Thursday Tech Headlines – 05MAR2026
Every Thursday, we share tech headlines that we find interesting (or disturbing) and hope you will find them of informative or thought-provoking too. You can read them all or pick the ones that interest you the most. So, click on the titles that pique your curiosity! We hope you will like our new Thursday Tech Headlines feature. If you do, please let us know!
PS: The headlines we pick do not necessarily reflect our opinions and shouldn’t be taken as recommendations. We post these items to spark curiosity and encourage learning. Most of all, we hope you find them interesting or thought-provoking.
Tech Headlines for Thursday, March 5, 2026
What clues reveal about a possible Windows 12
How to make any smartphone easier to use for a senior citizen
A feature Windows 11 should have had on release is finally rolling out, says Microsoft
Humongous Numbers of People Are Uninstalling ChatGPT as Anti-OpenAI Sentiment Surges
There’s a new Microsoft login scam running rampant — and it has nothing to do with your password
Dark web researcher shares horrifying reality of what he found on there
Windows 11 hits 72% share as Windows 10 fades, but not everyone is happy
You Should Disable This Invasive New Microsoft Feature Right Now – Here’s Why
That’s it for our Thursday Tech Headlines for this week. Thank you so much for reading!
Wait, before you go…
Please consider helping us continue our mission of providing free and low-cost computer and technical help, as well as keeping you up-to-date on the latest computer & internet news. Our goal is to help you and to keep you safer on today’s wild west internet. Great!
You can help us a lot by making a small donation… today… right now!
Thanks!
And, thank you so much for visiting us today!
For the last week or so, I get notices in my free Outlook email that Azure has been activated and then that it has been deactivated. What’s going on?
It sounds like you have run into a widespread phishing campaign currently targeting Outlook and Hotmail users.
Many users have reported receiving these “Azure: Activated” followed by “Azure: Deactivated” emails recently. While they can look very legitimate—sometimes even appearing to come from an official @microsoft.com address—they are almost certainly fake if you haven’t personally signed up for Azure services.
Scammers are using a trick called “Sub-addressing” or abusing legitimate Azure features (like “Azure Monitor Alerts”) to send emails that look like they are from Microsoft. They “Activate” an alert with a scary message—usually about a fake charge of $499.99 or a “Windows Defender” subscription—and then “Deactivate” it minutes later to create a sense of relief and confusion.Account Probing: An automated bot may be trying to create a free Azure trial using your email address. When Microsoft’s fraud systems catch it, they immediately disable the trial, triggering the “Deactivated” notice you receive.The emails almost always contain a phone number to call for “disputes.” This is a Tech Support Scam. If you call, they will try to gain remote access to your computer or steal your credit card info.
Do not click any links or call any numbers in the email. Instead:
Go to https://account.microsoft.com and sign in manually.
Check your Order History or Services & Subscriptions.
If you see no charges and no Azure subscription there, the email is 100% a scam.
2. Check Recen Activity: To ensure no one is actually logged into your account. Go to the Security tab on your Microsoft account page. Select Review Activity. Look for “Successful sign-in” from locations or devices you don’t recognize. If you see only “Unsuccessful sync” or “Incorrect password entered” from foreign IP addresses, that’s normal—it means the security is working.
Legitimate Microsoft billing emails will never ask you to call a random 1-800 number to cancel a charge. They will always direct you to the official portal.
Consider changing your Microsoft account password or using 2FA (two-factor authentication).