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On this episode of First Ring Daily, Brad Sams and Paul Thurrott discuss Microsoft releasing the Windows App Development CLI, a new Command Line Utility for Windows app developers.

A new study reveals that UK mid-market organisations are increasingly reducing their reliance on external cybersecurity vendors and shifting responsibility to in-house teams. This move is driven by mounting cost pressures and declining trust in providers, and it raises concerns about whether these organisations can sustain long-term cyber resilience. IT services provider Advania conducted a…

Microsoft is investigating a newly discovered issue that causes certain apps to freeze when saving files to cloud storage services such as OneDrive and Dropbox. The problem appears to impact users who installed the January 2026 security update on Windows 11 PCs. “For example, in some configurations of Outlook that store PST files on OneDrive,…

One of the mechanisms Microsoft uses to enable or restrict Active Directory (AD) capabilities in Windows Server is the concept of Active Directory functional levels. Windows Server introduces stronger security, improved performance, better manageability, and increased functionality in Active Directory for each new version of the server operating system. Functional levels determine which AD DS…

Microsoft has introduced new trust-focused enhancements in the Teams Admin Center (TAC) to help IT admins more easily evaluate, approve, and manage applications used within Microsoft Teams. These updates are designed to strengthen governance, streamline compliance checks, and highlight trusted solutions. Improved trust visibility for apps First off, Microsoft has a new “Apps to Consider…

Microsoft is beefing up its enterprise defenses this week with a major security and compliance update for Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise version 2512. This new baseline strengthens Excel, PowerPoint, and core system settings to help enterprises stay protected against evolving cyber threats. Specifically, the latest baseline updates several Microsoft 365 Apps components, especially Excel,…

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed critical vulnerabilities in widely used MCP servers that exposed how AI-powered tools can quickly turn into high-risk attack surfaces. The flaws could be exploited to enable cloud account takeovers, arbitrary file access, and even full remote code execution. A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server is a system that connects AI assistants…

There’s a growing disconnect between how organizations talk about Microsoft Copilot and how they measure it. Executives want productivity outcomes. IT wants operational clarity. Users want help with daily tasks. But somewhere along the way, too many businesses fall into the trap of using “usage” as a proxy for “value.” The truth is simple: Using…

A new survey found that most organizations can’t accurately track where their own data resides, which leaves them exposed amid rising regulatory and AI pressures. The findings highlight serious gaps in data governance, auditability, and AI safeguards that put businesses and government agencies at risk of non‑compliance and accountability failures. This survey was conducted by…

Microsoft is now enforcing stricter security rules for its Intune Mobile Application Management (MAM) service. Starting on January 19, 2026, users running outdated apps may find themselves locked out of work email and other critical Microsoft services. With the stricter Intune MAM security requirements, Microsoft now mandates that all iOS SDK-integrated apps, iOS-wrapped apps, and…

Microsoft has rushed out emergency out-of-band updates after a recent Windows 11 security patch disrupted core system functions, leaving some PCs unable to shut down or hibernate and blocking Remote Desktop sign-ins. The issue was introduced with last week’s January 2026 security updates for Windows 11. Specifically, Microsoft’s recent Windows 11 security update introduced two…

Microsoft Sentinel has announced several updates that improve how organizations bring in security data and manage it across different sources. These changes focus on making business operations clearer and more efficient for IT teams working to understand activity in their environments. Microsoft Sentinel now supports direct ingestion of data from Microsoft Defender for Office (MDO)…