Free Republic

Also: Visual Studio Code update, new toys for Kubecon, and 25 years of the Start Button In brief While eyes were on its new phone, Microsoft slipped out a pair of updates to the Insider version of Windows 10.The Beta Channel (formerly known as the Slow Ring) received a round of security updates as well as a UWP authentication fix for the 20H2 release of the operating system (due at some point in the back half of 2020).The Dev Channel, however, received that most rare of gifts in the form of build 20190: an update with some properly in-your-face user...

This is a rather long video, but it covers a subject that is quite important. Learn about the Shadow Government

TECH PING? I have been fighting with MS OUTLOOK and cannot get my contacts to import from OUTLOOK 365 to OUTLOOK 2019 Staples told me tough luck it is a MS problem, Microsoft keeps ingnoring me. Last year I had a bad computer crash. I had to run to Staples and port everything over to one of their instock HPs (what a dog!) and they told me that the 365 version of office would be a better bet at 99 dollars a year since I wassnt planning to keep the computer Well I had to keep the compututer so I...

They're emphasizing their ability to suspend all services and accounts of any user who violates their MS Services Agreement. A rather lengthy list, but this statement caught my attention: "Don’t engage in activity that is harmful to you, the Services or others (e.g., transmitting viruses, stalking, posting terrorist or violent extremist content, communicating hate speech, or advocating violence against others). I wonder who gets to define the above? What, exactly, will they consider hate speech?

Genealogy websites have become increasingly popular in recent years. These platforms are able to scour the web in search of documents and archival data, which can help users build historically accurate family trees. There’s also another side to genealogy websites that has attracted attention from privacy advocates: DNA testing. Websites like Ancestry.com can use DNA testing to find matches, but the fact that these platforms store this information on their end means that hackers could try and steal it. Tap or click here to see how Ancestry.com suffered a huge data breach. Since genealogy websites collect so much data, their...

Microsoft is currently in talks buy the U.S. operations of hit video app TikTok, according to The New York Times. The report comes shortly after Bloomberg reported that President Donald Trump plans to order Chinese company ByteDance, which owns TikTok, to sell its stake in the app on Friday. According to pool reports, Trump told reporters, “We’re looking at TikTok, we may be banning TikTok.” Microsoft did not immediately respond to request made by Digital Trends. We will update this story when we hear back. In a statement to Digital Trends, TikTok declined to comment on “rumors or speculation.” “We...

This rusty ol’ internet of ours sure has a lot to offer, but man, oh man, can it be annoying to use. From ad-infested websites to autoplaying videos and an endless array of pop-up provocations, it’s a wonder anyone makes it through the day without going completely berserk. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. With a little fine-tuning and some carefully considered additions, surfing the web can actually become—dare I say it—almost pleasant. All it takes is about 10 minutes of your time, and your desktop browser will be loaded up, tricked out, and ready to give you...

Hackers used malicious Office 365 apps to gain access to customer accounts, which they later used to orchestrate BEC attacks. Microsoft has obtained a court order this month allowing the company to seize control of six domains that were used in phishing operations against Office 365 customers, including in campaigns that leveraged COVID-19 lures. According to court documents obtained by ZDNet, Microsoft has targeted a phishing group that has been targeting the company's customers since December 2019. The phishers operated by sending emails to companies that hosted email servers and enterprise infrastructure on Microsoft's Office 365 cloud service. The emails...

Microsoft seems to be getting a kick out seeing users struggle to find Windows 10 features these days. After moving the Fresh Start feature in the latest version, 2004, and reducing the number of days Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education users can manually delay updates, the company is now experimenting with moving key Control Panel features, including System information, to Settings, Windows Latest spotted. It’s a change that some long-time Windows users might not take to easily. If you’re like me and have been using the Control Panel for decades, getting accustomed to this feature will be as arduous...

A Google bombshell last week gave users a great reason to quit Windows 10. Now serious new problems mean millions of Gmail users might want to join them. Gmail’s spam filter is sending possibly perilous messages direct to users’ inboxes Reported by both Windows Latest and MSPowerUser, Gmail users are discovering that Microsoft’s Windows 10 built-in Mail client is deleting their emails and/or sending them to spam automatically.

Microsoft emits a fix for those fearful of Registry tinkering While Microsoft was showing off its new OneDrive toys, the company also slipped out a fix for brave souls running Windows 10 2004 and finding Files On-Demand a little borked.Issues have been rumbling for a few weeks now as users of the new OS began complaining that "OneDrive cannot connect to Windows", rendering the Files On-Demand feature, which pulls data down from the cloudy bit barn when needed, broken.Some found that a Registry tweak would bring the process back to life. Others continued to struggle.Microsoft pointed to devices or apps...

'Reimagined' flagships to endure, but that place you used to go to when the Apple Store was too busy is going away Microsoft has a new approach to retail. One, it appears, that does not involve its physical store locations.In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the company has announced what it calls "a strategic change in its retail operations".Or, in other words, shutting down its network of physical Microsoft Stores and going digital-only via Microsoft.com and Xbox.The company said it would be taking a pre-tax charge of approximately $450m to do the deed, which will...

Compatibility hold slapped on affected kit with fixes in 'upcoming release' It's only the second week of Windows 10's May 2020 Update and things are going... about as well as one might expect. Which, sadly for Microsoft hardware owners, is not ideal.The release popped up last week and we noted that it had its issues. Ten, to be precise. The bork count currently stands at 11 and, worryingly for owners of Microsoft's pricey Surface devices, now includes features the company's fancy fondleslabs.Microsoft is keen to brag about the "Always Connected" nature of its devices but it appears that some have...

Tell-all with president Brad Smith reveals Obama warned tech giants that a privacy reckoning was coming Microsoft president Brad Smith (pictured) has admitted that the Windows giant was "on the wrong side of history" when it came to open source.While nowadays the born-again company seems unable to resist the embrace (if that's the right word) of the open-source world, it was not always so.Former CEO Steve Ballmer memorably declared that "Linux is a cancer" back in the day. Goodness, how times have changed in Redmond."Microsoft," said Smith during a chat hosted by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL),...

... The April 14 Patch Tuesday updates included fixes for a total of 133 vulnerabilities, including seven critical security flaws in Windows 10. I have always said that users need to take the fixing of security vulnerabilities very seriously indeed. When new research suggests that the average Windows 10 PC has no less than 14 weaponized vulnerabilities, that is ones with known exploits in case you were wondering, that seriousness is reinforced... ...First things first, given the sheer number of Windows 10 users out there, the number of people complaining of these issues, in the hundreds, is relatively small. This...

Tux is ready to give you easy access to your Linux files. Earlier this year Microsoft shared its plans to integrate a full Linux kernel in Windows 10 — now it’s introducing Linux file access into the File Explorer. Users have been able to access Linux files since Windows 1903, but the new feature in build 19603 means you’ll be able to get them more easily. Open up File Explorer and you’ll see Tux, Linux’s penguin mascot, in the left-hand navigation pane. This icon will show you a view of all your distros, and selecting those will place you in the Linux...

MEDINA, WA—Well, this is disappointing: Bill Gates had discovered a cure for coronavirus, but the hard drive he had it saved on was wiped out by a Windows virus. Not good! "I've got it!" he'd cried in the early morning hours on Sunday. "Hey Melinda -- I've figured out how to eradicate this nasty virus! Everyone mocked me for commenting on the virus while not even being a medical expert, but ha! I'll show them yet!" But just then, his monitor suddenly displayed a blue screen. A virus had infected his Windows 10 machine and crashed the whole thing, wiping...

This season's colours are blue, white and bork Bork!Bork!Bork! Chicago! A town famed for what some might regard as a jumped-up quiche masquerading as pizza and home of the first skyscraper. Could there be a better venue for today's bork?We like Chicago, although we're less keen on the landing approach to the city's O'Hare airport, which left this hack feeling a tad poorly on one occasion as Boeing's finest tumbled through the turbulence.Also unwell, and snapped by a Register reader, is this example of digital signage, caught borking in the window of LOFT, a women's clothing emporium. Sadly, a jaunt...

US air safety bods call it 'potentially catastrophic' if reboot directive not implemented The US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered Boeing 787 operators to switch their aircraft off and on every 51 days to prevent what it called "several potentially catastrophic failure scenarios" – including the crashing of onboard network switches.The airworthiness directive, due to be enforced from later this month, orders airlines to power-cycle their B787s before the aircraft reaches the specified days of continuous power-on operation.The power cycling is needed to prevent stale data from populating the aircraft's systems, a problem that has occurred on different 787 systems...

Unloved assistant to smarten up its act in Microsoft 365. US only, naturally Microsoft has jammed yet another knife into the consumer incarnation of its unloved electronic assistant, Cortana.As the release of Windows 10 20H1 (or 2004) looms, the company snuck out a blog late on Friday letting the dozen or so customers still using the thing know that "consumer skills including music, connected home and third-party skills will no longer be available in the updated Cortana experience in Windows 10."Cortana services in the Microsoft Launcher on Android will also be axed as a sad-faced engineer resets the "Days since...