microsoft

Microsoft contractors listen to some Skype calls to check the accuracy of translations, a whistleblower has revealed. Although Microsoft says it meets privacy laws, critics say its terms and conditions don't clearly warn users about this. The human ... listening takes place on some calls that use Skype's "automatic" real-time translation service. Until now, most users have assumed that the translation is done entirely by a combination of speech recognition and artificial intelligence to work out the context of a sentence and find the correct translations. While that's largely the case, a ... (view more)

A proposed law would dramatically increase maximum fines that can be imposed on companies that break monopoly rules. Tech firms would be among the most likely to be affected in the admittedly unlikely event the law was enacted. The proposed bill ... would be known as the Monopolization Deterrence Act of 2019. It's designed to change the current system by which the maximum penalty for violating the main US antitrust law, the Sherman Act, is $10 million. That applies regardless of the size of the company or companies involved. Critics say such penalties are little deterrent to major companies, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jamil S. writes: " Dear Dennis, Lately I have been inundated with Microsoft virus alerts in my web browser claiming that my PC is infected and to call a 1-800 number to fix the problem. There is no way to dismiss the window. The ... Microsoft virus alerts appear suddenly and without warning, even if I'm on Amazon.com (for example). Sometimes the alerts have a very loud verbal pronouncement of a virus and insist that I call the number on the screen. Does Microsoft send virus alerts? Or is this fake? I have scanned my PC and it says no viruses. What gives? " My response: Does ... (view more)

Microsoft is to remove all electronic books sold through its official store. Users will get a refund while those who have made virtual notes on the book will get a bonus payment. Unlike most rival electronic book services, Microsoft had no dedicated ... electronic reading device and did not even offer an e-reader app. Instead, people who bought books through the Microsoft Store had to read them through a web browser. It's probably not a surprise that Microsoft has pulled the plug and will no longer be hosting the books online, most likely as it is ending the relevant licensing with publishers ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Debra P. writes: " Dear Dennis, Lately I have been inundated with Windows 10 popup notifications that come from websites I've visited previously. I also receive a lot of email alerts. The popups are coming from bottom right corner ... of my screen and I have no idea how to stop it. Can you please tell me how to disable all Windows 10 notifications ? " My response: I asked Debra if she would like me to connect with her using my remote desktop support service in order to have a closer look, and she agreed. Below I will discuss my findings. How to Fix: Disable All Windows 10 ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned the latest Windows 10 update could produce a completely black screen for some users. It's easily fixable and shouldn't be a permanent problem. Microsoft hasn't given any details of why the problem occurs, or if it affects people ... with a particular piece of hardware or software in place. It's only saying that a "small number of devices" appear to be affected. The problem is listed as being with Windows 10 version 1809 and 1803. Those are the two major updated versions of Windows 10 which were released last year. Version 1803 was released in April, 2018, while 1809 was ... (view more)

If you're still on Windows 7 or earlier, you need to make sure you have a recent security patch installed as soon as possible. It fixes a very serious operating system exploit, dubbed "BlueKeep". Note that a firewall and antivirus will not block ... operating system exploits , which is why using an unsupported operating system is incredibly dangerous . The bug is in the way that Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) works. Remote Desktop Protocol lets somebody on one computer see and control another computer in another location. It has some extremely useful applications such as working away ... (view more)

Microsoft says it is working on a "modern operating system" for the computers of the future. It avoided using the term "Windows" and the features and characteristics it describes share a lot with Google's Chrome operating system. The details came in ... a talk by Microsoft executives at Computex, a conference in Taipei. They demonstrated some of the latest laptops that run Windows, but then discussed how future PCs will have continually evolving requirements. The company's write-up of the talk says Microsoft is investing in "modern OS" experiences and uses that term eight times in a single ... (view more)

The latest Windows 10 update, which is rolling out now, has thrown up at least three highly reported problems for users. The most significant is that some computers are losing WiFi access. The Windows 10 May 2019 update affects some computers which ... have a Qualcomm WiFi adaptor and don't yet have the latest driver for it. A driver is a small piece of software that helps a hardware device or component interact with an operating system. Some users in this situation have suffered what Microsoft is calling an "intermittent loss of WiFi connectivity." It's responded by blocking the update from ... (view more)

Microsoft has ditched Windows 10 "Sets," a feature planned as a major rethink of how Windows 10 works. In simple terms, it would have replaced traditional windows (such as File Explorer or a MS Word) with browser-like tabs. The feature was first ... revealed by Microsoft in late 2017 and later went out to some users in the Windows 10 test panel. The concept was simple: to offer an alternative to the current methods of switching between open applications such as using Alt-Tab to cycle between them, or clicking on icons in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Browser-Like Experience ... (view more)