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Microsoft Security

Microsoft Security Blog

Published
5 min read

Threat Modeling from the Front Lines 

During my first 7 years at Microsoft, I spent most of my time working on security features such as access control, authentication, cryptography and so on. The next 12 years were spent in product groups and the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) team working on software design, development and testing practices across the company in order […]

Published
4 min read

Beginner’s Guide to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) 

The era of IT departments mandating specific hardware, operating systems, or technologies is quickly eroding.  In its place a new culture is growing where employees are granted more autonomy—and given more responsibility—for their own technology. If you’ve been to enough parties you’re probably familiar with the term BYOB—a common acronym of the phrase “bring your […]

Warnings, /sdl, and improving uninitialized variable detection 

Tim Burrell and Thomas Garnier of the TwC Security Science team present the sixth and last blog installment describing more /sdl functionality in Visual Studio 2012 RC. Please note that there will be an MSDN webcast discussing the security enhancements to Visual Studio 2012 RC – a wrap-up of sorts – on June 13 at 9:00AM (PST). ——————————————————————————————————————– In previous posts  we […]

Published
1 minute read

Windows 8 Release Preview Available for Download 

Today on the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft announced the availability of the Windows 8 Release Preview.  (Read the press release here.) There are a couple of things to note that are of note to us here in the land of Trustworthy Computing: New Family Safety features and enriched privacy and security controls when browsing […]

Published
<1 minute read

Microsoft Office 365 Receives FISMA Certification 

<p>Last week, Microsoft Office Division <a href="http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft_office_365_blog/archive/2012/05/03/fisma-security-certification-office-365.aspx">announced</a> that Office 365 was given Authority to Operate under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) by the <a href="http://www.bbg.gov/">Broadcasting Board of Governors</a>.</p> <p>As you might expect, governments are at the vanguard of most things security related. Entrusted to act in the public’s name and for the public interest, governmental agencies need to be sure that the technology they use for essential functions is secure and trustworthy. As part of this, in the U.S. the U.S. government has FISMA; a certification validating that a given IT solution has federal agency approval for use based on its level of security.</p>

Published
<1 minute read

Free PC safety scan 

Think your computer might have a virus? The Microsoft Security scanner is a free download that will scan your computer and help you remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Download Microsoft Safety Scanner The scanner is not a replacement for antivirus software. It contains the latest anti-malware definitions, but it works with your antivirus […]

Secure Credential Storage 

Pop security quiz: What’s the most secure way to store a secret? a)      Encrypt it with a strong symmetric cryptographic algorithm such as AES, using a 256-bit key. b)      Encrypt it with a strong asymmetric cryptographic algorithm such as RSA, using a 4096-bit key. c)      Encrypt it using a cryptographic system built into your platform, like […]