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Microsoft is simplifying inactive mailbox management in Exchange Online with a new ExcludeFromAllHolds capability. This feature lets administrators efficiently remove unnecessary retention holds while preserving essential compliance protections. Microsoft has added the ExcludeFromAllHolds parameter to the Set-Mailbox cmdlet in Exchange Online. This new option allows administrators to remove most retention-related holds from inactive mailboxes in…

Microsoft is set to roll out a new integration that will let administrators block external users and domains in Teams directly from the Defender portal. This update will strengthen security and give organizations greater control over who can connect across chats, calls, and meetings. Previously, blocking external users in Microsoft Teams was only possible through…

Managing Conditional Access (CA) policies in Microsoft Entra ID can quickly become overwhelming, especially when organisations implement multiple rules for multifactor authentication (MFA), device compliance, and sign-in frequency. To simplify this complexity, Merill Fernando, Principal Product Manager for Microsoft Entra ID, introduced idPowerApp, a tool designed to make CA policies easier to understand and share….

Small and mid-sized businesses are facing an unprecedented surge in cyber threats, with half already hit by attacks and most expecting the risk to grow. Yet despite growing awareness, many organizations are still relying on ineffective or incomplete measures to protect themselves from future cyberattacks. According to a new survey by cybersecurity platform Guardz, nearly…

Planning a Windows Server DHCP migration from one server to another takes careful planning. This post outlines two primary options for successfully migrating the DHCP Server role from an older server to a newer one. Windows Server DHCP migration: Preparing for a smooth transition Let’s start with a valid and efficient migration checklist. We’ll need…

Microsoft has launched the public preview of the new Security Copilot Dynamic Threat Detection Agent in Microsoft Defender. This new AI-powered tool strengthens cybersecurity by delivering smarter, context-rich alerts with actionable insights, with no additional setup required. “Security teams often face the risk of false negatives—threats that go undetected by traditional, rule-based detection systems. The…

Microsoft has introduced hardware-accelerated BitLocker for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. This new feature offloads encryption to dedicated hardware, which reduces CPU usage and boosts battery life on supported Windows 11 devices. BitLocker in Windows 11 is a built-in security feature that encrypts the entire drive to protect data from unauthorized access, even if…

As organizations rush to adopt various generative AI tools, Microsoft Copilot Enterprise Data Protection helps organizations maintain security and compliance. If a user were to upload a file to a random generative AI tool for example, the file’s contents could potentially be used to further train the underlying model. This could cause an organization’s sensitive…

Microsoft has introduced a new tenant-to-tenant migration orchestrator in public preview that enables organizations to securely move OneDrive files, Exchange mailboxes, and Teams chats and meetings between Microsoft 365 tenants. This service is designed to simplify complex migration workflows while maintaining continuity and collaboration during mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and organizational restructurings. Organizations can adopt one…

Cybercriminals have found a clever way to hijack Microsoft 365 accounts—by exploiting a legitimate login feature meant for convenience. A new wave of phishing attacks uses device authorization codes to trick users into granting attackers full access, bypassing even multi-factor authentication. According to a new report from Proofpoint, financially motivated threat actors are abusing the…

In this episode of First Ring Daily, Brad Sams and Paul Thurrott discuss a recent report revealing that OpenAI had sold over a million ChatGPT licenses to colleges globally, leaving Microsoft unable to compete with its pricier AI offerings.

As AI coding tools gain widespread adoption in software development, new research suggests they may be accelerating defects instead of reducing them. The report finds that AI-generated code introduces substantially more issues, particularly across logic, security, and long-term maintainability. According to a new study from CodeRabbit, AI-powered coding tools have raised concerns about increased bugs…