Microsoft finally rolls out Skype-Outlook.com integration to all users

IDG News Service - After testing a preview version of the Outlook.com-Skype integration for almost a year in some markets, Microsoft has now made it generally available to all users.

The link lets users of the Outlook.com webmail service communicate with their Skype contacts via video and audio calls from within their email interface.

Microsoft made available a preview version of the integration in hand-picked markets starting in April of last year and at the time promised the worldwide availability of Skype for Outlook.com for the summer of 2013, so the integration is arriving with a significant delay.

To tie Outlook.com and Skype together, users need to merge their Microsoft and Skype accounts and install a browser plug-in that works with Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

"With Skype for Outlook.com, you can easily connect with your Skype friends right from your Outlook.com inbox, so you can go from chat or email to a video call with just one click," wrote Microsoft official Karen Tong in a blog post on Tuesday.

Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2014 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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US-CERT urges XP users to dump IE

Computerworld - People who plan to run Windows XP after Microsoft pulls the patch plug should dump Internet Explorer (IE) and replace it with a different browser, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) said Monday.

US-CERT is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and regularly issues security warnings and threat alerts.

"Users who choose to continue using Windows XP after the end of support may mitigate some risks by using a Web browser other than Internet Explorer," US-CERT said in a Monday bulletin. "The Windows XP versions of some alternative browsers will continue to receive support temporarily. Users should consult the support pages of their chosen alternative browser for more details."

US-CERT's advice was not new: Security companies and experts have said the same before.

Because Microsoft ties support for Internet Explorer (IE) to the underlying operating system's end date, people running Windows XP will also not receive patches for IE7 or IE8, although others, including customers running the same browsers on Windows Vista and Windows 7, will continue to receive fixes.

IE6, which debuted several months before XP in 2001, will be retired from all support next month.

With IE patches ending, security professionals have urged people sticking with XP to run a browser that will receive bug fixes, like Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox and Opera Software's Opera.

That anything-but-IE advice stems from on the fact that Windows malware often enters a PC by exploiting a browser vulnerability. Exploits of unpatched bugs, described as "drive-by attacks," only require the user to browse to a malicious or compromised website, where attack code has been pre-planted.

Chrome will be patched until at least April 2015, Google pledged last October, leaving the door open to a later stop date.

However, Mozilla declined to specify a patch-until date when asked Monday.

"We listen to our users closely, and right now many of them are on XP and expect to stay on that platform. We have not announced any end of support for Firefox on XP at this time," said Chad Weiner, director of product management, in an email response to questions.

Mozilla typically discusses impending support stoppages on its planning forum months before it discontinues updates for an operating system. Developers have not begun talking there about dropping support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or SP3.

And Mozilla often supports an OS long after its maker has stopped: The last version of Firefox that ran on Windows XP SP1, the patch roll-up Microsoft quit supporting in October 2006, was Firefox 12, which shipped in April 2012.

Previously, Opera has issued statements along the lines of Mozilla's but it did not immediately reply to questions today, including whether it has set a firm end-of-support date for Windows XP.

Current XP users are most likely running IE8, the latest browser supported by the OS, because in early 2012 Microsoft began automatically upgrading users to the newest version of IE supported by a given operating system.

According to measurement firm Net Applications, IE8 accounted for 37.3% of all instances of Internet Explorer used in February. IE6, the version originally released with XP, accounted for 8% of all copies of Internet Explorer, a high percentage considering that Microsoft had gone to great lengths to eradicate that version.

Chrome, Firefox and Opera can be downloaded from the websites of Google, Mozilla and Opera Software.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

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Microsoft dangles $50 carrot in front of XP users

Computerworld - Microsoft has anted up in its attempt to convince last-minute laggards to abandon Windows XP by handing a $50 carrot to people who buy a new Windows 8.1 device.

On its online Microsoft Store, the Redmond, Wash. company is giving a $50 gift card to customers who buy one of 16 Windows 8.1 notebooks, desktops, tablets or 2-in-1 hybrids. The card is good for future purchases at the e-store.

Microsoft kicked off the deal on March 6; it ends April 30.

The move was the latest in a series to convince customers to ditch the 13-year-old XP, which was sold on new PCs as recently as October 2010. Microsoft will issue the final public patches for XP security vulnerabilities on April 8.

The 16 devices that come with the $50 incentive include four notebooks, four all-in-one desktops, four tablets and four hybrids, all which run Windows 8.1. Prices range from a low of $229 (for a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet) to $1,299 (for an HP Envy Recline 27-in. all-in-one). Prices of the four notebooks run from $279 (Asus VivoBook) to $699 (Dell Inspiron). All are touch-enabled.

Customers who buy one of the 16 devices will also receive 90 days of free telephone and live-chat support, and can download Laplink Express, the free file- and settings-transfer tool Microsoft announced last week that is available to anyone, not just those who purchased a new system.

Although Microsoft has beaten the dump-XP drum for almost three years, in the last few months it has gotten more specific, telling customers that they should upgrade their existing PCs to Windows 8.1 or buy a new computer running that operating system. Both those solutions have been met with incredulity and derision by users stuck on XP, who have suggested Microsoft try other strategies to reduce the old OS's footprint, including reviving Windows 7 at retail -- most XP PC owners are suspicious of Windows 8.1's sweeping changes -- and offering deep discounts on new devices.

But the company's use of the $50 gift card shows that, even at this late date, Microsoft is not interested in a radical solution to XP's refusal to die. According to metrics firm Net Applications, XP currently powers 29.5% of all the world's personal computers, and 32.2% of those running Windows.

Microsoft's hoping Windows XP users bite on its $50 gift card offer to buy a new device to replace the almost-retired OS. (Image: Microsoft.)

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.

Read more about Windows in Computerworld's Windows Topic Center.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

View the original article here