Microsoft Announces Windows 10 Creators Update Will Modernize IT Tools And Advanced Threat Mitigation For Business Users

While the Creators Update might seem like all fun and games at first glance, there’s a lot more going on just beneath the surface that is being geared towards business customers. Microsoft says that it has already seen a 3x increase in the number of Windows 10 deployments by enterprise customers in the past six months, and the Creators Update brings new functionality to give IT professionals a “safer, more secure and more productive” environment to work in.

With the Creators Update, Microsoft has included new functionality for the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). Windows Defender ATP was first introduced with the Anniversary Update, but now gains more useful tools to better identify and assess cyber threats. Cyberattacks are sniffed out using sensors that not only monitor network traffic, but that can also detect both kernel-level and memory exploits. 

“This will enable IT administrators to monitor loaded drivers and in-memory activities, and to detect various patterns of injection, reflective loading, and in-memory modifications indicating potential kernel exploits,” says Rob Lefferts, Microsoft’s Director of Program Management for Windows Enterprise and Security.

Microsoft already partners with FireEye iSIGHT Threat Intelligence to fortify the Windows Security Center, but the Creators Update gives IT administrators the ability to add their own intelligence parameters to suit their environmental needs.

But even if IT administrators take all the proper precautions to keep employees safe, there’s bound to that one guy (or gal) that will move mountains to wind up infected by some type of malware. In that case, Windows Defender ATP has built-in tools to help “isolate machines, collect forensics, kill and clean running processes and quarantine or block files with a single click” via the Windows Security Center.

If that wasn’t enough, Microsoft is making it easier to manage and support Windows 10 machines with the Windows Analytics dashboard and has incorporated an easy-to-use conversion tool to migrate legacy Windows 7 machines using BIOS to Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). Finally, Microsoft has implemented Mobile Device Management software, which allows employees to use their own Windows 10 PCs to access work files, while at the same time keeping the data secure, “without [IT] taking on the added responsibility of managing employees’ personal devices.”

Microsoft is targeting a March 2017 launch for the Windows 10 Creators Update, and by the looks of things, both consumers and business will have much to be excited about.