Security researchers can pocket financial rewards in the new Microsoft AI Bounty Program
Microsoft now has a bug bounty program that aims to find issues in artificial intelligence. Specifically, the Microsoft AI Bounty Program is focused on tracking down vulnerabilities in the company’s own AI-powered "Bing experience". This catch-all term covers a surprising number of products and services.
Interestingly, with this bounty program Microsoft is only offering rewards for the discovery of vulnerabilities considered Critical or Important. Those that are deemed of Moderate or Low severity will go unrewarded.
Microsoft is investigating failed 8007000D errors and installations of Windows 10's KB5031356 update
This month’s Patch Tuesday update was a significant one for Windows 10 users. The release of the KB5031356 update saw Microsoft addressing a number of security flaws, as well as fixing other issues -- and even introducing some new features.
But there have been problems. Following reports from users, Microsoft has confirmed that it is investigating instances of the update failing to install. The company says that the most frequently encountered issue is Error 8007000D (ERROR_INVALID_DATA), and it is using a KIR (Known Issue Rollback) to recall the update for now.
Google.com could be about to undergo its biggest change in years
There are some significant changes being tested on Google.com. A major focus on news could on the horizon as Google explores adding a Google Discover-style newsfeed to its search engine homepage.
Google Discover is something that will be familiar to many mobile users, offering up an algorithm-driven personalized selection of news stories. Now very much the same feature is being tested for desktop users.
Canonical withdraws Ubuntu Desktop 23.10 ISO after discovery of hate speech in translations
Friday 13th has indeed proved unlucky for anyone looking to download the Ubuntu Desktop 23.10 ISO -- it is currently unavailable having been pulled just hours after launch.
The decision to withdraw the Mantic Minotaur ISO was taken after it was discovered that a contributor had inserted malicious translations into the installer. Although Canonical has not revealed the content of the user-submitted translations for the Linux distro, it has been described as "hate speech".
Microsoft Edge is snooping on your Chrome browsing activity; here's how to stop it
One web browser spying on another? Surely not! However, if you are using both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, Microsoft's browser could be grabbing all of your browsing history from Chrome every time you launch it.
If you decided to jump from Firefox to Chrome, from Edge to Firefox, from Opera to Edge or any other combination, you will probably have taken advantage of the option to import browsing history, saved passwords and so on. But you likely don’t want this cross-browser communication to continue indefinitely. Here’s how to check whether this sneaky data swapping is happening in the background and how to stop it if it is.
Microsoft no longer supports Windows 11 21H2 or Windows Server 2012
With the release of this month's security updates for Windows, Microsoft has brought to an end support for not only Windows Server 2012, but also Windows 11 21H2.
What this means for users of these versions of the operating system is that there will be no more updates of any sort made available -- and this means both security updates and non-security updates. For anyone who wants or needs to stick with Windows 2012, things could get expensive, but there are free upgrades available to those currently running Windows 11 21H2.
Microsoft is deprecating VBScript in Windows
Microsoft has quietly announced plans to deprecate VBScript in "future releases of Windows". The company has not been more specific about the timeline than this, but there are some details about the deprecation process.
As part of a phased withdrawal, VBScript (Visual Basic Scripting Edition) was initially removed from Internet Explorer, and before being killed off in Windows completely, it will become an optional component. While a useful scripting language in its day, VBScript became something of an abused security nightmare, and has since been replaced by PowerShell.
Microsoft patches the problems in Windows 10 with the KB5031356 update
For anyone running Windows 10 21H2 or Windows 10 22H2, Microsoft has a new cumulative update that fixes various issues with the operating system as well as introducing new features and options.
As is customary, Microsoft provides sparse details about the security issues the update addresses, but it does share information about the various other improvements included in the KB5031356 update.
Google is testing a new option so you can keep your super-recent browsing history secret
Your browsing history can be very revealing; there are countless reasons for not wanting a list of the sites you have visited to be seen by others. While it can be hard to maintain complete privacy, there are steps you can take on a local basis -- such as simply deleting your browsing history.
It is easy to see the deletion of browsing history as using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and for a very long time it was very much an "all or nothing" approach. Over time, Google and others introduced options to limit how much browsing history should be deleted, and now Chrome users are being offered even more fine-grained controls.
Microsoft already has some major improvements planned for Windows Copilot including UI upgrade
Windows 11 users in many parts of the world are now able to access Windows Copilot -- although, notably, not in the EU (privacy law, natch).
Much has been made of Microsoft's AI-powered assistant, and while it is still early days for the ChatGPT-based tool, Microsoft is already working on significant interface changes. The focus is on making Windows Copilot more customizable rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all design onto everyone.
Google may use AI in Chrome to organize your chaotic tabs for you
Browser tabs were introduced to help fix the problem of having too many browser windows open at once; now instead of being overrun with browser windows, we have the issue of too many tabs. Chrome's upcoming Organize Tabs feature is Google's latest attempt to tame things.
The feature is still undergoing beta testing, but when it lands it will take some of the hard work out of tab management. For anyone happy to hand control over to Google, Organize Tabs will automatically sort open tabs into appropriate Tab Groups, much like the comparable AI-driven feature already to be found in Microsoft Edge.
Windows 12 could be on the horizon as Intel lets slip Microsoft's 'Windows refresh' plans
Microsoft may be saying nothing about the release of Windows 12, but that's not stopping news slipping out about the successor to Windows 11. And thanks to information from Intel, it seems that 2024 is when we can expect to see a new Windows release.
The leak comes courtesy of David Zinsner -- Chief Financial Officer at Intel -- who confidently referred to "the Windows refresh" which he says is due to land next year. While his comments are not solid confirmation of the launch of Windows 12, it is a credible addition to the ever-growing pile of Windows rumors.
Windows 10 remains significantly more popular than Windows 11
Windows 11 is far from being new. The current version of Microsoft's desktop operating system has been with us for a couple of years and has been treated to numerous significant updates and new features since its launch.
Despite this, Windows 11 remains pretty unpopular. We're not just talking about people having complaints and quibbles about the OS. The latest figures show that the vast majority of Windows users are avoiding Windows 11, with Windows 10 remaining almost three times as popular.
Google's new emoji email reactions are really going to irritate non-Gmail users
Google has decided to bring emoji reactions to Gmail, giving users the chance to respond to email with little more than a tap. Can't be bothered to type a proper reply? Just send a smile instead. It's an idea that has worked well on social platforms, so Google appears to believe it's something that will work with email too.
For anyone happy to send a quick and impersonal response in this way, the arrival of emoji reactions is great news. But for anyone who is not a Gmail user it is likely to be a serious source of irritation.
Windows 11 KB5030310 update is causing headaches for users with AMD graphics cards
Problems with Windows updates are incredibly common, and this is certainly the case with the monthly update previews Microsoft releases. The cumulative KB5030310 update brought with it not only the Windows Copilot preview, but also bugs for users with AMD graphics cards.
Although Microsoft is yet to confirm any problems relating to the KB5030310 update, it appears to be causing issues with AMD's Adrenaline configuration software. Users report "unexpected failure" messages as well as settings not being retained. Read on for a solution!
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.