Microsoft will end support for all versions of the Silverlight development framework on October 12, 2021. Silverlight applications, which are still supported by the company's web browser Internet Explorer 11, will continue to work after end of support but Microsoft won't produce updates of any kind for the technology anymore.

The official Silverlight hub on the Microsoft website has a banner at the top that reminds users visiting it about the upcoming end of support.

Silverlight is not available anymore already on Mac OS devices, and browser makers such as Google or Mozilla removed support for Silverlight in their browsers in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Microsoft's Edge browser does not support Silverlight, but the integrated IE Mode of the browser supports it. Internet Explorer 11, which is set to be retired on June 15, 2022, is the only browser that supports it natively. After June 15, 2022, Microsoft Edge's IE Mode is the only official option that users have to run Silverlight applications.

Applications that rely on Silverlight will continue to function. Microsoft notes on the official FAQ page that it "is not planning to take any specific action to terminate Silverlight applications".  Companies can continue to run Silverlight assets legally after October 12, 2021 according to Microsoft, as the license is not tied to the continuation of support.

The official Silverlight website will remain available, but Microsoft will remove the Silverlight installer from the website after the end of support date.

Open Source Silverlight alternative

In 2020, the OpenSilver project emerged to provide companies with a modern Silverlight implementation based on modern technologies. The developers behind the project have relased OpenSilver 1.0 Beta recently and revealed plans to release the final version of OpenSilver 1.0 on October 12, 2021.

Designed specifically for companies that use legacy Silverlight applications, OpenSilver may be used to migrate legacy Silverlight applications without losing access to the application or the functionalities it provides.

Closing Words

Most Silverlight applications that are still in use today are used by organizations and companies. It is rare to find a Silverlight application on the Internet that is still maintained and used, and most Internet users have probably not encountered one in a long while, especially since support has been limited to Internet Explorer 10/11 and Microsoft Edge in IE Mode for a long time.

Now You: when was the last time you used a Silverlight application?

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Microsoft announced the general available of a new passwordless account feature for personal Microsoft accounts today. The feature is being rolled out to all personal Microsoft account customers over the course of the coming months.

Microsoft accounts, just like most user accounts on the Internet and locally, require a password for protection. Customers may improve security by enabling two-step verification using Microsoft's Authenticator application or other means.

From today on, customers may enable the passwordless account to sign-in to the account, e.g. on Windows devices or Microsoft websites, without having to supply the account password.

The account password is removed from the account, and users need to use other sign-in options such as Microsoft's Authenticator application, Windows Hello, physical security keys, or as a last resort SMS/Email codes.

One of the requirements is that users need to have set up the Microsoft Authenticator application on at least one of their devices and linked it to the Microsoft Account. The application may be in use already as part of the two-step verification process.

Note: some older applications and services don't support passwordless access. These can't be signed-in to anymore if the account is set up to be passwordless.

Microsoft lists Xbox 360, Office 2010 or earlier, Office for Mac 2011 or earlier, products and services which use IMAP or POP3 email services, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, "some Windows features" including Remote Desktop and Credential Manager, "some" command line and task scheduler services.

Microsoft Passwordless account

With that out of the way, Passswordless account can be enabled in the following way:

1. Open the Microsoft account website and sign-in to the account that you want to make passwordless.
2. Scroll down to Additional security.
3. Select the Turn on link under Passwordless account.

The page displays information about the feature.

A passwordless account reduces the risk of phishing and password attacks.
To start setup, select Next, then approve the request from the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone to remove your password.
Once you remove your password, you may lose access to some older apps, services, and devices

Select the Next button to proceed on the page. You are asked to verify the password removal in the authenticator application. Once done, you will get a "password removed" confirmation page.

You won't be asked for the account password anymore when you sign-in. Instead, you are asked to verify the sign-in using the Authenticator application. The process is quick but it requires that you have the Microsoft Authenticator application at hand to sign-in.

Customers who don't have access to the Microsoft Authenticator application may still sign-in to their account using alternate recovery methods (such as backup email addresses or text messages). It is important to set these up before enabling the passwordless account feature. Setup options are provided on the same page passwordless account is turned on or off.

Passwords can be added back to the account by repeating the steps described above. Activate the "turn off" option under passwordless account, follow the instructions and specify a new account password for the account.

Enterprise and Education administrators may check out instructions on enabling passwordless sign-ins here.

Now You: will you use the passwordless account feature?

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Kape Technologies PLC, a company that changed its name from Crossrider to distance itself from its checkered past, has acquired the popular VPN service ExpressVPN. Express VPN is Kape's fourth acquisition in the VPN niche, as it acquired CyberGhost VPN, Zenmate, and Private Internet Access in recent years.

Our review of ExpressVPN dates back to July 2021. It was a privately held company headquartered on the British Virgin Islands that has created its own protocol Lightway that it has full control over. Most features are similar to those of other VPN services: ExpressVPN supports desktop and mobile apps, runs servers in 94 countries, does not restrict bandwidth, allows P2P, and limits logging to technical reasons.

Performance was good during tests and the unblocking of streaming services worked equally well. The two downsides of ExpressVPN were its high price and the lack of advanced features such as malware blocking capabilities or options to chain VPN connections.

ExpressVPN announced its acquisition on the official company blog.

Today, we’re making our biggest move to level-up our ability to advance digital rights yet: We’ve announced our plan to join Kape Technologies, a London Stock Exchange-listed company, to form the clear global leader in digital privacy. With their support and resources, we’ll be able to innovate faster and provide you with protection from a wider range of threats. Together, we will advance the state of privacy technology, keeping you firmly in control of your digital experience even as new threats and challenges arise.

ExpressVPN remains a separate service according to the announcement. In fact, everything will stay as it is for subscribers of the service.

ExpressVPN will only continue to improve: our award-winning speed and reliability, premium global server network and bandwidth, 24/7 live chat, BVI jurisdiction, policy of not collecting activity or connection logs, independent third-party audits, and more.

Kape Technologies paid $936 million US Dollar for ExpressVPN, making it the largest recorded deal in the VPN industry. As a comparison, Kape acquired Private Internet Access for a tenth of the sum two years ago: $95.5 million US Dollar.

TechRadar reports that the acquisition lifted the veil behind ExpressVPN's business figures. The company has over three million subscribers and generated "revenues of approximately $279.4 million in 2020, up 37% from 2019".

Kape Technologies on the other hand reported 2.52 million subscribers across its offerings with revenues of $122.2 million in 2020.

Cause for concern?

The lucrative VPN industry is in a phase of consolidation. Kape acquired its fourth VPN provider making it one of the largest, if not the largest, VPN provider with a subscription-based model.

The company has a checkered past. Previously named Crossrider, it had a bad reputation for benefitting from potentially unwanted software offers, with security companies such as Malwarebytes classifying Crossrider products as adware. Founder of the company was a former Israeli agent according to reports.

It is unclear how much influence Kape Technologies has over ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, or its other acquisitions.  All state that they are acting largely independent from the parent company.

The companies past activities are cause for concern. If you ignore that for a moment, there is still the question of whether consolidation is good for the industry and users worldwide. Larger companies have more resources and these could be used to improve standards and functionality, but they may also be used to increase pricing and dominate niches.

Now You: what is your take on the acquisition?

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Apple announced iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 on June 7th, 2021 at its annual WorldWide Developers Conference (WWDC 2021). Three months later, the new operating system is graduating from beta, iOS 15 is releasing on September 20th for all users.

The tech giant unveiled the final version of iOS 15 on stage during the launch of its newest devices, including the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPad 9th gen and iPad Mini 6th gen.

IOS 15 adds a slew of new features including SharePlay, which allows you to FaceTime with your friends while watching shows and movies, listening to music. It's sort of like Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party), in that you can watch movies in sync with your group. The new feature also supports screen-sharing.

Toggle Focus mode to work on a particular task, without being distracted by notifications. Speaking of notifications, iOS 15 improves alerts by adding contact photos and app icons on the lock screen. The improvements added to Safari in iOS 15 are quite good too, the browser's tab bar has been moved to the bottom, which makes switching between tabs easier.

The Tab Groups feature allows you to save your tabs in groups, and also syncs across devices. iOS 15 also brings support for Safari extensions. Don't get your hopes up for using uBlock Origin on iOS 15, Safari does not allow web extensions to access blocking requests.

App Privacy Report helps you analyze how apps are accessing your permissions, and how they connect to third-party servers, i.e. to track you. The Mail app's privacy protection hides your IP address, and also prevents senders from knowing if you've opened the message.

IPadOS 15 improves multi-tasking with a new menu, that lets you switch to full screen mode, slide over and Split View (side-by-side) modes. The layout is customizable, so you may choose which apps you want to work with.

Jump between open windows by tapping the shelf, which is like the Windows Taskbar or Task View. While we're on the topic of switching apps, you can use Split View in the App Switcher screen too.

If you like Widgets, you're in for a treat. iPadOS 15 lets you place widgets on your home screen, and there are plenty to choose from. The operating system introduces a new gesture, where you swipe up from the corner, to bring up the Quick Note panel, that you can use to jot down notes, it also supports the Apple Pencil.

If you're wondering whether your iPhone or iPad will get the latest OS update, we've got you covered.

List of iPhones eligible for the iOS 15 Update

• iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max
• iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone SE 1st and 2nd gen
• iPod Touch 7th gen

List of iPads that will get iPadOS 15

• iPad Air 2
• iPad Air (3rd and 4th gen)
• iPad (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th gen)
• iPad Mini 4
• iPad Mini (5th and 6th gen)
• iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gen)

In case you missed it, Apple rolled out an emergency update for iOS and MacOS devices yesterday, to fix an exploit related to the Pegasus spyware.

References and Image Credits: Apple 1, 2

Apple has been really impressive when it comes to OS updates. OS Fragmentation has always been a thorn in Google's side, thanks to the difference in hardware in Android devices. But Android OEMs are playing catch up, a few have promised to deliver 3 major OS upgrades, but even that's limited to flagship devices.

What is your take on this? Would you rather buy an iPhone and use it for 3-4 years for the updates? Or do you upgrade to a new Android device every 1-2 years?

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Vivaldi Technologies released a new version of the company's Chromium-based desktop web browser, Vivaldi, today. Vivaldi 4.2 introduces support for the translation of selections in the web browser among other things.

The new version of Vivaldi is already available. Desktop users may select Vivaldi Menu > Help > Check for updates to run a manual check for updates. Any new update that is found is installed automatically on the device.

Tip: To display the installed version, load vivaldi://about/ in the browser's address bar.

Vivaldi 4.2

Translate functionality was introduced in Vivaldi 4.0, released in June 2021. The initial release supported the translation of entire webpages only.

The feature is powered by Lingvanex and self-hosted by Vivaldi on servers in Iceland. The translation feature does not communicate with third-parties, which is a major benefit for privacy conscious users who don't want data to be transferred to other companies on the Internet.

Vivaldi 4.2 improves the functionality by adding a selection-based translate option to the browser; this is useful to translate part of a page quickly, but also on pages that display content in multiple languages.

Already previewed by us last month, the feature is now available in the latest stable version of the browser.

A right-click on the selection of text in Vivaldi displays the context menu. Select "Translate Selection" to translate the selected text to display the translation overlay.

Vivaldi translates the selection to the default language, but menus are available to change the source and target language manually.

Vivaldi users who prefer using the keyboard can map a keyboard shortcut to the new text selection translation feature. The option to do so is found under Vivaldi Menu > Tools > Settings. Settings can be opened with the shortcut Ctrl-F12 as well.

Switch to Keyboard in the Settings window and expand the Page group of shortcuts. The Translate Selected Text shortcut is not mapped by default, but you can set it to any shortcut you like.

QR Codes

Vivaldi 4.2 introduces a QR code sharing on the desktop to add another feature to the sharing options.

Vivaldi supports several QR code generating options, e.g. by using Ctrl-E to open the browser's Quick Commands interface, typing CR, and selecting the QR code generation action that is displayed.

The QR code can be copied or saved to the downloads folder. Vivaldi users who use the feature particularly often can display a QR code button in the address field to quickly access it. The option to do so is found under Settings > Address Bar.

Other changes

Vivaldi 4.2 introduces two additional features. The first introduces scrollable Web Panels buttons, the second a new search engine called Neeva which promises ad-free search, but is limited to the US right now.

Check out Vivaldi's blog post for additional information and download links.

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NordVPN and Private Internet Access (PIA) are two popular VPN services. If you are looking for a new VPN provider to subscribe to, you may wonder which of the two comes out at the top.

In this comparison, we will compare the two VPN services in detail to provide you with the information that you need to select the right provider.

The analysis covers important areas, including price, application support and performance, but also privacy-specific areas such as server infrastructure, supported protocols, features, country of jurisdiction, and no-logging claims.

NordVPN and PIA Comparison table

NordVPN and Private Internet Access are both highly rated and popular services, and while they do share some similarities, like many VPN services do, there are also big differences on closer inspection.

NordVPN and Private Internet Access jurisdiction

NordVPN is headquartered in Panama, which is not a member of the 14-Eyes countries.
Private Internet Access is headquartered in the United States, which is bad news if privacy is a concern. Several laws in the United States may enforce cooperation with the government, even without informing customers about it.

PIA was acquired by KAPE in 2019, a company with a history of generating revenue from adware bundling.

Result: NordVPN wins

Server Infrastructure Comparison between NordVPN and Private Internet Access

NordVPN operates more than 5300 servers in 59 countries. Private Internet Access does not reveal the number of servers, only that it operates them in 78 different countries.

NordVPN announced plans in 2020 to upgrade all of its server infrastructure to a private server network that is fully owned, controlled and operated by the company. The company has not published an update on the progress of the upgrade of its fleet of servers.

NordVPN started to deploy diskless servers in 2019, which run entirely in RAM.

We are preparing a plan to upgrade our entire infrastructure (currently featuring over 5200 servers) to RAM servers. These will allow us to create a centrally controlled network where nothing is stored locally. In fact, they won’t even have an operating system stored locally. Everything they need to run will be provided by NordVPN’s secure central infrastructure. If you seize one of these servers, you’re seizing an empty piece of hardware with no data or configuration files on it.

Private Internet Access announced in 2019 that it had plans to create a “transparent and verifiable infrastructure”. The company did not publish any updates on the plan on the company blog, and we could not find any information on third-party audits of its no-logging claim.

There have been at least two court cases in which PIA could not provide logs of user activities.

Result: NordVPN wins

VPN Apps support

The VPNs have clients for the three major operating systems Windows, Linux and Mac OS, as well as the mobile operating systems Android and iOS. Both may also be set up on devices that support VPNs but don’t allow the installation of software programs, e.g. routers.

Clients offer different features but functionality is good in the VPN applications from both providers.

Result: Tie

Protocols support

NordVPN and Private Internet Access support the new WireGuard protocol as well as OpenVPN and other protocols.

Private Internet Access uses OpenVPN as the default protocol, but users may switch to WireGuard in the settings of the service’s applications. WireGuard offers many advantages, including faster connection speeds, and should be preferred.

NordVPN uses its own adaptation of the WireGuard protocol, called NordLynx. Some of the company’s specialized servers require the use of the OpenVPN protocol at the time of writing.

Both providers use state of the art encryption algorithms to protect connections and thus user data.

Result: tie

NordVPN vs. Private Internet Access logging

NordVPN states on its site that it does not log user activity:

We offer a zero-logs VPN service. It means that NordVPN does not store connection timestamps, session information, bandwidth usage, traffic data, IP addresses, or other data. Nothing to store – nothing to share with anyone.

The claim has been verified twice through independent audits, the last one in 2020.

Private Internet Access states on its website that it does not log user activity.

Your IP address and online activity remain private and we never log or store any of your info.

The company started to open source its clients in 2019, but has not had a third-party audit of its services; this is still planned . Private Internet Access could not provide user records in at least two court cases in which the company was involved in.

Result: NordVPN wins.

Streaming and P2P: Private Internet Access vs. NordVPN

Both VPN’s support P2P traffic and the unblocking of regionally restricted content. There are differences between the two offerings though.

NordVPN supports P2P servers which are optimized for the traffic and resulted in better upload and download speeds during tests.

During our tests, NordVPN could be used to watch the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ using the VPN.

The P2P performance of Private Internet Access was equally good in our tests, despite the lack of P2P optimized servers.

Streaming services were not unblocked equally well though. Results varied, likely depending on server IP addresses and whether these were blocked by the streaming providers. Ultimately, it was a hit and miss with PIA, and some services would not work at all while using the provider.

Result: NordVPN wins.

NordVPN vs. Private Internet Access features

NordVPN has the following features:

• CyberSec – protects against known malicious sites and advertising by blocking these outright when enabled.
• Killswitch – blocks Internet traffic if the VPN connection drops.
• Split Tunneling – Use some apps with a VPN connection and others without.
• P2P servers – special servers optimized for torrent traffic.
• Obfuscated servers – designed to access the VPN service in countries that make VPN use difficult, e.g. China.
• Double-VPN servers – option to chain the connection so that it is routed through two VPN servers instead of just one.
• Tor-over-VPN – option to access Tor .onion sites using the VPN.

Private Internet Access offers several features as well that users of the service may use.

• PIA Mace – a blocker component that is designed to block advertisement, malicious domains and trackers on the DNS-level.
• VPN Killswitch – turns off the access to the Internet outside of the VPN.
  Split Tunneling – allow some apps and programs to bypass the VPN connection to connect to the Internet directly, or set up some apps to only connect to the Internet through the VPN.
• Automation – configure automatic connection and disconnection rules based on networks, e.g. to always connect to the VPN while at work or traveling, and to always disconnect when at home.
• OpenVPN configuration – customize the OpenVPN connection parameters, e.g. by making the connection more secure.

Result: Tie. Both providers offer several useful features. NordVPN wins when it comes to servers, as it is offering specialized servers, PIA has a few good options as well.

NordVPN vs. Private Internet Access performance

Both VPN providers offered a good performance during tests. Granted, our 100/40 test Internet connection is not particularly fast, but both services managed to max it out almost completely.

NordVPN connections to VPNs were faster, thanks to the default use of the NordLynx protocol, which is based on WireGuard.

Private Internet Access used OpenVPN by default, but users may switch to WireGuard as well to improve the connection speed as well.

Result: tie.

NordVPN vs. Private Internet Access price comparison

Both VPN providers list three plans on their sites.

NordVPN customers may subscribe for 1 month, 12 months or 24 months, and pay $11.95, $4.92 or $3.30 for the subscription. Three extra months are added to the 2-year plan free of charge.

Private Internet Access customers may subscribe for 1 month, 1 year or 3 years. The 1-month plan is available for $9.95 per month, the 1-year plan for $3.33 per month or $39.95 per year, and the 3-years plan is available for $2.19 per month or $79 for the entire period.

NordVPN customers may connect up to six devices simultaneously, Private Internet Access customers up to 10 devices simultaneously.

NordVPN customers may pay by Credit Card, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, ACH Transfer and by using cryptocurrencies.

Private Internet Access customers may pay by Credit Card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, cryptocurrencies, or with gift cards.

Both companies have a 30-day refund policy in place.

Result: Private Internet Access is the winner.

Conclusion of NordVPN vs. Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access accounts are a bit cheaper than NordVPN accounts. The company offers good speeds, apps for all major operating systems, and a good level of features. Additionally, it allows customers to connect 10 devices simultaneously to the service, while NordVPN limits connections to 6.

NordVPN is the better choice when it comes to streaming support and server infrastructure. Both companies are not exactly forthcoming with information when it comes to their server infrastructures, but from what little information is available, it is NordVPN that is in control of its server network.

NordVPN has undergone two third-party audits, and it is based in Panama. PIA announced that it would let a third-party audit its services, but the audit has not happened until today.

Private Internet Access biggest drawback is that it is part of KAPE, previously known as Crossrid now, a company with a checkered past.

All in all, if privacy is important to you, you may want to try NordVPN as it is clearly better in that department.
Both companies need to improve, and be more transparent in regards to their server infrastructure. Private Internet Access on top of that needs to get the third-party audit of its service and no-logging feature done to give customers peace of mind.

Disclaimer

Ghacks strives to be a trusted and unbiased website. In some specific cases, we may earn an affiliate commission or write a sponsored article, but an explicit disclaimer will always tell our readers when an advertiser or an affiliate partner is supporting one of our articles. If no disclaimer (as in this case), it means that we work with total editorial independence.

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Today is Patch Day over at Microsoft and the company has released security updates and non-security updates for Windows and other company products. Security updates have been released for all client and server versions of the Windows operating system that Microsoft supports. Other company products, such as Microsoft Office, have received updates as well.

Our Windows security updates overview for September 2021 provides system administrators, IT workers, and home users with information about the released updates.

You find the list of critical updates for each supported Windows operating system as well as the distribution of updates for each at the top. What follows are information about the released patches, links to support pages, information about known issues, and download details.

Click here to open the August 2021 Windows Patch Day overview here.

The Microsoft Windows Security Updates: September 2021

Click here to download an Excel spreadsheet that lists all released security updates: Microsoft-windows-security-updates-list-september-2021

Executive Summary

• Microsoft released security updates for all Windows client and server products.
• Security updates were released for other company products such as Azure Sphere, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, Dynamics Business Central Control or Microsoft Accessibility Insights for Android.
• The following client versions of Windows have known issues: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 version 1809, Windows 10 version 2004, 20H2, and 21H1
• The following server versions of Windows have known issues: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server version 2004 and 20H2

Operating System Distribution

• Windows 7 (extended support only): 22 vulnerabilities: 2 critical and 20 important
  • Windows Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability -- CVE-2021-26435
  • Windows WLAN AutoConfig Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability -- CVE-2021-36965
• Windows 8.1: 24 vulnerabilities: 2 critical and 22 important
  • same as Windows 7
• Windows 10 version 1903 and 1909: 32 vulnerabilities: 2 critical and 30 important
  • same as Windows 7
• Windows 10 version 2004, 20H2 and 21H1 : 32 vulnerabilities, 2 critical and 30 important
  • same as Windows 7

Windows Server products

• Windows Server 2008 R2 (extended support only): 22 vulnerabilities: 2 critical and 20 important
  • Windows Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability -- CVE-2021-26435
  • Windows WLAN AutoConfig Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability -- CVE-2021-36965
• Windows Server 2012 R2: 24 vulnerabilities: 2 critical and 22 important
  • same as Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Windows Server 2016: 28 vulnerabilities: 2 critical and 26 important
  • same as Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Windows Server 2019: 32 vulnerabilities: 2 critical and 30 important
  • same as Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Windows Server 2022:  29 vulnerabilities: 7 critical and 18 important
  • same as Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows Security Updates

Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2

• Monthly Rollup: KB5005633
• Security-Only: KB5005615

Updates and improvements:

• Addresses an issue in which a driver might not install if the driver is signed with more than one code sign signatures.
• This update also contains miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality.

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

• Monthly Rollup: KB5005613
• Security-only: KB5005627

Updates and improvements:

• This update contains miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality. No additional issues were documented for this release.

Windows 10 version 1909

• Support Page: KB5005566 

Updates and improvements:

• Addresses an issue that causes PowerShell to create an infinite number of child directories. This issue occurs when you use the PowerShell Move-Item command to move a directory to one of its children. As a result, the volume fills up and the system stops responding.
• Security updates

Windows 10 version 2004, 20H2 and 21H1

• Support Page: KB5005565 

Updates and improvements:

• Addresses an issue that causes PowerShell to create an infinite number of child directories. This issue occurs when you use the PowerShell Move-Item command to move a directory to one of its children. As a result, the volume fills up and the system stops responding.
• Security updates

Other security updates

2021-09 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (KB5005563)

Windows Server

2021-09 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2008 (KB5005606)

2021-09 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Server 2008 (KB5005618)

2021-09 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Embedded 8 Standard and Windows Server 2012 (KB5005607)

2021-09 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Embedded 8 Standard and Windows Server 2012 (KB5005623)

2021-09 Cumulative Update for Microsoft server operating system version 21H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5005575)

2021-09 Cumulative Update for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Version 1607 (KB5005573)

Servicing Stack Updates

2021-09 Servicing Stack Update for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Version 1607 (KB5005698)

Known Issues

Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2

• Certain operations may fail on Cluster Shared Volumes with the error "STATUS_BAD_IMPERSONATION_LEVEL (0xC00000A5)"
  • Workaround: run the operations from an elevated process, or from a node that does not have CSV ownership
• Updates may be reverted if the system does not support ESU.
  • Expected behavior.

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

• Certain operations may fail on Cluster Shared Volumes with the error "STATUS_BAD_IMPERSONATION_LEVEL (0xC00000A5)"
  • Workaround: run the operations from an elevated process, or from a node that does not have CSV ownership

Windows 10 version 1809

• Some devices with unspecified Asian language packs installed may throw the error "0x800f0982 - PSFX_E_MATCHING_COMPONENT_NOT_FOUND".
  • Try uninstalling and reinstalling the recently added language packs, then running a manual check for updates.
  • If that does not work, Microsoft suggests to use the Reset this PC function and selecting to keep the files.

Windows 10 version 2004, 20H2 and 21H1

• Some devices may be unable to install updates, throwing the error "PSFX_E_MATCHING_BINARY_MISSING".
  • Check out our guide on fixing the error.
• Custom offline media or custom ISO image installations on devices may remove Microsoft Edge Legacy but may not replace it with the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge.
  • Workaround described on the support page.

Security advisories and updates

ADV 990001 -- Latest Servicing Stack Updates

Non-security updates

• 2021-09 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows Server, version 20H2, Windows 10 Version 20H2, Windows Server, version 2004, Windows 10 Version 2004, Windows Server, version 1909, Windows 10 Version 1909, Windows Server 2019 (1903), and Windows 10 Version 1903 (KB5005548)

Microsoft Office Updates

You find Office update information here.

How to download and install the September 2021 security updates

Security updates are downloaded and installed automatically via Windows Update on most Home and some business/Enterprise systems.

Windows checks for updates frequently and will download those classified as security updates automatically to install them.

Windows administrators may check for the updates manually to download and install the patches right away.

1. Select Start, type Windows Update and load the Windows Update item that is displayed.
2. Select check for updates to run a manual check for updates.

Direct update downloads

Below are resource pages with direct download links, if you prefer to download the updates to install them manually.

Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2

• KB5005633 -- 2021-09 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7
• KB5005615 -- 2021-09 Security Only Quality Update for Windows 7

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

• KB5005613 -- 2021-09 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 8.1
• KB5005627 -- 2021-09 Security Only Quality Update for Windows 8.1

Windows 10 (version 1909)

• KB5005566 -- 2021-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1909

Windows 10 (version 2004)

• KB5005565 -- 2021-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 2004

Windows 10 (version 20H2)

• KB5005565 -- 2021-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 20H2

Windows 10 (version 21H1)

• KB5005565 -- 2021-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 21H1

Additional resources

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The Microsoft Data Analysis Bundle includes four eLearning courses that teach you advanced Microsoft Power BI, Excel, VBA and Access skills. Access time is set to lifetime, certification of completion is included, and the entire bundle is available for just $25.

It includes the following four courses:

• Microsoft Power BI -- Crunch Numbers, Analyze Data, & Share Insights Better with Power BI
• Advanced Excel -- Master the Most Powerful Spreadsheet Software in Industry
• Advanced VBA -- Start Automating Complicated Tasks in Excel
• Advanced Microsoft Access -- Take Control of Your Database with Microsoft Access

Click here to open the Microsoft Data Analysis Bundle: Lifetime Access on Ghacks Deals

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Google is rumored to release Android 12 on October 4th. Many OEMs have taken part in the developer preview of the upcoming iteration. And now, Samsung has announced the open beta program for One UI 4 based on Android 12, for its flagship Galaxy S21 devices.

This will be the first of 3 major Android OS Upgrades promised by the South Korean electronics giant, for the Galaxy S21.

The new firmware will bring a refreshed interface and the announcement says that users can tweak the look of the home screen, icons, notifications, wallpapers, and even set up customizable widgets. But, it appears that the One UI 4 beta may not be included in the highly-anticipated Material You design.

The press release for the new firmware barely has any information, but the release notes shared by Twitter user FrontTron gives us a much better idea about the changes. We are outlining some important features in One UI 4.

Privacy and Security

You may be aware that Android 12 has a Privacy Dashboard that lets you analyze which apps have accessed the camera, mic and location data in the past 24 hours. The Permissions Manager in One UI 4 allows you to view the same information, but for the past 7 days instead of just 1. Apps that rely on your location, such as the Weather app, can be allowed to use your approximate location.

The OS will display a green dot in the top right corner to indicate when an app is accessing your mic, camera or GPS.  One UI 4 will also notify you when an app accesses your clipboard, to prevent sensitive data from being leaked. These are welcome improvements that will help protect your privacy. You may disable all apps from accessing the sensors, from the quick settings panel.

Notable changes in One UI 4 beta

It appears that Samsung's One UI 4 will have ads in the form of recommendations in widgets, hopefully that can be disabled.

The lock screen has some interesting new options such as a Monthly Calendar, a Voice recorder, and a shortcut  to switch audio output to a different device/speaker. The always-on display can be set to light up the screen when a notification arrives. The Share panel is customizable, and you may add/remove programs from it. Digital Wellbeing has a new driving monitor to help you focus on the road, instead of using the phone. The Samsung Internet browser app will start in Secret mode, if you were using it during your previous session.

How to opt in to the Samsung One UI 4 beta

To participate in the Android 12 beta, open the Samsung Members app on your phone, and tap on the One UI 4 beta banner. Read the terms and conditions, and accept them to join the preview. The beta program is open for the Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra. The One UI 4 beta will be available in China, India, Germany, Poland, South Korea, UK, and US. The download size of the One UI 4 Update is about 2.4GB, and includes the September Patch from Google's Android Security Bulletin.

Samsung has not mentioned when the stable version of the firmware will be released.

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Apple has released an emergency update for iOS devices and macOS computers, to patch a serious security vulnerability that has come to light. The exploit is called FORCEDENTRY, and affects all iOS devices, Mac computers and Apple Watches that haven't been updated to the latest firmware.

Here's how the security threat was unearthed.

Canadian security research company, Citizen Lab, obtained a phone from an anonymous activist from Saudi Arabia in March 2021. The iPhone was believed to have been infected by Pegasus, a spyware that was developed by NSO Group.

Citizen Lab extracted a backup of the device from iTunes, and began analyzing its contents. The forensic procedure found several .GIF files were present in the phone's iMessage app, and these had been received just before the device had been compromised.

What's interesting here is that these files weren't actually GIFs, some of them were Adobe PSD files and others were PDFs. The malicious files contained some arbitrary code that caused crashes on the phone, allowing it to be hacked. This was how the FORCEDENTRY exploit chain infected the device with the Pegasus surveillance tech. These weren't just zero-day attacks, but also zero-click exploits, meaning they needed no intervention from the user to infect the device. The security exploit targets Apple’s image rendering library, called CoreGraphics, causing an integer overflow.

The security group says the mitigation may have been actively used since February 2021. The FORCEDENTRY exploit was supposedly developed to bypass Apple's security updates that were patched in the BlastDoor security system.

Citizen Lab sent its discoveries to Apple on September 7th, and the Cupertino company after analyzing the samples, confirmed that the files contained a zero-day exploit that impacted iOS and macOS devices.

Apple has assigned CVE-2021-30860 for the security issue.  Today, the company released a new update for iOS devices and macOS computers to address the vulnerabilities. The updates also ship with an additional zero-day patch (CVE-2021-30858), that prevents arbitrary code execution via malicious web content.

iOS 14.8 and iPadOS 14.8 are available for iPhone 6s and later iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation). Mac systems can be updated to macOS Big Sur 11.6 for the latest security patch. watchOS 7.6.2 has also been released for Apple Watches.

References: Apple 1, 2, and 3.

TechCrunch reports that Apple released a statement that confirmed the rapid development and deployment of iOS 14.8 update. The company also commended Citizen Lab's efforts in discovering the exploit. The statement from Apple indicates that such attacks are sophisticated, costs millions of dollars, and are often used to target specific people, and not the general populace.

Nevertheless, it is good to see that Apple acted quickly to patch the security loophole has been patched, which in turn protects all users. Please refer to Citizen Lab's announcement for technical details regarding the discovery of the FORCEDENTRY exploit.

If you are using an iPhone, iPad, Mac or an Apple Watch, you should update your device immediately to avoid potential security issues.

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Google released a security update for the company's Google Chrome web browser on September 13, 2021. The update is already available and most Chrome installations should receive it automatically thanks to the integrated updating functionality.

Chrome users may check the installed version by selecting Menu > Help > About Google Chrome, or by launching chrome://settings/help instead. The page displays the installed version and runs a check for updates. If Chrome is not up to date, the latest update will be downloaded and installed. A restart is required to complete the process.

The latest version at the time of writing is Chrome 93.0.4577.82 Stable. It includes the security updates.

Google's official post on the Chrome Release blog reveals that 11 security issues are fixed by the update. 9 of the 11 issues are listed on the page, and they all received the severity rating of high, the second highest after critical.

The two vulnerabilities CVE-2021-30632 and CVE-2021-30633 are mentioned specifically by Google, as they are exploited in the wild.

Google is aware that exploits for CVE-2021-30632 and CVE-2021-30633 exist in the wild.

Google does not provide additional information. The scope of attacks in the wild are unknown, as are other important factors such as how attacks are carried out and whether users may take other precautions to avoid being targeted.

The two vulnerabilities are the only ones that were submitted by anonymous; all other vulnerabilities listed on the page have the reporter listed.

[$TBD][1247763] High CVE-2021-30632: Out of bounds write in V8. Reported by Anonymous on 2021-09-08

[$TBD][1247766] High CVE-2021-30633: Use after free in Indexed DB API. Reported by Anonymous on 2021-09-08

It may take days or weeks before Chrome updates automatically. Desktop users may speed up the installation of the update by following the instructions at the top of the article. Since it is unclear how far reaching and serious the attacks are, it is recommended to update Chrome quickly or start using a different browser in the meantime.

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Making a web browser the default browser was not a particular big problem until Windows 10 came along and with its Microsoft's Edge web browser. Microsoft made it harder on Windows 10 to change default programs, including the default browser.

Users who want to make other browsers, any other browser but Microsoft Edge, the default system browser on Windows 10, need to do so manually. Microsoft claims it is for security, but it is certainly giving its Edge browser a significant boost as well.

A Chrome user who wants to make the browser the default on Windows 10 has to find the option in the Settings. A click opens the Default apps section of the Settings app. There it is necessary to find the Web Browser entry, click on it and select Chrome as the new default. All browsers, with the exception of Microsoft's Edge browser, can be made the default, but only by following the steps described above.

With Edge, all it takes is to click on the "make default" button in the Settings to make it the default system browser immediately.

Microsoft's upcoming Windows 11 operating system makes things even harder, as Microsoft removed common application types from the settings. While all browsers, with the notable exception of Edge, may still load the default apps Settings page on the Windows 11 system, users can no longer click on Web browser to set the new browser with just two clicks. The option is gone.

Now, users have to select the browser, e.g. Brave, and make it the default for every supported file type and link type manually. More work for the user, unless Edge is the desired default browser, as it takes just a click in the browser's settings to make it the default.

Microsoft claims that it wanted to give uses more granular control, but it did not reveal why it had to remove the option to make a program the default for all supported file types and link types, for that.

Mozilla has found a solution

It is clear that browser makers, with the exception of Microsoft, are not too happy about the changes that Microsoft implemented in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft is giving its own Edge browser at an advantage over the competition.

Firefox users who install Firefox 91 on Windows 11 and set it as the default system browser may have noticed that they did not have to go through the entire ordeal. Instead, Firefox becomes the system browser just like Edge in that version.

Mozilla reverse engineered the functionality that Microsoft reserved for its Edge browser, so that Firefox users may make the browser the default just as quickly as Edge users can theirs.

Other browser makers may do the same to provide their users with the same level of comfort when it comes to setting the default browser.

It is probably only a matter of time before Microsoft will intervene again and make changes to the operating system to make things complicated again?

Now You: what is your take on all this?

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Google released the Android 12 Beta 5 Update last week, it is the release candidate version of the mobile operating system. But it appears that the stable version is not far away. A screenshot of an internal Google document shared by XDA's Mishaal Rahman hints that Android 12 could be released on October 4th.

When Google unveils a new version of Android, it releases the source code to the Android Open Source Project, AOSP. This has how it has been for previous versions of the firmware. For example, the Android 11 AOSP source code was made available on September 8th, on the same day the Mountain View company announced the iteration of the OS.

Google's developer blog has a road map leading up to the final release, and though it doesn't mention the actual date, it does confirm that it will be available to AOSP. Coming back to the first image featured above, it says that Android 12 will be pushed to AOSP on the 4th of October, which means that's when the operating system, rumored to be internally code named Snow Cone, will make its debut. As per tradition, Google is expected to roll out the new version for its own phones, so the stable Android 12 update will be rolled out to Pixel phones on October 4th.

If you want to try Android 12 right now, you may opt into the beta program, and once the stable version is released, you'll get it on your phone once the stable firmware is seeded. The beta version is available for Pixel 3 and above, and OEM devices like the ASUS Zenfone 8, OnePlus 9/9 Pro, Oppo Find X3 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 11/Mi 11 Ultra/Mi 11i/Mi 11x Pro, ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G to name a few.

The biggest change in Android 12 is Material You, a new UI design language for the OS and apps which focuses on customization and colors. Improved Quick Settings, Notification Shade, App Search, are just some of the additions that the new version will bring to the table. Google has taken a leaf out of Apple's book with the upcoming Privacy Dashboard feature, to indicate when apps access your phone's camera, mic, or location data. If you want something like this on your phone right now, give the Privacy Dashboard app a shot. The open source app is compatible with devices running on Android 7 and above.

Will the Google Pixel 6 be announced on October 4th?

Google had confirmed about a month ago, that its Pixel 6 series phones will be powered by an in-house processor, the Google Tensor. The new devices are set to debut this fall, but an official launch date for the devices has not been confirmed by the company.

The Google Pixel and Pixel were launched on October 4th of 2016 alongside Android Nougat. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL debuted on October 4th, 2017.  The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL were released on October 9, 2018, and the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL were unveiled on October 15, 2019. Google broke the October-launch pattern by announcing the Pixel 5 on September 30, 2020

. Now, what's more interesting here is that the Pixel phones (except the 1st gen) have always been launched about a month after the latest Android version has been released. So, we wouldn't be surprised if the Pixel 6 arrives in late October.

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PeaZip 8.2.0 is a new version of the cross-platform file archiver. PeaZip is available for Windows and Linux, and it has become my go-to application for archive related tasks after the Bandizip fiasco.

The new version of PeaZip is available as a portable version and as an installer. The program supports a wide range of archive formats that it has full support for, and formats that it can read and extract, but not create.

The installation of PeaZip 8.2.0 on Windows may throw a SmartScreen error; this is not because it is unsafe to use, but a new program with too little data. A quick verification on Virustotal showed no detections by the 67 antivirus engines.

Installation provides a few options, even if PeaZip is already installed. Options include enabling or disabling system integration, including context menu options.

PeaZip is ready for use immediately after installation or upgrade.

The official changelog lists a few changes in the new release. The big change in the new release is that PeaZip may now keep extracted files if it encounters errors during extraction. Users may access the extracted files in this case, even if the extraction process itself is terminated because of encountered errors. The developer notes that working with spanned archives, those spanning over a number of files, was improved in the new PeaZip release as well.

PeaZip's archive manager displays additional information in the interface when you run it (you may also bypass it by extracting directly). New information includes the compression and encryption method, modified, created, and accessed timestamps for each file, and the number of items that are in each folder inside the archive.

PeaZip users who use the file archiver's Smart Extraction feature may select the option now alongside other options on program startup.

The new release improves the program's command line options, and introduces a new folder (/res/batch/) which includes samples and system integration files.

Development was focused on improving the Linux version of PeaZip according to the changelog.

This release focuses on improving user experience on Linux systems, updating installers, improving the automatic configuration of applications for "open with" actions, and displaying more system's paths in the file manager.

Closing Words

PeaZip 8.2.0 improves the file archiver further. It should work better under Linux now, and all users benefit from improvements made to the file listing in the archiver, and the option to keep extracted files if the extraction stops because of errors.

Now You: which file archiver do you use?

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One of the pre-requisites for Windows 11 is TPM 2.0, the Trusted Platform Module according to Microsoft. While Windows 11 will install on devices with TPM 1.2, some functionality may not be available in this case.

In 2016, we published a guide on finding out of a Windows computer supports TPM. Microsoft revealed at the time that all new PCs would need to support TPM 2.0 and have it enabled. Existing devices were not affected by the decision back then.

Now, with Windows 11 comes another push to enforcing TPM 2.0 on Windows devices. Microsoft claims that most devices sold in the past 5 years support TPM 2.0, and reiterates that TPM 2.0 is required because it is powering security features such as Bitlocker or Windows Hello.

Microsoft acknowledges that TPM 2.0 may not be enabled on devices even if the feature is supported. Windows 11 may not install on these devices, even if all other system requirements are met.

The company published a guide that explains how to find out if TPM is enabled, and how to enable it on devices if it is supported.

Windows users who run Windows 10, the only version of Windows with a direct upgrade path to Windows 11, may check TPM support in the following two ways:

1. Open the Settings application, for instance by selecting Start > Settings, or with the keyboard shortcut Windows-I.
2. Go to Update & Security > Windows Security > Device Security.
   1. TPM is not available if Security Processor is not displayed on the page that opens.
   2. TPM is available if Security Processor is displayed. In that case, select Security Processor to verify the specification version and find out if it is TPM 1.2 or TPM 2.0.

The second method uses the Microsoft Management Console:

1. Use Windows-R to open the run box.
2. Type tpm.msc.
3. The window that opens reveals if TPM is supported or not, including the version if it is supported.

TPM can still be supported by the device, even if Windows can't find a TPM module. TPM can be disabled or enabled in the BIOS of the device, and if it is disabled, Windows won't be able to discover it or make use of it.

Microsoft suggests that users go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Restart now to check the UEFI Bios. The restart option displays a menu on the next restart. Visit Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings > Restart to have the device load the UEFI settings on the next restart.

The next steps depend on the make and model of the motherboard. Sometimes, settings may be found under Advanced, Security or Trusted Computing. The option to enable TPM is equally unstandardized, as it may be labeled Security Device, Security Device Support, TPM State, AMD fTPM switch, AMD PSP fTPM, Intel PTT, or Intel Platform Trust Technology.

Closing Words

Not all Windows devices are compatible with Windows 11, Microsoft's upcoming operating system. Some, because they don't meet the system requirements, others, because of a disabled feature in the BIOS. The implementation of TPM in the BIOS is chaotic and not standardized. Users with little experience will have a hard time finding out of TPM is supported and whether it can be enabled in the system's BIOS.

Now You: do your devices support TPM?

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Valve released an update for stable versions of the company's Steam gaming platform on September 9, 2021. The update introduces the updated download manager and storage management functionality in stable client versions of Steam. Valve tested the new functionality in beta versions of the client previously.

All Steam clients are configured to install updates automatically once they are released. One of the easier ways to test if the latest version is installed is to check the downloads page of the client by going to Library > Downloads in the client. If you see the new interface, then Steam is up to date.

The Downloads page has a new look and feel, but also new functionality. Game downloads are queued if multiple games or updates are to be installed on the device. Steam users may use drag & drop now to reorder the queue with just the mouse. The progress of installation is more accurate now thanks to Steam now displaying the "total progression completed for the download or update". Previously, Steam did not take into account the disk allocation process, which sometimes would show an update as completed while it was not.

Downloads which are queued show a faded progress bar if part of the content was downloaded previously. Data that has been downloaded already is shown as a percentage value to make the state clearer.

There is also a new (i) tooltip that is displayed next to game titles. The type of content that is queued is shown when you hover over the icon.

The right-click context menu displays new options to launch games automatically when downloads complete. Lastly, View Notes links to the Patch Notes now, provided that they are published by the game company.

Storage Management on Steam

The update introduces a new Storage Management section on Steam. It is a bit hard to find, and Valve does not reveal how it is accessed in the news post on the Steam Community website.

Select View > Settings > Library > Steam Library Folders to open the new Storage Management page on Steam.

The management page displays all storage devices with Steam library folders; these are displayed as tabs in the interface. Each drive's content is sorted by size by default, but can also be sorted alphabetically or by the last play date. A bar at the top displays the total storage occupied by Steam, and the storage space that games, DLC, and other content occupy.

The names and size of each game is displayed, and you may check games to uninstall multiple in one go. There is also a browse folder and repair folder option. Empty library folders can now be removed on fixed drives, and library folders on read-only devices may be mounted.

The new Steam client includes lots of fixes and smaller improvements next to these two major ones.

Now You: do you use Steam?

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The developer of the KeePass password manager application, Dominik Reichl, released the new version KeePass 2.49 on September 10, 2021.

KeePass is a powerful local password manager that can be extended in various forms, including through plugins that extend functionality and by installing third-party programs that are compatible.

Using these tools, users may use KeePass in any browser and on any device that they are using, just like commercial password managers.

To get a rundom of core features, check out our KeePass password manager review here.

KeePass 2.49

KeePass may inform users about updates, but updates need to be downloaded and installed manually. Just visit the official KeePass website and download the latest release. It is provided as an installer and as a portable copy. All settings should be retained when it is updated.

KeePass 2.49 "features user interface and integration enhancements" for the most part according to the developer. Core areas that have been improved in the new release are auto-type, accessibility and usability.

Auto-Type is an advanced feature of KeePass that allows users to define sequences of actions, e.g. keypresses, to submit these to the active window, e.g. a browser or login prompt.

A basic template submits the username, presses Tab, submits the password, and hits the Enter-key; this fills out username and password in the login prompt and presses Enter to submit the data.

See also: Sign-in automatically with this global KeePass shortcut.

Auto-Type received the following improvements in the new KeePass version:

• Added dedicated context menu for auto-type associations in the entry dialog, which provides the following new commands: 'Copy Target Window(s)', 'Copy Sequence(s)', 'Copy Item(s)', 'Paste Item(s)', 'Duplicate Item(s)' and 'Select All'.
• Added button 'More' to the right of the auto-type associations list in the entry dialog, which shows the context menu.
• Added optional 'Auto-Type - Enabled' main entry list column (turned off by default, can be turned on in 'View' ? 'Configure Columns').
• Added optional 'Auto-Type - Sequences' main entry list column (turned off by default, can be turned on in 'View' ? 'Configure Columns').

Accessibility was improved in the new KeePass release as well. Screen readers may read dialog banners now, provided that the option "Optimize for screen reader" is turned on. Some controls have received accessibility names, which can also be read in the new release.

Additionally:

• Controls in the accessibility/automation control tree are now ordered by their visual locations (if the option 'Optimize for screen reader' is turned on).
• Added automatic screen reader detection based on the operating system's screen reader parameter (this does not make the option 'Optimize for screen reader' obsolete though, because not all screen readers set the parameter).

As far as general improvements are concerned, there are some. Tooltips are displayer for longer in most list views, support for importing data from Keeper 16.0.0 JSON files was added, and HTML exporting improvements.

Closing Words

KeePass gets better with every release, this version improves auto-type functionality, which is an advanced feature, as well as accessibility support.

Now You: what is your password manager?

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Mozilla enabled an automated tab unloading feature to Firefox Nightly on Windows this week, which is designed to improve low memory situations when the browser is used.

Tab unloading work began more than 10 years ago in Firefox, but the feature was never turned on by Mozilla in release versions of the web browser. A new bug was created two years ago and work continued to get the feature ready for release.

Tab unloading is now part of Firefox Nightly on Windows. Firefox Nightly is at version 93 currently, and it seems as if the feature will launch in Firefox 93 for Windows when it is released later this year. Mozilla plans to introduce support for Firefox on Mac OS X and Linux at a later point.

Tab unloading's main purpose is to reduce the number of crashes in Firefox caused by low memory. Out-of-memory crashes happen frequently when memory is low, and the unloading of tabs reduces the number of crashes by freeing memory.

Firefox selects tabs for the unload process based on a number of factors, including "last access time, memory usage, and other attributes" according to Mozilla. Firefox's tab picking algorithm tries to exclude pinned tabs, tabs that play media, and tabs that use WebRTC from being unloaded.

Firefox users may open the new internal page about:unloads to check the order in which tabs will get unloaded if memory reaches certain thresholds. The page features an "unload" button to unload the ta with the highest priority immediately.

Tabs that get unloaded remain visible in the Firefox address bar. Selection of an unloaded tab reloads the content of the tab again.

The Firefox preference browser.tabs.unloadOnLowMemory determines whether the feature is enabled (TRUE) or disabled (FALSE). Firefox users may modify the feature on about:config.

Systems with 8 Gigabytes of RAM or less should get the most out of the new tab unload feature of the browser according to Mozilla.

The purpose of most tab unloading extensions for Firefox, such as  Dormancy, Suspend Background Tabs, BarTab, or Unload Tab, is to free up memory. A side-effect of that is that Firefox crashes less often. Firefox's native tab unloading feature frees up memory as well, but its main purpose is to reduce the number of crashes that users experience on low-memory situations.

Google introduced tab discarding functionality in 2015 in the company's Chrome web browser and tab freezing in 2019.

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File Explorer, the default file management tool of Windows 11, is not the same tool that users of Windows 10 use to manage files. Microsoft redesigned large parts of File Explorer, and all of the changes can be described with a single word: minimalism.

Windows 11 is still in development, and while there is not a lot of time left until the official release date October 5th, 2021, there is a chance that things may change. It seems unlikely that File Explorer will see major changes this short for release, though.

When you open File Explorer in Windows 11, you will notice several changes immediately. Gone is the ribbon toolbar with its tab and functions; Microsoft replaced it with a single toolbar that displays just a few core options.

Some options are only visible in certain locations, others all the time. The main interaction options allow users to create new files, folders and other items, cut, copy, paste, rename, share and delete items.

Additional items may be displayed, such as ejecting a disc when an optical drive is selected.

The sort menu lists available sorting options, and view options to change the layout and design of items in File Explorer, to enable compact view mode, and some other options, hidden under "show", e.g. to show file extensions all the time.

There is also a three dots menu at the top, which displays additional options, such as selection options, copy path, properties and the folder options.

How does it stack up against Windows 10's ribbon toolbar in File Explorer?

Some options have been merged, e.g. the New folder and New item menus have been merged into the New menu in Windows 11's File Explorer. Others, are nowhere to be seen. Move to and Copy to are not available anymore, and neither are pin to Quick access, grouping options, adding columns, making all columns fit the window, or the link to remove access or advanced security.

Some of these may be available elsewhere, e.g. in the properties window when it is opened, or when right-clicking on column headers to add or remove columns.

The new toolbar is not the main usability issue though. Microsoft has probably analyzed data that it has on File Explorer usage and removed options that were not used a lot.

The main usability issue becomes apparent when you right-click on items. Microsoft developed a new right-click menu design and layout.

It is as streamlined as the new toolbar in File Explorer, and when you compare it to the right-click menu of Windows 10's File Explorer, you will notice that a lot of options are missing.

Some context menu options are displayed only if the right file type is selected, but core options are missing from the menu. Microsoft did not remove the classic menu entirely though, as it is spawned when you activate the "show more options" link or press Shift-F10.

The classic menu is then displayed in all its glory and with all the missing options of the new File Explorer menu.

Several things need to be noted. First, if you install third-party applications that add their own items to the context menu, then you will notice that these are not displayed in the new menu. Maybe it is required to adjust the installer to make that happen, but at least in the preview builds, all third-party context menus are displayed only when you open the classic menu using "show more options".

The decision is terrible for usability. Want to zip files quickly using a program such as 7-Zip, WinRar or PeaZip? Then you need to right-click the selection, select show more options, and then select the archive options of the program that you installed.

Some native options are also only displayed in the classic menu. Restore previous version, pin to taskbar, create shortcut, or give access to are only displayed in that menu, and not the simple one.

Closing Words

File Explorer on Windows 11 has serious usability issues. Besides the stripped down main toolbar menu that hides many of the options in sub-sub-menus, it is the dual-windowed right-click context menu that needs to be mentioned specifically.

Having to juggle between the simple new menu and the full menu that needs to be spawned from the simple menu or by using a keyboard shortcut, is impacting usability significantly.

Will File Managers, similarly to Start replacement applications on Windows 10, make a comeback on Windows 11 as a consequence?

Now You: What is your take on the new File Manager?

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Amazon announced several new Fire TV products today on the official company blog and website. A new Fire TV stick was unveiled next to the company's first Fire TV-powered televisions, the Fire TV Omni series and the Fire TV 4 series.

One of the questions that Amazon Fire TV customers may have on their mind is: should I get the new stick?

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (what is with the names, Amazon?) will be released on October 7, 2021. Amazon customers may pre-order the device right now already on the company's websites. The stick is available for $54.99 in the US; the price may vary in other regions. In Germany, it is available for €64.99.

Tip: watch YouTube without advertisement on the Fire TV stick.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max

Amazon's latest gadget is the company's most powerful stick yet, according to Amazon. It boosts performance by 40%, makes application's start up faster and improves the fluidity of navigations.

The new stick is powered by an 1.8 Ghz Mediatek MT7921LS processor and a PowerVR GE9215 GPU that clos at at 750 Mhz. Amazon's stick comes with 8 Gigabytes of storage space and 2 Gigabytes of RAM.

When you compare the main hardware specifications to previous Fire TV gadgets, including this generation's most powerful stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K, you will notice that several components were improved.

CPU and GPU run faster, the processor 0.1 GHz, the GPU 100 MHz. The new Fire TV Stick has 2 Gigabytes of memory, while the Fire TV Stick 4K only 1.5 Gigabytes. Older Fire TV sticks variants had even less memory, and it made using the core application painfully slow.

Judging from the updated components, it is clear that users will get a performance boost out of the new Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

The new device is the first to support Wi-Fi 6, which, provided that a router or hardware exists that supports Wi-Fi 6, guarantees a better wireless performance.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max supports another feature that the other sticks don't support: Live View Picture-in-Picture. It is not a new feature, as Amazon's Fire TV Cube supports it as well. The Cube tops Amazon's upcoming stick in the storage and in the processor department as well.

Should you buy it right now?

To come back to the initial question: should you buy the Fire TV Stick 4K Max immediately, especially as an upgrade to an existing Fire TV Stick that you may be using?

The answer depends. The Fire TV Stick is a noticeable improvement over most older Fire TV Sticks, and you will notice huge performance gains when you upgrade.

If you are not in a hurry, you may want to wait a bit. Black Friday is coming up, and Amazon has always discounted its Fire TV Sticks significantly during Black Friday. If that does not happen on that day, it may be discounted during the Holiday Season sale.

Technical specifications:

Processor: Quad-core 1.8GHz MT8696

GPU: IMG GE8300, 750MHz

Storage: 8 GB

Wifi: MT7921LS. Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (Wi-Fi 6) networks.

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0 + LE.

Ports: HDMI ARC output, micro USB for power only

Audio support: Dolby Atmos, 7.1 surround sound, 2-channel stereo, and HDMI audio pass through up to 5.1. Dolby Atmos is available on select Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ titles when connected to compatible equipment.

Content formats supported: Video: Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HDR10+, HLG, H.265, H.264, VP9, AV1 Audio: AAC-LC, AC3, eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/Wave, Vorbis, Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC), Photo: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP

Output resolution supported: 2160p, 1080p and 720p up to 60 fps

Included in box: Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Alexa Voice Remote (3rd Gen), USB cable and power adapter, HDMI extender cable for Fire TV Stick 4K Max, 2 AAA batteries, Quick Start Guide

Now You: do you use a streaming TV stick or device at home?

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