Mozilla recently announced the discontinuation of Pocket and Fakespot features in Firefox as the organization wants to focus its limited resources on higher priority features in the Firefox web browser. But Pocket and Fakespot weren’t the last of the cuts. We recently learned that the Deep Fake Detector and Orbit extensions are also heading to an early grave. Specifically, these two add-ons will be shut down on June 26th, 2025, per the notices on their respective pages. Deep Fake Detector is an add-on for Firefox that uses the Apollo DFT engine to determine whether a text has been written by a human or an AI tool. Orbit is an add-on that can summarize articles and answer questions without sending your data to third parties. In other words, if you still use either of these two Firefox extensions, then you only have a few weeks left to find suitable replacements. Further reading: Firefox now has native user profile switching Read...

Yesterday was Patch Tuesday for June, and that means Microsoft provided new security fixes for 66 vulnerabilities. According to Microsoft, one vulnerability in Windows is already being exploited for attacks and several other vulnerabilities in Windows and Office are labelled as critical. Keep reading for more details on the various security vulnerabilities that have been addressed. The next Patch Tuesday will be July 8th, 2025. Windows security vulnerabilities A large number of the vulnerabilities—this time 44—are spread across the various Windows versions (10 and newer, Server) for which Microsoft still offers security updates. Windows 7 and 8.1 are no longer receiving security updates, so they remain vulnerable. If your system requirements allow it, you should upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 at your soonest convenience to continue receiving security updates. (With Windows 10 reaching end of life in October, we don’t recommend that.) Windows under attack According to Microsoft, there are already attacks being made on the CVE-2025-33053 vulnerability in Windows, which affects WebDAV and Internet Explorer. This is still present as a legacy in all Windows versions because the MSHTML platform, for example, is still used by some older applications. A click on a specially prepared link is enough for the user to execute infiltrated code. Microsoft is providing updates for Windows Server 2008 and newer to fix this vulnerability. The EoP (Elevation of Privilege) vulnerability CVE-2025-33073 in the Windows SMB client is already publicly known. Microsoft would like to thank the experts at several IT security companies who privately reported this vulnerability to Microsoft. If a user can be tricked into contacting a malicious server—an SMB server would be an obvious choice—then the server could compromise the user’s system and gain elevated privileges. Ultimately, code with system rights could be executed. Critical Windows vulnerabilities Microsoft has identified an RCE vulnerability (CVE-2025-33071) in the Kerberos KDC proxy service (KPSSVC) as critical. Domain controllers are generally not affected by this. The RCE vulnerability CVE-2025-29828 in Windows Schannel could be exploited by an attacker sending a flood of fragmented client “Hello” messages to a server that accepts TLS connections. According to Dustin Childs, Microsoft secretly patched the RCE vulnerability CVE-2025-32710 in Remote Desktop Services back in May and is now just catching up with the documentation. The EoP (Elevation of Privilege) vulnerability CVE-2025-33070 in Windows Netlogon could allow an attacker to obtain the authorizations of a domain administrator by sending crafted logon requests to a domain controller. Microsoft apparently considers it quite likely that this vulnerability will be exploited in the foreseeable future. Microsoft also identified the EoP vulnerability CVE-2025-47966 in cloud-based productivity tool Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) as critical. Fortunately, Microsoft has already taken care of it. Office security vulnerabilities Microsoft has fixed 18 vulnerabilities in its Office product family, including 17 RCE vulnerabilities. Five vulnerabilities are classified as critical, including one that specifically affects SharePoint. Microsoft categorizes the other vulnerabilities as high risk. For the four other critical vulnerabilities, the preview window is considered an attack vector. This means that it’s possible for a prepared file to facilitate an attack just by being displayed in the preview. The user doesn’t have to click on it or open it. Browser security vulnerabilities The latest browser version of Edge is 137.0.3296.68 from June 6th, based on Chromium 137.0.7151.69. However, Google released a new Chrome (and Chromium) update version 137.0.7151.103/104 yesterday on June 10th, which fixes vulnerabilities classified as high risk. Read...

Firstly, the good news: If you have Windows 10 installed on your PC, you can upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 (the latest version of Windows 11) free of charge. This makes sense, as support for Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025. After that date, the operating system will still work, but Microsoft will stop releasing security updates. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro If the direct update doesn’t appear in Windows 10, you can also download the new version directly from Microsoft. There, you’ll find the installation files for Windows 11, which can be used to create a bootable USB stick. Even if you don’t plan to update right away, it’s a good idea to create such a USB stick so you can upgrade to the latest version whenever you’re ready. It’s also recommended to retrieve your Windows 10 serial number/product key in advance, so you have it on hand when installing or updating to Windows 11. Who’s eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 11? Microsoft will continue to allow eligible devices to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 free of charge. This option remains available as long as the device meets the minimum requirements and the upgrade tools—such as the Windows 11 Installation Assistant or Windows Update—are used. If you use the tools mentioned in this article, you may lose support for Windows 11. After October 14, 2025, official support for Windows 10 will end. Microsoft will no longer provide free security updates, technical support, or bug fixes for Windows 10. For users who wish to continue using Windows 10, Microsoft offers a paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. This program allows private users to receive critical security updates for an additional year, for a fee of 30 US dollars. Sunrise King Whether users will still be able to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 after October 14, 2025 depends on future decisions by Microsoft. There is currently no official statement on whether the free upgrade offer will continue beyond this date. Users are therefore encouraged to upgrade before the end of support to take advantage of the current conditions. It’s important to note that Windows 11 has specific hardware requirements, including TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and compatible processors from the 8th generation of Intel CPUs or equivalent AMD models. Microsoft has made it clear that these requirements will not be relaxed, and older devices will not be officially supported. While there are unofficial methods for installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, these can lead to stability issues and missing updates. For users with devices that do not meet the requirements, it is recommended to purchase a new PC with Windows 11 pre-installed. Microsoft offers various programs and tools to help make the transition easier. How to check if your PC can be updated to Windows 11 24H2 Microsoft provides the free PC Integrity Checker app, which you can use to check whether the update is possible on your Windows 10 system. To do this, simply launch the tool and click “Check now.” If your PC does not (officially) support the update, the PC Integrity Checker app will indicate this and explain the reason. If TPM 2.0 is not activated, you can often enable the security chip required by Windows 11 in the BIOS. If your PC doesn’t have this chip, we’ll show you below how you can still proceed. In most cases, Windows 11 runs just as stably and quickly on PCs as Windows 10—often even faster and more stable, even without a TPM chip. However, this is not always the case. Running Windows 11 on incompatible hardware is always at your own risk. Updating Windows 10 to Windows 11 24H2 To update Windows 10 to Windows 11 24H2, open the “Download Windows 11” website. Then click on “Download now” under “Windows 11 Installation Wizard.” If your hardware is compatible with Windows 11, the update will begin without any issues. All apps, settings, and data will be retained. However, it’s a good idea to back up your computer beforehand. This can be done quickly using the free Microsoft Disk2VHD tool. Be sure to save the backup on an external storage device. The tool creates a virtual hard drive that contains all the data from your existing drive, ensuring that nothing is lost. Once the Windows 11 installation starts, click “Next” under “Install Windows 11.” The installation wizard will then check for updates and, in some cases, restart. This process may take a few minutes. After you confirm the license terms, the update check often runs again. This continues until the installation wizard is fully up to date. Naturally, these steps only work if the PC is connected to the Internet. It’s important to ensure that “Keep personal data and apps” is selected in the “Ready for installation” window. If it isn’t, you can change this by clicking on “Change the items to keep.” Then click “Install” to begin the update. After upgrading to Windows 11 24H2, you should still install the latest updates through the Windows settings under “Windows Update.” Thomas Joos Once this is completed, the update is finished, and you can start using Windows 11. If you’re not satisfied with Windows 11, you can uninstall it in the settings under “System -> Recovery -> Revert.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work reliably, as Microsoft may remove the necessary files from the system. Updating Windows 10 to Windows 11 24H2 without compatible hardware If the Windows 11 Installation Wizard reports that your PC cannot be updated to Windows 11 24H2, it’s usually still possible. First, download the free Rufus tool and start it. You can also download the portable version, which doesn’t require installation—just start the program. You’ll also need a USB stick with at least 8 GB of storage (more is preferable). Connect the USB stick to the PC on which you want to install Windows 11. Note that all data on the stick will be deleted during formatting. Start Rufus and make sure to select “Yes” when prompted about the update. The tool will then connect to the Internet, allowing you to download the Windows 11 installation files directly within Rufus. If you accidentally cancel this option, you can reconnect later in the Rufus settings (at the bottom of the window) by clicking “Check now.” Next, select the USB stick you want to use under “Drive.” Then click “Selection” under “Start type,” followed by “Download.” Choose “Windows 11” under “Version,” and then click “Next.” Under “Release,” select the option “24H2.” Choose “Windows 11” as the “Edition,” then select the language, choose “x64” for Architecture, and click “Download” to save the Windows 11 ISO file to a directory. Alternatively, you can download the Windows 11 ISO file outside of the tool from the Microsoft download page linked above. The download duration will depend on your internet connection. Once Rufus has downloaded the installation files—or you’ve added the ISO manually via “Select”—click “Start.” In the new window, all options that could prevent the installation of Windows 11 will be enabled by default, along with the option to set up Windows 11 using a local user account. Select the options you need, then click “OK.” Finally, confirm the prompt to format the USB stick. Attention: All data on the USB stick will be erased during this process You can then use the USB stick to update PCs running Windows 10 to Windows 11 24H2, or to reinstall Windows 11 24H2. In Windows 10, open the USB drive in Explorer and click on “Setup.exe.” The Windows 11 installation will then begin. Please note that it may take some time for the installation wizard to start. The PC will then be updated as described in the section above. Read...

Azul has launched a Java vulnerability tool that cuts false positives by up to 99%, improving threat detection accuracy for production environments. Read...

It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since the internet first changed our lives just 35 years ago, but we’re now on the precipice of the next giant leap. Read...

From Tuesday, passengers flying on one of its A320 domestic aircraft would be able to access high-speed, low-latency internet. Read...

YouTube has a lot of ads. So many, in fact, that you might wonder if owner Google is using the prevalence and annoyance of advertising to not-so-subtly get people paying for YouTube Premium. Lots of users block those ads—and I get it—but of course Google would prefer that they don’t. Now YouTube is annoying even more users that are blocking ads… in a possible prelude to even more aggressive moves. Late last week and over the weekend, users in laptop and desktop browsers (including yours truly) started seeing pop-ups on YouTube discouraging them from blocking ads and/or encouraging a paid subscription to YouTube Premium. It’s not surprising to anyone that Google isn’t a fan of ad blocking, but the message between the lines might just be “we can tell you’re blocking ads, and we can just shut off your access to the de facto home of video on the web if you keep doing it.” There’s a growing trend of otherwise free ad-supported websites detecting ad blockers and shutting off access if they’re employed. This isn’t the first time Google has tested the waters and pushed back against YouTube users who block ads. Other short-term tests have simply blacked out videos if an ad blocker is detected, baked advertisements into a hard-coded version of the video, etc. In Google’s defense, it’s also experimented in cheaper variants of the Premium service… which don’t turn off ads for all videos and don’t include useful mobile features like background listening and offline downloads. The value proposition still doesn’t make sense for me. A little testing this morning shows that multiple browser and ad blocking extension combinations are no longer showing the pop-up, so either Google has ended a relatively short-term test or the ad blocking companies have already gotten around the new system. Either way, it seems like the tension between YouTube users and advertisers isn’t going anywhere soon. Read...

A Taranaki internet provider says the government is failing rural New Zealanders by not responding properly to one of last week`s internet outages, in particular one caused by a visiting Australian warship. Read...

A Taranaki internet provider says the government is failing rural Kiwis by not responding properly to one of last week`s internet outages. Read...

Connectivity and radio experts said internet outages and radio disruption were indicative of New Zealand’s outdated systems. Read...