Windows 11: Default browser to open links for EU users – big trouble about Bing ads

Posted on 2023-08-31 by guenni

Edge[German]There is currently an uproar in the US media because Microsoft has overdoing it with its ads in Windows 11, which ask users to use Bing.com as a search engine. US media claims that the Microsoft ads behaves like malware – and I was already thinking about an EU complaint. It seems that Microsoft respects the regulations of the EU. Because users in Europe get the option to open links in the default browser – instead of Edge.

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Unfixed Skype bug allows attackers to query victims' IP address (August 2023)

Posted on 2023-08-31 by guenni

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)[German]A security researcher has come across a way to determine the IP address of a Skype user without the target person even having to click on a link (IP address spoofing). This could be used to spy on people (e.g. activists, dissidents, etc.). Microsoft has been contacted by the security researcher about this, but is of the opinion that this vulnerability in Skype does not need to be fixed immediately and wants to take its time with a patch. To my knowledge, however, it currently only affects Skype's mobile apps.

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Google Chrome 116.0.5845.140/.141

Posted on 2023-08-30 by guenni

Chrome[German]Google has released updates to Google Chrome browser 116 in the stable channel for Mac, Linux and Windows as of August 29, 2023. These are security updates that are being rolled out and are intended to eliminate a vulnerability (classified as "high"). Furthermore, there is an update to the Chrome app for Android as well as for iOS.

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Firefox 117, 115.2 ESR, 102.15 ESR

Posted on 2023-08-30 by guenni

MozillaAs of August 29, 2023, the Mozilla developers have released the new Firefox 117 as well as the maintenance updates of Firefox 115.2 ESR and Firefox 102.14 ESR. With the updates, some vulnerabilities have been closed. Here is a brief overview of the updates in question, including the fixes and the new features.

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FBI and Europol dismantle with partners Qakbot network

Posted on 2023-08-30 by guenni

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)[German]In an international operation, the U.S. FBI and Europol, together with local partners, dismantled the Qabot network. The action succeeded after law enforcement managed to take over the PC of a Qakbot administrator. The infected devices were instructed to download and run an update to uninstall this malware. This is estimated to have freed over 700,000 devices from this botnet.

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Why ISL Online: Critical factors when choosing a remote desktop solution

[Sponsored Post]In the rapidly evolving IT world, choosing the right remote desktop software is critical for organizations that value security, ease of use and reliability. One provider of secure remote access that has been on the market since 2001 is ISL Online, which presents some considerations for choosing such software below. More ...

Windows 11: Microsoft has stopped aggressive Bing change advertising in Chrome

Posted on 2023-08-30 by guenni

Windows[German]Microsoft tried it again, and rolled out  a campgaign of aggressive ads for their Bing search engines to Google Chrome users on Windows 11. Could have been the reason why some people contacted me about the  obskure files BGAUpsell.EXE /BGAUpdate.exe found on their system Meanwhile, Microsoft had to stop this campaign again because the ads even affected games running on Windows 11 and the notification covered parts of the game.

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WordPress 6.3.1 released

Posted on 2023-08-30 by guenni

The developers have released WordPress 6.3.1 as of August 29, 2023. It is a maintenance update that fixes 10 bugs (four in WordPress Core and 6 in Block Editor) according to the release notes.

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Outlook 365: Search in shared calendars broken? (August 2023)

Posted on 2023-08-29 by guenni

[German]Brief information for users and administrators of Microsoft Office 365. I have received a message from an IT service provider who reports a problem with customers that the search in shared calendars in Outlook has been broken for a few days or that Outlook even crashes.

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Microsoft AI event on September 21, 2023 in New York

Posted on 2023-08-29 by guenni

On September 21, 2023, Microsoft will hold an event in New York. I had not addressed the topic here in the blog, but has read first speculations of other media what will be shown at the event.

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WinRAR vulnerability CVE-2023-40477: Also third-party software affected?

Posted on 2023-08-28 by guenni

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)In my blog post WinRAR Code Execution Vulnerability CVE-2023-40477 I had mentioned a vulnerability in WinRAR, which has been fixed with the update to WinRAR version 6.23. Andreas Marx from AV-Test recently pointed out that basically all software that uses WinRAR libraries is vulnerable in principle and needs to be updated to newer versions. I had added the information to the above blog post and pointed out that virus scanners and security software may use these outdated WinRAR libraries. So if necessary check the Windows system for the library files mentioned in the blog post. Addendum: According to the WinRAR developer the libraries are not affected by the vulnerability.

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