Microsoft Support & Discussions

Just a decade ago, few people seemingly knew or cared about firmware. But with the increasing interconnectedness of devices and the rise of cybersecurity threats, there’s a growing awareness of firmware as the foundational software that powers everything from smartphones to smart TVs. [ATTACH=full]55116[/ATTACH]Traditionally developed using the C language, firmware is essential for setting up a device's basic functions. As a globally recognized standard, UEFI -- Unified Extensible Firmware Interface enables devices to boot with fundamental security features that contribute to the security posture of modern operating systems. Call for greater firmware securit…

This blog has been co-authored by Maulik Shah, Senior Product Manager, Azure Compute Linux-based operating systems (OS) routinely receive daily security updates to combat vulnerabilities. However, organizations often struggle with testing and applying the latest updates across their fleet at the same rate that updates are released. Additionally, it is not possible to point to a single update to apply across multiple regions, since Linux publishers do not support a release date. When updates are rolled out gradually, an organization may end up with different versions of the same update applied across its environment. This can increase the risk of a particular update imp…

Hi Teams Community, We're back with another addition to Support Diagnostics for Microsoft Teams. This time @Chunlong Li has written our Teams Federation and Interoperability Diagnostic in the Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer. This new diagnostic will help you troubleshoot and test if you meet requirements for a Microsoft Teams user account within your organization can search and engage in a chat with an external account. Some common symptoms: A Teams user tries to search for an external user from the Teams powerbar but there are no external contacts popping up. A Teams user could find the target external user from the Teams powerbar but experi…

The refreshed Viva Connections landing experience offers a more intuitive layout and introduces several requested new features including branding capabilities, sending announcements, and support for different card sizes. This experience will also bring the Feed back into the viewport on your Connections page and offers an improved layout to the landing page. A notable change that we will be discussing in this blog is the revamped Resources section that will appear in the refreshed Viva Connections experience. [ATTACH=full]55108[/ATTACH] Redesigned sections and icons in Viva Connections highlight content and links. What’s changing with resources in Viva Co…

We continue to expand the Microsoft AppSource ecosystem. For this volume, 182 new offers successfully met the onboarding criteria and went live. See details of the new offers below: [ATTACH=full]55050[/ATTACH] F.A.M.E - Financial Assets Management Engine: The F.A.M.E platform consolidates account data from multiple banks, allowing for configuration of companies and schemes. This software as a service fetches account information using secure APIs and provides extensive reporting and summary capabilities. [ATTACH=full]55051[/ATTACH] Intapp Walls: Intapp Walls simplifies information security and policy management by centrally enforcing confidentiality of sensitive …

In this article, we will introduce a PowerShell script that helps monitor the usage of Query Data Store (QDS) in SQL Server databases. The script automatically sends an email alert when the storage space used by the Query Data Store reaches or exceeds 80% of its maximum allocated space. This can be particularly useful for database administrators to proactively manage and optimize their database storage. Before we dive into the details, it's essential to note that the script provided is a recommendation and should be adapted according to your specific environment and requirements. The responsibility of ensuring its compatibility and the impact on your system lies so…

Microsoft 365 Defender Monthly news November 2023 Edition [ATTACH=full]55025[/ATTACH] This is our monthly "What's new" blog post, summarizing product updates and various new assets we released over the past month across our Defender products. In this edition, we are looking at all the goodness from October 2023. Legend: [ATTACH=full]55026[/ATTACH] Product videos [ATTACH=full]55027[/ATTACH] Webcast (recordings) [ATTACH=full]55028[/ATTACH] Docs on Microsoft [ATTACH=full]55029[/ATTACH] Blogs on Microsoft [ATTACH=full]55030[/ATTACH] GitHub [ATTACH=full]55031[/ATTACH] External [ATTACH=full]55032[/ATTACH] Product improvements [ATTACH=full]550…

Teach ChatGPT to Answer Questions Based on PDF content: Using Azure Cognitive Search and Azure OpenAI Can't I just copy and paste text from a PDF file to teach ChatGPT? The purpose of this tutorial is to explain how to efficiently extract and use information from large amounts of PDFs. Dealing with a 5-page PDF can be straightforward, but it's a different story when you're dealing with complex documents of 100+ pages. In these situations, the integration of Azure Cognitive Search with Azure OpenAI enables fast and accurate information retrieval and processing. In this tutorial, we handle 5 PDFs, but you can apply this method to scale to handle more than …

Today along with our announcement of the general availability of Microsoft 365 Copilot we've released new content for the adoption of this groundbreaking experience in our hub at adoption.microsoft.com/copilot including our Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption Workbook, Adoption Planning Checklist and other assets. This content represents a step forward in our approach to driving adoption for a natural language interface like our Copilot experiences. Our Copilot Hub brings together the best of our content from across our repositories. With our role selection interface you can go directly to the content that is relevant for you as an Adoption Manager, IT professional, b…

We're delighted to announce the release of the latest version of the Azure SQL Migration extension for Azure Data Studio, v1.4.11. The Azure SQL migration extension for Azure Data Studio provides the ability to: Assess your migration readiness through a comprehensive SQL assessment. Get right-sized SKU recommendations for your Azure SQL targets. Migrate both on-premises and cloud-based SQL Server databases to Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance or SQL Server on Azure VMs. An overview of the Azure Database Migration Service client types and supported Azure SQL targets appears in the following graphic. [ATTACH=full]54975[/ATTACH] What's ne…

Here’s a guide to help you navigate all things related to Microsoft Intune at Microsoft Ignite 2023, whether you’re attending in person or virtually. Every year, Microsoft Ignite is an excellent time to learn more about the latest Intune, Intune Suite, and Copilot product innovations. The sessions and interactions below are aimed to help you improve your skills, share ideas and feedback, and gain a better understanding of the direction Microsoft is going with Intune. We launched the Microsoft Intune Suite in March 2023 and have exciting updates to the enhancements that round out the Suite for customers. Through these sessions, demos, labs, and more, plan your wee…

Accelerate innovation with ISV Success Build, sell, and thrive on the Microsoft Cloud. Grow your business as an ISV with powerful tools, one-to-one consultations, and training resources—and gain access to millions of Microsoft customers across the globe through the Microsoft commercial marketplace. Gain access to powerful tools Reduce time to market and build your business as your needs evolve by tapping into cloud credits and best-in-class developer tools, including: $5,000 of Microsoft Azure credits. Developer tools like GitHub Enterprise Cloud and Visual Studio Enterprise. Cloud sandboxes such as Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 E5. …

We are thrilled to be a platinum sponsor at SAP TechEd 2023 in Bangalore. Microsoft and SAP have been in a longstanding partnership for more than 30 years and have been united by a common mission to help our customers accelerate their innovation and migrate their SAP environments to the cloud. One of the ways we are supporting this mission is to make SAP a top-level workload on Azure by building a platform for SAP deployment and management. We achieved this objective when Azure Center for SAP solutions became generally available at SAP Sapphire in May 2023. Customers and partners are adopting Azure Center for SAP solutions to innovate and drive their operational ef…

Microsoft Learn offers you the latest resources to ensure you have what you need to prepare for exams and reach your skilling goals. Here we share some important updates about Security content, prep videos, certifications, and more. Exam Readiness Zone: preparing for Exams SC-100, SC-200, and SC-300 Now, you can leverage the Exam Readiness Zone, our free exam prep resource available on Microsoft Learn for your next Security certification! View our expert-led exam prep videos to help you identify the key knowledge and skills measured on exams and how to allocate your study time. Each video segment corresponds to a major topic area on the exam. During the…

Our REST based Exchange Online PowerShell V3 module is a powerful tool that allows you to connect to Exchange Online and perform various tasks using PowerShell. It is a significant improvement over the previous V2 module in terms of security as it does not depend on RPS protocol connections. We have heard some customer feedback that the V3 module consumes more memory than previous modules, which is affecting the performance of their scripts and systems. In this blog post, we will share some tips on how you can reduce the memory consumption of the V3 module and optimize your scripts for better efficiency. Tip 1: Do not load the help package One of the main sources…

Beneath the vast expanse of the azure sky, people gathered at the beautiful Kaprun Castle were thrilled by a discussion on the latest AI technology, including Azure OpenAI and Copilot. In the middle of September, Castle Camp 2023 took place in Kaprun, Salzburg, in central Austria. This annual event, primarily for industry leaders in the tourism sector, marked the first assembly since the pandemic's onset. Over 100 participants had a chance to engage in conversations centered around tourism. [ATTACH=full]54965[/ATTACH] Markus Egger, a Microsoft Regional Director, attended the event and was taken aback by the pronounced interest in AI from non-technical att…

Starting today, Microsoft 365 Copilot is generally available for enterprise customers worldwide. . Microsoft 365 Copilot combines the power of large language models (LLMs) with your data in the Microsoft Graph, the Microsoft 365 apps, and the web to turn your words into the most powerful productivity tool on the planet. And it does so within our existing commitments to data security and privacy in the enterprise. Starting today, Copilot is covered by the Microsoft 365 product terms applicable to our core online services, data protection addendum, and our commitments under the EU Data Boundary. Copilot is currently supported in the following langu…

The digital transformation within government sectors is accelerating, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a pivotal role in this evolution. Microsoft is leading the charge, deploying innovative AI solutions tailored for public sector needs. At the heart of this transformation is Microsoft 365 Copilot, a groundbreaking tool set to redefine how government agencies work. Microsoft’s Commitment to Responsible AI Innovation Microsoft’s journey toward integrating AI into government operations is guided by a steadfast commitment to responsible and secure deployment. Aligned with the White House’s directives on AI, Microsoft ensures that its technological advancem…

I am excited to announce that our collaboration with HCLTech is now live and we are able to bring the best of HCLTech's implementation to Microsoft clients globally to help them achieve more through intelligent B2C communications across every interaction with their customers, patients and consumers. Previously, I have had the honor of announcing our collaboration with two esteemed Microsoft Partners: TCS and Capgemini. Today, is significant however, as this systems integrator has worked side by side with our engineering team as we have tested products under development like Call Automation, Email, and VoIP. To achieve more through intelligent communications,…

The Windows 365 team has been making great strides in supporting higher configuration offerings to better support organizations that have applications with greater spec requirements. We have also been working to bridge the gap in core, memory, and storage options, particularly for those transitioning from other cloud platforms or physical devices. We are happy to announce that two new 16 vCPU offerings are now generally available in Windows 365. [ATTACH=full]54963[/ATTACH] Both offerings are now available in the following Windows 365 editions: Windows 365 Enterprise Windows 365 Business Windows 365 Business with Hybrid Benefit Windows 365 Government Windows …

In the world of education, the integration of technology has transformed the way teaching and learning. For educators, it's essential to keep pace with the latest tools and resources to enhance the student educational experience. Enter Heather Aird, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIE Expert) from Scotland, who in June 2023, created an initial series of vibrant and user-friendly "Quick Guides" for Microsoft Education products. Now, Heather has an additional 14 guides that she has created, bringing the total guide count to 22! Microsoft has partnered with Heather to make these guides available around the world. With Heather's PDF Quick Guides, teachers can effortle…

In this guest blog post, Ron Rasin, Senior VP of Product Management & Strategic Alliances at Silverfort, discusses how enterprises can extend multi-factor authentication (MFA) to have real-time protection against compromised credentials across any resource in their hybrid environment. Identity-based attacks that utilize compromised credentials to access targeted resources are increasing in scope and sophistication. According to Microsoft, multi-factor authentication (MFA) can block over 99.9 percent of account compromise attacks. While MFA has proven to be the most effective security measure against identity-based attacks, it typically cannot be deployed…

One of the important decisions you need to make when creating a new Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster is which network plugin to use. The network plugin determines how the pods and nodes communicate with each other and with external resources. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your requirements and preferences. In this blog post, I will explain the differences between Kubenet and Azure CNI, and help you choose the best option for your AKS cluster. Here is a short overview of the network plugin types available to Azure Kubernetes Service: Kubenet The default plugin for the AKS cluster Designed for fewer t…

[ATTACH=full]54950[/ATTACH] Create a Simple Speech REST API with Azure AI Speech Services Explore the world of Speech recognition and Speech Synthesis with Azure AI Services. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create your own simple Speech REST API using Azure AI Speech Synthesis and Azure OpenAI services or OpenAI API. Experience the power of speech synthesis using Azure and explore the infinite number of possibilities today unveiled to you by Azure AI Services to create powerful products. Overview of the Demo REST API In this Speech API we are going to build, we have 3 simple end points that all make a GET request to the Azure AI Speech Service and to O…

Introduction Microsoft Defender for Identity is an essential part of a modern security practice, helping your organization protect against, and respond to, identity-based threats. In this blog we will show you the simple steps for deploying Microsoft Defender for Identity within your environment. Before we get into the deployment overview however, let’s quickly cover some of the benefits of deploying Defender for Identity: Reduce your attack surface - Understand your Identity risk posture to proactively minimize exposure to attacks. Detect threats in real time - Be alerted to suspicious activities, compromised identities, and lateral movement throughout y…