Security researchers at Sophos say LockFile has been targeting vulnerable Microsoft Exchange servers by exploiting ProxyShell flaws in the platform. It uses an “intermittent encryption” attack to stay away from security tools. Researchers from Sophos discovered the emerging threat in July, which exploits the ProxyShell vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange servers to attack systems. Specifically, LockFile encrypts on every 16 bytes of a file, which means many anti-ransomware software services cannot detect it....

Specifically, the company is working on giving admins to access a Cloud PC without needing a full Azure subscription. Microsoft points out this is one of the most requested features from Windows 365 customers. Instead of needing an Azure subscription, admins can set up a Cloud PC via Azure AD Join on a Microsoft Hosted Network. Microsoft says the new ability if now available in preview on Windows 365 Enterprise subscriptions....

The special HPU has been designed to take most of the load from the CPU and GPU so that they can focus on launching apps and displaying holograms. At the Hot Chips conference in California this week, devices engineer Nick Baker told us exactly how that works. Holographic Processing Unit Specifications According to The Register, the device is a TSMC fabricated 28nm coprocessor. It has 24 Tensilica DSP cores, 65 million logic gates, 8MB of SRAM and 1GB of DDR3 RAM....

In its update for CVE-2019-1181 and CVE-2019-1182, Microsoft says the vulnerabilities are similar to BlueKeep. If you are unfamiliar with BlueKeep, it is a dangerous vulnerability because it can be executed by bad actors remotely. It is located in Remote Desktop Services on older Windows legacy builds such as Windows 7, Windows XP, AND Server 2003 and 2008. However, the pair of flaws patched this week are slightly different to BlueKeep because they affect Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and not Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)....

The latest update for Groove Music on the Production Ring is version 10.17042.1411.0. Fluent Design is evident in elements within the build, which is available on Windows 10 PCs and Windows 10 Mobile. For example, a hint of transparency has been added to the sidebar and bottom areas within the app. With this small change, we can already see how Fluent Design will make Windows 10 and its native apps slicker and nicer to look at....

Chromium Edge has been a relatively stable experience so far, so much so that I’ve been using it as my daily driver with few issues. However, it seems Microsoft was waiting for a few feature additions before it gave the thumbs up to enterprise. These changes should further differentiate it from Google Chrome while making it more suitable for use in business. Even so, professionals are still waiting on some more features to make the transition smoother....

In some cases, this even combines with the Hicurdismos malware to force a fake a blue screen, or Monitnev, which displays fake errors when an application crashes. The ultimate goal is to convince users to pay for the issue to be fixed, when it’s either non-existent or created by the scammers. “The technical support scam websites employ various social engineering techniques to compel users to call the provided hotlines,” explains Microsoft....

The new developer templates work with Skype for Business without the need for an Office 365 subscription. Called Office 365 Virtual Health Templates, healthcare professionals can use the templates for care coordination. Developers can use the templates to further their own virtual consult experiences. This is achieved through the Skype for Business SDKs. Microsoft launched the SDKs last year as a platform for building web and mobile experiences. Powered by Skype for Business, developers can create chat, audio, and video experiences....

For the unfamiliar, Windows 10X is a new version of Windows built from the ground up for foldable PCs. That doesn’t sound particularly applicable to IoT devices, but changes under the hood focus on removing legacy Windows components, and, crucially, improving security. As a result, an IoT OS built on Windows 10 X is likely to be more secure and will use modern technologies throughout. This extends to the UI, which is more heavily based on Fluent Design with a simple, centered taskbar....

More specifically, the company is sending out a Known Issue Rollback (KIR), which solves the gaming issues. With this KIR, Windows 10 users can rollback to a previous state, removing the gaming problems without losing the security fixes. This is also the first time the company has acknowledged the issue: “A small subset of users have reported lower than expected performance in games after installing this update. Most users affected by this issue are running games full screen or borderless windowed modes and using two or more monitors”....

If you’re unfamiliar with NSO Group, it is a company that has often been associated with attacks, despite maintaining a guise as a legitimate software vendor. In fact, the company has always claimed immunity from prosecution because it works directly with governments. Perhaps the most famous NSO Group-related attack was what the company’s Pegasus software was used in an attack on WhatsApp. During what was described as a sophisticated breach, attackers could place spyware on iOS and Android smartphones by just calling them through WhatsApp....

While Microsoft discussed the core features of its new devices, doing a deep dive on the products in a two-hour show is not possible. Now, Microsoft has looked at the upcoming Surface devices in more detail through a Microsoft Mechanics video. Specifically, the video focuses on the Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro X, and Surface Pro 7. The Surface Duo and Surface Neo are not discussed as they will not be launched until holiday season 2020....

The creating of the GVFS, Microsoft has a system that is able to deliver the benefits of Git without having to wait hours for commands to run. This is one of the limitations of regular Git. Microsoft’s Windows Git repository is 3.5 million files that are 300GB. Microsoft has open sourced Git Virtual File System, which is available under the MIT license on GitHub. The company says moving Window engineers to Git took around three months....

An open source version of File Manager is now available on GitHub, and it shows just how early the concept was nailed down. Introduced with Windows 3, it replaced cumbersome MS-DOS management, adding essential features like copy, paste, delete, and search. The project is largely thanks to Craig Wittenberg, a 35 -year Microsoft veteran who began for personal use. The tool works largely as it always used to, with some small limitations....

More specifically, Glint will become a part of LinkedIn, forming its own team. The employee’s expertise will be put to good use, creating learning experiences for managers on the social network. “Glint provides executives with the tools to answer questions about the health and happiness of the talent they have, while giving managers at all levels the access and insight they need to improve,” said Daniel Shapero, VP talent solutions, careers, and learning....

Office 365 Planner makes it easier for businesses to manage teamwork operations, allowing the creation of team-wide email notifications, project due dates, and visual dashboards. When Microsoft launched Planner in 2016, the company said it simplified workflow management: “The addition of Planner to the Office 365 lineup introduces a new and improved way for businesses, schools and organizations to structure team work easily and get more done. With Planner, teams can create new plans; organize, assign and collaborate on tasks; set due dates; update statuses and share files, while visual dashboards and email notifications keep everyone informed on progress....

Tens of millions of people around the world are now working from home following the COVID-19 pandemic forced nations to go into lockdown. During this time, it’s important Windows 10 functions at its best. When the platform moves through a major update like Windows 10 version 2004, there are often teething problems. Microsoft is avoiding those issues by postponing updates. “We have been evaluating the public health situation, and we understand this is impacting our customers....

With this mode, Microsoft says conferencing and collaboration environments gain a powerful new tool. To use the Presentation Mode, users can select the full screen button located in the menu bar. Once selected, Presentation Mode will reframe the screen to remove the app frame. Focus is entirely on the data and dashboard visuals when Presentation Mode is enacted. “Using Presentation mode in the Power BI app running on Surface Hub in your conference room and collaboration areas, better allows you to have meetings which focus on your data,” Microsoft explains....

To continue to pry users away from AWS, Microsoft is today published a cloud service map. Microsoft’s Azure cloud service map is available as a PDF download and is categorized in the following 13 sections: Azure vs. the Competition Then there is Google, down in third place by some distance, but way ahead of anything bringing up the rear.

The app is a reimagining of the older Journal app, enhanced by Microsoft inter-divisional collaboration division. With the new journal app, users get an ink-first experience that promotes the use of digital pens like Microsoft’s own Surface Pen. The new Microsoft Journal also uses AI to automatically categorize notes and enhance other features. Of course, many journaling apps are available, but most of the good ones are for mobile devices....