Microsoft is working to make your and your family’s online experience safer. Today the company is launching its new Defender security dashboard for 365 subscribers. Users on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and Android devices have access to the Microsoft Defender security app that utilizes existing antivirus software or other protections.
Microsoft Defender is simplified online security that meets you and your family where you are by bringing multiple protections together into a single dashboard. It provides online protection across the devices you and your family use. It offers tips and recommendations to strengthen your protection further. And, as you grow your digital footprint by adding family members and devices, Defender grows with you and keeps your defenses up-to-date using trusted technology.
According to The Verge, Microsoft Defender’s features will vary by which platform. For instance, on iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Defender users won’t have antivirus protection. However, they’ll have some phishing protections alongside their dashboard that features alerts for their other devices.
Additionally, the new app includes security alerts for your devices to ensure maximum protection. While not on iPhone, you can also view Microsoft Defender’s cybersecurity tips on your Mac or Windows computer.
This is just the start. As we look forward, we will continue to bring more protections together under a single dashboard, including features like identity theft protection and secure online connection. Microsoft Defender is simplified online security that grows with you and your family to help keep you safe.
Apple this week quietly released an update for the Windows version of its iTunes music player. However, rather than adding new features, the update is focused on fixing bugs and security breaches for those who still rely on iTunes.
According to an Apple Support webpage, iTunes 12.12.4 fixes five different exploits that could be used for arbitrary code execution through the music player.
A specific exploit in the Mobile Device Service, which manages the connection between PC and iOS devices, allowed an app to delete files from the computer without permission. Other exploits fixed were related to AppleGraphicsControl, ImageIO, and WebKit.
Apple recommends that Windows users download the latest version of iTunes from the Microsoft Store. However, the app is still available as a separate download through Apple’s website (it requires Windows 8 or later). iTunes on Windows is required to access Apple Music offline and manage iPhone, iPod, and iPad devices.
Of course, since iTunes was discontinued on macOS years ago, the update is not required for Mac users.
iTunes on Windows
Even though Apple Music has its own app on iOS, macOS, and even Android, Windows users still rely on iTunes – which at this point is quite outdated and lacks some features available on other platforms.
Apple Music users on Windows PCs can download some alternative clients such as Cider. However, these apps do not replace iTunes when it comes to restoring iOS devices.
Rumors heard last year that Apple was testing both Music and Podcast apps for Microsoft platforms. The company was even looking for engineers with Universal Windows Platform (UWP) experience. Unfortunately, other details about Apple’s plans for launching an Apple Music app for Windows remain unclear.
In a surprise announcement at The Game Awards,Google this evening revealed that it’s bringing Android gaming to Windows PCs next year through a desktop Play Games app.
Android users might know Play Games as the pop-up that loads when they open a title, as well as a mobile application that shows various achievements and serves as a directory. Google uses “Play Games” as the umbrella term for the various services (e.g. player accounts, storing/syncing data, social, achievements/leaderboards, testing, and store distribution) it offers to aid Android game developers.
In all, the company says there are 2.5 billion monthly active users gaming with Android apps across phones, tablets, and Chrome OS, with the latter form factor seeing game usage grow three times year-over-year.
Google now wants to bring its multi-screen gaming platform to Windows PCs. This expansion is pitched as a continuation of its mission and as something desired by the Android developer community.
It will take the form of a native “Google Play Games” Windows application. In addition to the app, Google will be directly distributing content, which includes both emulated Android titles and games that run natively on Windows. There will be seamless game experiences that let players go between mobile and desktop.
Behind-the-scenes, the Google Play team built something different from what Microsoft has for Windows 11. In fact, Google’s app will be available on Windows 10 and newer — exact specs coming at a later date. As part of this, the app/service has a new green, triangular icon with half a controller.
“Google Play has helped billions of people find and play their favorite games across multiple platforms, including on mobile, tablets and ChromeOS. Starting in 2022, players will be able to experience their favorite Google Play games on more devices: seamlessly switching between a phone, tablet, Chromebook, and soon, Windows PCs. This Google built product brings the best of Google Play Games to more laptops and desktops, and we are thrilled to expand our platform for players to enjoy their favorite Android games even more. We’ll have more to share soon!”
Greg Hartrell, Product Director, Games on Android and Google Play
Play Games for Windows will be available next year and more details are coming “soon.”
Google is not yet ready to detail specifics of this upcoming experience, but it did lay out the first part of a grand vision that’s inline with the internal “Games Future” presentation made public in August as part of the Apple and Epic Games lawsuit.
This document laid out the cross-platform ambition that Google just made official at The Game Awards. It includes a possible image of the straightforward desktop app, which is rather tablet-like. At a high level, Google wants to let users “play on any screen,” including the Android, Windows, and macOS platforms and all form factors like phones, tablets, desktops, smart displays, and TVs, with the company possibly creating a “low-cost” Bluetooth controller.
Google Chrome is an extremely powerful web browser. It becomes even more capable once you start adding extensions to make tasks easier and faster. Though, if you’re switching your default browser to Google Chrome on Windows 11, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Why use Google Chrome in the first place?
There are a few convincing features that you can find with Google’s web browser. First off, Google Chrome easily syncs across platforms. History, bookmarks, addresses, and passwords all sync between devices. This means you could securely log in to a website on a Samsung Galaxy S21 with a new password, and the next time you log in on a PC running Windows 11 with Chrome, you’ll have your password safely stored for easy access. It doesn’t matter what device Chrome is being used on; it will still have all of your data available.
Another reason – and probably the main reason for many – is the speed of Google Chrome. As long as extensions are kept in check, and generally less than 100 tabs are open, Google Chrome will maintain surprisingly quick speeds. As far as extensions go, there are thousands on the Chrome Web Store, and each has a specific use. They can range from quick shortcuts to website functions or even allow you to download a PNG or JPG from any website. The support Google Chrome has for extensions is phenomenal and makes the browser more useful.
In general, Chrome is quick to adopt new standards as well. Since what the internet has to offer and even how it offers it is constantly changing, a browser needs to be up to date and relevant. Chrome does that very well. On top of that, Google has committed itself to regular updates for security and quality of life reasons. Because of this, Chrome offers a bit more than Microsoft Edge when it comes to security.
Setting up Google Chrome in Windows 11 as the default browser
While past iterations of Windows let you set up Google Chrome as the default browser with one or two clicks, that isn’t the case anymore with Windows 11. Previously, users could select it as a default browser and any file type associated with internet browsers would automatically open in Google Chrome. In Windows 11, users need to specify what program to use for each individual file type. In theory and in practice, just changing the default program from Edge to Chrome for an .HTM file will not change it for an .HTML file type. The .HTML default app needs to be set to Google Chrome as well, otherwise, you’ll find yourself randomly opening Microsoft Edge when you thought Google Chrome was the default.
That being said, here’s where you can go to fix that:
Head into Settings in Windows 11. You can do this by clicking Start and then the gear icon on the right-hand side.
On the left side, find and click Apps. Within that section, click on Default apps.
Scroll down until you find Google Chrome – assuming it’s already installed – and click it.
This page lets you change Google Chrome to the default for each of these file types. Now, you don’t actually have to set each and every one of them to Google Chrome, and it isn’t necessarily advised. For instance, you may want to set .PDF’s to open with a PDF editor instead of Google Chrome.
The easiest way to go about setting Google Chrome as the default browser is to just change the file types that are already set to Microsoft Edge. This will ensure that instead of file types opening up Edge, Google Chrome will appear. To change a file type’s default, just click the current default app and look for Google Chrome in the windows that appear. Select it, and hit ok.
The process only takes a couple of minutes but saves a lot of time in the future. Though, we still wish it was as easy as it was in Windows 10. All in all, anytime you open up a file type associated with a web browser, it should open up your new default browser in Windows 11, Google Chrome.
Windows are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.71 to everyone in the Dev Channel!
Changes and Improvements
We’re introducing a new entertainment widget! The entertainment widget allows you to see new and featured movie titles available in the Microsoft Store. Selecting a movie will direct you to the Microsoft Store to see more information about that title. Just open widgets and click or tap on the “Add widgets” button and choose the entertainment widget. [UPDATE] The entertainment widget is available for Insiders in the following countries: US, UK, CA, DE, FR, AU, JP.
The new entertainment widget gives you quick access to featured moved titles in the Microsoft Store.
The new context menus and other right-click menus have been updated to use acrylic material.
The new Windows 11 context menus before acrylic and after.
We are testing the usability of a SplitButton for making new folders and files in the File Explorer command bar.
The Taskbar previews (when you mouse-over open apps on the Taskbar) have been updated to reflect the new visual design of Windows 11.
Taskbar previews with rounded corners!
Fixes
Taskbar:
We fixed an issue where if you drag app icons on the Taskbar to rearrange them, it was making the apps launch or minimize when you released the icon.
Using a long press with touch on an app icon in the Taskbar to open the jump list should now work.
After right-clicking the Start icon in the Taskbar, clicking somewhere else should now dismiss the menu more reliably.
Shift + Right-click on an app icon in the Taskbar will now bring up the window menu like it used to and not the jump list.
We’ve addressed an issue that was making your mouse move slowly when hovering over the Taskbar previews.
We’ve included the fix for an issue when using multiple Desktops where an app icon in the taskbar might give the appearance of multiple windows being open when that wasn’t the case on that Desktop.
When using the Amharic IME you should no longer see an unexpected X next to the IME icon in the taskbar.
The issue where if you click on the input indicator on the Taskbar and it would unexpectedly highlighted Quick Settings has been fixed.
When you hover over Task View, the preview flyout for your Desktops will no longer pop back up after using Esc to dismiss them.
We made a fix to address an issue where explorer.exe might crash after hovering over the Task View icon in the Taskbar.
We fixed an issue where the selected date in the calendar flyout was out of sync with the date in the Taskbar.
We made an update to address a scenario resulting in some Insiders not seeing the lunar calendar text in the calendar flyout when enabled in Settings.
This flight addressed an issue that could unexpectedly make the Taskbar background transparent.
Right-clicking the focus assist icon in the taskbar should now show a context menu.
The issue from the previous flight where icons in the taskbar corner were getting crushed against the top of the Taskbar has been addressed.
The tooltip for the location in use icon in the Taskbar should no longer appear blank sometimes.
Settings:
We fixed an issue making Settings crash on launch periodically.
Using the volume mixer sliders in Sound Settings should be more responsive now, as well as the page responsiveness as a whole.
We fixed an issue resulting in Disk and Volumes Settings’ change size option being clipped.
There was a non-functional verify link under Backup Settings – this has been fixed.
The Power and Battery Settings page should no longer be reporting that battery saver is engaged in it’s not.
The Power and Battery Settings page should also now not crash when launched from Quick Settings.
We fixed a grammatical error in the Sign-in Settings text.
The “I forgot my PIN” link was unexpectedly missing in Sign-in Settings when a PIN was set up and has now been returned.
The issue where the Move option under Apps & Features in Settings wasn’t working reliably should be addressed in this build.
We’ve mitigated a problem where some of the colors in Settings weren’t updating after switching between dark and light mode, leaving unreadable text.
We’ve done some work to help improve the performance of Settings when switching between light and dark mode.
We addressed an issue where some of the elements of the Themes page in Settings would end up crowded together when the window size was small.
We resolved an issue where the Pen menu toggle under Taskbar Settings was not in sync with the actual state of the feature.
Changes made to “Dismiss notification after this amount of time” in Accessibility Settings should now persist.
Some of the icons you could enable in Taskbar Settings were erroneously labeled Windows Explorer even though that’s not what they were – this should now be fixed.
The Connect text in Quick Settings has been updated to say Cast.
File Explorer:
Clicking the command bar button twice should now close any dropdown that appeared.
The new command bar should now appear when “Open folders in a separate process” is enabled under File Explorer Options > View.
This build addresses an issue where right clicking a file and selecting Open With > Choose another app might launch the file in the default app rather than opening the Open With dialog.
Fixed an issue the desktop and File Explorer context menu would stop launching.
Search:
We fixed an issue where the option to verify your account in Search wasn’t working.
Hovering over the Search icon on a secondary monitor will now show the flyout on the correct monitor.
Search should now work if you open Start and start typing after having gone to the apps list and back.
Widgets:
When using the Outlook client with a Microsoft account, Calendar, and To Do updates should sync faster down to the widgets.
We addressed an issue where if you added multiple widgets quickly from the widgets settings, it could result in some of the widgets not being visible on the board.
We fixed a bug where widgets could all become stuck in a loading state (blank squares in the window).
The traffic widget should now follow the Windows mode (light or dark).
The title of the sports widget should no longer mismatch with the content of the widget.
Other:
This build addresses an issue where ALT + Tab was getting stuck open sometimes after you released the keys and had to be manually dismissed.
We made a fix for an issue where Narrator focus wasn’t ending up on the emoji panel after using the keyboard shortcut to open it.
Magnifier’s lens view has been updated so the lens now has rounded corners.
We found an issue that was noticeably impacting Start launch reliability for some Insiders, and have addressed it with this flight.
We’ve updated the “Most Used” text in the Start menu’s app list so it should no longer be getting clipped.
Using the semantic zoom in Start’s app list should no longer result in the list being pushed down and to the right off the edge of the window.
We fixed an issue where if you pressed WIN + Z you would need to press Tab before you could use the arrow key to navigate through the snap layouts.
We addressed an issue where an acrylic area could get left on the screen after repeatedly snapping and unsnapping a window with touch.
We’ve done some work to mitigate an unexpected flash when moving a snapped window with touch.
We made a change to help window borders have a little more contrast when “Show accent color on title bars and windows borders” was turned off.
Known issues
[REMINDER] When upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10 or when installing an update to Windows 11, some features may be deprecated or removed. See details here.
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.
Based on feedback, we are working on adding access keys to WIN + X so that you can do things like “WIN + X M” to launch Device Manager. Insiders may see this functionality in this build, however we are currently investigating an issue in which sometimes the option is unexpectedly unavailable.
Taskbar:
There is an issue in this build where Explorer.exe will crash when the date and time button on the Taskbar is clicked to access new notifications with Focus Assist turned off. The workaround for this is to enable Focus assist to priority or alarms mode. Note that when focus assist is turned on, notification popups won’t appear, but they will be in the notification center when opened.
The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.
Taskbar previews may draw partially offscreen.
Settings:
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.
The button to rename your PC doesn’t work in this build. If needed, this can be done using sysdm.cpl.
Settings will crash when clicking “Facial recognition (Windows Hello)” under Sign-in Settings if Windows Hello is already set up.
Reset this PC and Go back buttons in Settings > System > Recovery do not function. Reset and roll back can be accessed from the Windows Recovery Environment by selecting System > Recovery > Advanced startup, and pressing Restart now. Once in Windows Recovery, choose Troubleshoot.
Choose Reset this PC to perform a reset.
Choose Advanced options > Uninstall Updates > Uninstall latest feature update to perform a rollback.
File Explorer:
Explorer.exe crashes in a loop for Insiders using the Turkish display language when battery charge is at 100%.
When right clicking the desktop or File Explorer, the resulting context menu and submenus may appear partially off screen.
Clicking a desktop icon or context menu entry may result in the wrong item being selected.
Search:
After clicking the Search icon on the 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 PC.
Search panel might appear as black and not display any content below the search box.
Widgets:
Widgets board may appear empty. To work around the issue, you can sign out and then sign back in again.
Launching links from the widgets board may not invoke apps to the foreground.
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 PC display first and then launch on your secondary monitors.
Store:
The install button might not be functional yet in some limited scenarios.
Rating and reviews are not available for some apps.
Windows Security:
Device Security is unexpectedly saying “Standard hardware security not supported” for Insiders with supported hardware.
“Automatic sample submission” is unexpectedly turned off when you restart your PC.
Localization:
There is an issue where some Insiders may be missing some translations from their user experience for a small subset of languages running the latest Insider Preview builds. To confirm if you have been impacted, please visit this Answers forum postand follow the steps for remediation.
For developers
You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk. The Windows Insider SDK will be continuously flighting with corresponding Windows 11 Insider Preview builds, and the latest Windows Insider SDK for Build 22000.71 is now available.
Beginning with Windows Insider SDK version 22000.71 and the latest .NET 5 update, we have also added support for .NET 5 developers who want to target the Windows Insider SDK and access these new APIs. For more details on this support, refer to the Windows Insider SDK download page.
Important Insider Links
You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here, including a list of all the new features and updates released in builds so far. Are you not seeing any of the features listed for this build? Check your Windows Insider Settings to make sure you’re in the Dev Channel. Submit feedback here to let us know if things weren’t working the way you expected.
If you want a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel, head over to Flight Hub. Please note, there will be a slight delay between when a build is flighted and when Flight Hub is updated.
When Microsoft said that it was going to announce the next version of Windows on June 24, it was only a matter of time before the leaks started coming. The first Windows 11 build leaked today, first offering up some screenshots on Baidu. Now, the full build is here.
First of all, we should be clear that this is very much a new version of Windows 10. It has a big visual redesign, but under the hood, this is the same OS. Microsoft wanted to build excitement around it, so that’s why we’re getting the new branding. Because of this, the first thing you’ll see when booting up this leaked build is a very familiar out-of-box experience.
Indeed, all of the different Windows 11 versions are the same as they were for Windows 10, including Home, Pro, Enterprise, and more. Once you get past that part where you choose your edition, decide how to partition your drive, and it actually installs the bits, that’s where the OOBE takes a left turn from what’s familiar.
The questions are the same, and at this point, you might have realized that this looks a lot like Windows 10X. That’s because it is. Windows 10X promised a lot of under-the-hood changes, such as running apps in containers so they couldn’t access the rest of the file system. That’s not happening here.
What’s happening here is that Microsoft is pretty much bringing over the Windows 10X shell on top of Windows 10, and calling it Windows 11.
You also may have spotted a new Windows logo, which is a blue Microsoft logo. It’s replacing the trapezoidal logo that we had before and flattening it out into a square. This is likely a big part of the Redmond firm’s move to make things more Microsoft-branded instead of Windows-branded. We’ve seen various references to Microsoft Server in Windows Server.
Another thing that you’ll surely notice, and it’s a big part of the Sun Valley design refresh, is rounded corners. While Microsoft has included sharp corners since the days of Windows 8, it’s finally scaling that back.
The Start Menu is exactly what you’d expect. The taskbar is centered, and if it wasn’t for the new rectangular logo, you’d absolutely think that this screenshot was fresh out of Windows 10X. But the Windows 11 logo gives it away.
Windows Search is getting an entirely new look here. This seems to be a trend with the new Sun Valley UX, with these floating, centered fly-outs like this. As you can see from the image, you can filter down results by apps, documents, settings, and more.
If you take a look at the File Explorer, there are no surprises there. Sure, coming from Windows 10, all of the icons look visually different. All of that is already in preview though. If you’re a Windows Insider on the Dev channel, you’ve seen the new Windows 11 icons.
Nothing is changing in the Microsoft Edge browser. It’s worth noting that as far as apps go, nothing is really changing. These things still exist across Windows 11 and Windows 10, and in the case of Edge, older versions too. This is independent of the OS.
Settings doesn’t seem to have changed either, despite some earlier leaks. This was the same as it is in Windows 10 and was in Windows 10X leaks. It’s also possible that Microsoft may update this before it goes public. The same goes for other inbox apps.
There are some new settings though. There are a bunch of customization options for the taskbar, including an option to align the taskbar, and as we continue to look through this build, we’re sure to find more.
Virtual desktops are in the same place, but this might be a good time to mention that there’s a new stock wallpaper. The one you’re seeing is for light theme, but there’s another one that has a dark background. There are several wallpapers like this, and one thing you won’t find is something with a Windows logo with light shining through it, like we saw with the Windows 10 hero image.
There’s a new option right next to that called widgets. This is exactly the same as it is on macOS, and it’s presumably taking the place of Live Tiles. Live Tiles tried to be a widget and a shortcut all at once. Now, those things are being separated like they are on every other operating system. The widgets look differently in light and dark modes.
Here are some more examples of what Windows 11 looks like in dark mode. It’s pretty, and also what you’d expect.
At first glance, the keyboard looks the same. But as was teased a lot in Windows 10X, there’s a bar above it that you can open to insert GIFs, emojis, and more. Again, Windows 11 really comes down to putting the Windows 10X shell on top of Windows 10.
You’ll be able to unpin things like Task View and Windows Search from the taskbar. That means that you won’t have to just hide them anymore.
Another thing that’s new is that you can easily set different split view options, right from the maximize button in any app. You can choose split view, or views with three or four apps on the screen at once. It makes things a lot easier than the standard side-by-side view that we get now.
Besides that, there’s not a whole lot else to show. Windows 11 is set to ship later on this year, but we’re just a week away from Microsoft’s big announcement.
Microsoft has already revealed that the successor of Windows 10 will be unveiled on June 24th. However, the support page for Windows 10 was also recently updated to reflect some of the upcoming changes, including the date when Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 10 Home and Pro versions.
Spotted by Thurrot, the company has announced the news in a support page update. The page displays all of the version numbers and the releases, as well as the support date. In this case, Windows 10 Home and Pro versions will be updated until October 24th, 2025.
There’s also an important note displayed at the top of the page:
“Microsoft will continue to support at least one Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel until October 14, 2025.”
This isn’t necessarily bad news, we were expecting some big changes, including some form of a redesign, although it will be significantly smaller then what we’ve seen back in the day with Windows 7 and 8. Windows 11 – it may be called something else – will likely feature rounded corners, a more refined user interface and hopefully some meaningful changes to the search and other core parts of the OS, as well as it will likely get rid of the legacy UI, pop-ups that were still present in Windows 10.
The new version of Windows will be revealed next week on June 24th.
Six months after announcing Immersive View, Zoom is finally launching the feature, which introduces a “more engaging and collaborative way to meet.”
Immersive View resembles Microsoft Teams’ Together Mode, where users in a meeting can appear in a classroom, old-fashioned boardroom, etc.
Announced at Zoomtopia 2020, Immersive View allows hosts to arrange video participants and webinar panelists into a single virtual background, bringing people together into one scene to connect and collaborate in a cohesive virtual meeting space.
It’s possible to use the Immersive View feature with up to 25 participants, creating a classroom ambient, boardroom, conference auditorium, or your favorite place to catch up with friends.
Meeting and webinar hosts can select Zoom’s Immersive View in the same way they would select the Speaker or Gallery View. Hosts will have the option to automatically or manually place participants into a virtual scene of their choosing.
When a host wants to share their screen, the Immersive View feature will end and be replaced by the shared screen. When sharing stops, the Immersive View will begin again with the same positions as before.
This feature is available in the web and macOS apps with Zoom’s version 5.6.3 or higher and is enabled by default for all Free and single Pro accounts.
Based on feedback, the Feedback Hub Team has made a change so that Insiders can now both upvote and add similar feedback for all feedback types in the Feedback Hub. Insiders will now see the upvote and “Add similar feedback” options available side by side for both Problems and Suggestions. You can help our engineering teams investigate your problem reports better by also clicking to add similar feedback when upvoting on a problem if you have additional details to provide. This will enable you to write a description of exactly what happened when you experienced it and add your screenshots or diagnostic logs if you can reproduce it. This change is available in app version 1.2009.10413.0 and higher, which is currently rolling out to Insiders in the Dev Channel via a Microsoft Store update.
Changes and Improvements
The 3D Objects folder will no longer be shown as a special folder in File Explorer after updating to this build. If you need to access this folder, you can do so via typing %userprofile% in File Explorer or through the navigation pane option “Show all folders”.
[News and interests] We removed the “Reduce taskbar updates” option from the context menu. We expect it to return in a future update.
We have temporarily removed the touch keyboard refinements noted in Build 21301 to fix some issues. However, the updates to the default keyboard layout on 12” or larger screens and the candidate bar remain available to everyone in Dev Channel as noted last week with Build 21318.
Fixes
We fixed an issue where if you tried to access an Azure Active Directory (AAD) joined device via Remote Desktop (RDP), it would fail after updating to recent Dev Channel builds.
We fixed an issue that could result in your PC bug checking when switching between users.
We fixed an issue that could result in deleted files unexpectedly remaining visible on the desktop until the desktop was refreshed.
[News and interests] We fixed an issue where the taskbar button might show no content after the primary monitor was changed.
[News and interests] We fixed an issue where news and interests would continue to refresh content in the background even when the screen was turned off, consuming resources.
[News and interests] We fixed multiple issues impacting performance and reliability.
We fixed an issue with the new “Paste as plain text” option in clipboard history where clipboard history didn’t close after it was used, inconsistent with the normal paste behavior.
We fixed an issue that could result in erroneous torn write errors being logged.
We fixed an issue that could result in delayed audio playback on certain devices in the last few builds.
We fixed an issue where if you changed the calendar format multiple times under Settings > Date & Time > Region, the enumerated values of the other data formats may not be correct.
Known issues
There is an issue in Build 21318 where the Windows Update page in Settings unexpectedly will display offered OS updates as both optional and required. This issue is fixed as of Build 21322; however, you will see it when upgrading from Build 21318.
We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
We’re investigating an issue impacting the reliability of Start and other modern apps, which started in recent Dev Channel flights. If you are impacted, you may experience the Start menu layout resetting.
Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
[News and interests] We’re addressing an issue where news and interests may not be available when signing into Windows without internet access but returns when online.
[News and interests] Sometimes the news and interests flyout cannot be dismissed with pen.
[ARM64] Insiders who installed the preview version of the Qualcomm Adreno graphics driver on the Surface Pro X may experience reduced brightness of the display. This will be addressed in a future update. If you are experiencing this issue, please see the feedback collection for more information.
We’re working on a fix to address reports from Insiders that the Chinese text for the lunar calendar in the clock and calendar flyout is no longer displaying properly as of the previous flight.
We’re investigating reports that Insider devices are experiencing hangs when an Xbox controller is connected while shutting down, restarting, or entering sleep in recent Dev Channel builds.
If you want a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel, head over to Flight Hub. Please note, there will be a slight delay between when a build is flighted and when Flight Hub is updated.
One of the most attractive features of the popular password manager LastPass is that, if you choose to, you can use it pretty effectively without paying a dime. That comes to an end in March, as LastPass has just announced that its free tier will be restricted to only one device type starting next month.
LastPass works across nearly every platform, from Android to iOS to Windows to Mac, and that’s what makes it useful. For the most part, the services we use today are available on multiple platforms, so being able to use the service on both your mobile phone and your desktop/laptop computer is crucial to most users.
Starting on March 16, 2021, LastPass will start restricting its free service to only one device type, meaning those who sign up will be required to pick between accessing the service on their computer or their smartphone. The latter also includes LastPass access on tablets (iPads) and smartwatches. You’ll pick an “active device type” to decide on where you’ll use the service. For current free users, the first device type you log in to after March 16 will set your active type. You’ll have three chances to pick between device types before the choice is locked in. After that, you’ll need to sign up for LastPass Premium to access the service on two different platforms.
As a Free user, your first login on or after March 16 will set your active device type. You’ll have three opportunities to switch your active device type to explore what’s right for you. Please note, that all of your devices sync automatically, so you’ll never lose access to anything stored in your vault or be locked out of your account, regardless of whether you use computer or mobile devices to access LastPass.
Further, LastPass will also restrict some support options starting on May 17. Email support, most notably, will be restricted only to Premium customers and those with a LastPass family account. Free users will then be limited only to the LastPass Support Center for self-help resources.
Changes to LastPass Free
You’re spending more time online than ever before. Work. School. Connecting with family and friends. Each week, millions of LastPass users add millions of new passwords, notes, files, payment cards and more to their encrypted vault. We love being a part of the security routines of more than 20 million users across the world. As our community of users continues to grow, we need to adapt our offerings to keep up with the constantly evolving digital world. With that, we have some changes to our LastPass Free offering.
Here’s What’s Changing
We’re making changes to how Free users access LastPass across device types. LastPass offers access across two device types – computers (including all browsers running on desktops and laptops) or mobiledevices (including mobile phones, smart watches, and tablets). Starting March 16th, 2021, LastPass Free will only include access on unlimited devices of one type.
To further clarify what we mean by active device type, we’ve included two examples below:
Sarah is a Free user with Computers as her active device type. She can use LastPass on her laptop, desktop and her dad’s laptop (anyone’s computer!), but she can’t use LastPass on her phone, tablet, or smart watchunless she upgrades to LastPass Premium, which has unlimited device type access.
Steve is a Free user with MobileDevices as his active device type. He can use LastPass on his iPhone, Android work phone, tablet, and smart watch, but he can’t use LastPass on his desktop or laptop unless he upgrades to LastPass Premium, which has unlimited device type access.
As a Free user, your first login on or after March 16th will set your active device type. You’ll have three opportunities to switch your active device type to explore what’s right for you. Please note, that all of your devices sync automatically, so you’ll never lose access to anything stored in your vault or be locked out of your account, regardless of whether you use computer or mobile devices to access LastPass. Learn more about device types in our Support Center.
In addition to this change, as of May 17th, 2021, email support will only be available for Premium and Families customers. LastPass Free users will always have access to our Support Center which has a robust library of self-help resources available 24/7 plus access to our LastPass Community, which is actively monitored by LastPass specialists. Free users will continue to receive email support for technical issues until May 16th to assist through the transition of selecting an active device type. Learn more about our customer support offerings in ourSupport Center.
LastPass Premium is your single and secure one-stop shop to your digital life. It includes dark web monitoring, emergency access, unlimited device type access, a security score dashboard, dedicated personal support, advanced multi-factor authentication and more. At only $3 per month (billed annually), LastPass Premium enables you to not only store your passwords but also protect your digital life, which is more important than ever in this new era of working from anywhere. As a current Free user, you can upgrade to Premium now for an exclusive, limited time discount and receive Premium for $2.25 per month (billed annually). *
Next Steps for Free Users
We understand how much you rely on LastPass in your daily life, so we wanted to let you know well in advance and give you resources to make this adjustment easier. Here’s what you need to know:
Whether you continue using LastPass Free on one device type, or across all your devices types with LastPass Premium, we’re committed to offering you a best-in-class password management experience. We sincerely thank you for continuing to be part of our LastPass community.
*Additional Terms and Conditions: Advertised price valid for new users on their first year of LastPass Premium. Price not valid for renewals or existing customers and cannot be used for other LastPass plans, products or services.
