Articles about Microsoft

Three-hundred-and-eighty-six in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

The next Windows 10 feature update has been released to developers and OEMs already; Microsoft plans to release it to the public at the end of May 2020. OEMs are no longer allowed to install 32-bit versions of Windows 10 on devices starting with Windows 10 version 2004.

Continue reading →

As we wrote about yesterday, with build 19628 Microsoft has added support for DNS over HTTPS to Windows 10. DoH is a great way to increase privacy and security online, and its arrival in Windows 10 has been widely welcomed.

At the moment the feature is only available to Windows Insiders, but it won't be long before it rolls out to everyone. But when you have it up and running, how do you know if DNS over HTTPS is working? Here's how to find out.

Continue reading →

While preview builds of Windows 10 do have a tendency to be a little on the buggy side, they offer an opportunity to try out new features and options way before the official release. For anyone concerned about privacy and security an exciting addition to the latest Insider build is DNS over HTTPS (DoH).

The feature keeps web traffic more private by performing DNS lookups over an encrypted HTTPS connection so they are far less susceptible to interception. If you've been keen to try this out, now you can. Here's what you need to do.

Continue reading →

A growing number of Linux distributions no longer offer 32-bit versions, and that’s a trend that’s very much set to continue.

If you’re a Windows user running older hardware, then you’ll be pleased that Microsoft has yet to follow suit, but starting with the next version of Windows 10, the May 2020 Update (or 2004 if you prefer), the software developer is finally beginning the process of killing off support for non-64-bit systems.

Continue reading →

The release of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update is edging ever nearer, but for those in the Insider program, especially those on the Fast ring, it’s a long distant memory.

Today Microsoft releases Build 19628 to the Fast ring, and makes a change to the development branch. Instead of coming from RS_PRERELEASE, this build’s branch is shown as MN_RELEASE.

Continue reading →

Microsoft is preparing for a (probable) May 28 launch of Windows 10 May 2020 Update, but developers can already grab this feature update right now.

Windows 10 May 2020 Update / Windows 10 version 2004 / Windows 10 20H1 was supposed to have been finalized recently, but Microsoft decided to issue one more update to it -- and the company is going to release it knowing that it is still problematic. But now in an indication that the public launch is just around the corner, Microsoft has made the May 2020 Update available to MSDN subscribers.

Continue reading →

Researchers at email protection company Armorblox have uncovered a targeted email phishing attack designed to get past Microsoft 365 security.

The attack is a variant of 'PerSwaysion', a recent spate of credential phishing attacks that utilize compromised accounts and leverage Microsoft file-sharing services to lull victims into a false sense of security.

Continue reading →

When you work in an office, there are many annoying things you must put up with, such as coworkers microwaving stinky fish for lunch, or dealing with people that never refill the paper tray in the printer.

There is probably nothing more annoying, however, than reply-all email storms. This is where one coworker accidentally selects “reply all” rather than “reply” and ends up sending an email to a huge list of people. Then, other people in the organization do the same thing, creating a massive email chain that clogs up everyone’s inboxes. Thankfully, Microsoft is finally trying to end this nightmare in Office 365 (aka Microsoft 365) with the all-new “Reply All Storm Protection” feature.

Continue reading →

Today is a big day for Microsoft as the firm has announced a number of new hardware devices, including Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2.

It has also rolled out yet another new Windows 10 build for Insiders on the Fast ring.

Continue reading →

The Surface Go was always a very curious device. It is essentially a smaller Surface Pro with very deficient specifications. It was hard to know who it was really for. Power users certainly weren't interested since it was so woefully under-powered, and home consumers weren't clamoring for the terrible Windows 10 tablet experience. Who the heck wanted a netbook that couldn't even be used comfortably in a lap? A better and bigger laptop can be had for the same price. Ultimately, the Go was universally panned as a joke.

With all of that said, Microsoft has cut its losses and moved on, right? Of course not! This is Microsoft we are talking about. Instead, the company is releasing a sequel. Yes, the Surface Go 2 is officially on the way, and while the screen is a bit larger, it will once again have a terrible processor and no real target audience.

Continue reading →

Earlier this week, Apple revealed its new 13-inch MacBook Pro with double the storage, improved performance, and the company’s Magic Keyboard.

Following on from that announcement, Microsoft has takes the wraps off Surface Book 3, its most powerful laptop to date.

Continue reading →

While video games on PCs and consoles can be great, the titles released for smartphones are often quite bad. On-screen controls can be inaccurate and hard to use, leading to a very frustrating experience. Alternatively, developers can "dumb down" their games for mobile with simpler controls, but this often makes them nothing more than time-wasters -- something to do while sitting on the toilet, for instance.

Today, Turn 10 Studios (a Microsoft-owned game studio) releases Forza Street for iOS and Android. The racing game is "free" to play, which is cool, but sadly, it does offer in-game purchases to try and suck some money from your wallet. I installed it on my iPhone, and from what I can tell, the game kind of stinks. In my time "racing" I didn't even get to steer the car! Seriously. Instead, you just hold down a virtual gas pedal. Around turns, you let go of the pedal when the road turns yellow and then hold it down when it turns yellow again. That's pretty much it -- that seems to be the game. Maybe it gets better later, but I won't be finding out. Does the game look good? Absolutely. Is it fun? Heavens, no!

Continue reading →

In a blog post talking not only about the upcoming release of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Panos Panay also made some revelations about Windows 10X.

Originally destined for dual-screen devices, the Chief Product Officer of Windows and Devices says that "the world is a very different place" to when Microsoft first set out plans for the operating system. Now there is something of a shift in focus and Windows 10X will appear on single-screen devices that make use of the cloud.

Continue reading →

In the last few days it was revealed that Microsoft has delayed the release of Windows 10 May 2020 Update until the end of May in order to fix a zero-day vulnerability. But even when this is patched, the build will not be perfect.

Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 version 2004 / Windows 10 20H1 / Windows 10 May 2020 Update knowing that it includes another bug -- one that will be fixed with a subsequent patch.

Continue reading →

We've been waiting for Windows 10 May 2020 Update for a while and we thought the final build had been completed -- until Microsoft released an unexpected update build. The company has never specified a date for the release of the final build, but there are suggestions that it has been delayed.

It is said that a zero-day exploit needs to be patched before Windows 10 version 2004 / Windows 10 20H1 / Windows 10 May 2020 Update can be released. The good news is that it should still be released soon enough to warrant including "May" in its name.

Continue reading →