Microsoft improves Gmail experience for Windows 10 Insiders, but there are privacy concerns
Microsoft's mobile Outlook app for iOS and Android is a really great email experience. It serves as a centralized place to aggregate your email accounts and calendar entries. The problem? It is a privacy nightmare. It stores your emails on Microsoft's servers, even when the email provider isn't Microsoft, such as Gmail or Yahoo. In other words, users must trade their privacy for convenience -- a bad deal if you ask me.
Today, Microsoft announces a new Gmail experience for Windows 10. While only available for Windows Insiders as of today, it uses the same concept as the Outlook mobile app, but for the Mail & Calendar apps. Microsoft will provide you with an arguably improved experience as long as you are OK with storing all of your Gmail messages in Microsoft's cloud -- yikes. What types of features will the new experience offer? Things such as tracking packages, getting updated on your favorite sports teams, and a focused inbox.
Updated Skype extension for Chrome brings one-click Skype integration to calendars, emails and Twitter
Microsoft is pushing out an update to its Skype extension for Chrome, bringing a host of new features to a range of online services. The update means that you can add Skype call links to emails, calendar events, and social media postings with a single click.
With support for Gmail, Google Inbox, Outlook.com, Google Calendar and Twitter, Microsoft is clearly trying to cover a lot of bases. Twitter is arguably something of a strange choice, but by embracing rival Google services, Microsoft is clearly keen to make Skype more accessible for as many people as possible.
WebCatalog runs your favorite web apps natively
WebCatalog is an open-source cross-platform tool which runs your favorite websites and services as native desktop applications.
A huge list of supported services includes Amazon, Basecamp, BBC iPlayer, Bing, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook Messenger, Gmail (and just about every other Google app), iCloud, iCQ, OneDrive, Netflix, Outlook.com, Skype, Spotify, Twitter, WhatsApp, Wikipedia and more.
Microsoft and Google increase bug bounty payouts
Keen as ever to squash any security issues and bugs that might arise in their software, both Microsoft and Google have announced increases in their bug bounty program payouts. Microsoft has doubled some awards, while Google has used others to make knowing jokes.
Two increased rewards from Google include "leet" references. Find a Remote Code Execution bug and you could bag yourself $31,337 (up from $20,000); execute "Unrestricted file system or database access" and you could earn $13,337 (up from $10,000). While Google's increases are permanent, however, Microsoft's are just temporary.
How email filters can improve malware protection
Spam has been around since the earliest days of email. While many spam messages are poorly written and reek of malicious intent, others are less conspicuous. Cyber-criminals can slyly embed malware and ransomware into emails that can do serious damage if opened.
Fortunately, today’s email filtering systems do an excellent job at finding and isolating these messages. Here we’ll examine the details of email filtering and why they should never be taken for granted.
Cortana Suggested Reminders now available for Windows 10 -- iOS and Android soon
Voice assistants are changing the way consumers interact with their computers and devices. Services like Alexa and Siri are enabling people to use voice to ask questions and control home components, such as thermostats and lights. It really is an exceptional thing.
Microsoft's Cortana is also a great voice assistant, and since "she" is included in Windows 10, countless consumers already have access. Today, Microsoft announces that it is improving Cortana with a new feature called "Suggested Reminders". The assistant will scan your emails for dates and appointments, and then suggest reminders -- for times when maybe you forgot to do so yourself. Previously available to Windows Insiders, it is now an option for all Windows 10 users. There is one very big catch, however.
Microsoft celebrates Outlook mobile's second birthday with the gift of iOS add-ins
Outlook mobile is, believe it or not, two years old. Microsoft is not fighting the terrible twos, but instead celebrating by bringing add-ins to the iOS Outlook app.
While it is iOS users who are treated to the first look at add-ins, there are plans to bring them to Android as well. In addition to add-ins direct from Microsoft, there are also offerings from the likes of Evernote, GIPHY, Nimble, Trello and Smartsheet which will "help you accomplish awesome things you simply couldn't do before from email."
Unsanctioned cloud use remains a problem for enterprises
A new report from cloud security company Netskope reveals that while enterprise cloud adoption continues to rise, unsanctioned use of services remains a problem.
The results show that half of all users of officially sanctioned cloud storage services like Box and Dropbox also have a personal instance of the same service. This can make detection of unauthorized copying of data more difficult.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14926 for PC and Mobile arrives on the Fast ring, introduces experimental features
It’s been two weeks since Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 10 build to Insiders on the Fast ring. In that time the company has been busy upgrading its build monitoring services.
Today, it's business as usual once more, as the company releases Build 14926 for PC and Mobile. The latest build is well worth the wait as this not only fixes the issue that was killing Wi-Fi for some users, and the problem causing bluescreen crashes for Kindle owners, but introduces several notable new features.
Microsoft adds guest access to Office 365
Microsoft keeps adding new features to its Office 365 suite, and now it has made easier for people outside a group to collaborate on files. A new feature, for Office 365 groups, allows people who aren't staff members, or members of a particular group, to join in and collaborate.
Group owners can now use the web version of Outlook to invite non-staff members in.
More than half of malware infected files in cloud apps are shared with others
The latest report on enterprise cloud usage and trends from cloud security specialist Netskope reveals that 55.9 percent of malware-infected files found in cloud apps are shared publicly.
It also finds that ransomware is now one of the most common threats, with 43.7 percent of malware infections found in enterprise cloud apps having delivered ransomware. These include Javascript exploits and droppers, Microsoft Office macros and PDF exploits.
Track your AdSense earnings with Auburn
Are you earning so much with Google AdSense that you’re always online checking your balance? OK, probably not, but if you’re earning something then tiny Windows freebie Auburn could save you time by displaying your earnings in a system tray icon.
If you’re doing implausibly well, it’s possible to have the program check your balance on a regular basis, display a tooltip and play an audio alert when new money arrives.
Polymail for Mac wants to provide a cross-platform email experience to die for
If you’re still looking for the perfect email experience on Mac and iOS, then Polymail, Inc may have something to fill the gap left by Mailbox’s unceremonious exit back in February. It’s just officially released Polymail for Mac 1.01 after around six months in beta.
Polymail for Mac joins existing iPad and iPhone client, Polymail for iOS 1.21, to provide a cross-platform email client for Apple fans.
Microsoft releases Starbucks for Outlook Add-in
Do you ever see people working at Starbucks and think they are sort of pretentious? Understandably, seeing someone working in public is weird, but there is actually a lot of sense being made here. As someone who works in Starbucks almost every day (yeah, really), I can attest to the fact that it is a fabulous place for productivity. Obviously it has coffee and free Wi-Fi, which are the biggest pluses, but the overall atmosphere is conducive for work too. Since it can be a neutral meeting place, there is no awkwardness in ending a meeting and leaving -- it is very casual.
Today, Microsoft releases the Starbucks for Outlook Add-in. This is a marriage made in heaven, as coffee and Outlook are two of the most important things from a productivity perspective in many businesses. This add-in for Outlook lets you easily schedule a meeting at the famed coffee shop.
Microsoft stops you from using weak passwords
Having a good password can make the difference between your account being hacked and receiving a notification informing you of a failed login attempt. Even though this should be common knowledge, it seems that many folks are in the dark about this. You do not need to look hard to find evidence of this, as there are many reports that reveal passwords like "1234567890" to be very popular still.
Since it is clear that it cannot rely on its users to make the right decisions about their account security, Microsoft is taking a proactive approach by "dynamically banning commonly used passwords". So, if you think that "qwerty123" is good enough to keep all your emails private, luckily you will not have to find out whether you are right or not.
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