GoKawiil
Tech News
Microsoft confirmed that Windows Server 2016, originally released in October 2016, will receive its final security update in January 2027, after which no further patches will be issued. The cutoff applies to all editions, including Datacenter, Essentials, MultiPoint Premium and Standard, and will also end support for Essentials-specific features like Remote Web Access.
Microsoft says it incorrectly marked an Always On VPN connection bug as resolved in its October 2026 Windows 11 cumulative update. The company has reverted the issue's status from 'Resolved' to 'Mitigated' and says a real fix will arrive in a future update. In the meantime, it recommends IT admins work around the problem by manually selecting a single VPN tunneling protocol instead of automatic protocol selection.
Microsoft says Windows Server 2025 will gain Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) once the October 2026 security update is installed, extending a feature previously limited to Windows 11. QMR boots a failing machine into the Windows Recovery Environment, runs a recovery tool, and sends crash data to Microsoft so it can remotely remove faulty drivers or updates. On Server 2025, cloud-based remediation is off by default and must be turned on through Group Policy settings.
The open source ReactOS project announced it can now be installed directly onto NTFS-formatted partitions, ending its previous dependence on FAT32 drives. The new NTFS driver still lacks caching, journaling and security support, and the team has warned of possible undiscovered bugs.
Microsoft has acknowledged that its October 2026 Windows Server security updates are causing some on-premises Exchange servers to fail at delivering mail or authenticating Outlook on the web users. Affected systems can show a MapiExceptionMdbOffline error and Event ID 1006, traced to a new default cap on simultaneous Endpoint Mapper lookup calls that proves too low for Exchange under heavy load. Microsoft says the problem stems from the Windows Server update itself, not the separate Exchange security patches, and is advising admins to raise a registry limit rather than uninstall updates.
Microsoft confirmed that Windows Server 2022 passed its mainstream support deadline on October 13, 2026, with the October update being the last mainstream security release. The OS now moves into extended support, which provides free monthly security updates through October 14, 2031. Microsoft also extended hotpatching for Datacenter: Azure Edition systems until October 2027.
Microsoft has told IT administrators that security certificates used by Windows Update services will expire on preset dates, and devices that don't install specific updates beforehand will lose access to future updates. Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025 certificates expire June 19, 2027, requiring the September 2025 update or later; other supported Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2022 versions share that expiration but need the July 2026 update. LTSB/LTSC releases of Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 and Windows Server 2016/2019 face an earlier May 17, 2027 cutoff.
Microsoft announced it will deprecate the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) role, including its management tools, PXE boot functionality and related services, starting with the next Windows Server release. The company will stop active development after deprecation and eventually retire and remove WDS, though it remains supported on Windows Server 2025 and earlier per their existing lifecycles.
Microsoft has fixed a glitch that made the Windows Security app falsely warn users that Defender Antivirus was disabled, even though it was running normally. The fix arrived in Defender Antivirus update version 4.18.26080.4, released September 17, after the problem had persisted since at least June in Windows Insider builds.
Microsoft confirmed that Windows Server 2022 will exit mainstream support on October 13, 2026, with the October update being the last one under that tier. The OS then moves into extended support, still receiving free monthly security updates until October 14, 2031, and Datacenter: Azure Edition hotpatching will continue through October 2027.
Microsoft has released an emergency out-of-band update to correct problems introduced by its September Patch Tuesday release, which fixed nearly 1,000 vulnerabilities but broke folder sharing on Hyper-V Linux virtual machines, disrupted Remote Desktop Services sessions, and caused issues with some USB audio devices. The new fix covers Windows 11 versions 26H1, 25H2, and 24H2, along with Windows Server 2025, 2022, and 2012 R2, plus LTSC editions of Windows 10.
Microsoft has verified that its September 2026 security updates are causing Remote Desktop Services failures across Windows Server 2012 and later, plus Windows 10 and 11. Affected systems show RDP connections dropping after a few minutes, sign-in errors, servers stuck loading the Remote Desktop Configuration screen, and related tools like MMC and File Explorer becoming unresponsive.