Items tagged with Microsoft
One of the most annoying things about using any electronic device at night or in a dark room is the retina-searing, light mode that most apps have by default. Microsoft, however, has finally addressed this problem on Xbox consoles, and is working on a new night mode which is now available to beta testers. Using the new Alpha Skip-Ahead ring, Xbox owners will be able to dim and filter their screens to help protect against sleep-affecting blue light emissions. Moreover, they will also be able to dim their console and controller LED brightness, so the normally bright white light is not so harsh. Coupling these new features with the dark mode system theme should then provide a much better...
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Which do you prefer when browsing the web—raw speed or a combination of security and privacy? Generally speaking, modern browsers deliver the whole kit and caboodle, which is the way it should be. That said, Microsoft is testing a new "Super Duper Secure Mode" for its Edge browser that puts more of an emphasis on the latter. Or to put it another way, an experimental feature in Edge sacrifices a bit of speed to make the browser more secure and to enhance user privacy. It does this by tooling around with the V8 JavaScript engine that motors the Chromium foundation of Edge. Microsoft's reasoning for experimenting in this manner is because "JavaScript engine bugs are a mainstay for attackers."...
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Right on cue, Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 Insider Preview build for testers, and this time it's available for both Beta and Dev channels. With just a few months left before Windows 11 begins shipping with new PCs, Microsoft is on a mission to stomp bugs with this latest build, thanks in part to the vast army of public testers that are providing valuable feedback. With Windows 11 Build 22000.120, there are dozens of fixes, which are expected given the unfinished state of the next-generation operating system. Many of his fixes are minor but give Windows 11 a more polished feel as testers continue to put the OS through its paces. But along with those fixes are some updates and improvements,...
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With the official launch of Windows 11 just a few months away, PC enthusiasts are eager to ensure that their hardware is up to the task of running the next-generation operating system. ASUS gave us a preliminary list of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0-enabled motherboards that support Windows 11 in July, and the company this week followed up with a more comprehensive list along with compatible BIOS updates. Intel 300-, 400-, and 500-Series motherboards are supported on the consumer side along with the X299 for HEDT systems. For AMD folks, 300-, 400-, and 400-Series consumer motherboards are supported. ASUS also says that AMD's TRX40 and WRX80 HEDT motherboards are along for the ride with TPM...
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If you were thinking about signing up for Microsoft's Windows 365 trial and did not already pounce, you are going to have to wait a little bit longer. Early demand has been so high that just one day after launching the cloud service, Microsoft had to stop accepting new signups. The free trial offer will resume at some point, but it's clear exactly when. Microsoft announced Windows 365 three weeks ago, pitching it as a cloud service that offers users a "new way to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11 (when it becomes available) to businesses of all sizes." It essentially puts Windows 10 (and later Windows 11) in the cloud, so users can stream the "full Windows experience" from anywhere, including...
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Back in July, Microsoft announced a cloud-based Windows experience called Windows 365 that would allow anyone on any device to work with Windows. As reported, the service launched on August 2nd, and now pricing is available, ranging from $20 to $162 per user per month, depending on specifications. Windows 365 sits somewhere between full infrastructure as a service, like AWS, and platform as a service, like Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. It allows businesses to easily deploy and scale a Windows environment up to 300 seats in Windows 365 Business and from 300 users to infinity with Windows 365 Enterprise. For each end-user, as Christiaan Brinkhoff explains in a blog post, “It...
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Going with the trend of many games these days, Halo Infinite could be getting a battle royale mode if new files datamined from the game are anything to go by. Perhaps this is an extra asset created "just in case," or maybe there is a chance at a Halo Battle Royale mode considering what we now know from the technical test. On Friday, Resetera forum user DukeBlueBall posted what sounds like Halo multiplayer announcer Jeff Steitzer saying "BATTLE ROYALE" in his well-known action movie-trailer style voice. While this could be a fluke, Duke claims that this has been datamined from the Halo Technical Preview that concluded on Sunday. Other commenters on the post believe that this could be an extra...
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Earlier in July, the PrintNightmare vulnerability was discovered, wherein a threat actor could exploit the vulnerability to gain system-level access to a device. This was only speculation at first, but that has now changed, as cybersecurity researcher Benjamin Delpy has shown. Since the discovery of PrintNightmare, Delpy has been working to both investigate and exploit it for research purposes. Initially, he reported that he could achieve both remote code execution and local privilege escalation using PrintNightmare on a fully patched server with “Point & Print” enabled. Following that development, Delpy was more recently able to create a web-hosted printer that leveraged the...
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Halo Infinite is the first brand new Halo installation since 2015, when Halo 5: Guardians came to the Xbox One. To say there's a lot of hype around the much-delayed return of Master Chief after apparently going rogue in the previous installment, ultimately being recovered by Spartan Locke. Apologies for the spoilers on a six-year-old game, but the Halo Infinite reveal announced that information itself. Besides, we're sure that Microsoft has bigger things on its mind, like the fact that the company leaked information about the sixth mainline Halo game's plot. According to Halo writer and cinematic director Joseph Staten, Microsoft inadvertently included some files that contain information...
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Now that the details and invitations are out there, fans will be able to take Halo Infinite out for a spin. However, not everyone who wanted in got an invite, but do not fret as you can still find out what multiplayer will look like in the upcoming title from 343 Industries. On Wednesday, the developers behind the Halo series hosted a technical preview live stream on YouTube where several topics were covered. One of the more interesting parts was the 4v4 Slayer match in Halo Infinite, which was captured on an Xbox Series X. It got down to the wire with 49 kills to the other teams 46 with just under five minutes remaining, but you can look for yourself below. Throughout the clip, community...
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Microsoft first announced its Windows 11 operating system in June, and the first Insider Preview builds went out to testers in July. The problem is that only testers on the Dev channel could access these early builds of Windows 11. Now, Windows Insiders on the less frequently updated Beta channel can also start downloading new builds of Windows 11. In this case, Beta channel testers can now access Insider Preview Build 22000.100, which was first released to the Dev channel last week. “As always, be sure to check out the list of known issues in the blog post below on anything that could impact your experience on your PC,” wrote the Windows team when announcing the change. “We...
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As it stands, Windows 10 gets monthly security, quality, and the occasional out-of-band update which all help to keep users “productive and protected.” It appears Microsoft has now officially confirmed that Windows 11 will be following the same update system which has worked well for the past six years. The continual updates to Windows 10 over the years have ensured that customers have access to all the latest features and security fixes at no additional cost. In a recent documentation post about monthly quality updates, technical writer Greg Lindsay outlines the plan for updates concerning Windows 10 and 11. First and foremost, quality updates which consist of either non-security...
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Halo Infinite was originally supposed to come out in November 2020, but instead will not be released for another few months. However, there is a way for eager fans to test the waters before the official release. It was recently announced that the Halo Infinite beta will be available this weekend. The Halo Infinite beta will start on Thursday, July 29th and run until Sunday, August 1st. News about the beta was sent to Halo Insiders via email. The beta will be preceded by a livestream that will show off what players can expect from it. The livestream will occur today, Wednesday, July 28th, at 2pm ET and and can be watched on the official Halo Twitch channel and Halo YouTube channel. Testers must...
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Microsoft Flight Simulator arrives on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S today, and in celebration of the game's much anticipated touchdown on console, Microsoft has teamed up with luggage maker July for a sweet giveaway. The lucky winner will receive a custom suitcase themed after the Xbox Series S, pre-packed with various hardware. The big prize is the Xbox Series S that is neatly tucked inside, as you can see in the image above. However, it also comes with two game controllers, a portable ASUS ROG Strix XG17 display with a magnetized cover, and international adapters. The winner doesn't even need to unpack the goodies to play MS Flight Simulator—as the directions state, just lay it...
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While Microsoft is off fighting leaks and device-breaking bugs within Windows 10, the company silently released Microsoft Edge 92 without much fanfare earlier this week. The new version of the browser is a large update bringing new features and changes for all users, including limiting autoplay content. Have you ever opened a webpage to then be serenaded by the most beautiful songs? Unfortunately, this is probably not the case, as many of us have experienced a loud video blasting our eardrums out when wanting to read local news or scroll through Facebook. However, this hopefully will not be a problem anymore, beginning with Edge 92, in which Microsoft has switched the media autoplay setting to...
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Hackers and threat actors are constantly searching for new ways to breach systems for cybersecurity research or exploitation, respectively. Thankfully, French researcher Gilles Lionel got to an NTLM Relay Attack, dubbed PetitPotam, first. Now, Microsoft has released a mitigation technique that IT admins should implement to remain secure. Last week, information about PetitPotam was posted to GitHub by French cybersecurity researcher Gilles Lionel. Lionel found that, through a tool he made, it was possible “to coerce Windows hosts to authenticate to other machines via MS-EFSRPC EfsRpcOpenFileRaw function.” In layman’s terms, an attacker could use the program to extract NTLM authentication...
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There are few things more frustrating than dealing with a printer issue. Like dealing with repeated printer issues. Unfortunately for some Windows 10 users, the problems keep coming, the latest one arriving with the cumulative update for July that arrived earlier this month. Depending on a person's setup, this month's Patch Tuesday roll out could cause printing and scanning capabilities to no longer function. Fortunately, the latest printer issue appears limited to some specific setups. However, that does not come as any consolation to anyone is affected by it. "After installing updates released July 13, 2021 on domain controllers (DCs) in your environment, printers, scanners, and multifunction...
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Microsoft had a bit of a rough first outing with its Surface Duo flagship smartphone. The Android device launched last year and was quite intriguing due to its dual-display design, which is not prevalent in the smartphone realm. However, Microsoft wasn't entering the market from a position of strength with the Surface Duo. It was [seemingly] overpriced, the software was buggy, it shipped with an outclassed SoC given its price, and it didn't even feature 5G support. Microsoft rectified the bugs somewhat with subsequent software updates, and significant price cuts have made the Surface Duo more attractive. Microsoft seems to be on the cusp of trying again with the aptly named Surface Duo 2. Alleged...
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Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system is set to debut this October, and understandably, many people are excited about its launch. After all, it's been about six years since the official launch of Windows 10, and people are antsy to see what's next from Microsoft. Unfortunately, scammers are always looking for a way to take advantage of unsuspecting users, and the hype surrounding Windows 11 makes for a perfect opportunity to strike. A new piece of malware has found its way to the internet, and the executable is named 86307_windows 11 build 21996.1 x64 + activator.exe. The download weighs in at 1.75GB, which is about less than half the size of a legit Windows 11 ISO. Fake Windows 11 installer...
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Over the past few years, the surge in cryptocurrency values has meant that unscrupulous individuals are looking for ways to make money without putting in the hard work. In the case of cryptocurrency malware, the software is installed on unsuspecting computers, forcing them to mine without the victim seeing a single dime in the resulting revenue. Such is the same with LemonDuck, which the Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team is warning about this week. Once LemonDuck malware finds its way onto a target machine, it is swept up into a botnet that mines for cryptocurrencies. What makes LemonDuck so dangerous, however, is that it doesn't just target one platform. Instead, it is viable on...
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Microsoft's weekly cadence with Windows 11 Insider Preview releases continues this week with Build 22000.100. This latest build is available to testers that have joined Microsoft's Windows Insider Dev Channel. With Build 22000.100, Microsoft is focused on refining the UI and implementing a slew of fixes for outstanding issues. Going forward, we're not likely to see any dramatic changes build-to-build, as the Windows 10 successor inches closer to its [assumed] late October launch. However, as Microsoft outlined earlier this week, Teams integration is rolling out to select testers on the Dev Channel before a broader release in future builds. Given that Windows 11 is an evolution of the Windows...
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Microsoft is warning of a vulnerability in both Windows 11 (not yet released, but available in preview form to Windows Insiders) and Windows 10 that could reveal a user's admin password, which in turn could be used to elevate their own system privileges. That's obviously not a good thing, as it would essentially grant the hacker with full control of a system. "An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists because of overly permissive Access Control Lists (ACLs) on multiple system files, including the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view,...
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