block Archives

Winsage

May 5, 2026

April 2026 Windows Update Breaks Third-Party Backup Software by Blocking Vulnerable Driver

Microsoft will include the psmounterex.sys driver in its Vulnerable Driver Blocklist in the April 2026 security update, affecting third-party backup applications that use this driver for image mounting and Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) snapshots. This decision addresses CVE-2023-43896, a critical buffer overflow vulnerability. Affected software includes Macrium Reflect, Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, UrBackup Server, and NinjaOne Backup on Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows Server platforms. Users may face issues during image-mount operations, receiving error messages related to VSS timeouts and Code Integrity errors in the Event Viewer. To check if a system is affected, users can look for Event ID 3077 in the Code Integrity Operational log. Microsoft recommends upgrading to newer versions of backup applications that do not use blocked drivers and advises against uninstalling or delaying the April update. Additionally, the update may cause certain Windows Server 2025 devices to boot into BitLocker recovery mode and has led to out-of-band updates for Windows Server update failures and restart loops on domain controllers.

TrendTechie

May 5, 2026

Выпуск qBittorrent 5.2.0

qBittorrent 5.2.0 was released on May 3, 2026, as an open-source torrent client developed with the Qt toolkit. It is available for Linux, Windows, and macOS, and its source code is on GitHub under the GPLv2+ license. The project started with version 4.0 in November 2017, followed by versions 5.0 in September 2024 and 5.1 in April 2025. Key features include an integrated search engine, RSS feed subscription, remote management, and advanced torrent settings. Version 5.2.0 includes enhancements such as an advanced tracker status filter, removal of subcategory restrictions, asynchronous block calculations, reduced resume times for paused downloads, configurable RSS feed refresh times, SOCKS4/SOCKS4a proxy support for the search engine, and various improvements to the web interface and user customization options. Support for builds with Qt 6.5 has been discontinued.

AppWizard

May 4, 2026

WhatsApp’s Metaverse-inspired ‘Avatars’ are being removed from the app

WhatsApp is discontinuing its avatar feature, as confirmed by Meta. Users are receiving notifications about the removal of avatars and their editing capabilities, which were introduced in late 2022. The associated sticker feature will also be removed, although a specific timeline for this is not provided. Once fully phased out, users will no longer be able to create, edit, or share avatars. Traditional profile pictures will remain unaffected.

AppWizard

May 3, 2026

Everything new in Minecraft Bedrock 26.30.25/26 beta and preview

Mojang has released the Minecraft 26.30.25/26 Beta and preview build, introducing new features such as Geysers that launch players skyward and Sulfur Cubes that can absorb TNT blocks with varying fuse times based on activation methods. The update includes bug fixes, such as correct generation of iron doors and stone buttons in strongholds, crafting adjustments for Sulfur Spikes, and improvements to video settings and user interface. Technical updates feature the transition of four entity components to the 1.26.30 format, the addition of voxel shapes for 46 vanilla blocks, and a new SoundInstance API class for sound playback control.

AppWizard

May 3, 2026

UT Dallas class uses Minecraft to help students get into medical school

A young intern addresses the concerns of a first-time patient with tingling sensations, dizziness, and unusual fatigue, which may indicate conditions like multiple sclerosis or neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. The intern consults with a nurse and an attending physician in a virtual environment created using the game Minecraft, as part of a pre-med class at the University of Texas at Dallas. The course, titled Experiential Medical Reasoning, aims to prepare students for the MCAT by providing hands-on learning experiences in a simulated hospital setting. Students like Sahar Bavandi and Omar Choudhry engage with virtual patients and diagnostic tools, enhancing their understanding of medical concepts and improving their performance on tests. Dr. Eric Kildebeck, the course instructor, has noted significant improvements in student performance and plans to develop additional Minecraft-based educational games focused on biology and chemistry.

Winsage

April 30, 2026

Don’t be filled with regret—get this Office & Windows 11 Pro bundle while it’s $22

The Microsoft Office Pro 2019 and Windows 11 Pro bundle is available for a one-time payment of .97, down from its MSRP of 9.99, until May 3. The bundle includes a lifetime license for Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and Windows 11 Pro, which features performance improvements and advanced tools like BitLocker encryption and an AI assistant called Copilot. Office 2019 is noted for its stability and reliability.

Tech Optimizer

April 30, 2026

Inside the Architecture of an MCP Server for PostgreSQL

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) serves as a standard interface between large language models (LLMs) and external systems like PostgreSQL, emphasizing the importance of control over mere connectivity. An MCP server must act as a mediation and policy layer, enforcing security boundaries and ensuring that connections default to read-only. It should validate AI-generated SQL as untrusted input, encapsulate queries within transactions, and apply execution-time controls. The server must separate query generation from execution approval to manage operational costs and enforce guardrails on query types, such as limiting the number of rows returned. Token efficiency is crucial, with design considerations for compact data representation and schema introspection. In production, connection management is vital to prevent data leakage among multiple AI agents, and observability through logging executed queries and metadata is necessary for debugging and compliance. Long-running sessions require support for paginated responses to manage context effectively. Overall, the MCP server must integrate security, query safety, token efficiency, and observability into its design from the outset.

Winsage

April 30, 2026

CISA, Microsoft warn of active exploitation of Windows Shell vulnerability (CVE-2026-32202)

Attackers are exploiting CVE-2026-32202, a zero-click vulnerability in Windows Shell, allowing authentication of victims' systems without user interaction. This vulnerability stems from an incomplete patch for CVE-2026-21510 and has been used by the APT28 group with weaponized LNK files to bypass Windows security. Although Microsoft addressed these vulnerabilities in February 2026, the risk remains as opening a folder with a malicious LNK file can still connect victims' machines to the attacker's server, initiating an NTLM authentication handshake that exposes the victim’s Net-NTLMv2 hash. This affects various versions of Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server. Microsoft released a patch for CVE-2026-32202 on April 14, 2026, but did not label it as actively exploited until more than two weeks later, leaving security teams unaware of its urgency. Organizations are advised to apply the patch and consider blocking outbound SMB traffic to mitigate risks.

AppWizard

April 29, 2026

Minecraft 26.2 Snapshot 5 Adds Sulfur Cube Explosive Archetype, Geysers and More

In Minecraft 26.2 Snapshot 5, Mojang introduced explosive Sulfur Cubes that can absorb TNT blocks, transforming into volatile entities. When ignited by fire or Redstone, they have a 6-second fuse, while explosions can trigger a random fuse time of 0.75 to 3 seconds. Once primed, they are immune to damage, and the TNT block cannot be harvested with shears. Additionally, Potent Sulfur blocks can interact with water and magma to produce geysers that launch water particles and nearby entities into the air. Hoglins have been reclassified as hostile and will no longer spawn in Peaceful mode. New sound effects accompany the geysers and Sulfur Spikes. To create an Explosive Sulfur Cube, a Sulfur Cube must absorb a TNT block, and geysers are produced when a Potent Sulfur block is placed above a Magma block or submerged under 1-4 water source blocks within a Sulfur Pool.

AppWizard

April 29, 2026

Minecraft 26.2 Snapshot 5

The 26.2 Snapshot 5 introduces several new features, including an explosive archetype for the Sulfur Cube and the addition of erupting Geysers formed by Potent Sulfur. The new Sulfur Cube archetype, called Explosive, shares properties with the Regular archetype but has higher air drag and can absorb TNT blocks. When primed, absorbed TNT has a fuse time of 6 seconds when ignited by fire or Redstone, and a randomized fuse time between 0.75 and 3 seconds when primed by an explosion. Sulfur Cubes with absorbed TNT cannot be picked up or damaged, and no Small Sulfur Cubes will spawn upon explosion. Potent Sulfur creates Geysers when placed above a Magma block and under water, sending water particles skyward at random intervals. Various adjustments have been made to mob hitboxes, and Hoglins are now classified as hostile and will not spawn on Peaceful difficulty. New sounds for Geyser eruptions have been added, and Touchscreen Mode has been removed. The Data Pack version is now 104.0, and the Resource Pack version is 86.2. New particles related to Geysers have been introduced, and several bugs have been fixed in this update.