Microsoft May Allow Android Apps On Windows

If this happens, it could be a major step from Microsoft towards open source technology.  

Reportedly, the Microsoft Corp is conceiving the idea to allow Android apps on Windows given that the Android has become such a success in a short span of time. The company is split in taking the step, though. One segment of Microsoft anticipates that the company should allow Android apps to run inside its platforms to fill the app deficit. The other segment thinks that it will not be a wise choice for the company and will lead to the end of Windows.

As per reports from The Verge, running Android apps on Windows means that Microsoft will allow Android apps on Windows and Windows Phone platforms. The negotiations are still on over the topic and are said to be in their early stages at Microsoft Corp. The Windows maker's new CEO Satya Nadella is likely to take a call over the matter soon.

If Microsoft heads with this idea, the company may use a virtualisation layer like Bluestacks’ solution to run Android applications on Windows and will provide the apps through its own customised store. Apps like Temple Run in Android version run on Windows 8 using BlueStacks.

No details are available as of now, since Microsoft is yet to make a choice. Microsoft is reportedly keeping a close eye on the performance of Nokia’s new Android smartphone that may be launched at the Mobile World Congress, this month. The performance of the new smartphone is likely to be a deciding factor for Microsoft to take this call.


Author : Shivam Kotwalia, CodeKill

Microsoft's Process Explorer added VirusTotal Multi-Antivirus Scanner support

Process Explorer, a part of the Microsoft’s Sysinternals suite of applications is an alternate task manager for Windows, which offers far more features than 'on-board'.

Microsoft’s Windows Sysinternal Suite has released the latest version of Process Explorer v16.0 that has an awesome feature which allows a user to scan any running program files with a web-based multi-antivirus scanner VirusTotal.

Process Explorer sends the hashes of images and files shown in the process and DLL views to VirusTotal, and if they have been previously scanned, it reports how many antivirus engines identified them as possibly malicious.

This new version of 'Process Explorer' is better than ever before, and is quite fast that allows you to find unwanted malware immediately and respective hyper-linked result takes you to VirusTotal.com's detailed report page and there you can even submit more files for scanning.

Whenever your system starts doing sluggish behavior, you try to find out what all the processes are running and what their state is, or any deadlock has occurred? 

Process Explorer shows information about handles and DLLs of running processes. This tool has a powerful search capability that quickly shows you which processes have particular handles opened or DLLs loaded.

The unique capabilities of Process Explorer make it useful for tracking down DLL-version problems or handle leaks, and provide insight into the way Windows and applications work.

Now you can use VirusTotal to scan the file of a running process on your computer, and to do that you can right-click on the file and select ‘Check VirusTotal’.

With increase in cyber-attacks, job of keeping the antivirus database updated with malicious signature has become very cumbersome. VirusTotal was acquired by Google, provides unbiased service and has real time updates of virus signatures and blacklists.

Both VirusTotal and the Sysinternals tools are great examples of the wealth of first-rate free tools available to IT and developers. Microsoft's collaboration with VirusTotal service is a great initiative to increase the security of windows users. You can download Process Explorer v16.0 here.

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Shivam Kotwalia, CodeKill

UK Government Leaves Microsoft Office For Open Source Technology!

In yet another blow to the proprietary technology and boost to open source tech, UK government has now given up on Microsoft's Office and is resorting to open source alternatives. The move has come in order to restrict expenditure and put an end to 'oligopoly' in the IT market. According to reports, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude is working to outline plans, to make the desired shift from Microsoft Office to free productivity software such as OpenOffice and Google Docs. Maude shared an update on the plans at a cross-government event. UK government will save millions after this shift as the country has spent over £200 million on Microsoft’s ubiquitous software suite in the last three years. Maude said, “We know the best technology and digital ideas often come from small businesses but too often in the past they were excluded from government work. In the civil service there was a sense that if you hired a big multi-national, who everyone knew the name of, you'd never be fired. We weren't just missing out on innovation, we were paying top dollar for yesterday's technology.”

The government believes that this will put an end to the 'oligopoly' amongst suppliers of technologies. Maude said, “The software we use in government is still supplied by just a few large companies. A tiny oligopoly dominates the marketplace. I want to see a greater range of software used, so civil servants have access to the information they need and can get their work done without having to buy a particular brand of software. In the first instance, this will help departments to do something as simple as share documents with each other more easily. But it will also make it easier for the public to use and share government information.”

The government is already working in the direction. “We have been talking to users about the problems they face when they read or work with our documents – and we have been inviting ideas from experts on how to solve these challenges. Technical standards for document formats may not sound like the first shot in a revolution […] but be in no doubt: the adoption of compulsory standards in government threatens to break open Whitehall's lock-in to proprietary formats. In turn we will open the door for a host of other software providers,” he stated.