Microsoft celebrated the demise of Internet Explorer by releasing another Insider Dev Channel build of Windows 11 and no, Surface Pro X users need not apply.

The wind has been sucked from the sails of Microsoft's bleeding edge build of Windows by the rapid move of the new tabbed File Explorer functionality from the Dev to the Beta Channel, possibly before all the Dev Channel Insiders had a chance to check it out.

Perhaps a shame, since build 25140 contained plenty of fixes for the new code (as well as a Euphemia typeface for languages that use the Canadian Syllabic script.)

As a reminder, the Dev and Beta channels are parallel development paths.

Among the File Explorer fixes is one for an error some users experienced when copying files, a problem where dragging to rearrange tabs "wasn't working sometimes" and a small but annoying issue in which the active tab color didn't match the command bar.

As with what is lurking in the Beta channel, the up arrow is oddly misaligned in File Explorer. Microsoft also added a known problem whereby the body of File Explorer might unexpectedly be rendered in light mode when dark mode is selected. We can imagine the horror a sudden blast of light might cause to users hunched over their resolutely dark-themed displays.

There was also a warning for IT administrators accompanying the build. At some point in the future, devices with diagnostic data turned on and joined to an AAD tenant with a billing address in the EU or EFTA will be enrolled in the Windows diagnostic data processor configuration.

Users with a billing address outside the EU or EFTA will have the processor configuration disabled and cannot enable it. For those users, Microsoft will act as controller for Windows diagnostic data.

It's a potentially significant upcoming change regarding diagnostic data and is related to Microsoft's plans to store and process data for European customers in the EU. Insiders that don't like the look of it are advised to pause flighting.

Also advised to keep a finger on the pause button are users of Microsoft's flagship Arm device, the Surface Pro X. While the build deals with an issue with x64 emulation on the ARM64 that could cause some apps to crash on launch, Surface Pro X users are still recommended to steer clear of this build unless they want to get over familiar with the power button.

A black screen will be encountered when resuming from hibernation, requiring a power cycle to get back into the device. For once, it's a dark mode that nobody wants. ®

Updated Microsoft's latest set of Windows patches are causing problems for users.

Windows 10 and 11 are affected, with both experiencing similar issues (although the latter seems to be suffering a little more).

KB5014697, released on June 14 for Windows 11, addresses a number of issues, but the known issues list has also been growing. Some .NET Framework 3.5 apps might fail to open (if using Windows Communication Foundation or Windows Workflow component) and the Wi-Fi hotspot features appears broken.

Microsoft has blocked the installation of Windows 10 and 11 in Russia from the company's official website, Russian state media reported on Sunday.

Users within the country confirmed that attempts to download Windows 10 resulted in a 404 error message.

Microsoft has added tabbed File Explorer functionality to the Window Insider beta channel, opening up the possibility of it making an appearance in the next major Windows Update.

File Explorer Tabs turned up in the bleeding edge Windows Insider Dev Channel last week, although – as is so frustratingly often the case – Microsoft opted for a staggered rollout. (It's not as if you joined the Insider channel for the latest and greatest to actually get your hands on the latest and greatest, right?)

Since then, things went well enough for Microsoft to roll out the tabs in build 22621.160 for the Beta Channel. Build 22621 is currently in the Release Preview Channel and is expected to be the basis for Windows 11 22H2, due at some point in the coming months.

Internet Explorer breathed its last for many users this week, and netizens have observed its passing in their own special way.

One joker chose to celebrate the passing of the former web bigwig with a tombstone where one could go and pay homage to the malign influence exerted by the browser.

Microsoft has treated some of the courageous Dev Channel crew of Windows Insiders to the long-awaited tabbed File Explorer.

"We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn't available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet," the software giant said.

The Register was one of the lucky ones and we have to commend Microsoft on the implementation (overdue as it is). The purpose of the functionality is to allow users to work on more than one location at a time in File Explorer via tabs in the title bar.

Two of the more prolific cybercriminal groups, which in the past have deployed such high-profile ransomware families as Conti, Ryuk, REvil and Hive, have started adopting the BlackCat ransomware-as-as-service (RaaS) offering.

The use of the modern Rust programming language to stabilize and port the code, the variable nature of RaaS, and growing adoption by affiliate groups all increase the chances that organizations will run into BlackCat – and have difficulty detecting it – according to researchers with the Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team.

In an advisory this week, Microsoft researchers noted the myriad capabilities of BlackCat, but added the outcome is always the same: the ransomware is deployed, files are stolen and encrypted, and victims told to either pay the ransom or risk seeing their sensitive data leaked.

If Windows Autopatch arrives in July as planned, some of you will be able to say goodbye to Patch Tuesday.

Windows Autopatch formed part of Microsoft's April announcements on updates to the company's Windows-in-the-cloud product. The tech was in public preview since May.

Aimed at enterprise users running Windows 10 and 11, Autopatch can, in theory, be used to replace the traditional Patch Tuesday to which administrators have become accustomed over the years. A small set of devices will get the patches first before Autopatch moves on to gradually larger sets, gated by checks to ensure that nothing breaks.

Patch Tuesday Microsoft claims to have finally fixed the Follina zero-day flaw in Windows as part of its June Patch Tuesday batch, which included security updates to address 55 vulnerabilities.

Follina, eventually acknowledged by Redmond in a security advisory last month, is the most significant of the bunch as it has already been exploited in the wild.

Criminals and snoops can abuse the remote code execution (RCE) bug, tracked as CVE-2022-30190, by crafting a file, such as a Word document, so that when opened it calls out to the Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool, which is then exploited to run malicious code, such spyware and ransomware. Disabling macros in, say, Word won't stop this from happening.

Microsoft has made it official. Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 distributions are now supported on Windows Server 2022.

The technology emerged in preview form last month and represented somewhat of an about-face from the Windows giant, whose employees had previously complained that while the tech was handy for desktop users, sticking it on a server might mean it gets used for things for which it wasn't intended.

(And Windows Server absolutely had to have the bloated user interface of its desktop stablemate as well, right?)

Microsoft has accidentally turned off its controversial hardware compatibility check, thus offering Windows 11 to computers not on the list.

Windows 11 does not install on computers that lack a recent TPM-equipped CPU, although there are exceptions (notably for some of Microsoft's own hardware, which failed to make the cut in the original list). It is possible to circumvent this limitation, although there is no guarantee that a future version of Windows 11 won't slam the door permanently.

However, users noted overnight that that PCs on the Windows Insider Release Preview ring without a qualifying CPU were offered the update without the usual terse rejection message.

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