Windows 11 Canary Build 25992 is Out With SMB Changes

Microsoft has just released the Windows 11 build 25992 for Insiders on the Canary channel. This build introduces various changes for the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, as well as improvements for File Explorer, the Settings app, and more.

If you’re an IT pro, here are the SMB changes you should know about:

SMB firewall rule changes: To improve security, Windows now automatically configures the new “File and Printer Sharing (Restrictive)” group when creating an SMB share, which no longer contains inbound NetBIOS ports 137-139.

SMB NTLM blocking exception list: The SMB client previously added support for blocking NTLM for remote outbound connections in the Canary build 25951, and it now supports specifying exception lists for NTLM usage.

SMB alternative client and server ports: The SMB client now supports connecting to an SMB server over TCP, QUIC, or RDMA using alternative network ports.

SMB over QUIC client access control certificate changes: This feature introduced in the Canary Build 25977 now supports using certificates with subject alternative names and not just a single subject.

In today’s Windows 11 Canary build 25992, Microsoft says that File Explorer should now perform better when users try to open large zip files. Microsoft also fixed an issue causing the Personalisation and Privacy & Security settings pages to show blank options or crash the app if clicked.

Lastly, a new update for the Snipping Tool is rolling out to all Insiders on the Canary Channel today. This update improves support for HDR displays, which means that screenshots and screen recordings should now look better in HDR.