Initially discovered by security researcher Michael Hanselmann, the problem involved the Go Function in hcsshim. Specifically, an unsanitized input opens the door for hackers to run arbitrary malicious code. Of course, they would need the know how to do this, but would gain system access with the skills. With access to Windows Host, attackers could remove and replace files, or even create new ones. Microsoft was first told about the issue in February....

The idea is that the user would use a stylus to draw predefined gesture on a touch screen which then would be automatically recognized. According to the patent application this could be accomplished through determining a location of the gesture, determining identity of the stylus, locking an item displayed at the location determined and by recording identity of the stylus. This would be achieved by using a controller which compares “the identity code of the stylus to a pre-stored identity code, wherein the pre-stored identity code is registered as authorized to perform secure operations with the digitizer sensor....

The latest but of R&D is a new Microsoft Patent discovered by Windows Latest but published last year. It describes a laptop or any small device that features a flexible display rack. This is a folding screen implementation that also includes a body that serves as a chassis. Microsoft’s patent points to the chassis underpinning a display stack with an active layer and a supporting layer. The company says the supporting layer could be rigid and made of metal but include a section that provides the folding capability to the screen....

WalkingCat is reporting on a new Microsoft patent that furthers it input development. Specifically, the company is working on a wand-like device that will work with augmented reality. The device is a stylus-like product that may be like Microsoft’s existing Surface Pen. Microsoft has been clear that it sees mixed reality becoming a whole computing platform. The company is building up hardware (proprietary and through OEMs) such as a Mixed Reality Controller, and headsets....

Of course, the company has had Microsoft Wallet operating since last year. It seems Microsoft Pay is a replacement for Wallet. Microsoft was already late to the mobile payment market with Wallet and has been promising the feature in Pay since last year. Before getting into the mobile compatibility, however pointless that now is, it is worth noting Microsoft Pay is also aiming for web browsers. Specifically, it brings the Payment Request API to Microsoft Edge for the first time....

As the name suggests, the new tool is a quick launcher. It has some interesting additions such as support for plugins and a search ability. PowerLauncher was developed by Jessica Yuowono, a Program Manager for Microsoft. The App allows users to launch an app instantly and search for other tools. Other features on the service include auto-complete. Microsoft says PowerLauncher is designed to make it faster to find search results than the Win+S shortcut....

This is not the first time Microsoft has needed to explain the exact nature of Windows Autopatch. Last month the company had to explain that the service will not be replacing monthly Patch Tuesday updates. As the name suggests, Autopatch is an automatic update program that delivers security patches to Windows. It reached preview for enterprise customers last month and will get a full launch in July. In a new Tech Community blog post, Microsoft’s Lior Bela explains what Autopatch is and how it will work for organizations....

In an update post on the Windows 11 Health Dashboard, Microsoft says the Windows 11 2022 Update may have issues finding full features from printers on those two drivers. In situations where the OS cannot find the printer, it will simply revert back to default features. When the connection is established on default features it cannot find some of those features. Microsoft points out that the issue can essentially leave a printer useless if certain features are not available....

In reality, Video Editor isn’t a new app at all. The shortcut simply leads to the editing portion of the Photos app, which has had the functionality for some time. In essence, Microsoft has finally decided on its naming. The company initially changed the name of Photos to ‘Story Remix’, but users were very unhappy. The title didn’t give any hint of what the app did and would likely result in lower usage....

Outlook.com Premium Features The premium service provides several benefits for paying users and could be very useful for power users. Here are the current features: However, the subscription auto-renews at the $50 price tag, so customers may want to disable it in settings if they just want a trial. US customers can buy Outlook.com premium today from the official site.

It is worth noting Microsoft is still sending out optional Insider updates for Windows 10 20H1. The company is expected to roll the updates up into an RTM package that should be ready next month. In the meantime, if you don’t want to wait for the (stable) release, you can use the ISO file for a manual download. If you take this option, you will still be able to download and install updates and cumulative patches through the Insider program....

A Microsoft-commissioned study seeks to address that knowledge gap with the help of Dr. Shalini Kesar, who has been observing the field for close to 20 years. The results are interesting, and may not necessarily be what you expect. The research combines a ‘comprehensive review’ of 61 articles and studies, combined with focus groups of 44 girls across the US. A quantitative survey reaches 6,009 girls and young women between 10 and 30 to further examine attitudes....

Called Embedded Learning Library (ELL), Microsoft Research describes how it can embed AI onto a chip that is the size of a breadcrumb. With the technology, developers would be able to build machine-learning onto embedded platforms. For example, Raspberry Pi would be able to run artificial intelligence, making machine learning more accessible. “The dominant paradigm is that these devices are dumb,” said Manik Varma, a senior researcher with Microsoft Research India and a co-leader of the project....

Peaking to The Verge on the Decoder podcast this week, Spencer says the device known as “Keystone” is currently too expensive: “It was more expensive than we wanted it to be when we actually built it out with the hardware that we had inside,” says Spencer “We decided to focus that team’s effort on delivering the smart TV streaming app.” The streaming app is the Xbox TV app that made its debut this year on Samsung smart TVs....

The team spoke to the difficulty or remaining informed in the modern world, which is crammed with different headlines and echo chambers. It’s hoping to get users to look at perspectives outside of their bubble, while also providing supporting information. “At Bing, we want to empower users to get an overview of the news in less time. That’s why we built the Bing spotlight that provides overviews of news topics that you can see right in the Bing search results when you search for major developing news stories,” said a spokesperson....

The result was an investigation into the the Prime Minister over corruption claims. Over a year later, progress is being made, and much of that is thanks to Microsoft’s Calibri font. When Sharif’s daughter was told to provide documents to prove her innocence, she sent photocopies from February 6th, 2006, using Calibri. Unfortunately for her, that suggests a forgery. Though Calibri was created in 2004, it didn’t become available to the general public until 2007....

DeBERTa (Decoding-enhanced BERT with disentangled attention) is an AI model that Microsoft has recently updated. The new model has 1.5 billion parameters and 48 Transformer layers. After boosting DeBERTa, Microsoft Research wanted to put the improved model through its paces. Turning to the SuperGLUE benchmark, the results were amazing. In fact, the AI model became the first language processing and understanding AI to beat human performance. DeBERTa got a macro-average score of 89....

File Restore was originally launched for business users back in January. As we mentioned then, the feature allows OneDrive users to easily restore their files from any point from the past 30 days. This is extremely helpful if you accidently delete a file, recover lost data, or head back to a safe point if you suspect an attack. It is the latter function that Microsoft is talking up. The company presents File Restore as a solid way to combat ransomware....

As with all Windows 10 apps, the Photos Add-on is available in the Windows Store (soon to be the Microsoft Store). However, there is no description that explains what the app does or why it has been installed. Over 169 reviews, the app has been given a one and a half start rating. The most common complaints involve it being installed without permission, viewing photos on a device, and slowing down other apps: “I didn’t ask for this, I didn’t approve this, I didn’t even know you were planning on installing this....

Marble was previously the Windows Insider Program Architect and says Microsoft will pursue making coding more accessible. His first action has been to create Microsoft Dev Circles, which Marbles describes as an “evolution of Cohorts”. As an Insider Program feature, Marble is well aware of Cohorts, which is designed to create better user feedback. “No surprise, we’ll start with Insiders… there are 10-plus million of them around the world. We think ALL of them should learn to code....