Microsoft Exchange Server is in the midst of an attack through an exploit first used by the HAFNIUM group. More threat groups have since targeted the exploit. Microsoft has sent out patches for all versions of the service, including those out of support. Microsoft says updating Exchange Server is the best way to avoid the exploit. Furthermore, the company has launched a tool to help customers know if they have been breached....

The problem is being caused by an unfastened screw that can damage the battery. If the power cell is damaged, it can overheat and potentially catch fire. Lenovo says the ThinkPad X1 Carbon models affected are those labelled 20HQ, 20HR, 20K3, and 20K4. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been no reports of injury or even reports of overheating caused by the faulty component. Still, the commission adds 78,000 device from the U....

If you are unfamiliar with LibreOffice, it is widely considered to be the best alternative to Microsoft’s Office suite. It is a service that those who have been around long enough will remember was once called OpenOffice (albeit forked). The suite is free and open sourced, and while more basic than Microsoft Office, it has many of the same features. We are not suggesting that LibreOffice bests Microsoft’s all-encompassing service, but it is a stellar service and is free....

Of course, this reflects Microsoft’s overall success across all its businesses. The company is on the crest of a wave, which just so happens to have been rolling for half a decade. In terms of LinkedIn, the company reports sessions on the platform increased by 19% last quarter, year-on-year. Furthermore, there was record engagement which pushed revenue up 42% compared to the same period last year. Microsoft pegs the better-than-expected revenue increase on the Talent Solutions within the jobs market....

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the successful Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. It will see gamers have a new Ring of Power to protect. While the title will launch on Xbox One and Windows 10, it will not arrive on Project Scorpio. The console launches during the holiday season. In an Xbox Wire post, Microsoft describes the game, saying gamers will “confront the deadliest of enemies, including Sauron and his Nazgul, in a monumental battle for Middle-earth....

In its announcement, Microsoft says that it will stop supporting all applications in the Office for Mac 2011 suite on October 10th, 2017. The company explains that after that date, there will be “no new security updates, non-security updates, free or paid assisted support options or technical content updates.” Of course, macOS users can get their hands on the applications in the Office for Mac 2016 suite, which has been available for two years now....

So, Microsoft Edge is not a part of Windows 10, whether users want to use it or not. Furthermore, Microsoft says it will now allow users to uninstall the browser if it was installed by a Windows System update. On the Edge support page, Microsoft says no uninstall option is included. It is also worth remembering the legacy Edge experience has been removed from Windows 10. This means the only version of Edge available is the new one....

According to an emailed statement by Microsoft, computers running on the company’s OS won’t be at risk. Microsoft stated in the email that “[Microsoft takes] security issues very seriously and [is] continuing a deeper analysis to determine if additional steps are necessary to further protect our customers.” The company also noted that the alleged hacking tools used by CIA appear to target older systems. Android devices in danger Unlike Microsoft and Apple, Samsung didn’t manage to assure its customers of their devices’ safety....

Until now, Minecraft: Java Edition and Minecraft Launcher players on PC have been using Mojang Accounts to play the game. That is changing per Mojang’s long-standing plan. The company says switching to Microsoft Accounts provides more secure and seamless connection with Microsoft’s wider services and other Minecraft versions. With a deadline in place for the migration, all users on Minecraft: Java Edition will be forced to use a Microsoft Account....

In a paper titled : “Parameter Efficient Multimodal Transformers for Video Representation Learning,” researchers discuss how they reduced multimodal transformer size by 97 per cent to achieve improved AI training for video clips of 30 seconds (sampled at 480 frames, 16 per second). This is a major improvement on existing models that can process video sequences of 10 seconds or less. Microsoft and Nvidia point out learning and understanding video is one of the biggest challenges for AI....

According to a report from ZDNet, Samsung is preparing to announce a major expansion of its partnership with Microsoft. So much so, Redmond officials are expected to take the stage at Samsung’s Unpacked event in New York City next week. While the focus of the event will likely be the latest Galaxy Note smartphone. Microsoft’s role will be to show how Office apps and Your Phone are integrated directly into upcoming Samsung smartphones....

With the Beam Interactive 2.0 SDK, dev’s will get a number of features for solutions, as well as support for new design scenarios. Microsoft Beam points out that the SDK is a ground up build that aims to make game streaming more dynamic for players and viewers. Of course, Beam attracted Microsoft because of its strong interactive elements. Aside from being able to broadcast, the platform also adds elements of social media....

In a brief press note, Microsoft says its quarterly dividend is $0.46 per share. This is a 4 cent (9.5 percent) growth compared to the last quarterly dividend. The company will pay the dividend by December 13, 2018, although to shareholders the payment will come on November 15, 2018. Along with the quarterly dividend, Microsoft confirmed the date of its 2018 Annual Shareholders Meeting. The board of directors say the meeting will be held on November 28....

Nadella was speaking today at the Future Decoded conference in Mumbai. By creating a version of Skype catered to Indian customers, the company is furthering its push in the country. With over one billion people and an underdeveloped tech sector, India is a frontier for companies. Microsoft has targeted expansion in the country over several years. Skype Lite will be launching solely on Android now. This makes sense as Google’s mobile OS is the runaway market leader in India....

Also, Microsoft said it will launch a new 85-inch version of the existing Surface Hub 2. No price tag has been placed on this larger model, although the company says it will be released in 2020. In terms of the Surface Hub 2S, it is another large screen touch-enable TV with a full Windows 10 PC inside. Because of this, users can access Microsoft’s full suite of Windows apps and services and any other third-party program supported on the platform....

This is a new product that comes as a complete surprise. There has been no buzz or information about this product… making it a rare drop the mic moment. Sure, it would be more seismic if its was a smartphone or other “cooler” product, but still. As the name suggests, the Surface Laptop Go is a combination between the Surface Laptop 3 and the Surface Go 2. One of those is Microsoft’s only bona fide laptop and a premium device....

Microsoft Studios – which makes Xbox and PC exclusive games through Microsoft-owned developers – already tap into Azure cloud services. Microsoft says it has experience leveraging the cloud to deliver better quality game experiences: “The magic of 3D interactive experiences born in games is quickly moving to non-gaming worlds. Unity is building a platform-agnostic, cloud-native solution that meets the wide-ranging needs of all developers from enterprise through citizen creators,” says Microsoft CVP of Game Creator Experiences and Ecosystem Sarah Bond....

In the post, Microsoft explains the changes will center on adding new certification exams. Across Microsoft Azure solutions named above, the company will add new exams. However, the company says the new exams will sit alongside the old exams for a transition period. Despite the exams changing, the certifications themselves will remain the same. “We are currently finalizing the updates related to Azure Administrator, Developer, Architect, and AI Engineer. We will be publishing the updated exams in the next few months, but we will leave the old exam in market for 90 days after the new version becomes available....

Some adopters of Windows 10 version 1809 are experiencing audio loss through HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C connected monitors. This seems to have been caused by the October 2018 Update. Microsoft says the issue is caused by Intel’s new Display Driver. This was released in September but is not compatible with Windows 10 version 1809. Redmond confirms that the problem is due to “OEMs that accidentally turned on unsupported features in Windows....

The new scenario-based rewards have been created to entice researchers to put more effort into finding “vulnerabilities that have the highest potential impact on customer privacy and security”. Microsoft Bounty Program places the new awards on top of the current general awards given for security bugs. In total, the new scenario-based awards provide up to $26,000 in bounty awards. Scenario-Based Rewards In a blog post to announce the new conditions, Microsoft provides the following breakdown of rewards: “Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Bounty Program M365 Bounty Program Eligible submissions may qualify for 15-30% bonuses on top of the general M365 bounty awards and will be awarded the single highest qualifying award....