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Security – BetaNews

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Microsoft admits Windows Server Update Services sync...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/10

Following complaints from users about problems with Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft has spoken out. The company has confirmed that WSUS has suffered issues preventing synchronization and deployment of updates. This is a serious headache for businesses and organizations that rely on WSUS to manage Windows updates across networks. Reports of errors have been popping up for a couple of days, with scheduled synchronization actions showing to have failed in event logs. The issue itself has

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Back to the office means back to basics on security

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/09

The shift to remote work was hastened by the Covid-19 pandemic, pushing companies to quickly adapt to employees working from home. Years later, remote and hybrid work remain common, offering a high degree of flexibility that many workers now take for granted. Businesses have increasingly begun encouraging employees to return to the office, if only part-time. Leaders point to benefits like easier collaboration, improved team dynamics, and a clearer boundary between work and home life. As staff move

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Microsoft adds features and boosts Windows 11...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/09

Microsoft has released the KB5062553 update for Windows 11 24H2. Billed primarily as a security update for the operating system, it is actually more than that – much more. As is the case with Microsoft’s monthly security updates, it also includes the non-security improvements, fixes and additions that were previewed last month. One of the key new arrivals here is the new PC-to-PC migration experience which uses the Windows Backup app to ease the process of moving to a new computer. While this is an

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Short-lived ransomware group SatanLock to close down...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/08

There are large numbers of ransomware groups operating around the world, some of which have been conducting their nefarious work for years. There are older which are rather less long in the tooth, such as the recently formed SatanLock. The group has been in existence for mere months, popping up in April this year. Responsible for a spate of attacks over a number of weeks, the ransomware group has announced that it is already shutting up shop. More than this, it plans to leak any data it has stolen

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Jack Dorsey’s latest project is the Bluetooth mesh...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/08

Jack Dorsey – the co-founder of Twitter and Block, and the founder of Bluesky – took to X to share some enticing details about the latest project he is working on. Called bitchat, this is a messaging app that not only has security at its very core, but does not require internet access to work. A messaging app without internet? Dorsey explains that this is a secure, decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks. Bluetooth connectivity is usually associated with

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Microsoft confirms KB5060829 update for Windows 11...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/04

Microsoft has issued a warning about a recent update for Windows 11. The KB5060829 update was released late last month as a non-security preview update, and it has been found to be causing issues. Available for Windows 11 24H2, the optional KB5060829 update has been causing Windows Firewall With Advanced Security errors to be logged by the operating system. While error message relating to a security feature are likely to result in concern and fear, Microsoft is at pains to reassure users that there

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Microsoft finally removes PowerShell 2.0 from Windows 11

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/04

Having previously announced the future deprecation of PowerShell 2.0, Microsoft has now released a version of Windows 11 that sees this command line shell removed. The writing has been on the wall for this old version of PowerShell for some time, but Microsoft has – as is often the case with deprecated features – never been very clear about the precise schedule. But with the newly released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27891 on the Canary Channel dropping PowerShell 2.0, it is only a matter of

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How to avoid fraud when planning your summer travel...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/04

As summer travel plans ramp up, so do concerns around identity theft, fraud, and safety – especially as travelers engage with everything from airlines to Airbnbs, ride shares to public Wi-Fi. We spoke to Bala Kumar, chief technology and product officer at Jumio, to discuss the AI-powered scams threatening enterprises' customers this summer, and how businesses can ensure safe, secure, and efficient identity verification. BN: Summer travel is about to surge, but so are scams. What are some of the

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Microsoft acknowledges Intune issue that wipes out...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/07/02

Microsoft has published a warning about a problem in its Intune management software that stops customizations from being saved. Stemming from an issue in the security baseline policy update flow, an update can wipe out settings that have been put in place by administrators. Although Microsoft has acknowledged the problem, the company is currently working on working out how to address it. In the meantime, Intune users are being told to use a workaround that could prove to be time-consuming for many

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Forget about Fake Cell Towers and Spying Threats:...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/06/30

Mobile security enhancements have become an essential part of OS developments. To make mobile security better, Google has announced that Android 16 will include a feature that detects and warns users about fake or insecure cell towers and an often-overlooked threat that can be used to spy on individuals or steal sensitive data. This new feature is part of strategic efforts by Google to strengthen privacy protections within its mobile ecosystem. As detailed in recent reports from Android Authority,

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16 Billion Passwords Exposed: Major Leak Hits Apple,...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/06/20

The largest password leaks are now recorded. 16 billion login credentials, including usernames and passwords, have been exposed online. The leak impacts Apple, Facebook, Google accounts, and some other platforms that people use daily. The breach, uncovered by researchers at Cybernews, is believed to be the work of multiple infostealer malware groups operating globally. Their investigation, ongoing since early this year, identified 30 separate datasets, each containing millions of stolen records

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Microsoft's latest campaign to push Windows 10 users...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/06/06

The end is nigh! By which we mean the end of support for Windows 10 is nearing. Microsoft has reminded us of this time and time and time again as it tries to encourage users to make the move to Windows 11, but now things are taking a slightly darker turn. It is common knowledge that the end of Windows 10 support means that there will be no more security updates. Microsoft is now using this fact in a slightly more sinister way, telling users they should upgrade to Windows 11 (or buy a new PC) in

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Microsoft super-charges Windows Update so it can keep...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/29

Microsoft has launched a preview version of the Windows Update orchestration platform. This is an update to Windows Update itself which opens it up for use by third-party developers. This means that Windows Update could soon be able to update not only Windows, but also drivers, and third-party apps. So broad is the scope of what Microsoft is working on that it feels as though Windows Update will soon be a misnomer, and a rebranding may be in order. See also: The idea behind having one central point

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Microsoft releases Defender update to improve the...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/27

Having Windows installation images is handy; they can be used to reinstall your operating system, but they are also useful when creating virtual machines. Microsoft is concerned about their safety, however. Pointing to "a Microsoft Defender protection gap" that exists in the first hours of a freshly installed copy of Windows, the company highlights installation images that contain outdated antimalware software binaries. The solution to this problem? An update to Microsoft Defender for these images

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DDoS and IP transit: Why integration is the smart...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/22

As Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks grow in both frequency and sophistication, organizations are being forced to re-evaluate their defensive strategies. Gone are the days when a standalone DDoS mitigation service tacked onto your infrastructure was enough for peace of mind. The current threat landscape demands faster response times, simplified operations, and coordinated protection. A rising trend is the integration of DDoS mitigation directly with IP transit from a single provider. This

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Microsoft will support Office on Windows 10 until...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/14

It has been difficult to escape the fact Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 later this year -- on October 14 to be precise. The company has made much of issuing reminders about this date as well as endlessly pestering people to upgrade to Windows 11. But it was not just Windows 10 that was to lose support in October. Microsoft had also said that Office (or Microsoft 365) on Windows 10 would not be supported from the same date. Now the company has had a change of heart, and will provide

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Active Directory recovery: Rebuilding the forest from...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/14

After 25 years, Active Directory remains a stalwart of IT infrastructure. Supporting access for an estimated 610 million employees, it enables seamless, secure connectivity to the networks that power daily business operations worldwide. Favored by nearly 90 percent of Global Fortune 1000 companies, according to Frost & Sullivan, Active Directory has long been the primary mechanism for enabling staff to connect, collaborate, and work efficiently. Despite the rise of cloud-based alternatives,

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Google is using machine learning to help Android...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/09

Notifications are part and parcel of life, being both useful and interesting. But they can also be problematic. Google is aware that the notifications generated by websites can be “spammy or even deceptive”. The worst offenders can attempt to trick people into sharing personal information or downloading dangerous software. Google is using machine learning to fight back, launching warnings about warnings of unwanted notifications. See also: The feature is specific to the Android version of Chrome,

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Microsoft now has AI agents that can change Windows...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/07

Artificial intelligence is now all but unavoidable, and Microsoft is taking every opportunity to crowbar more AI features into Windows 11. Copilot+ PCs are a big part of the company’s AI vision and now powerful new AI agents have been unveiled. Described as being part of a “new generation of Windows experiences”, Microsoft has revealed new agents that use on-device AI to interpret natural language input to help a user find and change system settings. What could possibly go wrong? See also: Microsoft

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Microsoft sees the future as passwordless; all new...

Security – BetaNews ·

2025/05/04

It is a year since Microsoft embraced passkeys for user accounts, and now the company is taking things further. With passkeys having been conceived as a replacement for passwords, any newly created Microsoft account will be passwordless. This is not just a change that is about improving security (passwords having been shown time and time again to be highly fallible), but also user experience. The passkey-by-default approach now being adopted is part of a streamlining of UX for sign-ins. See also:

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