The Smart App Control security feature on Windows 11 has gained new improvements. In addition to Office macros, the utility can now also block many more potentially malicious file types.
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Security researchers have found that a utility inside Microsoft's own Defender anti-virus is being abused by LockBit ransomware threat actors to deliver malicious payload to victim systems.
The latest Windows Server 2022 update KB5015879 (OS Build 20348.859) is here with multiple improvements and bug fixes including performance boost in IOPS, a fix for a Defender bug, and more.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) has received ‘Mobile Network Protection' which attempts to identify threats originating from malicious wireless connections with iOS and Android devices.
Anti-virus assessment firm AV-TEST recently released its advanced threat protection test against ransomware. In this assessment report, Microsoft's Defender has performed exceptionally well.
A new report suggests that Microsoft Defender has a bug which is causing it to hog the CPU resources on a system using an Intel processor, leading to reduced performance. AMD is apparently unaffected.
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Microsoft Defender continues its relatively poor run in the AV-Comparatives anti-malware protection assessment per the latest May rankings. There was one category though where it did really well.
Microsoft Defender is now available for individuals to protect their devices running iOS, Android, Windows, or macOS. License for personal usage is offered through Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
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In our latest weekly roundup of everything important that happened in the Microsoft-verse, we discuss the some wonky behavior around unsupported PCs, tabbed File Explorer, and lots of app updates.
Admins in charge of securing Windows devices protected by Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can now "contain" a compromised unmanaged device to prevent lateral movement of data and slow down hackers.
Unlike in the previous few AV-TEST rankings, Windows Defender for home users has faltered this time as it has failed to score the full marks in the firm's assessment report for April 2022.
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Windows 11 has several new security-related features. One of these features called Smart App Control that intelligently blocks suspicious apps and files blocked one of Microsoft's own files.
Microsoft has issued a warning about the growing threat posed by human-operated ransomware in the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) gig economy. It has also provided some guidance for organizations.
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In this week's recap of everything that happened in the Microsoft-verse, we have some juicy news items related to Windows 3D Movie Maker from 1995, a leaked Outlook client, and some Defender woes.
In the latest performance impact test from AV-Comparatives, Microsoft's Defender has been one of worst performers of all, barely coming in second-last among 17 anti-malware products.
Microsoft Defender for Business has reached general availability. It's designed for small and medium businesses with limited resources to tackle cyberthreats that could damage their firm.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is apparently causing several issues for clients on Windows 10 20H2 systems. These issues include very high memory usage bug, black screen on boot up, and more.
Microsoft's Defender for Endpoint security solution had yet another false positive incident today as it appears to have wrongly flagged recent Google Chrome updates as "suspicious".
AV-Comparatives has released its latest March 2022 anti-virus program assessment report which shows that Microsoft Defender has really poor offline detection rate. Aside from that, it has done well.
Microsoft has updated its guidance for securing Domain Controllers (DCs). Previously, the company told customers not to allow internet access on DCs in any scenario. This is not the case anymore.
Microsoft has publicly revealed the identity and location of a perpetrator behind ZLoader in order to deter others. The person had developed a ZLoader component that is used to distribute ransomware.
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In what was perhaps the busiest week of the year so far, you can find out more about Google's antics to bash Microsoft, Defender continuing to perform admirably in evaluations, and default browsers.
Microsoft 365 Defender has passed MITRE's evaluations for ransomware attack chains with flying colors. It was able to detect and protect against every major attack stage across multiple platforms.
Just like in the previous two AV-TEST rankings, Windows Defender for home users continues its impressive run where it has scored the full marks in the firm's assessment report for February 2022.
Microsoft Defender now has a new feature that will protect Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows Server devices from malicious drivers. The feature is termed "Microsoft Vulnerable Driver Blocklist".
SmartScreen on Defender is apparently causing delayed playback issues in videos on the latest Beta Channel build 22581 for Windows 11 Insiders. For now, there is a simple workaround for the bug.
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We had an absolutely crazy week in the world of Microsoft. We have news ranging from ads in File Explorer to a UK minister asking Microsoft when it's going to get rid of the algorithms.
Microsoft has published a guidance for security admins about reporting of potential false positives. This follows a recent incident when the firm's Office updates were flagged as malware by Defender.
Microsoft's Defender for Endpoint security solution was detecting the company's own Office process as malware. The firm has since confirmed that this was a false positive with nothing to worry about.
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This was an extremely busy week in the Microsoft-verse with news items spread across multiple domains including sanctions on Russia, a surprising loss for Defender, and a bunch of web enhancements.
Windows Defender, now called Microsoft Defender performed great in AV-TEST's assessment in the second half of 2021. Despite that, the product has failed to win any awards in the home user category.
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A new crypto wallet information stealing Kraken botnet has been discovered by ZeroFox. The malware is able to easily bypass Windows Defender scans by simply adding itself as an exclusion.
Microsoft has made changes to Windows Defender's Exclusions as the section is no longer visible to users who don't have administrator rights, whereas previously, it was visible to everyone.
Microsoft Defender Preview, a cross-platform anti-malware and anti-virus service that promises to protect Windows devices as well as Android smartphones is now live on Microsoft Store and Google Play.
Microsoft Defender scored highly in some of the latest AV-TEST rankings, the latest one being from December. However, it hasn't quite done as well in AV-Comparatives' testing though.
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Microsft said earlier today via a blog post that it will block all Office files (Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and Word), that contain VBA Macros, by default, to protect users from malware.
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There was a lot of news from a variety of diverse topics in the world of Microsoft this week ranging from Windows 11, to cybersecurity, to the Outlook-ification of Gmail, and much more.
Microsoft blocked close to 71 billion cybersecurity attacks last year using its various security solutions like Defender for Endpoint and Defender for Office 365. However, the firm is also worried.
In the latest December 2021 AV-TEST anti-virus ranking for home users, Microsoft Windows Defender has outscored some of its rival anti-malware products, showing relative improvement since last time.
CCleaner, a popular Windows PC cleanup tool, has made its way to the Microsoft Store. The Redmond company and CCleaner have had a past filled with some animosity which makes this pretty interesting.
Microsoft quietly outs Windows 11 22H2 build 22621.382 (KB5016632) to Release Preview
Microsoft releases its August Patch Tuesday update (KB5016629) for Windows 11
Beware: Windows 11-ready CPUs with VAES "susceptible to data damage", full CPU list here
Guide: What is the most efficient browser for Windows?
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