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Titles “Weaknesses in the encryption of solid state drives,” the paper shows how hackers could access the drive and transfer data without needing password authentication. While this is clearly a major problem, it is somewhat self-mitigated. That’s because the attacker would need physical access to the drive to be able to exploit the vulnerability. Still, the flaw does affect most solid state drives from leading manufacturers. Microsoft has responded to the paper with a security advisory that provides a step-by-step guide to switch to software-based encryption....

Microsoft says it has made Submit URL more efficient with support for Facebook and Google authentication. In a blog post today, the company explained some of the reasons it has decided to remove the anonymous URL submission tool. Leading the decision was the fact URLs received are not quality enough to be trusted. Additionally, webmasters have told the Bing team they prefer more ownership of their site URLs. As for URL Submit, Microsoft says the tool is available for webmasters who verify their sites....

Prisoner’s Dilemma is a social game that is designed to see how people cooperate with each other. It is based on the idea that people may be cooperative at first, but will ultimately decide to be individualistic. It is definitely worth reading about Prisoners Dilemma and even playing it. For the purpose of this news, I will refrain from giving a social science lesson, because I am not qualified. However, the most important aspect from Prisoner’s Dilemma is that studies show people are together at first, but eventually become uncooperative....

You may remember last month users started complaining about worse than normal battery degradation. The Surface Pro 3 was dropping battery life quickly, mostly under one hour. Users noted that devices with SIMPLO batteries were more frequently affected. Of course, battery degradation for li-on juicers is common. It is par for the course in fact. However, this kind of rapid decline is worrying. It was especially concerning considering the degradation of the Surface Pro 3 coincided with the device ending its warranty cycle....

To help people stay connected and productive during the outbreak. Microsoft is offering a free six-month trial to the premium version of Microsoft Teams. Now available globally, the tier will help organizations manage their workforces and remain connected. When signing up for the tier, customers will work with a Microsoft sales team member to help the set-up process. Microsoft also says it will update the free Microsoft Teams on March 10th to remove restrictions on how many people can be part of a team....

Among the fixes is a removal of the “you’ll need a new app to open” message when opening websites on a non-standard port. Microsoft has also addressed an issue that causes the browser address bar to lose focus in certain circumstances. Users should also note support for more Bluetooth devices, with several failing to pair in previous builds. Additionally, multi-monitor users will no longer be plagued with spell-check menus appearing on the wrong screen....

Though it was tested as part of the Insider program, the Skype update has major features missing, a confusing UI, and stuttering during video calls. We could go on, but iOS user Justanotheridiotontheweb already has a scathing summary: “Please, for your own sake, do not get this app. Do not update it if you already own it. It is a trainwreck that refuses to be salvaged,” they say. “Skype… I have not always hated Skype....

AccountGuard was launched in August. Available for free in Office 365, the service helps Microsoft Account holders running elections campaigns, in political committees, or politician staff. The tool provides more threat monitoring capabilities by regularly monitoring accounts for security breaches. During its checks, AccountGuard scans attachments for malware, phishing, and failed login attempts. If something is found, a notification is sent to the account holder. If a genuine cyber threat is uncovered, Microsoft provides remediation and ongoing support to stop the threat....

In fact, IDC reports the OEMs who have products on both Chrome OS and Windows are prioritizing Microsoft’s platform during the last year. Chromebook shipments fell 63.6% during the fourth quarter compared to the same time period last year. During 2021, PC shipments were their highest since 2012, with 341 million units sold. IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers research manager Jitesh Ubrani says Chromebook declines are happening for two reasons....

As first reported by WinFuture.de, Microsoft’s former Director of User Experience Jensen Harris, is “shocked” by the Windows 11 Start menu. Harris led Microsoft’s User Experience team for five years and was with the Redmond company for over 16 years. In a Twitter post, Harris shows his disdain for the new Start. He claims the banner advertising for Bing Wallpaper appears like a virus and the background colors are archaic....

HealthVault Insights is a research project that gives partners tools to create new information about patient health. Generated insights also help customers understand care plans. By using machine learning, the service will hopefully empower patients to become more engaged with healthcare. Microsoft uses its latest machine learning technology within HealthVault. The data the platform compiles gives healthcare professionals a better overview of patient health. Among the sources the service leverages are Apple Health and Google Fit....

“Customers can centrally create, enforce, and log application and network connectivity policies, spanning Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs), IP Addresses, ports and protocols across subscriptions and virtual networks,” said Jason Zander, executive vice president, Azure. “Azure Firewall policies can be fully integrated with customers’ dev ops model while enabling them to manage security risks and achieve compliance requirements for managing resource access and protection in the cloud.” Ths solution launches alongside the Azure WAN service, which provides businesses with automated branch to branch connectivity to and from Azure....

This ability meant a user could draw a box around an object in an image and search for it. For example, a bag being held by someone in a photo. Bing Visual Search would then find the photo and return relevant results, like where you can buy it and what it is. By using Object Detection, Microsoft has made this process simpler. Now Bing will draw the boxes for the user, removing the manual function....

Over those months, Microsoft has been working with enterprise customer to ensure the new Outlook on web is up to scratch. With the launch later in July, the new UX for the service will become default. There are plenty of new features heading to Outlook on web. Microsoft has made easier to find emails through a new Categories submenu. Users can create categories and search messages within them. Outlook on the web now also has Microsoft’s Dark Mode, a darker hue that the company has spread around many Windows 10 services....

To develop Microsoft SEAL, the Cryptography Research group worked for years to develop the efficient version that is available now. Speaking of availability, the project is open source on GitHub through an MIT License. “With traditional encryption schemes, it is impossible to run any computation on encrypted data,” Microsoft says. “So, either we store our data encrypted in the cloud and download it to perform any useful operations, which can be logistically inconvenient, or we provide the decryption key to service providers, risking our privacy....

1 Remote Desktop Flaws2 Non-Microsoft Patches According to the company, 17 of those fixes solve critical issues. Indeed, two of the vulnerabilities dealt with this Patch Tuesday are zero-day bugs. These are essentially flaws that are already exploited in the wild. First up out of those zero-day vulnerabilities is CVE-2019-1214. This is an escalation of privilege (EoP) bug located in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) driver. CVE-2019-1215 is also an EoP exploit that has been troubling ws2ifsl....

If you’re unfamiliar with Microsoft Stream, it’s a video streaming service that is geared toward businesses and enterprise customers. Available in Office 365, the tool has been free to Microsoft 365 customers since launching in 2016. According to the company, this is a completely rebuilt Microsoft Stream for mobile users on iOS and Android. It is rolling out in beta today and will eventually be available as a full release....

If you don’t know about the FCC, it is the regulatory body that tests all electronic devices before they can be released in the United States. It is typically one of the last steps for a product before it is launched. As such, the Surface Duo reaching the FCC suggests the smartphone could be imminent. Certainly, it is looking increasingly likely Microsoft will start shipping in August and not Holiday Season 2020 as initially thought....

Available for Teams users on iOS and Android, the communities feature will also come to desktop in the future. The goal of communities is to give users more abilities to collaborate, communicate, and create common projects with a community focus. For example, committees, council meetings, parent-teacher associations, sports teams, and other community-focused groups. Microsoft Teams will now provide a dedicated space for these groups, Communities will also bring the following tools:...

However, one of the most notable additions is the ability to react to messages with emojis. This is a feature has been present in Slack for a long time, so it’s good to see it in Microsoft’s workplace chat. Though some will see it as a little too informal, a simple thumbs-up, for example, can go a long way. Teams’ current emojis include a happy face, an angry face, a heart, and thumbs up....