Beginning February 27, 2023, Microsoft will start enforcing number matching for all users who have MFA enabled on their Microsoft 365 account. Number matching in authentication procedures refers to displaying a number on one device (typically a cell phone,...
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Windows
Changes coming to Microsoft in 2023 and beyond
Downloads to stop for Windows 10 Windows 10, originally released July 2015, is officially entering its twilight age. Microsoft plans to stop selling Windows 10 Home and Pro downloads after January 31, 2023. This will be applied to its product pages and stores....
Microsoft patches a zero-day vulnerability from October
In an update released December 2022, Microsoft patched a zero-day vulnerability that was exploited. A zero-day vulnerability refers to potential weak points in an update that could be exploited the day it is released. The fear is that someone could learn to exploit...
Emerging phishing tactics that bypass Multi-factor authentication
If you haven’t adopted multi-factor authentication (MFA) yet, what the heck are you waiting for? MFA curtails most malicious phishing attacks, as even if an attacker has access to your login credentials, they would not be able to access the MFA code, which changes...
Make sure basic authentication is disabled for Microsoft Office 365
Beginning on October 1, 2022, Microsoft is disabling the ability to connect to Microsoft services using legacy authentication protocols. Users are moving to modern authentication whether they want it or not. It is also up to the user to make the switch, and after...
Do not open: phish inside
There’s been a large increase in SMS-phishing scams (or short message service) in the past few years. If you receive a suspicious text, especially one with a link, do not open it. If you do get hacked, report it to your local law enforcement and inform your...
Windows Server 2012 ends its ten-year reign
Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 will soon be ending its ten years of service. Its End-of-Life date is October 10, 2023. Why does this matter now? If you use Windows Server for your business, upgrading to a newer version of Windows Server, like Windows...
New unpatched Microsoft office vulnerability – “Follina”
A new unpatched Microsoft office vulnerability has been discovered by security researchers. The vulnerability, dubbed “Follina”, affects all versions of Microsoft Office from 2007 onwards. Follina tricks the system into downloading malware from a remote URL that is...
Important Microsoft 365 Update
Microsoft has notified partners that they are implementing a new commerce experience starting January 2022. They had also announced in August 2021 that a change with pricing to certain subscription packages was coming in 2022. SpireTech has been tracking these changes...
Windows 11 is available now
This week, Microsoft announced the availability of Windows 11. While it offers some interesting new features, we recommend you wait a bit to let us sort out the bugs first. Our initial testing has revealed a few annoyances that you might want to be aware...