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December 16, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft is making a few UI changes across its entire product line in anticipation of rolling out Windows 11. Early this year (2021) the company announced that they were updating the UI for Office 365 and Office 2021. Over the summer small groups of users participated in an open beta and began playing with the […]
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December 13, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft has had a long and interesting relationship with its venerable “Paint” app. Most people are familiar with Paint. It’s been around since the earliest versions of Windows and let’s be honest it was never a great application. It allows users to do the basics but it was quickly eclipsed by more robust and feature-rich […]
December 11, 2021 by Vertical Axion
It’s no real secret that Microsoft has never been a big fan of Chrome, FireFox, or any other web browser that it didn’t build. The company clearly hasn’t gotten over the fact that it lost the browser wars and lost them handily. That’s why it keeps trying periodically to reinvent the wheel offering up new […]
December 2, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Sometimes the development process is smooth and sometimes it’s not so smooth. Right now Windows 11’s development is falling into that latter category. Recently Windows Engineers announced a serious issue plaguing the OS. The culprit was compatibility between the new OS version 21H2 and Intel’s SST (Smart Sound Technology) drivers. SST is a big deal […]
November 23, 2021 by Vertical Axion
If you use Exchange Server to handle your company’s email then you’re probably already aware that a critical security flaw has been discovered that puts the server at risk. The issue is being tracked as CVE-2021-42321 and impacts both Exchange Server 2016 and 2019. Even worse is that Microsoft reports that this issue has been […]
November 20, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Open-source applications don’t get much in the way of protection. However in recent years Microsoft has taken steps to change that and especially as it relates to Linux. A few months back the company expanded those protections by adding endpoint detection and response (EDR) to Defender for Endpoint. More recently Microsoft added that capability for […]
November 19, 2021 by Vertical Axion
If you spend a lot of time browsing the Windows Store you may have noticed something unexpected. You can now download Mozilla’s Firefox browser from that source. Previously Mozilla was unable to upload its browser to the Windows Store because Microsoft’s policies required that all browsers on their platform had to use the engine provided […]
November 17, 2021 by Vertical Axion
There’s great news in your immediate future if you’re one of the legions of Excel users. Recently Microsoft made some behind the scenes changes to the venerable spreadsheet application that allows developers to code their own custom data types for use inside the program. The upgrade isn’t aimed at business executives but rather at developers […]
November 16, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Are you a OneDrive user running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1? If so be aware that on January 1st, 2022 your OneDrive desktop application will reach end of support. The company offered the following by way of explanation: “In order to focus resources on new technologies and operating systems and to provide users […]
November 15, 2021 by Vertical Axion
The folks of Microsoft have been busy quietly making improvements to their venerable MS Office Suite. Recently Excel got some intriguing updates that expanded the number of data types cells could accept. That is with a bit of programmatic help of course. At this year’s Ignite IT conference Microsoft announced some exciting new tools and […]
November 13, 2021 by Vertical Axion
If you’re one of the legions of Windows 10 users you may have recently noticed a new application on your machine. Rest assured that you didn’t get infected with some type of malware. The new app is part of a Windows 10 update. Specifically KB5005463. If your system is set automatically receive Windows updates it […]
November 11, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Windows XP recently turned twenty. Two decades is an eternity in the world of computers. Yet despite its age the venerable OS still has a surprising number of loyal users. The problem is that Windows XP stopped receiving security updates in 2014. That means those who are still clinging to it run a very real […]
November 6, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft recently reported on the existence of an unusual phishing campaign designed primarily to harvest the passwords of unsuspecting victims. One of the things that makes the campaign so unusual is the fact that it appears to be built by using bits of code copied and pasted from the work of other hackers. Call it […]
November 5, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Researchers from Microsoft have reported the discovery of a new variant of macOS malware called WizardUpdate. The new version should worry all Mac users because it has been upgraded to incorporate enhanced evasion and persistence tactics that will make it more difficult to track, locate and ultimately stop. WizardUpdate is also known as UpdateAgent and […]
November 4, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Are you in the habit of not upgrading your Windows OS on a regular basis? If you are then when you get around to it you may find that you’ve got a rather long backlog of updates to apply. The process can take quite some time and involve a number of system restarts to complete […]
November 2, 2021 by Vertical Axion
In a bid to further bolster security Microsoft has recently announced the roll-out of end to end encryption for one to one Microsoft Teams calls. Teams already encrypts user data both in transit and at rest and it allows IT admins to establish automatic transcription and recording of all video calls. Microsoft had this to […]
October 29, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Early adopters who are rushing to embrace and experiment with Windows 11 and that use Brother brand printers may experience printing problems. Microsoft recently posted a help article on their website explaining that if you own a Brother printer and have upgraded to Windows 11 you may lose your ability to print if your printer […]
October 21, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Do you have a computer powered by an AMD chipset? Are you excited to upgrade to Windows 11? If you answered yes to both of those questions you should know that at present some AMD processors are struggling to run Windows 11 smoothly. In fact a few processors have seen performance drops of up to […]
October 13, 2021 by Vertical Axion
It’s good to be the King and in the world of search Google is the undisputed King. That fact has made the tech giant something of a target however. Google has been sued repeatedly and investigated by both the US Congress and the EU’s General Court owing to its dominant position in the realm of […]
October 12, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Are you a QuickBooks user? If so you’re going to be thrilled by the company’s recent announcement that Excel integration is coming soon. You read that correctly. Soon you will be able to sync QuickBooks and Excel which should simplify your life a great deal. This is but the latest in a long line of […]
September 29, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Some malware strains are built with robust protections in order to avoid detection. Zloader goes a step further and actually disables Microsoft Defender AV (formerly known as Windows Defender). That’s significant because according to stats provided by Microsoft Defender AV is preinstalled on more than a billion PCs running Windows 10. The hackers behind the […]
September 25, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft will be rolling out a new passwordless login scheme in the weeks ahead and that should make just about everyone happy. Passwords and having to remember endless multitudes of them are one of the most annoying aspects of using the web today. Anything that can be done to reduce the number of passwords you […]
September 24, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft raised hackles worldwide when they placed stringent hardware requirements on their recently announced Windows 11 OS. Many chipsets that are more than capable of running the new software aren’t on the list. That doesn’t mean that you can’t still install Windows 11 on a machine with unapproved hardware. However Microsoft has stuck to its […]
September 21, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Millions of people around the world are understandably curious about Windows 11. It’s easy to understand why. A new OS offered by the company that makes the most widely OS used on the planet is a big deal. Unfortunately hackers are well aware of this and are currently using that curiosity as a means of […]
