As one of the world's richest men and most active philanthropists, Bill Gates usually has his hands full. Just not with poop.

So it came as a surprise when the founder of Microsoft brandished a jar of human waste at a forum on the future of the toilet in Beijing on Tuesday.

The stunt was an effort to draw attention to a problem affecting developing countries around the world: not enough toilets.

"In places without sanitation you have got way more than that," Gates said, pointing to the feces inside the clear canister resting on a table.

"And that's what kids when they are out playing, they are being exposed to all the time, and that's why we connect this not just with quality of life, but with disease and death and with malnutrition," he told attendees.

The billionaire said more than half of the world's population suffers without clean, comfortable sanitation facilities.

"When you think of things that are basic right up there with health and enough to eat, you think that having a reasonable toilet certainly belongs on that list," Gates said.

Gates has previously used shock tactics to draw attention to his disease-battling efforts.

In 2009, he loosed mosquitoes at a Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference in California to make a point about the deadly sting of malaria -- waiting a minute or so before assuring the audience the liberated insects were disease-free.

Gates was in Beijing on Tuesday for the "Reinvented Toilet Expo", a forum hosted by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation showcasing various cutting-edge toilet technology in lieu of sewers, making them easier and cheaper to install the devices.

The world's number two economy is in the midst of a drive to improve its notoriously malodorous bathrooms, a campaign President Xi Jinping has dubbed the "toilet revolution."

"China has made great progress in improving health and sanitation for millions of people," Gates said.

"China has an opportunity to launch a new category of innovated non-sewered sanitation solutions that will benefit millions of people worldwide."

According to UNICEF, 892 million people worldwide have no choice but to defecate in the open.

India's government says its public health drive has slashed the number of people in the country forced to defecate in the open from 550 million in 2014 to less than 150 million today.

As one of the world's richest men and most active philanthropists, Bill Gates usually has his hands full. Just not with poop. So it came as a surprise when the founder of Microsoft brandished a jar of human waste at a forum on the future of the toilet in Beijing on Tuesday.

As one of the world's richest men and most active philanthropists, Bill Gates usually has his hands full. Just not with poop. So it came as a surprise when the founder of Microsoft brandished a jar of human waste at a forum on the future of the toilet in Beijing on Tuesday. The stunt was an effort to draw attention to a problem affecting developing countries around the world: not enough toilets. "In places without sanitation you have got way more than that," Gates said, pointing to the feces inside the clear canister resting on a table. "And that's what kids when they are out playing, they are being exposed to all the time, and that's why we connect this not just with quality of life, but with disease and death and with malnutrition," he told attendees. The billionaire said more than half of the world's population suffers without clean, comfortable sanitation facilities. "When you think of things that are basic right up there with health and enough to eat, you think that having a reasonable toilet certainly belongs on that list," Gates said. Gates has previously used shock tactics to draw attention to his disease-battling efforts. In 2009, he loosed mosquitoes at a Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference in California to make a point about the deadly sting of malaria -- waiting a minute or so before assuring the audience the liberated insects were disease-free. Gates was in Beijing on Tuesday for the "Reinvented Toilet Expo", a forum hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation showcasing various cutting-edge toilet technology in lieu of sewers, making them easier and cheaper to install the devices. The world's number two economy is in the midst of a drive to improve its notoriously malodorous bathrooms, a campaign President Xi Jinping has dubbed the "toilet revolution." "China has made great progress in improving health and sanitation for millions of people," Gates said. "China has an opportunity to launch a new category of innovated non-sewered sanitation solutions that will benefit millions of people worldwide." According to UNICEF, 892 million people worldwide have no choice but to defecate in the open. India's government says its public health drive has slashed the number of people in the country forced to defecate in the open from 550 million in 2014 to less than 150 million today.

Watch: Poop in hand, Bill Gates backs China's toilet revolution

Microsoft routinely shared financial details of the customers of Indian banks with the US government, the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-dna-money-exclusive-microsoft-shared-indian-bank-customers-data-with-us-intel-2680752">DNA newspaper has reported</a>.&nbsp;

The report said the details shared were of customers of banks that have moved to Microsoft's Office 365 cloud-based email service. And that Microsoft was bound by US law — under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and if a US national security letter is issued — to share the information as and when asked.&nbsp;

The DNA report added that the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/government-very-upset-with-rbi-for-making-rift-public-sources-174359">Reserve Bank of India</a> has flagged the data sharing in its Risk Assessment Report (RAR), which has been placed before the banks’ audit committees for responses.&nbsp;

And that according to the responses the RBI has got, the banks are aware that their customers' financial details are being shared with US security and intelligence agencies.&nbsp;

The report added that the customers themselves may not be in the know.&nbsp;

Microsoft did not respond to the specific questions DNA sent it, but firmly defended its position on privacy.&nbsp;

A Microsoft spokesperson told DNA Money, “No government has direct access to any of our users’ data. Data privacy is a top priority for us. We never provide customer data unless we receive a legally valid warrant, order or subpoena about specific accounts or individual identifiers that we have reviewed and consider legally appropriate and consistent with the rule of law and our Microsoft principles. Absent extraordinary circumstances, in the vast majority of cases we redirect governments to seek data directly from commercial customers or to allow us to tell our commercial customers when the government seeks their data.”

Microsoft routinely shared financial details of the customers of Indian banks with the US government, the DNA newspaper has reported. The report said the details shared were of customers of banks that have moved to Microsoft's Office 365 cloud-based email service.

Microsoft routinely shared financial details of the customers of Indian banks with the US government, the DNA newspaper has reported. The report said the details shared were of customers of banks that have moved to Microsoft's Office 365 cloud-based email service. And that Microsoft was bound by US law — under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and if a US national security letter is issued — to share the information as and when asked. The DNA report added that the Reserve Bank of India has flagged the data sharing in its Risk Assessment Report (RAR), which has been placed before the banks’ audit committees for responses. And that according to the responses the RBI has got, the banks are aware that their customers' financial details are being shared with US security and intelligence agencies. The report added that the customers themselves may not be in the know. Microsoft did not respond to the specific questions DNA sent it, but firmly defended its position on privacy. A Microsoft spokesperson told DNA Money, “No government has direct access to any of our users’ data. Data privacy is a top priority for us. We never provide customer data unless we receive a legally valid warrant, order or subpoena about specific accounts or individual identifiers that we have reviewed and consider legally appropriate and consistent with the rule of law and our Microsoft principles. Absent extraordinary circumstances, in the vast majority of cases we redirect governments to seek data directly from commercial customers or to allow us to tell our commercial customers when the government seeks their data.”

Microsoft routinely shared Indian banks' customers' financial details with US govt: Report

Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in the 1970s and later went on to become an investor, philanthropist and sports team owner, died Monday after his latest battle with cancer at age 65.

"My brother was a remarkable individual on every level. While most knew Paul Allen as a technologist and philanthropist, for us he was a much-loved brother and uncle, and an exceptional friend," Allen's sister Jody said in a statement announcing his death.

In recent years, Allen was known as the owner of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, and part owner of the Major League Soccer team the Seattle Sounders, along with a variety of business and charitable ventures.

One of the world's wealthiest billionaires, Allen also founded Stratolaunch Systems, which built the world's largest plane designed as a colossal rocket-launching aircraft touted as the future of space travel.&nbsp;

The craft was on track for its first launch demonstration as early as 2019.

Allen died just two weeks after publicly revealing that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma he fought into remission nine years ago had returned. The incurable cancer affects white blood cells.

He never married and had no children.

Classmate of Gates

Allen was a high school classmate of Gates in Seattle, and later, while working as a computer programmer, persuaded his friend to drop out of Harvard to create Microsoft, which became the world's most valuable company in the 1990s.

A "heartbroken" Gates remembered Allen as "one of my oldest and dearest friends."

"Personal computing would not have existed without him," Gates added.

"He was fond of saying, 'If it has the potential to do good, then we should do it.' That’s the kind of person he was."

Allen had left Microsoft by 1983 for health reasons but held on to shares that made up the bulk of his fortune, estimated at some $20 billion.

"All of us who had the honour of working with Paul feel an inexpressible loss today," said a statement by Vulcan, the investment firm that managed his operations.

"He possessed a remarkable intellect and a passion to solve some of the world's most difficult problems, with the conviction that creative thinking and new approaches could make a profound and lasting impact."

Microsoft said Allen's "contributions to our company, our industry and to our community are indispensable."

"As co-founder of Microsoft, in his own quiet and persistent way, he created magical products, experiences and institutions. And in doing so, he changed the world," added the company's CEO Satya Nadella.

While Gates attended Harvard, Allen studied at the University of Washington and invested heavily in research projects in his hometown of Seattle.

He invested $100 million to establish the Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2003.

A decade later, he founded the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence to study the impacts on society of new technologies and the Allen Institute for Cell Science to fund research for the treatment of diseases.

Big man in sports

In the world of sports, Allen in 1988 bought the Trail Blazers, taking the team to the NBA finals twice.

"Paul Allen was the ultimate trail-blazer -- in business, philanthropy and in sports," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

"As one of the longest-tenured owners in the NBA, Paul brought a sense of discovery and vision to every league matter large and small."&nbsp;

He was also credited with putting Seattle on the map for the NFL.

"Paul Allen was the driving force behind keeping the NFL in the Pacific Northwest," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

"His vision led to the construction of CenturyLink Field and the building of a team that played in three Super Bowls, winning the championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. "

His personal charitable foundation gave to a diverse array of causes, including anti-poaching initiatives in Africa, climate and energy research, and projects on homelessness, as well as the arts and culture.

Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio hailed Allen as a "strong advocate for environmental protection."&nbsp;

"His legacy lives on via his incredible work as a philanthropist and investor," he added.

Amazon, Blue Origin and The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Allen's "passion for invention and pushing forward inspired so many. He was relentless to the end."

In his 2011 memoir "Idea Man," Allen described a somewhat stormy relationship with Gates in the early days of Microsoft.

Allen wrote that he had expected a 50-50 split in the new company, but Gates insisted on taking 60 per cent, and later raised it to 64 per cent, claiming that Gates schemed to "rip me off."

He played guitar since he was a teenager and played for a blues-rock album with his group the Underthinkers in 2013 that was reviewed by Rolling Stone, which said Allen "curls some twang and grit into the blues-rock track."

Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in the 1970s and later went on to become an investor, philanthropist and sports team owner, died Monday after his latest battle with cancer at age 65.

Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in the 1970s and later went on to become an investor, philanthropist and sports team owner, died Monday after his latest battle with cancer at age 65. "My brother was a remarkable individual on every level. While most knew Paul Allen as a technologist and philanthropist, for us he was a much-loved brother and uncle, and an exceptional friend," Allen's sister Jody said in a statement announcing his death. In recent years, Allen was known as the owner of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, and part owner of the Major League Soccer team the Seattle Sounders, along with a variety of business and charitable ventures. One of the world's wealthiest billionaires, Allen also founded Stratolaunch Systems, which built the world's largest plane designed as a colossal rocket-launching aircraft touted as the future of space travel. The craft was on track for its first launch demonstration as early as 2019. Allen died just two weeks after publicly revealing that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma he fought into remission nine years ago had returned. The incurable cancer affects white blood cells. He never married and had no children. Classmate of Gates Allen was a high school classmate of Gates in Seattle, and later, while working as a computer programmer, persuaded his friend to drop out of Harvard to create Microsoft, which became the world's most valuable company in the 1990s. A "heartbroken" Gates remembered Allen as "one of my oldest and dearest friends." "Personal computing would not have existed without him," Gates added. "He was fond of saying, 'If it has the potential to do good, then we should do it.' That’s the kind of person he was." Allen had left Microsoft by 1983 for health reasons but held on to shares that made up the bulk of his fortune, estimated at some $20 billion. "All of us who had the honour of working with Paul feel an inexpressible loss today," said a statement by Vulcan, the investment firm that managed his operations. "He possessed a remarkable intellect and a passion to solve some of the world's most difficult problems, with the conviction that creative thinking and new approaches could make a profound and lasting impact." Microsoft said Allen's "contributions to our company, our industry and to our community are indispensable." "As co-founder of Microsoft, in his own quiet and persistent way, he created magical products, experiences and institutions. And in doing so, he changed the world," added the company's CEO Satya Nadella. While Gates attended Harvard, Allen studied at the University of Washington and invested heavily in research projects in his hometown of Seattle. He invested $100 million to establish the Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2003. A decade later, he founded the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence to study the impacts on society of new technologies and the Allen Institute for Cell Science to fund research for the treatment of diseases. Big man in sports In the world of sports, Allen in 1988 bought the Trail Blazers, taking the team to the NBA finals twice. "Paul Allen was the ultimate trail-blazer -- in business, philanthropy and in sports," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver. "As one of the longest-tenured owners in the NBA, Paul brought a sense of discovery and vision to every league matter large and small." He was also credited with putting Seattle on the map for the NFL. "Paul Allen was the driving force behind keeping the NFL in the Pacific Northwest," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "His vision led to the construction of CenturyLink Field and the building of a team that played in three Super Bowls, winning the championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. " His personal charitable foundation gave to a diverse array of causes, including anti-poaching initiatives in Africa, climate and energy research, and projects on homelessness, as well as the arts and culture. Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio hailed Allen as a "strong advocate for environmental protection." "His legacy lives on via his incredible work as a philanthropist and investor," he added. Amazon, Blue Origin and The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Allen's "passion for invention and pushing forward inspired so many. He was relentless to the end." In his 2011 memoir "Idea Man," Allen described a somewhat stormy relationship with Gates in the early days of Microsoft. Allen wrote that he had expected a 50-50 split in the new company, but Gates insisted on taking 60 per cent, and later raised it to 64 per cent, claiming that Gates schemed to "rip me off." He played guitar since he was a teenager and played for a blues-rock album with his group the Underthinkers in 2013 that was reviewed by Rolling Stone, which said Allen "curls some twang and grit into the blues-rock track."

Paul Allen: Technologist, philathropist who persuaded Bill Gates to create Microsoft

Paul Allen dies in hometown Seattle

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, the man who persuaded school-friend Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard to start what became the world's biggest software company, died on Monday at the age of 65, his family said.

Allen left Microsoft in 1983, before the company became a corporate juggernaut, following a dispute with Gates, but his share of their original partnership allowed him to spend the rest of his life and billions of dollars on yachts, art, rock music, sports teams, brain research and real estate.

Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, the Allen family said in a statement.

In early October, Allen had revealed he was being treated for the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which he also was treated for in 2009. He had an earlier brush with Hodgkin's lymphoma, another cancer, in the early 1980s before leaving Microsoft.

Music-lover Allen had a list of high-profile friends in the entertainment business, including U2 singer Bono, but preferred to avoid the limelight at his compound on Mercer Island, across Lake Washington from Seattle, where he grew up.

Allen remained loyal to the Pacific Northwest region, directing more than $1 billion to mostly local philanthropic projects, developing Seattle's South Lake Union tech hub that Amazon.com Inc calls home and building the headquarters of his Allen Institute for Brain Science there.

Paul Gardner Allen was born in Seattle on January 21, 1953, the son of a librarian father and teacher mother. He was two years older than Gates but when they met in the computer room at the exclusive Lakeside School in Seattle in 1968, they discovered a shared passion.

Allen went on to Washington State University but dropped out in 1974 to take a job with Honeywell in Boston. While there, he pestered Gates, who was studying at nearby Harvard, to quit school and join the nascent revolution in personal computing.

Gates finally agreed and in 1975 the two jointly developed BASIC software for the Altair 8800, a clunky desktop computer that cost $400 in kit form.

The pair moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, close to the Altair's maker, and formed a company. It was Allen's idea to call it Micro-Soft, an amalgam of microcomputer and software. The hyphen was later dropped.

Allen was in charge of Microsoft's technical operations for the company's first eight years, making him one of the handful of people who created early software such as MS-DOS and Word that enabled the PC revolution and thrust Microsoft to the top.

But he had ceased to be on the cutting edge of software development by the early 1980s. He never displayed the commercial instinct of Gates, who generally is credited with powering Microsoft's rise to ubiquity in the 1990s.

Allen left Microsoft in 1983 after falling out with Gates and his new lieutenant, Steve Ballmer, in December 1982, only months after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. As he recalled in his 2011 memoir "Idea Man," he overheard Gates and Ballmer secretly plotting to reduce his ownership stake.

"They were bemoaning my recent lack of production and discussing how they might dilute my Microsoft equity by issuing options to themselves and other shareholders," Allen wrote.

Gates and Ballmer later apologized but the damage was done and Allen left Microsoft, although he remained on the board until 2000.

Allen recovered from his cancer after radiation treatment but in 2009 was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, another form of blood cancer. He went into remission in April 2010 but the disease resurfaced in 2018.

Allen held onto his share of the company. His 28 per cent stake at Microsoft's initial public offering in 1986 instantly made him a multi-millionaire.

His wealth peaked at about $30 billion in late 1999, according to Forbes magazine, but Allen was hurt by the sharp decline in Microsoft stock after the dot.com bubble burst in 2000 and some unprofitable technology investments.

In October 2018, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $21.7 billion and said he was the 44th richest person in the world.

Allen, the owner of 42 US&nbsp;patents, liked to cast himself as a technology visionary who drove Microsoft's early success and saw the future of connected computing long before the Internet.

Allen bought the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team in 1988 and became a local hero in 1997 when he purchased the Seattle Seahawks football franchise after the previous owner had tried to move the team to California. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl in February 2014 and both franchises are now valued at many times what Allen paid for them.

All the while, the never-married Allen pursued myriad personal projects and pastimes. He owned one of the world's biggest yachts, the 400-foot (122 meters) Octopus, which was the venue for many lavish parties and the base for scuba expeditions.

A rock 'n' roll aficionado, Allen had a band on call to jam with when he wanted and spent more than $250 million building a museum devoted to his hero, Jimi Hendrix, which morphed into a music and science fiction exhibit designed by Frank Gehry.

He spent millions more on a collection of vintage warplanes and funded the first non-government rocket to make it into space. He also collected priceless antiquities and works by Monet, Rodin and Rothko to put in his extensive art collection.

Like Gates, Allen was a dedicated philanthropist, giving away more than $1.5 billion in his lifetime and pledging to donate more than half his wealth to charity.

Through various vehicles, Allen focused his giving on brain science, motivated by the loss of his mother to Alzheimer's disease, along with universities and libraries.

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, the man who persuaded school-friend Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard to start what became the world's biggest software company, died on Monday at the age of 65, his family said.

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, the man who persuaded school-friend Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard to start what became the world's biggest software company, died on Monday at the age of 65, his family said. Allen left Microsoft in 1983, before the company became a corporate juggernaut, following a dispute with Gates, but his share of their original partnership allowed him to spend the rest of his life and billions of dollars on yachts, art, rock music, sports teams, brain research and real estate. Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, the Allen family said in a statement. In early October, Allen had revealed he was being treated for the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which he also was treated for in 2009. He had an earlier brush with Hodgkin's lymphoma, another cancer, in the early 1980s before leaving Microsoft. Music-lover Allen had a list of high-profile friends in the entertainment business, including U2 singer Bono, but preferred to avoid the limelight at his compound on Mercer Island, across Lake Washington from Seattle, where he grew up. Allen remained loyal to the Pacific Northwest region, directing more than $1 billion to mostly local philanthropic projects, developing Seattle's South Lake Union tech hub that Amazon.com Inc calls home and building the headquarters of his Allen Institute for Brain Science there. Paul Gardner Allen was born in Seattle on January 21, 1953, the son of a librarian father and teacher mother. He was two years older than Gates but when they met in the computer room at the exclusive Lakeside School in Seattle in 1968, they discovered a shared passion. Allen went on to Washington State University but dropped out in 1974 to take a job with Honeywell in Boston. While there, he pestered Gates, who was studying at nearby Harvard, to quit school and join the nascent revolution in personal computing. Gates finally agreed and in 1975 the two jointly developed BASIC software for the Altair 8800, a clunky desktop computer that cost $400 in kit form. The pair moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, close to the Altair's maker, and formed a company. It was Allen's idea to call it Micro-Soft, an amalgam of microcomputer and software. The hyphen was later dropped. Allen was in charge of Microsoft's technical operations for the company's first eight years, making him one of the handful of people who created early software such as MS-DOS and Word that enabled the PC revolution and thrust Microsoft to the top. But he had ceased to be on the cutting edge of software development by the early 1980s. He never displayed the commercial instinct of Gates, who generally is credited with powering Microsoft's rise to ubiquity in the 1990s. Allen left Microsoft in 1983 after falling out with Gates and his new lieutenant, Steve Ballmer, in December 1982, only months after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. As he recalled in his 2011 memoir "Idea Man," he overheard Gates and Ballmer secretly plotting to reduce his ownership stake. "They were bemoaning my recent lack of production and discussing how they might dilute my Microsoft equity by issuing options to themselves and other shareholders," Allen wrote. Gates and Ballmer later apologized but the damage was done and Allen left Microsoft, although he remained on the board until 2000. Allen recovered from his cancer after radiation treatment but in 2009 was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, another form of blood cancer. He went into remission in April 2010 but the disease resurfaced in 2018. Allen held onto his share of the company. His 28 per cent stake at Microsoft's initial public offering in 1986 instantly made him a multi-millionaire. His wealth peaked at about $30 billion in late 1999, according to Forbes magazine, but Allen was hurt by the sharp decline in Microsoft stock after the dot.com bubble burst in 2000 and some unprofitable technology investments. In October 2018, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $21.7 billion and said he was the 44th richest person in the world. Allen, the owner of 42 US patents, liked to cast himself as a technology visionary who drove Microsoft's early success and saw the future of connected computing long before the Internet. Allen bought the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team in 1988 and became a local hero in 1997 when he purchased the Seattle Seahawks football franchise after the previous owner had tried to move the team to California. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl in February 2014 and both franchises are now valued at many times what Allen paid for them. All the while, the never-married Allen pursued myriad personal projects and pastimes. He owned one of the world's biggest yachts, the 400-foot (122 meters) Octopus, which was the venue for many lavish parties and the base for scuba expeditions. A rock 'n' roll aficionado, Allen had a band on call to jam with when he wanted and spent more than $250 million building a museum devoted to his hero, Jimi Hendrix, which morphed into a music and science fiction exhibit designed by Frank Gehry. He spent millions more on a collection of vintage warplanes and funded the first non-government rocket to make it into space. He also collected priceless antiquities and works by Monet, Rodin and Rothko to put in his extensive art collection. Like Gates, Allen was a dedicated philanthropist, giving away more than $1.5 billion in his lifetime and pledging to donate more than half his wealth to charity. Through various vehicles, Allen focused his giving on brain science, motivated by the loss of his mother to Alzheimer's disease, along with universities and libraries.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies of cancer at 65

Billionaire Paul Allen, who founded US software giant Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, revealed on Monday he is in a new battle with cancer.

Allen said in a tweet and at his website that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma he fought into remission nine years ago has returned.

The incurable cancer affects white blood cells.

"My team of doctors has begun treatment of the disease and I plan on fighting this aggressively," Allen said.

"My doctors are optimistic that I will see good results from the latest therapies, as am I."

Allen planned to remain active in Vulcan Inc., which manages his business and charitable endeavours, as well as in the Allen Institutes and his professional US sports teams the Seahawks and the Trail Blazers.

Allen, 65, is among the wealthiest people in the world, with a net worth estimated at more than $20 billion.

Allen left Microsoft in 1983 and is the founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc.

He owns the National Football League team the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association and is a part owner of the Major League Soccer team the Seattle Sounders.

Allen is also a major philanthropist, supporting the environment, education, science and more.

Billionaire Paul Allen, who founded US software giant Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, revealed on Monday he is in a new battle with cancer. Allen said in a tweet and at his website that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma he fought into remission nine years ago has returned.

Billionaire Paul Allen, who founded US software giant Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, revealed on Monday he is in a new battle with cancer. Allen said in a tweet and at his website that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma he fought into remission nine years ago has returned. The incurable cancer affects white blood cells. "My team of doctors has begun treatment of the disease and I plan on fighting this aggressively," Allen said. "My doctors are optimistic that I will see good results from the latest therapies, as am I." Allen planned to remain active in Vulcan Inc., which manages his business and charitable endeavours, as well as in the Allen Institutes and his professional US sports teams the Seahawks and the Trail Blazers. Allen, 65, is among the wealthiest people in the world, with a net worth estimated at more than $20 billion. Allen left Microsoft in 1983 and is the founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc. He owns the National Football League team the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association and is a part owner of the Major League Soccer team the Seattle Sounders. Allen is also a major philanthropist, supporting the environment, education, science and more.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen battles cancer anew

Facebook has formed data-sharing partnerships with 60 device makers, including Apple and Microsoft, giving them access to information of users and even their friends, a media report has claimed, weeks after the social media faced massive backlash for improperly sharing personal data of up to 87 million people.

The New York Times yesterday revealed the partnerships, shedding new light on the social media giant's behaviour related to customer data in the wake of a scandal involving the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook, which was founded in 2004, has reached data-sharing partnerships with at least 60 device makers including Apple, Amazon, BlackBerry, Microsoft and Samsung over the last decade, starting before Facebook apps were widely available on smartphones, company officials were quoted as saying by the report.

The deals allowed Facebook to expand its reach and let device makers offer customers popular features of the social network, such as messaging, "like" buttons and address books. The agreements that Facebook entered raise "concerns about the company's privacy protections and compliance with a 2011 consent decree" with the Federal Trade Commission, the report said.

"Facebook allowed the device companies access to the data of users' friends without their explicit consent, even after declaring that it would no longer share such information with outsiders," the daily said reporting the results of its investigation.

Some device makers could retrieve personal information even from users' friends who believed they had barred any sharing, The New York Times found.

In interviews to The New York Times, Facebook however defended its data sharing agreement and asserted that these are consistent with its privacy policies, the FTC agreement and pledges to users.

"These partnerships work very differently from the way in which app developers use our platform," Ime Archibong, Facebook vice president told the daily.

Unlike developers that provide games and services to Facebook users, the device partners can use Facebook data only to provide versions of "the Facebook experience," the officials were quoted as saying.

"You might think that Facebook or the device manufacturer is trustworthy. But the problem is that as more and more data is collected on the device and if it can be accessed by apps on the device it creates serious privacy and security risks," Serge Egelman, a privacy researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies the security of mobile apps, told the daily.

The report comes as Facebook has come under scrutiny for its handling of private data after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica accessed millions of users' private information.

In April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had admitted making a "huge mistake" as personal data of up to 87 million users may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

The deals allowed Facebook to expand its reach and let the device makers offer customers popular features of the social network, such as 'like' buttons and address books

Facebook has formed data-sharing partnerships with 60 device makers, including Apple and Microsoft, giving them access to information of users and even their friends, a media report has claimed, weeks after the social media faced massive backlash for improperly sharing personal data of up to 87 million people. The New York Times yesterday revealed the partnerships, shedding new light on the social media giant's behaviour related to customer data in the wake of a scandal involving the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook, which was founded in 2004, has reached data-sharing partnerships with at least 60 device makers including Apple, Amazon, BlackBerry, Microsoft and Samsung over the last decade, starting before Facebook apps were widely available on smartphones, company officials were quoted as saying by the report. The deals allowed Facebook to expand its reach and let device makers offer customers popular features of the social network, such as messaging, "like" buttons and address books. The agreements that Facebook entered raise "concerns about the company's privacy protections and compliance with a 2011 consent decree" with the Federal Trade Commission, the report said. "Facebook allowed the device companies access to the data of users' friends without their explicit consent, even after declaring that it would no longer share such information with outsiders," the daily said reporting the results of its investigation. Some device makers could retrieve personal information even from users' friends who believed they had barred any sharing, The New York Times found. In interviews to The New York Times, Facebook however defended its data sharing agreement and asserted that these are consistent with its privacy policies, the FTC agreement and pledges to users. "These partnerships work very differently from the way in which app developers use our platform," Ime Archibong, Facebook vice president told the daily. Unlike developers that provide games and services to Facebook users, the device partners can use Facebook data only to provide versions of "the Facebook experience," the officials were quoted as saying. "You might think that Facebook or the device manufacturer is trustworthy. But the problem is that as more and more data is collected on the device and if it can be accessed by apps on the device it creates serious privacy and security risks," Serge Egelman, a privacy researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies the security of mobile apps, told the daily. The report comes as Facebook has come under scrutiny for its handling of private data after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica accessed millions of users' private information. In April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had admitted making a "huge mistake" as personal data of up to 87 million users may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. ×

Facebook shared user data with over 60 device makers including Apple, Samsung: Report

More than 3,000 Google employees have sent a letter to chief executive officer Sundar Pichai, protesting against a Maven project for the US military.

The letter has asked to put a stop on company's Maven project for the Pentagon.

The letter which has been obtained by US daily, The New York Times reportedly reads "we believe that Google should not be in the business of war."

The letter further emphasis that working for a warfare could put off other workers that too in a time in which company is already struggling for people's trust.

The letter further argues that firms like Microsoft and Amazon who are also working for the military doesn't make this any less risky for the company and it is also against the Google's motto of 'don't be evil'.

The project issue was also raised in the companywide meeting by employees during which the Diane Greene leader of Google's cloud infrastructure business defenced the deal.

She further sought a cooperation from the employees and reassure concerned employees, The New York Times reported. &nbsp;

The tech giant&nbsp;is working on Maven project for Pentagon which uses artificial intelligence to analyse video imagery. The project reportedly will help in improving the precision of military drone strikes.

The video imagery will help in better identifying targetted people to avoid any innocent casualty.

According to news reports, the letter has also asked to promise that the company will never build warfare technology.

So far the letter has received 3,100 signatures including dozens of senior engineers of the company. The Google has workforce about 70,000 people.

However, the company subsequently has defended the project 'non-defensive' in nature.

Both Pentagon and Google have assured that the company will not create an autonomous weapons systems that could be used without a human operator.

&nbsp;&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

Google is working on Maven project for Pentagon which uses artificial intelligence to analyse video imagery

More than 3,000 Google employees have sent a letter to chief executive officer Sundar Pichai, protesting against a Maven project for the US military. The letter has asked to put a stop on company's Maven project for the Pentagon. The letter which has been obtained by US daily, The New York Times reportedly reads "we believe that Google should not be in the business of war." The letter further emphasis that working for a warfare could put off other workers that too in a time in which company is already struggling for people's trust. The letter further argues that firms like Microsoft and Amazon who are also working for the military doesn't make this any less risky for the company and it is also against the Google's motto of 'don't be evil'. The project issue was also raised in the companywide meeting by employees during which the Diane Greene leader of Google's cloud infrastructure business defenced the deal. She further sought a cooperation from the employees and reassure concerned employees, The New York Times reported. The tech giant is working on Maven project for Pentagon which uses artificial intelligence to analyse video imagery. The project reportedly will help in improving the precision of military drone strikes. The video imagery will help in better identifying targetted people to avoid any innocent casualty. According to news reports, the letter has also asked to promise that the company will never build warfare technology. So far the letter has received 3,100 signatures including dozens of senior engineers of the company. The Google has workforce about 70,000 people. However, the company subsequently has defended the project 'non-defensive' in nature. Both Pentagon and Google have assured that the company will not create an autonomous weapons systems that could be used without a human operator.

Over 3,000 Google employees sign a letter asking to stop Maven project for Pentagon

The US&nbspgovernment's Supreme Court battle with Microsoft Corp over whether technology companies can be forced to hand over data stored overseas could be nearing its end, after federal prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed.

President Donald Trump on March 22 signed a provision into law making it clear that US&nbspjudges can issue warrants for such data, while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law.

"This case is now moot," the US&nbspDepartment of Justice said, citing the newly passed legislation, in a 16-page court filing on Friday that requested the dismissal.&nbsp

The Supreme Court on Feb. 27 heard arguments in the case, which had been one of the most closely watched of the high court`s current term. Some justices urged Congress to pass a law to resolve the matter.&nbsp

Microsoft and the Justice Department had been locked in a dispute over how US&nbspprosecutors seek access to data held on overseas computer servers owned by American companies. The case involved Microsoft's challenge to a domestic warrant issued by a US&nbspjudge for emails stored on a Microsoft server in Dublin relating to a drug-trafficking investigation.

The bipartisan new law, known as the Cloud Act, was supported by Microsoft, other major technology companies and the Trump administration. But civil liberties groups opposed it, saying it lacked sufficient privacy protections.

Microsoft, which has 100 data centres in 40 countries, was the first American company to challenge a domestic search warrant seeking data held outside the United States. The Microsoft customer whose emails were sought told the company he was based in Ireland when he signed up for his account.

A representative for Microsoft did not immediately return requests for comment on the Justice Department's filing.

A representative for Microsoft did not immediately return requests for comment on the Justice Department`s filing

The US&nbspgovernment's Supreme Court battle with Microsoft Corp over whether technology companies can be forced to hand over data stored overseas could be nearing its end, after federal prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed. President Donald Trump on March 22 signed a provision into law making it clear that US&nbspjudges can issue warrants for such data, while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law. "This case is now moot," the US&nbspDepartment of Justice said, citing the newly passed legislation, in a 16-page court filing on Friday that requested the dismissal. The Supreme Court on Feb. 27 heard arguments in the case, which had been one of the most closely watched of the high court`s current term. Some justices urged Congress to pass a law to resolve the matter. Microsoft and the Justice Department had been locked in a dispute over how US&nbspprosecutors seek access to data held on overseas computer servers owned by American companies. The case involved Microsoft's challenge to a domestic warrant issued by a US&nbspjudge for emails stored on a Microsoft server in Dublin relating to a drug-trafficking investigation. The bipartisan new law, known as the Cloud Act, was supported by Microsoft, other major technology companies and the Trump administration. But civil liberties groups opposed it, saying it lacked sufficient privacy protections. Microsoft, which has 100 data centres in 40 countries, was the first American company to challenge a domestic search warrant seeking data held outside the United States. The Microsoft customer whose emails were sought told the company he was based in Ireland when he signed up for his account. A representative for Microsoft did not immediately return requests for comment on the Justice Department's filing.

US government seeks end to Supreme Court privacy fight with Microsoft

Microsoft Corp on Thursday said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of its Windows and devices business, will be leaving the company amid a major management reshuffle that increases the company's focus on its cloud products.

The latest transition builds on earlier efforts to unite engineers who work on software with those that oversee hardware. Microsoft is creating two new engineering teams, with one focusing on how consumers use technology and the other on how businesses use cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Microsoft said that elevates the role of Rajesh Jha, who will lead a team focused on user experience across devices that they encounter at home or work.

The move also consolidates more of Microsoft's business software efforts under Scott Guthrie, who oversees the fast-growing unit that sells cloud computing services to businesses.

Myerson has been at Microsoft for more than two decades, and his responsibilities had grown significantly through several reorganizations since 2013. He has been supervising the company's products including Surface, Xbox and HoloLens Mixed Reality and services such as Windows and Office.

Myerson will be working with Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition of the leadership changes, Nadella said in an email to all Microsoft employees.

Myerson will be working with CEO Satya Nadella in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition of the leadership changes, Nadella said in an email to all Microsoft employees

Microsoft Corp on Thursday said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of its Windows and devices business, will be leaving the company amid a major management reshuffle that increases the company's focus on its cloud products. The latest transition builds on earlier efforts to unite engineers who work on software with those that oversee hardware. Microsoft is creating two new engineering teams, with one focusing on how consumers use technology and the other on how businesses use cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Microsoft said that elevates the role of Rajesh Jha, who will lead a team focused on user experience across devices that they encounter at home or work. The move also consolidates more of Microsoft's business software efforts under Scott Guthrie, who oversees the fast-growing unit that sells cloud computing services to businesses. Myerson has been at Microsoft for more than two decades, and his responsibilities had grown significantly through several reorganizations since 2013. He has been supervising the company's products including Surface, Xbox and HoloLens Mixed Reality and services such as Windows and Office. Myerson will be working with Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition of the leadership changes, Nadella said in an email to all Microsoft employees.

Microsoft's Windows head to leave company amid reorganization

Apple Inc on Tuesday rolled out a new iPad that works with its Apple Pencil and is aimed at grabbing more of the US education market, but did not cut the price of the tablet despite fierce competition from cheaper laptops.

The device will have a more powerful computing chip and extensive new software features aimed at teachers and students but keep the existing starting price of $299 for students and $329 for the general public.

Apple is looking to reassert its dominance in US schools, where inexpensive devices and laptops that are geared towards classroom use are seen as a way to hook young consumers.

Laptops running operating systems by Alphabet Inc's Google or Microsoft Corp can be had for less than $200.

Some analysts had believed Apple might cut prices, but the company stuck with its more traditional approach of packing more features into a device and maintaining its minimum price point.

Apple hit hard on the education theme at the Chicago event, with school bells and announcements over a public address system directing press and more than 300 teachers into an auditorium at Lane Tech College Prep High School. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook opened the keynote with a nod to politics, saying "we are deeply inspired by the courage of the students who walked out" and marched on Washington, advocating for stricter gun control laws following a school shooting in Florida.

The line elicited cheers from students seated at the rear of the auditorium.

The Chicago event comes during a spring buying season when many schools are making purchasing decisions for the upcoming school year.

"We`ve been at this for 40 years and we care deeply about education," Cook said.

Apple executives said the company will release a iPad model that works with its pencil accessory and features an upgraded A10 Fusion chip, the same CPU that powers the iPhone 7.

The company also released a new version of its word processing apps for the iPad designed to work with the pencil and allow students to take handwritten notes more easily.

Apple made up just 17 per cent of the K-12 US educational market in the third quarter, according to data from Futuresource Consulting.

Meanwhile 60 per cent of mobile computing shipments to schools ran Google's Chrome operating system, and 22 per cent had Windows.

Chromebooks sold by Dell Technologies Inc cost as little as $189.

Microsoft last year introduced an education-focused laptop from partner Lenovo Group Ltd running Window 10 S.

Apple in recent years made changes to its operating system so that more than one student can log into an iPad, and to its software to let teachers better manage groups of students.

But it faces a tough battle in the educational market given the popularity of Google and Microsoft`s cloud-based productivity suites, said Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies.

Google's G Suite fueled Chromebook sales because it was seen as easy to use to manage assignments.

"Most teachers don`t look past G Suite for education," she said. Apple has iWork, which added features in recent years but remains less familiar to teachers than Google`s productivity suite or Microsoft's Office. Sales of iPads made up just 8.3 per cent of Apple's $229.2 billion total revenue last year, compared with the nearly 62 per cent of sales generated by iPhones.

Some analysts had believed Apple might cut prices, but the company stuck with its more traditional approach of packing more features into a device and maintaining its minimum price point.

Apple Inc on Tuesday rolled out a new iPad that works with its Apple Pencil and is aimed at grabbing more of the US education market, but did not cut the price of the tablet despite fierce competition from cheaper laptops. The device will have a more powerful computing chip and extensive new software features aimed at teachers and students but keep the existing starting price of $299 for students and $329 for the general public. Apple is looking to reassert its dominance in US schools, where inexpensive devices and laptops that are geared towards classroom use are seen as a way to hook young consumers. Laptops running operating systems by Alphabet Inc's Google or Microsoft Corp can be had for less than $200. Some analysts had believed Apple might cut prices, but the company stuck with its more traditional approach of packing more features into a device and maintaining its minimum price point. Apple hit hard on the education theme at the Chicago event, with school bells and announcements over a public address system directing press and more than 300 teachers into an auditorium at Lane Tech College Prep High School. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook opened the keynote with a nod to politics, saying "we are deeply inspired by the courage of the students who walked out" and marched on Washington, advocating for stricter gun control laws following a school shooting in Florida. The line elicited cheers from students seated at the rear of the auditorium. The Chicago event comes during a spring buying season when many schools are making purchasing decisions for the upcoming school year. "We`ve been at this for 40 years and we care deeply about education," Cook said. Apple executives said the company will release a iPad model that works with its pencil accessory and features an upgraded A10 Fusion chip, the same CPU that powers the iPhone 7. The company also released a new version of its word processing apps for the iPad designed to work with the pencil and allow students to take handwritten notes more easily. Apple made up just 17 per cent of the K-12 US educational market in the third quarter, according to data from Futuresource Consulting. Meanwhile 60 per cent of mobile computing shipments to schools ran Google's Chrome operating system, and 22 per cent had Windows. Chromebooks sold by Dell Technologies Inc cost as little as $189. Microsoft last year introduced an education-focused laptop from partner Lenovo Group Ltd running Window 10 S. Apple in recent years made changes to its operating system so that more than one student can log into an iPad, and to its software to let teachers better manage groups of students. But it faces a tough battle in the educational market given the popularity of Google and Microsoft`s cloud-based productivity suites, said Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies. Google's G Suite fueled Chromebook sales because it was seen as easy to use to manage assignments. "Most teachers don`t look past G Suite for education," she said. Apple has iWork, which added features in recent years but remains less familiar to teachers than Google`s productivity suite or Microsoft's Office. Sales of iPads made up just 8.3 per cent of Apple's $229.2 billion total revenue last year, compared with the nearly 62 per cent of sales generated by iPhones.

Apple unveils new iPad for students

A senior executive said Microsoft Corp thoroughly investigates issues raised by women in the workplace and fired about 20 employees last year over complaints of sexual harassment as the company seeks to counter claims that it treats female workers unfairly.

In an email to employees publicly released late on Thursday, Microsoft Chief People Officer Kathleen Hogan said Microsoft had 83 harassment complaints in 2017 out of a US-based workforce of over 65,000 employees.

Nearly 50 per cent were found to be supported at least in part following an investigation, she said, and more than half of those resulted in the termination of an employee who engaged in unacceptable behaviour.

The unusual publication of such data comes as the world&#39;s largest software company is defending a lawsuit which alleges it systematically denied pay raises or promotions to women. Microsoft denies it has ever had such a policy.

The lawsuit, filed in Seattle federal court in 2015, is attracting wider attention after a series of powerful men have left or been fired from their jobs in entertainment, the media and politics for sexual misconduct.

Microsoft also investigated 84 complaints of gender discrimination last year, Hogan said, and found around 10 per cent of those to be supported at least in part.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported on the contents of unsealed court documents which showed that out of 118 gender discrimination complaints filed by women in U.S.-based technical jobs at Microsoft between 2010 and 2016, only one was deemed &quot;founded&quot; by the company.

Attorneys for the women described the number of complaints as &quot;shocking&quot; in the court filings, and said the response by Microsoft&#39;s investigations team was &quot;lacklustre.&quot;

Hogan&#39;s email on Thursday&nbsp;said the numbers cited by plaintiffs were misleading.

&quot;Reports that we rarely reach a conclusion in favour of the complainant are based on a faulty reading of a partial data set,&quot; Hogan wrote.

Hogan&#39;s email did not provide additional figures about the time period cited in the court documents.

The plaintiffs based their numbers on documents disclosed by Microsoft during pre-trial discovery in the lawsuit. Kelly Dermody, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined to comment on Hogan&#39;s email.

Alaina Percival, chief executive of Women Who Code, an organization that helps companies increase their number of women developers, said publicly releasing this kind of data can help businesses learn from each other about the best ways to handle sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

&quot;I think other tech companies should follow suit, and I would expect to see that happen,&quot; Percival said

Microsoft Chief People Officer Kathleen Hogan said Microsoft had 83 harassment complaints in 2017 out of a US-based workforce of over 65,000 employees

A senior executive said Microsoft Corp thoroughly investigates issues raised by women in the workplace and fired about 20 employees last year over complaints of sexual harassment as the company seeks to counter claims that it treats female workers unfairly. In an email to employees publicly released late on Thursday, Microsoft Chief People Officer Kathleen Hogan said Microsoft had 83 harassment complaints in 2017 out of a US-based workforce of over 65,000 employees. Nearly 50 per cent were found to be supported at least in part following an investigation, she said, and more than half of those resulted in the termination of an employee who engaged in unacceptable behaviour. The unusual publication of such data comes as the world's largest software company is defending a lawsuit which alleges it systematically denied pay raises or promotions to women. Microsoft denies it has ever had such a policy. The lawsuit, filed in Seattle federal court in 2015, is attracting wider attention after a series of powerful men have left or been fired from their jobs in entertainment, the media and politics for sexual misconduct. Microsoft also investigated 84 complaints of gender discrimination last year, Hogan said, and found around 10 per cent of those to be supported at least in part. Earlier this week, Reuters reported on the contents of unsealed court documents which showed that out of 118 gender discrimination complaints filed by women in U.S.-based technical jobs at Microsoft between 2010 and 2016, only one was deemed "founded" by the company. Attorneys for the women described the number of complaints as "shocking" in the court filings, and said the response by Microsoft's investigations team was "lacklustre." Hogan's email on Thursday said the numbers cited by plaintiffs were misleading. "Reports that we rarely reach a conclusion in favour of the complainant are based on a faulty reading of a partial data set," Hogan wrote. Hogan's email did not provide additional figures about the time period cited in the court documents. The plaintiffs based their numbers on documents disclosed by Microsoft during pre-trial discovery in the lawsuit. Kelly Dermody, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined to comment on Hogan's email. Alaina Percival, chief executive of Women Who Code, an organization that helps companies increase their number of women developers, said publicly releasing this kind of data can help businesses learn from each other about the best ways to handle sexual harassment and gender discrimination. "I think other tech companies should follow suit, and I would expect to see that happen," Percival said

Microsoft hits back at claims it ignored sexual harassment

Women at Microsoft Corp working in US-based technical jobs filed 238 internal complaints about gender discrimination or sexual harassment between 2010 and 2016, according to court filings made public on Monday.

The figure was suggested by plaintiffs suing Microsoft for refusing pay raises or promotions to women, although, the company has denied these allegations.&nbsp;

The charges were made in 2015 in Seattle federal court, is attracting wider attention after a series of powerful men have left or been fired from their jobs in entertainment, the media and politics for sexual misconduct.&nbsp;

More than 8,000 women could be covered in the lawsuit which Plaintiffs have been pushing to&nbsp;go ahead with. Microsoft&#39;s practices made public on Monday in legal filings submitted as part of that process.

Out of 118 gender discrimination complaints filed by women at Microsoft, only one was deemed &quot;founded&quot; by the company, according to details in the unsealed court filings.

Attorneys for the women called the number of complaints &quot;shocking&quot; in the court filings and the response by Microsoft&#39;s investigations team &quot;lackluster.&quot;

Microsoft said in court filings that the plaintiffs did not identify practices that impact enough employees to warrant a class action and that it spends more than $55 million per year to promote diversity and inclusion. The company had about 74,000 U.S. employees at the end of last year.

Microsoft said the plaintiffs cannot cite one example of a pay or promotion problem in which Microsoft&#39;s investigations team should have found a violation of company policy, but did not. A Microsoft spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Just last week, Microsoft released a special version last week of a twice-monthly published podcast that focuses on women in business and technology. The podcast celebrates International Women&rsquo;s Day.

The podcast is said to be hosted by Colleen O&rsquo;Brien and Sonia Dara. The duo interviewed Toni Townes-Whitley, who holds the new role of corporate vice president of industry at Microsoft. The goal of the team is to flow with the changes in a variety of industries. &nbsp;

But Townes-Whitley has another charter to keep woman excited about technology. She refers to it in the podcast as the &ldquo;pink color.&rdquo;

The figure was suggested by plaintiffs suing Microsoft for refusing pay raises or promotions to women, although, the company has denied these allegations

Women at Microsoft Corp working in US-based technical jobs filed 238 internal complaints about gender discrimination or sexual harassment between 2010 and 2016, according to court filings made public on Monday. The figure was suggested by plaintiffs suing Microsoft for refusing pay raises or promotions to women, although, the company has denied these allegations. The charges were made in 2015 in Seattle federal court, is attracting wider attention after a series of powerful men have left or been fired from their jobs in entertainment, the media and politics for sexual misconduct. More than 8,000 women could be covered in the lawsuit which Plaintiffs have been pushing to go ahead with. Microsoft's practices made public on Monday in legal filings submitted as part of that process. Out of 118 gender discrimination complaints filed by women at Microsoft, only one was deemed "founded" by the company, according to details in the unsealed court filings. Attorneys for the women called the number of complaints "shocking" in the court filings and the response by Microsoft's investigations team "lackluster." Microsoft said in court filings that the plaintiffs did not identify practices that impact enough employees to warrant a class action and that it spends more than $55 million per year to promote diversity and inclusion. The company had about 74,000 U.S. employees at the end of last year. Microsoft said the plaintiffs cannot cite one example of a pay or promotion problem in which Microsoft's investigations team should have found a violation of company policy, but did not. A Microsoft spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment. Just last week, Microsoft released a special version last week of a twice-monthly published podcast that focuses on women in business and technology. The podcast celebrates International Women’s Day. The podcast is said to be hosted by Colleen O’Brien and Sonia Dara. The duo interviewed Toni Townes-Whitley, who holds the new role of corporate vice president of industry at Microsoft. The goal of the team is to flow with the changes in a variety of industries. But Townes-Whitley has another charter to keep woman excited about technology. She refers to it in the podcast as the “pink color.”

238 women at Microsoft filed complain against gender discrimination, sexual harassment

Now, Microsoft users will be able to use its apps and services, like Office 365, Outlook 2016, Outlook.com, Exchange Online and Exchange Online Protection (EOP), in 15 Indian languages.&nbsp;

Microsoft on Wednesday announced support for e-mail addresses in 15 local languages of India.

Indian users will now be able to use local language e-mail addresses for their Outlook accounts.&nbsp;

Microsoft&#39;s announcement came on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day.&nbsp;

Users will also be able to send and receive emails from local language e-mail addresses via Outlook client installed on their personal computers.&nbsp;

The move comes as Microsoft&#39;s bid to support Email Address Internationalisation (EAI) across its eco-system. The giant aims to make technology accessible in local languages.

Microsoft announced the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to improve real-time language translation for Hindi, Bengali and Tamil languages. The announcement came last month.&nbsp;

Indian users will now be able to use local language e-mail addresses for Outlook accounts

Now, Microsoft users will be able to use its apps and services, like Office 365, Outlook 2016, Outlook.com, Exchange Online and Exchange Online Protection (EOP), in 15 Indian languages. Microsoft on Wednesday announced support for e-mail addresses in 15 local languages of India. Indian users will now be able to use local language e-mail addresses for their Outlook accounts. Microsoft's announcement came on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day. Users will also be able to send and receive emails from local language e-mail addresses via Outlook client installed on their personal computers. The move comes as Microsoft's bid to support Email Address Internationalisation (EAI) across its eco-system. The giant aims to make technology accessible in local languages. Microsoft announced the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to improve real-time language translation for Hindi, Bengali and Tamil languages. The announcement came last month.

Now, Microsoft users can create email IDs in 15 Indian languages

Microsoft&nbsp;may&nbsp;soon make an official announcement to launch gaming console Xbox One X in India.&nbsp;

The gaming console&nbsp;is already launched in the international market and within months of its international launch, it is now set to enter the Indian markets.&nbsp;

Powered by eight -core custom AMD CPU clocked at 2.3 GHz, 12 GB of GDDR5 VRAM and a 6 Teraflop GPU, Xbox is said to be Microsoft&#39;s most powerful console and smallest console.&nbsp;

Its competitor in the Indian market is Sony&#39;s PS4 Pro Console which supports up to 4.2 teraflops while the Xbox One X is designed to offer up to 6 teraflops.&nbsp;

The Microsoft Xbox One provides games for PC also whereas the Sony does not.

The console comes with some 100 odd games which would consume quite high volumes of the internet for downloading.&nbsp;

Microsoft is also providing its customers with the option of switching from Xbox One S to Xbox One X. The users of the older version of the gaming console can upgrade to the Xbox One X by downloading it for 4K assets.&nbsp;

The gaming console is already launched in the international market and within months of its international launch, it is now set to enter the Indian markets

Microsoft may soon make an official announcement to launch gaming console Xbox One X in India. The gaming console is already launched in the international market and within months of its international launch, it is now set to enter the Indian markets. Powered by eight -core custom AMD CPU clocked at 2.3 GHz, 12 GB of GDDR5 VRAM and a 6 Teraflop GPU, Xbox is said to be Microsoft's most powerful console and smallest console. Its competitor in the Indian market is Sony's PS4 Pro Console which supports up to 4.2 teraflops while the Xbox One X is designed to offer up to 6 teraflops. The Microsoft Xbox One provides games for PC also whereas the Sony does not. The console comes with some 100 odd games which would consume quite high volumes of the internet for downloading. Microsoft is also providing its customers with the option of switching from Xbox One S to Xbox One X. The users of the older version of the gaming console can upgrade to the Xbox One X by downloading it for 4K assets.

Microsoft may launch gaming console Xbox One X in India on January 23

According to media reports, Google is the first tech-giant to have spent a huge sum of money for corporate lobbying efforts in the United States in two decades.&nbsp;

While Jeff Bezos-led Amazon spent over&nbsp;$12.8 million over lobbying US politicians the past year, rival Google invested a whopping $18 million.&nbsp;

The two companies were followed by Mark Zuckerberg&#39;s Facebook ($11.5), Bill Gates&#39; Microsoft ($8.5 million) and Tim Cook-led Apple ($7 million).

Reportedly, the companies used the money to press the US lawmakers on issues like advertising regulations, free trade, cybersecurity and immigration.&nbsp;

Facebook is reported to have upped its spending on lobbying activities by around $3 million.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

Facebook is reported to have upped its spending on lobbying activities by around $3 million

According to media reports, Google is the first tech-giant to have spent a huge sum of money for corporate lobbying efforts in the United States in two decades. While Jeff Bezos-led Amazon spent over $12.8 million over lobbying US politicians the past year, rival Google invested a whopping $18 million. The two companies were followed by Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook ($11.5), Bill Gates' Microsoft ($8.5 million) and Tim Cook-led Apple ($7 million). Reportedly, the companies used the money to press the US lawmakers on issues like advertising regulations, free trade, cybersecurity and immigration. Facebook is reported to have upped its spending on lobbying activities by around $3 million.

US: Google becomes the biggest tech spender on lobbying politicians

Tech giant Microsoft launched gaming console <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/microsoft-may-launch-gaming-console-xbox-one-x-in-india-on-january-23-30393" target="_blank">Xbox One X</a> for Rs 44,990 in India.

It is the smallest and most feature-rich Xbox ever launched by the multinational company.

The console is designed for being immersive 4K gaming and 4K entertainment.

It will provide an access to most diverse games lineup including Forza Motorsport 7, Assassin&#39;s Creed: Origins, Cuphead and Super Lucky&#39;s Tale.

The gaming console&nbsp;is already launched in the international market and within months of its international launch, it is now set to enter the Indian markets.&nbsp;

Its competitor in the Indian market is Sony&#39;s PS4 Pro Console which supports up to 4.2 teraflops while the Xbox One X is designed to offer up to 6 teraflops.&nbsp;

The Microsoft Xbox One provides games for PC also whereas the Sony does not.

The console comes with some 100 odd games which would consume quite high volumes of the internet for downloading.&nbsp;

It will be available online on Microsoft India store, Amazon India and Flipkart.

The console is designed for being immersive 4K gaming and 4K entertainment

Tech giant Microsoft launched gaming console Xbox One X for Rs 44,990 in India. It is the smallest and most feature-rich Xbox ever launched by the multinational company. The console is designed for being immersive 4K gaming and 4K entertainment. It will provide an access to most diverse games lineup including Forza Motorsport 7, Assassin's Creed: Origins, Cuphead and Super Lucky's Tale. The gaming console is already launched in the international market and within months of its international launch, it is now set to enter the Indian markets. Its competitor in the Indian market is Sony's PS4 Pro Console which supports up to 4.2 teraflops while the Xbox One X is designed to offer up to 6 teraflops. The Microsoft Xbox One provides games for PC also whereas the Sony does not. The console comes with some 100 odd games which would consume quite high volumes of the internet for downloading. It will be available online on Microsoft India store, Amazon India and Flipkart.

Microsoft launches Xbox One X for Rs 44,990 in India

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere now. From phones, Tv&#39;s to retail, e-commerce and even toilets!&nbsp; We are now in an era where anything that uses an algorithm can be called AI.&nbsp;

Facts say that with the upcoming use of AI, millions of people will be out of jobs in few years.&nbsp;

Web Summit, the massive technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, polled 224 investors in one of the sub-conferences within the Web Summit framework where 93% of them said that AI will &#39;destroy&#39; jobs. Tesla CEO Elton Musk claimed that the race to development of AI will lead to World War III, founder of venture capital firm &#39;Sinovation&#39;, Kai-Fu Lee has said that AI will replace 50% off all jobs in the next decade.&nbsp;

A survey conducted by Quartz - with 1,600 respondents from 84 countries, mostly in the US&nbsp; - stated that 90% respondents thought&nbsp;that up to half of the jobs would be lost to automation within five years.&nbsp;

However, AI may only be able to do about 50 to 60 per cent of the work, one will need humans to fill up the 50-40 per cent. Only using AI algorithms won&#39;t work. That&#39;s when skilled humans come into play. Its all about balance!&nbsp;

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Jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025 (Others)
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Therefore, the myth that AI will lead to more job losses can be soundly debunked - that&#39;s what history tells us.&nbsp;

The Industrial revolution spanned a technological revolution in the 19th century. It sparked major changes in virtually every sphere of human existence in Britain where it began. The British economy boomed as a result with new innovations in textile with the mechanised spinning, the advent of steam power to power engines and several other breakthrough designs.

The people adapted too, it did not mean employment fell, in fact, more and more people were added to the workforce as a result of &quot;mechanisation&quot;.&nbsp; It meant upgradation of skills which helped the British economy to expand and seize new markets in Asia and Africa.

The advent of computers in the workplace is another example of &quot;humans adapting to machines&quot;.&nbsp;

During the 60s and 70s in the US, computers increasingly began to enter offices which allowed small business to compete with large corporations. The rise of Apple in the 70s and Microsoft in the 80s can be attributed to the introduction of PCs in that era, despite this today after over 40 years since Apple it has employed more and more people into its company and spawned a culture of start-ups.

In the 80s and 90s, PCs aka &quot;machines&quot; helped &quot;humans&quot; to do away several tedious jobs and eliminated manual labour helping small companies not only to become more efficient but also helped the workforce to become sharper. Today in the era of startups and apps, technology has helped to take humans into a new frontier which promises a new era of growth and prosperity.

In contrary to remarks that robots will replace human workers, research firms predicts that AI may actually create more jobs than expected.&nbsp;

By 2020, AI will generate about 2.3 million jobs - exceeding the 1.8 million that will be ticked off. Moreover, jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025.&nbsp;

Humans throughout history have adapted and &quot;re-skilled&quot; themselves as new technologies have entered the cycle, despite rumblings and disruptions it has only meant the &quot;comfort level&quot; has increased for us humans. Artificial Intelligence, in this respect, should not be &quot;feared&quot; rather it should be &quot;adapted&quot;.

For instance, as chatbots, robots, automated kiosks come into existence - more people imagine that it will capture jobs, but all this technology is only creating a better user interface. Look at automated kiosks for instance. Now, Mcdonald&#39;s in New York welcomes customers with a &ldquo;Create Your Taste&rdquo; kiosk - an automated touch-screen system that allows customers to create their own burgers without interacting with another human being. Does this mean cashiers and waiters will go out of jobs? NO. This is just innovation in technology which will, in turn, lead to a shift in skill - not jobs.&nbsp;

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Mcdonalds&#39; &ldquo;Create Your Taste&rdquo; kiosk (Others)
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Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple have invested millions in this field (smartbots, chatbots, AI algorithms etc) - why? because this will eventually generate better customer interaction, seamless user journeys, reduce search time, create quick and efficient responses. AI&#39;s role as a mediator between humans and technology has become the greatest triumph.&nbsp;

The jobs will be affected - yes - but that does not infer that jobs will be &quot;destroyed&quot;. The number of jobs that will be affected will vary for different industries, with public sector, education, healthcare booming. AI will &quot;replace&quot; jobs of low-skilled workers in IT sectors in India alone with more medium and high skilled jobs - which are expected to rise to about 1 million in the next five years.&nbsp;

Let&#39;s take driverless cars, for example, though driver won&rsquo;t be entirely displaced by self-driving cars, the nature of their work will fundamentally change. While the percentage of human drivers giving trips may go down, the absolute number of humans may actually go up. The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs like maintaining the car fleets, jobs that don&#39;t exist today because there has never been a need. Part of advancing technology has always meant that some professions become extinct in the process.&nbsp;

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The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs (Others)
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The fact is humans need to power the machines, it is a fantasy built by bloggers and science fiction enthusiasts who have, increasingly, through social media played the game of calling AI a barrier for mankind, but history teaches us that man has always &quot;upgraded&quot; himself since time in memorial.

So, once again, AI will eliminate a number of middle and low levels positions but it will give rise to more highly-skilled management and also entry-level and low-skilled jobs, it will accelerate innovation to a new level and fundamentally change the way businesses will run across the board. Focus should be more on augmenting people with AI, transforming culture to make it adaptable to AI-related job opportunities and threats.&nbsp;

AI may only be able to do about 50 to 60 per cent of the work, one will need humans to fill up at 50-40 per cent. Only using AI algorithms won't work. That's when skilled humans come into play. Its all about balance!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere now. From phones, Tv's to retail, e-commerce and even toilets! We are now in an era where anything that uses an algorithm can be called AI. Facts say that with the upcoming use of AI, millions of people will be out of jobs in few years. Web Summit, the massive technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, polled 224 investors in one of the sub-conferences within the Web Summit framework where 93% of them said that AI will 'destroy' jobs. Tesla CEO Elton Musk claimed that the race to development of AI will lead to World War III, founder of venture capital firm 'Sinovation', Kai-Fu Lee has said that AI will replace 50% off all jobs in the next decade. A survey conducted by Quartz - with 1,600 respondents from 84 countries, mostly in the US - stated that 90% respondents thought that up to half of the jobs would be lost to automation within five years. However, AI may only be able to do about 50 to 60 per cent of the work, one will need humans to fill up the 50-40 per cent. Only using AI algorithms won't work. That's when skilled humans come into play. Its all about balance! Jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025 (Others) × Therefore, the myth that AI will lead to more job losses can be soundly debunked - that's what history tells us. The Industrial revolution spanned a technological revolution in the 19th century. It sparked major changes in virtually every sphere of human existence in Britain where it began. The British economy boomed as a result with new innovations in textile with the mechanised spinning, the advent of steam power to power engines and several other breakthrough designs. The people adapted too, it did not mean employment fell, in fact, more and more people were added to the workforce as a result of "mechanisation". It meant upgradation of skills which helped the British economy to expand and seize new markets in Asia and Africa. The advent of computers in the workplace is another example of "humans adapting to machines". During the 60s and 70s in the US, computers increasingly began to enter offices which allowed small business to compete with large corporations. The rise of Apple in the 70s and Microsoft in the 80s can be attributed to the introduction of PCs in that era, despite this today after over 40 years since Apple it has employed more and more people into its company and spawned a culture of start-ups. In the 80s and 90s, PCs aka "machines" helped "humans" to do away several tedious jobs and eliminated manual labour helping small companies not only to become more efficient but also helped the workforce to become sharper. Today in the era of startups and apps, technology has helped to take humans into a new frontier which promises a new era of growth and prosperity. In contrary to remarks that robots will replace human workers, research firms predicts that AI may actually create more jobs than expected. By 2020, AI will generate about 2.3 million jobs - exceeding the 1.8 million that will be ticked off. Moreover, jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025. Humans throughout history have adapted and "re-skilled" themselves as new technologies have entered the cycle, despite rumblings and disruptions it has only meant the "comfort level" has increased for us humans. Artificial Intelligence, in this respect, should not be "feared" rather it should be "adapted". For instance, as chatbots, robots, automated kiosks come into existence - more people imagine that it will capture jobs, but all this technology is only creating a better user interface. Look at automated kiosks for instance. Now, Mcdonald's in New York welcomes customers with a “Create Your Taste” kiosk - an automated touch-screen system that allows customers to create their own burgers without interacting with another human being. Does this mean cashiers and waiters will go out of jobs? NO. This is just innovation in technology which will, in turn, lead to a shift in skill - not jobs. Mcdonalds' “Create Your Taste” kiosk (Others) × Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple have invested millions in this field (smartbots, chatbots, AI algorithms etc) - why? because this will eventually generate better customer interaction, seamless user journeys, reduce search time, create quick and efficient responses. AI's role as a mediator between humans and technology has become the greatest triumph. The jobs will be affected - yes - but that does not infer that jobs will be "destroyed". The number of jobs that will be affected will vary for different industries, with public sector, education, healthcare booming. AI will "replace" jobs of low-skilled workers in IT sectors in India alone with more medium and high skilled jobs - which are expected to rise to about 1 million in the next five years. Let's take driverless cars, for example, though driver won’t be entirely displaced by self-driving cars, the nature of their work will fundamentally change. While the percentage of human drivers giving trips may go down, the absolute number of humans may actually go up. The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs like maintaining the car fleets, jobs that don't exist today because there has never been a need. Part of advancing technology has always meant that some professions become extinct in the process. The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs (Others) × The fact is humans need to power the machines, it is a fantasy built by bloggers and science fiction enthusiasts who have, increasingly, through social media played the game of calling AI a barrier for mankind, but history teaches us that man has always "upgraded" himself since time in memorial. So, once again, AI will eliminate a number of middle and low levels positions but it will give rise to more highly-skilled management and also entry-level and low-skilled jobs, it will accelerate innovation to a new level and fundamentally change the way businesses will run across the board. Focus should be more on augmenting people with AI, transforming culture to make it adaptable to AI-related job opportunities and threats.

Don't believe the naysayers, Artificial Intelligence will create 2.3 million jobs by 2020

Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday that software patches released to guard against microchip security threats slowed down some personal computers and servers, with systems running on older Intel Corp processors seeing a noticeable decrease in performance.

The comments in a blog post were the clearest signal from Microsoft that fixes for flaws in microchips from Intel and rivals described last week could meaningfully degrade performance. The topic is of keen interest to large data centre operators, which could incur significant cost increases if computers slow down.

Microsoft also said that security updates froze some computers using chipsets from Intel rival AMD, dragging AMD&#39;s shares down nearly 4 percent.

Shares in Intel, which reiterated on Tuesday that it saw no sign of significant slowdown in computers, fell 2.5 percent taking the loss since the issue surfaced last week to about 7 percent or around $15 billion in market value.

AMD shares have gained nearly 20 percent in the last week as investors speculated that the chipmaker could wrest market share from Intel, whose chips were most exposed to the security flaws.

Security researchers disclosed the flaws on January 3 that affected nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel, AMD and ARM Holdings, owned by Japan`s SoftBank Group Corp.

&quot;We (and others in the industry) had learned of this vulnerability under nondisclosure agreement several months ago and immediately began developing engineering mitigations and updating our cloud infrastructure,&quot; Microsoft executive Terry Myerson wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Internet and networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc said in a security advisory updated on Tuesday that it has identified 18 vulnerable products, including some of its blade servers, rack servers and routers, and expects to have patches for servers in about five weeks, on February 18.

Cisco said it is also looking for problems in nearly 30 other products, including switches and routers. The majority of Cisco&#39;s products were not vulnerable because they are &quot;closed systems that do not allow customers to run custom code on the device,&quot; it said.

The memory corruption flaws, named Meltdown and Spectre, could allow hackers to bypass operating systems and other security software to steal passwords or encryption keys on most types of computers, phones and cloud-based servers.

ARM Holdings estimated that around 5 percent of more than 120 billion chips its partners have shipped since 1991 was impacted by Spectre. It said the number of chips affected by Meltdown was significantly less.

&quot;ARM will address Spectre in future processors but there will need to be an ongoing discipline in the design of secure systems which needs to be addressed through both software and hardware,&quot; a company spokesman said in an emailed statement.&nbsp;

Intel and AMD have not disclosed the number of chips affected by the security flaws.

Intel said a typical home and business PC user should not see significant slowdowns in common tasks such as reading email, writing a document or accessing digital photos.&nbsp;

The chipmaker said last week that fixes for security issues in its microchips would not slow down computers, rebuffing concerns that the flaws would significantly reduce performance.

Rival AMD had also played down the threat, saying its products were at &quot;zero risk&quot; from the Meltdown flaw, but that one variant of the Spectre bug could be resolved by software updates from vendors such as Microsoft.

But on Tuesday AMD said it was aware of an issue with some older-generation processors following the installation of a Microsoft security update that was published over the weekend.

Microsoft said it was working with AMD to resolve the issues.

Apple Inc also released an updated version of its operating system software on Monday to fix the security flaw.

Security researchers disclosed the flaws on January 3 that affected nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel, AMD and ARM Holdings, owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp

Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday that software patches released to guard against microchip security threats slowed down some personal computers and servers, with systems running on older Intel Corp processors seeing a noticeable decrease in performance. The comments in a blog post were the clearest signal from Microsoft that fixes for flaws in microchips from Intel and rivals described last week could meaningfully degrade performance. The topic is of keen interest to large data centre operators, which could incur significant cost increases if computers slow down. Microsoft also said that security updates froze some computers using chipsets from Intel rival AMD, dragging AMD's shares down nearly 4 percent. Shares in Intel, which reiterated on Tuesday that it saw no sign of significant slowdown in computers, fell 2.5 percent taking the loss since the issue surfaced last week to about 7 percent or around $15 billion in market value. AMD shares have gained nearly 20 percent in the last week as investors speculated that the chipmaker could wrest market share from Intel, whose chips were most exposed to the security flaws. Security researchers disclosed the flaws on January 3 that affected nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel, AMD and ARM Holdings, owned by Japan`s SoftBank Group Corp. "We (and others in the industry) had learned of this vulnerability under nondisclosure agreement several months ago and immediately began developing engineering mitigations and updating our cloud infrastructure," Microsoft executive Terry Myerson wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. Internet and networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc said in a security advisory updated on Tuesday that it has identified 18 vulnerable products, including some of its blade servers, rack servers and routers, and expects to have patches for servers in about five weeks, on February 18. Cisco said it is also looking for problems in nearly 30 other products, including switches and routers. The majority of Cisco's products were not vulnerable because they are "closed systems that do not allow customers to run custom code on the device," it said. The memory corruption flaws, named Meltdown and Spectre, could allow hackers to bypass operating systems and other security software to steal passwords or encryption keys on most types of computers, phones and cloud-based servers. ARM Holdings estimated that around 5 percent of more than 120 billion chips its partners have shipped since 1991 was impacted by Spectre. It said the number of chips affected by Meltdown was significantly less. "ARM will address Spectre in future processors but there will need to be an ongoing discipline in the design of secure systems which needs to be addressed through both software and hardware," a company spokesman said in an emailed statement. Intel and AMD have not disclosed the number of chips affected by the security flaws. Intel said a typical home and business PC user should not see significant slowdowns in common tasks such as reading email, writing a document or accessing digital photos. The chipmaker said last week that fixes for security issues in its microchips would not slow down computers, rebuffing concerns that the flaws would significantly reduce performance. Rival AMD had also played down the threat, saying its products were at "zero risk" from the Meltdown flaw, but that one variant of the Spectre bug could be resolved by software updates from vendors such as Microsoft. But on Tuesday AMD said it was aware of an issue with some older-generation processors following the installation of a Microsoft security update that was published over the weekend. Microsoft said it was working with AMD to resolve the issues. Apple Inc also released an updated version of its operating system software on Monday to fix the security flaw.

Microsoft says security patches slowing down PCs, servers

In the wake of looming concerns around the alleged link between a Russian anti-virus software and cyber-spying operations, the British National Cyber-Security Centre (NCSC) has managed to spot some vulnerability while reviewing its anti-virus solutions.&nbsp;

A security flaw described as a remote code execution bug, discovered by the NCSC, would facilitate an attack to take full control of an unpatched system. The bug may also affect Microsoft`s Windows system including the latest Windows 10.&nbsp;

An unpatched system is described as an old system which doesn&#39;t have its security updated. These kind of systems are therefore most vulnerable to viruses and other attacks in case malicious files are accessed on the computer with real-time protection turned on.

The British agency and Microsoft are now working together to tackle the problem by updating its malware protection engine with the latest version that is capable of removing the bug.&nbsp;

A security flaw, described as a remote code execution bug, was discovered by the NCSC

In the wake of looming concerns around the alleged link between a Russian anti-virus software and cyber-spying operations, the British National Cyber-Security Centre (NCSC) has managed to spot some vulnerability while reviewing its anti-virus solutions. A security flaw described as a remote code execution bug, discovered by the NCSC, would facilitate an attack to take full control of an unpatched system. The bug may also affect Microsoft`s Windows system including the latest Windows 10. An unpatched system is described as an old system which doesn't have its security updated. These kind of systems are therefore most vulnerable to viruses and other attacks in case malicious files are accessed on the computer with real-time protection turned on. The British agency and Microsoft are now working together to tackle the problem by updating its malware protection engine with the latest version that is capable of removing the bug.

British agency finds security flaw in Microsoft Windows

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has lauded the Andhra Pradesh government for using technology to help farmers in the state.

&quot;Andhra Pradesh is taking bold steps. I expect we will be accelerating it (technology usage). More than half of India&#39;s population engaged in agriculture, and three-fourths of rural women are engaged in agriculture. Apart from gender equality, research has shown that having more women also increases production by 20 to 30 percent,&quot; Gates said at the valedictory session of the AP AgTech Summit-2017.

Gates also noted that the growth in the economy will not only lead to a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but also lift people out of poverty.

&quot;First, we can turn the largest economic sector in the country into a source of growth instead of a drag on the economy. Secondly, we can make sure that growth is inclusive and that it not only leads to a higher GDP but also lifts people out of poverty. Third, we can produce enough nutritious food to spurt a healthy and well-educated labour force for the future, when the Indian economy will depend on even more on highly skilled workers,&quot; he added.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was also present in the summit. Naidu requested help from Bill and Melinda Foundation in agriculture, nutrition, and health.

Gates further said, &quot;Two examples that I am very impressed with; one is the Mega Seed Park, which really is the first of its kind and it will make available lots of high-quality seeds and coupled with that is the new EC distribution application, D Krishi, which will help farmers access quality seeds in a timely manner and ensure that the government&#39;s resources are being widely used. These are the kind of innovations that will help achieve the Chief Minister&#39;s goal of sustained double-digit economic growth in Andhra Pradesh over the next decade.&quot;

Gates, who landed in Visakhapatnam on Friday, visited the exhibition stalls in the summit along with Andhra Pradesh chief minister.

The summit focused on innovative ideas, technologies and global best practices to push agricultural transformation in the state.

This three-day global event was organized by the Andhra Pradesh Government in association with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Dalberg Advisors.

More than 1,500 global leaders from 61 countries including business heads, start-up founders, leading policymakers, progressive farmers, NGOs, agriculture, and technology experts participated the summit over three days

Gates also noted that the growth in the economy will not only lead to a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but also lift people out of poverty.

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has lauded the Andhra Pradesh government for using technology to help farmers in the state. "Andhra Pradesh is taking bold steps. I expect we will be accelerating it (technology usage). More than half of India's population engaged in agriculture, and three-fourths of rural women are engaged in agriculture. Apart from gender equality, research has shown that having more women also increases production by 20 to 30 percent," Gates said at the valedictory session of the AP AgTech Summit-2017. Gates also noted that the growth in the economy will not only lead to a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but also lift people out of poverty. "First, we can turn the largest economic sector in the country into a source of growth instead of a drag on the economy. Secondly, we can make sure that growth is inclusive and that it not only leads to a higher GDP but also lifts people out of poverty. Third, we can produce enough nutritious food to spurt a healthy and well-educated labour force for the future, when the Indian economy will depend on even more on highly skilled workers," he added. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was also present in the summit. Naidu requested help from Bill and Melinda Foundation in agriculture, nutrition, and health. Gates further said, "Two examples that I am very impressed with; one is the Mega Seed Park, which really is the first of its kind and it will make available lots of high-quality seeds and coupled with that is the new EC distribution application, D Krishi, which will help farmers access quality seeds in a timely manner and ensure that the government's resources are being widely used. These are the kind of innovations that will help achieve the Chief Minister's goal of sustained double-digit economic growth in Andhra Pradesh over the next decade." Gates, who landed in Visakhapatnam on Friday, visited the exhibition stalls in the summit along with Andhra Pradesh chief minister. The summit focused on innovative ideas, technologies and global best practices to push agricultural transformation in the state. This three-day global event was organized by the Andhra Pradesh Government in association with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Dalberg Advisors. More than 1,500 global leaders from 61 countries including business heads, start-up founders, leading policymakers, progressive farmers, NGOs, agriculture, and technology experts participated the summit over three days

Bill Gates praises Andhra Pradesh for using technology to help farmers

Indian ride-hailing firm Ola said it has tied up with Microsoft to build a connected-car platform and will use the U.S tech giant&#39;s Azure cloud-computing service to power its in-car entertainment offering.

Microsoft is separately also in talks over a potential investment in Ola, a source told Reuters, declining to be named as the discussions are private.

The new connected-vehicle platform, for cars that have internet access, will have features to aid navigation and to flag when vehicle maintenance is required, Ola said in a statement on Tuesday.

&quot;Both companies will collaborate to take this platform to car manufacturers globally to integrate with vehicle systems,&quot; Ola said, making the announcement during a visit to India by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Ola, which has been locked in a fierce battle with rival Uber for a bigger piece of India&#39;s $12 billion taxi market, has said it would invest in artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities, which include technologies like its in-car entertainment platform called Play that allows riders to choose music and stream videos.

As part of its partnership with Microsoft, Ola plans to weave the U.S. company&#39;s digital assistant Cortana into its Play service for voice recognition capabilities, the source said.

Ola raised $1.1 billion last month from investors led by China&#39;s Tencent Holdings and Japan&#39;s SoftBank Group and said it was in &quot;advanced talks with other investors&quot; for a further $1 billion.

Any investment by Microsoft could be part of this second tranche, the source said, adding that Ola will switch completely from the Amazon Web Services cloud platform to Microsoft Azure over the next few quarters.

Indian newspaper Mint reported in July that Microsoft was looking to invest up to $100 million in Ola parent ANI Technologies. (https://goo.gl/akiUL2)

A spokesman for Ola said there were no fundraising talks in progress with Microsoft at this time.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Microsoft is separately also in talks over a potential investment in Ola, a source told Reuters, declining to be named as the discussions are private.

Indian ride-hailing firm Ola said it has tied up with Microsoft to build a connected-car platform and will use the U.S tech giant's Azure cloud-computing service to power its in-car entertainment offering. Microsoft is separately also in talks over a potential investment in Ola, a source told Reuters, declining to be named as the discussions are private. The new connected-vehicle platform, for cars that have internet access, will have features to aid navigation and to flag when vehicle maintenance is required, Ola said in a statement on Tuesday. "Both companies will collaborate to take this platform to car manufacturers globally to integrate with vehicle systems," Ola said, making the announcement during a visit to India by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Ola, which has been locked in a fierce battle with rival Uber for a bigger piece of India's $12 billion taxi market, has said it would invest in artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities, which include technologies like its in-car entertainment platform called Play that allows riders to choose music and stream videos. As part of its partnership with Microsoft, Ola plans to weave the U.S. company's digital assistant Cortana into its Play service for voice recognition capabilities, the source said. Ola raised $1.1 billion last month from investors led by China's Tencent Holdings and Japan's SoftBank Group and said it was in "advanced talks with other investors" for a further $1 billion. Any investment by Microsoft could be part of this second tranche, the source said, adding that Ola will switch completely from the Amazon Web Services cloud platform to Microsoft Azure over the next few quarters. Indian newspaper Mint reported in July that Microsoft was looking to invest up to $100 million in Ola parent ANI Technologies. (https://goo.gl/akiUL2) A spokesman for Ola said there were no fundraising talks in progress with Microsoft at this time. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ola ties up with Microsoft for connected car platform

The Corporate Vice President in the Operating Systems Group at <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-once-surrendered-green-card-for-wife-20669" target="_blank">Microsoft,</a> Joe Belfiore has revealed that the software giant will not be developing new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile.&nbsp;

Belfiore has clarified that their company&#39;s focus will not be on building new features instead they will just be enhancing the security updates and bug fires.&nbsp;

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Of course we&#39;ll continue to support the platform.. bug fixes, security updates, etc. But building new features/hw aren&#39;t the focus. ?? <a href="https://t.co/0CH9TZdIFu">https://t.co/0CH9TZdIFu</a>
&mdash; Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) <a href="https://twitter.com/joebelfiore/status/917071399541391360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Microsoft&#39;s Windows Phone has been dead for a while now. However, the company has never officially admitted the same.&nbsp;

The company cleaned out its phone business last year, killing thousands of jobs.&nbsp;

In the recent Build and Inspire conferences of Microsoft, CEO Satya Nadela had replaced the company&#39;s mantra of &quot;mobile -first, cloud- first&quot; with intelligent cloud and intelligent edge, what he describes as.&nbsp;

Microsoft will now be working on multi-device scenarios and cloud-powered technologies which will have less involvement of Windows.&nbsp;

The company has also switched to Android.

Microsoft will now support Windows 10 customers who want to use Android and iOS on their phones.&nbsp;

The company is ending the Windows Phone as developers never backed that platform. It also had many problems with the Microsoft App store. It was even difficult to retain the apps which were developed.&nbsp;

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We have tried VERY HARD to incent app devs. Paid money.. wrote apps 4 them.. but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest. ?? <a href="https://t.co/ePsySxR3LB">https://t.co/ePsySxR3LB</a>
&mdash; Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) <a href="https://twitter.com/joebelfiore/status/917071857370595328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Actually, a huge, huge majority of our Windows/Office (and Xbox) users are mixed-ecosystem. MOST people have a different phone than &quot;PC&quot; <a href="https://t.co/maS1yBRPSs">https://t.co/maS1yBRPSs</a>
&mdash; Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) <a href="https://twitter.com/joebelfiore/status/917084988176076800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Also read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/microsoft-launches-new-nokia-feature-phone-6618" target="_blank"> Microsoft launches new Nokia feature phone</a>

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The Corporate Vice President in the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, Joe Belfiore has revealed that the software giant will not be developing new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile

The Corporate Vice President in the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, Joe Belfiore has revealed that the software giant will not be developing new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile. Belfiore has clarified that their company's focus will not be on building new features instead they will just be enhancing the security updates and bug fires. Of course we'll continue to support the platform.. bug fixes, security updates, etc. But building new features/hw aren't the focus. ?? https://t.co/0CH9TZdIFu — Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017 × Microsoft's Windows Phone has been dead for a while now. However, the company has never officially admitted the same. The company cleaned out its phone business last year, killing thousands of jobs. In the recent Build and Inspire conferences of Microsoft, CEO Satya Nadela had replaced the company's mantra of "mobile -first, cloud- first" with intelligent cloud and intelligent edge, what he describes as. Microsoft will now be working on multi-device scenarios and cloud-powered technologies which will have less involvement of Windows. The company has also switched to Android. Microsoft will now support Windows 10 customers who want to use Android and iOS on their phones. The company is ending the Windows Phone as developers never backed that platform. It also had many problems with the Microsoft App store. It was even difficult to retain the apps which were developed. We have tried VERY HARD to incent app devs. Paid money.. wrote apps 4 them.. but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest. ?? https://t.co/ePsySxR3LB — Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017 × Actually, a huge, huge majority of our Windows/Office (and Xbox) users are mixed-ecosystem. MOST people have a different phone than "PC" https://t.co/maS1yBRPSs — Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017 × Also read: Microsoft launches new Nokia feature phone

Windows 10 phone is dead: Microsoft

Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has unseated fellow tech billionaire Bill Gates as the richest person in the world, profiting from the e-commerce company&#39;s meteoric stock rise to reach a fortune of $90.6 billion, Forbes reported.

Amazon shares jumped 1.6 per cent at the start of trading on Thursday, boosting the net worth of Bezos, the company&#39;s founder and largest shareholder, &nbsp;by $1.4 billion,&nbsp;Forbes reported.&nbsp;

The stock was up ahead of Amazon&#39;s second-quarter earnings report after Thursday&#39;s market close. Analysts expect the world&#39;s largest online retailer will report that its sales jumped 22 per cent to $37.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Bezos, a relative newcomer to the top of Forbes&#39; list, has benefited from the seemingly boundless expansion of Amazon into new markets. The once-bookseller plans to acquire Whole Foods Market, &nbsp;at the same time it is making strides in the fashion business, Hollywood, enterprise computing and general retail from India to Mexico.

Reuters could not independently verify the wealth of Bezos or Microsoft&#39;s co-founder Gates. A philanthropist, Gates has given $31.1 billion to charitable causes through 2016 and has a net worth of $90.1 billion, Forbes said.

Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has unseated fellow tech billionaire Bill Gates as the richest person in the world, profiting from the e-commerce company's meteoric stock rise to reach a fortune of $90.6 billion

Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has unseated fellow tech billionaire Bill Gates as the richest person in the world, profiting from the e-commerce company's meteoric stock rise to reach a fortune of $90.6 billion, Forbes reported. Amazon shares jumped 1.6 per cent at the start of trading on Thursday, boosting the net worth of Bezos, the company's founder and largest shareholder, by $1.4 billion, Forbes reported. The stock was up ahead of Amazon's second-quarter earnings report after Thursday's market close. Analysts expect the world's largest online retailer will report that its sales jumped 22 per cent to $37.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Bezos, a relative newcomer to the top of Forbes' list, has benefited from the seemingly boundless expansion of Amazon into new markets. The once-bookseller plans to acquire Whole Foods Market, at the same time it is making strides in the fashion business, Hollywood, enterprise computing and general retail from India to Mexico. Reuters could not independently verify the wealth of Bezos or Microsoft's co-founder Gates. A philanthropist, Gates has given $31.1 billion to charitable causes through 2016 and has a net worth of $90.1 billion, Forbes said.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos becomes world's richest: Forbes

There is good news for MS Paint followers after several reports claimed&nbsp;that Microsoft Paint was being shutdown&nbsp;with the upcoming release of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/microsoft-unveils-windows-10-s-powered-surface-laptop-15186?fromNewsdog=1&amp;utm_source=NewsDog&amp;utm_medium=referral">Windows 10</a> Creators Update, Microsoft said in its blog that because of &quot;incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint&quot; they were going to keep the service in the Windows Store.

Earlier, as speculation mounted that MS Paint was going to disappear, tech bloggers were quick to add that MS Paint had been put under the &quot;deprecated&quot;&nbsp;list and that the app was not in active development and will not be updated anymore.

However, Microsoft tweeted a few hours back that MS Paint will remain&nbsp;after all.&nbsp;In its blog, Microsoft said:&nbsp;<a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/07/24/ms-paint-stay/">&quot;MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store </a>where it will be available for free.&quot;

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Microsoft Paint: Here to stay<a href="https://t.co/yiJvvYh7GT">https://t.co/yiJvvYh7GT</a> <a href="https://t.co/EXRqIyVLGm">pic.twitter.com/EXRqIyVLGm</a>
&mdash; Microsoft (@Microsoft) <a href="https://twitter.com/Microsoft/status/889691624757788672">July 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Microsoft wrote on their blog that they were&nbsp;&quot;overwhelmed with the incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint&quot;, which they said moved the company to &quot;set the record straight, and clear up some confusion&quot;. The tech giant said MS Paint will, in fact, still be available.

The 32-year-old drawing tool will remain with the users. In addition to that Microsoft is also offering next generation 3D Paint free with Windows 10.

The next generation Paint 3D is designed for 3D image-making and is expected to be released in April next year. The new program will be available with a Microsoft Surface Pen, enabling a detailed and more natural drawing for its users. Besides the new feature, the new version will also have photo-editing and 2D creation, line and curve tools.

Paint was introduced in&nbsp;1985, it has been a&nbsp;fundamental program for beginners since then. The popular drawing tool lets easy copy, paste, crop, and image resize. The simplicity of the drawing tool was a hit&nbsp;among kids and beginners in the 90s and from the looks of it is still going strong.&nbsp;

Microsoft&#39;s &nbsp;response on Twitter:

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<h5>Today, we&rsquo;ve seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint. If there&rsquo;s anything we learned, it&rsquo;s that after 32 years, MS Paint has a lot of fans. It&rsquo;s been amazing to see so much love for our trusty old app. Amidst today&rsquo;s commentary around MS Paint we wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight, clear up some confusion and share some good news: Paint 3D &ndash; the new app for creativity, also available for free with the Windows 10 Creators Update, will continue to get new feature updates. In addition to the new 3D capabilities, many of the MS Paint features people know and love like photo editing, line and curve tools, and 2D creation are in Paint 3D. So, thanks for all the MS Paint love, keep the feedback coming via the Paint 3D app, and keep creating!</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Today, we?ve seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint. If there?s anything we learned, it?s that after 32 years, MS Paint has a lot of fans. 

It?s been amazing to see so much love for our trusty old app. Amidst today?s commentary around MS Paint we wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight, clear up some confusion and share some good news:

Paint 3D ? the new app for creativity, also available for free with the Windows 10 Creators Update, will continue to get new feature updates. In addition to the new 3D capabilities, many of the MS Paint features people know and love like photo editing, line and curve tools, and 2D creation are in Paint 3D.

So, thanks for all the MS Paint love, keep the feedback coming via the Paint 3D app, and keep creating!" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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Several tech bloggers had claimed that Microsoft was being removed with the upcoming release of Windows 10 Creators Update

There is good news for MS Paint followers after several reports claimed that Microsoft Paint was being shutdown with the upcoming release of Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft said in its blog that because of "incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint" they were going to keep the service in the Windows Store. Earlier, as speculation mounted that MS Paint was going to disappear, tech bloggers were quick to add that MS Paint had been put under the "deprecated" list and that the app was not in active development and will not be updated anymore. However, Microsoft tweeted a few hours back that MS Paint will remain after all. In its blog, Microsoft said: "MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free." Microsoft Paint: Here to stayhttps://t.co/yiJvvYh7GT pic.twitter.com/EXRqIyVLGm — Microsoft (@Microsoft) July 25, 2017 × Microsoft wrote on their blog that they were "overwhelmed with the incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint", which they said moved the company to "set the record straight, and clear up some confusion". The tech giant said MS Paint will, in fact, still be available. The 32-year-old drawing tool will remain with the users. In addition to that Microsoft is also offering next generation 3D Paint free with Windows 10. The next generation Paint 3D is designed for 3D image-making and is expected to be released in April next year. The new program will be available with a Microsoft Surface Pen, enabling a detailed and more natural drawing for its users. Besides the new feature, the new version will also have photo-editing and 2D creation, line and curve tools. Paint was introduced in 1985, it has been a fundamental program for beginners since then. The popular drawing tool lets easy copy, paste, crop, and image resize. The simplicity of the drawing tool was a hit among kids and beginners in the 90s and from the looks of it is still going strong. Microsoft's response on Twitter: Today, we’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint. If there’s anything we learned, it’s that after 32 years, MS Paint has a lot of fans. It’s been amazing to see so much love for our trusty old app. Amidst today’s commentary around MS Paint we wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight, clear up some confusion and share some good news: Paint 3D – the new app for creativity, also available for free with the Windows 10 Creators Update, will continue to get new feature updates. In addition to the new 3D capabilities, many of the MS Paint features people know and love like photo editing, line and curve tools, and 2D creation are in Paint 3D. So, thanks for all the MS Paint love, keep the feedback coming via the Paint 3D app, and keep creating! ×

Overwhelmed! Microsoft decides to keep MS Paint

Microsoft plans to cut &quot;thousands&quot; of jobs, with a majority of them outside the United States. As per previous reports, Microsoft would undergo a reorganisation that would impact its sales and marketing teams as the company doubles down on its fast-growing cloud business.

Confirming those reports, Microsoft in an email response to an AFP inquiry, said, &quot;We are taking steps to notify some employees that their jobs are under consideration or that their positions will be eliminated.&quot;

Earlier, CNBC television said the company would be cutting some 3,000 positions, mostly from its non-US sales staff. &quot;Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time-to-time, re-deployment in others,&quot; the company said in a statement.

The layoffs come as the US software colossus refocuses its sales force on making Microsoft a pivotal part of businesses relying on cloud computing, according to media reports.

The Redmond, Washington-based company employed about 120,000 people globally as of March 31, with sales and marketing teams accounting for about 19 per cent of the workforce, according to the company&#39;s website.

Microsoft has notified some employees about the reduction. However, in some geographies, the company plans to notify employees that their jobs are under consideration.

Since taking over as chief executive in 2014, Satya Nadella has sharpened the company&#39;s focus on its cloud computing unit to counter a prolonged slowdown in the PC market.

The company is planning to cut down most of its workforce residing outside the United States

Microsoft plans to cut "thousands" of jobs, with a majority of them outside the United States. As per previous reports, Microsoft would undergo a reorganisation that would impact its sales and marketing teams as the company doubles down on its fast-growing cloud business. Confirming those reports, Microsoft in an email response to an AFP inquiry, said, "We are taking steps to notify some employees that their jobs are under consideration or that their positions will be eliminated." Earlier, CNBC television said the company would be cutting some 3,000 positions, mostly from its non-US sales staff. "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time-to-time, re-deployment in others," the company said in a statement. The layoffs come as the US software colossus refocuses its sales force on making Microsoft a pivotal part of businesses relying on cloud computing, according to media reports. The Redmond, Washington-based company employed about 120,000 people globally as of March 31, with sales and marketing teams accounting for about 19 per cent of the workforce, according to the company's website. Microsoft has notified some employees about the reduction. However, in some geographies, the company plans to notify employees that their jobs are under consideration. Since taking over as chief executive in 2014, Satya Nadella has sharpened the company's focus on its cloud computing unit to counter a prolonged slowdown in the PC market.

Microsoft confirms layoff reports; could cut up to 3,000 jobs

In a move to improve the government&#39;s computing system, President Donald Trump met with the heads of 18 US technology companies including Apple, Amazon.com&nbsp;and Microsoft on Monday.&nbsp;

Others who attended the meeting included Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr and the CEOs of Microsoft International Business Machines, Intel,&nbsp;Qualcomm, Oracle and Adobe Systems. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was invited, but he could not attend because of a conflict, the company said.&nbsp;

The White House wants to update government information technology systems, cut costs, eliminate waste and improve service. Trump on Monday cited estimates that the government could save up to $1 trillion over 10 years through such measures.&nbsp;

&quot;Our goal is to lead a sweeping transformation of the federal government&rsquo;s technology that will deliver dramatically better services for citizens,&quot; Trump said. &quot;Government needs to catch up with the technology revolution.&quot;

The executives are part of the so-called American Technology Council that Trump formed in May to support efforts to modernize the US government.

&ldquo;The US&nbsp;should have the most modern government in the world. Today it doesn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said. Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said he wanted the Trump administration to make use of commercially available technologies, worker retraining, machine learning and artificial intelligence. 
 
Before meeting with Trump, the CEOs met in 10 small group sessions with Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, along with the presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ohio State University.

Jared Kushner, Trump&#39;s son-in-law and adviser, said the administration wanted to &quot;unleash the creativity of the private sector to provide citizen services in a way that has never happened before.&quot;

He said the administration was scrapping unneeded regulations for government computing systems, such as a rule on preventing Y2K issues. Most of the government&#39;s 6,100 data centers can be consolidated and moved to a cloud-based storage system.

The White House is seeking to shrink government, reduce the federal workforce and eliminate regulations. Trump in March signed an order to overhaul the federal government and tapped Kushner to lead a White House Office of American Innovation to leverage business ideas and potentially privatise some government functions. Many of the tech executives are eager to get White House help in dealing with regulatory and other policy issues such as visas for highly skilled workers.

A 2016 US&nbsp;Government Accountability Office report estimated that the U.S. government spent more than $80 billion on IT annually, excluding classified operations. In 2015, the US&nbsp;government made at least 7,000 separate IT investments and some agencies were using systems that had components at least 50 years old. &quot;This structure is unsustainable,&quot; Kushner said.

Visa programme

The CEOs and White House also planned to discuss Trump&#39;s review announced in April of the US&nbsp;visa program for bringing high-skilled foreign workers into the country.&nbsp; 
 
The council also seeks to boost the security of US&nbsp;government IT systems and wants to learn from private-sector practices. In 2015, hackers exposed the personal information of 22 million people from US&nbsp;government databases. 
 
The White House thinks it can learn from credit card companies about significantly reducing fraud. A 2016 government audit found that in Medicaid alone there was $29 billion in fraud in a single year.

Following Trump&#39;s June 1 decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Walt Disney&nbsp;CEO Robert Iger stepped down from White House advisory panels. White House officials said the dispute had little impact and that they had to turn away tech leaders from Monday&#39;s event because of lack of space.

President Donald Trump met with the heads of 18 US technology companies

In a move to improve the government's computing system, President Donald Trump met with the heads of 18 US technology companies including Apple, Amazon.com and Microsoft on Monday. Others who attended the meeting included Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr and the CEOs of Microsoft International Business Machines, Intel, Qualcomm, Oracle and Adobe Systems. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was invited, but he could not attend because of a conflict, the company said. The White House wants to update government information technology systems, cut costs, eliminate waste and improve service. Trump on Monday cited estimates that the government could save up to $1 trillion over 10 years through such measures. "Our goal is to lead a sweeping transformation of the federal government’s technology that will deliver dramatically better services for citizens," Trump said. "Government needs to catch up with the technology revolution." The executives are part of the so-called American Technology Council that Trump formed in May to support efforts to modernize the US government. “The US should have the most modern government in the world. Today it doesn’t,” Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said. Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said he wanted the Trump administration to make use of commercially available technologies, worker retraining, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Before meeting with Trump, the CEOs met in 10 small group sessions with Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, along with the presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ohio State University. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and adviser, said the administration wanted to "unleash the creativity of the private sector to provide citizen services in a way that has never happened before." He said the administration was scrapping unneeded regulations for government computing systems, such as a rule on preventing Y2K issues. Most of the government's 6,100 data centers can be consolidated and moved to a cloud-based storage system. The White House is seeking to shrink government, reduce the federal workforce and eliminate regulations. Trump in March signed an order to overhaul the federal government and tapped Kushner to lead a White House Office of American Innovation to leverage business ideas and potentially privatise some government functions. Many of the tech executives are eager to get White House help in dealing with regulatory and other policy issues such as visas for highly skilled workers. A 2016 US Government Accountability Office report estimated that the U.S. government spent more than $80 billion on IT annually, excluding classified operations. In 2015, the US government made at least 7,000 separate IT investments and some agencies were using systems that had components at least 50 years old. "This structure is unsustainable," Kushner said. Visa programme The CEOs and White House also planned to discuss Trump's review announced in April of the US visa program for bringing high-skilled foreign workers into the country. The council also seeks to boost the security of US government IT systems and wants to learn from private-sector practices. In 2015, hackers exposed the personal information of 22 million people from US government databases. The White House thinks it can learn from credit card companies about significantly reducing fraud. A 2016 government audit found that in Medicaid alone there was $29 billion in fraud in a single year. Following Trump's June 1 decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger stepped down from White House advisory panels. White House officials said the dispute had little impact and that they had to turn away tech leaders from Monday's event because of lack of space.

Trump seeks help from tech CEOs to improve government's IT services

Accenture&nbsp;and Microsoft Corp are teaming up to build a digital ID network using blockchain technology. This comes as part of a United Nations support for a project to provide legal identification to 1.1 billion people having no official documents. The project aims to provide refugees with better access to education and healthcare.

The new platform will connect existing record-keeping systems of commercial and public entities through blockchain. This will allow users to access their personal information wherever they are. For example, refugees who have fled their country leaving behind birth or education paper certificates would still be able to provide proof of those credentials through the system.

The companies unveiled a prototype of the network on Monday at the UN headquarters in New York during the second summit of ID2020. ID2020 is a public-private consortium that promotes the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of providing a legal identity for everyone on the planet. The prototype was built on top of an existing Accenture platform, which powers the biometric identity management system used by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Accenture and Microsoft, which worked on the prototype with managed service provider Avanade, &nbsp;are inviting other companies to join their project. &nbsp;PricewaterhouseCoopers and Cisco Systems are among the organizations involved in ID2020.

Blockchain, first developed as a public ledger of all transactions in the digital currency bitcoin, is increasingly being used to securely track data in other fields.

&quot;Without an identity, you can&#39;t access education, financial services, healthcare, you name it. You are disenfranchised and marginalized from society,&quot; David Treat, a managing director in Accenture&#39;s financial services practice, said in an interview. &quot;Having a digital identity is a basic human right.&quot;

The global business strategist at Microsoft, Yorke Rhodes, &nbsp;said in an interview that one of the main advantages of blockchain is that it allows systems of different organizations to communicate with each other.&nbsp; 
&quot;What ID2020 is truly focused on is bringing together an alliance of stakeholders to ensure the technology that is being developed is responsive to the needs of individuals,&quot; Dakota Gruener, executive director at ID2020, said in an interview.

&quot;Technology is only one piece of this.&quot;

This comes as part of a United Nations support for a project to provide legal identification to 1.1 billion people having no official documents

Accenture and Microsoft Corp are teaming up to build a digital ID network using blockchain technology. This comes as part of a United Nations support for a project to provide legal identification to 1.1 billion people having no official documents. The project aims to provide refugees with better access to education and healthcare. The new platform will connect existing record-keeping systems of commercial and public entities through blockchain. This will allow users to access their personal information wherever they are. For example, refugees who have fled their country leaving behind birth or education paper certificates would still be able to provide proof of those credentials through the system. The companies unveiled a prototype of the network on Monday at the UN headquarters in New York during the second summit of ID2020. ID2020 is a public-private consortium that promotes the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of providing a legal identity for everyone on the planet. The prototype was built on top of an existing Accenture platform, which powers the biometric identity management system used by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Accenture and Microsoft, which worked on the prototype with managed service provider Avanade, are inviting other companies to join their project. PricewaterhouseCoopers and Cisco Systems are among the organizations involved in ID2020. Blockchain, first developed as a public ledger of all transactions in the digital currency bitcoin, is increasingly being used to securely track data in other fields. "Without an identity, you can't access education, financial services, healthcare, you name it. You are disenfranchised and marginalized from society," David Treat, a managing director in Accenture's financial services practice, said in an interview. "Having a digital identity is a basic human right." The global business strategist at Microsoft, Yorke Rhodes, said in an interview that one of the main advantages of blockchain is that it allows systems of different organizations to communicate with each other. "What ID2020 is truly focused on is bringing together an alliance of stakeholders to ensure the technology that is being developed is responsive to the needs of individuals," Dakota Gruener, executive director at ID2020, said in an interview. "Technology is only one piece of this."

Accenture teams up with Microsoft to provide legal identification to refugees

Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One X - billing it as the most powerful video console ever made, and escalating a battle with market king PlayStation.

The $499 product was built with the muscle for seamless play on ultra-high definition 4K televisions and will be available worldwide on November 7, according to Xbox team leader Phil Spencer.

He introduced the much-anticipated Xbox One X, called Scorpio during development, at a Microsoft event ahead of the official opening of the major Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Aiming at the hearts of gamers, Microsoft also showed off 42 coming games, with 22 titles&nbsp;being tailored for exclusive play on Xbox One consoles.
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Independent publishers tend to make blockbuster titles available for play on Xbox, PlayStation and personal computer hardware in an effort to sell creations to as broad an audience as possible.

Keenly-anticipated new games shown off here include a new installment of &quot;Assassin&#39;s Creed&quot; from France-based Ubisoft, intended to reboot the long-running franchise by taking players back to the &quot;origins&quot; of the storyline in ancient Egypt.

Game play on 4K screens, whether they be televisions or personal computer monitors, is expected to be among themes at E3 this week. Enabling ultra-rich visuals also tunes into the budding trend toward virtual reality games.

Switch supplies tight

Sony PlayStation 4 has dominated the latest generation of consoles, outselling Xbox One by 2-to-1, according to industry trackers.

PS4 consoles from the outset could power virtual reality, and Sony sells head gear for those experiences.

PlayStation has also become the prime driver of revenue and profit at Japan-based entertainment giant Sony, according to executives.

&ldquo;We are selling every single one we can make,&rdquo; Sony Interactive Entertainment worldwide studios chairman Shawn Layden said of PS4.

Nintendo&#39;s recently-launched Switch has been a winner, with fans snapping up the console and a &quot;Legend of Zelda&quot; game that has become a must-play title for fans.

Demand for Switch consoles has been so intense since its launch early this year that the consoles are tough to find in stores and Nintendo has reportedly doubled production.

Switch launched at the start of March and some 2.74 million were sold by the end of that month, according to Nintendo.

Hot Switch sales also boosted shares of the Japanese company, which ran into a tough patch after it failed to build on the popularity of the first generation of Wii consoles.

PS4 and Xbox One are both performing better in the market that their respective predecessors, and Nintendo &ldquo;is back in a big way&rdquo; with Switch, according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella.

Sony has sold close to 60 million PS4 consoles and will reveal its latest innovations and offerings at a press event on Monday, according to executives.

&quot;We are in the 4K world already,&quot; Layden told AFP. &quot;That is what the future of gaming is going to look like.&quot;

Old games made new

Microsoft is also courting players by working to make more popular games from earlier Xbox console versions playable on its latest hardware.

Microsoft also just launched a subscription service for Xbox, letting players pay a monthly fee for access to a videogames library for its console.

Sony makes a library of videogames available as part of a subscription service for PlayStation consoles.

(AFP)

Microsoft also shows off 42 coming games, with 22 titles being tailored for exclusive play on Xbox One consoles

Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One X - billing it as the most powerful video console ever made, and escalating a battle with market king PlayStation. The $499 product was built with the muscle for seamless play on ultra-high definition 4K televisions and will be available worldwide on November 7, according to Xbox team leader Phil Spencer. He introduced the much-anticipated Xbox One X, called Scorpio during development, at a Microsoft event ahead of the official opening of the major Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Aiming at the hearts of gamers, Microsoft also showed off 42 coming games, with 22 titles being tailored for exclusive play on Xbox One consoles. Independent publishers tend to make blockbuster titles available for play on Xbox, PlayStation and personal computer hardware in an effort to sell creations to as broad an audience as possible. Keenly-anticipated new games shown off here include a new installment of "Assassin's Creed" from France-based Ubisoft, intended to reboot the long-running franchise by taking players back to the "origins" of the storyline in ancient Egypt. Game play on 4K screens, whether they be televisions or personal computer monitors, is expected to be among themes at E3 this week. Enabling ultra-rich visuals also tunes into the budding trend toward virtual reality games. Switch supplies tight Sony PlayStation 4 has dominated the latest generation of consoles, outselling Xbox One by 2-to-1, according to industry trackers. PS4 consoles from the outset could power virtual reality, and Sony sells head gear for those experiences. PlayStation has also become the prime driver of revenue and profit at Japan-based entertainment giant Sony, according to executives. “We are selling every single one we can make,” Sony Interactive Entertainment worldwide studios chairman Shawn Layden said of PS4. Nintendo's recently-launched Switch has been a winner, with fans snapping up the console and a "Legend of Zelda" game that has become a must-play title for fans. Demand for Switch consoles has been so intense since its launch early this year that the consoles are tough to find in stores and Nintendo has reportedly doubled production. Switch launched at the start of March and some 2.74 million were sold by the end of that month, according to Nintendo. Hot Switch sales also boosted shares of the Japanese company, which ran into a tough patch after it failed to build on the popularity of the first generation of Wii consoles. PS4 and Xbox One are both performing better in the market that their respective predecessors, and Nintendo “is back in a big way” with Switch, according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. Sony has sold close to 60 million PS4 consoles and will reveal its latest innovations and offerings at a press event on Monday, according to executives. "We are in the 4K world already," Layden told AFP. "That is what the future of gaming is going to look like." Old games made new Microsoft is also courting players by working to make more popular games from earlier Xbox console versions playable on its latest hardware. Microsoft also just launched a subscription service for Xbox, letting players pay a monthly fee for access to a videogames library for its console. Sony makes a library of videogames available as part of a subscription service for PlayStation consoles. (AFP)

Xbox One X: Microsoft unveils new video game console; to go on sale from November 7

Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled new tools intended to democratise artificial intelligence (AI) by enabling machine smarts to be built into software from smartphone games to factory floors.

The company is improving programs with artificial intelligence that could tap into services in the internet &quot;cloud&quot; and&nbsp;take advantage of computing power in nearby machines. This was part of a vision unveiled as the US technology titan&#39;s annual Build Conference opened recently.

&quot;We are infusing AI&nbsp;into every product and service we offer,&quot; said Microsoft executive vice president of artificial intelligence and research, Harry Shum.

He added, &quot;We&#39;ve been creating the building blocks for the current wave of AI breakthroughs for more than two decades.&quot;

Microsoft research has gone deep into areas such as machine learning, speech recognition, and enabling machines to recognise what they &quot;see.&quot;

Now, we&#39;re in the unique position of being able to use those decades of research breakthroughs,&quot; Shum said.

Microsoft rivals including Amazon, Apple, Google and IBM have all been aggressively pursuing the promise and potential of artificial intelligence.

Amazon on Tuesday unveiled the latest member of its family of devices powered by its Alexa digital assistant, with a touchscreen.

Also this week, Samsung-owned Harman Kardon announced the release of its new Invoke speaker powered by Microsoft&#39;s digital assistant Cortana and integrating Skype for making calls using the device.

Meanwhile, Google has been ramping up capabilities of its Home digital assistant.

Artificial intelligence is getting a foothold in people&#39;s homes, with personal assistants answering questions and controlling connected devices such as appliances or light bulbs.

Digital assistants already boasts of features such as reminding people of appointments entered in their&nbsp;calendars and chiming in with advice to set out early if traffic is challenging.

Microsoft&#39;s focus&nbsp;on Wednesday was on businesses and software developers, whether&nbsp;students building a fun app or a professional technology team.

&quot;Microsoft is trying to use AI for businesses to solve business problems and app developers to make applications better,&quot; said Moor Insights and Strategy principal analyst, Patrick Moorhead.

&quot;Which is different from Amazon, Facebook, and Google whose primary business model is to mine personal information using AI to sell you things or put ads in front of you.&quot;

Microsoft is taking a unique approach by letting developers customise gesture commands, voice recognition and more instead of making them conform to settings in &quot;off-the-shelf&quot; AI, according to the analyst.

(AFP)

The company is improving programs with artificial intelligence that could tap into services in the internet cloud

Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled new tools intended to democratise artificial intelligence (AI) by enabling machine smarts to be built into software from smartphone games to factory floors. The company is improving programs with artificial intelligence that could tap into services in the internet "cloud" and take advantage of computing power in nearby machines. This was part of a vision unveiled as the US technology titan's annual Build Conference opened recently. "We are infusing AI into every product and service we offer," said Microsoft executive vice president of artificial intelligence and research, Harry Shum. He added, "We've been creating the building blocks for the current wave of AI breakthroughs for more than two decades." Microsoft research has gone deep into areas such as machine learning, speech recognition, and enabling machines to recognise what they "see." Now, we're in the unique position of being able to use those decades of research breakthroughs," Shum said. Microsoft rivals including Amazon, Apple, Google and IBM have all been aggressively pursuing the promise and potential of artificial intelligence. Amazon on Tuesday unveiled the latest member of its family of devices powered by its Alexa digital assistant, with a touchscreen. Also this week, Samsung-owned Harman Kardon announced the release of its new Invoke speaker powered by Microsoft's digital assistant Cortana and integrating Skype for making calls using the device. Meanwhile, Google has been ramping up capabilities of its Home digital assistant. Artificial intelligence is getting a foothold in people's homes, with personal assistants answering questions and controlling connected devices such as appliances or light bulbs. Digital assistants already boasts of features such as reminding people of appointments entered in their calendars and chiming in with advice to set out early if traffic is challenging. Microsoft's focus on Wednesday was on businesses and software developers, whether students building a fun app or a professional technology team. "Microsoft is trying to use AI for businesses to solve business problems and app developers to make applications better," said Moor Insights and Strategy principal analyst, Patrick Moorhead. "Which is different from Amazon, Facebook, and Google whose primary business model is to mine personal information using AI to sell you things or put ads in front of you." Microsoft is taking a unique approach by letting developers customise gesture commands, voice recognition and more instead of making them conform to settings in "off-the-shelf" AI, according to the analyst. (AFP)

Microsoft aims to make artificial intelligence mainstream

A software that demands a ransom was the weapon of choice used in a wave of unprecedented global cyber attacks that affected more than 2,00,000 computers around the world over the weekend. &nbsp;

The attacks have raised questions about how this so-called ransomware works, and how to guard against it.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is malicious software which locks computer files and forces users to pay the attackers a designated sum in the virtual Bitcoin currency to regain access to the files.

Ransomware is used on PCs as well as tablets and smartphones. It can affect &quot;at the same time individuals, businesses and institutions,&quot; Amar Zendik, CEO security firm Mind Technologies, told AFP.

How does it work?

Cyber pirates generally take control of computers by exploiting flaws in the internet. That could happen when a user logs onto a website that has been previously infected or opens an email that invites the user to click on a link or download an attachment.

In a few seconds, the malware can be implanted. And when it&#39;s installed, &quot;it can&#39;t be detected,&quot; Laurent Marechal, a cyber security expert at McAfee, told AFP.

It&#39;s only afterwards that it &quot;downloads the &#39;payload&#39;, that is the viral charge,&quot; he said.

From then on the computer work station is blocked. &quot;Most often the user has to send an SMS&quot; - and pay up - &quot;in order to get the unblocking code,&quot; &nbsp;says Marechal, adding that in certain complex cases, the virus can spread &quot;without any human intervention&quot;.

Is it used frequently?

Yes. And ransomware continues to multiply. According to security software Kapersky Lab, 62 new types of ransomware were identified last year.

And the US computer security software company McAfee said the number of &quot;samples&quot; detected increased by 88 percent in 2016, totalling some four million.

&quot;Often the pirates ask for small sums of money. But accumulated, these small amounts add up to big money,&quot; says cyber security expert Zendik.

Another expert Marechal said could be found on the &#39;dark web&#39;, an obscured part of the internet that&#39;s not indexed by classic search engines.

&quot;Individuals can buy ransomware ready to use, sometimes only for $150,&quot; he said.

Why was Friday&#39;s attack so massive?

The culprits behind the cyber attacks apparently took advantage of a flaw in the Windows operating system, which had been divulged in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency (NSA), according to initial findings of the investigation.

Zendik said the attack was based on a previously unknown Windows flaw.

&quot;We&#39;re not talking about classic &#39;ransomware&#39; which generally targets individuals and small businesses,&quot; he said. &quot;Here the hackers attacked big institutions, not likely to be susceptible to paying, especially given the publicity about the operation.&quot;

He added that &quot;in theory, the authors of the attack did not want to make money, but rather to achieve a (cyber) coup.&quot;

How can you protect against ransomware?

There are several simple rules that can be followed to reduce the risks of a ransomware attack.

Among them are regularly updating the computer&#39;s security software which can correct any flaws exploited by the virus. 
In case of a cyber attack, the authorities advise disconnecting the infected equipment immediately from the network, in order to isolate them.

In the case of a virus affecting a business or an institution, the IT experts should be alerted right away.

Authorities also recommend not paying the hackers the ransom demanded - because it&#39;s no guarantee that access to the data will be restored.

(AFP)

The recent WannaCry ransomware attack has raised questions about how it works and how to guard against it

A software that demands a ransom was the weapon of choice used in a wave of unprecedented global cyber attacks that affected more than 2,00,000 computers around the world over the weekend. The attacks have raised questions about how this so-called ransomware works, and how to guard against it. What is ransomware? Ransomware is malicious software which locks computer files and forces users to pay the attackers a designated sum in the virtual Bitcoin currency to regain access to the files. Ransomware is used on PCs as well as tablets and smartphones. It can affect "at the same time individuals, businesses and institutions," Amar Zendik, CEO security firm Mind Technologies, told AFP. How does it work? Cyber pirates generally take control of computers by exploiting flaws in the internet. That could happen when a user logs onto a website that has been previously infected or opens an email that invites the user to click on a link or download an attachment. In a few seconds, the malware can be implanted. And when it's installed, "it can't be detected," Laurent Marechal, a cyber security expert at McAfee, told AFP. It's only afterwards that it "downloads the 'payload', that is the viral charge," he said. From then on the computer work station is blocked. "Most often the user has to send an SMS" - and pay up - "in order to get the unblocking code," says Marechal, adding that in certain complex cases, the virus can spread "without any human intervention". Is it used frequently? Yes. And ransomware continues to multiply. According to security software Kapersky Lab, 62 new types of ransomware were identified last year. And the US computer security software company McAfee said the number of "samples" detected increased by 88 percent in 2016, totalling some four million. "Often the pirates ask for small sums of money. But accumulated, these small amounts add up to big money," says cyber security expert Zendik. Another expert Marechal said could be found on the 'dark web', an obscured part of the internet that's not indexed by classic search engines. "Individuals can buy ransomware ready to use, sometimes only for $150," he said. Why was Friday's attack so massive? The culprits behind the cyber attacks apparently took advantage of a flaw in the Windows operating system, which had been divulged in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency (NSA), according to initial findings of the investigation. Zendik said the attack was based on a previously unknown Windows flaw. "We're not talking about classic 'ransomware' which generally targets individuals and small businesses," he said. "Here the hackers attacked big institutions, not likely to be susceptible to paying, especially given the publicity about the operation." He added that "in theory, the authors of the attack did not want to make money, but rather to achieve a (cyber) coup." How can you protect against ransomware? There are several simple rules that can be followed to reduce the risks of a ransomware attack. Among them are regularly updating the computer's security software which can correct any flaws exploited by the virus. In case of a cyber attack, the authorities advise disconnecting the infected equipment immediately from the network, in order to isolate them. In the case of a virus affecting a business or an institution, the IT experts should be alerted right away. Authorities also recommend not paying the hackers the ransom demanded - because it's no guarantee that access to the data will be restored. (AFP)

WannaCry: What is ransomware and how to protect yourself from it

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