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Microsoft Will Erase Your Passwords in 2 Weeks: What to Do Now

Microsoft is axing passwords starting in August -- and if you use its Authenticator app, you'll want to be prepared. For years, Microsoft Authenticator has been a go-to for managing multifactor authentication and saved passwords. However, starting next month, it will no longer support passwords and will move to passkeys instead. That means your logins will soon rely more on things like PINs, fingerprint scans or facial recognition. Using a passkey can make your account safer, and it's a move I

Microsoft stops relying on Chinese engineers for Pentagon cloud support

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella (L) returns to the stage after a pre-recorded interview during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. Microsoft on Friday revised its practices to ensure that engineers in China no longer provide technical support to U.S. defense clients using the company's cloud services. The company implemented the changes in an effort to reduce national security and cybersecurity risks stemming from

Section 174 is reversed, mostly

Hi, this is Gergely with a bonus, free issue of the Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter. In every issue, I cover Big Tech and startups through the lens of senior engineers and engineering leaders. Today, we get into one out of four topics from last week’s The Pulse issue, which full subscribers received seven days ago. If you’ve been forwarded this email, you can subscribe here. Since early 2024, a tax change in the US named “Section 174” has been plaguing tech companies in the country. It was introd

Microsoft Quietly Pulls the Plug on Its Movies and TV Store

Microsoft abruptly shut down its online movie and TV store. On Friday, the tech giant quietly updated both its general and Xbox support pages to reflect the changes. Users will no longer be able to buy new content from Microsoft.com and the Microsoft Store on Windows and Xbox. Thankfully, Microsoft says if you already own movies or shows through the store you can still watch them via the Movies & TV app on Xbox and Windows devices. Microsoft says technical support will also continue for issues

Microsoft mistakenly tags Windows Firewall error log bug as fixed

Microsoft has mistakenly tagged an ongoing Windows Firewall error message bug as fixed in recent updates, stating that they are still working on a resolution. Earlier this month, Microsoft warned that, starting with the June 2025 Windows 11 preview update, users would see Windows Firewall errors in the Event Viewer. These events would be labeled as event ID 2042 for the Windows Firewall With Advanced Security, and would be generated every time you restart Windows. "The error is found in Event

RealPage goes from setting rent to collecting it

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. RealPage, the algorithmic rent-setting software company, has announced plans to acquire Livble, a service that lets people pay their monthly rent in installments. Livble describes itself as a “flexible” rent payment solution. Renters can split payments into up to four installments throughout the month. The service bills itself as helping tenants “a

It's the End of the Road for Microsoft Store Movies and TV Shows. What It Means for You

Microsoft is exiting the market for selling and renting TV and movies across its platforms. There was no reason given for the abrupt change, with Microsoft simply posting the news on a support page on its Xbox website. "Microsoft has stopped selling new movie and TV content. Existing customers can continue to access their previously purchased content on Windows and Xbox devices," Microsoft said in the post. The company said playback and download options will continue to be available for shows

Microsoft unceremoniously kills off the Xbox Movies & TV store

You can longer rent or buy TV shows or movies, but you won’t lose any of your purchases. Microsoft has rather abruptly closed down its Movies & TV app, which is accessible on Xbox and Windows PCs via the Microsoft Store. This allowed people to rent or buy movies or TV shows natively through their console or computer’s storefront, but in a newly updated support page Microsoft said the service has ended. "Microsoft no longer offers new entertainment content for purchase, including movies and TV

LibreOffice slams Microsoft for locking in Office users w/ complex file formats

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works LibreOffice has been on the offensive lately, taking the time to call out Microsoft and its practices whenever it can. Now, it is at it again, accusing Microsoft of "intentionally" using "unnecessarily complex" file formats to achieve user lock-in with its Microsoft 365 (Office) documents. For those who don't know, XML is a markup language that programs like Microsoft 365 and LibreOffice use t

In the long run, GPL code becomes irrelevant (2015)

I wrote this in response to a comment thread on hackernews Defending GCC considered futile. There's been a megathread in the last week about whether Emacs should support LLVM, with Richard Stallman and now Eric Raymond joining the frey. Personally, I use a BSD license for all my code and contribute to BSD/Apache licensed software whenever I can. I do it because I think opensource will eventually eat the world anyway, and I think when it does a BSD/Apache implementation of any given piece of sof

Microsoft’s constant layoffs risk creating a culture of fear

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. I can’t open LinkedIn without seeing a new post from a Microsoft employee who lost their job in the company’s latest round of layoffs. Around 15,000 jobs have been eliminated at Microsoft over the past couple months — the biggest cuts at the company in more than a decade. I’ve spoken to more than a dozen Microsoft employees in recent weeks, and everyone is concerned about the

Microsoft suddenly kills its movies and TV store on Xbox and Windows

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft has suddenly shut its movies and TV store on Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. As of today you can no longer purchase new movies or TV shows from the Microsoft Store on Xbox or Windows, but you will still be able to access previously purchased content on devices. “Downloads will continue to be available on Windows and in HD max resolution,” says Microsoft, but you’ll ha

WhatsApp should prepare to stop operating in Russia, official says

A Russian lawmaker who regulates the IT industry said WhatsApp should prepare to stop offering its services in the country. Anton Gorelkin, the deputy head of the lower house of parliament's IT committee, said that it's very likely that WhatsApp will be placed on a list of restricted software, as Reuters reports. WhatsApp owner Meta is designated as an extremist organisation in Russia, which has banned Facebook and Instagram since 2022. This week, President Vladimir Putin issued a directive for

Microsoft Offers Free Windows 10 Security Updates for Those Who Don't Want to Upgrade to Windows 11

The Windows 10 era is almost at an end. Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 and stopping security support in October. Initially, Microsoft was offering a one-year extended security update for $30, but we've got some good news: Microsoft has added a free option, allowing you to stick with Windows 10 for another year. However, in order to access it, you'll need to use cloud backup and connect it with your OneDrive account. The ability to get free updates on Windows 10 is a pretty big deal

The End of Windows 10: a toolkit for community repair groups

In October 2025, Microsoft ends free support by default for Windows 10. Its successor, Windows 11, has unnecessarily strict requirements for what computers it will support. Hundreds of millions of computers currently running Windows 10 face early obsolescence as a result. Microsoft’s options for continued support of Windows 10 cost either your money or your data, and only push the snooze button on the problem. Eventually, many millions of fully functional computers and their users will be entir

Microsoft Teams voice calls abused to push Matanbuchus malware

The Matanbuchus malware loader has been seen being distributed through social engineering over Microsoft Teams calls impersonating IT helpdesk. Matanbuchus is a malware-as-a-service operation seen promoted on the dark web first in early 2021. It was advertised as a $2,500 Windows loader that executes malicious payloads directly in memory to evade detection. In June 2022, threat analyst Brad Duncan reported that the malware loader was being used to deliver Cobalt Strike beacons in a large-scale

The AI Replaces Services Myth

During college, my class was instructed to study Schopenhauer in political philosophy. Complete bummer, pessimist, the guy just makes you want to kill yourself. There was one quote about him though that really opened my eyes. Schopenhauer's philosophy is the mirror of his own nature... What he saw was not the world, but himself writ large." Nietzsche Schopenhauer basically talked about himself. Not the world. His prior conclusions on how the world works influenced his work. However, you and

Netflix takes a leap of faith on an Assassin's Creed series

The company greenlit the show nearly five years after signing a deal with Ubisoft. Hollywood video game adaptations continue to have a moment. Following the success of HBO's The Last of Us and Amazon's Fallout, Netflix has officially greenlit an Assassin's Creed series. The news comes nearly five years after the company signed a deal with Ubisoft to adapt the franchise. Two Emmy nominees will helm the series. Roberto Patino (DMZ, Westworld, Sons of Anarchy) and David Wiener (Halo, Homecoming,

Mistakes Microsoft made in the Xbox security system (2005)

From xboxdevwiki This article has been retrieved from [1]. We might have a similar article. [[]] by Michael Steil Introduction The Xbox is a gaming console, which has been introduced by Microsoft Corporation in late 2001 and competed with the Sony Playstation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube. Microsoft wanted to prevent the Xbox from being used with copied games, unofficial applications and alternative operating systems, and therefore designed and implemented a security system for this purpos

Microsoft is saving millions with AI and laying off thousands - where do we go from here?

Drew Angerer/Getty Images Last week, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft shared internally that it had saved $500 million in call center costs, thanks to AI -- shortly after the company laid 9,000 people off, the third round in a series of layoffs totaling 15,000. What does this mean for the tech industry -- and job security for humans -- at large? Also: 60% of managers use AI to make decisions now, including whom to promote and fire - does yours? Microsoft's layoffs, despite huge profits Acc

Mistakes Microsoft made in the Xbox security system

From xboxdevwiki This article has been retrieved from [1]. We might have a similar article. [[]] by Michael Steil Introduction The Xbox is a gaming console, which has been introduced by Microsoft Corporation in late 2001 and competed with the Sony Playstation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube. Microsoft wanted to prevent the Xbox from being used with copied games, unofficial applications and alternative operating systems, and therefore designed and implemented a security system for this purpos

OpenAI says it will use Google's cloud for ChatGPT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks to members of the media as he arrives at a lodge for the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference on July 8, 2025 in Sun Valley, Idaho. OpenAI said Wednesday that it expects to use Google's cloud infrastructure for its popular ChatGPT artificial intelligence assistant. The reach for additional capacity aligns with OpenAI's desire for more computing power to meet heavy demand after initially relying exclusively on Microsoft for cloud capacity. The two companies' relations

Virtuos, the studio behind Oblivion Remastered, is reportedly laying off staff

Virtuos, the studio that developed The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, is reportedly laying off seven percent of its staff, or around 300 employees, according to Gauthier Andres, a reporter and co-founder at Origami. The studio has provided support on a number of large game projects — including a recent patch for Cyberpunk 2077 — and employs over 4,200 people across the US, Europe and Asia. The brunt of the layoffs are happening to Virtuos employees in China, where Andres reports that aro

OpenAI Is Eating Microsoft’s Lunch

Microsoft has somehow managed to have another Cortana moment. Despite its AI assistant, Copilot, being built into Windows machines and compatible with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem that millions of people are stuck with, it simply cannot get people to love the in-house option. According to a new report, ChatGPT has managed to rack up about 10 times the downloads that Microsoft’s Copilot has received. Bloomberg cites data provided by Sensor Tower that found the Copilot app for iOS and Android has

Microsoft Is Testing Letting Copilot AI Interact With Your Whole Desktop

Microsoft has confirmed an upcoming expansion to its Copilot AI chatbot's screen-sharing abilities: Soon it will be able to process your entire desktop, not just certain parts of it. The company said Tuesday that this expansion of Copilot's Vision capabilities has begun public testing. This update, now rolling out to the company's Windows Insider program testers, will allow the AI chatbot to view, process and react to all aspects of a user's desktop, where beforehand it was limited to specific

Mercedes-Benz will let you use an in-car camera in Microsoft Teams while driving

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. I like to drive without the distractions of my work life interrupting me, but if you’re eager to stay connected then Mercedes-Benz is ready. You’ll soon be able to join a Microsoft Teams call in some Mercedes‑Benz vehicles and use the in-car camera to chat with colleagues while you’re driving. Mercedes‑Benz is the first car maker to enable in-car camera use for Microsoft Teams

Transit software startup Via confidentially files for an IPO

Via, the transit software startup that garnered attention for its consumer-facing on-demand shuttle service, said it has filed confidentially for an initial public offering. Via has been batting around plans for an IPO for years. The company filed confidentially for an IPO in 2021, but never took the next official and regulatory steps to enter the public markets. Now, the company says it’s ready. Its status as a confidential filing, however, leaves lots of missing details, including the number