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New Windows 10 build incoming: Microsoft nixes annoying productivity obstacles

Microsoft has a new build of Windows 10 for the Anniversary update, which irons out a number of bugs that could hinder office productivity.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer
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The update weeds out minor annoyances and obstacles to productivity on the desktop during authentication and when connecting devices.

Image: ZDNet/Microsoft

Along with yesterday's light Patch Tuesday, Microsoft is rolling out a new build of Windows 10 for the Anniversary Update, aka version 1607, and earlier versions including 1511 and 1507.

Windows 10 users on the Anniversary Update move up to OS build 14393.693, which introduces 11 quality improvements but no new operating system features.

The update is for desktop and mobile, and focuses on weeding out minor annoyances and obstacles to productivity on the desktop during authentication and when connecting devices.

As per Microsoft's changelog, the update improves the reliability of Groove Music playback, App-V, video playback, and Remote Desktop.

It also fixes unnamed issues with Microsoft Edge, clustering, Internet Explorer, Windows Update, input devices, facial recognition, Logon, Hyper-V, PCI bus drivers, and Windows Kernel.

When authenticating with a fingerprint with the screen off, the screen should now turn back on after installing the update.

Users should also be able to connect two similar input devices to the same machine and have both devices actually work. Microsoft has also fixed a bug that prevented a smart-card module from pairing with a contactless smart-card reader.

Other key updates include fixes for Remote Assistance for users receiving help on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012; a fix that stopped Internet Explorer users opening a URL when Enhanced Protected Mode is enabled; and a fix for App-V Connection Group that gave users access to functionality they shouldn't have had.

Microsoft also addressed a bug that stopped users from logging on if a device hasn't been connected to the corporate network over a period of time.

One known bug not addressed with this update is where users may see a delayed or clipped screen when viewing games or other 3D rendering apps, if they're using two monitors. Microsoft recommends running the application in Windows mode, not full-screen mode.

Versions 1511 and 1507 have received updates that fix security issues in Microsoft Edge.

The new versions of Windows 10 rolled out alongside Microsoft's first Patch Tuesday for the year, which contained just three bulletins for Microsoft products. A fourth covered Adobe's Flash Player update for Internet Explorer and Edge.

The Edge patch for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 fixes an elevation of privilege bug that could be exploited if a user visits a specially crafted webpage.

Microsoft notes that, "Edge does not properly enforce cross-domain policies with about:blank, which could allow an attacker to access information from one domain and inject it into another domain."

Office users also received a fix for a bug in Word 2016 that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a malicious Office file. "An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user," says Microsoft.

The other relevant security bug for Windows 10 addresses 13 critical flaws in Adobe Flash Player, fixing Flash libraries shipped within Internet Explorer 10 and 11, and Edge.

Read more about Windows 10

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