Skip to main content

The May 2019 update for Windows 10 is live. Here’s how to get your hands on it

Microsoft released its latest feature update for Windows 10, shipping with a host of new features. Microsoft only launches two of these each year, so there’s plenty of new changes to play around with.

In addition to the standard security patches that roll out with every update, the May 2019 update (version 1903) includes a number of added features, many of them designed to provide users with simpler ways of managing their device privacy and security.

Recommended Videos

What’s new?

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The biggest security boost is Windows Sandbox, which lest you open ephemeral application sandboxes that are siloed off from your main Windows filesystem. This allows you to launch untrusted files or executables in a separate environment, virtualized using your device’s hardware acceleration. The May 2019 update also adds a microphone notification icon that alerts users when an app or website attempts to tap into their microphone or webcam hardware, empowering users to take action to prevent unauthorized hardware use. This is bundled with a dashboard menu where users can view all the apps that are currently using their microphone or camera.

Along with these, Windows 10 now lets users log in to their Microsoft accounts using the Windows Hello biometric authentication suite. Windows Hello’s recent FIDO2 certification means you can now access your Microsoft account online (as well as on their devices) using either facial recognition or fingerprint-based authentication, adding an extra layer of protection by eliminating the use of a password.

Finally, for users of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), Windows Defender Firewall can now enable firewall rules pertaining to the WSL, filtering network traffic to and from Linux subsystem applications. Other minor changes include removing Cortana from the search bar and a new light mode that changes up the visuals a bit.

How to install the update

Image used with permission by copyright holder

You can install the May 2019 update right from the standard Windows 10 update menu. Start by navigating to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Once you are at the update menu, check to see if the update is already offered and, if so, launch it, If you don’t see it upon landing on the menu, you can select “Check for updates” to see if yours is read. Assuming it is, you can then hit “Download and install now” and the update process will start.

After the update is completed, you will be able to choose when to reboot and apply it. You can either schedule an exact date and time, or you can have Windows 10 automatically restart the device outside of your standard usage timeframe (what Windows 10 calls “active hours”), which it determines by analyzing a historical profile of your device activity patterns.

It should be noted that you might not get the update right away, as Microsoft is metering the number of devices updated at a time to scan for issues and address them. If this is the case, just check the update menu periodically. To ensure they avoid another fiasco like the October 2018 update, Microsoft has posted a device health dashboard cataloging all detected and resolved update issues. Once you download and apply your update, you should have plenty to play around with.

Jonathan Terrasi
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jonathan has studiously followed trends in technology, particularly in information security and digital privacy, since 2014…
PC gamers still prefer Windows 10 over Windows 11
A man stands in front of a gaming PC.

Windows 11 saw a decline in the latest Steam hardware and software survey for July 2024. According to Valve's data, gamers using Microsoft's newer operating system dropped below the 46% threshold. Currently, Windows 11 accounts for approximately 45.81% of all Windows users on Steam, marking a decrease of 0.82% from the previous month.

In contrast, Windows 10 experienced an increase of 0.74%, reaching a 50.16% share. Although gaming performance is generally similar on both operating systems, a recent test by Hardware Unboxed reveals that Windows 10 may offer better performance in certain titles due to the core isolation feature, where memory integrity is enabled by default on Windows 11.

Read more
Here’s how much RAM Windows 11 actually uses
A man sits, using a laptop running the Windows 11 operating system.

Upgrading to Windows 11 comes with a few requirements, and that includes a bump in random access memory (RAM) compared with Windows 10.

Windows 11, while it introduces a host of new features, may consume more RAM than its predecessor, but the amount of memory that it uses is not universal. Below, we'll explain what RAM is, explore how much RAM Windows 11 actually uses, and how to lower that amount if your PC is having a hard time.
Windows 11: RAM usage when idle

Read more
Windows 11 vs. Windows 10: Is it finally time to upgrade?
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 sitting on a table.

Windows 11 is the newest version of Windows, and it's one of the best Windows versions ever released. At launch, the operating system was very similar to Windows 10, but it has morphed a lot over the past several years. Now, Windows 11 has several key differences compared to Windows 10.

If you've been holding out on upgrading, we have everything you need to know about Windows 11 and how it's different than Windows 10 in this article. We'll detail the differences, as well as show you the areas where Windows 11 is growing faster than Windows 10.
Windows 11 vs. Windows 10: what's new

Read more