Linux, Open Source, & anti Microsoft news

A sophisticated attack on Microsoft Corp.’s widely used business email software is morphing into a global cybersecurity crisis, as hackers race to infect as many victims as possible before companies can secure their computer systems.

Microsoft this week unveiled deeper integrations between Teams and Dynamics 365 as the company moves to make it easier for sales and customer service staffers to communicate without switching between apps.

Around a month and a half ago we reported about a serious flaw in Windows 10 that could be exploited to corrupt the contents of an NTFS drive. With Microsoft dawdling in its response, it was down to security researchers from OSR to produce a third-party patch. But now Microsoft has stepped up to the plate and, finally, come up with an official fix for the flaw. Sadly, it’s not all good news as the fix is not currently available for everyone.

Microsoft’s failure to fix known problems with its cloud software facilitated the massive SolarWinds hack that compromised at least nine federal government agencies, according to security experts and the office of US Senator Ron Wyden.

Microsoft plans to upgrade the “perpetual” Office for enterprises in the second half of the year, when it will also slash support to five years and raise prices by 10%. The company’s multiple shots at the traditional form of licensing — dubbed “perpetual” because the license provides rights to run the software as long as one wants — are more evidence, if it’s needed, that Microsoft is eager to push, pull, and prod commercial customers into service-esque subscriptions.

Microsoft is foraying into the website builder business with an all-new website creation service. The tool will form part of Microsoft’s Digital Marketing Center, with the company noting in a blog post announcing the service that it hopes to, “remove the barriers of cost and lack of time by providing a free and simple solution small businesses can leverage to get started with a website.”

Linux certification is increasingly significant for tech workers as the public cloud and software-defined networking become ever more important. A Linux cert can set IT professionals apart from the herd and potentially put a lot more money in their bank accounts.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to work, study, communicate, entertain themselves and shop online, triggering the development of the cloud. The British consultancy Canalys , specialized in technology, estimates that in 2020 global spending on cloud infrastructure was about 142,000 million dollars, which represents 33% more than the previous year.

The Linux Foundation (LF) announced it has signed a collaboration agreement with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to create open source software that accelerates United Linux Foundation States government technology research and development innovation.

Microsoft is expected to step up its integration of Microsoft 365 productivity services and Dynamics 365 CRM/ERP ones with some new integrations between the two product families.