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Thread 'Microsoft Halts Azure Storage and AI for Israeli Defense Unit Amid Review'
Microsoft has ceased and disabled a set of Azure cloud and Azure AI subscriptions used by a unit inside Israel’s Ministry of Defense after an internal review found evidence supporting elements of investigative reporting that alleged the company’s services were used to ingest, store, and analyze large volumes of intercepted communications from Gaza and the West Bank. Background / Overview In early August 2025 a joint investigative package led by The Guardian, together with +972 Magazine and...
Thread 'EEA Windows 10 ESU: Free One-Year Security Patch Lifeline Explained'
Microsoft’s last-minute carve‑out for Europe has turned what looked like a costly, conditional “grace period” for Windows 10 into a consumer-friendly, one‑year security lifeline — but it is a carefully limited lifeline with binding conditions and real trade‑offs that every user should understand before they relax. The European Economic Area (EEA) will get one year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10 at no charge, delivered as security‑only patches through 13 October 2026...
Thread 'Windows 10 ESU in Europe: Free Security Updates With Caveats'
Microsoft has quietly backtracked on a controversial condition for consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10 — but the reversal comes with important caveats that mean the relief is real for European users, yet narrower than many headlines suggested. Background / Overview Microsoft set a firm end-of-support date for consumer editions of Windows 10: October 14, 2025. After that date, Home and Pro editions will no longer receive routine feature updates, monthly quality updates...
Thread 'Windows 10 End of Support 2025: Upgrade to Windows 11 on HP PCs and ESU Guide'
Microsoft’s deadline is real: Windows 10 stops receiving security updates on October 14, 2025, and for most users that makes upgrading to Windows 11 or enrolling in an Extended Security Updates (ESU) plan an urgent, non-optional task. Background: why October 14, 2025 matters Microsoft’s official lifecycle pages confirm that Windows 10 (including Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions) reaches end of support on October 14, 2025. After that date Windows 10 PCs will continue to...
Thread 'TTEC Digital Joins Microsoft AI Business Solutions Inner Circle 2025–2026'
TTEC Digital’s reported inclusion in Microsoft’s 2025–2026 AI Business Solutions Inner Circle is a clear signal that the company remains a top-tier Microsoft partner in customer‑experience (CX) engineering and AI-enabled contact‑centre modernization — a recognition that, if validated by Microsoft and TTEC’s official channels, carries tangible product, commercial and operational advantages for enterprise customers and prospects alike. The Malaysian Reserve’s notice of the award places TTEC...
Thread 'Microsoft restricts cloud and AI services used by Israel Ministry of Defence over surveillance'
Microsoft has ceased and disabled a set of cloud and AI services used by a unit inside Israel’s Ministry of Defence after an internal review found evidence supporting media reports that its technology was linked to large-scale surveillance of Palestinian communications. Background The action marks an unusually public intervention by a major U.S. cloud and AI vendor to limit specific military use of its products. Over the past year, investigative reporting alleged that an Israeli military...
Thread 'Microsoft Blocks IMOD Azure Subscriptions Over Mass Surveillance Allegations'
Microsoft’s announcement that it has “ceased and disabled” specific Azure cloud and AI subscriptions used by a unit inside Israel’s Ministry of Defense marks a rare, high‑profile enforcement of a technology company’s acceptable‑use rules against a sovereign military customer — a move prompted by investigative reporting that alleged the company’s services were used to store and process vast volumes of intercepted Palestinian communications. Background The controversy began with a joint...
Thread 'Windows 10 KB5066198 Release Preview: Fixes SMBv1 NetBIOS and Autopilot ESP'
Microsoft has quietly shipped a final Release Preview update for Windows 10 — labeled KB5066198 and appearing as builds in the 19045.* series — that patches a duo of high‑impact regressions introduced earlier in September while Microsoft’s desktop OS approaches its October 14, 2025 end‑of‑support milestone. The patch is a non‑security, optional preview rollup intended to stabilize late‑stage servicing: it resolves an SMBv1 over NetBIOS (NetBT) connectivity regression and fixes an Autopilot...
Thread 'Windows 11 Security First: Practical Migration and Hardening for IT Teams'
Windows 11 is being pitched as more than a cosmetic update — it is positioned as a security-first platform that can both protect modern endpoints and unlock new productivity and management opportunities for businesses of all sizes. The latest messaging from industry outlets and vendor materials underscores a deliberate shift: Microsoft has tightened the security baseline for Windows 11, baked in virtualization and hardware-based protections, and layered cloud-first management and AI...
Thread 'Microsoft 365 Copilot Adds Claude Sonnet 4 and Opus 4.1 for Multi Model Enterprise AI'
Microsoft’s decision to let Microsoft 365 Copilot run Anthropic’s Claude models — specifically Claude Sonnet 4 and Claude Opus 4.1 — marks a decisive shift toward a multi‑model strategy for enterprise productivity AI, giving organizations explicit model choice inside the Copilot ecosystem while introducing new operational, legal, and security trade‑offs that IT teams must evaluate before enabling the feature. Background / Overview Microsoft 365 Copilot has rapidly evolved from a...
Thread 'Microsoft Cuts Cloud Services Over Palestinian Surveillance Precedent'
Microsoft has disabled at least some cloud and AI subscriptions used by an Israeli military intelligence unit after an internal review concluded the services were being used in ways that facilitated mass surveillance of Palestinians — a move that marks the first time a major U.S. technology company has publicly severed access to sensitive tools on human-rights grounds. Background The controversy began with a joint investigative report that tied Microsoft’s Azure cloud and related AI tools...
Thread 'EEA Gets Free Windows 10 ESU for One Year Amid DMA Pressure'
Microsoft has quietly carved out a regional lifeline for Windows 10 users: consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA) will be able to receive one additional year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) without the backup-and-OneDrive conditions Microsoft originally tied to the free path — a concession that follows pressure from European consumer groups and the requirements of the Digital Markets Act. Background / Overview Microsoft set a clear end-of-support date for Windows 10: October 14...
Thread 'Europe Gets Free One-Year Windows 10 ESU for Private Users'
Microsoft’s surprise reversal on Extended Security Updates (ESU) hands many European Windows 10 users a full extra year of security patches — at no cost — but the concession comes with conditions, a ticking clock, and important caveats users must understand before they relax. Background: Windows 10 end of support, ESU basics Windows 10’s official mainstream support ends in mid-October, and Microsoft built an ESU program to give users and organizations a limited lifeline: security-only...
Thread 'Windows 10 End of Support 2025: ESU, Upgrades, and Migration Roadmap'
Microsoft has set a clear cut-off: Windows 10 will stop receiving standard security updates and technical support on October 14, 2025, and the practical consequences of ignoring that deadline are already being spelled out by vendors, media outlets, and security researchers. Users who plan to “ride it out” need to understand that the risk profile of a Windows 10 PC changes dramatically after end of support — from immediate exposure to new vulnerabilities, to long-term erosion of...
Thread 'Microsoft 365 Copilot Adds Anthropic Claude Models for Multi Model Enterprise AI'
Microsoft’s decision to fold Anthropic’s Claude models into Microsoft 365 Copilot marks the most visible step yet in a deliberate strategy: turn Copilot from a single‑model product into a multi‑model, multi‑vendor platform for enterprise AI. Announced on September 24, 2025, the rollout adds Claude Sonnet 4 and Claude Opus 4.1 as selectable engines for Copilot’s Researcher feature and as options inside Copilot Studio, while OpenAI models remain available by default. The change gives...
Thread 'Windows Server 2016 Not Getting Updates After August 2025: SSU Prereqs and WSUS Fix'
BornCity’s report that some Windows Server 2016 installations have not been offered updates since August 2025 landed as a practical alarm for administrators running aging on‑premises servers: several readers and community posts describe machines that stopped seeing cumulative updates and new servicing‑stack updates (SSUs) after July/August, showing “Your device is up to date” while newer KB packages were known to exist. This article summarizes the available evidence, verifies the relevant...
Thread 'Microsoft Azure Unit 8200 Mass Surveillance: Cloud Governance Debate'
Microsoft’s internal review and recent operational changes confirm that the company found evidence supporting parts of a major investigative report alleging Israel’s Unit 8200 used Azure to store and analyze mass collections of Palestinian phone calls — a finding that has forced Microsoft to disable specific IMOD subscriptions and re-open a debate about corporate responsibility, cloud governance, and the limits of platform neutrality. Background The story began with a joint investigative...
Thread 'Windows 10 ESU in Europe: Free One-Year Security Update Amid Migration Trade-offs'
Microsoft’s decision to make the consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) option for Windows 10 truly free inside the European Economic Area (EEA) changes the calculus for millions of users facing an imminent end-of-support deadline — but it does not remove the operational, privacy, and migration trade-offs that come with staying on a legacy OS. The company’s concession follows sustained pressure from Euroconsumers and other consumer groups and alters enrollment mechanics for EEA residents...
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Thread 'Microsoft Blocks Unit 8200 Cloud Access: Ethics and Security in the AI Cloud'
Microsoft’s decision to cut off parts of its Azure cloud and AI services to an Israeli military intelligence unit has already reshaped a debate that sits at the intersection of cloud computing, national security, corporate responsibility, and human rights. The move — announced to Microsoft employees by vice-chair and president Brad Smith and framed as enforcement of long-standing terms of service — follows investigative reporting that alleged Unit 8200 used Microsoft infrastructure to...
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