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Storm-0501 hackers shift to ransomware attacks in the cloud

Microsoft warns that a threat actor tracked as Storm-0501 has evolved its operations, shifting away from encrypting devices with ransomware to focusing on cloud-based encryption, data theft, and extortion. The hackers now abuse native cloud features to exfiltrate data, wipe backups, and destroy storage accounts, thereby applying pressure and extorting victims without deploying traditional ransomware encryption tools. Storm-0501 is a threat actor who has been active since at least 2021, deployi

Microsoft’s Copilot AI is now inside Samsung TVs and monitors

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. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant is officially coming to TVs, starting with Samsung’s 2025 lineup of TVs and smart monitors. With the integration, you can call upon Copilot and ask for movie suggestions, spoiler-free episode recaps, and other general questions.

Microsoft’s employee protests have reached a boiling point

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Some Microsoft employees are willing to risk everything to protest their employer. No Azure for Apartheid, a group led by current and former Microsoft employees, started last year as a petition to Microsoft executives. It demanded that Microsoft end all Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government, disclose all ties, call for a ceasefire in Gaza, an

Microsoft expands Xbox Cloud Gaming to Game Pass Core and Standard subscribers

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft is expanding its Xbox Cloud Gaming technology to Xbox Game Pass Core or Standard subscribers, dropping the requirement for the highest tier Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for access to cloud games. As part of an Xbox Insider test, Microsoft is also providing access to some PC games for G

Microsoft Locks Down Building After Protesters Breach President’s Office

People inside and outside of Microsoft have been agitating for the software giant to cut ties with the Israeli government. As the war and slaughter in Gaza drag on, activists have increasingly sought to expose and condemn the software giant. This week, it appears that the company had to temporarily lock down its headquarters, as protesting workers entered the office of company president Brad Smith to conduct a sit-in. The protest efforts that took place on Tuesday were also streamed live on Twi

Windows 11 now has better Bluetooth quality for game chat and voice calls

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft is addressing muffled audio quality on Bluetooth headsets by introducing a new LE Audio feature for Windows 11. Built on top of the Bluetooth Low Energy radio spec, LE Audio uses a new compression algorithm that results in higher quality audio that Microsoft says will “drastically

Microsoft hosts emergency press conference after protesters ‘storm a building’

is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft president Brad Smith hosted an impromptu press conference on Tuesday afternoon, just hours after protesters gained access to a building at the company’s headquarters and held a sit-in demonstration inside his office. Seated on the edge of his desk, in the office that had been occupied by protester

Microsoft headquarters go into lockdown after activists take over Brad Smith’s office

Protesters stormed Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters on Monday and made it into president Brad Smith’s office in Building 34, forcing a temporary lockdown. The “No Azure for Apartheid” group reportedly live-streamed their sit-in on Twitch, hoisting banners, chanting ‘Brad Smith, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!’ and posting a mock legal summons charging Smith with “crimes against humanity.” TechCrunch has reached out to Microsoft for more information. According to The Verge, the prot

Microsoft working on fix for ongoing Outlook email issues

​Microsoft is working to resolve an Exchange Online issue causing email access problems for Outlook mobile users who use Hybrid Modern Authentication (HMA). HMA is a Microsoft Exchange Server feature that allows users to access on-premises mailboxes using authorization tokens from the cloud. Tracked under EX1137017 in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, this known issue is caused by a recent service change, designed to improve the efficiency of mailbox syncs, which is triggering 12-hour sync delay

You’ll Squint and Wipe Your Glasses When You See This Leaked Data on How Much Microsoft Engineers Are Getting Paid

One of the more salient side effects of the incredible shrinking tech sector is the loss of so many high-paying jobs, many of which young jobseekers were encouraged to apply for by those who implored them to "learn to code." As such, we generally expect inflated salaries when we learn what people who work at Big Tech firms make — between $120,000 and $160,000 for entry-level positions, say, and up to a half a million dollars for middle management. That's what makes it so weird when, upon looki

Top Microsoft AI Boss Concerned AI Will Start to Demand Rights

In a blog post this week, Microsoft's head of AI Mustafa Suleyman responded to the drastic rise in mental health crises stemming from AI use, calling for caution "about what happens in the run up towards superintelligence." At the core of Suleyman's argument isn't the dystopian threat of AI gaining consciousness — an idea currently grounded more in fantasy than scientific evidence, according to many researchers — but the belief that it already is. "My central worry is that many people will sta

Microsoft tests letting you resume Android apps on Windows 11

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. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft is testing a new Windows 11 feature that will let you resume using your Android apps right on your PC. The capability is gradually rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels, and only supports the Spotify app for now. If you’re in th

Elon Musk’s New Software Company Is the Opposite of Microsoft

Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest gooner, has a new software company. And in typical Musk fashion, he’s given it a name that only a teenager stuck in a 54-year-old’s body would truly appreciate. The name is Macrohard, a play off the name Microsoft, and Musk knows it’s an immature joke about penises. But that kind of humor has never stopped him from raising billions of dollars before. “Join @xAI and help build a purely AI software company called Macrohard,” the billionaire tweeted Friday. “It’s

Microsoft is bringing PC gaming apps and stores to its Xbox app on Windows

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft has started testing another handheld-friendly addition to its Xbox app, allowing PC gamers to quickly install and launch third-party apps like browsers, gaming utilities, and even rival storefronts. A new “My apps” feature is being tested in the Xbox app for Windows 11, and it loo

Microsoft’s new NFL deal could let you blame Copilot AI for terrible playcalls

is a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. The NFL and Microsoft have extended their arrangement that makes Surface tablets a familiar fixture on gameday sidelines, but naturally, now there’s an AI-powered twist on top. While Tom Brady is no longer actively putting those slates in danger of de

You can search for files in Windows using Copilot now - here's how

Microsoft ZDNET's key takeaways You can now search for files through the Copilot app. The new search requires a Copilot+ PC and Windows 11 insider access. The feature works by scanning the files in your Recents folder. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. Microsoft continues to expand the power and reach of its Copilot AI to provide greater assistance, especially to Windows users. A new skill now rolling out will let you use the Windows Copilot

Microsoft’s Xbox handheld is a good first step toward a Windows gaming OS

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. The first thing I did when I got my hands on the Xbox Ally was reboot it. I wanted to see exactly how Microsoft manages to hide Windows beneath the Xbox interface that’s debuting on these handheld devices. After a short startup, I was met with the standard Windows login prompt. But I could use the controller to input the PIN code, an immediate improvement over what’s available

Microsoft asks customers for feedback on reported SSD failures

​Microsoft is seeking further information from customers who reported failure and data corruption issues affecting their solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs) after installing the August 2025 security update. Microsoft told BleepingComputer on Wednesday that it is aware of reports that installing the KB5063878 security update is causing SSD and HDD data corruption and failure issues. In a service alert seen by BleepingComputer, the company added that it couldn't reproduce the i

Microsoft asks customers for feedback on SSD failure issues

​Microsoft is seeking further information from customers who reported failure and data corruption issues affecting their solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs) after installing the August 2025 security update. Microsoft told BleepingComputer on Wednesday that it is aware of reports that installing the KB5063878 security update is causing SSD and HDD data corruption and failure issues. In a service alert seen by BleepingComputer, the company added that it couldn't reproduce the i

Microsoft employee arrested at headquarters while protesting Israel contracts

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. A Microsoft employee has been arrested as part of protests at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington this week. On Tuesday, a group of current and former Microsoft employees, as well as community members, took over a plaza at Microsoft’s headquarters to protest against the compan

Microsoft's gutting of discounts for some clients likely baked into guidance, analyst says

Microsoft said last week that it plans to stop providing discounts on enterprise purchases of its Microsoft 365 productivity software subscriptions and other cloud applications. Since the announcement, analysts have published estimates on how much more customers will end up paying. But for investors trying to figure out what it all means to Microsoft's financials, analysts at UBS said the change is already factored into guidance. "In our view, it is safe to assume that the impact of the pricin

Video Games Weekly: Silksong and Gamescom

Welcome to Video Games Weekly on Engadget. Expect a new story every Monday or Tuesday (or Wednesday, whatever), broken into two parts. The first is a space for short essays and ramblings about video game trends and related topics from me, Jess Conditt, a reporter who's covered the industry for more than 13 years. The second contains the video game stories from the past week that you need to know about, including some headlines from outside of Engadget. Please enjoy — and I'll see you next week.

Windows 11 test brings AI file search to the Copilot app

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. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Microsoft is testing out a Windows 11 update that lets you use AI to search through your files and images directly from the Copilot app. This test is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders on Copilot Plus PCs and allows you to use more descriptive language wh

Xbox unveils its Handheld Compatibility Program

Microsoft announced Wednesday during Gamescom 2025 that not only will its Xbox Ally handhelds be released on October 16, but the company is spinning up a new initiative to support optimized gaming on these devices called the Handheld Compatibility Program. The initiative seems to be similar to Valve's Steam Deck Verified , where Xbox will test games to ensure their compatibility with the new Xbox Ally handhelds. "We have worked with game studios to test, optimize, and verify thousands of games

Hackers steal Microsoft logins using legitimate ADFS redirects

Hackers are using a novel technique that combines legitimate office.com links with Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) to redirect users to a phishing page that steals Microsoft 365 logins. The method lets attackers bypass traditional URL-based detection and the multi-factor authentication process by leveraging a trusted domain on Microsoft's infrastructure for the initial redirect. Legitimacy of a trusted redirect Researchers at Push Security, a company that provides protection solut

Microsoft investigates outage impacting Copilot, Office.com

Microsoft is investigating an ongoing issue preventing users across North America from accessing Office.com and the company's Copilot AI-powered assistant. According to user reports on DownDetector, this incident began impacting Microsoft's services almost two hours ago and is currently triggering server connection problems and causing issues when trying to log into accounts. "Impact is specific to some users attempting to access Office.com and m365.cloud.microsoft. The majority of reports are

Excel's new Copilot function turns your prompts into formulas - how to try it

Microsoft / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways A new COPILOT function in Excel lets you use AI in a formula. The new skill is now available to Microsoft 365 insiders. Reduces some of the complexity involved in creating formulas. Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. Using functions in Excel can sometimes be challenging, especially if you're trying to devise complex formulas to work with your data. Now Mic

We Now Know Everything About the First Xbox Handheld (Except the Most Important Thing)

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally is a mouthful of a name for a device, and yet I can’t stop saying the name—like I’m casting a spell—as we slide further toward the end of the year. At Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, Microsoft and Asus are giving players a chance to wrap their mitts around the strange Xbox controller-like grips of the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. While the companies will tell you when you’ll eventually be able to pick one off a store shelf, they’re not quite ready to tell you how much it’ll co

Microsoft and Asus’ answers to SteamOS and the Steam Deck launch on October 16

Asus and Microsoft will be launching their ROG Xbox Ally series of handheld gaming PCs starting October 16, according to an Asus announcement that went out today. An Xbox-branded extension of Asus' existing ROG Ally handheld line, the basic ROG Xbox Ally and more powerful ROG Xbox Ally X, both run a version of Windows 11 Home that's been redesigned with a controller-first Xbox-style user interface. The idea is to preserve the wide game compatibility of Windows—and the wide compatibility with mu

Copilot broke audit logs, but Microsoft won't tell customers

Like most tech companies, Microsoft is going all-in on AI. Their flagship AI product, Copilot (in all its various forms), allows people to utilize AI in their daily work to interact with Microsoft services and generally perform tasks. Unfortunately, this also creates a wide range of new security problems. On July 4th, I came across a problem in M365 Copilot: Sometimes it would access a file and return the information, but the audit log would not reflect that. Upon testing further, I discovered