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Android O.S | Apps / What is Android digital car key
« Last post by javajolt on March 18, 2024, 06:09:21 PM »

Source: BMW

Android digital car key lets you use an Android phone as a car key. You can lock, unlock, start your car, and perform more functions from your compatible Android phone. But is the Android digital car key secure? How does it work? What if my phone's battery is dead? Continue reading to learn everything about this UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) based technology on your smartphone.

Google introduced digital car keys as a part of the Android 12 update in 2021, right after Apple's Car Key announcement in 2020. If you or one of your friends have a Tesla, you might be familiar with the company's digital car keys. With the Android digital car key, Google and other OEMs want to offer the same level of convenience for a seamless driving experience.

Android digital car key: Introduction

With a compatible car and an Android phone, you can set up an Android digital car key on your device and leave your physical keys at home. After going through the initial digital key setup, you can use your Android phone to lock and unlock, start your car, and open the powered trunk.

If you have the latest Samsung Galaxy phone, use Samsung Wallet to set up and manage your digital car key. Users with non-Samsung devices will complete the setup using the Google Wallet app.

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Note

Your digital key needs an active connection between your vehicle, phone, and Google account. Since an internet connection isn't always available, carry your physical key to avoid unpleasant situations.

Android digital car key: Requirements



Although Google announced the Android digital car key in 2021, car manufacturers have been taking time to implement it in their offerings. Digital car keys work on the following devices:

   • Pixel 6 and later, including the latest Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Fold.

   • Samsung Galaxy S21+ and newer flagships.

   • Select Android devices running Android 12 and up.

Digital car keys are available only in selected markets. According to Samsung, they're available in the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. Only a few car manufacturers like BMW, Genesis, and Hyundai have announced digital car key support on their selected models.

Samsung partnered with Ford and Audi, but none of their cars support Android digital car keys.

Android digital car key: How it works

As you can see from the list above, just because you have one of the compatible Android phones doesn't mean you can set up a digital key on any modern car. The car manufacturer needs to integrate the technical standards on the specific model right off the gate.

A digital car key relies on NFC (Near Field Communication) or UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) to authenticate your identity and start your car. If you have an NFC-compatible Android phone, position your phone near the car doors to lock or unlock it. You can put it over the car key reader to turn on the engine.


Source: AAWireless

Pulling out your phone and placing it over the car door for basic tasks like locking and unlocking sounds inconvenient, especially when keyless entries have become a norm on most cars. This is where UWB tech comes into play to elevate the experience.

If you have one of the Google or Samsung flagships with UWB support, you don't need to take your phone out of your pocket. UWB allows passive entry to unlock or lock the car when you get close or step away from your vehicle. You can also turn on the car when you step inside without placing it over the car key reader.

Android digital car key: Security

Unlocking and starting your car with your Android phone sounds convenient and scary. Google offers several options to add an extra layer of security.

For instance, you can turn off passive entry from Google Wallet settings and add the screen lock settings for your digital car key. When you activate the relevant option from Google Wallet settings, the system asks you to authenticate on your phone to unlock, lock, or start the car.

Android digital car key sharing

Sharing your digital car key with friends and family is as effortless as giving them the physical key or key fob. For instance, you can share a digital key with your friend when you are out of town for a few days and give your little one access without authorization to start the engine.

Google lets you protect the sharing link with an activation code. You can share the code over the phone or in any encrypted messaging app for security purposes.

What if my Android phone battery dies?

When your Android device shuts down due to a dead battery, it retains enough energy to operate NFC. You can bring it close to the car door and NFC reader to unlock and start the vehicle.

Ditch your physical car keys

It's only a matter of time for major car manufacturers to implement Android digital car keys on their offerings. While tuning your Android smartphone into a car key is convenient, still carry a physical key whenever possible. You don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere due to one of the Google Wallet glitches.

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22
If the World Economic Forum in Davos was any indication, AI safety and security will be this year’s top priority for AI developers and enterprises alike. But first, we must overcome hype-driven distractions that siphon attention, research, and investment away from today’s most pressing AI challenges.

In Davos, leaders from across the technology industry gathered, previewing innovations, and prophesying what’s to come. The excitement was impossible to ignore, and whether it is deserved or not, the annual meeting has built a reputation for exacerbating technology hype cycles and serving as an echo chamber for technology optimists.

But from my perspective, there was a lot more to it. Amidst all the Davos buzz, many conversations took on the challenge of assessing critical AI challenges across development and security, and outlining a path forward.

Sam Altman and Satya Nadella took on the real and present threats of LLM-generated misinformation and deep fakes -- both serious threats as nearly half of the world’s population braces for an election this year. I paneled a session alongside Yann Lecun, Max Tegmark, and Seraphina Goldfarb-Tarrant, where we discussed the need to overcome durable adoption challenges like cost and accessibility, the path to artificial general intelligence (AGI), and how we understand the utility and security of today’s AI systems.

With talk of AGI and AI-powered economies continuing beyond Davos, it’s easy to lose sight of the challenges looming ahead. But to bring these long-promised AI systems and their impact to life, we first must solve the challenges of the Large Language Models (LLMs) of today and the autonomous AI systems of tomorrow.

LLMs Inherited Challenges and Created Their Own

LLMs have drastically changed the makeup of enterprise technology across industries. There is no shortage of excitement. However, some have begun to feel disillusioned, questioning what AI prospects are real and which are merely hype. After all, the benefits of LLMs are matched equally by new and familiar safety and security challenges.

The threat of bias and toxicity come to mind. Misinformation and security breaches threaten to disrupt elections and compromise privacy. Deep fakes are set to run rampant this year, claiming victims like Taylor Swift and President Biden with explicit content and impersonations. This is just the tip of a very large iceberg that’s yet to surface.

As we forge ahead towards AGI, more challenges will be uncovered. And the solutions to today’s challenges will undoubtedly translate to future AI systems. Solutions to combat LLM-generated misinformation today might become the underpinnings of the controls used on AGI systems. Preventative measures to thwart prompt injection and data poisoning will extend far beyond LLMs, too.

Putting off the questions and challenges of today ignores the reality that these AI systems are the foundations of future intelligence AI and AGI systems.

After LLMs -- and Before AGI -- Comes the Internet of Agents

Between now and an AGI future, a lot of development remains. In the quest for greater AI-driven productivity, humans remain the limiting factor. That will change in the next evolution of AI.

Today’s human-to-AI systems will be phased out in favor of AI-to-AI systems as LLMs are refined and become more capable and accurate. Human-in-the-loop approaches will be replaced by light human supervision that merely ensures AI agents are operating as expected. The Internet of Agents (IoA), an interconnected system of intelligent agents with specific assignments, is the natural next step for AI.

Imagine a scenario where an AI agent can detect a bug within an enterprise application’s code, assign a patch to a coding agent powered by an LLM, and push it live through an agent tasked with managing enterprise production environments. This could take several minutes. Whereas human intervention could stretch that timeline to hours or even days.

Whether we like it or not, the “invisible hand” of the market will push this vision forward. As trust in AI systems builds, enterprise executives and development teams will cede control over these systems in the name of efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

AGI is Coming, But We Still Have a Long Way to Go.

It’s easy to imagine the Internet of Agents quickly transforming into AGI, but that remains a far-fetched possibility. This, my fellow AI House panelists and I (despite our different backgrounds and positions) agreed on. Yann Lecun, one of the “godfathers of AI,” compared the intelligence of AI today to a cat with the cat coming out on top. While AI systems are improving and becoming more capable, they simply do not have the diversity of skills and intelligence that humans have.

Premonitions of an AI doomsday and calls to prevent it are more symbolic than realistic. Today, AI is more likely to support an intricate phishing attack or generate harmful content than power an AGI-powered robot. Enterprises are more susceptible to a complex hack of their sensitive data than they are to be hijacked by an all-knowing, power-hungry AGI.

As We Look Beyond the Hype, We Must Make a Choice

AI is not unlike the once-new and exciting technologies that came before it. The ebbs and flows of the technology ecosystem have seen countless innovations -- think cloud computing, blockchain, and Web3 – cause hysteria. The fates of these technologies are often sealed by the reactions, decisions, and investments made before, during, and after the hype. Cloud computing was once a written-off alternative to legacy on-premise systems; today it stands as the most foundational piece to the enterprise infrastructure stack despite the many scale, safety, and security challenges it presented.

We do not know what challenges AI has in store; even the pioneers of AI are left pondering what the future holds. But we cannot dread a possible eventuality while we continue to build towards it. Instead of letting the unknown drive us toward disillusionment and distrust, we should investigate the AI systems of today; building, refining, and securing new solutions and architectures that will support stronger and safer AI today and tomorrow.

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23


Are you ready to unlock the full potential of your enterprise with the transformative power of multi-cloud adoption?

As a cloud architect, you understand the challenges of navigating the vast array of cloud services and moving data and applications to public clouds. But with Multi-Cloud Strategy for Cloud Architects, Second Edition, you'll gain the confidence to tackle these complexities head-on.

This edition delves into the latest concepts of BaseOps, FinOps, and DevSecOps, including the use of the DevSecOps Maturity Model. You'll learn how to optimize costs and maximize security using the major public clouds -- Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. Examples of solutions by the increasingly popular Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Alibaba Cloud have been added in this edition.

Plus, you will discover cutting-edge ideas like AIOps and GreenOps. With practical use cases, including IoT, data mining, Web3, and financial management, this book empowers you with the skills needed to develop, release, and manage products and services in a multi-cloud environment.

By the end of this book, you'll have mastered the intricacies of multi-cloud operations, financial management, and security. Don't miss your chance to revolutionize your enterprise with multi-cloud adoption.

Multi-Cloud Strategy for Cloud Architects, from Packt, usually retails for $43.99 but BetaNews readers can get it entirely free for a limited time.

Follow this link to get your copy of 'Multi-Cloud Strategy for Cloud Architects -- Second Edition' for this free guide. This link will redirect you to my One Drive account and click Download. [system administrator]

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24
eBooks all to know / Get 'DearMob iPhone Manager' for Windows and macOS
« Last post by javajolt on March 17, 2024, 12:39:43 PM »
Over time, our devices tend to get cluttered with unnecessary data, eating up valuable storage. DearMob iPhone Manager, for Windows and macOS, lets you effortlessly declutter your iPhone, freeing up space and improving the overall performance of your Apple device.

With its user-friendly interface, you can easily secure all your precious memories and important documents, safeguarding them from the risk of permanent loss.

Highlights of DearMob iPhone Manager include:

   • Secure your data with one-click backups to PC/Mac, preventing any data loss

   • Effortlessly restore data from previous backups

   • Password-encrypt your backups for privacy protection

   • Bulk transfer, delete, and manage iPhone photos/albums. Convert HEIC to JPG

   • Add songs/playlists to your iPhone and create custom ringtones.

   • Convert MKV/MOV to MP4, shrinking videos to save space.

   • Enjoy faster management with GPU acceleration support.

Follow this link to get your copy of 'DearMob iPhone Manager' for Windows and macOS for this free guide. This link will redirect you to my One Drive account and click Download. [system administrator]

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25
Microsoft has announced that the next subscription-free version of its Office suite will launch later this year. A commercial preview of Office LTSC 2024 will be available from next month, with a full launch scheduled for later in the year.

The Office Long-Term Servicing Channel is supported for five years, and it holds great appeal for the many businesses that are not keen on the idea of software subscriptions. There will also be a consumer-focused version of the suite, Office 2024, available via a traditional "one-time purchase" model.

Microsoft does not exactly promote Office LTSC 2024 when it says that it "will include only a subset of the value found in Microsoft 365 Apps". The company would, of course, prefer to tie users into a subscription model, but is willing to admit that this is not always appropriate.

Announcing the impending launch of the software, Microsoft says:

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We know that some customers have niche yet important scenarios that require a truly long-term servicing channel: regulated devices that cannot accept feature updates for years at a time, process control devices on the manufacturing floor that are not connected to the internet, and specialty systems like medical testing equipment that run embedded apps that must stay locked in time. For these special cases, Microsoft continues to offer and support the Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC). Today we are pleased to announce that the commercial preview of the next Office LTSC release -- Office LTSC 2024 -- will begin next month, with general availability to follow later this year.

Office LTSC 2024 will ship without the soon-to-be-retired Microsoft Publisher and also lacks Microsoft Teams -- although this can be downloaded separately.

The next version of Office will be available for macOS, Windows 10, and Windows 11, and there will be 32- and 64-bit versions. For consumers, Microsoft says:

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We are also planning to release a new version of the on-premises Office for consumers later this year: Office 2024. Office 2024 will also be supported for five years with the traditional "one-time purchase" model. We do not plan to change the price for these products at the time of the release. We will announce more details about new features included in Office 2024 closer to general availability.

There is good news for the future as Microsoft is not giving up on subscription-free editions of Office. The company has pledged its "commitment to another release in the future".

More details are available here.

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26


There have been many speculations and rumors about a newer perpetual Office version after Office 2021. Given the fact that Office 2021 will be supported for 2 more years, many companies and end users are wondering what is next. To these questions, Microsoft has confirmed that another perpetual Office license beyond Office 2021 is in the works. In this article, you can read more about what exactly is confirmed, what the preview version of Office 2024 looks like, and what new additions are included.

Office 2024: Confirmed by Microsoft

Many developers and articles spread fake news or groundless speculations about Office 2024. This makes filtering the correct information more challenging. For this reason, we went to Microsoft’s website directly. Although there is no announcement yet, on the official Microsoft website, the question “Will there be perpetual versions of Microsoft 365 beyond this (Office 2021)?” is answered with “We are happy to confirm our commitment to another release if the perpetual version of Microsoft 365 in the future beyond this release (Office 2021)”. This, although indirectly, confirms loud and clear the release of a new perpetual Office license.

Office 2024: Preview Version

Since there is no official update dedicated to the new Office license, developers and IT enthusiasts have started exploring the preview version of the new perpetual Office available online from Microsoft’s servers. The new release seems to be called Office 2024. We also decided to test it ourselves and see what it looks like and what additions there are compared to Office 2021. Keep in mind that Office 2024 is still a preview/test version which means it might not include all features that the official release will have.


Office 2024 – preview version

Office 2024: New Additions (preview version)

Visual changes

There are almost no visual differences between Office 2021 and Office 2024. This was also the case with Office 2016 and Office 2019 back in 2018. With Office 2024, you can also choose the theme for your Microsoft 365 Apps once you open any application. The themes you can choose from are the same as in Office 2021: Dark Grey, Black, White, Colourful or the system settings.


Theme choice for Microsoft 365 Apps

The overall user experience is enhanced by a smoother-looking interface that resembles Microsoft 365. The ribbons of the applications are more intuitive to use, the color is smoother and does not draw attention from the document you are working on. Additionally, the corners are rounder in the test version of Office 2024 compared to Office 2021.

Add-ins in Office 2024

The test version of Office 2024 also includes Add-ins. As you might be familiar, Add-ins enable you to take your work to the next level by enhancing Office’s functionality and simplifying your daily tasks. You can use Add-ins for applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Visio. Examples of Word Add-ins are DeepL, QuillBot, Language Tool, and DocuSign. Respectively, for Excel, you can add Add-ins such as SAP Analytics Cloud, Modern Charts, and Microsoft Visio Data Visualizer. With Add-ins, you can integrate your preferred external productivity tool with the flexibility of Office 2024. See below what the ribbon of Word 2024 looks like on the Office 2024 test version – Add-ins are on the right. This is different than their position in the Office 2021 applications for Excel and PowerPoint as well. To see the difference, take a look at the PowerPoint ribbon menu in the test version of Office 2024 and Office 2021 below. This minor but important change suggests a faster integration and switching between Add-ins, which consequently has a positive impact on the workflow and overall productivity.


Office 2024 – Word ribbon menu

PowerPoint 2024 Ribbon Menu

Another small but important change in the test version of Office 2024 is the PowerPoint ribbon. Besides the visual differences mentioned above, the ribbon’s menus are reorganized, and more specifically the last three menus excluding the Help menu. In the Office 2024 test version, Record is right next to Slide Show, which is more intuitive and saves time when you are recording your presentation. After Record, the Review and View menus follow. See the differences in PowerPoint’s ribbons below for the Office 2024 test version and Office 2021.


Office 2021 – PowerPoint ribbon menu


Office 2024 – PowerPoint ribbon menu

Next to the changed position of the Add-ins, the ribbon menu overall has a more modern feel in the test version of Office 2024. It also resembles working in Microsoft 365, as mentioned above.

In Short: What to expect from Office 2024

Looking at the test version of Office 2024, there are no major changes in the functionalities of the applications. As expected, the user interface is more intuitive and made to optimally support the user’s workflow. Keep in mind that this article compares the Official Office 2021 with the preview version of Office 2024. As can be expected, the latter may not include all of the new additions and features as of yet, which is why the differences may seem subtle. This article, however, gives insight into how the version is most likely going to look. We are all looking forward to an official statement from Microsoft about the release date of Office 2024 and more information about the new features. All in all, a safe guess is that Office 2024 would include more AI integrations and enhancements.

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27


Fan-made Windows concepts are always fun to look at as they often offer a drastically different version than what the official one is. Part of the charm of such concepts is that they highlight what the fans of that product deeply desire to have. As such, at Neowin, we cover some of these interesting ideas as our community consists mainly of Windows enthusiasts who generally love going through the abstracts presented.

YouTuber Addy Visuals published a video a couple of days ago where they imagine the next-gen "Windows 12" as "the Windows you love".

While concepts are mostly based on ideas, this one seems to borrow much from Windows 11 itself and hence might actually end up being somewhat similar to the real next-generation OS. It certainly appears a bit less flashy than some of the previous ones we covered. Regardless, though, do keep in mind that this is unofficial, and, at this moment, it is not clear if a real "Windows 12" is even coming.





One thing that is not different is that this concept, too, opens up with a view of the Start menu, and that makes sense, given that it is probably the first on-screen button plenty of Windows users click on. There is also a view of File Explorer, and in both instances, the floating Taskbar is the common denominator, since it is believed that it is a figment of early Windows 12 development efforts.



The YouTuber also published another concept a couple of weeks ago which shows how Windows "12" could be if it were designed as a gaming-focused OS. The idea is simple as it imagines the OS with minimal apps and little or no bloatware, which means gaming performance should not be affected much by background apps.



In this regard, it goes above and beyond providing users with three settings to help enhance their system's gaming performance. The first option is called "isolated gameplay" that will disable all background activities and telemetry. The second option is called "virtual VRAM" that will use free disk space as VRAM for your GPU, and is a bit similar to the uniquely designed Radeon Pro SSG. The third one lets you choose between multiple GPUs. Remember DirectX 12 explicit multi-GPU anyone?

Gamers value hardware monitoring and hence there is an option for adding such widgets to the desktop.



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28


AMD has released a new set of Ryzen Chipset drivers under version 6.02.07.2300. The latest release delivers unnamed bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements for Windows 10 and 11 users.

Here are the release notes:

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Release Highlights

   • Bug fixes.

Known Issues

   • Some driver names on a non-English OS may appear in English.

   • The Uninstall Summary may incorrectly display the uninstall status as Failed.

   • Occasionally, Ryzen PPKG may not install/upgrade.

AMD Ryzen Chipset drivers include over 20 different drivers for various parts of compatible motherboards. In version 6.02.07.2300, the following drivers have been updated:



AMD Ryzen Chipset driver 6.02.07.2300 is available to all users with motherboards based on the AM4 and AM5 sockets:



Processor support includes the 7th Gen AMD A-Series, all existing Ryzen desktop and mobile chips (including APUs and the Ryzen 8000 series), and Ryzen Threadripper/Threadripper PRO processors.

Note that even though all AM4/AM5 motherboards support Windows 11, the operating system is not compatible with the first-gen Ryzen and Threadripper chips, the Ryzen 2000G and 2000U series, and the seventh-gen AMD A-Series APUs.

You can download AMD Ryzen Chipset Driver 6.02.07.2300 from the official website. Full release notes are available here.

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29
Social Media / WhatsApp now blocks you from taking screenshots of profile pictures
« Last post by javajolt on March 16, 2024, 09:55:00 PM »
WhatsApp has taken several steps in recent years to bolster the security of its platform and deliver a safer and more secure chat experience. With view-once media, you can use WhatsApp to share private photos and videos with your friends or family without worrying about them forwarding the content to others. They cannot even take screenshots of the view-once media. To further boost user privacy on its platform, Meta is now rolling out screenshot blocking for profile pictures on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp was spotted working on screenshot blocking for profile pictures in February 2024. While Meta has yet to announce the feature's rollout officially, it appears to be testing it widely with a server-side push. One of my AP colleague's family members reports being unable to take a screenshot of the display picture of their WhatsApp contacts on the latest stable build of the app. WhatsApp shows an error saying it can't take a screenshot due to app restrictions.

On my Pixel 8 Pro running WhatsApp beta for Android v2.24.6.15, I can take a screenshot, but the user's display picture appears blank. Android Police editors Manuel and Dallas are also seeing the same behavior. This has nothing to do with the other user being on the latest WhatsApp release or whether they are using an iPhone or Android.

Screenshot blocking for display pictures seems to be enabled by default; so far, I have not found any option to toggle it off. This could presumably change when WhatsApp rolls out the feature publicly. Do note that you can take a screenshot of the mini popup which appears when you tap on a contact's display photo from the chat list.

You can click a picture of the profile photo from another phone's camera. Or you can use WhatsApp Web or the desktop app to take a screenshot of the person's display picture from your PC. Still, this privacy feature from WhatsApp should make the lives of scammers and stalkers difficult. For utmost privacy, you can hide your profile picture on WhatsApp from everyone by navigating to Settings > Privacy > Profile Photo.

Once Meta officially rolls out screenshot blocking for profile pictures, it will have an edge over Signal. While the latter is a more privacy-focused communication platform, it does not prevent users from taking screenshots of display pictures. Even Telegram lacks an option to prevent profile picture screenshot blocking.

Given the rise of scammers on WhatsApp, screenshot blocking for profile pictures is a welcome change. And since it will be enabled by default, it should immediately benefit a majority of users on the platform.

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Windows 10 News / Not dead yet: Windows 10 gets a handy new sharing feature
« Last post by javajolt on March 16, 2024, 09:36:36 PM »
Microsoft may not plan on releasing any huge new feature updates for Windows 10, but that doesn’t mean it won’t necessarily receive new features from time to time. Among other things, Microsoft released the “2024-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x86-based Systems (KB5035845)” for Windows 10 during March’s Patch Tuesday. This update adds a new feature to the veteran Windows 10: You can now share files (text documents, PDFs, images, videos, etc.) from the File Explorer of Windows 10 directly via Whatsapp and other services, as Windowslatest reports. Sharing takes place via the Nearby Share feature, over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Simply right-click on the desired file and then select “Share” and then “Whatsapp” from the list that Windows 10 then displays. Then select the contact to whom the file should be sent via Whatsapp.

Sharing via Gmail, Facebook, and LinkedIn is also possible in Windows 10. Windows 10 does not yet support X aka Twitter. However, Microsoft is set to bring sharing via X/Twitter with one of the next updates, according to media reports.

In addition to files, you should be able to share links via WhatsApp, Gmail, Facebook,

 and Linkedin.

How to get Windows 10 Update KB5035845

KB5035845 installs Windows Update automatically on your computer. Alternatively, you can download KB5035845 here from the Microsoft Update Catalog. Make sure that you download the correct version for your system. The download is between 436 MB and 831 MB in size, depending on the processor type.

After installing the update, your operating system will have the following build number: Windows 10 Build 19045.4170.

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