Microsoft

Windows, Windows Server, Microsoft 365, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Edge, Bing, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Active Directory, Dynamics 365, Power BI, Power Apps, Xbox, Game Pass, Surface, Intune, Defender, Exchange, Hyper-V, .NET, Dataverse, Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Fabric, Power Platform, Windows 11, Windows 10, WSL, Windows Subsystem for Linux

126 stories

Azure

Microsoft proposes voluntary buyouts for roughly 60,000 employees as it pivots toward AI

Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees, part of a broader effort to reshape its workforce and reduce costs as the company refocuses priorities around artificial intelligence. The program targets specific teams and levels across multiple countries and is framed as an option for employees considering a next step outside the company. The offer in brief The voluntary exit program was communicated to affected employees this week. Reports…

Saugata DattaOct 27, 20262 min read2

Azure

Microsoft’s Emergency .NET Fixes: Brotli Buffer Overflow and Linux Tarball Ownership Vulnerabilities

Microsoft has released out-of-band security updates for .NET to address a critical Brotli decompression buffer overflow and unsafe ownership metadata in Linux .NET tarballs. Published October 25, 2026, the fixes cover .NET 8, .NET 9, .NET 10, and .NET 11 Release Candidate 3 and complete remediation for issues that were not fully resolved in the October 13 updates. Microsoft urges administrators and development teams to apply these updates as soon…

Saugata DattaOct 27, 20263 min read5

Azure

Windows 11 KB5127936: Microsoft removes a hidden app-launch slowdown

Microsoft has quietly been squeezing more speed out of Windows 11, and one of the latest tweaks targets a small but perceptible friction point that slows app launches. In the newest Release Preview update, KB5127936, Windows will stop spawning a temporary process when you open a link or launch Edge from the Taskbar or Start menu if the browser is already running. That unnecessary detour lengthens the launch path; removing…

Saugata DattaOct 26, 20263 min read10

Azure

Microsoft 365 Token Replay Campaign: How “Token Spraying” Hijacked Accounts at 79 Organizations

Between mid-July and late September 2026, researchers uncovered a widespread campaign that exploited stolen Microsoft 365 sign-in tokens to break into email accounts across dozens of organizations. Instead of brute-forcing credentials, attackers captured session tokens via adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) relays and other means, then replayed those tokens from their own infrastructure to authenticate as victims. The technique allowed an efficient, MFA‑circumventing path into mailboxes and Microsoft directories — with persistence and…

Saugata DattaOct 26, 20264 min read12

Microsoft

Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 Universal Print Problems Require Manual Fix

Microsoft’s Universal Print, the cloud-based printing service introduced to simplify enterprise printing, is facing persistent issues that are disrupting print workflows for some organizations. Recently disclosed problems include intermittent connectivity failures with certain Konica Minolta models and a regression triggered by a Windows 11 update that breaks printers originally installed on Windows 10. Until Microsoft issues permanent fixes, administrators must apply manual mitigations to keep print services running. What went…

Saugata DattaOct 25, 20263 min read18

Cloud Computing

Microsoft Teams adds context-aware AI to detect phishing in chats

Microsoft is rolling out an AI-powered, context-aware phishing detection feature in Teams intended to spot phishing, social engineering, impersonation attempts, and deceptive intent by analyzing conversation context rather than relying solely on traditional indicators like malicious links or files. The company announced the capability in a Microsoft 365 Message Center update and indicated the rollout will begin in early November 2026 as a targeted release, with broader availability expected between…

Saugata DattaOct 24, 20262 min read48

Cloud Computing

Windows Server 2016: Why January 2027 Is a Hard Deadline for Administrators

Microsoft’s long-term support clock for Windows Server 2016 is winding down: the January 2027 security update will be the last one published for this OS, and after January 12, 2027, systems still running Windows Server 2016 will no longer receive monthly security updates. That simple sentence changes the risk profile for any environment still depending on 2016-era servers. If your estate includes domain controllers, application servers, or infrastructure appliances on…

Saugata DattaOct 24, 20264 min read78

AI Agents and Frameworks

1Password for Agents: Letting AI Log In Without Sharing Your Password

1Password has rolled out a new capability designed to let personal AI assistants act on your behalf without ever seeing your actual passwords. The company’s “1Password for Agents” creates a mediated workflow in which an AI agent requests access, 1Password verifies the agent’s digital identity, and the user confirms the action — all while the agent never receives the raw credentials. The result is an attempt to balance convenience and…

Saugata DattaOct 23, 20264 min read95

Cybersecurity

Microsoft Ships Record 1,413 Patches — What Security Teams Need to Know

Microsoft’s October Patch Tuesday smashed previous records: the company released fixes for 1,413 vulnerabilities in a single update cycle, a figure that highlights both the scale of modern software risk and the growing speed of vulnerability discovery. The release spans a broad set of products and includes at least one flaw Microsoft says has been actively exploited in the wild — prompting urgent attention from defenders and federal agencies alike.…

Saugata DattaOct 14, 20264 min read120

Compliance and Privacy

BitLocker Under Scrutiny: How October 2026 Fixes Change Endpoint Defense

Microsoft’s October 2026 security updates patched three BitLocker-related vulnerabilities, and while none of the issues breaks BitLocker’s encryption itself, the flaws underline an important reality: encryption is a vital layer, but not a complete defense. These bugs — CVE-2026-85920, CVE-2026-88070, and CVE-2026-83500 — affect BitLocker implementation paths that an attacker can abuse after achieving local or physical access to a device. For security teams, the practical question is not panic,…

Saugata DattaOct 14, 20263 min read135

Cybersecurity

Microsoft Patches Windows Shell Zero-Day (CVE-2026-96951) Exploited to Bypass Mark of the Web

Microsoft released an urgent patch in the October 2026 Patch Tuesday cycle to address an actively exploited Windows Shell zero-day that allows attackers to bypass Mark of the Web (MOTW) protections. Tracked as CVE-2026-96951 and rated Important with a CVSS score of 8.8, Microsoft confirmed exploitation had already occurred when the update shipped. The vendor’s “Exploitation Detected” assessment raises this from a theoretical risk to an immediate operational concern for…

Saugata DattaOct 14, 20264 min read117

Compliance and Privacy

Cerebras CEO Predicts a Near Future Where Everyone Has a Personal AI at Home

We’re closer than you might think to a world where a personalized AI assistant lives in your home. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Andrew Feldman, CEO and co-founder of Cerebras Systems, sketched out a practical vision: compact, appliance-like AI agents that run primarily on local devices but lean on the cloud when needed. For Feldman, the pieces are already falling into place — consumer-facing agents from major players and startups show…

Saugata DattaOct 14, 20264 min read136

Free Tools: IP, DNS, SSL