Microsoft Support & Discussions

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V1.0 (December 8, 2015): Bulletin published. Summary: This security update resolves vulnerabilities in the VBScript scripting engine in Microsoft Windows. The more severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if an attacker hosts a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit the vulnerabilities through Internet Explorer (or leverages a compromised website or a website that accepts or hosts user-provided content or advertisements) and then convinces a user to view the website. An attacker could also embed an ActiveX control marked "safe for initialization" in an application or Microsoft Office document…

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V1.0 (December 8, 2015): Bulletin published. Summary: This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Edge. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Microsoft Edge. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights. Continue reading...

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V1.0 (December 8, 2015): Bulletin published. Summary: This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker sends specially crafted requests to a DNS server. Continue reading...

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V1.0 (December 8, 2015): Bulletin Published Summary: This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, .NET Framework, Microsoft Office, Skype for Business, Microsoft Lync, and Silverlight. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted document or visits a webpage that contains specially crafted embedded fonts. Continue reading...

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V1.0 (December 8, 2015): Bulletin published. Summary: This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights. Continue reading...

Severity Rating: Important Revision Note: V1.0 (December 8, 2015): Bulletin published. Summary: This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logs on to a target system and runs a specially crafted application. Continue reading...

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V1.0 (December 8, 2015): Bulletin published. Summary: This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted document or visits an untrusted webpage that contains specially crafted fonts. Continue reading...

Today we released security updates to provide additional protections against malicious attackers. As a best practice, we encourage customers to apply security updates as soon as they are released. More information about this month’s security updates and advisories can be found in the Security TechNet Library. MSRC Team

Three major security vulnerabilities are affecting products from Dell, Lenovo, and Toshiba, the security analysts from LizardHQ are reporting. The three security flaws reside in: Dell System Detect (DSD) versions 6.12.0.1 and earlier Lenovo's Solution Center versions 3.1.004 and earlier Toshiba Service Station versions 2.6.14 and earlier . The Dell issue Dell System Detect is a Windows application pre-installed on all Dell PCs and tablets, provided to customers as a way to simplify the process of contacting Dell's support. This very same service was also where security researchers found the second Dell root certificate in the infamous eDellRoot scandal. …

Microsoft released a new update for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 last night. With the latest update for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, Microsoft says the company has enabled support for some additional upgrade scenarios from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 which will provide a “smoother” experience when your computer fails to install Windows 10 on the first try and has to reinstall Windows 10. Here’s the release note: For those wondering, the update for Windows 8.1 is KB3112336 and the update for Windows 7 is KB3112343. In case you are yet to upgrade to Windows 10, you should probably install the latest updates before trying to upgrade to Windows 10 — so make sure to head …

BackStab technique helps criminals get their hands on your private data, via unprotected phone backups A recent report from Palo Alto Networks describes an attack technique called BackStab where malware steals local mobile data backups and uploads them to a server under the attacker's control. This data is not taken from mobile devices per-se, but from computers where users create backups for their phones, or where software solutions create automatic backups of their phones whenever they connect it to their computer. Because most mobile backup tools don't employ encryption, this data can be cracked open and allow attackers access to sensitive information within m…

Today we are excited to share that TuneIn Radio is now available for Windows 10! You can download it for free from the Windows Store to your Windows 10 PCs and Tablets. Now Playing screen in the TuneIn Radio app for Windows 10 TuneIn Radio’s app lets you enjoy more than 100,000 stations worldwide – featuring music, sports, talk radio, news, and top podcasts, too. There’s enough entertainment for everyone, and now it’s been readied for Windows 10, with an adaptive, responsive layout that is familiar and easy-to-use. You can personalize your experience by following your favorite stations as you explore the app, and access them anytime from the ‘My Profile’ tab. Your…

Today marks the start of Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code, a movement led by Code.org to introduce millions of young people to the creativity of computer science. Microsoft has been a strong supporter of the Hour of Code from its start three years ago. We’re excited to see how the campaign has grown to mobilize a global community of teachers and volunteers who this year will lead coding tutorials in classrooms and community centers around the world. We’re inspired by each one of them and their dedication based on the belief that access to computer science will open up important new opportunities for youth now and in the future. Microsoft employee…

Hi everyone, I wanted to give you an update on what to expect with Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview builds over the next few weeks and into next year. As our partners and Microsoft ship new Windows 10 mobile devices and existing devices are upgraded to Windows 10, all of our users will start to see more updates coming through Windows Update. These will be addressing feedback we receive from our Windows Insiders and new Windows 10 users. We have received a lot of useful feedback from our Insiders on our last Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview build 10586. While this is the same base build that we are shipping with new Windows 10 devices, we are continuing to addre…

Microsoft news spanned the globe this week and encompassed a variety of technologies that enrich innovation, productivity and generosity. Lots of good stuff. Let’s take a look. Once the lore of science fiction, technology that understands human speech now includes apps that translate conversation as it happens and a virtual assistant who can give you numbers to call for pizza. Those breakthroughs and a peek at future voice recognition are the subject of a fascinating read this week. Writer Allison Linn spent time with Microsoft researchers to see how data availability, computing power and machine learning are making computers so smart that they may one day understan…

UN International Persons with Disability Day is a great opportunity to reflect, especially when the theme is “Inclusion Matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities.” I wrote a blog just over a year ago called “Disability is my Strength,” which told my personal journey from being very secretive about my disability to being open about it. This included asking for the American Sign Language interpreters and captioning I needed to be successful and ultimately realizing that my disability was actually my super power, helping me connect with our customers and create better products and services that meet the needs of all people. It’s a journey that many have tra…

When we launched Windows 10 this summer, we created a converged platform that powers a range of devices from PCs, laptops to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Windows 10 IoT delivers a modern platform for IoT devices with enterprise-grade security from the device to the cloud, and native connectivity for machine-to-machine and machine-to-cloud scenarios with Azure IoT technology. This May, we also announced that there will be versions of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise for industry devices like ATMs, retail point of sale, handheld terminals, as well as a new Windows edition ‘Windows 10 IoT Core’ for small footprint, low cost devices. Today, we ar…

As your truly personal digital assistant, we’re enabling Cortana to call upon other services to help you get things done. You’ve seen us work with third parties like LinkedIn and Microsoft services like Office 365 to bring you an even richer Cortana experience. Today, we’re excited to announce that Cortana gets even better with a connection to Microsoft’s Power BI. Now available in Preview today, Cortana’s integration with Power BI enables anyone to get answers directly from their key business data in a more helpful, proactive, and natural way. By integrating with Power BI, Cortana can give you answers directly from key business data. By utilizing Power BI’s data…

The fact that organizations need to change, to evolve and to transform the way they do business to succeed in this digital age is widely accepted. For most, this transition to a digital world is relatively new, but the path to true transformation is anything but easy. It takes courage and bold steps to break away from established systems and processes. A recent Forrester study of European business leaders clearly frames this issue – business transformation takes more than just layering digital channels on old business models. It takes a dramatic and sustained new direction that is oriented to a new world of work, to a new way to use data and analytics and a new approach t…

The way we do work today is fundamentally different than just a few years ago. Work happens on our phones, tablets and laptops everywhere we go: on manufacturing floors, in airplanes or at customer meetings. The mobile revolution, together with nearly limitless compute and data in the cloud, has transformed our professional experience. And yet, the apps we use to do business have been slow to keep pace with employee demand. While companies are increasingly turning to SaaS solutions for specific scenarios like CRM, travel and HR, using services like Microsoft Dynamics, Concur or Workday, most business app scenarios still remain locked on premises, dependent on corporate…

Thanks to you – we’ve been pleased by the response to our 10 Days of 10 Cent Deals in the Windows Store. Since the promotion kick-off 10 days ago, we’ve seen on average a 10 times daily increase in customers who make a purchase and a 29 times increase in the purchase of apps, games, movies and music from the Windows Store, as compared to performance a week prior to the promotion. In addition, during the promotion over 75% of deal purchasers were new to the Windows Store. We’re excited to welcome so many new customers. We hope you’ve enjoyed some amazing deals and we hope you’ll keep visiting. Given the positive response to this Windows 10 customer thank you, we decided…

Barcelona will see over 5,000 leading business and IT leaders converge on the Fira Gran Via this week to join myself and many other Microsoft employees and partners for Convergence EMEA 2015. Convergence is our flagship business conference in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and provides a fantastic opportunity to continue a dialogue with business leaders. Our job is simple – to listen, to learn, to engage and to share. To better understand how European companies are approaching digital transformation, we partnered with Forrester Consulting to evaluate European organizations’ digital strategies and priorities. The results of the study are illuminating; there was almo…

It’s been a great run, but today our 10 Days of 10 Cent Deals in the Windows Store on Windows 10* is coming to an end. Today is the last day to take advantage of our 10 cent offers, remember you can score deals on blockbuster movies, top music albums, apps and games! When you rent a movie you can watch it right away or download it to your Windows 10 PC to save for later. Here are today’s deals: MOVIES Inside Out Life can be an emotional roller coaster, but for kids it’s especially chaotic. When young Riley moves to a new town in this animated favorite, her emotions – including Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kalin…

It’s Day 9 and the deals keep coming in our 10 Days of 10 Cent Deals in the Windows Store on Windows 10*. Today is the last day to buy Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo Spartan Strike for 10 cents so don’t delay! MOVIES Cinderella The classic tale of a young beauty, her wicked stepsisters, a royal ball and a handsome prince charming – and, of course, a lost glass slipper – come gorgeously to life in this magical live-action retelling. With Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden. Rent Cinderella for 10 cents today. Hot Pursuit Reese Witherspoon is an uptight, by-the-book copy assigned to protect a drug boss’s outgoing, bombshell widow on a trip acro…