Amid Windows 10 controversy, Microsoft quietly releases privacy botching features to Windows 7 and 8
It's been roughly a month since the release of Windows 10, Microsoft's newest desktop operating system. It packs in several enticing features including the digital assistant Cortana. But despite all the interesting offerings, Windows 10 isn't sitting well with many. Privacy advocates have criticized Microsoft for introducing several features that are seemingly concerning to those who care about their privacy. To make things worse, the company has now rolled out some of these annoying features to Windows 7 and Windows 8.
First spotted by Ghacks, some of the recent updates that Microsoft rolled out to Windows 8 and Windows 7 set a computer to regularly send reports of a machine's activities to Microsoft. The update dubbed 3068708, for instance, introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service on the computers it is installed on. "By applying this service, you can add benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights", Microsoft describes the purpose of the update.
Microsoft releases Cortana to India, Australia and Canada for Windows 10 Insiders
Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it is bringing Cortana, the company's digital assistant, to several new regions, including Japan, India, Australia, and Canada. The feature is available for users as an optional download on Windows 10 build 10532 (to be also available in the later builds). If you're in any other region, sadly, there is nothing here to get you excited.
Back in July, Microsoft had announced its plan to bring Cortana to more regions. As promised, folks in Japan can now use the digital assistant in their local language. The headline feature comes as an optional download.
Mozilla, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Intel and others form 'Alliance for Open Media'
Both open and closed projects have their place; there are arguments for each as to which is better. For standards, however, open is preferable. By preventing licencing fees and legal patent battles, the technology can continuously evolve without interruption.
Today, Mozilla announces a partnership with Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Intel, Cisco and Netflix to form the Alliance for Open Media. This partnership will create a royalty-free standard for playing media on the web which will be released under Apache 2.0 license.
Google unveils a new, simple, sans serif logo
Google has come a long way over the years, but one thing has remain remarkably simple: its logo. There have been various designs for the six, colorful letters and today the company has taken the wraps off the latest version... complete with an uppercase G!
It's going to take a while for some people to get used to, but the clean, sans serif look of the new logo is simultaneously modern and retro. But today's announcement is about more than the main logo -- this is the launch of a new 'identity family'. In addition to the main logo, there's also a new four-color G icon, as well as similarly-colored imagery for other elements.
Microsoft is the number one employer for Workforce Diversity
Diversity is the current weapon tech companies are using to bludgeon each other with -- Twitter has even gone as far as publishing its goals. Facebook fails in this department while Apple, ever the master of spin, is keen to present itself in the best possible light. For many on the outside looking in, diversity is little more than an exercise in PR, but that's not going to stop companies celebrating wins here and there.
The latest win is for Microsoft. For the second year running, the company has been voted the number one employer by readers of Workforce Diversity for Engineering & IT Professionals magazine. Clearly this is something of a niche publication, but given its specialization, it’s a crown that Microsoft is only too happy to wear.
Birst wants to Transform analytics with networked BI
Business intelligence has traditionally relied on centralized data, an approach which is not only time consuming but also represents a barrier to end-user self-service.
Now cloud analytics specialist Birst is launching a new Networked BI technology which aims to redefine the way BI is delivered and consumed by enabling global control with local execution.
iHeartRadio launches a Windows 10 app
Windows 10 has been live for a few weeks now and is getting a lot of attention, deservedly so. Most users seem happy to either be away from Windows 8 or to have avoided it all together. Now it's a matter of getting the apps which are the lifeblood of any ecosystem, both PC and mobile.
To that end, music streaming giant iHeartRadio is announcing its Windows 10 compatible app. "iHeartRadio for Windows 10 will include its signature, customizable listening features known to iHeartRadio's audience of more than 70 million registered users as well as new innovations optimized exclusively for Microsoft Corp.'s most personal, productive and secure operating system yet", the company announces.
Play Android games on your Windows desktop with Nox APP Player
Chinese tech startup Duodian Network has released an English version of Nox APP Player, an emulator which allows users to run Android apps on their Windows desktop.
The package took a while to download on our test PC, but installation was easy, getting us a virtual Android 4.4.2 tablet in a near full-screen window.
New malware detection engine stops cyber threats sooner
Attackers are increasingly capable of modifying their existing malware to slip into a victim’s infrastructure undetected. Because traditional security solutions are reactive and can only protect against already known threat vectors this leaves a gap in defenses.
Security company Check Point is launching its new SandBlast product that uses CPU-level threat detection to uncover threats at the pre-infection level. It elevates threat defense with evasion-resistant malware detection and comprehensive protection, significantly reducing the risk of expensive breaches.
Egnyte announces Office 365 integration
Secure file sharing specialist Egnyte is releasing new integration between its product and Microsoft’s Office 365. These will allow business users to seamlesly access, manage and share their files.
Features include the ability to open Egnyte files directly from Microsoft Office Online for viewing and editing and changes are automatically saved back to Egnyte.
New platform aims to speed up the sales process
Sales are the lifeblood of a company, yet they can also be a frustratingly slow part of the whole business cycle. Finding a way of accelerating the sales process is therefore a bit of a holy grail for many organizations.
Salesforce solution specialist Velocify is launching a new enterprise-class sales acceleration platform. Velocify Pulse takes a universal approach that accelerates every step in the sales cycle, and aligns everyone in the sales organization on the same platform.
Microsoft makes it easy to switch to Windows 10 with free PCmover Express
Microsoft has teamed up with Laplink to try to encourage people to upgrade from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, offering a free copy of PCmover Express to anyone who wants it. Many people took the launch of Windows 10 as an excuse to buy a new computer with it pre-installed -- but then there is the problem of accessing the files stored on the old PC.
While it is possible to manually move files to your new computer, it's not something that everyone is comfortable with. Microsoft's solution to provide people with a data transfer tool for free is one that's likely to attract some attention, so here’s what you need to do to take advantage of this time-limited offer.
IT workers suffer the summertime blues
During the summer months, many organizations see a significant expansion in the number of remote workers, which can make the job of network managers or system admins more difficult.
Software company Ipswitch recently polled 239 IT professionals in the United States to identify the issues that most affect them over the summer.
Your new smartphone could ship with malware
Receiving a new smartphone with malware pre-installed is unlikely, but this is exactly what has happened with handsets from well-known brands sold by some third-party sellers in Asia and Europe. Consumers expect them to run factory software, so it is unlikely that they will check to see whether it has been modified prior to using their account credentials and storing sensitive information, making these kind of infections extremely dangerous.
Security firm G Data has discovered malware on more than 20 smartphone models which were advertised as new. And we are not talking about no-name brands. Among other companies, Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi, top-tier vendors, have had their devices infected prior to the sale.
PayPal.Me lets you receive online payments through a custom URL
PayPal has long been a quick and easy way to send and receive money online; with the launch of PayPal.Me, things just got even simpler. This is a new platform which provides PayPal customers with their own personalized URL (such as paypal.me/markwilson) as an alternative to sending out invoices. PayPal is pushing this as a way to call in your debts, but it's far more versatile than that.
The next time someone needs to send you money, you can simply direct them to your page -- or you can include the link on social networks, your website, in emails, via SMS, and so on. Any payments that are made in this way are covered by the same PayPal Buyer Protection policies as before. Anyone visiting your PayPal.Me page is able to choose the amount of money they want to send you, but you can also customize the URL you share to make a request for a specific amount.
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