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January 13 is the last day for business and individual users to move off older versions of the Internet Explorer web browser, before Microsoft pulls the plug on support including security patches. The deadline this week comes 18 months after Microsoft warned that it would cease to support Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10, giving users time to upgrade. Microsoft suggests users upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and 8.1, or use the new Edge browser if they're on Windows 10. Edge is able to launch Internet Explorer 11 when needed, for backwards compatibility.

If you're using a PC running Windows 7 or 8, you may be getting a little sick of endless popup screens telling you to upgrade to version 10. And you may be worried about inadvertently installing the upgrade as part of a security update. Microsoft will start pushing out a Windows 10 upgrade as a recommended, virtually mandatory, update very soon (it's right now only an optional download). Some people are tempted to turn off Windows Update completely to avoid getting the new operating system – don't. It'll leave your computer vulnerable to attack as you'll no longer get security...

Official from the Redmond horse's mouth If you're using a PC running Windows 7 or 8 you may be getting a little sick of endless popup screens telling you to upgrade to version 10, and worried about inadvertently installing the upgrade as part of a security update. Microsoft will start pushing out the upgrade as a recommended, virtually mandatory, update very soon (it's right now only an optional download). Some people are tempted to turn off Windows Update completely to avoid getting the new operating system - don't. It'll leave your computer vulnerable to attack as you'll no longer get...

Windows 10 has been installed on over 200 million devices since its launch, making it the fastest growing version of the operating system, according to Microsoft. This adoption rate has outpaced Windows 7 by almost 140 percent and Windows 8 by 400 percent, wrote Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Windows and devices. Black Friday also helped significantly in boosting the user numbers for Windows 10. Demand has been high for the enterprise and education versions too, added Mehdi. The high number of active Windows 10 devices is something Microsoft will be pleased with but the new OS still remains...

Subtitle: But third-party metrics don't support the company's contention that Windows 10's adoption has outpaced Windows 7's in late 2009-early 2010 Microsoft today updated its Windows 10 claim, saying that the new operating system is on more than 200 million devices that have been used at least once in the past month. The number included not only personal computers and tablets, a company spokesman confirmed, but also Xbox One video game consoles -- the box got Windows 10 in November -- and smartphones now running a preview of Windows 10 Mobile. "As of today, there are more than 200 million...

A new type of ransomware has been spotted, the first of its kind, a ransomware that uses JavaScript to infect its users, being coded on top of the NW.js platform. NW.js, formerly known as Node-WebKit, is a powerful platform that allows developers to create desktop applications via Node.js modules. The platform lets programmers use JavaScript in the same way, and with the same power and reach inside the underlying operating system's guts, as other more powerful languages like C++, Delphi, Java, ActionScript, and C#. If the name hasn't tipped you off yet, NW.js uses a stripped down version of WebKit,...

Windows 7 runs on 55% of all the computers on the planet, but according to news this week that is actually a bad and potentially dangerous thing. Says who? Actually Microsoft. . . Speaking to Windows Weekly, Microsoft Marketing chief Chris Capossela explained that users who choose Windows 7 do so "at your own risk, at your own peril" and he revealed Microsoft has concerns about its future software and hardware compatibility, security and more. "We do worry when people are running an operating system that's 10 years old that the next printer they buy isn't going to work well,...

Merry Christmas EVERYONE! 1. Is Windows 10 worth the download and OS Change? AND 2. Should I Take my Bride to see the new Star Wars Movie tomorrow?

With cool new features, such as Cortana and developer access to a uniform system to create apps on, Windows 10 certainly has a lot to offer (especially for free). If you've already upgraded, great, but that also means that time is nearly up to change your mind. Windows 10 offers the ability to "downgrade" to your previous version if you decide you don't like it, but only for one month. Still, what's not to like? With a sharper, more modern interface and faster overall load times, Windows 10 is looking pretty good. The problem, however, lies in whether or not...

Full Title: Microsoft partners with Chinese state-owned defense conglomerate to promote, sell Windows 10 to governmentCreates joint venture with China Electronics Technology Group Corp. to license, support Windows 10 in government agencies and some state-run enterprises Microsoft yesterday expanded its partnership with one of China's largest defense and technology conglomerates as it announced a joint venture to get Windows 10 on government PCs in the People's Republic. The U.S. company will partner with China Electronics Technology Group (CETC) to create C&M Information Technologies -- the name is provisional and the move will require Chinese regulatory approval -- to license Windows...

Fire up any computer running Windows 7 or 8 and you'll be used to a message or three inviting you to upgrade to Windows 10. But the latest pop-up screen doesn't even give you a choice. The large pop-up screen, which first appeared over the weekend, gives users the option of upgrading straight away or ... that evening. Users can still opt out by clicking on the red 'X' in the top right corner of the window, but less savvy computer users (part of Redmond's core market segments) might not figure that out. This is not a new idea; it's...

Microsoft just released Cortana for iOS and Android this week, but it's planning much bigger features for its future Windows integration. Cortana first arrived on Windows 10 earlier this year, and now Microsoft is planning and building major updates, codenamed Redstone, to the operating system that will make Cortana a lot more powerful. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the company is experimenting with having Cortana float around Windows 10. This floating mechanism would allow Cortana to appear on top of documents, contextually, and provide information and assistance. We're told it's more of a powerful search tool,...

Microsoft took a gamble when it gave every Windows 7 and 8 license holder a free upgrade to Windows 10 and it looks to be paying off. Within less than six months of the release of the new operating system, Microsoft has secured a near 10 percent stake of the OS market with its new system, edging ever closer to that billion-install number Microsoft wants so badly. These numbers come from a new NetMarketShare report which still has Windows 7 as the most popular operating system in the world, with a 56.11 percent share. However Windows 10 has cemented itself...

Windows 10 IoT Core Pro lets thing-makers opt-out of security updates Microsoft's released a new flavour of Windows 10. Windows 10 IoT Core Pro is a version of the OS destined for original equipment manufacturers cooking up connected things. Redmond says the Pro cut's big differentiator is "the ability to defer updates and control distribution of updates through Windows Server Update Services." "With these servicing options," Microsoft's Billy Anders writes "we are bringing flexibility for our partners and customers to help meet their servicing needs while helping ensuring their devices are secure and managed." That's a good thing if thing-makers...

Disk vault Bitlocker snubs self-encrypting drives - when's the fix? We know Microsoft can be pretty secretive about its spyware-as-a-service Windows 10, but Redmond has now taken its furtiveness to a whole new level. You may or may not know that its disk encryption tool Bitlocker has suddenly stopped working in the latest version of its operating system for a number of people. Bitlocker refuses to work if you try to enable it on a self-encrypting drive with the hardware-accelerated encryption switched on: when you do a clean install of the latest build of Windows 10 - the November 2015...

... So what are the most common types of malware? They fall into two main categories: those that are basically no more than a nuisance, and those that are aimed at getting money from the victim. Perhaps the most common example of nuisance malware is adware. According to Oh, this is typically delivered along with free software or by compromised or malicious web sites. Adware rarely does any real damage, but some examples are hard to remove. The term was once applied to 'advertising supported software.' In return for getting a useful application at no charge, you accept that it...

Upgraded to Windows 10 and need some pointers? These are the Windows 10 tips you can't be without Having finally struck gold with Windows 10, Microsoft is really pushing its latest operating system by giving it away to upgrading users for absolutely nothing. With Windows 10 Microsoft has brought in a raft of new features and tweaks, meaning that no matter if you're completely new to Windows or have upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1, there's plenty of new features to brush up on. And that's why we've put together this list of the 15 Windows 10 tips and tricks...

Windows 10 has lots going for it, but it's all the better with these fixes Windows 10 may Microsoft's finest operating system yet, but it needed to be. Microsoft is being assaulted from all angles: by OS X on desktop, iOS and Android on handhelds, and consoles for gaming (in this last case, ironically by itself with the Xbox One). Windows 10's positive reception – as well as a lot of glowing reviews – will have come as a relief to Redmond's anxious developers. But despite a long period of public testing, a fair number of Windows 10 problems remain...

... Notorious banking trojan Dyreza has evolved to target the Windows 10 operating system, according to cyber-security firm Heimdall. The new feature of this pernicious strain of malware includes support for Windows 10, so cyber-criminals can stay up to date with the developments of their prey as well as the ability to latch on to Microsoft Edge, Window's 10's replacement for the much-maligned internet explorer. Heimdall also noted that this new version of Dyreza “kills a series of processes linked to endpoint security software, in order to make its infiltration in the system faster and more effective”. Nearly 100,000 machines...

“Anonymity is like virginity. You don't get it back once you've lost it,” writes one Register reader on Microsoft’s latest raid on your privacy.Microsoft pulled a major update for Windows after it blew away the user's privacy settings, allowing app developers and advertisers to glean the user’s identity. But that’s only part of the story, which gets murkier by the day.We already knew Windows 10 Threshold deleted third-party data monitoring tools and cleanup tools, including stalwarts like Spybot and CCleaner. It even disabled Cisco’s VPN software. Just a bug, said Microsoft.Two bugs would be a puzzling coincidence – but something...