The GMKtek G3 Plus, like most mini PCs, uses laptop parts to bring the price down and deliver a teeny-tiny footprint, just 4.5 x 4.2 inches (114 x 106mm, if you live in a civilized country). Inside is an Intel N150 quad-core processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, which is a great start for a mini PC under $200. If you're in the mood to upgrade, it can handle a maximum of 32GB of DDR4 laptop memory and 2TB of Gen 3 storage using the standard M.2 2280 form factor. Windows 11 comes installed.
With that N150 processor this won't be any kind of a speed demon, and you can expect pretty basic performance from any new 3D game. But even without an upgrade, this little guy is going to fly through most Windows tasks and handle plenty of browser tabs, and its built-in ports can handle dual 4K monitors, and it'll connect to your Wi-Fi 6 network or Bluetooth 5.2 accessories without an issue. The only real disappointment is a lack of USB-C ports, though there are four USB-A ports (two on the front, two on the back) and an Ethernet port for fast hardwired networking.
At a hair over $150, this thing really is a steal for a low-power workstation — the barebones model without RAM, storage, or Windows costs
You'll want something that can handle all the heavy stuff like CAD and simulations, but still be light enough to toss in your backpack. You'll also need a screen that won't tire your eyes during those late-night study sessions, a comfortable keyboard for all that typing, and loads of ports so you're not stuck carrying around a dongle. Battery life matters, too. Believe me, you don't want to be scrambling for an outlet mid-class.
The following recommendations have been rigorously tested and carefully selected with these needs in mind, while also allowing for different budgets, preferences, and tastes.
But look on the bright side: the most onerous of President Trump's tariffs have yet to take effect, so there are plenty of reasonably priced alternatives to consider.
Belkin stopped selling some of these Wemo products several years ago, but the company continued to operate the servers they depended on. After January of next year, however, you won't be able to operate them at all using the Wemo app or with any third-party services.
These recommendations are based on my assumption that you'll want to replace your Wemo devices with something equally simple, so I won't get into every alternative, including some that might be more appealing to smart home power users. I will, however, help you minimize the brands you buy into, so you don't need to juggle lots of smart home apps.
There are some cases where that won't be possible, however, because I'm recommending Lutron products as my top picks in many categories, and Lutron doesn't make smart bulbs or indoor smart plugs that can handle small appliances. Lutron also doesn't currently support Matter, if that's important to you (it's not to me).
If you're using Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Home, using more than one app isn't all that onerous once you've set up a given product and perhaps set up some on/off schedules, because most of your interactions with it will involve using voice commands. You'll find you won't need to rely on those apps all that much.
We've tested every laptop on this list ourselves, and we didn't just look at the specs. We also paid attention to frame rates, thermals, keyboard feel, screen quality, and more. No fluff or filler here. Just great gaming laptops that get the job done.
Microsoft's newly published support document (found by Windows Central) is significant in that Microsoft is no longer selling video content via the Microsoft Store. It follows Microsoft's decision to stop selling music as part of its Groove Music services, which was shuttered in 2017.
But Microsoft's decision to stop providing movies and TV shows to rent or buy probably should be met with a shrug. Several streaming movie services already show movies just weeks after they're released in the box office, with rumors that the recent Superman release might be opened to streaming services just 45 days after first appearing in movie theaters. Microsoft doesn't offer a streaming service; instead, it provides direct sales and rentals to consumers. Plenty of services already do that.
So what will happen to movies and TV shows that you've already purchased? For now, they'll remain on Microsoft's servers. Microsoft's support document indicates that you'll be able to continue playing them
AI will determine the highest possible price that each individual passenger is willing to pay for their flight ticket. Delta has been piloting the new pricing strategy over the last year, with 3 percent of the airline's fares being set by AI. The results have been "amazingly favorable."
Delta now aims to have 20 percent of all fares individually set by AI by the end of 2025. But in the long term, the plan is for AI to completely take over the pricing of Delta's flight tickets.
The new pricing scheme has already faced a lot of criticism, with one consumer organization in California accusing the airline of more or less trying to "hack" passengers' brains. However, there are certain laws that the AI must adhere to with its pricing, and US airlines are not allowed to charge differently for flight tickets based on gender or ethnicity.
Windows computers come with security software baked into the OS, but for some folks, an upgrade can help demystify and simplify security. To help you choose a good suite, we've identified products that offer excellent protection, worthwhile features, and minimal performance impact on your computer.
Best antivirus of 2025 reviewed and ranked
Norton 360 Deluxe - Best antivirus for PC overall
When generating an image with ChatGPT, you will soon be able to select "Save without watermark" in the menu behind the three dots in the top-right corner of the app. Obviously, this feature would be rather useless if images weren't going to be watermarked.
Will all users be able to save images without watermarks? We don't know yet. Android Authority speculates that the feature may sit behind a paywall and only be available to paid ChatGPT subscribers.
None of this has been announced or confirmed by OpenAI as of this writing, and it's possible this feature won't make it through to the stable release versions of ChatGPT at all. We'll have to wait and see.
BleepingComputer reports that the revived BadBox 2.0 malware is now running on over 10 million Android-based devices, mostly those sketchy streaming video boxes. The botnet is mainly used to create fake and spoofed advertising tools that are essentially stealing money from Google and other advertising firms (presumably sending it back to operators believed to be in China) in addition to more varied activities like DDoS attacks, proxies, and ransomware proliferation.
Google says those proxy connections are being sold to other criminals, for up to $1,390 USD for 500GB. Fake apps distributed to phones across the world, in third-party stores beyond the control of Apple and Google, are being used to reel in ad money.
Fans of complex strategy games, rejoice! Because this week Epic Games is offering a free PC game that's truly worthwhile. Starting yesterday, you can get Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Platinum Edition for free!
The Platinum Edition not only includes the excellent base game, but also the Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm expansions, plus the six DLC packs that came out post-release. It's a must-have for fans of the series, but it's especially great as an entry point for Civ newcomers.
What makes Civilization VI so special?
The Civ series has earned itself a special reputation among strategy gamers, as it combines all the aspects you could wish for—global strategy with different factions, city building, tech trees, and combat—all at a very high level with deeply complex systems. All of these elements take place on a hex map, which is also an iconic feature of Civilization games.
Civilization VI is one of the best-rated games with a current score of 88 on Metacritic. The most recen
The latest news is that Microsoft will be upping the "static analysis" requirements for driver certification, a move meant to improve the security and stability of Windows 11 25H2.
According to the Windows Driver Developer blog post from earlier this week, all drivers will be required to undergo a so-called static analysis. "Static analysis is a foundational requirement of Windows Hardware Compatibility Program," says the post. "The validation … [identifies] potential issues in driver code before deployment."
In other words, companies that want their hardware designated as reliably compatible with Windows 10 and 11 will need their drivers reviewed and validated by Microsoft.
Windows 11 25H2 will probably be released at the end of September, but expect the rollout to take a number of months.
I've previously tried various remedies for this thorn in the side of my PC experience, but Microsoft has patched and updated Windows often enough that they've all stopped working. I eventually gave up and resolved to leave the Start menu hobbled by Microsoft's over-eager branding, even though I'd much rather use the tools I chose for myself (Vivaldi as my browser and DuckDuckGo as my search engine).
Such things are sent to try us. By Microsoft, specifically. Which shouldn't be poking its nose into how individual users want to use the operating systems we've paid for. I'm not bitter, no, why do you ask?
But a recent Windows laptop purchase—this one, in fact, yes, sometimes we jump on our own deal posts, too!—bro
This 15-inch laptop was already one of the cheapest on the market to feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processor, and it comes with the fantastic battery life and Copilot features that are the hallmark of that hardware. Getting 16GB of RAM is great at this price—it's the minimum I would consider for a Windows 11 machine—although 256GB of storage isn't anything to write home about.
With a larger 1920×1200 screen and a roomy keyboard with a number pad, this is a great machine if you want a little more screen space for video or document work. Just don't expect this laptop to be a gaming powerhouse, as Snapdragon laptops still struggle to perform with 3D games. I do like the fact that it includes a full-sized SD card reader, on top of two USB-A, one USB-C, and one HDMI port. For more details, check out PCWorld's full review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x.
Best Buy is running this significant discount—$300 off the retail price—for just one day. According to the countdown, it'll end at 1 AM Eastern US time,
The new design would have removed the full date and time display as well as the notifications icon, with the aim of creating a more stripped-down and barebones system tray.
Although we previously lost the clock icon for notifications with Windows 11 24H2, the intended minimalist design was never finalized or fully realized. Microsoft was pretty close to rolling out these further changes, but suddenly pulled back—without offering any explanation.
According to company spokesperson Brandon LeBlanc, the decision was made after negative user feedback, with only a few people showing actual interest in the simplified system tray design. As such, Microsoft listened to its user base and ultimately scrapped the plans.
First up: what does it take to actually make a silicon chip in a factory? Or to be more accurate, a fabrication plant, or "fab" for short. I once heard it described as "A bag of goes in a machine on one side, the machine punches the bag, and you get a CPU on the other." The reality is a little more complex. We're talking thousands of individual steps with hundreds of different components and processes, some requiring scare and precious materials. And that's just the physical stuff that goes into a chip. Actually getting the factory up and running is the work of years of planning and developing, and billions — sometimes hundreds of billions — of dollars from start to finish.
And of course, things are getting more and more complex as processors become more powerful, using smaller components and processes on the nanometer scale. While a fab can continue
There's another wise travel tip that could save you a bundle, and it's much easier than stuffing all your clothes into a tiny backpack.
One of travel's hidden expenses is expensive foreign data roaming charges when away from your home country, which can rack up significantly for those of us reliant on our phones every day for news, socials and streaming.
Getting an eSIM is the way to beat away unwanted hefty data charges via a dedicated digital mobile data plan.
Well, with the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra powered Windows PC with AI capabilities there are a wealth of features and capabilities purpose-built to streamline your workload and free up time to spend on the things that are the most important to you.
How AI-powered PCs can help you regain control
AI might feel like a buzzword that's plastered over everything at the moment, and in some cases if does seem like it offers much apart from basic party tricks. But Microsoft's CoPilot, powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra processors, is an exception, as it offers plenty of very helpful tools and features that can speed up your workflow, maximise your time and help you stay focussed.
With its AI search you can quickly pull up any action points in your emails and have them listed and summarised. Need to write a quick reply? Let CoPilot take care of that, then you can always tweak it so it sounds like you. Have you been sent a document that will take ages to read, just ask the AI to break it down into the essentials and you're done in seconds.
With the new Click-to-Go feature you can also get instant context-sensitive actions for text and image-based items, with the ability to summarise, refine or edit them without needed to open another app. Nothing to distract you, only the tools you need under your fingertips. That's not all, you can also harness the AI power to create images, restyle them, use real language to search for files, add live captions to videocalls,
Being able to condense days of growth into a short video that I could watch in just a minute seemed like magic to me. What's more, it opened my mind to something about plants that you just can't see every day — the fact that they're not just inanimate things. They can move just like us (albeit a lot more slowly).
The great thing about making a time lapse video these days is you don't need a studio or specialist equipment to pull it off. It can be done with a mobile phone and / or a free app in Windows.
So, if you're into a hobby that lends itself well to a time lapse (and that can be almost anything), why not make a time lapse video? Here are some ideas for inspiration:
A flower bud opening
An artist painting
Traffic moving on the street
Your own hair growing out after a snip
Tip: Slow moving things like snails and clouds make excellent subjects but require a little more time to shoot.
What to do:
One of the simplest ways to create a time lapse video is with an app called Time Lapse Creator. It gives you the option of either uploading images or videos, or shooting a video directly via the app itself.
For the purposes of this "how to," I've assumed that you've already shot your pictures, uploaded them to your PC, and stored them in a folder. Now you can do the following:
Download and install the free app Time Lapse Creator.
Select either Import Folder or Import Files to sel
This past week, Adam published a look back at the past few decades of PC component history, through the lens of my colleague Gordon Mah Ung's career. The memories stretch from the mid-1990s (including Gordon in a full suit and tie) to the present day of contests for the slowest benchmark results. And by the end, I could see other people latching on to "change" as the biggest theme throughout.
The visual evidence is there: the move from beige boxes to bright, even obnoxiously colored chassis; shifting case configurations and attitudes toward cable management (oh, for the days when we could shove everything inside and just slap the side panel back on); even the leap to ferocious high core-count processors and screaming-fast graphics cards.
I'm embarrassed to share this one because my colleagues are big proponents of regular factory resets, and now I understand why. It gets you back to the performance you had when everything was new, and it ditches all the bloatware that has built up over the years.
I now have a lovely, clean, fresh Windows install that's running like magic, and I'm here to encourage you to do the same. Not convinced? Here are several warning signs that it's time to reset your Windows PC.
Sign #1: Your PC feels slower than usual
My main PC is a bit of a beast. Thanks to hardware review samples and friends in the right places, I was able to build an economical but very capable machine that has served me well in most respects. It's built around the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, which gives stellar performance for gaming and professional tasks. That's paired with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a few TBs of PCIe 4.0 storage, and a PowerColor Red Devil 7900 XTX. Apart from the 9950X3D, this is about as fast an all-AMD PC can
Here's something most people in the AI space don't realize: you don't need to pay separate monthly fees for all of the best AI models. There's a little-known platform that lets you tap into all of them with a one-time payment, and in a far more streamlined dashboard, rather than hopping between tabs all day: 1min.AI.
Start by choosing your use case—blog writing, image generation, code debugging, video editing, and more—and pick your preferred AI model there. All of the latest ones are included, and you can expect to receive the new ones, like GPT-5, when they're released. All of your tasks will be even more streamlined with these preset AI templates vs randomly enterting prompts into a chatbot.
The plan includes 4,000,000 credits per month, which is enough to generate about 1.1 million words, 1,100 images, or 35 videos (depending on the AI model you choose). You can also earn up to 450,000 bonus credits every month just by opening the web app.
Starting July 23 for new subscribers, Peacock will raise the price of its ad-supported Premium tier to $10.99 a month, according to Variety, a $3-a-month increase that will make Peacock's with-ads tier the priciest of the biggest streaming services.
Meanwhile, Peacock Premium Plus will go up to $16.99 a month, also a $3/month increase.
Annual rates for both Peacock plans will both go up as well, to $109.99 a year for Peacock Premium and $169.99 for Peacock Premium Plus.
Current Peacock subscribers will see the rate increase on their next bill after August 22.
Because Peacock's price hike for new subscribers hasn't kicked in yet, there's still time to pony up for a year of Peacock at the current annual rate of $79.99 for Peacock Premium or $139.99 for Peacock Premium Plus, but you'll need to do so before July 23.
With the price hike on its Premium tier, Peacock's with-ads plan will be more expensive than those of Disney ($9.99 a month), HBO Max (ditto), Hulu (also $9.99/month), Amazon Prime Video ($8.99/month), Netflix ($7.99/month), and Paramount ($7.99 a month).
In an interesting wrinkle, Peacock is planning to roll out another new tier that's cheaper than its ad-supported Premium plan.
Peacock Select will be a $7.99-a-month plan that will offer select (natch) "next-day" content from NBC and Bravo, Vulture reports. Expect such shows as
Gabriele Svelto, an engineer for Mozilla, posted that he could essentially geolocate crash reports (which identify the processor, presumably) and tie them to areas which have suffered from a recent European heat wave.
"If you have an Intel Raptor Lake system and you're in the northern hemisphere, chances are that your machine is crashing more often because of the summer heat," Svelto wrote on Mastodon. "I know because I can literally see which EU countries have been affected by heat waves by looking at the locales of Firefox crash reports coming from Raptor Lake systems."
"Raptor Lake systems have known timing/voltage issues that get worse with temperature," Svelto added. "Things are so bad at this time that we had to disable a bot that was filing crash reports automatically because it was almost only finding crashes from people with affected systems."
On the Mozilla bug tracker, one engineer wrote: "Suhaib deployed a change to bugbot that makes it ignore crashes from this CPU so hopefully we won't get so many going forward."
A fix is available
Intel's "Raptor Lake" bug affected processors during 2024, specifically Intel's 13th-gen and 14th-gen desktop Core chips — not those found in laptops.
While simply viewing or commenting on a PDF can be accomplished with free software, there are times when you might want to engage with a PDF document more extensively. Say you want to make edits, reorganize a file, or collaborate with others to make changes. That's where a full-featured PDF editor comes in.
The best PDF editors allow you to edit, create, alter, and convert PDF files just like you would with any other text document. Adobe Acrobat is the most well-known option for most people. Its reputation is certainly deserved given its excellent feature set and overall utility. But it's also quite expensive.
Thankfully, there's a whole range of respectable and even great third-party PDF editors that provide less expensive alternatives to Adobe's premier product.
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The GeForce 590.26 preview driver, which is available on Nvidia's developer website, allows owners of Ada Lovelace graphics cards (such as the RTX 4080 and RTX 4060) to utilize Smooth Motion frame generation technology.
This feature, previously reserved for RTX 50 cards, promises almost twice the frame rate in many games, reports VideoCardz.
Doubled frame rates for older games
Smooth Motion is Nvidia's answer to AMD's Fluid Motion Frames. The technology AI-generates intermediate images at the driver level, which are then inserted between two rendered frames. This makes games appear smoother without requiring developers to specifically incorporate the feature in their games. Smooth Motion is especially attractive for older games with frame rate limits and/or without DLSS support.
Users on the Guru3D forums report double the frame rate in World of Warcraft, from 82 to 164 FPS. Similar leaps were achieved in Company of Heroes 3, as demonstrated by VideoCardz. In competitive and CPU-limited games, Smooth Motion unlocks noticeably smoother gameplay, even if the quality doesn't quite match DLSS 3 Frame Generation.
Italian YouTube gamer Francesco Salicini, AKA Once Were Nerd, documents and reviews these gadgets professionally. And for that, he's been investigated by the police, and his home and computers have been searched. At issue is the fact that some of these gadgets come pre-loaded with hundreds or even thousands of old game ROM files, which is technically piracy and copyright infringement pretty much everywhere. Salicini is currently under investigation for breaking copyright with a maximum penalty of 15,000 euro and up to three years in prison, and his YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook accounts could be shut down. Under Italian law, these shutdowns can apparently happen even before he's charged with a crime, if he's ever charged at all.
As part of the investigation, Salicini's home has been searched and "more than 30" consoles seized, with Tom's Hardware reporting well-known brands in this small space like Anbernic, TrimUI, and PowKiddy. The presence of pirated ROMs on those consoles could be evidence against Salicini, though whether he obtained the ROMs himself (and whether he did so legally) or they were pre-loaded onto the consoles before purchase will probably be relevant.
The largest Martian meteorite on Earth
The Sotheby's auction for meteorite NWA 16788, the largest chunk of Mars found on Earth, started at $2 million. While Sotheby's expected it to go for between $2 and $4 million, a 15-minute bidding war drove the price up to $4.3 million… and with fees, the final price came in at an eye-watering $5.3 million. This makes NWA 16788 the most expensive meteorite ever sold at auction.
NWA 16788 weighs around 25 kilograms (55 pounds), making it 70 percent larger than the second-largest Martian meteorite found to date, and it accounts for about 7 percent of the total known mass of Mars on Earth. The rock was found in November 2023 by a meteorite collector in the Sahara Desert, and all evidence points to a relatively recent impact due to hardly any traces of weathering.
These gloves wrap around your wrists and palms, then cover only your thumbs and forefingers. Each thumb and forefinger features an LED light that shines, letting you see whatever it is you're working on without getting in the way (as a normal flashlight would). Plus, they leave the tips of your thumbs and forefingers exposed, so your grip and dexterity remain uncompromised. And don't worry about sizing! Whether your hands are big or small, the elastic wrap-around design of these gloves makes them truly one-size-fits-all.
Each glove has an on/off button, and each glove requires a CR2016 battery (one of those coin-shaped ones) to operate. But since they're only LED lights, you'll get a lot of battery life out of these.
These are perfect for PC upgrades, car hood troubles, fixing sink leaks, DIY work in your crawl space, bike maintenance in a gloomy garage, or even just going on night walks. Your imagination is the limit. Get a pair of these LED flashlight gloves for $10 while this deal's still here!
Tiny LED flashlights on your fingers? Yep! For just $10Buy now at Amazon
So… if you're not yet using an SSD, what are you waiting for? If you already have an older SSD, you might consider upgrading it for the even headier performance offered by cutting-edge PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 designs. If your PC sports those technologies, of course.
That said, a premium drive may not deliver any more real-world performance than a bargain drive. Mainstream software, including Windows has yet to implement the numerous performance tricks, such as multiple queues, that NVMe SSDs offer.
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Meanwhile, Windows remains the undisputed leader with 63.2 percent of the market, followed by macOS and OS X with a combined market share of 24.29 percent (7.72 and 16.5 percent, respectively). After Linux comes ChromeOS at 2.71 percent, while the remaining 4.76 percent of desktop operating systems that have not been identified.
According to Techspot, the rise of Linux is partly explained by the looming end of life for Windows 10 and the fact that many Windows 10 PCs aren't eligible for Windows 11. For them, switching to one of the many Linux-based alternatives is an enticing option.
However, part of that number could also be attributed to the rise of Valve's Steam Deck gaming handheld, which runs on the Linux-based SteamOS operating system. As the handheld market expands with more options running SteamOS, we're likely to see Linux's market share grow even further—and possibly
WebGPU is a cross-platform API that allows a web browser to directly access your computer's GPU, enabling the browser to perform more advanced graphical tasks. This improves the browser's graphical capabilities when playing games and running apps.
Firefox 141 on Windows will release soon on July 22nd, officially bringing WebGPU support with it. However, Mozilla says that not all the necessary work on the integration is complete yet and that some remaining bugs will have to wait until Firefox 142 to be fixed.
This is a welcome step forward as Google's Chrome browser has had WebGPU support starting as early as 2023, while Apple's Safari browser is expected to get WebGPU support sometime this fall.
What can you do if you want to move up to Windows 11 but your current Windows 10 PC is so old that it isn't eligible? One thing you can try is to use a free app called Flyby11, which was recently updated to version 3.0 and is available for download on GitHub.
From the version 3.0 changelog:
With Flyby11 version 3.0, you should be able to install Windows 11 on computers that don't meet Microsoft's hardware requirements for the operating system. In other words, a lack of TPM and/or Secure Boot or an old processor shouldn't stop you from installing Windows 11.
That said, even though you can use Flyby11 to install Windows 11 on an older Windows 10 PC, our security expert Mike Danseglio doesn't rec
The MSI Stealth 16 AI Studio is everything you could want in a higher-end gaming laptop. For starters, it features a large 16-inch IPS display with a 1200p resolution and a speedy 165Hz refresh rate, which all sounds pretty standard for a gaming machine—but look at the internal hardware. It runs on an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor paired with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a fast 1TB SSD, plus a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 for pushing high-fidelity graphics at high frame rates. And with Nvidia nearly doubling the FPS of RTX 40 cards for free, it's even better now!
Other bits and bobs worth knowing about this laptop: it comes with Windows 11 Home and a Copilot key on the keyboard, the CPU has an NPU for AI tasks but doesn't meet the requirements to be called a Copilot PC, and for ports you get a Thunderbolt 4, fast USB-A and USB-C, full-sized HDMI, Ethernet, and microSD.
This monster machine will last you many years, and it's more enticing than ever with this 20% discount. Get the
Steam's new Trade Protected Items system (spotted by PC Gamer) is debuting in the latest update to Valve's own Counter-Strike 2, but according to the FAQ, it'll be coming to other games using the Steam Community Market in the future, too.
Here's the gist: When you buy or trade a digital item in a supported game, you can use it in that game immediately but can't trade, destroy, or modify it for seven days. (Something, something, The Ring reference.) At any point during that period, either party can reverse the trade.
My mind immediately jumped to Roku, whose smart TVs and streaming players have always emphasized simplicity. But I also know that Roku's streaming platform has become more complicated in recent years, and its once-basic menu system is not what it used to be.
While I'd still recommend Roku to someone who's on the lower end of the tech learning curve, our neighbor in this scenario would benefit from some out-of-the-box settings tweaks. Whether you're setting up a Roku for yourself of someone else, here's how to make the streamer as easy to use as possible:
To help users successfully navigate Windows 10's extinction event, Adam Patrick Murray sat down with ethical hacker Mike Danseglio to talk options. The goal: To find the best option for your PC to stay current with security updates and patches, no matter the age of your hardware. AI tools have increased the speed and volume of online attacks, with vulnerabilities more easily discovered and exploited.
The duo frames the possibilities as a decision tree, with two main branches: PCs compatible with Windows 11, and those that aren't. For systems ready for Windows 11, Mike simply recommends upgrading—and making the jump before the October sunset. I echo this advice, as doing it well before the deadline ensures your PC will keep receiving uninterrupted security patches.
(Not sure if your PC's compatible? If it has an Intel 8th-gen or Ryzen 2000 chip, you're probably fine. Windows Update—or a Microsoft nag screen—will tell you.)
If your Windows 10 computer is too old to upgrade to Windows 11, you can choose b
Starting immediately for new subscribers, Nest Aware will cost $10 a month, a $2-a-month increase, while a year's worth of the plan will cost $100, a $20 annual price hike.
Meanwhile, the step-up Nest Aware Plus plan now goes for $20 a month, versus the previous $15-a-month rate, while the annual Nest Aware Plus plan is going up to $200, a $50-a-year increase.
Current Nest Aware subscribers will get hit with the price hikes on their first bill after August 15, or after their promotional period expire.
If Google's price hikes for its Nest Aware Plus plans look steep, they are—think a 33-percent increase for both the monthly and annual plans, while cheaper Nest Aware plans are only (only?) going up 25 percent.
In an email shared on Reddit, Google told customers that it "remain[s] committed to helping you get the most out of your Nest devices and will continue to bring new features and innovations over time."
The last time Google raised prices on Nest Aware users was back in September 2023, when it hiked monthly Nest Aware prices to $8 a month, a $2-a-month increase, while monthly Nest Aware Plus plans went up to $15 a month, up $3 a month.
Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz said Wednesday that the new Mercedes CLA will be able to tap into an in-vehicle camera and give drivers access to a Meetings for Teams application. Somehow, Mercedes is also including Microsoft Intune inside the car, so business workers will be able to access private business data, too.
Mercedes is making this part of what it calls MBUX, the Mercedes-Benz user experience. Microsoft and Mercedes plan to implement the new Intune and Teams enhancements as part of an MBUX 4.0 upgrade this summer.
The integration of Microsoft Teams, however, might be either the most useful or the most dystopian upgrade. Microsoft and Mercedes say that you can use the in-car camera for talking to partners or underlings, letting them see you as you cruise down the highway in comfort.
Fortunately, the technology is being rolled out with an eye toward safety. "To minimize distraction and maximize safety while driving, the meeting video stream turns off automatically as soon as the camera is activated," the companies said. "As a result, the driver will never see any shared screens or slides — and the camera can be turned off at any time."
While I advise that you opt for a premium VPN, such as those in our roundup of the best VPNs, I understand that sometimes you just don't want to pay for yet another service. Therefore I've curated a list of the best and most trustworthy free VPNs around. I detail what restrictions they may impose and what activities they're best used for — streaming, torrenting, browsing, etc. Following my recommendations you can read more about what to look for in a free VPN and how I test these services.
For home users who don't need the advanced bells and whistles of the Pro version, Windows 11 Home is a mere $60 right now (originally $139). This is a non-transferable license for a single PC, and it brings you up to speed with all the latest Windows 11 features and improvements.
Save 57% and get Windows 11 Home for just $60Buy now via PCWorld software store
Meanwhile, Windows 11 Professional is now available for $80 (originally $200), which gets you all the features in Windows 11 Home plus advanced extras, like full-blown BitLocker encryption, Remote Desktop Server, Hyper-V virtualization,
The old Alexa wouldn't have had a prayer of answering such a poorly worded query. ("I'm sorry, I don't know that," would have been the likely reply.) But the new Alexa , now packing AI-enhanced smarts, handled it easily.
"Playing ‘Unwritten' by Natasha Bedingfield," Alexa said after a beat of thought—and yes, right answer! Let the MTV nostalgia trip begin.
Well, almost—instead of "Unwritten," Alexa teed up Natasha Bedingfield's "Strip Me," and it did so on Deezer rather than Apple Music, which is my default music streamer on Alexa.
"Uh, wrong one," I said. "Can you play that tune from The Hills on Apple Music?" Another beat, and this time, success: sure enough, there was the familiar theme from a show I wasted too many hours watching.
No, the new Alexa isn't perfect, but it's still pretty dang good, and a fair bit better than I was expecting. In fact, Alexa 's Natasha Bedingfield mishap was one of the few I experienced during my short time with the new, AI-enhanced voice assistant.
Still in an invite-only "early access" preview and free for everyone (it will eventually be free for Prime members and $19.99 a month for everyone else), Alexa turns out to be much more capable and intelligent than before, controlling my smart home devices, queuing up music, fielding my weather questions, and generally doing my bidding with only a handful of flubbed responses.
We've tested all the laptops on this list ourselves, so these aren't just specs pulled from a product page. They're real recommendations, based on hands-on experience.
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We've cut through the clutter to bring you the top picks across every category-from sleek, no-fuss Chromebooks to powerhouse gaming machines.
The Philips Hue Bridge? Needs an ethernet cable. Got an Apple TV streaming box? It does Wi-Fi, but ethernet makes it better. That smart hub? An ethernet cable would certainly boost its reliability. Running a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X? A respectable K/D ratio demands ethernet.
All those ethernet cables and ports will add up, though, and most Wi-Fi and mesh routers only serve up a handful of ethernet connections—or, most likely, only a single extra port.
That's why I've been investing in ethernet switches, and my favorite—this unmanaged 5-port gigabit ethernet bridge from TP-Link—is just $13, good for a 35% savings. Plenty of other configurations are also available, including an 8-port gigabit switch for $27.99 (30% off), 16 ports for $59.99 (33% off), and even 48 ports for $179.99 (25% off).
I have three of the 5-port TP-Link bridges in my smart home: one sits under my desk, connected to my PC, my
The HP OmniBook X Flip is a form factor you don't often see these days, with a relatively large 16-inch 1920×1200 IPS screen that's also touch-capable and can fold back on itself, yoga-style. That extra space also gives the laptop room for big upward-firing speakers, though the keyboard is standard size and the 68-watt-hour battery could be bigger—especially considering the weight, a little over 4 pounds. This laptop isn't quite in "desktop replacement" territory, but it's certainly not designed for lugging around all day long either.
All that said, this thing is shockingly powerful considering the price. With an AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 processor, it's packing six primary cores and integrated Radeon 840M graphics, which is some of the best you can get without splurging on a discrete graphics card. That makes this laptop a great choice for students who might want to do a little gaming after wrapping up their homework. The 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage are also pretty good at this price, too.
Ports could be better, especially at this size. You get two USB-C (including charging), two USB-A, and full-sized HDMI. I do have to admit, though, that putting both USB-C ports on one side of the laptop annoys me, especially for a 2-in-1 that'll be
Stream 250 Xbox games directly on your PC via the Xbox app
Microsoft is making cloud gaming more flexible: the "Stream your own game" feature—which started last year for consoles, TVs, and browser-supported devices—is now available directly via the Xbox app for PC users. This is for streaming games you already own.
The assortment of supported games has increased from 50 to over 250 games, including smash hits such as Baldur's Gate 3, Star Wars Outlaws, Cyberpunk 2077, and Hogwarts Legacy. The full list of streamable games can be found on the Xbox website.
When streaming, you aren't playing the game on your Xbox console; the game runs directly on Microsoft's powerful cloud servers. This saves you installation time and storage space on your PC, and it grants access to console-exclusive titles that aren't available on Windows. It's especially good for weak laptops and travelers who game on the go.
There are only two key requirements
In order to take advantage of the "Stream your own game" featur
All it took was a call to Spectrum's retention department, which is where you end up after telling the automated system you want to cancel your service. After a mildly tedious conversation with an exceedingly friendly rep, my monthly bill dropped from $68 to $45 per month for the next full year. Not only did I save money, but my speeds increased from 400 Mbps to 500 Mbps.
While I can't guarantee the same results everywhere, in general it's a great time to threaten to cancel cable internet service.
For years, Comcast and Charter (which operates the Spectrum brand) have boasted to shareholders that growth in home internet more than offsets the collapse of cable TV, but now they're losing internet customers to vendors offering faster fiber and cheaper 5G wireless alternatives. They are highly motivated to keep potential defectors on board, so you should take full advantage of their collective insecurity.
What competition looks like
Last year, Spectrum and Comcast lost 508,000 and 411,000 home internet customers respectively . The year before, Comcast lost 66,000, while Spectrum lost 61,000. Stock prices for both companies are already below what they were two y
What makes this power bank so special? First of all, the built-in solar panel lets you charge it on the go no matter where you are. No outlets? No problem! A little bit of sunlight is all you need. It's also quite rugged—waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof—and built to survive everything you put it through. Oh, and it also has a built-in flashlight so you can always find your way in the dark.
And if that wasn't enough, this thing is pretty darn chunky with its 42,800mAh charging capacity, which is absolutely insane. (The average phone battery is about 5,000mAh, depending on make and model.) It has two USB-A and one USB-C port, so you can charge up to three devices at once, and it's compatible with phones, tablets, Switches, and more. And even though it's big, it remains portable.
With this 38% discount, you're looking at a price drop to $22.49, and that makes this solar power bank a fantastic purchase. Don't miss out on this limited-time deal! Grab it before it expires.
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In the Chrome Releases blog post, Srinivas Sista lists the two vulnerabilities that were discovered by external security researchers and reported to Google. Google classifies these two vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-7656 and CVE-2025-7657) as high risk. These include an integer overflow in the V8 JavaScript engine and a use-after-free vulnerability in the WebRTC component.
Srinivas Sista also lists a third vulnerability with a high risk potential: CVE-2025-6558. The cause of this error is that untrusted user input (or data originating from outside the browser) is not checked carefully enough in the ANGLE graphics library and in the GPU component. Attackers can exploit this to inject and execute malicious code. Google remains silent about the other internally discovered vulnerabilities.
As a rule, Chrome updates itself automatically when a new version is available. You can manually trigger the update check using the menu item Help About Google Chrome. Google has also released Chrome for Android 138.0.7204.157 and Chrome for iOS 138.0.7204.156, which fix the same vulnerabilities as in the desktop versions.
The new Exos M and IronWolf Pro are the most dense drives single I've ever seen in the standard form factor, narrowly beating out existing 28TB models by leveraging Seagate's innovative Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology. But these hard drives aren't really designed for regular PC users — they're being made for the data center market, as demand for scalable storage spikes in the AI industry. That said, there's nothing stopping you from just rolling up to Seagate's digital storefront and putting your money down. The new drives, in the standard 3.5-inch form factor, cost $600.
(Editorial note: It's entirely possible that 30TB drives have been available before in the
There are other solutions for taking the manual work out of garden irrigation, but this system from Aiper doesn't demand a fiddly installation that involves digging up half your garden. In fact, within a single unit, IrriSense is able to replace an entire system of rotor sprinklers, electrical valves, and irrigation controllers.
Customizable watering zones
A single one of these Aiper devices can cover up to 4800 square feet, an area that would otherwise require dozens of sprinklers and endless hose lines running below the soil. Just one IrriSense will handle the whole yard, spraying out water with up to 39-foot range with the correct water pressure and flow rate. It's able to efficiently adapt to any lawn shape, and you can easily customize the watering zones through the mobile app.
IrriSense uses a technology called Adaptive ReSpray to shorten and lengthen spray distances to let it reach all areas of the garden. So, if your lawn is narrower on one side, it won't water your fence, your walkway, or even your lawn chairs.
Water smarter with Irrisense
Simulating natural rainf
This appears to be a Windows bug that adds graphics cards to a list of devices that can be ejected in the "Safely remove hardware and media" tool in the notification center. It's that thing you're supposed to use every time you unplug a flash drive, which I've never seen anyone use in the real world, ever. Some Reddit users, seeing the option to "eject" the very powerful, very expensive graphics card soldered into the guts of their laptop, were understandably confused.
This bug has been showing up for years, apparently as an unintended UI expression of the option to disable some discrete laptop graphics and switch to integrated graphics to save power. (Note that "disabling" and "ejecting" are very different terms, and probably shouldn't be conflated for regular PC users.)
Last fall, Microsoft announced it would begin blocking scareware within its Edge browser, but the first priority was organizations. The feature later became available as a preview to Microsoft Edge insiders (aka the beta testers).
Now, just after summer's start, Microsoft is advertising the preview within the general version of Edge—but there's one small catch. It's not on for everyone by default.
Like the other Ryzen AI 300 processors, the Ryzen AI 5 330 will support a TDP of 15 to 28 watts. The real differentiator is the GPU: the integrated graphics is defined as a "Radeon 820M," with just two graphics cores. The NPU power crucial for AI operations is rated for 50 TOPS, like other mem
For that price, you're getting a more-than-decent machine that's great for getting all your work done, going down Wikipedia rabbit holes, editing pics and vids with lightweight apps, streaming all the shows and movies your schedule allows, and more. Under its tiny hood, you'll find a Ryzen 7 6800H CPU, 24GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. That's a packed combo for just over $300! Fast system boots, instant app launches, responsive operating system, and quick file transfers. Boom.
You can also forget about needing any USB hubs, which you'd normally need with a modern laptop. This mini PC is loaded with connectivity, including four fast USB-A ports as well as HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB4 for triple 4K monitor support. (The USB4 port can even handle up to 8K@60Hz if you have a display like that.) The system also supports double 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity.
Save over $150 and snag this Bosgame P3 Lite mini PC for $305.98 while you still can! This hefty 33% discount brings it down to its best price ever and it won't stick around at this price forever.
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Microsoft said Monday that it's beginning to allow Copilot Vision to "see" your desktop, as well as specific applications. Microsoft calls this "Desktop Share," and it's a part of a new Copilot app update, version 1.25071.125.
Microsoft introduced Copilot Vision in April with the ability to see a single app; when Copilot Vision formally debuted, it could see two. Now, it can see your entire desktop in one fell swoop.
I'm not sure what the difference is, to be honest. Presumably, Copilot Vision was limited to one or two apps before. Now, I suppose, you can have several applications open on your desktop, and Copilot Vision can now see and understand all of them at once. Or maybe it can give advice toward tidying up a Windows desktop with a couple dozen app icons scattered about?
In any event, Desktop Share for Copilot Vision is now complemented by a Microsoft test of turning on Vision from an existing Voice conversation. If you're already orally chatting with Copilot, you can now flip on Copilot Vision by clicking the "glasses" icon in the conversation.
I wasn't too impressed when I tried Copilot Vision earlier this year. when I tried out Copilot Vision earlier this year, but I'd expect the technology to improve. It needs to better understand what it sees, not just see more.
One trick I've learned recently is how to send a YouTube video link at a specific timestamp. It's super useful when I want a colleague to see exactly where something happens in a video without them having to laboriously search through the video for that point.
There are two ways I can do this: One is I can simply right-click on a YouTube URL at the point in the video I want to highlight and select Copy video URL at current time, or else I can manually enter the timestamp at the end of the URL in the format &t=ymxxs where y is the minute value and xx is the seconds.
But not all Android phones are equal. If you use a Pixel phone with a Windows PC, you're missing out on some of the cooler features.
Want the kind of integration iPhone users get with their Macs? Then you'll need a Samsung Galaxy phone, not a Pixel phone—and definitely not an iPhone. (A few other brands, like OnePlus and Asus ROG, also offer these extra features. But Google's Pixel phones don't.) Here's why.
All Androids get these Phone Link features
If you have an iPhone and a Windows PC, Phone Link can only do a few things and not much more. You can see phone notifications arrive on your desktop, take phone calls via your PC, and send/receive SMS texts.
No one gets excited about working with PDFs. But what if you didn't have to dread them anymore? What if one tool could handle everything—editing, converting, securing, and even turning your PDFs into sleek presentations?
Meet PDF Agile, a full-featured PDF powerhouse that's yours for life with a one-time payment of just $39.99 (reg. $119).
This Windows-exclusive software is exactly what the name suggests: agile. It's quick to install, easy to use, and comes packed with features that make working with PDFs actually enjoyable. From editing scanned text with built-in OCR to converting PDFs into Word, Excel, or PowerPoint formats without messing up the layout, PDF Agile makes it all surprisingly painless.
Want to password-protect a file? Done. Merge a bunch of PDFs into one? Easy.
If you've ever felt uneasy about where your files go or who can see them once they're uploaded to the cloud, it's time to break up with traditional cloud services and meet Scramble.
With Scramble Cloud, you get end-to-end encryption before anything even leaves your device — no backdoors or sneaky access to your private files. This is true zero-knowledge architecture, where even Scramble can't see your stuff.
For a one-time payment of $129.99 (regularly $172), you get lifetime access to 2TB of secure storage you can use however you like: back up your family photos, share encrypted videos with friends, or store sensitive work files.
And it works across all your devices. Want to stream a video from the cloud? Done. Need to collaborate with your team or share
One of the more popular eGPUs of the Thunderbolt 3 generation was the Core X, which provided 650W of power for a three-slot graphics card — which you had to supply yourself, of course. The Core X V2 allows for GPUs up to four slots wide, but this time, you'll need to provide both the GPU and power supply.
Even worse, the original Core X also included a handful of USB slots and a gigabit Ethernet port. The Core X V2 apparently does not. Instead, Razer's Core X V2 page attempts to sell you one of Razer's Thunderbolt docks instead. At $349.99, that's a tough pill to swallow for potential Core X V2 buyers: you'll need to buy a graphics card, a power supply, and maybe an optional dock.
Razer's first Thunderbolt 5 dock isn't cheap, either. A Mercury White edition costs $389.99, while the blinged-out RGB option, the Chroma edition, goes for $399.99.
Razer's Core X V2 demands a lot from your wallet
The Core X V2 accomodates a four-slot card, a step up from its predecessor. The V2 measures 16.59 inches deep by 7.76 inches wide and 8.51 inches high, and is designed for ATX power supplies. The ventilated steel chassis also includes a built-in 120mm fan for additional cooling.
Razer says you'll need to buy a power supply that can meet your card's power requirements, plus an additional 230W for the Core X V2 itself. (Presumably, that includes pow
Shoot for a 1080p screen and at least 8GB of RAM. That combo keeps things running smooth and makes videos look good, too. You'll have to give up a few bells and whistles at this price, but don't worry, we've already sifted through the junk to identify affordable laptops you actually want.
Here are our top picks that prove budget laptops don't have to be terrible.
Acer Aspire Go 15 - Best laptop under $500 overall
I don't often engage in this kind of across-the-fence taunting. Hell, as a life-long Windows user and a career-long Android fanboy, I'll admit that both Microsoft and Google are looking distinctly unappealing at the moment, as both companies fumble their hardware and try to shove AI into every possible orifice of their software.
But even if it's largely independent of Microsoft's actions, PC gaming is in a pretty good spot in 2025, at least from a gamer's perspective… and specifically from the perspective of a gamer who doesn't need a new GPU. And despite having an enviably centralized platform store, one that also has access to millions of iOS apps and games, people who actually want to play PC games on the Mac are still at a
The MX Keys Mini is essentially the PC equivalent of Apple's Magic Keyboard, but it's better because almost anything is better than the Magic Keyboard. It's a 60% super-slim keyboard with both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth wireless, multi-device pairing, and some options for layout customization via Logitech's desktop software. You can read my full review of the MX Keys Mini for more details.
This isn't the absolute most recent model of the MX Keys design, but the only real difference is that the newer MX Keys S is a little quieter. That said, the MX Keys isn't exactly a noisy mechanical design in the first place, so if you want to save a lot of money on a stylish keyboard, this is a perfect way to do so. Oh, and apparently there isn't an S variant of the mini version of the keyboard… so there ya go.
This is one of Woot's old-fashioned daily deals, and it's a new (not refurbished) model. It'll only be on sale today only, July 15th, until midnight US Central time. And it might go out of stock well before then, s
So, what does Mint Mobile have planned? First of all, you can save up to $440 on one of the best smartphones out there. All these phones have amazing screens, great battery life, are blazing fast, and have cameras that will capture jaw-dropping photos.
Second of all, Mint Mobile is offering 50% off two years of Unlimited. Basically, you're going to use the service for free for a full year. In total, you'll pay a mere $360 for the whole thing which is impressively low.
So what phones can you get with $440 off? The very best, of course. The Samsung Galaxy S25 is usually available for $800, but you can get it for a mere $360 right now. Next one up, the Samsung Galaxy S25 usually costs a round $1,000, but you can get it for $560 at Mint Mobile.
Samsung's $1,100 Galaxy S25 Edge can now be purchased for $660, while the absolutely impressive S25 Ultra is down to $860 from its $1,300 MSRP.
If you'd rather get the Google Pixel 9 and the clean Android, know that this $800 phone is also available for $360. That's a really low price for such a stellar phone.
So there you go, the best chance to get a fantastic new phone and two years of Mint Mobile Unlimited for the price of one. This deal lasts through August 28th or while supplies last, so hurry up!
Fortunately, there are many great home office monitors to choose from, as I've discovered through extensive real-world testing.
Below you'll find my picks for the best home office monitors, and below that you can learn more about what specs and features matter when shopping for a home office monitor.
Dell Ultrasharp U3225QE - Best home office monitor overall
If you're brimming with nostalgia for those C64 days, or if you've never used one but always wished you could've, then here's some good news for you: the Commodore 64 is being remade and re-released later this year, reports Techspot. The new model is based on the AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA processor and supports modern tech like HDMI, USB, and Wi-Fi.
According to Techspot, the remade Commodore 64 promises 99 percent software compatibility with its hardware emulation, which means you'll be able to play more than 10,000 C64 games if desired.
If you want one, you can pre-order now via Commodore with a "no quibble money-back guarantee" for a full refund if you ever change your mind. The standard price is $349, but there's an early bird special that lets you snag one for $299 if you're quick—and if you buy two, you can g
Researchers at Binarly and Carnegie Mellon University disclosed four deep firmware issues to Gigabyte back in April, which could allow attackers to bypass Secure Boot on hundreds of Gigabyte motherboard models. These compromised versions of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI, also sometimes called by the outdated term BIOS) can be used to run code in a pre-boot environment, essentially compromising the computer long before Windows or another operating system boots.
According to BleepingComputer, about 240 Gigabyte motherboard models with Intel chipsets use the American Megatrends parts affected by this firmware, plus tons of devices from other manufacturers that aren't currently disclosed. Gigabyte already patched the issue on some affected motherboards via the June BIOS update. But given the age of these PCs, many of them are out of service, meaning they're not scheduled to ever get UEFI/BIOS updates to fix the problem. That is… a problem.
That's around 350,000 times faster than the average US fixed broadband internet connection, which was around 289 Mbps according to Speedtest as of May 2025. At this new record-breaking speed, you could download the entire Netflix library in under a second.
Fiber optics with 19 cores
The key to the record is a new optical fiber with 19 cores, which are installed in a cable with a diameter of just 0.125 millimeters (the standard size for existing networks). Compared to conventional cables with one core, this fiber transmits 19 times more data with minimal data loss due to uniform light conduction. For transmission over the 1,120-mile distance—comparable to New York to Chicago—the signal was amplified 21 times.
The new record more than doubles the previous year's figure of 50,250 GB/s. In 2023, the NICT team achieved similar speeds but only over a third of the distance. Advances in signal amplification and reduction of data loss are what made this new range possible.
Compatible with existing fiber optic cables
The technology could meet the growing demand for data worldwide, as data volumes have been increasing by about 50 percent annually according
This is a super-compact device that's so easy to use—just plug it into any TV's HDMI port, then power it using the USB cable. (That USB cable can be plugged into your TV as well, or some other source of USB power.) That's it! Your world will open up with instant access to all your favorite streaming apps, live TV apps, shows, movies, and more.
It also comes with a remote to help you navigate those apps, control playback, and more. The Roku can be integrated with several smart home systems—including Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home—and you can even use voice commands to find content to watch.
This little device isn't just fantastic in your home, but it's also magical while traveling. Instead of relying on limited hotel TV channels, you can continue watching your own shows exactly where you left them.
For $19, this is an absolute bargain! Again, it's the lowest price it's ever been, so there's never been a better time. Grab the newest Roku Streaming Stick HD for cheap before this hot deal expires.
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Using the computer's local AI capabilities, the Describe Image feature can generate detailed descriptions of images, charts, and graphs to quickly give you an overview of visual content.
Dark Reading (via Tom's Hardware) reports that a security researcher will present the system at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas next month. (Black Hat Briefings are ostensibly legitimate, not actually criminal, though Wikipedia reports that the presence of genuine hackers has resulted in "antics.") Kyle Avery of Outflank will reportedly show off a lightweight language model designed specifically to evade Microsoft Defender, the free built-in security for Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Eight percent might not seem alarming, and it's not as if this would be the first time Defender was defeated. But it would be a huge leap forward in AI-powered malware's core capability, an order of magnitude more reliably dangerous than the malware you can "vibe code" with current models. But expand that to 1.4 billion active Windows machines in the world, and power it up by the scale that AI-powered automation software could enable, and it suddenly becomes a lot more serious. Let's say that this yet-to-be-detailed system was deployed at a large enough scale to access one in every 10 of those machines. That'
You might scoff at the potential of mini PCs given how small they are, but that's far from the truth. At least with the UM870 Slim, you're getting a brilliant device that packs great performance between its AMD Ryzen 7 8745H CPU, chunky 32GB of fast DDR5 RAM, and fast 1TB SSD for quick file transfers and app loads. That's more than enough for a responsive Windows 11 experience through work and leisure tasks.
And while the UM870 Slim lacks a dedicated graphics card, it does have AMD Radeon 680M integrated graphics, which is good enough for some light gaming. (I have the same in my own mini PC and it works just fine for World of Warcraft!) It's also able to power up to three high-def monitors: two 8K@60Hz via HDMI 2.1 and USB4, one 4K@60Hz via DisplayPort 1.4. There are plenty of other ports too, including high-speed USB-A ports, a 2.5G LAN port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Don't miss out on the Minisforum UM870 Slim for $479.90 on Amazon! This rare 20% discount won't stick around forever.
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In a deeper dive via this Windows IT Pro blog post, we're told that Administrator Protection kicks in whenever you want to do anything that requires administrator privileges, such as install software, change system settings, or access sensitive data. To do any of that, you'll need to authenticate via Windows Hello on demand (which means setting up and using your fingerprint, face scan, or PIN code).
What did we love about it? The powerful and sensitive 42K optical sensor, the 4,000Hz polling rate, the ultra-light design, and that it has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. "The Asus ROG Keris II Ace boasts a combination of top-level features and functionality that you'd be hard-pressed to find altogether in another FPS mouse. That makes it a dynamo—you'll get some of the very best performance you've ever had in FPS games with this mouse."
This mouse is extremely featherlight, weighing just 54 grams (0.12 pounds), and you can charge it via USB-C so you won't have to worry about batteries. And unlike lots of other gaming mice, this one features a single RGB zone that's located in the scrolling wheel. You can use the associated app to change the color and motion effects and even sync them with other Aura Sync-compatible devices.
The one caveat is that only the white version is on sale for $100 right now, while the black is only down to $140. If you're okay with white, don't miss out! Snag the Asus ROG Keris II Ace for $100 before this deal expires.
The ultra-light Asus ROG Keris II Ace esports mouse is 44% off
Paired with a Z-Wave LR-capable controller, such as a Hubitat Elevation C-8 or C-8 Pro, a HomeSeer HomeTroller Pi G8, or the Linux-based Home Assistant platform with a Z-Wave 800-series USB stick, Shelly's ZWLR devices can operate at distances up to 1.5 miles, line of sight with ideal conditions, without the need for repeaters. The devices can't operate without a hub.
If you've had it for years, like I've had my trusty Razer Cobra Pro, there's a familiar safe feeling you get from it in games that's hard to let go of, too. A new mouse can feel awkward and put you off your best game.
While that may be so, a gaming mouse is meant to be a precision tool, and if your old familiar mouse isn't living up to expectations you're also not going to perform at your best. But how can you tell if it's time for an upgrade? These five signs will tell you.
1. It has button issues
You'll know your buttons aren't working properly if they're unresponsive or slower to actuate than normal, or if the clicks aren't smooth like they used to be (i.e. the buttons feel hard to press), or you experience double-clicking that happens unintentionally, or your macros don't work.
If those things are hard to pinpoint, you can take
The appeal of Deako's system lies in its use of backplates that, once hardwired to your home's electrical system, allow you to hot-swap one type of Deako lighting control for another—you don't even need to turn off the power. If you have an on/off switch controlling your ceiling cans, for example, but you'd prefer to be able to dim those lights, you can just yank the switch out of the backplate and pop in a dimmer. Boom! You're done.
I've been using one of the Baseus Enercore review units for a few days now… and I've been enjoying it a bit too much. The built-in retractable USB-C cable is super handy as I no longer have to hunt down a cable whenever my husband and I go to chill out in the yard while playing Hearthstone (yes, yes, very fancy, I know).
Since the power bank can hit 67W of charging, it takes very little time to actually get my phone back to 100%. There's also a second USB-C port so my husband and I can charge our phones at the same time if needed, though I do need to find a cable to use that port. When both ports are in use, the total charging speed is split between them—but even then, the charging speed is still pretty fast for each device.
There's also a cute display on the power bank that tells you just how much battery life is left in the thing. With its 20K capacity, you can get between 3 to 4 full phone recharges from a single charge. And you can plug the built-in retractable cable into a wall plug to recharge the power bank—yes, that cable goes both ways!
It's one of the most convenient power banks on the market right now, so take advantage of this 50% discount while you can. Grab the 20K Baseus Enercore for $45 before this awesome promo expires!
I've previously tried various remedies for this thorn in the side of my PC experience, but Microsoft has patched and updated Windows often enough that they've all stopped working. I eventually gave up and resolved to leave the Start menu hobbled by Microsoft's over-eager branding, even though I'd much rather use the tools I chose for myself (Vivaldi as my browser and DuckDuckGo as my search engine).
Such things are sent to try us. By Microsoft, specifically. Which shouldn't be poking its nose into how individual users want to use the operating systems we've paid for. I'm not bitter, no, why do you ask?
But a recent Windows laptop purchase—this one, in fact, yes, sometimes we jump on our own deal posts, too!—bro
The service was based in Estonia and had been in operation since 2015. Up until last month, it had been offering lifetime VPN subscriptions to users for only $39. However, in a message on its homepage titled, "BulletVPN End of Life," the company announced that the VPN service would no longer be available.
This adds to a growing number of controversies surrounding lifetime subscriptions in the ever-changing VPN market. Just in May of this year, VPNSecure suddenly cut all lifetime subscriptions after being sold to new owners.
To stand out in a crowded market, many smaller VPN providers, such as BulletVPN, offer lifetime subscriptions with cheap prices in order to attract new customers. Unfortunately, these deals can often turn sour if the VPN service goes out of business—which is often the case for smaller VPN providers in the cut-throat industry.
In a statement on its website the company wrote, "This decision was made after careful consideration of various factors, including shifts in market demand, evolving technology requirements, and sustainability of operations."
Have you ever looked at a presentation and thought it needed fewer words and more visuals? That's where diagramming comes in handy, but it can be tricky to create graphics if you're inexperienced. You're in luck, however, since there's a tool that can help you with diagramming, planning, mapping, and more.
Through July 20, you can grab a lifetime license for Microsoft Visio 2021?Professional at the unbeatable price of $9.97 (reg. $249.99) and keep it for life with zero recurring fees.
Geared for data-heavy users or anyone who needs visual clarity, Visio 2021 Pro has dozens of templates, 250,000 shapes, and smart features like live-linking to Excel or Microsoft Entra ID.
We've also included some helpful answers to common questions about VPN shopping at the bottom of this article. Before you decide on a new VPN, be sure to check out our roundup of the best VPNs to help you choose the right service for your needs.
Note: Tech deals come and go quickly, so it's possible some of these VPN discounts will have expired before this article's next update.
Best VPN deals
NordVPN, now $4.39 per month for 24 months (70% off at NordVPN)
ExpressVPN, now $4.99 per month for 24 months 4 free months (61% off at ExpressVPN)
Surfshark VPN, now $2.49 per month for 24 months 3 free months (86% off at Surfshark)
We've also included some helpful answers to common questions about buying a computer at the bottom of this article. If you're considering a laptop instead, be sure to check out our best laptop deals, updated daily.
PROMOTION
CORSAIR VENGEANCE a7500 Gaming PC | Your 5090-Equipped Endgame
Engineered for next-gen gaming, the CORSAIR VENGEANCE a7500 Gaming PC is packed with components on the cutting edge. Push your performance to the limit with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU and AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU. Stay cool with a NAUTILUS 240mm Liquid CPU Cooler and six RS120 ARGB Fans featuring AirGuide technology. Redefine your desk with a stunning wraparound glass case to hold it all.
And hey, thanks to cloud gaming platforms like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now, you can even stream AAA games on some models. Not bad for a budget-friendly laptop. Just make sure you're getting one that nails the basics: good speed, decent build, and battery life that won't quit on you halfway through the day. We've tested these picks hands-on, so if it's on this list, it's earned its spot.
If you decide that you'd prefer a Windows laptop, check out PCWorld's roundup of the best laptops available today.
Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 - Best overall Chromebook
Last week, Microsoft debuted a new "self-healing" PC technology as part of its Windows 11 Release Preview Channel. That technology also is available to test within the far more experimental Canary Channel, which includes another new piece of tech: an adaptive energy saver, noticed by The Verge.
Think of the adaptive energy saver this way: Normally, when your laptop is almost out of power, you'll notice the screen dim. That's the emergency warning, so to speak, to find a power outlet pronto. But there are other power-saving methods that Windows is also implementing, such as halting synchronized files, and so on.
The adaptive energy saver can turn on these features whenever Windows thinks that your laptop is sitting idle, or working in a mode that doesn't require a lot of CPU power. AndroidInfoTech found a small summary of what's going on, including turning off transparency effects, pausing non-critical updates, and limiting some background applications. What it doesn't do is dim your screen, so you'll be able to work longer without the need to squint.
Adaptive energy saver is still far away from debuting in your PC. But even then, you might not be aware of it: It's opt-in by default, which means that you'll have to be aware of it and manually toggl
You're probably aware that Microsoft is discontinuing support for Windows 10 users this October, has it has said repeatedly for years. But it is also turning off support for Microsoft 365 apps like Word and Excel, too, on the same day: Oct. 14, 2025. Apps like Word will still work, and to ensure a smooth transition Microsoft will still support Microsoft 365 apps with security updates for three years, until 2028.
What's new? Microsoft has clarified that "security updates" do not include "feature updates" that include new features.
"Devices running Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 will receive feature updates until Version 2608 is released on the following dates: August 2026 for Current Channel (including all versions for individuals and families)," Microsoft says.
"Devices will remain on Version 2608, receiving only security updates until October 10, 2028," the company added.
The company is basically warning that if you value the new features being introduced to Microsoft 365, such as new AI-powered content-creation tools, you'll want to move to Windows 11 or risk falling behind. Is it mo
