Microsoft

Microsoft has killed Dell's user-pwning root certificate and its self-reinstalling .dll with its antivirus Defender tool.

The certificate is a big blunder because it opens a universal means for attackers on public networks to hose new Dell laptops.

That's because bright minds planted a self-signed certificate and private key on new laptops which allows attackers on public WiFi to steal otherwise encrypted usernames, passwords, and other sensitive data.

Downloadable versions of Windows 10 version 1511, the November 2015 update, appear to have been removed after their release earlier this month.

Windows 10 build 10586 has been released to Fast ring users of the Insider Preview program today. There's not a lot new in this build, just bug fixes, but it's important nonetheless: this build is believed to have been signed off as good enough for widespread use. As such, unless some critical last-minute bug is discovered, it should roll out to all Windows 10 users on Patch Tuesday next week, as the Windows 10 Fall Update.

Microsoft is preparing for the rollout of its Siri alternative, Cortana, on Apple devices.

In a post on its Answers website, the Windows giant has asked for beta testers for the service on iOS devices. But you have to apply and be accepted, and the company appears to be looking for people in the unusual subset of iPhone users that have a Windows 10 computer.

Two chaps claim to have discovered how to trivially circumvent Microsoft's Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) using Redmond's own compatibility tools.

A report [PDF] by the duo at Duo Security describes how the Windows on Windows (WoW64) environment can be abused to bypass builtin security tools.

Microsoft is banking on a thin and powerful Surface Book laptop and fresh Lumia phones to make Windows 10 sexy.

Windows 10 has generated positive buzz ever since Microsoft released its latest operating system software ten weeks ago. Reviews have been favorable. And Microsoft says that 110 million devices are already running Windows 10, with over 1.25 billion visits to the Windows Store.

The version of Windows 10 for devices from the Internet of Things will soon get security features from the company's operating system for computers and tablets.

The company announced Thursday that it will bring its Bitlocker encryption and Secure Boot systems to the Windows 10 IoT Core public beta in a push to improve security.

Call it a missed opportunity. Microsoft finds itself with a unique chance to leverage its full range of products and services to promote the new OS. Unfortunately, not all parts of the Redmond giant are on board with the new strategy. The Office team, in particular, has only half-heartedly embraced key Windows 10 technologies, like Universal Windows Apps and XAML. And this lack of commitment may very well prove fatal to Windows 10 Mobile.

Just last week Microsoft managed to piss off a lot of people by secretly downloading the Windows 10 installation files to their computers without permission. The comments from BetaNews readers were plentiful, but divided. Some didn't see the problem, while others thought it to be invasive and presumptive.

Cortana may currently "only" be an app, rather than an integrated component of the operating system, on Android, but that may soon change -- at least on the coming Cyanogen Android distribution.

Microsoft and Android operating system vendor Cyanogen announced a partnership back in April which called for Cyanogen to distribute some of Microsoft's consumer apps and services with its Open OS platform. At the time, the list of services that Microsoft officials said they'd customize and provide to Cyanogen included Office, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote and "Bing services."