Microsoft

Apple MacBooks, Chistmas trees, Lego advent calendars, Fire tablets, and more on sale for Nov. 4 in the UK

Now that we have left spooky season behind, we are officially allowed get excited about Christmas. This is the rule, and we’re going to enforce it. This round up of the best deals is particularly festive, with offers of advent calendars, decorations, and Christmas trees. You can also save on laptops, tablets, printers, robot vacuum…


Now that we have left spooky season behind, we are officially allowed get excited about Christmas. This is the rule, and we’re going to enforce it.

This round up of the best deals is particularly festive, with offers of advent calendars, decorations, and Christmas trees. You can also save on laptops, tablets, printers, robot vacuum cleaners, and much more, if you’re not yet in the holiday spirit.

These are the best deals from across the internet for Nov. 4.

Best of the best

Save on Lego advent calendars, Philips beard trimmers, Ted Baker fragrances, and a whole lot more.

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LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar 2019

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LEGO City Mars Research Shuttle Spaceship

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LEGO Architecture London Skyline Model

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Philips Series 3000 7-in-1 Multi Grooming Kit

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Oral-B SmartSeries 6000 CrossAction Electric Toothbrush

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Paul Smith Extreme Aftershave

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Davidoff Adventure EDT Spray

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Ted Baker Eau de Toilette Spray

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Joop! Jump Eau de Toilette

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Hugo Boss Bottled Night Eau de Toilette

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Computers, software, and accessories

All the best deals on antivirus software, laptops, tablets, printers, and much more from brands like Apple, Microsoft, and ASUS.

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McAfee Total Protection 2020 (1 Device)

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McAfee Total Protection 2020 (10 Device)

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ASUS 14-Inch HD Cloudbook

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Apple MacBook Air

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Microsoft Surface Pro 6 12.3-Inch Tablet

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Fire HD 10 Tablet

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Fusion5 Ultra Slim Windows Tablet

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HP Sprocket 200

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HP Deskjet 2630 All-in-One Printer

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Canon PIXMA All-In-One Inkjet Printer

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Home and kitchen 

The best deals on candles, Christmas trees, festive decorations, and more for the happiest time of the year.

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iRobot Roomba 671 Robot Vacuum Cleaner

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Wooden Advent Calendar

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Wooden Reindeer Advent Calendar

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Christmas Tree House Advent Calendar

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Snowman Advent Calendar

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Pre-Lit Victorian Pine Christmas Tree

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Pre-Lit Grand Alaskan Fir Christmas Tree

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Yankee Candle Sparkling Cinnamon

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Yankee Candle Black Cherry

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Microsoft

Microsoft Server Software Comes Under Widespread Cyberattack

Breadcrumb Trail Links Home PMN Business Share this Story : Microsoft Rushes to Stop Hackers from Wreaking Global Havoc Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Microsoft Rushes to Stop Hackers from Wreaking Global Havoc Hackers exploited a security flaw in common Microsoft Corp. software to breach governments, businesses and other organizations across the

Microsoft Rushes to Stop Hackers from Wreaking Global Havoc

Hackers exploited a security flaw in common Microsoft Corp. software to breach governments, businesses and other organizations across the globe and steal sensitive information, according to officials and cybersecurity researchers.

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(Bloomberg) — Hackers exploited a security flaw in common Microsoft Corp. software to breach governments, businesses and other organizations across the globe and steal sensitive information, according to officials and cybersecurity researchers.

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Microsoft over the weekend released a patch for the vulnerability in servers of the SharePoint document management software. The company said it was still working to roll out other fixes after warnings that hackers were targeting SharePoint clients, using the flaw to enter file systems and execute code.

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Multiple different hackers are launching attacks through the Microsoft vulnerability, according to representatives of two cybersecurity firms, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Google’s Mandiant Consulting.

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Hackers have already used the flaw to break into the systems of national governments in Europe and the Middle East, according to a person familiar with the matter. In the US, they’ve accessed government systems, including ones belonging to the US Department of Education, Florida’s Department of Revenue and the Rhode Island General Assembly, said the person, who spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information.

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Representatives of the Department of Education and Rhode Island legislature didn’t respond to calls and emails seeking comment Monday. A Florida Department of Revenue spokesperson, Bethany Wester Cutillo, said in an email that the SharePoint vulnerability is being investigated “at multiple levels of government” but that the state agency “does not comment publicly on the software we use for operations.”

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The hackers also breached the systems of a US-based health-care provider and targeted a public university in Southeast Asia, according to a report from a cybersecurity firm reviewed by Bloomberg News. The report doesn’t identify either entity by name, but says the hackers have attempted to breach SharePoint servers in countries including Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US. The firm asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the information. 

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In some systems they’ve broken into, the hackers have stolen sign-in credentials, including usernames, passwords, hash codes and tokens, according to a person familiar with the matter, who also spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information.

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“This is a high-severity, high-urgency threat,” said Michael Sikorski, chief technology officer and head of threat intelligence for Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks Inc. 

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“What makes this especially concerning is SharePoint’s deep integration with Microsoft’s platform, including their services like Office, Teams, OneDrive and Outlook, which has all the information valuable to an attacker,” he said. “A compromise doesn’t stay contained—it opens the door to the entire network.” 

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(Bloomberg) — Hackers exploited a security flaw in common Microsoft Corp. software to breach governments, businesses and other organizations across the globe and steal sensitive information, according to officials and cybersecurity researchers.

Article content

Microsoft over the weekend released a patch for the vulnerability in servers of the SharePoint document management software. The company said it was still working to roll out other fixes after warnings that hackers were targeting SharePoint clients, using the flaw to enter file systems and execute code.

Article content
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Story continues below

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Multiple different hackers are launching attacks through the Microsoft vulnerability, according to representatives of two cybersecurity firms, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Google’s Mandiant Consulting.

Article content
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Hackers have already used the flaw to break into the systems of national governments in Europe and the Middle East, according to a person familiar with the matter. In the US, they’ve accessed government systems, including ones belonging to the US Department of Education, Florida’s Department of Revenue and the Rhode Island General Assembly, said the person, who spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information.

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Representatives of the Department of Education and Rhode Island legislature didn’t respond to calls and emails seeking comment Monday. A Florida Department of Revenue spokesperson, Bethany Wester Cutillo, said in an email that the SharePoint vulnerability is being investigated “at multiple levels of government” but that the state agency “does not comment publicly on the software we use for operations.”

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Story continues below

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The hackers also breached the systems of a US-based health-care provider and targeted a public university in Southeast Asia, according to a report from a cybersecurity firm reviewed by Bloomberg News. The report doesn’t identify either entity by name, but says the hackers have attempted to breach SharePoint servers in countries including Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US. The firm asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the information. 

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In some systems they’ve broken into, the hackers have stolen sign-in credentials, including usernames, passwords, hash codes and tokens, according to a person familiar with the matter, who also spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information.

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“This is a high-severity, high-urgency threat,” said Michael Sikorski, chief technology officer and head of threat intelligence for Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks Inc. 

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“What makes this especially concerning is SharePoint’s deep integration with Microsoft’s platform, including their services like Office, Teams, OneDrive and Outlook, which has all the information valuable to an attacker,” he said. “A compromise doesn’t stay contained—it opens the door to the entire network.” 

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Tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of businesses and institutions worldwide use SharePoint in some fashion to store and collaborate on documents. Microsoft said that attackers are specifically targeting clients running SharePoint servers from their own on-premise networks, as opposed to being hosted and managed by the tech firm. That could limit the impact to a subsection of customers.

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A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment beyond an earlier statement.

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“It’s a dream for ransomware operators,” said Silas Cutler, a researcher at Michigan-based cybersecurity firm Censys. He estimated that more than 10,000 companies with SharePoint servers were at risk. The US had the largest number of such firms, followed by the Netherlands, the UK and Canada, he said. 

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The breaches have drawn new scrutiny to Microsoft’s efforts to shore up its cybersecurity after a series of high-profile failures. The firm has hired executives from places like the US government and holds weekly meetings with senior executives to make its software more resilient. The company’s tech has been subject to several widespread and damaging hacks in recent years, and a 2024 US government report described the company’s security culture as in need of urgent reforms.

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The Center for Internet Security, which operates a cybersecurity information sharing system for state and local governments in the US, found more than 1,100 servers that are at risk from the SharePoint vulnerability, said Randy Rose, the organization’s vice president of security operations and intelligence. Rose said more than 100 were likely hacked.

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The Washington Post reported that the breach had affected US federal and state agencies, universities, energy companies and an Asian telecommunications company, citing state officials and private researchers.

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Eye Security was the first to identify that attackers were actively exploiting the vulnerabilities in a wave of cyberattacks that began on Friday, said Vaisha Bernard, the company’s chief hacker and co-owner.

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Eye Security said the vulnerability allows hackers to access SharePoint servers and steal keys that can let them impersonate users or services even after the server is patched. It said hackers can maintain access through backdoors or modified components that can survive updates and reboots of systems.

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The SharePoint vulnerabilities, known as “ToolShell,” were first identified in May by researchers at a Berlin cybersecurity conference. In early July, Microsoft issued patches to fix the security holes, but hackers found another way in.

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“There were ways around the patches,” which enabled hackers to break into SharePoint servers by tapping into similar vulnerabilities, said Bernard. “That allowed these attacks to happen.” The intrusions, he said, were not targeted and instead were aimed at compromising as many victims as possible. After scanning about 8,000 SharePoint servers, Bernard said he has so far identified at least 50 that were successfully compromised.

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He declined to identify the identity of organizations that had been targeted, but said they included government agencies and private companies, including “bigger multinationals.” The victims were located in countries in North and South America, the EU, South Africa, and Australia, he added.

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—With assistance from Lynn Doan, Cameron Fozi, Daniel Cancel, Aashna Shah, Jane Lanhee Lee and Patrick Howell O’Neill.

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(Updates with additional information beginning in third paragraph.)

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Microsoft

Arkane Founder: ‘I Think Game Pass is Unsustainable’

The founder and former president of Arkane Studios Raphaël Colantonio, who left in 2019, took to social media weighing on the huge Microsoft and Xbox layoffs. “Why is no-one talking about the elephant in the room? Cough cough (Gamepass),” said Colantonio (spotted by VideoGamesChronicle). He added…

The founder and former president of Arkane Studios Raphaël Colantonio, who left in 2019, took to social media weighing on the huge Microsoft and Xbox layoffs.
“Why is no-one talking about the elephant in the room? Cough cough (Gamepass),” said Colantonio (spotted by VideoGamesChronicle).
He added…
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Microsoft

In the Wake of Xbox Layoffs, Founder of Dishonored and Prey Dev Arkane Slams Game Pass: ‘Why Is No-One Talking About the Elephant in the Room?’

Hot on the heels of the layoffs that have swept through Xbox, the founder of Microsoft-owned Arkane Studios has hit out at Game Pass, whose subscription model he called “unsustainable.” Raphael Colantonio, who founded the Dishonored and Prey developer and served as its president before leaving in 2017 to start Weird West maker WolfEye Studios

Hot on the heels of the layoffs that have swept through Xbox, the founder of Microsoft-owned Arkane Studios has hit out at Game Pass, whose subscription model he called “unsustainable.”

Raphael Colantonio, who founded the Dishonored and Prey developer and served as its president before leaving in 2017 to start Weird West maker WolfEye Studios, took to social media to ask: “Why is no-one talking about the elephant in the room? Cough cough (Gamepass).”

When asked to expand on his thoughts on Game Pass, which Weird West launched straight into as a day one title in March 2022, Colantonio said: “I think Gamepass is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidized by MS’s ‘infinite money,’ but at some point reality has to hit. I don’t think GP can co-exist with other models, they’ll either kill everyone else, or give up.”

Colantonio’s comment sparked a vociferous debate about the pros and cons of Game Pass in industry terms as well as for the customer. Microsoft’s subscription service has been called many things over the years: the death of the video game industry; the savior of smaller developers who benefit greatly from payments made by Microsoft to secure their games; and everything in between. During the great Xbox FTC trial to decide the fate of Microsoft’s $69 billion aquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan claimed that he had talked to “all the publishers” and that, unanimously, they all hated Game Pass “because it is value destructive.” He also said Microsoft “appears to be losing a lot of money on it.”

Back in 2021, Xbox boss Phil Spencer countered Game Pass doomsayers, saying: “I know there’s a lot of people that like to write [that] we’re burning cash right now for some future pot of gold at the end. No. Game Pass is very, very sustainable right now as it sits. And it continues to grow.”

That was four years ago. What about now, in the wake of cuts that have seen Rare’s Everwild, the Perfect Dark reboot, and an unannounced MMO in the works at developer behind The Elder Scrolls Online all canceled?

Colantonio’s comments were backed by a number of industry peers, including the former VP of biz dev at Epic Games. Michael Douse, publishing director at Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian, said that the biggest concern right now revolves around what happens when all that money runs out. This, Douse added, is “one of the main economic reasons people I know haven’t shifted to its business model. The infinite money thing never made any sense.”

(It’s worth noting that Baldur’s Gate 3 has so far not launched in Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.)

Colantonio then ridiculed Microsoft’s insistence that launching games into Game Pass did not impact sales, only to later admit the contrary.

Douse responded to to say he prefers the Sony way of doing things. Sony’s PlayStation Plus policy is to keep first-party games off the subscription service at launch, only adding them some time later. That’s why you won’t see this year’s Sony’s Ghost of Yotei launch straight into PS Plus, but you will see Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 as a day one Game Pass launch.

“The economics never made sense, but at the same

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Microsoft

Microsoft denies shutting down operations in China

Microsoft China denied it would cease operations in the country, after a screenshot of an internal email from Wicresoft, a Microsoft outsourcing partner, fueled speculation about a potential exit. On Monday, several employees of Wicresoft shared screenshots of layoff emails on social media. The email cites geopolitical tensions and shifts in the global business landscape

Microsoft China denied it would cease operations in the country, after a screenshot of an internal email from Wicresoft, a Microsoft outsourcing partner, fueled speculation about a potential exit. On Monday, several employees of Wicresoft shared screenshots of layoff emails on social media. The email cites geopolitical tensions and shifts in the global business landscape [……
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