In fact, it seems Lloyds has played a key role in the creation of MMD, helping the tech giant evaluate the scale, security, and agility of the solution. Microsoft says that it’s now in use across the whole business, making it the largest financial services firm to deploy the tech to date. “As part of our digital transformation we’re creating a modern digital workplace and I am really excited about the impact of this new technology,” said John Chambers, Group Chief Information Officer at Lloyds Banking Group....

Integrity Policy Enforcement, or IPE, is a Linux security module that will optionally enhance user’s safety. According to documentation on GitHub, the module lets admins configure a policy that allows only code they have previously authorized to execute. While the Linux kernel has several existing methods for integrity verification, Microsoft says these lack “a measure of run-time verification that binaries are sourced from these locations”. With IPE, server admins should be able to prevent attacks like binary rewriting, malicious binary execution, and linker hijacking....

With the Visio custom visual, users will be able to create illustrative diagrams to gather intelligence. This is available for interconnected workflows and real-world layouts. With Power BI, Visio can demonstrate and compare date in a diagram or as a normal Power BI visual. A leading diagram tool, Visio was first announced in 2015 in its 2016 version. However, the feature has been part of Microsoft’s service line up since 1992 and has been updated regularly since....

Specifically, a version of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) provides the basics of the platform. This means users can start coding without needing to install any programs. You may remember Microsoft made a similar announcement in August. Well, that was a mistake and the company says this is the real deal. Users can now access the lightweight version of Visual Studio Code via vscode.dev. Visual Studio Code is Microsoft’s open-source and cross-platform code editor that is focuses on providing lightweight editing....

Announced by Microsoft, Windows Sandbox serves as an integrated virtual desktop for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise users. As the name sandbox suggests, the desktop provides a secure location for users to run a desktop, or as Microsoft says a “lightweight… isolated, temporary, desktop environment“. Windows Sandbox allows users to run software they may believe to be harmful on their PC. Organizations can run these programs without damaging the PC long term once the software is closed....

1 Ninja Cat of the Year2 App Creator of the Year3 Game Creator of the Year4 Reality Mixer of the Year5 Core Maker of the Year However, within that volume, there are still some real gems. Microsoft seeks to highlight those with its new Windows Developer Awards system. At Build this year, Microsoft announced the winners in five categories. Ninja Cat of the Year Microsoft’s first award is a special recognition It seeks to celebrate the developer or experience the company feels aligns with its philosophy....

According to a tweet by user “gus33000”, the company has developed a temporary popup message for when users try to open a Silverlight app on a build that doesn’t support it. In the image, we see a popup message that says “Silverlight apps are no longer supported on this version of Windows.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that current Windows Phone devices will lose support for applications such as Slack or WhatsApp....

If you are unfamiliar with Your Phone, it is a service that lets users mirror their Android smartphone on a Windows 10 PC. As interesting as the feature is, in preview it has been limited. Microsoft promised it would allow Your Phone to connect Android applications to Windows 10. Microsoft has been working to make Your Phone more intelligent. Users can now view photos, text messages, and drag and drop files across Android to Windows....

Edge was originally launched on Windows 10 when the platform was released. Since then, Microsoft has been expending the availability of the browser. Availability on iOS and Android is important considering Windows 10 Mobile has sunk without a trace. The browser entered preview on the rival platforms last October and left the testing phase in November. Still, we have had to wait several more months for Edge to land on tablet devices....

Specifically, users can now interact with PDF files without having to download and save them to a machine. Microsoft’s SharePoint Server on-premises version has supported this tool for some time in a rare example of a Microsoft on-premises service receiving a feature before its cloud counterpart. Three years ago, a SharePoint UserVoice thread gained traction asking for deeper PDF file user in SharePoint Online and Office 365. Many commentators on the thread said the lack of support was a deal breaker for their organizations....

While this is only for some apps and features at the moment, it is clear this will expand to other services in the future. “For the past couple of years, we’ve been saying that the future is passwordless, and today I am excited to announce the next step in that vision,” says Vasu Jakkal, Corporate VP of Security, Compliance, and Identity for Microsoft. “Beginning today, you can now completely remove the password from your Microsoft account....

It is worth noting this ability is already available through the Phone Link app (previously Your Phone), but Microsoft is now adding it directly into the apps. To take an image from Android on Word or PowerPoint, head to Insert in the ribbon and then Pictures > Mobile Device. You will need to link your Android device to your PC before the feature will work. Once the phone is connected, you can search through your smartphone photos library directly in Word and PowerPoint....

March 14 (3/14, get it?) is Pi Day, and the company is celebrating the festivities with savings across Windows 10 PCs. Microsoft has gone all clever and is knocking up to 31.4% (get it?) off several PCs. There are literally dozens of machines with reduced prices and some of them are proper bargains at reduced prices. Indeed, if you are looking for a PC, now is a good time. Pi Day has something for everyone....

“We have a great balance sheet, we are a very diverse business, we have a mix of annuity, non-annuity, that is also stronger than even the last time we even went into the financial crisis. I feel confident we’ll come out of this, frankly, pretty strong.” Of course, it goes without saying that a company the size of Microsoft is better placed than most to weather the COVID-19 storm. But even amongst the elite corporations, Redmond’s diversity in products and foothold in productivity set it apart....

“Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been hampered by Sony’s desire to inhibit such growth,” suggests Microsoft filing to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE). “Sony pays for ‘blocking rights’ to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services.” Microsoft’s accusation is that Sony essentially pays third-party developers to make games exclusive on PlayStation. On paper this sounds extremely nefarious and Sony is essentially paying to create less competition....

Microsoft has often positioned itself as a champion of user privacy, even if sometimes the company’s decisions seem to go against that initiative. Still, in terms of tech giants, Microsoft is not as outright nefarious with user information as companies like Facebook and Google. In a new publication, Microsoft says it has often fought against U.S. government requests to access user data. Microsoft’s position is clear… the company believes users should be told when such requests are made....

Users were warned to disable the Microsoft Launcher to avoid losing battery life rapidly. While this was not a universal occurrence, it did happen to a sizeable number of users. Microsoft has responded to the problem with a promised fix. Vishnu Nath, head of Microsoft Launcher, officially confirmed the issue and said the company will roll out a fix soon. The company suggests the flaw comes from a CPU running high when the Launcher is running....

So-called password spraying involves the threat actor/s attempting to access many accounts at once while using a barrage of common passwords. It is essentially a gamble that someone will have used a password with a common variation. Microsoft says critical infrastructure companies with operations in the Persian Gulf were the targets of the attack. The company lays the blame on a group known as DEV-0343, which Microsoft has been tracking and believes works from Iran....

Azure Confidential Computing targets data in use because this is when most attacks happen. According to Azure Chief Technology Officer Mark Russinovich says data breaches are happening daily: “Data breaches are virtually daily news events, with attackers gaining access to personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, and corporate intellectual property. While many breaches are the result of poorly configured access control, most can be traced to data that is accessed while in use…” With the Microsoft and Intel SGX solution deployed, the customer targets the active data by placing it in an enclosed virtual black box....

Called Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage (GZRS), it is available in preview for Azure Archive Storage customers. If you’ve never heard of Azure Archive Storage, it hosts redundancy options that users leverage to repair processes when data is corrupted. Among the redundancies are locally redundant storage (LRS), zone-redundant storage (ZRS), and Microsoft says more will be launched eventually. With GZRS, Microsoft says customers get a well-balanced option that blends availability, performance, and recovery....