Windows 7 was discontinued in January this year, and this means that computers still running this operating-system aren't provided with new security patches and updates.

So theoretically, not receiving any updates means all of the vulnerabilities which are discovered within the operating-system remain with no fix, and this obviously means a heightened probability of issues going forward.

The only method to receive security updates at this time is to pay for them, as Microsoft has launched the Extended Security Update (ESU) program to permit companies that need more time for you to upgrade their fleets to keep all devices secure before the migration is finished.

According to Microsoft's policy, the cost of custom security patches is increasing every year, and now Windows 7 is getting prepared to enter the second year of extended security updates.

"If your business has been unable to update devices running the versions of Windows listed above to a currently supported version before January 12, 2021, ESU can offer security updates to people devices through January 11, 2022-helping protect those devices when you complete your Windows and Windows Server upgrade projects," Microsoft explains in an advisory.

"Many organizations have made the transition towards the new edition of Windows 10 or Windows Server. Those who deployed Windows 10 take advantage of strong protection against threats plus the most recent security and manageability features such as Microsoft Defender Antivirus, richer device management policies, and Windows Autopilot. Other organizations running legacy applications shifted their Windows 7 devices to Windows Virtual Desktop, including ESU for Windows 7 virtual desktops at no additional cost, enabling you to continue running critical line-of-business apps when you continue your migration to Windows 10. Like a last resort, however, a number of organizations purchased, installed, and activated their newbie of ESU to receive security updates for eligible devices through January 12, 2021."

In theory, extended security updates are specifically supposed to give companies additional time to move to a supported Windows version, so since January, some of the people who have been still running Windows 7 are meant to have finished the switch to Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.

If they haven't, then the recommended step would be to get one extra year of security updates as part of the ESU program for that computers that are still running Windows 7.

Necessary for know is you can't just buy the second-year of Windows 7 security updates if you weren't already spending money on the very first year. This means that whenever reaching out to Microsoft being part of the program, if you're not already enrolled in the ESU, you need to pay for both the first and the second many years of updates.

"Because ESU are available separate SKUs for each of the years in which they are offered (2020, 2021, and 2022)-and because ESU are only able to be bought in specific 12-month periods-you will have to purchase the second year of ESU coverage separately and activate a brand new key on each applicable device in order for your devices to continue receiving security updates in 2021. If your organization did not buy the first year of ESU coverage, you will have to purchase both Year 1 and Year 2 ESU for your applicable Windows 7 or Windows Server devices before installing and activating the Year 2 MAK keys to receive updates," Microsoft explains.

The policy applies not only to Windows 7 Service Pack 1 but also to Windows 7 Professional for Embedded Systems, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 for Embedded Systems and Windows Server 2008 SP2 for Embedded Systems.

To operate old software in Windows 10, you have to set the compatibility mode. Here're the exact steps to change compatibility mode in Windows 10.

One of the best things about Windows is its backward compatibility having a wide range of software. There is no other OS on the market that provides just as much backward compatibility as Windows 10. Even software developed in the Windows 95 era works just fine in Windows 10. Though most software works all right right away from box, some older software may require you to change the compatibility mode. This is especially true for software designed using special components in older versions of Windows. To operate those types of software, you need to first change the compatibility mode of this software.

For instance, certainly one of my favorite software, NetSpeedMonitor only runs in compatibility mode. If you do not run it in compatibility mode, it simply doesn't work because it should and throws incompatibility errors. When you change its compatibility mode settings, it really works all right.

So, if you're trying to run older software or maybe some software is throwing compatibility errors, you can try changing the compatibility settings. In this simple and quick guide, let me demonstrate the steps to change compatibility mode in Windows 10.

Change Compatibility Mode of a Program or Exe File

You are able to change the compatibility mode of the program from its EXE file properties. Here's how.

First, locate the exe file of the program.
Next, right-click around the exe file.
Select "Properties" from the right-click options.
Go to the "Compatibility" tab.
Here, choose the "Run the program in compatibility mode for" checkbox.
Now, choose the operating-system of your liking in the dropdown menu. Generally, Windows 7 or Windows XP is a great option.
Click "Apply".
Click "Ok" to save changes.

That is it. You've changed the compatibility settings for your specific program. Just double-click on the exe file and it'll automatically run in compatibility mode.

Note: If you are trying to change compatibility settings of an MSI file, choose the "Previous version of Windows" option from the drop-down menu in step six.

Run Windows 10 Program Compatibility Troubleshooter

Windows 10 also offers a course compatibility troubleshooter that scans the system and enables you to change the compatibility settings. Here's ways to use the program compatibility troubleshooter in Windows 10.

Open the Start menu. You can press the Start answer to open it.
Search and open "Run programs designed for previous versions of Windows" troubleshooter.
After opening the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter, click "Next" around the main screen.
The app will scan the machine for issues and incompatible programs and lists them.
Select this program of your liking and click on "Next".
If you cannot see the program of your liking, select "Not Listed". After that you can browse and select the exe file manually.
Now, choose the "Try recommended settings" option.
Windows will apply the compatibility settings. Click the "Test the program" button to see if it really works.
If this program works. You can close the troubleshooter.
If it didn't solve the issue, the troubleshooter will show additional options.
Follow the wizard to apply the compatibility settings when needed.
Once done, you can close the troubleshooter program.

That is all. It is that simple to operate compatibility troubleshooter in Windows 10.

If you're unable to use the fingerprint scanner after sleep, you can repair it easily in the Windows 10 settings. Here're the precise steps to follow along with.

Windows 10 devices having a fingerprint scanner can sometimes face a strange issue where after waking the machine from sleep, the scanner doesn't recognize the finger. Subsequently, you cannot make use of the fingerprint scanner regardless of how perhaps you try. To put it simply, under certain situations, the fingerprint scanner isn't working after sleep in Windows 10.

For a majority of Windows 10 users, the fingerprint scanner will work perfectly fine. However, because of some driver issues and scanner settings, the fingerprint scanner might be asleep despite you wake up the system from sleep. This happens due to Windows 10's power management settings. Since the fingerprint scanner is in sleep mode, it doesn't act as it should even after you wake the computer.

Thankfully, the problem is pretty simple to fix. All you have to do is change the fingerprint scanner's power management settings and stop Windows 10 from putting it to sleep when you put Windows 10 to rest. Though sounds confusing, it's pretty simple to do. Follow the steps below to fix fingerprint no longer working after sleep in Windows 10.

SOLVED: Fingerprint Scanner No longer working After Sleep

To make the fingerprint scanner to operate properly after waking up from sleep, you need to change a power management setting of this specific device in the device manager. Listed here are the steps to follow.

First, open the beginning menu. It can be done by pressing the Windows key around the keyboard.
Search for "Device Manager" within the Start menu and open it up.
After opening the Device Manager, expand the "Biometric devices" option.
Now, right-click around the fingerprint device and select the "Properties" option.
Go to the "Power management" tab in the properties window.
Uncheck the "Allow the computer to show off this product to save power" option.
Click "Ok" to save changes.
Close the Device Manager.
Restart Windows 10.

That's all. From here onwards, the fingerprint scanner should work perfectly after waking the machine from sleep. This is because Windows won't place the fingerprint scanner to rest when you put the system to rest. As such, it ought to work just fine.

When the issue still persists, I suggest you uninstall the motive force, reboot the machine, and reinstall the motive force again. You can download the fingerprint scanner driver from laptops or device manufacturer website. Ensure the driver can be date. After reinstalling the motive force, stick to the above steps. It ought to solve the fingerprint no longer working after sleep issue in Windows 10.

That's all.

Sticky Notes keyboard shortcuts are very useful for power users. Here's their email list of all the sticky notes keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10.

Sticky Notes has been improved a great deal compared to the older versions. The brand new Sticky Notes can now sync between devices, supports search function, can recognize handwriting, add entries to Cortana, support for dark mode, light accent colors, etc. Additionally, Sticky Notes presently has a dedicated formatting bar that lets you format text in bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, as well as toggle list items. Sticky Notes also gained a hub-like area where it lists all your sticky notes. This makes it easy to create and manage multiple sticky notes.

If you are like me who uses sticky notes extensively, its great for doing things with the new options. Although the new Sticky Notes is nothing hard use and also the formatting bar makes it simple to quickly format text within the sticky notes, you can make it a little better using keyboard shortcuts.

The new form of Sticky Notes has lots of different keyboard shortcuts, 17 more specifically, to obtain most out of it. So, it is only natural that you would like to know and use sticky notes keyboard shortcuts. Your productivity is going to be faster and when using keyboard shortcuts. Here are the keyboard shortcuts for Sticky Notes that every Windows 10 user should know.

Sticky Notes Keyboard Shortcuts

Below are all the Sticky Notes keyboard shortcuts that are offered as of this moment.

Sticky Notes Shortcut Key Function
Copy Control key + C
Cut Control key + X
Paste Control key + V
Select All Control key + A
New note Control key + N
Close note Control key + W
Delete note Control key + D
Search notes Control key + F
Next window Control key + Tab
Previous window Control key + Shift + Tab
Bold Control key + B
Italic Control key + I
Underline Control key + U
Strikethrough Control key + T
Toggle bullet list Control key + Shift + L
Undo Control key + Z
Redo Control key + Y

Hope that helps.

Mozilla rolled out Firefox 82 last week however the company presently has to reduce the automatic rollout due to bugs reported by users.

More specifically, TechDows has noticed two different widespread issues plaguing Firefox and which Mozilla has already acknowledged.

The very first of these concerns the printing issue, as some users discovered that printing receipts is not being employed as expected, and just what they get is simply a blank piece of paper. Mozilla has started a study with this issue, and the company is now testing a fix in the newest Firefox 83 beta build.

Antivirus issues

But what's worse is the fact that Firefox no longer seems to be playing nice with assorted antivirus products installed on Windows devices.

The browser crashes on launch on devices where software developed by Symantec and Trend Micro is installed, and someone claims that the event happens even when Windows Defender, the default Windows 10 antivirus protection, is enabled.

"I've been in 81.0.1 build, I updated to Firefox 82 today and Firefox won't start anymore, I did an install refresh, did a reinstall, doesn't appears to work, I had an older version of Firefox developer edition installed which was working, today I updated it to 83 and it also won't start, I attempted Firefox ESR 78.4.0esr that is working fine. suspect it has to make a move with 82 changes. I'm inside a windows machine with 1909 build 64 bit and have Symantec endpoint installed, it's a work lap and I tried reproducing exactly the same issue in colleagues laptop with similar spec and he is also facing exactly the same issue. happens to be an AV issue or driver issue," one user explains in a Bugzilla post.

A new Firefox update to solve these complaints has become expected in a few days.

Intel has announced the supply of the latest version of its Graphics driver, namely version 27.20.100.8853, including support for Microsoft's latest Windows 10 October 2020 Update as well as for several new titles.

Specifically speaking, this update offers the best gaming experience when playing Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods, Aquanox: Deep Descent, Chronilogical age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, Amnesia: Rebirth, Wow: Shadowlands (pre-patch), Torchlight III, and RuneScape titles.

In addition to that, build 8853 adds playability improvements for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Ori and the Will from the Wisps, and resolves crashes seen in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DX12), Modern Combat 5 (during loading), and Red Dead Redemption 2 (Vulkan).

Moreover, Intel fixes graphic anomalies seen while playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey or scrolling in Edge (Chromium) browser, improves USB-C dock stability, and adds several changes as highlighted in the Release Notes below.

When it comes to compatibility, the release would work for Microsoft's Windows 10 DCH platform (only for 64-bit architectures) and consists of two downloadable packages: one archive and something executable.

Considering this, if you wish to upgrade, save the appropriate file, run the available setup, follow all instructions displayed on the screen, and ensure to carry out a system reboot to permit all changes to consider effect properly. If the task isn't requested automatically, it might be smart to carry it out manually to avoid any issues.

Having said that, download Intel Graphics Driver 27.20.100.8853 for Windows 10 DCH 64-bit, apply it to benefit from the changes and enhancements mentioned previously, and constantly check our website to stay up to speed using the latest releases.

Microsoft has officially launched a leg form of Microsoft Teams, as the company keeps betting big around the Windows 10 on ARM strategy that keeps expanding to more devices.

Not a long time ago, Microsoft announced the upgraded Surface Pro X, with the software giant therefore continuing its ARM push with a brand new device supposed to spearhead the hardware push within this market.

The ARM form of Microsoft Teams wasn't announced with much fanfare though, and despite everybody knew it had been coming, Bill Weidenborner, a Senior PM at Microsoft, published the download link included in a post on LinkedIn.

"I'm really excited to announce that yesterday we launched our new native ARM64 Teams app for Windows 10 on ARM! If you're on the device that runs Windows 10 on ARM, you can go grab it here. It took a genuine Teams team effort to create this happen. I'm really proud to work with all the excellent people that were involved," Weidenborner said.

The Microsoft Teams adoption

When Microsoft announced the Surface Pro X upgrade a few weeks ago, the company also confirmed that it's trying to bring 64-bit emulation to Windows 10 on ARM, essentially resolving the possible lack of apps that has been plaguing this platform.

But on the other hand, it's a well known fact that the native ARM application that's specifically optimized for the platform runs smoother and it is less likely to see performance issues.

The adoption of Microsoft teams has skyrocketed captured because of the global health issue which forced many people to work from home. Microsoft revealed that Teams reached 75 million users, revealing that in only two months, it recorded an increase that it previously likely to see happening in two years. So bringing Teams to more users has turned into a priority for the company, especially as the said health crisis is yet arrive at an end.

Microsoft has released a new version of the advantage browser towards the stable channel, and just as expected, the changelog is big on all supported platforms.

First and foremost, probably the most important improvements is really a rollback feature, which makes it feasible for users to return to a previous version of Microsoft Edge is something goes completely wrong. This works much like the rollback feature in Windows 10, so users can launch it to merely revert to a known good form of the browser.

Then, Microsoft has additionally added Ie mode improvements. The IE mode makes it possible for devs to load their websites in Ie without leaving Microsoft Edge, which is allowed for compatibility tests. Lots of companies out there continue to be relying on apps built for Ie and which don't run properly in modern browsers, therefore the IE mode enables a worry-less migration towards the latest version of Microsoft Edge.

"Let users use the Microsoft Edge Interface (UI) to test sites in Internet Explorer mode. Beginning with Microsoft Edge version 86, administrators can enable a UI option for their users to load a tab in Internet Explorer way of testing purposes or as a stopgap until sites are put into the website list XML," Microsoft explains.

The download manager that comes bundled with Microsoft Edge is also getting an update, as users are actually permitted to delete downloads in the disk right out the browser.

Beginning with Microsoft Edge 86, the software giant's internet browser no longer props up HTML5 Application Cache API.

"Beginning with Microsoft Edge version 86, the legacy Application Cache API that allows offline use of webpages has been taken off Microsoft Edge. Web Developers should evaluate the WebDev documentation for info on replacing the Application Cache API with Service Workers. Important: You can request an AppCache OriginTrial Token that enables sites to continue to use the deprecated Application Cache API until Microsoft Edge version 90," Microsoft says.

There are many PDF updates that are thing about this new release. Starting with Edge 86, users can use pen support to highlight text in PDF documents, using the browser also offering a table of contents for users. Quite simply, it's now possible to easily travel through documents when a table of contents is offered, and this feature is available on all supported platforms.

Microsoft says it's also improved PDF scrolling in long documents, and it also allows users whose devices feature small screens to access all PDF functionalities too.

One big alternation in Edge 86 concerns cookies, as they will now default to SameSite=Lax by default.

"This implies that cookies will only be sent in a first-party context and will be omitted for requests delivered to third-parties. This transformation may cause compatibility impact on websites that need cookies for third-party resources to function correctly. To permit such cookies, web developers can mark cookies that ought to be set from and delivered to third-party contexts with the addition of explicit SameSite=none and Secure attributes once the cookie is set," Microsoft explains.

The new Edge 86 is available today on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and macOS. Microsoft is also focusing on a Linux form of the browser, and it is expected to go reside in the coming months. A preview build, however, should be published for testing purposes and an early consider the browser as soon as this month, with Microsoft thus projected to talk about a lot of its Linux form of Edge in the next few weeks.

Microsoft has released a brand new form of the advantage browser in the Dev channel, which time the update includes additional features and under-the-hood improvements on all platforms.

First and foremost, this latest version comes with the capability to translate the select text on a page, so theoretically, you no longer need to translate the whole page, only the written text that you'll require. This certainly comes in handy for everyone while using translation process, and it makes the event more straightforward, as users no longer need to use the translation process manually.

Simultaneously, this update also introduces an option never to translate a specific site, which behavior will work much like the one in Google Chrome.

There's also a new management policy that is thing about this release.

"Added an administration policy to Configure Speech Recognition. Note that updates to documentation and administrative templates continue to be needed," Microsoft says.

There are obviously several fixes for crashes that took place the browser, including when Password Monitor shows an alert, when opening the Downloads management page, or when dragging items right into a Collection.

What's more, Microsoft has resolved a bug that sometimes caused a Blue Screen of Death when opening the browser, so beginning with this update, everything should work effectively.

The known issues list includes virtually exactly the same entries as before, and one of the most notable is really a black screen glitch all of a sudden.

"After an initial fix for it recently, some users continue to be experiencing Edge windows becoming all black. Opening the Browser Task Manager (keyboard shortcut is shift + esc) and killing the GPU process usually fixes it. Note that this only appears to affect users with certain hardware and is most easily triggered by resizing an Edge window. For users with discrete GPUs, updating graphics drivers may help," Microsoft says.

The duplicated favorites issue is yet to get a fix, which means this new update also comes with the same issue.

"Some users are seeing favorites get duplicated as we made some previous fixes on the bottom. The most typical way this really is triggered is by installing the Stable channel of Edge and then signing into it by having an account which has already signed into Edge before. Fixing this ought to be easier now that the deduplicator tool can be obtained. However, we've also seen duplication happen when running the deduplicator on multiple machines before either machine has a chance to fully sync its changes, so while we wait for a few of the fixes we've designed to arrived at Stable, be sure to leave sufficient time in between runs from the deduplicator," the company explains. Today's Microsoft Edge Dev update can be obtained on all supported platforms.

The migration to Chromium allowed Microsoft to show Edge right into a cross-platform offering, so the application has become available not just on Windows 10, but additionally on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and macOS. Microsoft has already announced a Linux version of the browser, and a preview build is expected to be announced when this month, with a stable release to occur at some point soon.

Microsoft Edge has already end up being the second most-used desktop browser after Google Chrome, because it managed to overtake Mozilla Firefox on Windows and Mac. Obviously, the adoption of Windows 10 helped Microsoft Edge a lot, as Microsoft offers the browser as the new default around the operating system, replacing the legacy version automatically by having an update shipped via Windows Update.

Microsoft is projected to take the wraps off a brand new Surface model when this week, along with a new leak today provides us wit ha detailed consider the hardware specifications.

First of all, some context.

This new Surface model will probably be called Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, and this says pretty much everything about this. In other words, it's supposed to be a less expensive Surface Laptop model with specs that would allow Microsoft to keep the cost at a lower level.

And Roland Quandt says in information shared today the Laptop Go includes a 12.45-inch LCD display that would have a resolution of 1536x1024 pixels.

Power will come from an Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor paired with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM. Most likely, Microsoft will offer two different versions from the laptop, and the base model would come with just 4GB RAM.

Is this enough for a smooth experience on Windows 10? Most likely, especially because the laptop is expected to ship with Windows 10 Home in S Mode. The Pro version would come pre-loaded around the 8GB model.

Public launch on October 1?

In terms of storage, the new device will come with 64GB eMMC, 128GB, and 256GB. Again, the base model will probably feature just 64GB, while the other versions will offer you more storage, obviously with a small price increase.

The Surface Laptop Go wouldn't include facial recognition, but Windows Hello would still be offered with a fingerprint reader embedded in to the power button. Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 6, and Surface Connect are also features developing the device.

Laptops is going to be bought from three colors, namely silver, blue, and gold, and prices are likely to start at approximately 600 Euros within Europe, with the US pricing still unknown at this time.

The official announcement could go live on October 1.