Microsoft forgets about SwiftKey's support site
(2024/07/08)
- Reference: 1720447931
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/07/08/microsoft_swiftkeys_cert_expires/
- Source link:
Another Microsoft certificate has expired, leaving SwiftKey users that are seeking support faced with an alarming certificate error.
SwiftKey is a predictive keyboard for Android, iPhone, and iPad. It learns a user's writing style to make autocorrect more accurate and provide useful predictions.
It's a useful tool with loyal users even though improvements made by Apple and Google to their respective keyboards over the years have tarnished its luster a little.
[1]
One such user contacted The Register after heading into the app's settings to find the support page. However, rather than be presented with Microsoft's support page for the product, our reader received a stern browser warning. The TLS certificate had expired.
[2]
support.swiftkey.com TLS certificate expiration
As of June 10, the TLS certificate for support.swiftkey.com has expired. Heading to www.swiftkey.com redirects to Microsoft's site, but clicking Help also throws up a warning.
[3]
Browser warning shown when accessing support.swiftkey.com
Microsoft bought SwiftKey [4]in 2016 for $250 million. In 2022, the Windows-maker attempted to kill off the iOS version but backtracked after user outcry. In February, Microsoft rebranded it with the perky message: "Introducing SwiftKey Copilot Keyboard! Leverage the power of AI to boost productivity, unlock creativity, and help you understand information better."
[5]Google cuts ties with Entrust in Chrome over trust issues
[6]Microsoft hits snooze again on security certificate renewal
[7]Meta accused of snarfing people's Snapchat data via traffic decryption
[8]Bad eIDAS: Europe ready to intercept, spy on your encrypted HTTPS connections
Adding the Copilot branding onto SwiftKey makes some sense, considering the tool's probabilistic model for predicting what the user will type next.
However, predicting when a certificate is about to expire appears to be beyond Microsoft, as demonstrated by the company's recent Microsoft 365 [9]woes , and now SwiftKey's support site succumbing to a lack of attention on the part of Redmond.
[10]
The Register contacted Microsoft to learn more about the fate of SwiftKey and why the company has allowed the TLS certificate for support.swiftkey.com to expire. According to the iOS version, the most recent version of the app was published on June 14. The release notes read: "General improvements to ensure your Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard runs smoothly."
Sadly, those "general improvements" did not include ensuring the support site's certificate was current. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZowNGJkH@veyFgedFP-AIgAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/08/swiftkey_tls.png
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/08/swiftkey_browser_warning.jpg
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2016/02/03/microsoft_buys_swiftkey/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/28/google_axes_entrust_over_six/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/28/microsoft_security_certificate_expires/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/27/meta_snapchat_data/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/08/europe_eidas_browser/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/28/microsoft_security_certificate_expires/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZowNGJkH@veyFgedFP-AIgAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
SwiftKey is a predictive keyboard for Android, iPhone, and iPad. It learns a user's writing style to make autocorrect more accurate and provide useful predictions.
It's a useful tool with loyal users even though improvements made by Apple and Google to their respective keyboards over the years have tarnished its luster a little.
[1]
One such user contacted The Register after heading into the app's settings to find the support page. However, rather than be presented with Microsoft's support page for the product, our reader received a stern browser warning. The TLS certificate had expired.
[2]
support.swiftkey.com TLS certificate expiration
As of June 10, the TLS certificate for support.swiftkey.com has expired. Heading to www.swiftkey.com redirects to Microsoft's site, but clicking Help also throws up a warning.
[3]
Browser warning shown when accessing support.swiftkey.com
Microsoft bought SwiftKey [4]in 2016 for $250 million. In 2022, the Windows-maker attempted to kill off the iOS version but backtracked after user outcry. In February, Microsoft rebranded it with the perky message: "Introducing SwiftKey Copilot Keyboard! Leverage the power of AI to boost productivity, unlock creativity, and help you understand information better."
[5]Google cuts ties with Entrust in Chrome over trust issues
[6]Microsoft hits snooze again on security certificate renewal
[7]Meta accused of snarfing people's Snapchat data via traffic decryption
[8]Bad eIDAS: Europe ready to intercept, spy on your encrypted HTTPS connections
Adding the Copilot branding onto SwiftKey makes some sense, considering the tool's probabilistic model for predicting what the user will type next.
However, predicting when a certificate is about to expire appears to be beyond Microsoft, as demonstrated by the company's recent Microsoft 365 [9]woes , and now SwiftKey's support site succumbing to a lack of attention on the part of Redmond.
[10]
The Register contacted Microsoft to learn more about the fate of SwiftKey and why the company has allowed the TLS certificate for support.swiftkey.com to expire. According to the iOS version, the most recent version of the app was published on June 14. The release notes read: "General improvements to ensure your Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard runs smoothly."
Sadly, those "general improvements" did not include ensuring the support site's certificate was current. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZowNGJkH@veyFgedFP-AIgAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/08/swiftkey_tls.png
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/08/swiftkey_browser_warning.jpg
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2016/02/03/microsoft_buys_swiftkey/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/28/google_axes_entrust_over_six/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/28/microsoft_security_certificate_expires/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/27/meta_snapchat_data/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/08/europe_eidas_browser/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/28/microsoft_security_certificate_expires/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZowNGJkH@veyFgedFP-AIgAAANg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Looks like the intern
Andy Non
responsible for renewing all of Microsoft's certificates got fired after he forgot the previous renewal.
Microsoft: I'd like to draw your attention to this new-fangled gadget called a "calendar planner" you can stick it on fridge door and put reminders on it.
Re: Looks like the intern
Furious Reg reader John
You can have all the calendar planners you want, but if the team that gets the reminders/sits in the room with the calendar no longer works for Microsoft because of redundancies, it ain't going to help much.
Re: Looks like the intern
katrinab
They probably had an Office 356 calendar for it, but removed the account that owned it.
Re: Looks like the intern
gv
Having attempted to use the 'To Do' functionality in Office365, I can completely understand why the certificate was not renewed.
Doctor Syntax
Who needs certificates when you can have
jonha
Glad I left SwiftKey behind after realising that it can sync its clipboard between Android and Windows but not between Androids. Who designs such useless stuff?
Artificial intelligence can't save what the "Natural" Intelligence blundered
There's a German saying "Was Hänschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr", which literally translates to "what little Jack doesn't learn, old Jack will learn nevermore".
This saying is generally "translated" as "You can't teach an old dog new tricks", however, I find that the dog-saying puts less emphasis on the missed opportunity of learning stuff during its youth, while the German saying basically says: Hans should have learnt this, when he was young.
With the dog, on the other hand, it just says that an old dog doesn't learn new stuff.
... translation is hard.
Anyway, no amount of artificial intelligence takes away your failings.