Security News
Microsoft quietly revealed its plans to remove the Adobe Flash plugin from Windows 10, with mandatory removal starting in July 2021. In a quiet update to their end of support for Adobe Flash blog post, Microsoft has outlined their further plans on how they will begin distributing the Windows 10 KB4577586 update.
While the next update is all about improvements, preview builds and reports have suggested that Windows 10 version 21H2 is going to be a big release with something new for everyone. Windows 10 Sun Valley will update File Explorer to add a new Extract All option for OneDrive files.
Like other antivirus programs, Microsoft Defender will upload suspicious files to Microsoft to determine if they are malicious. "When Microsoft Defender scans your device, by default, it will use the"Automatic sample submission' feature to upload files to Microsoft's servers when a file is suspected to be malicious.
The Windows 10 Device Manager is getting a helpful upgrade that makes it easier to uninstall a specific driver by seeing what devices are using it. When Windows 10 detects a new hardware component, it will attempt to find a compatible driver to initialize the hardware in the operating system.
Microsoft has added AAC support for Bluetooth audio devices to the latest Windows 10 build released for Insiders in the Dev Channel. AAC is a lossy audio codec used by Apple devices and audio streaming platforms to provide high-quality audio streaming at low bitrates.
Microsoft released PowerToys v0.37.0 yesterday with minor improvements and a significant change - it now requires a minimum version of Windows 10 1903. For those unfamiliar with Microsoft PowerToys, they are a set of small freeware utilities created by Windows developers to add extra functionality to Windows 10 or solve everyday tasks.
As Microsoft begins to utilize its Known Issue Rollback feature to release Windows 10 fixes quickly, users are discovering that modifying privacy settings may prevent these fixes from being installed. Microsoft routinely conducts experiments with Windows 10 users to determine if a feature is commonly used, if a change in a feature makes it more useful, or to introduce features to a small test population.
Microsoft has announced that the Windows May 10th 2021 Update is complete and being prepared for release. Windows Insiders in the 'Beta' and 'Release' channels have been testing this build since April 13th. While Microsoft has not provided a specific date when the May 2021 Update would begin to rollout, it is likely to be released as an optional update during the upcoming May 2021 Patch Tuesday updates.
Microsoft has released the optional KB5001391 Preview cumulative update for Windows 10 2004 and Windows 10 20H2. This cumulative update is Microsoft's April 2021 monthly "C" update that allows users and admins to preview the upcoming fixes scheduled for release in the forthcoming May 2021 Patch Tuesday. You can install the update by going into Settings, clicking on Windows Update, and selecting 'Check for Updates.
The Windows 10 package manager is getting some new and exciting features that allow you to manage any installed applications directly from the command line. Last year, Microsoft released a Windows 10 package manager called Winget that allows users to install popular apps from a curated repository managed by Microsoft.