How can I easily install pending Windows updates on my PC?
Call 1-855-535-7109. To install pending Windows updates easily on your Windows PC, follow these steps: Open Windows Settings: Press Windows + I to quickly open the Settings menu. Go to Update & Security: In the Settings window, select Update & Security. Check for Updates: Under the Windows Update section, click Check for updates. Windows will search for any pending updates. Install Updates: If updates are available, click on Install to begin the installation process. Windows will automatically download and install the updates. Restart Your Computer: After updates are installed, a restart may be required. Windows will prompt you to restart, or you can manually restart your PC. Use Windows Update Troubleshooter (if issues occur): If updates aren’t installing properly, try using the Windows Update Troubleshooter. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooters, then select Windows Update and run the troubleshooter.Security Baseline for M365 Apps for enterprise v2512
Security baseline for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise (v2512, December 2025) Microsoft is pleased to announce the latest Security Baseline for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, version 2512, is now available as part of the Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit. This release builds on previous baselines and introduces updated, security‑hardened recommendations aligned with modern threat landscapes and the latest Office administrative templates. As with prior releases, this baseline is intended to help enterprise administrators quickly deploy Microsoft recommended security configurations, reduce configuration drift, and ensure consistent protection across user environments. Download the updated baseline today from the Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit, test the recommended configurations, and implement as appropriate. This release introduces and updates several security focused policies designed to strengthen protections in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and core Microsoft 365 Apps components. These changes reflect evolving attacker techniques, partner feedback, and Microsoft’s secure by design engineering standards. The recommended settings in this security baseline correspond with the administrative templates released in version 5516. Below are the updated settings included in this baseline: Excel: File Block Includes External Link Files Policy Path: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Excel 2016\Excel Options\Security\Trust Center\File Block Settings\File Block includes external link files The baseline will ensure that external links to workbooks blocked by File Block will no longer refresh. Attempts to create or update links to blocked files return an error. This prevents data ingestion from untrusted or potentially malicious sources. Block Insecure Protocols Across Microsoft 365 Apps Policy Path: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Security Settings\Block Insecure Protocols The baseline will block all non‑HTTPS protocols when opening documents, eliminating downgrade paths and unsafe connections. This aligns with Microsoft’s broader effort to enforce TLS‑secure communication across productivity and cloud services. Block OLE Graph Functionality Policy Path: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Security Settings\Block OLE Graph This setting will prevent MSGraph.Application and MSGraph.Chart (classic OLE Graph components) from executing. Microsoft 365 Apps will instead render a static image, mitigating a historically risky automation interface. Block OrgChart Add‑in Policy Path: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Security Settings\Block OrgChart The legacy OrgChart add‑in is disabled, preventing execution and replacing output with an image. This reduces exposure to outdated automation frameworks while maintaining visual fidelity. Restrict FPRPC Fallback in Microsoft 365 Apps Policy Path: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Security Settings\Restrict Apps from FPRPC Fallback The baseline disables the ability for Microsoft 365 Apps to fall back to FrontPage Server Extensions RPC which is an aging protocol not designed for modern security requirements. Avoiding fallback ensures consistent use of modern, authenticated file‑access methods. PowerPoint: OLE Active Content Controls Updated Policy Path: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft PowerPoint 2016\PowerPoint Options\Security\OLE Active Content This baseline enforces disabling interactive OLE actions, no OLE content will be activate. The recommended baseline selection ensures secure‑by‑default OLE activation, reducing risk from embedded legacy objects. Deployment options for the baseline IT Admins can apply baseline settings in different ways. Depending on the method(s) chosen, different registry keys will be written, and they will be observed in order of precedence: Office cloud policies will override ADMX/Group Policies which will override end user settings in the Trust Center. Cloud policies may be deployed with the Office cloud policy service for policies in HKCU. Cloud policies apply to a user on any device accessing files in Office apps with their AAD account. In Office cloud policy service, you can create a filter for the Area column to display the current Security Baselines, and within each policy's context pane the recommended baseline setting is set by default. Learn more about Office cloud policy service. ADMX policies may be deployed with Microsoft Intune for both HKCU and HKLM policies. These settings are written to the same place as Group Policy, but managed from the cloud. There are two methods to create and deploy policy configurations: Administrative templates or the settings catalog. Group Policy may be deployed with on premise AD DS to deploy Group Policy Objects (GPO) to users and computers. The downloadable baseline package includes importable GPOs, a script to apply the GPOs to local policy, a script to import the GPOs into Active Directory Group Policy, updated custom administrative template (SecGuide.ADMX/L) file, all the recommended settings in spreadsheet form and a Policy Analyzer rules file. GPOs included in the baseline Most organizations can implement the baseline’s recommended settings without any problems. However, there are a few settings that will cause operational issues for some organizations. We've broken out related groups of such settings into their own GPOs to make it easier for organizations to add or remove these restrictions as a set. The local-policy script (Baseline-LocalInstall.ps1) offers command-line options to control whether these GPOs are installed. "MSFT Microsoft 365 Apps v2512" GPO set includes “Computer” and “User” GPOs that represent the “core” settings that should be trouble free, and each of these potentially challenging GPOs: “DDE Block - User” is a User Configuration GPO that blocks using DDE to search for existing DDE server processes or to start new ones. “Legacy File Block - User” is a User Configuration GPO that prevents Office applications from opening or saving legacy file formats. "Legacy JScript Block - Computer" disables the legacy JScript execution for websites in the Internet Zone and Restricted Sites Zone. “Require Macro Signing - User” is a User Configuration GPO that disables unsigned macros in each of the Office applications. If you have questions or issues, please let us know via the Security Baseline Community or this post. Related: Learn about Microsoft Baseline Security Mode
Vulnerabilities in Windows Web Experience Pack and C++ Application Develoment Framework
I am dealing with a hacker that is exploiting vulnerabilties in these 2 apps in windows. They were calling a location update using these apps and the NIC would drop out and come back. Im not in the know on how to report exploits. I personally dont have the knowledge to win this battle. I hope someone could help me out with this issue.Problem creating a subfolder or modifying the contents of a folder
A problem happens to me that I already had and which seemed to have resolved itself more or less at the time. When I want to modify the contents of a folder (add a new subfolder, modify the name of a file,...) the modification does not appear. I am forced via the explorer to come out of my folder then enter it again to see that the subfolder is indeed created or that the name of a file has been modified. This is obviously very painful to use. When this happened to me a few months ago I saw people who had had the same problem and I tested proposals without success until one morning the problem disappeared. IT'S reappeared but I no longer know what I was asked to do. Does anyone on this forum know the issue and can explain it by suggesting a way to resolve it?
SmartScreen false positives
Hello, I'm a developer of https://www.abareplace.com/ Unfortunately, Microsoft SmartScreen blocks https://www.abareplace.com/download/ of my application and multiple attempts to contact Microsoft about this case were in vain. The app is clean on VirusTоtаl, has a valid digital signature, and is published to MS Store. However, users see the SmartScreen warning when trying to run the installer downloaded from my website: Windows protected your PC Windows Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk. Other developers report exactly the same problem and it https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows11/comments/1pz8qww/windows_code_signing_is_broken_for_indie/ It has no sense from the security point of view to block something that is already published on Microsoft Store. I submitted a ticket to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/filesubmission?persona=SoftwareDeveloper one month ago. The ticket was "In progress" for many weeks, then was silently closed. I opened a new ticket one week ago and it's still "in progress". I also submitted the file via Report this file as safe > I am the owner or representative of this website and I want to report an incorrect warning about it button in Microsoft Edge several times, but received no confirmation email that you should receive after submitting the form. I know that the times when Steve Ballmer shouted: "Developers! Developers! Developers!" are long gone, but can Microsoft make live at least a bit easier to independent software vendors? Thank you.Find desktop files in full Windows 11 crash
So I have a big Windows 11 crash. I tried everything, impossible to get into the machine whatever the method used. - restoration - modification of elements at startup - repair integrated into windows - boot on DVD, boot on key - etc Even win11 repair via installation DVD does not work. I get an error message telling me that I cannot install Windows on the dedicated partition. So I give up, I've already wasted a lot of time. I got my Windows version back in cmd and as a last resort I will do a complete reinstallation via DVD or return to factory configuration. So I entered the machine in a Linux environment by booting from a key, and I was able to save the 800GB of files from one of the partitions to external HDDs. But... The only data I can't recover is that which was on the desktop; on the OS partition therefore. So yes normally we don't save anything important on the desktop, except that for convenience I have three/four small files which are there permanently... (in .txt and in .odt) Many times I figured I'd move them and create a shortcut, but I didn't... - As the machine does not start under Windows environment, I do not access the desktop. - and on linux I follow the path where the folder is normally located, but it's not there... C: /Users/name/ I tried c:/Users/public I also tried in C:/users/name/documents He's not there either I displayed the hidden folders. Nothing. Can this file be found elsewhere? Or the fact that Windows cannot start prevents you from finding the desktop folder and its files? I did a search on the name of one of the files, and I can't find it either. I just see it appear vaguely in a list of files that Linux shows me as recently opened: but these are only traces I have the impression, I don't have a physical file behind it. It's a sort of temporary file. I don't know if you can find anything in cmd? Or if anyone has an idea to get their hands on it or tell me it's definitely dead and I won't be able to find these files without Windows booting? Thank you so much!Windows search bar problem - searching for updates creates a problem.
i bought a new laptop and i typed the word, up, in the search bar. i typed, up, because it auto completes usually to updates, and then i click on check for updates, and the computer opens the update panel. i found the following problem. i press up. the check for updates appears. then i press check for updates, the blue button. and then, after any updates get installed, the keyboard stops typing completely. i go in the browser, and i cannot type. the only thing i can do in that occassion, is i can go back to the search bar, and i press backspace one time. and then it auto completes the word, up. this does not work if i have typed any other word, including, update. it appears to happen, only if you search for the, check for updates, button, by typing, up, and waiting for the autocomplete. after the keyboard gets stuck, you press backscape in the search bar, in the bottom of windows, and it auto completes, up. and you cannot type, until you restart.
