Security News
Microsoft keeps improving and adding more features to the Windows 11 Notepad application, the latest being a built-in character counter. Starting with Notepad version 11.2311.29.0, which is rolling out today to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels, Microsoft finally gave in and added a character counter to Notepad's status bar.
Microsoft's Extended Security Updates program doesn't replace all of those options; ESUs just provide the monthly security updates from Windows Update and only cover what Microsoft classifies as critical or important vulnerabilities, which means no fixes for security issues you can mitigate without Microsoft making changes to Windows. What's different this time is that individuals will be able to buy the annual ESU subscription for their Windows 10 PCs. How can I get Extended Security Updates for Windows 10?
Microsoft will not abandon Windows 10 users to an insecure fate once it reaches end of support on October 14, 2025: both enterprises and individual consumers will be able receive Extended Security Updates, but will have to pay for them. "The ESU program enables PCs to continue to receive critical and important security updates through an annual subscription service after support ends. To be eligible to install updates from the ESU program, devices must be running Windows 10, version 22H2," Microsoft says.
Microsoft on Tuesday warned that full security support for Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025, but offered a lifeline for customers unable or unwilling to upgrade two years hence. "While we strongly recommend moving to Windows 11, we understand there are circumstances that could prevent you from replacing Windows 10 devices before the EOS date," explained Jason Leznek, a member of Microsoft's Windows Servicing & Delivery team, in an statement.
Microsoft says that all Windows 10 customers will be able to pay for three extra years of security updates through the company's Extended Security Updates program after the end of support date. The upcoming Windows 10 22H2 version is the final Windows release, with all editions to continue to receive monthly security updates until the EOS date.
Microsoft has confirmed an issue causing the HP Smart app to automatically install on Windows systems after all printers are renamed to HP LaserJet M101-M106. Customers have been reporting this issue since last week on the Microsoft community website and on online social networks. According to these reports, the HP Smart App is automatically installed on some Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices via the Microsoft Store, even though users don't own or use an HP printer or an HP computer.
Microsoft has released the KB5032288 November 2023 Windows 11 preview update with improvements for the Copilot AI assistant and almost a dozen bug fixes. Windows Copilot started rolling out to Windows 11 22H2 devices in September and now is enabled by default on systems running Windows 11 23H2. After installing the KB5032288 preview update, the company says the AI-powered digital assistant will be available across multiple displays and will also show up as a thumbnail preview in the Alt+Tab dialog.
Microsoft has started rolling out its Copilot AI assistant to Windows 10 with the KB5032278 November 2023 non-security preview update for systems running Windows 10, version 22H2. Two weeks ago, the company introduced Copilot to Windows 10 Insiders with eligible non-managed systems running Windows 10 22H2 Home and Pro editions. The AI assistant was first introduced in September, initially available on Windows 11 22H2 devices, and now enabled by default on Windows 11 23H2 devices.
Microsoft has started testing a new Windows 11 Energy Saver feature that helps customers extend their portable computers' battery life. This new feature is currently available to Insiders in the Canary Channel who have installed Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26002 and it introduces enhanced battery-saving capabilities that make it easy to lengthen battery lifespan by reducing energy usage and some system performance.
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a case of "forced authentication" that could be exploited to leak a Windows user's NT LAN Manager (NTLM) tokens by tricking a victim into opening a...