Fireball is used by a Chinese marketing agency called Rafotech. Check Point recently reported that the scheme poses a “great threat to the global cyber ecosystem with 250 million infected machines and a grip in one of every five corporate networks.” The security firm says Fireball has infiltrated 20 percent of global corporate network. The regions of peak infection are the US, China, India, Indonesia, and Brazil. Malicious content from the threat is installed through programs downloaded from an internet browser....

1 Changelog2 November Overhaul There’s an extensive changelog accompanying this release. Leading the new features is support for RDP files and RDP URIs, which can now be launched on Remote Desktop. Elsewhere, Microsoft has made workspace headers collapsible to make the UI more functional. Furthermore, there are numerous tweaks to how the app behaves. That said, there have also been some removals, such as the force-touch gesture for mouse right clicks....

Now that Windows 10 May 2021 Update is rolling out, some of those users sitting behind the block are as many as three Windows versions behind. The company prevents updates to stop problems occurring on hardware that is not compatible with an update. Common incompatibility issues include devices crashing, poor performance, and security holes. So-called compatibility holds can be managed by IT admins to bypass the blocks through group policies....

Over recent months, Windows Insider Program members have been previewing features and builds for Windows 10 21H1. However, Microsoft never said what these previews were for, other than a future update. It was a strange move because most knew the previews would eventually become Windows 10 21H1. Microsoft usually announces when previews will reach end users, so it’s unusual for the company not to offer an official reveal until this close to release....

Specifically, Microsoft has sent out build 14393.1613, or cumulative update KB4034661. It is unusual for the company to return after a Patch Tuesday. The idea of the monthly Tuesday release was to shore up Windows 10 security and fix issues on a monthly basis. The concept is part of Microsoft’s Windows as a service model. The company incrementally updates the platform and typically sends out one cumulative patch per month....

Microsoft says both devices are now available (October 13). For customers who took up pre-orders at introduction, Microsoft is rolling out shipment notes as we write. For customers who buy today, delivery will depend on location and retailer. Despite the Surface Laptop Go being a completely new device, there has not been much buzz around it. Instead, it is the new Surface Pro X variant that is more interesting. The new Surface Pro X packs a SQ2 processor and comes with an exclusive Platinum colorway, costing $1,499....

1 Digital Growth2 Discs Are Alive Windows Central reports the console will be called the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition and will be cheaper than the normal version. In a report into the console, WC discusses the convenience of all-digital and how the console will capture where gaming is headed. Microsoft has reacted quickly to the changing trends and the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition puts the company ahead of rivals in digital gaming....

Microsoft has sided with Epic on the matter and been a vocal critic of Apple’s practices. However, the Redmond company may find itself brought into any ruling against the App Store because of policies on its own Xbox platform. Apple is threatening to stop Epic accessing its iOS and macOS developer features, including its Unreal Engine SDK. The company’s stance comes from the popular Fortnite game violating the terms of the App Store....

Despite persistent and ongoing threats, enterprises only dedicated under a third of their security budgets to mitigating firmware. That’s seemingly not enough to prevent attacks. Firmware attacks a known for being tough to manage and Microsoft services are vulnerable to such threats. Indeed, back in 2018, a state sponsored group called Fancy Bear was found leveraging a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) for attacks on Windows 10. Since then, Microsoft has been working to ensure such an attack cannot happen again....

Andromeda is an operating system that will combine the best of mobile and PC. Likely to transform into a Windows version that spans form factors, it would have been ideal for a device like the Surface Phone. The software is a modular approach to Windows. It will give it flexibility across a number of different devices. For example, Microsoft could place Windows on a smartwatch, but only with the components necessary for a wearable device....

Sticky Notes is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) application. As the names suggests, it works as a post-it note system for your Windows 10 machine. Users can write a note and place it anywhere on the screen. It’s a solid feature, but it almost becomes a gimmick with modern task managers that will ping a notification for any reminder. That may be a reason why Sticky Notes is one of those under-the-radar Windows 10....

Specifically, the tech giants are accused of using the faces of Tim Janecyk and Steven Vance to help train their facial recognition technology. While the technology is wonderful, it does not create itself. To ensure high quality facial recognition capabilities, companies must use real people’s faces to train the AI. This has stirred controversy because tech companies use faces from public images on the web. Accusation “Defendant Microsoft never advised or informed Plaintiff Vance or his legal authorized representative in writing: (a) that it collected, stored and used Plaintiff Vance’s biometric identifiers and information; or (b) of the specific purpose and length of term for which Plaintiff Vance’s biometric identifiers and information were being collected, stored and used,” the lawsuit against Microsoft reads....

According to the industry researcher, the released Windows 10 version 1809 is reaching users more slowly than other feature upgrades. After so many problems through October, it stands to reason that Microsoft is moving more softly as it rolls out the update. “The Windows 10 October 2018 update re-released in mid-November but according to our data, this seems to be a very cautious release,” AdDuplex notes. “October 2018 Update share is still under 3 percent three weeks after an official re-release....

Indeed, IT pro community Spiceworks says Microsoft Teams has enjoyed a flurry of success, especially during 2018. Back when Teams launched, Slack saw the threat and took out a full-page ad in the New York Times essentially telling Microsoft to back off. Redmond did not and since launching Teams has been boosting the service’s features. The biggest change to Microsoft Teams happened six months ago. Microsoft introduced a free version of the service, a decision that had paid off....

The latest addition to the Microsoft Teams arsenal is very important for conferencing situations. Teams will now let you send a conversation history to a newly added person in a chat. This allows the newcomer to be briefed before entering the conversations. This new feature will appeal to Skype for Business users preparing to make Microsoft Teams their go-to chat service. With the new feature, users can decide how much of the chat they want to share....

This introduction also brings Teams in line with Slack, which also has Trello links. Microsoft Teams has been a major rival to Slack since it was announced last year. Back in March, Teams was fully rolled out globally and comes with the advantage of tapping directly into Microsoft’s Office 365 subscribers. By adding more integrations, the company is making Teams a more compelling rival to Slack. Trello is certainly an important addition as the service is very popular in the enterprise space....

In terms of progress, Microsoft Teams is moving along nicely. Back in January, the company confirmed the service has been adopted by 30,000 organizations in 145 markets. Clearly, the full global roll out and general availability in March have helped elevate Teams further. As for the new features, Microsoft has introduced a new ability for Azure Active Directory customers to be added as a guest in a team. This addition opens the door to more users entering Teams....

We are in a new era of communication. Mostly driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, communication applications have become increasingly popular in recent months. We are now in the midst of what I call the Communication App Wars, where Microsoft is competing with its Skype and Microsoft Teams services. Microsoft Teams is fighting on a couple of fronts. It is, of course, positioned as workplace collaboration tool that competes with Slack....

1 Words to Text2 Visual search With the AI, Bing is capable of finding content faster and more efficiently. Microsoft leveraged its own Azure virtual machines partnered with NVIDIA GPUs and NIVIDIA CUDA-X software libraries. In terms of text-to-speech abilities, the AI allows Bing to transfer typed text into speech. Importantly, the search engine can deliver spoken intelligent answers to users in a natural sounding voice. In a blog post, Microsoft explains the “advance was made possible by breakthroughs in deep neural networks that give our AI human-like intonation and clear articulation of words....

It’s an inconvenience, but not a major one thanks to several transfer tools. You’ll be able to transfer your contacts to a new or existing Microsoft account, as well as chat history, Credit, and more. There’s a guide that will walk you through the whole process. The bigger question is why. Well, according to Microsoft, it’s to “streamline all skype logins”. “Using a Microsoft Account will enable you to login-in via single sign-in, unlocking all your Microsoft services – including Skype, Office Online, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive, and more – in one experience, with just one password,” a spokesperson explained....