Talon v2.1.0

Talon Release 2.1.0

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

You can download the pre-packaged executable here, or from here if that site does not work for you.

New Features

• You can now use the --headless flag to run a fully unattended, headless installation of Talon. Headless installations suppress restarts and do not install a web browser.
• Talon is now fully offline-capable, though offline installations do not install a web browser.
• You can now pass custom WinUtil configuration files using the --config flag. You can generate these through ChrisTitusTech's WinUtil.
• Edge has been removed as an available option for browser selection, with Waterfox taking its place.

Improvements

• Talon now uses our new method of building executables, which significantly reduces antivirus false-flag detections.
• The requirement to exclude your C: drive in Defender has been removed, though disabling Real Time Protection may still be necessary for some users. Real Time Protection auto-enables itself upon restarts, which Talon commences after the installation process is finished.
• ChrisTitusTech's WinUtil and Raphi's Win11Debloat are now packaged inside the Talon executable at build time instead of downloading them during the Talon installation process.
• Talon now disables the AI integrations in Notepad and Paint.
• Talon now disables Office 365 advertisements in the Settings app.
• Added back a loading spinner to the installation screen with a nicer look.

Bug Fixes

• Improved the messy logic behind the installation screen and removed unnecessary code regarding it.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v2.0.3

Talon Release 2.0.3

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

You can download the pre-packaged executable here.

New Features

• None.

Improvements

• The installing screen overlay now covers all monitors.
• As a band-aid solution to CTT WinUtil's strange error window, UIs created by PowerShell processes were hidden. Now that this issue is resolved (see below), UIs from PowerShell processes are now visible again.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed some CTT WinUtil fetches failing due to no user agent in request.
• Fixed CTT WinUtil oddly displaying an error window during installation, leading some users to believe the installation had failed when it was actually running perfectly fine.
• Fixed crash caused by an encoding issue in util_defender_check.
• Fixed Chrome and some other browsers failing to install due to Chocolatey checksum check.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v2.0.2

Talon Release 2.0.2

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

You can download the pre-packaged executable here.

New Features

• Talon now disables the Windows Platform Binary Table, which allows computer manufacturers to automatically download and execute programs when the operating system starts. While utilized for legitimate purposes, it can be abused to execute malware without user consent, it bypasses BitLocker encryption, and (obviously) results in more bloat from the manufacturer.
• Talon now disables automatic folder discovery in File Explorer. File Explorer tries to guess the type of folder based on its content, slowing down the browsing experience. This change should improve the speed of Explorer.

Improvements

• Provide exact library versions in requirements.txt file.
• CTT WinUtil improvements, notably updated Copilot removal.
• Talon no longer sets systems to prefer IPv4 over IPv6.

Bug Fixes

• None.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v2.0.1

Talon Release 2.0.1

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

You can download the pre-packaged executable here.

New Features

• None.

Improvements

• None.

Bug Fixes

• util_powershell_handler now properly encodes outputs in UTF-8, fixing a crash caused by non-English characters in outputs.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v2.0.0

Talon Release 2.0.0

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

You can download the pre-packaged executable here.

New Features

• A variant of the update_policy_changer script, update_policy_changer_pro, now exists and is ran when you use Talon on Pro or Enterprise systems, and sets your system to receive only security updates indefinitely, compared to the regular script which is only for 365 days.
• Replaced the "Optional Raven Software" screen with a donation request screen.
• Added a very important image.
• Added "pre checks" when Talon starts to check if you can make connections to our code subdomain and other various checks to ensure Talon will work as intended.
• New UI, including a translucent installation screen so you can see what is happening in the background as Talon works.
• Added status text to the installation screen so you know what Talon is currently working on.
• Added skip flags, so you can skip specific steps of the debloating process if you wish.
• Proper error handling with UI error popups.

Improvements

• Total rewrite of the codebase, resulting in a drastically more modular and maintainable project long-term.
• Now using Chocolatey for browser installation rather than Winget, due to its significantly better reliability.
• Finally created a requirements.txt.
• Talon now enforces SSL when downloading files for increased security.
• Significant improvements in stability and reliability all-around.
• Talon now checks if C: is excluded in Defender rather than checking the status of RealTimeProtection, since Defender still acts even if Real Time Protection is off.

Bug Fixes

• None.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v1.2.0

Talon Release 1.2.0

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

You can download the pre-packaged executable here.

New Features

• The apply_background function now uses a component script instead of an external program.
• Added Microsoft Edge as a browser option.
• Added the --developer-mode flag. When passed, the install_screen overlay is hidden, allowing you to see the installation process take place.
• While this is not a new feature within Talon, documentation is now available here.

Improvements

• Reorganized the repository to be much cleaner. "Component" scripts are now stored in /components, and media is now stored in /media.
• Reorganized the contents of build.bat to make it easier to read.
• Now using get_resource_path utility function for file paths instead of manually handling paths each time.
• Slightly modified the wording in browser_select_screen.
• install_screen now covers all monitors.

Bug Fixes

• Removed restore point creation in the CTT WinUtil step, which caused a problem for many users where it would freeze indefinitely.
• Added -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -NoProfile to the PowerShell command for adding a Defender exclusion for the %APPDATA%\ravendevteam folder if you chose to install Raven software. This should resolve the issue of the exclusion sometimes not being added.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v1.1.3

Talon Release 1.1.3

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

New Features

• A warning message now appears before the installation menus begin.

Improvements

• None.

Bug Fixes

• The Windows installation check no longer checks for installation date. It only checks if you are running Windows 11.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v1.1.2

Talon Release 1.1.2

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

New Features

• None.

Improvements

• None.

Bug Fixes

• The Windows installation check now uses the creation date of the current user profile.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v1.1.1

Talon Release 1.1.1

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

New Features

• None.

Improvements

• None.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the installation date check being done inefficiently.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.

Talon v1.1.0

Talon Release 1.1.0

Caution

Talon is designed to be used on freshly installed Windows 11 systems. Trying to use Talon on an already in-use system, or a any older versions of Windows, is not guaranteed to work and can cause some apps to stop working properly and system corruption!

New Features

• Added a check to prevent Talon from being installed on already in-use systems, as well as any systems older than Windows 11 (windows_check.py).
• Text highlight and click-and-drag selection box colors are now set to black.
• The start menu is now cleared, making Talon feel more clean.
• The "Recommended" section of the start menu is now disabled.
• Explorer is now set to open to This PC by default.
• Mouse acceleration is now disabled.

Improvements

• Added docstrings and better spacing to the code to make it more readable.

Bug Fixes

• GameDVR is now disabled, resolving the issue of "ms-gameoverlay" appearing when launching games.

Feedback

Please open an issue if you have suggestions or encounter any bugs.

Thank you for using Talon.