Dell Touch Screen is not Working & Responding: 5 Ways to Fix

Dell devices are some of the most popular among Windows users. However, many reported that the Dell touch screen is not working for them.

This can be a problem, especially if you rely heavily on the touchscreen functionality of your device. Luckily, there are ways to fix this problem, and today, we will show you how to do it.

Why is my Dell touch screen not working?

  • Your system or touch screen drives might be out of date.
  • Minor glitches with the device and operating system can also cause this issue.

What can I do if my Dell touch screen is not working?

1. Update your operating system

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Update & Security.Update & Security
  3. From the left window pane, select Windows Update, then select Check for updates, from the left side.check for updates

2. Run the troubleshooter

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Update & Security.
  3. From the left window pane, select Troubleshoot, then select Additional troubleshooter from the right side.
  4. Search for Hardware and Devices, click on it, then select Uninstall.

3. Use a third-party software

When updating drivers is never a bad idea to employ the help of professional driver updating tools.

This professional software is able to scan your whole system and identify the drivers you need, and with just a few clicks you can have them downloaded and installed.

4. Try Device Manager

  1. Open Device Manager.
  2. Click on View, then select Show hidden devices.
  3. Click on Action, then select Scan for hardware changes.
  4. Check if your Dell touch screen driver shows up under Human Interface Devices.

5. Download the driver from the manufacturer’s website

  1. Go to the Dell Drivers & Downloads webpage.
  2. Search for the exact name of your product and click on it.
  3. In the list shown, search for the touch screen or touch monitor driver, then click on the Download button.
  4. Follow the on-screen steps to install the driver.

Downloading the driver manually will also help when touch screen is not working in tablet mode.

There you go! If your Dell touchscreen is not working, at least one of the above solutions should definitely solve it.

If you’re ever unable to install drivers on Windows 10, don’t hesitate to check a full-fix guide regarding this subject. Unfortunately, this is a common problem, and many reported that the touch screen is not working on Windows 11 either.

One way to fix that is to calibrate your touch screen on Windows 11. However, if the HID-Compliant touch screen driver is greyed out, then you might be having a driver or hardware issue.

For any other questions, feel free to comment in the section below.

Red border: League of Legends can’t move the camera [Fixed]

League of Legends is one of the most popular video games. Thus, playing it in optimal conditions represents a must-have.

However, while being in-game, some users reported suddenly seeing a red border around their screen. After this, League of Legends couldn’t move the camera anymore.

In these terms, gamers have to play with a locked camera for the rest of the game. This is an annoying problem, which would stop players from using their true skills.

This guide will show you a series of options that will surely help fix the League of Legends camera issue that you’re experiencing.

How can I move the League of Legends screen with a mouse?

1. Use the F9 key

  1. Go to LoL Settings.
  2. Select HotKeys, click on the Additional HotKeys, then select Menus.
  3. Select Toggle Mouse Screen Lock.

League of Legends allows you to use an additional key that makes your camera move in optimal conditions. Most commonly, the F9 key option is set by default.

However, it can also be set on a different key. If so, you should follow the above procedure. Our presented issue can occur if you randomly pressed the F9 key on your computer keyboard.

This is related to multiple-screen usage. Thus, the mouse cursor won’t leave the game. If you’re encountering this problem, the first thing to do is just pressing the F9 key again. You should be able to move the camera around freely.

2. Uninstall and reinstall the game

Uninstall League of Legends

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Apps.
  3. Select Apps & Features, from the left window pane.
  4. On the right side, scroll down to the Search this list bar, then type the game’s name.
  5. Locate and select your game, then click on Uninstall.

Reinstall the game

  1. Open the RIOT support website.
  2. Click on the Download for Windows button.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the game.

3. Submit a ticket to the support team

  1. Go to the League of Legends support website.
  2. Log in with your LoL credentials.
  3. Scroll down, then click on the Submit a ticket red button.
  4. In the search box, select the General League of Legends question, complete the indicated bars, then click on the Submit button.

We made sure to select the most valuable methods that will definitely help you get rid of the red border and fix the League of Legends moving camera.

If LoL is acting unusual, you can always check a full guide about how to fix League of Legends crashes on Windows 10.

Because your opinion is important to us, feel free to share your thoughts regarding this subject, and leave a comment in the section below.

FIX: Zoom filters not showing error

Due to the global pandemic, more and more people started working from home so a lot of meetings have become entirely digital.

Zoom has become a popular choice amongst users due to its features, from high-quality HD video and audio to cross-platform messaging and fun filters that can brighten any boring meeting.

So what do you do when you can’t access these fun filters? You follow our easy step-by-step guide to fix this issue and use the desired filters to transform your living room into a beach and hide the mess behind it.

How to fix the Zoom filters not showing error?

1. Re-install the latest version

  1. Go to the Search bar, type Control Panel then hit Enter.control panel
  2. Select Uninstall a program under Programs.Control Panel - Uninstall
  3. Locate the Zoom app, right-click on it and select Uninstall.
  4. After the process is complete, restart your PC.
  5. Now, go to the official Zoom website and download the latest version.zoom download
  6. Install the app following the on-screen instructions.
  7. When opening Zoom on your PC, go to the one base filter which is called Touch up my Appearance.
  8. To access it, click on the gear icon on the top right and go to the video tab.

If you want to make sure you completely remove any trace of the Zoom app from your PC, we strongly recommend using a dedicated tool.

Using specialized software like CCleaner, you may search and erase any repository files from your computer, ensuring a clean re-installation of any application.

Health Check combines renowned optimization and cleaning functions from CCleaner into a single, easy-to-use interface.

When the zoom filters are not showing, this is an issue that may be fixed with a clean install if the program was properly removed with CCleaner.

Hence, you can entirely remove Zoom and its files with the help of this practical uninstalling method.

2. Create an account

  1. Go to the official Zoom website.
  2. Complete the age verification process and then click on Continue.
  3. Confirm your email.
  4. Click the Sign-Up button.
  5. Check your email for confirmation.
  6. Click on the Activate Account button.
  7. Complete your information to create a Zoom account and log in on the downloaded app to access the filters.

3. Use a more reliable app

You know that if you’re not completely happy with Zoom, you can use another app. There are many good apps you can choose from for your video calls.

We hope that our guide helped you and you can now use the Zoom filters as intended, to make meeting more fun and memorable.

Moreover, take a look at the best video conferencing software in order to enjoy face-to-face chat even if all the participants are miles away.

If you have any questions or some suggestions, we can only encourage you to use the comments section below.

Windows news recap: TikTok for Windows arrives in the Microsoft Store, MSN Sports app to be discontinued, and more

Welcome back to our Windows news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Official TikTok app launches for Windows devices in the Microsoft Store

TikTok have launched their own app in the Microsoft Store for Windows. The app is similar to that of Instagram, whereby the app is essentially the web experience of the platform, as opposed to a specially-crafted app.

Windows TikTok app
Windows TikTok app

Microsoft is testing giving ETAs for OS updates on Windows 11

The first preview build of Windows 11 is now available, and some people are seeing that Microsoft is testing showing ETAs for updates, helping to provide an indication of how long an update will take, before you actually commit to updating. This can be useful if you’re sceptical of updating whilst tight on time.

Microsoft is testing giving etas for os updates on windows 11 - onmsft. Com - july 2, 2021

Microsoft to discontinue the Windows 10 MSN Sports app on July 20

The MSN Sports app on Windows 10 will be discontinued on July 20. No reason has been provided for the discontinuation.

Microsoft acknowledges “PrintNightmare” remote code execution vulnerability affecting Windows Print Spooler service

A new security vulnerability has been acknowledged by Microsoft. “PrintNightmare” is a remote code execution vulnerability which affects the Windows Print Spooler service. The company also confirmed that it is in all versions of Windows, but it’s not clear if all versions are susceptible to the flaw. Microsoft is continuing to investigate.

That’s it for this week. We will be back next week with more Windows news.

Fix: Third Monitor Keeps Disconnecting on Windows 10

Having a third monitor can have its advantages, from improving work productivity to getting the best experience when playing your favorite online games.

Unfortunately, this leaves room for Windows 10 errors such as connectivity issues, hardware problems, or even faulty graphics drivers.

If your third monitor randomly disconnects and displays a no signal message, read our guide and follow the steps to fix it.

What can I do if my third monitor keeps disconnecting?

1. Change the display settings

  1. Go to the Start and click on Settings.
  2. Select System.System
  3. On the Display option, scroll down to Multiple displays sections.multiple displays
  4. Make sure the Extend these displays option is chosen.
  5. While here, check also all your display settings to make sure they are set up for multiple monitors.

2. Update Windows 10

  1. Open the Start Menu and click on Settings.
  2. Click on Update & Security.Update & Security
  3. On Windows Update, click the button Check for updates. check for updates
  4. If there are any available updates, install them.
  5. After the process is complete, restart your PC.
  6. You can now check if the issue still persists.

3. Update your drivers

3.1 Use Device Manager

  1. Right-click on Start and select Device Manager.
  2. Search for the Display adapters section and expand the menu.display adapters
  3. Right-click on your graphics driver and choose Update Driver from the menu.update amd driver
  4. Click on Search automatically for updated driver software.search automatically for the updated driver
  5. Windows will now search and install the latest driver for your PC.
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish.
  7. After the update is complete, reboot your computer.

3.2. Use automated software

You’ll be happy to know that you can also use a third-party app that can search and install all necessary drivers with only a few clicks.

This dedicated software tool will scan your computer for compatible drivers, automatically download and install them, all while keeping your system constantly updated, so you won’t have any problems in the future with outdated drivers.

Plus, it helps you to prevent any serious damages to your system provoked by installing the wrong drivers for your devices.

Such practical software will definitely optimize your system functionality with the latest version of your drivers, so if you need such services to resolve this error, you should go for it.

⇒ Get Outbyte Driver Updater

4. Set the power plan to high in Windows

  1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type in the following powercfg.cpl and then press Enter.powercfg.cpl
  3. In the Power Options window, choose High Performance.high performance
  4. Change the plan settings to Never.
  5. Click Save changes and exit.save changes

5. Change the resolution

  1. Right-click your desktop and select Display settings.desktop-display settings
  2. Scroll down to Scale and Layout and click the drop-down menu located under Display Resolution.display resolutions
  3. Because Windows 10 assigns these resolutions as recommended based on the display’s hardware you need to select a screen resolution that works best for your monitor.
  4. Lastly, make sure your monitor and graphics card can run at your chosen resolution.

6. Additional solutions

Here are a few additional solutions worthy of your attention:

  • Try another video cable on your monitor and check if the problem persists
  • Verify if there’s a lack of power to the card from your power supply unit in the system
  • Make sure that your video cable from the monitor is securely and firmly connected to your PC
  • Sometimes, unplugging the monitors and plug them back in one at a time can help your computer recognize all three monitors and use them properly
  • Try to use HDMI ports for all your monitors; sometimes, using VGA or DisplayPort can cause disconnections

We hope our guide fixed your problem and that you can now use your third monitor with no interruptions.

For more details on this topic, check out our guide on how to use multiple monitors like a single monitor.

If you have questions, suggestions, or want to share other solutions you might’ve encountered regarding this issue, just use the comments section below.

How to install mouse driver without mouse

Your mouse isn’t working properly, and you can’t use it at all? This can be inconvenient, so today we’ll show you how to install a mouse driver without a mouse.

Many users reported that their mouse drivers aren’t installed properly, and this can significantly impact your performance and make your mouse useless.

To fix this problem, you need to rely on keyboard shortcuts, use the touchpad, or your phone to control your PC. Now that you’re ready to go, let’s see how to fix this problem, shall we?

How can I install a mouse driver without a mouse?

1. Use driver updater software

The simplest and fastest way to install the missing drives is by using driver updater software. With such a tool, all your drivers will get updated with just a couple of clicks.

These tools are also great for long-term maintenance of your system as they can be set up to perform regular scans so you can make sure your drivers never go out of date again.

2. Install the latest Windows updates

  1. Press Windows Key + I to open the Settings app.
  2. Navigate to the Update & Security section.
  3. Now select the Check for updates button.

If any updates are available, they will be installed automatically. Once your system is up to date, the latest mouse driver should be installed.

3. Use the Device Manager

  1. Press Windows Key + X and select Device Manager from the list.
    device manager
  2. Expand the Mice and other pointing devices section.
  3. Right-click your mouse (or use the context menu key on your keyboard) and select Update driver.
  4. Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
  5. Windows will now scan for missing drivers and install them automatically.

This is the simplest and the fastest method to install mouse drivers on your PC but keep in mind that you’ll need to rely on your keyboard and keyboard shortcuts or any other input method to perform these steps.

4. Reinstall the current drivers

  1. Open the Device Manager.
  2. Now expand the Mice and other pointing devices section.
  3. Right-click your mouse or use the context menu key on the keyboard.
  4. Now select the Uninstall device option.
  5. When the confirmation dialog appears, select Uninstall.
  6. Do this for all mouse devices that you have on your system.
  7. After you remove them all, restart your PC.

This is a simple workaround that should force Windows to automatically install the default mouse driver on your PC.

Few users reported that they managed to fix the problem by leaving just one mouse device on their PC, so feel free to try that as well.

5. Try a different port or mouse

If you need to install a mouse driver, try connecting the mouse to a different port. Sometimes certain USB ports won’t recognize your mouse, so be sure to try all ports on your PC.

Moreover, be sure that your mouse isn’t faulty in any way. In the worst-case scenario, try using one of the best PC mouse models and check if that helps.

To install a mouse driver without a mouse you need to rely on other input methods or keyboard shortcuts, but this isn’t as hard as it may seem.

We hope that you found this guide informative and that you managed to install the missing drivers without too much hassle.

FIX: CS GO video settings are not saving

Released in 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the fourth game in the CS series, being extremely popular worldwide.

However, players reported that sometimes CS GO video settings are not saving. After checking the best forums, we selected the most reliable descriptions of this problem.

This is what users are saying on the StackExchange forums:

Every time I decreased my visual setting it maximizes the whole settings at every restart. I don’t know if I used a console command unintentionally. 

Also, gamers reported the following on the Reddit forums:

Csgo video settings not changing from auto. Even after changing it remains Auto.

Our guide will present the best methods that can surely help to solve this irritating issue. We selected the most efficient ones, so make sure you keep an eye on this article to find out which suits you the most.

What can I do if CS GO video settings are not saving?

1. Change video settings properties

  1. Open the File Explorer.
  2. Go to the following location: C:YourSteamFolderHereuserdata765****730localcfg
  3. Right-click on video.txt, then select Properties.
  4. Uncheck the Read-Only box, then click on OK.

2. Reload your HUD

If your CS GO video settings are not saving, you should also consider using some command to reload the HUD, also known as the head-up display. Thus, we recommend the following:

hud_reloadscheme

The above command will help you to reload the HUD, applying all the custom changes.

cl_reload_hud

This command will cancel all the changes to CS:GO HUD, returning the default settings.

3. Uninstall and reinstall the game

Uninstall CS GO

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Apps.
  3. Choose Apps & Features from the left window pane.
  4. On the right side, scroll down to the Search this list bar, then type the game’s name.
  5. Locate and select your game, then click on Uninstall.

Uninstall Steam

  1. Close Steam.
  2. Open Control Panel.
  3. Search for Programs and Features, then click on Add or remove programs.
  4. Select Steam from the list and click on Uninstall.
  5. Follow the on-screen steps to complete the process.

Reinstall

  1. Access the Steam Powered official store.
  2. In the right-top corner, click on the Install Steam green button.
  3. Follow the on-screen instruction to install it.
  4. After the installation is completed, click on the Play game green button.

4. Update your game video driver

You should consider the support of third-party software as being one of the most efficient methods to stop CS GO settings from randomly reset. Our listed problem can be related to some driver issues. Thus, we come up with this great idea of a long-term ally.

How can it make a difference? Unlike the options presented above, using a specialized tool is an automatic way to keep your game drivers always up to date.

5. Contact the CS GO Steam Support

  1. Access the CS GO Steam support website.
  2. Scroll down, and click on Log in for more personalized options.
  3. Enter your Steam credentials.
  4. Describe your problem as detailed as possible.

This was our list that presented the best recommendations to make your CS GO video settings save. Thus, you’ll never worry again about this kind of trouble.

For the times when your PC is acting weird, you should definitely check a full guide regarding computer crashes while playing games in Windows 10.

Because your opinion is important to us, don’t hesitate to leave a comment in the section below with which solution suited you the most.

How to update video driver for Rainbow Six Siege

Considering your PC games, the video drivers are some of the most important software components. Thus, installing and constantly updating them represent mandatory processes.

Fortunately, these actions can be done with ease. So, you don’t have to be an expert to perform any of them.

After checking the most popular forums, we made sure to select a series of efficient options that you should definitely consider.

This article will show you how to update the video driver for Rainbow Six Siege with a minimum effort from your side.

How can I easily update the video driver for Rainbow Six Siege?

1. Update your operating system

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Update & Security.
  3. From the left side, select Windows Update, then click on the Check for updates, in the right window pane.

2. Use Device Manager

  1. Open Device Manager.
  2. Expand Sound, video, and game controllers.
  3. Locate the needed sound device on the list, right-click on it, then choose the Update driver option.
  4. Click on Search automatically for updated driver software.
  5. Windows will automatically find a suitable driver and will try to update it.

3. Try the support of a dedicated tool

You can easily update your Rainbow Six Siege video driver using the support of a dedicated tool. Unlike the methods presented above, this one is able to perform the processes in an automatic way.

With its help, you’ll not have to worry again about keeping your drivers up to date. Thus, this software will surely get to be your mainly long-term ally.

After checking the most popular forums, we can strongly admit that these are the quickest and most efficient solutions you can find.

For any other automatic driver support, we strongly recommend checking a list including the best driver update software for Windows 10.

If you have additional questions or information, don’t hesitate to leave a comment in the section below.

GMod Game Crashes When Joining the Server [Full Fix]

More and more players have been searching the forums in hope of an answer and solutions to why Garry’s Mod crashes when they’re joining the server.

Like any other game, issues can occur for a variety of reasons, from running too many programs in the background to improper game settings, or due to the game’s cache.

Because GMod makes no exception, you’re bound to encounter crashes, so try our solutions below to fix it.

What to do if the GMod game crashes when joining the server?

1. Unsubscribe

steam account
  1. Log in to your Steam account.
  2. Open the Subscribed Files page in the Workshop.
  3. Here, we recommend you unsubscribe from everything.
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the option to display 30 files at once.
  5. Press the Ctrl + Shift+ J keyboard shortcut at the same time to open the console.
  6. Hold down Ctrl + V and paste this code into the Console: (function() .jQuery (‘. Btn_grey_black’). Map (function)-this.click()-)-) ()
  7. Press Enter to complete.
  8. Use this method multiple times in order to delete all add-ons if you have over 30.

2. Delete all add-ons

Add-ons folder Gary's Mod
  1. Navigate to:
    C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonGarrysModgarrysmodaddons
  2. Select and delete everything in the add-ons folder.

3. Reinstall the game

Coantrol Panel - Uninstall
  1. Go to the Search bar, type Control Panel then hit Enter.
  2. Select Uninstall a program under Programs.
  3. Locate Gary’s Mod, right-click and select Uninstall.
  4. After the process is complete, restart your PC.
  5. Now try installing the game again and see if you can join the server.

You can also try removing GMod from your computer using a dedicated tool that will automatically scan and remove all repository and unnecessary files from your computer in a matter of seconds.

IObit Uninstaller 10 PRO

IObit Uninstaller 10 PRO

With IObit Uninstaller Pro it’s easy to remove apps and clean their leftovers completely!
Check priceVisit website

4. Verify the integrity of your game files

Verify integrity Gary's Mod
  1. Open Steam and click on the Library tab.
  2. Right-click on Gary’s Mod and go to Properties.
  3. Click on Local Files and then on Verify integrity of game files.
  4. This will check for any missing or corrupt files you have and redownload them.
  5. Wait for the process to finish.
  6. Relaunch GMod.

5. Turn off your firewall

Because anti-virus software often interferes with Steam, it can lead to various issues, from connection problems to games not launching properly.

Being that the games in Steam do not have viruses, or else they’d be off the market, the firewall might cause GMod to crash whenever you’re joining the server.

Just set your firewall to Game Mode or turn it off altogether before launching Steam and you should be fine.

6. Unmount Team Fortress 2

1. At first, open Gary’s Mod.
2. On the bottom right-click the controller.
3. Scroll down until you find Team Fortress 2.
4. Make sure the box beside it is not checked.
5. Now restart GMod.

If you’re interested in having the best possible experience when playing GMod, check out our article and discover all there is to know about fixing Garry’s Mod issues on Windows 10.

You should now be able to join the server and play the game with no problems. For thank you notes or questions, just use the comments section below.

FIX: Microsoft account password reset doesn’t work

Depending on the issue you are dealing with, there are several ways on solving any problem related to your Microsoft account and it does not have to be a time-consuming task.

It’s not uncommon to forget the Microsoft password and find yourself in a situation where you need to reset it in order to log in. Your Windows 11 password may have changed on its own but it seems though, that for many users this is not possible.

In case you are wondering what to do if the Microsoft account password reset is not working, we’ve got you covered. Just keep on reading this article to find out some quick tips.

What to do if the account password reset doesn’t work?

1. Check for incorrect entries

Although it sounds like an easy solution, it is always a good thing to check one more time and to remember at the same time that passwords are case-sensitive.

Make sure to check that all caps are not on and try to ensure that you do not have typos in your password. Using Notepad to check the accuracy of the password is recommended.

Another important aspect is to ensure that you have entered your email correctly and that the domain name you are using is the correct one. The domain name is the one that appears after the @ symbol.

2. Clear browsers’ history

  1. Simultaneously press Google Chrome’s Ctrl + Shift + Del keyboard shortcut.
  2. Select the All Time option on the drop-down menu.
  3. Tick the checkboxes for cookies, cached images, and browser history.
  4. Click the Clear data option.

3. Use a different way to sign in

In case you have set up previously a Windows Hello PIN for the current Microsoft account go to the devices and try to recover your account.

If for example you have been locked out of your Windows PC, then the first thing to do is to go to the login screen and click on the I Forgot My PIN option. Follow the steps presented on the screen to recover your login credentials.

After you regain access with an alternate sign in or PIN recovery, update your credentials immediately by following our How to Change Microsoft 365 Password guide.

4. Fill out the recovery form

If you have tried all the above solutions but none of them was successful then the next recommended thing to do is to fill out a recovery form.

Before proceeding with this step, it’s important to make sure that you have a working email address that you can access as there you will receive the information about your request.

The email account does not need to belong to you, it can just as easily be one that a friend or a relative uses. Or you can create a temporary outlook.com account for free.

It is recommended that you complete the recovery form by using a device that you have previously used to sign in to your account and from a commonly known location.

This is about all. We hope that the information we have presented in this article will help you solve the Microsoft account password reset not working problem.

Perhaps a good idea in the future will be to use a tool that will help you manage all your passwords automatically. By doing this you should avoid this kind of situation from happening again.

As always, don’t hesitate to drop us a message in the comments section below and let us know which one of the presented solutions here helped you solve the problem.

How to change Microsoft Family member from adult to child

Microsoft Family allows you to create family groups, stay connected, and keep your kids safer. Its main advantages are the free cost and the simplicity of using it.

There are times when users need to switch the status. This article will show you some of the best methods to change the Microsoft Family member from adult to child.

Note that on the 17th of July 2020, Microsoft released Microsoft Family Safety on Google Play and App Store as well. So, you have many more options to manage your children’s accounts.

How can I change the Microsoft member from adult to child?

1. Add a new member

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Accounts.
  3. Click on the Family & Other Users in the left window pane.
  4. Select Add a family member.
  5. Enter your family member details, and add a new Child account.

2. Use account removal

  1. Under your account, remove the Adult member account from your family.
  2. Add the account back, but select Child instead of Adult.
  3. Log into your child’s account and accept the family request.
  4. Once the process is completed, they will be added back into your family as a Child.
Note icon NOTE
In order to gain more control, keep in mind that you can also manage their restrictions.

3. Change the date of birth

  1. Access the Microsoft Account official page and sign in.
  2. Select Your info.
  3. Up next, select Edit date of birth.
  4. Make your changes and select Save.
  5. Re-invite the user as a child.

At least one of the solutions listed above should help you easily change the Microsoft Family member from adult to child.

If you want to keep your family members close to each other even when you’re apart, feel free to check how Microsoft Teams just became a lot more family-friendly.

For other additional questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment in the section below. We’ll suggest some of the most valuable options to solve anything you need.

Microsoft LifeCam Not Working: Fix It with 6 Easy Tips

LifeCam Studio is a webcam for Windows PCs. Despite being a Microsoft camera, it is not without flaws some users are reporting that LifeCam is not working on their PC.

If that’s happening to you as well, rest assured that there are quite a few solutions that you can try to apply. Just take a closer look at the fixes in this guide.

Why is Microsoft LifeCam not working?

Listed below are some of the notable reasons Microsoft LifeCam might not be working:

  • Outdated driver: The most prevalent reason Microsoft LifeCam keeps disconnecting is an outdated or faulty driver. You can fix this by reinstalling or updating the driver.
  • Issues with the hardware: Sometimes, this problem might occur because of some minor hardware and connection issues. You need to run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter and check your connections to solve the problem.
  • Outdated PC: If Microsoft LifeCam cinema doesn’t work properly on your PC, it might due to an outdated operating system. The solution is to update your PC.

How to fix a LifeCam Studio webcam that’s not working?

Here’s what to do first:

  • Your camera might work fine when connected to a different USB port. Try plugging your Lifecam camera into alternative USB ports on your PC.
  • Also, make sure you plug the LifeCam directly into the PC without any USB hub.
  • Aside from that, it would be best if you also unplugged any superfluous USB devices. The mouse is one notable exception, but make sure you unplug things like external hard drives, USB hubs, etc.

1. Update your PC’s USB port and camera drivers

  1. Press the Windows key + X and select the Device Manager option.
    device manager
  2. Double-click the Imaging devices or Cameras option to expand it.
  3. Now, right-click LifeCam and select Update driver.
    update driver
  4. Finally, choose Search automatically for drivers and install any available updates.
    searcch auto microsoft lifecam not working

It’s recommended to scan your PC with driver updater software to identify outdated or faulty USB ports or webcam drivers.

A driver updater utility will show you all the devices you need to update drivers for. Then you quickly update drivers for devices with the driver updater software.

2. Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter

  1. First, make sure your LifeCam Studio camera is connected to your PC.
  2. Press the Windows + S, type cmd, and click Run as administrator under Command Prompt.
    cmd admin
  3. Next, input this command and hit Enter: msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnosticmsdt microsoft lifecam not working
  4. Click Advanced in the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter window.
    Hardware and Devices troubleshooter lifecam studio not working
  5. Finally, check the Apply repairs automatically checkbox and click the Next button to resolve hardware issues with the troubleshooter.

3. Make sure the LifeCam webcam is enabled

  1. Right-click your Start button and select the Device Manager shortcut on the menu.
    device manager microsoft lifecam not working
  2. Next, click the View menu and select Show hidden devices.
    show hidden
  3. Double-click the Imaging devices category, which usually includes Microsoft LifeCam Studio cameras. However, double-click the Cameras or Sound, video, and game controllers category if you can’t find it in Imaging devices.
  4. Finally, right-click your LifeCam camera and select the Enable device option if that webcam is disabled.
    enable device

4. Uninstall the LifeCam driver

  1. Launch Device Manager and expand the Imaging devices or Cameras section.
  2. Right-click the LifeCam device and select Uninstall device.
    uninstall device
  3. Now, click the Uninstall button to confirm the action. If there are multiple LifeCam devices listed, uninstall all of them.
    uninstall
  4. Finally, restart your PC, and Windows will automatically reinstall the drivers.

5. Check your PC’s camera settings in Windows 10

  1. Press the Windows key + I and select Privacy.
    privacy microsoft lifecam not working
  2. Select the Camera in the left pane.
  3. Now, toggle the Allow apps to access your camera switch forward to enable it.
    allow
  4. Also, enable the listed camera apps you need to utilize LifeCam Studio with.

6. Update Windows 10

  1. Press the Windows key + I and select the Update & Security option.
    update and
  2. Now, click the Check for updates button.
    check for
  3. Finally, download and install any available updates, including the optional ones.

The above resolutions might be enough to fix LifeCam Studio webcams not working for most users. If those resolutions aren’t enough, you can get in touch with a support agent via the Microsoft Contact Us page for more troubleshooting guidance.

And if you still happen to suspect a driver-related issue, just take a closer look at this guide dedicated to Microsoft LifeCam software and drivers.

Hardware troubleshooters might also come in handy for fixing LifeCams not working in Windows 10. Just let us know which method worked for you in the comments area below.

TPM 1.2 vs 2.0: Differences & How to Upgrade

As you probably know, Windows 11 was recently announced, and it brings a wide array of new features as well as some specific requirements.

Regarding Windows 11 hardware requirements, the new change everybody is talking about is the TPM chip, and unless you have it, you won’t be able to upgrade to Windows 11 due to TPM 2.0 errors.

There are two versions of TPM, and in this guide, we’re going to compare TPM 1.2 vs 2.0 and see which one is better.

TPM 1.2 vs 2.0, which one should I use?

A quick history of TPM

TPM was first introduced by Trusted Computing Group in 2009, and since then it has been used in computers, ATM devices, and set-top boxes.

As for the TPM 1.2, it was released in 2005, and it has received the last revision in 2011. On the other hand, TPM 2.0 was released initially in 2014, while the latest revision being from 2019.

The two versions have various differences, but before we start comparing them, let’s see what TPM does and how it protects your PC.

What is TPM?

TPM stands for Trusted Platform Module, and it’s a dedicated microcontroller that provides encryption features and an additional layer of security to your PC.

TPM is usually a chip on your motherboard, but it can be also integrated inside of the CPU, or it can run in firmware separately. Some motherboards have TPM connectors, so you can add a TPM chip on your own.

There’s also a completely virtual TPM that runs on a software level, but many experts believe that it’s not as safe as its physical counterpart.

How does TPM work?

TPM is used mostly for encryption, and it will generate and store parts of the encryption keys. This means that if you want to unlock an encrypted drive, you’ll need to use the same TPM chip that generated the encryption key.

Since the encryption key isn’t stored on your drive, it’s harder for hackers to decrypt your data since they need access to the TPM chip as well.

TPM chips also have tamper protection, and in case the chip or motherboard is tampered with by a hacker, the TPM should still be able to keep your data locked.

In addition to encryption, the TPM can protect your PC from bootloader malware by verifying the boot loader. In case your bootloader has been tempered with, TPM will prevent your system from booting.

TPM also has a Quarantine Mode that you can use to fix bootloader issues. Lastly, TPM stores all your passwords inside it, which makes them secure from hackers.

As for other uses, TPM is used for digital rights management, protection of software licenses, and in some cases, as prevention from cheating in video games.

TPM 1.2 vs 2.0, what are the differences?

TPM 2.0 is an improvement over TPM 1.2, and while they are similar, you should know that TPM 2.0 isn’t compatible with TPM 1.2.

TPM 1.2 has a one-size-fits-all specification, while the 2.0 version has platform-specific specifications that define which parts of the library are mandatory or optional.

As for algorithms on TPM 1.2, SHA-1 and RSA are required, while the AES is optional. With TPM 2.0, SHA-1 and SHA-256 are required for hashes.

RSA and ECC with Barreto-Naehrig 256-bit curve and a NIST P-256 curve are used for public-key cryptography and asymmetric digital signature generation and verification in TPM 2.0.

As for symmetric digital signature generation, the TPM 2.0 is using the HMAC, and 128-bit AES for symmetric-key algorithms.

The difference between algorithms is noticeable, which makes TPM 2.0 a far secure solution.

Regarding the crypto primitives, the TPM 1.2 and 2.0 offer the following:

  • Random number generation
  • Public-key cryptographic algorithm
  • Mask generation function
  • Digital signature generation and verification
  • Symmetric-key algorithms

Despite sharing the same features, TPM 2.0 uses Direct Anonymous Attestation using the Barreto-Naehrig 256-bit curve, so it’s safer to use.

In terms of hierarchy, TPM 1.2 has just the storage hierarchy, while TPM 2.0 has a platform, storage, and endorsement hierarchy.

Regarding the root keys, only SRK RSA-2048 is supported with TPM 1.2, while the TPM 2.0 supports multiple keys and algorithms per hierarchy.

As for authorization, TPM 1.2 uses HMAC, PCR, locality, and physical presence. TPM 2.0 offers the same authorization features as well as password protection.

In terms of NVRAM, TPM 1.2 supports only unstructured data, while TPM 2.0 supports unstructured data, Counter, Bitmap, Extend, PIN pass and fail.

As you can see, TPM 2.0 offers a wide array of improvements, and it’s a more secure choice when it comes to data protection and encryption.

Here’s a quick overview of the algorithms that TPM 1.2 and TPM 2.0 support.

Algorithm type:Name:TPM 1.2TPM 2.0
AsymmetricRSA 1024YesOptional
RSA 2048YesYes
ECC P256NoYes
ECC BN256 NoYes
SymmetricAES 128 OptionalYes
AES 256OptionalOptional
HashSHA-1YesYes
SHA-2 256NoYes
HMACSHA-1 YesYes
SHA-2 256NoYes

Why is TPM 2.0 better than TPM 1.2?

TPM 1.2 only uses the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, which is a problem since SHA-1 isn’t secure, and many agencies started moving to SHA-256 in 2014.

Microsoft and Google removed the support for SHA-1 based signing of certificates in 2017. It’s also worth mentioning that TPM 2.0 supports newer algorithms that will improve drive signing and key generation performance.

TPM 2.0 also offers a more consistent experience, and the lockout policy is configured by Windows. With TPM 1.2, the implementations vary by policy settings, which can be a security concern.

We also have to mention that certain features such as device encryption, Windows Defender System Guard, Autopilot, and SecureBIO are available only when using TPM 2.0.

Here’s a list of features that TPM 1.2 and TPM 2.0 support:

TPM 1.2TPM 2.0
Measured Boot✅✅
BitLocker✅✅
Device Encryption❌✅
Windows Defender Application Control✅✅
Windows Defender System Guard ❌✅
Credential Guard✅✅
Device Health Attestation✅✅
Windows Hello✅✅
UEFI Secure Boot✅✅
TPM Platform Crypto Provider Key Storage Provider✅✅
Virtual Smart Card✅✅
Certificate storage✅✅
Autopilot❌✅
SecureBIO❌✅

Does Windows 11 require TPM 2.0?

When it was first announced, the Windows 11 hardware requirements stated that Windows 11 will work with TPM 1.2 and TPM 2.0, with the latter being a more secure choice.

According to the documentation, an upgrade to Windows 11 would be allowed with a TPM 1.2 chip, but not advised. However, Microsoft has updated its documentation, and currently, the TMP 2.0 stands as the requirement for Windows 11.

This leads us to believe that TPM 2.0 is the requirement for Windows 11 and that users with TMP 1.2 chips won’t be able to use Windows 11.

However, there’s a way to install Windows 11 without TPM, if you’re tech-savvy. On the bright side, it seems that some Windows 11 systems will work without TPM 2.0 chips, which is great news for many.

Is TPM intended only for business users?

Although TPM was developed initially for business users, the technology is now available on home PCs as well.

While encrypting your data isn’t essential for home users, if you want to ensure that your files are safe at all times, then encrypting your files and using TPM is a must.

Not all encryption requires TPM, but using it offers a layer of hardware security which makes it harder for hackers to access your data.

It offers tampering protection, so you can rest assured that your encrypted files will stay protected against hackers even if they try to modify your hardware.

TPM isn’t just used for file encryption, and you’re probably using it as a home user without even knowing it. If you’re using Windows Hello feature, you’re already using a TPM.

Your passwords and PINs are also stored in TPM, even for home users. Lastly, TPM provides you with a Secure Boot feature that stops bootloaders from infecting your PC.

So even if you’re not a business user and you don’t encrypt your data, you still benefit from TPM as a home user.

Conclusion

TPM 1.2 and TPM 2.0 have their benefits, and with recently announced Windows 11 requirements, the TPM chips will become a must-have, so if you don’t own a TPM chip, you might want to consider buying a TPM chip.

If you want to learn more, we also have a guide on TPM in Windows 11, so don’t miss it.

So which version of the TPM is better? The answer is pretty simple, the TPM 2.0 is newer, more secure, and it offers more security features, it works better with Windows, and we can safely say that TPM 2.0 is a better choice than TPM 1.2.

Check out the new changes in Windows 11 Accessibility

One of the key factors that Microsoft takes great pride in when talking about Windows 11, is accessibility. The company is now hard at work trying to make its new OS much more accessible to all users.

In their latest blog post, the Redmond-based tech company details the major changes that it’s about to implement on the upcoming operating system.

Accessibility is Microsoft’s greatest focus for Windows 11

As the tech giant keeps repeating ever since they first mentioned a new operating system, the main design focal points will be productivity, creativity and ease of use.

Windows 11 comes with some of the already familiar assistive technologies such as Narrator, Magnifier, Closed Captions, and Windows Speech Recognition, in order to support users across the disability spectrum.

Also included in the new OS will be screen readers, magnification programs, CART services, speech commanding and other experiences.

Accessible technology is a fundamental building block that can unlock opportunities in every part of society. A more accessible Windows experience has the power to help tackle the “disability divide” — to contribute to more education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities across the world.

Deaf and hard of hearing, language learners, and people in noisy or in quiet environments can enjoy redesigned Closed Caption themes that are easier to read and customize.

Besides improving the already existing accessibility features, introducing new features and making users’ preferred assistive technology compatible with Windows 11, these accessibility features will be easier to find and use.

Microsoft also rebranded Ease of Access Settings to the much simpler Accessibility and introduced a new accessibility icon.

Support for Linux apps and the modern accessibility platform

Another important change that Windows 11 brings is the possibility for both Microsoft and partner assistive technologies to work with applications such as Outlook hosted in the cloud, in Azure Virtual Desktop.

To be more exact, with Windows 11, Office is accessible as a Remote Application Integrated Locally using Narrator.

According to Microsoft, Windows 11 will also support Linux GUI apps like gedit, through the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), on all devices that meet this app’s system requirements. 

The tech company has also admitted to working with assistive technology industry leaders in order to co-engineer a modern accessibility platform.

What this means is that the new OS will deliver a platform that enables more responsive experiences and more agile development, including access to application data without requiring changes to Windows.

It seems that developers are really thinking about a larger number of scenarios than initially imagined by users that kept a close eye on these features, exclusively.

And there is probably even more to come, meaning that Microsoft might still have some surprise features that it will unveil when the time is right.

What is your opinion on Microsoft’s take on accessibility for the new OS? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

First ARM64 version of Office is now available for Windows 11 on ARM testers

Microsoft announced two big news for Office Insiders earlier this week: First of all, there is a new beta version of Office for Windows with a fresh user experience aligned with the design of the upcoming Windows 11. Additionally, Microsoft also announced the release of a 64-bit version of Office for Windows 11 on ARM testers, which offers significant performance improvements compared to the emulated version that’s still available for Windows 10 on ARM users.

Well, even though this first ARM64 build of Office was announced on Monday, it only became available today according to Windows Central. If you own a Qualcomm-powered PC like Microsoft’s Surface Pro X, you’ll need to install the Windows 11 Insider build 22000.51 first before being able to try the 64-bit version of Office for Windows on ARM.

“This new version of Office is designed specifically for the next version of Windows on ARM. It has been recompiled for the ARM architecture to run fast, bring greater memory availability, offer better support large documents, and maintain compatibility with existing 64-bit add-ins using the new x64 emulation capability provided by Windows,” the Office Insider team explained.

Zoomed view of new theme in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

This first Office on ARM64 build is an ARM64EC (Emulation compatible) app, which means that it supports legacy add-ins that haven’t been recompiled for the ARM64 architecture yet. For now, only Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote have been ARM-optimized, with the rest of the Office apps still running in x64 emulation mode.

To install the first Office on ARM64 build on a Windows 11 on ARM PC, you’ll need to follow these steps:

  • Uninstall any 32-bit versions of Office, if currently installed.
  • Install Office using a most recent copy of the installer from office.com.
  • Join the Office Insider program and update to the current Beta channel build.

If this first Office on ARM64 build brings some very welcome performance improvements on Qualcomm-powered PCs, be aware that the Teams integration with Outlook is currently incomplete and that some Search features are also broken. “We will continue to make improvements while the next version of Windows remains in Insiders, so be sure to stay on the Office Beta Channel for continuous updates,” the Office Insider team said.

Windows 11 comes with an optional TPM Diagnostics tool

You may like to know that ​Windows 11 will come with a new optional feature which is called TPM Diagnostics, tool that will allow administrators to browse the TPM security processor of a certain device.

An obvious move, considering that Microsoft keeps insisting on these TPM 2.0 security processors as a requirement, necessary for powering some of its security features.

The new OS will have a default TPM Diagnostics tool

As you probably know already, from the endless discussions that this Windows 11 requirement has sparked, a TPM chip is actually a hardware security processor.

Its main purpose is to protect encryption keys, user credentials, as well as other sensitive data from malware attaccks and other forms of hacking or data extraction.

Microsoft keeps insisting on this requirement and keeps stressing the paramount importance that this little piece of hardware actually has, in a new blog post.

PCs of the future need this modern hardware root-of-trust to help protect from both common and sophisticated attacks like ransomware and more sophisticated attacks from nation-states. Requiring the TPM 2.0 elevates the standard for hardware security by requiring that built-in root-of-trust.

So, this brand new Windows 11 command-line tool called TPM Diagnostics will now give all administrators the ability to query the TPM chip for stored information.

After installing the software, you will find a new tpmdiagnostics.exe executable located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder.

TPM 2.0 is a critical building block for providing security with Windows Hello and BitLocker to help customers better protect their identities and data. In addition, for many enterprise customers, TPMs help facilitate Zero Trust security by providing a secure element for attesting to the health of devices.

What commands can I use with this new tool?

Its important to know that, unless you totally understand what data is being stored in your TPM chip, its not recommended messing with it too much.

Any mistake you make could accidentally remove the keys necessary for the operation of your device.

Know that the Microsoft Trusted Platform documentation, along with the new TpmDiagnostics.exe tool can provide a plethora of information about the underlying security mechanics of Windows 11.

This is the full list of commands which you can use on your new Windows 11 TPM tool:

tpmdiagnostics : A tool for Windows 10 build 22000
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Flags:
	PrintHelp ( /h -h )
	PromptOnExit ( -x /x )
	UseECC ( -ecc /ecc )
	UseAes256 ( -aes256 /aes256 )
	QuietPrint ( -q /q )
	PrintVerbosely ( -v /v )

Use the 'help' command to get more information about a command.
Commands:

TpmInfo:
	GetLockoutInfo
	IsOwned
	PlatformType
	CheckFIPS
	ReadClock
	GetDeviceInformation
	IfxRsaKeygenVulnerability
	GatherLogs [full directory path]
	PssPadding
	IsReadyInformation

TpmTask:
	MaintenanceTaskStatus
	ShowTaskStatus
	IsEULAAccepted
	ProvisionTpm [force clear] [allow PPI prompt]

TpmProvisioning:
	PrepareTPM
	CanUseLockoutPolicyClear
	CanClearByPolicy

AutoProvisioning:
	IsAutoProvisioningEnabled
	EnableAutoProvisioning
	DisableAutoProvisioning [-o]

EK:
	EkInfo
	ekchain
	EkCertStoreRegistry
	GetEkCertFromWeb [-ecc] [cert file]
	GetEkCertFromNVR [-ecc] [cert file]
	GetEkCertFromReg [-ecc] [ output file ]
	GetEk [-ecc] [key file]
	CheckEkCertState
	InstallEkCertFromWeb
	InstallEkCertFromNVR
	InstallEkCertThroughCoreProv
	EKCertificateURL

WindowsAIK:
	InstallWindowsAIK [-skipCert]
	WinAikPersistedInTpm
	UninstallWindowsAIKCert
	GetWindowsAIKCert [cert file]
	IsWindowsAIKInstalledInNCrypt
	EnrollWindowsAIKCert
	GetWindowsAIKPlatformClaim ["fresh"] [output file]

OtherKeys:
	PrintPublicInfo [ srk / aik / ek / handle ] [-asBcryptBlob / -RsaKeyBitsOnly / -RsaSymKeyBitsOnly] [-ecc]
	TestParms [ SYMCIPHER | RSA ] [ algorithm specific arguments ]
	EnumerateKeys

NVStorage:
	EnumNVIndexes
	DefineIndex [index] [size] [attribute flags]
	UndefineIndex [index]
	ReadNVIndexPublic [index]
	WriteNVIndex [index] [data in hex format | -file filename]
	ReadNVIndex [index]
	NVSummary

NVBootCounter:
	CheckBootCounter
	ReadBootCounter [/f]

PCRs:
	PrintPcrs

PhysicalPresence:
	GetPPTransition
	GetPPVersionInfo
	GetPPResponse
	GetPPRequest

TPMCommandsAndResponses:
	CommandCode [hex command code]
	ResponseCode [hex response code]

Tracing:
	EnableDriverTracing
	DisableDriverTracing
	FormatTrace [etl file] [output json file]

DRTM:
	DescribeMle [MLE Binary File]

Misc:
	Help [command name]
	DecodeBase64File [file to decode from base 64]
	EncodeToBase64File [file to encode]
	ReadFileAsHex [file to read]
	ConvertBinToHex [file to read] [file to write to]
	ConvertHexToBin [file to read] [file to write to]
	Hash [hex bytes or raw value to hash]
	GetCapabilities

New Black Screen of Death has been spotted on Windows 11

Microsoft is preparing to replace its infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) used to signal fatal system error on Windows with a new Black Screen of Death on Windows 11. The new black screen has been spotted in the first Windows 11 preview build the company released earlier this week, but according to The Verge’s Tom Warren it “isn’t fully enabled yet.”

As you can see in the video below, the new Black Screen of Death looks identical to the existing blue BSOD, except for the new black background color. “The Verge understands Microsoft will be switching to a Black Screen of Death for Windows 11, matching the new black logon and shutdown screens,” Warren wrote.

The Windows Insider team has yet to say something on the introduction of this new Black Screen of Death, but the new black color should be probably easier on the eyes for Windows 11 users. The next version of Windows is expected to be released this holiday season, and Microsoft still has plenty of time to introduce more visual changes in the new OS.

If you have yet to install the first official Windows 11 preview build, it’s currently available for Insiders in the Dev channel, though you’ll need a PC with a 64-bit dual-core processor and a minimum of 4GB of RAM to install it. The biggest changes so far include the new Start Menu and Taskbar, the redesigned Microsoft Store, and a new Dynamic Refresh Rate feature. However, this first preview build doesn’t include Android apps and the new built-in Teams consumer experience.

Microsoft to discontinue the Windows 10 MSN Sports app on July 20

Microsoft is getting ready to sunset the MSN Sports app. Come July 20, the app will no longer be supported on Windows 10, according to a new in-app message that is triggered by a recent app update.

According to the message, after July 20, MSN Sports will no longer be accessible for download. Microsoft didn’t provide reasoning as to why, and instead lets MSN Sports users know about their appreciation for using the app with a note saying “thanks for spending time with us.”

As a note, we’re seeing the message in app version 4.54.31792.0, which was recently pushed to the Microsoft Store a couple of days ago. This doesn’t appear to impact the iOS or Android versions of the app, however, as we haven’t yet seen the message on those platforms.

Sunsetting the MSN Sports app on Windows could be seen as surprising, but it actually does make a lot of sense. Microsoft now has the News and Interests section in the taskbar in Windows 10, where you can see sports scores and stories, as well as news and weather. Meanwhile, in Windows 11, there are Widgets, where you can add your favorite sports teams to keep up in the action. Removing MSN Sports would be a good way to push users there instead.

Thanks Bruce for the tip!

Microsoft acknowledges “PrintNightmare” remote code execution vulnerability affecting Windows Print Spooler service

Microsoft has acknowledged a new remote code execution vulnerability that is currently affecting its Windows Print Spooler service. The exploit labeled “PrintNightmare” is currently being investigated by Microsoft, and the company confirmed that the code that contained the vulnerability is in all versions of Windows but it’s not clear yet if all versions of the OS are vulnerable.

The Windows Sprint Spooler is a component that manages the printing process on Windows PCs, and the Printnightmare remote code execution vulnerability can be exploited when the Windows Pint Soopler improperly performs privileged file operations. “An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights,” Microsoft explained.

While Microsoft is working on a fix for this remote code execution vulnerability, the company is recommending customers to apply the security updates released on June 8, 2021. IT Admins are also invited to disable the Print Spooler service via Powershell commands, though this will disable the ability to print both locally and remotely. Another workaround is to disable inbound remote printing through Group Policy, which will block the remote attack vector while allowing local printing.

You can learn more details about the different workarounds on this page, which Microsoft plans to update with more details about the severity of this vulnerability. We don’t know yet when Microsoft will be able to release a patch, but we’ll let you know once we have more information about a fix.

Windows Telegram app updates with new video chat and screen sharing options for desktop

The popular messaging and chat app, Telegram, updated today for all its main platforms and added the ability for users to switch to video while in voice chats and share their screen with up to 30 chat participants.

“Today’s update lets you turn on your camera or share your screen during Voice Chats in groups – on all devices, including tablets and desktops,” the official announcement explains. “This brings voice chats to a whole new level, ready for online classes, business meetings and family gatherings.”

These changes are now live in the Windows 10 Telegram app and should work as soon as the app is updated via the Microsoft Store app store.

Here’s the brief release notes:

GROUP VIDEO CALLS

  • Start video conferences from Voice Chats in any group.
  • Share your screen or video from your camera with up to 30 participants (limit to be increased soon).
  • Talk without video with an unlimited number of participants.
  • Create voice chats using the voice chat button in the title bar of any group where you are an admin

Telegram is one of the strongest platforms for text, voice, and video communications on Windows due to its absolutely massive list of features that continue to grow by the month and the fact that it’s completely free to use.

Recent updates to the Windows Telegram app added credit card payments to chats, voice chats that support literally millions of listeners, and an increase of file transfer limits to 2GB.

Telegram Desktop
Telegram Desktop
Price:
Free

New Awake tool in PowerToys prevents Windows 10 from entering sleep mode

You should know that Microsoft has just released a new update for PowerToys, one that comes with a new Awake tool, which prevents PCs from going to sleep.

Also worth taking into consideration is that the PowerToys version 0.41.2 includes some stability bug fixes, accessibility improvements, and more.

Microsoft presents the new Awake tool for PowerToys

To be more exact, the Awake tool will give you the ability to prevent your Windows 10 devices from entering sleep mode.

It provides users with options to keep their PCs awake indefinitely, or a predefined amount of time, during which the OS will not be allowed to enter its low-power state.

The Redmond-based tech company says that this feature is a more than convenient way for us to keep our screens awake on demand.

And for those of you who are interested on browsing through the entire list of changes that version 0.41.2 of PowerToys brings to the table, we got you covered:

  • Shortcut guide removed support for long Win press to activate.
  • Turned off FancyZones canvas editor magnetic snapping to allow keyboard support
  • Updated Color Picker GIF for OOBE.
  • Removed outdated MSIX code
  • Upgraded all projects to Modern WPF 0.94
  • Dropped support for the module interface API to save settings
  • Removed Winstore dependency

General

  • Improved auto-update experience in PowerToys Settings
  • Updated general bug report information to be more robust
  • Improved settings layout for radio button groups. Updated images and menu for OOBE.
  • Localization updates

Awake

  • New Awake utility added! Power-Users can now keep their computer awake on-demand without having to manage its power settings.

Color Picker

  • Improvements to Color Picker’s zoom functionality.
  • Prevent duplicate colors from appearing in selection history
  • Improved UX to better support keyboard navigation.
  • Fixed OOBE hotkey description.

FancyZones

  • Full keyboard support for canvas editor’s main window and context.
  • New support for faster layout selection by double clicking a desired layout from the editor to automatically apply it and dismiss the editor.
  • New zone activation behavior allows users to snap a window to the zone who’s center is closest to the cursor.
  • Added process icon for FancyZones.
  • Fixed issue with zoning minimized windows.
  • Fixed a bunch of accessibility bugs
  • Now an independent exe, detached from the runner process.

File Explorer Add-Ons

  • Adjusted Markdown newline behavior to be less strict so the add-on behaves more like GitHub implementations
    Image Resizer
  • Fixed bug with custom size option where leaving a height/width value blank caused the output to be a 1 x 1 square pixel. Now the blank value automatically adjusts to the height/width that was set.

Image Resizer

  • Fixed bug where specifying a width but no height generated a 1×1 px image instead of auto-adjusting the height.

PowerRename

  • Fixed File Explorer crash when running PowerRename

Settings / Welcome to PowerToys

  • Fixed Color Picker’s key-binding information

Shortcut Guide

  • Customize key-binding from settings menu
  • Took Shortcut guide out of the runner process to remove unnecessary interdependencies

Installer

  • Updated .NET Core dependency to 3.1.15
  • Reduced the network traffic by making the updater not download files when they’re already cached

New maintenance update, a few hours after patch release

Interestingly enough, only a couple of hours after the release, the PowerToys team has offered users another maintenance update, which would address a serious problem.

The issue was that PowerToys kept being incorrectly flagged as a malicious program by Bitdefender antivirus software.

Thus, Microsoft advised users to install version 0.41.3 in order to resolve this problem.

Have you also updated your PowerToys? Let us know if you encountered any issues, in the comments section below.

Google’s decision could affect how we run Android apps on Windows 11

If you weren’t aware, know that Google has just announced a major change for developers that want to list their apps on the Google Play Store, a change that could have a great impact on the Android app ecosystem.

For the moment, the default format for app publishing is APK, but according to Google, starting with August, the new system will require developers to post apps as Android App Bundle.

Developers will have to say goodbye to APKs

As you probably know, running Android apps via the Amazon App store is considered to be one of the biggest features of Windows 11. However, Google has decided to complicate things a bit.

Even though not many users are happy with Microsoft’s decision to sideload apps through another Store, that isn’t Microsoft’s own, or the Google Play Store, the situation got even more convoluted than before.

Even considering that this change only applies to new apps listed on the Google Play Store starting August 2021, this decision casts a shadow over Microsoft’s Android aspirations for the new OS.

So, as we mentioned above, the new Android App Bundle format will therefore replace APK as the standard publishing format. Note that over one million apps are already using the Android App Bundle format.

Is Google trying to somehow sabotage Microsoft’s plans?

Nobody is saying that this shift that Google has announced is directly aimed at Microsoft’s plans to bring Android apps to their new operating system, but some are definitely considering it.

This is mainly because Google’s announcement comes just days after Microsoft unveiled Windows 11 and its ability to let you sideload Android apps as APKs.

Google’s controversial switch to App Bundles could mean that there will be even fewer apps available to run on Windows 11, although you’ll also be able to get Android apps on Windows 11 from the Amazon Appstore.

Its still early, and Microsoft plans to release the new OS somewhere towards the end of the year. This gives the company plenty of time to rethink its strategy and come up with a solution.

All we can do now is wait and hope that the tech giant will indeed find some middle ground with Google and actually deliver the possibility to use Android apps natively on Windows 11.

What is your opinion on this whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Wondershare MobileTrans, premium phone transfer app [Review]

Today’s digitalized world makes everything more accessible. Socializing, working on projects, or simply doing your own thing has never been easier.

Thanks to mobile devices, we have all the information and necessary tools at the tip of our fingers, always sitting in our pockets ready to help us.

Obviously, mobile devices are great, and we can use them to store precious or sensitive data that is important to us in a way or another.

However, let’s say that you just bought a brand new mobile device. What happens to the data from the previous phone, especially when you still need it?

This is where Wondershare MobileTrans comes into play. This desktop application helped over 50.000.00 users worldwide transfer their data from one phone to another.

Wondershare was founded in 2003 and is now a global leader in software development and a pioneer in the digital creative field.

They provide simple and convenient solutions thanks to powerful technology. As a result, Wondershare is trusted by millions of users in over 150 countries around the world.

The company believes that together, we can build a creative world, pursue our passions and dreams, and strive for a better digital environment.

With MobileTrans, you can transfer all of your data (including pictures, cookies, etc) from WhatsApp and lots of other social media apps. More so, you can also restore it from cloud backups.

The process is pretty simple and straightforward. Move everything with one click! The days of manually copying files between devices are gone! Save your precious time and be more productive.

What is Wondershare MobileTrans?

As briefly mentioned before, this is desktop software that transfers data between different types of phones, such as iPhone and Android, for example.

There is a broad variety of compatible files that can be transferred, from contacts to photos, videos, messages, songs, other software, and much more.

Besides the compatibility with iOS and Android, the program is also compatible with Windows mobile devices as well. In fact, it supports more than 8000 mobile devices running those platforms.

Additionally, the whole software is made for non-tech savvy users who don’t have previous background knowledge. The user interface is intuitive and comprehensive.

Note icon NOTE
Supported Mobile Phone systems:
iOS 5 and up (iOS 14 included)
Android 2.1 and up (Android 10 included)
Windows Phone 8/8.1
Supported Computer Systems:
Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP
Mac 11(macOS Big Sur), 10.15 (macOS Catalina), 10.14 (macOS Mojave), Mac OS X 10.13 (High Sierra), 10.12(macOS Sierra), 10.11(El Capitan), 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.9 (Mavericks), or 10.8

Let’s talk about features

Wondershare MobileTransfer’s features can be crammed up into four categories. Phone transfer, WhatsApp transfer, Backup, and Restore.

Phone transfer

Transfer up to 17 types of data between different ecosystems, including files that normally cannot be shared between Android, iOS, and Windows phones.

Benefit from a secure transfer, ensuring that the original files will not be altered, lost, or deleted during and after the process.

Compared to other means of data transfer, Wondershare MobileTrans is 3 faster than all of them, since all operations will be done on the computer and no Wi-Fi or internet is needed.

Additionally, you will be the only person who has access to the data, since the software doesn’t store it without asking permission first.

How do I transfer my data?

We’ve said this before. The process is simple, and can be done easily:

  1. Download and install MobileTrans.
  2. Click on Phone Transfer, and connect both phones to the computer.
  3. Select what data you wish to transfer, then click Start.
  4. Wait for the process to finish.

If you want a more detailed tutorial from Wondershare themselves, check out this awesome video from their official website.

WhatsApp transfer

This feature is pretty self-explanatory. You can transfer all the WhatsApp data between phones, no matter what platform they use.

Take control of your WhatsApp files by backing them up on your computer and exporting them to different devices. There’s no risk of data leaking anymore.

More so, the backed-up files will not be overwritten, so you can keep multiple backups on your computer if you wish. This way, you can also transfer your data to multiple phones.

Here’s a list with all the different WhatsApp files you can transfer:

  • Messages
  • Photos (including stickers, profile pictures, and chat photos)
  • Videos
  • Attachments

How do I transfer my WhatsApp data?

The process is similar to the other feature:

  1. Launch Wondershare MobileTrans and select WhatsApp transfer.
  2. You can also transfer files from WA Business, LINE, Viber, Kik, and WeChat.
  3. Connect your phone, select the type of files you wish to transfer, then click Start.
  4. Wait for the process to finish.

Additionally, Wondershare created another nifty app especially for transferring WhatsApp files, called Wondershare Wutsapper.

This app can be used without the need for an intermediary computer. All you have to do is install it on both phones, connected them through USB, and you’re good to go.

Data Backup

Another great and useful feature from MobileTransfer is the data backup. More precisely, you can create backups of your entire phone and store them on the PC.

In contrast to the standard backup software such as iTunes, MobileTransfer doesn’t overwrite previously saved data, so you can store how many backups you wish.

Here’s a list with the type eligible data:

  • Contacts, messages, voice memos
  • Photos, music, videos, wallpapers
  • Call history, ringtone, alarms
  • Reminders, calendar, notes
  • Apps and bookmarks

How do I backup my data?

  1. Launch Wondershare MobileTransfer.
  2. Connect your Phone, and select Backup.
  3. Choose which data to backup, and select Start.
  4. Wait for the process to finish.

Data Restoration

The last main feature that we’ll discuss is closely tied to data backup and has been mentioned before. After you backup your data, you can obviously restore it.

You can restore files from your phone’s special backup system, or by creating one with MobileTransfer. Moreover, you can preview the data before restoring it to the device.

Here is yet another list with the compatible files:

  • Contacts
  • Messages and call logs
  • Audio
  • Gallery
  • Calendar
  • App-specific data

The data restoration works flawlessly for over 6000 devices, including:

  • iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone X, and previous ones
  • Almost all generations of iPads, including iPad Mini, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and more
  • iPod touch from the 2nd generation to the 7th generation
  • Samsung Galaxy S, Note, J Series, and other Samsung devices
  • Other Android devices like HTC, Motorola, LG, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, etc

How do I restore my data?

  1. Launch Wondershare MobileTransfer, and select Restore.
  2. Connect your phone, and choose from one of the available backups.
  3. Then, select the content you wish to restore and click Start.
  4. Let the restoration process finish.

Pricing

Wondershare MobileTransfer has lots of different price plans and features marketed towards macOS and Windows. There are also a student and business-oriented plans.

The program also has a free, albeit very limited version, which allows for the restoration/backup/transfer of a maximum of 10 images.

The free version is more of a test drive before upgrading to one of these price plans:

For Windows:

As you can probably see, there is an annual or lifetime billing point. You can opt for different features, and you can pay with PayPal or other methods.

For Mac:

There is a big difference in prices between the Mac and the Windows price plans, however, only the prices have changed. All the other services remained the same.

Note icon NOTE
All of these price plans benefit from a 7-day money-back guarantee, are constantly updated for free, and are 100% secure.
Wondershare MobileTrans

Wondershare MobileTrans

Easily transfer, Backup & Restore your phone data thanks to this awesome software.
Check priceVisit website

Pros and cons

Pros
Great and comprehensive UI design
Multiple price plans for different needs
Compatible with most devices from different manufacturers
Great transferring speeds
100% secure
Complete backup of your device
Accessible
Cons
You can only backup entire media folders, not specific photos/videos/songs

Final verdict

We reached the end of our review, and as we always do, we have to give our closing throughs regarding this interesting software.

Overall, we were very pleased with its performance. The transfer speeds are really fast, as long as you have a capable computer.

We also found the tool to be really useful, since normally you can’t transfer and interact with certain files between the different operating systems.

All in all, we recommend getting Wondershare MobileTransfer if you’re planning to buy a phone from a different brand. It does make moving things between the two phones so much easier.

One could argue that the prices for Mac users are way higher than for Windows, but that’s justified by the fact that Apple is known for trying to force users to utilize their own software.

PowerToys for Windows 10 gets new patch to fix Awake high CPU usage bug and more

Earlier this week, Microsoft rolled out PowerToys version 0.41.3 that brought a bunch of improvements to the suite of tools, including a new Awake tool. Today, the company has followed up with a minor update to fix a high CPU usage bug and a few other issues in the tool (via Neowin).

If you’re unfamiliar, the new PowerToys Awake feature allows users to keep their PC awake on-demand either indefinitely or for a specific time. It has been designed to help people focus on their important tasks; however, some users have been experiencing very high CPU consumption while running the Awake tool.

The company says that the latest patch aims to the high CPU usage issue in version 0.41.3. The update also comes with improvements to the PowerToys Run, FancyZones, and other utilities.

Here’s the full list of improvements and fixes in PowerToys version 0.41.4:

  • #11898 – PowerToys Run crashing when selecting search results
  • #11912 – Awake has high CPU usage
  • #11955 – PowerToys Run error on Windows Startup
  • #11964 – Add “PowerToys” to Awake in systray
  • #12031 – FancyZones unable to start correctly
  • #12044 – Image resizes to 1×1

If you are interested in trying out PowerToys on Windows 10, you can download the version 0.41.4 update from the GitHub releases page. However, existing PowerToys users can also install the latest version manually directly through the tool.

Microsoft Modern USB-C Speaker review: Boosting the Microsoft Teams experience

If you’re hoping to improve your experience with Microsoft Teams, then you could try out a dedicated microphone or speaker. These help you sound clearer, and also hear everyone on the call better. But what if you need both?

That’s where Microsoft’s Modern USB-C Speaker, priced at $100, comes into the picture. This compact speaker is all about boosting the Teams experience, as I found out during my two-week review period after picking one up for myself.

Features

microsoft modern usb-c speaker

Before jumping into the review, I’ll start first with the features of this speaker. Measuring at 5.4 inches long and about 1.14 inches tall, this speaker is a lot bigger than I initially thought. It sports a 50 nm full-range driver speaker, as two omnidirectional microphones. Connections happen via USB-C, and the cable length is just over 2 feet.

For you audiophiles, the frequency response range is 200Hz – 20kHz for music playback and 300Hz-10KHz for conferences. Of course, the speaker also comes with a travel case, too. And you’ll find dedicated buttons on the top for volume, answering calls, muting calls, and triggering Teams. That means that it is certified for Microsoft Teams.

Design

As a USB-C speaker, there’s not much fancy in terms of the design here. Microsoft’s using a fabric material on the top of the device, which feels quite premium in the hands. The bottom, meanwhile, is silicone. On the bottom, you’ll also find room to wrap the USB-C cable. This lets you hide the cable away when the speaker is not in use. Paired with the carrying case, this helps make sure that the speaker doesn’t crowd up your desk or take up too much space in your bag.

Also of note is the buttons on the top of the device. One press of the Teams button, followed by selecting calls in Teams will let you run a call. You also can use the answer a call button to answer a call. The button will flash white on an incoming call, and solid white during a call. Volume controls let you control the volume of your PC, and the mute button lets you disable the microphone.

For the price of $100, I would have loved to see an option for this speaker to work via Bluetooth, but I guess this might have changed the design a bit and make the speaker a bit bulkier. Besides, the speaker works fine on any phone or tablet that has USB-C, so that’s a huge plus for being modern.

Performance

When it comes to the performance of the Microsoft Modern USB-C speaker, I was actually very surprised. For audio calls in Teams where I used the speaker in place of headphones or my computer’s speakers, it sounds like the person is in the room with me. Voices on the other end of the call are super clear and crisp. There was one situation where I needed to turn down the volume on the speaker, though, as my colleague was hearing “talk-back” from the sounds coming out of the speaker itself, but this is a rare scenario that I only experienced once.

Meanwhile, the microphones are just as close to using a dedicated microphone as you’d get. You can see the quality of the microphones in the OnPodcast episode above, where I used the Microsoft Modern USB-C speaker in place of a dedicated microphone. There were some cases where the mics picked up background noises (such as the fireworks outside,) but generally speaking, for voice calls, I think the two omnidirectional microphones are great for situations where you’re in more quiet environments like an office or a home office.

Note that Microsoft isn’t the only company that makes conferencing speakers, either. You can check out other options like this eMeet speaker (which has Bluetooth, an aux jack, as well as a USB dongle) or even the Lenovo 700 Ultraportable speaker, and the Anker PowerConf Bluetooth Speakerphone. There’s a lot of alternatives out there, but what makes Microsoft’s the most unique is the Teams certification and Teams button.

As for music, don’t be prepared to use the Microsoft Modern USB-C speaker at your next party. While it’s a good boost over the included speakers on your phone or laptop, this speaker is best for voice calls, rather than music. The levels of the mids in songs (where the best frequencies play) aren’t quite as good as what you’d get with other speakers.

The lack of a play and pause button or mute audio on the speaker makes controlling music a bit awkward, but USB-C does make this Microsoft speaker a good way to extend your PC’s sound experience. I listened to Jess Glynn’s Rather Be and the violins at the start of the song, and the beat drops were pretty decent, as well as the bass when the volume is turned up past 60%. In another song like Bastille’s Pompeii, I felt the same way, especially in the highs and in the beat drop of drums.

For music, I’ve seen better speakers, with dedicated batteries as well as Bluetooth connectivity. The JBL Flip 4, Anker Sondcore Motion+ are just two examples. But when it comes to video conferencing, the Microsoft Modern USB-C is unmatched thanks to its microphones and Teams integrations.

Boosting the Microsoft Teams experience

For the price of $100, the Microsoft Modern USB-C speaker is a good way to boost your Teams experience. If you buy this speaker, you’ll end up hearing your calls like never before, and your voice might end up sounding clearer to everyone else on your call. Just don’t be prepared to use the speaker for long-term music playing as it’s not the best experience for listening to music.

Xbox teams up with Nike to launch Space Jam: A new Legacy Xbox Wireless Controller and sneaker bundle

Microsoft has revealed today an exclusive Xbox Wireless Controller and Nike sneaker bundle inspired by the upcoming Space Jam: A new Legacy movie coming to theaters on July 16. The bundle includes an interesting-looking Road Runner vs Wile E. Coyote Xbox Wireless Controller, as well as a pair of Nike Lebron 18 Low sneakers also inspired by the classic Looney Tunes characters.

“The controller brings elements of each shoe together and is the aftermath of a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner encounter. For the lucky ones that get the product collection, they’ll be able to see up-close the chaotic scene with dust clouds of the Road Runner settling as he speeds across the controller and the many cobbled contraptions of Wile E Coyote’s foiled attempts,” explained Elliott Hsu, Xbox Principal Designer.

The official bundle will be available via the Nike SNKRS app in North America on June 15, just a day before the release of the Space Jam: A New Legacy feature film. Microsoft previously revealed three other Xbox controllers inspired by the Tune Squad, Good Squad, and the Warner Bros. Serververse from “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” which will be available for purchase on July 8 in North America.

In the meantime, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will also be able to grab Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game for free starting today, July 1. The arcade-style game features the beloved Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny and Lola Bunny as well as the newest member of the Tune Squad, LeBron James, and the game will become free-to-play for all Xbox gamers on July 15.

Twitter updates on Windows and web with improved Feminine Arabic support, new error pages, and more

The Twitter web app, which powers the official Windows Twitter app, received a number of new features and fixes over the past month.

Of particular note is the addition of extra support for Feminine Arabic, with a new setting that will allow those using the app in Arabic to specify which form of the language they prefer, and the activation of inline replies for all users.

Here’s the full release notes for all of the changes that have been made to Twitter on the web over the past month:

New

  • Error Pages: Our error pages have gotten a visual refresh. Hopefully you’re not seeing these too often, but keep an eye out if you run into one!
  • Feminine Arabic:  In some languages, such as Arabic, words can be feminine or masculine, but we’ve missed a way for people to tell us how they want to be addressed. We’ve introduced a new language setting that acknowledges and better supports the Arabic feminine form. You can configure this setting by going to “Settings and privacy”, then “Accessibility, display, and languages.” Next, select “Languages” and go to “Display language”. You can read more here!
  • Inline Reply: Previously in experiment, inline replies should now be enabled for nearly everyone.

Updated

  • Accessibility: Date input and dropdown selector fields will now semantically flag error states to provide better coverage for screen readers.
  • Accessibility: Focusing a follow button will now give you additional context such as the account or Topic you may be following or unfollowing.
  • Accessibility: “j” and “k” keyboard shortcuts will allow you to navigate up and down DMs much like other timelines.
  • Accessibility: Improved accessibility tagging of radio button groups.
  • Composer: Increased the tap target size for interacting with the composer.
  • Composer: Decreased the height of previous Tweets shown in the composer when creating a thread.
  • DMs: Media that’s been hidden within DM message requests will now be rendered immediately when accepting the request instead of requiring a refresh.
  • Quick Promote: Locations which do not allow targeted promotions will no longer show in the location list when going through the Quick Promote process.
  • Spaces: When navigating to a different page from within a Space on mobile, the dock should now collapse if it’s expanded.
  • Tweets: We’ve removed the reply context prompt for Tweets on the conversation timeline when replying to your own threaded Tweets.

Fixed

  • Account: When deleting a phone number, the confirmation message will now properly call out whether you’re using the number for two-factor authentication.
  • Carousels: Clicking on an offscreen slide in a carousel will now properly swap you to that slide.
  • Carousels: Video will no longer continue playing after you’ve navigated away from the slide in a carousel.
  • Composer: The composer input will now properly default to right-to-left or left-to-right depending on your language setting, regardless of whether you’ve entered text.
  • Conversation Controls: Resolved issues around being unable to create polls with conversation control settings.
  • DMs: Removed excess empty space at the bottom of the DM inbox and search screens when scrolling.
  • DM Drawer: Using the “g i” keyboard shortcut to navigate to the Lists screen will no longer open the DM drawer as well.
  • Drafts: Tweet drafts that reply to other Tweets will no longer incorrectly show that the Tweet you’re replying to has been deleted.
  • Emoji Picker: The emoji picker window will no longer expand based on the size of the search string.
  • Popovers: Certain popover modals will no longer truncate their content on mobile clients.
  • Popovers: Using the escape key to close media popovers on Safari will no longer cause Safari to exit full screen mode.
  • Sensitive Media: Fixed an issue where the link to appeal a sensitive media warning was not opening the reporting flow properly.
  • Spaces: Navigating directly to a Space which is scheduled will now give you the option to set a reminder instead of showing the ended dialog.
  • Spaces: Fixed an issue where Spaces scheduled within 48 hours would incorrectly show as scheduled for the current day.

In addition to all of the above updates, Twitter this week also enabled the ability for users to use security keys as their sole form of two-factor authentication (2FA) on their accounts. Until now, a second form of 2FA, such as a mobile phone number, was required.

“While any form of 2FA is better than no 2FA, physical security keys are the most effective,” a new post that went live today on the official Twitter blog explains. “Security keys are small devices that act like keys to your house. Just as you need a physical key to unlock the door to your home, you need a security key to unlock access to your account. Security keys offer the strongest protection for your Twitter account because they have built-in protections to ensure that even if a key is used on a phishing site, the information shared can’t be used to access your account. They use the FIDO and WebAuthn security standards to transfer the burden of protecting against phishing attempts from a human to a hardware device. Security keys can differentiate legitimate sites from malicious ones and block phishing attempts that SMS or verification codes would not.”

Quite a lot has been happening with the Twitter social network recently. Screenshots of the upcoming Super Followers paid subscription feature surfaced online last month while Twitter’s Spaces, Fleets, and Topics features continue to receive refinements on all platforms.

Do you use Twitter? Make sure to give us a follow for more tech news.

Twitter
Twitter
Developer:
Twitter Inc.
Price:
Free

Microsoft and Google’s courtroom-truce ends after six years and ahead of regulatory scrutiny

Microsoft and Google may soon be at more visible odds with one another as their six-year pact ends.

Despite their open competitive nature and back-and-forth marketing swipes, Microsoft and Google did enter a private 2015 truce to avoid direct conflicts in courtrooms and in front of regulators, according to a report from the Financial Times.

More specifically,

The companies had settled outstanding lawsuits and agreed not to litigate or complain about each other to regulators without first trying to resolve disagreements at the highest level internally, according to two people familiar with the terms.

In addition to squashing legal beefs before they get out of hand publicly, the agreement was also intended to produce greater co-operative ventures between Microsoft and Google, however, it seems the two may have entered that part more figuratively in hindsight.

Sundar Pichai Scroogled

Yes, Microsoft was able to launch the Surface Duo with ‘help’ from the Google team, however, that venture represents a small consumer victory amid a war of competitive ventures that include the onslaught of Chromebook adoption in education, cloud computing contracts, and cloud streamed gaming.

In April of this year, Microsoft and Google were given the option to renew the secret arrangement but it appears neither party opted to continue the mutually beneficial civility from the past six years.

While knee-jerk reactions may lean heavily on the historically catty nature between Microsoft and Google, the reality is that two semi-monopolistic businesses entering backroom deals to avoid Congressional scrutiny isn’t a good look as Congress sets investigate anticompetitive behaviors in the tech sector.

With the gloves figuratively off for the two companies, we should expect to see both Microsoft and Google jockeying for perceptual mindshare with renewed marketing efforts like Scroogled and jabs at SolarWinds, as both face regulatory scrutiny in the coming years.

X1 Fold With Windows 11: How Well Does it Run?

After we saw how Microsoft’s new operating system performs on mobile phones, the Galaxy Book 2, and even on the company’s own Surface devices, its time to take a look at some other gadgets that run the OS.

Lately, some users decided to install Windows 11 on some of the foldable touch-screen devices that are on the market right now. And guess what? It runs great on these ones too.

Windows 11 runs extra smooth on the Lenovo X1 Fold

It is well known that social media platforms are the places where users go and tout the latest tech feats they have managed to pull.

And ever since this whole Windows 11 madness started, everyone has been trying to install the new OS on any device they could get their hands on.

It would appear that Windows 11 runs smoother than expected even on the ThinkPad X1 Fold, from Lenovo.

There seems to be a pattern emerging here, as all users that have installed the fresh operating systems on devices such as tablets, Surface gadgets, and phones, are actually stating that their devices run even better than before.

It appears that the new battery life improving features that Microsoft decided to add for laptops and tablets, also apply to other battery powered devices.

I was really waiting for 10X. Didn’t expect 11 and didn’t expect this big improvement on Fold. Even battery is better. I really tough I will have to downgrade it next day…..

The above-mentioned Reddit post stresses how natural and fluent this new OS feels on such devices, encouraging other enthusiasts to also try this experience.

Windows 11 seems to get better reviews with each passing day

The vast majority of users that have taken the leap and tried the early build of Windows 11 actually declare themselves satisfied with it’s performance, so far.

We’re not only talking about the PC/laptop version of the OS, but also the one for tablets and other portable devices.

All the opinions seem to converge around one important focal point: Windows 11 improves the performance of the systems it’s installed on.

The only bad reviews that Windows 11 is currently getting are centered around users not being able to take advantage of Microsoft’s PC Health Check app, and also the fact that some haven’t been able to install this new build yet.

Keep in mind that, as an alternative to the PC Health Check app, you can use WhyNotWin11.

As some users are upset with the Microsoft’s choice to use a TPM security chip for the Windows 11 OS, the Redmond giant has received some backlash.

That being said, the new OS will also be able to run on system without the TPM chip, and you can always invest in a new TPM-enabled device, or a new motherboard for your desktop.

Also, remember that this is just the beginning of the operating system’s life, so we might actually see more and more improvements as time goes by.

Overall, people seem to be pretty content with this version of the OS and are excitedly expecting the full version to be released.

What are your thoughts on Windows 11 so far? Share them with us in the comments section below.

Windows 11 Microsoft Store Review: What’s new?

The buzz around the new Windows 11 doesn’t seem to tone down anytime soon as users are constantly looking and analyzing every new feature, comparing prices, searching the web, and starting threads on forums.

But lately, a lot of expressed interest has been around the new Microsoft Store and all that will come with it.

Gamers want to know if Steam and Epic Games Store will really be a part of the new app store, android users if Microsoft is really bringing Android apps to Windows 11, and so on.

The vision for the new store can best be described by Panos Panay, the executive and chief product officer for Windows+ devices at Microsoft:

The new Microsoft Store is your single trusted location for apps and content to watch, create, play, work and learn. Not only will we bring you more apps than ever before, we’re also making all content – apps, games, shows, movies – easier to search for and discover with curated stories and collections.

Want to know everything there is to know about the new app store? Then keep reading as in today’s article we’ll take a closer look at the new Microsoft Store for Windows 11 and answer all of your questions.

What does the new Microsoft Store have to offer?

A cleaner and organized design

From a visual point of view, the redesign is based on Fluent Design and WinUI, the native UI platform of Windows.

The new Microsoft Store looks cleaner, way more organized, has a new navigation menu on the left side, and a new search bar.

But what is definitely an improvement is the app’s page design as it will have a much more detailed appearance.

You can now see extra information about the size of the downloads, reviews from users, app features, and a changelog.

According to Microsoft, the new store was redesigned to meet the needs of customers and developers alike, offering an overall better experience and performance than the Windows 10 Store.

The store will support more app types

During the big announcement, they also revealed that the brand-new store will support more app types, including unpackaged Win32 .exe and .MSI programs.

In addition, developers will be able to also use .NET, UWP, Xamarin, Electron, React Native, Java, and Progressive Web Apps packaging technology to get apps published in the Microsoft Store.

Microsodt Store - PWA

But what really caught the attention during the Windows 11 launch is the news that app developers can now use their own CDN and commerce platforms.

This means they’ll get to keep 100% of their revenue, unlike other app stores that usually take a certain percent.

The company will allow third-party payment systems from July 28, but as with everything that sounds too good to be true, Microsoft said that this won’t include games.

New partnerships, interesting apps, and more games

Microsoft Store on Windows 11 will bring you thousands of apps and games, all verified, all safe, with most of them free to download and play.

Over the last years, Steam has become a huge game and app store on Windows so of course, Microsoft wants to bring its users all the apps and games they want.

On another note, some new confirmed partners are Adobe with its Creative Cloud suite, Zoom, Disney Plus, and even TikTok.

Microsoft Store - New Partners_Adobe

You will be able to find and download Notepad and Paint directly from the store, alongside Office, Edge, and Visual Studio.

Microsoft also dropped some huge news regarding Microsoft Teams, as for the first time, the app will be directly integrated into Windows.

This comes as quite a big surprise for users considering the long collaboration with Skype, which wasn’t even mentioned during the Windows 11 launch.

But one of the biggest and most exciting news was the partnership announcement with Amazon Appstore.

This means that Windows customers will now have access to Android apps on their Windows 11 devices.

Take a look at what Palanidaran Chidambaram, Director of the Amazon Appstore and Cross-Screen Technology had to say regarding the subject:

Today we offer a broad selection of mobile apps in our Amazon Appstore, available across Fire TV, Fire Tablets, and Android devices that our customers use and enjoy every day… With this announcement, Amazon Appstore developers will now have the opportunity to make their Android apps available to hundreds of millions of Windows customers.

With this partnership, users will be able to search for apps in the Microsoft Store and get them through the Amazon Store.

While also be able to search for apps by going directly to a website but have the option to use a pop-up store to download the app through the Microsoft Store.

This is great also news to those who love Instagram or Snapchat for instance, as using the app is so much easier than using the website.

To make this Appstore integration possible on x86 systems Microsoft noted during the launch event that Windows users will be able to buy Amazon mobile apps and run them via Intel Bridge technology.

In addition, the Intel-powered apps will also run on ARM and AMD-based systems, though the technical details of how that will work are not quite clear yet.

Will Windows 10 apps work on Windows 11?

Windows 11 new Microsoft Store will also come to Windows 10, so if you are not yet decided if you want to make the upgrade, you will still be able to use the new store and all its perks.

Microsoft Store

Ultimately, Microsoft’s goal is to create an Appstore that would bring reassurance and convenience to its users, to avoid the risk of installing apps from the web involve.

The new Microsoft Store will be available to customers with the upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11 starting from this years fall.

So far, we’ve covered almost every question you might’ve had regarding the new Windows 11, we spoke with users and even compiled an exclusive survey, for you to have all the information you need in one place.

Have any questions? Feel free to use our comments section below and we’ll get back to you in no time.

Windows 11 runs unexpectedly well on Raspberry Pi 4 and mobile phones

Already a well-known fact, to the ones that keep themselves informed about Windows 11 and all its inner workings, is that it has been optimized for multiple devices.

It seems to work really great on laptops and tablets with touch screens, all made possible thanks to the new in-built tablet mode, and also significantly improved gestures experience.

Now, some of the more tech-savvy people that got their hands on the preview build, are loading the OS on some devices that users didn’t even think it would run on.

Windows 11 scales surprisingly well on a mobile phone

Gustave Monce, who is a highly respected developer, took it upon himself and managed to compile an ARM build of Windows 11, using the UUP images, and installed the OS on a Microsoft Lumia 950 XL.

If you can remember, this device was released in 2015 with Windows 10 Mobile and discontinued in 2017, due to the app gap problem.

Even though Windows 11 was officially designed for tablets, laptops, and desktops, and nobody was expecting it to run on a phone, at least not now, the new operating system scales surprisingly well on a mobile device such as this one.

The Lumia 950 XL phone features a 5.7-inch display and is able to boot the new Windows with a tight and perfect fit.

Monce also managed to enable the cellular connectivity feature in Windows 11, and he did so by manually porting drivers from Windows 10 Mobile and Windows 10 on ARM project.

Microsoft’s Windows 11 apparently comes with settings that allow you to manage cellular connectivity on Snapdragon-powered Always Connected PCs, but it also seems to work fine on Windows Phones.

Raspberry Pi 4 also runs Windows 11 like a charm

Its not surprising that people try to get Windows 11 on all sorts of gadgets, the surprising part is that the OS actually works well on them.

A new Reddit thread has surfaced, which features the author getting the latest Windows 11 build running on the 4GB variant of the Raspberry Pi 4.

He claims that performance is even better than Windows 10 running on the same hardware.

To install Windows 1, this tech-savvy user simply had to download the ARM64 version of Windows 11 from UUPdump.

The next step was to flash the ISO onto an SD card, and follow the same procedure you’d use to install Windows 10.

Source: Reddit

So it would seem that Microsoft’s new operating system covers a much wider range of devices than we initially thought.

Which is amazing news, considering that, once it officially launches, everyone is going to want a piece of this OS.

Windows 11 runs on OnePlus 6T, but disables some core options

Even though this is awesome news, don’t start celebrating just yet. Yes, the new OS runs successfully on the OnePlus 6T, but there are many aspects of the phone that don’t function anymore.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are broken, and so is the audio system, which means that the Windows 11 startup sound won’t be audible on this OnePlus.

There are still some features that continued to work, such as touchscreen input, the USB port, and the GPU, which only partially works.

The developers that installed the operating system on this mobile device also managed to install and play some PC games on the phone,

Some of the titles that they tried include CS:GO, Far Cry, GTA 4, and both versions of Need For Speed: Most Wanted.


On what devices have you managed to install Windows 11? Let us know in the comments section below.

Intego Antivirus Review: Ultimate Protection for Windows

There are various security threats online, ranging from browser hijackers to ransomware, and this is why it’s crucial that you use reliable antivirus software.

Kape Technologies acquired Intego, and its latest product brings 24/7 protection and high-grade protection to the Windows platform.

The company is a leader in computer security, especially on the macOS platform, and today we’re going to test Integro Antivirus on Windows 10 and see how secure it is.

What is Intego Antivirus?

Intego antivirus review main window

Intego Antivirus is an antivirus software created by the security company Intego. The company has been making security software for macOS since 1997 and has a user base of thousands of customers.

Intego also has a Windows version of its antivirus software, so we decided to take it for a test run and see how it performs.

What features does Intego Antivirus have?

Ease of use and friendly user interface

The first you’ll notice about Intego Antivirus is its ease of use. The installation process is almost completely automated, so you won’t have to configure anything.

Once you start Intego Antivirus for the first time, you’ll be greeted with a simple and sleek user interface.

The application is divided into five sections: Dashboard, Scans, Quarantine, Security Reports, and Settings.

Each section is neatly organized, and you can find the features and settings that you need at a glance.

Multiple scanning methods

Intego Antivirus offers several scanning types, and you can perform a quick scan or a complete scan with just a single click.

If you want, you can also choose to scan only a specific file or folder. It’s worth mentioning that the antivirus will perform weekly scans in order to keep your PC safe.

Low resource usage

Unlike other antivirus software, Intego Antivirus is extremely light on your resources, even while performing a full system scan.

According to our tests, Intego Antivirus used only around 10% of the CPU and up to 55MB of RAM during a full system scan.

intego antivirus review ram usage

Resource usage is even lower when using the application in Real-Time Protection mode, and it will barely use any of your CPU while keeping the memory usage roughly the same.

intego antivirus review full scan ram usage

We were pleasantly surprised at how well the application is optimized, and we’re positive that it will work even on low-end PCs without any problems.

Web Shield

The Web Shield module blocks Malware downloads, suspicious websites, and web attacks when you’re browsing. The Web Shield’s status will appear in the My Dashboard window, as shown in the screenshot above.

If, by any chance, you need to disable it, you can do that from the Settings/Security section.

And if you want to limit the access of your kids, for instance, you can add URLs and IP addresses in the Web Shield to be blocked.

You will even be notified if someone tried to access those blocked IP addresses or URLs, and that can be really handy.

High-end security

Intego Antivirus offers protection against various threats, including malware, spyware, adware, ransomware, and other threats.

In our tests, Realtime Protection has successfully blocked the malicious files when we tried to run them, and the infected files were moved immediately to the quarantine.

Regarding the quarantined files, you can view them easily in the Quarantine section, and you can choose to delete them, restore them, or restore and add them to the list of exclusions.

intego antivirus review quarantine

Regarding the reports, all your reports are divided into three groups: Scan Reports, Real-Time Reports, and Exclusions Reports for easy viewing.

It’s worth mentioning that all quarantined files will be deleted automatically after 30 days, but you can easily change that.

Intego Antivirus also has VB100 Certification, and according to the VB100 tests, Intego Antivirus will detect 99% of threats with 0% of false positives.

This puts Intego Antivirus on the list of one of the most secure antivirus applications on the market.

If you want to try out Intego Antivirus, we covered in-depth the entire download/installation process.

Intego Antivirus

Intego Antivirus is a lightweight antivirus software that can protect your PC from all major online threats.
Check price Visit website

Intego Antivirus system requirements

Like we wrote above, Intego Antivirus is very permissive and doesn’t require too many resources to run optimally. Here’s the list of requirements:

  • Any officially supported PC compatible computer
  • Windows 7 or higher
  • 500 MB free hard disk space
  • 2 GB RAM
  • Internet connection is required (a high-speed connection is highly recommended)

Intego Antivirus for PC – The final verdict

After some testing, we can confirm that Intego Antivirus is one of the best antivirus applications we tested.

The software offers great protection, and it’s pretty straightforward to use. We were also pleasantly surprised at how low its resource usage is.

Whether you have a high-end PC or a model several years old, Intego Antivirus will run smoothly on it and provide you with the best possible protection on the market.

Pros
Simple user interface
24/7 high-grade protection
Low CPU and RAM usage
VB100 Certification
Cons
No built-in firewall
Limited scheduling options

Microsoft Modern Webcam Review: A great basic FHD webcam for Windows & Teams

There’s no shortage of webcams these days, but Microsoft’s last officially branded webcam came in the late 2010s with the Microsoft LifeCam Studio. Since then a global pandemic has shaped the way we do our work, putting 1080p webcams at the top of things that are needed for any home or school setup.

That’s why Microsoft recently announced the Modern Webcam, a new webcam that promises high-quality 1080p video conferencing on Teams. But is it up to snuff in a market of webcams dominated by brands like Logitech? I picked one up for review, and that’s what I’m here to help explain.

Special Features

There’s a couple of features in the Microsoft Modern Webcam that Microsoft markets. I’ll begin by mentioning these at the top of my review, rather than the bottom. It is likely that you’re already looking through these features before going to the store or checking this out online. So why not explain it to begin with?

First off, there’s the HDR support as well as True Look (also known as Retouch) and Auto white balance and anti-flicker. These features improve your video feed by using A.I. to touch up the light and the colors in the room around you, and even your face, too. It’s essentially what your iPhone or Android camera can do, and it’s not uncommon in most webcams priced above $50 these days, just look at Amazon for examples.

But there is one note. As I’ll explain later, in some cases, when used in combination, these features can be a little intense. For most people, though, the features will help improve your webcam feed in poor lighting conditions. You have full control over all these webcam features in the Microsoft Accessory Center app if you’re unhappy with how your webcam feed is coming out. This is what this Microsoft webcam does best, but more on that later.

Then there’s the integrated privacy shutter. This is quite common on webcams these days, and it’s nothing really too special. Just slide the shutter over to the right to cover the webcam, and you’re good, as a piece of plastic will cover the lens. Note that there’s even a little LED ring light that illuminates to let you know the webcam is on, too. Quite common, so even if you forget to leave the shutter closed, you’ll know if someone is looking at you when you see that light on.

Other features include the mounting system, the 78-degree field of view, and USB-A connectivity, and a microphone. Let’s not forget that this is also a 1080p camera, too that can output at 30 frames per second. This means that the person on the other end of the call will see more of you, and in higher quality vs the cheaper 720p HD webcams, you can find on Amazon for under $30.

Oddly enough, though, the microphone on the webcam is turned off by default, and you’d need to enable it in the Microsoft Accessory Center app, which warns you that turning on the webcam impacts its “Certified for Teams” functions. I didn’t see this hurt anything in Teams despite the message.

And another note. 30 frames per second on this webcam are the basis for video conferencing. For streaming or gaming and 60 fps where every movement on-camera counts, you’d have to look at a more expensive webcam like the Logitech C922 Pro or even the Anker PowerConf C300 and the Razer Kiyo Pro Streaming Webcam. There’s also no Windows Hello support on this webcam, so keep that in mind if you’re planning to buy it. If you’re after a Windows Hello webcam, we suggest looking at the Lenovo 500 Full HD USB Webcam instead.

Design

Features listed, let’s move on to the design. All webcams are basically created equal and are rectangular blocks of plastic, but the Microsoft Modern Webcam does feel a bit different. Rather than being rectangular, this webcam is a shaped bit more like an oval.

That means it is quite compact and sits nicely on a monitor, almost floating in the air as part of your monitor or laptop itself. Not to forget, how thin and light it is around 0.19 pounds, and just 3 inches thick.

The mounting system on the front of the camera is also compact, as it doesn’t have a huge lip to grab onto and sit on your monitor or laptop. The lip is a bit small, which means it slips right on slim-bezel laptops like the XPS 13.  Even the feet on the back are compact, not being overly long or wide, like you get with Logitech webcams. Microsoft clearly thought a lot about the design to make sure it fits in well with your setup without being too distracting.

As for the privacy shutter, it is designed just as you’d expect. It’s not too hard to slide left and right, as it is made of light plastic. You’ll know when it’s safe in place, too, as you get a tiny magnetic click with it.

Performance

To test out the Microsoft Modern Webcam, I used it on the weekly OnMSFT Podcast which just so happened to be filmed through Teams and Skype. You can check it out in the episode above, which goes on for 54 minutes. Overall, I think that the quality is actually pretty good. Compared to the previous week’s episode where I used my Logitech C920 Pro webcam, the quality difference isn’t too noticeable between the two webcams.

Both webcams are 1080p, and there was no flickering or fading in my image, and the exposure and white balance are both on par with each other. Both webcams also offer the same 78-degree field of view, which didn’t matter much to me, as Teams and Skype would cut half of my frame out during the recording of the podcast. The Logitech has better mics, though, as it has dual mics, whereas Microsoft only has one, which definitely doesn’t sound as good as a dedicated microphone.

What is noticeable, though, is the effects of the HDR and the Retouch features. Though my skin color is light-brown, the webcam ends up blowing my skin color and face color a bit out of proportion when this feature is turned on. If you go back an episode, you’ll see that I look a bit more red than usual. I had both the retouch and HDR turned on in the software for this episode, and I think this is the reason why my skin didn’t look more natural. Of course, it could also be due to my setup, as I have a ring light facing the screen.

So don’t let that make you not buy this webcam. Microsoft gives you full control over these features via the software. If you’re not satisfied with how your video feed looks, you can always tweak it how you want in a few clicks.

Software

The most special part of the Microsoft Modern Webcam to me is the software. There’s a lot of features in the Microsoft Accessory Center (automatically downloaded when your webcam is plugged in) that let you control your image as you see fit. Logitech also offers similar software, but it usually only works on compatible webcam models.

Anyway, with the Microsoft Accessory Center, you can control the brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness of your image. You also can control the HDR and Retouch features. White Balance, Auto Exposure, and Flicker reduction are the other things that can be controlled too. Basically, what you see is not what you get. If your image isn’t the way you want it to be, just weak the settings here for a better experience. Considering that the webcam is close to $100, it’s nice to see Microsoft give you this extra level of control.

A great webcam

For the price of $70, the Microsoft Modern Webcam isn’t all that bad. I do wish that it had support for Windows Hello, but otherwise speaking, it’s a great webcam. The 1080p sensor makes a huge difference in the long run for higher-quality video calls, and it’s backed by some great software that lets you tweak the video settings as you wish. You can buy the webcam now via our affiliated link if you please and would like to support us.

Zoom, OBS Studio among the first big names to launch on the Windows 11 Microsoft Store

The new Microsoft Store that made its debut in the first Windows 11 preview build has already started to welcome some new high-profile productivity apps. Indeed, the popular streaming and recording program OBS Studios is now available to download from the new Store and is currently being promoted in the top carousel, and it has also been joined by the video conferencing app Zoom.

As many early enthusiasts have been pointing out, this is a good taste of things to come for a Store that struggled to attract big names for so many years. With its new Microsoft Store for Windows 11 (also coming soon to Windows 10), Microsoft is finally adding support for more app types such as Win32, .NET, and PWAs, and the company will also allow developers to keep 100% of their app revenue if they choose to use their own commerce platform for their apps instead of Microsoft’s.

“We’re excited to soon be welcoming leading first and third-party apps like Microsoft Teams, Visual Studio, Disney+, Adobe Creative Cloud, Zoom and Canva to the Microsoft Store,” Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Panos Panay announced last week during the Windows 11 reveal. In addition to bringing more Win32 apps to the new Microsoft Store, we’ve also seen new Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) show up such as WordPress.com and TikTok launch on the Store, which is another encouraging sign.

Microsoft is also planning to bring Android apps on its Microsoft Store via a partnership with the Amazon App Store, though this integration isn’t live in the first Windows 11 preview build released on Monday. Microsoft will likely have to share on this front in the coming weeks, but it remains to be seen if Android apps can really offer a “native” experience to Windows users.

If you have yet to install the first Windows 11 Insider build, it’s currently available for all Insiders in the Dev channel in Windows Update. Please note that you’ll just need a PC with a dual-core processor and a minimum of 4GB of RAM to install it, and you won’t need to worry about CPU generations or the presence of a TPM 2.0 chip on your PC to install the new bits.

Here are all the Windows 11 build 22000.51 bugs to watch out for

Here at Windows Report we have a somehow weird passion for bugs, errors and whatever. I personally hunt errors and issues ever since I first started the website.

We make it our mission to roundup all these bugs especially when it comes to big Windows Updates being released, because we know that Microsoft is looking and listening.

And as we all love Windows, it’s important that you use the Feedback Hub to let the Microsoft developers what exactly is broken.

But we’re also inviting you to our comments section to share with us what’s off with your very first Windows 11 Preview release.

Official issues for the first Windows 11 build

First of all, as always, Microsoft has informed of all the issues that they are aware of, as follows:

Taskbar

  • Taskbar will not be shown across multiple monitors but will return in an upcoming build.
  • The preview window may not display the entire window when hovering over Task View on the taskbar.
  • The taskbar might appear empty for some users, not displaying any icons, the clock, or other functions.
  • Users can’t drag files on the taskbar in order to open apps, on Windows 11 22000.51.
  • While in power saver mode, some users claim that the taskbar goes completely transparent and the icons seem to be floating on the screen.

Settings

  • When upgrading a device with multiple user accounts to Windows 11, Settings will fail to launch.
  • A small set of Settings legacy pages as well as fit and finish bugs will be addressed in future releases.
  • The ‘Power mode’ setting does not show up on the Power & battery page.
  • When launching the Settings app, a brief green flash may appear.
  • When using Quick Settings to modify Accessibility settings, the settings UI may not save the selected state.

Start

  • In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the taskbar. If you experience the issue, press Win + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.
  • We’re working on fixing an issue that’s preventing unpinning apps from Start, making the command bar in File Explorer disappear, or hiding snap. To work around these, restart your PC.

Search

  • App icons in the Search panel may do not load, and instead appear as gray squares.
  • When hovering your mouse over the Search icon on the taskbar, the third recent search does not load and remains blank.
  • After clicking the Search icon taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.
  • When you hover your mouse over the Search icon on the taskbar, recent searches may not be displayed. To work around the issue, restart your device.
  • Search panel might appear as black and not display any content below the search box.

Widgets

  • System text scaling will scale all widgets proportionally and may result in cropped widgets.
  • Launching links from the widgets board may not invoke apps to the foreground.
  • When using screen reader/Narrator in widgets may not properly announce content
  • Widgets board may appear empty. To work around the issue, you can sign out and then sign back in again.
  • When using the Outlook client with a Microsoft account, Calendar, and To Do changes may not sync to the widgets in real time.
  • Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors. If you encounter this, you can launch the widgets via touch or WIN + W shortcut on your actual device monitor first and then launch on your secondary monitors.
  • After adding multiple widgets quickly from the widgets settings, some of the widgets may not be visible on the board.

Microsoft Store

  • The install button might not be functional yet in some limited scenarios.
  • Rating and reviews are not available for some apps.

Ok, so these are all official bugs that Microsoft is aware off. And these are usually mild, and not affecting important areas of activity for new Windows 11 users.

Now let’s have a look at what early adopets have been sending our way…

First Windows 11 bugs collected from real users

Call of Duty players get shadowbanned

Increasing chatter on Reddit goes to shows that by using a pre-release version of Windows you can actually get banned from online games, as the anti-cheat program for validation might flag your system.

Here’s the list of other games that could be in the same situation:

  • Battlefield series
  • PUBG
  • Rainbow Six: Siege

But it could actually affect all BattlEye supported games.

Local users and accounts missing

On the Microsoft support forums, somebody is complaining that he has local users and accounts missing.

Explorer.exe infinite restart loop

The new Explorer has gone under a complete redoing but it is also throwing away some naughty errors, too. User GamerZero said this:

After update to windows 11 insiders preview (got normal update in settings/update center) im having troubles with windows explorer.exe. Right after win11 installation it got in infinite restart loop, i’ve tried to stop it and start with admin permissions myself from task manager (windows+R doesn’t seem to work also as any win+key combos). Also tried to use sfc /scannow and reboot the PC. Still my explorer.exe doesn’t work also as any of related things such as desktop.

Context menu of the right mouse button is hidden

This time, another user spotted a small glitch with the right mouse button:

I just upgraded to Windows 11 today. However, when I operated the right mouse button, I found that the context menu of the right mouse button was hidden. You must press shift +F10 to display the complete right mouse context menu. Excuse me, how can I make Windows11 display the context menu of the right mouse button by default like Windows10?

CPU issues

MarkHerridge saw that the first build could be playing around with your CPU a tad too much:

This new Win 11 Pro has my same CPU at min 3600MHz and jumping to 4175MHz by just moving my mouse temps 36/40c. Also in the Task Manager, it says it is only using around 2% to 4% of the CPU. I have tried a minimal boot to no avail, everything else works perfectly, I have not installed anything since the Win 11 Pro download/install. There has to be a glitch or something, it is making my fans run higher than they normally do.

GUI glitches

Jesse Guthrie got some issues when setting up his graphics settings on his monitor:

Enabling 10bpc (30-bit color) on an 8-bit+FRC 4k HDR monitor causes a lot of GUI related glitches in the settings menu and the Microsoft Store app. For example, some menu items vanished, and they show up in a flickering way when I run my mouse over them. This happen with 10bpc HDR and 10bpc SDR.

Some users still get BSoD errors

After installing the preview Insider build for Windows 11, and fiddling with it for a bit, the system crashes inexplicably for some users, as reported on Reddit.

Source: Reddit

And this is not just any crash, but the return of the infamous black screen of death (BSOD).

It’s not quite certain what causes this behavior at the moment, but some more tech-savvy users are trying to get to the bottom of this issue.

Games constantly freeze on the Insider 10.0.22000.51 Preview Build

Although this is not the first report of games going haywire on Microsoft’s new operating system, this is pretty uncommon behavior.

A Reddit user shared his Windows 11 gaming experience with the rest of the community and, sure enough, everyone was astonished at the sight of the bugs that make playing games on the new OS a total nightmare.

It’s literally impossible to enjoy your favorite games, as they keep freezing every two seconds. The only workaround, if we can call it that, is constantly Alt-Tab-ing the game, in order to make it work again.

Other users are saying that, after updating to Windows 11, none of the installed games open anymore, which can prove to be quite a nuisance for someone that games a lot in his free time, or earns his living by gaming.

Fullscreen gaming triggers mouse bugs

Another bug that Windows 11 users have stumbled upon involves peripherals. More exactly, the mouse seems to display some pretty erratic behavior, while running games in fullscreen, as user Heroxoot said on Reddit:

So far I’ve found a mouse bug that seems to be caused by either full screen games or perhaps wallpaper engine. I can make it quit generally by clicking off the game onto the desktop. I noticed it doesn’t happen as much in windowed mode as well. I thought maybe it was an auto HDR thing but it appears now. Also thought perhaps it could be caused by having 2 mice connected but also not the case. Not really hurting much except sometimes it causes really bad mouse lag.

Using Ryzen 5 5600x, 1080ti, DDR4 3200mhz, and various SSDs.

Windows 11 File Explorer runs significantly slower

Based on user feedback delivered via social media, it appears that, for some, the File Explorer on Windows 11 is slower than expected.

After updating to the available Windows 11 preview build, this simple process takes up to 25% of an i5-7400 processor just for browsing and takes a few seconds to load to a folder.

The user that flagged this issue also provided a quick workaround for it, which is enabling the Launch folder windows in a separate process feature, found in the Folder Options.

By doing so you will disable the new design based on UWP, and revert to the Win32 Ribbon Explorer.

Storage space bug

Some Windows 11 users now report a series of bugs that affect the storage space for the device that the OS is installed on.

To be more exact, after installing Windows 11, people are now saying that the system randomly shows different capacities for the hard drives.

For example, one user points out that he had 800 GB left on his HDD before installing the new OS. After the installation process was complete, the system only showed 2 GB of free space.

Consistent crashing, followed by unresponsive purple screen

Out of all the strange behaviors that users described dealing with, after installing the developer build for Windows 11 on their PCs, this has to be the weirdest yet.

User FixMyPCPlz decided to appeal to the knowledge of other, more tech-savvy people, or maybe Microsoft employees, in order to find a solution for his problem.

In his Microsoft Answers post, he had this to say about his experience with Windows 11, so far:

Hey all. I recently installed the Developer build of Windows 11 on my PC. After it crashed multiple times randomly (I assumed this was just an issue with the build itself) I reverted back to windows 10. However, these random crashes persisted even after reverting to 10. Only 1/5 of the random crashes so far have actually had a BSOD, with the error being a page fault in nonpaged area. every other crash has been a complete freeze of my PC, followed by my monitors losing signal, and failing to regain (PC is still ON). The only way I could fix this state was by holding the power button (forcing shutdown). Since the last crash, my desktop background has been stuck as this unsightly (in my opinion lol) purple, with no way of changing it. Memory diagnostic had no effect, nor did chkdsk. Let me know what information I can supply to better explain my situation. Looking to fix this ASAP as I stream on Twitch and use this PC for that. Thank you for your time

TPM preventing from logging on with work/school account

Reddit user HamzaTShadid also had something to say about his Windows 11 experience, and they weren’t words of praise.

Apparently, the TPM security chip that his device has, which is a mandatory requirement for running Windows 11, prevents him from logging on the device using a work or school account.

I have experienced these issues after the upgrade to Win 11:

Getting TPM issue when trying to log to a work/school account.

Can’t launch Outlook

Microsoft Teams having issues with the internet.

For the first issue, I went to Dell BIOS and I cleared the PPT but this didn’t fix the issue.

For the second and third issues, I did an online repair for M365 but it’s still there.

A constant aray of visual bugs

Of course, no new experience would be complete without visual bugs. Whether we are talking about the mouse cursor showing up in unexplainable positions or displaying strange colors, or the taskbar completely missing, it seems that Windows 11 has no shortage of these visual blunders.

Another report on social media shows just how much work this new operating system still needs, and why user feedback is critical in this early stage.

Windows 11 creates further TPM 2.0 security chip confusion amoung users

As you most likely already know, the most important system requirement that Microsoft insisted on for Windows 11 is the TPM 2.0 security chip.

If your device does not have this tiny piece of hardware, it won’t be able to run the new operating system.

However, besides all the user backlash that this decision received, the OS still reacts weirdly when users try to activate the security chips, as there still are some tweaks to be performed, system-wise.

As reported on social media platform Reddit, some users are still struggling with making their systems work, because of the TPM chips.

So I’m running a Razer Blade 15 that has an 8th gen i7-8750H.

Device manager shows, under security devices, “Trusted Platform Module 2.0”

But when I search TPM and open Security Processor settings, it claims my device does not support this feature, with the specifications all showing nothing.

Searching for Security Processor troubleshooting, it says “your device does not support this feature” under TPM, while if I run TPM.msc, it shows TPM 2.0 and it’s ready for use.

Through TPM.msc, it gives me the opportunity to clear TPM, but I’m not sure of the implications of it (I don’t have BitLocker, neither are any of my files encrypted)

Is it worth trying to clear my TPM to see if it fixes the issue? What risks are there to doing that?

This problem seems to affect even more users than initially thought, as more reports keep pouring in, via social media platforms and various Windows forums and community posts.

Function key no longer working after Windows 11 update

Yet another report of devices going haywire after installing the developer build for Windows 11 has been posted by an upset user.

This time, after the operating system update, the function key (Fn) appears not to work anymore. This makes it hard for people that constantly use it to quickly adjust brightness, volume, or mute their devices by only using their keyboards.

The first quick workaround for such an issue would be to just reinstall the keyboard drivers. However, if this doesn’t work for you, it means that the issue might be OS-related and would require Microsoft to deal with it as they sort through the mountain of bugs that came with Windows 11.

Low volume when using Bluetooth headphones on Windows 11

It turns out that there are also some audio bugs that come with these preview builds of Windows 11.

Users are not reporting that, after installing the new Windows 11 preview build, the audio volume was significantly impacted.

This change mostly affects audio when other devices, such as Bluetooth speakers or headphones are involved. After connecting these gadgets, via Bluetooth, the volume is really low, as Reddit user Timothydnomie says:

Hi everyone, I recently updated to Windows 11 and I’ve noticed that even at 100% volume, audio is still quite low even with headphones compared to Windows 10. I’ve gone into sound settings and everything is at 100%. Has anybody else experienced this?

File Explorer repetitive crash caused by the sencond monitor

One of our readers signaled to us another bug in our comments section. It seems that after the update, File Explorer started to crash repetitively:

With some caveats, Windows 11 was working fine until today update (07-17-2021) after restart, Explorer Enters an Infinite Crash loop
The reason I found is when have 2 Monitors connected, if you disconnect one, explorer stops crashing
There is obviously one issue here, I cant use the pc with only one Monitor plugged
Also, the volume on all devices are low compared to windows 10, all including air Pods and all my headsets speakers are low volume
Unfortunately, I had reverted to windows 10 since the insiders version is too full of bugs

It seems that the bug appears when you have two monitors connected. He managed to stop the problem by unplugging one of the monitors.

If you find yourself in the same situation, you can temporarily disconnect the second monitor and revert back the update if you want to use the 2 monitor configuration.


These are just the very few we spotted and we are going to continuously update for newer ones. So feel free to jump in with your own input.

Microsoft gears up for future tech regulations with expanded ‘legal affairs unit’

According to a report from Axios, Microsoft president Brad Smith explained the company’s plan to expand its legal and corporate affairs unit by as much as 20 percent ahead of potential regulation battles.

While Microsoft usually goes through an annual reorg during most summers to optimize company resources by streamlining divisional overhead, this summer’s effort looks to focus on primarily on shielding the company from as much regulatory blowback as possible by going on a hiring blitz.

When interviewed, Smith relayed the intentions behind its new July 1, 2021, blitzkrieg hiring effort as,

This reflects a conclusion that this decade will bring expanded tech regulation around the world. As I sometimes put it inside the company, the 2020s will bring to tech what the 1930s brought to financial services.

More specifically, Microsoft plans to announce on Tuesday that its general counsel Dev Stahlkopf will be departing the company’s top legal role to pursue opportunities elsewhere while, Lisa Tanzi and Hossein Nowbar get promoted to new positions that involve policy implementation and overseeing litigation, compliance, and intellectual property.

Microsoft - general counsel Dev Stahlkopf

In addition to its legal shuffles, Microsoft will also give its chief privacy officer and former FTC commissioner Julie Brill oversight of the company’s regulatory governance division.

Two weeks ago, the United States Congress introduced five new bi-partisan approved antitrust bills intended to limit the ‘power’ of big tech, all of which puts Microsoft back under the anticompetitive microscope.

Leading headlines regarding Microsoft and the new antitrust legislation was a communication between Ohio Republican representative Jim Jordan’s letter to Brad Smith calling into question the company’s overall competitive position in the market against its ability to regulate its users’ behaviors.

While shifting market shares have allowed Microsoft to fly relatively under the radar as of late while its competitors in Google, Amazon and even Facebook took heat for anticompetitive behaviors, Congress’ reexamining of the tech industry could seat Microsoft back into similar late 90’s antitrust regulations and setbacks soon.