Modern Windows PCs often include some kind of biometric hardware, mainly in the form of facial recognition (using infrared cameras) or fingerprint scanning. Both of these features let you use Windows Hello for better and more convenient PC security. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Not only are face IDs and fingerprints harder to hack than PINs and passwords, they’re much quicker to input when it comes to unlocking your PC. Signing in a lot faster and you’re better protected and you can use some really cool extra features in Windows Hello. Keep reading to learn more about what Windows Hello is, why you should be using it, and how to set it up as painlessly as possible. (This applies to both laptops and desktop PCs!) What is Windows Hello? Windows Hello is an operating system feature that lets you securely sign into your PC without typing your Windows account password. It supports biometrics, so you can sign in with facial recognition or fingerprint scans (as long as you have the requisite hardware). Windows Hello’s fingerprint scan prompt to unlock 1Password. Windows Hello’s fingerprint scan prompt to unlock 1Password.Chris Hoffman / IDG Windows Hello’s fingerprint scan prompt to unlock 1Password.Chris Hoffman / IDG Chris Hoffman / IDG But Windows Hello isn’t just for signing in. You can also use Windows Hello to unlock certain applications, like password managers. You can access your password vault without your huge master password. And if you’ve ditched passwords altogether for passkeys instead, Windows Hello is doubly useful — it integrates with passkeys in web browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. You can create a passkey for a website, which is then secured with Windows Hello so that you must authenticate (with your face or finger) to sign in. Related: How to start using passkeys on Windows Technically, Windows Hello also includes the PIN login method, but I don’t recommend using that. When security experts talk about Windows Hello, they’re mainly focusing on the more secure biometric options. Is Windows Hello secure? For starters, Windows Hello never syncs your facial recognition data, fingerprint data, or even your PIN between your devices or to your Microsoft account. It’s all stored only and entirely on your PC. Windows Hello’s security relies on the underlying Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware that’s found on modern PCs (a required PC component if you want to install Windows 11). The TPM handles the authentication and signing in process, and it’s also used for other things like encrypting and decrypting your computer’s storage. Related: What is the Trusted Platform Module? Explained And again, Windows Hello is separate from your Microsoft account. Even if someone were to capture your fingerprint, face, or PIN, they would only be able to use it to log into your Windows Hello-enabled PC and wouldn’t be able to access your Microsoft account. (All of this Windows Hello data is stored securely in the TPM, so hackers can’t access it.) Windows Hello is also secure against anyone who tries to unlock your PC via facial recognition trickery. For instance, Windows Hello isn’t fooled by someone holding up a photo of your face because Windows Hello facial recognition uses an infrared (IR) camera to ensure it’s looking at a real live person. That’s why you need a Windows Hello-compatible IR camera to even start using Windows Hello facial recognition. Of course, Windows Hello isn’t perfect. Fingerprint scanners are still vulnerable to James Bond-style attacks where someone lifts your fingerprint off a glass and uses that to sign into your PC. (CEOs of major companies and political dissidents may want to be extra careful.) But it’s more than secure enough for the average person, especially since those spy movie-style attacks require access to both your physical laptop and a carefully duplicated copy of your fingerprint. Facial recognition vs. fingerprint reader: Which method is better? If your PC only has one or the other, you don’t really have a choice — use whichever Windows Hello method is available to you. If it has both, then you can actually use both. But if you only want to use one, then it ultimately comes down to personal preference. I prefer facial recognition, especially on laptops. It works surprisingly well and the experience is seamless. As soon as you open your laptop, Windows scans your face with the IR camera, then signs you in. It all happens so quickly — an automatic sign-in without you having to press anything at all. Just open up your laptop. And some newer, higher-end laptops even have “presence sensing” hardware that detects when you physically sit down in front of your PC. It then automatically wakes up and uses the IR camera to sign you in via Windows Hello. A secure way to sign into your laptop just by sitting down in front of it? It’s as awesome as it sounds. Of course, fingerprint scanning also works almost as smoothly, especially if the fingerprint scanner is integrated into the power button. In that case, you go to press the power button to wake up the laptop, then keep your finger resting on the fingerprint reader to unlock your machine. So, again, it’s a matter of personal taste. Note: When you’re shopping for a laptop, make sure to check out the biometric options it offers — whether it has a Windows Hello-compatible IR camera, a fingerprint scanner, both, or neither. We always mention these features as a matter of course in our laptop reviews here at PCWorld. How to set up Windows Hello Windows normally prompts you to set up Windows Hello when you first sign into a new PC, but you probably skipped it when you were setting everything up. That’s okay, because you can always configure later. If you’d like to set up Windows Hello (or maybe just see which biometric options are available on your laptop), you can do so from the Settings app on either Windows 11 or Windows 10. To configure Windows Hello, open the Settings app, select Accounts, and select Sign-in options. You’ll see options for configuring your machine’s available sign-in methods under Ways to sign in. Note: If your PC doesn’t have a certain option, like facial recognition or fingerprint scanning, then you’ll see the message: “This option is currently unavailable.” Setting up Windows Hello options in Windows 11. Setting up Windows Hello options in Windows 11.Chris Hoffman / IDG Setting up Windows Hello options in Windows 11.Chris Hoffman / IDG Chris Hoffman / IDG Here, you can also tweak and configure facial recognition and fingerprint recognition. For example, you might want to scan your face in different lighting conditions, train Windows to recognize your face with and without glasses, or add an additional fingerprint. Some applications will also prompt you to authenticate with Windows Hello. For example, the 1Password password manager lets you quickly use Windows Hello to unlock your password vault. How to add Windows Hello to any PC Not all PCs come with Windows Hello biometrics. Some laptops just don’t include Windows Hello hardware, which can be one way to keep costs down on otherwise expensive builds (e.g., gaming laptops). Also, if you’re building your own desktop PC, you won’t get Windows Hello unless you incorporate compatible hardware. If you don’t have Windows Hello but you want it, the easiest and most effective option is to buy a Windows Hello-compatible webcam. And not just one that has IR technology, but one that’s a high-quality webcam in its own right so you look good in video calls and meetings. Related: The best webcams for Windows Hello The other option is to hunt down a fingerprint scanner that plugs into your computer via USB. Be sure to pick one that explicitly states compatibility with Windows Hello! I’ve personally used this inexpensive Kensington USB fingerprint reader in the past, and I have no complaints despite it only costing $18 on Amazon. Take the next step with Windows Hello Windows Hello is far from mandatory. You can certainly use your PC without it — and along with millions of other PC users who have gotten by without biometrics thus far, you can probably get by just fine. But biometric PC security is absolutely a step up, not only in terms of protection but also convenience. The first time you open your laptop or sit down at your desktop PC and you’re automatically signed in with facial recognition? It’s almost surreal. After that, it’s tough to go back to typing a PIN every time you need to sign back in. Whenever I review a laptop and it turns out the manufacturer skipped Windows Hello hardware to keep costs down, I think it’s a real shame. It’s just an awesome feature that makes using Windows PCs a lot nicer. I highly recommend you get Windows Hello hardware in your next laptop, or pick up a compatible webcam for your desktop PC. Further reading: Is Windows 11’s built-in antivirus enough? Read...

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We love our laptops, but it’d be great if they had more ports. In the process of slimming down modern laptops, they’ve also lost a lot of their connectivity — but you can get ’em back with a good docking station. And right now, one of our favorite docks is on sale: the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core is down to just $68.92 on Amazon, a jaw-dropping 66% drop from its usual $200 MSRP. This particular model uses Thunderbolt 3 technology for fast and reliable connections between your laptop and all your peripherals. And it has plenty of connectivity options: a DisplayPort 1.4 port, an HDMI 2.0 port, a USB-C PD port, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, a USB-A 2.0 port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a headphone/microphone jack. All of this is enough to hook up two 4K monitors and whatever accessories you have, plus you can easily charge your laptop while in use. When we reviewed the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core, our expert adored it and gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, appreciating its compactness and its ability to support two 4K displays. It’s sleek and aesthetically pleasing, too. The small form factor makes it easy to pack with your laptop when traveling: “At a nearly square 5.2 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches and 0.47 pounds, the Thunderbolt Dock Core doesn’t take up much room or weight, and the included 7.9-inch Thunderbolt 3 cord provides ample length for flexibility.” (The built-in Thunderbolt cable is less than 8 inches long, so plan to keep it close to your laptop.) At this price, this docking station is the most cost effective way to expand your laptop’s connectivity, so grab this super-discounted Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core for just $68.92 while you can. Save $131 on this 7-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 dockBuy now on Amazon Read...

OLED displays have been one of the hottest new things in laptops these past few years, and they’re just as desirable in desktop monitors, too. And why wouldn’t they be? OLED screens have some big advantages, like vivid image quality and better contrast. So, maybe you bought one and maybe you’re reading this article on an OLED display. Maybe you are impressed by OLED image quality and you have zero regrets having shelled out all that cash for it. But there’s one thing you might not have considered when it comes to optimizing the OLED experience: you have to embrace dark mode. Further reading: The best laptops for any budget and use case Why darker is better on OLED To understand why dark mode reigns supreme on an OLED screen, you have to understand the display technology behind it. The key difference between OLEDs and traditional LCDs is that OLEDs don’t rely on a backlight to illuminate the entire display. Instead, when an image is shown on screen, every individual pixel illuminates itself. So, the brighter a particular pixel needs to be, the brighter that single pixel will get — and in order to do that, the pixel in question is going to require more power. On the flip side, if a pixel doesn’t need to be bright at all, then it can dim itself down entirely. Matthew Smith / IDG Matthew Smith / IDG Matthew Smith / IDG In other words, what this means is that white (bright) pixels draw more power than black (dark) pixels, which barely draw any power at all. And there’s the key concept: on OLED screens, darker images require less power to show on screen than brighter images. That’s especially important for OLED laptops. When you’re running on a battery and need to conserve as much juice as possible, one thing you can do is use dark mode to darken the screen pixels. While dark mode doesn’t necessarily make every window and background completely black, it does shift a large proportion of pixels on screen towards the darker end — and even darker colors, even if they aren’t completely black, help to save power versus brighter colors. But it’s not just about power savings. Sure, longer battery life is a valuable perk, but OLED screens have always been faced with concerns of image retention and burn-in. Burn-in can happen on OLEDs when pixels wear out over time, and that generally occurs when pixels are “stuck” illuminating static elements like logos, banners, or the Windows taskbar. With dark mode, pixels spend less time in extreme illumination and end up being less vulnerable to this kind of degradation. Related: Everything you need to know about OLED laptops Using dark mode on Windows On Windows, dark mode turns most bright pixels into either black or dark gray. While black is ideal, even the dark grays use less energy than they would if they were white or bright gray (as they’d be in light mode). Fortunately, switching to dark mode in Windows 11 is easy: Joel Lee / IDG Joel Lee / IDG Joel Lee / IDG First, open the Settings app (which you can do by searching for “settings” in the Start menu). Then, go to Personalization in the left navigation, then scroll down and click Colors. Locate the “Choose your mode” option and change the drop-down menu to Dark. In Windows 10, the process is largely the same. However, the “Choose your mode” option is instead labeled as “Choose your color.” On top of that, you may also need to enable dark mode in certain apps and browsers separately. In Chrome, for instance, you can change the settings to match the system theme, which should toggle dark mode if you’ve done so for Windows. But if it doesn’t, simply navigate to Settings > Appearance, locate the “Mode” option, and select Dark from the drop-down menu. (Choose Device if you want it to match your system theme.) Further reading: How to enable dark mode in Microsoft Office Read...

Quantum computers are the future, and a near-term future at that. They will be exponentially more powerful than the computers we have today and will allow us to make huge potential leaps forward in fields such as curing diseases and artificial intelligence. They can also be used to easily crack today’s passwords, hack into secure networks, and quickly harvest mass amounts of data. Due to these risks, VPN providers such as NordVPN are trying to stay ahead of the game with post-quantum encryption. NordVPN, one of the best VPNs on the market, and a company continually on the bleeding-edge of privacy and security features, has just released its first-ever app with post-quantum encryption support.  It’s currently only available for Linux and complies with NIST standards for post-quantum encryption. The company stated that it hopes to roll out post-quantum algorithms on all NordVPN applications no later than the first quarter of 2025. In a blog post following the launch, NordVPN’s CTO Marijus Briedis said, “Trends show that cybercriminals are intensifying what are known as ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ attacks. Simply put, they are trying to accumulate huge quantities of encrypted data and decrypt them once quantum technology is developed. Thus, the VPN industry must enter a new phase of development to defend against future quantum computing threats.” Despite quantum computing being a ways off, it is still a reality that will likely come to fruition at some point. Being prepared for such a revolutionary technology before it arrives is an important step. At least this way, when we connect to a VPN in the future we can still enjoy some semblance of privacy and security from our robot overlords. Read...

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Yesterday, Microsoft started rolling out the major Windows 11 2024 Update to the general public who are on devices considered “safe” for the upgrade. However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. As it turns out, the Windows 11 24H2 update is causing issues for numerous users and has even been resulting in Blue Screens of Death (BSODs). What’s most frustrating, though, is that there doesn’t seem to be one single cause to point to. For example, installing the Windows 11 2024 Update on an Intel PC with outdated audio drivers (Intel Smart Sound Technology) can cause the system to start crashing. The Easy Anti-Cheat tool that’s supplied with games like Fortnite and Asphalt 8 is also causing problems. Same goes for the Safe Exam Browser and with fingerprint sensors. The update also disrupts functionality in many popular wallpaper apps, which could lead to crashes or problems with virtual desktops. What can you do about it? This is mainly a problem of compatibility on a software-by-software basis, so you can’t really do anything except wait for each software’s developers to issue their own updates that address their respective faults. The silver lining is that if your PC could possibly be affected, the update probably won’t be rolled out to you until things are clear. If the update was rolled out to you and you’re affected by crashes or instability, see our article on rolling back problematic Windows updates. How to install Windows 11 24H2 anyway All of the above aside, there are some cool changes in the Windows 11 2024 Update — cool enough that maybe you want to make the upgrade ASAP and you’re tired of waiting for the rollout to hit you. In that case, there are ways for you to force install the update. However, do so at your own risk! (If you start blue screening, that’s on you.) Still want to proceed? Then you have two options for manually installing the Windows 11 2024 Update: Using Windows Update Press the Windows key to open the Start menu. Type “Check for updates” and press Enter to open Windows Update. Make sure the Get the latest updates as soon as they are available checkbox is ticked in Windows Update. Click Check for updates to check for updates. If the Windows 11 24H2 update is available, click Download & install, then restart your PC when prompted to do so. If the official Windows Update method doesn’t work, you still have the alternate option of using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant. Using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant Visit the official Windows 11 download page. Under the section titled “Windows 11 Installation Assistant,” click the Download Now button to grab the installer file. Double-click to execute the downloaded installer file. Click on Accept and install, then follow the on-screen instructions. After installing the update, your PC will restart. Post-update check After the Windows update is installed, open the Start menu, then type “winver” and press Enter. This will run a check to see what your current Windows version is. If you’ve successfully installed the Windows 11 2024 Update, you should be on Build 26100 and version 24H2. Further reading: Windows 11 24H2 removes these apps and features Read...

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