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Windows XP is an operating system doggedly hanging onto life. Nearly 16 years after its launch, at least tens of thousands of XP machines remain in use.One percent of the 4.6 million devices—smartphone and computers—examined by Duo Security were found to be running XP, with a large number of business PCs still using the OS.Windows XP persists despite being released back in 2001, and, in most instances, Microsoft not having patched the OS to fix flaws that could be exploited by hackers since 2014."While support for the ancient OS ended in 2014, thousands of endpoints used in the enterprise still...

A few days back, Microsoft accidentally pushed out builds from their internal branches to both PC and mobile. The mobile build bricked a number of devices. Microsoft later posted an explanation on what really happened and how to recover the bricked devices. A MDL forum member has now spotted three new Windows 10 SKUs in the released Windows 10 Build 16212 pkeyconfig. The following are the three new Windows 10 versions revealed through this build, Windows 10 Pro for Advanced PCsWindows 10 Pro N for Advanced PCsWindows Server 2016 ServerRdsh Microsoft already offers the following Windows 10 versions, Windows 10...

Microsoft is announcing today that 500 million active machines are now running Windows 10. The latest statistic comes almost 8 months after the company revealed 400 million devices were running Windows 10. Microsoft revealed its latest Windows 10 figures just as the software maker starts its Build developer event in Seattle today.Microsoft had originally claimed it would have 1 billion devices running Windows 10 by 2018. The bold estimate was revised last July, with Microsoft admitting "it will take longer than FY18 for us to reach our goal of 1 billion monthly active devices." It now seems this will take...

Microsoft today asked enterprise customers to test a new anti-malware, anti-exploit technology in Windows 10's baked-in browser. Windows 10's latest preview, tagged as build 16188 and released Thursday, includes Windows Defender Application Guard, a virtualization-based feature that isolates the contents of a tab in Edge, the OS's default browser, from the rest of the system. While Application Guard was announced in September, and went through limited testing in the months since, today marked its first appearance to all Insiders running Windows 10 Enterprise. Users must manually toggle on Application Guard from a setting dialog, then open a tab within Edge...

After Tuesday's big launch of Windows 10 S, it emerged the software will force people to use Edge and Bing. How can that be?The supposedly streamlined operating system aimed at kids and their teachers will only run apps from Microsoft's official Windows 10 S software store. Right now, there are no third-party browsers available from its shelves. That leaves users with the bundled Edge browser and Bing for web search.You can't change the search engine from Bing, and, for now, you can't get another browser besides Edge. Even if you could get another browser, Edge will override all the time,...

Microsoft is introducing a new version of Windows 10 today: Windows 10 S. It's essentially Microsoft's answer to Chrome OS, to simplify Windows for low-end hardware and in particular, the education market. “Everything that runs on Windows 10 S is downloaded from the Windows Store,” says Microsoft’s Windows chief Terry Myerson. That doesn't mean that desktop apps won't run on this version of Windows 10, but they'll need to be specially packaged and listed in the Windows Store. During a demonstration onstage, Myerson showed off the ability to support peripherals and devices just like regular Windows 10. Myerson also noted...

Hello Windows Insiders!Today we are excited to be a) hosting our very first Insider webcast from the brand new #BeamMachine AND b) doing our first ever build release during a webcast. We are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16184 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. We are also releasing Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 15208 to Insiders in the Fast ring.What’s New in Build 16184 For PC My People: Technology is all about making it easier for you to connect with your most important people. Whether you want to share a photo, make plans for...

FR NOTE: THIS THREAD IS AN IMPORTANT FOLLOWUP TO THIS EARLIER THREAD:How to force Windows 10 to download the Creators Update (for those who just can't wait)Executive Summary: "DO NOT FORCE THE DOWNLOAD!! PLEASE WAIT!!" Best FRegards, Dayglored Microsoft has urged non-tech-savvy people – or anyone who just wants a stable computer – to not download and install this year's biggest revision to Windows by hand. And that's because it may well bork your machine.It's been two weeks since Microsoft made its Creators Update available, and we were previously warned it will be a trickle-out rather than a massive rollout....

With so few features, for so few phones, one wonders what the point is.Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update rides the coattails of the desktop OS, heavily leaning on improvements in Cortana and Edge to nudge Microsoft’s nearly comatose mobile platform further ahead.As the free upgrade rolls out Tuesday, our review of the Creators Update can't help but conclude that it's even less of an improvement than the Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update. We can tell you that Windows’ new ability to buy and read ebooks within Edge represents its most potent addition. You can turn off a screen while...

MICROSOFT has reiterated the importance of collecting information from Windows 10 Creators Update users, likening the diagnostic data to the "life-blood" of the operating system.Windows 10 Creators Update is slowly rolling out to users across the globe.The blockbuster update includes a number of headline features, including a ground-up redesign for the Paint app and a new performance-focused Game Mode.Windows 10 Creators Update also focuses on transparency around its data collection policies.Every Windows 10 user – whether they're upgrading a previous version of Windows 10, or installing one for the first time – will be given the chance to review the...

There are all kinds of new features in the Windows 10 Creators Update rolling out on April 11, but one change really sticks out. Greater transparency about the data that Microsoft collects from your PC.There are new dashboard screens that all Windows 10 users will see the first time they install or upgrade to the Creators Update. Perhaps more interestingly, for the first time Microsoft has detailed information about the user data it collects for diagnostics.Diagnostics collection Let’s start with the diagnostics collection, as Microsoft’s come under heavy fire from privacy advocates for refusing to allow users to disable it completely...

Microsoft is planning to start pushing out the free Windows 10 Creators Update on April 11. As is often the case, this will be a gradual rollout, meaning not everyone will get the update on day one. Microsoft will slowly ramp up the release — but starting today, you can get the latest build of Windows 10 without waiting.You can use the Windows 10 Update Assistant to avoid having to convince Windows Update to serve the Creators Update to you. On the Windows 10 computer you want to update, head to microsoft.com/software-download/windows10 and click the blue “Update now” button. This...

'Dodgy' unwanted operating system update sparks potential class-action lawsuit Updated Three people in Illinois have filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that its Windows 10 update destroyed their data and damaged their computers.The complaint [PDF], filed in Chicago's US District Court on Thursday, charges that Microsoft Windows 10 is a defective product and that its maker failed to provide adequate warning about the potential risks posed by Windows 10 installation – specifically system stability and data loss.Microsoft "failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, formulating, and manufacturing the Windows 10 upgrade and placing it into the stream of commerce," the...

Yesterday we reported that an international group of hackers claim they have breached Apple’s iCloud user database and stolen 300 million usernames and passwords. The group has threatened to initiate a widespread factory reset on April 7th, 2017, potentially wiping out data on tens of millions of iPhones and iCloud accounts should Apple fail to pay a ransom. But that breach by nefarious hackers, while serious, is nothing compared to what your trusted operating system provider may be doing on your personal computer. According to a recent report, if you are a Windows 10 user then every single keystroke you...

Technology giant Microsoft is blocking Windows 7 and 8.1 updates on Intel's seventh generation Core i3, i5 and i7 AMD's seventh generation processor (Bristol Ridge) and Qualcomm's 8996 processors. While trying to scan and download updates through Windows Update, error messages appear saying, "Windows could not search for new updates" and "code 80240037 Windows Update encountered an unknown error." As explained in Microsoft Knowledge based article the errors occur as the new processor generations require the latest Windows version. For those on Windows 7 and 8.1, Microsoft recommends updating the devices to Windows 10. In response to the matter a...

A new User Access Control (UAC) bypass technique relies on altering Windows registry app paths and using the Backup and Restore utility to load malicious code without any security warning. The technique revolves around the notion of "auto-elevation," which is a state that Microsoft assigns to various trusted binaries. For example, the Task Manager binary is an auto-elevated file because it's created and digitally signed by Microsoft, and is also housed in a trusted file location, under C:\Windows\system32. This means that despite the UAC security level, launching Task Manager doesn't show a UAC window. Similarly, there are tens of other...

Have you upgraded to Intel’s Kaby Lake or AMD’s Ryzen, but still refuse to give up on Windows 7? Going forward, that’s going to become a bit of a problem, as Microsoft has said that it’s cutting off Windows Update support for such a configuration – one that also includes Windows 8.1. In effect, this means that if you are running one of the newest CPUs and either Windows 7 or 8.1, Windows Update will refuse to update. You should still be able to upgrade straight to Windows 10, but as for those minor updates that get pushed through on...

Microsoft's forthcoming Creators Update offers a mixed bag of fixes for Win10's biggest knocks Windows 10 will get better in the forthcoming Creators Update. That isn’t a hollow promise or more marketing drivel. It’s a straightforward observation, comparing the most egregious parts of the current version, Win10 1607 Anniversary Update, with near-final betas of the next version, 1703. While it’s too early to gauge 1703’s stability, the feature improvements are very real. Windows 10 beta build 15031, which appeared on Feb. 8, was the first Win10 build in the rs2_release branch. That’s the point where a fork in the Win10...

Microsoft has taken the next step in pushing advertising on customers of its Windows 10 operating system, with users reporting an advertisement for Microsoft OneDrive now appearing in their File Explorer. Windows 10 has been repeatedly reprimanded by technology journalists over the past year for the increasing amounts of advertising that are baked into the system. Advertisements in various forms have appeared in the Start menu, the lock screen, the taskbar, in the Windows Store, and various other areas. This seems to be the first time that users are noticing them in the File Explorer, the application that allows users...

The Windows 10 Creators Update is set for release shortly, and comes with significant improvements to the Windows Subsystem for Linux, also known as Bash on Windows or Ubuntu on Windows.Just to remind you, this is not done via emulation, nor by running a virtual machine, but rather by redirecting system calls. Does Microsoft really love Linux? While that is hard to answer definitively, the company does see a lot of Linux in its future, and is smart enough not to resist it.Around a third of VMs on Azure run Linux; SQL Server for Linux is coming; the next-generation .NET...