Microsoft releases DirectStorage API to help speed up PC game load times
It is a year-and-a-half since Microsoft first talked about bringing the DirectStorage technology used by Xbox Series X to Windows. Now the company has finally released the API for both Windows 10 and Windows 11, promising not only faster load times for PC games, but also more detailed game worlds.
The API enables developers to take full advantage of PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 speeds. The DirectStorage SDK is available right now, and while it offers Windows 10 support, Microsoft is really pushing Windows 11 as its recommended path for gaming.
Oops! Microsoft didn't want you to know about adverts in Windows 11's File Explorer
News recently came to light about Microsoft's apparent plans to bring ads to File Explorer in Windows 11. Like many of the other recommendation engines the company has introduced to its products over the years, the reception was less than warm.
The ads appeared for some -- but not all -- users of the latest insider build of Windows 11, leading to the assumption that Microsoft was testing the water to see how people reacted. Now there has been something of a backlash and Microsoft has issued a statement indicating that users were never meant to see this "experiment".
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 22000.588 (KB5011563)
Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels today get a new Windows 11 build to install.
Build 22000.588 (KB5011563) comes with one big new feature and a number of major fixes including one for an issue that added an annoying delay to Windows startup.
Hard truths from Ukraine: The government cannot save us in cyberwar
Amid our first global, multilateral, wholly unpredictable cyberwar, it is up to each of us to defend ourselves. No intelligence agency is certain how the cyber dimension of the Ukraine conflict will evolve; no military can stop a cyberattack. The situation catapults every digital organization into unknown territory.
If you think the battles on air, land and sea so far have defied expectations, consider the parallel cyber conflict. Three sober truths make this a perilous moment for us all -- especially as the Russian army’s logistical setbacks may make heightened cyber aggression against private interests more enticing.
Five steps for controlling cloud costs
With cloud costs accounting for nearly a third of IT budgets in 2021 and predicted to dramatically increase in the coming years as more companies undergo cloud migration efforts, the need for organizations to get the highest possible value out of their cloud spend is fairly obvious. Actually doing so, however, is an increasingly challenging endeavor due to the complex nature of public cloud environments, as well as the increasing reliance on containers and microservices.
When it comes down to it, the cloud promises speed, but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that speed at a lower cost than traditional data centers. Maximizing the efficiency of your cloud spend requires buy-in from the entire organization, from the company leadership that makes buying decisions, to the finance teams that track and monitor that spend, all the way down to the developers, engineers and architects responsible for building and implementing those solutions. While there are those who believe that this is just not possible in the world of the public cloud, more modern and diligent approaches have proved that it most certainly is.
Get the amazing 'Windows 12' wallpapers in light and dark here
Although Windows 12 likely won’t be making an appearance any time soon, that hasn’t stopped designer Addy Visuals from sharing his take on Microsoft's future operating system.
If you haven’t viewed it yet, you can watch his video in our post here. Now Addy has made the wallpapers from his Windows 12 concept available to download for free.
1Password launches new tools to help developers build secure software
Generating, managing and accessing secrets within development workflows can be a complex process and lead to the inadvertent introduction of risks.
Security and privacy specialist 1Password is launching a new set of developer tools that aim to simplify complex processes and improve security practices to ensure data is protected, without slowing down the development pipeline. This will also provide developers with secure access to the secrets they need wherever they are.
Ukraine conflict puts organizations’ cyber-resilience to the test
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has provoked a massive rally of hackers to join both sides of the conflict and take up arms in the cyber-war. As has been the case in cyberattacks of recent years, the consequences of this will affect organizations way beyond the initial intended target. For example, in June 2017 French company Saint-Gobain was forced to halt its operations as a result of the NotPetya attack, a Russian cyberattack targeting Ukraine that resulted in over €80 million of losses in company revenue.
As a result of a sharp increase of cyber-attacks since the beginning of the conflict, from DDoS, new data wipers, phishing campaigns and malware, organizations worldwide should take immediate action to improve their cyber-resilience and limit the damages that any spillover could have on their business.
Cloud security tool sprawl leads to missed issues, false positives, burnout and more
A new survey of more than 800 IT professionals finds that 55 percent of respondents are using three or more cloud providers and 57 percent have five or more cloud security tools.
But the study from Orca Security shows this combination of multi-cloud adoption and disparate tooling is overwhelming security teams with inaccurate alerts. For example, 59 percent of respondents receive more than 500 public cloud security alerts a day, and 38 percent receive more than 1,000 a day.
PNY XLR8 Gaming REV RGB DDR4 RAM features 'aggressive overclocking'
If you are an experienced desktop-computer-builder, you know the brands you choose for components can really matter. For instance, if you opt for an unknown company for your RAM, power supply, or storage, there is a very good chance you will run into problems. This is why I always recommend sticking with reputable brands -- saving a few bucks is never worth it if you end up troubleshooting crashes.
PNY is a company that has been around for quite a while, and its products are typically very reliable. Today, PNY launches new memory under its popular "XLR8" gaming brand. Called "REV RGB," these sticks feature customizable lighting and quality memory modules. PNY promises the RAM is capable of "aggressive overclocking" too.
Microsoft has given Windows 11 a helpful speed boost
When Microsoft releases a new update for Windows 11 or launches a new build of the operating system, there is much interest in the new features that have been added, as well at the security fixes and bugs that have been addressed. And with the recent release of Windows 11 Build 22572, Microsoft has sped up performance in a small but important way.
One problem that some users have been complaining about for a little while now is that the right-click menu has been rather slow. With the latest build, Microsoft confirms that steps have been taken to speed things up.
Microsoft releases KB5011543 update to bring search highlights from Windows 11 to Windows 10
There is a lot of attention focused on Windows 11 and the update releases for it, but we shouldn't forget that there are millions of people running Windows 10. Far from being a dead operating system, Microsoft is not only still producing updates, but has an active Insider program for Windows 10 that continues to see the arrival of new features and options.
The latest example of this comes with the release of the KB5011543 update which brings Windows 11's search highlight feature to Windows 10. The update includes a number of other important changes and additions, and takes the operating system up to Windows 10 21H2 Build 19044.1618.
Microsoft removes Windows 11 upgrade block relating to VirtualBox
Since the launch of Windows 11, there has been a compatibility issue between the operating system and VirtualBox. People attempting to use Oracle virtualization software found they were unable to start virtual machines and saw error messages with Hyper-V or Windows Hypervisor installed.
As a result of this problem, Microsoft introduced a safeguard block which prevented people with VirtualBox installed from upgrading to Windows 11. But following work by Oracle developers to address the issue, Microsoft has now lifted the block.
Microsoft is bringing ads to File Explorer in Windows 11
Over the years Microsoft has found various ways to squeeze advertising into Windows. We've seen the addition of "recommended" apps in the Start menu, aggressive pushing of Microsoft Edge and Office, and more. Now Microsoft is experimenting with ads in File Explorer.
This is not the first time the file browser has been used for advertising purposes; five years or so ago, the Windows 10 version of File Explorer was used as a platform for OneDrive ads. Now ads have been spotted by some users in the latest builds of Windows 11, with Microsoft again using banners to promote its own products and services.
Cyberwarfare plays growing role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
As we reported last week, cyberattacks are being used on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Two new reports out today take a deeper look at how the cyber aspect of the conflict is developing.
Accenture's Cyber Threat Intelligence team has been looking at how threat actors have been dividing along ideological lines. Meanwhile Aqua Security's Team Nautilus has been analyzing the cloud technologies used in the conflict.
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