Pipes Feed Preview: gHacks Technology News

1. Facebook annoys an increasing number of users with ad breaks

   Wed, 20 Nov 2024 11:06:28 -0000

   What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear "ad break"; probably TV or streaming ads. What you probably did not have in mind is a new system […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Facebook annoys an increasing number of users with ad breaks appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear "ad break"; probably TV or streaming ads.</p> <p>What you probably did not have in mind is a new system that Facebook is rolling out to users in the European Union after it <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/10/facebook-is-now-showing-subscription-or-continue-with-ads-prompts-to-eu-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">received a lot of flak</a> for its "subscribe and pay money" or "continue to see ads" prompts in the EU.</p> <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206479" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/facebook-ad-experience.png" alt="Facebook Ad Experience" width="2560" height="1504" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/facebook-ad-experience.png 2560w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/facebook-ad-experience-768x451.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/facebook-ad-experience-1536x902.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/facebook-ad-experience-2048x1203.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/facebook-ad-experience-1200x705.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></p> <p>Facebook is giving users two choices when it comes to ads currently:</p> <ul> <li>Personalized ads</li> <li>Less-personalized ads</li> </ul> <p>The main difference lies in the data that Facebook uses to display ads. Personalized ads, which is the default, uses a user's data to display ads. You check out certain household items, you get more ads about these items.</p> <p>The less-personalized ads option does not use as much user data for ads on Facebook. These may align less with a user's interest according to Facebook. Facebook says that it will use age, gender, and location, ad engagement, and the content that is viewed on Facebook for ads.</p> <p>More importantly, and this is new, it may also display ad breaks.</p> <h2>Ad breaks on Facebook</h2> <p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206480" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/less-personalized-ads.png" alt="Less-personalized ads" width="2560" height="1504" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/less-personalized-ads.png 2560w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/less-personalized-ads-768x451.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/less-personalized-ads-1536x902.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/less-personalized-ads-2048x1203.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/less-personalized-ads-1200x705.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></p> <p>Once you have switched the setting to less-personalized, you may get ad breaks. This appears to be limited to the mobile Facebook app for the time being.</p> <p>When you scroll down a page on Facebook, the app may suddenly display an advertisement and block scrolling for a period. In other words, it stops whatever you are doing on Facebook to display the ad.</p> <p>This is done to make sure that the ad is viewed. One likely reason for launching this on mobile is that ad blockers or other ad-bypassing techniques are not commonly used in regards to apps.</p> <p>It is highly annoying, as it breaks the flow.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: not everyone who switched to less-personalized ads is seeing the ad breaks.</p> <p>The only official way out is to switch to personalized ads on Facebook.</p> <p><strong>A few other options may work:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Display Facebook in a web browser on the mobile device. Preferably a web browser that supports content blocking. Firefox, Brave, or Vivaldi come to mind.</li> <li>Try DNS-based content blocking solutions. AdGuard, NextDNS, or Control D come to mind.</li> </ul> <h2>How to change the Ad Experience preference on Facebook</h2> <p>Here is how you switch between personalized and less-personalized ads on Facebook:</p> <ol> <li>Load https://accountscenter.facebook.com/ad_preferences/ad_settings/ad_experience/#09 in the browser's address bar. <ol> <li>If you are not signed in already, sign in to your account.</li> </ol> </li> <li>Select Personalized ads or Less-personalized ads.</li> <li>Confirm your selection on the next page.</li> </ol> <p><em>What is your take on this? Would you stop using the Facebook app, or any other app, if it used ad-breaks to show ads? Feel free to write a comment down below.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/20/facebook-annoys-an-increasing-number-of-users-with-ad-breaks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Facebook annoys an increasing number of users with ad breaks</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

2. Apple patches 2 zero-day vulnerabilities that were used to attack Intel-based Macs

   Wed, 20 Nov 2024 07:58:45 -0000

   Apple has released a critical update for macOS to patch a couple of zero-day vulnerabilities. The security patches are also available for iPhones and iPads. Intel-based Macs targeted by security attacks The […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Apple patches 2 zero-day vulnerabilities that were used to attack Intel-based Macs appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Apple has released a critical update for macOS to patch a couple of zero-day vulnerabilities. The security patches are also available for iPhones and iPads.</p> <h3><strong>Intel-based Macs targeted by security attacks</strong></h3> <p>The <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/18/best-features-in-macos-sequoia-15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">macOS Sequoia</a> 15.1.1 update includes 2 security fixes, both of which affect Safari. The vulnerabilities were discovered by two security experts who are part of Google's Threat Analysis Group, Clément Lecigne and Benoît Sevens. They reported their findings to Apple, which confirmed that it is aware that the issues may have been actively exploited by hackers. Details about the attacks have not been revealed.</p> <p>According to the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Security Releases</a> page on the company's portal, the first of these patches are for an issue tracked under CVE-2024-44308, and is related to JavaScriptCore. A vulnerability allowed the processing of malicious web content, which could then lead to arbitrary code execution. The bug was addressed by improving checks.</p> <p>The second vulnerability is tracked under CVE-2024-44309, and affects WebKit. This issue could allow malicious content on a web page to initiate a cross site scripting attack. Apple identified the bug as a cookie management issue, and patched it by improving the state management.</p> <p>Now, the security fixes aren't exclusive to Intel-Macs, though the issues themselves were exploited on those machines. Since the exploits exist in Safari, other devices could also be vulnerable, which is why the patches are included for all Macs that support macOS Sequoia. The security updates have also been released for older Macs running on Ventura and Sonoma, but not as an operating system update. Instead, Apple has released an update for its browser to patch the vulnerabilities on older systems, it bumps the version number to Safari 18.1.1.</p> <p>There are still quite a few Intel Macs that are supported by <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/13/macos-15-sequoia-announced-with-window-tiling-iphone-mirroring-passwords-app-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">macOS Sequoia</a>, these include the 2017 iMac Pro, 2018 Mac mini, 2018 MacBook Pro, 2019 iMac, 2019 MacBook Pro, 2020 iMac, 2020 MacBook Air, and the 2019 Mac Pro. Apple began switching to Apple Silicon chips in 2020, and began phasing out the Intel models. The Cupertino company stopped selling Intel Macs in 2023, the last devices of these to be discontinued was the Mac Pro.</p> <h3><strong>Security fixes for iOS and iPadOS</strong></h3> <p>These patches are also available through visionOS 2.1.1 update for Vision Pro, iOS 18.1.1 for iPhone XS and later, and iPadOS 18.1.1 for iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later. Users on iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 also get the security updates via iOS 17.7.2 (iPhone XS and later), and iPadOS 17.7.2 (all the above-mentioned iPads, plus the iPad 6th generation).</p> <p>It is advised to update your Mac, iPhone, and iPad as soon as possible, to protect it from the vulnerabilities.</p> <p>It might seem strange why these zero-day threats are not updated via the Rapid Security Responses system, it was after all designed to counter threats quickly with a small update, and a system reboot. Apple used the RSR system just twice, it appeared to function fine when the company released an RSR update for iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1 and macOS 13.1.1 Ventura <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/05/02/apple-rolls-out-its-first-rapid-security-response-update-for-ios-16-4-1-and-macos-13-3-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">in May last year</a>. But, the iOS 16.5.1, iPadOS 16.5.1 and macOS 13.4.1 RSR updates which were released <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/07/11/apple-has-pulled-a-rapid-security-response-update-that-fixed-an-exploited-flaw-in-ios-16-5-1-ipados-16-5-1-and-macos-13-4-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">in July 2023</a> were buggy and broke compatibility with many websites making them unusable, and Apple had to hastily pull the updates. We haven't seen any RSR updates since then.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/20/apple-patches-2-zero-day-vulnerabilities-that-were-used-to-attack-intel-based-macs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Apple patches 2 zero-day vulnerabilities that were used to attack Intel-based Macs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

3. Microsoft's first ever Windows 11 desktop PC costs just $349, but there is a catch

   Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:26:12 -0000

   Microsoft has released a lot of hardware throughout the years. Prominent examples are the company's Surface line of Windows devices, but also peripherals and other hardware. Today, Microsoft announced its very first […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft's first ever Windows 11 desktop PC costs just $349, but there is a catch appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Microsoft has released a lot of hardware throughout the years. Prominent examples are the c<a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/12/30/microsofts-surface-laptop-6-and-pro-10-devices-could-be-its-first-ai-pcs/" data-wpel-link="internal">ompany's Surface</a> line of Windows devices, but also peripherals and other hardware.</p> <p>Today, Microsoft <a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/windows-365-link%E2%80%94the-first-cloud-pc-device-for-windows-365/4302687?ocid=FY25_soc_omc_br_x_365Link" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">announced</a> its very first desktop PC. It is special for a number of reasons. The three big reasons are the price of the device, what it offers, and who it is designed for.</p> <h2>Windows 365 Link from Microsoft</h2> <p>Microsoft says that it will sell the Windows 365 Link" PC for $349. This includes a Windows 11 license. A Windows 11 PC for that little? It must be a really barebones system then, right?</p> <p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206474" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-365-link.png" alt="Windows 365 Link" width="1349" height="754" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-365-link.png 1349w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-365-link-768x429.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-365-link-1200x671.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px" /></p> <p>It is, but not one that is comparable to relatively cheap desktop PCS. Here is why:</p> <p>Windows 365 Link is tiny. It has a size of 12 x 12 cm and is just 3 cm high. It looks like a box that you place under your TV to stream content to it. And that is pretty much what this device does.</p> <p><strong>It is a PC that streams Windows from the cloud.</strong> So, you do need Internet connectivity to boot into Windows. Microsoft describes the system as a "locked-down operating system with no local data or apps, and no local admin users".</p> <p>As far as availability is concerned, Windows 365 Link is a device for Enterprise and Education customers only at this point. Means, it is only available for organizations that use Windows 365 with Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Entra ID, and that meet all other requirements of Windows 365.</p> <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Introducing Windows 365 Link" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dG0vepqXw_Q?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p><strong>Here are the details about the device that Microsoft revealed today:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Price: $349</li> <li>Processor: Intel</li> <li>RAM: 8 gigabyte</li> <li>Storage: 64 gigabyte</li> <li>Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, HDMI port, DisplayPort, Ethernet port, three USB-A and one USB-C ports, audio jack.</li> </ul> <p>Microsoft claims that the device's processing power is enough for "high-performance video playback and conferencing".</p> <p>It is available as a preview in select markets already. Microsoft lists United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. It will become generally available next year.</p> <p>The Windows 365 Link is the first device of its kind, but Microsoft already hinted that it is working on additional devices with other form factors.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Like it or not, but cloud PCs will will be established as an option in the coming years. While Windows 365 Link is designed for Enterprise customers, it is possible that Microsoft is already working on a device for consumers.</p> <p>Certain activities may not require access to a local operating system. A cloud PC optimized for gaming, web browsing, or shopping may work well for some. The tradeoff is that you give up control of the device.</p> <p><em>Would you buy a Microsoft 365 Link PC if it would become available for $349? Or are you in the "hell needs to freeze" before I use such a device camp? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/19/microsofts-first-ever-windows-11-desktop-pc-costs-just-349-but-there-is-a-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft&#039;s first ever Windows 11 desktop PC costs just $349, but there is a catch</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

4. U.S. DoJ could force Google to sell Chrome

   Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:07:11 -0000

   The United States Department of Justice may force Google to sell Chrome. The news comes a few months after the company was found guilty of maintaining an illegal search monopoly. Well, this […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post U.S. DoJ could force Google to sell Chrome appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>The United States Department of Justice may force Google to sell Chrome. The news comes a few months after the company was found guilty of maintaining an illegal search monopoly.</p> <p>Well, this is not completely unexpected, I had mentioned this in my <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/08/07/u-s-judge-rules-that-google-has-an-illegal-search-engine-monopoly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">previous coverage</a> of the antitrust lawsuit.</p> <h2><strong>Google may be forced to sell Chrome to comply with antitrust laws</strong></h2> <p>A report by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-18/doj-will-push-google-to-sell-off-chrome-to-break-search-monopoly" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Bloomberg</a> (paywalled article) outlines the proposals that the DoJ will be recommending to federal judge, Amit Mehta. He was the judge who had recently deemed Google of illegally monopolizing the search market. Google is preparing an appeal against the ruling, a two-week hearing has been set for April 2025, and the final ruling could be reached by August 2025. But things are about to get much worse for Google, as the tech giant could be forced to part ways with the browser it <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2008/09/02/google-chrome-now-available/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">created 16 years ago</a>, Chrome.</p> <p>The antitrust agency and States who are suing Google, will also request the imposition of some changes related to the AI industry. Dozens of companies were consulted by Government attorneys as they prepared recommendations for a remedy to make the market more competitive.</p> <p>The antitrust officials want Google to license the search results and data, and allow websites options to prevent their data from being used for Google's AI products, such as the AI-generated summaries that are being displayed at the top of search results.</p> <p>The report also mentions that the DoJ thought about an option to force Google to sell off Android, but pulled back from this decision. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean Android is off the radar.</p> <h3><strong>Android could be unbundled<br /> </strong></h3> <p>Android users will be aware that the mobile operating system bundles several apps from Google, many people view these as bloatware. Antitrust officials are working on proposals to force Google to split Android from its other products like Search and the Google Play Store. Could this mean that Android phones may offer an experience similar to AOSP (Android Open Source Project) sans Google apps? One requirement that is proposed wants Google to share more information with advertisers, and give them additional control over where their ads appear.</p> <p>Naturally, Google isn't happy about these proposals. Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, said this "radical agenda goes beyond the legal issues in this case", and that it would "harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership.</p> <p>On a side note, Google seems to be <a href="https://www.androidauthority.com/chrome-os-becoming-android-3500661/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">transforming Chrome OS</a> into Android, which seems to indicate that things could be changing rapidly.</p> <h3><strong>Chrome's dominance could come to an end</strong></h3> <p>According to <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/all/united-states-of-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">StatCounter</a>, Chrome leads the market with a 66.65% share world-wide, with Apple Safari in second place at 18.09%, followed by Microsoft Edge at 5.26%, and Mozilla Firefox at 2.65%. Those are the global stats. Since the antitrust case is based in the United States, let's take a look at how the browser market in the U.S. is. Spoiler alert, it is not that different. Chrome is at the top with 57.38%, Apple Safari has a 29.31% share, Edge is at the third spot with 6.57%, Firefox is at the fourth place with 3.47%.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206471" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Google-Chromes-dominance-in-the-United-States-browser-market-scaled.jpg" alt="Google Chrome's dominance in the United States browser market" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Google-Chromes-dominance-in-the-United-States-browser-market-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Google-Chromes-dominance-in-the-United-States-browser-market-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>Safari's numbers are kind of impressive despite the browser being exclusive to macOS, iOS and iPadOS, but that could be because all browsers on iOS/iPadOS are Safari. But these stats clearly highlight the problem, Chrome dominates the browser market with no proper competitor. It is no wonder why Microsoft is desperately trying to get more users on Edge with ads and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/13/microsoft-is-sneakily-trying-to-import-tabs-from-other-browsers-into-edge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">sneaky settings</a>.</p> <h3><strong>The future of Chrome?</strong></h3> <p>Regardless of what Chrome's future is, Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera will likely remain unaffected by the proceedings of the antitrust case, simply because Chrome and Chromium are two different products. The Chromium open source project is too big to be abandoned, it will thrive.</p> <p>Chrome's future is unpredictable at this stage. This isn't like Google just randomly axing a service, oh look <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2018/09/13/google-terminates-google-inbox-service/" data-wpel-link="internal">Inbox is so popular</a>, let's end it. No, there is a big difference between killing a product and selling it to a third party, Google will lose the trademarks and rights related to Chrome. Any company that acquires Chrome inherits the popularity, and the user base of the iconic browser, flaws and all. I wonder if the brains behind the operation, aka the developer teams behind Chrome browser, will be allowed to continue working at Google. The law can't force them out too, right? Unless that is part of the judgement, what could warrant that?</p> <p>Let's say Chrome is sold off, all Google needs to do is reboot the system. It has all the necessary tools to create a new browser to compete with Chrome. It owns the Chromium open source project, the dev teams who have worked on the world's most popular browser, how hard is it going to be to start from scratch? All it needs to do to attract users is to create a new browser, and place a single ad about it on the most visited website in the world, Google.com. I doubt the DoJ will be able to block this.</p> <p>What they could have a say over, are the search deals that Google has made with other companies. Google's agreement with Apple was the heart of the antitrust case, the former paid several billions to the latter to keep Google as the default search engine on Safari across iOS, iPadOS and macOS. This could come to an end as officials are working on a ban on such exclusive contracts, so Mozilla's deal with Google might suffer the same fate. It would be ironical if Google lost Chrome, and couldn't pay the new owner to be the default search engine in the browser. Ouch!</p> <p>At its core, Google depends on advertisements, and this is where it will hurt the most. Its search engine is heavily dependent on Chrome. If users switch to alternative search engines, the ad business will take a big hit. How do most users run search queries on their phone? Either through the Google search widget on their phone, or Google Assistant, or manually via the default browser, which on many Android devices, is Google Chrome. You can argue that the same applies to search on iOS, with Google being the default in Safari.</p> <p>Which company would Chrome be sold to? That is a very difficult question to answer, as any company big enough to buy it could also be putting itself in the line of sight of antitrust officials. I think it is fair to assume that the new owner will be one that does not have a search engine of their own. Otherwise, it's the same problem all over, right? Apple doesn't have a search engine, could it buy Chrome? On the other hand, Apple hates Bing to the point it <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/29/microsoft-reportedly-discussed-selling-bing-to-apple-in-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">rejected an opportunity</a> to buy it, this may be a good time to launch its own search engine, that might be good PR for a Safari with Apple Intelligence Search. One expert mentioned that OpenAI could be a potential buyer as it could integrate ChatGPT in Chrome, which could boost its subscriptions as well as open it up for ads.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/19/u-s-doj-could-force-google-to-sell-chrome/" data-wpel-link="internal">U.S. DoJ could force Google to sell Chrome</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

5. How to use your Android phone as a mobile hotspot provider for your laptop

   Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:06:37 -0000

   I have visited Athens and Rome in the past couple of months and took a laptop with me to work from there. I refuse to use open Wi-Fi access points at airports, […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How to use your Android phone as a mobile hotspot provider for your laptop appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>I have visited Athens and Rome in the past couple of months and took a laptop with me to work from there. I refuse to use open Wi-Fi access points at airports, coffee shops, hotels or other locations.</p> <p><strong>The main reason for that is security and privacy</strong>. It is too easy to get attacked or your data snagged away. For that reason, I have switched to using my Android device as a mobile hotspot provider whenever I need to access the Internet, but do not have Ethernet or private Wi-Fi available.</p> <p>Good news that this is very easy to setup. The only requirement is that you need a mobile connection. If your mobile ISP does not provide you with free access in other countries, you may buy local mobile Internet access or use an eSIM provider instead.</p> <p>The main advantage is that you are completely independent of any public wireless offerings.</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: you may also <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2020/03/02/how-to-set-up-a-mobile-wi-fi-hotspot-in-windows-7-or-above-without-any-software/" data-wpel-link="internal">set up a mobile hotspot on your Windows device</a>.</p> <h2>Setting up the mobile hotspot on Android</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206467" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mobile-hotspot-android-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="554" height="1200" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mobile-hotspot-android-scaled.jpg 554w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mobile-hotspot-android-768x1664.jpg 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mobile-hotspot-android-709x1536.jpg 709w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mobile-hotspot-android-945x2048.jpg 945w" sizes="(max-width: 554px) 100vw, 554px" /></p> <p>Here is how you set it up:</p> <ol> <li>Open the Settings on your Android device.</li> <li>Go to Connections &gt; Mobile Hotspot and Tethering &gt; Mobile Hotspot.</li> <li>Set a password for the connection.</li> <li>Set the security of the Wi-Fi connection to the maximum, likely WPA2/WPA3-Personal.</li> <li>Change the name of the hotspot connection, if you want.</li> <li>Toggle Mobile Hotspot from Off to On.</li> </ol> <p><strong>Note</strong>: whenever you enable the mobile hotspot feature, Wi-Fi needs to be turned off. Android reminds you off that and you can use the prompt that it displays to turn off Wi-Fi. If you do not turn off Wi-Fi, you cannot use the mobile hotspot feature.</p> <p>Once set up, switch to your laptop or other computer. Open the list of wireless networks and you should see your Android phone's mobile hotspot there.</p> <p>Select it, enter the password, and click on the connect option to establish the connection.</p> <p>If everything worked, you are now connected via your Android's devices mobile hotspot feature. In other words, you have Internet connectivity on your laptop.</p> <p><strong>Some tips:</strong></p> <ol> <li>It is recommended to enable the mobile hotspot feature only when you need it.</li> <li>If you have a data limited, you need to keep an eye on it. If it is low, avoid activities that consume a lot of data.</li> <li>Pick a secure passwords to avoid that others try to get in as well.</li> <li>Your Android device needs to be near the PC, as the signal needs to get picked up.</li> <li>There may also be a one-time password option. This is intended to allow users to connect to your device's hotspot once.</li> <li>Devices that are connected to the mobile hotspot are shown in the Settings. Use this to check if there are other devices.</li> </ol> <p>All in all, it is an easy system that gives me Internet access in locations that do not provide secure or private options. You can also use it at home. When you are visiting a hospital, coffee shop, have an appointment, or something else.</p> <p><em><strong>Now You:</strong> have you used your device's mobile hotspot feature? If so, what did you use it for? If not, why not? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/18/how-to-use-your-android-phone-as-a-mobile-hotspot-provider-for-your-laptop/" data-wpel-link="internal">How to use your Android phone as a mobile hotspot provider for your laptop</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

6. Google appears to be working on a better alias system for Gmail

   Fri, 15 Nov 2024 14:08:27 -0000

   Gmail users had an easy, but mostly superfluous, alias system at their disposal from the very beginning. I mentioned the trick in 2006 for the first time here on this blog. All […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google appears to be working on a better alias system for Gmail appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Gmail users had an easy, but mostly superfluous, alias system at their disposal from the very beginning. I mentioned the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2006/10/01/avoid-spam-with-one-use-emails/" data-wpel-link="internal">trick in 2006</a> for the first time here on this blog. All you have to do is add +text to the username of the email address.</p> <p>This looks like emailaddress+mytext@gmail.com then. The main idea is that sites do not see the user's main address but a temporary address. The main problem with the approach was that it was dead easy to spot the real email address. All you had to do was remove the +text part from it.</p> <h2>New Gmail Email Alias feature in the works</h2> <p><a href="https://www.androidauthority.com/google-shielded-email-3499803/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">A report</a> by Android Authority suggests that Google is working on integrating real email alias capabilities into Gmail.</p> <p><strong>The details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The feature is called Shielded Email.</li> <li>It allows users to use temporary addresses.</li> <li>These forward emails to the user's real address.</li> </ul> <p>Details are scarce at the moment. It appears that the system enables Gmail users to create temporary email addresses. These may then be used for interactions with services on the Internet. The temporary email addresses may be turned off in the Gmail app; this blocks future emails from reaching the inbox.</p> <p>It is unclear right now which domain or domains the temporary email addresses will use. The following features are commonly found in other services of its kind:</p> <ul> <li>Support for custom domains.</li> <li>Ability to reply from a temporary email address.</li> </ul> <p>Popular solutions, like the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/09/proton-ag-acquires-simplelogin-email-alias-service/" data-wpel-link="internal">Proton-owned SimpleLogin</a>, support lots of features that add to the functionality. The paid version supports custom domains, catch-all and wildcard domains or PGP encryption. There is also <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2019/11/25/a-look-at-the-email-forwarding-service-anonaddy/" data-wpel-link="internal">AnonAddy</a>, another crowd-favorite.</p> <p>Knowing Google, it is perfectly possible that the company is not going to launch Shielded Emails at all, as a test to select users only, or launch it only to pull it at a later point.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Still, the introduction of better email alias to reduce the amount of spam that Gmail users who use the feature get would be a welcome addition to the service. Most privacy-conscious Internet users are probably not using Gmail for their main email addresses, but hundreds of millions of people do.</p> <p>Clearly, it is too early to tell how well the feature would be received by these. It depends to a large degree on how Google would announce it to the userbase.</p> <p>Email aliases are super useful at limiting spam.</p> <p><em>Do you use email aliases? Let me know in the comments below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/15/google-appears-to-be-working-on-a-better-alias-system-for-gmail/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google appears to be working on a better alias system for Gmail</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

7. The official ChatGPT app for Windows is now available for free users

   Fri, 15 Nov 2024 10:03:44 -0000

   OpenAI has released the official ChatGPT app for Windows for all users. The company had released the desktop app for macOS in June 2024, before following it up with a Windows version […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post The official ChatGPT app for Windows is now available for free users appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>OpenAI has released the official ChatGPT app for Windows for all users. The company had released the desktop app for macOS in June 2024, before following it up with a Windows version that was released about <a href="https://community.openai.com/t/chatgpt-desktop-app-for-windows-is-available/983265" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">a month ago</a>.</p> <p>However, <a href="https://x.com/OpenAI/status/1857121721175998692" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">until today</a>, ChatGPT for Windows was exclusively available for users with an active subscription for ChatGPT Plus, Team, Enterprise and also for Edu users.</p> <p>Now, the ChatGPT app for Windows is available for free users too. To get started with it, download the ChatGPT app for Windows from the <a href="https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nt1r1c2hh7j?" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Microsoft Store</a>, you can get the Mac app from the <a href="https://openai.com/chatgpt/desktop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">official website</a>. The Windows app supports Windows 10 version 17763.0 or higher.</p> <h3><strong>An overview of the ChatGPT app for Windows</strong></h3> <p>You will need to log in to your OpenAI account to use the app. The sign-in process is handled via your default web browser. I'm not going to go into the details of using the app, it's very similar to the web version of the chatbot, you can use it to chat with the AI, access your chat history, use the app to generate text, code, images, etc. There is an option to use a Temporary Chat, which will restrict the app from accessing your history, use memories, or your data. However, it still stores the contents of the chat on the server for 30 days, for safety reasons.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206457" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/The-official-ChatGPT-app-for-Windows-is-now-available-for-everyone.jpg" alt="The official ChatGPT app for Windows is now available for everyone" width="898" height="589" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/The-official-ChatGPT-app-for-Windows-is-now-available-for-everyone.jpg 898w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/The-official-ChatGPT-app-for-Windows-is-now-available-for-everyone-768x504.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px" /></p> <p>You can open the ChatGPT desktop app with the keyboard shortcut Alt + Space, providing that the program is running in the background. Speaking of which, the app stays minimized on the system tray. The hotkey is customizable, you can change it by clicking on your profile name (bottom left corner) &gt; Settings &gt; App. This page also has options to switch between a light and dark theme for the interface.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206459" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Chatgpt-app-generate-images.jpg" alt="Chatgpt app generate images" width="916" height="746" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Chatgpt-app-generate-images.jpg 916w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Chatgpt-app-generate-images-768x625.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 916px) 100vw, 916px" /></p> <p>One setting that you may want to check is under Personalization &gt; Memory. This prevents the app from using your chat history for future chats, i.e. a tailored experience. The option is disabled by default, or it may have been so because I had turned it off in the web version. The actual setting to prevent ChatGPT from using your data to train its language model is found under Data Controls &gt; Improve the model for everyone.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206454" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Chatgpt-for-windows-electon-app.jpg" alt="Chatgpt for windows electon app" width="834" height="723" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Chatgpt-for-windows-electon-app.jpg 834w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Chatgpt-for-windows-electon-app-768x666.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 834px) 100vw, 834px" /></p> <p>According to the app's description, the ChatGPT desktop app supports all models from the company including OpenAI o1-preview, also a premium tier feature. ChatGPT's Windows app is an Electron program. This is not surprising, even though the Mac version is called a native app, it is not written in Swift, it too was built using Electron.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206453" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ChatGPT-memory-usage-windows.jpg" alt="ChatGPT memory usage windows" width="946" height="582" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ChatGPT-memory-usage-windows.jpg 946w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ChatGPT-memory-usage-windows-768x472.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px" /></p> <p>On a side note, the ChatGPT app for Mac can now be used with third-party apps, but there are <a href="https://x.com/OpenAIDevs/status/1857129790312272179" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">some limitations</a>. It only supports VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, iTerm2 for now.</p> <h3><strong>Is the ChatGPT desktop app worth using?</strong></h3> <p>Why bother with the desktop app, instead of using it from a browser? Well, it depends on your usage. The keyboard shortcut is definitely useful to have, and could improve your workflow as you multitask across other apps. The desktop app supports voice chat, which is not free, but there is a difference. You can try the feature for free in the desktop app or the Android/iOS apps, this is not possible in the web version. FYI, Advanced Voice Mode is a premium feature that is available via ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise with GPT-4. You can access various GPTs created by third-party services from the app's menu, you will need ChatGPT Plus to create your own model.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206458" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/subscribe-to-chatgpt-plus-from-the-desktop-app.jpg" alt="subscribe to chatgpt plus from the desktop app" width="898" height="626" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/subscribe-to-chatgpt-plus-from-the-desktop-app.jpg 898w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/subscribe-to-chatgpt-plus-from-the-desktop-app-768x535.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px" /></p> <p>Another advantage that the desktop app offers is support for plugins that can be used with third-party services. This is also not free, but you can use it if you have a premium subscription. Users who want the additional bells and whistles can upgrade to the premium subscription directly from the app, the price starts at $20 per month.</p> <p>That said, even with the freemium model, ChatGPT's desktop version could provide some competition for Microsoft Copilot.</p> <p>Do you like the ChatGPT app for Windows?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/15/the-official-chatgpt-app-for-windows-is-now-available-for-free-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">The official ChatGPT app for Windows is now available for free users</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

8. World's Top 200 Common Passwords continue to be incredibly weak

   Thu, 14 Nov 2024 16:15:30 -0000

   Weak passwords continue to be a problem on today's Internet. It seems that many users continue to pick weak passwords that were weak 20 years ago and continue to be the weakest […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post World's Top 200 Common Passwords continue to be incredibly weak appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2018/12/16/weak-passwords-2/" data-wpel-link="internal">Weak passwords</a> continue to be a problem on today's Internet. It seems that many users continue to pick weak passwords that were weak 20 years ago and continue to be the weakest of the weak. It is probably part convenience and part not-knowing-better that play a role here.</p> <p>NordPass <a href="https://nordpass.com/most-common-passwords-list/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">has released</a> its six annual password report of the top 200 most common passwords. The company has analyzed a 2.5 terabyte database that it "extracted from various publicly available sources".</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: It is likely that NordPass could not crack the entire list of passwords. With that said, if one of your passwords is found on such a list, you better change it immediately to something more secure.</p> <p><strong>The top 10 of all countries looks like this:</strong></p> <ol> <li>123456</li> <li>123456789</li> <li>12345678</li> <li>password</li> <li>qwerty123</li> <li>qwerty1</li> <li>111111</li> <li>12345</li> <li>secret</li> <li>123123</li> </ol> <p>You can check out individual lists of 44 countries or the same for corporate passwords, which NordPass lists in a separate list.</p> <p>All of the non-corporate passwords that make up the top 10 are cracked in less than one second according to NordPass.  The other 190 passwords use a similar scheme and most are also cracked in less than a second. While numbers and qwerty dominate, there are also single words and even some passwords that are more complex on the list.</p> <p><strong>Related Content:</strong></p> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="UTGolLVaoM"><p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/09/how-long-does-it-take-to-crack-a-password-in-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">How long does it take to crack a password in 2024?</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;How long does it take to crack a password in 2024?&#8221; &#8212; gHacks Technology News" src="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/09/how-long-does-it-take-to-crack-a-password-in-2024/embed/#?secret=EsZe2ALg3w#?secret=UTGolLVaoM" data-secret="UTGolLVaoM" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <p>You find tag12wsx in position 30. It was found more than 90,000 times according to NordPass. Other examples include 111222tianya, found more than 44,000 times, and chesse, which was found more than 23,000 times.</p> <p>If you take a closer look at the passwords, you may notice the absence of symbols. While there are one or two passwords with an @-symbol, some with !, and g:czechout, which takes the longest to crack on the entire list, there is almost no symbol used in the entire list.</p> <p>The second interesting takeaway is that there are barely any uppercase letters. The first uppercase letter ins found in Password, which is at position 26. The next is Qwerty123 at position 36 and Qwerty123! at position 46.</p> <p><strong>To sum it up:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The most common passwords use lowercase letters and numbers only for the most part.</li> <li>Symbols and uppercase letters are nearly absent in the entire listing.</li> </ul> <p><strong>NordPass' findings:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The password 123456 is still the world's worst password.</li> <li>Corporate passwords and non-corporate passwords are not that different in terms of security.</li> <li>There seems to be no improvement when compared to six years ago.</li> </ul> <h3>The list highlights a problem, but it is not yours</h3> <figure id="attachment_206451" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206451" style="width: 960px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-206451 size-full" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/keepass-secure-password-generation.png" alt="Generate secure passwords" width="960" height="558" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/keepass-secure-password-generation.png 960w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/keepass-secure-password-generation-768x446.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-206451" class="wp-caption-text">32 character passwords generated by KeePass</figcaption></figure> <p>NordPass suggests that users can improve their password security by using a password manager. That is the main takeaway from all weak password listings.</p> <p>Unless you are really good at remembering strong unique passwords, password managers are the best option. There are plenty of free alternatives.</p> <p>There is <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2018/05/28/keepass-password-safe-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">KeePass</a>, which continues to be my personal favorite app, and also <a href="https://bitwarden.com/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">BitWarden</a>, which is also excellent and open source. It depends on your personal usage scenarios.</p> <p>The main benefit of a password manager is that it generates and stores as many strong unique passwords as you require. BitWarden is a little bit easier to use if you need syncing, but both support this in one form or another.</p> <p>Good news is that you may start right away, if you have not done so already. Most regulars here on Ghacks are probably using a password manager or multiple managers already. It takes a few minutes to download a password manager and install it. Many support imports from browsers and several other apps. You may need some time to change weak to secure passwords, but the heavy lifting is done by the password manager.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/03/03/android-14-paves-the-way-to-replace-passwords-with-passkeys/" data-wpel-link="internal">Passkeys</a>, an upcoming standard that replaces passwords with keys that are stored on the user's devices, won't replace passwords anytime soon. Adoption is picking up pace, but it is still slow. Many Internet services, systems, or apps do not support the standard yet. Many Internet users may find it too complex of a system to use, at least in the coming years.</p> <p><em>What is your take on this analysis? Do you use weak passwords sometimes, or do you use highly secure passwords even for throwaway accounts? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/14/worlds-top-200-common-passwords-continue-to-be-incredibly-weak/" data-wpel-link="internal">World&#039;s Top 200 Common Passwords continue to be incredibly weak</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

9. Broadcom makes VMware Fusion and Workstation free for all users

   Wed, 13 Nov 2024 08:09:04 -0000

   VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion are now free for all users. Didn't Broadcom make them free already in March 2024? Yes, the products had been transitioned to a free for personal use […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Broadcom makes VMware Fusion and Workstation free for all users appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion are now free for all users. Didn't Broadcom make them free already in <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/16/vmware-workstation-pro-17-and-fusion-pro-13-are-now-free-for-personal-use/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">March 2024</a>?</p> <p>Yes, the products had been transitioned to a free for personal use model. But, the original announcement stated that the commercial version of the products would remain as a paid product. Six months later, there are no such restrictions, you can use VMware Fusion and Workstation for free even in commercial and educational environments.</p> <h3>Is the development of VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion being halted?</h3> <p>Broadcom has also <a href="https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/11/11/vmware-fusion-and-workstation-are-now-free-for-all-users/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">confirmed</a> that Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro are no longer available for purchase. The company will continue to honor existing contracts, and provide service and support until the end of the term. The big question is, are the products discontinued?</p> <p>According to a <a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/vmware/comments/1goz8ou/vmware_fusion_and_workstation_are_now_free_for/lwn3idn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">comment</a> by a VMware employee, it appears that the engineering team is not affected by the changes (only the sales of the products are). So the development of the products will continue. That does seem like a nice surprise. Broadcom does have plenty of other VMware products which brings in money.</p> <p>However, one point to note is that VMware/Broadcom's support team will not offer support directly to users. Instead, you will need to discuss it on community forums, and use online guides and documentation to troubleshoot issues. This may not seem like a problem for personal users, but it could be a nightmare for sysadmins who manage business endpoints and networks.</p> <h3><strong>Download VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion for commercial, educational or personal use</strong></h3> <p>You can read about the features of VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion at the <a href="https://www.vmware.com/products/desktop-hypervisor/workstation-and-fusion#product-overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Desktop Hypervisor</a> page. Refer to my <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/16/vmware-workstation-pro-17-and-fusion-pro-13-are-now-free-for-personal-use/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">previous article</a> to download VMware Workstation Pro for Windows and Linux, and VMware Fusion Pro for Mac. Nothing has changed there, you will still need to head over to Broadcom's support portal, and login to your account. https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/downloads.</p> <p>The latest version of <a href="https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/productdownloads?subfamily=VMware+Workstation+Pro" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">VMware Workstation Pro</a> for Windows and Linux is 17.6.1, and <a href="https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/productdownloads?subfamily=VMware+Fusion" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">VMware Fusion Pro</a> is 13.6.1. You can also choose to download older versions of the software if required.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206445" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Download-VMware-Workstation-and-VMware-Fusion-for-commercial-educational-or-personal-use.jpg" alt="Download VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion for commercial, educational or personal use" width="723" height="636" /></p> <p>It is rather odd that the download page lists VMware Workstation Pro and VMware Workstation Pro for personal use separately. There are no differences between the two versions, the file sizes, and the checksums are the same, and even the license agreement appears to be identical.</p> <h3><strong>Business users are unhappy with VMware</strong></h3> <p>There are numerous <a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/1djh954/did_you_ditch_vmware_and_where_did_you_go_to/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">complaints</a> from business users and admins about the recent VMWare price hikes, of which there have been multiple. One <a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/1g50zil/vmware_prices_to_increase_again_in_november/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">comment</a> says that their renewal price went from 7K in 2022 (assuming it is in US dollars), to 150K in 2024. That is quite an insane jump. This was pretty much expected after the acquisition by Broadcom.</p> <p><a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/software/despite-brutal-price-hikes-on-many-products-vmware-makes-fusion-pro-and-workstation-pro-free-for-all-users" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Tom's Hardware</a> quotes an article from Business Insider, which mentions that companies are comparing the price hikes akin to being held by ransom. Some people are also <a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/vmware/comments/1fjmjar/why_vmware_workstation_pro_176_removed_so_many/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">upset</a> that Broadcom has removed features like legacy VMTools ISOs (can still be downloaded), Bluetooth hub pass through, Physical host parallel ports support, Unity mode, and Enhanced Keyboard driver.  Some admins say they have migrated to Proxmox Virtual Environment, since it is an open source, based on Debian GNU/Linux, and is also supported by Veeam.</p> <p>VMWare is still pretty good for most home users. I run a Linux Mint VM in Workstation, and also use it for testing Windows 11 builds from the preview channels. They work perfectly fine, at least for my use cases. If you want to move away from VMware, <a href="https://www.virtualbox.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">VirtualBox</a> is still the most popular alternative.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/13/broadcom-makes-vmware-fusion-and-workstation-free-for-all-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">Broadcom makes VMware Fusion and Workstation free for all users</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

10. Microsoft is sneakily trying to import tabs from other browsers into Edge

    Wed, 13 Nov 2024 06:28:40 -0000

    Windows users who use a browser like Chrome on their devices as the main daily driver may be targeted by Microsoft's latest attempt at persuading them to switch to Edge. The details: […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft is sneakily trying to import tabs from other browsers into Edge appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Windows users who use a browser like Chrome on their devices as the main daily driver may be targeted by Microsoft's latest attempt at persuading them to switch to Edge.</p> <p><strong>The details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Microsoft Edge suddenly starts on system start on the devices.</li> <li>It displays a prompt that advertises the benefits of Edge.</li> <li>This prompt includes an option to import data from other browsers; checked by default.</li> </ul> <p>When Edge launches on start, it displays the "Enhance your browsing experience with Copilot in Microsoft Edge" prompt.</p> <p>The main focus of the ad is Copilot's AI capabilities that Microsoft baked into Edge. Observant users may notice a prechecked settings. It reads: "Bring over your data from other browsers regularly. You can manage your preferences at any time in Settings".</p> <p>The prompt has a big highly visible "confirm and continue" button. There is no "decline" or "cancel" button next to it. You find a small x-icon in the top right corner of the prompt. It may be difficult to spot, as it looks similar to the star icons that Microsoft placed near it.</p> <p>If you do not want Edge to import your browsing data from other browsers, you need to uncheck the option first before selecting "confirm and continue", or activate the x-icon to close the prompt.</p> <figure id="attachment_206448" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206448" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206448" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/new-Edge-prompt-import-data.webp" alt="Edge import Chrome data" width="750" height="456" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-206448" class="wp-caption-text">The new pop-up in Edge that includes the Chrome import option (image credit: The Verge)</figcaption></figure> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24294454/microsoft-edge-chrome-tabs-prompt-trick" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">The Verge</a> says that it has received confirmation from Microsoft that the prompt is indeed a new Edge feature. Microsoft also pointed out that users could turn it off, if they did not want it.</p> <p>Clearly, Microsoft seems to believe that it is perfectly normal to introduce intrusive behavior on user systems. Let Edge suddenly start with the system and show a prompt that is clearly designed to get the data from as many users as possible imported into Microsoft Edge.</p> <p>Is this strategy lucrative enough for Microsoft to anger some users who are exposed to the prompt? Does it push enough users to Edge to make it worthwhile? Or does it have the opposite effect?</p> <h3>Not Microsoft's first rodeo</h3> <p>Last year, news broke that Edge was importing data from Chrome automatically. Users started to notice that their tabs from Chrome would suddenly appear in Microsoft's browser.</p> <p>The imports included the browsing history and they might also include other data, including passwords.</p> <p>Microsoft did not give users options back then. Edge was configured to import automatically and there was little that users could do before they started Edge to avoid that.</p> <p>This is not to say that Google is not using its might to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2015/09/06/microsoft-should-recommend-edge-like-google-does-chrome/" data-wpel-link="internal">push its Chrome browser over others</a>. Two wrongs do not make a right, and it would be beneficial to all users if the company's would stop trying to snag users from each other using methods that are clearly not in the best interests of users.</p> <h3>How to configure Edge's auto-import functionality</h3> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206447" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/edge-auto-import.png" alt="Edge auto-import " width="1276" height="841" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/edge-auto-import.png 1276w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/edge-auto-import-768x506.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/edge-auto-import-1200x791.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1276px) 100vw, 1276px" /></p> <p>Edge users may turn off the auto-import functionality in the following way:</p> <ol> <li>Load <strong>edge://settings/profiles/importBrowsingData</strong></li> <li>Activate the "&gt;" icon under "Import data from Google Chrome".</li> <li>Toggle "Import browser data from Google Chrome on each launch" to off.</li> </ol> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Windows users who do not use Edge may be able to uninstall it. I still cannot, as <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/17/dear-microsoft-why-cannot-i-uninstall-microsoft-edge-on-windows/" data-wpel-link="internal">the promised uninstall option is still grayed out</a>.</p> <p><em><strong>Now You:</strong> which browser do you use mainly? What is your take on the new prompt that Microsoft is showing?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/13/microsoft-is-sneakily-trying-to-import-tabs-from-other-browsers-into-edge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft is sneakily trying to import tabs from other browsers into Edge</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

11. Microsoft releases the November 2024 security updates for Windows

    Tue, 12 Nov 2024 18:50:54 -0000

    Microsoft released the November 2024 security updates for all supported client and server versions of its Windows operating system. Security updates are also available for other company products, including Microsoft Office. Our […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft releases the November 2024 security updates for Windows appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft released the November 2024 security updates for all supported client and server versions of its Windows operating system. Security updates are also available for other company products, including Microsoft Office.</p> <p>Our overview of the November 2024 update helps system administrators and home users make sense of the releases. It offers actionable information, including what has changed and whether there are known issues.</p> <p>Links provide easy access to official support pages and there is an assortment of information and more to be found below.</p> <p><strong>Good to known</strong>: Microsoft revealed that <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/01/windows-10-microsoft-reveals-esu-price-tag-for-home-users-and-a-big-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 10 customers may extend support for one year and the price of $30</a>.</p> <h2>Microsoft Windows Security Updates: October 2024</h2> <p>You may download the following Excel spreadsheet to get a list of released updates. Click on the following link to download the archive to the local device: <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-security-updates-novermber-2024.zip" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows Security Updates November 2024</a></p> <p><strong>Executive Summary</strong></p> <ul> <li>Microsoft released a total of 89 security updates for various Microsoft products and 3 security updates from non-Microsoft issues (e.g. Chromium).</li> <li>Windows clients with issues are: <ul> <li>Windows 11 version 22H2, 23H2, and 24H2</li> </ul> </li> <li>Windows Server clients with issues: <ul> <li>Windows Server 2008</li> <li>Windows Server 2025</li> </ul> </li> <li>Windows 11, version 22H2, Home and Pro, have reached end of support. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/09/windows-11-version-21h2-and-22h2-end-of-life-support/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft will force upgrade</a> devices to newer Windows versions.</li> </ul> <h2>Product overview</h2> <p>Each supported version of Windows and their critical vulnerabilities are listed below.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Windows 10 version 22H2: </strong>28 vulnerabilities, 0 critical, 28 important</li> <li><strong>Windows 11 version 22H2</strong>: 31 vulnerabilities, 1 critical, 30 important <ul> <li>Microsoft Windows VMSwitch Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43625" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-43625</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Windows 11 version 23H2</strong>: 31 vulnerabilities, 1 critical, 30 important <ul> <li>same as 22H2.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Windows 11 version 24H2</strong>: 30 vulnerabilities, 1 critical, 29 important <ul> <li>same as 22H2.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows Server products</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Windows Server 2008 R2 (extended support only):</strong> 20 vulnerabilities: 0 critical,  20 important</li> <li><strong>Windows Server 2012 R2 (extended support only)</strong>:  unknown</li> <li><strong>Win</strong><strong>dows Server 2016</strong>: 25 vulnerabilities: 1 critical, 24 important <ul> <li>Windows Kerberos Remote Code Execution Vulnerability --  <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43639" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-43639</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Windows Server 2019</strong>: 28 vulnerabilities: 1 critical, 27 important <ul> <li>Windows Kerberos Remote Code Execution Vulnerability --  <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43639" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-43639</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong> Windows Server 2022:</strong> 34 vulnerabilities: 2 critical, 32 important <ul> <li>Microsoft Windows VMSwitch Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43625" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-43625</a></li> <li>Windows Kerberos Remote Code Execution Vulnerability --  <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43639" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-43639</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Windows Server 2025:  32 vulnerabilities: 2 critical, 30 important <ul> <li>Microsoft Windows VMSwitch Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43625" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-43625</a></li> <li>Windows Kerberos Remote Code Execution Vulnerability --  <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43639" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-43639</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h2>Windows Security Updates</h2> <p><strong>Windows 10 version 22H2</strong></p> <ul> <li>Support Page: <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/november-12-2024-kb5046613-os-builds-19044-5131-and-19045-5131-44e6c27e-e188-4dd5-8ad2-edde2e235c01" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046613 </a></li> </ul> <p>Updates and improvements:</p> <ul> <li>Security updates.</li> <li>Roll out of new account manager in the Start menu continues. Moves Lock command to the "power menu" and sign out under the ellipses (...).</li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows 11 version 22H2 and 23H2</strong></p> <ul> <li>Support Page: <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/november-12-2024-kb5046633-os-builds-22621-4460-and-22631-4460-6ff7b117-cd80-471a-a9ac-48a794bda2d6" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046633</a></li> </ul> <p>Updates and improvements:</p> <ul> <li>Security updates.</li> <li>Roll out of new setting to turn off notifications from certain apps. Found under Settings &gt; System &gt; Notifications.</li> <li>Roll out changes "All Apps" in Start to "All".</li> <li>Roll out of new Copilot key mapping under Settings &gt; Personalization &gt; Text input.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows 11 version 24H2</strong></p> <ul> <li>Support page: <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/november-12-2024-kb5046617-os-build-26100-2314-1fa61a6d-a99a-47ca-a169-6974f08c3a0b" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046617</a></li> </ul> <p>Updates and improvements:</p> <ul> <li>Fixes security issues.</li> <li>Roll out of new setting to turn off notifications from certain apps. Found under Settings &gt; System &gt; Notifications.</li> <li>Roll out of new Wi-Fi password dialog, which has a new design.</li> <li>Roll out changes "All Apps" in Start to "All".</li> <li>Roll out of new Copilot key mapping under Settings &gt; Personalization &gt; Text input.</li> <li>New detach virtual hard disk button under Settings &gt; System &gt; Storage &gt; Disk &amp; Volumes.</li> <li>The command netsh wlan show networks can now read SSIDs that are encoded using UTF-8.</li> <li>Windows Sandbox Client Preview added. It includes: <ul> <li>Runtime clipboard redirection.</li> <li>Audio and video input control.</li> <li>Sharing of folders with host at runtime.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Fixed Windows Disk Cleanup app reporting issue and sfc /scannow command errors whenever it is run.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows Security updates</strong></p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046630" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046630</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security Update for Microsoft server operating system version 21H2 for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5048238" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5048238</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 and Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5048239" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5048239</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 and Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046613" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046613</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1507 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046665" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046665</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046612" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046612</a>)</p> <p><strong>Server</strong></p> <p>2024-11 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046639" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046639</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046661" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046661</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046687" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046687</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046705" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046705</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2012 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046682" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046682</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2012 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046697" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046697</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046615" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046615</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for Microsoft server operating system, version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046616" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046616</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative security Hotpatch for Azure Stack HCI, version 21H2 and Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046698" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046698</a>)</p> <p><strong>Non-Security updates</strong></p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046258" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046258</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2012 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046259" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046259</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2012 R2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046260" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046260</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.6.2 for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046261" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046261</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2 for Windows Server 2012 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046263" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046262</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8 for Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046543" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046543</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8 for Windows Server 2012 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046544" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046544</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8 for Windows Server 2012 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046545" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046545</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 SP1, 4.6.2 for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046546" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046546</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 10 Version 22H2 and Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5045933" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5045933</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5045935" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5045935</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 22H2 and Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5045936" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5045936</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Microsoft server operating system version 21H2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046264" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046264</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Microsoft server operating system, version 22H2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046265" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046265</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Version 1607 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046266" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046266</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.7.2 for Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046268" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046268</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046269" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046269</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Microsoft server operating system, version 23H2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046270" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046270</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.8 and 4.8.1 for Microsoft server operating system, version 22H2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046539" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046539</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.7.2 for Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046540" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046540</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046541" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046541</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.8 and 4.8.1 for Windows 10 Version 22H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046542" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046542</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.8 and 4.8.1 for Microsoft server operating system version 21H2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046547" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046547</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046905" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046905</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Microsoft server operating system for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046907" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046907</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046911" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046911</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046912" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046912</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046913" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046913</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Windows 10 Version 1507 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046914" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046914</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Microsoft server operating system for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5046916" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046916</a>)</p> <p>2024-11 Dynamic Update for Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5047135" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5047135</a>)</p> <h3>Known Issues</h3> <p><strong>Windows 10 version 22H2</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>(Fixed) Description</strong>: After installation of the update, users may be unable to change their account profile picture. <ul> <li>Workaround: none available at the time.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>(Old) Description: </strong>After installation of the security update, issues with booting Linux may occur on dual-boot systems. Device may fail to boot Linux and throw the error "Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation. Something has gone seriously wrong: SBAT self-check failed: Security Policy Violation". <ul> <li>Workaround: Too long to mention here, but explained in depth on the Release Information site <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-10-22H2#3377msgdesc" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">here</a>.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows 11 version 22H2 and 23H2</strong></p> <ul> <li>OpenSSH may fail to start, which prevents SSH connections. <ul> <li>Workaround: Microsoft suggests updating permissions to temporarily address the issue. Instructions found <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/november-12-2024-kb5046633-os-builds-22621-4460-and-22631-4460-6ff7b117-cd80-471a-a9ac-48a794bda2d6#ID0ELBD=Catalog" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows 11 version 24H2</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>(OLD)</strong> Players on ARM devices may not be able to play Roblox via the Microsoft Store. <ul> <li>Workaround: download and play the title directly from the <a href="https://www.roblox.com/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">developer website</a>.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h3>Security advisories and updates</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-us/vulnerability/ADV990001" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-us/vulnerability/ADV990001">ADV 990001</a> -- Latest Servicing Stack Updates</li> </ul> <p><strong>Microsoft Office Updates</strong></p> <p>You find Office update information <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/office-updates-msi" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/office-updates-msi">here</a>.</p> <h3>How to download and install the November 2024 security updates</h3> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206441" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-11-security-update-novermber-2024.png" alt="Windows 11 November 2024 Security Update" width="2560" height="1504" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-11-security-update-novermber-2024.png 2560w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-11-security-update-novermber-2024-768x451.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-11-security-update-novermber-2024-1536x902.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-11-security-update-novermber-2024-2048x1203.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/windows-11-security-update-novermber-2024-1200x705.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></p> <p>The vast majority of unmanaged Windows devices receives automatic updates. This does not happen in real time, but it ensures that most systems are protected from attacks that target patched vulnerabilities.</p> <p>Administrators may speed up the installation of new security updates in the following way:</p> <ol> <li>Select Start, type Windows Update and load the Windows Update item that is displayed.</li> <li>Select check for updates to run a manual check for updates.</li> <li>Click on Download &amp; Install, if the discovered update is not downloaded automatically.</li> </ol> <p>Another option is to download Windows updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog website to install them on one or several devices.</p> <div id="td-incontent-1563344582488" class="rvloader-container mb--10"> <div id="td-incontent-373899721966" class="rvloader-container mb--10"> <h4>Direct update downloads</h4> <p>Below are resource pages with direct download links, if you prefer to download the updates to install them manually.</p> <p><strong>Windows 10 version 22H2</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB5046613" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046613</a> -- 2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 21H2</li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows 11 version 22H2</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB5046633" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046633</a> -- 2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 version 22H2</li> </ul> <section class="entry"><strong>Windows 11 version 23H2</strong></section> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB5046633" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046633</a> -- 2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 version 23H2</li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows 11 version 24H2</strong></p> <ul> <li id="page-header"><a href="https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB5044284" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5046617</a> -- 2024-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 version 24H2</li> </ul> <h4 class="entry"><strong>Additional resources</strong></h4> <section class="entry"> <ul> <li><a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/releaseNote/2024-Nov" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/releaseNote/2023-Jul">November 2024 Security Updates release notes</a></li> <li><a class="ext-link" title="" href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/description-of-software-update-services-and-windows-server-update-services-changes-in-content-for-2021-kb894199-0c540f4f-60c8-7dc2-23c9-48153749966d" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/description-of-software-update-services-and-windows-server-update-services-changes-in-content-for-2021-kb894199-0c540f4f-60c8-7dc2-23c9-48153749966d">List of software updates for Microsoft products</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2017/01/16/latest-windows-updates-and-service-packs-overview/" data-wpel-link="internal" data-mrf-link="https://www.ghacks.net/2017/01/16/latest-windows-updates-and-service-packs-overview/">List of the latest Windows Updates and Services Packs</a></li> <li><a href="https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance">Security Updates Guide</a></li> <li><a href="https://catalog.update.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://catalog.update.microsoft.com/">Microsoft Update Catalog site</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2010/12/20/microsoft-windows-update-overview-all-you-need-to-know/" data-wpel-link="internal" data-mrf-link="https://www.ghacks.net/2010/12/20/microsoft-windows-update-overview-all-you-need-to-know/">Our in-depth Windows update guide</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2018/02/15/how-to-install-optional-updates-on-windows-10/" data-wpel-link="internal" data-mrf-link="https://www.ghacks.net/2018/02/15/how-to-install-optional-updates-on-windows-10/">How to install optional updates on Windows 10</a></li> <li><a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-11-version-24h2-update-history-0929c747-1815-4543-8461-0160d16f15e5" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Windows 11 24H2 Update History</a></li> <li><a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-11-version-23h2-update-history-59875222-b990-4bd9-932f-91a5954de434" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-11-update-history-a19cd327-b57f-44b9-84e0-26ced7109ba9">Windows 11 23H2 Update History</a></li> <li><a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-10-update-history-8127c2c6-6edf-4fdf-8b9f-0f7be1ef3562" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/windows-10-update-history-857b8ccb-71e4-49e5-b3f6-7073197d98fb">Windows 10 Update History</a></li> </ul> </section> </div> </div> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/12/microsoft-releases-the-november-2024-security-updates-for-windows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft releases the November 2024 security updates for Windows</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

12. Update for Windows Update adds end-of-support actions

    Mon, 11 Nov 2024 06:23:38 -0000

    With last month's scheduled security update for Windows 10 and 11 came another update that Microsoft installed on select systems. KB5001716: Update for Windows Update Service components, was installed on Windows 10 […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Update for Windows Update adds end-of-support actions appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>With <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/10/microsoft-releases-the-september-2024-security-updates-for-windows/" data-wpel-link="internal">last month's scheduled security update</a> for Windows 10 and 11 came another update that Microsoft installed on select systems.</p> <p><em>KB5001716: Update for Windows Update Service components</em>, was installed on Windows 10 or 11 devices that are already no longer in support or about to reach end of support.</p> <p>This is not the first time that Microsoft pushed the update. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/03/07/microsofts-sneaky-kb5001716-windows-10-update-pushes-windows-11/" data-wpel-link="internal">It did so in March 2024 already</a>.</p> <p><strong>The update serves two main purposes:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Display notifications to the user of the system about the current used version and its support status.</li> <li>Download and install new feature updates automatically on the device.</li> </ul> <p>Microsoft lists the following versions of Windows 10 and 11 on the <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5001716-update-for-windows-update-service-components-fb9dd3d3-d702-4f8a-af10-b9551cfa6e13" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">official support page</a>:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2020/05/28/windows-10-version-2004-is-here-and-it-has-lots-of-issues/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 10, version 2004</a> to Windows 10, version 22H2. (from May 2020 onward)</li> <li>Windows 11, version 21H2.</li> </ul> <p>This means that all recent versions of Windows 10 are targeted by the update. Only the initial release version of Windows 11 is also targeted. This is going to change in the future, and the next release to be included is Windows 11, version 22H2.</p> <h2>Automatic update installations</h2> <p>Microsoft confirms that after installation of this update, "Windows may attempt to download and install feature updates to your device". This happens if the device "is approaching or has reached the end of support".</p> <p>What Microsoft does not say if this automatic action includes upgrades from Windows 10 to Windows 11.</p> <p>Windows 10, version 22H2 is, after all, the last feature update release for Windows 10. There is no new version of Windows 10 that Windows Update could install on the device.</p> <p>The only way out, without paying Microsoft extra for another year of support courtesy of Extended Security Updates, is the upgrade to Windows 11.</p> <p>Not every Windows 10 device <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/09/21/microsofts-windows-11-compatibility-app-pc-health-check-is-available-for-everyone-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">is compatible though</a>, and Microsoft won't <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/03/04/rufus-3-18-adds-support-for-windows-11-inplace-upgrade-bypasses/" data-wpel-link="internal">bypass the system requirement checks of Windows 11</a>.</p> <p>The second action that the update introduces, the display of notifications, is used to inform users about update-related issues that affect support with updates.</p> <p>It is possible that Microsoft is using this option on Windows 10, version 22H2, to get users to upgrade to Windows 11. It is also possible that Microsoft is going to use it to promote the extended security updates, or encourage users to buy a new PC that runs Windows 11.</p> <p>The notifications should not interfere (too much) with a user's activity. Microsoft says that the notifications are not shown when the user is gaming, running a full screen app or game, or when quiet time or focus assist are enabled.</p> <h3>What changed compared to the March 2024 version?</h3> <p>Microsoft changed the list of supported versions of Windows 10 and 11 that received the update.</p> <p>It removed even older versions of Windows 10, those released before version 2004, from the list of supported operating system versions.</p> <p>This appears to be the only change.</p> <p><strong>What can you do about this update?</strong> If you do not want the update, block it from installation. Microsoft does its best to hide the tool that it released for the job years ago. It is still available as a direct download, but you need to know the <a href="https://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f22d5fdb-59cd-4275-8c95-1be17bf70b21/wushowhide.diagcab" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">link address</a>.</p> <p>If the update is installed already, you may <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2014/12/11/how-to-remove-installed-windows-updates-and-block-them-afterwards/" data-wpel-link="internal">uninstall and block it</a> by following our guide.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>The administrator of a system should be in full control of its update status. While most computer users who run Windows devices benefit from an up-to-date system, as it blocks potential attack vectors of known security vulnerabilities, some users may have reasons to stay on a particular version of Windows.</p> <p><em>What is your take on this update? Did you receive it on your device? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/11/update-for-windows-update-adds-end-of-support-actions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Update for Windows Update adds end-of-support actions</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

13. Are links beginning with search.app safe?

    Fri, 08 Nov 2024 14:01:10 -0000

    Usually, when you share a link from an Android device, you should get an option to share the actual link. If you want to share a Ghacks page, you should see https://www.ghacks.net/ […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Are links beginning with search.app safe? appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Usually, when you share a link from an Android device, you should get an option to share the actual link. If you want to share a Ghacks page, you should see https://www.ghacks.net/ in the beginning.</p> <p>Some services change that. They may use their own URL shorteners or services. The main reason for that is that they get more control over the sharing. Whenever a user clicks on the link or shares it, they get information about it.</p> <p>For the last few days. usage of links beginning with search.app have skyrocketed.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206433" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/search-app-link-scaled.jpg" alt="Search.app links" width="554" height="1200" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/search-app-link-scaled.jpg 554w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/search-app-link-768x1664.jpg 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/search-app-link-709x1536.jpg 709w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/search-app-link-945x2048.jpg 945w" sizes="(max-width: 554px) 100vw, 554px" /></p> <p>Here is what you need to know about it:</p> <ul> <li>The links are generated by the official Google app for Android. It is possible that other Google apps do or will create search.app links as well when sharing.</li> <li>https://search.app? prepends the actual link that is shared.</li> <li>The links are safe from a security point of view. Privacy-wise, they give Google more information about the sharing.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Did you know</strong>? <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/19/google-is-shutting-down-its-url-shortener-service-goo-gl/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google is deleting all links of its initial URL shortener service goo.gl</a>.</p> <p>When you share a link in the Google app, which you do with a tap on the share icon, you will automatically share with search.app prepended. There appears to be no option to disable that. Google owns the domain.</p> <p>If you want to share the Ghacks homepage, you get https://search.app/?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ghacks.net%2F&amp;utm_campaign=aga&amp;utm_source=agsadl2%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F4 instead of the much smaller https://www.ghacks.net/.</p> <p>Note the Google Analytics campaign parameters that are appended to the shared address.</p> <p>Google has not announced the feature officially. We contacted Google for comment, but have not heard back from the company at the time of writing.</p> <p>The most likely explanation for the change is that it gives Google more data. In particular, it allows Google to collect the following information:</p> <ul> <li>On which sites or in which services the link is shared.</li> <li>Information about users who access it. This includes the IP address, browser, app, language, and other information.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Also good to know:</strong> Search.app has nothing to do with Search App Search, which was a browser hijacker some years ago.</p> <p>We are not the only ones that noticed that. <a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/googles-mysterious-searchapp-links-leave-android-users-concerned/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Bleeping Computer</a> noticed an increase as well, and there are plenty of posts on Reddit and other sites about it already.</p> <h3>What you may do about search.app links</h3> <p>You have two main options:</p> <ol> <li>Instead of selecting Share, select Menu &gt; Copy Link. This copies the actual link without search.app added to it.</li> <li>Use a real browser and not the Google app on Android. Use any browser, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi, or even Chrome, and you will notice that sharing will always share the exact address of the resource.</li> </ol> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>If you value privacy, you may want to make sure that you do not share any search.app links. These links serve just a single purpose: to collect data about the shared link and who is opening it.</p> <p><em>Have you encountered search.app links already? What is your take on this? Do you use the Google app at all? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/08/are-links-beginning-with-search-app-safe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Are links beginning with search.app safe?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

14. Here's a closer look at Rewrite AI in Notepad

    Fri, 08 Nov 2024 13:05:51 -0000

    Microsoft has introduced an AI feature in Notepad that can help you rewrite text. Say hello to Rewrite, let's take a deep dive into it. Windows 11's Notepad has an AI now […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Here's a closer look at Rewrite AI in Notepad appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft has introduced an <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/07/microsoft-rolls-out-ai-updates-for-classic-windows-apps-to-insiders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">AI feature in Notepad</a> that can help you rewrite text. Say hello to Rewrite, let's take a deep dive into it.</p> <h2><strong>Windows 11's Notepad has an AI now</strong></h2> <p>The AI-powered features are available to Windows Insiders. Per the <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/06/new-ai-experiences-for-paint-and-notepad-begin-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announcement</a>, Rewrite in Windows Notepad is powerful by an AI model named GPT. It is capable of rephrasing sentences, adjust tone, or modify the length of the content, based on some preferences. Microsoft says that Rewrite uses an online Azure service to process and generate the text, after which the generated text is sent back to your PC. The online service does not store the text or generated content after processing, to protect the privacy and security of users.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206417" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Microsoft-has-added-an-AI-in-Notepad-to-rewrite-and-edit-text.jpg" alt="Microsoft has added an AI in Notepad to rewrite and edit text" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Microsoft-has-added-an-AI-in-Notepad-to-rewrite-and-edit-text.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Microsoft-has-added-an-AI-in-Notepad-to-rewrite-and-edit-text-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>Rewrite in Notepad is available in preview to all users in the following countries: United States, France, UK, Canada, Italy and Germany. So, the supported languages are English, French, Italian and German. The AI-powered functions are also available for users with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, or a Copilot Pro subscription, in the following regions: Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206424" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Notepad-with-rewrite-AI-button.jpg" alt="Notepad with rewrite AI button" width="1044" height="673" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Notepad-with-rewrite-AI-button.jpg 1044w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Notepad-with-rewrite-AI-button-768x495.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1044px) 100vw, 1044px" /></p> <p>The AI features are available in Notepad version 11.2410.15.0 and above. You don't need to be on Windows 11 beta or dev channels to test the AI features. I was able to access Rewrite in Notepad in the stable channel, here's how you can do it.</p> <h3><strong>How to enable Rewrite in Notepad</strong></h3> <p>1. Change your device's language to US English (or one of the languages mentioned above).</p> <p>2. Set the region (Settings &gt; Time and Language) to the United States. (or one of the Countries mentioned above).</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206421" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Download-Notepad-with-Rewrite.jpg" alt="Download Notepad with Rewrite" width="860" height="306" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Download-Notepad-with-Rewrite.jpg 860w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Download-Notepad-with-Rewrite-768x273.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /></p> <p>3. Install Notepad 11.2410.16.0. You can download the latest version of the app from https://store.rg-adguard.net/. Notepad's URL is https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9msmlrh6lzf3. Set the channel ring to Fast, and click on the checkbox button. Download the .msixbundle of the latest version of Notepad and install it manually.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206420" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Install-Notepad-with-Rewrite-AI.jpg" alt="Install Notepad with Rewrite AI" width="650" height="442" /></p> <p>4.  <a href="https://github.com/thebookisclosed/ViVe/releases" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Phantomofearth</a> says that users can try out Notepad's Rewrite AI by enabling an ID using Vivetool. Execute the following command in PowerShell.</p> <p>.\vivetool /enable /id:47961746</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206419" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Enable-Rewrite-in-notepad.jpg" alt="Enable Rewrite in notepad" width="979" height="512" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Enable-Rewrite-in-notepad.jpg 979w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Enable-Rewrite-in-notepad-768x402.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 979px) 100vw, 979px" /></p> <p>Note: The current stable version of Notepad (without AI features) is 11.2409.9.0, just in case you want to save a backup of it. You will need to set the ring to "Retail" in the Rg-adguard website to download the stable version.</p> <h3><strong>Exploring Rewrite in Notepad</strong></h3> <p>Once you have followed those steps, open Notepad, and you will see a new button in the menu bar. This is the Rewrite button. Clicking on it brings a pop-down menu with various options.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206427" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rewrite-demo-in-notepad-windows-11.jpg" alt="Rewrite demo in notepad windows 11" width="1044" height="673" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rewrite-demo-in-notepad-windows-11.jpg 1044w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rewrite-demo-in-notepad-windows-11-768x495.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1044px) 100vw, 1044px" /></p> <p>The first option is rewrite, which can be triggered with the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + I. This is an odd choice for a shortcut, as it is commonly used for formatting text in Italics in most text editors, including Microsoft Word. Anyhow, Rewrite can shorten the text for you, or make the content longer.</p> <p>Clicking the Change Tone menu reveals further options such as Default, Formal, Casual, Inspirational, and Humor. You can also Change the Format to one of the following styles: Default, Paragraph, List, Business, Academic, Marketing, and Poetry. I think the options are fairly explanatory, anyone who has used ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude or Gemini, or one of the numerous AI models should be aware of how these things work. Rewrite in Notepad is also available via the right-click context menu.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206430" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/rewrite-notepad-right-click-context-menu.jpg" alt="rewrite notepad right-click context menu" width="1044" height="673" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/rewrite-notepad-right-click-context-menu.jpg 1044w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/rewrite-notepad-right-click-context-menu-768x495.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1044px) 100vw, 1044px" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>So, how does it work. Select a specific sentence or paragraph in your document, or leave the content unselected to rewrite the entire document. Choose one of the options, and Rewrite will begin processing the data. It takes a few seconds, after which you are presented with three variations that you can choose.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206426" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rewrite-demo-in-notepad.jpg" alt="Rewrite demo in notepad" width="1044" height="673" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rewrite-demo-in-notepad.jpg 1044w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rewrite-demo-in-notepad-768x495.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1044px) 100vw, 1044px" /></p> <p>The UI has various buttons, the Replace button on the bottom allows you to replace the text with the rewritten version. You may choose to adjust the Rewrite method (shorter/longer), change the tone and format from this screen. There are shortcuts to copy the text to the clipboard, retry (Rewrite), and discard the pop-up. You may also discard the text by clicking anywhere outside the pop-up, to return to the original text.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206425" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/how-rewrite-works-in-Windows-11.jpg" alt="how rewrite works in Windows 11" width="1044" height="673" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/how-rewrite-works-in-Windows-11.jpg 1044w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/how-rewrite-works-in-Windows-11-768x495.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1044px) 100vw, 1044px" /></p> <h3><strong>Limitations in Rewrite for Notepad</strong></h3> <p>Rewrite in Notepad is a freemium feature, i.e. it is limited by credits. More specifically, you get 50 credits to start. And, you will need to sign in to your Microsoft account to use the feature. The account icon on Notepad's toolbar can be clicked on to view your account information, and to check your AI credits balance. Every use costs a credit, and yes, clicking the Retry option uses one too.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206423" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Notepad-AI-credits-balance.jpg" alt="Notepad AI credits balance" width="1044" height="673" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Notepad-AI-credits-balance.jpg 1044w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Notepad-AI-credits-balance-768x495.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1044px) 100vw, 1044px" /></p> <p>Free users start with 50 credits. I don't know if it is reset. From what I can tell by reading a <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-rewrite-in-notepad-to-enhance-your-writing-with-ai-4088b954-c97b-46dc-813f-959be01746d5" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">support document</a>, it doesn't reset. The page mentions that users will be notified when credits run low (5 or below). More importantly, it also says that "Credits for Microsoft 365 subscribers are automatically replenished at the beginning of each month." The wording seems to suggest free accounts will not get additional credits. The document states that users who have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription get 60 AI credits every month. 60 per month seems pretty low, so I feel like even subscribers could be annoyed by these limitations. Users can purchase additional AI credits by subscribing to Copilot Pro.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206429" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Microsoft-AI-credits-free-or-paid.jpg" alt="Microsoft AI credits free or paid" width="812" height="375" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Microsoft-AI-credits-free-or-paid.jpg 812w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Microsoft-AI-credits-free-or-paid-768x355.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px" /></p> <p>Another <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/understanding-ai-credits-68530f1a-4459-4d02-9818-8233c1f673b8" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">support page</a> on Microsoft's website says that "Users of free apps like Designer receive 15 credits per month." It doesn't mention Notepad by name, so I'm rather skeptical about it. I'd like to point out that Notepad is one of the apps mentioned in the next line that talks about the subscriptions.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206428" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/What-are-AI-Credits-Microsoft.jpg" alt="What are AI Credits Microsoft" width="835" height="649" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/What-are-AI-Credits-Microsoft.jpg 835w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/What-are-AI-Credits-Microsoft-768x597.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 835px) 100vw, 835px" /></p> <p>This is, in my opinion, terrible. It's basically Notepad with in-app purchases. You could argue that the credits system is in place to prevent it from being abused. Well, this wouldn't be a problem if it was an offline feature, that processed data on the device. Would it? Since it requires a network connection, signing in to your Microsoft account, this is a bad implementation. As for why it is not an offline feature, isn't it obvious? To sell Microsoft 365 subscriptions.</p> <h3><strong>How to disable Rewrite in Notepad?</strong></h3> <p>Rewrite in Notepad can be disabled from the Settings menu.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206422" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/how-to-disable-rewrite-in-Notepad.jpg" alt="how to disable rewrite in Notepad" width="1044" height="673" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/how-to-disable-rewrite-in-Notepad.jpg 1044w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/how-to-disable-rewrite-in-Notepad-768x495.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1044px) 100vw, 1044px" /></p> <p>I had to enable the flag in ViveTool manually, so I can't say for certain if it was enabled by default. But, I think it is likely that the setting is turned on automatically. Why? How else is Microsoft going to promote the feature?</p> <p>I like Notepad, especially the Tabs, spell check, and auto-save features. It's disappointing to see the inevitable AI creep in basic apps.</p> <p>Rewrite in Notepad could be useful for some people, but the fact that it is limited by credits, and that said credits costs money, makes this nothing but yet another advertisement for Microsoft's subscriptions. I want to point out that <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/29/apple-releases-ios-18-1-macos-15-1-and-ipados-18-1-with-apple-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Apple Intelligence</a> is completely free to use (except Siri with ChatGPT, but that's optional). And, Apple's AI uses on-device machine learning, and processes the data locally. On a side note, rumors suggest that Microsoft might rebrand Copilot to Windows Intelligence.</p> <p>Users who are looking for an alternative for Notepad may want to check out <a href="https://notepad-plus-plus.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Notepad++</a>, <a href="https://cudatext.github.io/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">CudaText</a>. If you don't mind using an Electron app, take a look at <a href="https://obsidian.md/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Obsidian</a> (not open source), <a href="https://standardnotes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Standard Notes</a>, or <a href="https://joplinapp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Joplin</a>. All three apps are available across major platforms.</p> <p>What do you think about Rewrite?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/08/heres-a-closer-look-at-rewrite-ai-in-notepad/" data-wpel-link="internal">Here&#039;s a closer look at Rewrite AI in Notepad</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

15. Microsoft rolls out AI updates for classic Windows apps to Insiders

    Thu, 07 Nov 2024 05:52:50 -0000

    Microsoft has released a new build to the Windows 11 Insider channels Dev and Canary. These introduce new AI capabilities in the classic Windows apps Paint and Notepad. The details: Notepad is […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft rolls out AI updates for classic Windows apps to Insiders appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft has released a new build to the Windows 11 Insider channels Dev and Canary. These introduce new AI capabilities in the classic Windows apps Paint and Notepad.</p> <p><strong>The details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Notepad is getting a text rewrite option.</li> <li>Paint is getting generative fill and erase.</li> <li>Paint is also getting updates to Cocreator and Image Creator.</li> </ul> <h2>Notepad: new AI-powered Rewrite feature</h2> <p>Notepad, the classic text editor of Windows, is getting rewriting capabilities that are powered by artificial intelligence. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/10/microsoft-is-adding-cowriter-ai-to-notepad/" data-wpel-link="internal">We reviewed these</a> back in January 2024 when news about the feature broke.</p> <p>These appear to be similar to the Copilot rewriting options that Microsoft is offering elsewhere. When you highlight text in Notepad, you get the option to have it changed by AI.</p> <p>Options include changing the size of the text, e.g., making it longer, adjusting the tone, or the format.</p> <figure id="attachment_206415" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206415" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-206415 size-full" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/notepad-rewrite.webp" alt="Notepad Rewrite" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/notepad-rewrite.webp 1024w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/notepad-rewrite-768x432.webp 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-206415" class="wp-caption-text">Notepad's new AI-powered Rewrite options. Source: Microsoft</figcaption></figure> <p>Microsoft <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/06/new-ai-experiences-for-paint-and-notepad-begin-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">notes</a> that you may use the feature either by selecting Rewrite from the context menu or with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + I.</p> <p>The AI generates three versions of the text based on your selection. These can be modified by making changes to the available text options.</p> <p>Note that you cannot give text instructions; all you can do is make modifications to size, tone and format to get different rewrites. Microsoft is also applying content filtering "to ensure that the generated text is free from harmful, offensive, or inappropriate material".</p> <p>Microsoft notes that the feature is in preview at the moment. It is only available for users who are signed in with a Microsoft account and reside n the following regions: United States, France, UK, Canada, Italy, and Germany. Users from these regions get 50 credits for rewrites.</p> <p>Users from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand who have a Microsoft 365 Personal and Family account or a Copilot Pro subscription, may use the feature by spending AI credits directly.</p> <h2>Microsoft Paint new AI features</h2> <p>Microsoft Paint is getting a number of AI-powered features. Generative fill enables you to add content to existing images using text instructions.</p> <p><img decoding="async" src="https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/44/2024/11/GenErase.gif" /></p> <p>Microsoft shows an example of a castle being added to a landscape using the feature. The company writes: "With generative fill, you can make edits and additions with just a few words while maintaining the existing art style of your project.".</p> <ol> <li>To use the tool, you need to make a selection on the image using the Selection tool.</li> <li>Once done, select the generative fill option from the menu that pops up.</li> <li>Enter text instructions and hit the create button to use the feature.</li> </ol> <p>The AI creates content based on the provided instruction. If you are not satisfied, hit "try again" to get a different creation. When you are satisfied, press the keep button to apply it to the canvas.</p> <p>This feature is limited to Copilot+ PCs and users need to be signed in with a Microsoft account.</p> <h3>Generative erase</h3> <p>The second addition helps with the removal of objects on images. It is available as part of the Eraser tool in Paint.</p> <ol> <li>Select the Generative erase option while the Eraser tool is selected.</li> <li>Use the Erase Brush to select content that you want removed from the image.</li> <li>Select the apply button to start the removal process.</li> </ol> <p>Options provided include "add area to erase" or "reduce area to erase".  Erase options are also available when selecting the rectangular or free-form selection tools.</p> <p>The erase option is available for all Windows 11 PCs.</p> <h3>Updates to Cocreator and Image Creator</h3> <p>Cocreator, a tool designed to help you create artwork by entering a text prompt, should "deliver better results faster" now according to Microsoft.</p> <p>It reacts to your drawings on the canvas and creates content based on it. This experience is only available on Copilot+ PCs.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/30/paints-ai-image-creator-is-now-available-for-everyone/" data-wpel-link="internal">Image Creator</a>, a tool to instruct AI to generate an image based on a text prompt, is now available in additional markets.</p> <p><em>What is your take on these AI features? Anything that you would use, if it would be available on your devices? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/07/microsoft-rolls-out-ai-updates-for-classic-windows-apps-to-insiders/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft rolls out AI updates for classic Windows apps to Insiders</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

16. Microsoft appears to have slowed down the Windows Control Panel intentionally in the past

    Wed, 06 Nov 2024 17:14:28 -0000

    The Windows Control Panel has been an essential part of the Windows operating system. When Microsoft released Windows 10, it announced that the Control Panel would be replaced by the Settings app […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft appears to have slowed down the Windows Control Panel intentionally in the past appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>The Windows Control Panel has been an essential part of the Windows operating system. When Microsoft released Windows 10, it announced that the Control Panel would be replaced by the Settings app eventually.</p> <p>While some Control Panel applets moved to the Settings in the almost ten years that followed, Microsoft never removed the Control Panel entirely from Windows.</p> <p>This August, news spread that Microsoft was <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/08/23/microsoft-may-finally-be-removing-the-windows-control-panel/" data-wpel-link="internal">ready to remove the Control Panel</a>. Microsoft recanted the deprecation notice shortly thereafter, and it seems that the Control Panel is here to stay after all.</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: did you know that you can <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2017/06/06/open-windows-control-panel-applets-directly/" data-wpel-link="internal">launch Windows Control Panel applets directly</a>?</p> <h2>Microsoft slowed down the Control Panel</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206412" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/control-panel-delay-microsoft-scaled.jpg" alt="Control Panel Delay" width="1200" height="614" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/control-panel-delay-microsoft-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/control-panel-delay-microsoft-768x393.jpg 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/control-panel-delay-microsoft-1536x785.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>Developer Eric Voirin is known for the framework Win98 QuickInstall. This is a hobby-project designed to speed up the installation of the ancient operating system.</p> <p>Voirin discovered hard-coded delays in a Control Panel applet under Windows 95 and 98. These delayed the integration of new hardware in the operating system by eight seconds in total. Whether this are also present in newer versions of Windows is unclear at this point.</p> <p>The total waiting time is divided into two segments. First a delay of three seconds when the generic default name of the class or device is displayed, and then a delay of five seconds after Windows updates the logo and name for the actual device.</p> <p>Voirin <a href="https://x.com/oerg866/status/1853402804297118197" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">says</a> that he managed to reduce the entire process to 300 milliseconds.</p> <p>It is unclear why Microsoft added the delay in first place. It is possible that this had technical reasons. It is unclear if there are more delays hardcoded into other parts of the Control Panel.</p> <p>Good news is that the delay was not integrated to make the Settings app more appealing. It did not exist back in the Windows 9x days.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Most Windows users do not need to add hardware manually to the latest versions of Windows. While it may still be beneficial to install manufacturer-provided drivers, most modern devices should would out of the box.</p> <p>Old or rare devices may still need drivers and a manual installation process to get them working on newer versions of Windows.</p> <p><em>Have you ever had to install hardware devices manually? Feel free to leave a comment down below. (via <a href="https://winfuture.de/news,146497.html" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">WinFuture</a>)</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/06/microsoft-appears-to-have-slowed-down-the-windows-control-panel-intentionally-in-the-past/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft appears to have slowed down the Windows Control Panel intentionally in the past</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

17. UnattendedWinstall: open source tool bypasses Windows installation restrictions and removes bloatware

    Tue, 05 Nov 2024 16:11:36 -0000

    Windows users have quite a few tools at their disposal that let them customize Windows installations or bypass the system requirements of the Windows 11 operating system. Rufus and FlyBy11 are two […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post UnattendedWinstall: open source tool bypasses Windows installation restrictions and removes bloatware appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Windows users have quite a few tools at their disposal that let them customize Windows installations or bypass the system requirements of the Windows 11 operating system.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/11/rufus-4-6-bypasses-windows-11-24h2-compatibility-checks-automatically/" data-wpel-link="internal">Rufus</a> and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/21/windows-11-flyby11-enables-upgrades-on-unsupported-devices/" data-wpel-link="internal">FlyBy11</a> are two excellent tools for the latter (and more). If you want a tool that is more powerful but also more challenging to set up, you may check out the open source script <a href="https://github.com/memstechtips/UnattendedWinstall" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">UnattendedWinstall</a>.</p> <p>The tool makes use of officially supported option to make changes to an installation of Windows directly on installation media. It uses unattend-files, also known as answer files for that. These can be run on official Windows ISO images provided by Microsoft.</p> <p>The developer say that they have tested the functionality on Windows 10 version 22H2 and Windows 11 version 24H2. It may also be compatible with other versions, but that has not been tested.</p> <h2>Key Features of UnattendedWinstall</h2> <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Introducing UnattendedWinstall v2.0" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o9c64gx7w90?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <ul> <li>Bypass Windows 11 system requirements.</li> <li>Skip forced Microsoft account creation during setup.</li> <li>Disable Windows Defender and User Account Control by default.</li> <li>Disables the AI tools Copilot and Recall.</li> <li>Removes bloat from the system. As far as apps are concerned, only Microsoft Edge, Notepad, and Calculator remain installed.</li> <li>Only install security updates from Windows Update.</li> <li>Makes various Registry optimizations, including the disabling of Telemetry.</li> <li>Disables "unnecessary scheduled tasks".</li> <li>Configures Windows services for optimal performance.</li> </ul> <p>Good news is that you can modify this in detail. The hard part is that you need to edit the provided <a href="https://github.com/memstechtips/UnattendedWinstall/blob/main/autounattend.xml" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">autouattend.xml</a> file. Clearly, this is not for everyone</p> <p>This is the file that you need to place in the root of the Windows installation media. Windows setup recognizes the file and execute its instructions during setup.</p> <p>You may also run the script on existing Windows installations to make adjustments or correct things that Windows changed. This can happen during the installation of updates.</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: it is a good idea to test this extensively in virtual machines before you start using it on physical devices.</p> <p><strong>So, who is this for?</strong> If you just want to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware or make tweaks, you may reach that goal faster by using one of the other mentioned tools above plus a tweaker like WinAero. If you like tinkering and testing, and also install Windows  10 or 11 regularly on a lot of systems, you may find this way of doing it more efficient.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>UnattendedWinstall is a powerful tool to modify installations of Windows while they happen. Depending on your needs, it may need modifications. Maybe you want UAC or Defender to be working, or want to remove some of the tweaks that are made by default.</p> <p>This is a one-time process, but it may require quite a bit of time and understanding of how unattend files are structured.</p> <p><em>What is your take on this tool? Is this something that you would use or already have? Do you apply changes to Windows during or after installation? Let us know in the comments below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/05/unattendedwinstall-open-source-tool-bypasses-windows-installation-restrictions-and-removes-bloatware/" data-wpel-link="internal">UnattendedWinstall: open source tool bypasses Windows installation restrictions and removes bloatware</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

18. Avast Free Antivirus: Security Starts with Good Practices

    Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:44:19 -0000

    Cybersecurity has become a priority for users of all levels. With the growing number of attacks and threats, protecting our data and devices has become a shared responsibility. That's why campaigns like […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Avast Free Antivirus: Security Starts with Good Practices appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cybersecurity has become a priority for users of all levels. With the growing number of attacks and threats, protecting our data and devices has become a shared responsibility. That's why campaigns like Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM), remind us of the importance of adopting good practices to ensure our security.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The motto "security starts with good practices" reflects the need for each user not only to rely on protection tools like <a href="https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download?full_trSrc=mmm_ghk_dlp_008_193_m" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Avast Free Antivirus</a> but also to take an active role in safeguarding their digital day-to-day. While technological solutions play a vital role in defending against threats such as malware, phishing, and ransomware, our daily actions are equally important in avoiding falling into traps.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">CSAM's main goal is to educate about the risks present in the digital environment and how to mitigate them through responsible cybersecurity practices. From keeping software up to date, creating strong passwords, and avoiding access to unsecured networks to identifying fraudulent emails and websites, the campaign invites us to be aware of our online actions. In this context,</span><b> Avast Free Antivirus</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> becomes an indispensable ally, offering comprehensive protection at no cost, allowing us to feel safe while browsing the internet.</span></p> <h2><b>The Current Challenges of Cybersecurity: A Constantly Evolving Field</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In today’s landscape, cybersecurity faces increasingly complex and sophisticated challenges. Technological advances have not only enabled greater connectivity and accessibility but have also created new opportunities for cybercriminals to develop more precise attacks. From traditional malware to social engineering attacks, security is a growing concern for both individuals and companies of all sizes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the biggest challenges is the constant evolution of malware. This term encompasses a variety of malicious software, including viruses, trojans, worms, and spyware, designed to infiltrate systems, steal information, or cause damage. With each new version of malware, attackers improve their ability to avoid detection by defense systems. Nowadays, attacks are more stealthy and can remain dormant in a system for months before being discovered, increasing their effectiveness.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another significant threat is ransomware, which has grown exponentially in recent years. This type of malware locks the victim's access to files or systems until a ransom is paid, which can paralyze both individuals and large organizations. The financial losses from these attacks have reached alarming levels, and many victims, especially small businesses, struggle to recover from the financial consequences.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_206406" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206406" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206406" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/avast-2-ghacks-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/avast-2-ghacks-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/avast-2-ghacks-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-206406" class="wp-caption-text">Kid posting information about his show on social networks</figcaption></figure> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phishing is another all-too-present threat, where attackers use fraudulent emails or messages to trick users into stealing personal or financial information. These attacks are becoming more convincing and harder to distinguish from legitimate communications, making users the most vulnerable link in the cybersecurity chain.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Social networks and other platforms have also made it easier for attackers to access a wealth of personal information, enabling them to design more personalized and effective attacks. Cybercriminals can exploit publicly shared user information to create more credible attacks, such as identity theft attempts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Given this landscape, the need for robust and accessible protection has become essential. This is where </span><a href="https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download?full_trSrc=mmm_ghk_dlp_008_193_m" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Avast Free Antivirus</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> plays a key role, providing a first line of defense against these attacks. With its ability to detect and block threats in real time, Avast helps mitigate the risks associated with today’s cyber threats.</span></p> <h2><b>Avast Free Antivirus Protection: Beyond Precautions</b></h2> <p><b>Avast Free Antivirus</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has established itself as one of the most reliable and comprehensive security solutions on the market, protecting millions of users worldwide. Its ability to tackle a wide range of threats at no cost to the user makes it an essential tool when looking for effective online defense.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From viruses and malware to trojans and spyware, Avast uses its advanced detection engine to identify and neutralize these dangers before they can cause harm. With its real-time scanning system, the antivirus constantly checks files, programs, and emails for suspicious activity—something essential in an environment where attacks evolve quickly, and users can be affected by previously unknown threats.</span></p> <p><b>Avast’s</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> real-time detection power is enhanced by its vast global user network, acting as a collaborative intelligence system. With more than 435 million users worldwide, Avast gathers information about threats detected on various devices and uses it to improve its defense capabilities. This means every user who installs Avast becomes part of a massive protection network, helping to identify and neutralize new threats in real time before they can affect others.</span></p> <h2><b>Phishing Detection: Strengthening the Best Protection—Our Common Sense</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Phishing is one of today’s most common and harmful cyber threats, and cybercriminals are constantly refining their tactics to make them more convincing and effective. This type of attack usually comes in the form of fraudulent emails, messages, or websites that imitate legitimate sources to trick users and steal personal information such as passwords, bank details, or credit card numbers. Most phishing victims don’t realize they’ve been tricked until it’s too late.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While initiatives like CSAM encourage awareness of these attacks before they happen, </span><a href="https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download?full_trSrc=mmm_ghk_dlp_008_193_m" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Avast Free Antivirus </b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">provides a solution to protect us from these dangers with its advanced phishing detection. This feature constantly scans the emails, messages, and websites we access, looking for signs of suspicious behavior or deceptive elements that could be part of a phishing attack.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Avast’s phishing detection doesn’t just rely on predefined patterns but also uses artificial intelligence to identify new threats. This allows Avast to block attacks even if they are new or completely unknown phishing attempts, offering an additional layer of security.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just as our good practices in managing emails and messages are crucial, Avast’s technology is designed to adapt to the ever-evolving tactics of cybercriminals, helping to protect against recent phishing attempts, including those designed to bypass traditional detection methods.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to its detection engine, </span><a href="https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download?full_trSrc=mmm_ghk_dlp_008_193_m" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Avast Free Antivirus </b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">offers tools that provide comprehensive system protection. For example, it includes features to scan Wi-Fi networks for vulnerabilities, helping to protect against intrusions and potential attacks on our internet connection. While we always avoid networks we don't trust, when we have no choice but to use the available network, Avast has us covered.</span></p> <h2><b>Artificial Intelligence: Emulating Our Good Judgment</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the world of cybersecurity, the speed at which threats are detected and responded to is crucial to prevent damage. Cybercriminals are constantly developing new forms of attack, and staying ahead requires tools that can quickly adapt to these changes. Avast Free Antivirus excels in this regard by using artificial intelligence and a global detection network that allows it to identify threats in real time, before they can affect users.</span></p> <p><b>Avast’s </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">artificial intelligence works by analyzing large amounts of data for suspicious patterns that may indicate the presence of malware or other malicious activities. Unlike traditional detection methods, which rely on databases of known signatures, Avast’s AI can recognize unknown threats. This means that even if a type of malware has not been previously recorded, Avast can still detect it thanks to its ability to learn from the behaviors and characteristics of malicious files and programs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just as we avoid certain websites that don’t seem trustworthy, this technology can act in real time. When a threat is detected, Avast not only blocks it immediately but also shares this information with its global network of over 435 million users. This allows for a quick and coordinated response to new threats, strengthening the protection of every user in the system.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another key aspect of </span><b><a href="https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download?full_trSrc=mmm_ghk_dlp_008_193_m" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Avast Free Antivirus</a>’</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> real-time detection is its ability to defend against targeted attacks. Cybercriminals often launch highly personalized attacks designed to avoid detection by conventional defense systems. With artificial intelligence, Avast can help identify these attacks even if they have been specifically designed to evade known detection methods.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_206405" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206405" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206405" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/avast-1-ghacks-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/avast-1-ghacks-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/avast-1-ghacks-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-206405" class="wp-caption-text">Young woman using laptop while sitting in camper van</figcaption></figure> <h2><b>Cybersecurity is Everyone’s Responsibility</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The number of threats we face daily on the internet reminds us that cybersecurity is not a luxury but a fundamental necessity for anyone who interacts in the digital environment. From viruses and malware to phishing and ransomware attacks, cybercriminals do not discriminate. For this reason, it’s crucial that we all take the necessary steps to protect both our personal information and our devices.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM) is an ideal opportunity to inform ourselves and reflect on the security practices we follow in our daily lives. An event that invites all of us to adopt a more proactive attitude towards cybersecurity, recognizing that it’s not just about installing antivirus software to protect ourselves, but also about contributing to a safer digital community.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most important pillars of good cybersecurity is having reliable protection tools like </span><a href="https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download?full_trSrc=mmm_ghk_dlp_008_193_m" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Avast Free Antivirus</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Its accessible and efficient approach allows any user, regardless of their technical knowledge, to effectively protect themselves against the most common threats on the web. However, as we’ve mentioned throughout this article, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While tools like </span><b>Avast Free Antivirus</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> play a crucial role in defending our devices, it is also essential that we adopt good practices. Avoiding certain links, deleting suspicious emails, reducing the data we share online, using strong and unique passwords, and being aware of the tactics attackers often use, such as phishing, are just a few examples.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During CSAM, we are reminded that cybersecurity is an ongoing effort. </span><a href="https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download?full_trSrc=mmm_ghk_dlp_008_193_m" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Avast Free Antivirus</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is an excellent solution for those seeking solid protection at no cost, but we must also remember that technology alone is not enough. We all need to stay alert and aware of the risks that exist and how to avoid them.</span></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/05/avast-free-antivirus-security-starts-with-good-practices/" data-wpel-link="internal">Avast Free Antivirus: Security Starts with Good Practices</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

19. Amazon Prime Video's AI will recap the story of TV show episodes and seasons

    Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:26:20 -0000

    Amazon Prime Video is getting a new AI feature. The streaming service is introducing X-Ray Recaps to generate a recap of the story of TV shows. The feature creates brief summaries of […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Amazon Prime Video's AI will recap the story of TV show episodes and seasons appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Amazon Prime Video is getting a new AI feature. The streaming service is introducing X-Ray Recaps to generate a recap of the story of TV shows.</p> <p>The feature creates brief summaries of full seasons and episodes of shows. So, it is a plot synopsis? But how is this an <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/04/windows-11-ai-features-are-coming-to-intel-pcs-this-november/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">AI feature</a>? All Amazon has to do is publish summaries on a per-episode basis, right? No. X-Ray Recaps offers a personalized experience. It will take various factors into consideration, such as the timestamp that you are into a new episode, or mid-way through a season. X-Ray Recaps will generate text snippets of key highlights, plot points for you. Amazon's announcement states that X-Ray Recaps are designed to avoid spoilers, and prevent information without wasting time.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206403" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/How-does-Amazon-Prime-Videos-X-Ray-Recaps-work.jpg" alt="How does Amazon Prime Video's X-Ray Recaps work" width="767" height="431" /></p> <p>This is a cool use of artificial intelligence. Your privacy is not invaded, your personal data is not used to train the AI.</p> <h3><strong>How does Amazon Prime Video's X-Ray Recaps work?</strong></h3> <p>Amazon says that X-Ray Recaps are powered by <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/26/amazon-invests-4-billion-in-anthropic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Amazon Bedrock</a>, which is an AWS service that is used for building generative AI apps and models. The AI analyzes the content of videos, and combines them with subtitles, dialogue, etc., and generates descriptions of important events, while avoiding spoilers.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206401" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Amazon-Prime-Video-X-Ray-Recaps-AI-feature.jpg" alt="Amazon Prime Video X-Ray Recaps AI feature" width="1200" height="497" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Amazon-Prime-Video-X-Ray-Recaps-AI-feature.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Amazon-Prime-Video-X-Ray-Recaps-AI-feature-768x318.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>X-Ray Recaps can be accessed from the detail page while playing a video on Prime Video. Click on the Recap button, to access different options, such as a recap of a specific episode, an entire season, or a previous season.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206400" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Amazon-Prime-Video-X-Ray-Recaps-AI-feature-demo.jpg" alt="Amazon Prime Video X-Ray Recaps AI feature" width="1200" height="497" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Amazon-Prime-Video-X-Ray-Recaps-AI-feature-demo.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Amazon-Prime-Video-X-Ray-Recaps-AI-feature-demo-768x318.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>That could be very helpful, and not just for people who tend to forget things often. We all have busy lives with work/school/family, etc. As a result, we may not have the time to watch TV shows regularly. When that happens, we may forget the story, or cannot recall a part of it. This can even lead to a loss of interest, and you may stop watching the show altogether.</p> <p>There are some rare cases where some shows can take a couple of years between seasons. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and The Wheel of Time are some notable examples. The second season of these shows were released two years after the pilot aired. You could easily forget the events that happened in the previous season. Would you sit through and rewatch all the previous episodes? Not everyone would be interested in that, or even have the patience for it, let alone have the time to spare. I mean, you could fast-forward or rewind the videos to get a recap. On the other hand, an AI generated recap could come in very handy here. It requires no manual effort, and all you need to do is just read a few lines of text.</p> <p>X-Ray Recaps are not available for all shows, the AI feature is still in beta, and is currently available for Amazon MGM Studios Original series such as Daisy Jones and the Six, Mr. &amp; Mrs. Smith, The Wheel of Time, and The Boys. Hopefully, it will be expanded to more shows in the future.</p> <p>(Images: via Amazon)</p> <p>X-Ray Recaps is available for Fire TV users in the U.S. today. Amazon says that it will add support for more devices by the end of the year.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/05/amazon-prime-videos-ai-will-recap-the-story-of-tv-show-episodes-and-seasons/" data-wpel-link="internal">Amazon Prime Video&#039;s AI will recap the story of TV show episodes and seasons</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

20. Today marks the end of Microsoft Paint 3D - but not for everyone

    Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:56:05 -0000

    If you have been using Windows PCs for at least a decade, you may remember a time when Microsoft started to push creativity. This culminated in the release of the Windows 10 […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Today marks the end of Microsoft Paint 3D - but not for everyone appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>If you have been using Windows PCs for at least a decade, you may remember a time when Microsoft started to push creativity. This culminated in the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update and also several apps designed for creators.</p> <p>One of them was Microsoft Paint 3D. The app set out to do the unthinkable: replace the old grandpa of image editing apps on Windows. Microsoft Paint was a bare bones app at the time. It supported few image types and editing options.</p> <p>That did not keep users from creating astonishing works of art using the editor. It also had a dedicated fanbase.</p> <p>Microsoft Paint 3D was designed to support 2D and 3D image creation. Most users would probably not have minded that, if Microsoft did not revamp the entire interface of the application as well.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2016/10/27/microsoft-paint-vs-paint-3d-comparison/" data-wpel-link="internal">There were noticeable differences</a>. Paint 3D was optimized for touch input; it featured large icons and controls..</p> <h3>Microsoft is removing Paint 3D from the Microsoft Store</h3> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206396" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/paint-3d-interface.png" alt="Paint 3D Interface" width="1200" height="720" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/paint-3d-interface.png 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/paint-3d-interface-768x461.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>When Microsoft realized that Paint 3D would never be as popular as Paint, it reversed course. It erased Microsoft Paint from the list of deprecated apps and services and put Microsoft Paint 3D on it instead.</p> <p>The company <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/03/11/microsoft-removes-paint-3d-and-3d-viewer-in-new-windows-installations/" data-wpel-link="internal">stopped installing</a> Paint 3D and the equally disliked 3D Viewer from new Windows installations in 2021.</p> <p>Microsoft announced in early 2024 that it would remove the app from the Store on November 4th, 2024. Back then, Microsoft wrote: "Paint 3D is deprecated and will be removed from the Microsoft Store on November 4, 2024. To view and edit 2D images, you can use Paint or Photos. For viewing 3D content, you can use 3D Viewer".</p> <p>Today is that day. If you are reading this on November 4th, you may have a <a href="https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nblggh5fv99?ocid=pdpshare&amp;hl=en-us&amp;gl=US" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">few hours left</a> to download Paint 3D to your Windows machine.</p> <p>While Paint 3D is being erased from the Microsoft Store, it is not touched if installed on user devices. If you have installed the app, it will remain accessible.</p> <p><strong>Note:</strong> Microsoft does not offer any kind of support for the app. There won't be updates or new features. Over time, there is a chance of security issues and non-security bugs.</p> <p>Microsoft recommends to use the classic Paint app (or Photos) for image editing on Windows and 3D Viewer for viewing 3D models .</p> <h2>Microsoft Paint is getting updates</h2> <p>Microsoft has updated several classic Windows apps in the past couple of years. Paint received several updates that added more tools and options. Notable are a <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/08/microsoft-paint-is-getting-a-background-removal-tool/" data-wpel-link="internal">background removal tool</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/06/02/microsoft-rolls-out-paint-app-for-windows-11-insiders-with-dark-mode-and-zoom-controls/" data-wpel-link="internal">dark mode support</a>, and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/23/microsoft-wants-to-bring-ai-enhancements-to-paint-photos-on-windows-11/" data-wpel-link="internal">several AI-features</a>.</p> <p>The makeover is subtle, as Microsoft was careful this time to keep the essence of the application untouched.</p> <p><em>What is your take on Paint 3D's removal from the Store? Should Microsoft keep the app around? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/04/today-marks-the-end-of-microsoft-paint-3d-but-not-for-everyone/" data-wpel-link="internal">Today marks the end of Microsoft Paint 3D - but not for everyone</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

21. Windows 10: Microsoft reveals ESU price tag for home users and a big catch

    Fri, 01 Nov 2024 05:50:17 -0000

    How much do Windows 10 system owners have to pay to Microsoft to extend updates support beyond the operating system's October 2025 end of servicing date? Microsoft revealed the price that organizations […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 10: Microsoft reveals ESU price tag for home users and a big catch appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>How much do Windows 10 system owners have to pay to Microsoft to extend updates support beyond the operating system's October 2025 end of servicing date?</p> <p>Microsoft revealed the price that organizations have to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/03/microsoft-reveals-windows-10-esu-pricing-starts-at-61/" data-wpel-link="internal">pay for Windows 10 ESU</a> about six months ago. For three years, businesses have to pay up to $427 to receive continued security updates for a single device.</p> <h2>Windows 10: ESU for home users</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205394" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/windows-10-a-new-journey-with-windows-scaled.jpg" alt="A new journey with Windows" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/windows-10-a-new-journey-with-windows-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/windows-10-a-new-journey-with-windows-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>With less than a year of support, Microsoft <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/10/31/how-to-prepare-for-windows-10-end-of-support-by-moving-to-windows-11-today/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">announced</a> the price that regular customers have to pay to extend support.</p> <p>The answer is buried at the end of a long post that suggests Windows 10 users start preparing to move to Windows 11.</p> <p><strong>The details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Home users may extend support for just 12 months.</li> <li>The price is $30.</li> </ul> <p>Unlike organizations, who may subscribe to get three years of support, home users get just a single year of extended support.  The price is less than half of what businesses pay in the first year.</p> <p>Microsoft limits the extension to "personal use" scenarios to prevent business owners from picking the cheaper option.</p> <p>Microsoft writes: "And for the first time ever, we’re introducing an ESU program for personal use as well. The ESU program for consumers will be a one-year option available for $30. Program enrollment will be available closer to the end of support in 2025."</p> <p>Microsoft does not say why it made the decision to limit support. Considering that Windows 10 is still dominating the usage charts, it is somewhat of a surprising move on first glance.</p> <p>The relatively high price for business ESU and the limitation to a one-year extension for home users makes the program unattractive. This adds another argument to the "move to Windows 11" suggestion of Microsoft, as it highlights that extended security updates are not a permanent solution, but temporary.</p> <p>Customers with education licenses pay less. Microsoft set the price tag to $1 for the first year, $2 for the second, and $4 for the third. That is a total of $7 for three additional years of security updates for Windows 10.</p> <h2>There is another option</h2> <p>Good news is that Windows 10 home and business users have another option. It comes courtesy of micro-patching service 0Patch. For roughly $30 per year, it is providing security patches for Windows 10 after support ends.</p> <p>The price of a subscription does not double each year, and the company announced already that it will <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/28/windows-10-support-until-2030-0patch-makes-it-possible/" data-wpel-link="internal">support Windows 10 until at least 2030</a>.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Microsoft's decision to limit extended security updates to a year for home users is disappointing. It affects plenty of Windows 10 users:</p> <ul> <li>Those who use devices that do not meet the Windows 11 requirements.</li> <li>Those who prefer Windows 10 over 11.</li> </ul> <p>Millions of devices do not meet the system requirements. These are stuck on Windows 10. While it may be possible to bypass requirement checks to upgrade to Windows 11, it is still a technical process and one that Microsoft is modifying regularly.</p> <p>It remains to be seen how popular the first consumer-based ESU program will be. It depends to a degree on Microsoft's communication. Will it highlight the option to users when they run Windows 10? Or will it be buried on the Microsoft website only?</p> <p><em>What is your take on the news? Do you plan to sign up for the program to get extended support? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/11/01/windows-10-microsoft-reveals-esu-price-tag-for-home-users-and-a-big-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 10: Microsoft reveals ESU price tag for home users and a big catch</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

22. Windows 10: issue prevents certain apps from launching from non-admin accounts

    Thu, 31 Oct 2024 13:45:32 -0000

    Microsoft confirmed a new issue today that is affecting users of the Windows 10 operating system. The issue prevents the start of certain apps, if they are started by a non-admin user. […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 10: issue prevents certain apps from launching from non-admin accounts appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft confirmed a new issue today that is affecting users of the Windows 10 operating system. The issue prevents the start of certain apps, if they are started by a non-admin user.</p> <p>Windows 10 systems that have the latest preview update installed are affected, according to Microsoft.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/25/should-you-install-preview-updates-for-windows-10-or-windows-11/" data-wpel-link="internal">Optional updates for Windows</a> should be considered Beta, which means that they should not be installed on most systems. The only exception to the rule is if an update fixes a major issue that is experienced on a system. All changes of optional updates are included in the cumulative updates of the following month.</p> <p><strong>Here are the details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>This issue affects Windows 10 systems with KB5043131 installed.</li> <li>Affected apps include Quick Assist, Microsoft Teams, and Windows Narrator among others.</li> <li>Microsoft started a rollback to resolve the issue on most systems.</li> </ul> <h2>Some Apps won't launch anymore</h2> <p>The issue affects only apps that launch from "a secure path" and request higher privileges using the attribute uiAccess=true. This means that the issue occurs only when a user is signed-in with regular user privileges and not admin privileges.</p> <p><strong>T</strong>ip: it may be possible to bypass the issue by right-clicking on apps and selecting to run them as administrator. Administrators may still run into the issue, according to Microsoft's description.</p> <p>Microsoft lists four examples for secure paths in Windows 10:</p> <ul> <li>%ProgramFiles% (including subdirectories)</li> <li>%ProgramFiles(x86)% (including subdirectories for 64-bit versions of Windows)</li> <li>%systemroot%\system32</li> <li>%systemroot%\syswow64 (for 64-bit versions of Windows)</li> </ul> <p>Any app that launches from these directories and that makes the request is affected by the issue.</p> <p>Administrators may monitor the issue using <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/sysinternals/downloads/procmon" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Procmon</a>. Check if an app runs with the integrity level low instead of medium.</p> <h2>The fix</h2> <p>Microsoft mitigated the issue using a <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/04/26/known-issue-rollback-is-microsofts-latest-weapon-against-windows-update-bugs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Known Issue Rollback</a>. This removes code from the update that is causing a issue. The change is applied automatically to non-managed devices. Most consumer devices and any business device that is not managed by an IT department will receive the fix in the coming 24 hour period.</p> <p>The fix is not applied on managed systems automatically. A policy is <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-10-22H2#3437msgdesc" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">provided</a> by Microsoft that needs to be set on affected systems to apply the change.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/31/windows-10-issue-prevents-certain-apps-from-launching-from-non-admin-accounts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 10: issue prevents certain apps from launching from non-admin accounts</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

23. How to Rescue Corrupted Photos: Causes, Prevention and Solutions with Stellar Repair for Photo

    Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:08:18 -0000

    Imagine opening an important photo and getting just a garbled mess of pixels where your memory should have been. You finally catch that perfect moment: a wedding, a family gathering, a breathtakingly […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How to Rescue Corrupted Photos: Causes, Prevention and Solutions with Stellar Repair for Photo appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Imagine opening an<b> important photo</b> and getting just a garbled mess of pixels where your memory should have been. You finally catch that perfect moment: a wedding, a family gathering, a breathtakingly beautiful landscape but it turns out later that the image has become unreadable, damaged, or <b>completely corrupted</b>. It's one of those really unique frustrating experiences. And this happens more often than you might think.</p> <p><b>Photo corruption</b> can occur to even the most careful among us, the reasons are many: sudden power cuts, improper file transfers, glitches in your camera or phone, or even problems with a memory card. These tiny little mistakes can end up making you feel like you've lost a part of your past.</p> <p>In this article, we are going to discuss <b>several causes of photo corruption</b>, best practices to protect your memories, and of course, the most effective ways to bring such images back.</p> <h2>Understanding Common Photo Issues and Why They Happen</h2> <p>Photos are taken to capture the moments and preserve memories, but when technical issues ruin that, it’s really infuriating. You could take the perfect photo only to discover that later <b>it has become unreadable</b> or just completely distorted. Photo corruption can be pretty common for anyone, no matter how cautious you try to be.</p> <h3>Frequent Problems You May Encounter</h3> <p>Corruption manifests in a number of different ways. You may see <b>pixelation </b>or <b>blurriness </b>in the file. On occasions, this can be caused from interrupted saves or transfers of the file. Sometimes images simply become completely <b>unreadable </b>and refuse to open at all due to incomplete transfers, power failures, or software crashes.</p> <h3>How Devices and Formats Are Vulnerable</h3> <p>Smartphones are prone to corruption because of glitches from apps or failed updates. When shooting with DSLRs, the <b>RAW files</b> might get corrupted if the memory card is mishandled. Even the most commonly used JPEGs can be affected, with interruptions during cloud uploads or power disruption causing the images to get damaged.</p> <p>A better understanding of these common problems is very helpful in safeguarding your valuable memories.</p> <h2>Emotional and Financial Impacts of Damaged Photos</h2> <p>Losing pictures is more than a mere inconvenience; it can come at a deep emotional and professional cost. Here are some real-life consequences:</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206389 aligncenter" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Stellar-Photo-Repair-Add-files.png" alt="" width="850" height="600" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Stellar-Photo-Repair-Add-files.png 850w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Stellar-Photo-Repair-Add-files-768x542.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" /></p> <h3>Personal Loss</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>Irreplaceable Memories</b>: Could you imagine losing photos of the first steps of your child or a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation? These moments can never be reproduced, and no other memory that might come in the future will fill that gap.</li> </ul> <h3>Professional Setbacks:</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>Reputation at Stake</b>: Photographers may have angry clients to deal with if photos get corrupted, especially if the event is a marriage or important corporate event.</li> <li aria-level="1"><b>Missed Opportunities</b>: Lost photos mean missed deadlines, potential loss of finances, and a dented professional reputation for the future.</li> </ul> <h3>Stress and Frustration:</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">When it comes to personal memories or professional work, corrupted photos bear <b>emotional </b>and <b>financial weight</b>. The stress of losing meaningful moments or not meeting clients’ expectations could ripple through both daily life and future plans.</li> </ul> <h2><b>Key Reasons Behind Photo Corruption</b></h2> <p>Photo corruption can strike when you least expect, but knowing the causes thereof will help in preventing data loss in the future, reduce frustration, and protect your memories.</p> <h3><b>Common Device Malfunctions Lead to Photo Issues</b></h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>Camera Malfunctions</b>: Saving can be disrupted when a camera malfunction, leading to corrupted images. You get a shot that could be picture perfect, only to find out later it didn’t save correctly.</li> <li aria-level="1"><b>Mobile Crashes</b>: Sudden phone crashes while processing or saving the photos can render files unusable.</li> <li aria-level="1"><b>Failing Storage Devices</b>: With aging memory cards or faulty hard drives come unreadable files that create frustrating gaps in your personal or professional photo archives.</li> </ul> <p><b>Interruptions During File Transfers</b></p> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>Disrupted Transfers</b>: Disruptions in transfers, such as power cuts or disconnections, often corrupt files and leave you with broken images.</li> <li aria-level="1"><b>Power Failures</b>: A power failure can damage your drive, even outside of a transfer or save process. This can corrupt photos, rendering them incomplete and unusable, especially with larger formats that occupy more disk space like RAW files.</li> </ul> <h3><b>Problems Related to Storage Devices</b></h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>Corrupted Media</b>: This is when improper ejection or physical wear and tear corrupts the memory cards or external drives, making entire sets of photos irrecoverable.</li> </ul> <h3><b>Using Outdated or Incompatible Software</b></h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The use of old or incompatible software might end up corrupting photo files: This is particularly true with uniquely formatted files, like RAW formats. In most cases saving your files in this type of software may overwrite the original and result in an irrecoverable file.</li> </ul> <h3><b>Human Mistakes That Cause Photo Corruption</b></h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>Accidental Deletion</b>:  Most people can attest to having lost a photo through accidental deletion at some point, and it can often be of a memory that is irreplaceable.</li> </ul> <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206390 aligncenter" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stellar-photo-repair-select-save-repaired-files.jpg" alt="" width="850" height="600" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stellar-photo-repair-select-save-repaired-files.jpg 850w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stellar-photo-repair-select-save-repaired-files-768x542.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" /></h2> <h2><b>Reliable Strategies to Prevent Photo Corruption</b></h2> <p>Preventing photo corruption starts with good practices that safeguard your images. Some healthy actionable steps you can do include:</p> <h3><b>Create Redundant Backups for Maximum Safety</b></h3> <p>Photo backups are a fundamental action to guard against data loss. Create a setup that includes <b>multiple cloud services and external hard drives</b>, so that redundancy is guaranteed. Suppose your computer just crashes one day; with your photos backed up to cloud storage and an external drive, you won't lose those precious memories.</p> <h3><b>Ensure Safe File Transfers Every Time</b></h3> <p>Transferring photos is perhaps the most vulnerable moment in terms of risk. Try to make sure that your<b> transfers are absolutely completed without any interruption</b>. Just consider this: You transfer the photos of your vacation to the computer, and within a moment a power outage or a cut in the connection shuts off the process. This can easily corrupt those files forever. Using <b>stable connections</b> with completely charged devices is key to avoiding this.</p> <h3><b>Handle Storage Devices with Care</b></h3> <p>Poor handling of storage devices is also a very common reason for data loss. <b>Memory cards </b>and <b>external hard drives</b> should always be ejected safely using an "eject" command before being removed. It might seem silly, but this small extra step can be the one thing that prevents you from losing an entire batch of your photos simply because you pulled the card out too soon. Properly ejecting and storing cards in protective cases minimizes risks.</p> <h3><b>Run Regular Diagnostic Checks on Storage Devices</b></h3> <p>Regular checkups forestall unexpected data problems. Leveraging <b>diagnostic tools</b> on storage devices allows you to find out about impending data loss problems before it becomes an issue. If you’re informed during a routine check that your hard drive contains errors, this presents you an opportunity to back up everything well before it may be too late.</p> <h3><b>Keep Software Updated to Avoid Compatibility Issues</b></h3> <p>It sounds unlikely that outdated software can lead to losing photos, but it’s true. Making sure you <b>keep your software up to date</b> is important. It’s especially true for proprietary and niche RAW file formats, because they require more specialised processing. Keeping your editing software up to date can mean that you always have the best compatibility and are less exposed to potential crashes making you lose files.</p> <h2><b>Simple Steps to Address Photo Corruption on Your Own</b></h2> <p>It's always irritating when you come to realize that a photo is corrupt, especially if it holds some special memory. So here are some basic steps you might try before you turn to specialized tools.</p> <h3><b>Open the File Using Different Devices or Software</b></h3> <p>If you find that your photo won’t open, try <b>viewing it on a different device</b> or using an <b>alternative photo viewer</b>. Sometimes, the issue lies with the software or device you’re using, not the photo itself.</p> <h3><b>Check Your Backup Sources</b></h3> <p>If you’ve been consistently backing up, getting your photos back will be simple.Seek an uncorrupted version in your <b>cloud storage or on your external drives</b>. Your backups can save you from the frustration of losing those cherished moments.</p> <h3><b>Rename or Change the File Extension</b></h3> <p>Sometimes, corruption is due to some <b>minor glitch</b> in the file. As a quick attempt you could <b>try renaming the photo file or changing its file extension</b>. This straightforward trick can help your device recognize and open it correctly.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206391 aligncenter" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stellar-photo-repair-selected-photos.png" alt="" width="850" height="600" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stellar-photo-repair-selected-photos.png 850w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stellar-photo-repair-selected-photos-768x542.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" /></p> <h2><b>Stellar Repair for Photo: Bringing Your Memories Back to Life</b></h2> <p>When those manual fixes are not adequate to deal with deeply corrupted photos, <a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/photo-repair-software.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Stellar Repair for Photo</b></a> comes into play. Whether corrupted due to device failures, botched transfers, or software mishaps, Stellar provides a reliable method to bring your cherished memories back from the void.</p> <h3><b>Why Stellar Repair for Photo is the Right Solution for You</b></h3> <ol> <li><b> Batch Repair to Save Time and Stress</b><b><br /> </b>Needless to say, manually restoring dozens - or hundreds - of photos is too much for one person. <b>Stellar Repair for Photo </b>eliminates that frustration by letting you repair multiple photos in one go. You might be a professional photographer or simply trying to save family photos, in either case, the Batch Repair feature means you don't have to spend hours repairing each file individually.</li> <li><b> User-Friendly for Everyone</b><b><br /> </b>You don't need to be a techy to repair your photos with the help of <a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/photo-restoration-software.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Stellar Repair for Photo</a>. Everything is designed to be simple, restoring corrupted files in a couple of clicks. The intuitive interface - thanks to step-by-step guidance - allows those without experience to carry out the recovery process simply and cleanly.</li> <li><b> Versatile Format Compatibility</b><b><br /> </b>Irrespective of the device through your photos come from, Stellar Repair for Photos has the versatility to repair major formats like <b>JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, MXPE</b>, and many <b>RAW </b>formats from major DSLR brands (Nikon, Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic) amongst others. This flexibility means relying on a single tool for different image types and corruption scenarios without having to toggle through complicated software.</li> </ol> <p>Stellar Repair for Photo addresses all the challenges of photo corruption, be it a multitude of corrupted files, managing different devices, or the just needing a simple interface that can be easily used by anyone. Instead of having to accept lost memories, Stellar helps you bring them right back, fast and effectively.</p> <h2><b>Rediscover the Moments You Thought Were Lost</b></h2> <p>Your memories are priceless, and they truly deserve a second chance. With tools such as <a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/photo-restoration-software.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Stellar Repair for Photo</b></a>, those lost moments can be brought back. Instead of fretting over corrupted files, take control and restore your memories. <b>Stellar Repair ensures family photos and important professional work are kept safe, secure, and recoverable</b>. You don’t need to let photo corruption steal those most precious moments; reclaim them today and keep them preserved for years to come.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/31/how-to-rescue-corrupted-photos-causes-prevention-and-solutions-with-stellar-repair-for-photo/" data-wpel-link="internal">How to Rescue Corrupted Photos: Causes, Prevention and Solutions with Stellar Repair for Photo</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

24. Understanding Data Loss Risks—and How to Prevent It

    Wed, 30 Oct 2024 16:19:31 -0000

    You’re working on a very important presentation with a deadline looming, and then your computer seizes up. You reboot, hoping that it's just a glitch, but the document you have spent hours […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Understanding Data Loss Risks—and How to Prevent It appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’re working on a very important presentation with a deadline looming, and then your computer seizes up. You reboot, hoping that it's just a glitch, but the document you have spent hours perfecting is gone. Panic sets in. We've all been there, the terrifying moment when </span><b>a very important file disappears</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, leaving us frantically searching for answers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Data loss is a sad fact in our digital-driven society. From the accidentally </span><b>deleted photo</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> to a <strong>work document lost in a system crash</strong> or files that get corrupted without any apparent rhyme or reason, <strong>data loss</strong> is way more common than we would care to think. It doesn't discriminate; it can happen to a student, a professional, or a </span>business, all of whom might face immediate disruption and headaches in equal measures.</span></p> <h2><b>Common Scenarios of Data Loss</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are so many different ways of losing data, and it mostly happens at the worst possible time. Some of the most </span><b>common scenarios</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are listed below.</span></p> <h3><b>Accidental Deletion</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is one of the most noted causes of data loss, and it’s the most basic. Just one misclick when organizing while holding shift and your files will skip the recycle bin completely with no immediately obvious path to getting them back.</span></p> <h3><b>Hardware Failures</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hard drives and other storage devices are not above failure. After some time, hard drives wear out and sometimes crash suddenly or get damaged, so data retrieval becomes impossible. Losses of data can be caused by mechanical failures, overheating, or a surge in power supply.</span></p> <h3><b>Software Corruption</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Due to bugs, improper updating, and data corruption caused by system errors, your documents may become inaccessible. This can also result from a sudden crash while sending or transferring files and working with malfunctioning software.</span></p> <h3><b>Viruses and Malware</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Viruses and malware can give your system real thrashing. Some malicious applications can delete files, encrypt them, or completely corrupt the data of your device so that you can no longer access your information. Threats in cyberspace are continuously evolving, and such cyber-attacks are capable of capturing each and every one in their nets.</span></p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206384 aligncenter" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1-1.png" alt="" width="668" height="470" /></p> <h3><b>Simple Errors</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Common simple errors include saving over a wrong version of a document or improperly shutting down the computer can result in data loss. Accidental formatting of a drive without backing up and incorrect ejection of a storage device are other common situations of data loss due to human negligence.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These situations outline that</span><b> data loss is a risk</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for everybody using technology and should be taken seriously. Loss of data disrupts work processes, seriously affects personal lives both at home and professionally, and often turns out to be very costly in many ways. Knowing these reasons will help you better avoid such situations whenever possible, or deal with them if they do occur.</span></p> <h2><b>The Impact of Data Loss</b></h2> <h3><b>Professional Impact</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a business setup, losing vital work-related documents may lead to devastating repercussions. Think about it: important client proposals, financial records, or key project files gone in an instant. The aftermath usually involves </span><b>delays</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>missed deadlines</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and a </span><b>loss of trust from clients</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or stakeholders. Even minor data losses may cause considerable disruptions in business, lowering productivity and sometimes hurting the reputation of a company.</span></p> <h3><b>Emotional Impact</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Data loss is not strictly a professional issue; it’s personal too. Nobody wants to </span><b>lose irreplaceable moments</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Personal memories such as photos, videos, and special messages. To many people, all these simple digital memories mean a lot; some even hold great sentimental value with their loss tending to stir feelings of regret and helplessness.</span></p> <h3><b>Financial Consequences</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The</span><b> financial impact</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of lost data can be hefty. Business establishments may need to pay certain penalties, lose potential business opportunities, and even face severe legal consequences in cases where customer data or transactional records are lost. Individuals might have to look for professional services that can reinstate the data, which may very well turn out to be costly with no assured outcome.</span></p> <h3><b>Psychological Stress</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recovering lost information can be very stressful. The simple uncertainty of whether data is even retrievable, with potential costs and the time involved, creates a big burden. This stress can affect a person's personal and work dynamic, leading to </span><b>frustration </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">and </span><b>anxiety</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Moreover, this may trigger future fears, in general, from recurring data loss when relying on digital storage solutions.</span></p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206385 aligncenter" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2-1.png" alt="" width="1316" height="921" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2-1.png 1316w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2-1-768x537.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2-1-1200x840.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1316px) 100vw, 1316px" /></p> <h2><b>Causes of Data Loss – Going Deeper</b></h2> <h3><b>Storage Device Aging</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All storage devices have a limited life. The components of </span><b>hard drives</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><b>solid-state drives</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> deteriorate over time, which results in an increased tendency to fail. The more aged a storage device becomes, the more sensitive it is to data loss. Imagine the impact of working on a critical project, and an aging hard drive just dies on you, leaving you scrambling to recover your files. Some of the ways to minimize this risk include regular monitoring of device health and updating of old hardware.</span></p> <h3><b>Environmental Factors</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Overheating, humidity, and physical impacts are factors that substantially reduce the reliability of devices. If your laptop is sitting in the direct sun on a hot day, overheating may irreparably damage all of your equipment and destroy your data in a moment. The result of </span><b>environmental damage</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is hardware failure, which is practically tantamount to wiping stored data. Protecting your devices against physical hits and keeping them in stable temperature conditions with sufficient cooling will avoid this type of failure.</span></p> <h3><b>Power Surges</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unstable power supplies can wreak havoc on storage devices. Imagine you are sitting at home, working, when suddenly some type of storm causes a power surge that knocks out your system. These kinds of instabilities can result in </span><b>corrupted files</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or even </span><b>hardware damage</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that makes data recovery impossible. Using surge protectors and uninterruptible power supplies will help to save your equipment from unexpected power problems and help to secure your valuable data, but they’re not infallible either.</span></p> <h2><b>Practical Strategies to Prevent Data Loss</b></h2> <h3><b>Regular Backups</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Backups are among the most effective ways to avoid data loss, and consistent, </span><b>scheduled backups are key</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. You will want to regularly back up all your important files on an external drive or cloud storage so you can rest assured in the knowledge that as much as it's painful to lose your original data, a replica lives somewhere. Make a practice of setting up automated daily or weekly backups so that you may never forget to secure your information.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3><b>Avoiding Risky Downloads</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Virus and malware infections are a notable cause of </span><b>data loss</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">; most of them are due to the download of risky files, so be aware of high-risk websites or download sources. One should always use a good antivirus software to scan for malicious files or behavior. </span><b>Avoid suspicious email attachments and websites</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Beingcareful of where you click online will minimize the chance of your system being at risk.</span></p> <h3><b>Monitoring Hardware Health</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The health of your storage devices relies a lot on </span><b>monitoring for early signs of failure</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Using tools to drive health monitoring to consistently look for things like bad sectors. Also be aware of slow performance when reading or opening files, this can serve as a warning that your hard drive is nearing failure. Take action immediately to back up your data and replace the failing device before it becomes an issue that eventually causes you to lose data.</span></p> <h3><b>Power Surge Protection</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Power surges could cause instantaneous and irrecoverable damage to your storage devices. To help prevent this it’s key to use </span><b>surge protectors</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or </span><b>uninterruptible power supplies</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> so that voltage surges do not destroy hardware components. It is highly recommended if your residence is susceptible to power loss or electrical instability. Surge protection maintains the integrity of your system and ensures data loss does not occur due to electrical reasons.</span></p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-206386 aligncenter" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3.png" alt="" width="668" height="466" /></p> <h2><b>Data Recovery Basics - What to Do When Data is Lost</b></h2> <h3><b>Immediate Steps</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First of all, if you experience data loss, stop using your device immediately. Further use may well overwrite the lost data and make recovery impossible. Immediately power down your device to preserve any chances for successful recovery.</span></p> <h3><b>Contacting Professionals</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If data recovery is beyond the scope of basic utilities or software, then it’s better to call in the pros. A professional data recovery service can possess all the relevant tools and expertise needed for the efficient recovery of data from a damaged/corrupted storage device.</span></p> <h3><b>Calm Approach</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is very important not to panic. Making irrational actions will only complicate the process of recovery further. Take a deep breath, assess the situation, and proceed methodically and thoughtfully so as not to worsen matters.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2><b>Introducing Stellar Data Recovery for Windows as the Solution - For free.</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having discussed the issues of data loss, what is the solution? A reliable recovery solution is important. </span><a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/windows-data-recovery.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Stellar Data Recovery for Windows</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> provides a strong answer to solving these very ordinary problems by offering a tool that's both accessible and effective for individual and enterprise needs, and you can try it out for free.</span></p> <h3><b>Key Features of Stellar Data Recovery for Windows</b></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Recover Up to 1GB of Data for Free—No Strings Attached</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Stellar offers a free version that allows you to recover up to 1GB of data without spending a dime—It's suitable for minor recovery needs or evaluation purposes.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Complete File Recovery</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Recover lost or deleted files, photos, videos, documents, and many more in mere seconds, within a few clicks.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Recovery Capabilities</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Hugely versatile; it can recover data from formatted, corrupted, and even encrypted drives, making Stellar adaptable for just about any situation involving data loss.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>User-Friendly Interface</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: The intuitive design makes this software easy to use, even for those without any technical background. Stellar walks its users through the entire process, making recovery less troublesome and very smooth.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Advanced Recovery Tools</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Stellar provides advanced users with a wide range of advanced options to personalize recovery and gives much finer control over data retrieval.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stellar Data Recovery for Windows is meant for one and for all, so that none ever suffer from the burden of data loss. </span><b>Getting up to 1GB recovered free</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> really sets Stellar apart as a first choice to try, especially for anyone wary of spending a single dime before being demonstrably proven that it works.</span></p> <h2><b>Hope After Data Loss</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Data loss can feel like an overwhelming challenge, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent setback. The right tool and a clear mind can help you recover your valuable files and get you back on track.</span> <a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/windows-data-recovery.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Stellar Data Recovery for Windows</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presents you with an efficient, user-friendly solution to guide you through effective data recovery. Explore Stellar today and take that very first step to getting back what rightfully belongs to you.</span></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/30/understanding-data-loss-risks-and-how-to-prevent-it/" data-wpel-link="internal">Understanding Data Loss Risks—and How to Prevent It</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

25. FlyBy11: update introduces more Windows 11 installation options and plugins

    Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:39:22 -0000

    My first review of the open source tool FlyBy11 is less than ten days old. The initial version could be run in Windows 11 devices which did not meet the system requirements […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post FlyBy11: update introduces more Windows 11 installation options and plugins appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>My <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/21/windows-11-flyby11-enables-upgrades-on-unsupported-devices/" data-wpel-link="internal">first review of the open source tool FlyBy11</a> is less than ten days old. The initial version could be run in Windows 11 devices which did not <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/03/26/how-to-check-if-your-device-meets-windows-11-system-requirements/" data-wpel-link="internal">meet the system requirements</a> to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/08/how-to-upgrade-to-windows-11-24h2-on-unsupported-hardware/" data-wpel-link="internal">upgrade to Windows 11 version 24H2</a>.</p> <p>Microsoft removed some options to upgrade Windows 11 that worked previously. FlyBy11 supports both options that remain. It is not the only tool that does so. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/11/rufus-4-6-bypasses-windows-11-24h2-compatibility-checks-automatically/" data-wpel-link="internal">Rufus</a>, for example, supports one of the options as well.</p> <h2>FlyBy11 Update adds more options</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206378" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flybyscript-windows-11.png" alt="FlyBy11 Script" width="945" height="624" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flybyscript-windows-11.png 945w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flybyscript-windows-11-768x507.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /></p> <p>When you launch FlyByScript now <a href="https://github.com/builtbybel/Flyby11/releases" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">after the download</a>, you still get the dreaded "are you sure" security warning on Windows 11. Once you accept it, you see more options. The initial options, now called Method 1 and Method 2, are still available.</p> <p>If you plan to upgrade to Windows 11 version 24H2 on an unsupported system, these are the options that you may try. First the easier option, method 1, but if that does not work for whatever reason, the Registry hack that is method 2.</p> <p>The third option that is now available is for systems that do meet the hardware requirements. You can initiate the upgrade on these systems right away. That may be easier than having to wait for Microsoft to show the upgrade when you run checks using Windows Update.</p> <p>Another excellent addition is that you now get checks that tell you if method 2 or the direct option is enabled already. A small detail but still useful for verification.</p> <h3>Plugins are introduced</h3> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206380" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-script-upgrade.png" alt="FlyByScript plugins" width="945" height="624" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-script-upgrade.png 945w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-script-upgrade-768x507.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /></p> <p>The second big addition is a plugin system. This is not the first app of the developer with a plugin system. You activate it by selecting the import option in the main interface.</p> <p>A total of ten plugins are provided. Not all are useful in all situations. There is Windows Old Remover, which you may run after a successful upgrade to free up disk space.</p> <p>Other plugins remove OneDrive from the system, restore all built-in apps, or create restore points. All in all, these can come in handy and there is the prospect of future plugins that may automate certain processes before or after upgrades are installed on the system.</p> <p>You do not need the plugins, but they may come in handy.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>FlyBy11 is an easy to use script to upgrade to the latest version of Windows 11 on systems that do not meet the minimum system requirements.</p> <p>The plugin system could turn into a great addition. For now, it feels unlinked from the scripts main purpose, the upgrading.</p> <p><em>Have you tried the script yet? Or do you have no need for it? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/30/flyby11-update-introduces-more-windows-11-installation-options-and-plugins/" data-wpel-link="internal">FlyBy11: update introduces more Windows 11 installation options and plugins</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

26. Google Chrome will display performance issue alerts when a tab is using a lot of resources

    Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:36:51 -0000

    Google has introduced some new features to help improve the browsing experience in Chrome. A web page on Google's support portal says that Chrome's performance settings are located under the following section: […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google Chrome will display performance issue alerts when a tab is using a lot of resources appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Google has introduced some new features to help improve the browsing experience in Chrome.</p> <p>A web page on Google's support portal says that Chrome's performance settings are located under the following section: More &gt; Settings &gt; Performance &gt; General. It also says that the setting is enabled by default.</p> <p>But if you try to go to that section, it is probably not available for you yet. There's a way to enable the feature, using a Chrome flag. Speaking of which, the Performance alerts features was first introduced in the Google Chrome Canary channel in July 2024, before they were made available in the stable channel.</p> <p><strong>Did you know?</strong></p> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="JjXyLGaXpF"><p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/20/chrome-extensions-may-slow-down-browsing-significantly/" data-wpel-link="internal">Chrome extensions may slow down browsing significantly</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;Chrome extensions may slow down browsing significantly&#8221; &#8212; gHacks Technology News" src="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/20/chrome-extensions-may-slow-down-browsing-significantly/embed/#?secret=bjy9yhXUr7#?secret=JjXyLGaXpF" data-secret="JjXyLGaXpF" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <h3><strong>How to enable performance issue alerts in Google Chrome</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Open chrome://flags/</li> <li>Type the word "performance" in the search bar at the top of the page.</li> <li>You should see a result that is described as follows:</li> </ul> <p>"Enable performance intervention suggestions.<br /> When enabled, performance intervention UI will automatically pop up and suggest tabs to take action on during times of poor performance. – Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, Lacros</p> <ul> <li>4. Click on the drop-down menu next to the option, and set it to Enabled.</li> <li>5. Close Chrome and re-open it by clicking the Relaunch button.</li> <li>6. Navigate to the Settings &gt; Performance Settings &gt; General section, and the option is now available.</li> </ul> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206374" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/How-to-enable-performance-issue-alerts-in-Google-Chrome.jpg" alt="How to enable performance issue alerts in Google Chrome" width="782" height="418" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/How-to-enable-performance-issue-alerts-in-Google-Chrome.jpg 782w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/How-to-enable-performance-issue-alerts-in-Google-Chrome-768x411.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px" /></p> <p>You can turn it off if you don't find the alerts to be useful.</p> <p>The option is also available in Brave Browser, though it is hidden in the Settings screen, you'll need to use the search function to make it appear. Even though you can enable the flag in Vivaldi and Opera, the preference related to it is nowhere to be found under the Settings in either browser. The flag is missing in Microsoft Edge.</p> <p>When enabled, the feature will display a notification, well technically it is just a badge that resembles the Performance icon (odometer). The icon appears on the toolbar, next to your profile picture. Clicking on it displays a warning that some tabs are using extra resources, and that Chrome can fix the problem by making the tabs inactive. In other words, it shows the tabs that are slowing down Chrome, and offers to put them to sleep using the Memory Saver feature. You could do this manually, by monitoring resource-intensive tabs by using Chrome's Task Manager. But that is probably a bit of an advanced tool, which average users may not know how to use, so the performance issue alerts can be useful for them. I prefer using the Auto Tab Discard extension (<a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/auto-tab-discard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Firefox</a>/<a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/auto-tab-discard-suspend/jhnleheckmknfcgijgkadoemagpecfol" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Chrome</a>) to suspend tabs.</p> <p>Unfortunately, I couldn't get the performance alert to actually show up in Chrome. I tried opening several tabs, from shopping sites to video streaming services, none of these showed any sort of warning. I even throttled the Network speed under the Developer Console in Chrome and loaded some heavy pages, but didn't run into the pop-up that I was hoping to see. That is a good thing though, as it means everything is working fine, but it would have been interesting to observe the Performance Fix in action.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206373" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Google-Chrome-Performance-Detection-Tool.jpg" alt="Google Chrome Performance Detection Tool" width="724" height="512" /></p> <p>You can <a href="https://blog.google/products/chrome/google-chrome-performance-controls-october-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">see a demo</a> of the Performance Detection Tool on Google's blog, to get an idea of how it works.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/30/google-chrome-will-display-performance-issue-alerts-when-a-tab-is-using-a-lot-of-resources/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google Chrome will display performance issue alerts when a tab is using a lot of resources</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

27. Firefox 132: Mozilla paves way for 4K Netflix playback

    Tue, 29 Oct 2024 09:56:33 -0000

    Mozilla plans to release Firefox 132 Stable today. The new version of Firefox ships with a number of major changes, including support for Microsoft PlayReady, tracking protection improvements, and more. Both Firefox […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Firefox 132: Mozilla paves way for 4K Netflix playback appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Mozilla plans to release Firefox 132 Stable today. The new version of Firefox ships with a number of major changes, including support for Microsoft PlayReady, tracking protection improvements, and more.</p> <p>Both Firefox ESR versions -- Firefox ESR 115 for older operating systems and Firefox 128.x -- are also updated.</p> <p><strong>The details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Support for Microsoft PlayReady enables "up to" 4K playback support.</li> <li>Wide Color Gamut WebGL enabled to display "a broader range of colors".</li> <li>Enhanced Tracking Protection strict mode blocks third-party cookies.</li> <li>Security fixes.</li> </ul> <h2>Firefox 132.0 download and update</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206369" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/firefox-132.png" alt="Firefox 132" width="2154" height="1290" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/firefox-132.png 2154w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/firefox-132-768x460.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/firefox-132-1536x920.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/firefox-132-2048x1227.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/firefox-132-1200x719.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2154px) 100vw, 2154px" /></p> <p>Updates are designed to install automatically. This does not happen right away though and a restart of the browser is still required to complete the process.</p> <p>Once the update is released, you may install it immediately by selecting Menu &gt; Help &gt; About Firefox.</p> <p>You can also download the latest version of Firefox by following these links:</p> <ul> <li><a class="ext-link" title="" href="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/new/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/new/">Firefox Stable download</a></li> <li><a class="ext-link" title="" href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/">Firefox Beta download</a></li> <li><a class="ext-link" title="" href="https://nightly.mozilla.org/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://nightly.mozilla.org/">Nightly download</a></li> <li><a class="ext-link" title="" href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/all/">Firefox ESR download</a></li> <li><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox">Firefox for Android on Google Play</a></li> </ul> <h2>Firefox 132: major changes</h2> <p><strong>Microsoft PlayReady </strong></p> <p>Mozilla Firefox for Windows is getting Microsoft PlayReady support for "select sites". This enables 1080p baseline playback and 4K Ultra HD support "with key streaming partners".</p> <p>Mozilla does not say which sites or streaming partners are supported. The feature is rolling out over time to select sites.</p> <p>Support for Microsoft PlayReady should also improve performance and reduce battery drain while watching shows and movies on the supported sites.</p> <p>We asked Mozilla for clarification and will add the information, when we get it.</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: if you do not want the DRM, you can set media.<wbr />eme.<wbr />playready.<wbr />enabled to False on about:config.</p> <p><strong>Enhanced Tracking Protection Strict blocks third-party cookies</strong></p> <p>Mozilla has enabled third-party cookie blocking in the strict mode of Firefox's <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/04/13/all-firefox-users-are-now-protected-better-against-online-tracking/" data-wpel-link="internal">Enhanced Tracking Protection</a>. This is true for regular browsing windows and private windows. Firefox supports three tracking protection modes: standard, strict, and custom.</p> <h3>Other changes and fixes</h3> <ul> <li>Wide Color Gamut WebGL is now supported on Windows and macOS systems. This brings "a richer, more vivid range of colors to the videos, games, and images". Support is limited to wider color (P3) profiles in 8-bit.</li> <li>The new macOS screen and window sharing feature is now supported in macOS 15. Mozilla plans to extend support to macOS 14 in a future release.</li> <li>Firefox will reopen automatically on macOS, if it was open before a system restart.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Developer changes</strong></p> <ul> <li>WebRender hardware accelerated rendering is now enabled for most SVG filter primitives.</li> <li>Firefox blocks favicons served via HTTP, if they cannot be upgraded to HTTPS.</li> <li>Copy Without Site Tracking is now inactive in the context menu, if the link does not contain any tracking parameters.</li> <li>The text-emphasis-position property now supports the auto value.</li> <li>The JSON parse with source proposal is now supported.</li> <li>HTTP/2 Server Push is deactivated by default with the preference network.http.http2.allow-push now set to false.</li> <li>Added support for a post-quantum key exchange mechanism for TLS 1.3.</li> <li>Added support for Certificate Compression which reduces the size and increases the speed of a TLS handshake.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Enterprise changes</strong></p> <p>There is only one change. Firefox 133 and Firefox 128.4 will support single sign-on for Microsoft Entra accounts on macOS. Users may enable it already by setting network.http.microsoft-entra-sso.enabled to true.</p> <p><strong>Security updates / fixes</strong></p> <p>Mozilla fixed 11 security issues in the Firefox release. The aggregate severity rating is high. Mozilla does not mention exploits in the wild in the announcement.</p> <p><strong>Outlook</strong></p> <p>Firefox 133 will be released on November 26, 2024. This is the last major stable release of Firefox in 2024. The next release after that is Firefox 134 on January 7, 2025. Firefox 115.18 and Firefox 128.5 will also be released on November 26, 2024.</p> <div id="td-incontent-319337145510" class="rvloader-container mb--10"> <p><strong>Additional information / resources</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/132.0/releasenotes/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Firefox 132 release notes</a></li> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Firefox/Releases/132" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Firefox 132 for Developers</a></li> <li><a href="https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-enterprise-132-release-notes" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Firefox 132 for Enterprise</a></li> <li><a class="ext-link" title="" href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/">Firefox Security Advisories</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2012/08/16/mozilla-firefox-release-schedule/" data-wpel-link="internal" data-mrf-link="https://www.ghacks.net/2012/08/16/mozilla-firefox-release-schedule/">Firefox Release Schedule</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Closing Words</strong></p> <p>The integration of Microsoft PlayReady is a gamechanger for users who play certain video content on their computers in a browser. While some Firefox community members will certainly not have any of that, the bulk of users benefits from the integration. Those who do not need it can disable it and that is that.</p> <p><em>What is your take on this new Firefox release? Anything particularly that you like or dislike? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> </div> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/29/firefox-132-mozilla-paves-way-for-4k-netflix-playback/" data-wpel-link="internal">Firefox 132: Mozilla paves way for 4K Netflix playback</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

28. Apple releases iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence

    Tue, 29 Oct 2024 08:43:03 -0000

    Apple has released iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1 updates just a month after the release of iOS 18. Let's take a look at the important features that have been added. […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Apple releases iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Apple has released iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1 updates just a month after the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/17/best-features-in-ios-18/" data-wpel-link="internal">release of iOS 18</a>. Let's take a look at the important features that have been added.</p> <h2>New features in iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1</h2> <h3><strong>Call Recording</strong></h3> <p>iOS 18.1 allows you to record phone calls. It's about time. The recording is not done automatically, you will have to tap on the soundwave button in the top left corner of the screen to start recording the call. The app will play a sound that says "This call is being recorded.", to warn participants about the same. That's fair, this is perhaps due to legal requirements in many countries.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206368" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/call-recording-in-iOS-18.1.jpg" alt="call recording in iOS 18.1" width="1200" height="648" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/call-recording-in-iOS-18.1.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/call-recording-in-iOS-18.1-768x415.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>A transcript of the call is generated and saved to the Notes app. You can listen to the recorded calls from the Notes app. I tested it, and it works fine, we'll take a closer look at this in the coming days.</p> <h3><strong>Hearing Health features</strong></h3> <p>AirPods Pro 2 users on iOS 18.1 or iPadOS 18.1 or macOS Sequoia can use their earbuds to detect hearing loss. The hearing test can be accessed via the Health app. Here is a <a href="https://www.apple.com/airpods-pro/feature-availability/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">list of countries</a> in which Apple's Hearing Health Features are available.</p> <p>The updates also ship with improvements to the Photos and Camera apps.  macOS Sequoia 15.1, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 ship with a couple of dozen <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">security fixes</a> for various vulnerabilities. Apple has also released macOS Ventura 13.7.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, iOS 17.7.1 and iPadOS 17.7.1 to patch some security issues. None of the vulnerabilities seem to have been exploited in the wild.</p> <h3><strong>Apple Intelligence is now available for iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1</strong></h3> <p>Apple has been advertising the AI features everywhere since the iPhone 16 series was launched in September. It's finally here, but even this version of the AI is limited to US English, more details below.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206366" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Apple-releases-iOS-18.1-macOS-15.1-and-iPadOS-18.1-with-Apple-Intelligence.jpg" alt="Apple releases iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence" width="980" height="551" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Apple-releases-iOS-18.1-macOS-15.1-and-iPadOS-18.1-with-Apple-Intelligence.jpg 980w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Apple-releases-iOS-18.1-macOS-15.1-and-iPadOS-18.1-with-Apple-Intelligence-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px" /></p> <p>I have already discussed the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/11/here-are-the-new-features-in-ios-18/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">features of Apple Intelligence</a>, but I'll briefly mention them here. Apple's AI-powered features include systemwide writing tools across apps that can proofread text, offer to rewrite or summarize the content in all apps. The Mail app supports summarizing of emails, smart replies for mails, time sensitive alerts, etc. Siri has been redesigned, and is now smarter at understanding what you say, thanks to the richer language-understanding capabilities. The AI can offer assistance to use features that are available on their device, like how to take a screenshot, or share a Wi-Fi password. You can also type to Siri.</p> <p>Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later, and Mac with M1 and later. Apparently, the reason why the feature is not available for older iPhones is because "they don't have enough RAM".</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206365" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Apple-Intelligence-is-now-available-for-iOS-18.1-macOS-15.1-and-iPadOS-18.1-scaled.jpg" alt="Apple Intelligence is now available for iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1" width="1200" height="750" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Apple-Intelligence-is-now-available-for-iOS-18.1-macOS-15.1-and-iPadOS-18.1-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Apple-Intelligence-is-now-available-for-iOS-18.1-macOS-15.1-and-iPadOS-18.1-768x480.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>There's another catch. Users will need to join a waitlist to access Apple Intelligence. This is weird, but the good news is it takes just a few minutes or so to get access.</p> <h3><strong>Apple Intelligence is coming to EU for iPhone and iPad users</strong></h3> <p>Apple has announced a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaB7nCdId0Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">new 24-inch iMac</a> with an M4 chip, and surprisingly the base version comes with 16 GB of RAM, although it still has 256 GB of storage. But the real surprise is on the <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-introduces-new-imac-supercharged-by-m4-and-apple-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announcement page</a> for the new computer, it has a footnote that says Apple Intelligence is available now as a free software update for Mac with M1 and later. It isn't geo-restricted to the US, which means it can be accessed in most regions around the world, as long as the device and Siri language are set to U.S. English. This includes the European Union. The page also mentions that the features are still in beta, with more to come in the coming months.</p> <p>Apple Intelligence will be available for localized English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. in December. The company will bring expanded language support in April. Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, are some of the other languages that will be supported.</p> <p>Localized versions of the iMac <a href="https://www.apple.com/za/newsroom/2024/10/apple-intelligence-is-available-today-on-iphone-ipad-and-mac/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announcement page</a> for Europe/Africa have another interesting footnote, it confirms that Apple Intelligence is coming to iPhone and iPad users in the European Union in April 2025. The fact that it has been delayed for iOS and iPad does suggest that there were some issues related to the DMA (Digital Markets Act). Apple Intelligence for EU users will offer core features including Writing Tools, Genmoji, a redesigned Siri, ChatGPT integration, and more.</p> <p>I'm going to go slightly off-topic here to talk about something. In an <a href="https://youtu.be/s4wlrxFf2lM?t=2274" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">interview with TFiR</a> at the recent Open Source Summit in Vienna, Linus Torvalds, who created the Linux kernel, said that while AI is interesting and could change the world, he hated that it is all being hyped up, and would just ignore it for now. Torvalds said that the tech industry is in a very bad position, and it's 90% marketing and 10% reality. That is a brilliant quote, and he's absolutely spot on. Everyone is going bonkers about AI just because, even Apple is jumping in because everyone else is, probably because their shareholders "wanted AI like everyone else".</p> <p>I'm not completely against AI, productivity features shouldn't come at the cost of privacy. As long as it uses a privacy-friendly language model, i.e. if it runs locally with machine-learning, I think AI-powered tools can be useful. For example, you could run a local instance of Llama. Apple may be the lesser of all evils, when it comes to caring about the user's privacy, at least in comparison to its immediate rivals, Google, Microsoft, etc. Maybe that's one of the reasons why they are being cautious to roll out the features.</p> <p>This might sound silly, but the thing that I look forward to with Apple Intelligence is actually interacting with Siri by Typing. Asking it to set the alarm or reminders, especially based on context, without using speech sounds really cool. This is what Siri should have been capable of in the first place. I don't really care about chatbots or the generative AI side of things, automating day-to-day tasks on the other hand, or at least delegating part of it to an AI does seem like something that could have a practical usage.</p> <p>Have you used Apple Intelligence?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/29/apple-releases-ios-18-1-macos-15-1-and-ipados-18-1-with-apple-intelligence/" data-wpel-link="internal">Apple releases iOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

29. Microsoft Edge's new Instant Updates feature could result in data loss

    Mon, 28 Oct 2024 13:56:49 -0000

    Most web browsers are set up to download and install updates automatically. What does not happen automatically is the restart that is required to complete the process. Major companies like Google or […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft Edge's new Instant Updates feature could result in data loss appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Most web browsers are set up to download and install updates automatically. What does not happen automatically is the restart that is required to complete the process.</p> <p>Major companies like Google or Microsoft are working on automations for browsers. Google plans to reveal an AI project in the coming months <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/28/googles-upcoming-ai-project-will-take-over-tasks-in-chrome-for-you/" data-wpel-link="internal">that takes over user tasks</a>.</p> <p>Microsoft has created Instant Updates to address delayed browser updates. While the feature still requires a restart of the browser, Instant Updates is designed to make that restart automatically on behalf of the user.</p> <p><strong>The details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Instant Updates is currently only available for managed devices (Enterprise).</li> <li>It restarts the browser only if no user activity has been recorded for 15 minutes and if there are no wake locks.</li> <li>The feature does not take into account unsaved work on websites or webapps.</li> </ul> <p>Microsoft <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-relnote-beta-channel" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">explains</a> that the feature is in private preview right now. It is disabled by default furthermore, which limits problems that may arise with data loss.</p> <p>Still, in the FAQ on the support page, Microsoft highlights that content can be lost, if the feature is enabled: "This feature is designed to update the browser when you aren't actively using it, but there's a risk of content input loss if you have unsaved work or open tabs that could be lost or closed during the update. While not an exhaustive list, content input loss might occur in the following scenarios: unsaved documents and unsaved incomplete forms."</p> <p><strong>In other words</strong>; if you step away from the PC without making sure that anything you entered or did is saved, then you may lose that input or work when you resume work on the device.</p> <p><strong>Also good to know: </strong></p> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="P1ItJ3rGUx"><p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/06/how-to-disable-the-news-feed-in-microsoft-edges-new-tab-page/" data-wpel-link="internal">How to disable the news feed of Microsoft Edge's New Tab page</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;How to disable the news feed of Microsoft Edge&#039;s New Tab page&#8221; &#8212; gHacks Technology News" src="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/06/how-to-disable-the-news-feed-in-microsoft-edges-new-tab-page/embed/#?secret=Hr5KHwoMSi#?secret=P1ItJ3rGUx" data-secret="P1ItJ3rGUx" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <p>Microsoft Edge displays a 5-minute prompt before it restarts itself automatically. This is shown to inform the returning user that the browser will restart. It has an option to cancel the restart.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Microsoft's Instant Updates feature attempts to speed up the installation of updates through automatic restarts of the browser. The company has done so for years on Windows, and that has led to some unwanted restarts that caused users to lose work.</p> <p>This feature is not enabled by default, unlike the Windows feature. That is good, but it remains to be seen if that is true only for the preview period. It is unclear as well whether it is going to land for consumer Edge installations as well in the future.</p> <p><em>What is your take on an automatic restarting browser? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/28/microsoft-edges-new-instant-updates-feature-could-result-in-data-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft Edge&#039;s new Instant Updates feature could result in data loss</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

30. Google's upcoming AI project will take over tasks in Chrome for you

    Mon, 28 Oct 2024 10:46:44 -0000

    Google is reportedly working on a new AI that will perform day-to-day tasks in Chrome. The technology is called Project Jarvis, and it could be unveiled before the end of the year. […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google's upcoming AI project will take over tasks in Chrome for you appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Google is reportedly working on a new AI that will perform day-to-day tasks in Chrome. The technology is called Project Jarvis, and it could be unveiled before the end of the year.</p> <p><strong>Did you know?</strong> <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/17/chrome-sends-ai-history-search-data-to-google/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google Chrome may send AI search history to Google</a>.</p> <h3><strong>Google's Project Jarvis AI can perform various tasks for you</strong></h3> <p>The news comes via <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/google-preps-ai-that-takes-over-computers" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">The Information</a> (paywalled). An article by <a href="https://9to5google.com/2024/10/26/google-jarvis-agent-chrome/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">9to5Google</a> explains more about the upcoming AI, which is powered by <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/02/16/google-integrates-chat-with-gemini-option-silently-into-chrome/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Gemini</a>. Project Jarvis' name seems to have been inspired by Marvel's Iron Man's AI-assistant J.A.R.V.I.S (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System). The AI is designed to assist users perform various tasks such as conducting research, purchasing products or booking flight tickets.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206359" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Google-AI-powered-agents.jpg" alt="Google AI powered agents" width="1200" height="640" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Google-AI-powered-agents.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Google-AI-powered-agents-768x410.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>Google first unveiled its plans for AI Agents in April 2024, at the <a href="https://youtu.be/V6DJYGn2SFk?t=671" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Google Cloud Next 24</a> event. The Mountain View demoed a couple of prototype AI agents at the Google I/O 2024 Developer Conference in May, these were designed. You can <a href="https://youtu.be/XEzRZ35urlk?t=1093" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">watch the video</a> here (it's around the 18-minute mark). Let's discuss this briefly.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206358" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents.jpg" alt="Google's AI Agents" width="1092" height="652" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents.jpg 1092w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents-768x459.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1092px) 100vw, 1092px" /></p> <p>Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, described Agents as intelligent systems that can reason, plan, and use memory to think. In fact, the Agents can plan multiple steps ahead to assist the user. The AI is designed to work across software systems and systems, it likely refers to operating systems and devices.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206357" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents-example.jpg" alt="Google's AI Agents example" width="1200" height="382" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents-example.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents-example-768x244.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>One of those examples highlighted a shopping experience, where a user could take a photo of a pair of shoes they had ordered, and ask Google Gemini to assist them to return the shoes. Gemini scanned through mails in Gmail, found the receipt, filled out a return form, and added a reminder in Google Calendar to notify the user about the order's pick-up.</p> <p>The other example showcased how Google could assist someone who had just moved to a new city, and offered suggestions to explore the city, listed suggestions for shops and services. The AI could even help them update their address across different websites, and prompted the user with questions as and when required.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206356" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents-example-2.jpg" alt="Google's AI Agents example 2" width="988" height="577" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents-example-2.jpg 988w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Googles-AI-Agents-example-2-768x449.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 988px) 100vw, 988px" /></p> <p>It is worth noting that the scenarios were not running via an app/UI, they were likely demoed using Gemini. This is what Google plans to unveil in the coming months, integrating the AI features in Chrome. While it may sound like the AI is taking over a computer, it is pretty clear that the user has to trigger the action manually, and the app does the rest.</p> <p>That said, there are some concerns about Project Jarvis.</p> <h3><strong>How will Project Jarvis work?</strong></h3> <p>Jarvis will capture screenshots of the user's screen frequently, and analyze the data in the images. It will interpret actions such as clicking on a button or typing something in a text field. This could be potentially be worse than <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/30/windows-recall-microsofts-second-launch-attempt-after-devastating-criticism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft Recall</a>. The Redmond company has confirmed that Recall stores the database on the user's computer, the data is encrypted, and that user data is not shared with Microsoft or third-parties. Google is an advertising company, so its motivations will come <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/08/court-orders-google-to-lift-restrictions-on-play-store-after-epic-games-antitrust-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">under scrutiny</a> from regulatory agencies. It remains to be seen how it will protect the user's privacy.</p> <p>Project Jarvis could be powered by Gemini 2.0, and could be released in a preview form in December 2024. On a sidenote, Anthropic announced <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/3-5-models-and-computer-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Claude 3.5 Sonnet</a>, which has a new feature called "computer use", that is capable of moving the mouse cursor, click on buttons, and typing text. AI and Automation, what could possibly go wrong?</p> <p>While it sounds impressive on paper, it is too early to say how Project Jarvis will actually perform the tasks.</p> <p>Would you use such AI tools, or rather protect your privacy?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/28/googles-upcoming-ai-project-will-take-over-tasks-in-chrome-for-you/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google&#039;s upcoming AI project will take over tasks in Chrome for you</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

31. Opera plans continued support for classic extensions in the browser

    Fri, 25 Oct 2024 13:38:50 -0000

    Opera Software released Opera One R2 this week. The new stable version of Opera comes with a large number of new features and changes. This includes the new dynamic themes feature, tab […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Opera plans continued support for classic extensions in the browser appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Opera Software released Opera One R2 this week. The new stable version of Opera comes with a large number of new features and changes.</p> <p>This includes the new dynamic themes feature, tab splitting and recent tab highlighting, more AI functionality, and something that is easily overlooked in the <a href="https://blogs.opera.com/desktop/2024/10/opera-one-r2-the-best-opera-browser-to-date/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">long post</a> on the Opera Software website: continued support for Manifest V2 extensions.</p> <p>Here is what Opera says about extensions support: " In addition to that, Opera R2 will continue supporting Manifest V2 extensions, allowing you to continue using your favorite ad blocking and privacy-enhancing extensions just like before".</p> <p>The post links to another one on the Opera website that provides additional details.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206348" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/opera-one-r2-classic-extensions.png" alt="" width="1420" height="743" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/opera-one-r2-classic-extensions.png 1420w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/opera-one-r2-classic-extensions-768x402.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/opera-one-r2-classic-extensions-1200x628.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1420px) 100vw, 1420px" /></p> <p>Opera plans to support Manifest V2 extensions independently of the development of Chromium, the source of Google Chrome and other browsers.</p> <p>This means, that Opera users may continue to run and install Manifest V2 extensions, like uBlock Origin, in the web browser.</p> <p>Now, the post is not very clear on the details. Opera Software mentions that it plans to contact extension developers to "determine the best and safest way forward".</p> <p>Continued support would be remarkable at this point, as Google will remove code from Chromium next year. Up until then, policies exist to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/08/15/google-is-killing-ublock-origin-in-chrome-but-this-trick-lets-you-keep-it-for-another-year/" data-wpel-link="internal">keep on using Manifest V2 extensions in Chromium-based browsers</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/16/google-chrome-removal-of-ublock-origin-and-other-unsupported-extensions-has-started/" data-wpel-link="internal">The removal of support of Manifest V2</a> has already started in Google Chrome for users who have not set the policies.</p> <p>Up until now, only Brave Software announced that its browser, Brave, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/09/29/brave-browser-manifest-v2-extensions-after-v3-update/" data-wpel-link="internal">would support a few Manifest V2 extensions</a> going forward.</p> <p>Opera's commitment to all Manifest V2 extensions, if it is feasible for the company, ensures that users can continue using their favorite extensions and new Manifest V3 extensions. This would work similarly to Firefox, which also supports both Manifest V2 and V3 extensions.</p> <p>Opera Software has one advantage over Brave Software and most Chromium-based browser makers (with the exception of Microsoft and Google). It operates its <a href="https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">own extension store</a>. While Opera users may also download and install extensions from the Chrome Web Store, users may also download and install extensions from the company's own store.</p> <p>Brave Software does not operate its own store, which is probably the main reason why it decided to support only a few extensions. Google will remove Manifest V2 extensions from its web store next year when the policy option runs out.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Two Chromium-based browsers will continue to support Manifest V2 extensions by mid-2025 at the time of writing. That's Brave, which supports only a few, and Opera, which plans to support all of them.</p> <p>It remains to be seen how this will work out and if other browser makers are also jumping on the bandwagon that separates them from main Chromium in a key aspect.</p> <p><em>Have you tried Opera recently? What is your take on the company's plan to continue supporting Manifest V2 extensions after Google's deadline in mid 2025? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/25/opera-plans-continued-support-for-classic-extensions-in-the-browser/" data-wpel-link="internal">Opera plans continued support for classic extensions in the browser</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

32. eM Client acquires Postbox and ends its development

    Thu, 24 Oct 2024 06:58:54 -0000

    The Postbox email app for Windows and macOS has been acquired by eM Client. Unfortunately, this also spells the end of Postbox. It is a bad week for apps, first Syncthing for […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post eM Client acquires Postbox and ends its development appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>The Postbox email app for Windows and macOS has been acquired by eM Client. Unfortunately, this also spells the end of Postbox.</p> <p>It is a bad week for apps, first <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/21/syncthing-for-android-is-being-discontinued-but-theres-an-alternative-app-you-can-switch-to/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Syncthing for Android</a> was discontinued, and now Postbox is dead. Postbox was launched in 2008, and was based on Mozilla's Thunderbird. You can read Martin's <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2013/12/14/postbox-email-client-review-ghacks-christmas-giveaway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">review</a> of the app here.</p> <p>(Image courtesy: eM Client)</p> <h3><strong>Postbox acquired by eM Client</strong></h3> <p>eM Client is based in the Czech Republic. The details about the acquisition have not been disclosed, but the company has <a href="https://www.emclient.com/blog/em-client-acquires-postbox-inc-695" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announced</a> that Postbox will no longer be sold or developed, and support for the app will be available until December 22, 2024. The Help Center will be around for one more year, until December 22, 2025. Users can continue using Postbox as long as it is compatible with your operating system. Well, at least they aren't killing the app immediately.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206341" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Postbox-acquired-by-eM-Client.jpg" alt="Postbox acquired by eM Client" width="833" height="458" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Postbox-acquired-by-eM-Client.jpg 833w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Postbox-acquired-by-eM-Client-768x422.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 833px) 100vw, 833px" /></p> <p>Refund requests for recent purchases need to be submitted by November 22, 2024.  eM Client is offering some discounts for Postbox users who are switching to its email app. A similar <a href="https://www.postbox-inc.com/blog/entry/postbox-acquired-by-em-client" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announcement</a> on Postbox's website goes into more details about the offers. Users who had purchased Postbox on or after September 22nd, 2024, are eligible for a 100% off discount, on a one-time purchase or first year of subscription to eM Client. All other Postbox customers can claim a 50% off discount for their purchase.</p> <p>I recommend reading the <a href="https://support.postbox-inc.com/hc/en-us/articles/26987964800023-eM-Client-Acquisition-FAQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">eM Client Acquisition FAQ</a> to learn more about your options for a refund. The <a href="https://www.emclient.com/em-client-with-postbox" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Migration FAQ</a> will be helpful if you're switching to eM Client.</p> <p>An FAQ page says that Postbox was sold to eM Client to offer more advanced features for users, and because the company has a larger development team, etc. That's PR talk. See, this is often a problem with software that offer lifetime licenses, such as how Postbox did. The company used to sell annual subscriptions, but decided to discontinue the options in 2020, to solely focus on lifetime licenses. I don't think this was a sensible thing to do, from a business' perspective.</p> <p>I remember when Malwarebytes switched to a subscription model and there was an uproar, but given its large user-base, I think the company could not have sustained with a lifetime licensing model. That said, eM Client does have an option for a lifetime license, if that interests you, and you have $50 to spare. The email software is available for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. It does not have a Linux version, and the app is not open source. eM Client's free version for desktops only supports two email accounts for personal use. The premium version has many additional features, but I'll leave it to you to decide if it is worth using.</p> <h3><strong>What are some alternatives to eM Client?</strong></h3> <p>There are some good free alternatives to eM Client. How about the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/17/report-microsoft-starts-mail-and-calendar-app-migration-to-the-inferior-outlook-app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Mail app on Windows</a>? No, I'm just kidding. Don't use Microsoft's Mail app, it's just a garbage web-wrapper version of the Outlook website, and you can't block the ads.</p> <p><a href="https://www.thunderbird.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Mozilla's Thunderbird</a> is great for desktop users on PC, Linux or Mac, as it offers good privacy, supports add-ons, and many protocols including Microsoft Exchange. Mailspring (a <a href="https://github.com/Foundry376/Mailspring" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">fork</a> of Nylas Mail) is also open source, and the email app is available for Windows, Linux and macOS. You can skip creating a Mailspring ID to use the app without premium features such as read receipts, snoozing, translation, etc.</p> <p>Linux users have even more email clients to choose from there's <a href="https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Geary" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Geary</a>, <a href="https://www.claws-mail.org/downloads.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Claws Mail</a> (also available for Windows), <a href="https://help.gnome.org/users/evolution/stable/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Evolution</a> and KMail (<a href="https://kontact.kde.org/components/kmail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Kontact</a> by KDE).</p> <p>Android users may want to take a look at FairEmail (<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.email" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://f-droid.org/en/packages/eu.faircode.email/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">F-Droid</a>) and K9 Mail (<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsck.k9" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.fsck.k9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">F-Droid</a>), the latter is undergoing some changes that will turn it into <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/07/22/future-thunderbird-for-android-k-9-mail-passed-security-audit-with-flying-colors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Thunderbird for Android</a>. iOS users don't really have much of a choice when it comes to privacy-friendly email clients, but, fortunately, Apple Mail is an excellent app that offers great security. Apple's stock Mail app is also available for macOS, and iPadOS users. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/12/14/proton-mail-launches-official-desktop-app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Proton Mail</a> is also a good option that you could consider, and it is available across all major platforms.</p> <p>Which email app do you use?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/24/em-client-acquires-postbox-and-ends-its-development/" data-wpel-link="internal">eM Client acquires Postbox and ends its development</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

33. Vivaldi Browser's new Dashboard feature reinvents the New Tab page

    Thu, 24 Oct 2024 06:56:58 -0000

    Vivaldi Technologies has just released a new stable desktop version of its Vivaldi Browser. The details: A new Dashboard is introduced that users of the browser may customize to display nearly anything […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Vivaldi Browser's new Dashboard feature reinvents the New Tab page appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Vivaldi Technologies has just released a new stable desktop version of its <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/06/08/vivaldi-web-browser-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Vivaldi Browser</a>.</p> <p><strong>The details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>A new Dashboard is introduced that users of the browser may customize to display nearly anything they want on the New Tab page of the browser.</li> <li>Tabs have a new floating design.</li> <li>The Feed Reader gets a much needed upgraded: folders.</li> </ul> <p><strong>How to get the new version:</strong> The new Vivaldi is already available for all supported desktop platforms. You can wait for the automatic update feature to install the update or select Vivaldi Menu &gt; Help &gt; Check for updates to download the update immediately.</p> <p>New users may download the latest version from <a href="https://vivaldi.com/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Vivaldi's official website</a>.</p> <h2>Vivaldi: the new dashboard</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206344" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vivaldi-dashboard.png" alt="Vivaldi Browser dashboard" width="2560" height="1504" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vivaldi-dashboard.png 2560w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vivaldi-dashboard-768x451.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vivaldi-dashboard-1536x902.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vivaldi-dashboard-2048x1203.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/vivaldi-dashboard-1200x705.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></p> <p>Vivaldi has not removed the default New Tab page of the browser. Engineers have added the Dashboard to it instead.</p> <p>You can switch between Speed Dial and Dashboard; the browser remembers your selection automatically.</p> <p>Note: Users who do not need the Dashboard may turn it off in the Settings.</p> <p><strong>What is the Dashboard?</strong> The Dashboard is a customizable user space. It displays widgets, which can be internal functions provided by the browser or web services.</p> <p>Here is a list of widgets that you may add, remove, or delete:</p> <ul> <li>Date and time.</li> <li>Sticky notes.</li> <li>Speed Dial.</li> <li>Calendar agenda.</li> <li>Latest emails.</li> <li>Bookmarks.</li> <li>Tasks.</li> <li>Tip of the day.</li> <li>Feeds.</li> <li>Top sites.</li> <li>Privacy statistics.</li> <li>Webpage.</li> </ul> <p>Some of these have dependencies. You need to enable Mail in Vivaldi to use Feeds, Calendar or latest emails. While the Vivaldi-specific functions are fine, it is the webpage option that pushes the feature to the next level.</p> <p>You can add any URL to the Dashboard of the browser. This means that you may add web services, like a translator, currency converter, YouTube, or whatever you like to the Dashboard area.</p> <p>Not all sites display well there, as it depends on a responsive design or support for mobile versions.</p> <p>One thing that you may notice is that you get limited control over the size of a widget. Vivaldi supports the sizes regular and tall only. Websites are displayed in tall mode automatically. There is no option to increase the width of a webpage or modify the appearance in any way.</p> <p>This would be a welcome addition in future versions of the browser, as some sites may need more width or height to display their content. Scrollbars are displayed when the content does not fit the size of the widget.</p> <p>With that caveat in mind, it is still opening up plenty of possibilities to display useful content on the New Tab page of the Vivaldi browser.</p> <h3>Other changes in Vivaldi Browser</h3> <p>The new release of the Vivaldi browser launches with additional improvements:</p> <ul> <li>User interface upgrade with "floating tabs" and new icons.</li> <li>Feed Reader supports folders to better manage RSS feeds.</li> <li>New "jump to last mail" option in Vivaldi Mail.</li> <li>Real-time syn of tabs, bookmarks, and settings.</li> </ul> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Dashboard is the main feature of the new Vivaldi browser release. While the other changes are nice, Dashboard may alter how users of the browser interact with the New Tab page. From merely being a vessel to launch a new site quickly to something that users may spend time on.</p> <p>It all depends on how individual users use the browser, on the other hand. Mail, calendar, and RSS feed users get features that they make like, but there is something for everyone.</p> <p>Again, this is not for everyone, but if you like to create your own custom startpage on the Internet, this may very well be it.</p> <p><em>Have you tried Vivaldi lately? What is your take on the browser, the new Dashboard, and its other features? Feel free to leave a comment down below. </em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/24/vivaldi-browsers-new-dashboard-feature-reinvents-the-new-tab-page/" data-wpel-link="internal">Vivaldi Browser&#039;s new Dashboard feature reinvents the New Tab page</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

34. Windows 11 Updates install faster and Microsoft has the numbers to back it up

    Wed, 23 Oct 2024 14:00:58 -0000

    Some months ago, Microsoft revealed improvements to Windows Update on Windows 11 that made updates smaller and faster to install at the same time. The key change was the introduction of checkpoint […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11 Updates install faster and Microsoft has the numbers to back it up appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Some months ago, Microsoft revealed <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/16/windows-updates-will-be-smaller-after-the-release-of-windows-11-version-24h2/" data-wpel-link="internal">improvements to Windows Update on Windows 11</a> that made updates smaller and faster to install at the same time.</p> <p>The key change was the introduction of checkpoint cumulative updates. Put simply, updates would no longer have to include all the changed components since the last feature update release, but only changes since the last checkpoint update, which occur regularly after feature update releases.</p> <h2>Microsoft backs up the claim with numbers</h2> <p>Microsoft <a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/windows-11-version-24h2-improved-update-fundamentals/ba-p/4274431" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">published</a> information about the improvements in a new blog post on its Tech Community website.</p> <p>There, the company revealed that updates are indeed smaller, install faster, and use less CPU resources while doing so.</p> <p>To back up the claim, Microsoft released data of two tests that it ran.</p> <p><strong>First test; up to date machine</strong></p> <p>The first test applied a new monthly updated on an up to date Windows 11 system. Microsoft observed the following improvements in this scenario:</p> <ul> <li>Installation time: 45.6 percent faster.</li> <li>Restart time: 39.7 percent faster.</li> <li>CPU usage time: 15.3 percent less.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Second test; out of date machine</strong></p> <p>The second device was one that was not patched for 18 months. Microsoft admits that this is not a typical scenario, but still useful to highlight the improvements even in these unlikely scenarios.</p> <p>Microsoft observed the following improvements:</p> <ul> <li>Installation time: 43.6 percent faster.</li> <li>Restart time: 33.5 percent faster.</li> <li>CPU usage time: 25 percent less.</li> </ul> <p>Both tests show large reductions in both the installation time of the update and the restart time. Windows updates usually require a restart of the system. Some changes are applied while the system is not running.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: Microsoft did not mention any other tests. It is likely that it ran others, but it published only information about the two. Mileage may vary because of that, as improvements may also depend on other factors, including the load of the system, hardware, and other factors.</p> <h3>How Microsoft achieved the improvements</h3> <p>According to Microsoft, company engineers have improved the client servicing stack of Windows 11 24H2 in several ways next to that.</p> <p>The core improvements are:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Caching improvements</strong> -- Component manifests are cached after reading and parsing for the first time, which speeds up processing, if they are referenced multiple times.</li> <li><strong>Parallel processing</strong> -- Component manifests are processed in parallel to speed up the process.</li> <li><strong>Optimized RAM usage</strong> -- On machines with plenty of RAM, more RAM is used "for storing the manifest cache".</li> </ul> <h3>Smaller feature update packages</h3> <p>Another factor that plays a role is that Microsoft reduced the size of feature update packages by about 200 megabytes. This is achieved by comparing the app version that is included with the installed app version offered through the Microsoft Store.</p> <p>In plain words, apps are conditionally downloaded and installed only if needed.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>The first time that most Windows 11 users may notice the improvements is when they install the optional feature update or the next cumulative update for version 24H2. The optional update is already available, the next cumulative update will be released on November 12, 2024.</p> <p><em>What is your take on these improvements? Is this something that you are looking forward to, provided that you do use Windows 11 version 24H2? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/23/windows-11-updates-install-faster-and-microsoft-has-the-numbers-to-back-it-up/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 Updates install faster and Microsoft has the numbers to back it up</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

35. Google Chrome: how to disable toast popups in the browser

    Tue, 22 Oct 2024 13:40:02 -0000

    If you have upgraded Google Chrome to the latest version already, you may have noticed a new type of popup that the browser uses. This toast popup appears centered at the top […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google Chrome: how to disable toast popups in the browser appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>If you have upgraded Google Chrome to the latest version already, you may have noticed a new type of popup that the browser uses.</p> <p>This toast popup appears centered at the top underneath the tabs. It confirms actions to you and may also provide you with follow-up options.</p> <p><strong>Here are a few examples:</strong></p> <ol> <li>Chrome displays "link copied" as a popup when you right-click on a link and select the copy link option.</li> <li>When you right-click on a tab and select "add page to reading list", Chrome displays the "page added to reading list" toast popup. This one includes an option to open the page in the reading list.</li> </ol> <p><strong>Here are screenshots of how this looks like</strong></p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206334" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chrome-toast-popups.png" alt="Chrome Toast Popup" width="2560" height="1503" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chrome-toast-popups.png 2560w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chrome-toast-popups-768x451.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chrome-toast-popups-1536x902.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chrome-toast-popups-2048x1202.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/chrome-toast-popups-1200x705.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206335" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/page-added-to-reading-list.png" alt="Page added to reading list Chrome" width="1660" height="634" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/page-added-to-reading-list.png 1660w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/page-added-to-reading-list-768x293.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/page-added-to-reading-list-1536x587.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/page-added-to-reading-list-1200x458.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1660px) 100vw, 1660px" /></p> <p>Google says that new toast popups will be introduced at a later point by different teams.</p> <p>The feature is rolling out currently. There is a chance that it is not activated in your version of Chrome at the time of writing. It may take weeks or even months before it reaches all desktop Chrome users.</p> <p><strong>Did you know? </strong></p> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="KOD1BGOeYa"><p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/16/google-chrome-removal-of-ublock-origin-and-other-unsupported-extensions-has-started/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google Chrome: removal of uBlock Origin and other unsupported extensions has started</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;Google Chrome: removal of uBlock Origin and other unsupported extensions has started&#8221; &#8212; gHacks Technology News" src="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/16/google-chrome-removal-of-ublock-origin-and-other-unsupported-extensions-has-started/embed/#?secret=NVxA4djHo7#?secret=KOD1BGOeYa" data-secret="KOD1BGOeYa" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <h2>Disable the new Chrome Toast popups</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206336" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/top-chrome-toasts.png" alt="Disable Top Chrome Toasts" width="2560" height="1504" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/top-chrome-toasts.png 2560w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/top-chrome-toasts-768x451.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/top-chrome-toasts-1536x902.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/top-chrome-toasts-2048x1203.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/top-chrome-toasts-1200x705.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></p> <p>Google has not added an option to the Chrome settings to turn off the feature. This may happen in the future, but Google has not commented on this yet.</p> <p>For now, it is possible to turn the feature on or off using an experimental flag.</p> <p><strong> Here is how that is done:</strong></p> <ol> <li>Load chrome://flags/#top-chrome-toasts in the Chrome address bar.</li> <li>Change the status of Top Chrome Toasts from Default to one of the following options: <ul> <li>Enabled -- enables the feature (this may not work for everyone)</li> <li>Enabled with 8s, 10s, 12s -- enables the feature and sets the toast period to 8, 10 or 12 seconds.</li> <li>Disabled -- this turns the Toast feature off.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Restart Google Chrome.</li> </ol> <p>To disable the Toast popups, set the value of the flag to Disabled. This turns it off.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: Google may remove experimental features without prior notice at any time. The option to disable the Toast notifications may be removed in a future version of the browser.</p> <p>For now, you can use it to disable Top Chrome Toasts, if you do not need the visible confirmation of certain actions.</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: the toasts go away when you switch to another tab. Should Google remove the option to disable the toast notifications without adding the option to the settings, you may use this to make them go away whenever they appear.</p> <p><em><strong>Now You</strong>: what is your take on the feature? Useful confirmation for some actions? Or something that you have no use for and maybe find distracting? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/22/google-chrome-how-to-disable-toast-popups-in-the-browser/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google Chrome: how to disable toast popups in the browser</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

36. Syncthing for Android is being discontinued, but there's an alternative app you can switch to

    Mon, 21 Oct 2024 16:35:43 -0000

    The Syncthing for Android app is being discontinued. Another day, another good app dies. For those unaware, Syncthing is an open source file synchronization program that can sync files between two or […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Syncthing for Android is being discontinued, but there's an alternative app you can switch to appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>The Syncthing for Android app is being discontinued. Another day, another good app dies. For those unaware, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2014/05/13/syncthing-open-source-bittorrent-sync-alternative/" data-wpel-link="internal">Syncthing </a>is an open source file synchronization program that can sync files between two or more devices on a local internet connection, it's similar to the macOS/iOS AirDrop feature.</p> <p>It's a really useful app to sync your music or video library between your phone and computers, I have also used it to sync my Keepass database, game saves and savestates for Retroarch, PPSSPP on my devices.</p> <p>As a big fan of Syncthing, I reviewed a Windows client for it called <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/01/11/synctrazor-is-an-open-source-syncthing-client-for-windows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">SyncTrayzor</a>, though the app has not been updated for a long time. <a href="https://github.com/Martchus/syncthingtray" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Syncthing Tray</a> is an alternative Windows app that you may want to take a look at.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206330" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Syncthing-for-Android.jpg" alt="Syncthing for Android" width="604" height="572" /></p> <h3><strong>Why is Syncthing for Android being discontinued?</strong></h3> <p>Imsodin (Simon Frei), the maintainer of <a href="https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-android" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Syncthing for Android</a>, has <a href="https://forum.syncthing.net/t/discontinuing-syncthing-android/23002/13" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announced</a> that the app was being retired due to some issues with the Google Play Store, which was making it harder to publish the app. Google was reportedly rejecting the app access to the device's storage, and the developer had appealed to the company to sort out the issues since February 2024.</p> <p>Users had asked why the app cannot continue to exist via GitHub and F-Droid, and another maintainer explained that the development of Syncthing's mobile app had been stagnating, and it had been on life support for a long time.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206329" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Why-is-Syncthing-for-Android-being-discontinued.jpg" alt="Why is Syncthing for Android being discontinued" width="811" height="398" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Why-is-Syncthing-for-Android-being-discontinued.jpg 811w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Why-is-Syncthing-for-Android-being-discontinued-768x377.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 811px) 100vw, 811px" /></p> <p>According to some comments from users, the developer was frustrated with dealing with Google, and users who had harassed him. Well, I can see why he may have lost motivation to continue supporting the app's development. This is why we can't have nice things, because some people don't respect the work of others.</p> <p>The Syncthing for Android app will get its final update in December 2024, on GitHub and F-Droid. It is worth mentioning that <a href="https://syncthing.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Syncthing</a> for other platforms will continue to be supported.</p> <p>More info on the problems the Syncthing devs had with Google can be found <a href="https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-android/issues/2064" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">here</a>. This is not the first time an app developer has had issues with the Play Store. The developer of the open source email app, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/05/19/fairemail-developer-calls-it-quits-and-pulls-apps-from-google-play/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">FairEmail</a>, had some problems with Google and temporarily delisted the app from the Play Store, before reinstating it. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/05/19/google-forces-total-commander-removes-the-ability-to-install-apks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Total Commander</a>, which is a popular file manager app, was forced to make changes or risk being removed from the Play Store. Reddit's r/Androiddev sub has many stories about app takedowns and account terminations by Google. Apps could be delisted if they break some policies, but that's not the main issue, many developers say they had absolutely no way to contact an actual person at the company and resolve the problems.</p> <h3><strong>Syncthing alternative for Android</strong></h3> <p>It's sad to see an open source app end like this, but you can probably continue to use Syncthing as long as it works. Or you can optionally switch to a fork of the app, which is called <a href="https://github.com/Catfriend1/syncthing-android" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Syncthing-Fork</a>. In addition to retaining the original app's functionality, Syncthing-Fork comes with some extra features and battery friendly enhancements.</p> <p>The only downside to it is that the app is no longer available on the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.catfriend1.syncthingandroid" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Google Play Store</a>, so you will need to sideload it on your phone. You can download Syncthing-Fork from its <a href="https://github.com/Catfriend1/syncthing-android/releases" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">GitHub page</a> or from the <a href="https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.catfriend1.syncthingandroid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">F-Droid repository</a>. iPhone users who want to use Syncthing may want to look at <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/m%C3%B6bius-sync/id1539203216" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Möbius Sync</a>, though it is not completely free to use.</p> <p>Do you use Syncthing on your Android phone?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/21/syncthing-for-android-is-being-discontinued-but-theres-an-alternative-app-you-can-switch-to/" data-wpel-link="internal">Syncthing for Android is being discontinued, but there&#039;s an alternative app you can switch to</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

37. Windows 11: Flyby11 enables upgrades on unsupported devices

    Mon, 21 Oct 2024 02:36:20 -0000

    Flyby11 is an open source script for Windows 11 that helps administrators upgrade a device to the latest release version, even if the computer does not meet all system requirements. Microsoft released […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11: Flyby11 enables upgrades on unsupported devices appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Flyby11 is an open source script for Windows 11 that helps administrators upgrade a device to the latest release version, even if the computer does not meet all system requirements.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/01/windows-11-2024-is-now-available-what-you-need-to-know/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft released Windows 11 24H2</a> earlier this month. The new version brought more AI functionality and some other features, including Sudo for Windows or support for Wi-Fi 7.</p> <p>The new version of Windows 11 is special, as it is the first version that blocks certain devices from performing an upgrade. While Microsoft did block direct installs or upgrades on unsupported devices since the very beginning, the release is the first that blocks very old devices from using bypasses to install the system.</p> <p><strong>Good to know:</strong> this particular change affects devices <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/02/26/windows-11-version-24h2-may-block-devices-without-sse-4-2-support/" data-wpel-link="internal">without SSE4.2 support</a>. All modern processors of the last decade support these instructions. Still, earlier versions of Windows 11 can be installed on these devices.</p> <p>All other unsupported devices can still be upgraded. Microsoft did make a few changes to the process as well.</p> <p>You can check out my <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/08/how-to-upgrade-to-windows-11-24h2-on-unsupported-hardware/" data-wpel-link="internal">guide on upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 on unsupported hardware</a>, or check out the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/11/rufus-4-6-bypasses-windows-11-24h2-compatibility-checks-automatically/" data-wpel-link="internal">latest version of Rufus</a> for that.</p> <h2>Flyby11: open source tool to upgrade to Windows 11 on unsupported hardware</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-206326" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-windows11-upgrade.png" alt="Flyby11 upgrade to Windows 11 24h2 on unsupported hardware" width="1700" height="1206" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-windows11-upgrade.png 1700w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-windows11-upgrade-768x545.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-windows11-upgrade-1536x1090.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/flyby11-windows11-upgrade-1200x851.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px" /></p> <p>Flyby11 is designed to remove restrictions that prevent the upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 on unsupported devices.</p> <p>It cannot be used for new installs, but if you want to upgrade, it is one of the tools that you may use.</p> <p>The app offers all "working methods to bypass the restrictions for installing Windows 11 24H2 on unsupported hardware" according to the developer.</p> <p><strong>About the developer:</strong> Belim has created several open source tools in the past, including <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/12/22/windows-11-tweaker-thisiswin11-has-a-new-wizard-like-design/" data-wpel-link="internal">ThisIsWin11</a>, <a href="https://github.com/builtbybel/Winpilot" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Winpilot</a>, or <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/03/popular-windows-xp-privacy-tool-is-making-a-comeback/" data-wpel-link="internal">xd-AntiSpy</a>.</p> <p>Flyby11 supports two methods:</p> <ol> <li>The upgrade via Server setup.</li> <li>The upgrade via Registry modifications.</li> </ol> <p>Here is how you use the app:</p> <ol> <li>Download the latest version of the application from the project's GitHub website.</li> <li>Extract the contents to the local system with a right-click and selecting "extract all &gt; extract"</li> <li>Run the app.</li> <li>If you get "Windows protected your PC", select More Info &gt; Run anyway.</li> <li>Confirm the security prompt with a click on the yes button.</li> </ol> <p>Select the first or second method. You may want to start with the first. Check the Fido script option, which is required to download the latest Windows 11 24H2 ISO from Microsoft.</p> <p>Once downloaded, select the mount and run ISO option.</p> <p>Follow the instructions until the upgrade is completed. If this method does not work, try the second method instead.  The only difference is that you need to check the second method this time.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: It is a bit difficult to keep the descriptions for each method and item displayed on the screen, as it changes on hover. Just check one option and when you move the mouse cursor, make sure you do not touch any of the other options. This should keep the description and give you the option to use the scrollbar as well.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Flyby11 offers an easy option to apply workarounds to upgrade an existing Windows 11 device with unsupported hardware to the latest release. The main benefit is that you do not need to run commands manually or execute a batch file.</p> <p>It furthermore automates the download of the Windows 11 ISO image. Experienced users may not need it, but inexperienced users may use it to upgrade in fewer manual steps.</p> <p>The app does not support new installs on unsupported hardware.</p> <p><em>Is your device compatible with the latest version of Windows 11? If not, did you use a workaround to install the newest version? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/21/windows-11-flyby11-enables-upgrades-on-unsupported-devices/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11: Flyby11 enables upgrades on unsupported devices</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

38. Microsoft launches Edge 130 with lots of security patches and feature changes

    Fri, 18 Oct 2024 13:58:48 -0000

    Microsoft released Edge 130 Stable today. The new release fixes plenty of security issues, but it also rolls out the updated Settings page and makes a few other changes. To update, select […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft launches Edge 130 with lots of security patches and feature changes appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft released Edge 130 Stable today. The new release fixes plenty of security issues, but it also rolls out the updated Settings page and makes a few other changes.</p> <p>To update, select Menu &gt; Help &amp; Feedback &gt; About Microsoft Edge, if you are on the desktop. Mobile updates are pushed to user devices by the application stores.</p> <p><strong>Did you know:</strong> you can <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/06/how-to-disable-the-news-feed-in-microsoft-edges-new-tab-page/" data-wpel-link="internal">disable the news feed on Microsoft Edge's New Tab Page</a>.</p> <h3>Edge 130: the security fixes</h3> <p>Microsoft says that it has fixed nine Edge-specific security issues in version 130. These are added to the 13 Chromium-specific vulnerabilities that got fixed in the new release. In total, Microsoft patched 22 different security issues in Edge.</p> <p>The Edge-specific vulnerabilities are rated important or lower. Microsoft does not mention exploits in the wild, which is reassuring.</p> <p>You can check out the official <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-relnotes-security" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Edge updates website</a> for information on the patched Edge-specific vulnerabilities.</p> <p>It is still recommended to update as soon as possible.</p> <h3>Edge 130: the non-security changes</h3> <p>The big new feature in Edge 130 is one that you may not see immediately. Microsoft has the habit of rolling out changes gradually over time, even in development editions.</p> <p>The redesigned settings page is launching in Edge 130. Microsoft says that all functions remain available.</p> <p><strong>The redesign introduces the following changes:</strong></p> <ul> <li>A new quick access option for the most used Settings when opening the Settings in Edge.</li> <li>Large pages, like Privacy, search, and services, include quick actions now as well.</li> <li>Some settings pages have table of contents now that need to be expanded.</li> </ul> <p>In other words, it is adding quick links to often used settings and table of contents with descriptive subtexts.</p> <h3>Other changes</h3> <p>Microsoft hides a hint in the release notes. Live Captions is a feature that is been in testing since Edge 103. It has been on a long rollout and is still not generally available.</p> <p>You may set the policy ExperimentationAndConfigurationServiceControl to Full Mode on Windows  and LiveCaptionsAllowed to True, you may get Live Captions enabled in Edge prior to broad availability.</p> <p>The word "may" still hints that this is not a 100% thing, but it is better than nothing.</p> <p>Check out the official release notes for <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-relnote-stable-channel" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">detailed instructions</a>.</p> <p>Since Edge is Chromium-based, it is also supporting the bulk of Chromium-based changes. One of these is that Edge supports non-special URL schemes now.</p> <p><strong>Closing Words</strong></p> <p>Edge users and administrators may want to upgrade to the new version immediately to patch the security issues. It will probably take months before the new settings page reaches all users. It is not really that special, as you may use the search to find settings quickly already. New users may benefit the most from the new page.</p> <p>It is important to note that Windows users who have not uninstalled Edge should keep the browser up to date to close potential attack vectors.</p> <p><em>Have you tried Edge recently? Or do you ignore Microsoft's browser? Let us know in the comments below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/18/microsoft-launches-edge-130-with-lots-of-security-patches-and-feature-changes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft launches Edge 130 with lots of security patches and feature changes</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

39. Google revives YouTube Premium Lite, but this time with "limited ads"

    Thu, 17 Oct 2024 16:26:22 -0000

    When it comes to Google and YouTube, the most likely news that you have heard in the past year is that Google is intensifying its fight against content blockers, increasing ads on […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google revives YouTube Premium Lite, but this time with "limited ads" appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>When it comes to Google and YouTube, the most likely news that you have heard in the past year is that Google is intensifying its <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/16/google-intensifies-fight-against-youtube-adblockers/" data-wpel-link="internal">fight against</a> content blockers, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/13/seeing-ads-on-youtube-google-is-testing-server-side-ads-that-break-adblockers/" data-wpel-link="internal">increasing ads on YouTube</a>, and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/09/23/youtube-premium-another-massive-price-increase-in-some-regions-angers-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">increasing</a> the price of YouTube Premium.</p> <p>The price of a premium YouTube subscription varies widely. Users from Switzerland, for instance, pay about $21 per month for a subscription. If you are from Germany, you pay about $13 per month and in Japan, it is about $8 per month for a single subscription. The price range is between $1 and $21 for a single subscription.</p> <p>Google has been testing a cheaper version of YouTube Premium in some countries last year.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/08/03/youtube-premium-lite-disables-ads-on-youtube-for-e6-99-per-month/" data-wpel-link="internal">YouTube Premium Lite</a> allowed users from a few select countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium, to subscribe to a cheaper plan. Google cut access to YouTube Music from the Premium Lite plan.</p> <p><strong>In other words:</strong> YouTube Premium Lite subscribers would get an ad-free experience on YouTube for a cheaper price.</p> <p>Things went <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/26/google-is-putting-an-end-to-its-youtube-premium-lite-plans/" data-wpel-link="internal">very quiet</a> shortly after news broke about YouTube Premium Lite. It appears that Google has now revived the plan, but in different countries.</p> <h3>Goodbye old YouTube Premium Lite - Hello new YouTube Premium Lite</h3> <p>According to <a href="https://www.androidauthority.com/youtube-premium-lite-returns-3491193/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Android Authority</a>, Google says that the new YouTube Premium Lite plan has nothing to do with the old. The new plan is available for select users from Australia, Germany, and Thailand at the time.</p> <p>In Australia and Germany, it is available for about half the price of YouTube Premium. In Australia, select users may subscribe to Premium Lite for $11.99 Australian Dollar. Users from Germany may pay €5.99, roughly $6.50 per month, for the Premium Lite plan.</p> <p>Here are the core differences between YouTube Premium and Premium Lite:</p> <ul> <li>Premium: ad-free, download and play offline, background play, and YouTube Music Premium included.</li> <li>Premium Lite: limited ads, no downloads, play offline, background play, or YouTube Music Premium.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Limited ads, according to YouTube, means that "ads may appear on licensed music content, or when you search or browse". It is therefore not a true ad-free experience. </strong></p> <p>Since it is a test, it is possible that Google is going to end Premium Lite for YouTube once again after the test ends.</p> <p>It all depends on the data that Google gets during the test. If enough users subscribe, it may very well be worth an expansion into different countries.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>YouTube Premium Lite is once again in testing. This time with limited ads, which some users may not mind, as ads in videos are not shown for most content. Others may dislike that they pay and still see some ads on the platform.</p> <p>Also, knowing Google's track record, the revival does not really mean much at this point. Nothing is certain at this point; not the price, not the availability of the plan, not whether it will be around in a week's time or expanded to other countries.</p> <p>If you ask me, I still think that the plan is priced too high for the likes of many potential subscribers. Pay half the price of a YouTube Premium subscription, but do get some ads while searching, browsing, or playing (select) licensed music content? It sounds like a bad deal and many users may prefer to stick to the trusted content blocker or other solutions when it comes to YouTube.</p> <p><em>Would you subscribe to YouTube Premium Lite for half the price of YouTube Premium, if it would launch in your country? Feel free to leave a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/17/google-revives-youtube-premium-lite-but-this-time-with-limited-ads/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google revives YouTube Premium Lite, but this time with &quot;limited ads&quot;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

40. How to fix RustDesk not working on macOS

    Thu, 17 Oct 2024 15:38:45 -0000

    Today, we are going to discuss how to fix RustDesk not working on macOS. This tutorial will allow you to run the app and access it remotely. If you have never heard […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How to fix RustDesk not working on macOS appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Today, we are going to discuss how to fix RustDesk not working on macOS. This tutorial will allow you to run the app and access it remotely.</p> <p>If you have never heard of it, RustDesk is a remote desktop software, it is a free and <a href="https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">open source</a> tool.  Just a heads-up, there have been some <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39256493" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">privacy concerns</a> about the app, here are some more <a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/10ppntj/reminder_about_the_shadyness_of_rustdesk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">user opinions</a>, more <a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/14kjvkg/community_consensus_on_rustdesk_with_all_the/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">here</a>. The <a href="https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk/blob/master/README.md" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">official GitHub</a> mentions that the app uses a server provided by Codext GmbH, a company based in Germany. I had recommended it once in a comment, but now I want to provide the information here to warn readers about potential security problems. There is a self-hosted version of the app, which may provide more privacy.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206321" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/RustDesk-connected-waiting-for-image.jpg" alt="RustDesk connected waiting for image" width="1200" height="684" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/RustDesk-connected-waiting-for-image.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/RustDesk-connected-waiting-for-image-768x438.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>A little background on why I wanted to write this article. My friend wanted to use my MacBook to test his app via RustDesk. The problem is, the remote access tool didn't work. The attempt to connect was successful, but RustDesk displayed a message that said "Connected, waiting for image". It didn't really display an error, and was just stuck on the screen.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206318" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/RustDesk-not-working-on-macOS.jpg" alt="RustDesk not working on macOS" width="1200" height="900" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/RustDesk-not-working-on-macOS.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/RustDesk-not-working-on-macOS-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>The sidebar on the left of the app displays a message that notifies users to configure macOS' Settings to allow screen recording permissions. It is used for sharing the screen remotely. However, modifying the options under Privacy and Security, and Accessibility did not help. Rebooting the Mac after applying the settings didn't fix the problem. Both of us were using the latest version of RustDesk, so there was no option to update the app.</p> <p>After digging around the internet, I stumbled on to the <a href="https://rustdesk.com/docs/en/client/mac/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">documentation</a> page on the application's support website. The web page in question uses outdated screenshots, with the old System Preferences app. But the information on the page was useful, it mentioned that due to changes to some macOS security policy, the API that RustDesk uses for capturing input, and just below this section were two commands that are to be used in the Terminal, to grant accessibility and screen recording permissions via the Transparency, Consent, and Control Framework (TCC).</p> <p>Note: Please ensure that RustDesk is installed on your Mac. Close the app before proceeding.</p> <h3><strong>How to fix RustDesk not working on macOS</strong></h3> <p>1. Open the Terminal.</p> <p>2. Paste the following commands and press enter.</p> <p>tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.carriez.RustDesk</p> <p>3. Now, paste this command and press enter.</p> <p>tccutil reset Accessibility com.carriez.RustDesk</p> <p>4. Reboot your Mac.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206319" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/How-to-fix-RustDesk-not-working-on-macOS.jpg" alt="How to fix RustDesk not working on macOS" width="1140" height="742" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/How-to-fix-RustDesk-not-working-on-macOS.jpg 1140w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/How-to-fix-RustDesk-not-working-on-macOS-768x500.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px" /></p> <h3><strong>Keyboard and mouse not working on RustDesk for Mac?</strong></h3> <p>Try opening RustDesk via a remote connection, and it should display the contents of the Mac's screen. If your mouse and keyboard doesn't work, you will need to manually enable an option under System Settings &gt; Privacy and Security &gt; Input Monitoring. Click on the + button and add RustDesk, and click the toggle next to the option. You should also enable the following option under: Privacy and Security &gt; Accessibility &gt; RustDesk.</p> <h3><strong>Does RustDesk looked zoomed in? Here's a fix</strong></h3> <p>Now, there is one more issue that you may need to fix. The Mac's screen may look like it's zoomed in. To fix this, click on the downwards arrow icon in the RustDesk bar at the top of the screen. Click on the Monitor icon to access the display settings, and choose Scale adaptive. This should display the Mac's display at your remote monitor's correct resolution.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206320" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Does-RustDesk-looked-zoomed-in-Heres-a-fix.png" alt="Does RustDesk looked zoomed in Here's a fix" width="1200" height="684" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Does-RustDesk-looked-zoomed-in-Heres-a-fix.png 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Does-RustDesk-looked-zoomed-in-Heres-a-fix-768x438.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>It took me over 30 minutes to solve these problems. Hopefully, this guide will help other users fix the issues faster.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/10/17/how-to-fix-rustdesk-not-working-on-macos/" data-wpel-link="internal">How to fix RustDesk not working on macOS</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>