Microsoft

Microsoft fixes problem that let Edge replicate Chrome tabs without permission

Enlarge Microsoft reader comments 79 Microsoft has fixed a problem that resulted in tabs from Google Chrome being imported to Microsoft Edge without user consent, as spotted by The Verge. Microsoft has kept mum on the situation, making the issued update the first time Microsoft has identified this as a problem, rather than typical behavior

Microsoft fixes problem that let Edge replicate Chrome tabs without permission
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Microsoft has fixed a problem that resulted in tabs from Google Chrome being imported to Microsoft Edge without user consent, as spotted by The Verge. Microsoft has kept mum on the situation, making the issued update the first time Microsoft has identified this as a problem, rather than typical behavior for the world’s third-most-popular browser.

In late January, The Verge Senior Editor Tom Warren reported experiencing the puzzling Edge issue. After updating his computer, Edge launched with the tabs that Warren most recently used in Chrome. He eventually realized that Edge has a feature you can toggle, reading: “Always have access to your recent browsing data each time you browse on Microsoft Edge.” The setting is reachable in Edge by typing “edge://settings/profiles/importBrowsingData.” Interestingly, it allows Edge to import browsing data from Chrome every time you open Edge, but data from Firefox can only be imported manually. However, Edge was seizing Chrome tabs without this setting enabled. Others reported having this problem via Microsoft’s support forum and social media, as well.

The Edge setting as seen on a Windows 11 23H2 system running Edge 122. You can have data continuously imported from Chrome or on demand from Firefox, but other browsers don't appear.
Enlarge / The Edge setting as seen on a Windows 11 23H2 system running Edge 122. You can have data continuously imported from Chrome or on demand from Firefox, but other browsers don’t appear.
Andrew Cunningham

Microsoft didn’t respond to The Verge’s initial request for comment, but this week it released an Edge update that seems to address matters. Microsoft’s release notes from February 15 say:

Edge has a feature that provides an option to import browser data on each launch from other browsers with user consent. This feature’s state might not have been syncing and displaying correctly across multiple devices. This is fixed.

Microsoft seems to be saying that the status (enabled or disabled) of Edge’s importing data ability wasn’t syncing correctly across people’s Microsoft devices. However,

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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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Fake Microsoft Office add-in tools push malware via SourceForge

Threat actors are abusing SourceForge to distribute fake Microsoft add-ins that install malware on victims’ computers to both mine and steal cryptocurrency. …

Threat actors are abusing SourceForge to distribute fake Microsoft add-ins that install malware on victims’ computers to both mine and steal cryptocurrency. …
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How Microsoft’s AI chief measures consumer inroads for Copilot

Advertisement Business How Microsoft’s AI chief measures consumer inroads for Copilot Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman speaks at the company’s 50th anniversary celebration in Redmond, Washington, U.S., April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jeffrey Dastin Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman speaks at the company’s 50th anniversary celebration in Redmond, Washington, U.S., April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jeffrey Dastin Microsoft co-founder

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How Microsoft’s AI chief measures consumer inroads for Copilot

05 Apr 2025 08:13AM
(Updated: 05 Apr 2025 08:28AM)



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REDMOND, Washington : As Microsoft CEOs past and present gathered here to celebrate the company’s 50th birthday, one leader said he is targeting a particular metric’s improvement to guide his strategy on artificial intelligence.

Mustafa Suleyman, chief executive of Microsoft AI, said his consumer and research division is tracking the usual measures of adoption for the company’s AI assistant called Copilot. These include daily and weekly active users, distribution, and usage intensity for Copilot’s consumer offering, he said.

But Suleyman’s interest lies elsewhere.

“I really, really focus the team on SSR, the rate of successful sessions,” he said in an interview.

In an older era when consumers gave less real-time feedback on software, the time they spent with a product – on social media, for instance – or the problems they could solve represented crude “proxies for quality,” he said.

“Now, we actually get to learn from the anonymized logs and extract the sentiment,” said Suleyman, who joined Microsoft about a year ago after leading the startup Inflection AI. Suleyman was one of the only Microsoft executives other than former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer and current CEO Satya Nadella to speak on stage at Microsoft’s Friday event at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

Suleyman said Microsoft has tasked an AI model itself to assess such sentiment and help determine Copilot chats’ SSR.

“Over the last four months, it’s gone up dramatically, and that’s what we optimize for,” he said.

Suleyman declined to state the rate in absolute terms or disclose other Copilot metrics.

The company last fall announced a more amiable voice for its consumer Copilot and the ability to analyze web pages for users as they browse.

On Friday, Microsoft demonstrated further features for Copilot: personalized podcasts, a tool to help consumers research complex queries, and eventually a look for Copilot that can be custom to each user and conversation.

“I would definitely go for something that was cutesy,” said Suleyman, “like a little Furby-type thing.”

Source: Reuters

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Microsoft Raises Alarm of Malware Targeting Coinbase, MetaMask Wallets

Tech Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Microsoft Raises Alarm of Malware Targeting Coinbase, MetaMask Wallets A new report from Microsoft researchers warned of malware that could steal and decrypt users’ information from 20 of some of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets. By Margaux Nijkerk| Edited by Stephen

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Microsoft Raises Alarm of Malware Targeting Coinbase, MetaMask Wallets

A new report from Microsoft researchers warned of malware that could steal and decrypt users’ information from 20 of some of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets.

Microsoft shareholders voted against adding bitcoin to its company's treasury. (Photo by Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images)

What to know:

  • Tech giant Microsoft shared a new report warning of malware that targets 20 of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets used with the Google Chrome extension.
  • The malware, dubbed StilachiRAT, could deploy “sophisticated techniques to evade detection, persist in the target environment, and exfiltrate sensitive data.”
  • While the malware has not been distributed widely, Microsoft did share that it has not been able to identify what entity is behind the threat.

Tech giant Microsoft shared a new report warning of malware that targets 20 of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets used with the Google Chrome extension.

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Microsoft’s Incident Response researchers raised alarms of a new remote access trojan (RAT), dubbed StilachiRAT, which could deploy “sophisticated techniques to evade detection, persist in the target environment, and exfiltrate sensitive data,” the team shared in a blog post.

According to the team, the malware was discovered in November 2024, and it could steal users’ wallet information, and any credentials, including usernames and passwords, stored in their Google Chrome browser. StilachiRAT targets 20 crypto wallets including some of the most widely-used ones like MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Phantom, OKX Wallet, and BNB Chain Wallet.

While the malware has not been distributed widely, Microsoft did share that it has not been able to identify what entity is behind the threat and laid out some mitigation guidelines for current targets including installing antivirus software.

“Due to its stealth capabilities and the rapid changes within the malware ecosystem, we are sharing these findings as part of our ongoing efforts to monitor, analyze, and report on the evolving threat landscape,” the team wrote.

Read more: Microsoft Shareholders Vote Down Bitcoin Treasury Proposal

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Margaux Nijkerk

Margaux Nijkerk reports on the Ethereum protocol and L2s. A graduate of Johns Hopkins and Emory universities, she has a masters in International Affairs & Economics. She holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.

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