app icons

AppWizard
May 21, 2025
Android 16 QPR1 has introduced design changes and user interface adjustments, but a bug has emerged that prevents newly installed apps from appearing on the home screen, despite the relevant setting being enabled. Users can find this setting by long-pressing the home screen and navigating to home settings. The bug is considered minor, as newly installed apps remain accessible through the app drawer. Google is expected to address the issue in a future update, but no timeline for a fix has been provided.
Winsage
May 21, 2025
Windhawk is a tool for customizing the Windows 11 interface, allowing users to make significant modifications to their operating system. It provides various mods, including: - Vertical Taskbar Mod: Restores the ability to reposition the taskbar and customize its width and jump list alignment. - Taskbar Labels Mod: Allows users to display labels for app icons, customize label text, combine apps, and adjust taskbar width, with options for increasing label font size. - Start Menu Syler Mod: Enables users to apply themes to the Start menu, including options that mimic the Windows 10 look. - Classic Explorer Navigation Bar Mod: Restores familiar items to the File Explorer navigation bar, enhancing user experience. - Classic Context Menu Mod: Reverts the context menu to a more familiar format, improving accessibility to options. Windhawk also offers a portable installation option and encourages users to create a restore point before installation to safeguard against potential issues. The platform features a marketplace for various modules, allowing users to customize their experience further.
AppWizard
May 20, 2025
Google has released the first beta build of Android 16 QPR 1 for Pixel devices, introducing Material 3 Expressive design changes. The At a Glance widget has been resized, allowing for an additional row on the home screen for app icons and widgets. Users receive a notification about the new layout upon installation. The lock screen has also seen a similar reduction in the widget size to support new lock screen widget features.
AppWizard
May 20, 2025
By 2025, the Android platform faces increasingly sophisticated app-based threats, including ransomware, fake apps, social engineering, and remote access attacks. Cybercriminals exploit Android's open architecture, prompting the need for advanced security measures. Android's security architecture includes: 1. Google Play Protect: Scans applications before installation using real-time machine learning to detect emerging malware and deceptive tactics. 2. Application Sandboxing: Isolates apps to prevent data access between them, utilizing Linux permissions and SELinux policies. 3. App Signing and Code Integrity: Requires cryptographic signatures for apps, complicating the introduction of rogue certificates and runtime modifications. Advanced protections include Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) for high-security apps, which monitors behavior in real time, and secure coding practices that encourage regular code reviews, strong authentication, and data encryption. User vigilance is crucial, emphasizing responsible downloading, limiting permissions, keeping software updated, enabling two-factor authentication, and being cautious with public Wi-Fi. Google continuously updates security measures, ensuring older devices receive new protections, while collaboration with the security community aids in identifying and countering emerging threats.
AppWizard
May 14, 2025
Google is unveiling key features ahead of the Google I/O event, including Material 3 Expressive (M3), which focuses on enhancing user experience through color, shape, size, motion, and containment. M3 will introduce a vibrant UI for smartphones and wearables, featuring a new "tear away" notification system and playful animations. The Pixel Watch will have animations that follow the display's curvature, and Wear OS 6 will allow users to customize color schemes and watch faces. Google's Gemini AI will be integrated into more devices, replacing Google Assistant and enhancing interactions on Wear OS, Google TV, Android Auto, and Android XR. Gemini will provide hands-free assistance for Wear OS users and facilitate natural conversations in Android Auto. It will also improve content discovery on Google TV and offer real-time planning assistance in Extended Reality devices. To combat online scams, Google is introducing privacy tools with Android 16, including enhanced warning systems in caller and Google Messages apps, AI-driven detection of fraudulent messages, and a Key Verifier program for secure end-to-end encrypted communication. Google Play Protection will implement live threat detection for malicious app changes.
AppWizard
May 13, 2025
Google Play Protect is set to enhance its security features to better defend against malicious applications. The upcoming update will include the ability to detect changes in app icons, alerting users when an app alters its icon, a tactic used by malicious developers. Additionally, Google Play Protect will improve its on-device malware detection capabilities by implementing new rules to identify specific text or binary patterns associated with known malware families. These enhancements aim to provide users with timely alerts before installing potentially harmful applications, significantly reducing the risk of malware. The new icon detection feature will roll out in the coming months, initially available on the Pixel 6 series and select devices from other manufacturers. The on-device rules will be updated regularly to address emerging threats, and the enhanced malware scanning capability will be accessible to all Android users with Google Play Services.
Winsage
April 23, 2025
Windows 11 allows users to enable or disable app labels in the Taskbar. To show app labels using the Settings app, users can navigate to Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors and choose from three options: "Never" to always show labels, "When the taskbar is full" to show labels only when space is limited, or "Always" to hide labels. Alternatively, users can modify the Registry by navigating to HKEYCURRENTUSERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced and adjusting the TaskbarGlomLevel DWORD value: set to 2 to always show labels, 1 to show labels when space allows, or 0 to hide labels.
Winsage
April 23, 2025
Microsoft's Windows 10 update KB5055518 has disrupted the Jump Lists feature in the Start menu, which allows users to access recently opened files by right-clicking app icons. Users report that Jump Lists were functioning properly before the update, and the feature remains enabled in system settings. However, the "Recent" header in Jump Lists is missing. While Jump Lists still work for pinned applications on the taskbar, the disruption in the Start menu is significant. This change follows a pattern of Microsoft removing features from Windows 10, potentially to encourage users to upgrade to Windows 11, especially as support for Windows 10 is nearing its end.
Winsage
April 12, 2025
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5551 (KB5055617) has been released to the Dev Channel. The Dev Channel has advanced to the 26200 series builds, and the option to switch to the Beta Channel is no longer available. This build is based on Windows 11, version 24H2, and shares features with the 26120 series in the Beta Channel. New features include enhanced Windows Search on Copilot+ PCs, allowing users to search for settings using phrases. Narrator now provides detailed image descriptions powered by AI for improved accessibility on Copilot+ PCs. Improvements are being rolled out for widgets, including the ability to read content directly from the MSN feed. Fixes include resolving crashes in Settings, File Explorer, and issues with app icons in the taskbar. Known issues include problems with Windows Recovery Environment and certain apps failing to launch post-update. The Dev Channel updates are based on Windows 11, version 24H2, and features may evolve or be removed based on feedback. Users can enable a toggle to receive updates more quickly.
Winsage
April 11, 2025
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3863 (KB5055613) has been released to the Beta Channel for Windows 11, version 24H2. This update includes new features such as natural language search functionality in the Windows search box for Copilot+ PCs, allowing users to find settings easily. Additionally, the Narrator feature has been enhanced to provide detailed descriptions of images for accessibility. Other updates include improvements to widgets, fixes for issues in Settings, File Explorer, Taskbar, Desktop Icons, Input, and Graphics. Known issues include non-functionality of Quick Assist for non-administrator users and problems with the Windows Recovery Environment. Users can provide feedback through the Feedback Hub.
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