Windows 10 Testers Can Now Answer Android Phone Calls and Text Messages (venturebeat.com) 21
An anonymous reader quotes VentureBeat:
At Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2019 in August and the Surface hardware event last week, Microsoft talked about Windows 10's Your Phone app getting a new "Calls" feature. Today, the company is letting Windows Insiders start testing an early preview of Android calling on Windows 10.
Having given up on Windows Phone, Microsoft has increasingly poured more resources into Android as its mobile platform of choice. The company offers plenty of Android apps and features, including some that it can't match on Apple's more restricted iOS platform. Last week, Microsoft even unveiled the dual-screen Surface Neo Android phone, coming in holiday 2020.
Your Phone is part of Microsoft's "Continue on PC" functionality, which lets you send a task from your Android or iOS device to Windows 10. The app's main purpose is to let you access your phone's content -- like text messages, photos, and notifications -- right on your PC. The feature first arrived with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update in October 2017, and Microsoft has been broadening it ever since. Calling support means you no longer have to grab your Android phone to answer a call when you're at your computer. You can interact with the call using your PC's speakers, microphone, and screen.
Having given up on Windows Phone, Microsoft has increasingly poured more resources into Android as its mobile platform of choice. The company offers plenty of Android apps and features, including some that it can't match on Apple's more restricted iOS platform. Last week, Microsoft even unveiled the dual-screen Surface Neo Android phone, coming in holiday 2020.
Your Phone is part of Microsoft's "Continue on PC" functionality, which lets you send a task from your Android or iOS device to Windows 10. The app's main purpose is to let you access your phone's content -- like text messages, photos, and notifications -- right on your PC. The feature first arrived with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update in October 2017, and Microsoft has been broadening it ever since. Calling support means you no longer have to grab your Android phone to answer a call when you're at your computer. You can interact with the call using your PC's speakers, microphone, and screen.
There are testers?? (Score:1)
endless patch headaches lately!
Re: (Score:3)
Sure, for new products. They don't want a repeat of that time Bill plugged in a USB peripheral and got a blue screen. For patches to old products? You're the tester.
Re: (Score:2)
Seeing all of the latest software fubars that MS has pushed... I'd sure agree the users are the testers.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd sure agree the users are the testers.
Absolutely true, but one would need look no further than PC games for at least the last ten years. "Minimally viable product" taken to extreme in far too many cases.
The only way such a race to the bottom stops is when people stop buying/using/playing their products unless they make something actually worth the money, time, and trust. If people will still buy/use/play the half-finished, sloppy dreck they're pumping out, why should they put in any more effort than they have to to not be prosecuted?
Strat
Soon lots of 2FA will be broken. (Score:4, Insightful)
If you enable a user to connect their computer phone to their main computer with ease, this will lead to both of them being compromised when either is compromised. This is problematic in many regards due to the fact that two factor authentication schemes generally rely on text messages.
I don't know the details of how this new system works but I can tell you that security is sure to suffer. You can call it FUD but Microsoft has a long history of security lapses.
Because that is not 2FA. (Score:3)
It is twice the same factor. Which is not what 2FA is. And it never was, and never was any more secure. It only existed, to get at your phone (number) and whore that info out to advertising johns.
Re: (Score:2)
The fact that's it's shitty security to start with is irrelevant.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I can tell you how this new system works.
You install an app from Microsoft called "Your Phone" on your Android Phone. Then you sign into the Microsoft Cloud with this app. This turns the phone that you used to own into a phone owned by Microsoft (hence why the app is called "Your Phone" from Microsoft -- if makes whatever it is installed on "Your Phone" where Your refers to Microsoft).
Then you install some crap on your computer also from Microsoft called "Your Phone". Then you sign into the Microsoft Clo
Re: (Score:3)
Holy shit are you far off the mark. The "cloud" is not used for anything at all in this interaction. The login to the Microsoft account is exclusively used as authentication mechanism for the computer. Nothing is sent to the cloud, nothing is stored on the cloud, and the phone service specifically works only if *both devices* are connected to the same *local network* and the windows device is set to be publicly discoverable on that network.
Please leave your tinfoil hat garbage for the Fox News comments sect
Re: (Score:2)
this will lead to both of them being compromised when either is compromised
Not true at all. Compromises across APIs between different systems are insanely complicated. It is far easier to attack a target system directly. Yeah I get the 2FA bit, but a) 2FA hasn't "generally" relied on SMS for a couple of years now, though it was common in the past, and b) you're relying on an attacker breaching the notification system of Windows, or having access directly to your network to attack the system in flight (the connections are limited to the local network only). In both cases the lack o
Re: (Score:2)
All that's needed is remote R/W access and you can have ransomware that steals all your phone data too... maybe even detect and threaten to mail nudes to all your contacts. The phone doesn't actually have to run any remote code to be compromised.
Why would you though? (Score:2)
Why not just put the phone to your ear.
And it canât answer Signal messages, so it's useless.
Nice attempt at plagiarizing KDEconnect though.
Windows and Google collecting call data now (Score:1)
That's just great. Another finger in the pie, collecting my call data. GTFO of my personal data... thank you
they're reading your emails too (Score:1)
Why would you trust Microsoft? (Score:2)
Apple called... (Score:1)
They want their feature back.
Been a part of macOS and iOS for years now.
Heck, my years-old non-cell iPad 2 even rings in sympathy when my iPhone gets a call. And yes, you can answer the call, too.
When I am home and answer/place a call on my iPhone on speaker, I can choose to use the iPhoneâ(TM)s speakerphone or my iMacâ(TM)s speaker/mic.
And this doesnâ(TM)t even count the âoeContinuityâ shared bookmarks (etc), clipboard, and document handoff features.
Typical Microsoft shennanigans (Score:2)
Bluetooth HFP profile worked in earlier versions of Windows. With Windows 10 they broke it on purpose and now they are introducing Microsoft cloud linked proprietary bullshit as some kind of half assed replacement.
They don't care about providing end users with value. They just want a never ending parade of excuses to get their tentacles into everyone's business and spy on them because at Microsoft "privacy is a fundamental human right".
Look, it‘s like OSX‘ Continuity Featur (Score:2)
Texting on Windows already available from Google (Score:2)
Google Messages for Web [android.com] is quite good for sending and receiving texts from a computer. Best of all, you don't have to trust all your texting data to some obscure app developer. Sure, you have to trust it to Google, but the fact that it's being done on an Android phone means Google already has that information.
Another day (Score:2)
Another day, another "Microsoft allows you to do something Linux users have been doing for years" story. Get your shit together, Microsoft.