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Category: Windows 10

Windows Defender Exploit Guard: Reduce the attack surface against next-generation malware

Windows Defender Exploit Guard is a new set of intrusion prevention capabilities that ships with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. The four components of Windows Defender Exploit Guard are designed to lock down the device against a wide variety of attack vectors and block behaviors commonly used in malware attacks, while enabling enterprises to balance their…

Making Microsoft Edge the most secure browser with Windows Defender Application Guard

Innovation in the attack space is constant as adversaries increase in both determination and sophistication. In response to increased investments in defense, attackers are adapting and improving tactics at breakneck speed. The good news is that defenders are also innovating and disrupting long reliable attack methods with new technologies. In Windows 10 we’re not just…

Introducing Windows Defender Application Control

Application control is a crucial line of defense for protecting enterprises given today’s threat landscape, and it has an inherent advantage over traditional antivirus solutions. Specifically, application control flips the model from one where all applications are assumed trustworthy by default to one where applications must earn trust in order to run. Many organizations, like…

Hardening the system and maintaining integrity with Windows Defender System Guard

One of the things we spend a great deal of time thinking about here at Microsoft is how attackers will attempt to persist and evade detection once they’ve successfully compromised a device. With Windows 10 we’ve made it more difficult to find ways to exploit potential entry points, and it’s clear that its harder than…

Move away from passwords, deploy Windows Hello. Today!

Something we understood from the very beginning with Windows Hello for Business is our customers would approach Windows 10 in a series of phases. The first phase is to simply deploy the platform itself. From there, additional phases would follow to take advantage of optional Windows 10 technologies that require additional planning and enablement. Since…

Browser security beyond sandboxing

Security is now a strong differentiator in picking the right browser. We all use browsers for day-to-day activities like staying in touch with loved ones, but also for editing sensitive private and corporate documents, and even managing our financial assets. A single compromise through a web browser can have catastrophic results. It doesn’t help that…

Ransomware 1H 2017 review: Global outbreaks reinforce the value of security hygiene

In the first six months of 2017, ransomware threats reached new levels of sophistication. The same period also saw the reversal of a six-month downward trend in ransomware encounters. New ransomware code was released at a higher rate with increasing complexity. Two high-profile ransomware incidents brought cybersecurity to the forefront of mainstream conversations as the…

September 6, 2017 By msft-mmpc

Links in phishing-like emails lead to tech support scam

Tech support scams continue to evolve, with scammers exploring more ways to reach potential victims. Recently, we have observed spam campaigns distributing links that lead to tech support scam websites. Anti-spam filters in Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) for Office 365 and in Outlook.com blocked the said emails because they bore characteristics of phishing emails….

Windows Defender Antivirus cloud protection service: Advanced real-time defense against never-before-seen malware

For cybercriminals, speed is the name of the game. It takes newly released malware an average of just four hours to achieve its goal—steal financial information, extort money, or cause widespread damage. In a recent report, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that cybercriminals will use hacked or stolen information within nine minutes of posting in…

Exploring the crypt: Analysis of the WannaCrypt ransomware SMB exploit propagation

(Note: Read our latest comprehensive report on ransomware: Ransomware 1H 2017 review: Global outbreaks reinforce the value of security hygiene.) On May 12, there was a major outbreak of WannaCrypt ransomware. WannaCrypt directly borrowed exploit code from the ETERNALBLUE exploit and the DoublePulsar backdoor module leaked in April by a group calling itself Shadow Brokers….