microsoft

Microsoft has insisted that all Windows 10 data collection is for the benefit of users. Representatives also stress that any data collected is encrypted before transmitted to Microsoft servers. The company has been under attack ever since Windows ... 10's release, and as it became increasingly clear regarding information the system collects and transmits back to Microsoft. While users have control over much of this data collection, it's often switched on by default and finding the relevant settings to switch it off can be confusing. At one stage Microsoft had to defend itself against ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed it has downloaded Windows 10 to some Windows 7 and 8.1 computers without express permission. The download comes through the Windows Update process and takes up space, but doesn't install the new system unless the user chooses ... to do so manually. The issue came to light when some users noticed that their hard drives had less free space than expected, then dug down into hidden files and folders to discover data related to Windows 10. In theory the Windows 10 installation file should only be 3GB, but some users have reported a 6GB file. The situation has been the ... (view more)

Microsoft plans to show off a range of new Windows 10 devices on October 6. A $20,000 wall-mounted giant tablet may be the most eye-catching of the rumored products. The official release about the event in New York City contains no details other ... than the fact that "[Microsoft has] some exciting news to share about Windows 10 devices." However, the most plausible theory is that the company plans to unveil or update information on a wide variety of non-traditional computing devices, with the idea being to promote Windows 10 as a versatile system. Surface To Come In Diverse Sizes The ... (view more)

The audience at an Apple launch event was shocked to see a Microsoft executive on stage this week. It marks a closer collaboration between the former bitter rivals, centered on people using Microsoft Office on the move. The appearance came from Kirk ... Koenigsbauer, one of Microsoft's many corporate vice presidents. He's responsible for the various versions of Office 365, which allows users to have an ongoing subscription (plus all relevant updates) to Microsoft Office, rather than buy a particular edition outright. Koenigsbauer attended the event to show off how Office 365 will work on ... (view more)

Some media outlets have accused Microsoft of building creepy keylogger spyware into Windows 10. That's a somewhat overblown interpretation, but some users may want to take the option to turn off the relevant setting. Traditionally references to " ... keyloggers " are about unauthorized programs installed on computers, often without the owner's knowledge and often through trickery. Such programs are designed to track everything the user types, then relay the data over the Internet to criminals who then look for passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account information. In this ... (view more)

Microsoft says it may revise its policy of giving little to no information about the contents of updates to Windows 10. For now at least, any details would only go to business customers. As previously discussed, Windows 10 marks a departure from the ... traditional monthly release of updates , with the only exceptions being one-off security patches for serious bugs in the wild which are usually being exploited by hackers. Under the new system, Microsoft quietly sends out updates both for security fixes and enhancements to features, as and when they are ready. That's accompanied by a change in ... (view more)

According to Microsoft, 75 million devices are already running Windows 10. That's an impressive total, though the company still has a long way to go to hit its target of one billion users within the first three years. The figures came in a series of ... Twitter posts by Yusuf Mehdi, the Microsoft executive responsible for marketing Windows. The 75 million figure comes just under a month after Windows 10's release, with 14 million downloads alone on launch day. (Source: windows.com ) It's hard to compare the Windows 10 early adoption rate with Microsoft's previous operating system. While ... (view more)

Some of the terms and conditions applying to Windows 10 users appear to give Microsoft permission to block software it suspects is illegal. However, it seems the clause may be a case of a careless cut-and-paste, rather than a firm policy. The text ... appears in the Microsoft Services Agreement. That's not strictly the terms and conditions of Windows 10 itself, but rather Microsoft's various online services. It's come to wider attention because so many of these services are used by apps built into Windows 10. Microsoft Can Block Games and Peripherals Among the agreement's clauses ... (view more)

Microsoft's patch process for Windows 10 is going far from smoothly, with some PCs locked in a constant reboot. It's reawakened the debate about how the new Window 10 update system will work. With Windows 10 intended to be the final "brand new" ... edition of the operating system, Microsoft has ditched its traditional policy of a monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security update, including emergency patches in between when needed. Service Packs were also previously released once every year or so after gathering enough patches, along with offering a few new features. Instead the plan ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed it is using customers' Internet connections to distribute Windows 10 to other users. While it doesn't appear to pose a serious security risk, switching off the feature is a bit tricky. The feature is officially known as ... Windows Update Delivery Optimization , or "WUDO". It involves putting some downloaded Windows 10 files into a temporary directory area on a users computer; the files are then made available to other computers over the Internet. Microsoft insists no personal files or folders are shared in this way. The same system will also apply to ... (view more)