Security News
The policies associated with it will certainly make purchasers think it's a "Student Edition." While there are no actual restrictions on how Windows 11 SE hardware is sold, it's branding that should let potential purchasers know that this isn't a Windows for home or the office: This is only for the classroom. Where Windows 10 S wouldn't be able to run, say, the Win32 Zoom client, it's supported on Windows 11 SE. It's a shift that puts the Windows education release in line with Microsoft's new Windows Store policies.
Microsoft has started rolling out the Windows 11 upgrade to more eligible Windows 10 devices faster after not detecting update experience issues during the first rollout phases. Microsoft released Windows 11 on October 5 and is now rolling it out to eligible Windows 10 devices via Windows Update.
Microsoft is now rolling out a new media player that matches Windows 11's look and feel as a replacement for the Windows 10 Groove Music and the legacy Windows Media Player app. The rollout started Tuesday, with the new player to be automatically installed as an update through the Microsoft Store to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Microsoft has confirmed a new known issue impacting Windows 11 customers and triggering to blue screens of death on affected systems. The new issue is caused by compatibility issues between Intel Smart Sound Technology audio drivers and Windows 11, version 21H2. Intel SST is an integrated audio DSP that works with the latest Intel Core and Intel Atom processors to handle audio, voice, and speech interactions.
Microsoft has released Windows 10 21H2, also known as the November 2021 Update, and it is available to users running Windows 10 2004 or later as an optional update in Windows Update. "To install the Windows 10 November 2021 feature update, click on the Start Menu > Settings > Update & Security and click on the 'Check for updates' button. Windows 10 will check for new updates and then display the optional 'Feature update to Windows 10, version 21H2', which you can install by clicking the 'Download & install now" link.
An update to the Insiders version of Windows 11 includes a massive list of bug fixes, many of them serious, showing the wisdom of holding back on an early upgrade from Windows 10. Windows 11 was released on 5 October but has proved a problematic upgrade due to onerous system requirements and certain user interface decisions, with some features chopped in the Start menu and a confusing new right-click menu in File Explorer.
Microsoft has released out-of-band updates to address authentication failures related to Kerberos delegation scenarios impacting Domain Controllers running supported versions of Windows Server. These issues affect systems running Windows Server 2019 and lower versions, including Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 SP2. The emergency updates address "a known issue that might cause authentication failures related to Kerberos tickets you acquired from Service for User to Self," a Microsoft announcement explained on Sunday.
Microsoft has fixed a long list of issues impacting Windows 11 in a newly released build for Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels. Another printing issue fixed in today's Windows 11 preview build caused 0x000006e4, 0x0000007c, and 0x00000709 error codes when connecting to remote printers shared on Windows print servers.
A partially unpatched security bug in Windows that could allow local privilege escalation from a regular user to System remains unaddressed fully by Microsoft - but an unofficial micropatch from oPatch has hit the scene. "The vulnerability lies in the User Profile Service, specifically in the code responsible for creating a temporary user profile folder in case the user's original profile folder is damaged or locked for some reason," explained 0Patch's Mitja Kolsek in a Thursday writeup.
A free and unofficial patch is now available for a zero-day local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows User Profile Service that lets attackers gain SYSTEM privileges under certain conditions. The bad news is that it impacts fully-updated devices running all Windows versions, including Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2022.