Articles about Microsoft security

Padlocks, chains, keys, shields: these are all stereotypical images used to represent security. They are also the themes -- tropes, if you will -- that have been avoided in an eye-catching and vibrant rebranding for Microsoft Security.

A team at Koto -- a creative studio also behind design projects for Amazon, Riot Games, FitBit, WhatsApp, and more -- is responsible for a bold new brand identity that sidesteps the obvious. Instead, the new look that is bold yet human, clear and confident.

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It is a year since Microsoft embraced passkeys for user accounts, and now the company is taking things further. With passkeys having been conceived as a replacement for passwords, any newly created Microsoft account will be passwordless.

This is not just a change that is about improving security (passwords having been shown time and time again to be highly fallible), but also user experience. The passkey-by-default approach now being adopted is part of a streamlining of UX for sign-ins.

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Microsoft has quietly announced a significant change to the sign in/out process for Microsoft accounts. The change could have massive security implications for many people.

As of next month, when you sign into your Microsoft account, you will remain signed in until you opt to sign out manually. At the moment the (arguably more secure) approach sees users signed out automatically after a period of inactivity, helping to protect anyone using a public computer.

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Microsoft has provided an important update to its upcoming Recall feature, exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, which aims to balance productivity with privacy and security. Recall allows users to retrieve information by capturing snapshots of their activity, such as documents, websites, or apps. This latest update emphasizes Microsoft’s renewed focus on user control and privacy, addressing some of the concerns users have voiced since the feature was first announced.

Recall is designed to enhance productivity by enabling users to quickly find things they’ve seen on their PC. The feature’s AI-driven capabilities take snapshots of user activity, making it easier to return to projects without having to remember where files or webpages were previously accessed. Microsoft stresses that this updated version of Recall processes and stores data locally, which not only improves performance but also allows users to continue using the feature without an internet connection. By keeping data on the device, Recall also aims to reduce latency and improve battery life.

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RSS feeds may not be as popular as they used to be, but for some things they are one of the most efficient and useful means of keeping updated.

Microsoft is aware of this and, having listened to feedback from customers, has launched a new RSS feed to make it easier to keep updated about the latest security notifications from the company. Specifically, there is now an RSS feed for the Security Update Guide (SUG).

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