Tag: Microsoft

First introduced in 2015, Microsoft hasn’t since given a design overhaul to Windows 10. The company releases two major feature updates every year usually focusing more on small, incremental improvements than drastic changes. With the latest Windows 10 October 2020 Update, version 20H2, Microsoft slightly redesigned the Start menu, making it theme aware. It appears more design changes are in the pipeline as the Windows maker intends to refresh the design with 2021 updates.

“Microsoft is planning to update many top-level user interfaces such as the Start menu, Action Center, and even File Explorer, with consistent modern designs, better animations, and new features,” the folks at Windows Central reported citing internal sources.

“Internal documentation describes the project as ‘reinvigorating’ and modernizing the Windows desktop experience to keep up with customer expectation in a world driven by other modern and lightweight platforms.”

The UI refresh is codenamed “Sun Valley” expected to be introduced with Windows 10 Cobalt – the 2021 H2 update. The project is being led by the new Windows chief Panos Panay who was already handling the company’s Surface division and has this year taken charge of Windows development, as well.

“Personally I’m very excited to lead the Windows Client for Microsoft, which will help us streamline our decision-making processes, be clear on our priorities, and deliver the best end user experiences from silicon through operating systems across all Microsoft apps and service connected devices (OEMs and Surface),” Panay had written in an internal email at the time.

ZDNet adds to this information saying that internally Microsoft engineers have been describing the 21H2 (aka “Cobalt”) release as Windows 10++, which means there are definitely some big plans for the next fall update.

Windows 10 refresh borrows design from Windows 10X

Microsoft was supposed to introduce its new operating system, Windows 10X, for folding dual-screen laptops this holiday season. While that has been postponed due to the pandemic, the company is expected to borrow its design elements for Windows 10. This isn’t a new development as we have been hearing about these plans for months now, but it appears Windows 10 2021 will be the year to make it all happen.

Some parts of Windows 10 that are expected to be redesigned include:

Start menu

Action Center

Better dark mode support

Updated Taskbar

New design for File Explorer

“Fluid experiences” for tablets

Keyboard and emoji improvements

Overall consistent look and feel

While this particular report doesn’t mention Control Center, the company has been taking steps to move more and more of Control Center to the Settings app. It is likely that Microsoft will take further steps in that direction considering the presence of Control Center isn’t only confusing but also a massive design eyesore.

Not a new OS

It should be noted that this wouldn’t be a super drastic change that will make users feel like they are shifting towards a new operating system. This design refresh is intended to implement Fluent Design throughout the OS and make consistent changes across the board to refresh and “reinvigorate” the desktop experience.

Whether any of this actually happens or not is a big question that probably can’t even be answered by Microsoft right now… Considering how things are going with the release of Windows 10X, it won’t be a surprise if the company has to delay this Windows 10 design refresh, as well. But, 2021 or 2022, Windows 10 does deserve some more attention from its maker to finally feel like a consistent operating system both in terms of its design and its update delivery system.

I’m told there was an Apple event today. I’m told it was one of the biggest moments of its year. Yet the event was for this year’s tweak of the iPhone, not Apples’s big moment of innovation. That’s coming later this year, when Tim Cook’s team reveal a new MacBook that will be running on ARM-based architecture, rather than Intel. While some hand-picked developers have had access to a Developer Transition Kit, presumably under heavy NDA, the project has been shrouded in darkness, with only the occasional leak of online benchmarks and to-be-expected hyperbole from the geekerati.

It’s in stark contrast to Microsoft’s approach.

With far less pomp and circumstances, the Windows 10 on ARM project made another step today. For some it will be seen as a very important step, unlocking the full power of the ARM platform. For others it will be seen as something that should have been done before consumer devices were available, especially Microsofts own Surface Pro X.

Today saw the release of the ARM-compiled version of Microsoft Teams.

This is not a review of Microsoft Teams. I’m not even going to touch on the application, beyond noting that it is one of Microsoft’s applications that many enterprises and organisations regard as a key application, and it integrates through Microsoft clouds to mobiles, tablets, browser, and dedicated applications on multiple platforms. It’s about Microsoft’s open nature as it develops the Windows 10 on ARM platform.

Last year’s launch of the Surface Pro X put the Windows 10 on ARM project front and centre. Consumers could buy the 2-in-1 and use it in anger. Many did, and you can find praise for the Pro X online in consumer reviews and social media chat. It wasn’t cheap to buy into, with the entry level 8 GB RAM / 128 GB Storage model priced at $999 (plus a keyboard for $140, or a keyboard and stylus for $269). For that price consumers expect a finished package and a machine that works.

Was it the finished package? The hardware certainly was – even though I don’t agree with the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack and SD card expansion slot. Was the software? Here’s where it gets interesting, because there are three broad flavours of Windows 10 apps to consider… those compiled directly for ARM, those compiled for older Intel-based x86 Windows machines using 32-bit code, and those compiled for the Intel x86 machines using 64-bit code.

Naturally ARM apps are going to run on the ARM computer. But what about the countless number of legacy apps; many of which are business critical apps in the enterprise situation. Microsoft is not in the habit of standing up and saying ‘we’re dropping all support for 32-bit apps, good luck’. The solution is an emulation layer. As the Pro X launched, Windows 10 on ARM could emulate x86 32-bit apps. These would run on the Pro X; albeit drawing more power from the battery, potentially running slower than on an Intel machine such as the Surface Pro 7, and in some cases obscure drivers would not be supported. But in the main your 32-bit legacy apps would still be available.

x86 64-bit emulation was not supported at launch. It was promised, and it wa recently announced that the Windows Insider build would pick up 64-bit support in November, with a public release expected in Q1 2021. This created some blind spots for apps that did not have 32-bit versions.

Depending on the apps you need, the Pro X was either a potential purchase, or clearly off limits (side note: not everyone needs Photoshop on their laptop, it’s not a dealbreaker for everyone).

This was Microsoft’s choice. It could have kept the ARM project as an internal project and one wrapped up by NDAs with third-party developers and manufacturers. Or it could go live with the code, release the hardware, and iterate the software during 2020 and beyond. Going with the later has given Microsoft a year of customer feedback, raised the profile of Windows 10 on ARM, and by virtue of the release is publicly putting the weight of the company behind the platform.

That development has seen not only software updates to Windows 10, but the updating of first- and third-party software to include ARM versions alongside Intel. Probably the biggest release was the ARM build of Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser. 

While most of Microsoft’s Office apps were available in 2019 as ARM apps, Microsoft Teams was notable in only being available as an x86 32-bit app. That meant running under emulation, and users were quick to notice both the reduced performance and how it was faster to run the cloud based version in the Edge browser.

With the release of the ARM build of Microsoft Teams, we see another step. Yes it’s one taken by Microsoft, which is heavily invested in this project, but it’s a step that Microsoft needs developers to consider as worthwhile. To achieve that, the platform needs visibility, it needs a sense of momentum, and it needs to be wanted by the consumer.

Microsoft’s open approach is just as valid as Apple’s closed approach. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. But the one advantage Microsoft has over Apple, and one that Apple should pay attention to, is the open nature of the Windows 10 on ARM development cycle. As the project continues, so more people will believe in the project, will invest in the project, and create a virtuous circle.

The latest Windows 10 update has rolled out a selection of old and defunct drivers that could affect the functionality of certain hardware, users are reporting.

As an example, some users have been served a driver update listed as “INTEL – System”, which is backdated to 1968 despite having been delivered via a Windows 10 2004 update this month.

The offending driver updates – found under the Optional Updates settings panel – are said to have been pushed to certain devices that are not registered with Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program.

In some instances, users have also found that the outdated driver updates mysteriously reappear in the updates queue, even after successful installation.

Roll back your Windows 10 driver updates

The role of drivers (also called device drivers or hardware drivers) is to allow hardware to communicate effectively with the operating system – in this case, Windows 10.

Installing an outdated or default driver (as opposed to the latest custom driver provided by the manufacturer) can affect the ability of the hardware to function as it should and could even serve to disable the kit entirely.

Driver updates found under Optional Updates in Windows 10 are usually the last port of call for system administrators struggling to fix an issue with a specific piece of hardware. In other words, there’s no need to install these driver updates if the associated hardware is fully functional.

“If you have a specific problem, one of these drivers might help. Otherwise, automatic updates will keep your drivers up to date,” reads the settings page.

If you have already installed the optional driver updates issued by Microsoft, your drivers will have been relegated to an old or default version – but there are a couple of solutions.

One option is to seek out the most up-to-date drivers on the device manufacturer’s websites and manually install the latest versions available

Alternatively, users with administrative privileges could locate the relevant device in Device Manager, navigate to the Properties menu, switch to the Driver tab and click Roll Back Driver. This will revert to the previous device driver, in place prior to the update.

Microsoft has now joined Intel in confirming a newly reported security vulnerability with Thunderbolt ports, one that enables an attacker with physical access to a PC to modify the port’s controller firmware, disabling its security. As I reported last week, almost all Windows PCs with Thunderbolt ports are vulnerable, except a few from last year that shipped with Kernel DMA protection enabled.

This new security threat has been dubbed “Thunderspy” by Björn Ruytenberg, the Eindhoven University of Technology researcher who discovered and disclosed it. Ruytenberg warns that despite locking or suspending a PC, setting up a Secure Boot and strong system passwords, and enabling disk encryption, “all an attacker needs is five minutes alone with the computer” to compromise a machine.

Such physical attacks on computers are complex, high-risk and thankfully rare. But they do happen. A physical compromise such as this is nicknamed an “evil maid” attack—the idea being that your machine is targeted when you’re staying in a hotel and away from your room, or when the overnight cleaning crew come to blitz your office. An attacker needs a few undisturbed minutes with no eyes-on.

If you’re a target, this will happen when you’re down at breakfast, out to dinner or using the gym in your hotel. “I have even heard of someone finding all the screws from his laptop on the table top after he took it out from his hotel safe,” former British intel officer Philip Ingram told me. This is why security professionals leave a “do not disturb” sign on their hotel room doors even when they’re not inside—you get your room serviced by calling down and asking for it to be done at a time of your choosing. And you have your devices with you while it’s being done.

Now Microsoft has confirmed the risk that “an attacker with physical access to a system can use Thunderspy to read and copy data even from systems that have encryption with password protection enabled.” The vulnerability is in hardware, and so cannot be patched. According to Microsoft, someone with physical access to the device “could sign in and exfiltrate data or install malicious software.” Microsoft’s advice to “stay ahead of advanced data theft” is to buy a new PC.

Not just any PC, of course, but one of their newly minted “secured-core PCs.” These have been around since late last year and come with all the security bells and whistles enabled in hardware and firmware, “mitigating Thunderspy and any similar attacks that rely on malicious DMA.” Intel told me that a Thunderspy attack “could not be successfully demonstrated on systems with Kernel DMA protection,” a feature enabled by default on Microsoft’s Secured-core PCs.

As Microsoft explains, “even if an attacker was able to copy malicious Thunderbolt firmware to a device, the Kernel DMA protection on a Secured-core PC would prevent any accesses over the Thunderbolt port unless the attacker gains the user’s password… significantly raising the degree of difficulty.”

There is now a range of Secured-core PCs available, aimed at business users, likely those with a heightened sense of security awareness, who travel regularly (albeit not just at the moment), and who have valuable data on their machines. This isn’t just spooks—business leaders, VIPs, negotiators, politicians, anyone with sensitive data who travels and leaves their PC out of sight for periods of time.

The alternative mitigation to a locked-down machine, according to Ingram, is worse. “Take a burner device with only the data you need for those meetings on a separate USB. Never connect it to any network when you return home and only use it for travel to that country. If you ever leave it unattended assume the hardware has been compromised. If you have been subject to extended searches at an airport and have lost sight of your IT, assume it has been compromised.” You get the point.

As security vulnerabilities go, Thunderspy is pretty niche—an issue on a massive scale, but one which realistically only puts a very small percentage of users at risk. That said, it is a security flaw and it does leave PCs open to compromise. With that in mind, plus the fact this is now in the public domain, I’m sure many users will look at the availability of Kernel DMA protection when they next trade-up.