Microsoft

Windows 8 includes a reset function that restores the operating system to a clean state and scrubs data applications from the disk, but falls short of making that data unrecoverable, according to Microsoft.

The operating system, now available as a developer's preview, can also refresh itself, restoring the operating system to its original state while also saving data and applications, according to the Building Windows 8 blog.

The Windows 8 feature that logs users in if they touch certain points in a photo in the right order might be fun, but it's not very good security, according to the inventor of RSA's SecurID token.

"I think it's cute," says Kenneth Weiss, who now runs a three-factor authentication business called Universal Secure Registry. "I don't think it's serious security."

Windows 8 will offer a new way to log in via a 'picture password' system that will combine images from the user's own collection with a unique touchscreen gesture.

In another mammoth post on the Buildings Windows 8 Blog, Zach Pace wrote that the picture password is designed to highlight the parts of images which are important. The software giant arrived at the selected gestures by conducting a study which showed how people preferred to indicate relationships on images.

Protecting yourself on the internet typically requires the use of passwords, but that process has never been easy or truly safe. Most people either try to remember too many passwords, or just simply use the same passwords for all of their accounts. Both approaches leave the door open for hackers to access your personal information.

What's needed is a simpler, yet still secure, approach.

Microsoft is planning to next week release 14 patches to fix 20 vulnerabilities across its product line, the company announced Thursday.

Tuesday's monthly security update, to be released around 1 p.m. EST, will come with three "critical" and 11 "important" bulletins to plug holes in Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, Publisher and Windows Media Player. Most of the vulnerabilities, if exploited, can lead to remote code execution.

Microsoft has quietly launched a new service to help Windows and Office users get the most out of their PCs. Answer Desk is an online version of the Answer Desks found in Microsoft's retail stores, which are in turn modeled on Apple's successful Genius Bars, providing users with personalized consulting on their computer problems.

Microsoft will be able to throw a "kill switch" to disable or even remove an app from users' Windows 8 devices, the company revealed in documentation released earlier this week for its upcoming Windows Store.

Kill switches -- so called because a simple command can deactivate or delete an app -- are common in mobile app stores. Both Apple and Google can flip such a switch for apps distributed by the iOS App Store and Android Market, respectively.

Adobe is patching a critical zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat that could enable an attacker to take control of an affected machine.

The vulnerability exists in Adobe Reader X (10.1.1) and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh, Adobe Reader 9.4.6, and earlier 9.x versions for UNIX, and Adobe Acrobat X (10.1.1) and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh, Adobe explained in a security advisory.

Hackers continue to launch attacks exploiting vulnerabilities in Oracle's Java software in record numbers, Microsoft announced earlier this week.

Citing research from a recent report, Tim Rains, a director in the company's Trustworthy Computing group, said that up to half of all attacks detected and blocked by Microsoft's security software over a 12-month period were Java exploits.

Microsoft has denied that the Xbox Live service has been hacked following reports of thousands of accounts of Xbox Live customers being duped by an online scam.

Criminals sent emails to Xbox Live account holders redirecting them to websites offering free Microsoft points which could be used to download games. Those who entered their credit card details were hit by charges averaging £100, The Sun said, although some were stung for more than £200.