It’s time for a new addition to Logitech G, the company’s gaming-specific brand of accessories. Today, Logitech is launching its brand-new G522 gaming headset, which builds on the popular G733 headset but is now part of its award-winning G5 series. Logitech The Logitech G522 is equipped with Pro G drivers and is able to deliver clear and detailed audio in 48kHz and 24 bits. The built-in microphone supports Blue Voice and 48kHz 16-bit audio recording, and you can also apply different filters to the microphone audio. To improve comfort during longer gaming sessions, Logitech has introduced some new quality-of-life features to the G522. The headset now has wider cups and more memory foam, and the weight is now distributed more evenly across the headband. Overall, the headset should fit well even if you wear glasses or earrings. Logitech You’ll have three options for connecting the Logitech G522 to your computer or gaming console: via USB-C cable, via Bluetooth, or via Logitech’s proprietary Lightspeed wireless tech with dongle. The Logitech G522 will be available in black and white colorways, and will also feature some RGB bling. The headset is now available for purchase with a suggested retail price of $159.99. Read...

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 was released back in November 2024, but it wasn’t a smooth launch. Not only did cloud server issues raise frustrations across the player base, but there were numerous bugs and other technical problems that ruined the experience. In our own test, we saw for ourselves that while Microsoft and Aerosoft had delivered a solid gaming experience, there were still some areas that needed improvements. Fortunately, the developers have been working on MSFS 2024 tirelessly in the months since. Last week, Aerosoft released a huge patch called Sim Update 2, which fixes over 5,000 bugs. The corrections involves everything from general game features to graphical glitches to aircraft model enhancements to improved overall stability and performance. Patch 1.4.20.0 is the biggest update for MSFS 2024 to date, rectifying most of the worst issues and making the game more than playable again. But will it be enough to convince players who turned their backs on the game to return? According to SteamDB, MSFS 2024 has been hitting a 30-day peak concurrent player count of about 4,000 players, which is a far cry down from the all-time peak of 24,000 concurrent players back in November. In addition, the Anniversary Edition of MSFS 2020 remains more popular among Steam users. And with the game’s availability on Game Pass, those numbers should be even higher than that. It’s been about a week since the Sim Update 2 patch dropped, and so far it doesn’t seem to have moved the needle on player count very much, and that’s despite useful improvements like weather effects and a new career mode. But the developers are nevertheless working hard on further updates. According to the blog post, the next big patch is already in the works and can be tested by beta players. Read...

Microsoft has begun testing a new power-saving technology within Windows, as well as assigning AI actions to a right-click menu within File Explorer. Microsoft is also tweaking the way in which widgets are laid out, letting Copilot handle the decisions itself. Microsoft published the changes as part of the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.4151 (Beta Channel) and Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5603 (Dev Channel), which share many of the same features. By testing these features, Microsoft doesn’t necessarily have to commit to eventually rolling them out, although many appear to be under consideration for a more general release. Under the hood, Microsoft said that it’s testing out what it calls User Interaction-Aware CPU Power Management, “an OS-level enhancement that helps reduce power consumption and extend your battery life.” Laptops can drop into various power states, such as idle or hibernate; this appears to be slightly different. “After a period of inactivity on your PC, Windows now conserves power by automatically applying efficient power management policies, Microsoft says. But it’s difficult to say when this will happen, how sharp the decline in performance and power will be, and how much your laptop’s battery life will improve as a result. Microsoft does promise that when you begin working again, your device will regain full performance. Microsoft is also applying “Click To Do” assignments to File Explorer. Right-click a file, and you may see options for Bing Visual Search, Blur Background, Erase Objects, and Remove Background. Click to Do in File Explorer within Windows.Microsoft Essentially, what Microsoft is doing is using these right-click commands as a macro of sorts. Right-click a file and select “Blur Background,” for example, and Windows will open the Photos application, use AI to distinguish the subject from the background, and then blur the background. “Bing Visual Search” will “open” the file and then visually search for it, using Bing. Only JPEG and PNG files are supported. We will add Microsoft 365 files and actions over the coming weeks, summarizing files (without even opening them explicitly!) and creating FAQs. A Copilot-generated file summary.Microsoft Although the file name should serve as its summary, hovering over a shared file and seeing what it includes could be rather handy. How do you feel about widgets? I tend to forget that they’re hiding behind the small weather icon to my lower left. But if you do click them, several suggested stories and small apps open up. In this case, you might see a relatively mammoth block open up, as Copilot begins suggesting either stories or packages of stories. Here’s the way that will look: Microsoft’s new Copilot-authored design in Widgets.Microsoft This Copilot Discover view can be toggled on and off. Microsoft is also testing some smaller changes: Snipping Tool: Although WIN+SHIFT+S launches the Snipping tool, a new feature — Text Extractor — is receiving its own shortcut, WIN+SHIFT+T. Windows Share: When sharing documents, you can specify the image quality (affecting the size of the image) as either High, Medium, or Low Quality. Microsoft Taskbar Search: Microsoft will tell you whether a searched document is in the cloud or on your PC. Quick Settings: The accessibility settings now come with text descriptions. Developer settings are now available, under Settings > System > Advanced. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Lightning-fast with light loads Very affordable 2230 form-factor is suitable for smaller devices such as Steam Decks Cons Slows to 750MBps during very long writes PNY doesn’t disclose the TBW rating Our Verdict With light-to-average workloads the CS2342 is an absolutely fantastic performer — the fastest I’ve seen in the 2230 form factor. But for very long writes, it falls well behind the competition. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: PNY CS2342 2230 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Retailer Price PNY $96.99 View Deal $99.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket PNY didn’t fib in its PR — the CS2342 is a mega burner with smaller data sets. In a class of its own. It’s an excellent choice for everyday use or a Steam Deck. Alas, the relatively sparse allocation of secondary cache means it’s definitely not the drive you want for writing large data sets. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best SSDs for comparison. What are the PNY CS2342’s features? Why PNY chose to name a 2230 (22mm wide, 30mm long) drive the CS2342 when there’s a 2242 form-factor for M.2 SSDs is a puzzler. Yes, there’s a 3 in there rather than a 2, but I did a double-take before I had it out of the box. I’m guessing that more than one buyer will be confused. The CS2342 is truly a 2230 form factor, PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe, M.2 SSD — designed to fit in Steam Decks and other small form-factor devices. The controller is a Phison PS5027-E27-75 host memory buffer (system memory as primary cache) type, and the NAND is fast, layered TLC (see the performance discussion). PNY warranties the CS2343 for five years, but this is mitigated by a TBW (terabytes that may be written) rating: 600TBW per 1TB of capacity, the norm for TLC, though finding this on the website is impossible. Most users don’t write nearly as much data as they might suppose, so chalk this up as a largely non-issue. Unless of course you’re a journalist trying to relay facts or a user trying to find them. How much does the PNY CS2342 cost? The pricing of the CS2342 is $96.99 for the 1TB version and $161.99 for 2TB, and about $6 less on Amazon, at the time of this writing. That’s a little cheaper than the WD SN770M and Corsair MP600 Core Mini competition (see the performance section) when we checked on Amazon for this review. The cost of 2230 SSDs is a bit high due to the whole wring-every-last-buck-out-of-gamers thing that Nintendo recently doubled-down on. To that I say, give me MAME. How fast is the PNY CS2342? The CS2342’s performance is highly dependent upon the size of the data set you throw at it. As you can see below, it torches the competition in CrystalDiskMark 8 — with a 32GiB test load. That’s a good 2GBps faster than the competition both reading and writing with the lighter load. Certainly nothing to sneeze at. Alas, I standardized on the 64GiB test load long ago, with which the CS2342 was still impressive while reading, but not nearly so when writing. For most users, the CS2342’s combination of affordability and lightning-fast sequential transfers with smaller data sets makes it the 2230 SSD to buy. This is rippingly fast, boys and girls. A good 2GBps faster reading and writing than any other 2230 SSD I’ve tested. It’s too bad I can’t make the write speed official. The issue is the relatively small amount of secondary cache allotted. Writing anything much beyond 70GB drops speed to the 750MBps native write rate. This affected a number of tests. Note that slowdown shown below only occurred when I didn’t give the drive time to recover after a previous 48GB write. While a 750MBps NAND native write rate is actually spectacular, you buy NVMe for multiple gigabytes per second. That’s what you get, but only with relatively small data sets. As you can see by the point the speed dropped off. On the sunny side, the 750MBps native write rate is far faster than that of older TLC or current QLC, both of which can drop to hard drive speeds. But it’s not the 3GBps you get with the secondary cache in play. Bummer. As I just hinted at, while the controller doesn’t allot more secondary cache on the fly, give it a few minutes off and it will replenish the supply Below are the CS2342’s CrystalDiskMark 8’s 64GiB work load performance numbers. The write is considerably lower than the 6GBps shown in the first graphic, though the 7GBps read speed remains impressive indeed. Though the PNY CS2342’s numbers in CrystalDiskMark 8’s sequential throughput tests are good, they’re nowhere near as good as they were with the smaller 32GiB work load. The PNY CS2342 held its own in CrystalDiskMark 8’s 4K tests, though I was hoping for some more spectacular numbers. Ah, well. The PNY CS2342 held its own in CrystalDiskMark 8’s 4K tests. The 48GB file write time in the chart below is with the drive completely empty with plenty of secondary cache available. If you stack the file and folder and single-file writes, you will get lower numbers as shown in the second graphic in this section. As secondary cache tends to be a percentage of available NAND, it’s a good bet that the 1TB drive allots only around 35GB of secondary cache and would turn in a slower time. Still, it’s the fastest of the three drives overall. The PNY CS2342 bested its rivals in our 48GB transfer tests. It’s very quick unless you, again, exceed the available secondary cache. As you can see below, the shortage of secondary cache severely affected the 450GB write time, which slowed at, yes, around the 70GB mark. A 10 minute write time isn’t tragic, but the competition will save you loads of time in this scenario. The shortage of secondary cache severely affected the 450GB write time, which slowed at, yes, around the 70GB mark. With smaller data sets, the CS2342 is capable of far better sequential write performance than the drives it’s compared to. With larger data sets, not so much, though the stellar read rate remains number one. Stay within the allotted secondary cache and you’re all good. Fall outside of it and you’ll see the slowdowns. This is true with all SSDs, it just happens sooner with the CS2342. Should you buy the CS2342? For most users, the CS2342’s combination of affordability and lightning-fast sequential transfers with smaller data sets makes it the 2230 SSD to buy. However, if you regularly write larger amounts of data, look to one of its rivals. 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...

As a long-time Windows geek, I’ve always loved and relied on keyboard shortcuts. They’re incredible! Like a collection of secret handshakes that can quickly perform useful tasks and dramatically speed up whatever you’re doing on your computer. Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro And yes, keyboard shortcuts are rather secret. Windows doesn’t provide a coach that guides you through the hundreds of keyboard shortcuts you might find handy. They’re just… there. In the background. So, you usually have to seek them out or find out about them the old-fashioned way: by talking with other PC geeks and reading helpful articles like this one. Let me show you the greatest and most practical keyboard shortcuts I actually use all the time. 1. Launch File Explorer If you’re like me, you use File Explorer a lot. With a keyboard shortcut, it’s always close at hand — simply press Windows key + E to launch a new File Explorer window whenever you need one. Related: Useful File Explorer tips to keep under your belt 2. Go straight to Task Manager You probably know the basic Ctrl + Alt + Delete keyboard shortcut, but if you’re using it to open Task Manager, there’s actually a better way: instead, use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut. Related: How to access the old Task Manager in Windows 11 3. Open the Settings app Want to change a setting in the operating system? You usually have to do it through the Settings app. Instead of searching the Start menu, there’s actually a keyboard shortcut you can use: Windows key + I. Then, you can search directly in the Settings app for what you need. 4. Dig through clipboard history Chris Hoffman / IDG Did you know that every time you copy an image or text to the clipboard, Windows keeps a running history of it all? The usual Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut only pastes the last thing you copied — but if you want to paste something you copied much earlier, you can! All you have to do is pull up the clipboard history with the Windows key + V keyboard shortcut. (If you’ve never opened it before, you’ll be prompted for permission to activate the feature.) What’s nice about the clipboard history is that you can even pin certain copied items to the panel, making them quick to find in the future. Related: Obscure Windows features everyone should know about 5. Insert emojis anywhere Chris Hoffman / IDG Love ’em or hate ’em, emojis have become part of modern communication — and Microsoft knows this, which is why Windows makes it easy to input emojis in nearly any application. All you have to do is press the Windows key + Period or Windows key + Semicolon keyboard shortcuts. Then, use the search field to find the emoji you want (or just scroll through to browse). 6. Type with your voice Chris Hoffman / IDG Windows lets you input text with your voice in nearly any application. To pull up the voice typing interface, just press Windows key + H. You’ll see a floating window (on Windows 11) or a bar (on Windows 10). This feature is called Voice Typing. You can use the settings menu in the window/bar to activate features like automatic punctuation. (By default, you’ll have to speak words like “period” while you dictate text.) Related: I wrote this article using Windows voice typing 7. Discover the power user menu When Microsoft got rid of the Start menu in Windows 8, they at least had the courtesy to throw a bone to power users: a hidden “power user menu” with quick access to various system settings. And even though Windows 10 brought back the Start menu — which persists into Windows 11 — the power user menu never went away. To open it, press Windows key + X (or right-click the Start button). 8. Lock your computer To protect your computer from unauthorized access — especially in an environment like an office or campus — you should lock your computer whenever you step away. To quickly lock your PC, simply press the Windows key + L keyboard shortcut. 9. Control sound settings Chris Hoffman / IDG If you have multiple sound output devices (e.g., speakers, headphones, wireless earbuds) or multiple sound input devices (e.g., laptop microphone, headset, external microphone), you probably switch between them a lot. Well, you don’t have to dig deep into the Settings app to change between them. You can actually just press the Ctrl + Windows key + V keyboard shortcut to pull up the sound settings menu. It’s also a shortcut to adjusting system volume and per-app volume (using the sliders) and a quick way to pop into the Sound section of the Settings app (by clicking More volume settings). This feature is new to Windows 11, so isn’t available on Windows 10. 10. Snap windows The Snap feature is an essential window management tool for multitasking on Windows 11. You can easily “snap” app windows to edges of the screen using your keyboard. For starters, use Windows key + Left arrow and Windows key + Right arrow to snap the currently focused window to either the left half or right half of the screen. Similarly, use Windows key + Alt + Up arrow and Windows key + Alt + Down arrow to snap windows to the top half or bottom half of the screen, respectively. You can also use shortcuts to move windows to quadrants of the screen. For example, after snapping a window to the left half (using the above keyboard shortcut), keep holding the Windows key and tap the Up arrow to snap it to the top-left quadrant. 11. Activate Snap Layouts Chris Hoffman / IDG As if Snapping itself wasn’t useful enough, Windows 11 also has an additional Snap Layouts feature that makes it easier to snap windows into various configurations. To activate Snap Layouts, use the Windows key + Z keyboard shortcut. You’ll get a pop-up with numbered options — simply press the associated number key to choose that window layout. You can also see Snap Layouts by hovering your mouse pointer over the Maximize button of a window. Or, drag any window to the center-top edge of the screen to see Snap Layout options. Related: New Windows 11 features that make life easier 12. Toggle between windowed and full-screen modes in PC games Many PC games offer both windowed and full-screen modes. If you want to switch between them, it can be quite a hassle to navigate to the game’s settings menu, especially if you do it often. Here’s a faster way to switch between windowed and full-screen modes in many PC games: just press Alt + Enter. This doesn’t work in every game, but it does work in many of them. It’s the first thing I try whenever I want to switch between full-screen and windowed modes. 13. Jump between virtual desktops Windows 11 has a feature called Task View that lets you create “virtual desktops” that you can switch between. A virtual desktop is like a separate instance of “the” desktop, and each virtual desktop can hold its own set of running app windows. There are several keyboard shortcuts for the Task View experience, such as Windows key + Tab, which makes it easy to create new virtual desktops, delete existing ones, and jump between them. But once you’ve created a few virtual desktops, an even easier way to switch between them is to use the Windows key + Ctrl + Left arrow and Windows key + Ctrl + Right arrow keyboard shortcuts. Related: Master these Windows 11 productivity features 14. Move windows between monitors Do you have a sprawling workstation setup with multiple monitors? You can move windows from one screen to the next by pressing Windows key + Shift + Left arrow (to move the currently focused window to the left display) or Windows key + Shift + Right arrow (to move the currently focused window to the right display). 15. Open the classic File Explorer context menu right away On Windows 11, File Explorer has changed a lot from what it was before, particularly with a streamlined context menu. But some options are only found in that classic, old-school context menu. Rather than first opening the context menu and then selecting Show more options (or even hacking your registry with a workaround), you can actually just use a keyboard shortcut to quickly open the old context menu right away: hold down the Shift key while right-clicking in File Explorer to see the classic context menu. This feature is new to Windows 11, so isn’t available on Windows 10. 16. Edit text faster The Ctrl key is one of my favorite underutilized tricks when it comes to fast text editing. In short, holding down Ctrl makes most keys act on entire words rather than individual characters. For example, Backspace deletes the previous character, but Ctrl + Backspace deletes the previous word. Another example, Left and Right arrows move the cursor by one character, but Ctrl + Left arrow and Ctrl + Right arrow moves the cursor from word to word. And it works with the Shift key, too. By holding Shift, you can highlight text as the cursor moves — so, if you want to quickly highlight multiple words in a row, just hold Ctrl + Shift and then tap the Left and Right arrows. (Try holding Shift with the Home and End keys to highlight entire lines of text with just a few keystrokes!) 17. Reopen a closed browser tab All the modern web browsers — including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge — let you quickly reopen tabs that you’ve closed. It’s easy to remember, too: if the Ctrl + T keyboard shortcut creates a new tab, the Ctrl + Shift + T keyboard shortcut reopens the last closed tab. 18. Alt + Tab in reverse Alt + Tab is one of the most iconic Windows keyboard shortcuts. But, if you have a lot of open windows to cycle through, it may make more sense to cycle in reverse sometimes. In that case, just press Shift + Alt + Tab to go backwards through the list of open windows. And that’s not all: while the Alt + Tab dialog is open, you can also use the arrow keys to instantly jump to the selected thumbnail’s window. 19. Rename files quickly Want to quickly rename a file? With a file selected in File Explorer, just press F2, type the name, and press Enter. I like to navigate between files using the arrow keys, then use the F2 key to quickly rename them. Or better yet: after pressing F2 and typing a file name, press the Tab key (instead of the Enter key) to immediately start renaming the next file in the folder. 20. Save a screenshot as a file Chris Hoffman / IDG The built-in Windows screenshot tools have gotten better, but sometimes you want to skip the tools and immediately save as an image file. To save a screenshot to disk without all the intermediate steps, press Windows key + Print Screen. Your screen will flash as Windows saves the screenshot. After that, you’ll find the screenshot in the Screenshots folder inside your user account’s Pictures folder. Related: How to take smarter screenshots in Windows More Windows productivity tips Honestly, as useful as these keyboard shortcuts are, they’re only scratching the surface of what’s buried in Windows. I’m always hunting down useful tips and features to share with the readers of my free Windows Intelligence newsletter! Be sure to check out this unusually hidden shortcut that works in the Task Manager, too. It blew my mind last year. Even for a grizzled PC geek like myself, there’s always more to discover in Windows. Read...

Antivirus software is an essential piece of protection on any Windows PC. On an internet where malware is only becoming more and more profitable for organized crime, you don’t want to be without a good antivirus program. But there are a lot of myths floating around out there about antivirus software. Let’s bust them. Myth: You need to install antivirus on Windows You don’t have to install antivirus software on Windows because Windows already comes with antivirus software. In fact, Windows has had built-in antivirus software since Windows 8, and it’s still included on Windows 10 and Windows 11 today. The built-in Microsoft Defender antivirus is part of the Windows Security suite of tools. It’s as basic as it comes, but completely free and runs automatically in the background, even if you never think about or install antivirus software. Windows Security Read our review Now, you may prefer another antivirus — other antiviruses have extra tools, protection features, and options, and they use different detection engines. But the good news is that every Windows PC has a baseline antivirus package. We’re long past the days of Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP nagging you to install antivirus software when you set up a new PC. Microsoft’s antivirus gets out of the way when it needs to, automatically disabling its automatic background scanning features if you choose to install a third-party antivirus. You just don’t have to think about it. Myth: Only Windows is vulnerable to malware Malware (including viruses, Trojans, worms, rootkits, ransomware, and all kinds of other appalling things) is a problem on all platforms. Yes, even Linux is vulnerable to malware threats — just check out the recent XZ Utils backdoor saga that nearly saw a rootkit slipped into a critical piece of open-source software. Or, consider the Linux distribution Ubuntu labeling a malicious app that stole people’s cryptocurrency as “safe.” Linux malware often targets server software, as Linux is so much more popular in data centers than on the desktop. I’m not trying to single out Linux here! The reality is that malicious software is a problem on all platforms — even Linux. No platform is above the fray. People may say Macs don’t need antivirus, but Apple actually has an antivirus-style system built into macOS. It’s named XProtect. Various companies also make antivirus programs for Macs. Further reading: Windows includes built-in ransomware protections. Here’s how to turn it on Myth: Antivirus will slow down your PC dramatically Antivirus software runs in the background, scanning files when you download them and before you open them. Before an application launches, your antivirus gives it a quick check and warns you if it appears to be malicious. Now, obviously this will use some system resources. Your PC is doing a bit of extra work. But we’re not in the ‘90s or early ‘00s anymore. Back then, PCs were much slower. Antivirus software just felt so heavy to use, and you could feel it slowing down your PC at times. I remember it well! But that was long ago. Modern antivirus applications shouldn’t slow your PC down in a noticeable way. If it takes 2 percent longer to launch an application, will you notice? Not really. Those shouldn’t be constant slowdowns, either — they should occur when you launch an application and the antivirus is checking it out, not all the time while you do things on your PC. Avast one`s virus scans have no real affect on system performance Avast One Read our review Plus, unless you’ve gone out of your way to disable its background scanning (I recommend against it!), Microsoft’s Defender antivirus is already running in the background on your PC, scanning for malware. When we benchmark PCs here at PCWorld, we leave the standard Defender antivirus running. So, even if you chose to swap out the built-in Defender antivirus for another antivirus, you’d just be trading one antivirus for another — not adding an extra performance cost on top. In some cases, antivirus software may slow down a workload: If you’re compiling software, for example, and you have a folder where a large number of files are being created, you may want to simply “exclude” such a folder from your antivirus’s scanning. That’s the most you should need to do. When antiviruses perform their heavy full-system scans, that will definitely slow things down further while they’re running. But those scans are usually scheduled to happen while you’re not using your PC. You shouldn’t notice them at all. Myth: You have to run antivirus software manually There’s no need to regularly open your antivirus program, click the “Scan” button, and wait for the results. Your antivirus is automatically scanning in the background to protect you, checking files when you download and launch them. It’s also performing this type of comprehensive system scan on a schedule — in the background — when you aren’t using your PC. Your antivirus will let you know if it finds as problem. Windows Security is always running in the background on a modern Windows PC — unless you install another antivirus.Chris Hoffman/IDG Save yourself the trouble and avoid the time-consuming manual scans — unless you’re concerned your system might have malware and you want to check all the files on your PC’s storage right now. Scanning like this is just one of many outdated security practices you no longer need to follow. Myth: Antivirus will protect you from all threats Antivirus software isn’t completely perfect. Now, I know this is sort of an obvious statement. But I’ve seen many people act like antivirus will provide them perfect protection and run into trouble. You should think of your antivirus software as a last line of defense. If all your normal security precautions fail or an application you use has a dangerous zero-day flaw that lets an attacker gain access to your PC, your antivirus program is there to pick up the slack and stop malware from running. the best overall av protects against many other threats as well Norton 360 Deluxe Read our review But it’s not perfect. Antivirus software catches malware in several ways. For example, it looks for known-dangerous application files — programs that have been seen before that the antivirus knows is bad — and uses heuristics to attempt to guess whether a newly seen file is dangerous or not. Neither method will catch everything. And Windows Security doesn’t even try to protect users from phishing email attacks or surfing potentially dangerous websites (though many premium AV suites off this). While antivirus is an important layer of protection, it’s not a good idea to rely totally on it. In particular, it’s an extremely bad idea to pirate software and games — if you’re running pirated application files, cracks, key generators, and similar sketchy things, you’re exposing yourself to a lot of potentially dangerous things. Antivirus isn’t guaranteed to protect you from all of them. Myth: You don’t need antivirus if you’re careful On the other hand, some people think antivirus is only necessary for less-experienced computer users without ideal security practices. The idea is that, if you’re careful and smart, you can skip the antivirus and get back that little bit of performance. But this isn’t really true. Malware isn’t just something you get infected with when you’re not careful. Attackers can exploit zero-days in applications you use, and you could be infected simply by viewing a compromised web page. All it would take is the right flaw in your web browser. The Downfall mod for Slay the Spire was compromised and used to spread malware through Steam’s software update system.Chris Hoffman/IDG Also, take a look at Steam: Steam developer accounts have recently been compromised and used to serve malware through Steam game updates — and mod updates. Hopefully Steam’s update system won’t deliver malware to your PC, but it illustrates that it doesn’t just matter how careful you are. A solid antivirus could provide a good layer of protection against attacks like this. Myth: Antivirus will completely protect you Antivirus isn’t all you need to protect yourself — and your PC — online. It’s an important part of the puzzle, but you need more than that. Scam websites and phishing emails are dangerous on every device — not just Windows PCs, but also smartphones. You still need to browse carefully, keep an eye out for scammy-seeming emails, avoid downloading dangerous junk, and not get tricked into giving passwords, payment info, and other personal details to bad websites. Antivirus programs and web browsers do have phishing protection — but, like antivirus scanners, it isn’t perfect. A good password manager is particularly important. Using strong, unique passwords everywhere is critically important. But, unless you have a photographic memory, you’re probably not going to remember dozens (or hundreds) of strong unique passwords for all your accounts. A good password manager is the solution to keep your accounts secure. By the way, even if you do install another antivirus on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC, you don’t have to pay for one. There are great free antivirus programs you can install if you’re not looking to pay for one of PCWorld’s favorite antivirus programs, though the premium versions tend to protect against more types of threats (such as malicious links, webcam hacks, and privacy monitoring) and offer additional features (like VPNs and parental controls). Want more PC advice? Subscribe to my free Windows Intelligence newsletter to get all the latest tips, tricks, and news sent straight to your email inbox. the best antivirus overall Norton 360 Deluxe Read our review Read...

TL;DR: Windows 11 Pro is down to $14.97 through June 1, its lowest price to date (reg. $199). Most PC gamers obsess over graphics cards, RAM, and frame rates… but the operating system? It’s usually an afterthought, and that might be a mistake. Whether you’re on Windows 10 or Windows 11 Home, upgrading to Windows 11 Pro may be the difference between an ordinary and an extraordinary gaming experience. Windows 11 Pro introduces DirectX 12 Ultimate, delivering higher frame rates, improved ray tracing, and lower latency for a smoother gaming experience. If you want faster load times and better graphics, this is your chance to optimize your rig. Plus, with AutoHDR and DirectStorage, Windows 11 Pro ensures snappier gameplay and richer visuals. On the AI side, Windows Copilot, powered by OpenAI, acts as your built-in assistant, helping with everything from system settings to generating text and images on demand. Need help writing an email? Want to summarize a web page? Copilot has you covered. This upgrade also includes enterprise-level security features like BitLocker encryption, secure boot, and enhanced malware protection to keep your data safe. More Pro Features Snap Layouts & Virtual Desktops for better multitasking TPM 2.0 & Secure Boot for enhanced protection Remote Desktop Access to control your PC from anywhere Hyper-V & Windows Sandbox for virtual machine testing Seamless Microsoft Teams Integration for better collaboration Upgrade your PC gaming with a Windows 11 Pro key for $14.97 through June 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT. No coupon is needed to get this price. Microsoft Windows 11 ProSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Google and Apple are jostling for position in the AI arms race. Read...

If you hang out on hardware subreddits long enough, you’ll hear the joke “Nvidia -$50” tossed around about AMD’s long-held Radeon pricing strategy. Well, AMD managed to buck that trend today, in the mainstream segment where pricing matters most. AMD revealed the Radeon RX 9060 XT during the company’s Computex keynote – and it priced the 16GB model at $349. That not only undercuts Nvidia’s avoid-at-all-costs 8GB RTX 5060 Ti by $30, but it means the 16GB 9060 XT is a whopping $80 cheaper than Nvidia’s actually-pretty-good 16GB 5060 Ti. Hot damn. Competition is back on the menu y’all! A quick peek at the Radeon RX 9060 XT’s high-level specs show that it’s available in both 8GB and 16GB configurations (more on the 8GB version below). With 32 RDNA 4 Compute Units, the 9060 XT’s GPU packs half those found in its bigger brother, the $549+ Radeon 9070 series. By pricing the 16GB Radeon RX 9060 XT so aggressively, it lets AMD show why 8GB of memory isn’t enough in 2025. The only performance-comparison slide shared with press compares the 16GB Radeon against the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti (which, again, costs more). AMD claims the Radeon tested an average of 6 percent faster across a suite of 40 games, with wins in individual games hitting up to 30 percent faster. Closely note that the testing was performed at the more memory-intensive 1440p resolution here – the numbers would no doubt be closer if AMD’s graphics card was compared against Nvidia’s 16GB version. The 9060 XT also hangs tough with the 8GB 5060 Ti in Ultra Raytracing games – typically an Nvidia strength. Here, the expanded memory capacity shines even more, driving up to 62 percent higher performance in its peak example. (Ray tracing gobbles up memory.) Speaking of ray tracing, as we saw with the Radeon RX 9070 series, AMD seriously updated its ray tracing chops this generation – at least on games with basic ray tracing features. In games with more intensive ray tracing features, including path-traced games like Cyberpunk 2077 overdrive mode and Black Myth Wukong, AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture struggled, languishing far behind Nvidia. AMD attacked the problem head-on at Computex, announcing “FSR Redstone” (Minecraft Mumbo Jumbo fans rise up). This technology takes a multi-step approach to improving visuals and performance in AI tasks, as you can see in the slides above. If it proves successful, Nvidia’s undoubted lead in ray tracing could be under assault (though Nvidia’s vaunted DLSS 4 already works in advanced versions of these features). Look for FSR Redstone to arrive sometime in the second half of 2025. It’s not the only new Radeon performance-boosting FSR tech coming: AMD says 40 games will support FSR 4 with frame generation when it launches on June 5, with the Radeon RX 9060 series. Finally, AMD also revealed its RTX 5060 competitor. The 8GB Radeon RX 9060 XT will cost $299 when it launches alongside the 16GB model on June 5. In case you don’t remember, Nvidia buried RTX 5060 reviews because 8GB of memory simply isn’t enough in 2025, even for 1080p gaming. That’s still true, even with the Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB. That being said, if the 8GB version of AMD’s new graphics card still manages to outpace the RTX 5060 at the same price, it could be a great value proposition for people who focus on esports or don’t mind turning down graphics in the latest games. Hopefully AMD provides press with 8GB versions of the Radeon RX 9060 XT for review – unlike Nvidia. (Seriously, don’t buy the RTX 5060 right now.) If not, avoid the 8GB version until independent reviews arrive. Read...

Veeam launches Kasten for Kubernetes v8, unifying virtual machine and container data protection with enhanced security and operational features. Read...