Microsoft’s October 2024 Patch Tuesday fixes 118 flaws. Supercharged Wi-Fi Hotspots are Coming to Windows 11: Windows 11 Version 24H2 Review. Adobe has a New Tool to Protect Artists from AI… and more!
Every day we scan the tech world for interesting news in the world of technology and sometimes from outside the world of technology. Every Wednesday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Wednesday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
Microsoft October 2024 Patch Tuesday fixes 5 zero-days, 118 flaws
Today is Microsoft’s October 2024 Patch Tuesday, which includes security updates for 118 flaws, including five publicly disclosed zero-days, two of which are actively exploited.
This Patch Tuesday fixed three critical vulnerabilities, all remote code execution flaws.
The number of bugs in each vulnerability category is listed below:
28 Elevation of Privilege vulnerabilities
7 Security Feature Bypass vulnerabilities
43 Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities
6 Information Disclosure vulnerabilities
26 Denial of Service vulnerabilities
7 Spoofing vulnerabilitiesThis count does not include three Edge flaws that were previously fixed on October 3rd.
To learn more about the non-security updates released today, you can review our dedicated articles on the new Windows 11 KB5044284 and KB5044285 cumulative updates and the Windows 10 KB5044273 update.
Four zero-days disclosedThis month’s Patch Tuesday fixes five zero-days, two of which were actively exploited in attacks, and all five were publicly disclosed.
Microsoft classifies a zero-day flaw as one that is publicly disclosed or actively exploited while no official fix is available.
The two actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in today’s updates are…
Read more at Bleeping Computer.
Supercharged Wi-Fi hotspots on the 6GHz band
Windows 11 received support for Wi-Fi 7 in the recent 24H2 update, but Microsoft is working to extend functionality with wireless connections further in allowing users to establish 6GHz Wi-Fi hotspots.
Currently, Windows 11 lets you set up a hotspot – to allow other devices to connect to your PC on the Wi-Fi network, and use its internet connection – on the 5GHz or 2.4GHz bands.
But as spotted by leaker PhantomOfEarth on X, there’s now the ability to set up such a hotspot over 6GHz – as brought in with Wi-Fi 6E – albeit this isn’t live in testing yet, not for everyone.
The feature is currently rolling out in the most recent preview builds in the Dev channel, so some testers may have it, and others may not. In the latter case, Windows 11 testers can enable 6GHz support using a Windows configuration utility (ViVeTool), as the leaker mentions…
Platform improvements, general quality of life updates, new AI features, and more headline 2024’s annual Windows 11 feature update.
Microsoft is back with its annual Windows 11 feature update, this time focusing on the underlying platform and surface-level quality-of-life improvements and updates. Version 24H2 (also known as the 2024 Update) includes everything from better performance to UX changes designed to make Windows 11 easier to use.
Windows 11 2024 Update
Version: 24H2
OS Build: 26100
Release Date: June 18 (Copilot+ PCs) / Oct 1 (everyone)In my opinion, the 2024 Update is a bigger release compared to the 2023 Update, thanks to those underlying platform enhancements alone. We have improvements to Windows Update, a faster x86 emulation layer for Arm PCs, and new AI features that benefit from having a dedicated NPU (neural processing unit.)
This release of Windows 11 is also unique as it’s the first version to ship with features that are exclusive to a new type of Windows device: Copilot+ PCs. If you’re not using a Copilot+ PC, you will miss out on some features when upgrading to version 24H2, including the controversial “Windows Recall” AI feature.
I’ve been using Windows 11 version 24H2 since June 18, and this is my full review. Please note that due to the nature of how Microsoft updates Windows these days, you may already have several of the features detailed in this review without updating to version 24H2. Alternatively, you may update to version 24H2 and be missing some of the features outlined in this review. It’s potluck, I’m afraid…
Adobe has a new tool to protect artists’ work from AI
The free Content Authenticity web app allows creators to apply attribution and ‘do not train’ tags to any image, video, or audio work
Adobe is expanding its Content Credentials “nutrition labels” to make it even easier for creatives to be credited for their work, identify what is and isn’t AI online, and protect their content in the process. It’s launching a free web app that will allow users to quickly apply creator information to images, videos, and audio and even opt them out of generative AI models — for the AI developers that support it, at least.
The Content Authenticity web app can be used to widely apply attribution data to content that contains the creator’s name, website, social media pages, and more. It also provides an easier way for creatives to opt their work out of AI training en mass compared to laboriously submitting individual protections for their content to each AI provider.
The web app will act as a centralized hub for Adobe’s existing Content Credentials platform. Content Credentials are tamper-evident metadata that can be embedded into digital content to disclose who owns and created it and if AI tools were used to make it. The web app will integrate with Adobe’s Firefly AI models, alongside Photoshop, Lightroom, and other Creative Cloud apps…
Hey, politicians, stop texting me: How to get the candidate messages to end
It’s 2024. Taxis can fly. Cars can drive themselves. Your house can adjust its temperature based on your mood. Why, then, for the love of all things decent in this world, can’t we stop those infernal political texts from blowing up our phones 24/7?
Just last week, as many as three or four − an hour − showed up in my Messages. Most of them ask, urge, beg − and even mildly threaten − me to donate to their campaign. Right now. Or else democracy is doomed! How can I resist saving America?!
It’s not as easy as you might think anymore, and it doesn’t really matter who you plan to vote for in November. Those spammy, unsolicited pings come from all sides.
For several months this year, I was hit with so many Trump-related robotexts that I wanted to throw my phone into an active volcano. But now? Apparently, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are all trying − personally − to get ahold of me.
In an alternate universe where we’re all besties DM-ing each other the latest memes, that would be amazing. In reality, though, it’s a distraction. At worst, it’s a potential scam looking to steal my personal information and hard-earned money, not to mention an absolute soul-sucking time drain, robbing more of my precious moments trying to shut it all down…
Thanks for reading this week’s Wednesday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful. Darcy & TC
