Tag Archives: microsoft

Microsoft makes major course reversal, allows Office to run untrusted macros

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Microsoft has stunned core parts of the security community with a decision to quietly reverse course and allow untrusted macros to be opened by default in Word and other Office applications. In February, the software maker announced a major change it said it enacted to combat the growing scourge of ransomware… Read More »

Billing fraud apps can disable Android Wi-Fi and intercept text messages

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson) Android malware developers are stepping up their billing fraud game with apps that disable Wi-Fi connections, surreptitiously subscribe users to pricey wireless services, and intercept text messages, all in a bid to collect hefty fees from unsuspecting users, Microsoft said on Friday. This threat class has been a fact of life… Read More »

Microsoft Exchange servers worldwide hit by stealthy new backdoor

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Researchers have identified stealthy new malware that threat actors have been using for the past 15 months to backdoor Microsoft Exchange servers after they have been hacked. Dubbed SessionManager, the malicious software poses as a legitimate module for Internet Information Services (IIS), the web server installed by default on Exchange servers.… Read More »

Botched and silent patches from Microsoft put customers at risk, critics say

Enlarge (credit: Drew Angerer | Getty Images) Blame is mounting on Microsoft for what critics say is a lack of transparency and adequate speed when responding to reports of vulnerabilities threatening its customers, security professionals said. Microsoft’s latest failing came to light on Tuesday in a post that showed Microsoft taking five months and three… Read More »

An actively exploited Microsoft 0-day flaw still doesn’t have a patch

mturhanlar | Getty Images reader comments 16 with 16 posters participating Share this story Researchers warned last weekend that a flaw in Microsoft’s Support Diagnostic Tool could be exploited using malicious Word documents to remotely take control of target devices. Microsoft released guidance on Monday, including temporary defense measures. By Tuesday, the United States Cybersecurity… Read More »

Code execution 0-day in Windows has been under active exploit for 7 weeks

reader comments 58 with 48 posters participating, including story author Share this story A critical code execution zero-day in all supported versions of Windows has been under active exploit for seven weeks, giving attackers a reliable means for installing malware without triggering Windows Defender and a roster of other endpoint protection products. The Microsoft Support… Read More »

Microsoft announces progress on a completely new type of qubit

Enlarge / Microsoft says it sees two clear peaks at the ends of a wire, with a nice energy separation between those and any other energy states. reader comments 24 with 18 posters participating Share this story So far, two primary quantum computing technologies have been commercialized. One type of hardware, called a transmon, involves superconducting… Read More »