Latest Tech News

Stay updated with the latest in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and more

Filtered by: microsoft Clear Filter

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

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

Windows KB5064489 emergency update fixes Azure VM launch issues

Microsoft has released an emergency update to fix a bug that prevents Azure virtual machines from launching when the Trusted Launch setting is disabled and Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) is enabled. The bug impacted Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 24H2 and was introduced during the July Patch Tuesday security updates. "This update addresses an issue that prevented some virtual machines (VMs) from starting when Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) was enabled," explains Microsoft. "It a

Want to keep using Microsoft 365 in Windows 10 after October? You can - with caveats

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Microsoft is due to cut off support for Windows 10 in October. That means no more security patches, bug fixes, or technical help for the OS (unless you pay for extended security updates or can make the free options work for you). But what does that entail for Microsoft 365? In a recent online support article, Microsoft revealed the status of its popular office suite once Windows 10 becomes persona non grata. First off, Microsoft would rather all Microsoft 365 users

Windows 11 has a new battery‑saving feature - here's how to try it

Maria Korneeva / Getty Images Running low on battery juice is one of the most frustrating problems on a Windows laptop. To combat this, Microsoft offers an Energy Saver mode that tries to keep the charge alive. But that option dims your screen, making it more difficult to see, especially in low-light conditions. Now Microsoft has a new trick up its sleeve that aims to preserve your battery without affecting your screen brightness. Introducing Adaptive Energy Saver Currently rolling out as a p

A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Hackers

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Reporting Highlights Chinese Tech Support: Microsoft is using engineers in China to help maintain the Defense Department’s computer systems — with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel. Microsoft is using engineers in China to help maintain the Defense Department’s computer systems — with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel. Skills Gap: Digital escorts of

Don't Want to Upgrade to Windows 11? Microsoft Offers Free Windows 10 Security Updates

The era of Windows 10 is almost at an end. In October 2025, Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 and stopping security support. Initially Microsoft was offering a one-year extended security update for $30, but we've got good news. Microsoft has added a free option, allowing you to stick with Windows 10 for another year. However, in order to access it, users will need to use cloud backup and connect it with their OneDrive account. The ability to get free updates on Windows 10 is a pretty b

Office problems on Windows 10? Microsoft’s response will soon be “upgrade to 11.”

Microsoft’s advertised end-of-support date for Windows 10 is October 14, 2025. But in reality, the company will gradually wind down support for the enduring popular operating system over the next three years. Microsoft would really like you to upgrade to Windows 11, especially if it also means upgrading to a new PC, but it also doesn’t want to leave hundreds of millions of home and business PCs totally unprotected. Those competing goals have led to lots of announcements and re-announcements and

Microsoft has a new trick to improve laptop battery life on 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 started testing a new feature in Windows 11 that will improve laptop battery life. A new adaptive energy saver mode will soon automatically enable or disable the main energy saver mode, based on your laptop’s workload rather than just its amount of battery life left. The energy saver mode in Windows 11 typically dims a display brightness by 30 percent, disables t

Your complete Windows 11 upgrade guide: Everything to know - before you ditch Windows 10

Chartchai Sansaneeyashewin/Getty Images Windows 11 is about to celebrate its fourth anniversary and runs on hundreds of millions of PCs worldwide. When it debuted in 2021, the new version of Microsoft's flagship operating system was arguably an incremental change to Windows 10, with a fresh look and feel on top of core code that was practically identical to its predecessor. The more important change, it turned out, was a new set of hardware compatibility requirements that made many existing PC

Microsoft will halt new Office features for Windows 10 in 2026

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft has quietly revealed that it will stop adding new features to Office apps (Microsoft 365) for Windows 10 users in August 2026. While security updates will remain in place for Office apps running on Windows 10 until October 2028, Microsoft will cut off new feature support gradually next year. Microsoft 365 Personal and Family users will stop getting new features on Wi

Microsoft Plans to Purge Passwords — Here's How to Protect Yours

Microsoft is moving closer to a password-free future, and if you're still using the Authenticator app to manage logins, big changes are coming fast. Starting Aug. 1, the app will no longer support passwords at all. This shift has already been in motion-new password creation was disabled in June, and autofill support was cut off in July. For years, Microsoft Authenticator was a go-to for managing both multi-factor authentication and saved passwords. But now, it's being refocused to support passk

New Windows 11 build adds self-healing “quick machine recovery” feature

Microsoft is adding a new recovery mode to Windows to help revive crashing PCs. Called quick machine recovery (QMR), this technology enables Windows 11 PCs to boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE, also used by Windows install media and IT shops for various recovery and diagnostic purposes), connect to the Internet, and download Microsoft-provided fixes for "widespread boot issues" that could be keeping the PC from booting properly. Initially announced in late 2024 as part of the "W

Have Windows 11 upgrade questions? Here's everything you need to know - before you make the leap

Rustam Kaberov/Getty Images Windows 11 is about to celebrate its fourth anniversary and runs on hundreds of millions of PCs worldwide. When it debuted in 2021, the new version of Microsoft's flagship operating system was arguably an incremental change to Windows 10, with a fresh look and feel on top of core code that was practically identical to its predecessor. The more important change, it turned out, was a new set of hardware compatibility requirements that made many existing PCs ineligible

Microsoft and OpenAI's AGI Fight Is Bigger Than a Contract

I first learned about The Clause from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. During an interview with him in May 2023, I asked about the deal between Microsoft and OpenAI that granted his company exclusive access to the startup’s groundbreaking AI technology. I knew the contract had set a cap on how much profit Microsoft could make from the arrangement, and I asked him what would happen if and when that point was reached. The answer was a bit puzzling. “Fundamentally, their long-term idea is we get to su

Microsoft Outlook hit with hourslong outage

Microsoft 's Outlook email service malfunctioned for over 21 hours Wednesday and Thursday, prompting some people to post on social media about the inability to reach their virtual mailboxes. The issue began at 6:20 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, according to a dashboard the software company maintains. It affected Outlook.com as well as Outlook mobile apps and desktop programs. At 12:21 ET on Thursday, the Microsoft 365 Status account posted that it was rolling out a fix. "Our configuration c

Windows 11 now uses JScript9Legacy engine for improved security

Microsoft announced that it has replaced the default scripting engine JScript with the newer and more secure JScript9Legacy on Windows 11 version 24H2 and later. The decision is driven by security concerns, as JScript9Legacy is expected to offer better protection against web threats, such as cross-site scripting (XSS), and also improved performance. "To provide a more secure experience, beginning with Windows 11, version 24H2, JScript9Legacy is enabled by default to handle all scripting proces

The ultimate Windows 11 upgrade guide: Everything you need to know

Rustam Kaberov/Getty Images Windows 11 is about to celebrate its fourth anniversary and runs on hundreds of millions of PCs worldwide. When it debuted in 2021, the new version of Microsoft's flagship operating system was arguably an incremental change to Windows 10, with a fresh look and feel on top of core code that was practically identical to its predecessor. The more important change, it turned out, was a new set of hardware compatibility requirements that made many existing PCs ineligible

Can't upgrade your Windows 10 PC? You have 5 options and 3 months to act - before EOS

wragg/Getty Images Have you decided what to do with your Windows 10 PCs when they reach their official end-of-support date three months from now? I can tell you with absolute certainty that Microsoft is not going to back down at the last minute and extend that deadline. But you do have options, including some new ways to continue getting security updates for an extra year, at no cost, thanks to an announcement Microsoft made in late June. Don't procrastinate, though: You'll need to take action

Insider Claims Microsoft Saved Half a Billion Dollars by Automating Low-Level Jobs

A Microsoft executive has made a bold — if dubious — claim: that the company has already saved hundreds of millions of dollars as it automates thousands of jobs formerly held by humans. As Bloomberg reports based on insider sources, Microsoft chief commercial officer Judson Althoff said during a recent employee presentation that the tech giant saved more than $500 million using AI in 2024 — and that's just at its call centers. Althoff's comments came just days after the company announced layof

Windows 11’s new Black Screen of Death is now rolling out

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft is now starting to change its Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) to a newly designed black version. It’s the first major change to the BSOD since Microsoft added a sad face to the screen in Windows 8, and Microsoft is now removing that frowning face and QR code in favor of a more simplified black screen. The new BSOD is rolling out to Windows 11 Release Preview users today,