Articles about Microsoft

Anyone who has decided to stick with Windows 7 now that the operating system has reached end of support has probably seen the full-screen warning advising them that it's time to upgrade to Windows 10. But while this warning was known about in advance, some Windows 7 hold-outs are now reporting something peculiar post January 14 -- a black desktop.

On the last day of support for Windows 7 Microsoft issued one final update, and it seems that this update has been causing problems with desktop wallpapers.

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Over the years Microsoft has taken numerous controversial decisions with Windows 10, including installing sponsored apps, using the Start menu to advertise apps it thinks you might be interested in, and -- of course -- the various forms of data-collecting telemetry.

Now it has been discovered that more ads could be on their way. A Windows researcher has uncovered ads in WordPad encouraging people to try out Word, Excel and PowerPoint online.

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When you need to take a screenshot, you can just hit Print Screen, or use Windows 10's Snipping Tool. But what about if you want to record a video of your desktop?

It might surprise you to learn that Window 10 has a screen recording tool built in. For some reason, Microsoft has chosen not to make much of a fuss about it, but for people in the know, it is an amazingly useful tool. Read on to learn the secret!

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Microsoft says it is working on a fix for a serious security vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The bug affects versions 9, 10 and 11 of the browser in Windows 7, 8.x, 10, Windows Server 2008 and 2012.

The memory handling bug can be exploited by an attacker to run malicious code on a target computer, but despite its severity, Microsoft is unlikely to release the fix before next month's Patch Tuesday. News of the vulnerability comes just days after Microsoft ended support for Windows 7.

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Three-hundred-and-sixty-nine 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.

Microsoft launched a new tool this week to help customers find the perfect Windows 10 computer.

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It’s been a big week for Microsoft this week. Windows 7 reached its end of life, and the NSA discovered a major flaw in Windows 10, which thankfully has been fixed as part of the software giant’s Patch Tuesday.

Not as exciting, but always interesting, Microsoft has also now released a new Windows 10 build for Insiders on the Fast ring.

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You can't get much for a dollar these days. Sure, you can score a fast food item off of a bargain menu or a pregnancy test from Dollar Tree (yes, really), but nothing of real value. Or can you?

Actually, Microsoft is offering a really good deal on Xbox Game Pass for PC. In a blog post about three new games coming to the service, the company drops the bombshell that for just one friggin' dollar, you can get three months of access to the service. Yes, for a quarter of a year, you can play more than 100 legit PC games. Seriously. One dollar. Of course, there is a small catch -- it is only for brand new subscribers.

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It can hardly have escaped your attention that yesterday was the day Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7.

To make sure anyone who was unaware is alerted to the fact that no more security updates will be available, full-screen warnings are now being displayed. Microsoft had previously advised Windows 7 users that this message would appear, and as of today the company is making good on its promise.

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Microsoft-related news over the last few days has been all about Windows 7 reaching end-of-life, but today marks the day that the company starts to push the Chromium-based version of Edge to Windows 10 users after beta testing. For businesses and organizations that do not feel ready to make the transition just yet, there is no need to panic.

Microsoft says there are no plans to push the browser to commercial or enterprise devices, and there's a Blocker Toolkit available to disable automatic delivery of Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, anyway. But for Home and Pro users, there is likely to be disappointment for anyone hoping that the rollout of the stable version of the browser would mean it was feature complete. There are in fact several things missing.

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Today, as you’ll know, marks the end of support for Windows 7, and Microsoft is -- predictably -- keen to get as many people as possible to switch to its new operating system.

However, on a day when the software giant has had to issue a fix for a flaw in Windows 10 that the NSA says threatens the foundations on which the Internet operates, there’s something more than a little embarrassing about Microsoft boasting how its new OS "makes you and your organization more productive and secure than ever".

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Earlier today we wrote about a major vulnerability affecting Windows 10 and Server 2016 which was uncovered by the NSA who duly reported it to Microsoft.

At the time details on the vulnerability were scarce, but now that Microsoft has issued a fix for it as part of its Patch Tuesday updates, the NSA has revealed its worrying findings.

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Microsoft Launcher, formerly known as Arrow Launcher, is a popular Android application by Microsoft that Android users may install on their devices to replace the default system launcher. It is quite popular with Android users and updated regularly.

To test upcoming features, Microsoft has just released Microsoft Launcher Preview in early access. It is a development version that users may install to try out new functionality. Microsoft gets feedback and some data in return which helps development.

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The US National Security Agency (NSA) has discovered a major flaw in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 that could potentially expose users to "significant breaches or surveillance", according to the Washington Post.

In the past, the NSA might have simply weaponized the vulnerability, as it did by creating hacking tool EternalBlue, but this time around the organization instead chose to report the flaw to Microsoft, and a fix is expected to be issued as part of today’s Patch Tuesday updates.

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After a decade of service, Windows 7 is, effectively no more. Microsoft no longer supports the operating system for those unwilling to pay for extended service leaving millions of machines vulnerable. Now that Windows 7 is dead, Microsoft may prefer you to invest in a new Surface, but it is cheaper -- much cheaper -- to upgrade to Windows 10.

Microsoft initially made quite a fuss about that fact that while it was possible to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, it was a time-limited offer. Many people rushed to upgrade because they felt the deadline was hanging over them like the sword of Damocles… but it seems that the deadline was not as pressing as Microsoft made out. You might be surprised to learn that more than five years after the launch of Windows 10, it is still possible to upgrade for free. Here's what you need to know.

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It may feel as though this date has been a very long time coming, but Windows 7 end of life is finally here. Unless you're a business or enterprise customer willing to pay, there will be no more updates and no more support.

Enterprise content delivery network firm Kollective held a funeral for the elderly operating system. Its research shows that in the US 40 percent of business are still using Windows 7, while in the UK the figure stands at 66 percent. Kollective warns that sticking with Windows 7 is dangerous, and outlines what the hold-outs need to consider.

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