Articles about Microsoft

Microsoft launches Defending Democracy Program to protect against hacking and misinformation

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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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Microsoft releases Project Honolulu as Windows Admin Center

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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 looks like there will be a new RTM build of Windows 10 as build 17134 is discovered

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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Microsoft discovers blocking bug and delays the release of Windows 10 Spring Creators Update

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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File Manager for Windows 10 is now available as Microsoft open sources winfile code

File Manager for Windows 10

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 releases HTML5-based Remote Desktop web client preview

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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Microsoft opens up its AI training to the public

AI

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 releases Windows 10 Spring Creators Update Build 17133 to the Slow ring, but not for all

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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Microsoft releases update that fixes problematic Meltdown patch

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As if the Meltdown and Spectre chip vulnerabilities weren't bad enough in their own right, the patches designed to fix them caused a further series of problems. A Swedish researcher recently discovered that Microsoft's Meltdown fixes lowered security in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and now the company has issued a fix.

As the new patch is being released outside of the usual schedule, it is indicative of the importance of the security update. KB4100480 is a kernel update for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 that addresses CVE-2018-1038 problems.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 5 Build 17634 for Skip Ahead

The Redstone 4 branch of Windows 10 -- the Spring Creators Update -- has reached RTM, and will begin rolling out to non-Insiders around the April 10.

For those users already looking to the future, Microsoft is already pushing out builds for the following feature update, codenamed Redstone 5. Build 17634, for users on the Skip Ahead ring, adds search functionality to the calendar and a number of other improvements and fixes.

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Windows boss Terry Myerson leaves Microsoft as part of a major shakeup

Terry Myerson, the executive vice president of Windows, is to leave Microsoft "in the coming months". Myerson has been at Microsoft for 21 years, and has been involved in Windows Phone, Windows 10, Xbox One, and Surface devices.

His departure is part of a large reorganization at Microsoft that sees Rajesh Jha, the executive VP of Microsoft Office products, expanding his responsibilities to take over Myerson's role, and Panos Panay serving as the company’s Chief Product Officer.

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Fall Creators Update runs on 90 percent of Windows 10 PCs

While the Creators Update roll-out was not as fast as we would have liked, things are going much better with the Fall Creators Update. The latest official upgrade to Windows 10 has quickly gained traction, reaching the vast majority of PCs running the popular operating system just five months after it's been released.

Fall Creators Update saw its usage share among Windows 10 users reaching a massive 90 percent only a few days ago, gaining five percentage points since last month, according to a new report by AdDuplex. At the time of the current update's arrival, its predecessor, the Creators Update, had a usage share of around 74.8 percent on Windows 10 while being two months older.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Spring Creators Update Build 17133 to the Fast ring

We're edging ever closer to the release of the Windows 10 Spring Creators Update, due out next month. It's believed we're at the RTM phase now, but Microsoft will still be issuing updates to Insiders.

Today, Build 17133 arrives for those on the Fast ring, and just like in Build 17128, which came out late last week, it’s missing the watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop. Always a sign that we’re nearly ready for the final release.

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Top vulnerabilities shift focus from Adobe to Microsoft

vulnerability bomb

A new report from threat intelligence specialist Recorded Future looks at the changing way in which attackers are using vulnerabilities.

In contrast to previous years, most of the criminal exploit kits and phishing campaigns seen in 2017 have favored Microsoft products, rather than the Adobe Flash vulnerabilities which previous research showed as being the most popular.

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WSL-DistroLauncher is an open source tool designed to lure Linux distros to the Microsoft Store

open source

Is it cool that there are Linux distributions in the Microsoft Store? Eh, I suppose. While I don't fully trust Microsoft's commitment to both Linux and open source, understandably, some Linux users and administrators have the need to also run Windows 10. And so, from a convenience standpoint, the whole Windows Subsystem for Linux thing is appreciated (we are watching you though, Microsoft!).

Unfortunately, not all Linux distributions are available in the Microsoft Store. This is a problem, as Linux users are very tribal -- a Fedora user, for instance, might be unhappy using Debian. Microsoft hopes to solve this dilemma by making it even easier for distribution maintainers to get their distros into the store. How does the Windows-maker plan to do this? With an all-new GitHub-hosted open source tool called "WSL-DistroLauncher."

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