NordVPN and Proton VPN are two of the very best VPNs on the market. So, to help you decide which is the best online privacy tool for you, I’m putting them head-to-head. In comparing the two services, I’ll look at the most important aspects of a great VPN including speed, cost, privacy and security, and streaming.  While NordVPN is faster and packs in more features, Proton VPN optimizes privacy and comes with a larger server network. It’s a close call, but for most people I’d recommend NordVPN. It’s our pick for best VPN overall thanks to its unmatched feature set, lightning-fast speeds, and exceptional streaming support. Both Nord and Proton are top-notch services, but be sure to check out our picks for the best VPNs for even more great options. NordVPNProton VPNServer network7,000+ servers, 118 country locations11,000+, 117 country locationsSimultaneous connections1010Average speeds75% of base download, 81% of base upload65% of base download, 72% of base uploadProtocolsWireGuard (NordLynx), NordWhisper, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsecWireGuard, Stealth, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsecAvailable platformsWindows, MacOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Fire TV, Apple TV, Linux, browsers, routersWindows, MacOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Fire TV, Apple TV, Linux, browsers, routersBusiness locationPanamaSwitzerlandCost$13.99 per month, $71.88 for the first year, or $107.73 for the first two years$9.99 per month, $59.88 for the first year, or $107.76 for the first two years Speed: NordVPN In my testing, NordVPN and Proton VPN scored highly in both download and upload speeds. NordVPN has the fastest speeds of any VPN I’ve ever tested while Proton VPN ranks sixth overall. The latest round of testing showed that NordVPN resulted in an average of 75 percent of the base download speeds and an outstanding 81 percent of the base upload speeds. Proton VPN came in a little slower at 65 percent of the base download speed and 72 percent of the base upload speeds.  While NordVPN is the clear winner, the margins are actually quite close, despite how they might seem. Whichever you choose you can expect to smoothly handle bandwidth-heavy tasks, such as gaming and 4K streaming. It’s worth mentioning, however, that Proton VPN’s free version is the runaway leader in terms of speeds among all free VPNs. The speeds on all free servers were the same as Proton’s premium servers. Cost: Proton VPN NordVPN offers four subscription tiers: Basic, Plus, Complete, and Prime. To make an equal comparison for services provided I’ll focus on just NordVPN’s Plus plan which runs $13.99 monthly, $71.88 for the first year, or $105.36 for the first two years. ProtonVPN on the other hand offers three tiers: Free, Plus, and Unlimited. For the purposes of this comparison, I’ll focus on ProtonVPN’s Plus plan which is the most similar to NordVPN’s Plus plan. Proton’s Plus tier is offered for $9.99 per month, or you can opt for a one-year subscription at $59.88, or the two-year plan for $71.76. Best VPN Overall NordVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $3.39 at NordVPN (Monthly) In both the short term and long term Proton VPN is the cheaper option for similar, but not identical, feature sets. NordVPN does offer a few extra features that Proton does not in this mid-tier including MeshNet file sharing and a secure link-checker tool. But all in all, Proton VPN is the better value and comes in cheaper for pretty much identical features. Another plus in this category for Proton VPN is its free tier. For absolutely no cost you get a one-device connection limit and access to five servers located all across the world. There are no ads and no speed or data restrictions either. It is not only a perfect way to try out Proton VPN, but may be a good option as your daily VPN as well. Privacy and security: Tie NordVPN and Proton VPN both offer stellar security tools. Beyond just allowing you to browse the web privately, both of these services have expanded to offer a full suite of security add-ons to provide a safer online experience. In terms of total features offered, NordVPN barely edges out Proton VPN. Both VPNs offer multihop connections, split tunneling, ad- and tracker-blocking, Onion over VPN, a kill switch, and stealth protocols. But NordVPN adds to this with its Meshnet file sharing feature and a robust Threat Protection tool with malware and virus protection, plus a dark web monitoring service. That being said, one could argue that Proton VPN offers slightly better privacy. This is in part due to its commendable transparency across all apps which are all open source and Proton’s Secure Core feature that routes traffic through privacy-friendly countries for enhanced anonymity. best free VPN ProtonVPN Read our review Best Prices Today: $9.99 at Proton VPN Both services have strict no-logs policies that have undergone multiple independent audits and both are located in privacy-friendly locations—NordVPN is based in Panama, while Proton VPN is based in Switzerland. While users can enjoy more comprehensive security features with NordVPN, they will likely find that Proton VPN offers slightly better privacy. Therefore, I’m calling it a tie between the two for privacy and security. Streaming: NordVPN Proton VPN is a fine service for unblocking streaming content, but it simply can’t match NordVPN—in fact, nothing can. We chose NordVPN as the best VPN for streaming for a reason. No other service can match its unblocking capabilities across all servers or work as consistently with as many streaming sites. It’s worth noting that both VPNs do offer stealth protocols, Nord’s NordWhisper and Proton’s Stealth protocols, that are built to more successfully evade detection by third parties. This may help if you find that a streaming service is actively blocking your VPN connection. Additionally, both services offer wide device support not only for your computers and smartphones, but also for smart TVs and streaming devices as well. Still, while streaming compatibility can be a fickle thing, NordVPN has never let me down in all of the years of use and testing when unblocking all of the major sites such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, or ESPN—that’s more than I can say for any other VPN. The streaming win goes to NordVPN. Bottom line Ultimately, if you want speed, guaranteed streaming unblocking, and comprehensive security then go with NordVPN. The service has been well established as an industry leader for more than a decade now and will give you reliable, high-quality privacy protections  If you want a service that is more affordable, with absolute transparency then Proton VPN is more than worthwhile. Proton VPN also has the advantage of offering a free tier which makes it the perfect entry point to try out a VPN without spending any of your hard-earned cash. These two VPNs are neck-and-neck and either would be an excellent choice no matter what you want to do online. I gave both NordVPN and Proton VPN 4.5 out of 5 stars in their respective reviews and both earned Editors’ Choice awards thanks to their impressive offerings and value. All things considered though, NordVPN is my pick for the best VPN overall and whenever someone asks me for a VPN recommendation it’s the one I turn to first. Related content What is a VPN & how does it work? Are free VPNs any good? Which VPN protocol should you use? It makes a big difference ExpressVPN vs. NordVPN: Clash of the heavyweight titans Read...

Earlier this year, I impulse-bought a tiny, inexpensive desktop PC for research purposes. I didn’t expect it to change my entire computing setup. But here I am now, using the $300 Beelink SER5 Mini PC as my daily workhorse, powering an ultrawide 1440p 100Hz monitor and smoothly handling any productivity task I’ve thrown at it. This little computer has been so delightful to use that I’ve relegated my full-sized desktop tower PC to the basement television, where it’s now serving exclusively as a gaming rig. Consider this a lesson on technological overkill. Outside of some specialized use cases, the required compute power for getting things done might be a lot less than you think. Further reading: 5 reasons to get a mini PC instead of a laptop Sizing up the mini PC Beelink sells an array of miniature computers, but the one I bought currently costs $284 with the following specs: AMD Ryzen 5 5825U processor 16GB of RAM (DDR4) 512GB of storage (M.2 NVMe) Windows 11 Pro Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 Front ports: Two USB-A 3.2, one USB-C, 3.5mm audio Rear ports: One USB-A 3.0, one USB-A 2.0, two HDMI 2.0, gigabit ethernet Jared Newman / Foundry Spec-wise, this is roughly on par with laptops in the $500 to $700 price range, except of course you’ll have to supply your own mouse, keyboard, and screen. The 5×5-inch frame is small enough to pick up with one hand, and it comes with VESA brackets for mounting the computer to the back of a monitor or television. Further reading: The best monitors we’ve tested The Beelink SER5 also hides a neat feature on its underside: Removing the bottom plate reveals a slot for a 2.5-inch storage drive. I bought a 1TB solid state drive to store all my OneDrive files locally, and the PC recognized it without issue. (The device’s RAM and M.2 storage drive are upgradeable as well.) There’s room for a 2.5-inch SSD in the bottom cover.Jared Newman / Foundry How it fares Going in, my plan was to briefly play around with the SER5’s default Windows 11 Pro installation before going back to my regular desktop for work. Even if I didn’t use the mini PC regularly, I figured it’d be useful for experimenting with other operating systems such as Linux or Chrome OS Flex. In the end, the transition to daily work was so seamless that I never went back to my old computer at all. As a tech journalist, my work typically involves writing in Obsidian, chatting in Slack with colleagues (and my newsletter readers), juggling a few dozen browser tabs in Brave, and attending video calls in Zoom or Google Meet. The Beelink SER5 handled all those tasks without ever noticeably slowing down, and it’s much quieter than the full-sized desktop I’d been using before. I threw some more ambitious tasks at the mini PC as well, such as digitizing some old VHS tapes, recording streaming video sources via PlayOn Home, and running a Plex media server. Even with Plex’s commercial detection and PlayOn’s recording engine running in the background, I continued to work without any noticeable performance setbacks. And while integrated Radeon graphics are no match for a dedicated graphics card, the Beelink SER5 has fared well as a low-end gaming device. Yakuza Kiwami runs at a smooth 60 frames per second on high settings at 1080p, and both Fortnite and the post-apocalyptic cat simulator Stray are playable at 1080p with framerates closer to 30 frames per second. I’ve also used it to play less-demanding games such as the Quake II remaster and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, while leaning on Nvidia’s GeForce Now for more intensive fare. All this led to a realization that my hulking desktop PC was just wasting space while also being excessively loud and energy-intensive, and after a couple weeks I moved it out of my office for good. I gave it a factory reset, configured it exclusively for gaming in the basement, and now only turn it on as needed. Lesson learned Jared Newman / Foundry When shopping for computers, it’s always tempting to buy for every potential use case, both real and perceived, now and in the future. The $300 Beelink SER5 is a reminder that we’ve reached a point of diminishing returns for most computing use cases. Despite having just a mid-range processor (one designed for laptops, at that), I was never wanting for more power or wishing I’d splurged on a pricier computer. But mostly, I’m just happy to have a quieter office and a better place for the gaming PC that once occupied it. This story first appeared in Advisorator, Jared’s weekly tech advice newsletter. Sign up to learn new tech tricks every Tuesday. Read...

As of yesterday, Microsoft has begun rolling out a new update to Windows 11 Insiders on the Dev and Canary Channels. This update brings new AI features to Notepad, Paint, and the Snipping Tool. Notepad now has the ability to write text from scratch using generative AI, which is meant to aid you by quickly producing drafts based on your prompts and instructions. To use AI text generation, simply right-click anywhere in the document and select Write. Type in your instructions, then either click Keep Text or Discard on the results. You’ll need a Microsoft account and AI credits to use Write in Notepad. Meanwhile, Paint now has a new AI-generated sticker feature as well as an AI-assisted smart selection tool for isolating and editing elements in an image, and Snipping Tool has a new AI-powered “perfect screenshot” feature for capturing your screen without the need to crop or resize afterwards. Paint’s new AI features only work on Copilot+ PCs while Snipping Tool’s features work on all computers. All of this builds on Microsoft’s strategy to bring more AI experiences to Notepad, Paint, and other Windows apps. Read...

TL;DR: Permanently erase files and folders with military-grade security using the Data Shredder Stick—just $29.99 with free shipping. Some not-so-known info is that hitting “delete” doesn’t actually delete anything. Sure, your files look gone, but your hard drive’s just politely pretending. If you’re getting ready to sell an old laptop, recycle an external drive, or simply want to wipe that folder named “Taxes 2013 FINAL v3,” you’re going to want something more permanent. That’s where the Data Shredder Stick can help. This unassuming USB stick is your new digital enforcer—plug it in, and it’s ready to go full scorched-earth on your data. Simply drag and drop files into the app, and the stick’s military-grade algorithms overwrite them so completely they’re gone for good. We’re talking zero chance of recovery. Need to wipe an entire hard drive before handing it off to a new owner? The Data Shredder Stick makes it easy. Select the drive, press shred, and boom, no digital breadcrumbs left behind. Whether it’s a few old photos or an entire corporate server, this tool gets the job done. It works on as many computers and drives as you want. No subscriptions, no limits. Just plug, shred, and peace out. Get this Data Shredder Stick while it’s just $29.99 (reg. $39.99) with free shipping. Data Shredder Stick Secure Data Wiping Tool for WindowsSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Microsoft dealt a heavy blow to Windows 10 with the most recent Patch Tuesday. May’s KB5058379 update is causing some annoying problems, like making Windows request the BitLocker recovery key on startup on some Windows 10 PCs. (Windows 10 normally only requests this key when changes are made to the hardware or BIOS settings.) German blog Borncity reports on this problem as it relates to German users, but there are also reports in the US, like the one by Windows Latest. The problem affects Windows 10 computers in companies as well as PCs used privately, and information from affected users can be found both in the Microsoft forums and on Reddit. Without the BitLocker recovery key, Windows 10 remains locked and therefore cannot be used. Some affected users have to go through system recovery and restore their OS to a point in time before the update installation. But that’s not all. Even after Windows 10 starts, some users are running into blue screen crashes. As a workaround, it seems to help if you deactivate the “Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT)” option in the BIOS/UEFI. Instructions on how to do that have been provided by Windows Latest and BleepingComputer. According to Windows Latest, the problem affects computers from Dell, HP, and Lenovo running Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 10 21H2 Enterprise. Microsoft doesn’t currently mention the above issues on the KB5058379 update support page, but this is an important security patch that you should install, and Windows should install it automatically once it’s available to your PC. Unless you have a good reason, don’t skip it. Further reading: How to upgrade Windows 10 to 11, step by step Read...

CPUs and GPUs are old news. These days, the cutting edge is all about NPUs, and hardware manufacturers are talking up NPU performance. The NPU is a computer component designed to accelerate AI tasks in a power-efficient manner, paving the way for new Windows desktop applications with powerful AI features. That’s the plan, anyway. All PCs will eventually have NPUs, but at the moment only some laptops have them. Here’s everything you need to know about NPUs and why they’re such a hot topic in the computer industry right now. What is an NPU? NPU stands for neural processing unit. It’s a special kind of processor that’s optimized for AI and machine learning tasks. The name comes from the fact that AI models use neural networks. A neural network is, in layman’s terms, a vast mesh of interconnected nodes that pass information between them. (The whole idea was modeled after the way our own human brains work.) An NPU isn’t a separate device that you buy and plug in (as you would with a GPU, for example). Instead, an NPU is “packaged” as part of a modern processor platform — like Intel’s Core Ultra, AMD’s Ryzen AI, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus. These platforms have a CPU along with an integrated GPU and NPU. NPU vs. CPU vs. GPU: What’s the difference? Explained For many years now, computers have been running tasks on either the central processing unit (CPU) or graphics processing unit (GPU.) That’s still how it works on AI PCs (i.e., computers with NPUs). The CPU runs most of the tasks on the computer. But the GPU, despite its name, isn’t just for graphics and gaming tasks. The GPU is actually just optimized for a different type of computing task, which is why GPUs have been critical for non-gaming endeavors like mining cryptocurrency and running local AI models with high performance. In fact, GPUs are very good at such AI tasks — but GPUs are awfully power-hungry. That’s where NPUs come into play. An NPU is faster than a CPU at computing AI tasks, but not as fast when compared to a GPU. The trade-off is that an NPU uses far less power than a GPU when computing those same AI tasks. Plus, while the NPU handles AI-related tasks, the CPU and GPU are both freed up to handle their own respective tasks, boosting overall system performance. Why use an NPU instead of a CPU or GPU? If you’re running AI image generation software like Stable Diffusion (or some other AI model) on your PC’s hardware and you need maximum performance, a GPU is going to be your best bet. That’s why Nvidia advertises its GPUs as “premium AI” hardware over NPUs. But there are times when you want to run AI features that might be too taxing for a regular CPU but don’t necessarily need the top-tier power of a GPU. Or maybe you’re on a laptop and you want to take advantage of AI features but don’t want the GPU to drain your battery down. With an NPU, a laptop can perform local (on-device) AI tasks without producing a lot of heat and without expending inordinate battery life — and it can perform those AI tasks without taking up CPU and GPU resources from whatever else your PC might be doing. And even if you aren’t interested in AI per se, you can still take advantage of NPUs for other uses. At CES 2024, HP showed off game-streaming software that uses the NPU for video-streaming tasks, freeing up the GPU to run the game itself. By using the NPU’s extra computing power, the streaming software doesn’t take up any GPU resources… and it’s much faster than using the CPU for the same type of task. But what can Windows PC software do with an NPU, really? With an AI PC, the NPU can be used by both the operating system and the apps that reside on the system. For example, if you have laptop with Intel Meteor Lake hardware, the built-in NPU will let you run Windows Studio Effects, which are AI-powered webcam effects that provide features like background blur and forced eye contact in any application that uses your webcam. Microsoft Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs — the first wave of which were powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips — have their own AI-powered features that use the NPUs built into that platform. For example, the Windows Recall feature will require an NPU. Related: What is a Copilot+ PC? Explained Earlier this year, AMD and Intel processors gained access to Copilot+ features that were previously exclusive to Qualcomm PCs — but only AMD and Intel PCs that have the new AMD Ryzen AI 300 series and Intel Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) processors. And those are just the features built into Windows; app developers will also be able to use the NPU in a variety of ways. Don’t be surprised to see plug-ins for Audacity and GIMP that offer AI-powered audio and photo editing that’s powered by a computer’s NPU. The possibilities are endless, but it’s still early days for the hardware so it’ll be a while before its full potential is realized. Why do I need an NPU if my PC can already run AI software? Most current applications that have AI features — including Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot — don’t utilize an NPU yet. Instead, they run their AI models on faraway cloud servers. That’s why you can run things like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Adobe Firefly, and other AI solutions on any device, whether an old Windows PC, a Chromebook, a Mac, an Android phone, or something else. Adobe But it’s expensive for those services to run their AI models on the cloud. Microsoft spends a lot of money churning through Copilot AI tasks in data centers, for example. Companies would love to offload those AI tasks to your local PC and reduce their own cloud computing expenses. Of course, it’s not just about cost savings. You also benefit from the ability to run computationally heavy AI tasks on your local device. For example, those AI features will still work even when you’re offline, and you can keep your data private instead of uploading it all to cloud servers all the time. (That’s a big deal for companies, too, who want to maintain control over their own business data for privacy and security reasons.) Further reading: I tried running AI chatbots locally on my laptop — and they kinda suck Which NPUs are available and how powerful are they? Intel NPU performance is measured in TOPS, which stands for trillion operations per second. To give you a sense of what that means, a low-end NPU might only be able to handle 10 TOPS whereas PCs that qualify for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC branding must handle at least 40 TOPS. As of fall 2024, the following NPUs are available: Intel Core Ultra Series 1 (Meteor Lake): Intel’s first-generation Core Ultra NPU can deliver up to 11 TOPS. It’s too slow for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC features, but it does work with Windows Studio Effects and some third-party applications. This same NPU is found in newer “Arrow Lake” Intel gaming laptops, as well. Intel Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake): Intel’s Lunar Lake chips will include an NPU with up to 48 TOPS of performance, exceeding Copilot+ PC requirements. AMD Ryzen Pro 7000 and 8000 Series: AMD first delivered NPUs on PCs before Intel did, but the NPUs in Ryzen 7000 series processors are too slow for Copilot+ PC features, with up to 12 and 16 TOPS of performance. AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series: The NPUs in the latest AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processors can deliver up to 50 TOPS of performance, more than enough for Copilot+ PCs. Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus: Qualcomm’s Arm-based hardware includes a Qualcomm Hexagon NPU that’s capable of up to 45 TOPS. It’s worth noting that NPUs aren’t just on PCs. Apple’s Neural Engine hardware was one of the first big splashy NPUs to get marketing attention. Google’s Tensor platform for Pixel devices also includes an NPU, while Samsung Galaxy phones have NPUs, too. Bottom line: Should you get a PC with an NPU right now or wait? Honestly, it’s risky being on the bleeding edge. If you went out of your way to get a Meteor Lake laptop in hopes of future-proofing your PC for AI features, you actually got burned when Microsoft later announced that Meteor Lake NPUs were too slow for Copilot+ PC features. (Intel disagreed, pointing out that you still get all the features those laptops originally shipped with.) The silver lining to that? Copilot+ PC features aren’t that interesting yet. And most of the biggest AI tools — ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, etc. — don’t even use NPUs at all. Still, if I were buying a new laptop, I’d want to get an NPU if possible. You don’t actually have to go out of your way to get one; it’s just something that comes included with modern hardware platforms. And those modern processor platforms have other big features, like big battery life gains. On the other hand, those fast NPUs are only on the latest laptops right now, and you can often find great deals on older laptops that are nearly as fast as the latest models. If you spot a previous-generation laptop that’s heavily discounted, it may not make sense to shell out tons more cash just for an NPU, especially if you don’t have any AI tools you plan to run. As of this writing, most big AI tools still run in the cloud — or at least offer that as an option — so you’ll be able to run them on any Windows laptop, Chromebook, or even Android tablets and iPads. For desktops, the NPU situation is different. Intel’s desktop CPUs don’t have NPUs yet. You could hunt down an AMD desktop chip with a Ryzen AI NPU, but AMD’s Ryzen 7000 and 8000 series chips don’t support Copilot+ PC features anyway. So, if you’re putting together a desktop PC, set aside the NPU for now. It just isn’t that important yet. Looking for a PC with a high-performance NPU? Consider Arm-based Windows laptops like the Surface Laptop 7 and AMD Ryzen AI 300 series laptops like the Asus ProArt PX13, as well as Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptops like the Asus Zenbook S 14. Further reading: Why can’t my $3000 gaming PC run Copilot+ features? Come on, Microsoft! Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Over 3GBps reading and 2.5GBps writing Tiny, shirt-pocketable form factor Magnetic mounting ring included Astoundingly affordable for USB4 Cons Slightly off the performance pace for USB4 Our Verdict The uber-small form factor, good performance, and super-low price make the Addlink P30 one of my favorite USB4 SSDs. The magnetic mounting ring is a hoot as well, though pros might prefer faster real-world performance. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Addlink P30 USB4 SSD Retailer Price $89.44 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Absolutely the first thing you’ll notice upon unboxing Addlink’s P30 portable USB4 SSD is how tiny it is. And while not really large enough to show it off fully, it’s a good-looking little critter. It’s also light in the hand, and light on your wallet. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best external drives for comparison. What are the Addlink P30’s features? The P30 is a super-small USB4 SSD measuring a mere 2.5-inches square, by approximately 0.5-inches thick. It weighs only 1.9 ounces solo, and 2.1 ounces with the included 5-inch, 40Gbps Type-C to Type-C cable. Unlike many vendors, Addlink let us know exactly what controller and NAND are inside: a Phison PS2251-21 and 162-layer Kioxia BiCS6 TLC (Triple-Level Cell/3-bit) NAND. Thanks, guys! The back of the Addlink P30 with the included, optional magnetic ring in place. The P30 is warrantied for five years. And though I wasn’t provided a TBW rating, given that the NAND is TLC, I’d guess 600TBW per terabyte of capacity. Whatever it is, it’s highly unlikely you’ll exceed it before the warranty period expires. If you’re not familiar, TBW is terabytes written, and represents how much data you can write to the drive before it goes into read/write mode. Note that TBW is a worst-case estimate, and part of a financial liability formula. You might get a lot more — out of warranty. How much does the Addlink P30 cost? The P30 is available in 1TB capacity for $89.44 (tested) and 2TB for $158.44. That’s darn affordable for USB4. In fact, it’s about half the cost of the top-rated Adata SE920. Of course, with larger amounts of data, the SE920 borders on twice as fast, but our test P30 was slightly handicapped as a 1TB unit with less secondary cache than its rival. A 4TB version is in the works, but not yet available. The P30’s value proposition is lots of capacity in a tiny form factor. How fast is the Addlink P30? After a recent spate of compatibility issues with Sandisk and WD (Sandisk), it was a joy to test the P30, which both behaved itself, and turned in a relatively smooth performance. That said, and as just mentioned, being only a 1TB drive, it did run out of steam at points during our 48GB and 450GB write tests. Although not as fast as some larger drives (thermal considerations are no doubt a thing), the P30 is still quite fast in the grand scheme. You can see where the P30 lagged in CrystalDiskMark 8’s sequential tests below, but it still edged out the Corsair EX400U — a similar design. The P30 lagged in CrystalDiskMark 8’s sequential tests below, but it edged out the Corsair EX400U ,which is a similar design. The Addlink P30’s random performance was more in keeping with the competition in CrystalDiskMark 8. Note that we’re still puzzled by the Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD with USB4’s miserable single-queue/single-thread write score. Not to mention the reasoning behind its ponderous moniker. The P30’s random performance was more in keeping with the competition in CrystalDiskMark 8. Where the P30 really started to lag behind was in the 48GB transfers. While not horrible, they’re certainly nothing to write home about. Again, 1TB. Where the P30 really started to lag behind was in the 48GB transfers. While not horrible, they’re not particularly fast either. At twice the price, the SE920 is actually more than twice as fast as the P30 writing our 450GB file. But some of the difference was due to the SE920 having twice the capacity (2TB) and twice the secondary cache. Not to hammer the excuse, but the Addlink P30 would turn in much better 450GB write times in its 2TB or 4TB flavors. The P30 will turn in much better 450GB write times in its 2TB or 4TB flavors. Below you can see the why behind the slowish 450GB write — only about 50GB of secondary cache — i.e., TLC written as SLC to avoid the ponderous error-checking (in SSD terms) induced by multiple possible cell-voltage levels. The good news is that the write speed drops only to around 830MBps. Previous generations of NAND, especially QLC (Quad-Level Cell.4-bit) could drop to 100MBps — slower than a hard drive. Even modern QLC writes at only a little over twice that. Though not exactly what you want to see from your USB4 SSD, 830MBps is actually a very good pace for TLC written natively (no secondary caching in play). While not the best USB4 performer I’ve tested (it’s actually in last place and slower in the real-world transfers than several 20Gbps SSDs), the P30’s value proposition is lots of capacity in a tiny form factor. Given that, I’ll call it fast enough. For light data-transfer duties, it’s certainly that. Should you buy the Addlink P30? I say, have at it. This tiny P30 has found a place in my heart and one of my computers — magnetically attached of course. Cool, inexpensive (for USB4), and very portable beans from Addlink. On the other hand, if you’re after top 40Gbps performance, you’ll need to spend more bucks on an SSD such as the oft-mentioned Adata SE920. How we test Our storage tests currently utilize Windows 11 (22H2) 64-bit running on a Z790 (PCIe 5.0) motherboard/i5-12400 CPU combo with two Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 modules (64GB of memory total). Intel integrated graphics are used. The 48GB transfer tests utilize an ImDisk RAM disk taking up 58GB of the 64GB total memory. The 450GB file is transferred from a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, which also contains the operating system. Each test is performed on a newly formatted and TRIM’d drive so the results are optimal. Note that as any drive fills up, performance will decrease due to less NAND for secondary caching, and other factors. The performance numbers shown apply only to the drive we were shipped as well as the capacity tested. SSD performance can vary by capacity due to more or fewer chips to read/write across and the amount of NAND available for secondary caching (writing TLC/QLC as SLC). Vendors also occasionally swap components. If you ever notice a large discrepancy between the performance you experience and that which we report (systems being roughly equal), by all means — let us know. Read...

When Microsoft Defender is mentioned, most users think of the antivirus software included in Windows (currently called Windows Security). On the one hand, this is correct, as the antivirus engine within Windows Security is called Microsoft Defender. On the other hand, an app called Microsoft Defender is available for Microsoft 365 subscribers, which can manage the security settings of up to five devices in the local network. The difference between them is not immediately obvious. Reason enough to clarify the terms and differentiate between the two programs. Further reading: Windows Security vs. Microsoft Defender A look back at the history of Defender Defender originated from software developed by Giant, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2004. At that time, spyware and adware programs were flooding Windows computers. Microsoft felt compelled to take action. Following the takeover of Giant, Microsoft renamed the program Windows Antispyware and made it available as a free download for Windows XP. In 2005, it was integrated into the newly developed Windows Vista. Pure confusion: The Windows antivirus tool is called “Microsoft Defender Antivirus.” At the same time, however, Microsoft Defender is an app that only indirectly has anything to do with antivirus.Foundry Windows Antispyware only combats adware and spyware. To defend against malware such as worms and Trojans, users still had to rely on antivirus programs from third-party manufacturers. This only changed in 2012 with the release of Windows 8, where the tool replaced a lightweight antivirus program called Microsoft Security Essentials, which had been available as a free download since 2009. The former antispyware now recognized malware of all kinds and became an integral part of the operating system under the name Windows Defender. Further reading: Windows Defender antivirus: 5 settings to change first With Windows 10, Microsoft began to integrate Defender into a larger suite of security products that were managed via the new Windows Defender Security Center. This center is now simply called Windows Security and is used to manage the various security modules in the operating system. The former Security Center is now called “Windows Security” and summarizes the Windows 11 security modules in one overview. Foundry Windows Security can be accessed via the taskbar. You can usually find the icon by clicking on the arrow for the hidden icons. It appears as a blue shield. If there are no complaints, you will see a white tick on a green background. Alternatively, you can also access the area via the “Settings” of Windows 11 and the “Privacy and security” item. Click on the “Windows Security” button there. Overview: Windows Security Windows Security comprises several modules, all of which are more or less concerned with data protection and data security within Windows. In detail, these are: Virus & threat protection: Here you will find the antivirus tool Microsoft Defender Antivirus as well as ransomware protection, which is designed to monitor access to Windows folders. Account protection: In this area, you control the synchronization of your important data with the cloud service Onedrive as well as the Windows login options. Firewall & network protection: In this module, you have access to the Windows firewall settings. App & browser control: Windows offers extensive options for protection against dangerous apps and websites as well as phishing protection. Foundry Device security: This area includes a range of Windows-internal functions for working with the security hardware in your computer. Device performance & health: The operating system provides reports on the current security status of the computer here. Family options: This module links to an online administration — primarily for parental control settings in your Microsoft account. Protection history: A log of actions performed relating to protection against viruses and potentially unwanted programs appears here. Microsoft Defender: What the app can do Microsoft Defender Antivirus should not be confused with the Microsoft Defender or Microsoft Defender for Individuals app. The manufacturer announced the app for the U.S. market in June 2022. It is only available for subscribers to the Microsoft 365 Office package in the Single and Family versions and is installed automatically together with the Office applications. If this does not work, the app can be downloaded free of charge from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft Defender manages the security of up to four devices via a central dashboard. In addition to PCs and laptops, this also includes smartphones and tablets with Android and iOS as well as desktop computers with Mac OS. Warnings and notifications about newly recognized threats can be played out simultaneously on all devices. It is interesting to note that Microsoft Defender not only works with the internal virus guard Microsoft Defender Antivirus, but also with almost every antivirus tool on the market. For example, the app also forwards the messages from Avast or Norton antivirus programs. Microsoft Defender app. Microsoft Microsoft Defender app: Protection for multiple devices Use the “Add devices” button to extend the protection of Microsoft Defender to other devices. To do this, either scan the QR code that appears and follow the links to the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store, or the Microsoft Store. Or you can send the link to Defender in the Microsoft Store to other devices and users. You can check the security status of the current computer and the other devices that you manage via Microsoft Defender via “Device protection.” You will also find the “Security history” there, which you can also access via “Warnings and history” on the start page. Microsoft Defender centrally manages the security of all devices on which it is installed. This also includes mobile devices such as smartphones.Foundry If you click on it, it shows you in list form which actions Defender has performed on the individual devices, for example where it has removed malware or activated web protection. Mobile version of the Defender app Microsoft Defender for Android is not installed automatically, even for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Instead, you must obtain and set up the program via the Google Play Store. Only once you have signed in to your Microsoft account in the app will the mobile device on which the app is running appear in the list of protected devices. And there is something else that distinguishes the app from the Windows version: Defender for Android not only comes with its own virus scanner, but also includes web protection that warns you of dangerous websites and prevents you from downloading apps that want to spy on personal data. It also regularly displays security tips and recommendations. You can find the antivirus program and web protection on the start page by tapping on “Device protection.” On the following page, make sure that “This device” is selected at the top and go to “Protection against malware.” On the next page, you will see the “Monitor for malicious apps” function. It is active by default and checks existing and newly downloaded apps for malware. Click the “Scan” button under “Run a manual scan” to initiate an additional virus scan. Defender performs a scan every day even if you don’t click it. One page back, “Web protection” takes you to the function of the same name. It compares the web addresses you visit with a list of fraudulent or dangerous websites compiled by Microsoft and issues a corresponding warning if necessary. You can access a list of previous warnings and notifications as well as virus detections on this device via “Security history.” This function corresponds to the “Device protection” in the Windows version of Microsoft Defender. Use another antivirus program in parallel As soon as you install the virus scanner of a third-party manufacturer, Windows Defender automatically withdraws. The antivirus program you have chosen is now responsible for monitoring the system for suspicious actions. Only if Windows detects that this software is out of date, has expired, or is not working properly will the Defender come back into play. Enable Microsoft Defender Antivirus if you want it to continue working alongside a third-party antivirus program Foundry However, you can also run additional scans with Defender using a functioning third-party product. To do this, open “Virus and Threat Protection” in “Windows Security”, click on “Microsoft Defender Antivirus options” and set the “Regular Scan” switch to “On.” As soon as new virus definitions are downloaded, the Defender now performs a quick scan once a day. Read...

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There’s a part of me that really hates AI because it has taken work away from me and my colleagues. And even though I find it useful for certain things, I’d prefer humanity wasn’t replaced by AI. That said, AI is indeed useful. Over the past few years, ever since ChatGPT blew us away with its conversational skills and agentic abilities, I find myself using some form of AI tool almost every day. Sometimes it’s just to chat—I quite like gushing to an AI chatbot over a new show I’m watching without risking spoilers—but more often than not, these AI-driven apps are slowly transforming the way I work and live my life. I’m not about to let them take over completely just yet, but I’ll begrudgingly admit that I’m also unwilling to give up AI altogether. All that to say, AI was once seen as a mere gimmick but has successfully evolved into something greater. Here are some of my favorite AI-assisted apps that I actually use on a day-to-day basis. Adobe Photoshop for Generative Fill Removing the name on this Nvidia graphics card would be tough if left to my own devices, but Generative Fill can take care of it in a snap.Jon Martindale / Foundry When Adobe introduced its AI-powered Generative Fill feature back in 2023, it was billed as a way to create masterpieces in record time by quickly adding and removing elements from images via text prompts. That’s all well and good, and I’m sure people are using it to great effect, but I really only use it for one thing: image cleanup. Every time I write an article like this one, I have to grab a few images for illustrative purposes. Usually that’s a screenshot or two, but it can sometimes involve product shots, stock images, and other specific photos related to whatever I’m writing about. The problem is, the images are never quite exactly what I need. That’s where Generative Fill comes into play and saves the day. Normally I’d have to painstakingly cut out bits, clone areas, use the healing brush over imperfections, expand the image, copy and paste backgrounds, crop to a specific aspect ratio… But these days? I can just describe what I need and have Generative Fill do it for me. Want to remove something? Just draw a box around it and leave the Generative Fill prompt blank—it’ll wipe out whatever is there and blend the gap into the background. Same goes for expanding the dimensions of an image without stretching, or hiding personally identifiable information behind something more complicated than a simple blur filter. Generative Fill isn’t perfect—and that’s good because it means I keep my Photoshop skills sharp—but it is a massive time saver and one of the most effective AI-driven tools of the last few years. PDFgear for AI editing and answers PDFgear has a built-in AI chatbot that analyzes documents and answers questions. Unfortunately, it’s not smart enough to help me win—yet.Jon Martindale / Foundry My seemingly lifelong search for a capable-yet-free PDF editor ended last year when I discovered PDFgear. But not only is it a free PDF editor that can do everything the big players can do—including annotations and signatures—it also has a built-in AI assistant that’s genuinely useful. PDFgear has an AI chatbot that can perform various editing tasks with speed and precision, making it a useful tool for tweaking complicated documents without introducing formatting errors or compromising the original aesthetics of the document’s design. It can annotate, extract data and images, or even just talk to you about what’s in it. I especially like it for finding information in complex board game rulebooks. Sure, a good index or glossary goes a long way, but asking a natural language question of the Twilight Imperium Living Rules is much faster than flipping back and forth through the 30-ish pages of endless text. My eyes slip off that like water from the proverbial duck’s back—but with AI, it’s fast, easy, and accurate. My colleague reviewed PDFgear and found it excellent with robust AI features worth using, so I’m not alone on this one! ProWritingAid for AI suggestions ProWritingAid If you thought otherwise, let me break it to you: professional writers use spell check. While my colleagues and I used to debate whether tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid were “cheating,” that ship has long since sailed. These days, it’s almost expected—and why not? Sure, my editor could catch all my typos and grammar mistakes, but AI tools can go way beyond that. ProWritingAid makes me a better writer, period. To be clear, I don’t use ProWritingAid to generate text for me. Instead, I use it to analyze what I’ve written and point out all the areas where my writing could be improved. Maybe I’ve inadvertently used passive voice, or maybe I reuse the same phrasings too often, or maybe sentences can be worded more clearly. It’s useful, and the persistent presence of these reminders makes me improve over time. ProWritingAid is like a voice on my shoulder reminding me that I can always do better with tighter copy. I appreciate it. Microsoft 365 Copilot and Designer Jon Martindale / Foundry Microsoft has been all-in on AI since ChatGPT made its major debut, but despite Copilot integrations in Bing Search and Windows 11, they’ve struggled to find a real purpose for it beyond the basics offered by other AI chatbots. That said, one area where I’ve found legitimate use for it? The various integrations across Microsoft 365 apps. I’m a LibreOffice user at heart, but even I’ve been enjoying Copilot’s quick text generation in Word and slide generation in PowerPoint. Asking where something is within a massive document of hundreds of pages is so convenient, and when I want to whip up a quick draft of a document to give me a baseline to work with, it saves a ton of time. Copilot really came in handy recently when I was invited to give a talk to a couple of classes at my kids’ school about how computers work. I haven’t used PowerPoint in decades, so it was a real treat to be able to boot up the latest version and have Copilot and Designer jointly generate for me a simple presentation template which I could then tweak and update according to my own needs. Literal hours saved. I like to think of myself as a PC expert, but I’m not an expert in every app. Fortunately, with Copilot and Designer, I don’t need to be. ChatGPT for everything else Jon Martindale / Foundry ChatGPT has evolved into a catch-all AI tool for me over the past year. Whether it’s having a spoiler-free conversation about the latest episode of Severance, using it to learn how to code my first game project, going back and forth to practice roleplaying D&D characters, or even treating it like a virtual counselor, it’s become a fantastic tool with practical results. I even asked it to help me reword my responses in an argument with a family member to be less combative—and it worked! In my work life, I use ChatGPT to spit out briefs for articles I’m writing to help me hone in on the structure I’m looking for. I use it as a quick and dirty alternative to a thesaurus, and to find information on the web that Google just can’t seem to for some reason. Again, ChatGPT is far from perfect and I’m not about to rely on it—or any of the tools on this list—for mission-critical tasks, medical diagnoses, financial advice, etc. But for those moments where I could use the help of someone else to tackle something simple, I’m finding that ChatGPT and other AI apps hold an increasingly useful place in my heart. Further reading: I paid $200/mo for ChatGPT Pro. Was it worth it? Read...