Articles about Microsoft

With the release of this month's security updates for Windows, Microsoft has brought to an end support for not only Windows Server 2012, but also Windows 11 21H2.

What this means for users of these versions of the operating system is that there will be no more updates of any sort made available -- and this means both security updates and non-security updates. For anyone who wants or needs to stick with Windows 2012, things could get expensive, but there are free upgrades available to those currently running Windows 11 21H2.

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The latest biannual Cyber Threat Intelligence Report from Critical Start reveals the top 10 cyber threats, including a rise in phishing attacks using QR codes are on the rise with bad actors masquerading as Microsoft security notifications.

Since May this year a major campaign has seen emails with a QR code embedded inside a PNG image or a PDF attachment. This has been aimed across industries with the energy sector being hardest hit -- one US energy company received 29 percent of all emails in the campaign.

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Microsoft has quietly announced plans to deprecate VBScript in "future releases of Windows". The company has not been more specific about the timeline than this, but there are some details about the deprecation process.

As part of a phased withdrawal, VBScript (Visual Basic Scripting Edition) was initially removed from Internet Explorer, and before being killed off in Windows completely, it will become an optional component. While a useful scripting language in its day, VBScript became something of an abused security nightmare, and has since been replaced by PowerShell.

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For anyone running Windows 10 21H2 or Windows 10 22H2, Microsoft has a new cumulative update that fixes various issues with the operating system as well as introducing new features and options.

As is customary, Microsoft provides sparse details about the security issues the update addresses, but it does share information about the various other improvements included in the KB5031356 update.

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Although it’s easy enough to find new wallpaper for Windows, many users prefer to stick with the default images supplied by Microsoft.

The software giant includes a choice of wallpapers with the OS, so if you don’t like the default ones, you can pick any of the available variations. Today, Microsoft adds two new images to its collection which you can download right now.

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Although new Windows 11 test builds typically arrive on a Wednesday, they can drop almost any day of the working week.

Today, Microsoft releases a new Windows 11 build to Insiders in the Beta Channel, and makes changes to how future features will be delivered going forward. Insiders will have the choice to be among the first to receive new features, or to just get them gradually, over time.

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Windows 11 users in many parts of the world are now able to access Windows Copilot -- although, notably, not in the EU (privacy law, natch).

Much has been made of Microsoft's AI-powered assistant, and while it is still early days for the ChatGPT-based tool, Microsoft is already working on significant interface changes. The focus is on making Windows Copilot more customizable rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all design onto everyone.

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Browser tabs were introduced to help fix the problem of having too many browser windows open at once; now instead of being overrun with browser windows, we have the issue of too many tabs. Chrome's upcoming Organize Tabs feature is Google's latest attempt to tame things.

The feature is still undergoing beta testing, but when it lands it will take some of the hard work out of tab management. For anyone happy to hand control over to Google, Organize Tabs will automatically sort open tabs into appropriate Tab Groups, much like the comparable AI-driven feature already to be found in Microsoft Edge.

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Microsoft may be saying nothing about the release of Windows 12, but that's not stopping news slipping out about the successor to Windows 11. And thanks to information from Intel, it seems that 2024 is when we can expect to see a new Windows release.

The leak comes courtesy of David Zinsner -- Chief Financial Officer at Intel -- who confidently referred to "the Windows refresh" which he says is due to land next year. While his comments are not solid confirmation of the launch of Windows 12, it is a credible addition to the ever-growing pile of Windows rumors.

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Microsoft continues to add new features to Windows 11, and Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel get to try out some of the more experimental ones.

New in Build 25967, released today, is a redesigned homepage in Settings that offers a "dynamic and personalized experience". Microsoft says it provides an overview of your device, quick access to key settings, and helps manage your Microsoft account.

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The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching a market investigation into the supply of public cloud infrastructure services in the UK. Between them, Amazon and Microsoft enjoy a combined market share of 60-70 percent of Britain's cloud computing industry.

This follows a referral by telecoms regulator Ofcom which has expressed concerns around egress fees, discounts -- which may incentivize customers to use only one cloud provider, and technical barriers to switching.

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Windows 11 is far from being new. The current version of Microsoft's desktop operating system has been with us for a couple of years and has been treated to numerous significant updates and new features since its launch.

Despite this, Windows 11 remains pretty unpopular. We're not just talking about people having complaints and quibbles about the OS. The latest figures show that the vast majority of Windows users are avoiding Windows 11, with Windows 10 remaining almost three times as popular.

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The big new update for Windows 11 began rolling out last week. This introduces a wealth of new features to the operating system, chief of which is Copilot, Microsoft’s new AI-powered assistant.

This addition is still quite new, and so not without its problems, but Microsoft is working on improving it. Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel today get a new build which adds to Copilot's abilities. There are a number of known issues with Copilot to be aware of, however.

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Excel 365 is Microsoft’s latest cloud-based version of its world-famous spreadsheet app. Powerful and user-friendly, it’s an ideal solution for businesses and people looking to make sense of -- and draw intelligence from -- their data.

The Excel 365 Bible carries over the best content from the best-selling Excel 2019 Bible while reflecting how a new generation uses Excel in Excel 365. The authoring team with their decades of Excel and business intelligence experience and recognition from the Excel community as Excel MVPs delivers an accessible and authoritative roadmap to Excel 365.

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Problems with Windows updates are incredibly common, and this is certainly the case with the monthly update previews Microsoft releases. The cumulative KB5030310 update brought with it not only the Windows Copilot preview, but also bugs for users with AMD graphics cards.

Although Microsoft is yet to confirm any problems relating to the KB5030310 update, it appears to be causing issues with AMD's Adrenaline configuration software. Users report "unexpected failure" messages as well as settings not being retained. Read on for a solution!

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