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Microsoft has released the October 2026 Patch Tuesday Updates for all supported versions of Windows 11. This month, the company has addressed 1415 new CVEs in Windows, Office, SharePoint, Linux kernel, SQL Server and Dynamics, Azure and cloud services, and Exchange Server. Microsoft has also announced that Windows 11 version 24H2 Home and Pro, and…

Microsoft experienced an outage affecting the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) on October 12 after a configuration change caused administrators to receive “Internal Server Error” messages when attempting to access the web-based management console. This issue prevented admins from managing Exchange Online resources such as mailboxes and groups, with no workaround available during the disruption. According…

Organizations are under pressure to secure identities, manage external users, and provide access to corporate resources without creating additional complexity. As identity attacks continue to rise and hybrid work remains the norm, IT teams need stronger authentication controls and more flexible access management. Microsoft’s October 2026 roundup highlights several new and updated capabilities across Microsoft…

Enterprise end-user computing (EUC) is undergoing a major shift as organizations move away from traditional desktop virtualization environments toward cloud-based services such as Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop. However, the transition is not happening as a clean one-for-one migration. Most organizations now operate multiple EUC platforms simultaneously, which creates hybrid environments that combine legacy…

Microsoft has alerted IT administrators that the certificates used to establish trusted connections between Windows devices and Windows Update servers will expire in May and June 2027. Devices that do not receive replacement certificates before those deadlines may no longer be able to validate Windows Update services. Microsoft is distributing the new certificates through Windows…

Until recently, conversations about enterprise AI have focused on models, infrastructure, and computing power. But according to Karthik Sj, who leads Generative AI at LogicMonitor, many organisations are discovering that the real challenge isn’t the technology itself. It’s whether the business is prepared to use it effectively. The timing could hardly be more significant. AI…

In this episode of First Ring Daily, Brad Sams and Paul Thurrott look back at everything Microsoft announced during its Windows and Surface event this week, including how the company is building Windows for “hybrid intelligence.”

Cybercriminals are increasingly combining phishing attacks with legitimate remote monitoring and management (RMM) software such as AnyDesk to gain persistent access to victims’ devices. Phishing campaigns that incorporate RMM tools surged by 475% during the first nine months of 2026 compared to all of 2025. These attacks have primarily targeted North American financial institutions and…

Microsoft’s Windows App has supported cloud-based services such as Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Microsoft Dev Box for some time, but users who needed direct access to traditional Windows PCs still had to rely on separate remote access tools. That created a fragmented experience, especially for organizations managing both cloud and on-premises environments. As…

I’m going to say something unpopular. Brace yourself: You don’t need to create an agent. AI agents are everywhere in the Microsoft conversation right now. They promise to answer questions, find information, make decisions, and take action across business systems. Some of that promise is real. But that doesn’t make agents the right answer to…

As AI agents gain access to files, applications, and networks, organizations face the challenge of granting enough permissions for productivity without increasing the risk of errors, misuse, or security compromises. Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC) is Microsoft’s attempt to solve that problem by putting AI workloads inside policy-enforced security boundaries. As organizations adopt AI agents for…

Microsoft is expanding its Surface hardware portfolio with the new Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, both of which are available for pre-order starting today. The company is targeting developers, AI engineers, and technical professionals looking to run AI and development workloads on local Windows hardware. Surface Laptop Ultra targets demanding AI…