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Microsoft’s abrupt retirement of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) has left a sizable portion of the Windows systems administration community scrambling — existing deployments will continue to run for now, but Microsoft will issue no further updates, security patches, or compatibility fixes, and administrators are being told to remove MDT integrations from Configuration Manager task sequences to prevent corruption. Background MDT began life in the early 2000s as a pragmatic, free...

OMV’s security team says moving its core SOC to Microsoft Sentinel cut incident resolution time in half while unifying disparate telemetry under Microsoft Defender XDR—and the deployment reads like a textbook example of modern SOC consolidation: cloud-native SIEM, customer-managed encryption keys, automation with Logic Apps, and hot/warm/cold data tiering via Azure Data Explorer. The result, according to OMV’s cyber defense leadership, is faster investigations, fewer manual handoffs with...

Microsoft has quietly made Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10162 available as downloadable ISO images, giving users who aren’t on the Fast ring a way to perform clean installs or run the preview in virtual machines without waiting for an over-the-air Slow‑ring push. The initial reports describe the ISOs as offered in multiple languages and in both x86 and x64 variants; Microsoft has not published a full, formal changelog for this particular ISO release, which suggests the package primarily...

Two decades of ritual reinstalling—a white-knuckled clutch at a pristine desktop—no longer buys what it used to, and in many cases it can introduce fresh problems you won't spot until days later when a vendor utility won't run or a battery health profile is gone. The reflex to "format and start over" came from a different era of Windows, but modern Windows recovery tools, improved OEM practices, and hardware realities mean that reinstalling as a first response is often the slowest, riskiest...

Windows Hello promised to make passwords optional by replacing typed secrets with biometrics — a face, an iris, or a fingerprint — and the early demos that paired Windows 10 builds with Intel’s RealSense depth cameras made that promise visible and tangible for everyday users. Background / Overview Windows Hello arrived as part of Microsoft’s broader push toward passwordless authentication, tightly integrated with Microsoft Passport (later described as part of the Passport/Passport for Work /...

Two decades of reinstall rituals have taught a useful lesson: the reflex to wipe Windows and start over was once a reliable fix, but on modern PCs it’s often an expensive, time-consuming detour that can make problems worse rather than better. The old payoff — removing intrusive third‑party junk, restoring clean boot times, eliminating fragile drivers — has been blunted by changes in Windows, hardware, and vendor practices. At the same time, a full reinstall still has a place when a system is...

If you’ve ever watched Chrome quietly consume large chunks of your system RAM while you flit between tabs, you’re witnessing a consequence of modern browser design — and the good news is: you don’t have to live with it. While Google’s long-term architecture choices and incremental Memory Saver features only partially address the problem, a set of mature extensions and disciplined workflows can dramatically reduce Chrome’s footprint and restore usable system memory for the apps that really...

AR OS 2 is a fan-made concept that does more than fantasize about a prettier desktop — it sketches a coherent vision for how a modern Windows successor could be designed: a clean, modular UI, deeper but unobtrusive AI, superior drag‑and‑drop and customization, and a lightweight “Lite” mode for the devices that need it most. The concept — the work of designer AR 4789 — is not software you can install, but its ideas map directly onto the gaps users keep asking Microsoft to fix as Windows 10...

KB5075032 landed on January 13, 2026: Microsoft has published a new Phi Silica AI component update for Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs — version 1.2511.1326.0 — delivered through Windows Update for Windows 11 (24H2 and 25H2). Introduction — why this update matters Phi Silica is Microsoft’s on-device, Transformer-based “small language model” (SLM) that’s been tuned specifically to run efficiently on the Neural Processing Units (NPUs) inside Copilot+ PCs. That combination — a compact but capable...

KB5073454 — Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11 (23H2) — January 13, 2026 A WindowsForum-style technical guide, background, deployment checklist and step‑by‑step instructions for end users and administrators Summary KB5073454 (published January 13, 2026) is a Safe OS Dynamic Update that refreshes the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) used by Windows 11, version 23H2. The public KB summary is intentionally short — “This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment...

Microsoft has published KB5074108 today — a Safe OS (WinRE) Dynamic Update for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 that refreshes the Windows Recovery Environment on affected devices and deployment images; the update is available via Windows Update, the Microsoft Update Catalog and WSUS, does not require a restart to take effect on the recovery image, and sets the on-device WinRE verification string to 10.0.26100.7618 after a successful application. Background / Overview The Windows Recovery...

Microsoft's January 13, 2026 cumulative update for Windows 11 (KB5073455, OS Build 22631.6491) closes several security gaps, removes legacy modem drivers with known high-severity vulnerabilities, and introduces a controlled, phased mechanism to deliver replacement Secure Boot certificates ahead of a looming June 2026 expiration — a combination that changes immediate patch priorities for home users, IT administrators, and device manufacturers alike. Background / Overview Windows cumulative...

Microsoft released the January 13, 2026 security baseline today — published as KB5074109 — and enterprise administrators should treat this as both a mandatory security checkpoint and a practical reminder about the new Hotpatch servicing cadence for Windows 11 Enterprise (24H2 and 25H2). The baseline advances Windows 11 builds to 26100.7623 (24H2) and 26200.7623 (25H2), bundles the latest Servicing Stack Update (SSU) with the Latest Cumulative Update (LCU), and includes AI component updates...

Microsoft's January 13, 2026 release of KB5074208 delivers another incremental but important update to Setup Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 23H2—an update aimed squarely at the bits Windows Setup uses during feature upgrades and in-place migrations. At first glance KB5074208 looks routine: a package of updated setup binaries and support files. For IT pros and deployment engineers, though, it represents a continuing refinement of the Dynamic Update pipeline that drives upgrade...

Microsoft released the January 13, 2026 cumulative for Windows 11 as KB5074109, advancing 25H2 installs to OS Build 26200.7623 and 24H2 installs to OS Build 26100.7623, and distributing the package as one or more MSU files that must be applied in the correct sequence for offline servicing or installed together with DISM to allow automatic prerequisite sequencing. Background Microsoft’s monthly cumulative model now routinely bundles the latest LCU (Latest Cumulative Update) content with...

For decades, Microsoft has presented privacy and security not as competing priorities but as mutually reinforcing obligations—and the company’s recent Deputy CISO commentary lays out how that philosophy is engineered into products, programs, and governance at global scale. Background Microsoft’s latest Deputy CISO post reiterates a simple thesis: privacy is a human right and the practical way to protect it is through layered, identity‑centric security that minimizes the vendor’s need to see...

Microsoft's future-of-Windows fantasy videos keep doing the heavy lifting for public expectation—AR 4789's latest concept, a polished "Windows 12.1" reel that shows installation while you game or browse, a taut minimalist shell, and a tidier File Explorer, has reignited debates about what Microsoft should fix (and what it should avoid) as Windows evolves. The clip is a reminder that the conversation around Windows's next chapter isn't just about feature lists; it's about design consistency...

Windows is at an inflection point: as free support for Windows 10 ends on October 14, 2025, Microsoft’s roadmap and the community’s imagination are converging on an AI-first successor — popularly dubbed Windows 12 in rumors and concept art — that promises to be everything Windows 11 should have been and, for many, the OS the market deserves. Background Microsoft’s formal lifecycle calendars drew a line under Windows 10 in mid‑October 2025, when mainstream technical assistance, feature...

Zorin OS 18 has emerged as the best‑packaged Linux alternative for Windows holdouts, and its momentum is the clearest sign yet that a meaningful wave of Windows users are actively testing — and in many cases installing — Linux as Windows 10 reaches the end of its mainstream support window. Background and context Zorin OS 18 landed in the market precisely when calendar pressure on Windows users peaked: Microsoft’s mainstream support for Windows 10 ended on October 14, 2025. That deadline...

Microsoft has published the January 13, 2026 cumulative security update for Windows 11 (KB5074109), and it’s available now via Windows Update and the Microsoft Update Catalog as a set of MSU packages that must be installed in a specific order for offline deployments and image servicing. Background / Overview Microsoft’s January 2026 cumulative (KB5074109) updates both Windows 11 release branches covered by the package and are labeled for the OS builds 26200.7623 and 26100.7623. The package...