BetaNews: Windows 10 has a dangerous print spooler bug, and there is no fix. “An unpatched vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler exists that could be exploited by an attacker to run malicious software with elevated system privileges. The issue affects Windows 7, Windows 8.x, Windows 10 as well as versions of Windows Server. It is being tracked as CVE-2020-1048 and CVE-2020-1337 and has a severity rating of ‘Important’.”
Microsoft
Engadget: The NBA will use Microsoft Teams to virtually seat fans courtside
Engadget: The NBA will use Microsoft Teams to virtually seat fans courtside. “As part of its ongoing partnership with Microsoft, the league plans to use the software’s recently released Together Mode to put more than 300 fans in the stands. The feature utilizes AI to segment your face and shoulders and put you in a shared digital space with other people.”
Neowin: Microsoft’s Family Safety app exits preview, now generally available
Neowin: Microsoft’s Family Safety app exits preview, now generally available. “The app – as the name suggests – lets users keep a tab on family members and their digital usage. It lets users set screen limits, restrict access to certain websites for children, and even keep a tab on members’ whereabouts through location sharing. In addition to these, parents can also choose to receive weekly activity reports to monitor not just usage stats, but also the content that they are consuming.”
CNN: Slack files antitrust complaint against Microsoft in Europe
CNN: Slack files antitrust complaint against Microsoft in Europe. “Slack is ratcheting up its battle with Microsoft, filing an antitrust complaint in the European Union against its rival. The company claims Microsoft (MSFT) is engaging in ‘illegal and anti-competitive practice of abusing its market dominance to extinguish competition’ by tying in its own communications platform, called Teams, to its popular Microsoft Office suite. Slack (WORK) says in its complaint Microsoft force-installs Teams for millions of people and blocks its removal.”
Engadget: National COVID-19 exposure server could alert people across states
Engadget: National COVID-19 exposure server could alert people across states. “COVID-19 contact tracing apps will only be effective across borders if states and countries can readily share data, and a collaboration could soon make that happen in the US. iMore reports that Apple, Google, and Microsoft are working with the Association of Public Health Laboratories to launch a national server to store keys and help exposure notifications reach people across states. It would be based around Apple and Google’s exposure alert framework, while Microsoft and APHL would host the server.”
ZDNet: GitHub just buried a giant open-source archive in an Arctic vault for 1,000 years
ZDNet: GitHub just buried a giant open-source archive in an Arctic vault for 1,000 years. “Microsoft-owned GitHub has finally moved its snapshot of all active public repositories on the site to a vault in Norway. GiHub announced the archiving plan last November and on February 20 followed through with the 21 terabyte snapshot written to 186 reels of film.”
Neowin: Edge 84 begins rolling out with Collections, PDF improvements, and more
Neowin: Edge 84 begins rolling out with Collections, PDF improvements, and more. “Microsoft has begun rolling out version 84 of the Edge browser to users in the stable channel. The release comes just two days after Chrome released version 84 to the desktop. The Redmond giant aligned the release of its browser with that of Chrome since both are built on the same open-source platform.”
CNET: Microsoft sues over trademark to stop COVID-19 hacking campaign
CNET: Microsoft sues over trademark to stop COVID-19 hacking campaign. “Microsoft said Tuesday that it’s taken legal action to stop a widespread COVID-19-related hacking campaign. The lawsuit, unsealed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, allowed the tech giant to take control of domains that hackers were using to trick their victims.”
NBC News: Thousands of contracts highlight quiet ties between Big Tech and U.S. military
NBC News: Thousands of contracts highlight quiet ties between Big Tech and U.S. military. “On Wednesday, newly published research from the technology accountability nonprofit Tech Inquiry revealed that the Department of Defense and federal law enforcement agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, have secured thousands of deals with Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Dell, IBM, Hewlett Packard and even Facebook that have not been previously reported.”
BetaNews: Microsoft blocks users from upgrading to Windows 10 May 2020 Update because their PC settings aren’t supported
BetaNews: Microsoft blocks users from upgrading to Windows 10 May 2020 Update because their PC settings aren’t supported. “We’ve already seen Windows 10 May 2020 Update causing a range of problems for users, including login issues, problems with Storage Spaces and issues with OneDrive. But there are also some people for whom even the installation is problematic.”
BBC: Microsoft and Zoom join Hong Kong data ‘pause’
BBC: Microsoft and Zoom join Hong Kong data ‘pause’. “Microsoft and Zoom have said they will not process data requests made by the Hong Kong authorities while they take stock of a new security law. They follow Facebook, Google, Twitter and the chat app Telegram, which had already announced similar ‘pauses’ in compliance over the past two days.”
The Verge: Microsoft announces new Windows 10 Start menu design and updated Alt-Tab
The Verge: Microsoft announces new Windows 10 Start menu design and updated Alt-Tab. “Microsoft is introducing a new Windows 10 Start menu design that will de-emphasize its Live Tiles. The software giant first hinted at the refreshed design earlier this year, and it’s arriving for Windows 10 testers today.”
CNET: Microsoft offers free digital-skills training amid COVID-19 jobs crisis
CNET: Microsoft offers free digital-skills training amid COVID-19 jobs crisis. “Microsoft launched an initiative Tuesday aimed at offering digital-skills training to 25 million people around the world by the end of 2020. As part of the initiative, the company will be providing free access to educational content on LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn and GitHub Learning Lab.”
BetaNews: Get back deleted data with Microsoft’s new Windows File Recovery tool
BetaNews: Get back deleted data with Microsoft’s new Windows File Recovery tool. “Windows File Recovery is a free app in the Microsoft store which can be used to recover data that has been lost for a variety of reasons. The command line tool can be used to retrieve data from local hard drives as well as removable media such as USB drives and memory cards.”
Neowin: Microsoft and Harvard launch an open source platform for differential privacy
Neowin: Microsoft and Harvard launch an open source platform for differential privacy. “Last year, Microsoft began the development of a differential privacy platform in collaboration with Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. Utilizing the OpenDP Initiative, the tech giant’s goal was to create an open solution that keeps individual data private, while simultaneously providing researchers with insights based on huge amounts of data. Today, Microsoft has announced that the platform has been launched, with its resources made available on GitHub for all interested parties to test, build, and support.”
