Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 update improves Defender for Endpoint’s ransomware capabilities

Microsoft has released two new Windows 11 previews to the Windows Insider Beta Channel with improvements to Defender for Endpoint’s ransomware protections and other fixes. 

Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 Beta Channel builds have included two releases: a higher build number with features rolling out, and a lower build number with features off by default. In this case, build 22622.450 and 22621.450 don’t appear to be very different as both builds received fixes and other improvements. 

“We enhanced Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s ability to identify and intercept ransomware and advanced attacks,” Microsoft’s Insider Program managers explained. 

That’s all Microsoft has to say about the enhancement for Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft’s endpoint security solution for enterprise to prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats. 

Microsoft has several Windows tools to protect against ransomware, such as Controlled folder access for Windows, which can be configured with Defender for Endpoint to display a notification when an app tries to make changes to a file in a protected folder. 

The Windows 11 previews also improved storage replication over low bandwidth or congested wide area networks (WANs). For organizations that have configured Server Message Block (SMB) compression, Windows now compresses the file no matter its size. 

The updates fix issues with IE Mode in Edge, a process that causes a high amount of CPU usage, and tablet mode bugs. 

Microsoft’s August update to the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) targets improvements for those who’d like to use Android games on a Windows PC. The primary WSA gaming updates are improvements to the Settings app for compatibility for games with joysticks, gamepad, aiming in games with arrow keys, and sliding in games with arrow keys. 

There are also WSA improvements to scrolling, networking, windows sizing, and security updates.