It is getting to be a bit difficult to keep tech giant Microsoft’s (MSFT) flagship product Windows secured. Between the massive numbers of bugs found—yesterday featured a list of 163 such issues, the second-largest in history—and the complexity of knowing which updates will ruin the system altogether, the complexity is getting disturbing. One more such wrinkle emerged as Microsoft confirmed a new fake update was out. Microsoft stock gained over 1.5% in Thursday afternoon’s trading regardless, though.
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The latest fake Windows update, reports note, has been found to steal user data and shut down security tools designed to prevent attacks from taking place to begin with. Word from Malwarebytes, via researcher Stefan Dasic, notes that there is currently malware being distributed by a fake Microsoft support site. The malware is wrapped within what looks like a “…legitimate cumulative update for Windows version 24H2, complete with a believable knowledge base article number.”
Reports note that the update is specifically designed to target French users, so those operating in other languages are likely safe for the moment. But these campaigns, Dasic noted, have a way of spreading quickly, so this is one more threat vector to be aware of alongside a seemingly endless number of others.
A “Unified” Approach
Meanwhile, more details are emerging around the Xbox Helix, and the “unified” approach to development that game developers will be taking to put together product for this console. Reports note that game developers will be in close collaboration with hardware developers. This is not exactly difficult, as a panoply of game studios are under Microsoft’s umbrella as it is.
Alpha versions of the Helix are set to be out in 2027, which suggests that a 2027 full release may happen after all. This assumes, of course, that Microsoft sticks with its traditional end-of-year release date for new hardware, the Alpha versions come out very early in 2027, and nothing goes wrong in the interim.
Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 35 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 11.81% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $571.29 per share implies 36.34% upside potential.
