Microsoft has partnered with decentralized blockchain infrastructure provider Ankr to provide a novel node hosting service on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. In addition, the partnership will see an integration of technology from both companies, pairing Ankr’s blockchain infrastructure with Microsoft’s cloud solutions. Per Ankr, the enterprise node deployment service will offer low-latency blockchain connections for Web3 projects so that developers can instead spend their time scaling their applications. The service relays transactions, deploys smart contracts and can read or write blockchain data. By upgrading its load balancer to use Azure-based routing solutions, Ankr said the firm would be able to …

For computer programs and mobile applications, programmers must develop code. In order to keep things working properly, they are also involved in maintaining, debugging and troubleshooting software and systems. Here is a brief overview of the top 10 most famous computer programmers of all time. Alan Turing Alan Turing was a British mathematician and computer scientist who contributed significantly to the growth of artificial intelligence, cryptography and computer science. He helped decipher the Enigma code during World War II and introduced the idea of the Turing Machine, a theoretical representation of a computer. Turing also contributed to the creation of …

Last year the crypto and Web3 saw a dichotomy between extremely turbulent markets, yet high prospects for the future of the space. Both users and investors alike have continued to pile into the industry, especially in areas concerned with the metaverse. A new survey from CoinWire, which surveyed over 10,000 investors in the crypto space in December 2022, found that user sentiment towards the metaverse has digital reality poised to influence all areas of social life. 69% of respondents have placed their bet on the metaverse to reshape social lifestyle with a new approach to entertainment, while 65% believed in …

Blockchain security company CertiK has reminded the crypto community to stay alert over “ice phishing” scams — a unique type of phishing scam targeting Web3 users — first identified by Microsoft earlier this year. In a Dec. 20 analysis report, CertiK described ice phishing scams as an attack that tricks Web3 users into signing permissions which end up allowing a scammer to spend their tokens. This differs from traditional phishing attacks which attempt to access confidential information such as private keys or passwords, such as the fake websites set up which claimed to help FTX investors recover funds lost on …

Cloud computing giant Microsoft is taking measures to increase stability of its cloud services by forcing new restrictions for activities like cryptocurrency mining. Microsoft has quietly banned crypto mining from its online services in order to better protect its customers and clouds, British technology news agency The Register reported on Dec. 15. The company introduced the new restrictions as part of its universal license terms of Microsoft Online Services. Microsoft updated its acceptable use policy on Dec. 1 to clarify that “mining cryptocurrency is prohibited without prior Microsoft approval.” In the “Acceptable Use Policy” section, Microsoft said that it now …

Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard — a move originally aimed toward building Metaverse initiatives — hit a roadblock after an intervention by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC sought to block Microsoft from acquiring the gaming giant as a way to promote fair competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscription services. However, Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella had previously stated that acquisition would “play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.” #BREAKING: FTC seeks to block Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc.: https://t.co/ukewjn6MUX /1 — FTC (@FTC) December 8, 2022 In a …

Microsoft reports that a threat actor has been identified targeting cryptocurrency investment startups. A party Microsoft has dubbed DEV-0139 posed as a cryptocurrency investment company on Telegram and used an Excel file weaponized with “well-crafted” malware to infect systems that it then remotely accessed. The threat is part of a trend in attacks showing a high level of sophistication. In this case, the threat actor, falsely identifying itself with fake profiles of OKX employees, joined Telegram groups “used to facilitate communication between VIP clients and cryptocurrency exchange platforms,” Microsoft wrote in a Dec. 6 blog post. Microsoft explained: “We are …

South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges have announced they will delist WEMIX (WEMIX) — the native token of gaming company Wemade’s blockchain platform Wemix — alleging the firm provided “false information” in response to an investment warning it was issued. Bithumb, Upbeat, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — which are part of a collective called the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) — announced on Nov. 24 that they would terminate contract support for WEMIX, with trading set to end on Dec. 8. In the investment warning issued Oct. 27, DAXA alleged that there was considerably more WEMIX in circulation than Wemix had …

For decades, banks and insurance firms employed the same mostly static but highly profitable and centralized business models. Also for decades, Big Tech firms such as Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Google have monopolized user data for their profit. However, blockchain projects could significantly challenge Big Tech’s grip on user data. In 2015, the future of money was at the forefront of financial experts’ minds at the World Economic Forum in Davos. There, they started to seriously focus on the challenges presented by the rise of Bitcoin (BTC), digital assets and fintech. The world of finance began to realize that …

During a Wall Street Journal event, Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel revealed that they are not big fans of a metaverse in its current form. Spencer called the metaverse’s current iteration a “poorly built video game” referring to the ecosystem's bad graphics and low-quality interfaces. The Microsoft gaming chief noted that the gaming world still has an advantage over the Metaverse in creating different engaging virtual worlds. At the same time, he compared most of the current metaverse projects to virtual reality room meetings and explained: “Video game creators have an amazing ability to build …

Tailoring his argument to many of the companies that were market leaders at the time, his ideas eventually also applied to companies that either hadn’t fully defined their markets or didn’t even yet exist but would go on to generate billions in market share: Uber, Lyft, TikTok/ByteDance, Robinhood and Coinbase, among several others. If you were going to be a unicorn in the 21st century, software was probably going to be a key part of earning that horn. The hidden motor behind this complete disruption of modern economies and life was the emergence of true cloud computing and cloud giants, …

Meta Platforms has partnered with technology giant Microsoft to bring a range of Microsoft Office 365 products into Meta’s Virtual Reality (VR) platform, aiming to entice companies into working in virtual environments. During Meta’s Connect 2022 keynote on Oct. 11, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said its Teams video calling app would integrate with Meta’s “Quest” and newly unveiled “Quest Pro” VR headset allowing people to gather in a virtual space akin to a boardroom. Familiar Microsoft productivity applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and SharePoint will also be made available within Meta’s VR. Nadella added future functionality would include …