In its announcement, Microsoft says Azure Government Top Secret is gaining accreditation with help from the U.S. government. The release build of the service was sent out on Monday (Dec. 7). Microsoft says quick development and preparation for accreditation is possible because of the synergy across Azure services: “The broad range of services will meet the demand for greater agility in the classified space, including the need to gain deeper insights from data sourced from any location as well as the need to enable the rapid expansion of remote work....

As the name suggests, this will be a series of Xbox Wireless Controllers. The first has been announced as the Recon Tech Special Edition. Microsoft has taken inspiration from military technology in the creation of this series. Bree White, Global Product Marketing Manager for Xbox, explained: “In developing this new controller series, the Xbox team was inspired by military technology and performance patterns, exploring concepts stemming from combat armor and sci-fi mechanical gear....

The company says it will start delivering Microsoft Defender for Business in late February. It will be available to Microsoft 365 customers on the Business Premium plan on Windows 11. While the new service will be available to all subscribers, it is worth noting it will still be the preview of the solution. This will also be a staged release, so not all customers will have the app in February....

Today, Microsoft finally announced its schedule for the event. Indeed, the company has held true to its promise by revealing its biggest E3 presence ever. This will include the Xbox E3 2019 briefing on June 9. “We’ve been hard at work and are excited to share more of our plans for one of the gaming industry’s biggest annual events,” Microsoft’s Will Tuttle announced. “That’s right: E3 is just under two months away and we’ve got a great show lined up for gaming fans around the world....

The company launched the MSIX Packaging Tool in July. MSIX is a new format that allows current Win32 application to run in a container on devices with Windows 10 17682 or higher. It replaces some of Microsoft’s former tools, such as App-V and even the Desktop App Converter. However, there are a several requirements, which include: Participation in Windows Insider fast or slow rings Minimum Windows 10 Build 17701 or later Administrator privileges on your PC account A valid MSA alias (to access the app from the Store)...

According to a blog post by Microsoft, this new Docs section is not just a simple search directory. For example, it has more uses, such as a direct link to GitHub, so users can quickly report issues or make contributions to developers. Furthermore, each individual code sample has a direct link to its GitHub repository. These samples can be downloaded even if they are part of a group of many....

The new apps are named Dynamics 365 Connected Store and Dynamics 365 Commerce. The former focuses on providing a consistent experience across web, mobile, and physical stores. It does so by analyzing video and IoT sensors to help managers make decisions about stocking, proactively notifying when more cashiers are needed, and tracking long-term retail trends. The tech is already being deployed by Marks & Spencer in its London store. Meanwhile, Dynamics 365 Commerce aims to unify back office, in-store, call center, and digital experiences....

Yes, these are almost identical to Google’s Chrome Actions. Microsoft Edge Actions are a set of commands than can be enacted from the Omnibox without needing to enter the browser settings. As TechDows reports, Microsoft is currently testing the feature on the Canary channel. As you may know, the Canary channel is the first testing ground for Chromium Edge. That means Edge Actions may be unstable at this point. From Canary, the feature will move through the Dev and Beta channels before eventually landing on the public Edge release....

That is why the new Command Palette feature will come in handy. If you are the type of users that likes to explore the breadth of features on Microsoft Edge, this is the tool for you. Command Palette is a bar that provides quick access to important features and tools in Edge. Microsoft describes the experimental features as “DevTools Command Palette”. It is currently available for Edge Insiders on the Canary channel, where it will go through early testing before moving to other testing channels and eventually the full Microsoft Edge release build....

A Microsoft blog from October (via Softpedia) shows how the company is using the built-in Password Monitor feature in its browser. With this tool, passwords on Microsoft Edge are better protected. The browser can check to see if login credentials for services are secure. Microsoft explains how passwords are an obvious target for cybercriminals: “Passwords are the metaphorical keys that protect your data on the web, help manage your online accounts, and offer personalized and delightful experiences....

Please note that the Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 10 will generally keep on receiving an additional 6 months (till October 9, 2018) of service support after reaching their deadline date for end of life service support. Also, the long-term servicing channel will receive updates until October 2026. Along with the changelog for today’s Patch Tuesday update for Windows 10 1607, the support page contains the following note. Also, today is the end of support for Windows 10 version 1511 Enterprise and Education....

Still, better late than never. Currently available in preview on the Windows Insider Program, testers can run x64 apps on the Dev Channel. It is unclear when Microsoft will evolve this support to the full Windows 10 on ARM branch, but I guess with the release of Windows 10 21H1. Either way, this support is necessary because the company wants to maintain 32-bit apps too. Windows needs to support 32-bit apps to allow users to access classic desktop programs....

The company announced WAF at ignite last year. In its announcement, Microsoft says that finding solutions to stop layer-7 app attacks is not easy. This usually includes needing patching and monitoring throughout tiers to prevent attacks. Web apps have become common targets for attackers, who can exploit vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross site scripting flaws. By implementing a web application firewall (WAF), Microsoft can protect against more web attacks....

“The Windows Package Manager is a tool designed to help you quickly and easily discover and install those tools that make your PC environment special. By using the Windows Package Manager, from one command, you can install your favorite tool: winget install ” Windows Package Manager presents a way for developers to access tools that are not available to them from the Microsoft Store. That’s important for adding more tools to Windows app development....

That puts it significantly above PayPal, with Facebook close behind it after a recent uptick in attacks. Microsoft is a popular choice for scammers given its wide product range and use in the enterprise. “To understand why Microsoft phishing has achieved a level of sustained dominance, consider the size and growth of Office 365. In its latest quarterly earnings, Microsoft reported more than 180 million active monthly Office 365 business users....

Before getting into Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 battery ‘fix’, it is better to start at the beginning. As suggested above, this is the kind of tech story that needs a summary at the very least. Users started complaining that their devices were losing battery at a rapid pace. The support thread on Microsoft’s forum has over 150 pages these days. It was found that Surface Pro 3 units with SIMPLO batteries were affected by this bug....

Mixer was previously known as Beam, a game-streaming platform that Microsoft acquired in 2016. During the rebranding, Microsoft added plenty of new features to help viewers and streamers connect more seamlessly on Xbox. Last year, Microsoft introduced the ability to broadcast everything that happens on their screen through Mixer, specifically for Xbox One. This means when streaming, Xbox One users can show off everything on their interface. Microsoft fleshed out Mixer with interestingly tools, but the platform has struggled to gain traction....

Threat Intelligence for Office 365 brings more compliance capabilities to the suite. It tackles malware both inside and outside an organization. With this integration, customers get breach information about malware that attacks at a code level with a Security Graph. Microsoft says Threat Intelligence brings the following benefits: Interactive tools to analyze prevalence and severity of threats in near real-time. Real-time and customizable threat alert notifications. Remediation capabilities for suspicious content....

These small-group, interactive sessions will last 90 minutes and will have a maximum of 12 participants. During the sessions, customers will learn how to apply Microsoft Teams, Windows 10, and Office 365 to their own business scenarios and see how they work for them. Here is a list of what Microsoft offers during these sessions: “Explore how Microsoft Teams helps you collaborate with your co-workers in different locations and time zones....

Specifically, the Java language extension leverages the Extensibility Framework API for SQL Server 2019. By open sourcing the extension, users can develop additional programming language extensions based on the source. Developers can tap into the extension to integrate runtimes directly into programs while still receiving standard security and governance. When enable in SQL Server, Java has the following capabilities: “This extends the TSQL surface area to better handle use cases involving regular expressions, string handling, and NLP support....