limit will also apply to future versions of Windows 11, version 24H2.

The build fixes a bug that prevented users from signing in with self-signed certificates when using Windows Hello for Business with the Key Trust model.​​​​​​​ It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and June 2025 Security Updates.

Note: In this build there are reports of blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. The issue is due to limited pixel density at 96 DPI, which can reduce the clarity and alignment of CJK characters. Increasing the display scaling improves clarity by enhancing text rendering.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5060842.)

KB5058499 (OS Build 26100.4202) Preview

Release date: May 27, 2025

A wide variety of new features are being gradually rolled out in this build, including one in which Click to Do gets the new Ask Copilot action. When you highlight text or an image, Click to Do offers the Ask Copilot option. Selecting it opens Microsoft Copilot with your content in the prompt box. You can send the selected text or image directly to the Copilot app to complete your prompt.

A variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one in which devices with BitLocker on removable drives could encounter a blue screen error after resuming from sleep or hybrid-booting.

(Get more info about KB5058499 Preview.)

KB5061977 (OS Build 26100.4066) 

Release date: May 27, 2025

This out-of-band update fixes a bug in the direct send path for a guest physical address (GPA). This issue caused confidential virtual machines running on Hyper-V with Windows Server 2022 to intermittently stop responding or restart unexpectedly. As a result, service availability was affected, and manual intervention was required. This problem primarily impacted Azure confidential VMs.

(Get more info about KB5061977.)

KB5058411 (OS Build 26100.4061)

Release date: May 13, 2025

This update fixes two bugs, one in which your microphone might have muted unexpectedly, and the other in which the eye controller app didn’t launch. It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and May 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5058411.)

KB5055627 (OS Build 26100.3915) Preview

Release date: April 25, 2025

This build gradually rolls out several new features for Copilot+ PCs, including a preview of Windows Recall. When you opt in, Recall takes snapshots of your activity so you can quickly find and go back to what you have seen before on your PC. With it, you can use a timeline to find the content you remember seeing.

Copilot+ PCs also get a new natural-language Windows search in which you can search for anything on your PC without having to remember specific file names, exact words in file content, or settings names. Just describe what you’re looking for. On Copilot+ PCs, you can also more easily find photos stored and saved in the cloud by typing your own words (like “summer picnics”) in the search box at the upper-right corner of File Explorer. 

All PCs get a number of new features, including speech recap, in which you can keep track of what Narrator has spoken and access it for quick reference. With speech recap, you can quickly access spoken content, follow along with live transcription, and copy what Narrator last said using keyboard shortcuts.

A variety of bugs are being fixed, including one in which some devices experienced intermittent internet connections when resuming from sleep mode. Several AI components have also been updated.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which players on Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox from the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5055627 Preview.)

KB5055523 (OS Build 26100.3775)

Release date: April 8, 2025

This update includes a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and April 2025 Security Updates. 

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which players on Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows. 

(Get more info about KB5055523.)

KB5053656 (OS Build 26100.3624) Preview

Release date: March 27, 2025

This build gradually rolls out several new features for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, including one in which you can search for anything on your PC without having to remember specific file names, exact words in file content, or settings names. Just describe what you’re looking for.

On Copilot+ PCs you can also more easily find photos stored and saved in the cloud by typing your own words (like “summer picnics”) in the search box at the upper-right corner of File Explorer. In addition to photos stored locally on your Copilot+ PC, photos from the cloud will now show up in the search results together. 

Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs also will allow you to use natural-language processing in voice access, by using your own words rather than using rigid, predefined commands.

In addition, the build includes a variety of bugs being immediately fixed, including one in which some third-party apps rendered the graphics settings page unresponsive.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which players on Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox from the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5053656 Preview.)

KB5053598 (OS Build 26100.3476)

Release date: March 11, 2025

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and March 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which players on Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5053598.)

KB5052093 (OS Build 26100.3323) Preview

Release date: February 25, 2025

In this build, a variety of new features are being rolled out gradually, including one that lets you snooze or turn off the “Start backup” reminder in the File Explorer address bar. This only applies if you are not already backing up your files and folder. To view this new option, right-click Start backup.

A number of bug fixes are being rolled out gradually, including one for a bug in which the address bar overlapped files in File Explorer when you used the F11 full-screen mode. A variety of bug fixes take immediate effect, including for a bug in which there were display rendering issues when you tried to connect to certain PCs.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows. In addition, devices that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. This issue was observed on devices with Citrix Session Recording Agent (SRA) version 2411.

(Get more info about KB5052093 Preview.)

KB5051987 (OS Build 26100.3194)

Release date: February 11, 2025

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and February 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which players on Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5051987.)

KB5050094 (OS Build 26100.3037) Preview

Release date: January 28, 2025

In this build, a variety of new features are being rolled out gradually, including one in which an icon will appear in the system tray when you use an app that supports Windows Studio Effects. This only occurs on a device that has a neural processing unit (NPU). Select the icon to open the Studio Effects page in Quick Settings. To view the app that is using the camera, hover over the icon for a tooltip.

A number of bug fixes are being rolled out gradually, including one for a bug in which a search would sometimes repeat when you didn’t want it to. Other bug fixes are immediately available, including one in which the display of some games appears oversaturated when you use Auto HDR.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows. In addition, following the installation of the October 2024 security update, some customers report that the OpenSSH (Open Secure Shell) service fails to start, preventing SSH connections. And devices that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update

(Get more info about KB5050094 Preview.)

KB5050009 (OS Build 26100.2894)

Release date: January 14, 2025

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and January 2025 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which players on Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5050009.)

KB5048667 (OS Build 26100.2605)

Release date: December 10, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and December 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There is one known issue in this build, in which players on Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5048667.)

KB5046740 (OS Build 26100.2454) Preview

Release date: November 21, 2024

This build adds a number of interface features are being rolled out gradually. The system tray shows a shortened date and time, and there’s a new section for touchscreen edge gestures in Settings. When you right-click an app on the Start menu, a jump list will appear (if the app has a jump list). And if you hold Ctrl + Shift down when you click a jump list item, you open the item as an admin.

A variety of bugs have been fixed in this build, including one in which the users page might have caused Task Manager to stop responding when you use the keyboard.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5046740 Preview.)

KB5046617 (OS Build 26100.2314)

Release date: November 12, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and November 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5046617.)

KB5044384 (OS Build 26100.2161) Preview

Release date: October 24, 2024

In this build, you can now configure the Copilot key on the keyboard. On new devices, the key opens the Copilot app. If you sign in to your account using a Microsoft Entra ID, the key opens the M365 app. You can make the key open a different app or open Search. To do this, go to Settings > Personalization > Text input. 

In addition, a variety of features are being rolled out gradually, including one in which you can stop the suggestions to turn off notifications from certain apps. Select the ellipsis (…) in the notification and turn it off. You can also go to Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there. 

A variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one in which you were unable to view some parts of the UI when you run certain apps.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5044384 Preview.)

Windows 11 24H2 KB5044284 (OS Build 26100.2033)

Release date: October 8, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and October 2024 Security Updates.

This build also fixes one bug in which the Remote Desktop Gateway Service stopped responding when a service used remote procedure calls (RPC) over HTTP.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5044284.)

Windows 11, version 24H2

Release date: October 1, 2024

The Windows 11 24H2 update (also called Windows 11 2024 Update) is now being gradually rolled out. It may take some months before it reaches everyone, so you may not have it yet. As with previous annual Windows updates, it’s not a major upgrade, but does include a variety of minor new features.

Following are the highlights for end users:

• File Explorer gets several new features, including support for TAR and 7z compression and the ability to add metadata to PNG files, so you can add information to your images.
• New privacy settings for Wi-Fi networks give more control over which applications can access the list of nearby Wi-Fi networks. Limiting the applications that can access that list can make it more difficult for others to pinpoint your location.
• You can now join Wi-Fi networks by scanning QR codes, and create a QR code to allow others to share your mobile hotspot with others.
• A new Energy Saver mode reduces electric consumption on desktop PCs as well as laptops, helping you reduce your carbon footprint and improving laptop battery life. It reduces energy consumption from background tasks as well as those running in the foreground.
• Copilot now runs as a separate app, and is movable and resizable like any other app, rather than running in a sidebar panel.
• Copilot+ PCs get several new features, including Cocreator in Paint, which uses AI to generate images; enhancing video calls with AI-powered noise cancellation and improved lighting; and what Microsoft calls Auto Super Resolution, which gives games higher resolution and offers smoother gameplay.

For IT admins, highlights include:

• Policy improvements and automatic account management for Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS)
• Personal Data Encryption (PDE) for users’ Documents, Desktop, and Pictures folders
• App Control for Business
• Windows protected print mode
• Local Security Authority (LSA) protection
• Support for Wi-Fi 7
• SHA-3 support

See this blog post from Microsoft’s Harjit Dhaliwal for more information.

Prerelease updates for Windows 11 24H2 KB5043178 (OS Build 26100.1882) Preview

Release date: September 30, 2024

This build for Windows 11 24H2 offers a variety of new features, some of which will show up immediately and some of which are being rolled out gradually. Among the features that will roll out gradually is a new energy recommendation to turn off high dynamic range (HDR). This helps to conserve energy on devices that have HDR displays. Go to Settings > Power & battery > Energy recommendations.

Among the features available immediately is one that lets you manage your Copilot Pro subscription in Settings. Sign in to your Microsoft account and go to Settings > Accounts.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which Task Manager stopped responding when you switched from a high-contrast theme to a normal theme.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5043178 Preview.)

KB5043080 (OS Build 26100.1742)

Release date: September 10, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and September 2024 Security Updates.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5043080.)

KB5041865 (OS Build 26100.1591) Preview

Release date: August 27, 2024

This build for Windows 11 24H2 offers a variety of new features that are being rolled out gradually, including one in which you can share content to your Android device from the Windows Share window.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which a deadlock occurred in the domain controller when it started up in the DNS client.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5041865 Preview.)

KB5041571 (OS Build 26100.1457)

Release date: August 13, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and August 2024 Security Updates. It also fixes several bugs, including one in which the “Use my Windows user account” checkbox was not available on the lock screen to connect to Wi-Fi.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5041571.)

KB5040529 (OS Build 26100.1301) Preview

Release date: July 30, 2024

This build for Windows 11 24H2 offers a variety of new features that are being rolled out gradually, including the new account manager being on the Start menu. When you use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows, you will get a glance at your account benefits. This feature also makes it easy to manage your account settings.

One feature is being rolled out immediately, in which Widgets icons on the taskbar are no longer pixelated or fuzzy. You also get a larger set of animated icons.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which devices that use certain WLAN cards stopped responding.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5040529 Preview.)

KB5040435 (OS Build 26100.1150)

Release date: July 9, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and July 2024 Security Updates. It also This update adds PCR 4 to PCR 7 and 11 for the default Secure Boot validation profile.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5040435.)

KB50439304 (OS Build 26100.1000) Preview

Release date: June 28, 2024

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) failed to verify the policies of some apps.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5041865 Preview.)

KB5039239 (OS Build 26100.863)

Release date: June 15, 2024

This build pins Copilot to the taskbar and makes it behave like a traditional app that can be resized and moved. The build also fixes several bugs, including one in which the volume of Bluetooth devices were automatically set to maximum when you connected to them.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Arm devices are unable to download and play Roblox via the Microsoft Store on Windows.

(Get more info about KB5039239.)

Updates to Windows 11 version 23H2 KB5043145 (OS Builds 22621.4249 and 22631.4249) Preview

Release date: September 24, 2024

This build, for both Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, offers a variety of new features and bug fixes, some of which will show up immediately, and some of which are being rolled out gradually. Among the features that will roll out gradually is the ability to share local files directly from the search results that appear in the Search box on the taskbar. Among the bug fixes that roll out immediately are one that addresses an issue in which Task Manager stopped responding when you switched from a high contrast theme to a normal theme.

(Get more info about KB5043145 Preview.)

KB5043076 (OS Builds 22621.4169 and 22631.4169)

Release date: September 10, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and September 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There is one known issue in this build, in which you might face issues with booting Linux if you have enabled the dual-boot setup for Windows and Linux in your device. Your device might fail to boot Linux and show the error message “Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation. Something has gone seriously wrong: SBAT self-check failed: Security Policy Violation.”

(Get more info about KB5043076.)

KB5041587 (OS Builds 22621.4112 and 22631.4112) Preview

Release date: August 27, 2024

This build, for both Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, includes the ability to share content to your Android device from the Windows Share window. To do it, must pair your Android device to your Windows PC and use the Link to Windows app on your Android device and Phone Link on your PC.

In Voice Access, you can also now dictate the characters that you spell at a faster speed, and you have more editing options for the commands that select, delete, and move within text. The build also fixes several bugs, including one in which when you pressed Ctrl + F, sometimes the search did not start.

The new features and bug fixes will roll out to users gradually.

(Get more info about KB5041587 Preview.)

KB5041585 (OS Builds 22621.4037 and 22631.4037)

Release date: August 13, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and August 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5041585.)

KB5040527 (OS Builds 22621.3958 and 22631.3958) Preview

Release date: July 25, 2024

This build, for both Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, offers a variety of new features and bug fixes, some of which will show up immediately and some of which are being rolled out gradually. Among the features that will roll out gradually is pinning apps to the taskbar by dragging them from the Pinned section of the Start menu, and right-clicking a tab in File Explorer to duplicate it. Among the bug fixes that will roll out gradually is a memory leak that occurred when you interacted with archive folders.

Among the bugs fixed immediately is one in which in Group Policy Preferences you could not choose a group from the target domain for ILT or choose an account from Local Users and Groups.

(Get more info about KB5040527 Preview.)

KB5040442 (OS Builds 22621.3880 and 22631.3880)

Release date: July 9, 2024

This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and July 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There is one known issue in this update, in which enterprise users may face issues while upgrading from Windows Pro to a valid Windows Enterprise subscription. OS upgrade operations may fail, and this might be shown in the LicenseAcquisition scheduled task in Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Subscription as ‘Access denied error (error code 0x80070005)’ under ‘Last Run Result.’

(Get more info about KB5040442.)

KB5039302 (OS Builds 22621.3810 and 22631.3810) Preview

Release date: June 25, 2024

This build, for both Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, offers a variety of new features and bug fixes, some of which will show up immediately and some of which are being rolled out gradually. Among the bug fixes that will show up immediately is one that addresses an issue in which ejecting USB devices using the Safely Remove Hardware option failed when Task Manager was open.

Among the features that will roll out gradually is a new account manager on the Start menu that makes it easier to manage your account settings and lets you see your account benefits. Also being rolled out gradually is support for Emoji 15.1.

(Get more info about KB5039302 Preview.)

KB5039212 (OS Builds 22621.3737 and 22631.3737)

Release date: June 11, 2024

This update fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the taskbar might briefly glitch, not respond, or disappear and reappear.

In addition, it has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and June 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5039212.)

KB5037853 (OS Builds 22621.3672 and 22631.3672) Preview

Release date: May 29, 2024

This build introduces a variety of minor feature updates, including one that lets you use your mouse to drag files between breadcrumbs in the File Explorer address bar and another that lets you create QR codes for webpage URLs and cloud files from the Windows share window.

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which File Explorer stopped responding when you swiped from a screen edge after turning off edge swiping, and another in which handwriting panels and touch keyboards did not appear when you used a pen.

(Get more info about KB5037853 Preview.)

KB5037771 (OS Builds 22621.3593 and 22631.3593)

Release date: May 14, 2024

This update fixes a bug that caused VPN connections to fail, and another in which Server Message Block (SMB) clients failed to make SMB Multichannel connections, making file transfers are slow.

In addition, it has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and May 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5037771.)

KB506980 (OS Builds 22621.3527 and 22631.3527) Preview

Release date: April 23, 2024

In this build, the Recommended section of the Start menu will show some Microsoft Store apps. In addition, widgets icons on the taskbar are no longer pixelated or fuzzy, and Windows widgets on the lockscreen are more reliable.

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Windows Local Administrator Password Solution’s Post Authentication Actions (PAAs) did not occur at the end of the grace period. Instead, they occurred at restart.

There is one known issue in this build, in which you might be unable to change your user account profile picture.

(Get more info about KB5036980 Preview.)

KB5036893 (OS Builds 22621.3447 and 22631.3447)

Release date: April 9, 2024

This build offers a wide variety of minor new features, including dedicated mode for Windows 365 Boot. When you sign in on your company-owned device, you also are signed into to your Windows 365 Cloud PC. This uses passwordless authentication, like Windows Hello for Business.

The update also adds suggestions to Snap Layouts. When you hover over the minimize or maximize button of an app to open the layout box, app icons will display various layout options. Use them to help you to choose the best layout option.

In addition, the update changes the apps that appear in the Windows share window. The account you use to sign in affects the apps that are in “Share using.” For example, if you use a Microsoft account (MSA) to sign in, you will see Microsoft Teams (free). When you use a Microsoft Entra ID account (formerly Azure Active Directory) to sign in, your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts show instead.

This build also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and April 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5036893.)

Windows 11 KB5035942 (OS Builds 22621.3374 and 22631.3374) Preview

Release date: March 26, 2024

In addition, in Windows Hello for Business admins can now use mobile device management to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do it, turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Windows devices using more than one monitor might experience issues with desktop icons moving unexpectedly between monitors or other icon alignment issues when attempting to use Copilot in Windows.

(Get more info about KB5035942 Preview.)

KB5035853 (OS Builds 22621.3296 and 22631.3296)

Release date: March 12, 2024

This build fixes a bug that affected the February 2024 security and preview updates. They might not have installed, and your device might shave stopped responding at 96% with the error code “0x800F0922” and the error message, “Something did not go as planned. No need to worry – undoing changes. Please keep your computer on.”

This build also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and March 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5035853.)

KB5034848 (OS Builds 22621.3235 and 22631.3235) Preview

Release date: February 29, 2024

In this build, you can now use the Snipping Tool on your PC to edit the most recent photos and screenshots from your Android device. You will get an instant notification on your PC when your Android device captures a new photo or screenshot. To turn this on, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices. Choose Manage devices and allow your PC to access your Android device.

The build also adds support for the USB 80Gbps standard, the next generation of USB4 that has twice the bandwidth of USB 40Gbps. To use USB 80Gbps, you must have a compatible PC and USB4 or Thunderbolt peripheral.

The build also fixes several bugs, including one in which the Windows Settings Home page randomly stopped responding when you went to the page, and another in which devices failed to make the automatic switch from cellular to Wi-Fi when they could use Wi-Fi.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Windows 11 devices attempting to install the February 2024 security update, released February 13, 2024 (KB5034765), might face installation failures and the system might stop responding at 96%.

(Get more info about KB5034848 Preview.)

KB5034765 (OS Builds 22621.3155 and 22631.3155)

Release date: February 13, 2023

In this build, the Copilot in Windows icon now appears on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar. Also, the display of “Show desktop” at the rightmost corner of the taskbar will be off by default. To turn it back on, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. You can also right-click the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings. These changes will be gradually rolled out.

This build also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and February 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5034765.)

KB5034204 (OS Builds 22621.3085 and 22631.3085) Preview

Release date: January 23, 2024

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that stopped search from working on the Start menu for some users because of a deadlock, and another that that caused devices to intermittently stop responding after you installed a print support app.

There is one known issue in this build, in which Windows devices using more than one monitor might experience issues with desktop icons moving unexpectedly between monitors or other icon alignment issues when attempting to use Copilot in Windows (in preview).

(Get more info about KB5034204 Preview.)

KB5034123 (OS Builds 22621.3007 and 22631.3007)

Release date: January 9, 2024

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which devices shut down after 60 seconds when you used a smart card to authenticate on a remote system, and another in which some Wi-Fi adapters could not connect to some networks, particularly those that use 802.1x to authenticate.

It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and January 2024 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There are three known issues in this build, including one affecting ID admins, in which using the FixedDrivesEncryptionType or SystemDrivesEncryptionType policy settings in the BitLocker configuration service provider (CSP) node in mobile device management apps might incorrectly show a 65000 error in the “Require Device Encryption” setting for some devices in your environment. To mitigate the issue in Microsoft Intune, you can set the “Enforce drive encryption type on operating system drives” or “Enforce drive encryption on fixed drives” policies to not configured.

(Get more info about KB5034123.)

KB5033375 (OS Builds 22621.2861 and 22631.2861)

Release date: December 12, 2023

This build has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and December 2023 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There are four known issues in this build, including one which affects ID admins, in which using the FixedDrivesEncryptionType or SystemDrivesEncryptionType policy settings in the BitLocker configuration service provider (CSP) node in mobile device management (MDM) apps might incorrectly show a 65000 error in the “Require Device Encryption” setting for some devices in your environment. To mitigate the issue in Microsoft Intune, you can set the “Enforce drive encryption type on operating system drives” or “Enforce drive encryption on fixed drives” policies to not configured.

(Get more info about KB5033375.)

KB5032288 (OS Builds 22621.2792 and 22631.2792) Preview

Release date: December 4, 2023

In this update, Copilot in Windows (in preview) can be used across multiple displays, and it can be used with Alt+Tab. When you press Alt+Tab, the thumbnail preview for Copilot in Windows appears among other thumbnail previews of open windows. You can switch between them using the Tab keystroke. This is available to a small audience initially and will deploy more broadly in the months that follow.

The update also fixes a wide range of bugs, including one in which the Copilot icon did not show as being as active when it’s open on the taskbar.

There are four known issues in this update, one applicable to IT admins, in which using the FixedDrivesEncryptionType or SystemDrivesEncryptionType policy settings in the BitLocker configuration service provider (CSP) node in mobile device management (MDM) apps might incorrectly show a 65000 error in the “Require Device Encryption” setting for some devices in your environment.

(Get more info about KB5032288 Preview.)

KB5032190 (OS Builds 22621.2715 and 22631.2715)

Release date: November 14, 2023

This build introduces a preview of the Copilot for Windows AI assistant and a File Explorer with a new interface that includes new files displayed as a carousel, and that recognizes local and cloud folders. It also introduces the Windows Backup app that can be used to quickly get your current PC backed up and ready to move to a new PC. In addition, there are many other new features and interface changes throughout Windows, including for Settings, Windows Spotlight, security graphics, voice access, Narrator, and others.

It also includes a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and November 2023 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

There are three known issues in this build, including one that affects ID admins in which using the FixedDrivesEncryptionType or SystemDrivesEncryptionType policy settings in the BitLocker configuration service provider (CSP) node in MDM apps might incorrectly show a 65000 error in the “Require Device Encryption” setting for some devices in your environment. To mitigate the issue in Microsoft Intune, you can set the “Enforce drive encryption type on operating system drives” or “Enforce drive encryption on fixed drives” policies to not configured.

(Get more info about KB5032190.)

KB5031455 (OS Builds 22621.2506 and 22631.2506) Preview

Release date: Oct. 31, 2023

This update introduces a preview of the Copilot for Windows AI assistant and File Explorer with a new interface that includes new files displayed as a carousel, and that recognizes local and cloud folders. It also includes minor interface changes to many parts of the operating system, including taskbar, system tray, security notifications, and more.

There is one known issue, which applies to IT admins: using the FixedDrivesEncryptionType or SystemDrivesEncryptionType policy settings in the BitLocker configuration service provider (CSP) node in mobile device management (MDM) apps might incorrectly show a 65000 error in the “Require Device Encryption” setting for some devices in your environment.

(Get more info about KB5031455 Preview.)

KB5031455 (OS Build 22621.2506) Preview

Release date: Oct. 26, 2023

This build introduces a preview of the Copilot for Windows AI assistant and a File Explorer with a new interface that includes new files displayed as a carousel, and that recognizes local and cloud folders. It also introduces the Windows Backup app that can be used to quickly get your current PC backed up and ready to move to a new PC.

There is one known issue in this build that applies to IT admins: using the FixedDrivesEncryptionType or SystemDrivesEncryptionType policy settings in the BitLocker configuration service provider (CSP) node in mobile device management (MDM) apps might incorrectly show a 65000 error in the “Require Device Encryption” setting for some devices in your environment.

(Get more info about KB5031455 Preview.)

KB5031354 (OS Build 22621.2428)

Release date: October 10, 2023

This build includes a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and October 2023 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5031354.)

KB5030310 (OS Build 22621.2361) Preview

Release date: September 26, 2023

This update adds websites to the Recommended section of the Start menu. These websites come from your browsing history. You can remove any website URL from the Recommended section using the shortcut menu. To turn off the feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Start.

It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the search box tooltip did not appear in the correct position, and another in which the search button disappeared when you interacted with the search flyout box.

In addition, if you want to use a variety of new features, such as the AI-driven Copilot for Windows and improvements to File Manager, Paint, and other apps, go to Settings > Windows Update, toggle on “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available,” and then restart your PC. For more details, see Microsoft’s blog post.

(Get more info about KB5030310 Preview.)

KB5030219 (OS Build 22621.2283)

Release date: September 12, 2023

This build removes a blank menu item from the Sticky Keys menu and includes a variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and September 2023 Security Updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

(Get more info about KB5030219.)