Articles about Microsoft

Microsoft continues to show a surprising level of love for Linux, and nowhere is this clearer than in the Windows Subsystem for Linux. With the latest version of the software, the company has worked with Canonical to bring systemd support to WSL for Windows 11.

What does this mean in practice? It means that as of Windows Subsystem for Linux 0.67.6 there is support for Ubuntu's snap installation method. But there is much more to the arrival of system support than this.

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Microsoft began rolling out the Windows 11 2022 Update yesterday, with the promise of yet more cool features to come next month.

For Insiders in the Dev Channel, however, there’s another new build to play around with today -- Build 25206 --and this one includes changes to SMB authentication rate limiter behavior and updates for Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR).

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As the latest update to Windows 11 rolls out with new features focusing on productivity and collaboration, IT management efficiency and security, Microsoft is understandably keen for businesses to adopt the OS.

To that end it's commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying Windows 11 and Microsoft 365.

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The first major update for Windows 11 is finally here. Starting today, Microsoft is rolling out the Windows 11 2022 Update, ending speculation and rumors about the precise name and release date.

It is hard to downplay the significance of this update; for many people it will transform Windows 11 into the operating system it should have been from the very beginning. There's a lot to explore in this major update including the addition of Focus sessions and Do Not Disturb, new customization options for the Start menu, updates to Snap Layouts and much more. Some things (notably Explorer tabs), unfortunately, are missing for now, and will be added in the coming weeks.

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Privacy and security are something that all browser manufacturers like to brag about in relation to their products, with Google and Microsoft being no different to others in this regard. But if you are making use of the Enhanced Spellcheck in Chrome or Microsoft Editor in Edge, some highly sensitive information can be sent to the two software giants.

In addition to passwords, we are talking about personal information entered into online forms such as your social security number, date of birth, username and so on. The worrying discovery was made by security researchers from JavaScript security firm otto-js who warn that this is something that will be of particular concern to enterprise users.

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Recognizing the fact that many groups, organizations and work forces are made up of multi-lingual members from many countries, Microsoft has made language interpretation Generally Available for users of Microsoft Teams.

Rather than offering automatic translation of speech, language interpretation allows professional interpreters to convert what a speaker says into another language in real-time.

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Researchers from cybersecurity firm Vectra have issued a warning that Microsoft Teams stores authentication tokens in an unprotected form that could easily be abused by hackers.

The desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux all store authentication tokens in cleartext, and this can be used by an attacker to steal an identity and log into accounts. This is clearly worrying, but what is more concerning is Microsoft's reaction; the company says that the issue does not require "immediate servicing".

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The last update to Microsoft's PowerToys utility collection was a big one, adding no fewer than three new tools. Now there is a smaller, but still significant, update available in the form of PowerToys v0.62.1.

Although this particular release may not be quite as exciting as its predecessor, the fact that it addresses various issues with the software means that it is still well worth downloading.

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We have already written about some of the security patches issued by Microsoft this month, but the company has released a very large number of fixes in total. Included among the fixes is a patch for a security issue deemed so serious that Microsoft has even released a fix for Windows 7, despite security support for the operating system having ended at the beginning of last year.

The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2022-37969, and is a described as a "Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability".

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Keeping software updated is not only an important part of keeping on top of security, but also making sure that you have access to all of the latest features and options. But installing updates can also be annoying and disruptive, with notifications interrupting workflow -- so Microsoft has come up with a solution.

The company has developed a new technique called "update under lock" that makes it possible to apply updates to Microsoft 365 apps while a machine is in idle or locked mode. Updates can be installed even if apps are running, and there are no notifications or disruptions to irritate users.

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After a couple of weeks of rolling out new builds on a Thursday -- and following on from the release of twin beta builds earlier this week -- Microsoft is back to its usual Wednesday release schedule for Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Build 25201 sees Microsoft beginning to roll out a handy expanded view for widgets, and also a useful update to the Game Pass widget.

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It is that time of the month again -- the time when Microsoft releases patches for Windows. This time around we have the KB5017328 update for Windows 11 which, among other things, fixes a problem introduced by another update for Windows.

Some people who installed the recent KB5016691 update experienced login issues, and this is addressed by this Patch Tuesday’s KB5017328 update release. Importantly, this particular release is also a security update. Microsoft has also provided Windows 11 tips to accompany this update.

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Can something as boring as Windows Terminal be made sexy? Well, maybe not necessarily in the erotic sense of the word (that would be super weird), but yes, the program apparently can be made more attractive and appealing thanks to some new customization options.

Today, Microsoft launches Windows Terminal Preview 1.16, and the new version has a whole bunch of changes such as a new text rendering engine and default colors. However, the truly exciting improvements are focused on the ability to customize things. You see, Microsoft has added an all-new themes feature and redesigned color schemes page. Ooh la la!

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Today is a huge day for iPhone users as it’s the day when Apple rolls out iOS 16. For Windows 11 Insiders in the Beta channel, it’s also a (fairly) big day.

The software giant today makes twin builds 22621.598 (with new features off by default) and 22622.598 (with new features included) available to test.

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Microsoft has acknowledged that the recently released KB5016691 update for Windows 11 led to serious issues for some users. The optional update preview introduced new admin features as well as fixing printing and Bluetooth problems, but it also prevented some users from being able to log into Windows 11.

The problem affects Windows 11 version 21H2, and it is serious enough to force Microsoft's hand into releasing an emergency fix. But just as problematic Windows updates have become increasingly common for Windows 11, so the approach taken to fix the issue is one that Microsoft is using more and more often -- and it is one that is seen by some as a proper substitute for a proper fix.

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