Articles about Microsoft

Recognizing that comparatively few people are using its Edge browser, Microsoft has released a new security tool for those who have opted to use Google Chrome -- the Windows Defender Browser Protection extension.

The add-on offers real-time protection against a variety of online threats such as phishing attacks and malicious websites. As these security options are already available in Chrome, it's not clear quite who the extension is aimed at.

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More than 30 technology companies have signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, making a number of pledges relating to cyberattacks. Microsoft, Facebook, Dell, HP and LinkedIn are just a few of the companies signing on the dotted line, promising -- among other things -- never to help a government launch cyberattacks against innocent citizens and enterprises.

The overall aim of the accord is to protect customers against malicious attacks by cybercriminal enterprises and nation-states. It is described as a "watershed agreement", and it sees a number of very big names coming together -- although there are a few notable exceptions.

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The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities really focused people's attention on the security of processors, and Intel has been at pains to convince users that it takes security seriously. With this in mind, the company has now announced a new Threat Detection Technology which introduces two new malware-fighting techniques.

Accelerated Memory Scanning offloads malware scanning to GPUs, taking the strain off CPUs and helping to improve performance. There's already interest, with Microsoft planning to add support to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. Intel has also revealed Advanced Platform Telemetry which is supposed to cut down on false positives.

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Microsoft has opened up its heart to Linux in recent years, but now the company has done something that would have previously been unthinkable: it has built its own Linux kernel.

As part of its embracing of the Internet of Things, Microsoft has announced Azure Sphere, an ARM-based platform for the IoT with a focus on security. Key to Azure Sphere are small MCU-powered (microcontroller) devices -- essentially SoC devices -- which run Azure Sphere OS and securely connect to Azure backends. Security comes thanks to the use of a custom Linux kernel.

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With the release of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17134 (Redstone 4) to the Fast Ring, Microsoft has given a little insight into what went wrong with build 17133, which had been thought to be the RTM build but was delayed due to a "blocking bug".

The release of Windows 10 Spring Creators Update was expected this month, but the launch date is now seemingly increasingly likely to slip into May. Microsoft has revealed that build 17133 was proving problematic and the company says it wants to fix the issues now, rather than after the fact.

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Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17133 was widely thought to be the RTM for the forthcoming Spring Creators Update after it rolled out to Insiders on the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings in quick succession.

However, Microsoft’s discovery of a blocking bug threw a rather large spanner in the works and delayed the release of the forthcoming feature update.

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For better or worse, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) initiative seems to be moving full steam ahead. There are some very respectable distributions available in the Microsoft Store, such as Debian, Ubuntu, and Kali to name a few. Not to mention, Microsoft is trying to encourage even more maintainers to submit their distros with a new tool.

Apparently, some Windows 10 users have been clamoring for the ability to copy and paste both from and to WSL consoles -- a reasonable request. Well, as of Insider Build 17643, this is finally possible.

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Concern about Russian interference in both the US presidential election and the UK Brexit referendum highlighted the importance the internet now plays in political campaigns. But as well as being a powerful tool, it's also something that is open to abuse and manipulation.

This is something Microsoft recognizes, and the company is launching a new Defending Democracy Program with the express aim of safeguarding the electoral processes.

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It has been a while since Microsoft first mentioned Project Honolulu, and several months down the line it has now been released. Hitting general availability sees Microsoft officially revealing the name: Windows Admin Center.

There have already been several previews of Project Honolulu/Windows Admin Center, but now Microsoft will start the big push to encourage sysadmins to use it to manage their Windows Server and Windows 10 deployments.

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It had been thought that Build 17133 that rolled out to Windows Insiders was the RTM version of Windows 10 Spring Creators Update. But with the discovery of a bug in this build, it seems that this will not be the one that rolls out to everyone.

Yesterday we reported about a "blocking bug" that looks set to delay the release of the next big update to Windows, and now it seems that there will be at least one more build before RTM is reached. Oh -- and the name could well be changing too.

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The next big update for Windows 10 has been delayed while Microsoft rushes to fix a newly-discovered bug.

Known variously as Windows 10 version 1803, Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version Next, Redstone 4 and Windows 10 Spring Creators Update, it was widely thought that the update had reached RTM and was on the verge of rolling out. However, this last-minute discovery means there will be a little longer to wait.

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Cast your mind back several years and you'll remember Windows 3.0 and earlier. This was when Microsoft started to bring home computing to the masses, and for anyone raised on modern Windows, the lack of Start menu, taskbar and other components makes the operating system seem antiquated and unusable.

But use it we did! Back then, there was no File Explorer, but File Manager instead -- and it's something that people sometimes feel nostalgic about. A couple of days ago, Microsoft open sourced the File Manager code, and a Windows 10 version has been released.

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Microsoft is working on an HTML5-based Remote Desktop client to allow Windows users to control their devices from the comfort of their favorite browser. The web app was announced at the Ignite event last year and it is now finally available to test.

The Remote Desktop client is offered as a preview at this stage, and is accompanied by official documentation on how it can be set up on Windows devices. The web version is compatible with Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008R2 and newer, but it also requires a "compatible" browser as well.

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Businesses are increasingly interested in the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence across a wide range of uses. But there's an increasing shortage of the skills needed to implement AI.

Microsoft is helping to address this problem by making its AI training program -- the Microsoft Professional Program in AI, previously only available to employees -- open to the public.

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Microsoft only released Windows 10 Spring Creators Update (Redstone 4) Build 17133 to the Fast ring a few days ago, but it’s already been cleared for the Slow ring.

However, as part of some deployment testing, not everyone on the Slow ring will receive it immediately. You will be able to force the update if you want to though.

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