Since the Secure Future Initiative (SFI) began, we’ve dedicated the equivalent of 34,000 full-time engineers to SFI—making it the largest cybersecurity engineering effort in history. And now, we’re sharing key updates and milestones from the first SFI Progress Report.
<p>Many of the IT Professionals that contact our customer service and support group have common questions related to security incidents and are seeking guidance on how to mitigate threats from determined adversaries. Given the level of interest in this information and common scenarios that exist amongst different organizations, we are publishing a multi-part series which will detail common security incidents organizations face and provide recommended mitigations based on guidance from our Security Support team. </p> <p>It is important to note that each phase has one or more technical and, more importantly, administrative controls that could have been used to block or slow down the attack. These mitigations are listed after each phase. Each mitigation addresses specific behaviors and attack vectors that have been seen previously in multiple security incidents. <a href="/b/security/archive/2013/12/18/enterprise-threat-encounters-scenarios-and-recommendations-part-1.aspx">Read more.</a></p>
Spyware is a general term used to describe software that performs certain actions—generally without appropriately obtaining your consent—such as: Advertising Collecting personal information Changing the configuration of your computer If your computer is running Windows 8, you can use the built-in Windows Defender to help you detect and get rid of spyware and other malware. If your […]
Xbox One is the newest all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. If you’ve already purchased one, or if you plan to, it’s a good idea to learn more about the built-in privacy and safety parental controls. Control the content your children play and watch Customize your children’s access to specifically rated games, movies, TV shows, and music […]
Depending on which operating system your computer is running, you can use either Windows Defender or Microsoft Security Essentials to get rid of malicious software and viruses.
Microsoft Security Experts are now available to strengthen your team with managed security services. Learn how to defend against threats with security experts.
The newest version of Windows is Windows 8, but we know that many of you still use Windows Vista. The best way to ensure that Windows Vista is as secure as it can be is to use the Windows Security Center, which is built into Windows Vista. The Windows Security Center can help you check […]
Knowing when to trust a website depends in part on who publishes it, what information they want, and what you want from the site. Here are five reasons to think twice before sharing information with a website. 1. The site asks for personal information on a page whose URL does not start with HTTPS. If the […]
<p>Back in April I published a post about the end of support for Windows XP called <a href="/b/security/archive/2013/04/09/the-countdown-begins-support-for-windows-xp-ends-on-april-8-2014.aspx">The Countdown Begins: Support for Windows XP Ends on April 8, 2014</a>. Since then, many of the customers I have talked to have moved, or are in the process of moving, their organizations from Windows XP to modern operating systems like Windows 7 or Windows 8.</p> <p>There is a sense of urgency because after April 8, Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) customers will no longer receive new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates. This means that any new vulnerabilities discovered in Windows XP after its “end of life” will not be addressed by new security updates from Microsoft. Still, I have talked to some customers who, for one reason or another, will not have completely migrated from Windows XP before April 8. I have even talked to some customers that say they won’t migrate from Windows XP until the hardware it’s running on fails.</p> <p>What is the risk of continuing to run Windows XP after its end of support date? One risk is that attackers will have the advantage over defenders who choose to run Windows XP because attackers will likely have more information about vulnerabilities in Windows XP than defenders. Let me explain why this will be the case. <a href="/b/security/archive/2013/08/06/the-risk-of-running-windows-xp-after-support-ends.aspx">Read more.</a></p>
Bob writes: My antivirus software keeps turning off and I can’t get it back on. Here are the most common reasons you might encounter this problem: Your computer is already infected with rogue security software The warning that you’re antivirus software is turned off might be a fake alert, also known as “rogue security software.” […]
Microsoft Sentinel is a cloud-native SIEM solution powered by AI and automation that delivers intelligent security analytics across your entire enterprise.
A reader writes: Can I use Microsoft Security Essentials with Windows 8? No—but you don’t need to. Windows 8 includes Windows Defender, a program that provides enhanced protection against viruses and spyware. Learn more about Windows 8 If your computer is running Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP, we recommend downloading Microsoft Security Essentials or […]
Are advertisements showing up in your browser (no matter whether you use Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome) on sites that you’ve never seen ads on before; or, do the ads seem different from what you’ve seen before? Your system might be affected by adware that injects advertisements into sites as you browse, such as Adware:Win32/InfoAtoms […]
