GoKawiil
Tech News
Microsoft's latest Patch Tuesday update addresses 966 vulnerabilities, the largest batch it has ever released in a single month, including 105 critical-rated bugs. Two of the flaws are zero-days already being actively exploited by attackers. This follows 570 fixes in August and 400 the month before, showing a sharp month-over-month escalation.
Reddit users report receiving personalized win-back offers on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with one subscriber getting a 30% discount ($16.09 vs $22.99 monthly) after repeatedly canceling and resubscribing over two years. Other users have shared similar discounted offers, including an $18 rate for 12 months on a secondary Xbox account.
Microsoft, acting through TracerAI, has withdrawn its DMCA takedown notice that accused the open-source voxel game Luanti of infringing Minecraft's copyright. The Luanti app has been reinstated on Google Play immediately, without needing to wait out the standard counter-notice period, signaling Microsoft has abandoned the case entirely.
Microsoft has signed an agreement with the American Federation of Teachers and its New York affiliate, the United Federation of Teachers, laying out ten enforceable privacy and safety commitments for AI use in schools. The rules bar Microsoft from training models on student or teacher data, limit data collection, ban AI companions, and require human oversight for high-stakes decisions. Districts can add these terms to contracts starting in November without renegotiating existing agreements.
Microsoft has begun testing several new Xbox features with Insiders, including the option to select startup animations from Xbox One through Xbox Series X/S consoles, though not the original Xbox or Xbox 360 boots. The update also adds a local search tool for games and achievements, higher-resolution Remote Play, background downloads during cloud streaming, and a Voice Clarity feature to reduce background noise in chat.
Switzerland's Federal Chancellery is spending 9 million Swiss francs to move 3,000 government workstations off Microsoft 365 tools like Outlook and Teams, adopting the open-source openDesk suite instead. The decision follows a successful pilot program called PoC BOSS, which tested the software with 172 federal employees who found it workable for standard office tasks, though large-scale video conferencing showed some limitations. The rollout is planned to be complete by the end of 2027, with potential to expand further across the federal workforce.
Microsoft's Bing Wallpaper app, which normally rotates nature and landscape photos, recently displayed a promotional image for a Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts 11-film collection instead. Users on Reddit, Thurrott.com and Microsoft Learn forums expressed surprise and frustration, with some mistaking the ad for adware and others objecting due to JK Rowling's political controversies.
A researcher using the alias Nightmare Eclipse publicly released details of a new zero-day exploit dubbed 'ShieldCrash' targeting Microsoft Defender, timed to appear right after Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday updates. The exploit reportedly allows attackers to gain SYSTEM-level access on affected Windows machines, the highest level of privilege on the system.
Microsoft released patches for 974 vulnerabilities across Windows and other products, its largest single update batch ever, surpassing July's record of 570 fixes. The release includes two actively exploited zero-day flaws that let attackers escalate privileges, plus 113 critical-rated bugs including a dangerous DNS weakness and a Windows Shell remote code execution flaw scoring 9.8 out of 10 in severity.
Microsoft's September security update addressed 974 unique CVEs, the largest Patch Tuesday release yet, including two zero-day flaws already being actively exploited. Windows accounted for the vast majority of fixes at 723, with Office, SQL, SharePoint and Azure making up the rest, while 13 issues were rated Critical.
Microsoft is introducing new APIs in Windows 11 that let third-party apps check whether a user falls into a child, teen, or adult age category, without revealing the person's actual birthdate. Developers can use this signal to tailor content, features, or restrictions based on age group rather than requesting precise personal data.
Microsoft released its September security update addressing roughly 972 vulnerabilities, including 112 rated critical, surpassing the previous record of 570 set just two months ago. The company has now fixed 2,760 vulnerabilities in 2024 alone, more than double last year's total and on pace to exceed the combined totals of the past three years.