Discoverers Positive Technologies say this issue will affect all Intel processors of the past five years, except for its 10th generation chips. Existing at the hardware level, its researchers believe the bug could cause “utter chaos”. “Hardware IDs will be forged, digital content will be extracted, and data from encrypted hard disks will be decrypted,” explained the company. “The vulnerability also sets the stage for arbitrary code execution with zero-level privileges in Intel CSME....

It’s a situation we discussed back in March, highlighting how many Windows 10 users will never get the October 2018 Update. Sure, much of the reason behind this is the delay Microsoft put on version 1809. Launched in October, Microsoft was forced to pause the update under a glut of issues. While the October 2018 Update returned in November, Microsoft’s rollout became more cautious afterwards. Microsoft has increasingly said it wants as many users running the same Windows build as possible....

An interesting report by The Outline obtained an internal briefing from within the walls of Cupertino. The presentation aims to educate employees on the culture of leaks. Titled “Stopping Leakers – Keeping Confidential at Apple,” the briefing lasts an hour and is run by Apple’s security experts. Yes, the irony is thick here, with this being a leaked briefing discussing the nature of leaks within Apple. Nevertheless, it is a new initiative that is being set up by the company....

The 12-inch Miix 720, which will start shipping in April for US$999 will cost US$100 more than the cheapest Surface Pro 4 model, but also come with superior features. It will run on Intel´s latest Kaby Lake CPU architecture and support 4K video thanks to an integrated GPU. On the outside it looks like Microsoft´s Surface Pro, featuring a kickstand at its back. Connectivity will be better however. The Miix 720 wears a USB-C port, which is also a high-speed Thunderbolt 3 port that can connect peripherals like displays and storage devices, and additional USB 3....

While Microsoft undoubtedly has numerous plans for making the most of that huge dataset, the company is clearly eager to keep the core role of LinkedIn intact. With that in mind, the company is today launching a new feature that tells potential candidates how long their commute to new jobs will take. This will help to give users tools to better decide if a job is worth applying for. In a blog post, LinkedIn points to a study that shows 85% of professionals in the United States would take a pay cut if it meant a shorter commute....

According to Bloomberg, two people who worked on the deal say it cost millions of dollars and was negotiated for four years. The publication says neither Mastercard or Google customers were informed of the deal, which apparently links Google accounts to physical store purchases. Essentially, if a user is signed in and looks at an ad, then visits a store up to 30 days later, Google marks it as a success....

Converting products to sales is more important than ever in the ultra-competitive retail space. Online shopping means retailers are competing on a global scale. However, there is also huge potential for fraud as the industry continues to open and digitize. Fraudsters evolve their methods for tricking both consumers and retailers. Mastercard’s new Digital Transaction Insights brings innovative authentication services to merchants in real-time. This means retailers can make actionable decisions more quickly and with greater accuracy....

At the moment, Microsoft only updates its browser with its operating system, meaning progress is slow and non-competitive. Internal sources have been hinting at a separation of the two, but it seems that rumor was false. Speaking to Neowin at Build 2017, a member of the Edge team admitted they have “no plans for unbundling right now, but never say never”. A Bad Decision? At the moment, its a bit of a mystery why Microsoft is sticking to its original choice....

The company contributed to the confusion. During the Day 2 keynote at Build, Terry Myerson demoed Xamarin Live Player with support apps on iOS and Android. It appeared as through the app would remove the need of a Mac for developing for the mobile platform. Microsoft points out that is not the case. In the post today, the company says a properly configured Mac is still necessary: “To completely develop your app for iOS, you’ll need to install and configure a complete Xamarin development environment, which requires a Mac for iOS tools, including storyboard designers, app extension development, app packaging/signing, and more....

“Identity and Threat Protection” and “Information Protection and Compliance” are designed for Office 365 E3 customers. They are already available for Microsoft 365 E5 subscribers but will not come to E3 users. Microsoft says the features will be available to purchase separately from Feb. 1, 2019. Through Identity and Threat Protection, customers receive a bundle that combines Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) services. In the bundle are Threat Protection, Cloud App Security, and Azure Active Directory services....

Microsoft and German automotive giant BMW say OMP is an open framework of developmental solutions that any dev can participate in. OMP participants across the manufacturing sector can use the platform to create solutions. “Microsoft is joining forces with the BMW Group to transform digital production efficiency across the industry,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Microsoft Cloud + AI Group. “Our commitment to building an open community will create new opportunities for collaboration across the entire manufacturing value chain....

Fortunately, rumors suggest it’s now working on its own speaker. According to WinFuture, the company is collaborating with Quatna to make a Microsoft-branded speaker. The information comes from ‘evidence in documents from a developer team’. It will apparently be powered by a Snapdragon 212 variant, based on the ARM Cortex-A7 architecture with four 1.3 GHz cores. We can only assume such a speaker would be Cortana-based, but also able to invoke Alexa via the upcoming integration....

Because of this, HoloLens can be used in industrial scenarios without breaking any regulations. Under the certification, the headset conforms to basic impact protection requirements of ANSI Z87.1, CSA Z94.3 and EN 166. All of these requirements are the most common for protective eyewear standards in North American and Europe. Microsoft has also discussed how HoloLens is creating new avenues for businesses. At the Hannover Messe Industries show this week, the company will discuss how the device can reduce cost in business by giving employees improve data visualization....

Unfortunately, it seems not all insiders are able to get this build. Users have been reporting error codes 0xca00a000 and 0x80242016 when trying to download and install 18875. Microsoft says this is due to an error wit cumulative update 18362.53 and only affects 19H1 to 20H1 updates. A fixed build should be out by the end of the week. “As we work on this new Cumulative Update, we have stopped offering Build 18875 to Insiders on Build 18362....

Inside Xbox is the company’s new vessel for community engagement, and it will feature exclusive gameplay peeks, behind-the-scenes of Xbox development, and breaking news. It promises 4K access on Mixer, YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook, starting March 10. Its debut will focus on the upcoming Sea of Thieves, with Rare Studio Head Craig Duncan and executive producer Joe Neate. The pair will be talking Closed Beta feedback, core design principles, and what to expect at launch and beyond....

Moving into the second generation, Microsoft says the tool is more cost-effective and can migrate on-premises workloads to the cloud more quickly. Because the platform is VMware Cloud Verified, it can support all the capabilities VMware provides. Speaking about Azure VMware Solution, Sanjay Poonen, CEO at VMware, said the service provides organizations with a powerful tool: “Now more than ever it is important we come together and help them create stability and efficiency for their businesses....

Sphere is based on Linux designed to enhance security around Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Azure Sphere is comprised of Microsoft microcontrollers alongside Sphere Linux-based OS and a Sphere cloud security service. Microsoft rolled out Sphere in February and now wants hackers to put it to the test. With the Azure Sphere Research Challenge, researchers will have three months and is available for researchers working on Azure Secure World and Azure Pluton....

These include the right for individuals to request the data a company has on them and ask for it to be deleted or modified. For a company like Microsoft, that’s a bit of a headache. The tech giant is systematically updating its apps and services to be compliant with the incoming regulations, including with Office 365 and Azure. If it fails to do so, it could face fines of up to €20 million or 4 percent of its annual revenue turnover....

Yes, this means Windows Forms applications now works on Windows 10 on ARM. If you’re unfamiliar with Windows Forms, it is an open source solution framework for building applications in Windows 10. Microsoft has been working on bringing the tool to dotnet for some time. Until now, Windows ARM64 users could only leverage ASP.NET Core applications. With this new announcement for .NET 5 Preview 6, developers can create Windows Forms apps on Windows 10 on ARM machines like Microsoft’s own Surface Pro X....

If you think about it, there’s arguably no competition at all. Companies increasingly want to work to help the climate and the more that do, the better it is for all of us and the future of the planet. Tech companies being the ultra-competitive bunch they are actively competing on who can be cleanest. In return, they get a nice pat on the back. In an extensive report, Vox looks at Microsoft’s climate commitments and what the company is doing to achieve them....