Wednesday Newsbytes – News for You – 052522
Every day we scan the tech world for news that affects all of us who use Windows computers. Every Wednesday, we feature some of the news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s “Wednesday Newsbytes” informative and interesting!
Microsoft Decides Windows 11 Is Ready for Everyone to Use
Windows 11 is now designated for ‘broad deployment.’
Nearly 11 months after release and Microsoft has decided Windows 11 is in a good enough state for everyone to install and use. That is, assuming your PC meets the requirements for running the OS.
As Neowin reports (Opens in a new window), the Windows Health Dashboard changed the status of Windows 11 this week to be “designated for broad deployment(Opens in a new window).” It basically means that Microsoft believes the operating system is now robust enough that all new PCs should be shipping with it, and anyone holding off upgrading from Windows 10 should pull the trigger.
Whether you PC is capable of running Windows 11 or not can be determined by using Microsoft’s PC Health Check app(Opens in a new window). Some Microsoft employees can’t even upgrade to Windows 11, so it’s definitely worth checking before attempting the upgrade. If you can, there are some very good reasons to switch to Microsoft’s latest OS as soon as possible.
Microsoft is very keen to get more people using Windows 11, especially when you consider it’s currently less popular than Windows 7. Certain requirements, such as your PC needing TPM 2.0, mean in a lot of cases upgrading simply isn’t possible…
Microsoft tests new Windows 11 Desktop search that only works with Edge
Microsoft is testing a new feature in the latest Windows 11 preview build that displays an Internet search box directly on the desktop. The problem is that it does not honor your default browser and only uses Bing and Microsoft Edge instead.
This new feature is currently being tested with a small subset of Windows Insiders running the Windows 11 build 25120 on the ‘Dev’ channel.
When this feature is enabled, Windows 11 will launch the DesktopSearchBoxWin32Exe.exe process to display what Microsoft internally calls the ‘Desktop Search Box,’ as shown below.
Windows 11 users can simply enter a search keyword or URL to launch Microsoft Edge and perform the search using Bing or directly access the entered URL.
The problem is that this forces you to use Bing and Edge, regardless of what default browser is configured in the operating system, continuing Microsoft’s relentless push to force users onto their browser.
While some people may find this an interesting feature, I do not know the last time I actually saw my desktop to use it, so I would likely simply perform the same function directly in an open browser…
Read more at Bleeping Computer
I hate my Mac – Here’s why I’m moving to Windows
As introductions go, this is definitely one of the more divisive ways to introduce myself. But where’s the fun in being prudent? After a decade of worshiping the shiny Apple logo on my Mac, I’ve finally seen the light and will be switching to my first Windows OS since Windows XP.
Considering I just used the words “worship” and “Apple” in the same sentence, you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m also a supplicant to the iPhone. Fortunately, however, that ship sailed a long time ago, making it even more surprising that despite owning Android phones for the past eight years, I’ve yet to give up my Mac in favor of Windows.
What has Mac ever done to me?
That’s just it; Mac hasn’t ever done anything for me. Despite wanting to love Mac with every fiber of my being, every time I bite the bullet and get a newer model, the price has gone up while the quality has gone down. Once the honeymoon period of owning a nice, shiny new Mac is over, I’m always left wondering what it is I’ve actually paid for – was it the shiny Apple logo, or was it the specs inside?
Configuring your Mac on the Apple Website is like doing a dance between getting a device that can actually do what you need it to do and unintentionally bankrupting yourself. As a yet-to-be millionaire, I’ve often had to stay on the side of affordability, meaning I’m paying above the odds for a Mac with substandard specs.
Stop being poor and buy a better model
I can hear it now, the distant din of the keyboard warriors coming to defend Mac with the argument that if I simply bought a better model, there’d be no issue…
Windows 11 hacked three more times on last day of Pwn2Own contest
On the third and last day of the 2022 Pwn2Own Vancouver hacking contest, security researchers successfully hacked Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system three more times using zero-day exploits.
The first attempt of the day targeting Microsoft Teams failed after Team DoubleDragon could not demo their exploit within the allotted time.
All other contestants hacked their targets, earning $160,000 after taking down Windows 11 three times and Ubuntu Desktop once.
The first to demonstrate a Windows 11 escalation of privilege zero-day (via Integer Overflow) on the third day of Pwn2Own was nghiadt12 from Viettel Cyber Security.
Bruno Pujos from REverse Tactics and vinhthp1712 also escalated privileges on Windows 11 using Use-After-Free and Improper Access Control vulnerabilities, respectively.
Last but not least, STAR Labs’ Billy Jheng Bing-Jhong hacked a system running Ubuntu Desktop using a Use-After-Free exploit.
Pwn2Own 2022 Vancouver ended with 17 competitors earning a total of $1,155,000 for zero-day exploits and exploits chains demoed over three days after 21 attempts, between May 18 and May 20.
On the first day of Pwn2Own, hackers won $800,000 after successfully exploiting 16 zero-day bugs to hack multiple products, including Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system and the Teams communication platform, Ubuntu Desktop, Apple Safari, Oracle Virtualbox, and Mozilla Firefox.
On second day, contestants earned $195,000 after demoing flaws in the Telsa Model 3 Infotainment System, Ubuntu Desktop, and Microsoft Windows 11.
Security researchers demonstrated six Windows 11 exploits during the contest, hacked Ubuntu Desktop four times, and demoed three Microsoft Teams zero-days. They also reported several flaws in Apple Safari, Oracle Virtualbox, and Mozilla Firefox.
Read more at Bleeping Computer
Thanks for reading this week’s Wednesday Newbytes. We hope you found these articles useful, informative, interesting, and/or helpful. Darcy & TC