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| PC World - 28 Dec (PC World)TL;DR: Get Trend Micro Maximum Security 1-year subscriptions for three devices at $19.99 (60% off).
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|  | | PC World - 28 Dec (PC World)Do you like fiddling with computers and fancy the idea of taking on a more advanced project? Then I have a suggestion: Build your own router/firewall.
With a router running a more advanced operating system on more powerful hardware than standard consumer routers, a whole world of new possibilities opens up. Although there is a learning curve and can feel complicated at first, it actually becomes easier to do things that might be possible with a router from, for example, Asus, but are really complicated.
There are a number of operating systems to choose from, from Openwrt, which can also be installed on consumer routers, to various Linux-based systems such as Clear OS and IP Fire, to Unix systems such as PF Sense and Opnsense.
Yours truly’s little rat’s nest home lab. To the left, an Intel NUC that runs an Opnsense router, among other things. To the right a switch from Unifi.Anders Lundberg
The latter two seem to be the most popular, and I myself have had a router with Opnsense for a couple of years so for this guide I have chosen that system.
Other articles in this series:
How to choose a new router and get started with important settings
Solve your Wi-Fi problems with these smart router settings
Protect your home network with these essential router tweaks
More than Internet: 9 tips to maximize your home network
Get more from your home network: 5 advanced tips for the hardcore
Why build it yourself?
For many, it’s enough to answer: Because it’s possible and because it’s interesting and instructive. But you don’t have to be motivated by curiosity alone. There are several practical and technical advantages too.
Once you get started and learn the basics, it immediately becomes much easier to do things like set up multiple VLAN with different firewall rules (to prevent smart home gadgets from accessing the internet, for example), use dynamic DNS, run your own recursive DNS server, display a welcome message when guests connect to the wireless network, and much more.
Perhaps the biggest benefit, however, is security. Instead of relying on the manufacturer to release updates and keep the router secure, you get new updates almost weekly so that all parts of the system have the very latest security fixes. There are also add-ons that give the network more advanced protection than is normal in consumer products.
Hunsn
Choose the right hardware
You can reuse an old computer for Opnsense, in which case one or two network cards are all you normally need to buy. But such a computer is usually unnecessarily power hungry and a large piece of equipment that can be difficult to place in the home.
Opnsense is based on the Unix system Freebsd. This means that it is a little more fussy with the hardware compared to Linux. Above all, it is network cards that can be a problem. The system prefers and works best with Intel-based cards, so if you’re buying new, it might be worth checking that the computer you choose has Intel networking chips.
A mini PC with two Ethernet connectors may be a better choice, and in fact there are computers on sale designed specifically for use with Opnsense or PF Sense. For example, Amazon sells this model from Hunsn that costs just over $200 and has Intel networking chips. Since memory is cheap, I recommend 16 gigabytes from the start and at least 128 gigabytes of SSD.
In addition to the router computer, I strongly recommend a managed switch to connect, for example, your old router that you can set to work as an access point instead of a router, only for Wi-Fi. It is also needed if you want to start using virtual networks (VLAN).
Installing Opnsense
Start by downloading the latest version of Opnsense (click directly on the Download button with the preselected options). Also download and install Balena Etcher, a simple program for writing .iso and .img files to USB sticks.
Foundry
Unzip the downloaded .bz2 file so that you get an .img file. Plug in a USB stick, start Etcher, click on Flash from file and select that file. Select your USB stick as target and then click on Flash.
Once that’s done, you can eject the flash drive and connect it to the router computer, to which you’ll need to have a monitor and keyboard connected to begin with. Boot the computer from the USB stick via the boot menu or BIOS.
Foundry
The system starts with text only, which will scroll past for a while. When it is finished, you will be taken to a login prompt. Enter username installer and password opnsense. The installation program will now start.
Foundry
Select the language on the keyboard and move on. Select Install (ZFS) which is now the normal recommended method. Select Stripe and then use the space bar to select the target SSD. Go ahead and accept and it will format the disk and copy all the files. Once it’s done, you can select Complete Install (you can change root password easier in the next step).
Basic settings
When the router computer reboots, you can take out the USB stick and let it boot from the SSD. As before, a bunch of text will scroll by during boot, until you reach the login prompt.
I recommend that you start by changing the address of the LAN interface, so that Opnsense doesn’t mess with your old router if you want to be connected to both at the same time before you are ready to move the internet connection over to Opnsense.
Foundry
Log in with the username root and the password opnsense. Press 2 to change the IP address. Press the correct number for LAN (normally 1). Press return to choose not to use DHCP. Enter an appropriate address, for example 10.1.1.1, and then 24 to stick to addresses in the format 10.1.1.x. On the rest of the questions you can press return to accept the preselected option.
Before you can do anything else, you need to connect the Opnsense machine and your regular computer with a network cable, either directly or via a switch.
Open Settings on your regular computer and go to Network and Internet > Ethernet. You should have an address in the same format as Opnsense (for example 10.1.1.2), with the address you just chose as gateway and mask 255.255.255.0. If it has not appeared by itself, you can click on Edit to the right of IP assignment and fill in yourself.
Then open a browser and type in 10.1.1.1 and you should hopefully get a security warning about invalid certificate, which you have to click past to get to the Opnsense web interface. The username is root and the default password is opnsense.
Foundry
You will now be taken to the Opnsense guided basic settings. The first thing to do is DNS settings. Here I recommend leaving the dns servers fields blank, untick Override DNS and tick the three boxes under Unbound DNS.
The remaining steps you can click past until you get to a question about changing the password for the root account. Choose a new secure password and write it down.
Get on the internet
In order for Opnsense to access the internet and act as a router/firewall, you need to connect an Ethernet cable to it. You can either take the cable from the broadband socket of your old router and connect it to Opnsense instead. Alternatively, you can connect to a socket in the old router or a switch if you have one, but this will be a bit more complicated.
If you have regular broadband via fiber that connects with DHCP, Opnsense should automatically connect and get an external IP. You can check this by selecting Interfaces > Overview in the web interface.
Foundry
If the WAN has been given an address, you can test that everything works by checking for updates. Select System > Firmware > Status and click Check for updates. If it works, this is a good time to install the first of many upcoming updates.
Then try going to any website in your regular computer. If that works too, you have a working Opnsense router. Other settings in the system can be left as they are for now — the system has no unsafe default options.
Foundry
Learn the interface and understand the firewall
The Opnsense web interface is structured a little differently than most routers. On the left, there’s a hierarchical menu where you’ll find all the settings, divided into different categories. At the top right, there is also a search bar that works really well to find settings far down in the hierarchies.
The System menu mainly has settings for Opnsense itself, but also updates and installation of plugins — an important feature when you want to start building out the router with smart features.
Interfaces is about the different network interfaces, normally LAN and WAN but here you will also find VLAN, PPPoE if the internet operator requires login and interfaces for a VPN server.
Firewall is, of course, about rules for blocking and allowing traffic, but also about port forwarding. Under Aliases, you can create aliases for individual devices, for example, to make them easier to use in firewall rules.
The VPN menu is for both VPN servers for connecting from outside to your local network and for connecting the entire network to an external VPN service.
Services is a collection menu for other built-in functions such as DHCP and DNS (Unbound) and also functions from installed plugins.
VLAN without internet for the smart home
A common use case for a more advanced router like Opnsense is to place some connected devices on a separate network with different firewall rules. For example, a network for smart home gadgets that have no access to the internet and limited access to the rest of the network.
Foundry
To do so, start by opening Interfaces > Other Types > VLAN. Click on the plus button to create a new VLAN. Give it a short name, for example SMART and fill in a number for the VLAN tag between 1 and 4,094, I usually choose a ten, for example 10. Save.
Flundry
Now go to Interfaces > Assignments and fill in the same name under Description for the new interface. Click Add.
Foundry
Now click Interfaces > [SMART] and tick Enable Interface and Prevent interface removal. Select Static IPv4 under IPv4 Configuration Type. Scroll down to the bottom and fill in a suitable IP address and select 24 instead of 32 to the right of the address. If you have chosen to give the regular network the address 10.1.1.1, you can choose 10.1.10.1 for the VLAN network (I usually use the same number in the third group as the VLAN tag, so a guest network with the tag 20 gets the address 10.1.20.1 and so on). Save and apply the changes.
Foundry
Go to Services > ISC DHCPv4 > [SMART]. Tick Enable DHCP server… and fill in an address range, for example 10.1.10.100-10.1.10.254 (I usually leave addresses below 100 for devices that should have a fixed IP address). Save and apply the changes.
If you look in Firewall > Rules > SMART you will see that there are no rules, which means that all traffic is stopped. If you look at the rules for the LAN, you will see that Opnsense has automatically added rules to let through all traffic originating on that network. So if you want to allow internet for smart home gadgets, you need to create a rule for that.
Foundry
To actually use and connect gadgets to the VLAN network, you need a managed switch. In its settings, you can enable VLAN tagging for one or more ethernet connectors, and gadgets you connect to these connectors will then only “see” the VLAN network. In the adjacent image, you can see what it looks like with a switch from Unifi — other manufacturers such as D-Link and TP-Link have similar settings. If your Opnsense machine has more network connectors, you can “tag” these and use them instead.
Do you need help?
If you get stuck somewhere, there are many resources to help. The Home Network Guy blog has several guides on Opnsense, from installation to more advanced topics like VLAN. It also has a very good YouTube channel that I highly recommend. On Reddit, help is available in several groups, such as r/opnsense and r/homelab.
Foundry
Tip: Virtual router
If you want to try Opnsense and see how the interface feels, you can do it in a virtual machine instead of on a physical computer. You can do this with, for example, Virtualbox directly in Windows, just to familiarize yourself with the interface and how to set things up. You can also run the system more permanently on a server computer running Linux, usually the Proxmox variant. Home Network Guy has a good guide to that. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 28 Dec (PC World)It’s fashionable these days to complain about the state of streaming, and for understandable reasons.
Over the past year, many streaming services have raised prices or introduced commercials, and some are trying to stop folks from sharing passwords, even among close family members. Streaming devices have stagnated as well, with device makers focusing less on innovative ideas and more on finding new spots for advertising.
But it’s tradition around here to find things to celebrate each year, and we can still make it work in 2024. Here are the best streaming devices, most useful streaming services, and otherwise notable happenings that made the past year in cord-cutting memorable:
Best new streaming device: Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro
Walmart keeps putting out surprisingly great streaming boxes under its Onn brand, and the Onn Google TV 4K Pro is its best one yet. For $50, you get a speedy streaming box with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, and a generous 32GB of storage. The remote control shines as well, with backlit keys, a remote-finder function, and loads of useful shortcuts. No other streaming player offers this much for this little.
Read our full
Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro review
Best streaming device overall: Apple TV 4K (3rd-generation, model A2737)
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$123.49 at Best Buy$124.50 at Adorama$129 at Apple$139.49 at Amazon
Apple didn’t release a new streaming device this year—or last year, for that matter—but the late 2022 Apple TV 4K is still the best example of what a high-end streaming box should be. While other platforms keep sticking obnoxious banner ads in more places, Apple’s tvOS interface remains refreshingly clean and useful (especially if you follow my setup advice), and it’s still the most responsive streaming box around.
Apple also introduced some thoughtful updates this year, including machine learning-powered dialogue enhancement and a separate home screen row for shows you’ve bookmarked for later. If cost isn’t an issue, this $129 box is still the one to get.
Read our full
Apple TV 4K (3rd-generation, 2022) (64GB, model A2737) review
Best streaming service that didn`t raise prices in 2024: Netflix
For all the talk of streaming TV price hikes, Netflix’s Standard tier has held at $15.49 per month for nearly three years now, with the last hike dating back to January 2022.
Of course, the company found other ways to boost revenue since then, including an ad-supported tier ($6.99 per month), stricter rules around password sharing, and the elimination of its single-stream Basic tier. But none of those moves detract from the value of a regular Netflix plan, whose steady price deserves credit in an increasingly expensive world.
Best free streaming service: Philo
Lots of streaming services offer free, ad-supported content now, but Philo is the rare one that actually lets you skip the ads. Philo’s free tier, which landed earlier this year, includes a 30-day DVR that can record an unlimited number of shows, and once you’ve made a recording, you can fast-forward through the commercial breaks. (Philo’s paid version, which includes a bundle of sports-free cable channels, costs $28 per month.) The only other free streaming service with DVR is Sling TV’s Freestream, but it has a much stricter 10-hour recording limit.
Read our full
Philo review
Best new use of streaming: The Olympics on Peacock
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Peacock’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics was the perfect example of what streaming can do. Instead of offering the bare minimum, Peacock turned the games into an interactive affair, with multiview feeds that let you zoom into individual matches or highlight them to hear the corresponding audio. Combine that with whip-around “Gold Zone” coverage, a slew of alternate live feeds, and a vast replay library, and the whole affair felt like a choose-your-own Olympics adventure, one that every sports streamer ought to replicate.
Unholiest streaming alliance: Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery
To fund their forays into streaming, TV programmers blew up the cable bundle model, forcing ever-higher prices for increasingly hollowed-out channels and driving valuable customers away in the process. Unfortunately for them, the streaming subscribers they traded for are more fickle, and have learned to cancel services they no longer need.
All of which helps explain the unlikely alliance that emerged this year between Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. The two companies are now offering all of their streaming services—Disney+, Hulu, and Max—in one big bundle starting at $17 per month, in hopes that customers will be less likely to drop any one of them individually. Bundles like this won’t be worthwhile for everyone, but they’re an easy way to save money if you were subscribing to everything already.
Unexpected slayer of bloated bundles: DirecTV
Standing up to Disney isn’t easy given that ESPN carries some of the most sought-after sports on television, but that’s what DirecTV did when it was time to negotiate a new carriage agreement this year. The satellite provider refused to accept another bloated channel lineup at higher prices, and demanded that Disney accommodate more smaller, more flexible packages.
And it worked. After a two-week blackout, DirecTV and Disney emerged with a new agreement that will split the latter’s channels into three packages around sports, entertainment, and family programming. Those options are not yet available, and it’s unclear exactly what they’ll look like, but they could forever transform the pay TV bundle as we know it.
In memoriam: Google Chromecast
Chromecast helped usher in the streaming age in 2013, offering a cheap way to play videos on your TV using a phone as the remote. But 11 years later, Google has retired the Chromecast brand and discontinued the last of its Chromecast dongles.
Casting still lives on as a standard feature of Google TV devices, but it goes by “Google Cast” now, and Google has pulled out of the cheap streaming dongle business in favor of the pricier Google TV Streamer box. Even if little has changed on a practical level, it still feels like the end of an era.
Cord-cutting MVP: The U.S. government
No, seriously. Every year we cap off these awards by honoring an entity that’s helped make cord-cutting easier or better. In 2024, it’s hard to think of better recipients than the current FCC and FTC.
The FCC’s Broadband Facts mandate, for instance, requires internet providers to prominently disclose their regular, non-promotional rates along with expected speeds, data caps, and equipment fees. The FCC also approved “all-in” price disclosure rules for cable and satellite TV providers, effectively killing the “broadcast TV” fee that cable providers love to omit from their advertised prices. Both rules will help cord cutters comparison shop for internet and TV service.
Meanwhile, the FTC has approved “click-to-cancel” rules, which say that if you sign up for a subscription online, you should be able to cancel it online just as easily. That means no more drawn-out customer-service calls from your cable company, full of upsells for unrelated services.
A Republican-led FCC and FTC could always unwind these rules, which both commissions’ Republican members opposed. But for now, let’s just enjoy this little moment, in which cable companies have been forced, kicking and screaming, into doing the right thing.
Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV insights. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | RadioNZ - 27 Dec (RadioNZ) The ship is suspected of causing the outage of an undersea power cable in the Baltic Sea connecting Finland and Estonia, and damaging four internet lines. Read...Newslink ©2025 to RadioNZ |  |
|  | | PC World - 27 Dec (PC World)It’s been a big year for Google…but then as the de facto leader in online search, browser, and advertising, it’s always a big year for Google. Perhaps the biggest news is undeniably tied to the company’s status as an official and illegal monopoly, according to the US Department of Justice.
While a potentially historic breakup is hanging over Google like the sword of Damocles, we won’t truly know how it ends until next year (at least). In the meantime, let’s look back at Google’s wins, losses, and WTF moments for 2024.
Fail: The US Department of Justice wants Google to sell Chrome
Michael Crider/Foundry
After a historic ruling that found Google guilty of violating US anti-trust laws, the Department of Justice has recommended that Google be forced to sell the part of its business that handles the Chrome browser. This is the proposed “fix” for Google’s abuse of its position dominating search and advertising all across the web, tied in with things like Android, Gmail, YouTube, and pretty much every facet of its business.
Forcing Google to break off Chrome would be devastating. Chrome is the #1 browser on the planet for both desktop (including laptops) and mobile, to say nothing of the decade-plus Google has spent trying to make Chromebooks a viable alternative to Windows-powered laptops. And that’s ignoring other proposed recompense, including a moratorium on high-dollar search contracts with companies like Apple and syndicating search data to its competitors.
But the story (which has stretched for over four years since the original indictment) is far from over. Google will undoubtedly appeal, both the judge’s guilty ruling itself and any proposed penalty, dragging the case out for months or years. And the incoming Trump administration is a huge wildcard, sure to steer the DoJ to be both friendly to America’s mega-corporations and punitive toward the technology industry to suit the president’s goals.
The outcome of the trial, whatever it is, could shake Google to the core in ways we haven’t seen since AT&T was broken up in the 1980s.
Win: The Pixel 9 series is good!
Luke Baker
Google has been trying to sell its own-branded Android phones for almost as long as Android has been around — first with the Nexus series, then evolving into a more mass-market form with the Pixel. Apple and Samsung still rule the roost in the smartphone world, but it’s undeniable that after nine iterations, the Pixel is now a force to be reckoned with.
The Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 phones are very, very good, especially if you’re hunting for a phone that takes great photos. The Pixel Fold and its horribly-named follow-up the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are also good, albeit still way too expensive for most users. The Pixel Watch 3 is good — I’m wearing it right now, and I’m very pleased with it. And there are more affordable (if not quite “budget”) alternatives in the Pixel A variant phones, which deliver almost all the same features at a far more palatable price.
It’s been a slow, ponderous process of more than a decade, but Google finally has its own phone brand that most people are familiar with, and which is distinct from Android as a platform. There are regular users — not die-hard Android fans like me — who are seeking out Pixel phones because they like them, not just because they’re in all the carrier stores (though they are). That’s a win in anyone’s book.
WTF: What the hell is Google doing with non-phone hardware?
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
I’ve literally bought more Google tablets than I can remember. I will always love you, Pixel C, even if Google doesn’t. But amid news of Google trying again to create a branded laptop years after closing the team that already did that, only to hear that it’s once again given up on a Pixel-branded Android tablet, I gotta ask: What the hell, man?
For all the progress that Google has made in smartphones and wearables, not to mention ChromeOS with its Chromebook partners, it seems to be as clueless as ever as to what to do with its hardware brand beyond that. Even after watching this company closely for my entire professional career, I couldn’t tell you what it’s going to do next for a tablet or a laptop.
But I can tell you what I want it to do, and what I think would be successful. Oh look at that, I have!
Fail: AI search is turning tons of people away
Mattias Inghe
Google is pushing hard on its Gemini AI system across its business, but it’s most immediately visible in Search. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. While the initial blowback from Google’s AI Overviews in Search (including such infamous results as using glue as a pizza topping) seem to have died down, it’s a symptom of a deeper and much more widespread problem.
Web users seem to have soured on Google, a name that used to be synonymous with search as in “let me Google that for you.” Between more and more advertising in results, and results themselves becoming far less useful as targeted SEO and AI-generated text becomes more prevalent, it’s easy to see why. Google’s dominant position isn’t going away anytime soon, but it’s clear that people are hungering and thirsting for an alternative, if not exactly a replacement.
Perhaps more daunting for Google is that it doesn’t seem to have a clear solution. Search is the bedrock of Google’s empire, and if it cracks up — with or without a one-two punch from losing Chrome — the entire company could be in danger.
Win: “Web” tab is how search should be
Google
For all the belly-aching that I gave Google Search in the section above, I confess that it’s so integrated into both my personal life and my workflow that I’m not ready to give it up. And I don’t have to. Google introduced a new “Web” search tab this year, and it’s almost like Google Search used to be. Almost.
Clicking “Web” will strip out the AI overview results, the don’t-call-it-advertising shopping suggestions, the Maps business listings (again, essentially advertising!). It’s ten blue links again, giving Google Search a sense of focus and intention it’s been missing for a long time. I adjusted all my default searches to this view almost immediately, and it’s been a marked improvement.
Granted, this doesn’t solve all of Search’s problems. Sometimes I want that Maps info right away, and there’s no way to pick-and-choose which bits you get, it’s All or (not quite) nothing. The Web view still periodically serves up alleged search results that are “Sponsored” — again, ads — right at the top, forcing you to scroll to get more organic info. And this view can’t do anything about junk SEO or AI-generated text, both of which make searching for genuine information far harder.
But it’s an improvement. And it feels like a long time since I’ve been able to say that about Google Search.
WTF: Google can auto-generated video games
Google
I feel like I constantly have to remind people that what they’re being sold as “AI” is not artificial intelligence in the sci-fi sense, a la Commander Data or HAL 9000. But darn it if that isn’t hard to keep in mind when you see some of the things these models can do, like create simple but complete video games from just a prompt.
I don’t mean “code a game that’s kind of like the original Zelda.” I mean full games with 3D movement and graphics that are generated on the fly, no polygons necessary. The Genie 2 system has apparently analyzed so many video games that it can generate basic playable systems, including what looks like physics interaction and multiple viewpoints.
Granted, we only have Google’s word for it. And as impressive as the results are (or at least the videos Google deigns to share), there’s no way the juice is worth the squeeze in terms of computing resources. But I could see this kind of system giving the tools to make simple games to kids and the non-tech-savvy, a step or two above RPG Maker or Dreams on the PS4, in a very cool way.
Fail: Chrome users rebel after ad-blocker fiasco
Google/Vivaldi
As if Google didn’t have enough to worry about from alienating regular search users, it’s also managed to piss off power users with a shift to a new series of Chrome extension guidelines. Manifest V3 seems specifically targeted to hamstring ad-blockers — an implication, if not a direct allegation, from more than one ad-blocker developer — among other more laudable goals.
And users are taking note. While most extensions are updating to bend the knee, the developer of the popular uBlock Origin refused, instead creating a separate and deliberately less powerful alternative as a means of demonstrative protest. As some form of ad-blocking becomes almost essential for using the web both efficiently and safely, alternative browsers are suddenly on the rise.
I can’t claim objectivity here, as I bid adieu to Chrome after using it for over a decade in favor of the far more customizable Vivaldi. But Vivaldi, like almost every browser from a small company or development team, is based on Chromium. The only notable exception is Firefox. If there’s a reckoning for browsers on the horizon, it’ll have to go through Google first…at least if Google still controls Chrome at that point.
Win: Google could combine ChromeOS and Android
Dave Parrack / IDG
With that huge uncertainty hanging over Google’s continued control of Chrome, there was a story that broke and gave us reason to celebrate. Google is, apparently, working on a new version of ChromeOS that uses Android as a base. ChromeOS and Android already have a lot in common — they’re both open-source operating systems maintained by Google, after all — but moving them closer could solve a lot of problems.
Chromebooks could handle Android apps much more fluently and gracefully. That, in turn, would make ChromeOS tablets (a small but important part of the market) better all-around. On the flip side, it could give Android a much better way of handling multitasking on tablets, something that it’s not great at right now, and one of many reasons that the iPad kicks its butt in almost every metric.
Android and ChromeOS both have long histories of being more or less distinct products unified by Google’s ecosystem…and that ecosystem isn’t great. But moving them closer together could go a long way towards fixing that, and making Google a more integrated alternative to both Microsoft and Apple. Granted, all of this is extremely tentative in more ways than one.
WTF: Russia fines Google more money than exists in the world
New Line Cinema
Alright, you’ve got to admit this one’s funny. As a result of the Russian government’s crackdown on social media and some very bad math, a court has ordered Google to pay two undecillion rubles, the equivalent of 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 US dollars, in fines. Probably a lot more by this point.
The details of how and why are hardly important, since that’s more than a hundred trillion times the amount of money that exists on the planet, in all currencies, everywhere. Though Google still serves most of its products to Russian residents, its business operations in the country have shut down in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The odds of Google ever being forced to pay even a tiny, tiny portion of that ludicrous sum are about, hmmm, I’d say two undecillion to one. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 26 Dec (ITBrief) Domo`s latest Data Never Sleeps report reveals 5.52 billion internet users generate vast data every minute, highlighting AI`s growing influence on digital behaviour. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | PC World - 26 Dec (PC World)The year ahead has a lot in store for Linux users. Many of the trends, hardware products, and software developments below comprise a colorful mix that focuses on the use of Linux in particular. We also include other current and future events in hardware and software that will influence or characterize everyday IT life — Linux or otherwise. The upshot is that Linux users will see a lot of change on the horizon.
Raspberry Pi: Quo vadis?
Raspberry Pi Foundation
Since the Raspberry Pi Foundation went public in mid-2024, the future of the successful board computer has been quite uncertain. The share price has been volatile since then, but has held up reasonably well overall. The fresh millions on the stock market open up opportunities for technical innovations for the mini-computer, but on the other hand the project is moving away from its non-profit origins.
Nothing concrete is currently known about future models, but prices will be higher than before. The continued production and stocking of older models, as was previously the case, could also fall victim to profit maximization.
See also: 10 surprisingly practical Raspberry Pi projects anybody can do
Wayland is coming – slowly
The Gnome 47 and KDE Plasma 6 desktops are forcing the switch to the Wayland display protocol by setting Wayland as the standard despite some remaining detail problems. Most Linux distributions with these desktops (Fedora, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, KDE Neon, Endeavour, et cetera) will follow this specification in 2025.
The fact remains, however, that apart from Gnome and KDE, only the niche desktop Enlightenment (current version E20) is aggressively pushing for Wayland.
The Gnome-like Budgie desktop, as well as Cinnamon (Linux Mint) and Mate, still offer Wayland as an “experimental” option. XFCE (announced for the upcoming version 4.20) and LXQT are just starting their Wayland conversion.
Cinnamon running in Wayland.
Linux Mint
The replacement of the old X11 window system will obviously continue well beyond 2025. This is a stumbling block, not least because every Wayland operation currently still has to drag along the Xwayland mediation layer in order to be able to display older X11 windows.
The current Gnome 47 is the first Linux desktop that is at least technically prepared to completely dispense with Xwayland in the future.
Debian 13 (‘Trixie’)
Debian
A new Debian version is released approximately every two years. After version 12 “Bookworm,” which was released in 2023, Debian 13 (“Trixie”) is due in 2025. With Debian “Forky,” the name for version 14 has already been decided.
Debian 13 will continue to offer a variant for 32-bit processors, but no longer for very old i386 CPUs, but at least from i686 onwards. i686 CPUs are also ancient processors such as Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, and some early Pentium 4 models.
The oldest of these CPUs are over 25 years old and date back to the 20th century. Regardless of Debian’s 32-bit continuity, the recycling of such oldies is usually unsatisfactory.
New Debian is always immensely important because many derivatives are based on Debian and must also be updated as a result — such as Antix, Bunsenlabs, Kanotix, MX Linux, Linux Mint Debian, Ope Media Vault, Pi-OS, Rescuezilla, Sparky, Q4-OS, Tails, and many more (Ubuntus!).
EOL: Ubuntu 20.04 expires
Ubuntu
After April 2025, there will be no more update support for Ubuntu 20.04, unless you have taken out the 10-year ESM (Expanded Security Maintenance) support with Ubuntu Pro. On devices with version 20.04, you will then either have to reinstall or make up for several upgrade stages.
A new installation with the current LTS version Ubuntu 24.04 is particularly recommended for systems that work as servers.
EOL: The end of Windows 10
After 14 October 2025, Microsoft will no longer offer free updates for Windows 10 and technical support will be discontinued (EOL, End of Life). As a simple upgrade to Windows 11 will fail for many laptops and PCs due to the high hardware requirements, a significant wave of users switching to Linux desktops can be expected over the course of the next year.
Last year’s Linux growth to a market share of around 4.5 percent is probably already linked to this Windows date. Unicon is launching the eLux operating system for companies. The system is designed to combine security, hardware flexibility, and performance. The download requires registration with an email address.
Windows 10 will be discontinued on 1 October 2025. If Windows 11 does not run on the hardware, any (even more demanding) Linux will run.Anton Watman/Shutterstock.com
Experience has shown that Linux distributions are generally too fragmented to make concerted and aggressive use of the opportunities offered by the Windows runtime. Only some of the typical Windows detractors such as Linux Mint or Zorin-OS will refer to their Windows-like concepts and optimize them.
In addition, most tried-and-tested Linux desktops (mostly Debian/Ubuntu-based, in some cases also Arch-based) are also suitable as Windows 10 alternatives.
See also: 3 free Linux distros that look and feel like Windows
‘Immutable’ trend: Open Suse Leap 16
Open Suse Leap 16.0, the successor to Leap 15.6, is not expected until mid-2025 at the earliest. Version 16 aims to end the technical continuity with the previous Leap, but at least promises the possibility of a direct upgrade to Leap 16. If necessary, an interim version 15.7 will be added.
openSUSE
Open Suse Leap 16 will be an “immutable” Linux. Suse is developing its own Adaptable Linux Platform (ALP) architecture with a write-protected base system that increases security and stability.
The required software is to be provided by isolated containers — presumably flatpaks. With its focus on cloud systems and automated system management, Open Suse Leap 16 is likely to follow the trend of recent years. The Suse system is becoming increasingly uninteresting for the needs of a flexible end-user desktop.
The same applies to Fedora Workstation, which in the Silverblue “Immutable” version is signalling the path that Fedora generally wants to take. The security and maintenance advantages of the immutable concept are aimed at cloud and server instances and mainly have disadvantages on the desktop.
Linux concepts > la Nix-OS
Nix
It is perhaps not necessarily the Linux distribution Nix-OS itself, but its concept of “declarative configuration,” which probably has a great future ahead of it.
Nix-OS uses a central configuration file as a meta-level. This allows the entire system to be reproduced identically (e.g. for cloud and server instances), but can also be reset to previous system states (relevant for servers and desktops).
Package dependencies are avoided because — similar to container formats — software is always stored separately with all dependencies. The concept requires a lot of storage space and the adoption of completely customized methods for package installations and updates. Cloud providers are already in the thick of it, but Nix-OS should still provide some additional convenience features for desktop users.
Linux without ‘sudo’?
While Microsoft has included the sudo tool as an option for developers in Windows 10/11 in 2024, leading Linux developers want to abolish sudo or offer a better alternative. The new run0 tool is already available in the latest versions of the Systemd init system.
IDG
In future Linux distributions, run0 will certainly not immediately replace the familiar sudo, but will at best run as an alternative for the time being.
The run0 tool has several advantages over sudo: In principle, it requires no configuration, whereas sudo requires the not entirely uncomplicated “/etc/ sudoer.” run0 is based on Polkit, whose individual configuration is not simpler, but is usually unnecessary.
As run0 loads an isolated systemd target, it is more secure than sudo, which relies on rights masks in the file system (SUID bit).
In addition, run0 gives visual signals in the terminal and window title to indicate the current elevated permissions.
IoB: Internet of Behavior
We have barely gotten used to the new term IoT (Internet of Things) when the next “internet” is added. IoB — Internet of Behavior — is more or less a consequence of IoT: the Internet of Things with smartwatches, webcams, health trackers, sensors, measuring stations, and smart home devices expands the data material that websites and apps collect through direct communication.
IoT provides masses of additional data that can be analyzed statistically (trends, anomalies, causalities).
These IoB statistics and behavioral analysis are not only driven by the retail and advertising industries: IoB can provide insurance companies, health insurance companies, traffic planners, the police, and entrepreneurs with interesting information and correlations that do not necessarily have to be personalized.
It is not yet clear which IoB analysis will become part of everyday life in the future. Data protectionists are already warning that there is a lack of transparent user consent for data collection.
Huawei operating system
In the context of the growing customs dispute between the USA, EU, and China, Huawei is preparing to say goodbye to Windows operating systems on its laptops. In the future, the Chinese manufacturer intends to offer its self-developed Harmony OS operating system.
Harmony OS is based on its own Linux-independent (Hongmeng) kernel. The operating system was previously only planned for Huawei smartphones, but will also be available for laptops in the future. Huawei laptops will run Harmony OS from mid-2025. Microsoft is thus losing a major Windows customer.
Huawei
Harmony OS is said to perform better than Linux desktops. It is entirely plausible that the Chinese IT giant can achieve this for the hardware it produces itself.
However, compatibility with software is problematic. It is not yet clear to what extent Harmony OS will also offer customized standard software or integrate it via a translation layer. Potential buyers of the attractively priced Huawei laptops should consider this question carefully.
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
TP-Link
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is five years old, many older routers and devices still work with 802.11ac or even older 802.11n.
From 2024, there will be more and more devices with radio chips of the new Wi-Fi generation 7 (802.11be). The Linux kernel is prepared for this — from version 6.5 to be precise.
Wi-Fi 7 will not only significantly increase data throughput, but will also use MLO (Multi-Link Operation) to communicate across multiple radio bands between the transmitter and receiver devices. This improves both throughput and stability.
DDR6 RAM
New DDR5 RAM modules with higher speeds and lower latency will come onto the market in 2025. However, DDR6 is already on the runway: The next generation of DDR RAM is not due to be released until the end of 2025 at the earliest.
DDR6 will again be significantly faster than current DDR5 RAM. The specification speaks of at least 8800 MT/s (megatransfers per second) for the first DDR6 generation, which is roughly double that of DDR5. Later DDR6 components should then achieve up to 21,000 MT/s.
G.Skill
HEIF/HEIC, JPEG XL image formats
Innovative graphics formats have been flourishing in photography and imaging for years, but they have been very slow to catch on.
While all browsers and many image editing applications now support the Google Webp format, the Apple HEIF/HEIC format and the JPEG successor JPEG XL still need help from add-ons for software or additional packages for the system on many systems and image viewers.
REDPIXEL.PL
The High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) is favored by iPhones for photos. HEIC is the associated container format that also stores image sequences, comments, and audio in addition to (HEIF) images.
JPEG XL (jxl) is the designated successor to the long-standing JPG standard. In 2025, it is expected that all Linux distributions will increasingly prepare their viewers and file managers for these formats.
Experience has shown that the question of which image format will prevail is obsolete: There will simply be a few more in the future, while JPG, PNG, and others will continue to exist.
CPU/GPU/NPU and the ‘AI PC’
There is no question that there will be no standstill in CPU development in 2025. AMD will introduce new Ryzen CPUs such as “Kraken” and Intel is planning Panther Lake processors based on its latest production technology (18A). The goals are the same — more performance, more efficiency.
Alexander56891 / Shutterstock.com
Regardless of new CPU records, the new (marketing) term “AI PC” or Copilot PC (Microsoft) will come into focus. In this product class, which performs AI functions on the local device, a fast CPU is not enough — at least a dedicated GPU graphics chip (preferably Nvidia), plenty of DDR5 RAM, and a fast SSD are also required.
The more obvious feature that distinguishes an AI PC from a gaming PC or a powerful workstation is the additional NPU chip (Neural Processing Unit). NPUs cannot process AI models any better or faster than the GPU, but they are much more energy-efficient.
In other words: computer bolides are AI-capable, but only energy-efficient with an additional NPU. Processors with an NPU extension already exist — from Intel (Lunar Lake), AMD (Ryzen AI), and Qualcomm (Snapdragon). However, it is not yet clear how future-proof these first NPUs are.
See also: The AI PC revolution: 18 essential terms you need to know
Mass storage and capacities
Mass storage devices are experiencing continuous capacity growth every year. New records are on the horizon for 2025:
SSD: The maximum capacity of SSDs is expected to increase from the current maximum of around 60TB to 128TB by mid-2025, more than doubling. This has been announced by several manufacturers such as Western Digital, Huawei, and Samsung.
Mechanical drives: The classic hard drive is reaching its technical limits and has already seen its greatest leaps in capacity. However, the current maximum of 24- to 32TB should be able to be increased again in future thanks to new HAMR technology (Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording). Seagate is announcing drives with 40TB for 2025, and up to 60- or 80TB by the end of the decade.
Jon L. Jacobi
NVMe SSD: Capacities of up to 16TB are expected for M.2 NVMe storage on the PCI Express bus by 2025. This means a doubling of the currently largest NVMe SSDs.
For end users, the record capacities are hardly relevant and generally hardly affordable. More important is the market law that with new, faster, and larger media, the prices for smaller and medium capacities will fall.
Faster USB 4v2
USB 4 is the joint successor to USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3 with a theoretical maximum throughput of 40Gbps (approx. 5GB/s). USB 4v2 (also “USB 4.0 Gen 4” and more recently “USB4 2.0”) theoretically achieves 80- or 120Gbps.
The first controllers and drives of this generation are already on the market. Drivers for USB 4v2 are included in the current Linux kernel. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 26 Dec (PC World)So you’ve got a new computer. Awesome! That humble metal box is the key to a wide world of potential. It can help you with everything from juggling your finances to keeping in touch with your family to blowing off some steam on, uh, Steam.
But a new PC isn’t like a new car; you can’t just turn a key and put the pedal to the metal. Okay, maybe you can—but you shouldn’t. Performing just a few simple activities when you first fire it up can help it be safer, faster, and better poised for the future. Here’s how to set up a new laptop or desktop computer the right way, step by step, regardless of whether you’re running Windows 10 or Windows 11. The vast majority of new PCs and laptops will come with Windows 11 installed, but you can still find some laptops being sold with Windows 10, so we’re leaving those instructions in here for now.
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Run Windows Update on your new PC
The first step is by far the most tedious. You shouldn’t muck around on the web unless your copy of Windows is fully patched and up to date, period. Now for the bad news: Depending on how long your PC sat on the retail shelf, this could take minutes—or hours. Either way, it has to get done.
Microsoft releases new Windows patches at least once per month. Major “feature” upgrades for Windows 10 and 11 occurred twice per year in the past, but now come in a big yearly update, with fresh features also being sprinkled in here and there throughout the year. If your computer isn’t fully patched, you could be missing key security fixes and notable new features.
Keep updating Windows until it says you’re all caught up.
First, make sure your PC’s connected to the internet. In Windows 10, open the Start menu and head to Settings > Update and security > Check for Updates. Your system will search for updates, and find some. Download and install them, then reboot your computer and do it again… and again… and again… until the update check fails to return new entries. Hopefully it won’t take too long, but in worst-case scenarios updating a new computer can take an hour or more.
On the bright side, Windows will download and install new updates as they roll out in the future. You just have to get over this initial hump!
If your new laptop came with Windows 10 installed, you may see the option to upgrade to Windows 11 for free. If you want all possible new Windows 11 features, the PCWorld Software Store offers the Windows 11 Home-to-Pro upgrade for $60, much less than its usual $100.
Install your favorite browser
Surfing the web in an unfamiliar browser is like trying to tango while you’re wearing someone else’s shoes. It can be done, but it ain’t pretty. Here are direct links for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera if Edge isn’t your thing.
Chrome has been our go-to pick for years, but Edge is the best browser you can use right now if you don’t mind breaking away from Chrome, and better yet, it’s Windows’ default. We’ve recently run pieces extolling the virtues of Firefox, Vivaldi, Edge, and Opera if you want to play around with your options.
Set up your new PC’s security
Now that you’ve slipped into something more comfortable, it’s time to get your security ducks in a row.
Windows Security in Windows 10.
The best overall antivirus suite
Norton 360 Deluxe
Read our review
Windows ships with Windows Security enabled by default unless your laptop or desktop includes a third-party antivirus trial. Windows Security is a solid, if not overly detailed solution that’s dead-simple to use, great at sniffing out malware, and probably good enough for most people. It isn’t the most full-featured anti-malware solution out there, though. You can’t even schedule scans, and the default Windows Security app doesn’t guard against online tricks like phishing. PCWorld’s guide to the best antivirus for Windows PCs can help you find all the right tools to keep your PC protected.
Clean your computer’s bloatware
With your defenses up, it’s time to start shoveling the crap out of your PC.
You can skip this step if you built your own Windows PC. Straight Windows installations don’t come with excess junk cluttering up your hard drive, nor do boutique custom rigs like the Falcon Northwest Fragbox. But boxed PCs from big-name PC makers are inevitably brimming with bloatware.
The easiest way to jettison the junk is by typing “Add and remove programs” into the Windows search box, then selecting the option that appears at the top of the results. Go through the list and uninstall any unwanted programs. Don’t delete apps from your hardware’s makers—leave software from the likes of Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Microsoft, and HP or Lenovo alone, for example—but feel free to wipe out any bundleware you see. Some of the most commonly preinstalled apps are antivirus trials, Dropbox, Candy Crush, Netflix, Spotify, “App Collections,” and others.
If you decide to perform a fresh installation of Windows to clear the decks and want to keep some of the software being blasted away (like Office, say), be sure to jot down the product key before initiating the process, using something like Belarc Advisor to find it. Going through the apps list and eradicating key offenders should work well enough for most people though.
Fill your new computer with software
Why would you scrap all that junk and clutter? To make room for your own stuff, silly. New hardware just begs for software to match!
Outfitting your rig is an intensely personal affair, but if you’re looking for suggestions, PCWorld has a guide to the best free programs that are so helpful, so handy, so downright useful that they should be welcome on pretty much any PC. These review roundups and software guides can also direct you towards some of the best programs around:
The best free Microsoft Office alternatives
5 free Windows power tools we can’t live without
The best password managers
The best PDF editors
7 free programs every PC gamer needs
The best VPNs
5 free Photoshop alternatives for Windows
How to play DVDs in Windows 10 for free
Head towards Ninite when it comes time to actually install all that software. Ninite lets you install numerous free applications of your choice all at once, even going so far as to automatically disable the bundled crapware that many free programs try to sneak in as part of the installation process. It’s a wonderfully handy tool that takes the pain out of loading up a new PC.
If your new laptop came with Windows 11 preinstalled, you might be uncomfortable with its radical new Start menu and taskbar design. Consider checking out StartAllBack or Stardock’s Start11 if so. Both of these $5 programs help you reconfigure the look and feel of Windows 11 in ways the operating system itself doesn’t. You can have it back to feeling normal in no time. I’ve been a staunch personal user of Start11 (and its Windows 10 sibling, Start10) for years. It’s great.
Back up your new computer
After all that, your PC is finally ready to rock: It’s safe, up to date, scrubbed free of junk, and full of software fine-tuned to meet your specific needs. The end is in sight! But we’re not done juuuuuust yet.
Now that your PC’s in fighting shape it’s an ideal time to create a clone or image of your primary hard drive—the one Windows boots from—and save it to another hard drive. A clone or image creates a snapshot replica of your drive, which you can use to boot up Windows if your primary drive gives up the ghost. Having an image of your system in its current updated, bloatware free, customized state prevents you from having to do all that previous legwork over again if you ever have to reinstall Windows for any reason.
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So what’s the difference between a clone and an image? Essentially, a clone creates an exact copy of your hard drive on another drive—files, master boot record, and all. The clone consumes the entire hard drive, but it’s plug-and-play if you ever need to use it. Images, on the other hand, create a single, mammoth file containing all the stuff on your PC. It takes a bit more work to get an image backup ready to roll after a disaster, but you have more flexibility in how you store it, since it’s essentially just a great big file. Lincoln Spector has a more detailed comparison if you’re interested.
There are excellent backup tools available that let you create clones and images, which we cover in detail in PCWorld’s roundups of the best Windows backup software and best online backup services. Don’t want to pay for data protection? We’ve also rounded up the best free backup options, and if you don’t mind performing more technical gruntwork to save some cash, we explain how to use Windows’ native imaging tool step-by-step in PCWorld’s guide to creating a free, foolproof backup system.
Use something though. Regular backups are your data’s only savior if disaster strikes.
Optional: Update your new PC’s drivers
This step isn’t for everyone. Few things can introduce troublesome ghosts in your machine faster than a driver that refuses to play nice for whatever reason. If your from-the-box desktop PC is working fine and you only ever plan to perform basic tasks like surfing the web, working with Office, and stuff like that, feel free to forget your computer even has drivers and keep on keeping on. Windows Update should’ve snagged reasonably new drivers for your hardware anyway.
You’ll spend some time staring at the Device Manager if you built your own PC and need to update your drivers manually.
But if you cobbled together a DIY rig or are rocking a gaming machine, it’s a good idea to see if newer drivers are available for your hardware. Windows Update isn’t always on the bleeding edge of driver updates, and new drivers for, say, your motherboard or Wi-Fi card can provide beneficial feature and performance updates. Gamers will need to update their graphics card drivers fairly often to ensure optimal performance in the newest games. (Fortunately, you can do that easily using Nvidia and AMD’s must-have graphics suites, and they’ll let you know when new ones are available.)
PCWorld’s guide to updating your Windows drivers has all the info you need to proceed. It was written for Windows 8, but if you search for Device Manager in Windows 10 or 11, all of the same steps outlined in the article still apply. If a driver does somehow manage to bork your PC, fear not, as Windows automatically creates a System Restore Point when you install new device drivers.
And if true disaster strikes in some bizarre, extreme case, you’ve got the backup image you’ve created—right?
Optional: Learn about your new computer
Now that all the hard work is done, take time to learn all the nooks and crannies of Windows—there’s an awful lot of surprisingly powerful, downright helpful tools and tricks hidden in its depths. Check out PCWorld’s guide to the best Windows 10 tips, tools, and tricks. You’ll pick up a lot of helpful knowledge. We’ve also got a roundup of Windows 11’s best hidden features, how to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10, and how to fix Windows 11’s worst annoyances. And regardless of which version of the OS you use, this guide to 10 little-known Windows features that will blow your mind is worth a read.
Wrap-up
At this point you’re pretty much ready to roll. Sure, there are some other tasks you should perform, such as moving over files from your old PC and saving the product keys for Windows and your other installed software (again, Belarc Advisor rocks for that), but you can do all that at your leisure. For now, just bask in the glory of owning a new PC, secure in the knowledge that it’s fully optimized, protected against attack, and recoverable if disaster strikes.
Enjoy! Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 25 Dec (PC World)I have been working in the IT industry for over 30 years, for most of this time as an editor at PC-WELT (PCWorld’s German sister publication), specializing in security. I test antivirus software, give tips on how to make Windows more secure, am constantly on the lookout for the best security tools, and monitor the activities of cyber criminals.
Over the years, I have acquired a whole range of behaviors and principles that seem completely normal and sensible to me. However, when I observe other PC users, I often discover risky or at least less security-oriented behavior.
That’s why I’ve put together the 10 most important things I would never do as an IT security expert, with tips on what to do instead.
Further reading: Installing Windows 11 on old PCs is incredibly risky. Here’s why
1. Move instead of copy
You can hardly tell the difference in Windows Explorer: Here, photos and videos are moved instead of copied. This can worsen data security rather than improve it. IDG
Moving your own files instead of copying them immediately makes me feel uneasy. This includes, for example, photos or videos from the camera or audio recordings from a smartphone or audio recorder. If you move such files, which are usually unique, you run the risk of losing them as soon as you move them. Although this is very rare, it cannot be completely ruled out.
But even if the moving process goes smoothly: The data is then still only available once. If the hard drive in the PC breaks, the data is gone. If I make a mistake and accidentally delete the files, they are gone. These are risks that only arise if you start a move operation instead of a copy operation.
If you think “I need the space on the SD card for new photos,” then you should consider buying a second SD card. Your own data is always worth it.
And when do I release the space on the SD card? I do this as soon as my backup plan on the PC has backed up the copied data. In my case, this is done on a hard drive in the network that runs on a Raspberry Pi.
Important files are also automatically encrypted and uploaded to cloud storage.
Further reading: Best online backup services
2. Save my own data without a backup
I have set up an automatic backup for all important data. Because saving files I have created myself without a prompt backup is far too risky for me. This also includes all data that I enter into apps, for example, whether for Android, iOS, or Windows. Just because most apps don’t offer an easily recognizable backup function doesn’t absolve the user of responsibility for their data.
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For example, at two grammar schools in Koblenz, Germany, several hundred school iPads were logged off the school network due to an error. The handwritten notes in the Goodnotes app used by the pupils were deleted. Many students had worked exclusively with the school’s own iPads and this app — in other words, there was no secondary copy of their notes. Around 500 of the total of 7,500 iPads were affected by the data loss by being connected to the school network at the time of the breakdown.
A cloud backup, as is usual for iPads, was deactivated for data protection reasons. No other form of data backup appears to have been used. The pupils concerned cannot be blamed here, but the system administrator responsible can.
3. Format storage without a thorough check
The drive management shows each connected drive with all partitions. You can usually clearly identify a partition based on its name and size. IDG
I would never make this mistake — because I have made it before. Therefore, I can only advise from experience: Only format a storage drive when you are sure that you have selected the correct drive.
For years, I used external USB hard drives to store my files. The folder structure on these hard drives was usually identical. There were the folders “My Documents,” “Videos,” “Temp,” “Virtual PCs,” and a few more. What’s more, all the hard drives were the same model, which I had once bought generously on a good deal. Some of these disks even had the same data carrier designation — namely “Data.”
That wasn’t very clever, because it made it too easy to mix them up. So I ended up confusing one of these hard drives with another one at a late hour and formatted the wrong one.
Since then, I have named and labelled my external hard drives and USB sticks very clearly and take another close look before formatting them.
First check, then format: Choosing the right drive before formatting is crucial to avoid unintentional data loss. In Windows Explorer, check which drive letter the hard drive or partition to be formatted has. This is often not immediately apparent on systems with multiple drives. Take the time to check, unplug other hard disks and drives to increase the overview. The name of the disk and its size will help you to identify it.
In addition, start Disk Management by entering Disk Management in the Windows search. All connected disks and their partitions will be displayed. Only start formatting when you are sure that you have found the correct hard drive, USB stick, or partition.
Related: How to prevent (or survive) a ransomware attack
4. Open links in emails
I don’t like to open a link in an email. And I never open a link if the email is supposedly from my bank or payment service provider. I don’t even open the link in the monthly email from PayPal, even though I know that this email actually comes from PayPal.
Why not? Nowadays it is very easy for an attacker to create a deceptively real copy of a bank email. I wouldn’t reliably recognize the difference between a phishing email and a real bank email — at least not in the short time I have to check my inbox.
Instead, I open online banking pages and other important pages via links I’ve saved in my browser, or retype the address into the browser each time. I log in to the site and check whether a new message has arrived in my customer account. If not, then the message in the email is either a fake or not important enough for the bank to enter this information in my customer account. That’s the end of the matter for me.
Tip: Change these 5 Windows settings to improve your data privacy
5. Opening suspicious files
The online sandbox Hybrid Analysis documents the behavior of a suspicious program with a screenshot. The service is free, but it is often overloaded and responds very slowly. IDG
If a file is suspicious, regardless of whether it’s a program or a document, I don’t open it. The risk is simply too great. As an IT editor, I am of course constantly downloading tools from the internet and quite a few of them are scanned by the virus scanner. That is one indication that makes a file suspicious.
Another is the source. Files from dubious websites are just as suspicious as files that are attached to an email or come from links in emails. If I can’t avoid opening or starting such files, I always check them first with the tool www.virustotal.com. The online service checks a file with more than 60 virus scanners.
If you want even more information about a suspicious file than www.virustotal.com provides, you can also upload suspicious files to an online sandbox. However, this is somewhat more complicated than a test at Virustotal. The services often require registration and are sometimes subject to a fee.
A free and uncomplicated online sandbox without registration is available at www.hybrid-analysis.com.
6. Give vouchers for payment of services
If you are asked to buy vouchers, you should listen carefully (at least if the request does not come from your children). This is how scammers who are after your money operate.
Foundry
Who would want to do this? An astonishing number of users! They are all victims of a social engineering attack. Social engineering uses psychological tricks to manipulate people into doing things that are not in their interests. Human characteristics such as trust, fear, or ignorance are exploited.
A popular trick goes like this: You are surfing the internet and suddenly a warning message appears that appears to come from Windows. Your PC has been hacked and you should call a support telephone number so that a Microsoft employee can fix your PC. When you call, you are told that your PC has actually been hacked. However, this costs money and is supposed to be paid for with voucher cards. The criminals demand these because voucher codes are much harder for the police to trace than a bank transfer.
The fact is: Nobody is immune to the tricks of social engineering. A well-prepared and skillful attacker can lure anyone into a trap. There are many examples of this — search “CEO fraud.” But the moment something as unusual as a voucher code for a service is requested, you can become suspicious and escape the trap. The same applies if you are told that someone is coming round to collect money from you.
See also: How do I remove malware from my PC?
7. Connect unknown external devices
A USB stick whose owner I don’t know. I’m not plugging it in. Fortunately, gone are the days when Windows’ autostart function immediately launched an EXE file from a connected USB stick. By default, Windows 10 and 11 only offer to start Windows Explorer to display the contents of the USB stick.
So that’s not the problem. But like everyone, I’m curious. Attackers take advantage of this and save malicious files with file names that you can’t resist opening.
For a long time, security experts said that if you wanted to break into a company network, all you had to do was leave a few infected USB sticks in the company parking lot. Some employee will grab a stick and connect it to their work PC.
The professional malware Stuxnet is also said to have reached the computers at the Iranian nuclear facility via a USB stick. It is only unclear whether this USB stick got into the plant via the parking lot trick or whether an insider smuggled it in. Stuxnet destroyed the centrifuges in the nuclear facility and thus delayed the production of fissile material for a nuclear bomb.
When you have to insert a foreign USB stick: The same rules apply as under point 5. Check the files on www.virustotal.com or start them in a sandbox.
8. Use default passwords
the best password manager overall
Dashlane
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When I connect a new device that has default password protection, I immediately change the existing password. The same applies to online accounts that have given me a password.
Admittedly: It has become rare for a router to come with a default password. However, it is all the more important to act quickly in the remaining cases. This is because attackers know the default passwords and try to use them to log into the devices. A great password manager can help you create strong, unique passwords for every site and service you use.
9. Enable unnecessary network services
If you do not need remote access to the Fritzbox via www.myfritz.net, for example, you should not activate it. Every access point to your IT increases the attack surface for hackers.
IDG
Hardly a month goes by without a new security vulnerability in a NAS or webcam becoming known. These network devices are usually vulnerable via the internet and allow hackers to access the data on the NAS, the images on the webcam, or even the entire home network.
That’s why I don’t activate any network services that I don’t need. Remote access to my router — deactivated. Remote access to my smart lighting — deactivated. Access to my NAS and the robot vacuum cleaner is also deactivated.
10. Buy an expensive Plus version of antivirus
Most antivirus manufacturers offer three or more program versions. I wouldn’t buy the most expensive one. I don’t need their expensive additional functions.PCWorld
Antivirus software is usually available in three versions. Simple, good, and very good — or antivirus, internet security, and total security. I would never buy the third and most expensive version.
That’s purely a financial consideration: If I were rich, I would decide differently. But as long as money is tight, I only buy the middle variant, which is usually called Internet Security. It usually offers more than the free Microsoft Defender, but is not as expensive as the full version.
With the latter, I would be paying for services that I don’t necessarily need (metadata cleansing, social media monitoring) or that I can get cheaper elsewhere (VPN services, cloud storage).
As I said, the total versions offer more, but I don’t need that extra.
the best budget antivirus we`ve tested
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This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | PC World - 25 Dec (PC World)Thunderbolt 5. The cutting edge of I/O. All of it — monitors, a Thunderbolt 5 dock, and even a Thunderbolt 5 SSD — was perched on my desk. I was pleased, in the way only tech nerds can be when they have a piece of gear few others do.
A few days later, I was more than happy to take it apart and return to a slower and more functional Thunderbolt environment. Because I am simply not sure that the Thunderbolt 5 ecosystem is ready for prime time.
This isn’t an indictment of Thunderbolt 5, per se. Rather, it’s all about the headaches that can accompany not one, but a multitude of devices, all of which can interact with each other in unexpected ways. Layer on software, drivers, firmware updates, and the like, and it’s tough to point an accusing finger at any one component. This is what testing cutting-edge hardware can mean: struggling with technology that should just work, but doesn’t.
Further reading: Best Thunderbolt docks 2024: Extend your laptop’s capabilities
Thunderbolt 5: The next generation of I/O
Thunderbolt 5 was announced about a year ago, as the next step in the evolution of the Thunderbolt I/O standard. Thunderbolt wasn’t necessarily designed for power users, but the best Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 docks allows users to place a pair of 4K displays on their desk running at 60 Hz. I find this extremely useful for productivity, as I can arrange several windows’ worth of email, chat, calendar, Web browsers, and more on two or more displays.
Both Thunderbolt 3 and 4 provide 40Gbps of throughput. Thunderbolt 5 increases that to 80Gbps, and in certain situations up to 120Gbps, too. This extra bandwidth plays right into the gaming and productivity space, as the extra bandwidth supports up to three 4K displays at 144Hz, two 8K displays at 60Hz, or a single 1080p display at 540Hz. (Intel hasn’t nailed down the specifics of these last two resolutions). Intel is also touting the fact that Thunderbolt 5 should be able to power external GPUs, a capability that was passed over in Thunderbolt 4.
The problem is that Thunderbolt 5 hardware is in short supply, period. Although some of the earliest Thunderbolt 5 docks were shown off this past January, it’s now October, and about the only dock I’ve seen announced is Kensington’s SD5000T5 EQ, which I went hands-on with a short time ago. There aren’t too many Thunderbolt 5 cables, either.
But a hands-on is not a test and I was eager to obtain hardware that I could use to put the Kensington SD5000T5 through its paces: to connect it to three 4K144 displays via a laptop with Thunderbolt 5 connections and, as a bonus, to see if I could find an SSD that could run at Thunderbolt 5 speeds.
I wasn’t expecting it to be easy. For whatever reason, devices with Intel’s Thunderbolt 5 host and accessory component (“Barlow Ridge,” or the Intel JHL9580 and JHL9480) have been few and far between. Docks are still scarce, as I said, and only two notebooks to my knowledge ship with a (non-integrated) Thunderbolt 5 controller, a version of the Razer Blade and the Maingear ML-17.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Luck favored me. The Kensington SD5000T5 remained on my desk, and Maingear agreed to send over an ML-17 for review. A colleague also was in the process of reviewing a pre-release version of OWC’s Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD and agreed to let me test it for a short time in trade for some benchmarking results. Everything seemed to be coming together.
Thunderbolt 5 started off poorly, then got worse
A few days later, I had cleared the decks of all of my current projects, and sat down to play with the next generation of I/O power. I updated the ML-17 with the necessary Windows updates, Microsoft Store updates, available firmware updates, and so on. Maingear shipped the notebook to me with the Intel Driver & Support Assistant utility updated as well, so I was pretty sure that I had the latest hardware and drivers.
The first steps were fairly positive. As most gamers know, gaming notebooks include a hefty power brick terminating in either a barrel charger or the squarish power connector. One of the benefits of Thunderbolt 5, however, is its ability to supply a hypothetical power draw of 240W. Just being able to plug in the gaming notebook into the Thunderbolt 5 dock and power it up without the need for the laptop’s ungainly external power connector left me quite pleased.
Well, kind of. I later discovered that the dock would power the laptop on just one of the two Thunderbolt 5 ports, however, and checking it with a USB power meter found that it delivered no more than 87W, even while gaming.
Maingear’s Thunderbolt 5 ports aren’t specifically labeled as Thunderbolt 5 ports, just a generic Thunderbolt connection.Mark Hachman / IDG
Power delivery of 240W requires explicit support from the laptop, dock, and cable and I wasn’t too surprised that it didn’t meet my expectations. Unfortunately, however, the trend continued.
Acer graciously supplied three of its Nitro XV5 (XV275K) 4K displays for a test bed. All three displays run up to 144Hz on the HDMI port and to 160Hz on the USB-C/DisplayPort, which should have been good enough to meet the Thunderbolt 5’s promised to render an image at 144Hz on three 4K displays.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Maingear’s laptop produced an image on just two of the displays plus the laptop itself. (Thunderbolt 4 docks output to two 4K displays, plus the laptop, so I have no reason to believe my interpretation of “three displays” was incorrect.). While one laptop rendered at 4K 144Hz just fine, it was a real struggle to get the other to do the same at 1440p — it took some unplugging and re-plugging to achieve it just once, slowly. I could not consistently repeat this.
(Kensington’s dock supplies three upstream Thunderbolt 5 ports. I used Kensington’s own USB-C to HDMI adapter to connect to one display, plus two uni 4K60 USB-C to DisplayPort cables — which are only rated for 1440p165, not 4K — for the others. I was hoping that three displays would light up. They didn’t).
Further reading: Is Thunderbolt 5 storage ready? A first look at the cutting-edge tech
In fact, the whole setup felt pretty laggy just navigating around the laptop and via a Web browser — not something you’d expect with a top-of-the-line Intel CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU inside. I’m pretty sure the Thunderbolt connection negatively contributed. Streaming a 4K, 60Hz video stuttered badly when run on the external display that was connected to the Thunderbolt dock — well over 30 percent of the frames were lost. Playing back the same video on just the laptop itself wasn’t perfect, but it was much, much better.
Maingear blamed this on the Thunderbolt 5 cable. “I haven’t tested a plethora of cables yet, but the Apple TB5 Pro cable has worked consistently for us,” a Maingear representative wrote in an email. “Where Thunderbolt 4 you were able to get away with a decent USB-C cable, Thunderbolt 5 seems to work best with certified Thunderbolt 5 cables.”
That may be true, but Kensington’s Thunderbolt 5 cable was labeled appropriately and this should be certified. And why should I need to buy an Apple cable to get my PC docking station to work?
OWC’s Envoy Pro FX SSD. This isn’t the Thunderbolt-equipped Envoy Ultra I was loaned. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a photograph before I sent it back, but the design is basically the same.Mark Hachman / IDG
Storage performance suffered as well
When I connected the SSD, the performance of my Thunderbolt 5 test setup was just as bad. I typically run PCMark’s external storage benchmark to test a dock. My colleague Jon Jacobi prefers running storage-specific benchmarks to test the performance of the SSD directly. I prefer PCMark, whose external storage test reports the “bandwidth” of the SSD. That’s what I’m aiming for: How much data does the drive have to work with?
I also test a second way, by recording the time it takes to copy a folder full of multimedia and other files from the SSD, through the dock, onto the laptop. I do all that by itself and also while streaming a 4K 60Hz video via the Internet over the Thunderbolt cable, just to see whether a background file transfer will affect performance.
The experience, quite frankly, stunk. While running the PCMark test with the SSD directly connected, I recorded a score of 1,743 or 252.3 MB/s. But while connected to the dock, the SSD’s PCMark score plunged to just 1,108 or 159.3MB/s. Was that the dock’s fault or the Thunderbolt 5 connection? One of the two, most likely.
When I directly connected the SSD to the laptop and copied my folder to the desktop, it took an average of one minute and five seconds. While streaming video, the same task took 58 seconds longer or two minutes and three seconds. That seemed quite extreme.
Weirdly, when I connected the SSD to the dock and then performed the folder copy, it finished in 41 seconds — far faster! But performing the folder copy while streaming the video required two minutes and six seconds, again with the SSD attached to the dock. (The Internet connection was supplied by Ethernet, which remained connected. But letting the system use Wi-Fi didn’t seem to make any difference).
It’s worth a reminder that when I tested the Kensington dock on a “normal” Thunderbolt 4-equipped laptop and a slower SSD, the dock performed “normally,” as well.
In the past few years, we’ve seen the occasional weird result when benchmarking, such as benchmarks of mobile CPUs run on battery power that exceed the performance of the same laptop while plugged in. Still, the wildly varying results, including the heavy stuttering while playing video, told me something’s not quite right. What is it? I don’t know, which is souring me on the whole Thunderbolt 5 experience.
Should you buy Thunderbolt 5? Not right now
When testing a single device, a good review works to isolate the variable. Desktop CPUs are tested against the fastest GPUs possible, with common motherboards, memory, and storage (if possible), so that any differences in performance can be directly attributed to the new CPU.
Maingear’s Windows 11 Settings menu reports the controller as USB4 v2, which should be essentially identical to Thunderbolt. I can’t find any specific mention of “Thunderbolt” in the Settings or in the Device Manager, just USB4.Mark Hachman / IDG
In this case, I’m testing a new dock, laptop, and SSD, with new cables running between them. That’s at least three unknowns I can’t really nail down. So Maingear can accuse the cable of being faulty, while I suspect that Maingear’s hardware may be at fault. I can’t know for certain.
What I am a bit suspicious about is the relative lack of Thunderbolt 5 hardware, even late in 2024. Intel has cycled through its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake launches, and neither includes an integrated Thunderbolt 5 controller. Intel gave some good reasons for excluding it — desktop vendors prefer to “upsell” by using discrete components, for example — but the instability that I’m seeing makes me wonder if there’s something more going on.
I’m not writing Thunderbolt 5 off at all. An updated driver could potentially solve this problem or it might require a more sophisticated hardware revision to Intel’s Barlow Ridge controller itself. I don’t know.
For now, however I would not recommend buying into the Thunderbolt 5 ecosystem. When you buy (or test) bleeding-edge hardware, sometimes you’re the one that ends up with the cuts. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
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