Microsoft Support & Discussions

Today, the Windows Team is releasing a new collection called Haunted Hub to get you ready for Halloween, available in the Windows Store on your Windows 10 PC.* This collection includes all the spooky themed content you need across movies, music, apps and games. Here’s some of what’s in store for you… Hotel Transylvania – Rent the movie for 31 cents Featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez and more, Hotel Transylvania is on sale to rent for an unreal deal of just $0.31! All Simon, a monster hunter, really wants to do is fall in love with Dracula’s daughter, Mavis. But when they realize they are natural enemies, the real advent…

Hello Far Eden Explorers! It’s been great to see so many people jumping into ReCore and having fun. We’re excited to let you know that, starting today, anyone who hasn’t yet had the opportunity to play ReCore can now experience their first 30 minutes in a special, free trial version on both Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Your progress in the trial will be reflected in the full game, so you can pick up right where you left off if you decide to buy it afterward. Also, thanks to our great ReCore community, we have continued to get feedback on the game and will be releasing several key updates today. You can read about them here. We’re committed to supporting ReCore …

Microsoft decided to list KB3184143 as optional. This KB promises to remove all remnants of Windows 10 GWX nagging. This update will remove following previously installed updates: KB 3035583 -- Update installs Get Windows 10 app in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 KB 3064683 -- Windows 8.1 OOBE modifications to reserve Windows 10 KB 3072318 -- Update for Windows 8.1 OOBE to upgrade to Windows 10 KB 3090045 -- Windows Update for reserved devices in Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 SP1 KB 3123862 -- Updated capabilities to upgrade Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 KB 3173040 -- Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 end of free upgrade offer notification KB 3146449 -- Updated Internet Exp…

Did you know you can write directly on webpages in Microsoft Edge and easily save or share what you’ve marked up with friends and colleagues? Microsoft Edge is the only browser with the built-in functionality that lets you take notes, write, doodle and highlight directly on webpages. You can do this with your finger if you’re using a touch-enabled device, with a pen or with your mouse or trackpad. Here’s how to write on webpages in Microsoft Edge: To start marking up a webpage, launch Microsoft Edge and click the pen icon. When you hover over it, you’ll see it says, “Make a Web Note.” Choose either Pen, Highlight or Type, and start writing. When you’ve finis…

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Read this week’s Windows 10 tip on how to enable the dark theme in Microsoft Edge, check out BIO-key’s new Windows Hello fingerprint accessories and catch up on all of this week’s news from Ignite. Here’s what’s new in the Windows Store this week: Candy Crush Saga – Level 2000 – Free In the latest update to Candy Crush Saga, the carefree Candy Universe is in a panic over the pending arrival of level 2000. How will their world change? Get ready for a color-bomb kickoff, then work to collect 2 green, 20 blue and 200 purple candies in 50 moves or less. Ghostbusters – Buy from $14.99 T…

This post was authored by Mike Schutz, General Manager, Cloud Platform. Security is a top-of-mind topic for every organization. This is why Microsoft is investing deeply to provide advanced security across our technology portfolio. With the launch of Windows Server 2016 this week, we introduced new advanced multi-layer security capabilities to provide additional ways to safeguard infrastructure. Windows Server 2016 helps prevent attacks and detect suspicious activity with new features to control privileged access, help protect virtual machines, and harden the platform against emerging threats. Some of the notable advancements include: Protect administrator crede…

Android.Lockscreen uses pseudo-random PIN codes to lock users out of their devices and request large sums of money A previously unsophisticated Android ransomware that locks an Android device's screen has received new updates that make it impossible for security researchers to help victims unlock their devices. Android.Lockscreen was a simplistic Android ransomware that appeared in March 2015. For a long period of time, this threat operated by setting a custom PIN code and showing a message on the user's screen, asking them to call a number for technical support. Users calling this number would be tricked into paying for expensive "technical support" and woul…

This post was authored by Liang Yang, Principal Performance Engineer on the Hyper-V team and Jos de Bruijn, Senior Program Manager on the SQL Server team. With Windows Server 2016, Microsoft has significantly bumped up the Hyper-V Virtual Machine (VM) scale limit to embrace new scenarios such as running e-commerce large in-memory databases for Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) and Data Warehousing (DW) purposes. In this post, we highlight the performance of in-memory transaction processing at scale using SQL Server 2016 running in a Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V VM. The result: 343,000 transactions per second using an order processing workload with a 4 terabyte in-…

On August 4, 2016 we launched a bounty program that targets Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities in Microsoft Edge on the Windows Insider Preview Slow (WIP slow). Today, we will be making additions to this bounty program. Since security is a continuous effort and not a destination, we prioritize acquiring different types of vulnerabilities in different points of time. Currently, we are focusing on vulnerabilities that lead to violation of W3C standards that compromise privacy and integrity of important user data, and RCEs. This program now includes: Same Origin Policy bypass vulnerabilities (example: UXSS) Referer Spoofing vulnerabilities Remote Code Executio…

We’re excited to announce that BIO-key International, Inc. has launched three new compact USB fingerprint reader accessories, available at Microsoft Stores and microsoftstore.com. These devices enable you to login conveniently and securely to your Windows 10 PC with a simple swipe or touch. With Windows Hello* you can sign into your Windows devices in less than 2 seconds – that’s 3 times faster** than a password that you have to remember and type in; also, with Windows Hello and the Anniversary Update, you can now sign into compatible apps and Microsoft Edge websites***. BIO-key SideSwipe Mini Fingerprint Reader – $39.99 EcoID Fingerprint Reader – $39.99 …

On August 4, 2016 we launched a bounty program that targets Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities in Microsoft Edge on the Windows Insider Preview Slow (WIP slow). Today, we will be making additions to this bounty program. Since security is a continuous effort and not a destination, we prioritize acquiring different types of vulnerabilities in different points of time.

Security is a critical component in all our products at Microsoft. An emphasis on strong security starts at the beginning of all our work, including threat modelling as part of the design process and the consideration of Apple’s own security recommendations for our products on Apple’s platforms. As an example of this approach, I’d like to share some of the work we’re doing to help secure Mac Office 2016.

Microsoft is thrilled to announce BlueHat IL 2017. This will mark the first time BlueHat is held in Tel Aviv and it will take place on January 24-25, 2017. Given its location, Israel further serves as a harness which draws in researchers from across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

A new strain of this two-year-old ransomware takes advantage of users syncing and sharing to spread infected files through their network. A new variant of Virlock ransomware is capable of stealthily spreading itself through cloud storage and collaboration applications, potentially enabling one infected user to inadvertently spread the file-locking malware across their enterprise network. The Virlock variant is yet another instance of cybercriminals deploying new techniques in order to make ransomware even more effective: it's expected to cost organisations a total of $1bn during 2016 alone. Virlock has been active for almost two years now, and security resea…

A new Australian automotive adventure has begun with the worldwide release of Forza Horizon 3, now available to play on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs in all Xbox regions (except Japan, where it will be available on Sept. 29). Since the launch of the Ultimate Edition of the game last week, it’s been amazing to see the excitement and acclaim the game has created with early adopters. Forza Horizon 3 brings the Horizon Festival to Australia – the most beautiful and diverse setting yet in the series. With gorgeous graphics and brand new ways to play, like four-player Campaign co-op and Xbox Play Anywhere, Forza Horizon 3 is the ultimate open-world racing game. The game i…

Be sure to check out our blog post today announcing the launch of Windows Server 2016. Continue reading...

Today’s Windows 10 tip is all about enabling the dark theme in Microsoft Edge. Earlier we shared how you can personalize your PC by enabling the dark theme, but did you know you can enable that theme in Microsoft Edge, too? You can switch Microsoft Edge from its default light theme to the dark theme – perfect for low-light conditions such as working at night. Here’s how to enable the dark theme in Microsoft Edge: To enable the dark theme in Microsoft Edge only, simply open Microsoft Edge, then go to the top right corner and click on the three dots. Scroll down to settings and, under “Choose a theme,” click “dark.” Have a great week! Continue reading..…

Today I am pleased to join Scott Guthrie and Satya Nadella at Ignite, the largest IT conference in the industry with more than 20,000 attendees. It’s an exciting time to be in IT, with the modern workplace creating a major shift in the way people work. Information is abundant, experiences and data must easily move across multiple devices, and collaboration is critical as the workforce becomes more mobile and more global. At the same time, security has never been more challenging as attacks have become more advanced and targeted, with the average data breach costing $12 million and costing an estimated $3 trillion in lost productivity by 2020. To help businesses take …