Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Technology Mania : all security reports and analytics about wanacry ransom-ware

wanacry ransomware
wanacry ransom-ware

our products detected and successfully blocked a large number of ransomware attacks around the world. In these attacks, data is encrypted with the extension “.WCRY” added to the filenames.
Our analysis indicates the attack, dubbed “WannaCry”, is initiated through an SMBv2 remote code execution in Microsoft Windows. This exploit (codenamed “EternalBlue”) has been made available on the internet through the Shadowbrokers dump on April 14th, 2017 and patched by Microsoft on March 14.
Unfortunately, it appears that many organizations have not yet installed the patch.
Source: https://support.kaspersky.com/shadowbrokers
A few hours ago, Spain’s Computer Emergency Response Team CCN-CERT, posted an alert on their site about a massive ransomware attack affecting several Spanish organizations. The alert recommends the installation of updates in the Microsoft March 2017 Security Bulletin as a means of stopping the spread of the attack.
The National Health Service (NHS) in the U.K. also issued an alert and confirmed infections at 16 medical institutions. We have confirmed additional infections in several additional countries, including Russia, Ukraine, and India.
It’s important to understand that while unpatched Windows computers exposing their SMB services can be remotely attacked with the “EternalBlue” exploit and infected by the WannaCry ransomware, the lack of existence of this vulnerability doesn’t really prevent the ransomware component from working. Nevertheless, the presence of this vulnerability appears to be the most significant factor that caused the outbreak.
CCN-CERT alert (in Spanish)

Analysis of the attack

Currently, we have recorded more than 45,000 attacks of the WannaCry ransomware in 74 countries around the world, mostly in Russia. It’s important to note that our visibility may be limited and incomplete and the range of targets and victims is likely much, much higher.
Geographical target distribution according to our telemetry for the first few hours of the attack
The malware used in the attacks encrypts the files and also drops and executes a decryptor tool. The request for $600 in Bitcoin is displayed along with the wallet. It’s interesting that the initial request in this sample is for $600 USD, as the first five payments to that wallet is approximately $300 USD. It suggests that the group is increasing the ransom demands.
The tool was designed to address users of multiple countries, with translated messages in different languages.
Language list that the malware supports
Note that the “payment will be raised” after a specific countdown, along with another display raising urgency to pay up, threatening that the user will completely lose their files after the set timeout. Not all ransomware provides this timer countdown.
To make sure that the user doesn’t miss the warning, the tool changes the user’s wallpaper with instructions on how to find the decryptor tool dropped by the malware.
An image used to replace user’s wallpaper
Malware samples contain no reference to any specific culture or codepage other than universal English and Latin codepage CP1252. The files contain version info stolen from random Microsoft Windows 7 system tools:
Properties of malware files used by WannaCry
For convenient bitcoin payments, the malware directs to a page with a QR code at btcfrog, which links to their main bitcoin wallet 13AM4VW2dhxYgXeQepoHkHSQuy6NgaEb94. Image metadata does not provide any additional info:
One of the Bitcoin wallets used by the attackers: 13AM4VW2dhxYgXeQepoHkHSQuy6NgaEb94
One of the attacker wallets received 0.88 BTC during the last hours
Another Bitcoin wallets included in the attackers’ “readme.txt” from the samples are:
115p7UMMngoj1pMvkpHijcRdfJNXj6LrLn – 0.32 BTC
12t9YDPgwueZ9NyMgw519p7AA8isjr6SMw – 0.16 BTC
1QAc9S5EmycqjzzWDc1yiWzr9jJLC8sLiY
For command and control, the malware extracts and uses Tor service executable with all necessary dependencies to access the Tor network:
A list of dropped files related to Tor service
In terms of targeted files, the ransomware encrypts files with the following extensions:
.der, .pfx, .key, .crt, .csr, .p12, .pem, .odt, .ott, .sxw, .stw, .uot, .3ds, .max, .3dm, .ods, .ots, .sxc, .stc, .dif, .slk, .wb2, .odp, .otp, .sxd, .std, .uop, .odg, .otg, .sxm, .mml, .lay, .lay6, .asc, .sqlite3, .sqlitedb, .sql, .accdb, .mdb, .dbf, .odb, .frm, .myd, .myi, .ibd, .mdf, .ldf, .sln, .suo, .cpp, .pas, .asm, .cmd, .bat, .ps1, .vbs, .dip, .dch, .sch, .brd, .jsp, .php, .asp, .java, .jar, .class, .mp3, .wav, .swf, .fla, .wmv, .mpg, .vob, .mpeg, .asf, .avi, .mov, .mp4, .3gp, .mkv, .3g2, .flv, .wma, .mid, .m3u, .m4u, .djvu, .svg, .psd, .nef, .tiff, .tif, .cgm, .raw, .gif, .png, .bmp, .jpg, .jpeg, .vcd, .iso, .backup, .zip, .rar, .tgz, .tar, .bak, .tbk, .bz2, .PAQ, .ARC, .aes, .gpg, .vmx, .vmdk, .vdi, .sldm, .sldx, .sti, .sxi, .602, .hwp, .snt, .onetoc2, .dwg, .pdf, .wk1, .wks, .123, .rtf, .csv, .txt, .vsdx, .vsd, .edb, .eml, .msg, .ost, .pst, .potm, .potx, .ppam, .ppsx, .ppsm, .pps, .pot, .pptm, .pptx, .ppt, .xltm, .xltx, .xlc, .xlm, .xlt, .xlw, .xlsb, .xlsm, .xlsx, .xls, .dotx, .dotm, .dot, .docm, .docb, .docx, .doc
The file extensions that the malware is targeting contain certain clusters of formats including:
  1. Commonly used office file extensions (.ppt, .doc, .docx, .xlsx, .sxi).
  2. Less common and nation-specific office formats (.sxw, .odt, .hwp).
  3. Archives, media files (.zip, .rar, .tar, .bz2, .mp4, .mkv)
  4. Emails and email databases (.eml, .msg, .ost, .pst, .edb).
  5. Database files (.sql, .accdb, .mdb, .dbf, .odb, .myd).
  6. Developers’ sourcecode and project files (.php, .java, .cpp, .pas, .asm).
  7. Encryption keys and certificates (.key, .pfx, .pem, .p12, .csr, .gpg, .aes).
  8. Graphic designers, artists and photographers files (.vsd, .odg, .raw, .nef, .svg, .psd).
  9. Virtual machine files (.vmx, .vmdk, .vdi).
The WannaCry dropper drops multiple “user manuals” on different languages:
Bulgarian, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese
The example of a “user manual” in English:
What Happened to My Computer?
Your important files are encrypted.
Many of your documents, photos, videos, databases and other files are no longer accessible because they have been encrypted. Maybe you are busy looking for a way to
recover your files, but do not waste your time. Nobody can recover your files without our decryption service.

Can I Recover My Files?
Sure. We guarantee that you can recover all your files safely and easily. But you have not so enough time.
You can decrypt some of your files for free. Try now by clicking .
But if you want to decrypt all your files, you need to pay.
You only have 3 days to submit the payment. After that the price will be doubled.
Also, if you don't pay in 7 days, you won't be able to recover your files forever.
We will have free events for users who are so poor that they couldn't pay in 6 months.
How Do I Pay?
Payment is accepted in Bitcoin only. For more information, click .
Please check the current price of Bitcoin and buy some bitcoins. For more information, click .
And send the correct amount to the address specified in this window.
After your payment, click . Best time to check: 9:00am - 11:00am GMT from Monday to Friday.
Once the payment is checked, you can start decrypting your files immediately.
Contact
If you need our assistance, send a message by clicking .

We strongly recommend you to not remove this software, and disable your anti-virus for a while, until you pay and the payment gets processed. If your anti-virus gets
updated and removes this software automatically, it will not be able to recover your files even if you pay!
It also drops batch and VBS script files, and a “readme” (contents are provided in the appendix).
Just in case the user closed out the bright red dialog box, or doesn’t understand it, the attackers drop a text file to disk with further instruction. An example of their “readme” dropped to disk as “@Please_Read_Me@.txt” to many directories on the victim host. Note that the English written here is done well, with the exception of “How can I trust?”. To date, only two transactions appear to have been made with this 115p7UMMngoj1pMvkpHijcRdfJNXj6LrLn bitcoin address for almost $300:
Q: What's wrong with my files?

A: Ooops, your important files are encrypted. It means you will not be able to access them anymore until they are decrypted.
If you follow our instructions, we guarantee that you can decrypt all your files quickly and safely!
Let's start decrypting!
Q: What do I do?
A: First, you need to pay service fees for the decryption.
Please send $300 worth of bitcoin to this bitcoin address: 115p7UMMngoj1pMvkpHijcRdfJNXj6LrLn
Next, please find an application file named "@WanaDecryptor@.exe". It is the decrypt software.
Run and follow the instructions! (You may need to disable your antivirus for a while.)
Q: How can I trust?
A: Don't worry about decryption.
We will decrypt your files surely because nobody will trust us if we cheat users.

* If you need our assistance, send a message by clicking on the decryptor window.
Once started it immediately spawns several processes to change file permissions and communicate with tor hidden c2 servers:
  • attrib +h .
  • icacls . /grant Everyone:F /T /C /Q
  • C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Local\Temp\taskdl.exe
  • @WanaDecryptor@.exe fi
  • 300921484251324.bat
  • C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Local\Temp\taskdl.exe
  • C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Local\Temp\taskdl.exe
The malware checks the mutexes “Global\MsWinZonesCacheCounterMutexA” and “Global\MsWinZonesCacheCounterMutexA0” (Update: Thanks Didier Stevens for the correction on the extra mutex name!) to determine if a system is already infected. It also runs the command:
cmd.exe /c vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet & wmic shadowcopy delete & bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures & bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no & wbadmin delete catalog -quiet
This results in an UAC popup that user may notice.
UAC popup to disable Volume Shadow Service (System Restore)
The malware use TOR hidden services for command and control. The list of .onion domains inside is as following:
  • gx7ekbenv2riucmf.onion
  • 57g7spgrzlojinas.onion
  • Xxlvbrloxvriy2c5.onion
  • 76jdd2ir2embyv47.onion
  • cwwnhwhlz52maqm7.onion
  • sqjolphimrr7jqw6.onion

Mitigation and detection information

Quite essential in stopping these attacks is the Kaspersky System Watcher component. The System Watcher component has the ability to rollback the changes done by ransomware in the event that a malicious sample managed to bypass other defenses. This is extremely useful in case a ransomware sample slips past defenses and attempts to encrypt the data on the disk.
System Watcher blocking the WannaCry attacks
Mitigation recommendations:
  1. Make sure that all hosts are running and have enabled endpoint security solutions.
  2. Install the official patch (MS17-010) from Microsoft, which closes the affected SMB Server vulnerability used in this attack.
  3. Ensure that Kaspersky Lab products have the System Watcher component enabled.
  4. Scan all systems. After detecting the malware attack as MEM:Trojan.Win64.EquationDrug.gen, reboot the system. Once again, make sure MS17-010 patches are installed.
Samples observed in attacks so far:
4fef5e34143e646dbf9907c4374276f5
5bef35496fcbdbe841c82f4d1ab8b7c2
775a0631fb8229b2aa3d7621427085ad
7bf2b57f2a205768755c07f238fb32cc
7f7ccaa16fb15eb1c7399d422f8363e8
8495400f199ac77853c53b5a3f278f3e
84c82835a5d21bbcf75a61706d8ab549
86721e64ffbd69aa6944b9672bcabb6d
8dd63adb68ef053e044a5a2f46e0d2cd
b0ad5902366f860f85b892867e5b1e87
d6114ba5f10ad67a4131ab72531f02da
db349b97c37d22f5ea1d1841e3c89eb4
e372d07207b4da75b3434584cd9f3450
f529f4556a5126bba499c26d67892240
Kaspersky Lab detection names:
Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Gen.djd
Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Scatter.tr
Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Wanna.b
Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Wanna.c
Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Wanna.d
Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Wanna.f
Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Zapchast.i
PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic
Kaspersky Lab experts are currently working on the possibility of creating a decryption tool to help victims. We will provide an update when a tool is available.

Appendix

Batch file
@echo off
echo SET ow = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")> m.vbs
echo SET om = ow.CreateShortcut("C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\@WanaDecryptor@.exe.lnk")>> m.vbs
echo om.TargetPath = “C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\@WanaDecryptor@.exe”>> m.vbs
echo om.Save>> m.vbs
cscript.exe //nologo m.vbs
del m.vbs
del /a %0
m.vbs
SET ow = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
SET om = ow.CreateShortcut("C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\@WanaDecryptor@.exe.lnk")
om.TargetPath = "C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\@WanaDecryptor@.exe"
om.Save
article from:Securlist.com

*Raed also this all security reports and analytics about wanacry ransom-ware



*Krebsonsecurity*





Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Microsoft expected to take on Chromebook and iPad in upcoming education-centric event

Microsoft expected to take on Chromebook and iPad in upcoming education-centric event

Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is gearing up for its next major event of the year. The event has been tagged #MicrosoftEDU, and judging by the name, we’re expecting to see a number of education-centric products and services from the company.
When it comes to education and education products, it’s safe to assume that the primary market in most cases has always been the US and, to some extent, Europe. This area has been Apple’s domain for a long time, but Google’s Chromebooks have been steadily eating into the market.
Chromebooks are cheaper than Apple’s iPads and more flexible. Given their laptop form factor, they’re also more comfortable to type on than an iPad.
Microsoft doesn’t currently have a compelling offering at this level. Its services and software, such as Office 365 and software development tools, are available, but there’s no device to use these on.
Keeping this in mind, and the fact that Microsoft has been developing an ARM-friendly version of Windows 10, we’re expecting to see a Chromebook-like device from the company today. The device is expected to fully support UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps.
Given Microsoft’s increasing focus on cloud-services, we’re expecting to see some sort of cloud-service offerings specifically targeting the education space, this includes Office365 and OneDrive.
Unfortunately, nobody is expecting to see an update to the Surface line or Windows Phone.
Here’s how you get updates
The event is scheduled for 7:00 PM India time and will be streamed live from here. Be sure to tune into tech2 at 7:00 PM as well since we will also be hosting a live blog for the event.
Publish date: May 2, 2017 10:38 am| Modified date: May 2, 2017 10:38 am

Friday, April 14, 2017

Microsoft says it has received at least 1000 surveillance requests from US govt in 1H 2016

Microsoft says it has received at least 1000 surveillance requests from US govt in 1H 2016

Image Credits: REUTERS
Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had received at least a thousand surveillance requests from the US government that sought user content for foreign intelligence purposes during the first half of 2016.
The amount, shared in Microsoft’s biannual transparency report, was more than double what the company said it received under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the preceding six-month interval, and was the highest the company has listed since 2011, when it began tracking such government surveillance orders.
The scope of spying authority granted to US intelligence agencies under FISA has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks, sparked in part by evolving, unsubstantiated assertions from President Donald Trump and other Republicans that the Obama White House improperly spied on Trump and his associates.
Microsoft said it received between 1,000 and 1,499 FISA orders for user content between January and June of 2016, compared to between 0 and 499 during both January-June 2015 as well as the second half of 2015.
The number of user accounts impacted by FISA orders fell during the same period, however, from between 17,500 and 17,999 to between 12,000 and 12,499, according to the report.
The US government only allows companies to report the volume of FISA requests in wide bands rather than specific numbers.
FISA orders, which are approved by judges who sit on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, are tightly guarded national security secrets. Even the existence of a specific FISA order is rarely disclosed publicly.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the FBI obtained a FISA order to monitor the communications of former Trump advisor Carter Page as part of an investigation into possible links between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign.
Parts of FISA will expire at the end of the year, unless US lawmakers vote to reauthorise it. Privacy advocates in Congress have been working to attach new transparency and oversight reforms to any FISA legislation, and to limit government searches of American data that is incidentally collected during foreign surveillance operations.
Microsoft also for the first time published a national security letter, a type of warrantless surveillance order used by the FBI.
Other technology companies, including Twitter Inc and Yahoo Inc, have also disclosed national security letters in recent months under a transparency measure of the USA Freedom Act that was enacted into law by the US Congress in 2015.
Reuters
Publish date: April 14, 2017 11:52 am| Modified date: April 14, 2017 11:52 am

Monday, April 10, 2017

Microsoft Finally Reveals What Data Windows 10 Collects From Your PC


Wednesday, April 05, 2017 Mohit Kumar



Since the launch of Windows 10, there has been widespread concern about its data collection practices, mostly because Microsoft has been very secretive about the telemetry data it collects.

Now, this is going to be changed, as Microsoft wants to be more transparent on its diagnostics data collection practices.

Till now there are three options (Basic, Enhanced, Full) for Windows 10 users to select from under its diagnostics data collection section, with no option for users to opt out of sending their data to Microsoft.

Also, the company has never said precisely what data it collects behind these options, which raised huge privacy concerns among privacy-conscious users.



But now for the first time, Microsoft has revealed what data Windows 10 is collecting from your computer with the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update, bringing an end to nearly two years of its mysterious data collection practices.

The Windows 10 Creators Update, which will be available from April 11 for users to download for free, comes with a revamped Privacy settings section.

During the process of upgrading to the Creators Update, you will be displayed a new Privacy Settings screen that will ask you to toggle the following features:


Location – Allow Windows and apps to request your location and share that data with Microsoft.
Speech Recognition – Allow Cortana and Windows Store apps to recognize your voice and send that data to Microsoft to improve speech recognition.
Tailored experiences with diagnostic data – Allow Microsoft to use diagnostic data from your computer to offer tips and recommendations.
Relevant ads – Allow apps to use advertising IDs to show ads more interesting to you based on your app usage.
What's more? On Wednesday, Microsoft published a massive list of diagnostics data – both the Basic and Full levels of diagnostics – on its TechNet site, showing what data gets collected.




Basic – The Basic level collects a limited set of data that is critical for understanding the device and its configuration. This data includes basic device information, quality-related information, app compatibility, and Windows Store.
Full – The Full level collects data for the following nine categories: common data; software setup and inventory data; product and service usage data; browsing, search and query data; content consumption data; linking, typing, and speech utterance data; and licensing and purchase data.
Windows chief Terry Myerson said in a blog post published Wednesday that Microsoft hoped the transparency would allow users to make "more informed choices" as the company starts rolling out its new Creators update to the operating system.

This more transparency in gathering diagnostic data after two years of the Windows 10 release is likely Microsoft's response to European Union regulators that's publicly pressuring the company about its privacy practices for the past year.

In February, European Union regulators said they're still unsatisfied with the privacy changes announced by Microsoft and seeking further clarification from the company.

Marisa Rogers, the privacy officer of the Microsoft's Windows and Devices Group, said that the company is planning to "share more information about how [it] will ensure Windows 10 is compliant with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation."

U.S. Trade Group Hacked by Chinese Hackers ahead of Trump-Xi Trade Summit


Thursday, April 06, 2017 Swati Khandelwal


Researchers have uncovered a Chinese cyber-espionage against the United States ahead of the trade summit on Thursday between US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping.

According to a new report published today by Fidelis Cybersecurity firm, the Chinese APT10 hacking group implanted a piece of malware on the "Events" page of the US National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) website in February.

Dubbed 'Operation TradeSecret,' the attack against the NFTC site is seen as an attempt to conduct surveillance on the main industry players and lobbyists closely associated with U.S trade policy activities.



Researchers say hackers placed a malicious link on the NFTC website, inviting the organization's board of directors to register for a meeting in Washington DC on March 7. But clicking on the link deployed a spying tool called "Scanbox."

Dates back to 2014, Scanbox – previously used by nation-state threat actors associated with the Chinese government – has the ability to record the type and versions of software a victim is running and run keyloggers on compromised computers, said Fidelis researcher John Bambenek.

"This attack was really at its core a reconnaissance attack. Anyone who visited this calendar entry would expose their software versions and use a JavaScript keylogger that could expose their identity," said Bambenek.
"Traditionally these attacks are used to precisely identify targets and help them craft targeted phishing attacks using exploits they know the victim is vulnerable to."The malicious link was active on the NFTC website between February 27 and March 1. The malware was already removed from the site by the time Fidelis contacted NFTC.



The NFTC's staff and board represent many influential people and companies -- from President Rufus Yerxa, the U.S. Ambassador to GATT to executives from major companies including Google, Amazon, eBay, IBM, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, KPMG, Pfizer, Visa, Ford, Halliburton, and Walmart.

Although Fidelis detected no further attacks on NFTC board members, the security firm believed the hackers were after a full range of entities relevant to the trade negotiations due to take place Thursday between US and China.

This is the second time in a week when APT10 cyber espionage campaign has come to light. A report released this week by BAE Systems, and PwC also claimed that APT10 was targeting managed IT services providers (MSPs) and their customers across the globe to steal sensitive data.

Chatbots are smarter and more communicative, and they will drive the evolution of customer service

Chatbots are smarter and more communicative, and they will drive the evolution of customer service

Getty Images
By Prashant Choudhari
Effective communication today has become a core necessity in the business-customer interaction space. With engagement as a prime focus area, technology provides multiple means of interacting with customers. One of the most important contemporary means of interaction is the use of chatbots to engage customers in a natural, conversational manner.
What’s most interesting is that users don’t have to install a new app to get their queries answered any more. Chatbots are now being hosted on popular chat outlets that users already have on their phone and spend a lot of time on. This allows businesses to connect with their audience on platforms they prefer the most; ensuring a seamless interaction.
Frontend customer service
The customer service industry presents the best use case scenarios for chatbots to elucidate their abilities. Chatbots are able to effectively utilize the classic 80-20 rule in the industry i.e. the fact that 80 percent of questions asked are similar and can be answered by 20 percent of the prepared responses, to cut down on response times and enable resources to be focused elsewhere. Despite the inherent need for human intervention in cases where the bot is unable to understand the nature of the inquiry, this system enables customer service to remain streamlined and operate smoothly.
Guide to solution/information
Another means by which chatbots can imitate human interaction is in the case of troubleshooting. Traditional search engines adopt a unidirectional approach towards information searches, placing the onus on the users to constantly refine searches through trial and error. Chatbots bypass this by initiating conversations with users, thereby allowing the solution to be found faster and more intuitively. The Singapore govt. Bot is a good example of this.
Replacement for FAQs
In addition to this, they also replace FAQ sections by incorporating them into their information database and thus becoming the singular destination for all doubts. This advantage allows core institutions such as banks to dispense frequently inquired information such as account creation and closure, interest rates and transaction details effectively without wastage of resources.
Go beyond text
Finally, one of the greatest advantages chatbots possess is their blend of voice and visual elements. AI technology has progressed in the contemporary scenario to enable chatbots to not only possess the required information but to also present it in a manner that resembles human interaction closely. By utilizing relatable names, avatars and vocalization software, chatbots are better able to engage with a wide variety of users based on their means of information access and communication preferences.
The future of customer service will primarily revolve around the evolution of AI and will follow where the customers are. Customer service experience will also be much more personalized and proactive, where problems are detected and mitigated before they happen. Another area of innovation will be when AI meets mobile robots (like Asus Zenbo), which will take customer service from the virtual world to the physical world.
Most Bot applications today are specialized, i.e. they do a good job in one or few scenarios, like answering an FAQ or retrieving bank details. These are what is known as Weak AI. In the future, the explosion of data through channels like IoT and cheaper computations will enable building of intelligent systems which can learn a new topic like humans do. This is known as Strong AI (or Artificial General Intelligence). In addition, advances in fields like Speech and Natural Language processing, motion/gesture/emotion detection, etc. will enable machines to interact increasingly like humans.
The author is a principal program manager at Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt Ltd. He contributes to the engineering of Microsoft Bot Framework and other cognitive service offerings.
Publish date: April 10, 2017 10:49 am| Modified date: April 10, 2017 10:49 am

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Android has overtaken Windows as the most used operating system on the internet

Android has overtaken Windows as the most used operating system on the internet

For years the tech industry has believed in the dominance of the almighty Microsoft Windows. Windows is one of the most used operating system in the desktop space with more than 90.45 percent of devices powered by the operating system according to data by NetMarketShare.
However, according to a recent report by StatCounter, Android has dethroned Microsoft Windows as the most popular operating system (OS) for internet usage across product segments such as desktop, tablets, laptops and mobile devices.
Image Credit: StatCounter
Image Credit: StatCounter
The interesting thing is that Android overtook Windows last month with internet usage market share across the world at 37.93 percent in comparison to the 37.91 percent usage on Windows OS.
Aodhan Cullen, the CEO of StatCounter termed this to be a “milestone in technology history” and “the end of an era.” He goes on to say that, “It marks the end of Microsoft’s leadership worldwide of the OS market which it has held since the 1980s.”
This statement might not hold true entirely since we are only talking about the OS preferred to access the internet. Windows is the preferred choice for desktops. But the results do point to a definite trend in the market where PCs are observing a continuous decline in overall market share when compared to mobile devices.
The report notes that Windows holds about 84 percent internet usage market share in the desktop market which includes PC and laptops.
Cullen correctly points out, “Windows won the desktop war but the battlefield has moved on.” Windows 10 Mobile OS is nowhere close to be competitve. It has a minuscule 0.3 percent market share as compared to over 80 percent of Android market share. There is no way Windows is making any inroads in the mobile sector.
One interesting thing to note here is that Windows has maintained its lead in North America and Europe with 39.5 percent and 51.7 percent internet usage market share while Android held around 21.2 percent and 23.6 market share respectively.
Asia was the deciding factor to give Android a marginal bump by holding 52.2 percent as Windows slumped to 29.2 percentage. The reason for Asia being so contrasting in terms of market share can be because of the fact that most people would opt to choose a smartphone rather going for a PC or a laptop.
Publish date: April 4, 2017 5:03 pm| Modified date: April 4, 2017 5:16 pm

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