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NET Framework 4.6.2 released

Microsoft released the .NET Framework 4.6.2 yesterday for most supported versions of Microsoft Windows featuring "dozens of bug fixes and improvements".

Microsoft ships version 4.6.2 of the NET Framework with Windows 10's Anniversary Update meaning that it does not need to be installed separately on systems running the latest version of Windows 10.

Web and offline downloads are provided for all other supported operating systems. As far as support is concerned, it may come as a surprise that Windows Vista is not supported even though it is still supported by Microsoft.

Supported are Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 on the client side, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 on the server side of things.

What's new

Microsoft published a big blog post that highlights new features and changes in the new version of the .NET Framework.

Probably the biggest feature from a user perspective is that Microsoft did away with the 260 character file name length limit.

Any program created with .NET Framwork 4.6.2 (or later) supports long paths so that the dreaded error messages that a file cannot be created, deleted, moved, or renamed is gone for good.

The new version ships with a couple of other improvements that end users will benefit from. It supports per-monitor DPI support now, does not support SSL3 anymore by default for establishing secure connections, and support for TLS 1.1 and 1.2 was added to ClickOnce.

Developers who want even more information may want to check out the full change log on Github.

NET Framework 4.6.2 downloads

Follow one of the links listed below to download the .NET Framework 4.6.2 web installer or offline installer. Both lead to Microsoft's website where the latest version can be downloaded.

Make sure you select the right language before you hit the download button. Note that the new version will replace the .NET Framework 4, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, and 4.6.1 if installed on the system

The offline installer has a size of roughly 60 Megabyte.

Find out which version is installed

net framework version

Do the following to find out which version of the .NET Framework is installed on a computer:

  1. Tap on the Windows-key, type regedit.exe and hit enter.
  2. Confirm the UAC prompt.
  3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full

The Release parameter on the right indicates the version:

  • 378389 - .NET Framework 4.5
  • 378675 - .NET Framework 4.5.1 (server)
  • 378758 - .NET Framework 4.5.2 (client)
  • 379893 - .NET Framework 4.5.2
  • 393295 - .NET Framework 4.6 (Windows 10)
  • 393297 - .NET Framework 4.6 (all other Windows versions)
  • 394254 - .NET Framework 4.6.1 (Windows 10)
  • 394271 - .NET Framework 4.6.1 (all other Windows versions)
  • 394802 - .NET Framework 4.6.2 (Windows 10 Anniversary Update)
  • 394806 - .NET Framework 4.6.2 (all other Windows versions)

 

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

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