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1. Linux Mint 22 is an attractive option for migrating away from Windows

   Fri, 26 Jul 2024 06:06:53 -0000

   The Linux Mint team has just released Linux Mint 22, a new major version of the free Linux distribution. With Windows 10's end of support coming up quickly next year, at least […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Linux Mint 22 is an attractive option for migrating away from Windows appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>The Linux Mint team has just released Linux Mint 22, a new major version of the free Linux distribution. With <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/12/a-new-journey-with-windows-microsofts-end-of-support-notice-for-windows-10-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 10's end of support</a> coming up quickly next year, at least some users may consider making the switch to Linux.</p> <p>While there are other options, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/03/microsoft-reveals-windows-10-esu-pricing-starts-at-61/" data-wpel-link="internal">paying Microsoft for extended support</a> or upgrading to Windows 11, these options are not available for all users or desirable.</p> <p>Linux Mint 22 is a long-term service release. Means, it is supported until 2029. Unlike Microsoft, which made drastic changes to the system requirements of Windows 11 to lock out millions of devices from upgrading to the new version, Linux Mint will continue to work on older hardware, even after 2029.</p> <p>Linux Mint 22 receives the full focus of the team until 2026. Work shifts to Linux Mint 23 then and version 22 of the Linux distribution will receive security updates only going forward. Updates from Linux Mint 22 to 23 will be provided.</p> <h2>Linux Mint 22: what is new</h2> <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205906" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/linux-mint-22.png" alt="Linux Mint 22" width="526" height="339" /></p> <p>Here are the core changes in Linux Mint 22:</p> <ul> <li>Based on the new Ubuntu 24.04 package base.</li> <li>Kernel version is 6.8.</li> <li>Software Manager loads faster and has improved multi-threading.</li> <li>Unverified Flatpaks are disabled by default.</li> <li>Preinstalled Matrix Web App for using chat networks.</li> <li>Improved language support removes any language not selected by the user after installation to save disk space.</li> <li>Several under-the-hood changes that update libraries or software.</li> </ul> <p>Windows users who never came into contact with Linux before should not worry too much about Linux-specific terms such as Flatpaks or Gnome.</p> <p>One of the best ways to test Linux is by running a Live USB version. This is offered by Linux Mint. It basically runs Linux in memory for you to try. You can run software, install apps, and see how you like it without making any changes to the installed operating system on the device.</p> <p>Switching from Windows to Linux may look like a daunting task, but it has gotten a lot better in the past decade.</p> <p>You can download Linux Mint 22 from the <a href="https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">official project website</a>. The Linux distribution comes in three flavors:</p> <ul> <li>Cinnamon - pick if your system is fairly modern.</li> <li>Xfce - lighter on resources, misses a few features.</li> <li>Mate - the classic desktop environment.</li> </ul> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>It will be interesting to see what millions of Windows 10 users whose devices are not compatible with Windows 11 will do next year. Will 2025 be the year that Linux is entering mainstream?</p> <p><em>What is your take on Linux Mint? If you run Windows 10 on devices, what is your plan for the operating system in 2025?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/26/linux-mint-22-is-an-attractive-option-for-migrating-away-from-windows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Linux Mint 22 is an attractive option for migrating away from Windows</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

2. Apple Maps on the web is now available in beta for Chrome, Edge

   Thu, 25 Jul 2024 13:07:12 -0000

   Apple has announced that Apple Maps is now available for web browsers. This will allow users to access the service on multiple platforms. While it is nowhere nearly as good as Google […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Apple Maps on the web is now available in beta for Chrome, Edge appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Apple has announced that Apple Maps is now available for web browsers. This will allow users to access the service on multiple platforms.</p> <p>While it is nowhere nearly as good as Google Maps, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/07/19/apple-maps-is-reportedly-gaining-popularity-over-google-maps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Apple's navigation app</a> has evolved into an impressive experience over the past few years. Head to <a href="https://beta.maps.apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">https://beta.maps.apple.com/</a>to get started. You don't need to sign in to your Apple account to use the website.</p> <p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205898" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-search-for-a-place.jpg" alt="Apple Maps on the web search for a place" width="1149" height="656" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-search-for-a-place.jpg 1149w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-search-for-a-place-768x438.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px" /></p> <p>Use the options on the sidebar to search for a location. The map displays important places like Hospitals, Train Stations, Stores, Gas Stations, Pharmacies, Restaurants, etc. Interacting with a card on the map provides additional information such as hours, ratings, photos and reviews. The reviews are sourced from other services like Yelp, Zomato, etc. You can click on the phone number button on a card to call the place, or visit the website to learn more about it. Click on the Directions tab on the sidebar to get driving and walking directions from location A to B. It does not provide turn-by-turn guidance. And yes, you can zoom in using the mouse scroll-wheel, this is something that Apple Maps app on macOS does not support.</p> <p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205897" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-driving-directions.jpg" alt="Apple Maps on the web driving directions" width="1200" height="659" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-driving-directions.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-driving-directions-768x422.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>The <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/07/apple-maps-on-the-web-launches-in-beta/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announcement</a> on the Cupertino company's website says that the web version of Apple Maps will help discover places using the Guides section, which highlights noteworthy places around you that you can visit. That is a pretty good start for a beta version. So, the only thing that users will miss on the web version is voice-guided navigation. But the Cupertino company says additional features, such as Look Around, will be available in the coming months. Developers can link to Maps on the web, to help provide driving directions and other details. These features are also available via the MapKit JS framework.</p> <h3><strong>How to access Apple Maps on Firefox</strong></h3> <p>Apple Maps is compatible with Safari and Google Chrome on Mac and iPad. The navigation service also supports Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Windows PCs. Disappointingly, Apple Maps on the doesn't work with Firefox at the moment. An issue has already been filed on the <a href="https://github.com/webcompat/web-bugs/issues/139530" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">WebCompat</a> GitHub, so a proper solution could arrive in the future.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205896" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-in-Firefox.jpg" alt="Apple Maps on the web in Firefox" width="1200" height="645" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-in-Firefox.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apple-Maps-on-the-web-in-Firefox-768x413.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>But, if you really need to access Apple Maps on Firefox right now, just install an add-on like <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/user-agent-string-switcher/." target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">User-Agent Switcher and Manager</a>. Use the extension to set the browser agent to Chrome (or Safari), and it works like a charm. Or just use <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=maps&amp;iaxm=maps&amp;source=maps" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">DuckDuckGo's Maps</a>, which is powered by Apple Maps. Unsurprisingly, Apple Maps does not work with Android devices, even if you use a Chromium based browser. Then again, you can't even open it on Safari on iOS.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205895" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/How-to-use-Apple-Maps-on-the-web-in-Firefox.jpg" alt="How to use Apple Maps on the web in Firefox" width="1200" height="645" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/How-to-use-Apple-Maps-on-the-web-in-Firefox.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/How-to-use-Apple-Maps-on-the-web-in-Firefox-768x413.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>Apple Maps on the web is only available in English, but a <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/120585" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">support page</a> says that it will be available for other languages soon. As for alternatives, you can access OpenStreetMap on any web browser. If you want similar privacy-friendly navigation apps for your phone, you can take a look at Organic Maps (<a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/organic-maps/id1567437057" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.organicmaps" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Android</a>), OSMand (<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/osmand-maps-travel-navigate/id934850257" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Android</a>/<a href="https://osmand.net/map/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Web</a>), or HERE WeGo (<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-maps-navigation/id955837609" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">iOS</a>/<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.ma" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Android</a>). All three apps offer turn-by-turn navigation, and offline maps that you can download, which can be helpful when you are not connected to the internet.</p> <p>Do you use Apple Maps? Which is your favorite navigation service?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/25/apple-maps-on-the-web-is-now-available-in-beta-for-chrome-edge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Apple Maps on the web is now available in beta for Chrome, Edge</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

3. Windows: latest security update is causing huge issues for some users

   Thu, 25 Jul 2024 13:02:58 -0000

   If you have installed the July 2024 security updates for Windows and managed to boot into the desktop after the required restart, congratulations. Microsoft has just confirmed a new known issue that […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows: latest security update is causing huge issues for some users appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>If you have installed the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/11/the-windows-security-updates-of-june-2024-are-now-available/" data-wpel-link="internal">July 2024 security updates</a> for Windows and managed to boot into the desktop after the required restart, congratulations.</p> <p>Microsoft has just confirmed a new known issue that is affecting some customers.</p> <p><strong>Here are the details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The issue affects the security updates KB5040442 and KB5040427, which Microsoft released on July 9, 2024.</li> <li>Affected devices may boot into a BitLocker recovery screen.</li> <li>To get out, customers need to enter the device's BitLocker recovery key.</li> </ul> <p>Microsoft has confirmed the issue. The company says that devices that have Device Encryption enabled are more likely to be hit by the issue. You can check whether that is the case in the following way:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Windows 10</strong>: Open Settings &gt; Update &amp; security -- If you do not see Device Encryption on the page, it is not enabled.</li> <li><strong>Windows 11:</strong> Open Settings &gt; Privacy &amp; security -- If you do not see Device Encryption listed on the page, it is not enabled.</li> </ul> <p>It does not answer why some customers get hit by it and others do not. The workaround is simple, provided that you have access to the BitLocker recovery key.</p> <p>If you do not, Microsoft advises customers to log into the<a href="https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"> BitLocker recovery screen portal</a> to look it up.</p> <p>Most home users should be able to retrieve the recovery key and type it on the recovery screen to continue.</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: it is a good idea to keep it save somewhere else than online. You could print it out or save it to a password manager's vault.</p> <p>Microsoft revealed that it is investigating the issue and will publish an update once it has more information to share about it.</p> <p>Windows users who have not installed the security updates yet on their devices may want to make sure that they have the recovery key for BitLocker at hand just in case before installing the update.</p> <p>You can keep an eye on the known issues page for <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-10-22H2" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Windows 10</a> and <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-11-23H2#3358msgdesc" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Windows 11</a> if you are affected or prefer to delay the installation of the update until the issue has been fixed for good.</p> <p><em>Do you use BitLocker encryption on your devices, or another solution, or none at all? 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/2024/07/25/windows-latest-security-update-is-causing-huge-issues-for-some-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows: latest security update is causing huge issues for some users</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

4. Step-by-Step Guide to Convert OST to PST Using the Best Software: Stellar Converter for OST

   Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:43:46 -0000

   Efficient email management is crucial for maintaining smooth communication and ensuring business operations continuity in companies. Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used tools for email management and utilizes two […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Step-by-Step Guide to Convert OST to PST Using the Best Software: Stellar Converter for OST appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Efficient email management is crucial for maintaining smooth communication and ensuring business operations continuity in companies. Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used tools for email management and utilizes two types of files to store data: OST and PST. OST files (Offline Storage Table) allow us to work offline, syncing changes with the Exchange server once the internet connection is restored. However, these files can become inaccessible for various reasons, such as file damage, synchronization issues, or Exchange server corruption.</p> <p>This is where <strong><a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/convert-ost-to-pst.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Stellar Converter for OST</a></strong> becomes an indispensable tool. This software is designed to convert inaccessible or orphaned OST files into PST files (Personal Storage Table), which can be easily imported back into Microsoft Outlook. This conversion not only helps to recover all mailbox data, including emails, contacts, calendars, notes, and tasks, but also ensures that data integrity remains intact.</p> <h2><b>A Solution for Every Conversion We Need</b></h2> <p>The relevance of Stellar Converter for OST becomes even more significant due to its ability to handle large volumes of data and its compatibility with multiple Microsoft Outlook versions. Whether as individual users facing OST file corruption or as organizations needing to migrate data massively to Office 365 or live Exchange servers, Stellar offers us a robust and reliable solution.</p> <p>The software's ease of use is noteworthy; an intuitive interface guides us through the conversion process step by step, which becomes essential for both non-technical professionals and IT administrators. The ability to preview data before conversion allows us to ensure that we are recovering exactly what we need, and the software's flexibility to save the converted files in different formats, such as PST, MSG, EML, RTF, HTML, and PDF, provides adaptability that fits nearly any scenario.</p> <p>Stellar Converter for OST not only offers us a technical solution to a common Outlook problem but also provides invaluable peace of mind: the assurance that email data is protected and accessible, even in adverse situations. Great news indeed.</p> <h2><b>What is an OST File and Why Convert It to PST?</b></h2> <p>OST files, or Offline Storage Tables, are an integral part of the Microsoft Outlook experience, especially for users who need to access our emails and work with them without a constant Internet connection.</p> <p>These files allow us to operate in offline mode; that is, we can read emails, draft responses, and organize our inbox without being online, syncing all changes with the Exchange server once the connection is restored. Despite their utility, OST files can be prone to issues that require converting them to a more manageable and, above all, secure format: the PST file.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205900" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1.jpg" alt="" width="943" height="652" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1.jpg 943w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1-768x531.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 943px) 100vw, 943px" /></p> <h3><b>Why You Should Convert from OST to PST</b></h3> <p>There are several reasons or scenarios in which an OST to PST conversion is necessary. The most common are related to corruption, migration, or backup.</p> <ol> <li aria-level="1"><b>Offline Access to an Exchange Server</b>: OST files depend on their connection to the Exchange server. If this server fails, becomes corrupted, or is simply discontinued, the associated OST file becomes inaccessible. Converting it to a PST file can save the stored data and allow us to continue using it in Outlook without a connection to the original server.</li> <li aria-level="1"><b>File Corruption</b>: OST files are susceptible to corruption due to various factors, such as synchronization interruptions, virus attacks, or simple failures. Converting to PST can recover data from a corrupted OST file and restore access to it.</li> <li aria-level="1"><b>Data Migration</b>: In scenarios where there is a migration from one email server to another or to a cloud platform like Office 365, converting OST to PST facilitates the transfer of data without losing information or organizational structure.</li> <li aria-level="1"><b>Backup and Archiving</b>: For backup purposes or legal compliance, it is often more convenient to manage and store PST files compared to OST files. PSTs can be easily opened in any version of Outlook without needing to be connected to a specific Exchange server.</li> </ol> <p>To these four scenarios, we must add that PST files are easily transferable between different computers or Outlook accounts. Moreover, we can merge multiple OST files from various accounts into corresponding PSTs, simplifying email management and, if necessary, saving the converted file in a secure location can act as an additional security measure, ensuring that data is available even if the main mail system fails.</p> <h2><b>Benefits of Using Stellar Converter for OST</b></h2> <p><a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/email-tools/outlook-toolkit.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><strong>Stellar Converter for OST</strong></a> is a conversion tool that, over its versions, has proven its robustness and effectiveness in transforming OST files into PST files. It goes without saying that not all converters offer the same capacity, as the casuistry of OST files is varied and complex.</p> <h3><b>Handling Large Files, Encrypted Files, and Respecting Their Original Structure</b></h3> <p>One of the main advantages of Stellar Converter for OST is its ability to process large OST files without compromising data speed or integrity. This is crucial in corporate environments where mailboxes tend to accumulate large amounts of data over time. The tool ensures that all content, from emails and attachments to calendars and contacts, is converted efficiently and accurately, leaving nothing behind.</p> <p>In terms of security, it is common to encrypt OST files to protect sensitive data. Stellar Converter for OST can convert encrypted OST files without needing to know the password, thus offering a direct solution for accessing the data in situations where the password has been forgotten or access to the original file is somehow restricted.</p> <p>Returning to its versatility, it's important to say that maintaining the original mailbox structure is essential for continuity and organization of work. Stellar Converter for OST respects this need by ensuring that the entire folder hierarchy and data organization remain intact after the conversion.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205901" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="642" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2-768x411.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h3><b>Simple Interface, Data Preview, and Great Flexibility in Exporting</b></h3> <p>The user interface of Stellar Converter for OST is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. The conversion process is guided step by step, from selecting the OST file to converting and storing the resulting PST file.</p> <p>It's worth noting that, before proceeding with the full conversion, Stellar Converter for OST allows us to preview the converted mailbox items. This feature is fundamental to ensuring that the data being converted is exactly what we wish to recover, providing confirmation and precision before starting the process.</p> <p>After the conversion, we have multiple options for saving the PST file. Besides the standard PST format, of course, Stellar allows us to save the data in formats like MSG, EML, RTF, HTML, and PDF, providing flexibility depending on the specific needs of each conversion.</p> <h2><b>Step-by-Step Guide to Convert from OST to PST: Pre-Conversion Preparation</b></h2> <p>Before starting the process of converting OST files to PST using Stellar Converter for OST, it's crucial to make some preparations to ensure that the process is smooth and error-free.</p> <p>The first step involves making sure that Outlook has been properly closed and that there are no background processes that might be using the file. One way to check this is to restart the system to close any process that may be inadvertently accessing the OST file.</p> <p>It's always a good idea to back up the OST file before attempting any type of conversion. This provides a safety net in case something goes wrong during the conversion process, allowing us to restore the original OST file and start over if necessary.</p> <p>Since the generated PST files can be large, especially if the original OST file is of considerable size, it's essential to ensure that there is enough available disk space to store the PST file once converted, as a lack of sufficient space could result in a corrupted or incomplete PST file.</p> <p>Sometimes, certain antivirus programs or system security settings can interfere with the conversion process by blocking access to the OST or PST files. Temporarily disabling these tools during the conversion can prevent such interference.</p> <p>Finally, let's make sure we are using the latest version of Stellar Converter for OST, which ensures that we have access to the latest improvements and bug fixes of the software.</p> <h2><b>Step-by-Step Guide to Convert from OST to PST: Conversion</b></h2> <p>Once we have completed the above steps, the process of converting an OST file to a PST file can be carried out very quickly. The steps are as follows:</p> <ol> <li aria-level="1">Open the application and click the 'Browse' button to navigate and select the OST file if we know its exact location. If we are not sure where the file is located, we can click 'Find' to allow the software to search for all OST files on the system and then select the one we are interested in.</li> <li aria-level="1">Once the OST file is selected, click the 'Convert' button to start the scanning process. The software will analyze the OST file for all mailbox elements, such as emails, attachments, calendars, contacts, etc. During the scan, a progress bar will show the progress of the analysis. Depending on the size of the OST file and the performance of our system, this process can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.</li> <li aria-level="1">Once the scan is completed, all mailbox objects will appear in the left panel of the software window in tree view format. We can click on any folder to view its content in the right panel and ensure that the data we need is present and correct.</li> <li aria-level="1">Stellar Converter for OST allows us to select individual folders or specific items for conversion, rather than converting the entire OST file. Useful if we only need to recover specific parts of a mailbox.</li> <li aria-level="1">To save the selected items or all of them, click the 'Save Converted File' button in the file menu and choose 'PST' as the file format to save the converted data.</li> <li aria-level="1">We will be prompted to choose a location on our computer where we want to save the new PST file. Let's make sure to select a location that has enough available storage space, given that PST files can be quite large. If the resulting PST file is very large, we can opt to use the auto-split feature to divide the PST file into smaller parts, approximately 45 GB each.</li> </ol> <p>Once the PST file has been created and saved in the specified location, we will receive a notification that the process has concluded successfully. Now we can open Microsoft Outlook and import the PST file to access our emails and other data.</p> <h2><b>Advanced Uses of Stellar Converter for OST</b></h2> <p>So far, we have seen the basic utility of Stellar Converter for OST, but also the most basic. The app, however, does not only facilitate basic conversion from OST to PST, but also offers advanced functionalities to adapt to more complex and specific needs.</p> <p>In corporate environments, for example, it is common to encounter the need to convert multiple OST files at once. Stellar Converter for OST facilitates this with its batch conversion capability. The software also offers us filtering and searching capabilities to locate and convert specifically those mail elements that meet certain criteria.</p> <p>One of the most significant features of Stellar Converter for OST, however, is its ability to export data directly to Office 365, without the need to first convert to a PST file. This option is invaluable for organizations that are migrating to the cloud and need to integrate their Outlook data directly into the Office 365 environment. The software handles authentication and data transfers securely, ensuring that data integrity is maintained throughout the migration process.</p> <p>Lastly, it's worth noting that Stellar Converter for OST not only converts functional OST files but also has the ability to convert inaccessible OST files. A vital safeguard for situations where important data is at risk of being lost due to file corruption or similar issues. The software can scan inaccessible  OST files and, in many cases, convert most of the emails, attachments, and other mailbox items that would otherwise be inaccessible.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205902" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/3-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="642" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/3-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/3-768x411.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h2><b>Stellar Converter for OST: The Conversion with the Best Guarantee of Success</b></h2> <p>When dealing with inaccessible or orphaned OST files, Stellar Converter for OST stands out as a reliable tool. A software that not only simplifies the conversion of OST to PST to a few clicks, but also offers us a range of advanced functions designed to meet the complex and specific data conversion needs of each moment.</p> <p>The ability to handle large OST files, the option to convert directly to Office 365, and the data conversion tools for inaccessible OST files are just a few of the features that make Stellar Converter for OST an uncommon solution in the market. Its interface and guided process ensure that even if we do not have technical knowledge, we can perform the conversion efficiently, while its advanced options meet the most demanding requirements we may have.</p> <p>In a world where data is crucial and work continuity often depends on email accessibility, having a robust tool like Stellar Converter for OST can make the difference between significant data loss and successful conversion  of vital information. Stellar Converter for OST is more than just a simple file converter; it is a complete data management and best solution that can help safeguard crucial information and maintain operational efficiency in any work or personal environment.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/25/step-by-step-guide-to-convert-ost-to-pst-using-the-best-software-stellar-converter-for-ost/" data-wpel-link="internal">Step-by-Step Guide to Convert OST to PST Using the Best Software: Stellar Converter for OST</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

5. Google stops the sale of TV Shows from Google TV - What you need to know

   Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:44:50 -0000

   Google announced today that it is making a far-reaching change to its Google TV service. Starting today, Google customers may no longer purchase TV episodes or seasons from Google TV on "Google […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google stops the sale of TV Shows from Google TV - What you need to know appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Google <a href="https://support.google.com/googletv/thread/286737539?hl=en&amp;sjid=8645559621437678325-EU#09" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">announced</a> today that it is making a far-reaching change to its Google TV service. Starting today, Google customers may no longer purchase TV episodes or seasons from Google TV on "Google TV devices, Android TV devices, and the Google TV Mobile app".</p> <p>Google TV, not to be confused with the operating system that Google discontinued almost ten years ago, was launched as a modified Android TV operating system interface in September 2020.</p> <p>Here are the details of today's announcement:</p> <ul> <li>The announced changes have no impact on previously purchased TV shows.</li> <li>Customers can access all previous purchases, regardless of where the purchase was made.</li> <li>The ability to purchase or rent movies is not affected.</li> <li>TV shows can be purchased from YouTube going forward (depending on availability).</li> </ul> <p>Google does not say why it is making the change. It is also unclear why it is making the change for TV shows only.</p> <p><strong>Good to know:</strong> While Google and others say purchase when it comes to digital TV shows and movies, it is a fact that customers do not own the purchased TV shows or movies. While unlikely, bought content can be removed at any time. <a href="https://chipp.in/entertainment/need-another-reason-why-you-shouldnt-buy-digital-content/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">This has happened in the past</a>, and is one of the main reasons <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2020/09/17/why-you-should-not-buy-digital-games-if-physical-copies-are-also-available/" data-wpel-link="internal">why buying physical is still the better option</a> in many cases.</p> <h2> Closing Words</h2> <p>The disabling of TV show purchases on Google TV puts a dent into the service. While Google is quick to point out that users may continue to purchase shows from YouTube, doing so would split a user's shows between multiple services.</p> <p>All purchased shows and movies can be accessed on YouTube, but going forward, not on Google TV. Whether that is going to affect movie sales on the Google TV platform remains to be seen. The move may not really instill confidence that Google TV will be around in the years to come. It is probably going to get integrated into a YouTube TV experience of sorts eventually.</p> <p>This is not the first move in recent time that is favoring YouTube over other services. Google announced the end of its <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/12/08/google-podcasts-will-be-added-to-googles-graveyard-in-april-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Podcast app</a> this year in favor of a weaker podcasting experience on YouTube.</p> <p><em>Do you purchase digital content, especially TV shows or movies? Or do you prefer physical, or the Arr-Matey way? 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/2024/07/24/google-stops-the-sale-of-tv-shows-from-google-tv-what-you-need-to-know/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google stops the sale of TV Shows from Google TV - What you need to know</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

6. Google gives up: third-party cookies won't go away after all in Chrome

   Tue, 23 Jul 2024 04:52:42 -0000

   Google announced "a new path" for its Privacy Sandbox initiative for the Web. The company's plan was to eliminate third-party cookies on the Internet and replace them with new technology that it […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google gives up: third-party cookies won't go away after all in Chrome appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Google <a href="https://privacysandbox.com/intl/en_us/news/privacy-sandbox-update/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">announced</a> "a new path" for its <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/05/18/googles-privacy-sandbox-is-ready-chrome-to-drop-third-party-cookies-in-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Privacy Sandbox</a> initiative for the Web. The company's plan was to eliminate third-party cookies on the Internet and replace them with new technology that it built-into its Chrome web browser.</p> <p>Third-party cookies may be saved by resources that are loaded on websites. If you visit Site A, that loads elements from Sites B and C, then B and C may save cookies on the user's devices that are third-party.</p> <p>The main idea behind third-party cookies is not a bad one, but it has been used and abused in the past. One specific problem is user tracking.</p> <p>Google's euphemistically called Privacy Sandbox set out to kill third-party cookies on the Web. Since Google's main business is advertising, and tracking is a core part of advertising, it was no surprise that Privacy Sandbox still allowed tracking.</p> <p><strong>Put simply</strong>: it moved tracking inside the web browser and switched from tracking individual users to user groups. Users would be put into groups based on their browsing.</p> <p>While that is objectively better than the tracking of individual users, it is still tracking. For Google and other advertising companies, tracking is essential. For many users, it is a nuisance and privacy invasion.</p> <p>The use of the euphemistic term and others, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/10/23/ip-protection-tests-start-in-google-chrome-to-improve-user-privacy/" data-wpel-link="internal">including IP Protection</a> and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/18/chrome-is-getting-tracking-protection-but-dont-get-your-hopes-up/" data-wpel-link="internal">Tracking Protection</a>, has been at the forefront of Google's initiative. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/26/google-is-the-master-of-fake-privacy-features/" data-wpel-link="internal">Called Privacy Washing</a> by privacy rights organizations, the main purpose was to get the majority of Chrome users to agree to the new system; who does not want more privacy in their browser, right?</p> <h2>Third-party cookies are here to stay</h2> <p>Now, Google is saying that the company has changed its plans significantly. The first half of the blog post by Anthony Chavez, VP, Privacy Sandbox at Google sounds like everything is in order.</p> <p>Google says that it sees a lot of potential in Privacy Sandbox, but it admits that the overall performance could be better and that it "requires significant work".</p> <p>Because of this, Google has made the decision to keep third-party cookies. Instead of dropping support, Google proposes a system that "lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they'd be able to adjust".</p> <p>Additional details about the new approach are not available at the time of writing.</p> <h2>Closing Words</h2> <p>It sounds as if Google is about to give up on Privacy Sandbox. To save face, it is not dropping the feature entirely, but keeping it around for the time being.</p> <p>While Google says that it will "continue to make the Privacy Sandbox APIs available and invest them", it sounds like the technology has already a grave reserved on Google's Graveyard.</p> <p>Reading between the lines, it sounds as if Privacy Sandbox is not delivering the same results as third-party cookies when it comes to advertising and tracking.</p> <p>This could have the potential to damage Google's core business going forward and it would explain why Google is rowing back.</p> <p>It will be interesting to see how Google is going to introduce the "new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice" and that is applied "across their web browsing".</p> <p>It will probably come up with yet another euphemistic term to persuade users to pick the choice that is best for Google's advertising business. In any event, we will keep you posted on the development, as usual.</p> <p><em>What is your take on this? Google making a U-Turn and keeping third-party cookies alive in browsers?</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/23/google-rows-back-third-party-cookies-wont-go-away-after-all-in-chrome/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google gives up: third-party cookies won&#039;t go away after all in Chrome</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

7. CrowdStrike in a nutshell: how a faulty software update took down millions of Windows PCs

   Mon, 22 Jul 2024 15:05:11 -0000

   A software update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike was responsible for taking down millions of Windows PCs, some of them in critical industries. Last Friday, reports started to come in from companies and […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post CrowdStrike in a nutshell: how a faulty software update took down millions of Windows PCs appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>A software update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike was responsible for taking down millions of Windows PCs, some of them in critical industries.</p> <p>Last Friday, reports started to come in from companies and organizations from different parts of the world that they experienced computer issues.</p> <p>This incident affected airports, TV stations, air traffic control systems, banks, ticket purchase systems, retailers, and systems of other companies and organizations. Flights could not take off, flight tickets could not get printed, TV broadcasters went offline, hospitals and banks were affected, and numerous other industries experienced service interruptions.</p> <p>The initial panic of a world-wide cyberattack turned out to be wrong. Instead, security analysts and administrators from all over the world suggested that the issue was caused by a faulty update of security software. One developed and maintained by CrowdStrike.</p> <h2>What is CrowdStrike?</h2> <p>CrowdStrike is a Texas-based cybersecurity company that develops security products. It is a market leader for endpoint security products and many Fortune 500 companies and other organizations use CrowdStrike products for security.</p> <p>The company's Falcon security product is an Enterprise Detection and Response (EDR) security software for devices. System updates are pushed via so-called channel files, which are pushed to connected devices automatically.</p> <h2>What happened on Friday and on the weekend?</h2> <p>Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike <a href="https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/falcon-update-for-windows-hosts-technical-details/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">released</a> a security update on Friday that auto-installed on millions of Windows PCs. This update was faulty and it caused bluescreen errors on PCs it was installed on.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>While Windows PCs were affected, the issue itself was not caused by Microsoft or Windows.</p> <p>Administrators could not restore access to the devices easily, which meant that critical systems remained offline. Up to the day of writing, some systems remain offline.</p> <p>Workarounds were published quickly, for instance on Reddit and other forums.  Microsoft <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2024/07/20/helping-our-customers-through-the-crowdstrike-outage/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">published</a> guidance on Saturday, and CrowdStrike <a href="https://www.crowdstrike.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tech-Alert-Windows-crashes-related-to-Falcon-Sensor-2024-07-19.pdf" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">did so</a> on Friday already. There is also a long technical post that <a href="https://www.crowdstrike.com/falcon-content-update-remediation-and-guidance-hub/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">provides</a> answers to common issues.</p> <p>Microsoft said on Saturday that 8.5 million Windows PCS were taken offline because of the security update. It also said that this affected less than 1 percent of the entire Windows population.</p> <p>However, CrowdStrike solutions are not available for home users and small businesses. This makes it a much larger incident percentage-wise, considering that only Enterprise customers could potentially use the company's security solutions.</p> <p>Microsoft <a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/intune-customer-success/new-recovery-tool-to-help-with-crowdstrike-issue-impacting/ba-p/4196959" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">published</a> a recovery tool on Saturday that admins could run to recover the system either from WinPE or safe mode.</p> <p>On BitLocker enabled machines, it is also necessary to enter the BitLocker recovery key according to the posted instructions. This Microsoft <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/where-to-look-for-your-bitlocker-recovery-key-fd2b3501-a4b9-61e9-f5e6-2a545ad77b3e" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">support page</a> may be helpful to find out where to look it up.</p> <h2>How could this happen?</h2> <p>CrowdStrike has not published a full account of the incident. The big question that is on anyone's mind, and especially on the minds of system administrators who spend many hours on Friday and possibly the weekend to resolve the issue, is "how could this happen".</p> <p>How could CrowdStrike release an update that was obviously faulty? How did CrowdStrike test the update before its release? How could it land automatically on more than 8 million PCs before its distribution was stopped?</p> <p>These have not been answered by CrowdStrike up to this point.</p> <p><em>What about you? Where you affected by CrowdStrike, e.g., as an administrator who had to repair affected Windows PCs?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/22/crowdstrike-in-a-nutshell-how-a-faulty-software-update-took-down-millions-of-windows-pcs/" data-wpel-link="internal">CrowdStrike in a nutshell: how a faulty software update took down millions of Windows PCs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

8. Windows 11 is displaying a pop-up to promote the Backup app

   Mon, 22 Jul 2024 06:49:58 -0000

   Microsoft is displaying another nagging pop-up in Windows 11. This time, it promotes the Windows Backup app. The app debuted last year for Windows 10 and 11, to help users back up […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11 is displaying a pop-up to promote the Backup app appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Microsoft is displaying another nagging pop-up in Windows 11. This time, it promotes the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/05/25/heres-a-look-at-microsofts-new-windows-backup-app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows Backup app</a>.</p> <p>The app debuted last year for Windows 10 and 11, to help users back up their data. It does not include a complete backup of your system, instead Windows Backup makes a copy of your important files and folders (Documents, Desktop, Pictures, Videos), your settings, and credentials. The problem with it is that it relies on OneDrive’s cloud storage, and as you may know, free Microsoft accounts are limited to 5 GB of storage. Users can run out of space rather quickly if they store a lot of files in the aforementioned directories. Microsoft recently made a change to the initial setup of Windows 11, which enables OneDrive folder back up by default, this also poses a similar problem, i.e. you could run out of storage space, unless you upgrade to a premium plan which starts at $1.99 per month.</p> <h3><strong>Windows 11 is displaying another annoying pop-up asking users to use Windows Backup</strong></h3> <p>Now, Microsoft has begun displaying a pop-up to promote Windows Backup. The nag-screen, which was spotted by <a href="https://www.windowslatest.com/2024/07/18/windows-11-is-nagging-users-to-try-onedrive-to-fully-backup-your-pc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Windows Latest</a>, is a server-side change. The message warns the user that "Your PC is not fully backed up", and the wording below it says "Backup is not turned on for Credentials and Folders. Back up now to save them if something happens to your PC". The pop-up has a button to "Back up now", and another to "Dismiss" the warning.</p> <p>Considering that Windows Backup saves a limited amount of user data, i.e., your local folders are not backed up, the warning about backing up your PC is actually incorrect. This makes the pop-ups even more annoying. Windows Latest says that dismissing the notification will disable the pop-up for a few weeks, but the pop-up could reappear if you disable some Settings.</p> <p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-11-gets-pushy-with-another-pop-up-this-time-for-microsofts-backup-app-and-all-this-is-getting-tiresome-frankly" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">TechRadar</a> suggested that Microsoft should consider making a Promo Center in Windows 11, to highlight the features and options that a user may have not enabled, such as the Windows Backup app. That's a good idea, limiting all the ads to a specific app that you can access if you want to would be a great improvement, instead of these pop-ups that are shoved in your face. That said, it is highly unlikely that it will happen. If anything, we can expect even more ads, because that is sadly what Microsoft cares about these days.</p> <p>There have been several other ads in Windows over the past year. Windows 10 users ran into <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/02/06/microsoft-is-pestering-windows-10-users-with-full-screen-pop-ups-to-upgrade-to-windows-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">full-screen pop-up</a> messages which prompted them to upgrade them to Windows 11. And then there were the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/03/18/microsoft-shows-another-bing-popup-advertisement-to-windows-users/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Bing pop-up ads</a> that appeared in Google Chrome. I have lost count of the number of times Microsoft has promoted Edge, Bing, OneDrive, in other areas of Windows 11. You may run into ads in the Start Menu, Settings app, and File Explorer. Did you know that the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/01/microsofts-weather-app-now-displays-more-ads/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft Weather app</a> shows ads too? Microsoft needs to stop this nonsense and focus on improving Windows 11. You don't see Apple pushing its products aggressively on macOS, do you? That's how you treat your users, it's their computer, not your billboard to display ads.</p> <p>If you want to back up your PC, you can use free apps like <a href="https://www.veeam.com/products/free/microsoft-windows.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Veeam Agent,</a> <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/08/rescuezilla-open-source-backup-restore-and-recovery-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Rescuezilla</a>, or <a href="https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/macrium_reflect_free_edition.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Macrium Reflect Free</a>, and save the data to your external hard drive.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/22/windows-11-is-displaying-a-pop-up-to-promote-the-backup-app/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 is displaying a pop-up to promote the Backup app</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

9. Google is killing all links of its URL Shortener goo.gl

   Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:24:16 -0000

   Millions of links will stop working next year as a consequence of Google shutting down its URL Shortener service goo.gl. Google announced the change on its Developer blog this week. According to […]

   Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google is killing all links of its URL Shortener goo.gl appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

   <p>Millions of links will stop working next year as a consequence of Google shutting down its URL Shortener service goo.gl.</p> <p>Google <a href="https://developers.googleblog.com/en/google-url-shortener-links-will-no-longer-be-available/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">announced</a> the change on its Developer blog this week. According to the post, goo.gl links will stop working on August 25th, 2025. Starting next month, users will see an interstitial page that informs them about the upcoming termination of the service.</p> <p>The page says "this link will no longer work in the near future". Users have the option to continue to the link target and to check "don't show this again" to skip the warning page until August 25, 2025.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205872" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/this-link-will-no-longer-work-in-the-future.png" alt="This link will no longer work in the future" width="820" height="364" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/this-link-will-no-longer-work-in-the-future.png 820w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/this-link-will-no-longer-work-in-the-future-768x341.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></p> <p>Google says that the interstitial page may cause interruptions to certain workflows, including:</p> <ul> <li>If 302 redirects are used, the interstitial page may prevent the redirect flow from completing correctly.</li> <li>Embedded social metadata in the destination page may also likely not be shown anymore where the initial link is displayed.</li> </ul> <p>Developers who notice interruptions may append the parameter si=1 to the query to skip the interstitial page. Note that this will only work until August 25, 2025.</p> <h2>Google URL Shortener</h2> <p>Google launched its URL Shortener in 2010. First used by Google Toolbar and Feedburner, it became later available for public use. I checked it out in 2010, even created a Ghack link -- https://goo.gl/pKTg -- and concluded that it <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2010/10/01/goo-gl-google-url-shortener-do-we-really-need-it/" data-wpel-link="internal">was not really something that the world needed</a>.</p> <p>Google switched to a different internal system and stopped accepting new users <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2018/04/01/google-shuts-down-google-url-shortener-goo-gl/" data-wpel-link="internal">since April 2018</a>. One year later, Google turned off the service for existing customers.</p> <p>While it did so, it did not touch the shortened links at the time. This changes next year with the termination of all shortened links.</p> <h2>Goo.gl URL Shortener alternatives</h2> <p>Developers and users who rely on goo.gl shortened links are advised to replace them as soon as possible.</p> <p>Several alternatives exist, including:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://tinyurl.com/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">TinyURL</a> - Been around for a long time. Offers a free account, which has a 100 URLs per month limit.</li> <li><a href="https://bitly.com/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Bitly</a> - good for just 10 links per month, but maybe sufficient for some.</li> </ul> <p>Closing Words</p> <p>The number of existing goo.gl redirects that still work is unclear. Considering that Google stopped accepting new links in 2019, it is likely that a good percentage of links is no longer valid.</p> <p>With that said, considering that Google and users created links for almost a decade, it is certain that a large number of links is still working and used.</p> <p>Some of these will be replaced using direct links or other URL shortening services. Others will stop working next year and no one will know to which resource on the Internet they linked to.</p> <p><em>What about you? Have you used URL shortening services recently? Or do you still use shortened URLs actively? Let us know in the comments down below!</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <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 killing all links of its URL Shortener goo.gl</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

10. You should now be able to get Windows 11 Version 23H2, if you have not already

    Thu, 18 Jul 2024 13:10:39 -0000

    Microsoft released Windows 11 version 23H2 last year to the public. It,, and the Moments Update that followed, introduced Windows Copilot and thus the first tiny bits of AI in Windows. The […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post You should now be able to get Windows 11 Version 23H2, if you have not already appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft released <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/16/here-is-what-you-can-expect-from-the-windows-11-version-23h2-update/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 version 23H2</a> last year to the public. It,, and the Moments Update that followed, introduced <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/05/24/microsoft-windows-copilot-azure-ai/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows Copilot</a> and thus the first tiny bits of AI in Windows.</p> <p>The actual release of the feature update was unspectacular, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/05/19/dont-expect-too-much-from-windows-11-version-23h2/" data-wpel-link="internal">underwhelming even</a>. Microsoft did a bad job at differentiating between the feature update and the feature drop that followed immediately afterwards.</p> <p>Furthermore, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/04/windows-copilot-is-still-dumb-like-a-rock/" data-wpel-link="internal">Copilot did not offer much in terms</a> of differentiation when compared to the web or application versions.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/02/22/windows-11-version-23h2-is-going-to-be-installed-automatically-on-older-systems/" data-wpel-link="internal">This February</a>, Microsoft announced that it is installing Windows 11 version 23H2 on devices automatically that have or about to reach end of servicing. Most users who wanted the new version of Windows had installed it by now, but this was designed to get older Windows 11 versions updated.</p> <p>Earlier this month, Microsoft reminded customers that the consumer version of Windows 11 version22H2 and Windows 11 version 21H2 for organizations would run out of support in October.</p> <h2>Broad availability</h2> <p>Microsoft <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-11-23h2" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">announced</a> yesterday that Windows 11 version 23H2 has reached broad availability. This means, that it is now available to "all users with eligible devices" according to Microsoft.</p> <p>One caveat: It may still be necessary to hit the check for updates button to get the feature update offered on some devices.</p> <p>Microsoft reiterates that non-managed Windows 11 Home and Pro devices will be upgraded to the new version of Windows automatically "when they reach, or approach, end of servicing".</p> <p>In other words:</p> <ol> <li>If you run Windows 11 version 22H2 or earlier on an unmanaged device, you will be upgraded automatically to Windows 11 version 23H2 in the coming weeks and months.</li> <li>If you want Windows 11 version 23H2 and have not got it yet, there is a good chance that it is offered to you when you hit the check for updates button.</li> <li>If you manage a Windows 11 version 21H2 device, it will be updated automatically as well in the coming months.</li> </ol> <p><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-11-23h2" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">While there are not any known issues</a> listed currently by Microsoft, it is still possible that some devices will not get the update offer, even when the update check button is activated.</p> <p>Other ways to update to a new Windows 11 version may still be open in this case. This includes creating new Windows 11 installation media with the help of <a href="https://rufus.ie/en/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Rufus</a>, especially on devices that <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/03/04/rufus-3-18-adds-support-for-windows-11-inplace-upgrade-bypasses/" data-wpel-link="internal">do not meet the official system requirements of Windows 11</a>.</p> <p><em>What about you? Do you run devices with Windows 11? Or do you prefer another Windows version, or even a non-Windows operating system?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/18/you-should-now-be-able-to-get-windows-11-version-23h2-if-you-have-not-already/" data-wpel-link="internal">You should now be able to get Windows 11 Version 23H2, if you have not already</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

11. Microsoft is bringing Designer's AI editor to Windows 11's Photos app

    Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:01:27 -0000

    Microsoft has announced that it is adding some new AI features to the Photos app on Windows 11. The options will be powered by Microsoft Designer's AI. As you may be aware, […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft is bringing Designer's AI editor to Windows 11's Photos app appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft has announced that it is adding some new AI features to the Photos app on Windows 11. The options will be powered by Microsoft Designer's AI.</p> <p>As you may be aware, the Microsoft Photos app already has a button that lets you edit an image in Designer online. Clicking on the button opens https://designer.microsoft.com in your web browser, with the image loaded and ready for editing. This is the experience that Microsoft is changing, the company wants to allow users to edit the images with Designer directly.</p> <h3><strong>Microsoft Photos app gains AI-powered editing tools</strong></h3> <p>The Photos app is gaining options to use Designer's AI to erase objects, blur the background, use generative erase to remove backgrounds or replace them, automatically crop images, etc. You can also use apply filters, or make adjustments to the brightness, contrast or saturation of the photos. Designer offers various options to add text or markup the images.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205865" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Photos-app-with-Designer-AI-editing-options.jpg" alt="Microsoft Photos app with Designer AI editing options" width="1200" height="639" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Photos-app-with-Designer-AI-editing-options.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Photos-app-with-Designer-AI-editing-options-768x409.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>The AI features in the Windows 11 Photos app are available for users who have opted into the Windows Insider Program. Microsoft says that the AI experience is currently available for the following Windows display languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese (Brazil). You will need the Photos app version number 2024.11070.12001.0 or above, and sign in to your Microsoft account to use Designer's AI features. Signing in to your account will allow the app to save your edits.</p> <p>Note: I couldn't test the features, so I can't say how they work. (Images: via Microsoft)</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2024/07/17/new-ways-to-get-creative-with-microsoft-designer-powered-by-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">announcement</a> also mentions that these advanced options in Microsoft Designer are coming soon to Edge. Microsoft has also introduced Designer for Copilot Pro subscribers, which will allowing users to create images and designs in Word or PowerPoint. Word users will soon be able to ask the AI to create a banner for their documents based on the document's contents.</p> <h3><strong>Microsoft Designer is now available for Android and iOS</strong></h3> <p>On a side note, Microsoft also announced the general availability of a standalone Microsoft Designer app. The app was in beta for a while, but is now available for users on <a href="https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9pjgrcldlx5v" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Windows</a>, <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-designer/id6448308247" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.designer" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Android</a> devices. It is a free app which you can use to create generative images and designs on your mobile device, for instance, to create a birthday card.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205867" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Designer-is-now-available-for-Android-and-iOS.jpg" alt="Microsoft Designer is now available for Android and iOS" width="1200" height="793" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Designer-is-now-available-for-Android-and-iOS.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Designer-is-now-available-for-Android-and-iOS-768x508.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>Microsoft has been adding AI features to many apps on Windows 11 including <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/10/microsoft-is-adding-cowriter-ai-to-notepad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Notepad</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/30/paints-ai-image-creator-is-now-available-for-everyone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Paint</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/15/windows-11s-snipping-tool-is-getting-a-text-recognition-feature-called-text-actions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Snipping Tool</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/30/microsoft-edges-latest-ai-tool-sends-open-websites-to-microsoft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Edge</a> browser, and in its Office apps. And of course, Windows 11 comes with the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/03/25/microsoft-copilot-app-getting-installed-on-windows-devices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Copilot app</a>. The Redmond company faced backlash from security experts when it unveiled <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/21/microsoft-announces-copilot-pcs-and-ai-powered-recall-feature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Recall</a>, a feature that captures the content of the screen once every 5 minutes, and makes the data searchable via user interactions with the AI. Microsoft had to react to the concerns quickly, and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/14/the-end-of-windows-11s-recall-ai-feature-microsoft-postpones-launch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">removed Recall</a> from Copilot PCs. However, the Silicon Valley mogul has been working on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/18/microsoft-is-testing-new-features-in-windows-recall-screenray-and-topics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">adding features to Recall</a>. It is possible that the controversial feature could be included as part of the upcoming <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/23/microsoft-releases-windows-11-24h2-to-the-release-preview-channel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 24H2 Update</a>.</p> <p>AI has been slowly but steadily creeping into Windows apps, and this is rather concerning. Features like <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/08/first-look-at-notepads-spell-checker-surprise-it-is-not-as-bad-as-it-sounds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Spell Check</a> are welcome, but why add these intrusive AI features to offline apps like Notepad, Paint or Photos? It would have been better if the company left the apps alone, and instead offered the AI experiences separately, or via the Copilot app.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/18/microsoft-is-bringing-designers-ai-editor-to-windows-11s-photos-app/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft is bringing Designer&#039;s AI editor to Windows 11&#039;s Photos app</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

12. Google Chrome will soon throw security warnings at you that you cannot ignore

    Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:04:39 -0000

    Google is changing how Chrome reports potentially malicious file downloads to the user. While the blocking algorithm is not changing, Chrome will display full screen security warnings to the user. Google Chrome […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google Chrome will soon throw security warnings at you that you cannot ignore appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Google is changing how Chrome reports potentially malicious file downloads to the user. While the blocking algorithm is not changing, Chrome will display full screen security warnings to the user.</p> <p>Google Chrome blocks file downloads that its Safe Browsing feature considers malicious. Whether these are indeed malicious or not is not always clear, as Safe Browsing may block access to files that are not.</p> <p>Google has changed Chrome's Safe Browsing feature several times in recent history. Here are two recent changes:</p> <ul> <li>In September 2023,<a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/08/google-enables-real-time-checks-in-chromes-safe-browsing-security-feature/" data-wpel-link="internal"> Google enabled real-time checks in Chrome's Safe Browsing feature</a>.</li> <li>Also in 2023, Google added options to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/22/google-chrome-extensions-module-in-safety-check/" data-wpel-link="internal">warn users about malicious extensions in Chrome</a>.</li> </ul> <h2>Google changing how Chrome handles dangerous downloads</h2> <p>Soon, Google Chrome will display a different kind of warning when users attempt to download malicious files.  First up is the blocking of the file download.</p> <figure id="attachment_205859" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205859" style="width: 1289px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205859" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-warning-download.png" alt="Chrome download warning" width="1289" height="714" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-warning-download.png 1289w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-warning-download-768x425.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-warning-download-1200x665.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1289px) 100vw, 1289px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205859" class="wp-caption-text">Chrome displaying a download warning when it rates a file as malicious</figcaption></figure> <p>Chrome displays the download list and states "dangerous download blocked" in red letters underneath the download.</p> <p>A click on the download reveals additional information. In the case of the test download, Chrome stated "this file is dangerous".</p> <figure id="attachment_205860" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205860" style="width: 1289px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205860" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/this-file-is-dangerous-chrome.png" alt="This File is dangerous" width="1289" height="714" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/this-file-is-dangerous-chrome.png 1289w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/this-file-is-dangerous-chrome-768x425.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/this-file-is-dangerous-chrome-1200x665.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1289px) 100vw, 1289px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205860" class="wp-caption-text">Chrome revealing that a file download is dangerous</figcaption></figure> <p>The only options at this point are to delete the download from the history and to click on a help link. Deleting the download from history removes it from the system.</p> <p>The only option to resume the download is the following:</p> <ol> <li>Load chrome://downloads/ in the browser's address bar or select Menu &gt; Downloads.</li> <li>Activate the menu icon next to the flagged file and select "download dangerous file" from the menu. Chrome throws a full browser window warning at you at this point.</li> <li>Select "continue anyway".</li> <li>Pick a reason for wanting to download the file. Chrome gives three: <ol> <li>I created this file.</li> <li>I trust the site.</li> <li>I'm willing to accept the risk,</li> </ol> </li> <li>Activate the download button.</li> </ol> <figure id="attachment_205861" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205861" style="width: 1289px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205861" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-warning-reason.png" alt="Chrome Download Warning reason" width="1289" height="714" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-warning-reason.png 1289w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-warning-reason-768x425.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-warning-reason-1200x665.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1289px) 100vw, 1289px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205861" class="wp-caption-text">Provide a reason for downloading the file</figcaption></figure> <p>It does not matter which reason you select, all lead to the download. Once you have clicked on the download button, Chrome will download the file to the local system.</p> <p>To better understand how this differs from Chrome's current process, it is necessary to list it here.</p> <p>Current versions of Chrome will also prevent the download and display only the delete history option in the download window. A click on the menu on the downloads page displays a prompt with an option to download the file.</p> <figure id="attachment_205862" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205862" style="width: 1378px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205862" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-dangerous-file.png" alt="Current Chrome download dangerous files" width="1378" height="705" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-dangerous-file.png 1378w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-dangerous-file-768x393.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-download-dangerous-file-1200x614.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1378px) 100vw, 1378px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205862" class="wp-caption-text">Current Chrome dialog for dangerous files</figcaption></figure> <p>In other words, there is no full page warning screen or the requirement to select a reason for downloading the file.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Whether this new barrier to downloading dangerous files will reduce the number of malicious downloads remains to be seen. It is surely adding complexity to the process and it feels strange that users have to select a reason for wanting to download the file, especially since all lead to the desired result.</p> <p>There is still the option to use a different browser, if a particular download is not working properly in Chrome.</p> <p><em>What about you? Do you use web browsers to download files or specialized download managers? Feel free to write  a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/17/google-chrome-will-soon-throw-security-warnings-at-you-that-you-cannot-ignore/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google Chrome will soon throw security warnings at you that you cannot ignore</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

13. Windows Updates will be smaller after the release of Windows 11 version 24H2

    Tue, 16 Jul 2024 11:32:41 -0000

    Microsoft announced a fundamental change to Windows Updates. The built-in service delivers updates to millions of Windows devices throughout the world. Starting with the release of this year's feature update, most Windows […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows Updates will be smaller after the release of Windows 11 version 24H2 appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft announced a fundamental change to Windows Updates. The built-in service delivers updates to millions of Windows devices throughout the world.</p> <p>Starting with the release of this year's feature update, most Windows updates will become considerably smaller. To better understand the change, it is important to look at the current situation.</p> <p>Cumulative updates for Windows 11 include all the changes since the last RTM release of the operating system. This means that they contain fixes and changes that may have been installed already on a device.</p> <p><strong>Good to know:</strong> the planned change applies to Windows 11 version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025. Future client and server Windows releases will also make use of the new functionality.</p> <h2>Windows 11 Checkpoint Cumulative Updates</h2> <p>Checkpoint Cumulative Updates for Windows 11 change that. The core idea here is that Microsoft will make certain updates checkpoint updates. These move the base version so that older fixes and patches are no longer included.</p> <p>Technically, Microsoft is changing update packages so that they only contain the differentials since the previous checkpoint cumulative update. The effect, says Microsoft, is saved time, bandwidth, and hard drive space.</p> <p>A given Windows 11 release may have multiple checkpoint updates during its lifecycle according to Microsoft. The servicing stack of a Windows 11 release "can merge all checkpoints and only download and install content that's missing on the device" according to Microsoft.</p> <p>This new technology does not require changes on devices. Microsoft says that the new system works with Windows Update, Windows Update for Business, Windows Autopatch, and Windows Server Update Services. All tools and services used will work as usual after the change lands.</p> <p>Administrators and users who download updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog website may notice that multiple are provided for specific versions of Windows. Microsoft reveals that one update file will be provided for each checkpoint and another that contains the cumulative payload since the latest checkpoint update.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>The improvement to the delivery of updates for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 makes updates smaller in most cases. This means faster downloads and installs of Windows updates going forward.</p> <p>Microsoft introduced a change back in 2021 for Windows 11 that cut the average size of updates by about 40%. It introduced the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/25/windows-10-updates-download-faster-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">same change for Windows 10 in 2024</a>. The new checkpoint system makes updates even smaller, as it uses the checkpoints to compute binary differentials.</p> <p>All in all, this looks like a positive change for most system administrators and home users. Only users who download updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog website may have more work at hand as they need to manage multiple update packages now.</p> <p>You can check out Microsoft's announcement <a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/introducing-windows-11-checkpoint-cumulative-updates/ba-p/4182552" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">about the change here</a>. Microsoft has not revealed if the change will also land on Windows 10.</p> <p><em>What is your take on the new checkpoint cumulative updates system? 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/2024/07/16/windows-updates-will-be-smaller-after-the-release-of-windows-11-version-24h2/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows Updates will be smaller after the release of Windows 11 version 24H2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

14. Game developer claims Intel is selling defective CPUs

    Tue, 16 Jul 2024 10:19:54 -0000

    A game developer has published a report that claims Intel has been selling defective CPUs to users. Alderon Games says that some stability issues seem to be affecting Intel's 13th and 14th […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Game developer claims Intel is selling defective CPUs appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>A game developer has published a report that claims <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/15/microsoft-publishes-new-registry-mitigation-for-intel-processors-spectre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Intel</a> has been selling defective CPUs to users. Alderon Games says that some stability issues seem to be affecting Intel's 13th and 14th gen K/KF/KS chips.</p> <h3><strong>What's wrong with Intel 13900k and 14900k CPUs?</strong></h3> <p>This is not the first time that the Raptor Lake chipsets have been found to be unstable. A <a href="https://www.radgametools.com/oodleintel.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">bulletin</a> published by Unreal Engine's RAD Game Tools in April this year attributed Oodle decompression failures to the instability of Intel processors. The statement highlighted that the problem was due to high clock rates and power usage of the CPUs, i.e. overclocked processors.</p> <p>The <a href="https://alderongames.com/intel-crashes" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">report</a> by Matthew Cassells, the Founder of Alderon Games, reveals that several users who played the company's multiplayer dinosaur survival game, Path of Titans, ran into a lot of problems such as crashes, instability, and memory corruption. Alderon analyzed the crash reports and identified the failures in 5 areas.</p> <p>Users were experiencing crashes on Intel 13th and 14 Gen CPUs while playing the game. The game's developers were also running into instability when they were working on the game or running benchmark tools. They say that the errors even resulted in SSD and memory corruption, which is shocking because it is kind of a rare issue. The developers also highlighted that the crashes affected their game's servers, crashing them completely.</p> <p>Several reports on reddit indicate that gamers are running into out of video driver memory (VRAM) error messages, even though their PCs had sufficient memory. Players have also been reported about the problems they faced in other games, either related to the CPU or the GPU.</p> <h3><strong>Experts say Intel has a big problem</strong></h3> <p>Wendell Wilson posted a video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzHcrbT5D_Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Level1Techs</a>' YouTube channel that explains why Intel's 13900k's and 14900k's are crashing frequently. The analysis of two different telemetry databases (crash reports from 2 Unreal engine games), showed that the majority of issues were related to the Intel 13900k and 14900k. Level1Tech said that data centers which had these CPUs saw a 50% failure rate in a seven-day period.</p> <p>The analysis indicated that the CPUs degraded over time, and this resulted in more and more errors. This is something that Alderon Games had also mentioned, that these CPUs had a nearly 100% failure rate in their tests, and it was only a matter of time before the affected CPUs could fail. Another video published by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAE4NWoyMZk" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Gamers Nexus</a> featuring Steve Burke and Wendell, explains more about the problem. The findings suggest that the only way to fix the instability issues could be by replacing the CPUs.</p> <p>On a similar note, the developers of the popular game, Warframe, have also revealed (via <a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/warframe-devs-report-80-percent-of-game-crashes-happen-on-intel-overclockable-core-i9-chips" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Tom's Hardware</a>) that Intel's K-series chips, specifically the Core i9 and Core i7 CPUs, are the major culprits in nearly 80% of crashes.</p> <p>Intel had previously confirmed that it was investigating the issues reported by users and outlets, and has published some guidance. The company noted, in a <a href="https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/June-2024-Guidance-regarding-Intel-Core-13th-and-14th-Gen-K-KF/m-p/1607807" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">support document</a>, that some motherboards (BIOS) had been allowing the processor to run "at turbo frequencies and voltages even while the processor is at a high temperature." Intel is advising users to run their PCs at their stock settings, i.e. without overclocking them.</p> <p>The chipset maker released a new Microcode and BIOS update, which was to fix the eTVB (enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost). But this was not identified as the root cause of these instability issues, and Intel is still investigating the problems. Intel is working with mother<span class="sub_section_element_selectors"> partners to roll out the patch for the eTVB bug, as part of BIOS updates, the updates should be released on July 19th.</span></p> <p>Alderon says that Intel's updates have not fixed the problems so far, and that the company has swapped its servers to AMD CPUs, which the company claims is experiencing far fewer crashes than on the Intel CPUs. The developers are also notifying users who have these processors about the issue, and how they can fix it.</p> <p>What could Intel do, if this is a hardware defect? Recall the affected CPUs and offer replacements?</p> <p>Are you using an Intel 13th or 14th gen CPU? Have you overclocked it? Have you run into similar problems with your PC? Share your experience with us.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/16/game-developer-claims-intel-is-selling-defective-cpus/" data-wpel-link="internal">Game developer claims Intel is selling defective CPUs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

15. How to change your Windows account password

    Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:54:24 -0000

    Most Windows accounts are protected by an account password. This password is needed to sign in to user account. Our step-by-step guide walks you through the process of changing the account password […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How to change your Windows account password appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Most Windows accounts are protected by an account password. This password is needed to sign in to user account. Our step-by-step guide walks you through the process of changing the account password on Windows devices.</p> <p>You may set a password  when you create the first user account during setup or another account while Windows is up and running. This is optional and leaving the password field empty does not prevent the creation of the (local) account on the Windows machine.</p> <p>Microsoft is making it difficult to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/03/11/how-to-set-up-windows-11-without-a-microsoft-account/" data-wpel-link="internal">set up a local Windows account during first run</a>. It is still possible, in most cases, but not exactly user friendly.</p> <p>There are multiple reasons for wanting to change the password:</p> <ul> <li>Your password leaked and you want to change it to secure your PC.</li> <li>You picked a relatively weak password and want a stronger one.</li> <li>You want to get rid of the password and log in without having to provide one.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Note</strong>: The Windows password is not the same as the Windows PIN. While both can be used to sign-in, there are notable differences, especially <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/08/the-differences-between-windows-account-pins-and-passwords/" data-wpel-link="internal">between PIN and between Microsoft account passwords</a>.</p> <h2>How to change the Windows password: step-by-step guide</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205850" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/change-windows-account-password.png" alt="Changing the Windows password" width="1112" height="677" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/change-windows-account-password.png 1112w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/change-windows-account-password-768x468.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1112px) 100vw, 1112px" /></p> <p>The following steps are valid for local accounts and Microsoft accounts. They enable you to change the password of the account you sign-in with on the system. If you use a Microsoft account, you change the password of that account. Similarly, you may change a local account password if you sign-in with a local account.</p> <ol> <li>Open Start and select Settings from the list of apps.</li> <li>Go to Accounts &gt; Sign-in options &gt; Password.</li> <li>Expand the Password section with a click on the down-arrow icon.</li> <li>Activate the button Change.</li> <li>Type the current user password (leave blank if you have not set a password).</li> <li>Type the new password twice.</li> <li>Add the password hint.</li> <li>Click on the Next button once you have done so.</li> <li>Select Finish to complete the process.</li> </ol> <p>The new password is active immediately. You need to type it when you sign-in to the Windows account the next time on the device.</p> <p><strong>Special case:</strong> there is no Password section. If you do not see a password section in Settings (as described below), then you need to do the following:</p> <ol> <li>Scroll down all the way on the Sign-in options page of the Settings app.</li> <li>Toggle <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/10/10/how-to-sign-in-to-windows-11-automatically/" data-wpel-link="internal">For improved security, only allow Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts on this device (Recommended</a> to Off.</li> </ol> <p>You should now see the password option on the page.</p> <p>Note that you may also set a Windows Hello PIN for the account. This may then be used to sign-in to the account once set up.</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong>: you may also <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2011/03/28/how-to-change-a-windows-account-name-and-user-profile-folder-name/" data-wpel-link="internal">change the Windows account name and user profile folder</a>.</p> <h2>Closing Words</h2> <p>The above method works under Windows 10 and Windows 11. Advanced users may use different tools to change passwords or reset them.</p> <ol> <li>There is netplwiz, which you may use to reset passwords.</li> <li>The net user command may also be used to set user passwords using "net user &lt;username&gt; &lt;password&gt;".</li> </ol> <p><em>What about you? Have you set a password for your Windows account, or do you prefer no password or another sign-in option?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/15/how-to-change-your-windows-account-password/" data-wpel-link="internal">How to change your Windows account password</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

16. Thunderbird 128 Nebula: almost there, four channels and ESR

    Fri, 12 Jul 2024 04:55:10 -0000

    The Thunderbird team continues its work on the next big version of the open source email client. Thunderbird 128 Nebula is almost ready and the makers have published a support page that […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Thunderbird 128 Nebula: almost there, four channels and ESR appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>The Thunderbird team continues its work on the next big version of the open source email client. Thunderbird 128 Nebula is almost ready and the makers have <a href="https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-128-nebula-faq#w_what-is-happening-with-thunderbird-sync#09" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">published</a> a support page that reveals information on the upcoming version.</p> <p>The main topics covered are:</p> <ul> <li>Thunderbird Sync</li> <li>Exchange support</li> <li>Thunderbird 128's ESR label.</li> <li>Customization support</li> </ul> <p><strong>Note</strong>: It is not 100% clear when Thunderbird 128 will be released. Previous releases were first offered as standalone installers before they were being made available through the program's automatic updating system.</p> <h2>Thunderbird 128: four release channels</h2> <figure id="attachment_205845" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205845" style="width: 2058px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205845" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thunderbird-128.png" alt="Thunderbird Daily" width="2058" height="1309" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thunderbird-128.png 2058w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thunderbird-128-768x488.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thunderbird-128-1536x977.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thunderbird-128-2048x1303.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/thunderbird-128-1200x763.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2058px) 100vw, 2058px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205845" class="wp-caption-text">Latest Thunderbird Daily release</figcaption></figure> <p>Going forward, Thunderbird 128 will be offered in four different versions. These are:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Thunderbird Daily</strong> -- Updates daily with changes similar to Firefox Nightly.</li> <li><strong>Thunderbird Beta</strong> -- Gets a major update every four weeks and smaller updates for testing before release to stable.</li> <li><strong>Thunderbird Release</strong> -- The stable version of the email client. Gets major updates every four weeks.</li> <li><strong>Thunderbird ESR</strong> -- The Extended Support Release version. Gets major updates once a year, minor updates and security updates regularly.</li> </ul> <p>Thunderbird users who do not want to run development versions have the choice between Release and ESR. The main difference is that ESR is getting major changes once per year while Release once per month.</p> <p>Thunderbird users who want stability over anything else may pick ESR, even though that means that new features will not be available for several releases.</p> <h2>Thunderbird Sync, Exchange support, and customizations</h2> <p>Thunderbird's development team is working on its own synchronization solution. It will likely not be available when Thunderbird 128 is released. The feature allows users to sync data between Thunderbird clients. This allows you, for example, to sync preferences and other customizations.</p> <p>Regarding Exchange support is available as a pre-beta version. Most organizations and users may want to wait for a final release before they start using it.</p> <p>Those who do not mind or want to test the functionality may consult the official Thunderbird Exchange <a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/Thunderbird:Exchange" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">support page</a>. It reveals how to enable the functionality in Thunderbird.</p> <p>In short:</p> <ol> <li>Select Menu &gt; Settings &gt; General.</li> <li>Click on Config Editor at the bottom of the page.</li> <li>Search for experimental.mail.ews.enabled.</li> <li>Activate the toggle icon to set the preference to True.</li> <li>Restart Thunderbird.</li> </ol> <p>Exchange accounts may now be added using Thunderbird's "add account" process.</p> <p>Regarding customization support, the team says that userChrome customizations continue to be unsupported in Thunderbird 128. Some may break and may need to be adjusted.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Thunderbird 128 will be a major release. Most Thunderbird users may want to wait several months before they upgrade to the new version. This helps sort out any bugs that may pop up after release.</p> <p><em>Do you use the open source email client or another product? What is your expectation regarding Thunderbird 128? 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/2024/07/12/thunderbird-128-nebula-almost-there-four-channels-and-esr/" data-wpel-link="internal">Thunderbird 128 Nebula: almost there, four channels and ESR</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

17. Microsoft is not done yet: more ads spotted in latest Windows 11 build

    Thu, 11 Jul 2024 13:30:55 -0000

    When is an ad an advertisement and not a recommendation? Microsoft clearly likes to use the term recommendation for what others may see as an advertisement. There are recommendations in the Start […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft is not done yet: more ads spotted in latest Windows 11 build appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>When is an ad an advertisement and not a recommendation? Microsoft clearly likes to use the term recommendation for what others may see as an advertisement.</p> <p>There are recommendations in the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/24/how-to-turn-off-app-promotions-in-windows-11s-start-menu/" data-wpel-link="internal">Start menu</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/13/microsoft-is-testing-game-pass-ads-on-the-settings-homepage/" data-wpel-link="internal">Settings app</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/10/14/how-to-disable-lock-screen-ads-on-windows-11/" data-wpel-link="internal">Lock screen</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/03/14/microsoft-is-testing-file-explorer-ads-in-latest-windows-11-insider-build/" data-wpel-link="internal">File Explorer</a>, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/06/02/windows-11s-get-help-support-app-is-showing-ads-as-well-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">Get Help app</a>, and other areas of the operating system already.  These are often not that useful. App recommendations in the Start menu are limited to Microsoft Store apps.</p> <p>Now, Microsoft is testing recommendations in the Microsoft Store app. If you never use the app, you won't be exposed to these. If you do, you may notice recommendations popping up when you try to use the built-in search.</p> <p>First spotted by <a href="https://x.com/phantomofearth/status/1809369066592665649" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">phantomofearth</a> on X, two or three recommendations are shown whenever search is activated in the official Microsoft Store app.</p> <figure id="attachment_205842" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205842" style="width: 1045px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205842" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/recommended-for-you.jpg" alt="Microsoft Store Search recommendations / ads" width="1045" height="366" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/recommended-for-you.jpg 1045w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/recommended-for-you-768x269.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1045px) 100vw, 1045px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205842" class="wp-caption-text">Recommendations shown in the Microsoft Store app. Image source: phantomofearth</figcaption></figure> <p>We were able to verify this independently in the latest Windows 11 Insider build.  Whether the feature will make it into stable versions of Windows 11 remains to be seen. The chance that it does seems good though.</p> <p>Recommendations seem to focus mostly on games at this point, with popular games such as Homescapes, Forza Horizon 5, or Sea of Thieves 2024 Edition being recommended to the user. Some are free to play, usually with some form of in-game monetization scheme, others need to be bought before they can be played.</p> <p>For Microsoft, it is a way to advertise apps and games to the Windows user. It is unclear if Microsoft is receiving compensation for these.</p> <p>To be fair; compared to Google Play, the main store for Android apps, and Apple's App Store, the Microsoft Store is pretty tame when it comes to ads or sponsored content. It is probably not used as widely as those two stores.</p> <p>Many Windows users prefer to get their programs from other places and not the Microsoft Store with its rather limited selection of apps and games.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>If one thing is certain, it is that Windows users should expect more ads in Windows in the future. Whether Microsoft will change its course eventually remains to be seen. For now, the company seems to be all-in on pushing its services and content in the Windows operating system.</p> <p><em>What about you? Do you mind these type of recommendations in the operating systems that you use? 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/2024/07/11/microsoft-is-not-done-yet-more-ads-spotted-in-latest-windows-11-build/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft is not done yet: more ads spotted in latest Windows 11 build</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

18. Microsoft says KB5034440 and KB5034441 updates won't be offered to PCs that meet these conditions

    Thu, 11 Jul 2024 07:01:19 -0000

    Remember the 0x80070643 error that affected the KB5034440 and the KB5034441 Updates. Well, Microsoft has provided more details about the requirements for installing the update. To recap, Microsoft released the KB5034440 Update […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft says KB5034440 and KB5034441 updates won't be offered to PCs that meet these conditions appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Remember the 0x80070643 error that affected the KB5034440 and the KB5034441 Updates. Well, Microsoft has provided more details about the requirements for installing the update.</p> <p>To recap, Microsoft released the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/15/microsoft-confirms-0x80070643-error-during-windows-update-installation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">KB5034440 Update</a> for Windows 10 and Windows 11 in January 2024. The update was meant to patch a security vulnerability in Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), which a hacker could exploit to bypass the BitLocker Encryption. This was fixed in KB5034236, which added the Safe OS Dynamic Update. But the KB5034440/41 Updates were buggy, and would fail to install. Several users tried to install them manually, but were unsuccessful. It always resulted in a 0x80070643 error that said Error Install Failure, which the Redmond company acknowledged as a known issue. The problem was that the recovery partition did not have sufficient disk space, so the update would fail to install. This meant that it could not</p> <p>The issue remained unsolved for a long time, and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/02/microsoft-confirms-it-cant-fix-kb5034441-0x80070643-error-on-windows-10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft officially confirmed</a> in May that it would not be able to fix the problem through a Windows Update. This meant that users had to patch their computers manually.</p> <p>Microsoft had provided some <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5028997-instructions-to-manually-resize-your-partition-to-install-the-winre-update-400faa27-9343-461c-ada9-24c8229763bf" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">instructions</a> about how to patch the WinRE recovery partition. There are two ways to do this, you can add an update package to it manually on <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-update-to-winre?view=windows-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Windows 10</a> and <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-update-to-winre?view=windows-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Windows 11</a>.  Or, you can extend the Windows RE partition (increase the size) by running a <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-update-to-winre?view=windows-11#extend-the-windows-re-partition" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">script given by Microsoft</a>. Once you have extended the partition's size, open the Settings app, and navigate to Windows Update &gt; Check for updates, for the KB5034440 and KB5034441 updates to show up.</p> <h3><strong>This is why KB5034440 and KB5034441 updates won't be offered to you</strong></h3> <p>According to some updated documents on Microsoft's website, the <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5034440-windows-recovery-environment-update-for-windows-11-version-21h2-january-9-2024-1e07724a-3547-40f5-99ff-862cc48fd523" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">KB5034440</a> and <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5034441-windows-recovery-environment-update-for-windows-10-version-21h2-and-22h2-january-9-2024-62c04204-aaa5-4fee-a02a-2fdea17075a8" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">KB5034441</a> Windows updates will not show up in the list of available updates if your computer meets any of these conditions. The WinRE recovery partition requires 250 MB of free space, if your system does not have sufficient free space, you won't get the update.</p> <p>If your computer does not have a WinRE recovery partition, there is nothing to be patched. You can check whether your system has WinRE by running this command in an elevated command prompt: reagentc /info. The terminal will return an output as follows, and if you see Windows RE Status: Enabled, you will need to update it manually.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205839" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/This-is-why-KB5034440-and-KB5034441-updates-wont-be-offered-to-you.jpg" alt="This is why KB5034440 and KB5034441 updates won't be offered to you" width="979" height="512" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/This-is-why-KB5034440-and-KB5034441-updates-wont-be-offered-to-you.jpg 979w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/This-is-why-KB5034440-and-KB5034441-updates-wont-be-offered-to-you-768x402.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 979px) 100vw, 979px" /></p> <p>Your PC will not be eligible for the updates if you had updated the WinRE recovery partition manually, because it is already up-to-date, so you won't see the update in the Settings.  Press Windows + R and type regedit to open the Windows Registry Editor.</p> <p>Navigate to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion, to check the WinREVersion registry value. If the WinRE image version is 10.0.19041.3920 or higher, your PC has been patched already.</p> <p>The above requirements apply to the following operating systems: Windows 10 Home and Pro, version 21H2 Windows 10 Enterprise and Education, version 21H2 Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, version 21H2 Windows 10 Home and Pro, version 22H2 Windows 10 Enterprise Multi-Session, version 22H2 Windows 10 Enterprise and Education, version 22H2 Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, version 22H2.</p> <p>On a side note, Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/09/windows-11-version-21h2-and-22h2-end-of-life-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">end of support</a> in October.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/11/microsoft-says-kb5034440-and-kb5034441-updates-wont-be-offered-to-pcs-that-meet-these-conditions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft says KB5034440 and KB5034441 updates won&#039;t be offered to PCs that meet these conditions</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

19. The Windows Security Updates of July 2024 are now available

    Tue, 09 Jul 2024 17:33:27 -0000

    Microsoft has released security updates for its Windows operating system and other company products. The security updates are available already and should be installed automatically on most home Windows PCs. Our monthly […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post The Windows Security Updates of July 2024 are now available appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft has released security updates for its Windows operating system and other company products. The security updates are available already and should be installed automatically on most home Windows PCs.</p> <p>Our monthly overview provides Windows home users and system administrators with the information they need to make educated decisions. These may help administrators determine when to install these updates.</p> <p>The overview offers information on all main security updates, lists known issues, has links to resource pages and direct update downloads, and much more.</p> <p>Tip: you can check out the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/11/the-windows-security-updates-of-june-2024-are-now-available/" data-wpel-link="internal">June 2024 overview</a> here.</p> <h2>Microsoft Windows Security Updates: July 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/2024/07/windows-security-updates-july-2024.zip" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows Security Updates Master List July 2024</a></p> <p><strong>Executive Summary</strong></p> <ul> <li>Microsoft released a total of 139 security updates for various Microsoft products.</li> <li>Windows clients with issues are: Windows 10 version 1809, 21H2 and 22H2, Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2.</li> <li>Windows Server clients with issues: Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2022</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>70 vulnerabilities, 1 critical, 67 important, and 2 moderate <ul> <li>Windows Imaging Component Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38060" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38060</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Windows 11 version 22H2</strong>: 73 vulnerabilities, 1 critical, 70 important, and 2 moderate <ul> <li>Same as Windows 10 version 22H2.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Windows 11 version 23H2</strong>: 73 vulnerabilities, 1 critical, 70 important, and 2 moderate <ul> <li>Same as Windows 10 version 22H2.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows Server products</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Windows Server 2008 R2 (extended support only):</strong> 35 vulnerabilities: 3 critical,  32 important <ul> <li>Windows Remote Desktop Licensing Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38074" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38074</a></li> <li>Windows Remote Desktop Licensing Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38077" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38077</a></li> <li>Windows Imaging Component Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38060" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38060</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Windows Server 2012 R2 (extended support only)</strong>:  vulnerabilities:  critical and  important <ul> <li>unknown</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Win</strong><strong>dows Server 2016</strong>: 77 vulnerabilities: 4 critical, 72 important, and 1 moderate <ul> <li>Windows Remote Desktop Licensing Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38074" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38074</a></li> <li>Windows Remote Desktop Licensing Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38076" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38076</a></li> <li>Windows Remote Desktop Licensing Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38077" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38077</a></li> <li>Windows Imaging Component Remote Code Execution Vulnerability New -- <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38060" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">CVE-2024-38060</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Windows Server 2019</strong>: 79 vulnerabilities: 4 critical, 74 important, and 1 moderate <ul> <li>Same as Windows Server 2016</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong> Windows Server 2022:</strong> 82 vulnerabilities: 4 critical, 77 important, and 1 moderate <ul> <li>Same as Windows Server 2016</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/july-9-2024-kb5040427-os-builds-19044-4651-and-19045-4651-78458e76-9404-41b4-91b2-6d3cdcf4a530" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040427</a></li> </ul> <p>Updates and improvements:</p> <ul> <li>New: Copilot app is now pinned to the taskbar. It is a web wrapper to be precise. Can be uninstalled like any other app</li> <li>Fix: fixes the right-click "open with" issue that occurred when right-clicking files.</li> <li>Fixes security issues.</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/july-9-2024-kb5040442-os-builds-22621-3880-and-22631-3880-0864308e-61cc-413b-8194-0294331aba52" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040442</a></li> </ul> <p>Updates and improvements:</p> <ul> <li>New: Game Pass recommendations (ads) in Settings &gt; Home when using a Microsoft account and if games are played on the PC.</li> <li>New: Copilot app is now pinned to the taskbar. It is a web wrapper to be precise. Can be uninstalled like any other app</li> <li>New: restores the "show desktop" icon at the rightmost location of the taskbar.</li> <li>New: File Explorer now supports creating 7-Zip and TAR archives next to ZIP.</li> <li>New: adds support for Emoji 15.1</li> <li>New: copy files from the Windows Share window using the new copy button.</li> <li>New: account manager rollout in the Start menu (ads)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Windows Security updates</strong></p> <p>2024-07 Dynamic Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 and Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040427" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040427</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Dynamic Cumulative Update for Windows 11 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040431" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040431</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for Microsoft server operating system version 21H2 for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040437" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040437</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1507 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040448" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040448</a>)</p> <p><strong>Server</strong></p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Embedded Standard 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040426" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040426</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040490" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040490</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040499" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040499</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040498" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040498</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040497" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040497</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2012 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040456" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040456</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2012 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040485" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040485</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040430" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040430</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Version 1607 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040434" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040434</a>)</p> <p><strong>.NET</strong></p> <p>2024-07 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/5039880" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039880</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2 for Windows Server 2012 R2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039881" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039881</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2 for Windows Embedded Standard 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039882" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039882</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2012 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039888" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039888</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2012 R2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039890" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039890</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039891" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039891</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5 for Windows Server 2012 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039908" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039908</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5.1 for Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039909" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039909</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5 for Windows Server 2012 R2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039910" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039910</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0 for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039911" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039911</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0 for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040118" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040118</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 3.5.1 for Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040119" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040119</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2 for Windows Embedded Standard 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040122" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040122</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040123" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040123</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040673" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040673</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040680" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040680</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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 Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041021" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041021</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041022" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041022</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041023" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041023</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5041024" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041024</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 3.5.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8 for Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041026" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041026</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 SP1, 4.6.2 for Windows Server 2008 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041027" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041027</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5039879" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039879</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5039884" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039884</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Version 1607 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039885" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039885</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5039886" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039886</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 11 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039887" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039887</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5039889" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039889</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5039892" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039892</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5039893" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039893</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039895" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039895</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039906" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039906</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Microsoft server operating system, version 22H2 for x64 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5039907" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5039907</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5041016" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041016</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.7.2 and 4.8 for Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Version 1809 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041017" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041017</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.8 and 4.8.1 for Windows 10 Version 21H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041018" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041018</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 22H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041019" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041019</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5, 4.8 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041020" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041020</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 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/5041025" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041025</a>)</p> <p><strong>Servicing Stack Updates</strong></p> <p>2024-07 Servicing Stack Update for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Version 1607 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040562" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040562</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Servicing Stack Update for Windows 10 Version 1507 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040566" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040566</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Servicing Stack Update for Windows Server 2012 R2 for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040569" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040569</a>)</p> <p>2024-07 Servicing Stack Update for Windows Server 2012 for x64-based Systems (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5040570" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040570</a>)</p> <p><strong>Non-Security updates</strong></p> <div id="td-incontent-814995645205" class="rvloader-container mb--10">2024-07 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 10 Version 22H2, Windows 10 Version 21H2, Windows 10 Version 21H1, and Windows 10 Version 20H2 (<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/help/5041170" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5041170</a>)</div> <h3>Known Issues</h3> <p><strong>Windows 10 version 22H2</strong></p> <p><strong>(OLD) Description</strong>: After installation of the update, users may be unable to change their account profile picture.</p> <p>Workaround: none available at the time.</p> <p><strong>(OLD) Description</strong>: Devices that use Microsoft Connected Cache (MCC) may download updates or apps from the public Internet instead, if they use DHCP Option 235 and have a recent update installed.</p> <p>Workaround: Configure Microsoft Connected Cache endpoint in DOCacheHost policy as indicated in Cache hostname. Additionally, DOCacheHostSourcehas to be set to 1or removed as indicated in Cache hostname source. By default, the DOCacheHost and DOCacheHostSource policies have no value.</p> <p><strong>(Fixed) Description: </strong>Desktop icons may be moved around unexpectedly between monitors when using Copilot on more than one monitor. Users may also experience "other alignment issues" according to Microsoft.</p> <p>Workaround: none. Microsoft may disable Copilot on multimonitor devices.</p> <p><strong>(Fixed) Description:</strong> Copilot in Windows is not supported if the taskbar is located vertically on the right or left side of the screen.</p> <p>Workaround: align the taskbar horizontally, either at the top or bottom of the screen.</p> <p><strong>Windows 11 version 22H2 and 23H2</strong></p> <p><strong>(NEW) Description:</strong> Enterprise customers may face issues when upgrading from a Windows Pro license to a valid Windows Enterprise subscription.</p> <p>Workaround: none, Microsoft is investigating.</p> <p><strong>(Fixed) Description</strong>: After installation of the update, users may be unable to change their account profile picture.</p> <p>Workaround: none available at the time.</p> <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 July 2024 security updates</h3> <p>Most non-managed systems are updated automatically through Windows Updates. Managed systems get updated at the administrators discretion.</p> <p>Home users who want to install the updates immediately after release may run a manual check for updates to do so. This is done in the following ways both on Windows 10 and on Windows 11 PCs:</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> </ol> <p>Windows Updates returns the new cumulative update and often other updates that Microsoft released on the same day. These should be downloaded immediately on most systems.</p> <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=KB5040427" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040427</a> -- 2024-7 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=KB5040442" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040442</a> -- 2024-7 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=KB5040442" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">KB5040442</a> -- 2024-7 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 version 23H2</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-Jul" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external" data-mrf-link="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/releaseNote/2023-Jul">July 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-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 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> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/09/the-windows-security-updates-of-july-2024-are-now-available/" data-wpel-link="internal">The Windows Security Updates of July 2024 are now available</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

20. Firefox 128: big feature release and new ESR-base

    Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:26:11 -0000

    Mozilla plans to release Firefox 128 and Firefox 128 ESR today. The new browser version introduces plenty of new features and improvements, including new translate functionality, a unified user data clearing dialog, […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Firefox 128: big feature release and new ESR-base appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Mozilla plans to release Firefox 128 and Firefox 128 ESR today. The new browser version introduces plenty of new features and improvements, including new translate functionality, a unified user data clearing dialog, and more.</p> <p>All other Firefox editions will also be updated. Firefox for Android to version 128, Firefox Beta and Dev to version 129, and Firefox Nightly to version 130.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: This overview of Firefox 128 is released before the official release of the browser. It may take a few hours before it becomes available.</p> <p><strong>Executive Summary</strong></p> <ul> <li>Firefox 128.0 is a security, bug-fix, and new feature release.</li> <li>Firefox 128 ESR is the new ESR base. Firefox 115 ESR will be supported until October 1, 2024.</li> <li>Mozilla plans to extend support for Firefox on Windows 7 and 8/8.1 (which uses Firefox 115 ESR).</li> </ul> <h2>Firefox 128.0 download and update</h2> <p>Most unmanaged versions of Firefox are updated automatically. This happens hours or even days after release. Firefox users who want to install the new version immediately may do so in the following way:</p> <ol> <li>Select Menu &gt; Help &gt; About Firefox.</li> </ol> <p>Firefox displays the current version and runs a check for update. It should pick up Firefox 128.0 at this point to download and install the new version of the browser.</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 128.0 changes</h2> <p><strong>Translation improvements</strong></p> <figure id="attachment_205832" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205832" style="width: 2099px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205832" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-translate-selection.png" alt="Firefox translate selection" width="2099" height="1094" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-translate-selection.png 2099w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-translate-selection-768x400.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-translate-selection-1536x801.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-translate-selection-2048x1067.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-translate-selection-1200x625.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2099px) 100vw, 2099px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205832" class="wp-caption-text">New Firefox translate feature to translate text parts</figcaption></figure> <p>Firefox Translate is now capable of translating text and hyperlink text selections.</p> <p>Do the following to use the new functionality:</p> <ul> <li>Select text in Firefox.</li> <li>Right-click on the selection.</li> <li>Pick "Translate selection to" from the context menu.</li> </ul> <p>Firefox opens a small overlay window. Translation may take a moment to become available.</p> <p><strong>Changed Clear browsing data and cookies dialog</strong></p> <figure id="attachment_205833" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205833" style="width: 2099px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205833" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-clear-cookies-site-data.png" alt="Firefox's new Clear Cookies and Site Data dialog" width="2099" height="1094" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-clear-cookies-site-data.png 2099w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-clear-cookies-site-data-768x400.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-clear-cookies-site-data-1536x801.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-clear-cookies-site-data-2048x1067.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-clear-cookies-site-data-1200x625.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2099px) 100vw, 2099px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205833" class="wp-caption-text">The new clear browsing data and cookies window</figcaption></figure> <p>Mozilla changed the "Clear browsing data and cookies" dialog in the Firefox web browser. You can access this by going to Menu &gt; Settings &gt; Privacy &amp; Security &gt; Cookies and Site Data &gt; Clear Data.</p> <p>Firefox displayed just two options there previously:</p> <ul> <li>Cookies and Site Data.</li> <li>Cached Web Content.</li> </ul> <p>The new version has four options:</p> <ul> <li>History.</li> <li>Cookies and site data.</li> <li>Temporary cached files and pages.</li> <li>Site settings.</li> </ul> <p>Firefox users may now also select a time range, e.g., the last hour or today, for the cleaning.</p> <h3>Other changes and fixes</h3> <figure id="attachment_205834" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205834" style="width: 2099px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205834" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-website-advertising-preferences.png" alt="Firefox Website Advertising Preferences" width="2099" height="1094" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-website-advertising-preferences.png 2099w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-website-advertising-preferences-768x400.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-website-advertising-preferences-1536x801.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-website-advertising-preferences-2048x1067.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-website-advertising-preferences-1200x625.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2099px) 100vw, 2099px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205834" class="wp-caption-text">Disable or enable Firefox's new advertising feature</figcaption></figure> <ul> <li>Firefox users in the United States and Canada will see their "recent searches or currently trending searches" when they open the address bar of the browser. Mozilla says that this helps users to back to their previous search sessions or get inspiration for new searches.</li> <li>Firefox users may play protected content (DRM) in Private Browsing mode now. Mozilla mentions Netflix specifically, but it should work with other streaming sites as well.</li> <li>Firefox supports the experimental Privacy Preserving Attribution API now. This is an "alternative to user tracking for ad attribution" according to Mozilla. Firefox users may disable the feature by loading about:preferences#privacy in the browser's address bar and disabling "Allow websites to perform privacy-preserving ad measurement" on the page that opens.</li> <li>Mac OS only: microphone capture "through getUserMedia" uses the system-provided voice processing to improve audio quality, when possible.</li> <li>Firefox can display more text file types inline instead of showing a download dialog.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Developer changes</strong></p> <ul> <li>When hovering over a CSS rule selecting in the Developer Tools, CSS rules specificity is now displayed.</li> <li>The Inspector panel now flags a custom property declaration as invalid when the value does not match the registered custom property definition.</li> <li>Enabled by default: Relative color syntax</li> <li>Resizeable ArrayBuffer and growable SharedArrayBuffer are now supported</li> <li>The RFC 9218: Extensible Prioritization Scheme for HTTP is now supported,</li> <li>The content property supports alternative text for content that contains an image.</li> <li>The HTTP Accept header in default requests and image requests now includes the image/svg+xml MIME type.</li> <li>Several API changes, check the release notes <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Firefox/Releases/128" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Enterprise changes</strong></p> <ul> <li>Some options in the SanitizeOnShutdown policy have been combined as a result of the redesigning of the "Clear browsing data and cookies" dialog.</li> <li>Fixed a bug that could cause SPNEGO authentication to fail.</li> <li>Firefox 115 ESR will receive two additional releases in the coming months.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Security updates / fixes</strong></p> <p>Will be published after the official release. Check back later.</p> <p><strong>Outlook</strong></p> <p>Firefox 129, Firefox 128.1 ESR, and Firefox 115.14 ESR will be released on August 6th, 2024.</p> <p><strong>Recent Firefox news and tips</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/18/if-you-use-an-adblocker-you-need-to-read-this/" data-wpel-link="internal">If you use an adblocker, you need to read this!</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/19/google-disrupted-youtube-video-playback-on-firefox-again/" data-wpel-link="internal">Google disrupted YouTube video playback on Firefox, again</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/25/firefox-127-0-2-fixes-google-caused-youtube-playback-issue/" data-wpel-link="internal">Firefox 127.0.2 fixes Google-caused YouTube playback issue</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/25/you-can-try-vertical-tabs-in-firefox-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">You can try Vertical Tabs in Firefox now</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Additional information / resources</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/128.0/releasenotes/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Firefox 128 release notes</a></li> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Firefox/Releases/128" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Firefox 128 for Developers</a></li> <li><a href="https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-enterprise-128-release-notes" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Firefox 128 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>Firefox 128.0 adds a couple of interesting features. The main one is support for translating text selections. It is a bit slower than comparable solutions, but the processing happens on the local device, which is much better for privacy.</p> <p>All existing ESR installations will be upgraded to the new ESR base in the coming months.</p> <p><em>Have you tried the new Firefox already? What is your take on the new features and changes?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/09/firefox-128-big-feature-release-and-new-esr-base/" data-wpel-link="internal">Firefox 128: big feature release and new ESR-base</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

21. Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach end of support in October, forcing an automatic upgrade to 23H2

    Tue, 09 Jul 2024 11:06:03 -0000

    Microsoft has announced that it will stop servicing Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 later this year. Here's what it means for users. Microsoft released Windows 11 on October 5, 2021, about […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach end of support in October, forcing an automatic upgrade to 23H2 appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft has announced that it will stop servicing Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 later this year. Here's what it means for users.</p> <p>Microsoft released Windows 11 on October 5, 2021, about 6 years after Windows 10 was launched. The first version of Windows 11 had the version number 21H2, and it reached its end of support in <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/04/windows-11-21h2-is-reaching-end-of-support-and-devices-will-be-upgraded-automatically/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">October 2023</a> for regular users.</p> <p>However, some editions of Windows 11 21H2 continue to be supported by the company. This is what's changing in Q3. Windows 11 received 2 major updates over the years, aka feature updates. The first of these was the Windows 11 22H2 update, which dropped on September 20, 2022. The current gen version of the operating system is Windows 11 version 23H2, it was released on October 31, 2023.</p> <h3><strong>Microsoft says Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach end of support in 90 days</strong></h3> <p>A <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/windows-message-center#3341" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">support page</a> on the Redmond company's website, which was spotted by <a href="https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-will-end-windows-11-version-21h2-and-22h2-support-in-90-days/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Neowin</a>, says that Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach end of support in 90 days. This impacts Windows 11 2H22 Home or Pro editions. Enterprise, Education and IoT Enterprise editions of Windows 11 version 21H2 will also reach end of life on the same day.</p> <p>To be specific, devices with these versions of the operating system will no longer get security and preview updates after October 8, 2024. IT Administrators will need to upgrade the computers to the latest version of Windows 11 to continue receiving security updates. On the other hand, consumer devices and computers that are non-managed by IT admins will be updated to Windows 11 version 23H2 automatically.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205827" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-says-Windows-11-version-21H2-and-22H2-will-reach-end-of-support-in-90-days.jpg" alt="Microsoft says Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach end of support in 90 days" width="1045" height="636" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-says-Windows-11-version-21H2-and-22H2-will-reach-end-of-support-in-90-days.jpg 1045w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-says-Windows-11-version-21H2-and-22H2-will-reach-end-of-support-in-90-days-768x467.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1045px) 100vw, 1045px" /></p> <p>The <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-11-home-and-pro" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Windows Lifecycle</a> page on Microsoft.com mentions that Windows 11 version 22H2 of the three editions (Enterprise, Education and IoT Enterprise) will be supported until October 14, 2025. Similarly, Windows 11 version 23H2 will receive updates until November 11, 2025, for regular users, while Enterprise, Education and IoT Enterprise users will be able to use the version for a further year, until November 10, 2026.</p> <figure id="attachment_205829" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205829" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-205829 size-full" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Windows-11-version-21H2-and-22H2-will-reach-end-of-support-in-October-2024.jpg" alt="Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach end of support in October 2024" width="1024" height="626" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Windows-11-version-21H2-and-22H2-will-reach-end-of-support-in-October-2024.jpg 1024w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Windows-11-version-21H2-and-22H2-will-reach-end-of-support-in-October-2024-768x470.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205829" class="wp-caption-text">Enterprise and Education end of support dates</figcaption></figure> <p>Microsoft is preparing to release the next feature update, aka <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/23/microsoft-releases-windows-11-24h2-to-the-release-preview-channel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 24H2</a>. It is already available in the Release Preview Channel for participants in the Windows Insider Program. The update spells the end of Cortana, WordPad and the Tips app. Windows 11 24H2 will ship with important changes to AI features that will use Copilot+. Microsoft ran into some trouble with Recall, a feature that was designed to capture the screen content once very 5 minutes, and analyze the data, store it in a searchable form which would in turn allow the user to interact with the A.I. with queries related to their usage or specific content. However, many users and experts criticized the company about potential privacy risks that could arise due to the controversial feature, and Microsoft actually backed down by asking OEMs to delay sending out review units of new CoPilot+ enabled PCs, while it disabled Recall. The feature has not been abandoned yet, as we previously reported a couple of <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/18/microsoft-is-testing-new-features-in-windows-recall-screenray-and-topics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">new features</a> were added to it in the Preview Channel.</p> <p>Windows 11 PCs powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X series chip are running on Windows 11 24H2, and while the devices impressed reviewers in battery life tests, the laptops' <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/20/reports-say-that-qualcomm-snapdragon-x-series-laptops-offer-poor-performance-in-games/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">performance in games</a> was found to be rather abysmal.</p> <p>On a side note, Microsoft is set to retire Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Users will need to upgrade to Windows 11 to continue receiving security updates.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/09/windows-11-version-21h2-and-22h2-end-of-life-support/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2 will reach end of support in October, forcing an automatic upgrade to 23H2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

22. First look at Notepad's Spell Checker: surprise, it is not as bad as it sounds

    Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:38:09 -0000

    While Microsoft continues to kill some apps, including WordPad and Cortana, it is giving other classic apps some love. Notepad is one of these. After enabling tab-support and auto-saving, the Redmond-based company […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post First look at Notepad's Spell Checker: surprise, it is not as bad as it sounds appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>While Microsoft continues to kill some apps, including <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/05/microsoft-removes-wordpad-from-clean-installs-of-windows-11-canary-builds-and-you-cannot-reinstall-it/" data-wpel-link="internal">WordPad</a> and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/04/microsoft-deprecates-the-windows-cortana-app/" data-wpel-link="internal">Cortana</a>, it is giving other classic apps some love.</p> <p>Notepad is one of these. After enabling <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/01/23/how-to-get-notepad-with-tabs-in-the-stable-version-of-windows-11/" data-wpel-link="internal">tab-support</a> and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/01/windows-11s-notepad-is-getting-an-auto-save-feature/" data-wpel-link="internal">auto-saving</a>, the Redmond-based company is now working on <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/03/21/spellcheck-in-notepad-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">spell checking</a> and <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/10/microsoft-is-adding-cowriter-ai-to-notepad/" data-wpel-link="internal">AI features</a>.</p> <p>The current status of the feature exists since April 2024. Microsoft rolled out an updated version of the Notepad app to Beta and Release Preview channels of Windows 11. Not all users have received the functionality by now, but it appears that the company is preparing for a release to the stable Windows population.</p> <p>The initial spell checking version was 11.2402.18.0, but Microsoft released new versions since then.</p> <h2>Notepad's spell checker</h2> <figure id="attachment_205822" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205822" style="width: 927px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205822" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/notepad-spell-checking.png" alt="Spell checking in Notepad" width="927" height="563" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/notepad-spell-checking.png 927w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/notepad-spell-checking-768x466.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205822" class="wp-caption-text">The latest version of Windows' Notepad app with spell checking</figcaption></figure> <p>The best way to check if spell checking is available is to click on Settings and see if a Spelling section is available. Spell checking is supported if you see it listed there.</p> <p><strong>Good news:</strong> The spell checker does not require an active Internet connection. This means that your data is not transferred to Microsoft when spell checking is enabled or used. It is interesting to note that Notepad will spell check multiple languages, including those not installed as a language pack on the system.</p> <p>The feature works as expected. Notepad highlights words that it believes are misspelled. A right-click and the selection of spelling from the menu displays suggestions.</p> <p>There are also options to add a word to the dictionary, ignore the word or all words that Notepad highlighted as incorrectly spelled, and to turn off spell checking entirely.</p> <figure id="attachment_205823" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205823" style="width: 927px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205823" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/notepad-spelling-settings.png" alt="Notepad Spelling Settings" width="927" height="525" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/notepad-spelling-settings.png 927w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/notepad-spelling-settings-768x435.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205823" class="wp-caption-text">All Spell Checking settings of Notepad</figcaption></figure> <p>The spell checking settings are basic. You can toggle the functionality for specific file types --- txt, md, srt, ass, lrc, and lic individually.</p> <p>There is also an autocorrect option, but this did not work on the test machine at the time of writing.  The feature supposedly auto-corrects typos when Notepad detects them.</p> <p>WordPad, the app that Microsoft removes never supported spell checking. Other apps, including Notepad++, Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Write, and numerous others support this already, however.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Notepad's spell checking feature seems to run locally. This will appeal to users who do not want their data submitted to servers on the Internet for basic operations such as spell checking.</p> <p>The feature can be turned off easily in the settings, which is welcome. Not everyone wants or needs a spell checker in Notepad.</p> <p>There is no ETA on the feature. It is likely rolling out in the coming months, maybe as part of <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/23/microsoft-releases-windows-11-24h2-to-the-release-preview-channel/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 version 24H2</a>.</p> <p><em>Do you use Notepad? What is your take on the introduction of spell checking capabilities?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/08/first-look-at-notepads-spell-checker-surprise-it-is-not-as-bad-as-it-sounds/" data-wpel-link="internal">First look at Notepad&#039;s Spell Checker: surprise, it is not as bad as it sounds</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

23. ChatGPT's macOS app was storing chats in plain text, but it has been patched

    Mon, 08 Jul 2024 06:41:30 -0000

    A software engineer has discovered that OpenAI's ChatGPT app for Mac was saving chats in plain text. Here is what happened. In case you missed it, the ChatGPT Mac app was released […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post ChatGPT's macOS app was storing chats in plain text, but it has been patched appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>A software engineer has discovered that OpenAI's ChatGPT app for Mac was saving chats in plain text. Here is what happened.</p> <p>In case you missed it, the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/28/openais-chatgpt-for-mac-app-is-now-available-for-all-users/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">ChatGPT Mac app</a> was released a week ago for all users. Pedro José Pereira Vieito <a href="https://www.threads.net/@pvieito/post/C85NVV6hvF6?xmt=AQGz0o3JtBOwk1nfUgk8lvxQoIV8E92xz1vK1IP8VC6zhA" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">published</a> his findings on Threads, to reveal that the popular chatbot's desktop app was storing conversations that a user had with the chatbot, in plain text format on the local storage.</p> <h3><strong>ChatGPT for Mac was storing conversations in plain text</strong></h3> <p>The security enthusiast noted that macOS has been blocking other apps from snooping into user data, since macOS Mojave 10.4, which was released 6 years ago. Vieito pointed out that macOS should not be allowing other apps to access the chats, if the app in question was sandboxed. More specifically, ChatGPT's Mac app was saving the data in the following non-protected location: ~/Library/Application\ Support/com.openai.chat/conve…{uuid}/</p> <p>The researcher had created a special tool to obtain the data, and says that he was successful in extracting the chats without any special permissions from the app or the operating system. So in theory, any app, including malware or an attacker, could access ChatGPT chats without permission from the user. OpenAI acknowledged the fact that its app did not encrypt the data. That might seem alarming, but <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/3/24191636/openai-chatgpt-mac-app-conversations-plain-text" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">The Verge</a> reports that the issue has already been patched in an update for the ChatGPT macOS app.</p> <p>As for why the app didn't use a sandbox, well that is because OpenAI distributes the ChatGPT app for Mac via its own website, instead of distributing it via Apple's Mac App Store. This means that OpenAI does not have to follow the rules set for apps, in this case, it did not need to meet the requirement to sandbox the app and its data.</p> <h3><strong>Is this a big issue? Probably not</strong></h3> <p>That said, I'm not sure that this is a high security risk. Why? Well, this "vulnerability" if you can call it that, is only applicable in 2 scenarios: if a hacker has physical access to your Mac, or if your device is already infected by malware. Those are very rare scenarios, and if your device is already compromised, I think you may have bigger things to worry about than some random conversations with ChatGPT. Think about it, most apps store the user data on your device's local storage, and they do this by saving the information in an unencrypted database, i.e. your browser, document editor, and other apps save your data in plain text, so the fact that the ChatGPT app was also doing this is not really that big a deal. Many outlets have omitted this piece of information, and the result has been a bit of a fearmongering thing.</p> <p>Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending OpenAI or any company here. I'd actually be more concerned about the privacy risks surrounding the usage of chatbots, as these services can, and will, use your data to train their language models. Rumor has it that Apple is working to bring Google Gemini to iPhones, iPads and Macs, in addition to OpenAI as part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 18.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/08/chatgpts-macos-app-was-storing-chats-in-plain-text-but-it-has-been-patched/" data-wpel-link="internal">ChatGPT&#039;s macOS app was storing chats in plain text, but it has been patched</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

24. How to capture a screenshot from a YouTube Video

    Fri, 05 Jul 2024 11:57:31 -0000

    Have you ever tried to take a screenshot from a YouTube video? You may have run into a few roadblocks, including YouTube controls visible in the screenshot or a rather bad resolution […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How to capture a screenshot from a YouTube Video appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Have you ever tried to take a screenshot from a YouTube video? You may have run into a few roadblocks, including YouTube controls visible in the screenshot or a rather bad resolution of it.</p> <p>This guide walks you through the steps of creating YouTube video screenshots that have the following characteristics:</p> <ul> <li>The screenshots have the same resolution as the video.</li> <li>No user interface elements are shown.</li> </ul> <p>YouTube itself does not support the capturing of screenshots. While it is possible to use functionality of the browser or operating system, these cause the issues mentioned above. Downloading the videos does not work well either, unless the media player that is used supports taking screenshots.</p> <p>This leaves browser extensions and online services as your go-to resources.</p> <p><strong>Update</strong>: There is actually a built-in way, but it is hidden from plain view.</p> <p><strong>Here is what you need to do:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Hold-down the Shift-key on the keyboard and right-click on the video. (you may need to repeat this until you get the "right" menu.</li> <li>Select "save video frame as..."  from the menu that opens.</li> <li>Save the screenshot to the local system.</li> </ul> <p>Firefox users do not have that option. While there is a take snapshot option, it does take a low-resolution screenshot of the video frame only.</p> <p><strong>End of update</strong></p> <p>Before the guide starts, it may be useful to look at some of the reasons why someone would want to take a screenshot:</p> <ul> <li>To create a new wallpaper for the system.</li> <li>To save information.</li> <li>To save images of something or someone you like, e.g., a celebrity, cars, or cats &amp; dogs.</li> </ul> <h2>YouTube screenshot extensions</h2> <p>For pure YouTube screenshots, it is necessary to rely on browser extensions.</p> <p>Here is a selection for all modern web browsers:</p> <p><strong>YouTube Screenshot Button</strong> (Firefox)</p> <figure id="attachment_205814" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205814" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205814" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/youtube-screenshots-firefox-scaled.jpg" alt="Take YouTube video screenshots in Firefox" width="1200" height="563" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/youtube-screenshots-firefox-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/youtube-screenshots-firefox-768x360.jpg 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/youtube-screenshots-firefox-1536x721.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205814" class="wp-caption-text">This add-on enables you to capture YouTube video screenshots in the Firefox web browser</figcaption></figure> <p>The extension adds a Screenshot link to the YouTube player. It furthermore enables the keyboard shortcut Shift-A on YouTube to take a screenshot without having to use the link.</p> <p><a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/screenshot-youtube-video/lnaahdmijnjnmgaalacdgakieangpjgp?hl=de" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Screenshot YouTube Video</a> (Chrome)</p> <figure id="attachment_205816" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205816" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205816" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-take-screenshot-youtube.jpg" alt="Chrome Take Screenshots of YouTube videos" width="1200" height="700" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-take-screenshot-youtube.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chrome-take-screenshot-youtube-768x448.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205816" class="wp-caption-text">The YouTube screenshot tool in Chrome</figcaption></figure> <p>The extension works on YouTube and a few other sites. It is a bit discouraging that it requests access to all sites, when it could just request access to the sites it supports.</p> <p>Other than that, it adds a take screenshot button to the player.Click on it and you get a screenshot of the current frame in the same resolution as the video.</p> <p class="AddonTitle"><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/youtube-video-screenshot-tool/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">YouTube Video Screenshot Tool </a> (Firefox)</p> <figure id="attachment_205815" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205815" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205815" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-take-screenshot-youtube.png" alt="Firefox Take Screenshot YouTube" width="1200" height="701" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-take-screenshot-youtube.png 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/firefox-take-screenshot-youtube-768x449.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205815" class="wp-caption-text">Taking a screenshot of a YouTube video in Firefox</figcaption></figure> <p>The extension adds a Take Screenshot option to the Settings menu. Users who prefer a clean interface may prefer this over the other Firefox add-on.</p> <h2>Online services to take YouTube video screenshots</h2> <p>The main benefit of online services is that you do not have to install an extension in a browser. They mostly work by pasting the video URL into a form and hitting a capture button.</p> <p><strong>Downsides</strong></p> <ul> <li>Many do not support capturing a specific frame.</li> <li>Others are ad-infested and not recommended.</li> </ul> <p>I could not find a single online tool that supports easy captures of YouTube videos.</p> <p><em>Do you take screenshots of YouTube videos frequently or regularly? Which tools do you use for that? Feel free to write a comment down below.</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/05/how-to-capture-a-screenshot-from-a-youtube-video/" data-wpel-link="internal">How to capture a screenshot from a YouTube Video</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

25. Hackers steal millions of Authy 2FA phone numbers

    Thu, 04 Jul 2024 05:03:59 -0000

    Malicious actors have managed to steal more than 33 million phone numbers used by users of the two-factor authentication service Authy. Authy is a popular security application to manage authentication codes for […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Hackers steal millions of Authy 2FA phone numbers appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Malicious actors have managed to steal more than 33 million phone numbers used by users of the two-factor authentication service Authy.</p> <p>Authy is a popular security application to manage authentication codes for apps and online services. These add to the security of sign-ins, as the codes need to be entered in a second stage of authentication.</p> <p><strong>Here are the key points:</strong></p> <ul> <li>A threat actor leaked a CSV text file containing 33 million phone numbers of Authy customers.</li> <li>The list was obtained through an improperly secured API endpoint.</li> <li>The attacker fed the API a large number of phone numbers to find out which were known to the Authy system.</li> <li>Attackers may use the phone numbers in SMS phishing or SIM swapping attacks.</li> </ul> <p>Twilio, Authy's parent company, confirmed the authenticity of the data and the hack to <a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-abused-api-to-verify-millions-of-authy-mfa-phone-numbers/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Bleeping Computer</a>.</p> <p>The company revealed that it has secured the endpoint used in the attack. It furthermore released an update for Android and iOS as a precaution.</p> <h2>What affected users can do</h2> <p>Authy customers cannot look up if their phone number is included in the leak. There is no direct threat, as threat actors cannot do anything with the phone number alone.</p> <p>Attacks are, however, possible:</p> <ul> <li><strong>SMS attacks</strong> to get users to share authentication codes or download malware to their devices.</li> <li><strong>SIM Swapping attacks</strong>, which require additional personal information. These involve the cellular provider of the victim.</li> </ul> <p>The attackers could use online searches or other databases to link phone numbers to their owners.</p> <p>The data in Authy is secure at this point. This is not the first incident, however. Back in 2022, <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/10/twilio-the-company-behind-authy-suffered-a-data-breach/" data-wpel-link="internal">Twilio confirmed that it suffered a data breach</a>.</p> <p>If this reminds you of <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/?s=lastpass" data-wpel-link="internal">LastPass</a>, a password management service that suffered through a series of hacks and issues in the last couple of years, you are not totally mistaken.</p> <h2>Migrating from Authy to another service</h2> <p>Migration is not straightforward, as Authy does not support exporting. A <a href="https://gist.github.com/gboudreau/94bb0c11a6209c82418d01a59d958c93" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">workaround</a> exists that uses an older version of the desktop app, but it may not work soon anymore as <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/08/authy-authenticator-apps-for-desktop-are-being-discontinued-in-august-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Authy is discontinuing the desktop program</a>.</p> <p>The only other option is to manually migrate the data. This involves the following steps:</p> <ul> <li>Sign-in to the service that codes are generated for in Authy.</li> <li>Turn off 2FA in the preferences.</li> <li>Enable 2FA again, this time using the new authenticator app.</li> </ul> <p>Repeat the steps for any service and delete each of them once the migration completes. This is done by long-tapping on the item in Authy and selecting the remove option.</p> <p>As far as alternatives are concerned, check out my reviews of the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/02/24/aegis-authenticator-open-source-google-authenticator-and-authy-alternative/" data-wpel-link="internal">open source authenticator Aegis</a> or <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/02/bitwarden-launches-standalone-bitwarden-authenticator-app/" data-wpel-link="internal">Bitwarden Authenticator</a>.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Should you trust a service that suffered through several breaches in the past, or should you move to a service that has not. LastPass customers have faced the same question several times in the past, and it is the same question that Authy customers should ask themselves.</p> <p>Whether you are migrating or not is up to you. It is inconvenient, thanks to the lack of proper export options.</p> <p><em>Do you use authenticator apps? If so, which is your preferred one at the moment?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/04/hackers-steal-millions-of-authy-2fa-phone-numbers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Hackers steal millions of Authy 2FA phone numbers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

26. Popular Windows XP privacy tool is making a comeback

    Wed, 03 Jul 2024 15:33:23 -0000

    If you have lived through the Windows XP era of computing, you may have used a program called XP-AntiSpy back then. Yes, even then it was useful to run a privacy tool […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Popular Windows XP privacy tool is making a comeback appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>If you have lived through the Windows XP era of computing, you may have used a program called XP-AntiSpy back then. Yes, even then it was useful to run a privacy tool to limit Microsoft's hunger for data.</p> <p>The last time we heard from XP-AntiSpy was when it was released for Windows 10. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2015/11/18/xp-antispy-comback-for-windows-10/" data-wpel-link="internal">That was back in 2015</a>.</p> <p>Serial program creator Belim has now forked the classic XP-AntiSpy application. XD-AntiSpy is the name of the fork, and it is now available as the first stable version.</p> <p>The core idea behind the app has not changed: give users a straightforward and convenient way to manage certain settings on Windows.</p> <h2>XD-AntiSpy review</h2> <figure id="attachment_205806" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205806" style="width: 730px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205806" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/windows-11-xd-antispy.png" alt="XD AntiSpy interface" width="730" height="600" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205806" class="wp-caption-text">XD-AntiSpy software helps you tweak (mostly) privacy settings on Windows 11</figcaption></figure> <p>XD-AntiSpy is developed for Windows 11. The latest version is available on <a href="https://github.com/builtbybel/xd-AntiSpy/releases" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">GitHub</a>. It has a size of less than 350 kilobytes and can be run without installations. Yes, that was normal back in the days.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: Windows may throw a SmartScreen security warning when you execute the application on Windows 11. The app is not malicious; the warning is shown because it is a new application.</p> <p>The interface displays tweaks in a long list sorted into categories like Adblock for Windows 11, AI/Copilot and Recall, or Microsoft Edge.</p> <p>Clearly, XD-AntiSpy has been modified to provide Windows 11 users with the tweaks they need to tame the operating system as best as possible.</p> <p>Enabled tweaks display with checkmarks, which is mighty useful as you can focus your attention on the tweaks that are not enabled yet.</p> <p>Most of the tweaks are self-explanatory. You can hover over a tweak to get a description, which usually offers additional details on what it does.</p> <p>All you have to do is go through the list and check or uncheck the tweaks. Once you are done, hit the apply settings button. This makes the changes on the Windows 11 system, a restart is still required to complete the process. You can also use Tools &gt; Restart Explorer for the same effect.</p> <p>The app does not suggest to create a system restore point or another form of backup. You can import and export settings, however. It is recommended to create a system restore point or, better, a full system backup before using any app that makes changes to the system.</p> <h3>Verdict</h3> <p>XD-AntiSpy is a lightweight tweaking tool for Windows 11. While it is not the most complete, it is still a useful and promising tool. It remains to be seen what Belim has in store for it.</p> <p><em>Do you use tweaking tools or do you prefer to modify the operating system manually?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/03/popular-windows-xp-privacy-tool-is-making-a-comeback/" data-wpel-link="internal">Popular Windows XP privacy tool is making a comeback</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

27. Microsoft is evolving Copilot in Windows 11 by downgrading it

    Tue, 02 Jul 2024 15:07:52 -0000

    Microsoft has just evaporated the small hope that some users may have had that Copilot could become a useful tool to manage the Windows 11 operating system. When Microsoft first began to […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft is evolving Copilot in Windows 11 by downgrading it appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft has just evaporated the small hope that some users may have had that Copilot could become a useful tool to manage the Windows 11 operating system.</p> <p>When Microsoft first began to introduce Copilot in Windows, it highlighted that the AI would allow users to control and manage certain Windows features. While this was very limited, some users hoped that this would get better over time.</p> <p>The idea of using an AI companion to assist you when you run into issues or need instructions was appealing to some users.  Microsoft <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/02/21/windows-11-copilot-is-gaining-more-windows-management-options-with-a-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">did not deliver until now</a>. Copilot felt slow on Windows, as every request needed to contact a server before an answer was provided.</p> <p>It looks as things are taking a turn for the worse, as the tiny bit of Windows-specific functionality is being removed.</p> <p>The latest Windows 11 insider build for the Beta channel introduces a fundamental change that changes Copilot on Windows significantly.</p> <figure id="attachment_205802" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205802" style="width: 1465px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-205802 size-full" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/copilot-app-windows-11.png" alt="Copilot app Windows 11" width="1465" height="948" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/copilot-app-windows-11.png 1465w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/copilot-app-windows-11-768x497.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/copilot-app-windows-11-1200x777.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1465px) 100vw, 1465px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205802" class="wp-caption-text">The official Copilot app running on Windows 11</figcaption></figure> <p>Here are the details:</p> <ul> <li>Microsoft is removing Copilot's integration in Windows 11 and replaces it with an app.</li> <li>This app is a web-wrapper, which has advantages and disadvantages.</li> <li>One of the main disadvantages is that it is no longer integrated deeply into Windows 11.</li> <li>One of the advantages is that the window can be moved around and resized.</li> <li>Copilot can also be uninstalled easily.</li> </ul> <p>In other words, the few Windows-specific controls you had are no longer available. Ask the new Copilot to enable battery saver, and you get instructions for doing so manually on Windows 10 and 11. Microsoft teased the feature <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/02/29/microsoft-copilot-improvements-for-windows-11/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">earlier this year</a> as one of the few that could be executed right from the Copilot interface.</p> <p>Even worse, the new Copilot does not even check the operating system that is used when returning the instructions.</p> <p>Copilot works exactly like the <a href="https://copilot.microsoft.com/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">web version</a>. You can visit the website directly and get the same chat experience there.</p> <h2>Why Microsoft is making the change</h2> <p>Microsoft says that the new web-based wrapper gives it more development flexibility and the ability to optimize experiences based on user feedback. The company did not provide additional details, and the statement sounds more like it has come from marketing than from Microsoft's engineering team.</p> <p>It is unclear when the change is going to land in Windows 11 Stable. A likely scenario is the release as part of the Windows 11 version 24H2 release later this year.</p> <h2>Closing Words</h2> <p>There is a chance that a future update will introduce controls again, maybe even better controls. The change seems slim at this point though. Maybe Microsoft realized that barely anyone was using the few features that it integrated into the Copilot app.</p> <p>The only good thing that is coming out of the switching is that Copilot can be easily removed now from Windows 11 and not just disabled.</p> <p><em>What is your take on this development? Would you use an AI companion on your devices under certain conditions? Feel free to leave a comment down below. (via <a href="https://www.windowslatest.com/2024/07/01/windows-11-downgrades-copilot-to-a-microsoft-edge-based-web-wrapper/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Windows Latest</a>)</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/02/microsoft-is-evolving-copilot-in-windows-11-by-downgrading-it/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft is evolving Copilot in Windows 11 by downgrading it</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

28. Microsoft's Weather app now displays more ads

    Mon, 01 Jul 2024 08:54:50 -0000

    It's raining ads in Windows 11. The Microsoft Weather app in the operating system now displays more ads. You may recall that a year ago, Microsoft had actually removed the ads from […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft's Weather app now displays more ads appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>It's raining ads in Windows 11. The Microsoft Weather app in the operating system now displays more ads.</p> <p>You may recall that a year ago, Microsoft had actually <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/05/15/microsoft-removes-msn-and-most-ads-from-windows-11s-weather-app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">removed the ads</a> from the app, and it appeared that the company had finally listened to feedback from users. But the annoying banners are back, and there's two of them now on the Forecast page. For those unaware, the old version of Microsoft Weather was a UWP app, but the company replaced it with an Edge WebView, which is a container that uses the Edge Engine. In other words, the Weather app is technically just a web wrapper for <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">MSN.com/weather</a>. You can test this yourself, just open the website in your browser and temporarily disable your ad blocker to take a look at the ads, now open the desktop app, and you can see that the same ads appear in the Weather app.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205796" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-MSN-Weather-app-displays-ads.jpg" alt="Microsoft MSN Weather app displays ads" width="1200" height="737" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-MSN-Weather-app-displays-ads.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-MSN-Weather-app-displays-ads-768x472.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h3><strong>Microsoft Weather app displays ads on every page</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://www.windowslatest.com/2024/06/30/windows-11s-msn-weather-app-now-has-more-ads-and-new-features/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Windows Latest</a> spotted the addition of more ads in the Weather app, and it gets worse. The advertisements are persistent, i.e. they are pinned, so they are always displayed even when you scroll down the screen.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205797" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Weather-app-displays-ads-on-every-page.jpg" alt="Microsoft Weather app displays ads on every page" width="1200" height="646" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Weather-app-displays-ads-on-every-page.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Weather-app-displays-ads-on-every-page-768x413.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>Ghacks can confirm that the ads appear in the app, the main page displays the banners on the right side of the screen. But that is not the only place where you will encounter the ads, they actually appear in every page in the Weather app. Switch to another tab in the sidebar, and you will notice that the ads appear there too. The ads are shown on the left side of the screen in the Map pages. There are no options to hide or close the ads, unless you block some servers via the hosts file, but it may take some effort to dig in to find the information.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205799" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Weather-app-shows-ads-on-every-page.jpg" alt="Microsoft Weather app shows ads on every page" width="1200" height="932" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Weather-app-shows-ads-on-every-page.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Microsoft-Weather-app-shows-ads-on-every-page-768x596.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>That's a shame, because the weather info is actually pretty good. But here is the good news, the advertisements only appear in maximized mode, so all you need to do is use the app in the smaller window. The bad news is that this trick only works with the main page, i.e. the Forecast tab in the Weather app, so the ads still appear on all the other pages.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205795" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Hide-ads-in-Microsoft-Weather-app.jpg" alt="Hide ads in Microsoft Weather app" width="1200" height="932" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Hide-ads-in-Microsoft-Weather-app.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Hide-ads-in-Microsoft-Weather-app-768x596.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>The ads are not the only annoyances in the Weather app, you will also see news articles from various outlets, and most of these maybe irrelevant to the location, unless you change the Edition (region) in the App's Settings. You may want to consider using <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/11/08/portmaster-1-0-released-open-source-application-firewall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Safing's Portmaster</a> app, or AdGuard, or set up Pi-hole via Docker, to block ads system-wide in Windows 11.</p> <p>On a side note, the Weather app now has a fluent design with blur and transparency effects that can be seen in the menu, main page, and the tiles. The sidebar has some new options, you can now switch between the daily, weekly, monthly, forecasts, maps and other data.</p> <p>Microsoft's ad strategies have been rather pushy, and anti-consumer. The Redmond company has been pushing ads aggressively in various apps, including Game Pass ads in the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/13/microsoft-is-testing-game-pass-ads-on-the-settings-homepage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Settings app</a> in Windows 11. We have also seen promotions for Microsoft 365 in the Start Menu, the Settings, and the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/02/02/microsoft-sneaks-ads-into-the-new-outlook-for-windows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">new Outlook app</a>. Even Windows Defender displays a warning to set up OneDrive to protect yourself from ransomware attacks.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/01/microsofts-weather-app-now-displays-more-ads/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft&#039;s Weather app now displays more ads</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

29. Windows 11 Government Edition is what everyone wants, but there is a catch

    Mon, 01 Jul 2024 05:26:14 -0000

    A new edition of Windows 11 has been making the rounds over the weekend. Called Windows 11 Government Edition, screenshots of it were posted on Twitter by Andy Kirby (via Günter Born). […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11 Government Edition is what everyone wants, but there is a catch appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>A new edition of Windows 11 has been making the rounds over the weekend. Called <strong>Windows 11 Government Edition</strong>, screenshots of it were posted on Twitter by <a href="https://twitter.com/Andy__Kirby/status/1806227654795817252" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Andy Kirby</a> (via <a href="https://www.borncity.com/blog/2024/06/30/microsoft-windows-11-government-edition-maximal-abgespeckt-was-dahinter-steckt/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Günter Born</a>).</p> <p>According to Kirby, the edition is "maximally debloated with all telemetry and Microsoft apps removed as well as no hardware restrictions".</p> <p>Several screenshots show various apps and elements of the edition. The Start menu, for example, shows no pinned icons or recent items. All Apps, another section of the Start menu, lists just five apps and a folder.</p> <figure id="attachment_205791" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205791" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205791" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/windows-11-debloated-start-menu.jpg" alt="Windows 11 Start menu debloated" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/windows-11-debloated-start-menu.jpg 1024w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/windows-11-debloated-start-menu-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205791" class="wp-caption-text">Windows 11's Start menu without pinned apps. Source Andy Kirby</figcaption></figure> <p>The five apps include surprises, as <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/05/25/heres-a-look-at-microsofts-new-windows-backup-app/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows Backup</a> appears to be installed. This cloud-powered backup option is not something that one would expect on government PCs running Windows 11.</p> <p>Core apps, including Microsoft Edge or Microsoft Defender Antivirus, are not installed as part of the edition.</p> <p>Furthermore, since the edition does not enforce <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/03/26/how-to-check-if-your-device-meets-windows-11-system-requirements/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11's new system requirements</a>, the operating system can be installed on devices with older hardware.</p> <h2>The truth behind the government edition of Windows 11</h2> <figure id="attachment_205792" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205792" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-205792" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/microsoft-windows-government-edition.jpg" alt="Microsoft Windows Government Edition" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/microsoft-windows-government-edition.jpg 1024w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/microsoft-windows-government-edition-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205792" class="wp-caption-text">The About Windows app of the government edition. Source Andy Kirby</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Do governments get a special edition of Windows 11</strong>? While there is a possibility that Microsoft is making concessions, this particular edition is not an official version of Windows 11.</p> <p>It is a custom build of Windows 11 that has been modified heavily. You may remember <a href="https://github.com/ntdevlabs/tiny11builder" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Tiny11</a>, another custom build that removed many Windows 11 components to create a smaller and lightweight version of Windows.</p> <p>The government edition is available via P2P. According to an analysis on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240629185056/https%3A%2F%2Fforums.mydigitallife.net%2Fthreads%2Fanswered-windows-11-enterprise-g.86084%2Fpage-2" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">MDL</a>, it is using an unofficial Windows activation service for activation and is therefore fake.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>While it is certainly possible that Microsoft is creating special editions for government, it would likely never remove apps like Edge or Defender.</p> <p><strong>While this government edition of Windows 11 is fake</strong>, it is still something that many users might want. Windows 11 without Telemetry, ads, and other unwanted features that Microsoft seems to add on a constant basis? It seems unlikely that the majority of users would be opposed to the idea.</p> <p>Add to that the ability to install the operating system on older devices, and you end up with a highly desirable version of Windows, that is unfortunately fake.</p> <p>Furthermore, even if the edition would exist, it would not be available to mere mortals. Consumers, businesses, and even the majority of Enterprise customers, would not gain access to a Windows 11 government edition.</p> <p>Even if it may be tempting to download this Windows 11 edition from P2P and install it on a device, it is not recommended unless it is for testing or documentation purposes. Windows 11 ISO images on P2P have been used in the past to distribute malware, and the risk associated with installing and using such an edition is high.</p> <p><em>What about you? Would you use such an edition of Windows 11, if it would be real and available for picking? </em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/07/01/windows-11-government-edition-is-what-everyone-wants-but-there-is-a-catch/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 Government Edition is what everyone wants, but there is a catch</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

30. OpenAI's ChatGPT app for Mac is now available for all users

    Fri, 28 Jun 2024 08:11:42 -0000

    OpenAI has released the official ChatGPT app for Mac for all users. The app had been in beta for a while before it was made available for everyone. The ChatGPT Mac app […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post OpenAI's ChatGPT app for Mac is now available for all users appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>OpenAI has released the official ChatGPT app for Mac for all users. The app had been in beta for a while before it was made available for everyone.</p> <p>The ChatGPT Mac app requires an account to use, unlike the web version of the AI chatbot, which you can use without signing up with some limitations. Speaking of which, the app does have some restrictions. Users who have a ChatGPT Plus subscription can use the premium features directly in the app.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205788" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/OpenAIs-ChatGPT-for-Mac-app.jpg" alt="OpenAI's ChatGPT for Mac app" width="1200" height="831" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/OpenAIs-ChatGPT-for-Mac-app.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/OpenAIs-ChatGPT-for-Mac-app-768x532.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h3><strong>What can ChatGPT app for Mac do?</strong></h3> <p>Many people may ask, why use the ChatGPT app instead of simply accessing it via a browser? That is a fair point, but the app offers a quick way to access ChatGPT. Let's say you are writing a mail, or working on a document, you can just press Option + Space to open the chat bar and enter your queries. This is faster than opening a browser, visiting the ChatGPT website, and typing your query. The macOS app uses OpenAI's GPT4o, but you can switch to GPT3.5.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205784" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/how-to-access-chatgpt-for-macos.jpg" alt="how to access chatgpt for macos" width="1200" height="831" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/how-to-access-chatgpt-for-macos.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/how-to-access-chatgpt-for-macos-768x532.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>The desktop app can do more than the web version. You can use it to take screenshots, by clicking on the Pin icon that appears in the ChatGPT bar. The screenshot utility can capture the entire screen or a specific window that you select, it also saves the image to the clipboard. T</p> <p>Users can upload files or photos, and ChatGPT will analyze the content, and make it ready for interactions. The AI-powered tool has OCR (optical character recognition) capabilities, so you can use it to analyze text inside an image. Apple's Preview app can do the same, but the ChatGPT app is smarter, as it can summarize the content for you. OpenAI <a href="https://openai.com/chatgpt/mac/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">demonstrated</a> a scenario where the tool not only scanned the text, but even rewrote the code that was in the screenshot.</p> <p>ChatGPT works across apps, so you can select text in a different app, invoke ChatGPT and use it for various tasks. e.g. to proofread text, check your code, etc. You can speak with ChatGPT to use it with voice-commands, and it transcribes your queries. This should not be confused with the Voice Mode that OpenAI promised.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205786" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac.jpg" alt="ChatGPT for Mac" width="1200" height="831" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-768x532.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h3><strong>ChatGPT Memory and Analytics</strong></h3> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205783" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-memory.jpg" alt="ChatGPT for Mac memory" width="1200" height="1160" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-memory.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-memory-768x742.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>ChatGPT's app can remember your chats, learn from it and use the data to tailor its responses to you. This feature is called Memory, it is not enabled by default.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205785" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-privacy-issues.jpg" alt="ChatGPT for Mac privacy issues" width="1200" height="831" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-privacy-issues.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-privacy-issues-768x532.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p>On the other hand, the app has a telemetry setting that is enabled by default, you can find it under the "Data Controls" tab in the Settings. It uses your data to improve the model for everyone, but you can turn it off. The ChatGPT app comes with a built-in spell check tool, but you need to enable it manually from the Settings page. I don't think it is ethical to have features like these enabled by default, but such privacy-unfriendly things are pretty common these days, as people choose convenience over privacy and security.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205782" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-data-controls-settings-telemetry-scaled.jpg" alt="ChatGPT for Mac data controls settings telemetry" width="1139" height="1200" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-data-controls-settings-telemetry-scaled.jpg 1139w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ChatGPT-for-Mac-data-controls-settings-telemetry-768x809.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1139px) 100vw, 1139px" /></p> <p>The ChatGPT app is not available on the Mac App Store, you will need to download it from OpenAI's website. The app is compatible with Apple Silicon Macs that are running on macOS 14 Sonoma and above, which means it does not support Intel Macs. OpenAI has confirmed that it will release ChatGPT for Windows later this year.</p> <p>The ChatGPT app will likely be overshadowed when <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 15 Sequoia</a> is released this Fall, as it will include Apple Intelligence and the improved Siri experience that uses ChatGPT.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/28/openais-chatgpt-for-mac-app-is-now-available-for-all-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">OpenAI&#039;s ChatGPT app for Mac is now available for all users</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

31. Windows 10 Support until 2030? 0Patch makes it possible

    Fri, 28 Jun 2024 05:01:04 -0000

    Micro-patching service 0Patch will support Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system until 2030. Microsoft plans to end support for Windows 10 officially in October 2025. For the first time in a very long […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 10 Support until 2030? 0Patch makes it possible appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Micro-patching service 0Patch <a href="https://blog.0patch.com/2024/06/long-live-windows-10-with-0patch.html" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">will</a> support Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system until 2030.</p> <p>Microsoft plans to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/12/a-new-journey-with-windows-microsofts-end-of-support-notice-for-windows-10-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">end support for Windows 10</a> officially in October 2025. For the first time in a very long time, Windows customers may not be able to upgrade their devices to a newer version of Windows.</p> <p>When Microsoft announced Windows 11, it changed the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/08/28/microsoft-changed-the-windows-11-system-requirements-and-released-an-updated-pc-health-check-tool/" data-wpel-link="internal">system requirements</a> significantly. The effect of the decision is that more than <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/01/30/what-happens-to-all-the-windows-10-devices-that-are-incompatible-with-windows-11-in-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">200 million Windows 10 devices</a> cannot be upgraded officially to Windows 11.</p> <p><strong>In other words:</strong> these devices and their owners are stranded without an upgrade path.</p> <p>Come October 2025, owners of Windows 10 devices will have these five options, if they want to keep on using their devices:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Upgrade to Windows 11</strong> -- only available if the device is supported officially. Yes, there are workarounds, but Microsoft may introduce changes that are incompatible with older hardware. This happened once already.</li> <li><strong>Join Windows 10 ESU</strong> -- Extended Security Updates will be offered to all customers for three years (until 2028). Microsoft has yet to reveal the price for home users. Businesses may pay more than $400 for three years of patching for a single machine.</li> <li><strong>Continue using Windows 10</strong> -- as more vulnerabilities are detected, unpatched Windows 10 systems face more risks.</li> <li><strong>Migrate to Linux</strong> -- the best option in many regards, but also the most daunting one, as it means learning a new system and facing the stress of migration. Best, because it is free and not time-limited.</li> <li><strong>Join 0Patch</strong> -- the company will create security updates for Windows 10.</li> </ul> <h2>0Patch pledges support for Windows 10 until 2030</h2> <p>0Patch is a micro-patching service that supports old operating system and software products with security patches. The company has done so for older versions of Windows already, including <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2022/10/13/0patch-promises-2-additional-years-of-security-patches-for-windows-7-and-server-2008-r2/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 7</a> and several server products.</p> <p><strong>The company writes:</strong> "With October 2025, 0patch will "security-adopt" Windows 10 v22H2, and provide critical security patches for it for at least 5 more years - even longer if there's demand on the market."</p> <p>0Patch has a long history of supporting Windows systems that ran out of support. It already has supported older versions of Windows 10 with continued security updates.</p> <p>Here is how it works:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Price</strong>: Consumers <a href="https://0patch.com/pricing.html" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">pay</a> about $25 + tax per year to gain full support for that year. This includes security updates for Windows 10, but also for other Microsoft products, including older Office versions.</li> <li><strong>Patching</strong>: A software applies the small patches "to running processes in memory". In other words, no Microsoft binary files are changed.</li> <li><strong>Convenience:</strong> Since patches are applied in memory, there is no rebooting involved.</li> </ul> <p>Patches may also be provided for security issues that Microsoft labeled as "wontfix" and for 0-Day issues for which no official security updates are available.</p> <p>0Patch won't create patches for every vulnerability discovered. The company focuses on critical and easy-to-exploit vulnerabilities.</p> <h2>Closing Words</h2> <p>Windows 10 users may get continued security updates support for their operating systems until at least 2030 thanks to 0Patch. That's at least 2-years longer than what Microsoft is offering.</p> <p>Users need to keep in mind that software support will dry out eventually. This won't happen immediately after end of support though. Eventually, programs like Steam, Google Chrome, or Microsoft Office, will stop supporting Windows 10.</p> <p>0Patch adds another option for Windows 10 devices that are not supported by Windows 11. Five years of additional support extends the life of the operating system by at least 50%. Microsoft released Windows 10 in 2015.</p> <p>What about you? Do you still run Windows 10? What will you do after October 2025?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/28/windows-10-support-until-2030-0patch-makes-it-possible/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 10 Support until 2030? 0Patch makes it possible</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

32. Lost Your Photos? Here’s How to Get Them Back

    Thu, 27 Jun 2024 15:47:52 -0000

    There’s a moment of panic when you realize your precious photos have vanished. Whether it's an accidental deletion or a malicious virus, the loss feels devastating. Our digital memories, from family vacations […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Lost Your Photos? Here’s How to Get Them Back appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a moment of panic when you realize </span><b>your precious photos have vanished</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Whether it's an </span><b>accidental deletion</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or a </span><b>malicious virus</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the loss feels devastating. Our digital memories, from family vacations to special events, hold immense value. Preserving these memories is essential in our tech-driven world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital photos can be lost in many ways. Maybe you deleted them by </span><b>error</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, or perhaps your </span><b>memory card got corrupted</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Formatting errors and human mistakes also contribute to the problem. And let’s not forget the threat posed by viruses and malware attacks!These scenarios can make it seem like your cherished moments are gone forever.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But don't worry! There's hope. With the right steps and tools,</span><b> recovering those lost photos is entirely possible</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Let's dive into how you can safeguard your digital memories and what to do when disaster strikes.</span></p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205776" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen1-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="847" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen1-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen1-768x542.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">When Photos Disappear: Understanding the Causes of Photo Loss</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every digital photographer’s nightmare is realizing that photos have disappeared. Understanding how and </span><b>why this happens</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is the first step toward recovery.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Accidental Swipe: Deleting Photos Unintentionally</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We've all been there. One wrong swipe or click, and a treasured photo is gone. Accidental deletion is a common mishap, especially with the convenience of touchscreens and the ever-growing number of photos we take.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sneaky Corruption: When Files Go Bad</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Corruption is another villain in the world of digital storage. This can happen for several reasons: a sudden power loss during a file transfer, a malfunctioning memory card, or even just bad luck. Corrupted files can become unreadable, leaving you with a nasty surprise when you try to access your photos.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Formatting Fiasco: Erasing More Than You Planned</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Formatting a memory card or drive without backing up your data first can result in a total loss of your photos. This often happens when users try to clear space or prepare a device for new use, only to realize too late that they’ve erased everything.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Human Error: Simple Mistakes, Big Consequences</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sometimes, the simplest mistakes have the biggest consequences. Maybe you moved your photos to a new folder and can't remember where, or perhaps you deleted them thinking they were backed up elsewhere. Human error is an unavoidable part of dealing with technology.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Viral Menace: Malware and Virus Attacks</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Viruses and malware pose a significant threat to your digital memories. Malicious software can corrupt, hide, or delete your photos, leaving you scrambling for solutions. These attacks can come from many sources, including suspicious emails, downloads, or even infected websites.</span></p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205777" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen2-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="847" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen2-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen2-768x542.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Where Your Photos Are Most at Risk</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital photos reside on a variety of devices, each with its own set of vulnerabilities. Recognizing</span><b> which devices are prone to photo loss</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> can help you take preventive measures and understand where recovery efforts might be needed.</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Memory Cards</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Whether SD, CF, or microSD, are widely used in cameras and smartphones. Their small size and portability make them convenient, but also susceptible to damage and loss. A memory card can become corrupted, physically damaged, or even accidentally formatted, resulting in photo loss.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Digital Cameras</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: The trusted tools of professional photographers and hobbyists alike, store images on removable memory cards. Accidental deletions, formatting errors, and memory card issues can all lead to the sudden disappearance of your carefully composed shots.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Hard Disk Drives</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: HDDs have been a staple for photo storage for years. However, their mechanical nature makes them prone to failures. A dropped laptop, a sudden power outage, or even regular wear and tear can cause an HDD to fail, taking your photos with it.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Solid-State Drives</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: SSDs are known for their speed and reliability compared to HDDs, but they are not immune to data loss. Electrical surges, firmware bugs, and unexpected crashes can lead to photo loss on these devices. While they don’t have moving parts, the data they store can still become corrupted or accidentally deleted.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Smartphones and Tablets</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: They are always with us, capturing spontaneous moments and important events. However, these devices are also at risk. Accidental deletions, software crashes, and malware attacks are common culprits. Additionally, the physical vulnerability of smartphones means they can be lost, stolen, or damaged, resulting in the loss of their stored photos.</span></li> </ul> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Quick Fixes: Basic Troubleshooting Steps for Recovering Lost Photos</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once you've ensured no further data is written to your device, it's time to try some </span><b>basic troubleshooting steps</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. These initial actions might help you recover your lost photos without the need for advanced techniques or software.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check the Recycle Bin or Trash Folder</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sometimes, photos aren't truly lost; they've just been moved to the recycle bin or trash folder. This is especially common on computers and some mobile devices. Here’s how you can check:</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>On a Computer:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Open the recycle bin (Windows) or trash (Mac) and browse through the contents. If you find your deleted photos, simply restore them by right-clicking and selecting "Restore" (Windows) or dragging them out of the trash (Mac).</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>On a Smartphone:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Depending on your phone's operating system, you may have a similar feature. For instance, Android and iOS devices often have a "Recently Deleted" folder in the Photos app where deleted photos are stored for a limited time before being permanently erased. Check there to see if your photos can be recovered easily.</span></li> </ol> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use Undo Options if Available</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many applications and devices have an undo feature that can reverse the last action taken. This is particularly useful if you've just deleted a photo or folder by mistake.</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>On Computers:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Press Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Cmd + Z (Mac) immediately after the deletion to undo the last action. This may restore the deleted photos if done promptly.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>On Smartphones and Cameras:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Some devices have an undo option within their photo gallery or file management apps. Look for an undo button or option in the menu shortly after the deletion.</span></li> </ol> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Look for Backups on Cloud Storage or External Drives</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Regular backups are a lifesaver when it comes to data loss. If you’ve been diligent about backing up your photos, there’s a good chance you can recover your lost photos from a backup.</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Cloud Storage:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Check your cloud storage accounts such as Google Photos, iCloud, Dropbox, or OneDrive. These services often automatically backup your photos, providing an easy way to restore them if they’re lost on your device.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>External Drives:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> If you’ve been backing up your photos to an external hard drive or SSD, connect the drive to your computer and browse through your backup folders. Copy the missing photos back to your device to restore them.</span></li> </ol> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205778" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen3-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="847" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen3-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/photo-standard-screen3-768x542.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ultimate Solution: Stellar Photo Recovery </span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When all else fails, a</span><b> reliable and powerful recovery tool </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">can make all the difference. </span><a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/photo-recovery-software.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Stellar Photo Recovery </b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">stands out as a comprehensive solution designed to bring back your lost photos effortlessly and efficiently.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Features and Capabilities</span></h3> <p><b>Stellar Photo Recovery</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is renowned for its robust features and user-friendly interface, making it the top choice for both professionals and everyday users. Here’s a glimpse of what it offers:</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Deep and Quick Scan Modes:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The software offers two scanning modes—quick scan for fast results and deep scan for thorough searches. This flexibility ensures that all recoverable files are identified, regardless of the severity of data loss.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Preview Before Recovery:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> One of the standout features is the ability to preview photos before recovery. This allows you to see which files are recoverable and select only the ones you need, saving time and storage space.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Advanced Recovery Algorithms:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Stellar Photo Recovery uses sophisticated algorithms to locate and reconstruct lost or deleted photos. It can handle complex data loss scenarios, including severe corruption and formatting errors.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>User-Friendly Interface:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The intuitive interface makes the recovery process straightforward, even for those with limited technical knowledge. Step-by-step instructions guide you through scanning, previewing, and recovering your photos.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Selective Recovery:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> You can choose specific files or folders to recover, rather than restoring everything. This selective recovery feature adds convenience and efficiency, especially when dealing with large volumes of data.</span></li> </ol> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Supported Devices and Formats</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/mac-photo-recovery.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Stellar Photo Recovery Software</a> supports a</span><b> wide range of devices and formats</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, ensuring versatility and broad applicability:</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Supported Devices:</b> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Memory Cards:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> SD, microSD, CF, XD, and more</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Digital Cameras:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> All major brands and models</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Hard Disk Drives (HDDs):</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Internal and external</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Solid-State Drives (SSDs):</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Internal and external</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>USB Flash Drives:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> All types and brands</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>CD/DVDs:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> For recovering photos from optical media</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Smartphones and Tablets:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Including Android and iOS devices with supported file systems</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Supported Formats:</b> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Image Formats:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, RAW (for various camera brands), and more</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Video Formats:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, and more</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><b>Audio Formats:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> MP3, WAV, WMA, and more</span></li> </ul> </li> </ol> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why Stellar Stands Out</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to recovering lost photos, Stellar Photo Recovery </span><b>shines above the rest</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Here’s why it’s the go-to choice for users around the world:</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">User-Friendly Interface</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most significant advantages of Stellar Photo Recovery is its intuitive, </span><b>user-friendly interface</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Designed with simplicity in mind, the software ensures that even those with limited technical knowledge can navigate the recovery process with ease. Key features include:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Clear Navigation:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The layout is straightforward, with clearly labeled buttons and menus guiding users through each step.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Easy-to-Follow Instructions:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Step-by-step instructions are provided at every stage, from scanning to recovery, ensuring users are never left guessing.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Visual Previews:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The ability to preview files before recovery allows users to confirm they are restoring the correct photos, saving time and effort.</span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">High Success Rate</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stellar Photo Recovery boasts an impressive success rate in recovering lost photos, thanks to its advanced recovery algorithms. These algorithms are designed to handle a wide range of data loss scenarios, including:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Accidental Deletion:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Quickly recover photos that have been mistakenly deleted.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Corruption and Formatting:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Retrieve files from corrupted or accidentally formatted drives and memory cards.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Virus and Malware Attacks:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Effectively restore photos lost due to malicious software.</span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Robust Support and Updates</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stellar is committed to providing exceptional support and regular updates, ensuring that users have access to the latest technology and assistance when needed. Here’s how they excel:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Customer Support:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Stellar offers robust customer support through multiple channels, including email, phone, and live chat. Users can get prompt assistance with any issues they encounter during the recovery process.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Regular Updates:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The software is frequently updated to improve performance, enhance features, and support new file formats and devices. This commitment to continuous improvement ensures that Stellar remains at the forefront of data recovery technology.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Comprehensive Resources:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Stellar provides a wealth of resources, including user manuals, FAQs, and video tutorials, to help users make the most of their software and achieve successful recovery outcomes.</span></li> </ul> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Safeguard Your Memories Forever</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Losing precious photos can be distressing, but understanding the common causes and knowing the immediate </span><b>steps to take can make recovery possible</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Start with basic troubleshooting, such as checking the recycle bin or cloud backups, and proceed to manual recovery techniques if necessary. However, for the most reliable results, Stellar Photo Recovery stands out with its user-friendly interface, high success rate, and robust support.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Preventing future photo loss is equally important. Regularly </span><b>backup your photos</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, use high-quality storage solutions, and protect your devices from malware. While proactive measures are essential, having </span><b>Stellar Photo Recovery</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Software ensures you're always prepared to recover your cherished memories. With these strategies, you can confidently safeguard your digital photos and enjoy them for years to come.</span></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/27/lost-your-photos-heres-how-to-get-them-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Lost Your Photos? Here’s How to Get Them Back</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

33. AMD plans to make huge game downloads smaller in the future

    Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:27:00 -0000

    Computer games seem to grow bigger with each passing year. Gone are the days that an entire game fit easily on a tiny floppy disk. If you never encountered a floppy disk, […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post AMD plans to make huge game downloads smaller in the future appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Computer games seem to grow bigger with each passing year. Gone are the days that an entire game fit easily on a tiny floppy disk. If you never encountered a floppy disk, I suggest you check out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Wikipedia's article</a>.</p> <p>Many games nowadays need to be downloaded and it is not uncommon for game downloads to exceed 10 gigabytes.</p> <p>Some games break the hundred gigabytes mark easily on the hard drive, but downloads tend to be smaller thanks to compression technologies.</p> <p>Game downloads increasing in size may cause a number of issues:</p> <ul> <li><strong>It takes longer to download the game</strong>. This is especially true if the Internet connection is slow or unstable, or if the used service or server is slow.</li> <li><strong>Updates may be downloaded quicker</strong> thanks to the technology. Updates may also download faster.</li> <li><strong>It takes longer before games can be played</strong>. Buying a game and immediately playing it is a thing of the past. Downloads and installations take longer and longer to complete.</li> </ul> <p>AMD is launching a new technology that it says is designed to make game downloads considerably smaller.</p> <h2><strong>Neural Texture Block Compression to make game downloads smaller</strong></h2> <p>Here are the details:</p> <ul> <li><strong>AMD announced Neural Texture Block Compression</strong> <a href="https://x.com/GPUOpen/status/1805660331655807439" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">on X</a> and plans to unveil it officially during the Eurographics Symposium on Rendering 2024 (EGSR) from Juli 3 to 5 in London.</li> <li>It works by <strong>automatically compressing textures</strong> while the game is being downloaded to the user's device.</li> <li>AMD uses <strong>neural networks</strong> for this.</li> <li><strong>Easy integration according to AMD</strong> as game developers do not have to change how games load and display textures.  Compression happens before game start so that the execution of the game is not impacted in any way by the technology according to AMD.</li> <li><strong>The technology works in existing and upcoming games</strong>. AMD says that the source code does not need to be changed.</li> </ul> <p>AMD has yet to demonstrate the new technology. This will happen during the conference in London. It is likely that AMD will provide examples so that the actual savings will become clearer.</p> <p>AMD has not announced when the new technology will become available. We will have to wait until the conference in London for that as well.</p> <p><em>Do you play computer games? Have you encountered game downloads or updates that seemingly took ages? 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/2024/06/27/amd-plans-to-make-huge-game-downloads-smaller-in-the-future/" data-wpel-link="internal">AMD plans to make huge game downloads smaller in the future</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

34. Steam Game Recording Beta announced: a built-in tool to record your gameplay videos

    Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:23:15 -0000

    Steam has announced a new feature in its desktop client, called Game Recording. This built-in video recording tool is available as part of the launcher's beta program. All recordings are stored on […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Steam Game Recording Beta announced: a built-in tool to record your gameplay videos appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Steam has announced a new feature in its desktop client, called Game Recording. This built-in video recording tool is available as part of the launcher's beta program.</p> <p>All recordings are stored on your local hard drive, and you can choose where the raw recording get saved to. There are some settings to set a time limit and storage limit for your video capture. Game Recording is fully functional on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/10/steam-deck-oled-vs-rog-ally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Steam Deck</a>.</p> <h3><strong>How to access Steam Game Recording Beta</strong></h3> <p>1. Open the <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/03/19/valve-introduces-steam-families-to-allow-members-to-share-their-libraries-simultaneously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">Steam</a> app on your computer.</p> <p>2. Click on Settings &gt; Interface &gt; Beta Participation, and opt in to the Beta. (Steam Families Beta or Steam Beta).</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205767" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/How-to-use-Steam-Game-Recording-Beta.jpg" alt="How to use Steam Game Recording Beta" width="850" height="722" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/How-to-use-Steam-Game-Recording-Beta.jpg 850w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/How-to-use-Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-768x652.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" /></p> <p>3. Steam will install an update and you may have to restart the launcher.</p> <p>4. Once you have opted in to the Steam Client Beta, open the Steam Settings and you will see a new section on the sidebar that is called Game Recording.</p> <p>5. Click on it to select the method of recording. By default, Steam Game Recording is turned off. You can choose the record in background option, which will automatically record the videos when you start playing. The recording lasts 120 minutes. Or, you can select the record on demand option, which starts when you press Ctrl + F11. The recorded videos are saved as clips.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205768" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/How-to-access-Steam-Game-Recording-Beta.jpg" alt="How to access Steam Game Recording Beta" width="831" height="710" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/How-to-access-Steam-Game-Recording-Beta.jpg 831w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/How-to-access-Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-768x656.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 831px) 100vw, 831px" /></p> <p>Let's take a look at some of the advanced options that Game Recording supports. Steam sets the default timer for the "record in background" option to 120 minutes, but you can change the duration manually.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205766" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-options.jpg" alt="Steam Game Recording Beta options" width="839" height="715" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-options.jpg 839w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-options-768x654.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px" /></p> <p>Similarly, you can also set the output quality of the video from the following options 1.5 Mbps, 4 Mbps, 7.5 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 24 Mbps. The app uses the 12 Mbps setting as the default. What's interesting here is that it also gives you an estimated file size of the recording. A 120-minute video at 12 Mbps quality will use 10 GB of storage space on your hard drive. The app automatically calculates the file size when you change the parameters (time and quality). There is a toggle to use GPU Hardware Encoding for the recording process.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205765" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-record-in-background.jpg" alt="Steam Game Recording Beta - record in background" width="839" height="708" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-record-in-background.jpg 839w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-record-in-background-768x648.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Manual Recording mode a couple of extra options, it allows you to customize the hotkeys for starting and stopping the recording. Steam Game Recording does not capture audio from the microphone, and only records audio from the Game, by default. You can change this if you want it to record all audio output from your system.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205764" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-record-on-demand.jpg" alt="Steam Game Recording Beta - record on demand" width="827" height="710" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-record-on-demand.jpg 827w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-record-on-demand-768x659.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 827px) 100vw, 827px" /></p> <h3><strong>Replay videos instantly</strong></h3> <p>You can view your clips directly from the Steam Overlay that you can access with Shift + Tab. The bottom bar has a new option for Game Recording that you can use to start the video capture. Your recorded videos are available from the "Recordings and Screenshots" section. Click on a video to watch a Replay of your game, and as Steam points out, this can be useful to see what went wrong in a boss fight.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205763" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Steam-Overlay.jpg" alt="Steam Game Recording Beta - Steam Overlay" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Steam-Overlay.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Steam-Overlay-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h3><strong>Clip your videos</strong></h3> <p>Steam Game Recording comes with a built-in video editor, which you can get to by clicking on the Clip button. You can view the recording in full-screen, toggle mute. There are buttons to rewind or fast-forward the video by 10 seconds, along with options to  rotate the orientation of the video. You can add markers at a specific location in the timeline and trim the video. When you are done editing, hit the save/share button. Steam also lets you add markers at important locations in the timeline, markers will also be added automatically for Steam achievements.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205762" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Clip-video-editor.jpg" alt="Steam Game Recording Beta - Clip video editor" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Clip-video-editor.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Clip-video-editor-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <h3><strong>Share videos easily</strong></h3> <p>The save clip option overwrites the original video. You can avoid this by saving it to a new clip. The export video option saves the gameplay clip to an MP4 video that you can upload anywhere you want. Alternatively, you can share the videos directly by copying it to the clipboard, or send it to your other PC where you are logged in via Steam, this will download the video on the other computer. This can be useful for Steam Deck users. You may also send the video to your mobile phone, or create a quick share link (lasts for 2 days) to share it with your friends.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205761" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Share-videos-easily.jpg" alt="Steam Game Recording Beta - Share videos easily" width="1200" height="675" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Share-videos-easily.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steam-Game-Recording-Beta-Share-videos-easily-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/sale/gamerecording" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Valve says</a> that it will add more features, including individualized game settings to Game Recording, in future updates.</p> <p>Steam Game Recording seems to be a nice alternative for Nvidia Shadowplay and AMD ReLive, as it offers an easy way to record and share videos. But if you want to stream videos, or more advanced editing options, Open Broadcaster Studio (OBS) is still the best option.</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/27/steam-game-recording-beta-announced-a-built-in-tool-to-record-your-gameplay-videos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Steam Game Recording Beta announced: a built-in tool to record your gameplay videos</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

35. Firefox 127.0.2 fixes Google-caused YouTube playback issue

    Tue, 25 Jun 2024 19:26:55 -0000

    Mozilla released a new version of its Firefox web browser a moment ago. Firefox 127.0.2 fixes a long-standing playback issue on YouTube that was caused by the Google-owned property and not Firefox […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Firefox 127.0.2 fixes Google-caused YouTube playback issue appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Mozilla released a new version of its Firefox web browser a moment ago. <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/127.0.2/releasenotes/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Firefox 127.0.2</a> fixes a long-standing playback issue on YouTube that was caused by the Google-owned property and not Firefox according to Mozilla's analysis of the issue.</p> <p>For the past five or so months, some Firefox users were running into roadblocks regularly on YouTube. The full number of affected users is unclear. <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/19/google-disrupted-youtube-video-playback-on-firefox-again/" data-wpel-link="internal">We published an article</a> about the issue just last week.</p> <p><strong>Here are the details:</strong></p> <ul> <li>It affected regular and live videos on YouTube, but not all of them.</li> <li>vp9 videos with a resolution of 1080 or higher were affected only.</li> <li>Affected users noticed an endless buffering issue.</li> </ul> <p>Mozilla kept track of two main bugs. These were bug 1900191, which dealt with the live video problem, and bug 1878510, which dealt with the problem when watching regular videos on YouTube.</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205746" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-127.0.2.png" alt="Firefox 127.0.2 " width="2099" height="1094" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-127.0.2.png 2099w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-127.0.2-768x400.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-127.0.2-1536x801.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-127.0.2-2048x1067.png 2048w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-127.0.2-1200x625.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2099px) 100vw, 2099px" /></p> <p>It took Mozilla some time to analyze the issue and come up with a solution. Core reasons for that were that the engineers could not replicate it at first, even when accessing the same videos on YouTube.</p> <p>After a while, Mozilla engineer Alastor Wu discovered the root cause of the issue. He said that the issue has been caused by bad muxed VP9 bytestreams served by YouTube. The issue was caused by Google-owned YouTube therefore according to Mozilla and not a bug in the Firefox web browser itself.</p> <p>Here is a quick summary of Wu's technical analysis of the issue: YouTube served bad video samples that overlapped with previously served ones. This should not happen, and is the cause of the problem. The overlapping caused Firefox to fail the calculation of the next sample, which would in the end trigger the endless buffering state. You can check the full comment by following this <a href="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1878510#c113" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">link</a>.</p> <p>The release notes state: "Fixed an issue where YouTube playback may experience stalling under certain conditions."</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Mozilla did not mention why Chromium-based browsers were not affected by this. One possible explanation is that it is using a different kind of error-handling when running into the issue. Ultimately, it was Firefox and Firefox-based browsers that were affected by the issue only.</p> <p>Affected Firefox users may upgrade the browser to the latest version immediately. This should fix the issue.</p> <p>The easiest option to do so on the desktop is to select Firefox Menu &gt; Help &gt; About Firefox. This displays the current version and downloads the latest update that is available.</p> <p>Mozilla released <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/11/firefox-127-out-with-dns-prefetching-security-updates-and-more/" data-wpel-link="internal">Firefox 127</a> earlier this month. It introduced a small number of changes, including security updates.</p> <p><em>Do you use Firefox and play videos on YouTube using the browser? What has been your experience in the recent past?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/25/firefox-127-0-2-fixes-google-caused-youtube-playback-issue/" data-wpel-link="internal">Firefox 127.0.2 fixes Google-caused YouTube playback issue</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

36. You can try Vertical Tabs in Firefox now

    Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:48:16 -0000

    It is no secret that Mozilla is working on bringing vertical tabs to Firefox. The organization confirmed the plan back in May after a test version of Firefox leaked that supported the […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post You can try Vertical Tabs in Firefox now appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>It is no secret that Mozilla is working on bringing vertical tabs to Firefox. The organization <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/23/mozilla-confirms-it-will-add-tab-groups-vertical-tabs-profile-management-to-firefox/" data-wpel-link="internal">confirmed</a> the plan back in May after a <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/02/mozilla-released-a-firefox-nightly-test-build-with-vertical-tabs/" data-wpel-link="internal">test version of Firefox leaked</a> that supported the functionality already.</p> <p>Now, Mozilla has added the functionality in Firefox Nightly. This is the cutting edge development version of the Firefox web browser. Most features are added to Nightly first before they make their way into Beta and then Release versions of the web browser.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: features may change during development and some may even be pulled before they reach the stable version of the Firefox web browser. This is a first look at the feature as it stands right now.</p> <h2>Vertical tabs in Firefox</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205743" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-vertical-tabs.png" alt="Firefox with vertical tabs" width="1917" height="920" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-vertical-tabs.png 1917w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-vertical-tabs-768x369.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-vertical-tabs-1536x737.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-vertical-tabs-1200x576.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1917px) 100vw, 1917px" /></p> <p>Once enabled, tabs are moved to the side. Firefox already supports displaying them on the left or right side. Tabs are displayed with their icons only by default, but you can expand the sidebar to display the first few characters of the website title as well.</p> <p>These tabs have no hierarchy right now, which means that they are all displayed on the same level. The classic <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/22/move-firefox-tabs-from-top-to-side/" data-wpel-link="internal">Tree Style Tabs</a> extension for Firefox supported hierarchies, which showed relations between tabs. Yes, we reviewed it here in 2009 for the first time. It was <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2017/09/27/tree-style-tab-is-a-webextension-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">turned into a WebExtension</a> when Mozilla switched off the classic Firefox extensions system in favor of Chromium's WebExtensions system.</p> <p>What you can do already is move tabs around and use other tab-related features, such as pinning. This works well already for the most part, but the introduction of tab groups will certainly add a new dimension to this. While you can drag &amp; drop tabs in the horizontal tab bar as well, less tabs are shown at the same time by default on most systems.</p> <h2>Test vertical tabs in Firefox</h2> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205744" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-tabs-sidebar.png" alt="firefox tabs sidebar settings" width="1917" height="920" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-tabs-sidebar.png 1917w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-tabs-sidebar-768x369.png 768w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-tabs-sidebar-1536x737.png 1536w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/firefox-tabs-sidebar-1200x576.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1917px) 100vw, 1917px" /></p> <p>Vertical tabs is clearly a work in progress. It may take a while before the feature lands in Firefox stable. If you want to give it a try right now, you need to do the following:</p> <ol> <li>Make sure you have the latest version of Firefox Nightly on your system. You can grab a copy for all supported operating systems from <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/desktop/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Mozilla's website</a>.</li> <li>Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.</li> <li>Select <strong>Accept the risk and Continue</strong>.</li> <li>Search for <strong>sidebar</strong>.</li> <li>Toggle the value of <strong>sidebar.revamp</strong> to <strong>True</strong>.</li> <li>Toggle the value of <strong>sidebar.verticalTabs</strong> to <strong>true</strong>.</li> <li>Restart the Firefox web browser.</li> </ol> <p>Firefox should display vertical tabs right away. There is a "show sidebars" button to display open tabs and page titles. You may also select the customize option to move the sidebar from the left side to the right side.</p> <h3>Closing Words</h3> <p>Vertical tabs support is a much requested feature. While Firefox is not the only browser that supports it, it is always welcome if users get the option. Whether it is used is entirely up to the user, as nothing is being taken away from Firefox's horizontal tab bar.</p> <p>Mozilla has yet to announce when the feature will make it into stable Firefox. It may be too early at this point to make such an announcement.</p> <p><em>What about you? Do you prefer vertical or horizontal tabs? (via <a href="https://windowsreport.com/vertical-tabs-can-now-be-enabled-in-firefox-nightly-and-are-movable-to-the-right-side/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Windowsreport</a>)</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/25/you-can-try-vertical-tabs-in-firefox-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">You can try Vertical Tabs in Firefox now</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

37. Windows 11 set up is automatically enabling OneDrive folder back up for users

    Tue, 25 Jun 2024 04:00:26 -0000

    Microsoft has made yet another silent change to the way the initial setup of Windows 11 works. The operating system is enabling the automatic folder backup to OneDrive, without informing the user […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11 set up is automatically enabling OneDrive folder back up for users appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft has made yet another silent change to the way the initial setup of Windows 11 works. The operating system is enabling the automatic folder backup to OneDrive, without informing the user about it.</p> <p>When you set up Windows 11, you will come across a screen that is captioned "unlock your Microsoft experience", it lists the benefits of using a Microsoft account. You can't skip this sign-in process, as Microsoft has <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/19/windows-10-sign-in-to-your-microsoft-account-messages-roll-out/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">made it difficult</a> for users to install Windows 11 with a local account, so you will need to sign in to a Microsoft account to set up your PC.</p> <p>Once Windows 11 is installed, you will likely see a notification pop-up in the Action Center that reminds you to back up your PC. This is related to OneDrive, which you can set up to back up your data.</p> <h3><strong>OneDrive will back up your folders automatically on new installations of Windows 11</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-is-now-automatically-enabling-onedrive-folder-backup-without-asking-permission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Neowin</a> reports that a new installation of Windows 11 automatically turns on the OneDrive folder backup, so your Desktop Pictures, Documents, Music, and Videos directories get uploaded to the cloud without your permission.</p> <p>You may ask, what is the big deal if Microsoft silently enabled automatic backup of folders to OneDrive? Well, if a user has a lot of data in their folders, they are going to hit the 5GB storage limit pretty quickly, and most people will not know what to do. This will allow the company to promote the Microsoft 365 plan, which non-tech savvy users may think is a good idea to pay for.</p> <p>This is not the first time Microsoft has pushed OneDrive aggressively to users. The Redmond company began adding <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/03/29/windows-11-microsoft-rolls-out-start-menu-promotions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">notifications in the Start Menu</a> last year, which informed users that Windows can back up your files. The ad had a start backup button, which when interacted with, opens OneDrive and sets it up for the user. If you thought those Start Menu ads were annoying, imagine how the notifications if OneDrive is automatically enabled would look like.</p> <p>Microsoft also briefly tested a new way to close the OneDrive app, where you had to <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/09/you-may-need-to-provide-a-reason-now-when-quitting-onedrive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpel-link="internal">select a reason for quitting OneDrive</a>. This change did not last long after the company received backlash from users.</p> <p>OneDrive is not a bad app or service per se. I use it with a slightly higher storage limit, but I can definitely see why it can be annoying for users with a free account, who may have to put up with the constant reminders nagging them to upgrade their storage. Google does this too, especially if you use Google Photos on your Phone.</p> <p>Anyway, if you want to opt out of OneDrive's folder backup. Open OneDrive and go to the app's Settings &gt; Sync and backup &gt; and click on Manage Backup. This will allow you to turn off all the user folders that you don't want to back up to the cloud storage service. The only problem I have with OneDrive is that it does not allow users to select the local folders that we want to back up. Why limit it to the user folders?</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-205739" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/how-to-disable-onedrive-folder-backup-windows-11.jpg" alt="how to disable onedrive folder backup windows 11" width="867" height="632" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/how-to-disable-onedrive-folder-backup-windows-11.jpg 867w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/how-to-disable-onedrive-folder-backup-windows-11-768x560.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px" /></p> <p>I wonder if this automatic folder backup to OneDrive will play a part when Windows Recall is released to the stable channel of Windows 11. That could be a recipe for disaster.</p> <p>Do you use OneDrive?</p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/25/windows-11-set-up-is-automatically-enabling-onedrive-folder-back-up-for-users/" data-wpel-link="internal">Windows 11 set up is automatically enabling OneDrive folder back up for users</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

38. Microsoft confusing users again with new Outlook update

    Mon, 24 Jun 2024 13:46:14 -0000

    Microsoft plans to push a new Outlook version to all customers. This new version will replace the Mail and Calendar apps of Windows in 2024, and the Outlook desktop application in the […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft confusing users again with new Outlook update appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>Microsoft plans to push a new Outlook version to all customers. This new version will <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/01/17/report-microsoft-starts-mail-and-calendar-app-migration-to-the-inferior-outlook-app/" data-wpel-link="internal">replace the Mail and Calendar apps</a> of Windows in 2024, and the Outlook desktop application in the future.</p> <p>A new update for Outlook is now available that Microsoft hopes will make things clearer for users. This update adds the word classic to the desktop version of Outlook. The version was named Outlook only until now.</p> <p>Here is a screenshot of the old status quo:</p> <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205736" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/multiple-outlook-apps.png" alt="Multiple Outlook apps" width="1016" height="802" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/multiple-outlook-apps.png 1016w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/multiple-outlook-apps-768x606.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px" /></p> <p>If you have not paid attention to Microsoft's announcements, and most users have not, then it is confusing to see two Outlook apps installed on the device.</p> <p>The idea behind the name change, likely, is to make it clearer to users that the desktop Outlook that some have used for decades is not the one that they should use. While <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/03/08/microsoft-wont-kill-classic-outlook-for-windows-until-at-least-2029/" data-wpel-link="internal">classic Outlook won't be deprecated until at least 2029</a>, it is a clear indication that it will go away at one point.</p> <p>The new Outlook is the future, according to Microsoft. It is not liked universally though, as it lacks features that classic Outlook supports. It seems likely that Microsoft will remove "new" from its name at one point to complete the switcheroo.</p> <p>As for Mail and Calendar, these will be crippled starting July (via <a href="https://www.drwindows.de/news/mail-und-kalender-app-und-alte-outlook-versionen-koennen-bald-keine-e-mails-mehr-senden-und-empfangen" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Dr. Windows</a>). The app will be set to read-only mode by Microsoft. In other words, you can't use it anymore to retrieve or send emails.</p> <p>This is the first step to push Windows users to use the new Outlook version. It remains to be seen how well this works out for Microsoft. There are several other email programs out there, including classic Outlook but also the free <a href="https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Thunderbird</a>, that could be used as replacements.</p> <h2>Not the first time Microsoft is making confusing changes</h2> <p>Microsoft has a habit of making confusing decisions. Remember the Teams fiasco? There was a Microsoft Teams for consumers and one for businesses. Problem was, it was never clear which would open when you clicked on links that were designed to open in Teams. They even had the same name in Start and an icon that was nearly identical as well.</p> <p>Another example was the release of a new OneNote, which sat next to the classic OneNote app for a long period. The two apps, OneNote 2016 and OneNote for Windows 10, even had the same icons. Microsoft decided furthermore that it would be a great idea to rename OneNote 2016 to just OneNote.</p> <h3>Closing words</h3> <p>Windows users who do not need one or both of the Outlook apps may uninstall them. This is done with a right-click on them in the Start menu, or under Settings &gt; Apps &gt; Installed Apps. Eventually, users of the desktop Outlook app, and Mail and Calendar, are forced to make a decision.</p> <p><em>What about you? Do you use an email application?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/24/microsoft-confusing-users-again-with-new-outlook-update/" data-wpel-link="internal">Microsoft confusing users again with new Outlook update</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

39. How Stellar Data Recovery Can Save Your iPhone Memories

    Fri, 21 Jun 2024 12:13:35 -0000

    Imagine waking up one day to find that all your cherished memories—those candid photos from your last vacation, messages from family, and vital work conversations—have vanished into thin air. This is the […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How Stellar Data Recovery Can Save Your iPhone Memories appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Imagine waking up one day to find that all your </span><b>cherished memories</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">—those candid photos from your last vacation, messages from family, and vital work conversations—have vanished into thin air. This is the reality of </span><b>losing data</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a real nightmare that can turn into reality without warning.</span></p> <p><b>Data loss</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> scenarios are as varied as they are unpredictable. Perhaps you accidentally deleted an important chat while clearing out your inbox, or maybe a software update went awry, erasing precious photos. Sometimes, it’s a simple mishap like</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">dropping your iPhone in water, or more insidious issues like a sudden system crash. Regardless of the cause,</span><b> the impact is immediate and often catastrophic</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But there’s a silver lining in this digital cloud era. Enter </span><a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/media-tools/iphone-data-recovery.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer"><b>Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a </span><b>powerful </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">and </span><b>user-friendly tool</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> designed to rescue you from the despair of lost data. Whether it’s recovering critical chats or salvaging your media files, Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone offers a robust solution to ensure your data is safe and retrievable, even in the most dire of situations.</span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Understanding iPhone Data Recovery: A Lifesaver for Your Digital Life</span></h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">iPhone data recovery refers to the process of</span><b> retrieving lost or deleted data from your iPhone</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This can include a wide array of data types such as </span><b>photos</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>videos</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>messages</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>contacts</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and even </span><b>app data</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from platforms like </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">WhatsApp</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Viber</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Utilizing specialized software, such as Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone, this process digs deep into your device’s storage, sifting through the digital remnants to piece back your lost files.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But why do we lose data in the first place? The reasons are as varied as they are unpredictable. Here are some of the most common culprits:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Accidental Deletion</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: A slip of the finger can lead to the unintentional deletion of important files.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>System Crashes</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Software glitches or failed updates can result in the loss of data.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Water Damage</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Dropping your iPhone in water can lead to significant data loss if the device becomes inoperable.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Physical Damage</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: A cracked screen or damaged internal components from drops can render data inaccessible.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Jailbreaking</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Altering your iPhone’s software can sometimes lead to data corruption or loss.</span></li> </ul> <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205755" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen3-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="818" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen3-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen3-768x523.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></h2> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why Choose Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone?</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to safeguarding your digital memories and crucial data, not all recovery tools are created equal. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone stands out as a </span><b>premier solution</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and here's why:</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stellar Reputation and Expertise</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stellar Data Recovery is a trusted name in the world of data recovery. With decades of experience and a global presence, Stellar has built a reputation for delivering </span><b>reliable </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">and </span><b>effective solutions</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for </span><b>recovering lost data</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> across various devices and platforms. Their expertise ensures that you’re not just getting a tool, but a robust solution backed by extensive research and a commitment to excellence.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unique Selling Points</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What sets Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone apart from the competition? Here are some standout features:</span></p> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>User-Friendly Interface:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Navigating the complexities of data recovery can be daunting, but Stellar makes it straightforward. The software boasts an intuitive interface that guides you through each step of the recovery process with ease. Whether you're tech-savvy or a novice, you'll find the user experience smooth and hassle-free.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>High Recovery Success Rate</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: One of the critical measures of any data recovery tool is its success rate, and Stellar excels in this area. The software’s advanced algorithms and scanning techniques ensure a high rate of data retrieval, bringing back everything from text messages to multimedia files, often when other tools have failed.</span></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1"><b>Compatibility with Various Data Loss Scenarios: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">Data can be lost in numerous ways, and Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is equipped to handle them all. Whether it’s accidental deletion, a failed iOS update, a factory reset, or damage to the device, Stellar can recover your data. It supports a wide range of data types including messages, contacts, photos, videos, call history, Safari bookmarks, and app data from popular apps like WhatsApp, Line, and Viber.</span></li> </ul> <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205756" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen2-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="822" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen2-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen2-768x526.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></h2> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Key Features of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone: Safeguarding Your Conversations and Memories</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.stellarinfo.com/media-tools/android-data-recovery.php" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone</a> excels in its ability to retrieve not just any data, but the data that matters most. These are the key features that make this tool indispensable: Chat Recovery and Media Recovery.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chat Recovery: Your Conversations, Restored</span></h3> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Importance of Chat Recovery</span></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chats are the threads that weave together our daily lives, capturing everything from heartfelt messages to critical business details. Losing these conversations can feel like losing a part of your history. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone recognizes the significance of these digital dialogues and offers robust solutions to bring your conversations back to life.</span></p> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Supported Chat Apps</span></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you're sharing updates on WhatsApp, coordinating projects on Line, or catching up with loved ones on Viber, Stellar Data Recovery has you covered. The software supports a wide range of chat apps, ensuring comprehensive recovery options for your essential communications.</span></p> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Detailed Process of Recovering Chat Data</span></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recovering chat data with Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is a straightforward process:</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Launch the Software</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Start by launching Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on your computer.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Connect Your Device</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Select the Chat App</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Choose the specific chat app you wish to recover data from.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Scan Your Device</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Initiate the scan to locate deleted or lost chat data.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Preview and Recover</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Preview the recoverable chat history and select the messages you want to restore. Click 'Recover' to retrieve your data and save it to your desired location.</span></li> </ol> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Media Recovery: Recapturing Your Memories</span></h3> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Significance of Media Recovery</span></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our phones are digital scrapbooks, holding precious photos, videos, and audio recordings that document our lives. Losing this media can be heart-wrenching, but Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone specializes in retrieving these treasured files, ensuring your memories are preserved.</span></p> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Supported Media Types and File Formats</span></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone supports a wide range of media types and file formats, including:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Photos: JPEG, PNG, GIF, and more.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Videos: MP4, MOV, AVI, and other popular formats.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Audio files: MP3, M4A, WAV, and more.</span></li> </ul> <h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Step-by-Step Guide to Recovering Media Files</span></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recovering media files with Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is designed to be user-friendly:</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Launch the Software</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Open Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on your computer.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Connect Your Device</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Use a USB cable to connect your iPhone to the computer.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Select Media Types</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Choose the type of media you wish to recover—photos, videos, or audio files.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Scan Your Device</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Start the scan to search for lost or deleted media files.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Preview and Recover</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: After the scan completes, preview the recoverable media files. Select the ones you want to recover and click 'Recover' to save them to your computer.</span></li> </ol> <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-205757" src="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen1-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="817" srcset="https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen1-scaled.jpg 1200w, https://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iPhone-win-screen1-768x523.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></h2> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tips for Preventing Future Data Loss</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Data loss can be a devastating experience, but with proactive measures, you can significantly reduce the risk. Here are some </span><b>best practices</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to help you safeguard your data and ensure you’re prepared for any unexpected mishaps.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Regular Backups</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most effective ways to prevent data loss is by </span><b>regularly backing up your iPhone</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Here are some methods to consider:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>iCloud Backup</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Enable automatic backups in your iPhone settings to ensure your data is backed up to iCloud daily, as long as your device is connected to Wi-Fi and plugged into a power source.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>iTunes Backup</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: For a more comprehensive backup, use iTunes to back up your iPhone to your computer. This method captures more data than an iCloud backup and can be stored securely offline.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Third-Party Backup Solutions</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Consider using third-party apps that offer additional features and flexibility for backing up your data.</span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Multiple Backup Locations</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To further protect your data,</span><b> use multiple backup locations</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Combine iCloud with an external hard drive or another cloud service to ensure you have copies of your data in various places.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keep Your iOS Updated</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Regularly</span><b> updating your iPhone’s operating system</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> can help prevent data loss caused by software bugs and security vulnerabilities. Ensure you have the latest iOS version installed to benefit from the latest security patches and performance improvements.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Regularly Clean Your Device</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Periodically </span><b>cleaning up your iPhone</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> can prevent data clutter and enhance performance. Delete unnecessary files, apps, and media to free up space and reduce the risk of corruption.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monitor Your Battery Health</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A failing battery can lead to unexpected shutdowns and data loss. Keep an eye on your iPhone’s battery health and replace it if necessary to ensure reliable performance.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone as a Preventative Tool</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Regular Scans</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Even if you haven’t lost any data, running regular scans with Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone can help identify potential issues before they become major problems. This proactive approach can detect early signs of data corruption or other issues.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Cloning and Disk Testing</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Stellar Data Recovery offers advanced features like cloning and disk testing, which can be used to create a complete copy of your iPhone’s data and check for disk errors. These features can help you identify and address potential problems early, ensuring your data remains safe.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Educate Yourself</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Understanding how Stellar Data Recovery works and familiarizing yourself with its features can make it easier to respond quickly in the event of data loss. Keep the software updated and learn how to use it effectively to maximize your chances of successful recovery.</span></li> </ul> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Protecting Your Digital Treasures: A Smart Choice</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Losing data can feel like losing a part of your life, but with the right tools and practices, you can </span><b>protect your valuable information</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Regular backups and proactive maintenance are crucial, but when the unexpected happens, </span><b>Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is your reliable ally. It offers a seamless, effective solution to </span><b>recover lost chats</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>photos</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>videos</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>and more</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, ensuring your memories and important data are never truly lost.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don't wait for disaster to strike. </span><b>Download Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone today</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and take the first step towards protecting your digital treasures. Safeguard your memories, secure your information, and enjoy peace of mind knowing that Stellar Data Recovery has your back.</span></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/21/how-stellar-data-recovery-can-save-your-iphone-memories/" data-wpel-link="internal">How Stellar Data Recovery Can Save Your iPhone Memories</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>

40. With Kaspersky banned in the US, what should customers do?

    Fri, 21 Jun 2024 06:04:56 -0000

    The United States are banning Kaspersky products. Starting July 20, Kaspersky is no longer allowed to sell its products to new customers. Software updates remain available until September 29, 2024. Customers who […]

    Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post With Kaspersky banned in the US, what should customers do? appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

    <p>The United States are banning Kaspersky products. Starting July 20, Kaspersky is no longer allowed to sell its products to new customers. Software updates remain available until September 29, 2024.</p> <p>Customers who use Kaspersky products in the United States need to find different security solutions, as Kaspersky products will not be updated after September 29 anymore.</p> <p>The <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-13532.pdf" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">reason</a> given is the following: "he Department finds that Kaspersky’s provision of cybersecurity and anti-virus software to U.S. persons, including through third-party entities that integrate Kaspersky cybersecurity or anti-virus software into commercial hardware or software, poses undue and unacceptable risks to U.S. national security and to the security and safety of U.S. persons"</p> <p>You can check out the <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/us-bans-kaspersky-software/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">Wired</a> article for details.</p> <h2>Here are your options if you use Kaspersky products</h2> <p>There is no need to rush, as the products will receive updates until September 29. The security products, including antivirus solutions, will become less effective after that date. While they will continue to work, they won't detect new or updated threats anymore because of the lack of updates.</p> <p>The first step is to uninstall Kaspersky products from PCs and mobile devices. This does not have to be rushed, but should happen before September 29.</p> <p>Uninstalling Kaspersky products on Windows will make Microsoft Defender Antivirus the default security solution on the device again. This keeps the device protected. On Android, Google Play protection is available, but it is not offering the same level of security as third-party security apps.</p> <p>Several third-party security solutions are available that may be installed as alternatives.</p> <p>Based on tests by <a href="https://www.av-test.org/de/antivirus/privat-windows/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">AV-Test</a> and <a href="https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/real-world-protection-test-february-may-2024/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">AV-Comparatives</a>, here are the products that have received the highest ratings in the latest tests.</p> <ul> <li>Avast Free Antivirus</li> <li>ESET Security Ultimate</li> <li>McAfee Total Protection</li> </ul> <p><strong>Note</strong>: these tests try to replicate real-world scenarios, but they are limited.</p> <ul> <li>Only Avast Free Antivirus is available free of charge.</li> <li>ESET Security Ultimate is expensive, at $179.99 per year. It includes features such as access to a VPN. Cheaper plans are available that bring down the price considerable. ESET Security Essential is available for $59.99 per year and includes all basic protections.</li> <li>McAfee Total Protection has different plans. The cheapest option, Basic, includes antivirus protection as well as some other features.</li> </ul> <p>Kaspersky apps are also available for mobile devices. You can check the tests at <a href="https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/mobile-security-review-2024/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">AV-Comparatives</a> and <a href="https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/mobile-devices/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow external noopener noreferrer">AV-Test</a> to find alternatives.</p> <p><strong>Closing Words</strong></p> <p>Switching from one security solution to another may or may not be a simple undertaking for home users. Those who have not customized the installed security solution much may find it easy to move to another solution, especially since one is available right away on Windows when uninstalling the Kaspersky product.</p> <p>Those who have customized the product, e.g., with custom firewall rules, need to find ways to export these and integrate them into another solution. It is essential then to find a product that supports the same set of features.</p> <p>It will be interesting to see how Kaspersky customers in other regions will react to the ban. It is possible that a percentage of customers will uninstall Kaspersky products as a response.</p> <p><em>What about you? Have you installed Kaspersky products? Will you replace them with different products?</em></p> <p>Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2024/06/21/with-kaspersky-banned-in-the-us-what-should-customers-do/" data-wpel-link="internal">With Kaspersky banned in the US, what should customers do?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.ghacks.net" data-wpel-link="internal">gHacks Technology News</a>.</p>