Microsoft Support & Discussions

For the past few years, Microsoft has meaningfully increased participation in the open source software (OSS) community, becoming one of the world’s largest supporters of OSS projects. Today we’re announcing that we intend to adopt the Chromium open source project in the development of Microsoft Edge on the desktop to create better web compatibility for our customers and less fragmentation of the web for all web developers. As part of this, we intend to become a significant contributor to the Chromium project, in a way that can make not just Microsoft Edge — but other browsers as well — better on both PCs and other devices. Making the web better for many audiences …

One of the things I love about my job is the time I get to spend with security professionals, learning firsthand about the challenges of managing security strategy and implementation day to day. There are certain themes that come up over and over in these conversations. My colleague Ken Malcolmson and I discussed a few of them on the inaugural episode of the Microsoft CISO Spotlight Series: CISO Lessons Learned. Specifically, we talked about the challenges CISOs face migrating to the cloud and protecting your organizations data. In this blog, I dig into one of the core concepts we talked about: practicing cybersecurity hygiene. Hygiene means conditions or practices c…

If you’re shopping for your friends and family this holiday season, we’d like to help you with this guide to devices for everyone in your life – especially those who prefer to work or play on the go. No matter what you choose, you’ll find thinner and lighter devices that deliver flexibility (tablets, laptops, 2-in-1s), voice assistants (Cortana, far-field mics) and enough power to run Windows Mixed Reality. Gamers and creators in your life will also appreciate powerful CPUs and 4K touch displays, and the ability to deftly maneuver between typing on a keyboard and writing, drawing or sketching with a digital pen. For those who need to stay connected – without relying on Wi…

This series outlines the most fundamental steps you can take with your investment in Microsoft 365 security solutions. Well provide advice on activities such as setting up identity management through active directory, malware protection, and more. In this post, we explain how to create a single common identity across on-premises and cloud with hybrid authentication. Establishing a single, common identity for each user is the foundations step to your cybersecurity strategy. If you currently have an on-premises footprint, this means connecting your Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to your on-premises resources. There are various requirements and circumstances that wil…

In MITREs evaluation of endpoint detection and response solutions, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection demonstrated industry-leading optics and detection capabilities. The breadth of telemetry, the strength of threat intelligence, and the advanced, automatic detection through machine learning, heuristics, and behavior monitoring delivered comprehensive coverage of attacker techniques across the entire attack chain. MITRE tested the ability of products to detect techniques commonly used by the targeted attack group APT3 (also known as Boron or UPS). To isolate detection capabilities, as part of the testing, all protection and prevention features were turned of…

Did you know you can now name your tile folders, thanks to the Windows 10 October 2018 Update? To create a tile folder in Start, just drag one tile on top of another for a second, then release. Continue dropping as many tiles into the folder as you’d like. When you expand the folder, you’ll see a new option to name it. Check it out in action: If you like this, check out more Windows 10 Tips. The post Windows 10 Tip: Name your tile folders appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Cybersecurity is one of the hottest sectors in tech with Gartner predicting worldwide information security spending to reach $124 billion by the end of 2019. New startups and security solutions are coming onto the market while attackers continue to find new ways to breach systems. The security solutions market has grown at a rapid pace as a result. Our customers face immense challenges in integrating all these different solutions, tools, and intelligence. Oftentimes, the number of disconnected solutions make it more difficultrather than easierto defend and recover from attacks. We invite you to participate in the Microsoft Graph Security Hackathon for a chance to hel…

Reuters recently reported a hacking campaign focused on a wide range of targets across the globe. In the days leading to the Reuters publication, Microsoft researchers were closely tracking the same campaign. Our sensors revealed that the campaign primarily targeted public sector institutions and non-governmental organizations like think tanks and research centers, but also included educational institutions and private-sector corporations in the oil and gas, chemical, and hospitality industries. Microsoft customers using the complete Microsoft Threat Protection solution were protected from the attack. Behavior-based protections in multiple Microsoft Threat Prote…

In my role, I often meet with CISOs and security architects who are updating their security strategy to meet the challenges of continuously evolving attacker techniques and cloud platforms. A frequent topic is prioritizing security for their highest value assets, both the assets that have the most business value today as well as the initiatives that the organization is banking on for the future. This typically includes intellectual property, customer data, key new digital initiatives, and other data that, if leaked, would do the greatest reputational and financial damage. Once weve identified the highest value assets, it inevitably leads to a conversation about all the pr…

Several weeks ago, the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Windows Defender ATP) team uncovered a new cyberattack that targeted several high-profile organizations in the energy and food and beverage sectors in Asia. Given the target region and verticals, the attack chain, and the toolsets used, we believe the threat actor that the industry refers to as Tropic Trooper was likely behind the new attack. The attack set off numerous Windows Defender ATP alerts and triggered the device risk calculation mechanism, which labeled the affected machines with the highest risk. The high device risk score put the affected machines at the top of the list in Windows Defende…

With more than 60 million tracks, 244,000 music videos, thousands of expertly curated playlists and hundreds of live events, TIDAL customers have access to an unparalleled music experience. Microsoft app users have the choice of a Premium membership for $9.99/month or HiFi membership for $19.99/month. Both subscription tiers give members access to an unlimited, ad-free listening experience while HiFi offers high fidelity, lossless sound quality – just as the musicians intended their work to sound. More than just a streaming service, TIDAL members connect with their favorite artists in unique ways. In the past year alone, members have been able to attend intimate listen…

You may have already noticed that it’s easier than ever to fill out form details in websites, thanks to several improvements in Microsoft Edge via the Windows 10 October Update. This builds on the multi-field autofill launched in April that gave users the ability to fill out multiple related fields in website forms, such as contact info and credit card details, with one click*. Keep reading for five ways you can use autofill in Microsoft Edge: 1. Autofill for address fields You can fill out multiple related fields in website forms – be it your contact or your credit card details – with one click! Microsoft Edge can help you fill your contact information in addre…

This is the last post in our eight-blog series on deploying Intelligent Security scenarios. To read the previous entries, check out the Deployment series page. Your employees need to access, generate, and share organizational information ranging from extremely confidential to informal; you must ensure that all information and the movement of that information comply with industry standards without inhibiting workflow. Microsoft 365 security solutions can help you know whats happening with your data, set permissions and classifications, and discover and help prevent leaks. How can I make it easier to manage compliance processes? To better manage complianc…

Microsoft Shopping Assistant, first released in 2016 through The Garage, is a browser add-on that helps you get the best deals at more than 50,000 online stores, from top retailers like Amazon and Walmart to your favorite boutique shop on Etsy. Track prices for products on thousands of stores Never miss a deal again with the Microsoft Shopping Assistant. When you’re on a product web page, click the heart shaped button in the assistant widget and add it to your Favorites. The assistant will automatically notify you when the price changes, and you can see all price changes from the notifications screen in the assistant. Compare prices across retailers Shop smart…

At Microsoft, we take your device and account protection seriously, which is why we’ve been on a mission to eliminate passwords. Passwords can be difficult to remember, are often reused and can be used to hack your account anywhere, anytime, from any device. Windows Hello is a key component in our effort to finally saying goodbye to passwords. Using facial recognition, a fingerprint, or PIN, Windows Hello is a fast, secure and password-less way to unlock your Windows 10 PC.1 We’ve been busy bringing the latest and greatest features to Windows Hello and account protection and wanted to take some time to update you on what’s new. Account protection and sign-in We’re m…

With Surface Headphones, you can tune in to what matters most by tuning out the world around you. With your Headphones and your Surface, your office, studio, or library is wherever you need to be. You’ve got the smarter way to listen. Surface Headphones can simultaneously connect with up to 10 devices, including your Windows 10 PC, and mobile devices running on iOS and Android. With it, you can listen to music while focusing at your Surface and seamlessly take a call from your phone. Setting up Surface Headphones To begin using your Surface Headphones, first pair them with your Windows PC or mobile phone. Press and release the power button quickly to turn y…

Traditional antivirus software has a tough time detecting malware used in the campaign. A new, active campaign is using malware capable of dancing around traditional antivirus solutions in order to empty cryptocurrency wallets. The malware is being used in the DarkGate campaign, a previously undetected hacking operation uncovered this week by enSilo security researchers. According to the team, DarkGate is currently underway in Spain and France, targeting Microsoft Windows PCs by way of torrent files. Torrent files are most commonly associated with pirated content, but the technology itself is not illegal and can be used by consumers and businesses alike to…

Across Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Windows Defender ATP) engineering and research teams, innovation drives our mission to protect devices in the modern workplace. Our goal is to equip security teams with the tools and insights to protect, detect, investigate, and automatically respond to attacks. We continue to be inspired by feedback from customers and partners, who share with us the day-to-day realities of security operations teams constantly keeping up with the onslaught of threats. Today Im excited to share with you some of the latest significant enhancements to Windows Defender ATP. We added new capabilities to each of the pillars of Windows Def…

Across geographic, social and cultural landscapes, Americans from backgrounds of all kinds don’t have enough money to meet their basic needs. Even when the larger economy is robust and job reports are positive, millions of Americans aren’t a part of that picture. They are white, rural, urban, black, married, single, Native American, Hispanic, gay, straight and gender nonconforming. They are religious and they are not. They are elderly and they are just babies. They are our relatives and neighbors – they are us. This November, Microsoft News is putting a focus on Poverty in America with a 2-week series examining the root causes of poverty, what poverty really means to t…

Today we are re-releasing the October 2018 Update after pausing to investigate a small but serious issue. This is the first time in Windows 10’s “Windows as a Service” history that we have taken such an action, and as such it has naturally led to questions about the work we do to test and validate Windows quality before we begin rolling it out broadly. While our measurements of quality show improving trends on aggregate for each successive Windows 10 release, if a single customer experiences an issue with any of our updates, we take it seriously. Today, I will share an overview of how we work to continuously improve the quality of Windows and our Windows as a Service…