Category Archives: Windows 11

Microsoft, Things that are bad, Windows 10, Windows 11

Bug causes clock problems on Windows 10, 11, Windows Server

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A recently-discovered bug in newer versions of Windows is causing bizarre local time shifts.

Keeping accurate time on computers is important for a lot of reasons, many of which are not obvious to non-technical users. Update schedules, scheduled background tasks, synchronization with server and cloud resources, and many other time-sensitive processes depend on your PC maintaining accurate time.

Because it’s so important, and because various factors can sometimes cause a PC’s clock to drift, operating systems use a variety of methods to check and adjust it. The most obvious of these in Windows can be seen in Windows 10 and 11 in Settings > Time & Language. Windows regularly compares the PC’s clock with an Internet-based clock, such as time.windows.com. When a discrepancy is observed, the PC’s clock is updated.

Between a PC’s internal clock and Windows’ time synchronization, most Windows-based computers are able to maintain accurate time.

But at some point, someone at Microsoft decided that Windows needed additional time checks. So they created something called Secure Time Seeding. This function regularly analyzes secure network traffic from a ‘known good’ host computer, and calculates the current time based on what it sees.

Sounds good, right? Anything that makes the clock more accurate is good, right? Well, no. There’s at least one major problem with Secure Time Seeding, which causes it to get confused about the date and time, and can set your computer’s time based on random values. This has been observed to incorrectly change the Windows clock by minutes, hours, days, or more. As you can imagine, this causes all manner of strange problems.

Microsoft’s response to the report of this bug has been disappointing: they are downplaying its scope and effects. And while it’s true that there are very few reports of this happening, the problems it can cause are bad enough that anyone running Windows 10 and up or Windows Server 2016 and up should disable Secure Time Seeding.

To disable Secure Time Seeding on a Windows 10 or 11 PC, follow the instructions provided by Microsoft.

Trying to make sense of the actions and statements of a corporate behemoth like Microsoft is an exercise in futility. It’s possible that they will realize that this bug is actually very bad, and fix it, or they may find a way to limit its effects, or they may change the feature so that it’s disabled by default. But in the meantime, there are potentially millions of computers out there that might start exhibiting strange clock problems for the forseeable future.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows 11

Den Delimarsky: Windows Needs a Change in Priorities

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In a recent post on his blog, Den Delimarsky explains why he’s disappointed with the direction Microsoft is going with Windows.

Anyone who reads my own posts about Windows will notice that we complain about the same things. Inconsistent user interface elements, disappearing functionality, changes that nobody wants, advertising, and privacy issues all plague Windows 11, just as they do with Windows 10. But with each new Windows release, the problems are only getting worse.

It’s a good read, and I recommend it to anyone who is considering upgrading to Windows 11. It may also be helpful for people who are stuck using Windows 11, in business and education environments. If you’re using Windows 11 and are only vaguely aware that something is rotten in Denmark, this article may clarify things for you.

Microsoft, Windows 11

Windows 11 workarounds

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Windows 11 hasn’t even been released yet, and people are already looking for ways to work around some of the changes Microsoft has decided we really need.

First up, it’s the venerable Start menu, which for some reason Microsoft has decided to move from its traditional place at the bottom left of the display, to the bottom center. Perhaps because that’s the way macOS does it?

I have no problem with Microsoft making changes like these, as long as there’s a way to revert those changes. In this case, there’s no obvious way to do that, but helpful folks have found a workaround.

Next, it’s the incredibly annoying prompts, taskbar icons, alerts, and other associated distractions generated by Microsoft Teams. That software isn’t included with Windows 11, but Microsoft has packed the new O/S with what amounts to advertising for Teams. Again, helpful folks have figured out how to get rid of this crap.

Meanwhile, Mozilla has discovered how to get past the hurdles Microsoft erected to prevent Firefox from making itself the default web browser automatically. You’ve no doubt seen what is normally required to change the default browser on Windows 10 (which now affects Windows 11 as well): you’re forced to make the change manually.

Forcing the user to intervene in changing the default browser (and other applications) was added to Windows as a security measure, because otherwise malicious software could more easily take over affected applications. But Microsoft’s applications don’t seem to be affected by this restriction, making the whole thing seem more like Microsoft giving itself an unfair advantage.