Announcing: Windows Defender ATP support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1

With Windows 10 we built the most secure Windows ever, by hardening the platform itself and by developing Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) – a unified endpoint security platform that helps stop breaches. This means that for the first time we’ve built threat and exploit protection, and Endpoint Detection & Response right into the operating system, powered by the cloud. We hear from our customers security is one of the biggest motivators for their move to Windows 10. Meanwhile, we know that while in their transition, some may have a mix of Windows 10 and Windows 7 devices in their environments. We want to help our customers achieve the best security possible on their way to Windows 10 ahead of the end of support for Windows 7 in January 2020. (…….. read the whole story)

WhatAapp adds end-to-end encryption

WhatsApp_e_w300Instant messaging service Whatsapp has announced it will encrypt all its users’ communications from Tuesday.

With end-to-end encryption, messages are scrambled as they leave the sender’s device and can only be decrypted by the recipient’s device. It renders messages unreadable if they are intercepted, for example by criminals or law enforcement.

Whatsapp, which has a billion users worldwide, said file transfers and voice calls would be encrypted too. The Facebook-owned company said protecting private communication was one of its “core beliefs…..(read the whole story)

Office 2016 is Here

Office 2016

Microsoft has released the first new version of Office for Windows in three years, adding a series of new features designed to bring the stalwart productivity apps into the cloud computing era.
Office 2016 allows several people to work together on documents and incorporates a “Groups” section into its software that makes it easier for people to collaborate on projects……..(read the whole story)

Upgrade to Windows 10 for free

Windows10
Windows 10 is familiar and easy to use. It includes an improved Start menu and is designed to startup and resume fast. Plus, it’s packed with new innovations including Microsoft Edge – an all-new browser. Your personal files and apps you’ve installed will all be waiting for you. We’ve designed the upgrade to be easy and compatible with the hardware and software you already use.

Don’t miss out as this free offer won’t last forever. Reserve your upgrade today. Follow steps below to get started……….(read the whole story)

Microsoft takes .NET open source and cross-platform

Microsoft takes .NET open source and cross-platform, adds new development capabilities with Visual Studio 2015, .NET 2015 and Visual Studio Online

NEW YORK — Nov. 12, 2014 — On Wednesday, Microsoft Corp. reinforced its commitment to cross-platform developer experiences by open sourcing the full server-side .NET stack and expanding .NET to run on the Linux and Mac OS platforms. Microsoft also released Visual Studio Community 2013, a new free edition of Visual Studio that provides easy access to the Visual Studio core toolset. The announcements kicked off Microsoft’s Connect (); event, where the company released Visual Studio 2015 Preview and .NET 2015 Preview……..(read the whole story)

After more than 20 years, IBM has finally pulled the plug on Lotus 1-2-3 (1983–2014)

lotus-1-2-3Lotus 1-2-3, the computer software program that was the spreadsheet of choice for businesses in the 1980s, was born in the Boston area on January 26, 1983. It was the brainchild of Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs who had formed Lotus Development Corp. to release the software program. The two weren’t new to computer spreadsheets: Kapor was the head of development at VisiCorp, which marketed the first desktop spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, and Sachs was a computer programmer who had been transferring VisiCalc to some of the world’s first minicomputers………(read the whole story)

New Internet speed record blows past Google Fiber

Copper WiresBell Labs researchers just broke the broadband Internet speed record. It is eight times faster than the previous record — and it was done over copper landlines.

With speeds of 10 gigabits per second, Bell Labs’ technology proved to be 1,000 times faster than traditional broadband speeds. It is even 10 times faster than Google Fiber, which offers the fastest broadband available to consumers.

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), Bell Labs’ parent company, dubbed the new technology “XG-FAST.” The company called it a “major breakthrough,” giving broadband companies the ability to provide fiber-optic-like speeds over the existing copper landline infrastructure that blankets most of America………(read the whole story)