legacy dependencies Archives

Winsage

December 19, 2025

Microsoft Phases Out RC4 Encryption by 2026 to Bolster Windows Security

Microsoft has announced the phased discontinuation of the RC4 encryption cipher, with full implementation expected by mid-2026. RC4, created in 1987, has been increasingly recognized as a vulnerability, exploited in various high-profile cyberattacks. Microsoft plans to disable RC4 by default in Windows Kerberos authentication, encouraging organizations to transition to more secure alternatives like AES-256. This decision follows years of warnings from the cybersecurity community and aims to eliminate long-standing cryptographic weaknesses. The transition will require organizations to audit and upgrade their infrastructures, as many legacy applications still depend on RC4. Disabling RC4 is expected to reduce the success rates of attacks exploiting weak encryption. Microsoft has introduced tools to help administrators identify hidden RC4 usage. The change reflects a commitment to zero-trust architectures and aligns with recommendations from organizations like NIST. Experts recommend a multi-step approach for organizations to navigate this transition effectively.

Winsage

July 1, 2025

Teams Classic Is Officially Dead: IT Leaders Face Double Deadline with Windows 10 End-of-Life Looming

Microsoft Teams Classic has officially ceased operations, with all backend services disabled and servers shut down. Many organizations delayed their migrations despite prior announcements, leading to user disruptions and increased support tickets. A study by the UK’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that over a quarter of UK businesses experienced cyberattacks in the past year, and nearly three-quarters of business leaders anticipate cybersecurity disruptions within the next one to two years. The end of support for Windows 10 is set for October 14, 2025, presenting further challenges for IT teams, particularly in regulated sectors. Organizations face hurdles in migration due to budget constraints, lack of visibility into legacy dependencies, and staff turnover. IT teams must deploy the new Teams client, disable Teams Classic, and ensure clear communication and documentation to mitigate risks.

Tech Optimizer

February 25, 2025

APAC enterprises shifting towards open source in database strategies

Enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly transitioning from proprietary databases to open-source alternatives, with PostgreSQL being favored due to high licensing costs and vendor dependencies. IT leaders are reassessing database strategies to meet performance, cost, and scalability needs, particularly for applications requiring transactional, analytical, and AI workloads. Hybrid IT models are gaining traction, especially in countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, while Japan and Korea show strong on-premises demand, and India is moving away from legacy systems due to cost pressures. PostgreSQL is evolving to support hybrid IT and emerging workloads, including AI and analytics, with enhancements like lakehouse architecture for managing structured and unstructured data and the introduction of pgvector for AI applications. Data sovereignty regulations are prompting enterprises to deploy PostgreSQL in hybrid cloud environments to balance control and scalability. EDB has developed a hybrid control plane for unified management across on-premises and cloud deployments. Many enterprises are opting for a gradual transition to PostgreSQL due to legacy dependencies and operational risks, often starting with specific use cases before migrating legacy workloads. An example includes an insurance company in Hong Kong that migrated from Oracle to PostgreSQL, achieving reduced costs and improved performance. Successful migration depends on database mobility and application portability, with EDB planning to integrate GPU support and develop tools for faster AI application deployment, with expectations for rollout by the second quarter of 2025.

Winsage

September 19, 2024

Bringing Universal Windows Platform apps to .NET 9

Microsoft has introduced a suite of tools to enhance UWP support in .NET 9, aimed at helping developers upgrade their existing code gradually. This includes tools that operate across Visual Studio, the Windows SDK, and the .NET framework, allowing migration of C# code to the Windows App SDK. The migration process is incremental, enabling developers to adopt Win UI elements while still using some XAML Islands functionalities. Microsoft is actively using these tools for its app updates, with the Microsoft Store set to deliver a native AOT version after .NET 9's general availability, expected in November. The new toolkit eliminates reliance on outdated .NET Native tooling, allowing access to newer .NET features and broader integration of libraries, simplifying the upgrade process and enabling developers to utilize the latest innovations in the .NET ecosystem.