Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25206 Announcement (Dev Channel)

Good morning friends! Microsoft has released a new preview build of Windows 11 25206 for Windows Insider program members using the Dev channel.

Complete build number: 10.0.25206.1000.rs_prerelease.220916-1405.

Innovations

SMB Security

Insider builds have added an additional security mechanism to the SMB Server service that implements a delay between each failed NTLM authentication. This means that if previously an attacker sent 300 brute-force attempts per second for 5 minutes (90,000 passwords), now it will take at least 50 hours for the same number of attempts. The goal is to make client versions of Windows unattractive targets in both workgroups and domain joins. Although the default SMB server runs on all versions of Windows, it is not accessible by default unless you intentionally allow firewall access to it, or create a shared SMB resource.

Starting with build 25206, the new feature is enabled by default with a value of 2000ms (2 seconds). Therefore, incorrect usernames or passwords sent over SMB will result in a 2-second delay before retries to authenticate. This change does not affect Windows Server Insider, which continues to use the value of 0 ms.

Details on the Microsoft forum by this link.

Changes and improvements

• General:
  • The updated Open With dialog is now available to all members of the Windows Insider Program on the Dev channel.
• Graphic arts:
  • Insiders can now save power by using Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) technology for external displays. To enable this option, you must have a 120+ Hz monitor with VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support, and the WDDM 3.1 driver must be installed. To enable dynamic screen refresh rate, go to Settings -> System -> Display -> Advanced Display Options and select the desired setting under Choose Refresh Rate.
    • Note: To get the latest graphics drivers available to Windows Insiders, check for updates by going to Settings -> Windows Update, then select Check for Updates. To find out the WDDM version, press WIN + R, type dxdiag, press Enter, and in the window that opens, go to the Display tab. In the “Drivers” section, you will find the “WDDM Model” item.
• Conductor:
  • The homepage search in File Explorer will now display recent file activity in the cloud.
• Input:
  • Microsoft is starting to roll out a change to disable the use of clipboard history (WIN + V) in password fields. This change is not currently available to all members of the Windows Insider Program.

Fixes

• General:
  • The OneDrive installer should no longer ask you for permission to install every time you reboot your device.
  • Fixed a frequent crash in explorer.exe experienced by some Insiders.
• Options:
  • Fixed a crash in the Settings app that could occur when searching for or changing certain settings related to Narrator.
• Search:
  • Fixed a frequent crash in Search that was happening to some Insiders in several previous builds.
• Other:
  • The Windows Sandbox window should now correctly resize itself when anchoring the window to the edge of the screen.
  • We fixed an issue that could cause Windows Error Reporting to leak memory after some crashes.
  • If the keyboard focus is on the desktop, then pressing ALT + F4 and Enter will now shut down the computer. In the last few builds, you first needed to move the keyboard focus to the OK button.
  • The computer icon is now displayed again in the Shut Down Windows dialog box.

Note. Some of the fixes listed above may be included in cumulative updates for release versions of Windows 11.

Known Issues

• General:
  • [New] Engineers are working on a fix for an issue that causes the erroneous message “date, time and time zone settings are incorrect” to appear and prevent further installation.
  • We are investigating reports that audio playback has stopped working for some Insiders after upgrading to previous builds.
  • We are investigating reports that recent Insider builds have seen an increase in crashes in some applications.
• Conductor:
  • Engineers are working on a fix for an issue where Command Bar items such as Copy, Paste, and Empty Trash may not appear when they should.
• Options:
  • We are investigating issues that prevent the deletion of some applications from Settings -> Applications -> Installed Applications from working correctly.
• Taskbar optimized for tablets:
  • The taskbar may flicker when switching between desktop mode and tablet mode.
  • Switching the taskbar to the touch version is taking longer than expected. This will be noticeable when switching between desktop mode and tablet mode.
  • The taskbar may overlap the Widgets and Action Center panels when opened with gestures from the left and right edges of the screen.
  • When opening the Quick Actions menu with a gesture in the lower right corner of the screen, the taskbar may not collapse and remain in the expanded state.
  • If there are no running windows on the desktop, the taskbar can sometimes be minimized, although it should be maximized.
• Widgets:
  • In right-to-left languages ​​(such as Arabic), the content of the widget bar animates out of view when switching to the full-screen version of the widget bar.
  • The number in the notification indicator on the taskbar may be displayed in an offset.

We wish you a successful update!