RDP Brute Force Attacks Blocked By Windows 11

A small but important feature was recently incorporated by the Windows 11 design team.  A new Account Lockout Policy enabled by default has been added.  This policy automatically locks user accounts (including Admin accounts) after ten failed sign-in attempts. The account remains in a locked state for ten minutes, requiring users to wait that amount […]

DuckDuckGo Browser Blocks Microsoft Trackers

If you haven’t heard of DuckDuckGo, it’s a tiny browser that only gets a fraction of the traffic that Google does. If we’re being honest, it gets only a fraction of the web traffic that Bing does.  The search engine does have some pluck though and bills itself as the engine of choice for those […]

Windows 11 Apps Are Being Tested For Kiosk Mode

There’s interesting news in the world of Windows 11 development.  Microsoft recently began testing a new Kiosk feature that will enable IT administrators to limit which applications users can use while logged into their user profiles, blocking all other functionalities. Even better is that the kiosk approach allows you to create multiple different apps and […]

Microsoft 365 Suggests Rollback After Issues From Update

Does your company use Microsoft 365?  If so, and you’ve noticed that your Office apps have begun to crash mysteriously and inexplicably, be aware that the latest update (build 15330.20298) is the culprit. Unfortunately, the bug was introduced in the Enterprise channel during the company’s regularly scheduled “Patch Tuesday.” The error manifests itself when users […]

IoT Security With Microsoft Defender

The Internet of Things (IoT) has seen explosive growth in recent years. If you like, you can now build your own smart home with intelligent toasters, washing machines, dishwashers, and refrigerators. They are all connected to your home network, and they all make vast amounts of data available to you at your fingertips. Unfortunately, security […]

Raspberry Robin Worm In Hundreds Of Windows Networks

Analysts at Red Canary Intelligence have recently spotted a Windows worm on hundreds of networks belonging to a wide range of organizations around the world. Dubbed “Raspberry Robin” by the research team that discovered it, this worm spreads via infected USB devices and was initially spotted in September of last year (2021).  Another firm, Sekoia, […]

Prepare For Windows Server 2012 End Of Support

Another week, another Microsoft “End of Life” reminder to write about. This time, it’s Windows Server 2012 R2.  If you’re a user, then you’re probably already aware of the looming deadline. If you’ve blocked it out of your mind, or if you’ve missed the notifications that Microsoft has been sending out, here’s what you need […]

Microsoft Is Phasing Out Windows 8.1

If you are still using Windows 8.1 and if you’ve somehow managed to avoid seeing the parade of notices Microsoft has been sending out, you should know that the end is nigh. Support for the aging OS will end on January 10, 2023.  If you have not already done so, you should begin making plans […]

Microsoft Office And Google Docs Sync For Offline Use

Recently, Google announced a small but significant change to Google Docs.  Now, if you have enabled offline access for files you have stored on your Google Drive, the system will auto-sync any Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, or Word files if you have opened them with Google Slides, Sheets, or Docs. This is a tremendously handy change. […]

Android And iOS Network Protection Added With Microsoft Defender

Recently, Microsoft added a new feature for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) which has fans of the product cheering. Once the new “Mobile Network Protection” feature is enabled on the iOS and Android devices you want to monitor, the security platform will provide the same robust protections and notifications that your other network devices currently […]