Windows

Rumors about the next major version of Windows continue to trickle out in the run up to an anticipated public preview in September.

Neowin reports that internal builds of the operating system currently sport a one-click upgrade feature to update from one build to the next. While there's no guarantee that such a feature will necessarily ship, it would be consistent with Microsoft's move to more rapid releases and continuous improvement rather than infrequent major updates.

It’s fair to say China isn’t a fan of Windows 8. A few weeks ago, the tiled OS was banned from Chinese government computers, as part of a notice on the use of energy-saving products (if this sounds a bit vague, that’s because the reason given is).

Then, if that wasn’t bad enough news for Microsoft, a state-backed news report broadcast on China's CCTV has really put the boot in, branding the operating system a threat to China's cybersecurity, and suggesting it is being used to spy on Chinese citizens.

For the third time in the last four weeks, Microsoft today backed away from a customer cutoff as it postponed enforcement of the Windows 8.1 Update migration deadline until June 10.

Say you want to move from Windows to Linux… but there are a few Windows apps that you can’t give up, and they don’t work well under WINE. The developer of Robolinux offers a Debian-based GNU/Linux operating system designed to let you run Windows XP or Windows 7 in a virtual machine.

Microsoft has issued a fix for a dangerous Internet Explorer bug that left the browser highly vulnerable across every major version -- including those that run on Windows XP.

The patch, delivered at 10 a.m. Thursday, comes out of Microsoft's usual Patch Tuesday cycle because of its severity. It affected IE 6 through 11 and allowed attackers to install malware on your computer without your permission that could be used to steal personal data, track online behavior, or gain control of the computer.

In response to customer outcry, organizations holding off on deploying the Windows 8.1 Update will be able to get security updates for their systems for another three and a half months, as opposed to the 30 days that Microsoft originally promised.

When the Windows 8.1 Update designed to improve the mouse and keyboard experience of Windows 8.1 was initially released last week, Microsoft said that it was a mandatory update. Any future security updates, starting from next month, would require the update to be installed.

This month's "Patch Tuesday" includes the final round of security fixes Microsoft will issue for Windows XP, potentially leaving millions that continue to use the OS open to attack.

Microsoft this week gave customers a bare-bones peek at the future of Windows, saying that the next iteration after Windows 8.1 Update will restore a Start menu and let users run "Metro" apps on the classic desktop.

The sneak peek was part of the opening day keynote of Build, Microsoft's developer conference, which ran April 2-4 in San Francisco.

In its almost daily effort to convince Windows XP die-hards to finally give up their old machines, Microsoft has posted a security advisory about all the terrible things that might happen after it switches off Windows XP support on 8 April.

In a very lengthy post on the Microsoft security blog titled 'Cyber threats to Windows XP and guidance for Small Businesses and Individual Consumers', Tim Rains, director of the Redmond firm's Trustworthy Computing Group, lays out five fearsome threats facing Windows XP users.

Some financial services companies are looking to migrate their ATM fleets from Windows to Linux in a bid to have better control over hardware and software upgrade cycles.

Pushing them in that direction apparently is Microsoft's decision to end support for Windows XP on April 8, said David Tente, executive director, USA, of the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA).