Mozilla Firefox 70 is now readily available for download on all supported platforms, and something from the highlights within this release may be the further polished dark mode that users on the desktop can enable in their browsers.

Necessary for note would be that the dark theme doesn"t come with a manual switch in the settings screen but automatically follows the system configuration.

In other words, on Windows 10, for example, should you enable the dark mode within the OS, exactly the same theme should be activated in Firefox too all automatically. Switching back to the light mode in Windows also returns Firefox towards the classic mode.

This approach has previously been utilized by other apps too, including here Firefox"s big rival Google Chrome.

Users available, however, haven"t necessarily received this idea perfectly, as some desired to let the dark mode in Windows 10 without the browser enabling the dark theme as well, and also the other way around. It remains to be seen if things will be different in Mozilla"s case, but a choice to help make the dark mode independent from Windows 10 settings would have been great.

In Firefox 70, the dark theme is substantially more refined compared to the previous releases, which means you should notice it in more pages across the browser, which could only be great news trained with all plays a role in increased consistency while using the app.

The dark mode is now within the most of Firefox menus and pages, like the about:config screen, settings, downloads, and others. Through the looks of products, Mozilla has spent a considerable amount of time to refine this visual style, and everything looks really polished in one end to a different.

Developer tools don"t have a full dark mode at this time, but I expect Mozilla to add further improvements in connection with this within the coming updates.

Firefox still comes with rather basic appearance configuration settings under:

Firefox > Options > General > Language and search

The screen here, however, doesn't include any choices for the dark mode, albeit it lets you set up the default font and size, colors for links, background, and text, as well as high contrast theme behavior.

For the time being, extension menus will also be while using standard theme, but it"s probably only a matter of time until add-on developers unveil updates to align with the visual improvements in Firefox. Truth be told, light menus for many extensions are actually very annoying, especially when clicking them in the center of a night and also you get a grey menu while anything else on screen is dark.

Needless to say, the dark mode will further be refined in the coming releases, and I expect Firefox to complete its dark theme rollout, with all pages and components using this visual style, within the next handful of updates.

Firefox happens to be the 2nd most-used desktop browser available, so improvements like this are clearly welcome, especially given the number of users. Actually, dark modes have grown to be a priority for the majority of software developers nowadays, and Mozilla clearly does the right thing by further polishing its version with every release.

We"ll be keeping track of the way the dark theme further evolves in Firefox within the coming updates, and look for the screenshot gallery below to determine the present implementation in action. Remember that you've got to be running an operating system with a built-in dark mode to profit out of this updated experience, as it"s the case of the latest versions of Windows 10.

Microsoft has released a brand new preview build of Windows 10 20H1 for users enrolled in the Fast ring of the Windows Insider program.

Windows 10 build 19002 isn't necessarily a significant release, because it includes no major change, and is mostly centered on refining the performance from the operating system and squashing a series of bugs.

The only real mention in the "what's new" section this time around concerns the streamlined Bluetooth experience that Microsoft introduced in Windows 10 build 18985 and which now opens up for everyone.

Thanks to this new Bluetooth feature, the whole pairing process takes place seamlessly with almost zero input, as users are only notified with a toast notification that the pairing task is within progress. With today's release, Microsoft can also be announcing two new devices that are supported by this updated Bluetooth experience, namely the Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard and Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse.

Bug causing devices to get stuck on shutdown or reboot

There are many other general improvements and known issues, and you can try them out in full in the box after the jump.

One notable bug, however, concerns a series of devices that could end up stuck during shutdown or restart. Microsoft says a fix is already in development, therefore it will likely be included in a future build.

"We're working on a treatment for an issue that started with the previous flight where some products are getting stuck during shutdown or restart and appreciate your patience. If you're impacted by this issue, please visit this forum post for workaround options," Microsoft explains.

Windows 10 20H1 is projected to become finalized in the first months of 2020. According to Microsoft's release calendar, this will take place in March, while the first rollout wave for production devices is anticipated to land in April or May.

Google keeps tinkering with all sorts of new features for Chrome browser, and something of them appears to concern the high contrast mode that users can enable in their os's.

On Windows, for instance, the high contrast mode is usually enabled not necessarily as an accessibility feature, but as a mode that simplifies everything on screen.

And because of that, Google Chrome must be in a position to adjust to this adjusted visual style, which is precisely what Google has been working on lately.

Reddit user Leopeva64-2 has discovered a new flag added to Google Chrome which when activated forces the browser to show sites in high contrast mode as well.

But let's take everything one at a time and find out how Chrome's behavior changes moving forward.

First and foremost, Google Chrome has already been in a position to determine when you're using a high contrast mode within the operating system, therefore it can react accordingly.

In Windows 10, for example, the stable form of Chrome detects when the high contrast mode is enabled and prompts users to install extra time that may help render websites properly.

See the web in high contrast mode
Try:
High Contrast Extension
Dark Theme

Both high contrast extension and also the built-in Google Chrome dark theme certainly help when the high contrast mode is enabled on a device, however it appears like Google wants to make everything a bit more seamless and force websites to render sites in high contrast mode without any user input.

In other words, should you enable the high contrast mode on your device, Google should switch on this feature inside the browser as well, so websites would be rendered accordingly without you having to touch any other switch.

"When high contrast is currently enabled in Chrome, a popup is displayed prompting the consumer to set up our prime Contrast extension. This extension uses CSS/SVG filter effects overlaid around the entire webpage using its own predefined themes. The benefit of enabling high contrast in the core platform, as compared to the extension-based approach, is it supplies a more seamless experience for users with the remainder of the Windows OS. This includes not just the browser-context, but also other Chromium-powered applications," Google explains.

A flag to allow this new capability in the search engines Chrome has already been put into the Canary version, and you can give it a try pretty fast. To begin with, update Google Chrome Canary to the latest version, and then type the following code within the address bar of the browser:

chrome://flags

Next, search for the following flag:

Forced Colors

If you wish to use the fast lane, copy the next code and paste it in the address bar of the browser:

chrome://flags/#forced-colors

You're going to need to reboot the browser, after which our prime contrast mode is automatically enabled. Remember that the high contrast setting ought to be enabled on the operating-system. To disable this behavior, you simply need to set the flag towards the disabled value - setting it to default also works best for now considering that default means it's switched off within the browser.

As the flag description reads, the high contrast mode will be on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and ChromeOS. No ETA can be obtained for the time being, but it should go reside in the next stable form of Google Chrome.

Obviously, the rest of the Chromium-powered browsers should get similar capabilities too, and here you can the Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge as well.

Microsoft has officially announced tamper protection for Microsoft Defender ATP customers, and beginning today, the organization can also be enabling this selection automatically for those home users.

Tamper protection is really a new Windows 10 security feature that can block applications from doing changes for your device and security measures, technically making sure that certain protection systems, like antivirus software, aren't disabled with a malware infection.

In some cases, malware infections attempt to disable security protection features in an effort to drop additional payloads and permit an attacker to take full control of a compromised device.

With tamper protection, this is no longer possible, as only system administrators are allowed to make changes to the device.

Enabled automatically for consumers

Beginning today, Microsoft is rolling out tamper protection for home users too, and the feature is automatically switched on automatically on these devices. However, home users are still permitted to disable tamper protection at any moment in the Windows Security app.

"For home users, tamper protection will be enabled automatically to automatically increase defenses against attacks. We're currently activating the feature gradually; some customers will start seeing the setting on their own devices," Microsoft says.

Tamper protection is currently readily available for Windows 10 version 1903 (May 2019 Update) exclusively, but Microsoft says it's working on bringing it to older Windows too.

"We believe it's crucial for customers, across home users and commercial customers, to show on tamper protection to make sure that essential security solutions are not circumvented. We will continue focusing on this selection, including building support for older Windows versions," the organization notes in an announcement today.

A closer look at tamper protection, how it operates, and what it will in Windows 10 May 2019 Update can be found here.

If for some reason you're still running Windows 10 Mobile, maybe this new security vulnerability convinces you it's time to move ahead.

A security flaw discovered in Windows 10 Mobile allows a malicious actor to access your photo gallery in the lock screen without unlocking the unit.

Microsoft has acknowledged the issue, but what's worse would be that the company won't unveil a patch, leaving it unfixed.

The great part is the fact that an effective attack technically requires an assailant to have physical access towards the device and Cortana must be enabled to work on the lock screen. Otherwise, an exploit can't work.

"A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in Windows 10 Mobile when Cortana allows a user to access files and folders with the locked screen. An assailant who successfully exploited this vulnerability could access the photo library of the affected phone and modify or delete photos without authenticating to the system," Microsoft explains in CVE-2019-1314.

"Microsoft is not planning on fixing this vulnerability in Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft recommends implementing the workaround to limit access to Cortana."

No attacks to date

The vulnerability is flagged with an "important" severity rating, and Microsoft says it wasn't publicly disclosed and it's not aware of any exploits out in the wild. Furthermore, given physical access is required to the unit, exploitation is less likely, the organization notes.

So what are your options now that Microsoft doesn't want to release a treatment for this problem?

Of course, you should use Microsoft's workaround and disable Cortana either completely or around the lock screen, which obviously means losing one of the key options that come with Windows 10 Mobile in the first place.

Or you can simply move to Android or iOS, the platforms that Microsoft is super-committed to, as Windows 10 Mobile is going to be losing full support in December anyway.

UPDATE: Security research Yuval Ron, who discovered the flaw and reported it to Microsoft, published a demo online (embedded below). Inside a statement for Softpedia, he explains that Microsoft's decision to not patch the flaw is most likely in line with the reduced quantity of users still on Windows 10 Mobile.

"Microsoft's decision to not fix this vulnerability is principally because of the limited number of users. However, it is still surprising given that they should support Windows 10 Mobile until December. The very best recommendation is to disable Cortana on Lock screen," he explained.

Microsoft will retire Windows 10 version 1803, or Windows 10 April 2018 Update, in November, therefore the company has started showing warnings in Windows Update on devices which are still running this old release.

A notification turning up on Windows 10 version 1803 computers under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update tells users that support for that version they're running is coming to an end and upgrading is the recommended option.

"You're currently running a form of Windows that's nearing the end of support. We recommend you update to the newest version of Windows 10 how to get the latest features and security improvements," this notification reads.

As far as users are worried, the one thing they need to do is allow the newer form of Windows 10 to set up on their devices. When the download isn't available already, checking for updates should get the necessary bits for moving to Windows 10 version 1903.

Update options

At this point, the only two versions newer than Windows 10 April 2018 Update is version 1809 (October 2018 Update) and version 1903 (May 2019 Update). Windows 10 1903 is already available for download for all devices having a manual update, albeit some upgrade blocks continue to be in position if certain compatibility issues are discovered.

If the update to version 1903 doesn't appear having a manual check for updates, your device may be targeted by such an upgrade block.

Microsoft can also be on the point of release another feature update for Windows 10. Codenamed Windows 10 19H2, this version could land when tomorrow, as it'll be shipped by means of a cumulative update on Windows Update.

Microsoft hasn't yet confirmed the release date for Windows 10 19H2, but given its completion date was September, there's an opportunity the update has already been finalized and it is now prepared to ship.

October 2 may be the day when Microsoft will finally announce a number of upgrades because of its Surface line of products, and certainly, probably the most anticipated unveiling concerns the company's initial dual-screen device.

Codenamed Centaurus, this new Surface model has developed in the works for a minimum of a few years. Many called it the top Phone originally, however it was eventually learned that Microsoft no more wanted to invest in the phone hardware ecosystem and concentrate on the main purpose of the Surface series.

This dual-screen Surface includes two different displays which will support multiple form factors with an increase of screen estate. Named mode will obviously take advantage of the screen area of the two displays, but as far because the laptop mode is concerned, the most important details are not yet been determined.

Is Microsoft likely to allow another screen to double as a keyboard? Or will the company allow buyers to attach a Type Cover over one from the screens while using existing connector design?

Without a doubt, Microsoft stepping into the world of dual-screen devices is big news. Not only for that company itself, as well as the rest of the industry too. And it's all pretty much since the Redmond-based tech giant typically pioneers such form factors, with the remainder of the ecosystem then following in the footsteps with similar devices.

And yet, the dual-screen Microsoft Surface might not be Redmond's biggest announcement.

Things i believe is at least as vital is the ARM-powered Microsoft Surface.

While at this point the facts regarding this particular model are extremely scarce, it's basically confirmed that the ARM Surface is coming. And while I know that Windows 10 on ARM has to date failed to make an effect, this is exactly why Microsoft's first model insisting for this platform is really important.

First of all, it's because Microsoft launching an ARM-powered Surface shows the company doesn't wish to give up on this project. And when Microsoft itself invests in it, a lot of its partners is going to do exactly the same, which eventually means that many other laptops and 2-in-1s running Windows 10 on ARM should eventually see daylight.

Secondly, it's how much of an ARM-based Surface method for customers. ARM devices have mostly impressed in terms of battery life, with some models going up to 20 hours per charge. This is undoubtedly something that you don't hear every day, and I for just one would love a device with such a battery life.

But at the same time, Windows running on an ARM chip sometime proved a concept that's harder to do from a performance perspective. Not only that a leg system includes its very own limitations, but the performance of these devices doesn't reach the expectations of someone dedicated to the Windows 10 ecosystem.

Probably, Microsoft has worked with Qualcomm to squeeze every bit of performance in the Snapdragon chip the company uses on this Surface Pro, so it'll certainly be interesting to see the way the event runs. Since it all depends on the performance in the first place.

The ARM-based Microsoft Surface could be a hit if Microsoft gets it right, so in the long term, this particular model can provide the perfect mixture of performance, battery life, and the premium quality that you simply expect from a Surface device.

It won't take very long until we find out if Microsoft's ARM Surface is worth the cash, but if this project fails, there's a strong possibility that Windows 10 on ARM like a project is pretty much dead.

The Windows 10 Taskbar already enables you to pin your favorite websites, but navigating to a specific one is a guessing game with Cortana. If you wish to skip the frustration, there's a simple tweak that allows you to add your own URL field, thus giving you the ability to navigate to any website without needing to open a browser first.

1. Right click the Taskbar and unlock it by clicking the Lock the taskbar option. If this option isn't checked, you can skip this step. It should come checked automatically, though.

2. Right click once again and click on Toolbars > Address.

3. Now, you have a URL field in the bottom right of your Taskbar. For doing things, simply key in a URL and press enter. Windows will open the link inside your default browser.

4. To eliminate it, simply work in reverse order and repeat steps 2 and 1.

Windows 10 improved upon its predecessors in a number of ways, however it changed numerous things that quite a few users might have grown to rely upon. If you are one of those who miss the My Computer icon around the desktop, we've got a way to bring the old reliable button back.

This trick doesn't just make it easier to see the drive-level of the PC, it also allows you to bring other icons back. So rejoice, fans from the Control Panel and Network! Here's how to restore the My Computer icon to the desktop:

1) Right-click on the desktop and select Personalize.

2) Click Themes.

3) Click "Go to desktop icon settings."

4) Check the box alongside Computer. You may also check the boxes for Control Panel, Network and User's Files to bring those to the desktop.

5) Click Apply.

6) Click OK.

7) Right-click on This PC.

8) Select Rename.

9) Type "My Computer."

10) Click Enter.