Microsoft

For years, Microsoft engineers have quietly limited Hotmail passwords to 16 characters, a revelation that has surprised and concerned some users who have long entered passcodes twice that long to access accounts. One such user is Costin Raiu, the director of the global research and analysis team at antivirus provider Kaspersky Lab. On Friday he Continue Reading →

On Friday, Microsoft released an emergency patch for Internet Explorer (IE) to stymie active attacks that have been exploiting a bug in the browser, finishing a job it started only Monday. “Let’s call it five days from advisory to patch,” said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security. “I’d like to see anybody Continue Reading →

YouTube videos may soon be getting a little more interactive. There’s now a page on the YouTube website describing a feature called “Video Questions Editor Beta,” which was spotted by the Dutch tech site WebSonic.nl. The page itself is pretty bare-bones, but it describes the feature as a way for “multiple questions to be displayed Continue Reading →

If you’re a Safari user, Microsoft is urging you to use Bing because Google doesn’t take your privacy seriously. No, I’m not joking, take a look at this webpage, which appears to be a new Bing landing page for Safari users: bing.com/privacy-protection. The saga dates back to February 2012, when a report suggested Google overrode Continue Reading →

Microsoft today released so-called “Fix It” software that will protect Windows users from a critical Internet Explorer hole being exploited in attacks until the company releases a cumulative update for IE on Friday. The Fix It tool “is an easy, one-click solution that will help protect your computer right away. It will not affect your Continue Reading →

Recently we told how the advertising business was enraged by Microsoft’s decision to break ranks with the industry and make “Do Not Track” the default position on Internet Explorer 10. Web advertising is almost entirely dependent on the ability to track users and make targeted guesses about their interests. Billions of dollars in spending and Continue Reading →

The Microsoft Office team has announced that Office for Mac Retina support is now here in version 14.2.4. This means that Office 2011 will now look sharp and lovely on your Retina Macbook Pro. The update is available today and you can get it by checking Microsoft Update or simply wait until AutoUpdate alerts you. Continue Reading →

As Microsoft gears up to officially launch its Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platforms in late October, smartphone makers have been scheduling launch events to show off their new handsets running the latest incarnation of the smartphone OS. We’ve already seen Samsung introduce its new Ativ S, and Nokia has followed up with the Continue Reading →

The New York Times Bits Blog is reporting that Microsoft has hired former CBS executive Nancy Tellem to head up production of “original video content” for the Xbox. It’s not clear what kind of shows would be produced for Xbox, but it’s reasonable to assume that it probably has something to do with games or Continue Reading →

While Sprint’s iDEN network is getting the axe in favor of a new CDMA setup, AT&T will soon be sprucing up its near absent push-to-talk services. Targeting a November release with plans starting around $30, Ma Bell’s enhanced PTT will be compatible with smartphones running Android 2.3+, BlackBerry 7, Windows Phone 8 and even Java-powered Continue Reading →