Time is running out for older PCs running Windows 10, with less than a year to go until the operating system gets the axe. If you’ve no interest in buying a new computer, an upgrade to Windows 11 may sound like the smartest, easiest choice… but you’d be wrong. Sure, you can install Windows 11 on just about any PC, as the news this week emphasized. It doesn’t mean you should. The operating system won’t behave the same across the board. Newer hardware will get Microsoft’s full support. Computers unable to meet the minimum system requirements (aka a whole bunch of aging PCs) won’t and Microsoft warns of potential compatibility issues and no entitlement to updates. The wording is low-key, but the real-world experience for those older PCs could be rough.  For example: This year, Microsoft withheld the 24H2 update for Windows 11 from PCs at risk of incompatibility or crashes due to an issue with select USB scanners. This move kept the day-to-day experience of supported Windows 11 computers smooth and hassle-free. But older PCs aren’t guaranteed such consideration. An update could rollout and break functionality severely, and you’d be stuck. On the flip side, Microsoft could also choose to not push certain updates to incompatible PCs—which may include security patches and features. Without fixes for zero-day vulnerabilities, hackers can exploit them in order to, say, take over your PC or add code that steals sensitive data (e.g., financial info). Such outcomes can cost you real time and money. Realistically, Windows 11 on incompatible hardware isn’t a true upgrade. It’s a concession from Microsoft that hides the price consumers must pay for the company’s goal of more secure computing. You can cough up now (by upgrading to a newer PC or investing time in switching to and learning Linux), or kick the can further down the road by doling out $30 for extended Windows 10 support. Don’t offer up your sanity instead; the potential headaches down the road aren’t worth it. Read...

Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are one of the most effective ways to keep your data private and secure while online. They encrypt and hide our confidential web activity and are a key component in helping us to navigate safely while connected to the internet. As VPN usage continues to increase globally these apps are quickly becoming a cornerstone of our online security. Due to this importance, it’s worth looking at what’s in store for the next-gen VPNs to see how they’ll continue to provide us privacy and security into the future. From VPNs utilizing blockchain to new encryption standards even quantum computers can’t break—and maybe even anonymity for your smart appliances—here are the coming advancements in VPN tech I’m most excited for. Further reading: Best VPN services 2024: Top picks for speed, price, privacy, and more Blockchain technology is coming to VPNs The decentralized node structure of a dVPN may be the way of the future.NordVPN Decentralized VPNs, or dVPNs, offer a new twist on VPN technology and they are quickly growing in popularity. By distributing network functions across many nodes rather than routing traffic through one company’s centralized servers, they can theoretically afford better privacy and security to users. A dVPN runs on a peer-to-peer network that leverages blockchain technology. Decentralized nodes, operated by volunteer hosts, eliminate single points of failure and ensure that no single entity has control over every user’s data. Due to a dVPN’s more democratic functioning, they are also seen as being more resistant to censorship and government data sharing. Just over the last year or two, decentralized VPNs have started to gain traction in the global market. So does this mean crypto bros are about to take over your VPNs? Not likely. While dVPNs certainly seem like an attractive offer, more so with all of the hype surrounding everything crypto and blockchain nowadays, this decentralization doesn’t inherently mean a better experience.  With a traditional VPN, you have to put your trust in just one company. But this company, assuming you choose wisely, will run regular audits to prove it’s trustworthy, has a vested interest in keeping its network secure, and has the financial backing to continually make improvements to its applications. Using a dVPN on the other hand means that you have to trust each volunteer node host. Depending on how the dVPN company operates, these hosts may not be required to prove their trustworthiness or the privacy of their nodes.  So, while dVPNs are sure to become a popular choice for those seeking decentralized privacy, there will still be a place for traditional VPNs in the future. What is most likely is that you’ll see two separate markets develop, one for dVPN services and another for traditional centralized VPN services. It will then be up to you as the user to choose which you believe is best suited to protect your data. The post-quantum encryption revolution is upon us Post-quantum encryption will become the new standard for VPNs in the near future.Pixabay In August of this year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) made history by releasing the first quantum-resistant encryption standards. Outside of a few overly enthusiastic cryptographers, this news might not have made a splash but it’s set to have huge implications for the future of online privacy and security. Researchers and tech companies are racing to build quantum computers that will have the capability to crush the encryption standards of today’s machines in mere minutes—something currently impossible. So, how does this relate to VPNs? Well, VPNs are heavily reliant on cryptographic protocols for securing communication on their networks. When you connect to a VPN, it encrypts your traffic by scrambling the data into an unreadable form, thereby preventing third parties from viewing and understanding that data. If a quantum computer with vastly greater computational power were to get ahold of this same encrypted data, it could decipher it with ease. These new ‘post-quantum’ encryption standards will not only set the bar for VPN providers in the coming years, but also provide a roadmap to help them become more secure. “Post-quantum” encryption will become a selling point that VPNs will advertise and market to consumers. For users, it might seem like a boutique feature now, but once quantum computers are up and running—most experts believe it could be within the next decade—you’ll absolutely want your VPN to be using these new standards. We’re already seeing some VPN providers offer ‘post-quantum’ encryption. Just recently NordVPN took the initiative and launched an app with post-quantum support. Others such as ExpressVPN and Surfshark have also implemented their own versions as well. It’s only a matter of time before this becomes the new norm for all VPNs.  VPNs will soon protect your refrigerator, too The all encompassing internet of things, or IoT, refers to a network of connected devices that communicate and share data with each other. For most people, this takes the form of smart home devices such as thermostats, TVs, lights, refrigerators, and home security systems. Thanks to IoT devices we now have more control over our environment than ever before. When it comes to cybersecurity however, smart devices are generally some of the most vulnerable and least protected pieces on your home network. Cybercriminals love to exploit IoT devices and in many cases, simply hacking one device will give them access to everything else. VPNs are out to change this in the near future. By providing fully integrated home network security, a VPN can encrypt and protect communications for all of your devices. Unlike the typical personal VPN that requires you to connect each individual device, IoT VPNs extend across an entire network to safeguard all devices. At home this can already be done via a router VPN.  Unfortunately, there are still a few drawbacks to using a router method. Many VPN providers still impose simultaneous device connection limits that can be taken up quickly by all of your IoT devices. Router VPNs also create a single point of failure meaning you need to make sure failsafes, such as an automatic killswitch, are set up correctly. This all requires a bit of technical know-how which the average layperson may not have. Routers with built-in VPNs, like Aircove from ExpressVPN, are just one of the ways that next-gen VPNs will protect all of the devices on your home network. ExpressVPN VPN companies are working on new and innovative solutions for at-home IoT coverage. More and more services are switching over to unlimited device connection models. Others such as ExpressVPN have even started selling their own routers, ready to go right out of the box, with the VPN built into them. VPNs are likely to begin offering configurable IoT options in their mobile apps as well. This will allow users to easily control which devices on their home network are connected through the VPN, all in a centralized hub. So in the future, even the AI-generated grocery list from your smart fridge will be encrypted and secure from prying eyes. Read...

Google just showed off Willow to the world, its mind-blowing quantum chip that absolutely destroyed an intensive benchmark. What would normally take today’s fastest supercomputers about 10 septillion years to complete — or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years — was accomplished in just 5 minutes with Willow. Willow isn’t just a technological triumph, though. It’s a full-blown scientific breakthrough in quantum computing research. Google has published a study in Nature that addresses one of the biggest challenges in quantum technology: error correction. The study shows that as more “qubits” are added to a quantum computer, the better the error suppression becomes, making the technology more scalable. Qubits, which are the individual units of information in quantum computers, can exist in the state of 0, 1, or both at the same time (unlike the binary “0 or 1” bits in traditional computers). This opens up computing possibilities that were previously unthinkable. The potential of quantum computers is massive. They can be used to develop new medicines, design advanced battery technologies, or pave the way for fusion reactors. But with this power comes risks, such as the possibility of creating new viruses, breaking encryption codes, or using the technology for surveillance and weapons development. Read...

If you need Windows 11 for your PC, you have two options: Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Professional. The Pro version is (obviously) the more expensive of the two because it offers a variety of extra features. The most compelling extra is full-featured BitLocker drive encryption for securing your data, as well as an intriguing Sandbox feature for testing software, plus some other stuff. But what if you’re just a regular home user? Are these additional features worth paying a bit more? Here’s what you need to consider. Windows 11 Pro and BitLocker encryption BitLocker drive encryption is the main reason to get Windows 11 Professional. BitLocker is a full-disk encryption feature that protects your files from unauthorized access. If your PC is ever stolen or misplaced, nobody will be able to access your protected files without signing in as you. It’s an essential modern security feature. Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap right now Windows 11 Pro Both Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Professional include some disk encryption features, but Microsoft’s BitLocker encryption is much more powerful, flexible, and configurable on Windows 11 Pro. On a PC running Windows 11 Home, you only get “Device Encryption.” When you sign into your Windows PC with a Microsoft account, Windows 11 Home automatically enables BitLocker encryption and saves your recovery key to your Microsoft account. Curious whether Device Encryption is enabled on your PC? Head to Settings > Privacy & Security > Device encryption. If you don’t see the option, your PC doesn’t support it. New Windows 11 PCs do, but some older PCs that were upgraded from Windows 10 may not. Chris Hoffman / IDG Device Encryption is an adequate solution for many, but it’s limited. For example, you must sign in with a Microsoft account, and you must store your recovery key in your Microsoft account online, and you can’t use it to encrypt external drives. That last one might be a big deal. If you want the full-featured BitLocker experience, you’ll need Windows 11 Professional. You get a lot more options for configuring BitLocker the way you want it, plus you get BitLocker To Go for encrypting files on portable USB drives, SD cards, and other external storage devices. Other restrictions in Windows 11 Home Apart from BitLocker, you aren’t missing out on that much else in Windows 11 Home. After all, Microsoft wants to sell those expensive Pro licenses to businesses, so it makes sense that most of the restrictions involve business-oriented features. For example, a PC running Windows 11 Home can’t join a domain or an Azure Active Directory setup. It also doesn’t have access to the Private Catalog feature in the Microsoft Store, which allows businesses to deploy their own apps to their PCs. These are things you’d never need to do on a home PC — they’re for computers being managed by a workplace. Chris Hoffman / IDG Similarly, you can’t set up a Windows 11 Home PC as a Remote Desktop server. In other words, you can’t Remote Desktop into a Windows 11 Home PC, but you can Remote Desktop from a Windows 11 Home PC into a Windows 11 Pro PC. (If you really need to remote into your home PC, you can always turn to third-party remote desktop tools.) Windows 11 Home also doesn’t have access to Microsoft’s Hyper-V software for creating virtual machines. This, too, can be done using other virtual machine apps like the now-free VMWare or VirtualBox. The Home version of Windows also doesn’t have access to the Local Group Policy Editor, which is mainly used by businesses to centrally configure their PCs. That said, the Local Group Policy Editor is a convenient way to adjust some system settings that would otherwise require modifying the registry instead. But is it so useful that it’s worth shelling out extra for a Pro license? Not really. Exclusive Sandbox in Windows 11 Pro Apart from a more fully featured and configurable BitLocker encryption experience, and apart from the business-oriented features that aren’t in Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro also offers another big feature called the Sandbox, which is really useful but admittedly niche. The Windows Sandbox uses Hyper-V software under the hood to give you a fresh, isolated Windows system that runs in a separate “sandbox” window every time you launch it. This separation gives you a way to test potentially sketchy software or malware to see what happens, all without modifying or affecting your actual operating system. And when Sandbox is closed, it destroys all the data within it — even if the sandboxed environment is infected with malware, it’s contained and wiped out as soon as it’s closed. Simply restart Sandbox and you once again get a fresh, untainted Windows system. It’s one of our favorite Windows features for security, especially when paired with a reputable VPN. It’s honestly so good that if you can find a use for it in your day-to-day, the Sandbox feature alone can make the upgrade to Windows 11 Pro worth it. Windows 11 Home vs. Pro: Pricing If you’re buying a Windows 11 license for a PC you’re building, Microsoft sells Windows 11 Home for $139 and Windows 11 Pro for $199. However, there are ways to find cheaper Windows 11 licenses. You can upgrade any Windows 11 Home PC to Windows 11 Pro whenever you want for just $99. Just head to Settings > System > Activation, expand the “Upgrade your edition of Windows” section, then click the Open Store button to get started. Chris Hoffman / IDG If you’re buying a Windows 11 laptop or desktop PC that comes with Windows 11 preinstalled, most will include a Windows 11 Home license. But some PCs do come with a Windows 11 Professional license, too. (Usually higher-end PCs marketed for business use.) And some PC manufacturers let you pay a few extra bucks for Windows 11 Pro while customizing your new PC during the shopping process. Windows 11 Pro is worth it if… Ultimately, Windows 11 Pro is worth it for two big reasons: the full-featured BitLocker experience and Windows Sandbox. If you don’t plan on signing into your PC with a Microsoft account, I recommend opting for Windows 11 Pro so you can securely encrypt your PC’s storage drives. And if you’re intrigued by Sandbox, that’s another good reason to plunk down cash for Windows 11 Pro. Even at retail prices, it’s only an extra $60 over Home. Of course, if you’re running a business, then Windows 11 Pro also makes sense for its business-oriented features, like domains and Azure Active Directory to centrally manage PCs, or the Local Group Policy Editor. Microsoft has gone out of its way to ensure that these features require the more expensive Windows 11 Professional license. Otherwise, most home PC users shouldn’t need anything more than Windows 11 Home, especially if you sign into Windows with a Microsoft account. That’ll get you the Device Encryption feature, which is almost as good as full BitLocker for average Windows users. Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap right now Windows 11 Pro Read...

It solves in five minutes a problem computers now would need 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years to work out, Google says. Read...

Microsoft has finally incorporated the updated WebUI 2.0 framework in the latest versions of Edge for Windows 11, which significantly improves the company’s browser performance, reports Windows Latest. The updated framework reduces loading times for elements of the user interface, resulting in a faster and more responsive experience. For example, “Browser Essentials” should now load 42 percent faster while the “Favorites” bar opens 40 percent faster than before. These improvements should be particularly noticeable on lower-performance computers, such as those with less RAM and without SSD storage. For budget laptops, this adds one more reason to consider Edge over Chrome as your day-to-day web browser. Microsoft will gradually convert more elements of Edge to WebUI 2.0, instead of doing the entire browser at once, so expect to see even more incremental performance boosts over the months ahead. Further reading: The fastest web browsers, tested and compared Read...

The EU-style regime aims to stop big tech locking down their platforms. But we are still a long way from making smartphones a truly open ecosystem, like home computers. Read...

Though it was a bit rough around the edges in terms of backwards compatibility, my first look at 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 storage reveals a very nice uptick in performance — about twice the 40Gbps of Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 in certain benchmarks. Logical. By way of comparison, that’s roughly as fast as an NVMe SSD on the PCIe 4.0 bus. And a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is exactly what’s inside the OWC Envoy Ultra portable drive I used to test Thunderbolt 5 storage. Note that you’ll see 120Gbps listed in the Thunderbolt 5 specs, but that’s uni-directional output for driving multiple high-resolution displays. Bi-directional transfers such as those used by storage devices are “limited” to 80Gbps, or roughly 6- to 7GBps after overhead. How well does Thunderbolt 5 work? Mark Hachman / IDG My debut look at Thunderbolt 5 came courtesy of the aforementioned Envoy Ultra attached to a Thunderbolt 5, 32GB Maingear ML-17 (Mk. II) laptop. Obviously, I wasn’t able to use the 59GB RAM disk in my standard test PC for 48GB transfers, but the T-Force NVMe SSD in the laptop provided a decently fast substitute. Alas, the Envoy Ultra completely failed to appear on our official Asus ROG Strix Z790-I (Thunderbolt 4) test bed. It didn’t appear in the BIOS, disk manager, or the Thunderbolt utility. The issue is being cooperatively investigated by OWC, Intel, and Asus as the drive failed to enumerate on an Asus Maximus Z890 Hero board as well. In case you weren’t aware, Thunderbolt 5 is supposed to be full backward compatible with versions 3 and 4. Further, only the newer Sonoma and Sequoia versions of macOS would recognize the Envoy Ultra for use on my Apple Silicon Mac Studio, though it was enumerated on the Thunderbolt bus in System Info as far back as Ventura. Sequoia is required for Intel-based Macs. Finally, I was unable to test on older Thunderbolt 2 systems as the Envoy Ultra sports a captive Type-C cable which prevented me from employing Apple’s Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter. This is an extremely small sample size of equipment, so I’m not sure just how pervasive the issues are, but there have been rumblings around the industry about the current state of compatibility. It’s definitely toe-in-water-time for Thunderbolt 5 — even for early adopters. Note that after a Z790-I BIOS update (9901) provided by Asus on November 25th, 2024, the Envoy Ultra was recognized and performed as expected. Further reading from another PCWorld expert: My first Thunderbolt 5 experience has been a massive bust What Thunderbolt 5 gear is available? Another Thunderbolt 5 laptop currently shipping is the Razer Blade 18. Both Asus and Gigabyte have announced a slew of motherboards that either feature Thunderbolt 5 or sport headers so they can be upgraded to it via add-on cards. Can you upgrade older computers with add-on cards? According to my inquiries, no. There are some clever engineers and hackers out there, but there are timing issues and other factors that make porting backwards highly unlikely. Yup, you’ll need new stuff to get Thunderbolt 5 speeds. And note that neither Thunderbolt 4 or 5 are compatible with older Thunderbolt 2. How fast is Thunderbolt 5 storage? How about 6GBps sequential reading, and nearly 4GBps sequential writing with multiple queues? Then there’s nearly 4GBps sequential reading and writing single-queued. That’s a very nice bump up from the previous highs of around 3GBps multi-queued and 2.5GBps single-queued delivered by 40Gbps USB 4. It’s about what we’d expect from doubling bandwidth from 40Gbps to 80Gbps. You can see the evidence below from CrystalDiskMark 8. The Thunderbolt 5 OWC Envoy Ultra absolutely rocked CrystalDiskMark 8’s sequential throughput tests. However, when it comes to random performance under CrystalDiskMark 8, the test picture painted no particular improvement. This stands to reason as increased throughput isn’t going to help any drive find/seek data faster. Random performance, according to CrystalDiskMark 8, is little improved over 40Gbps technologies. To reiterate, this was a pre-production drive on a brand-new laptop rather than our official test bed. As I had to transfer my 48GB files from SSD to SSD I omitted those results. However, in total with this arrangement the Envoy Ultra still finished a mere second slower than the first place OWC 1M2 — easily within the margin of error for these tests. The ATTO benchmark thought highly of the Envoy Ultra, if not as highly as CrystalDiskMark 8. We also omitted the results for our usual 450GB write as it’s more a test of the SSD inside and the amount of secondary cache it offers, rather than the speed of the bus. The Envoy Ultra was on pace for a stellar result if it hadn’t slowed to 1.2GBps when secondary cache was exhausted. Again, official Envoy Ultra numbers will have to wait until we upgrade our test bed to Thunderbolt 5. The test results above are simply to illustrate the rough difference between Thunderbolt 3/4, USB 4, 10Gbps USB, and Thunderbolt 5 performance. In summation, there was a marked increase in sequential transfers — with multiple queues and with only one. On suitably fast systems, it should save you time. Once again, random ops are minimally improved so don’t expect an uptick in lots-of-small-files scenarios. Note that these tests were run on a pre-production version of the Envoy Ultra, though OWC did eventually get a shipping version to us. What does Thunderbolt 5 mean for you? Thunderbolt 5 is here and you probably want it (we do), even if it saves you only modest amounts of time in the real world. Time is money, of course, but to see a profit, you’ll have to overcome some hefty initial investments — the 2TB OWC Envoy Ultra I tested is $400 and the 4TB is $600. Gulp. Thunderbolt 5 motherboards and Windows laptops are priced for the top-shelf as well, and the high cost-to-performance ratio carries over to the Mac. Only high-end newbies such as the Mac Mini (M4 Pro) offer Thunderbolt 5. Long story short… For the nonce, Thunderbolt 5 is for adventurous early adopters, enthusiasts, and prosumers who actually need the speed, and have the software and hardware to take advantage of it. This is par for the course with any new technology, though we don’t remember these kind of compatibility issues with Thunderbolt 4. Most folks will be just fine with less expensive and — at the moment — more trustworthy 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4, including our top-rated external drive, the Adata SE920. Read...

Linux is available in countless variations. Thanks to such diversity, there are even a few Linux variants that have similarities to Windows. For anyone curious about Linux, this familiarity with Windows could make adoption of the alternative OS less intimidating. Regardless, of your motivations, we present three Linux distros that feel like Windows: Wubuntu (formerly: Linuxfx / Windowsfx) Zorin OS Linux Mint Each system has its advantages and disadvantages. All three are available in a free version, although paid versions are also available for Wubuntu and Zorin-OS. Wubuntu: Looks outrageously similar to Windows Wubuntu’s start menu is very reminiscent of Windows 11, the menu in the notification area at the bottom right less so. Overall, however, no other Linux comes closer to the look of Windows 11. IDG No other Linux system comes closer to the look of Windows 11. This is not necessarily due to matching icons, background images, or the mouse pointer. The centerpiece of Wubuntu‘s masquerade is the “System settings” program, which is really very similar to the “Settings” in Windows 11. At first glance, it hardly differs from the Windows model. This makes it easy to find your way around the basic settings such as screen resolution or network configuration. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro However, the similarity between Wubuntu and Windows always ends when you start a program or open a more in-depth system menu. This also applies to Wubuntu’s system settings, which are only fully available if you purchase the Pro version for $35. However, we cannot recommend the Pro version as we don’t believe it adds sufficient value. The manufacturer has created shortcuts to Microsoft’s Online Office in the Wubuntu start menu. However, these did not work during our test.IDG As with Windows 11, the Wubuntu start menu is arranged in the center and is very similar to the Windows model. If you click on it, a nice collection of Linux programs is displayed. These include the Chrome browser, the mail program Thunderbird, and the office package Only Office. The Dolphin file manager is a little too colorful in Wubuntu, but is certainly useful. The shortcuts to Microsoft Online Office under “All apps” in the start menu are striking. However, none of these worked in our test. That’s not dire. Online Office can also be operated under Wubuntu via the Chrome browser, which is available with Wubuntu. Wubuntu also has similarities with Windows in many other areas. For example, if you drag a program window to a corner of the screen with the mouse, it snaps into place. The key combination Win + . launches the emoji menu. Both work in the same way as under Windows. Start Windows programs: Wubuntu already has the Wine runtime environment installed. This means that EXE files, i.e. Windows programs, can also be started under Linux. However, this only works with a few, mostly older and not too complex programs. Requirements: The system requirements for Wubuntu are low. A 2GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, and 25GB of space on the SSD or HDD are sufficient. However, better hardware is recommended to ensure that the system runs smoothly. The maker of Wubuntu has adapted the settings most closely to model Windows 11. In the sub-menus of the settings, however, the similarity diminishes considerably in some cases.Wubuntu Advantages: Looks very similar to Windows 11 in some respects, such as the Start menu and settings. Some useful programs are pre-installed. Under the bonnet runs Ubuntu 22.4 LTS, for which updates will be available until April 2027. KDE Plasma is used as the desktop, which can also be configured very precisely independently of the Windows masquerade. Disadvantages: Wubuntu is the project of a single developer. Compared to Ubuntu or Linux Mint, the system is hardly widespread. Accordingly, there is only a small community that can help with problems. The Pro version promises a further approximation of the Windows interface and thus tempts users to buy it. From our point of view, its value is low. The repeated error messages when starting programs or configuring the system are also annoying. These occurred so frequently in our test that we cannot recommend Wubuntu for productive computers. Notes on installation: When booting from DVD or USB stick in BIOS mode, or in UEFI mode, the system starts in live mode when “Wubuntu 11” is selected. In this way, Wubuntu can be tested without making any changes to the PC. Installation on the hard drive is carried out via the desktop icon “Install System.” If Windows is already installed on the PC, this is usually recognized and Wubuntu is installed in parallel. After installation, an icon in the bottom right-hand corner offers to check for updates for the system. Click on it to start the update management. Evaluation: If you are curious about Linux but still want a Windows interface, you can try Wubuntu. However, the masquerade hardly makes it any easier to use. At the latest when problems occur, you have to get to grips with the Linux system. The larger the Linux community behind a system, the better. With Wubuntu, it is small. Anyone seriously considering switching to Linux should consider Zorin-OS or Linux Mint. Wubuntu is more of a fun project for people who already know a little about Linux but want a Windows look. Zorin-OS: Beautiful Linux with Windows start menu The Zorin Appearance tool makes it easy to change the appearance of the start menu. A Windows 10-style menu is also available in the free Zorin-OS Core version. Zorin The Linux system Zorin-OS is aimed at Windows switchers and focuses on external similarities. However, it does not go as far as Wubuntu. In the “Zorin Appearance” program, you can select menu styles that are reminiscent of Windows 10, Windows 11, or MacOS. There are four styles to choose from in the free version of Zorin-OS. If you want to have the look of Windows 11, you have to go for the Pro version and get a total of eight menu styles to choose from. For this reason, however, we would not recommend the Pro version. There really isn’t that much similarity. At best, the Pro version is interesting because you receive installation support by email. However, we were unable to test how good and comprehensive this is. Apart from the menu style, Zorin does not endeavor to resemble Windows any further, but instead tries to offer a simple and coherent user interface. The system does this well. Even new users should quickly find their way around. The selection of pre-installed software is good. Any programs missing from the free Zorin version can be easily installed via “Start menu > Software.” Under the hood is Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, for which updates will be available until April 2029. Gnome is used as the desktop, which is reliable but not very flexible. The range of software in Zorin OS is typically very good for Linux. The included system programs — for example, for data backup, are clearly structured.IDG Requirements: Zorin-OS 17.2 is available in three versions. The free Zorin-OS Core is suitable for all current PCs. Zorin-OS Lite should also run on computers that are up to 15 years old. And Zorin-OS Pro, which primarily offers installation support. Advantages: Zorin-OS is a visually appealing system, regardless of the similarity to Windows in the start menu. There is also a good support page at https://help.zorin.com, although this is only available in English. Disadvantages: Anyone who decides to purchase the Pro version can use version 17 indefinitely, but will probably only receive updates for it until 2029. A version update will be required to receive security updates after that. If you then want to continue using the Pro version, you will have to pay again. Installation instructions: Boot your PC from a DVD or USB stick with Zorin OS. You then have the choice between “Try Zorin-OS” to start a live system and “Install Zorin-OS.” If you select the installation option, you can accept the wizard’s default settings. For “Installation type,” the system reports whether it has recognized an already installed Windows and asks whether it should be installed in parallel. If the hard drive is empty, Zorin-OS also reports this and offers to format the hard drive. In both cases, LVM hard drive encryption can be selected via “Advanced functions,” which is recommended when installing on notebooks that are used on the move. A click on “Install now” asks for a few more details and then copies the system to the hard drive or SSD. Evaluation: Zorin-OS is not only characterized by a certain similarity to the Windows start menu, we also find Zorin-OS to be a well-rounded system that runs reliably and keeps the hurdles to system operation low. If you want to switch to Linux and like the aesthetics of Zorin OS, you can’t go wrong with this system. Linux Mint 22: Top upgrade system With themes and icon packs in the Windows 10 style, Linux Mint can be dressed up like Windows.Linux Mint Linux Mint is particularly suitable for new users. This is less due to the start menu, which is similar to that of Windows 10. It is rather due to the careful configuration with sufficient software and good system management tools. You get to know these immediately after installation when the Welcome Wizard guides you through the first steps of the system setup. Hardly anything is reminiscent of Windows (at first), but almost everything is designed to be understandable and sensibly organized for those interested in technology. To give Linux Mint the visual similarity to Windows that we need when selecting a system for this article, we will give a few tips below that dress Mint up in a Windows guise. Like Zorin OS,Linux Mint 22 uses Ubuntu 24.04 LTS as its foundation and thus offers updates until 2029. However, the creators of Mint always go to great lengths to make upgrades to the next version easy. With this theme, Linux Mint is already a good step closer to Windows 10. If you also get an icon pack from the internet, the similarity increases significantly.IDG Requirements: As a minimum requirement, the Mint team specifies at least 2GB RAM (recommended: 4GB RAM) and 20GB (recommended: 100GB) on hard drive or SSD. Advantages: Linux Mint offers well-made tools for system administration, an extensive software compilation, and passable support for hardware drivers and media codecs. The system runs reliably and there is a large community to help with problems. Disadvantages: To get the Windows look, you have to do it yourself. Notes on installation: If you boot Linux Mint from a DVD or USB stick, Mint starts automatically as a live system. The installation on the hard disk is then carried out via the desktop shortcut “Install Linux Mint.” The second question of the installation wizard is “Install multimedia codecs.” Tick the box to be able to play all media formats. After the installation, the Mint welcome window opens and offers the “Getting Started” wizard. This does not have to be run immediately. However, it is worth going through the wizard once shortly after installation. The effect of the B00merang Project icon pack is clearly visible in the Linux Mint file manager. It appears in a convincing Windows 10 style. IDG Tips for the Windows look: To make Linux Mint look like Windows 10, you need, among other things, an icon pack from the B00merang project. Unpack the archive and use the Mint file manager called “Files.” Then select “View > Show hidden files” and create the “.icon” folder in your “Personal folder” via “File > Create new folder.” This is your user directory or home folder. Copy the contents of the “Windows 10 Master” icon zip archive into the “.icons” folder. Now start “Menu icon >Settings -> System settings > Themes > Add/Remove.” Enter Windows in the search field and then load “Windows 10 Light Theme” by clicking on the arrow symbol to the right of it. Now go back one window using the arrow at the top left and select “Themes > Advanced settings.” Here, click on the button behind “Desktop” and select “Windows 10” from the list at the bottom. Do the same with “Applications.” Under “Icons,” select “Windows 10 Master,” i.e. the icon pack that you previously unpacked into the .icons folder. You can find a suitable desktop background for the Windows 10 look on Wallpaperhub (also for Windows 11). After downloading the file, right-click on it in the file manager and select “Set as background.” There are other customization options, such as downloading a different mouse pointer or moving the start menu to the center of the taskbar. For starters, Linux Mint already looks a lot like Windows. Evaluation: Linux Mint is particularly suitable for new users. It runs stably, comes with useful tools, and can be easily customized to look like Windows 10 using the tips above. Anyone seriously considering switching from Windows to Linux should give Linux Mint a try. Conclusion When recommending a particular Linux, it’s not just the look of a system that should be taken into account — as tempting as that may be for those switching to Windows. Because the visual proximity to Windows almost always ends when you have to delve a little deeper into the system — for example, for further system configuration, troubleshooting, or problem solving. And then it is important that the Linux system used offers simple tools for these purposes. Another criterion is the number of users. If many people use a system, it is easier to find a solution to your problem on the internet. Both are the case with Linux Mint: It offers a large community with many help forums on the internet. And it offers sophisticated tools for system configuration. This is why Linux Mint is our recommendation for those switching from Windows to Linux. If you want a visual similarity to Windows, you can at least imitate the look of Windows 10 under Mint with our tips (see above). Zorin OS offers good software features and ran stably in our tests. It is also a pretty system, regardless of its proximity to Windows. It can be considered as an alternative to Windows. Wubuntu is a curiosity. Its creator has clearly gone to great lengths to make this Linux look like Windows 11. However, the system does not always run smoothly, which manifests itself in frequent error messages. Wubuntu is therefore more for the curious who want to see something unusual. We do not recommend it as a changeover system. Read...

Fancy doing something more with your home network? Or are you already up and running with a NAS device, a simple server of some kind, or a bunch of smart home gadgets you’d like to get more control over? Join us for this collection of advanced networking tips. 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 1. Switch to alternative router software Do you have a reasonably powerful router but have become curious about more advanced features missing from the settings? You don’t necessarily need to buy a new router or build your own, but alternative software can go a long way. Openwrt is one of the oldest open source router software projects, and is still being developed so that it can be installed on many router models from different manufacturers. Long ago, DD-WRT was common, but that project has not been updated for a long time. Tomato was another popular option, but died many years ago. Freshtomato is the name of a variant that has kept going and can still be a sensible alternative. Foundry For users with an Asus router, there is the Asuswrt-Merlin project with the same user interface as the bundled system, but with a number of additional features and settings. It is definitely the easiest way to get started with alternative software. Openwrt is the most capable option, with support for features like VLAN and advanced quality of service features like Smart Queue Management. However, it’s also a little trickier to install and has a steeper learning curve for beginners. Simply Nuc 2. Separate router/firewall and Wi-Fi Workplaces almost always use separate devices for different parts of the network, each specializing in its own task. Access points for Wi-Fi, switches to connect different devices (including the access points) via Ethernet, and a router to link the local network with the internet. Firewalls are often built into routers, but can also be separate devices. This division obviously requires more fiddling than a combined router/switch/access point, but the setup can be useful even in homes, especially if you have many devices of different kinds. If you’re curious and want to try it out, you can do so relatively cheaply by keeping your current router (or mesh routers if you have a set of them), set to act as an access point. Most routers have this setting. Then you install any open router operating system of your choice, either on an old computer you have on hand or a new cheap one — Openwrt works well on Raspberry Pi, for example, but you can also go for a more advanced operating system like Pfsense or Opnsense on a mini PC with an Intel or AMD processor. All you need is at least two Ethernet connectors and a reasonably powerful processor. For Raspberry Pi, you can get an additional connector with a so-called HAT+. There are models with dual 2.5 gigabit connectors. Finally, get a switch and connect both your old router or routers and the new router to it. The cable from the wall that you normally connect to the router’s WAN connector, you connect to a different port in the new router. In the settings for Openwrt or whatever you have chosen, you then set the two connectors to act as WAN and LAN respectively. The hardware in a mini PC like an Intel NUC is significantly more powerful than any consumer router and makes it possible to run advanced security features, for example. Wi-Fi access point with multiple VLAN-separated networks.Anders Lundberg 3. Network segmentation with VLAN If you’re using guest networking on your router today, you’ve had a taste of what’s possible with a technology called VLAN. VLAN separates traffic on the network so that it can be kept apart for different purposes. This is done at a basic level and is set up in routers, switches, and Wi-Fi access points. By creating different VLAN, different devices can be kept separate in different address spaces and with different sets of rules in the firewall. Among home users, perhaps the most common use case is to create a VLAN for IoT — the internet of things, i.e. smart home gadgets. This makes it easy to protect other devices in the home in case a connected device is hacked or already contains malware, and to block internet access for devices that have nothing to do with the internet. In my own home, I’ve done this to switch off the internet for all smart home devices, such as cameras that want to connect to the manufacturer’s servers — you’ve probably heard about how Ring, for example, has repeatedly mixed up different customers’ cameras so that customers have been able to watch video from each other’s homes. I use my cameras locally using the Home Assistant smart home center and Scrypted software, with Apple’s Homekit for remote control because I trust Apple more than various more or less unknown manufacturers. Without VLAN, this would be much more complicated, and less secure. Another common use is a so-called demilitarized zone (DMZ) for servers that should be open to the internet. For example, say you run a Minecraft server so that you and/or your children and grandchildren can play with each other, and you want it to be accessible from outside. With a DMZ-VLAN, it’s easy to do this in a reasonably secure way by setting the firewall to prevent the server from accessing the rest of the network. Foundry Getting started with VLAN Setting up VLAN isn’t really super complicated, but how you do it differs greatly in different router operating systems and a step-by-step description would take up the rest of this article. My recommendation if you are interested is to search for guides to VLAN on the system you are using, for example on Youtube. For Openwrt, this guide from Open Source is awesome, with both video and text. If you want to use VLAN with gadgets that connect with an Ethernet cable, it’s a good idea to get a so-called managed switch, that is, a switch with a simple operating system and settings you can access over the network. Ubiquiti’s Unifi is a popular product line among networking enthusiasts, and in addition to such switches, it also offers Wi-Fi access points that make it easy to create separate wireless networks for devices that will use different WLANs. It works like a more advanced form of guest networking, where you set the rules for how connected devices can communicate with the internet and other parts of the network. In my home, I have three Wi-Fi networks, two of which are virtual, each connected to a different VLAN: one for the family’s various phones and computers, one for smart home gadgets and one for guests. I also have a couple of smart home hubs connected by cable to a managed switch. In the settings of the switch, I have set those particular connectors to use the same VLAN as the wireless smart home network. As I said, the smart home devices usually have no access to the internet and are only allowed to communicate with the regular network via something called Multicast DNS (MDNS), which in my case is required to get updates via Apple’s Homekit, for example when someone rings the doorbell. Foundry 4. Pi-Hole for advertising- and tracking-blocking across the network On mobiles and computers, it’s relatively easy to install content blockers that stop advertising and especially web tracking. But on TVs and other gadgets, this is rarely possible. One way to effectively protect the entire home network including such devices is with Pi-Hole. Pi-Hole is a local DNS server with blocking of malicious, inappropriate, or unwanted domains. You add one or more links to blocklists, and Pi-Hole takes care of the rest. There are specific lists for advertising, tracking, malware, pornography, and various others. The name comes from the Raspberry Pi, and with very low system requirements, it’s a great use case for an older model of the small computer. Stop other DNS services When you have your own DNS server like Pi-Hole, it can be a good idea to block devices in your home from connecting to other DNS servers. You can do this with the firewall in your router. For a traditional firewall, it involves two rules. One that blocks all traffic over TCP and UDP on port 53 and one that allows the same traffic with destination Pi-Hole. Exactly how you do this differs between different manufacturers. Foundry On Asus routers, use the Network Services Filter tab under Firewall. Activate the function and make sure that the filter table is of type Allow List. Then fill in four rules as shown in the image below. Replace 192.168.0.99 with your Pi-Hole’s IP address. The slightly reversed rules will open all traffic except UDP on port 53 for all devices, and also port 53 for the Pi-Hole. You should also set the router itself to use the Pi-Hole’s IP address as DNS under WAN, and as DNS server for devices connecting via DHCP under LAN > DCHP Server. The catch with this solution is that devices with hardcoded DNS servers will not work properly, as the rules only block connections to other DNS servers and do not forward all DNS traffic to Pi-Hole. If you switch to the alternative software Asuswrt-Merlin (see above), you can use the LAN > DNS Filter function instead. Set Global Filter Mode to Router and add a rule to not filter traffic from Pi-Hole’s IP address. Today, some devices and individual programs and apps bypass your regular DNS with the DNS over HTTPS (DoH) technique, making regular port 53 blocking ineffective. It can be partially stopped with a blocklist of known DoH servers (here is an example https://github.com/dibdot/DoH-IP-blocklists/blob/master/doh-domains.txt), but it is a cat-and-mouse game. Foundry 5. Access your home from outside securely with a VPN server Have you bought a NAS device or built a server of some kind, for example for gaming or media streaming? Then you may have wondered if it is possible to access these from outside, when you are not at home. Opening ports in the router to let yourself in is risky, as bots constantly scan the network for possible entry points. A safer way is to run your own VPN server and only open one port for it. Some routers also come with a built-in VPN server that makes it easier to get started and provides secure access to services on the home network. There are a bunch of different VPN protocols. In the past, PPTP and L2TP were common, but the former is insecure and newer technologies are better than the latter. Today, Openvpn and Wireguard are most common. Newer Asus routers have a built-in VPN server with several different technologies to choose from. Here’s how to set up Wireguard so you can connect to devices on your home network, without sending all traffic through the tunnel. Foundry Open the router settings and click VPN in the menu on the left. Click on Wireguard VPN. Click the plus button on the right on VPN Client in the bottom right. Enter a name for the user and click More Settings for Site to Site. You can leave the Address and Allowed IPs (Server) as they are, but if you only want to send traffic going to your local network at home over the VPN tunnel, change the Allowed IPs (Client) to your local network’s address range, for example 192.168.0.0/24 if all devices in your home have addresses starting with 192.168.0. If you have 192.168.1 addresses, it will be 192.168.1.0/24 and so on. Click Apply. Foundry It will now display a QR code that you can scan from the Wireguard app on your mobile phone to easily connect to your home. You can also export the settings to add the connection on devices that cannot scan QR codes. If you prefer, you can leave Allowed IPs (Client) at 0.0.0.0/0 and all traffic from the device you connect with will be sent over the tunnel, and then your home will act much like a commercial VPN service. This can come in handy if you’re abroad but want to browse as if you’re at home, or if you have a Pi-Hole server that blocks adverts and other stuff and want to use it no matter where you are. Read...