I’m sure most of us here are aware of the bright red-and-yellow colour scheme called “Hot Dog Stand”, included in Windows 3.1. While it’s not the only truly garish colour scheme included in Windows 3.1, its name probably did a lot to make it stand out from the others. There’s been a ton of speculation about the origins of the colour scheme, and why it was included in Windows 3.1, but it seems nobody ever bothered to look for someone who actually worked on the Windows 3.1 user interface – until now.
PC Gamer’s Wes Fenlon contacted Virginia Howlett, Microsoft’s first user interface designer who joined the company in 1985, and asked her about the infamous colour scheme. It turns out that the origin story for the infamous colour scheme is rather mundane. In Howlett’s own words:
I do remember some discussion about whether we should include it, and some snarky laughter. But it was not intended as a joke. It was not inspired by any hot dog stands, and it was not included as an example of a bad interface—although it was one. It was just a garish choice, in case somebody out there liked ugly bright red and yellow.
Howlett then lists a few other included colour schemes that were just as garish, or even more so, as examples to underline her point. Personally, I’m a huge proponent of allowing users to make their interfaces as ugly and garish as they want, as the only arbiter on what’s on your screen is you, and nobody else. Hot Dog Stand and similar garish themes need to make a comeback, because there’s bound to be some people out there whose vibes align with it.
Overview On December 10, NSFOCUS CERT detected that Microsoft released the December Security Update patch, which fixed 57 security issues involving widely used products such as Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange Server, Azure, etc., including high-risk vulnerability types such as privilege escalation and remote code execution. Among the vulnerabilities fixed by Microsoft’s monthly update this […]
With the current, rapidly deteriorating state of the Windows operating system, you have to take the small wins you can get: Microsoft is now offering the option of removing “AI” actions from Windows 11’s context menus. buried deep in the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7344 release notes, there’s this nugget:
If there are no available or enabled AI Actions, this section will no longer show in the context menu.
If you then go to Settings > Apps > Actions and uncheck all the “AI” actions, the entire submenu in Windows 11’s context menus will vanish. While this is great news for those Windows users who don’t want to be bothered by all the “AI” nonsense, I wish Microsoft would just give users a proper way to edit the context menu that doesn’t involve third party hackery. KDE’s Dolphin file manager gives me full control over what does and does not appear in its context menu, and I can’t imagine living without this functionality – there’s so many file-related operations I never use, and having them clutter up the context menu is annoying and just slows me down.
There’s more substantial and important changes in this Insider Preview Build too, most notably the rollout of the Update Orchestration Platform, which should make downloading and installing application updates less cumbersome, but since it’s a new feature, application won’t support it right away. This release also brings the new Windows MIDI Services, and Microsoft hopes this will improve the experience for musicians using MIDI 1.0 or MIDI 2.0 on Windows. There’s a slew of smaller changes, too, of course.
I’m not exactly sure when these new features will make their way to production installations – who does, honestly, with Microsoft’s convoluted release processes – but I hope it’s sooner rather than later.
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about my personal homebrew Steam Machine, a self-built desktop under my TV featuring an AMD Ryzen 7 8700G processor and a Radeon 780M integrated GPU. I wouldn’t recommend making your own version of this build, especially with RAM prices as they currently are, but there are all kinds of inexpensive mini PCs on Amazon with the same GPU, and they’ll all be pretty good at playing the kinds of games that already run well on the less-powerful Steam Deck.
But this kind of hardware is an imperfect proxy for the Steam Machine that Valve plans to launch sometime next year—that box will include a dedicated GPU with 8GB of dedicated video memory, presenting both benefits and possible pitfalls compared to a system with an integrated GPU.
As a last pre-Steam Machine follow-up to our coverage so far, we’ve run tests on several games we test regularly in our GPU reviews to get a sense of how current versions of SteamOS stack up to Windows running on the same hardware. What we’ve found so far is basically the inverse of what we found when comparing handhelds: Windows usually has an edge on SteamOS’s performance, and sometimes that gap is quite large. And SteamOS also exacerbates problems with 8GB GPUs, hitting apparent RAM limits in more games and at lower resolutions compared to Windows.
When Valve announced its upcoming Steam Machine hardware last month, some eagle-eyed gamers may have been surprised to see that the official spec sheet lists support for HDMI 2.0 output, rather than the updated, higher-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 standard introduced in 2017. Now, Valve tells Ars that, while the hardware itself actually supports HDMI 2.1, the company is struggling to offer full support for that standard due to Linux drivers that are “still a work-in-progress on the software side.”
As we noted last year, the HDMI Forum (which manages the official specifications for HDMI standards) has officially blocked any open source implementation of HDMI 2.1. That means the open source AMD drivers used by SteamOS can’t fully implement certain features that are specific to the updated output standard.
“At this time an open source HDMI 2.1 implementation is not possible without running afoul of the HDMI Forum requirements,” AMD engineer Alex Deucher said at the time.
Fascinating doesn’t even begin to describe this article, but at the same time, it also makes me wonder at what point maintaining this drive letter charade becomes too burdensome, clunky, and complex. Internally, Windows NT does not use drive letters at all, but for the sake of backwards compatibility and to give the user what they expect, a whole set of abstractions has been crafted to create the illusion that modern versions of Windows still use the same basic drive letter conventions as DOS did 40 years ago.
I wonder if we’ll ever reach a point where Windows no longer uses drive letters, or if it’s possible today to somehow remove or disable these abstractions entirely, and run Windows NT without drive letters, as Cutler surely intended. Vast swaths of Windows programs would surely curl up in fetal position and die, including many core components of the operating system itself – as this article demonstrates, very few parts of Windows can handle even something as mundane as a drive letter outside of A-Z – but it’d make for a great experiment.
Someone with just the right set of Windows NT skills must’ve tried something like this at some point, either publicly or inside of Microsoft.
Microsoft has acknowledged that a recent Windows preview update, KB5064081, contains a bug that renders the password icon invisible on the lock screen, leaving users to click on what appears to be empty space to enter their credentials.
The issue affects Windows Insider channel users who installed the non-security preview update. The company's suggested workaround is straightforward if somewhat absurd: click where the button should be, and the password field will appear. Microsoft said it is working to resolve the issue.
I can take or leave some of the things that Microsoft is doing with Windows 11 these days, but I do usually enjoy the company’s yearly limited-time holiday sweater releases. Usually crafted around a specific image or product from the company’s ’90s-and-early-2000s heyday—2022’s sweater was Clippy themed, and 2023’s was just the Windows XP Bliss wallpaper in sweater form—the sweaters usually hit the exact combination of dorky/cute/recognizable that makes for a good holiday party conversation starter.
Microsoft is reviving the tradition for 2025 after taking a year off, and the design for this year’s flagship $80 sweater is mostly in line with what the company has done in past years. The 2025 “Artifact Holiday Sweater” revives multiple pixelated icons that Windows 3.1-to-XP users will recognize, including Notepad, Reversi, Paint, MS-DOS, Internet Explorer, and even the MSN butterfly logo. Clippy is, once again, front and center, looking happy to be included.
Not all of the icons are from Microsoft’s past; a sunglasses-wearing emoji, a “50” in the style of the old flying Windows icon (for Microsoft’s 50th anniversary), and a Minecraft Creeper face all nod to the company’s more modern products. But the only one I really take issue with is on the right sleeve, where Microsoft has stuck a pixelated monochrome icon for its Copilot AI assistant.
During a Dell earnings call, the company mentioned some staggering numbers regarding the amount of PCs that will not or cannot be upgraded to Windows 11.
“We have about 500 million of them capable of running Windows 11 that haven’t been upgraded,” said Dell COO Jeffrey Clarke on a Q3 earnings call earlier this week, referring to the overall PC market, not just Dell’s slice of machines. “And we have another 500 million that are four years old that can’t run Windows 11.” He sees this as an opportunity to guide customers towards the latest Windows 11 machines and AI PCs, but warns that the PC market is going to be relatively flat next year.
The monumental scale of the Windows 10 install base that simply won’t or cannot upgrade to Windows 11 is massive, and it’s absolutely bonkers to me that we’re mostly just letting them get away with leaving at least a billion users out in the cold when it comes to security updates and bug fixes. The US government (in better times) and the EU should’ve 100% forced Microsoft’s hand, as leaving this many people on outdated, unsupported operating system installations is several disasters waiting to happen.
Aside from the dangerous position Microsoft is forcing its Windows 10 users into, there’s also the massive environmental and public health impact of huge swaths of machines, especially in enterprise environments, becoming obsolete overnight. Many of these will end up in landfills, often shipped to third-world countries so we in the west don’t have to deal with our e-waste and its dangerous consequences directly. I can get fined for littering – rightfully so – but when a company like Microsoft makes sweeping decisions which cause untold amounts of dangerous chemicals to be dumped in countless locations all over the globe, governments shrug it off and move on.
At least we will get some cheap eBay hardware out of it, I guess.
With all the problems Windows is facing, I think one area where Microsoft can make some easy, quick gains is by drastically improving Explorer, Windows’ file manager. It seems that in the latest developer releases, they’re doing just that. The most impactful change – possibly – is that Microsoft is going to preload Explorer.
We’re exploring preloading File Explorer in the background to help improve File Explorer launch performance. This shouldn’t be visible to you, outside of File Explorer hopefully launching faster when you need to use it. If you have the change, if needed there is an option you can uncheck to disable this called “Enable window preloading for faster launch times” in File Explorer’s Folder Options, under View.
Microsoft is also reordering the context menu in Explorer, and while this may seem like a small set of changes, the new context menu does look much tidier and less busy. They achieve this by moving a few top-level items to a submenu, and reordering some other elements. Sadly, the context menu still retains its own context menu (“Show more options”), which is a traditional Win32 menu – which I still think is one of the most Windows of Windows things of all time.
Regardless, I hope these small changes make Explorer more bearable to use for those of you still using Windows, because we all know you need it.
Dell has predicted PC sales will be flat next year, despite the potential of the AI PC and the slow replacement of Windows 10. From a report: "We have not completed the Windows 11 transition," COO Jeffrey Clarke said during Dell's Q3 earnings call on Tuesday. "In fact, if you were to look at it relative to the previous OS end of support, we are 10-12 points behind at that point with Windows 11 than we were the previous generation." Clarke said that means 500 million PCs can't run Windows 11, while the same number didn't need an upgrade to handle Microsoft's latest desktop OS. The COO therefore predicted the PC market will "flourish," but then defined the word as meaning "roughly flat" sales despite Dell chalking up mid-to high single digits PC sales growth over the last year.
In the latest Windows Insider beta update, Microsoft has announced that it is exploring preloading File Explorer in the background to improve launch performance. The feature will load File Explorer silently before users click on it and can be toggled off for those who prefer not to use it. Microsoft introduced a similar capability earlier this year for Office called Startup Boost that loads parts of Word in the background so the application launches more quickly. The company is also removing elements from the File Explorer context menu in the same update.
You may have noticed a sharp increase in problems and issues in Windows recently – following the rise of the “AI” hype cycle, entirely coincidentally, I’m sure – and it seems Microsoft is finally starting to acknowledge just how bad Windows has become.
On the positive side though, following all that backlash, Microsoft acknowledged Windows has issues, and as if on cue, the company in a new support article has admitted that there are problems on almost every major Windows 11 core feature. The issues are related to XAML and this impacts all the Shell components like the Start Menu, Taskbar, Explorer, and Windows Settings.
It’s wild how many core components like this have apparently been broken due to these problems since July of this year. This means countless Windows users have been experiencing weird issues on a daily basis in multiple components for four months now, which is absolutely wild. On top of all the more structural problems in Windows, I wonder how people can get anything done at all – only a few days ago, I had to manually clean out the Installer folder in the Windows folder on my wife’s gaming PC, because for some inexplicable reason, Windows decided to permanently store 18GB’s worth (!) of past Adobe Acrobat updates and installers in there.
It’s impossible to reliably say that Microsoft’s incessant focus on cryptoNFTs “AI” lies at the root of all of these problems, but if 30% of “new” code in Microsoft is indeed regurgitated by “AI”, it’s hard not to conclude as such.
Blasts from the pasts are often fun, and in the case of feature removals from Windows, it’s often accompanied by surprise that the feature in question still existed. Case in point:
This article provides essential information about the deprecation and planned removal of Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) from future Windows Server releases. Microsoft has announced that WINS will be removed from all Windows Server releases after Windows Server 2025 and will remain under the standard support lifecycle through November 2034. Organizations using WINS are strongly encouraged to migrate to modern DNS-based name resolution solutions.
WINS was introduced with Windows NT 3.5 back in 1994, and maps NetBIOS to IP addresses in much the same way DNS maps domains names to IP addresses. Nobody should be using WINS anymore, and Microsoft has been discouraging its use for a long time now. With the ubiquity of DNS, WINS serves very little purpose, so it makes sense Microsoft is removing it from Windows.
"Copilot Actions on Windows 11" is currently available in Insider builds (version 26220.7262) as part of Copilot Labs, according to a recent report, "and is off by default, requiring admin access to set it up."
But maybe it's off for a good reason...besides the fact that it can access any apps installed on your system:
In a support document, Microsoft admits that features like Copilot Actions introduce " novel security risks ." They warn about cross-prompt injection (XPIA), where malicious content in documents or UI elements can override the AI's instructions. The result? " Unintended actions like data exfiltration or malware installation ."
Yeah, you read that right. Microsoft is shipping a feature that could be tricked into installing malware on your system. Microsoft's own warning hits hard: "We recommend that you only enable this feature if you understand the security implications." When you try to enable these experimental features, Windows shows you a warning dialog that you have to acknowledge. ["This feature is still being tested and may impact the performance or security of your device."]
Even with these warnings, the level of access Copilot Actions demands is concerning. When you enable the feature, it gets read and write access to your Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Pictures, Videos, and Music folders... Microsoft says they are implementing safeguards. All actions are logged, users must approve data access requests, the feature operates in isolated workspaces, and the system uses audit logs to track activity.
But you are still giving an AI system that can "hallucinate and produce unexpected outputs" (Microsoft's words, not mine) full access to your personal files.
To address this, Ars Technica notes, Microsoft added this helpful warning to its support document this week. "As these capabilities are introduced, AI models still face functional limitations in terms of how they behave and occasionally may hallucinate and produce unexpected outputs."
But Microsoft didn't describe "what actions they should take to prevent their devices from being compromised. I asked Microsoft to provide these details, and the company declined..."
In October Zorin OS claimed it had 100,000 downloads in a little over two days in the days following Microsoft's end of support for Windows 10.
And one month later, Zorin OS developers now claim that 780,000 people downloaded it from a Windows computer in the space of a month, according to the tech news site XDA Developers.
In a post on the Zorin blog, the developers of the operating system Zorin OS 18 announced that they've managed to accrue one million downloads of the operating system in a single month [since its launch on October 14]. While this is plenty impressive by itself, the developers go on to reveal that, out of that million, 78% of the downloads came from a Windows machine. That means that at least 780,000 people on Windows gave Zorin OS 18 a download...
[I]t's easy to see why: the developers put a heavy emphasis on making their system the perfect home for ex-Windows users.
Microsoft's push to transform Windows into an "agentic OS" that allows AI agents to control PCs is drawing user backlash similar to the Windows 8 controversy, as the company marks the operating system's 40th anniversary this week, writes Tom Warren, a reporter at The Verge who has been covering Microsoft for nearly two decades. Windows chief Pavan Davuluri announced the agentic OS plans in a post on X last week and faced immediate criticism in hundreds of replies before they were locked days later.
"It's evolving into a product that's driving people to Mac and Linux," one person wrote, while another asked for a return to Windows 7's "clean UI, clean icon, a unified control panel, no bloat apps, no ads, just a pure performant OS." Davuluri later responded to software engineer Gergely Orosz, saying "we care deeply about developers" and acknowledging Microsoft has "work to do on the experience, both on the everyday usability, from inconsistent dialogs to power user experiences."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the Dwarkesh Podcast that the company's business "which today is an end user tools business, will become, essentially an infrastructure business in support of agents doing work." The Recall feature already spooked users when it was initially turned on by default before Microsoft reworked it to be opt-in. Navjot Virk, corporate vice president of Windows experiences, told The Verge that "every user can use [AI agents] when they're ready. It's their choice, they decide."
Microsoft has just announced a whole slew of new “AI” features for Windows, and this time, they’ll be living in your taskbar.
Microsoft is trying to transform Windows into a “canvas for AI,” with new AI agents integrated into the Windows 11 taskbar. These new taskbar capabilities are designed to make AI agents feel like an assistant in Windows that can go off and control your PC and do tasks for you at the click of a button. It’s part of a broader overhaul of Windows to turn the operating system into an “agentic OS.”
[…]
Microsoft is integrating a variety of AI agents directly into the Windows 11 taskbar, including its own Microsoft 365 Copilot and third-party options. “This integration isn’t just about adding agents; it’s about making them part of the OS experience,” says Windows chief Pavan Davuluri.
These “AI” agents will control your computer, applications, and files for you, which may make some of you a little apprehensive, and for good reason. “AI” tools don’t have a great track record when it comes to privacy – Windows Recall comes to mind – and as such, Microsoft claims this time, it’ll be different. These new “AI” agents will run in what are essentially dedicated Windows accounts acting as sandboxes, to ensure they can only access certain resources.
While I find the addition of these “AI” tools to Windows insufferable and dumb, I’m at least glad Microsoft is taking privacy and security seriously this time, and I doubt Microsoft would repeat the same mistakes they made with the entirely botched rollout of Windows Recall. in addition, after the Cloudstrike fiasco, Microsoft made clear commitments to improve its security practices, which further adds to the confidence we should all have these new “AI” tools are safe, secure, and private.
But wait, what’s this?
Additionally, agentic AI applications introduce novel security risks, such as cross-prompt injection (XPIA), where malicious content embedded in UI elements or documents can override agent instructions, leading to unintended actions like data exfiltration or malware installation.
Microsoft’s new “AI” features can go out and install malware without your consent, because these features possess the access and privileges to do so. The mere idea that some application – which is essentially what these “AI” features really are – can go out onto the web and download and install whatever it wants, including malware, “on your behalf”, in the background, is so utterly dystopian to me I just can’t imagine any serious developer looking at this and thinking “yeah, ship it”.
Overview On November 12, NSFOCUS CERT detected that Microsoft released the November Security Update patch, which fixed 63 security issues involving widely used products such as Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL Server, Azure, and Microsoft Visual Studio, including privilege escalation, high-risk vulnerability types such as remote code execution. Among the vulnerabilities fixed by Microsoft’s monthly […]
After installing Windows Updates released on or after October 28, 2025 (KB5067036), you might encounter an issue where closing Task Manager using the Close (X) button does not fully terminate the process. When you reopen Task Manager, the previous instance continues running in the background even though no window is visible. This results in multiple lingering instances of taskmgr.exe, consuming system resources and potentially degrading device performance. Additional instances appear as “Task Manager” in the Processes tab and as “Taskmgr.exe” in the Details tab. Although the impact is less if Task Manager is opened and closed a few times, many instances accumulated over time can cause noticeable slowdowns in other applications.
After the release of Windows 95, with its brand new and incredibly influential graphical user interface, it was only a matter of time before this new taskbar, Start menu, and everything else would make its way to Microsoft’s other operating system line, Windows NT. The development of Windows 95 more or less lined up with that of Windows NT 3.5, but it wouldn’t be until Windows NT 4.0, released a little less than a year after Windows 95, that NT, too, would have the brand new user interface.
Raymond Chen has published a blog post detailing the cooperation and interplay between the Windows 95 and Windows NT teams, and, as always with Chen, it’s a joy to read.
Members of the Windows 95 user interface team met regularly with members of the Windows NT user interface team to keep them aware of what was going on and even get their input on some ideas that the Windows 95 team were considering. The Windows NT user interface team were focused on shipping Windows NT, but they appreciated being kept in the loop.
During the late phases of the development of Windows 95, the Windows NT side of the house took a more active role in bringing the Windows 95 user interface to Windows NT.
Chen details there was a lot of code-sharing, to the point where the Windows 95 version of the GUI contained NT-specific code, and vice versa. This code-sharing was quite a lot less elegant than today with tools like git, since Microsoft’s own internal source code system called SLM (pronounced ‘slime’) did not support branches, so they had to regularly perform three-way merges manually.
It was a different time, for sure.
Anyway, it’s amazing how much of this ancient Microsoft lore could’ve been lost to time, or shrouded in mystery, if it wasn’t for someone like Raymond Chen regularly sharing the stories from Microsoft’s past.
Security researchers have disclosed a campaign of typosquatted npm packages that automatically execute on install and ultimately deliver a cross-platform credential stealer. According to researchers, the malicious packages were first published on July 4, 2025, remained live for over four months, and together collected more than 9,900 downloads before Socket petitioned the npm registry for removal.The actor behind the campaign, a registrant using the name andrew_r1 with the email parvlhonor@gmx[.]com, created ten packages whose names mimic legitimate libraries. Socket’s AI Scanner labeled the most prominent malicious package, dizcordjs, as “Known malware.” The full list of Typosquatted packages observed is:
Typosquatted NPM Packages: Obfuscation and Automatic Execution Techniques
Automatic, immediate execution is central to the operation. Each package abuses npm’s postinstall lifecycle hook so that simply running npm install triggers the malicious payload. Socket extracted an example package.json used by the attacker that runs node install.js in postinstall. The install.js implements platform detection and spawns a separate terminal window on Windows (cmd), Linux (gnome-terminal/x-terminal-emulator), or macOS (Terminal.app via AppleScript). By launching the payload in a new window and clearing it quickly, the malware runs outside the main npm output and reduces the chance the developer notices.The malicious app.js is heavily obfuscated with four distinct layers designed to defeat static analysis and automated scanners: an eval-based self-decoding wrapper, XOR decryption using a key derived from the decoder function’s own source, URL encoding of the payload string, and control-flow obfuscation implemented with switch/state machines and mixed-base arithmetic. Socket noted that these layers only reveal the real payload at runtime, increasing the difficulty of static inspection.
Multi-stage credential theft workflow
After installation, the packages perform social engineering: they display a fake CAPTCHA prompt rendered in terminal (via Node’s readline) to simulate legitimate bot protection and to persuade the user that the operation is expected. The installer then prints realistic-looking install messages such as “Installing ethers package...” or “Installing discord.js package...” along with plausible version numbers and contributor counts to further the ruse.Before delivering the final payload, the malware performs IP fingerprinting: it sends the victim’s IP to the actor’s server at http://195[.]133[.]79[.]43/get_current_ip. Socket observed this behavior in network captures; the actor can use those logs to profile victims, filter by geography, or identify security researchers.Once the victim interacts with the fake CAPTCHA, the installer downloads a platform-specific binary named data_extracter from http://195[.]133[.]79[.]43/data_extracter and executes it. Socket reported the binary as a 24MB PyInstaller package with hash 80552ce00e5d271da870e96207541a4f82a782e7b7f4690baeca5d411ed71edb and noted more than 289,000 embedded strings—evidence of broad built-in functionality. Because it is packaged with PyInstaller, the binary runs without a separate Python interpreter and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.Socket’s analysis describes the data_extracter as a comprehensive credential stealer that performs recursive file-system scanning (browser profiles, ~/.ssh/, ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.kube/config, ~/.docker/config.json, and application config directories), extracts browser SQLite databases and session cookies, and targets system keyrings (Windows Credential Manager, macOS Keychain, Linux SecretService/libsecret/KWallet). The binary also includes libraries to harvest OAuth and JWT tokens and references to oauthlib and JWT utilities, enabling programmatic access long after passwords are changed. Harvested artifacts are compressed into archives staged in temporary directories (e.g., /var/tmp) and exfiltrated to the C2 at 195[.]133[.]79[.]43.
Recommendations, IOCs, and impact
Socket characterized the campaign as combining advanced obfuscation, social engineering via fake CAPTCHA and legitimate-looking install messages, IP fingerprinting, and a platform-aware PyInstaller credential stealer—techniques rarely seen together in npm supply chain attacks.Socket’s immediate recommendations:
Assume any system that installed one of the ten Typosquatted packages is fully compromised.
Remove the malicious packages and petition npm for takedown.
Reset credentials stored in system keyrings and browser password managers; revoke and rotate OAuth, JWT, API keys, and SSH keys.
Search VPN/firewall logs for connections to 195[.]133[.]79[.]43 and investigate potential lateral movement or persistence.
Indicators of compromise (IOCs) cited by Socket include the ten package names above, the actor identifier andrew_r1 / parvlhonor@gmx[.]com, the C2 IP 195[.]133[.]79[.]43, and the reported PyInstaller binary hash 80552ce00e5d271da870e96207541a4f82a782e7b7f4690baeca5d411ed71edb.Socket’s disclosure underscores that Typosquatted packages remain a viable attack vector for delivering credential stealers and other payloads to developers and build systems. Organizations that rely on third-party packages should audit dependencies, apply stricter vetting, and treat any unexpected installation activity as potentially malicious.
Microsoft is introducing a new feature in Windows to better deal with blue screens of death. In the release notes for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6982 (Dev Channel), the company detailed that after a user experiences a blue screen, Windows will automatically perform a memory scan.
We’re introducing a new feature that helps improve system reliability. If your PC experiences a bugcheck (unexpected restart), you may see a notification when signing in suggesting a quick memory scan. If you choose to run it, the system will schedule a Windows Memory Diagnostic scan to run during your next reboot (taking 5 minutes or less on average) and then continue to Windows. If a memory issue is found and mitigated, you will see a notification post-reboot.
In its current iteration, this memory scan will trigger after every single error code to collect as much data as possible, but Microsoft states it will refine and narrow the number of error codes in the future. In addition, this feature will not be available on Arm64 and systems with Administrator Protection and/or BitLocker without Secure Boot.
Let’s hope this feature won’t be a nuisance, but an actually useful feature that helps people uncover memory problems that otherwise remain undiagnosed.
Raymond Chen has another great post about some of the classic icons from Windows 95, this time focusing on pifmgr.dll. In this file, there are a variety of random-seeming icons, and it turns out they’re random for a reason: they were just a bunch a fun, generic icons intended for people to use when creating PIF files.
The icons in pifmgr.dll were created just for fun. They were not created with any particular programs in mind, with one obvious exception. They were just a fun mix of icons for people to use for their own homemade shortcut files.
For those of us who didn’t grow up with Windows, or who, god forbid, are too young to know, PIF or personal information files are effectively shortcuts to DOS programs for use in a multitasking environment. A PIF file would not only point to the relevant DOS executable, but also contain information about the environment in which said executable was supposed to run. Their history goes back to IBM’s TopView, and Microsoft later embraced and adapted them for use in Windows.
Microsoft has published a set of short questions and answers about driver updates through Windows Update, and there’s one tidbit in there I found interesting.
Driver dates might look old, but that is not true. The driver date is descriptive info set by the driver provider and can be any date they choose. When determining which driver to install, Windows Update uses targeting information set by the provider inside the driver files to determine the best driver. This lets the device provider promote the best driver, regardless of the chosen date.
Whenever I do have to fiddle with Windows machines, I always wondered about why some drivers in Windows Update would show some seriously old dates. It turns out the answer is as obvious as it always tends to be: OEMs.
With official support for Windows 10 having officially ended a few days ago, let’s take a look and see how its successor, Windows 11, is doing.
Microsoft released the first Patch Tuesday update (KB5066835) for Windows 11 25H2 this past week and it is probably fair to say that it has been a rough start for the new feature update. Despite the announcement of a wide rollout wherein the new version is now available for download for everyone, the company has already confirmed large-scale issues.
First up, Microsoft was forced to issue an emergency workaround as the update broke localhost auth and following that the company today has confirmed another problem where recovery can become impossible if you happen to use a USB keyboard or mouse.
Yes. This is a real thing. This latest round of patches makes it entirely impossible to navigate the Windows Recovery Environment with USB keyboards and mice. Since it’s 2025, USB is probably the protocol through which most people connect their keyboard and mice (although to be fair, some laptops probably still default to internal PS/2 for their touchpads). This means that if you run into a problem with Windows 11 that requires you to access the Windows Recovery Environment – perhaps OneDrive did too many lines of cocaine again – you can’t actually do anything inside of it.
There’s no fix yet, so you either remove the offending patches, hope your PC still has a PS/2 port and you still have PS/2 peripherals, or hope Windows 11 won’t fall over and die until Microsoft releases a fix for the issue. Of course, people still using Windows 10, people who aren’t installing every single Windows 11 update as they become available, and people using real operating systems have nothing to worry about.
You can’t help but wonder, though – with Microsoft pushing “AI” so hard, how many of these recent faceplants are the result of Microsoft engineers frantically trying to meet code quotas using Copilot?
In older versions of Windows, if you had a video playing, took a screenshot, and pasted that screenshot into Paint, you could sometimes see the video continue to play inside Paint. What kind of sorcery enabled this to happen? A few of you will realise instantly why this used to happen: render surfaces. Back in at least the Windows 9x days, playing video involved drawing solid green where you wanted the video to go (the video player window), rendering the video pixels to a surface shared with the graphics card, and then have the graphics card replace said green pixels with the video pixels from the shared surface.
This approach has a whole array of benefits, not least of which is that it allowed you to render the video on a thread separate from the main user interface, so that if the main interface was sluggish or locked up, the video would keep rendering properly. You could also create two shared surfaces to render multiple frames at once, thereby eliminating tearing. Knowing this, it should be obvious what’s going on with the screenshot and Pain story.
Now, when you load the image into Paint or any other image viewer, Windows sends those green pixels to the video card, but if the media player is still running, then its overlay is still active, and if you put Paint in the same place that the media player window is, then the green pixels in Paint get changed into the pixels of the active video. The video card doesn’t know that the pixels came from Paint. Its job is to look for green pixels in a certain region of the screen and change them into the pixels from the shared surface.
If you move the Paint window to another position where it doesn’t overlap the media player, or if the media player isn’t playing a video, you will see the bitmap’s true nature: It’s just a bunch of green pixels.
I’ve never had this particular oddity happen, but I do have vague memories of video player windows rendering tons of green artifacts whenever something went wrong with the video player, the file it was trying to play, or whatever else, and I guess the cause of those green artifacts is the same. In modern operating systems, graphics rendering of the UI is done entirely on the GPU, with only the final composition being sent to your display.
As such, the green screen effect no longer occurs.
Microsoft has posted a blog post about detailing its latest round of additions to Windows 11, and as will surely not surprise you, it’s “AI”, all the time, whether you like it or not. I’m not even going to detail most of these “features”, as I’m sure most of them will just become yet another series of checkboxes on whatever debloating tool you prefer. Still, there’s one recurring theme running throughout Microsoft’s recent “AI” marketing that really stands out, and this blog post is no different:
Until now, the power of AI has often been gated behind your skill at prompting. The more context you provide and detail you share, the richer response you receive in return. But typing it out can be tedious and time consuming, especially if it takes multiple tries to get it right.
With 68% of consumers reporting using AI to support their decision making, voice is making this easier.
“You’re holding it wrong” has become a recurring meme whenever someone places the blame for a shit product on its users, but we’re really starting to see this line of thinking explode with “AI” tools now. If you’re getting bad, wrong, or downright made up results out of your text generator – which happens all the time – the problem isn’t that the text generator is shit; no, the problem is that the user is shit at manipulating and coercing it into generating the right string of words.
This is a major problem for “AI” companies, as the obtuseness of input and the inevitable shoddiness of results is most likely putting users off using them, and if there’s one thing these companies needs, it’s users. All of them are hemorrhaging money without any realistic paths towards profitability, so there’s a mad scramble to convince and trick people into using “AI” tools, and every single recent effort by Microsoft regarding Windows and Office is 100% geared towards this goal. That’s why nothing is sacred, and everything from Notepad to Paint, from the the Windows Start menu to context menus, from the Explorer file manager to your Windows command line is getting Copilot buttons and sparkly icons: Microsoft has to be able to brag about “AI” user numbers to keep the scam going.
As the bubble gets bigger and bigger, and as we come closer and closer to that satisfying pop, you can expect ever more places in Windows to get “AI” features. I can’t wait for the sparkle icon to show up when formatting a disk, installing a driver through Device Manager, or during a kernel panic. I can’t wait for the blue screen of death to open a Copilot chat that advises you to do something utterly unrelated.
If you’ve only just adopted Windows 11, one of the things that will jump out at you is the placement of the Start button on the desktop. It’s now towards the middle of the screen.
I actually like it in the center position, because it’s easier to orientate my searches without having to drag my mouse pointer all the way to the side of the screen. That said, not everyone feels the same way. It bugs some long-time users of Windows 10 who are used to the far left-hand side placement. But fret not, because you can change it back to the left in just a few clicks.
What to do:
Right click on the taskbar and select Taskbar settings.
Find the submenu “Taskbar behaviors” and click the dropdown arrow next to it.
Now next to “Taskbar alignment” change Center to Left. Close the window and watch your taskbar magically shift position.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
And voila! Your taskbar should be back in left-hand placement. Don’t worry if you’re not sold on it being there, because you can always change it back again in a jiffy. If you’re coming to Windows 11 due to Windows 10’s end of support, you can find more helpful tips like this in our Windows 11 guide for Windows 10 refugees.
No operating system is without its merits, and that includes Windows 11, even as much as I complain about Microsoft’s latest operating system. Its handful of useful features continues to grow as time goes on, with more and more being rolled out every year.
But with helpful utilities and settings trickling out slowly, it’s easy to miss a few here and there, especially when the flashier features hog the news headlines. We’ve pulled out 10 features that we don’t think get enough love—if you’ve heard of them and haven’t tried them yet, now’s the time.
You no longer need to keep multiple Notepad windows open on the Taskbar.
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Notepad actually predates Windows, but it’s still fully relevant (and useful!) today. The streamlined app lets you open a window to make quick notes. And in Windows 11, you can now manage and navigate between open files in a single window, thanks to the addition of tabs. It’s far tidier than opening a new instance of Notepad for each file—and combined with the new dark mode, it makes the app look and feel modern.
Widgets
Widgets for Facebook, Spotify, and PC performance monitoring could be coming soon.
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Windows 11 makes a wealth of info available with just one mouse click (or quick tap of Win + W). Right now you can get weather, stock prices, sports updates, and entertainment news, and those cards are slowly being joined by new additions, like for Xbox Game Pass. It’s a much easier way to stay up to date than fully shifting to a browser and poking around in your tabs.
Screen recording
Click the video icon, then New to start recording a portion of your screen.
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Previous versions of Windows had a Snipping Tool app, but you could only take screenshots. In Windows 11, screen recording finally gets added—and unlike Windows’ Xbox Game Bar’s recording feature, you can use it to capture specific parts of your screen. If you serve as informal tech support for family and friends, this feature can make your life a lot easier when explaining how to tinker with an app or in Windows. (Note: You’ll have to open the full Snipping Tool app for screen recording—it doesn’t appear in the Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcut overlay.)
Quick Assist
If you need help, you’ll first generate a code to share with the person doing the troubleshooting.
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If your loved ones can manage unfamiliar but basic interactions with a PC, a Windows Pro license isn’t necessary to provide them remote support. You can have them fire up Quick Assist instead. (Remember this app from Windows 10? It’s still around in Windows 11.) Once in the program, they’ll log in to their Microsoft account, and then generate a six-digit code to send to you. You’ll input that code into Quick Assist on your PC, at which point you can then see what’s happening on their end, and even request full control of their PC.
Clock info
This tiny tweak adds more precision to your clock readout.
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If you’ve needed more precision in your clock readout on the Windows 11 taskbar, you’re in luck. You can now add seconds to the display—but you’ll have to head to taskbar settings to flip it on, rather than your date and time settings. Under Taskbar behaviors, scroll to the bottom of the list and check the box for Show seconds in system tray clock.
File Explorer tabs
Now if Microsoft would just add a Ctrl + Shift + T keyboard shortcut to quickly bring back closed tabs.
PCWorld
Microsoft didn’t just add tabs to Notepad. File Explorer got the upgrade, too. You no longer need third-party software to enable the feature (like Stardock’s excellent Groupy). All your numerous Explorer windows can now be grouped as tabs in a single container. Just click the “+” button in the top-most menu bar (or hit Ctrl + T on your keyboard)—each new tab will appear along the top of the window, just like a web browser.
Fast Snap Bar access
We love Snap, and having fast access to the default layouts makes it even easier to get the right arrangement for your open windows.
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Snap is one of our favorite features in Windows—being able to automatically resize and align windows saves time and makes working a lot easier. And not only do you get more layouts to choose from in Windows 11, but you can access them faster, too. Just hover your mouse over the maximize button in the upper right-hand corner of any window. A small pop-up menu will appear showing six different template options. Roll your cursor over any of the grids, and your current window will get sent to that position. Keyboard users can instead tap Win + Z, then the number of the layout they want.
Microsoft’s Energy Recommendations can help reduce your power bill.
PCWorld
Energy costs keep climbing—and in some parts of the world, they’re still at record prices. While you can of course switch your power plan in Windows to something lighter, Windows 11 has a few specific settings you can turn on to reduce idle power consumption. (After all, why pay for the higher electricity use when you’re not active on the PC?) You’ll find these under Settings > System > Power & battery > Energy recommendations. You can then turn on one or more of the suggestions. These more stringent settings will help extend battery life on laptops, too.
Virtual desktops
You can set different backgrounds for each of your virtual desktops to tell them apart.
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This feature might be one of the most underrated in Windows. Virtual desktops, which first launched in Windows 10, let you spread your active apps and windows among different home screens—it reduces clutter and makes your primary desktop less overwhelming. Some people use their virtual desktops to separate out work from play (or research from daily tasks), while others separate programs by category or function. Navigating between your desktops is as fast as clicking on the Virtual Desktop taskbar icon or tapping Win + Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow.
Clipchamp
Clipchamp’s video editing capabilities amply cover the basics.
PCWorld
Davinci Resolve is great if you need deep video editing capabilities, but Microsoft has an alternative free option that’s easier to jump into. Clipchamp can handle quick cuts, fades, and media insertions with ease, and the interface is far less intimidating. It also handles direct uploads to services like YouTube and TikTok, as well as cloud saves for OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox. Combine this program with the built-in recording features in Windows (i.e., Xbox Game Bar or Snipping Tool) and you can be on your way to internet fame quickly.
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There are a lot of people looking to upgrade to Windows 11 right now… and apparently a lot of them are having trouble doing so. Because one of the most popular methods for moving from Windows 10 to the new operating system—Microsoft’s official Media Creation Tool—has a debilitating bug in its latest release. Whoops!
If you’re unaware, the Media Creation Tool is a super-simple way to download a small program from Microsoft and bake it onto a USB drive that can then be used to install a copy of Windows on a PC. It’s an excellent method for installing fresh and starting from scratch, especially if you need to do so for another computer, say, in aid of family tech support. The Media Creation Tool has been around in various flavors for years, and it’s periodically updated as a separate piece of software… and the latest update has broken it for some users on Windows 10.
That’s according to Microsoft itself, who filed it as a bug on October 10th (that’s 11 days after the tool was updated). According to the official “Known Issues” page for Windows (spotted by Windows Latest), Windows 10 machines on the 22H2 release are seeing the tool “close unexpectedly, displaying no error message.”
The fact that this was an update to the tool that immediately preceded the self-imposed deadline that Microsoft set for a Windows 11 upgrade is unfortunate (or hilarious, depending on your point of view). Oh, and despite being nominally the “second half of 2022” release according to the name, 22H2 is, in fact, the latest full version of Windows 10. It’s the one that you need to be on if you want to be eligible for that extra year of security updates from Microsoft.
It seems unlikely that this issue is affecting the majority of Windows 10 users who are downloading the Media Creation Tool, if only because it took more than a week for Microsoft to officially comment on the situation. And there are plenty of other ways to upgrade if that’s what you want to do, not least of which is to just borrow a Windows 11 machine, where the tool seems to be working fine. You could also just download the ISO and create a bootable flash drive the old-fashioned way.
But yeah, it’s not a great look in a situation that was already looking pretty not-great. Since the problem has been documented on the Known Issues page, I imagine someone at Microsoft is scrambling to resolve it as you read these words.
Today, October 14th, officially marks the end of full support for Windows 10, a whopping decade after Microsoft debuted the operating system. You’re probably aware of this already, as Microsoft has been begging, pleading, cajoling, and not-quite-demanding that Windows 10 users switch over to Windows 11 by upgrading to a new device or updating their operating system (if their hardware supports it).
But if you haven’t done anything about it yet, you probably should. Here’s a quick summary of what you need to know and what to do about it.
Your options for Windows 10
You don’t have to leave Windows 10 if you don’t want to. Hundreds of millions of PCs (about half of them, in fact) won’t stop working today just because of a specific date on the calendar. This is not a Y2K situation. Even Microsoft itself has backtracked on the ultimatum, offering regular users “free” ways to extend security support for another year, albeit with some distasteful strings attached.
(Many countries in Europe have strong-armed Microsoft into that extra year of security support for users with no need to jump through hoops. A cynical observer might ask why Microsoft can afford to give extended support without strings to residents of countries with more robust regulatory infrastructures but not to everyone else on the planet. Hey Microsoft, why can you afford to give extended support… yadda yadda?)
Over the past few months, PCWorld has been covering the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11, your options for upgrading or staying, or even moving to another platform entirely. This series of articles covers everything you need to know:
No piece of software lasts forever. Indeed, the preceding operating system Windows 8 was supported from 2012 to 2023, by at least some measures, so a 10-year stretch is not unprecedented. Meanwhile, Windows 11 has been available since 2021. But I think there are several reasons why Microsoft is seeing such a strong pushback this time around.
One, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with Windows 10 that really necessitates an upgrade for most users. Windows 11’s initial teething troubles are done, but many users still aren’t happy with its less flexible setup, to say nothing of its more intense load of advertising integration with Microsoft services. Speaking as a life-long Windows user, I’m still annoyed that four years after launch I need a third-party tool to get my taskbar on the top of my monitor, or even open widget links in the browser of my choice. Windows 11 is, in a word, annoying.
And Windows 11 doesn’t offer much of anything to most people that isn’t covered by Windows 10. Arguably, a newer suite of Copilot tools is neat if you’ve hopped on the generative “AI” train, but Copilot hooks into services like ChatGPT that work fine in a browser and don’t need anything fancy in terms of local hardware—not even those NPUs that are a headline feature of new laptops and processors. The most visible feature in “Copilot+ PCs” is Windows Recall, a tool that’s so potentially devastating to the privacy and security of most users that my colleague Mark Hachman recommends you turn it off immediately.
A different digital world
But I think the biggest problem Microsoft is facing during this don’t-call-it-forced transition is that we’re in a much different digital landscape than we were in 2015. An entire generation of young people sees their phone—not their laptop or their desktop—as their primary digital device. Alternatives to Windows are more visible and available than ever, with plenty of users adopting macOS for better integration with iPhones and plenty of kids accustomed to Google’s Chromebooks through deep penetration in the education market in many countries. Even Linux is finally having a moment in the spotlight, with millions of users now adopting it as a gaming platform via the Steam Deck, even if they’re not fully aware that it’s Linux-powered.
This is, in short, a really bad time for Microsoft to try and force tons and tons of users onto a new operating system that they generally don’t need and didn’t ask for. The backtracking on another year (or two) of security updates, previously gated behind premium support and aimed only at corporate customers, indicates to me that at least someone in Redmond is sounding the alarm.
Windows licenses cost a lot—painfully so. Paying $139 for Windows 11 Home or $200 for Windows 11 Pro feels expensive when Linux is free. That much money can easily swallow a third of a budget PC build. Yet with less developer support for Linux, Windows is a necessity for most people.
What’s not a given is paying full retail price. Yep, you can snag discounts on Windows 11. How much you’ll save depends on your circumstances (and your stomach for hassle), but if you’re lucky, you could technically get it for free. Legitimately for free, since installing Windows without ever activating it doesn’t count as a full, sanctioned copy of the software. (Ahem.)
Here’s how, in several different ways. These strategies often apply for Windows 10 licenses too, but that operating system got the axe on October 14. Your better bet will be Windows 11, as it’ll get feature updates.
Simple upgrade: Trade up from Windows 10 to Windows 11
Microsoft
Price: Free
If you want to switch to Windows 11, you don’t need to pay to upgrade from Windows 10. You can make the jump for free.
You can only trade up to the same kind of edition, however. So if your license is for Windows 10 Home, you’ll move up to Windows 11 Home. Likewise if you have a Pro license.
Run either the Windows 11 installation assistant or create Windows 11 installation media for a clean install.
If performing a clean install of Windows 11, match your edition type (Home or Pro) to what you had in Windows 10.
Also, if you choose a clean install, ensure you have your Windows 10 license key on hand, in case your hardware isn’t automatically recognized and you need to manually activate Windows. Not sure what your key is? Run a program like Magical Jelly Bean Product KeyFinder in Windows 10. (Our step-by-step guide explains how it works.)
Wondering what happened to the free upgrades from Windows 7 or 8/8.1 to Windows 10? Unfortunately, Microsoft finally shut that down in September 2023.
Easiest discount: An OEM license
OEM licenses are available for both digital downloads and old-school DVD copies of Windows.
Our next suggestion is a method available to everyone and has the least amount of hassle: Purchasing an OEM license.
License types are different than operating system versions. They dictate what you can do with the software, while OS versions are distinguished by the features available. Multiple Windows license types exist, but the two commonly available to a home user are the retail and OEM varieties.
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Buying Windows 11 from Microsoft’s website or from a brick-and-mortar store gets you the retail license. If you visit an online retailer like Amazon or Newegg, you can find both retail and OEM licenses for sale. You can usually spot an OEM license by its price, which tend to go for $120 for a Windows 11 Home license and $160 for a Windows 11 Pro license—though you can grab them for less during periodic sales.
All the features of the operating system version are the same for both license types. The difference is that with a retail license, you can transfer the license key to a different PC later on.
You can’t do that with an OEM license. In exchange for a lower price, you get to use the license key on only one PC, period. If you build a system, and then put together a replacement one four years later, you can’t transfer the license to the new machine.
Also, if the hardware used to identify your system fails—namely, the motherboard—Microsoft’s registration servers won’t recognize your license as valid after you replace the dead part. Microsoft has historically been kind about such situations, however. You can usually call to reactivate the license after replacing a fried mobo. But it is an extra hassle.
For further savings through a retailer, you’ll have to wait for a sale (like Black Friday), when you can get an OEM license in the neighborhood of $85 (Windows Home) to $120 (Windows Pro).
Not all student discounts are reserved for the under-24 set. Your local community college might be a source for a free or extremely discounted copy of Windows—and nearly the equivalent of Windows Enterprise, to boot. You’ll just have to put in some legwork (perhaps literally) to get it.
As mentioned above, license types determine what you can do with Windows—and who can use it, as well. Through the Academic Volume Licensing agreements, schools can purchase access to Windows 11 Education for their students, faculty, and staff. Some make it available only on campus machines. Others will grant a license for use on a home machine.
In that latter camp are a number of community colleges, and they often make the Windows license free. The catch: You have to sign up for at least one course to qualify for campus discounts.
Not every community college offers free or discounted Windows 11 licenses, but many do. (Website pictured here: Pasadena City College, located in California.)
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To get access to the software, you should register for your class first. Afterward, find the download information for your campus’s download method. Verification of student status is typically required before the installation file becomes available.
A one-unit class usually counts though, and depending on your state, it can cost as little as $80 including administrative fees. You’ll often find one-unit classes offered by the physical education or dance departments (swim, ballet, jazz, boot camp workouts, etc.), but you can also find the occasional class on topics like Beginning Drawing, Intro to HTML & CSS, and Video for the Web.
If you were already planning on taking a class in one of these subjects, you’re getting an amazing deal. The Education edition of Windows, which is similar to the Enterprise edition, includes popular Windows Pro features like Bitlocker encryption and the Sandbox feature. You’re essentially getting Windows Pro (and then some) for as much as 60 percent off—and you get to learn something new.
Windows 11 Pro’s Bitlocker feature makes encrypting a drive a very easy process.
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Even if you aren’t interested in the classes, you’re still paying considerably less than what you would for even a Windows Pro OEM license. We don’t encourage truancy, but there’s nothing saying you have to show up for class, so long as you’re comfortable with a failing grade on your record.
Obviously, if your local community college doesn’t have an agreement with Microsoft in place, this strategy won’t work. Also, if the total cost of the class, administrative fees, and license fee adds up to more than the retail cost of a Windows Pro license, and you wouldn’t have otherwise taken the class, that negates this deal, too. In those cases, your main options are the OEM license (outlined above) or buying through a reseller (detailed below).
Note: If you use this method, also keep an eye out for other software deals through your school. For example, your school might offer a free Microsoft 365 account, or a heavily discounted Adobe Creative Cloud account (usually $20 per month, but we’ve seen it for as little as $100 per year).
Low prices with a big caveat: Resellers
PCWorld
Price: Under $30 (Windows 11 Home and Pro)
Scoring Windows 11 at an 85-percent discount (or more) is possible, and it’s not even difficult. But this approach comes with a salt mine of caution.
Platforms like eBay and Kinguin allow buyers to purchase product keys from third-party sellers. Some sites, like Kinguin, specialize in digital software sales—to buy Windows, you’ll find the listings for Windows 11 Home (or Windows 11 Pro), pick a seller from the list, then add their product to your cart and check out.
What makes the license keys so cheap is that they’re gray market at best. In other words, the keys aren’t illegal, but they’re likely extras from a volume licensing agreement and not meant to be sold individually to home users. So they come with risk. Critics of this method rightly point out that you can buy keys that don’t work, or eventually lose their activation status because of their unknown origins. And that has happened to some people. Customer service is often poor for these kinds of sites, too, leaving you high and dry.
Fans of this method say many people never run into issues, and in fact urge you to find the keys as cheap as possible (usually through eBay) to minimize problems. You can also buy with a credit card for some added protection. If you go this route, you should get Windows Pro keys. The cost difference is often negligible from Home and you get better features like Bitlocker encryption and other Pro features.
But what we actually recommend is to buy through reputable sources of cheaper keys instead. For example, some professional organizations are able to negotiate deals for their members—we suggest starting there. You can also check to see if your favorite media sites have special pricing for readers. PCWorld’s own software store is a good source—it offers Windows Home and Pro keys at sizable discounts (often it’s regularly as low as $60 for Home and $80 for Pro), and the keys are guaranteed to work.
Support for Windows 10 ends today, but that doesn’t have to be the final curtain for the operating system. With Extended Security Updates, you can keep receiving support for up to 10 PCs for one year at no cost. It’s worth signing up if you plan to keep using Windows 10.
However, experts—including former Microsoft employee David Plummer—recommend taking a further step: grab the Windows 10 ISO file before Microsoft removes it from the website.
What’s a Windows 10 ISO file? And why do I need to download it?
An ISO file contains all the data, files, folders, and structures of a particular program. It’s usually kept on hand for archiving purposes. It’s essentially the digital equivalent of what you’d get if you bought a software CD, for example, Windows 10.
You can use the Windows 10 ISO file to completely reinstall Windows 10 if problems arise on your current system. If you burn the ISO file to a bootable CD or drive, you can use it at any time to run Windows.
If you think you’ll ever want to run or install Windows 10 again, it’s a good idea to download the Windows 10 ISO file ASAP. We don’t know how much longer it’ll be made available by Microsoft.
How to download the Windows 10 ISO file
There are two ways to obtain the Windows 10 ISO: either via Microsoft’s download page or via the Media Creation Tool.
Method 1: Download the ISO directly
This method is a bit cumbersome and was explained step by step on the Windows Latest page. Here is the abridged version:
Open your web browser and go to the settings.
Navigate to the Developer Tools section (usually found under “More” in Microsoft Edge). You’ll now see a developer window. This must remain open at all times.
The “Network Conditions” option will now be displayed in your browser. If not, go to “More tools” and click “Network Conditions.”
Change the user agent here by removing the tick next to “Use Browser Default.” Then select a different one from the drop-down menu, for example, “Android Mobile.” This will make the download page believe that you’re accessing it with a device that doesn’t yet have Windows installed.
Refresh the download page. You should now see the Windows 10 ISO download page.
Scroll down and click on “Select Edition” under “Windows 10 2023 Update | Version 22H2.” Next, click “Windows 10 (Multi-Edition ISO).”
Confirm and wait until the check is complete.
Select the desired language and then “Confirm.”
Select the 32-bit or 64-bit version and click on “Save” to start the download.
In the developer window, switch back to “Use default browser option” and then close it.
Method 2: Use the Media Creation Tool
The second method is somewhat simpler, but requires you to install another program. The Media Creation Tool is offered by Microsoft itself to create ISO files. This is how you proceed:
Open the Microsoft website to get the Media Creation Tool for Windows 10 via the “Download Now” button.
Wait until the download is complete and open the EXE file.
Once opened, the tool can either be used to update your existing operating system or to create an ISO file.
Double-click on the file to open it. Click “Yes.” The Windows 10 setup page is now displayed.
Accept the terms of use.
You will then be asked whether you want to update your PC or create installation media. Select the second option.
Select the language, edition, and architecture according to your requirements. This option is hidden by default. Uncheck the “Use Recommended Options for this PC” box to select the desired options. Then click “Next.”
Select the “ISO file” option in the media selection field or, if you want to create a bootable flash memory, the “USB Flash Drive” option. Click “Next” to continue.
The download will now start in the Media Creation Tool.
When the download is complete, you can either burn the file to a DVD or click the “Finish” button to close the Media Creation Tool.
Once you have your ISO file, it’s a good idea to update with the latest patches. You can do this easily by opening the ISO and clicking on “Update this PC.” It’s best to keep the ISO updated until support ends in October, so you’ll have all the important improvements before then.
Are you getting used to Windows 11 but wish it was a bit faster? Do you feel like your computer has become slower or starts up unusually slowly? Follow along and I’ll go through various tricks that can speed up your system.
Uninstall unnecessary programs
Foundry
If you’ve bought a new computer with Windows pre-installed, chances are that the manufacturer has included a bunch of programs, often completely unnecessary or pure junk. But even if you installed the system yourself, Windows 11 comes with a lot of programs you may never use.
Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, where you’ll find a complete list of installed programs (Microsoft, like Apple, has started calling common computer programs “apps”). Click the more button to the right of a program you want to remove and select Uninstall.
Nowadays, the vast majority of programs shown here can be uninstalled, including the Edge browser.
Foundry
Microsoft also insists on adding shortcuts to various games and programs in the Start menu, which aren’t even installed but are installed via the Microsoft Store the first time you click on them. You can remove these too, and don’t need to go through Settings. Right-click on an icon directly in Start and select Uninstall.
While you’re cleaning up Windows’ bundled programs, you can also take the opportunity to uninstall programs you’ve installed but never use. Some installed programs are running in the background all the time, and even if they don’t take up a lot of resources, it’s unnecessary work. You also reduce the risk that a program you haven’t updated for a long time will turn out to have a security flaw that can be exploited by hackers.
Clean up other junk
Foundry
If you’ve updated to Windows 11 from Windows 10 and have had that system for a few years, it’s likely to have accumulated some junk. Take the opportunity to do some spring cleaning while you’re at it!
There are plenty of third-party programs that claim to help with this, but I recommend sticking to Windows’ built-in tools and manual cleaning.
Start by running the Disk Cleanup application. Here you can tick the options you want to empty, and you’ll see on the right how much space each category represents. Click on an option to see a description below. For example, Lifetime Optimization Files are files that Windows Update has downloaded and not used yet, but sometimes there may be unused files here even though you have installed all available updates.
The next step is to open Explorer and go to the Downloadeds folder. If you’re like me and leave most of the files you’ve downloaded here without ever deleting older files, you can free up tens of gigabytes. Sort in order of size and delete everything you don’t need anymore.
Windows also offers a way to remove old components via the command prompt.
Type command prompt in Windows search, select Run as administrator, and enter the following command:
After a while, the results will come up and you can see if the program recommends running the cleanup function, which removes duplicates and copies of some system components that can accumulate after updates. To run the cleanup function, type:
Once it’s done, you can run the first command again to see how much space it managed to free up. For me, it was almost five gigabytes, despite the fact that I installed a fresh copy of Windows 11 version 22H2 less than two years ago.
Foundry
An exception to the above rule about third-party software is a program that scans the disk and displays all files and folders in order of size, making it easy to find large files that you may not need at all. My recommendation is Wiztree.
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When you start the program and let it scan the disk, the contents are displayed both as lists sorted by size and as a color-coded chart. You can then go through the results from top to bottom and delete what you don’t need. But avoid folders like Windows and Program Files, and anything you don’t know what it is (if you’re not sure, do a web search).
Choose what to start automatically
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When you start your computer and log in, a number of processes and programs start automatically. Some are completely in the background, others are visible in the Taskbar, and a few open with application windows. In most cases you can control this from Settings > Apps > Startup. Switch off the programs/processes you don’t want to start automatically.
If you want to add a program to start automatically yourself, you can place a shortcut to the program’s .exe file in one of the following folders:
shell:startup (for your user account)
shell:common startup (for all users)
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Locate the application you want to autostart in Applications or Programs (x86) and copy it. Then type in any of the above shortcuts in Explorer to go to the folder in question. Right-click in the window and select Show more options followed by Paste shortcut.
Many programs have a built-in setting to start automatically at startup, adding themselves to the registry instead.
By minimizing the number of programs that start automatically, you will not have to wait as long for the system to finish after each restart. On a new computer with a fast SSD, this may not make much difference, but on older hardware it can make a big difference.
Settings that speed up Windows 11
If you have a slightly older computer and find that Windows 11 feels a little sluggish from time to time, you can go through the system settings and trim the computer a little.
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Performance mode
Open Settings and go to System > Power & battery. Click on Power Mode to display those settings, then select Best Performance from the drop-down menu to the right of Plugged in. If you have a laptop, there will also be a separate setting for when the computer is not connected to the mains, where you should select Balanced or Best power efficiency instead.
In previous versions of the system, these settings were in the Control Panel, but as part of Microsoft’s efforts to move as much as possible to Settings, they appeared there in 24H2. If you want to fine-tune individual settings, you can still do so in Control Panel, but for most people, the new Power Mode setting will suffice.
Efficiency mode
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Programs running in the background rarely take up a lot of computer resources, but if you’re running a really heavy program or game, such background processes can still lead to a drop in performance. Then you can take advantage of a relatively new feature that Microsoft added to Task Manager in 2022 called Efficiency Mode.
With efficiency mode enabled, two things happen: The application’s priority is lowered to “low,” which means that other applications with higher priority take precedence over the processor, and something called Ecoqos is activated. The latter means that the program runs as energy-efficiently as possible. Exactly how this is done varies depending on the processor and other factors, but it can include running without turbo or only on efficiency cores.
To activate it, right-click on a process in the list and select Efficiency Mode. A dialog box will appear warning that it can make some programs unstable, but if you encounter one, you can always turn it off afterwards.
Switch off search indexing
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Another feature that is useful on newer hardware but can slow down an older computer is indexing. This is especially true if you have the system on an old-fashioned hard drive and not an SSD.
Click on the magnifying glass in the Start search and type in index and you should find the Indexing Options control panel. Open it and check which locations the system is set to index for faster searching. Click Modify to change your choices.
If you rarely search for anything outside your home folder, you can delete everything except that folder to make indexing faster. If your home folder is very full, you can go down to the next level and deselect individual folders in your home folder that you don’t need to search quickly.
Switch off special effects
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If your computer doesn’t have a standalone graphics card and the processor is a few years old, the integrated graphics circuit may struggle to keep up, especially if you have a high-resolution screen. This can make Windows 11 feel slower than older systems like Windows 7 and XP. One thing you can try to speed up the interface is to turn off special effects like shadows and animations.
Open Windows search and type sysdm.cpl, which will take you to the System Properties control panel. Select the Advanced tab and click Settings in the Performance pane.
In the window that opens, you can change from Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer to Adjust for best performance (to turn off all effects) or Custom, which lets you tick off the effects you think you can do without.
Switch off transparency
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A special effect found in many places in the system is missing from the above settings. Transparency effects can instead be found in Settings > Personalization > Colors. Switch it off and the graphical interface will be a little less cumbersome. Sometimes it’s enough to make the system feel like it used to be, and you can leave shadows and other effects enabled.
Maximize gaming performance with these settings and tricks
Windows 11 has been accused of being slower in games than Windows 10, and that’s not entirely off the mark. One reason it may feel that way is that the new system has several security features enabled by default that users previously had to actively go in and switch on, and which, when running, can contribute to lower performance in games, among other things.
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Memory Integrity is a feature that uses virtualization to protect Windows from certain types of attacks. It’s one of the reasons Microsoft has raised the system requirements for Windows 11 so much, but for those who mostly play games on their computer, it might be worth trying to switch it off and see if it improves gaming performance. Open Windows Security, select Device Security > Core Isolation and switch off Memory Integrity.
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The second feature you can experiment with turning off is called Virtual Machine Platform and you’ll find it in Windows Features, which you can easily find via Windows Search. Tick it off and click OK.
Check the drivers
Old drivers for various hardware components can also make your computer less stable or slower than necessary. This is especially true for the graphics card, especially if you’re playing newer games, but even drivers for simpler components can crash the system if they have bugs.
For graphics cards, I recommend that you check which card you have and install the manufacturer’s latest driver for that particular card. That is, directly from AMD, Intel, or Nvidia. Windows can install working drivers automatically for many cards, but it is better to go to the source.
Skärmdump
Other drivers can be searched for by opening Settings > Windows Update > Advanced Options > Optional Updates. After a fresh installation of Windows on a computer, a lot of drivers may pop up here for various components on the motherboard like audio circuit and control circuit.
You can also manually update drivers for individual devices in Device Manager, but this is rarely needed nowadays.
Switch off unnecessary Windows features
Windows has a large number of built-in features that run in the background and handle various things. They are called services and are often used by the system or other programs to perform various tasks. For example, the Print Spooler service handles printing and the Sensor Service handles various physical sensors such as GPS and light meters.
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The Services application allows you to manually switch off services that you and your installed applications never use, which can make your computer feel a little quicker. This is a slightly more advanced intervention and you should check each service to make sure you don’t accidentally switch off something important that you actually need.
Even if you can’t make your computer much faster, Services is a great way to learn more about how Windows works and if you’re curious, I highly recommend a deep dive. Try it out — if you find your system unusable, you can always restore from backup or reinstall Windows.
Windows 10’s end of support date finally lands today. Microsoft is making sure the still-large number of active Windows 10 users are aware of their options to keep their PC secure.
Last month, the company published a “30-day reminder” that Windows 10 version 22H2 (including Enterprise and Education Editions) will reach the end of its support period on October 14th, 2025:
30-Day Reminder: Windows 10, version 22H2 will reach end of servicing on October 14, 2025
On October 14, 2025, Windows 10, version 22H2 (Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise editions) will reach end of servicing. October 14, 2025 will also mark the end of support for Windows 10 2015 LTSB and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB 2015. The October 2025 monthly security update will be the last update available for these versions. After this date, devices running these versions will no longer receive monthly security and preview updates containing protections from the latest security threats.
All in all, if you’re still actively using Windows 10, the deadline is almost here. What should you do? Here are all your options:
Extend Windows 10’s support period
Windows 10 users have three ways to continue receiving security updates for their operating system for another year:
Method #1: Activate Windows backup (free). This will synchronize your Windows settings to the cloud, with OneDrive serving as the cloud storage service. You’ll need a Microsoft account for this. Free OneDrive accounts get 5GB of storage space.
Method #2: Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points (“free”). After enrolling in Microsoft’s free Rewards program, you can earn points for things like using Bing Search, shopping on the Microsoft Store, using the Edge browser, and completing quests on the Xbox platform. You’ll need a Microsoft account for this.
Method #3: Pay $30 to extend the support period. This option is available in non-US countries, but pricing may vary.
Separate from these methods is another unofficial method that involves using a free tool called UpDownTool to put yourself on a special version of Windows 10 that’ll keep getting security updates until 2032. The only catch is that it’s Windows 10 LTSC 2021.
Upgrade to Windows 11
Microsoft’s favored solution is, of course, for you to start using Windows 11 either by upgrading your existing Windows 10 PC or buying a new PC with Windows 11 already loaded on it.
If you absolutely love Windows 10 and can’t stomach the idea of migrating to Windows 11, you might take this opportunity to switch out of the Windows ecosystem altogether.
Still running Windows 10 and pretending everything’s fine? No shame — we’ve all hit “Remind me later” more times than we care to admit. However, if you’re still running Windows 10, your Microsoft support just ended.
First of all, Windows 11 Pro is smooth. Like, way smoother than its predecessors. The redesigned interface is clean, centered, and customizable, which is great for focus and flow. Plus, it comes with features that make multitasking feel like second nature: snap layouts, virtual desktops, and lightning-fast search tools.
You get enterprise-grade features like BitLocker encryption, Windows Hello biometric login, and TPM 2.0 compatibility — all designed to protect your work, files, and peace of mind.
And Windows Copilot is now baked in, meaning you can ask for help, automate tasks, summarize web pages, or even brainstorm new ideas, all from your desktop.
If you’re a developer, creative, remote worker, or small business owner, Windows 11 Pro is an upgrade that can give you a serious productivity boost.
Although support for Windows 10 will not end in October 2025 after all, Microsoft’s additional grace period extends its life by only one year. This means that many users will soon not only have to say goodbye to their operating system, but also to their computer in the near future.
Even if its components are powerful enough for Windows 11, it may become electronic waste: This is because Microsoft has strict requirements for the hardware on which the new operating system can run — especially when it comes to the processor.
Most PCs and laptops that are more than eight years old are therefore excluded from the upgrade — even though they work without any problems under Windows 10 and would certainly do the same under Windows 11.
However, you can make your computer officially fit for Windows 11 with small hardware upgrades: Whether this is worthwhile, whether it is even possible, and how much it costs depends on the specific PC or laptop.
The requirements that Microsoft places on a computer for Windows 11 look low at first glance:
Processor with 64-bit support, two cores and a clock speed of 1GHz
4GB RAM
64GB storage for the installation
Many old computers fulfill these requirements, which aren’t dissimilar from the requirements for graphics hardware with Direct X 12: Even PCs that are over 10 years old have suitable components.
To make a PC with an Intel processor suitable for Windows 11, it is not enough to simply replace the processor. The new CPU also needs a new motherboard because it has a different socket format.
IDG
The same is true of Microsoft’s demand for a motherboard that has UEFI firmware with the Secure Boot function: This was already mandatory for computers with Windows 8, so complete systems should have been equipped with it since 2013.
The requirement for TPM 2.0 is more problematic: Windows stores security keys in the Trusted Platform Module, which also monitors the PC boot process to ensure that no malware is active before Windows loads.
TPM 2.0 was mandatory for complete systems with Windows 10, meaning that computers sold since the end of 2016 should be equipped accordingly. Prior to this, PCs and laptops were usually equipped with TPM 1.2 — which Microsoft believes makes them too insecure for Windows 11.
However, most computers will fail to overcome one hurdle when switching to Windows 11: According to Microsoft, they absolutely need a processor that is on the official compatibility list, which is available for Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm models.
This rules out all computers intended for private users that are equipped with an Intel processor before the 8th Core generation (“Coffee Lake,” “Kaby Lake R,” “Kaby Lake G,” “Amber Lake Y”) or an AMD CPU whose cores are not based at least on the Zen architecture.
Complete systems with a supported CPU were available from spring 2018 — so if your computer is more than seven years old, Windows 11 cannot be installed without detours.
Even with very old PCs, RAM, SSD, the processor clock rate or the number of cores are almost never the reason why Windows 11 cannot be installed. However, they lack security functions such as Secure Boot.
WhyNotWin11
However, the Microsoft list is not consistent: Older processors such as the Intel Core i7-7820HQ from early 2017 or newer ones such as the AMD Athlon 3000G from the end of 2019, which is based on the Zen architecture, are also listed as suitable for Windows 11, although other processors with this architecture are excluded.
Microsoft published new lists for the individual processor manufacturers for the Windows 24H2 update in February: They mainly contain more recent CPU models.
However, some CPUs that were previously listed as supported have also been removed — including individual models from generations that are actually considered compatible with Windows 11.
Whether this was accidental or intentional is unclear. These lists are actually aimed at PC manufacturers (OEMs), not private users.
With older processors in particular, they do not give you any definitive certainty as to whether a particular CPU is supported by Windows 11 — and even if it is now, whether this will also apply to future updates of the operating system.
How to check whether your PC is ready for Windows 11
If your computer is suitable for Windows 11 in its current configuration, you will be prompted at regular intervals to switch to the new system.
Windows 10 also indicates this with a large window in the settings under “Windows Update”.
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If this is not the case for you, you can use tools to check how Windows 11-ready your PC is. Microsoft offers the PC Health Check for this purpose. Start the check by clicking the blue “Check now” button.
If the computer fulfills the requirements for Windows 11, the overall result and the results for the individual components are highlighted in green.
A yellow mark means that the tool could not perform the test for a specific requirement because the components or function was not recognized or has not yet been activated — for example, because Secure Boot is switched off.
A cross in a red circle indicates that this component is preventing the upgrade to Windows 11 — in most cases the processor.
Incidentally, you should not trust the age information displayed on the left-hand side of the tool’s start screen — it simply guesses based on certain system information, which has nothing to do with the actual age of the hardware or the Windows installation.
The freeware WhyNotWin11 also checks the Windows 11 compatibility of the individual components and functions: Green means passed, red means failed.
If the check tool reports that Secure Boot could not be detected, it may be because you have not activated this function. First start the Windows system information by running
msinfo32
in the main window: “UEFI” must be in the “BIOS Mode” line. If “Off” is displayed for “Secure Boot State,” the UEFI supports Secure Boot, but it is not activated.
To switch on Secure Boot, call up the UEFI settings: The most reliable way to do this is to click on “Restart now” in the Windows settings under “Update & Security > Recovery > Advanced Boot.”
After a short time, the blue Windows pre-boot environment will appear: Select “Troubleshooting > Advanced options > UEFI firmware settings > Restart.”
The computer now calls up the UEFI setup: Depending on the manufacturer, you will find the options for Secure Boot in the “Boot” or “Security” section. There, set Secure Boot to “Enabled,” “Switched on,” “UEFI,” or “Windows UEFI Mode.”
After the restart, the “Secure boot state” in the system information should be set to “On.”
If you open the TPM management under Windows with the command tpm.msc, the system will show you whether a corresponding security module is present and switched on. If Windows does not find a TPM in the system, you may first have to activate it in the UEFI setup settings.
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Proceed in a similar way to check for TPM: Enter tpm.msc in the Windows search window. If the information for a TPM and “Specification version 2.0” appear, everything is OK, version “1.2” is not sufficient for Windows 11 — you need a new processor here.
If you see “No compatible TPM found,” the TPM may be compatible but not active. Now you need to call up the UEFI again and look for an option such as “Security Device,” “TPM State,” or, on a computer with an Intel CPU, “Intel PTT” or “Intel Platform Trust Technology.”
The corresponding options for an AMD computer are called “AMD fTPM Switch” or “AMD PSP fTPM.” Set them to “On,” “Enabled,” or “Activated.”
You need to replace this hardware for Windows 11
For an older PC, the route to Windows 11 usually involves changing the processor: Older CPUs also fulfill some of Microsoft’s requirements — they usually come with TPM 2.0 and their motherboard offers UEFI firmware with Secure Boot.
However, the models on the compatibility list have additional functions that their predecessors do not have and that cannot be added later via an update: In most cases, these are security precautions against malware attacks on the operating system.
The quickest and cheapest way to make an older PC fit for Windows 11 is to equip it with a processor that Microsoft allows. To do this, you must first clarify whether the CPU in your computer is soldered to the motherboard or sits in a socket — only then can it be replaced at all.
Find out the model designation of the CPU — for example via the Windows Device Manager under “Processors,” in the Windows settings under “System > Info,” or with a hardware analysis tool such as HWinfo 64 or Speccy.
Then research the technical data for this model on the processor manufacturer’s website — for example ark.intel.com. The hardware tools are also helpful — in HWinfo 64, look for “Main processor -> CPU platform.”
If terms such as “Socket,” “PGA,” or “LGA” appear there, it is a socketed processor that can generally be expanded. If, on the other hand, you see the abbreviation “BGA,” also in the form “FC-BGA,” the processor is soldered onto the board — you cannot replace it.
A complete PC with a desktop or tower housing usually has a socketed processor, whereas in many laptops the CPU is soldered.
However, there are exceptions: All-in-one PCs or small mini PCs often use soldered laptop CPUs, while large laptops — for example, gaming and high-end laptops — often have a socketed processor.
Intel: How to choose a suitable processor
If the processor can be changed, the next step is to clarify whether a Windows 11-compatible model can be used instead. The new processor must fit into the existing slot on the motherboard installed in the PC.
For older computers with Intel processors, your chances are slim: The socketed models from the CPU generations that are suitable for Windows 11 — from Coffee Lake onwards — use a different slot than their predecessors.
This is also called LGA1151 — but version 1 differs from version 2 for Coffee Lake in terms of the electrical connections: You can therefore use a newer processor, but it will not work.
When switching to Windows 11, you will therefore need a new processor and a new motherboard for the Intel platform.
Only if the processor sits on the board in a socket can it be replaced with a new one. You can use check tools such as HWinfo64 to find out whether this is the case with your computer.
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Depending on how powerful you want your computer to be after the upgrade, the upgrade will cost you between around $200 and $500.
In addition, you can skip several CPU generations from Intel when buying a new processor and motherboard, as newer models are hardly more expensive than older ones: This not only makes the updated computer fit for Windows 11, but also gives it a generous increase in speed.
If your old PC uses DDR4 RAM, you can even use the RAM on a board for the 14th core generation “Raptor Lake-R” from last year: A suitable motherboard such as the Asus Prime H610M costs around $100, and you can get a solid mid-range processor such as the Core i5-14400 as a boxed version with cooler for around $140.
It will be significantly more expensive if you want to equip your old PC with the latest CPU generation Arrow Lake: Inexpensive processors such as a Core Ultra 5 225 cost around $250, with a suitable motherboard costing just over $100.
You will also need DDR5 RAM, which is around $40 for 16GB capacity. If you only have a tight upgrade budget, you can opt for a board with an LGA1200 slot for an Intel PC:
CPUs up to the 11th-generation Rocket Lake can be used there, such as a Core i5-11400F, which costs around $115 with a fan. In addition, an LGA1200 board such as the Gigabyte H510M v2 costs around $100.
There are no costs for a new drive in any case: All boards for the upgrade options shown have M.2 and SATA connections so that you can continue to use an existing SSD — unless you need a flash memory with a larger capacity.
The cheapest M.2 and SATA SSDs with 512GB are around $30 — an SSD with PCI Express 3.0 is sufficient for M.2 because the recommended boards do not support a higher PCIe version for the drive.
In many cases, you can continue to use your existing power supply unit: Its connections should be suitable for the new board and the new components, unless you are using a powerful graphics card. However, it is generally advisable to replace the power supply unit on a computer that is six years old or older.
Hardware upgrade for an AMD computer
The upgrade path to Windows 11 is more favorable if you have a computer with an AMD processor: The manufacturer continued to use the AM4 socket for the older processors until 2022.
This means, for example, that a Ryzen 7 1700 that does not work with Windows 11 can be replaced with a processor from the Ryzen 5000 series, such as the Ryzen 7 5700 or the Ryzen 7 5800XT.
These models are still readily available and cost between $120 and around $180 with cooler.
Many old PCs with AMD CPUs only need to be replaced to make them compatible with Windows 11. Check beforehand whether there is a UEFI Bios update for the installed board that supports the new processor.
IDG
Before you buy the new processor, check whether your existing motherboard supports it: The manufacturer must provide a suitable UEFI update, which can be found out on the support pages for the relevant board.
You can continue to use the built-in RAM and an existing SSD.
As with Intel, newer AMD processors support higher clock rates for DDR4: In everyday PC use, however, it is usually hardly noticeable that the existing DDR4 memory in the old computer runs a little slower.
Windows 11’s Snipping Tool has definitely enjoyed some upgrades in recent times, but at the end of the day it’s still just a basic tool that allows you to do little more than take screenshots and videos. GIF creation wasn’t even supported until just a couple months ago!
Because of these limitations, I use ShareX instead for more complicated or precise screen captures. As well as capturing GIFs, ShareX offers significantly more advanced features, including precise capture with a magnifier, scrolling screenshot capture, and timed capture. ShareX even lets you add annotations like arrows, lines, and text bubbles to screenshots. And another great thing… it’s totally free!
Here I’ll show you how to use the highly coveted GIF recording function.
Type Ctrl + Shift + Print Screen. A crosshair will appear on your screen.
Now select the part of your screen you want to record a GIF with by moving the crosshair over it—it will automatically select the window or area surrounding your cursor. Click your mouse to begin recording.
To stop recording you can either type the shortcut again (Ctrl + Shift + Print Screen) or hit the stop button in the ShareX media control bar.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
Once you’re finished shooting, your GIF will appear in the default capture folder which is typically located at C:\Users\[Your Username]\Documents\ShareX\My Files.
The GIF will also appear in the task tray or “History” tab of the ShareX window so that you can play it back and decide if it’s good to go.
That’s a wrap for this Try This tip. Just a heads up, we have a customizable selection of newsletters at PCWorld so if you dig free PC tips, tricks, and other news and want it delivered to your inbox every week, be sure to sign-up.
This year my laptop turns six–a relatively young age in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it’s gotten slower and the battery life has taken a hit, but since I don’t use it for advanced video editing or gaming, it’s no problem. For lighter workloads like web surfing and emailing, it gets the job done just fine.
There’s really only one problem: my laptop is too old for a Windows 11 update. On October 14th, 2025, Windows 10 will reach the end of its life period, which means no new features or security updates. The former is not a big problem. The latter will be a disaster.
I’m not alone in this situation. Over 50 percent of users are still running Windows 10, and this figure is gradually dropping. How many will have updated in six months’ time is anyone’s guess, but whatever the percentage, one thing is clear. A large proportion of the world’s 1.6 billion Windows PCs will still be running Windows 10 on October 14th, 2025.
What makes this challenging is that Windows 11 is so technically demanding that it’s not possible to update all fully functional computers. Sadly, my six-year-old laptop is one of them.
If Microsoft stops updating Windows 10, it would turn into a breeding ground for cybercriminals. A computer without security updates is not only a problem for the user, but it can also spread malware to others.
This decision also creates major environmental problems. If a few hundred million fully functional computers are thrown away and users buy new ones, emissions will increase. Manufacturing new computers requires large amounts of energy and the extraction of rare metals.
Microsoft has stated that security updates to Windows 10 will still be available for another year, but for a fee. Until now, businesses could subscribe to extended support for old Windows versions and now we consumers can do the same. This is, of course, tempting for Microsoft in the short term, but it’s not a sustainable solution. In such a situation, a large proportion of users would continue to run Windows 10 without paying, thereby compromising security for us all.
I personally hope that Microsoft realizes that they should reconsider this decision. The only reasonable thing to do is to send out free security updates to Windows 10 as long as the system is widely used. It’s neither economically nor ecologically sustainable to sell computers with a six-year lifespan.
We need to move away from the idea of computers, mobiles, tablets, and other technologies as disposable products. This is a transition from the throwaway society that we all need to make. If Microsoft is serious about being a sustainable company, they should immediately remove the death sentence on my six-year-old laptop and other working Windows 10 computers.
Microsoft’s release of its Limited Edition Crocs has moved out of beta and into general release, the company said Friday. The $79.95 Crocs are now available in several sizes.
Originally, Microsoft had made the Limited Edition Crocs available in October, timed with the company’s 50th anniversary celebration. The “shoes” were originally made available as part of a Microsoft-sponsored sweepstakes. However, the footwear has now become a viral hit of sorts.
“Based on the incredible response and positive engagement across social media, we’re thrilled to share that the Microsoft Limited Edition Crocs Bundle officially drops globally beginning today,” the company said in an updated blog post.
The Crocs ship in a Windows XP-inspired theme. It’s based upon the “Bliss” background, inspired by a photograph from Charles O’Rear taken just a few miles from my home. (Like Windows, the Sonoma, Calif. vista looks nothing like the original photograph.) They also include custom Jibbitz charms taken from Microsoft iconography, such as the mouse cursor. There’s even a Bliss-themed drawstring backpack, perfect for carrying them to your next gala or shindig.
Where can you buy such wonders? At Microsoft’s official merch site, where sizes are available from a women’s 4/men’s 2 all the way up to a women’s 19/men’s 17.
While I have actually purchased several Microsoft’s Windows ugly sweaters with my own hard-earned cash, for me the Crocs are a step too far — I’m well into the “New Balance” era of my life. But if you’re a hip influencer, perhaps you can grab one before they’re gone.
When MS-DOS 5.0 was launched in 1991, one of its major innovations was the MS-DOS Editor, a classic text editor that quickly became popular with users. These days, it’s old news—yet fondly remembered.
This past summer, we saw the launch of Windows Edit, a new version of MS-DOS Editor which runs in the command line and offers support for Unicode. The 300 KB file limit has been removed, which means you can now handle gigabyte-sized files with Edit if desired.
The latest news is that Edit will soon be the default text editor in the Windows 11 Command Prompt, as noted by Windows Latest. If you want to try Edit now, you can download the program via GitHub.
Edit is open source software and written in the Rust programming language. You don’t have to be running Windows to use the text editor; it works just as well on macOS and Linux.
Microsoft really wants you to use Copilot, its branded AI platform. In fact, Microsoft wants you to use Copilot so much that it’s fine if you want to use it on Google services, like Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar. A new Windows Insider update facilitates that. Are you excited? Don’t everybody jump up at once.
According to the Windows Insider Blog, the latest version of the Copilot app on Windows can now connect to Google personal services to scan their contents. A Google account connected can let Copilot search through and analyze (at least) Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Contacts. You can also use this third-party connection to let it access other Microsoft accounts beyond your primary one, so it can get into OneDrive and Outlook on another account too.
The main idea here is natural language search and analysis. For example, you can ask, “What’s the email address for Sarah,” assuming you only know one Sarah and that Copilot understands the context. But if you’re inclined to do that and you need information that’s in your Google account and not your Microsoft account… why wouldn’t you just use Gemini, which is Google’s flavor of the same thing? It’s available right in the browser, no extra legwork required.
Possibly more useful (and less alarming) is a new document creation tool. The Windows Copilot app can now adapt a conversation into a Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint slide deck, or PDF, and export it. Both features are available via the Insider channel on the Microsoft Store, though they might not be turned on right away for all users.
I don’t use Microsoft Excel all that often, so it remains a bit of a mystery to me. I can enter text and create graphs and that’s basically it. That’s why I’ve set myself a goal to learn one new Excel trick every week.
This week, I’ve learned how to successfully copy data from a PDF table into a spreadsheet. It sounds easy and straightforward, but it’s not. The few times I’ve attempted this in the past were a disaster.
It turns out that I tried to do what most people do — that is, I tried to copy and paste directly from the PDF itself. But that just results in the text being copied over with formatting all askew. No, a better way to do it is to use Excel’s built-in data copying feature. Not only is it simple and easy to do, but the data will be copied over with perfect formatting as well.
What to do:
Open the PDF document and make a note of where the table with the data is located and the number designation for the table. For this exercise, I’m using a PDF of a review guide for a laptop I reviewed.
Now open Microsoft Excel. Also open a new Excel document by selecting File > New > Blank Workbook.
In the top menu of Excel select Data > Get Data > From File > From PDF.
Browse your files and select the PDF with the table in it. Now select Import.
Choose the table from the list that appears and click Load. The table you want will now load into the Excel document with perfect formatting.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
I hope you’ve enjoyed adding an extra string to your Excel bow. That’s all for this tip. If you want more helpful tips like this one delivered to your inbox twice weekly, be sure to sign up to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.
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I never thought I’d think on laptops with envy. But here I am, writing these words.
It comes on the heels of Intel’s deep reveal of Panther Lake, which is what Adam, Will, and Mark were learning about last week. (Such is the super sekret life of tech journalists.)
Mark’s quick rundown of the facts is extensive, as overviews go—there’s just that many details to cover. I highly recommend reading his deep dive as well, but among the highlights: Three chip families represented by one 8-core and two 16-core processors, with a claim of 50 percent better multithreaded performance over previous generations. The top-tier 16-core CPUs pack juggernaut-level integrated graphics, including dedicated support for ray-tracing. Said integrated graphics take the form of Xe3 GPU cores touted as 50 percent faster on average compared to last gen. Multiframe generation support (yep, “fake frames”).
Intel is also cramming in upgrades to the “image processing unit” in its integrated laptop processors to boost clarity and color fidelity of video during webcam calls. Inaccurate skin tones and grainy low-light calls should be less of a problem on a Panther Lake chip. But the feature I want in all chips, including desktop? Auracast, which not only lets you wirelessly play videos across two devices simultaneously, but also use the onboard Bluetooth radio to triangulate the location of a lost item—whether the laptop itself or a connected device, like earbuds.
So why the envy, when desktop could get Auracast (and likely will)? When kickass integrated graphics matter less, given the flexibility for discrete GPU support? When desktop processors outstrip performance on laptops?
Memory issues.
I mean of course the ominous reports of anticipated shortages and sharper rising costs for memory. In a recent interview, Phison’s CEO thought that demand from AI data centers for NAND-based products could create a dearth lasting as long as 10 years.
A whole-ass decade.
Blake Patterson
It’s not just NAND, either. DRAM is also expected to suffer from the same shortages and price hikes as demand skyrockets. (You can read Luke James’s excellent article over at Tom’s Hardware for more of a dive into the factors contributing to this bleak outlook.)
Here’s my thinking: CPUs and GPUs will continue to improve on desktop, yes. It’s likely features like Auracast will come to desktop processors, yes. But what good will that do me if I can’t afford to build a PC around those chips?
These days, I think of storage and memory as basic staples among hardware components—no different than the potatoes, rice, or bread of a meal. The idea of RAM and SSDs becoming both scarce and expensive makes me start to question what I can take for granted about desktop PCs and DIY building.
I wonder if interest in DIY building will slow a bit, due to the extra burden on budgets. If that will then lead to an equal slowdown in consumer CPU and GPU innovations. If that then increases the withdrawal from DIY building, leading vendors to pull back on the innovation and variety in cases, fans, and other such components.
I’m not predicting a death spiral, but I fear a period of dormancy that returns us to the mood and vibe of past eras—when desktop PCs were boring, bland, and not highly performant unless you had serious spare cash to drop.
For now, I’m preparing for austerity even as I look forward to seeing what else could come from Intel’s Panther Lake, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite and Elite Extreme, and future laptop processors. I love the idea of powerful mobile chips. I hate the idea that they could supplant desktop PCs as the only reasonable option for consumers.
In this episode of The Full Nerd
In this episode of The Full Nerd, Adam Patrick Murray, Will Smith, and special guest Edward Crisler, NA PR Manager at long-time GPU maker Sapphire Technology, discuss the current state of GPUs, including manufacturing challenges and benchmarking changes.
I should talk more about the actual episode here, but honestly, Ed always has great insights and you should definitely check out the whole conversation. More to the point, I’m still extremely preoccupied by the lollipop scorpions that Adam brought back as a souvenir for Willis.
Surely…that’s an HR violation? Isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be? (Willis, be careful!)
Willis Lai / Foundry
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Don’t miss out on our NEW shows too—you can catch episodes of Dual Boot Diaries and The Full Nerd: Extra Edition now! (Adam just dropped a new episode of Extra Edition related to Panther Lake!)
And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds.
This week’s packed nerd news
Intel’s Panther Lake chips definitely made the biggest waves in tech news this week, but other interesting, quirky, and downright unsettling tidbits popped up, too. I’m predictably wary after reading a new report about AI models being easily corrupted, but balancing out the scales is a rather delightful DIY take from Google on a keyboard.
Also, we got word of it a few weeks ago, but now it’s time to bring out the bugle—AOL’s dial-up service is now officially dead. Rest in peace, old friend.
It’s unusual, but I want one.
Google
Expect Thread Director changes in Intel’s Panther Lake: Mark wasn’t the only one who dug deep into Panther Lake while at the press briefings in Arizona. Will took a dive with Intel Fellow Rajshree Chabukswar into the upcoming improvements Intel is making to Thread Director for Panther Lake, too.
The only RAM config that PC gamers need? This advice from our colleagues over at PCWelt takes the pressure off to spend more to get better performance. But will the internet agree to a sensible take?
Keep it secret. Keep it safe: Google’s allowing end-to-end encrypted emails to be sent to non-Gmail recipients. It’s only available to Workspace users, but I like what it could mean for personal accounts down the road.
I’d try this rotary dial keyboard: It would be slow, yes. But I like what it could mean for accessibility options. (Though maybe voice typing is faster. Assuming it recognizes what you’re saying with any accuracy. And it’s not always necessarily as private as I’d like.)
Catch you all next week—if I manage to escape the boxes I’ll be swimming in, after taking inventory of my October Amazon Prime Day purchases. None of it is exciting, but I’m excited that I got a good deal on “boring” stuff. Yeah, I’ve reached that age.
~Alaina
This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld.
The bells are ringing for Windows 10, and many users who have waited are now choosing to update to Windows 11. If you’re one of them, congratulations on continued security updates and new features, but also on an operating system that has received a lot of criticism since its launch in 2021 — sometimes justified, but often exaggerated.
Because when you look beyond the glassy surface with its rounded corners and the Start menu in its strict position, the differences are not that insanely big actually. It’s not like switching to Mac or Linux, not by a long shot.
In many cases, these are fairly small changes that you can quickly get used to. In many cases, it’s even possible to restore or mimic old behavior, and new additions you don’t need can often be turned off or hidden.
Relax and enjoy the ride and everything will be easier, right?
Microsoft has become a bit more like Apple in one area in recent years. Where the company used to make an effort to step aside and let users choose how they want to use their computer, it now prefers you to do certain things in a certain way.
Foundry
The most obvious example is that you’re almost forced to sign in with a Microsoft account instead of a traditional local account. For example, it is not normally possible to choose a local account when installing the system. This can be circumvented fairly easily, but Microsoft keeps harping on about all the benefits of its account.
In a way, the company is right. With a Microsoft account, for example, you don’t have to worry about registering Windows because the license key is linked to the account and it’s easy to reactivate if you make changes to the hardware. I find this very useful as I sometimes boot my Windows installation directly and sometimes in a virtual machine — even though the hardware is completely different, the system has no problem with activation.
Windows 11 Home can encrypt the local storage with Device Encryption, but it requires a Microsoft account to store a copy of the recovery key — so if you want to use a local account you need a Pro license to encrypt the disk.
Other benefits include synchronization of settings and applications installed from the Microsoft Store between computers and automatic authentication for all other Microsoft services and applications. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription for Office, it will be much easier if you are logged into Windows with the same Microsoft account.
But if you don’t subscribe to Microsoft 365, don’t use OneDrive, have no need for disk encryption, and rarely or never change hardware, there’s no practical gain from a Microsoft account. If you prefer, you can then opt for local account anyway, even with Windows 11 Home.
Create local account with Rufus
Rufus
The easiest way to do this when reinstalling the system and not updating from an older version is by creating an installation media with the Rufus program.
Download an .iso file of Windows 11 from Microsoft and select it in Rufus.
Select a connected USB stick of at least 16 gigabytes that has nothing important on it (all current files will be deleted) and click Start.
In the dialog box that pops up, tick Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account.
You can also tick Create a local account with username and fill in the account name you want, so you don’t have to do it during installation.
The Start menu
Microsoft
The most visible difference in Windows 11 from its predecessor is that the Start menu and program icons have been centered in the Taskbar instead of being on the far left as in all previous versions. But it’s a quick thing to change if you prefer to have it the way it used to be (go to Settings > Customization > Start and change to left-aligned). The big difference lies in the content of the menu.
As soon as you click on the Start icon, it is obvious that it is not the old familiar Start menu. There is no list of installed programs, but instead a number of preselected “favorites” are listed in a grid under the heading Pinned. Below these is an area called Recommended, where you can find recently opened and added programs, files, and more.
You can switch off all these recommendations, but the section will still be there. Microsoft hasn’t made it easy, but at the time of writing there is a method that works in the latest version. It requires three additions to the registry. You can save the below code in a plain text file with a .reg extension and import into the Registry Editor.
After a reboot, the pinned items area fills the entire center section of the menu.
Foundry
With a trick, you can get rid of Recommendations and get a cleaner Start menu.
What you can’t do anything about, however, is that the Start menu doesn’t show a list of all installed programs. You can still access such a list by clicking All in the top right, but there doesn’t seem to be any hidden setting to make it open that list automatically.
In the narrow strip at the bottom you will see the on/off button and an icon for your account, but you can also add other shortcuts in Settings > Customization > Start > Folders.
The Taskbar
Aside from the default placement in the center, the big change in the Taskbar is that programs group all their windows behind one icon instead of one icon per window. But just like the placement, you can easily restore the old behavior. You can find the different settings in Settings > Customization > Taskbar (or Taskbar Behaviors).
The Explorer
Foundry
In Windows 11, Microsoft has given Explorer an updated interface with a modern, airier design. If you have a small screen, it can be distracting to have fewer icons. You can change that by choosing View > Show > Compact view.
The menu tab area that existed before has been replaced by a narrow toolbar with only a few common functions. Other functions can be accessed via the context menu — click on Show more options to display the old context menu with all options. You won’t miss the fact that functions like copy and paste have become icons.
A big improvement is that the program now has built-in tab support, so you can have multiple folders open without having multiple separate windows. Ctrl+T opens a new tab just like in browsers, and you can drag and drop a tab from the tab bar at the top to detach it into its own window.
Tab layouts and tab groups
Foundry
Hover over the maximize button at the top right of an application window and you’ll soon see a small menu of options to quickly adjust the size of the window to take up, say, half or a third of the screen. These are called tick layouts, and if you fill the screen with two or more programs using the feature, they are automatically lumped together in something called a tick group.
You can quickly view such a group of programs either by hovering over one of the included programs in the Taskbar and selecting the group there, or by clicking on the new Task View button to the right of the search button and selecting there.
Foundry
Unfortunately, pinned groups do not save after a restart and if you switch off one of the included programs, the group disappears.
A quicker way to pin a window to one half of the screen is to grab it and hold it against the edge of the screen on the side you want it. If you already have an application taking up, say, a third of the screen, the next window will be two-thirds instead of half.
Widgets and Copilot
Foundry
On the far left of the Taskbar (if you have the Start Menu centered — otherwise on the far right before the System Tray) is a new icon which normally shows the current weather in your location. It may also show news headlines of various kinds. Hover over or click it to reveal Windows 11’s new widget feature.
To be honest, it sucks, so it’s a good thing Microsoft has made it easy to switch it off. Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and turn off Widgets.
Another new feature that is now also included in the latest version of Windows 10 but has been included for longer in Windows 11 is Copilot, which in a way replaces the old voice assistant Cortana.
Microsoft
The Copilot icon is located in the Taskbar next to the Task View icon (which shows all open windows and virtual desktops), and opens a spartan web-based interface that looks exactly like copilot.microsoft.com. The company has been criticized for not developing a proper Windows application but settling for a web view. But Copilot is one of the more competent free AI chatbots, so you can still use it to brainstorm ideas, proofread texts, and more.
If you have a subscription to Copilot Pro, you can log in to access the more advanced features, but otherwise you can skip it. Unlike in Word and Excel, for example, the system doesn’t automatically log you in with the same account you log in with in Windows, but that account should show up as a preset when you try to log in.
Updated classics
If you come to Windows 11 today and not right after the launch, you will notice a change that has come with updates to the system. Microsoft has gone to great lengths to update some of the oldest but still most used programs in Windows: Paint and Notepad.
In addition to an updated, modern interface, both programs have been enriched with AI features. It’s not that the Copilot chatbot itself has been baked in, but specific features for each program.
Microsoft
In Paint, you can use a new tool to remove distracting objects or blur the background of images. Users with a Copilot Plus computer can also use generative fill to add new objects to images.
Notes have been given more features for rewriting text. For example, you can ask Copilot to rewrite in a formal tone or in the form of a poem. The AI can also expand or shorten text. Soon, a function for writing summaries of texts will also be added.
Microsoft
Other examples of applications you might not recognize are Clock — which has a new design and new features — and the brand new Media Player application, which replaces the old Windows Media Player.
Key settings and where to find them
Joel Lee / Foundry
Microsoft has redesigned the Settings application in Windows 11. Not only have many more settings that were previously in Control Center moved into the modern application, but it also has a new interface that makes it easier to browse settings.
In Windows 10, Settings had a separate list of different settings on the left for each category, and to go to a different category, you had to first go to the home screen and then click into that category. In Windows 11, the left-hand column is instead filled with a list of categories, and a menu of different kinds of settings under each category appears on the right.
Click on one of these to open the settings included in that sub-category. For example, Bluetooth & devices > Devices where you will find related settings. Some more advanced settings may be hidden in another level of submenus and others behind expandable groups. For example, in Display, the Color Profile and HDR settings are in submenus, while the Multiple monitors settings are expandable.
The search function in Settings is really good and if you’re looking for a particular setting and can’t remember exactly where it is, it’s often the quickest way to find it.
In a new support document that offers “tips to improve PC performance in Windows,” Microsoft warns that two features in Windows 10 and Windows 11 can impair system performance. Older and/or weaker PCs in particular will suffer from this.
In addition to well-known tips—such as staying on top of system updates, keeping storage space free, and regularly scanning for malware—Microsoft highlights OneDrive and visual effects as performance killers. We show you how to get around these issues.
Pause OneDrive synchronization
Joel Lee / Foundry
OneDrive’s automatic cloud synchronization feature is practical and convenient, but it consumes computing power and bandwidth. “Syncing can slow down your PC,” confirms Microsoft on the support page, and user will experience delays, especially during intensive use.
The solution? Click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray, click on the Settings cog, then click on “Pause syncing.” Select a pause duration (either 2, 8, or 24 hours). Your PC should feel faster now.
Turn off Windows visual effects
Joel Lee / Foundry
The animations, transparency effects, and shadows in Windows 11’s user interface are stylish, but they’re also demanding on RAM and GPU. “These [effects] look great, but they can also use additional system resources and can slow down your PC,” warns Microsoft. It’s particularly noticeable on devices with less RAM (under 8 GB).
To disable visual effects, navigate to the Start menu, search for “performance,” and select the result titled “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.” There, under the Visual Effects tab, click the option labeled “Adjust for best performance,” then click Apply and OK. This will disable resource-intensive visual features.
More tips for speeding up Windows
Microsoft’s warning shows that even useful features can slow down overall system performance. Pausing OneDrive synchronization and disabling unnecessary visual effects can be a quick and easy way to immediately boost your PC’s responsiveness for free. This can be a game-changer for older PCs!
It seems like Microsoft is continuing its quest to force Windows users to use Microsoft accounts instead of local accounts, despite the fact Microsoft accounts on Windows are half-baked and potentially incredibly dangerous. In the most recent Windows 11 Insider Preview Build (26220.6772), the company has closed a few more loopholes people were using to trick the Windows installer into allowing local user accounts.
We are removing known mechanisms for creating a local account in the Windows Setup experience (OOBE). While these mechanisms were often used to bypass Microsoft account setup, they also inadvertently skip critical setup screens, potentially causing users to exit OOBE with a device that is not fully configured for use. Users will need to complete OOBE with internet and a Microsoft account, to ensure device is setup correctly.
It seems that the specific workaround removed with this change is executing the command “start ms-cxh:localonly” in the command prompt during the installation process (you can access cmd.exe by pressing shift+F10 during installation). Several other workarounds have also been removed in recent years, making it ever harder for people forced to use Windows 11 to use a local account, like the gods intended.
The only reason Microsoft is pushing online accounts this hard is that it makes it much, much easier for them to collect your data and wrestle control over your installation away from you. A regular, proper local account with additional online accounts for various services would work just as well for users, allowing them to mix and match exactly what kind of cloud services they want integrated into their operating system. However, leaving this choice to the user invariably means people aren’t going to be using whatever trash services Microsoft offers. And so, Microsoft will make that choice for you, whether you like it or not.
There are a million reasons to stay away from the Windows version that must be making Dave Cutler cry, and the insistence on online accounts is but one of them. It’s a perfect example of how Microsoft developers Windows not to make it better for its users, but to make it better for its bottom line. I wonder how much more Microsoft can squeeze its users before we see some sort of actual revolt.
Windows used to just lack taste. These days, it’s also actively hostile.
On October 14th, 2025, Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 10, negating the company’s early promise that Windows 10 was going to be “the last version of Windows.” Instead, six years after it launched in 2015, Microsoft released Windows 11.
It’s now been four years since Windows 11’s release and Microsoft is tired of waiting for users to switch over. As of September 2025, Windows 11 and Windows 10 are still neck and neck when it comes to global market share, and Microsoft clearly wants to nudge things along.
But what does it mean that Windows 10 support ends next month? Well, allow me to explain! Not only that, but I’m going to tell you why I’m sticking with Windows 10 and how I plan to do so.
Time is running out for Windows 10
Once October 14th rolls around, Windows 10 PCs will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes, let alone new features. This means the longer you keep using it, the more prone to malware and hackers your PC will become (because they’ll exploit yet-undiscovered security flaws that won’t be patched on your PC). And if you run into system troubles with your PC, Microsoft won’t provide technical support.
Dave Parrack / Foundry
As-is, this has scared lots of users into finally taking the plunge and upgrading to Windows 11, either by initiating a Windows Update or buying a new machine with Windows 11 pre-installed. But Statcounter’s market share stats show that hundreds of millions of users are still refusing to upgrade—myself included.
I knew end of support for Windows 10 has been coming for a while, yet I didn’t care enough to upgrade and I still have no intention to upgrade. I’m sticking with Windows 10. Yes, I’m aware of the risks, but I have ways to get around them. (More on that below.)
My current PC isn’t good enough
Microsoft is desperate for holdouts such as myself to move on from Windows 10, but the numbers suggest that way too many people are outright refusing Windows 11 for various reasons.
Why am I staying on Windows 10? The biggest reason is that my PC apparently doesn’t qualify for Windows 11. I ran the Windows PC Health Check app and found that my Intel Core i3 (on my seven-year-old laptop) isn’t supported by Windows 11. To upgrade, I’d either have to buy and install a new CPU (no thanks) or buy a new PC entirely (no thanks). Why spend unnecessary money when my current PC works just fine?
Dave Parrack / Foundry
Why doesn’t my CPU qualify for Windows 11? Who knows. I doubt Microsoft even has a good answer. Maybe my laptop would choke on Windows 11 because it’s way more bloated, or maybe it’d work just as well as Windows 10 does. Maybe Microsoft just wants to give me a reason to abandon ship and buy a new laptop.
But my laptop works well! And that’s the crux of the matter for me. It’s more than capable of doing everything I need, and I’m not a Windows power user so I don’t need anything more. This feels like planned obsolescence to me… and I hate that. It’s a waste of a perfectly good laptop and I refuse to turn it into e-waste. I’m also unimpressed by Microsoft’s potential trade-in program for Windows 10 PCs.
Dave Parrack / Foundry
As for Windows 11, I just don’t care for it. I’ve used it on other people’s PCs several times and it honestly doesn’t feel like much of an upgrade. Sure, there are some noticeable improvements, but none of them are big enough and revolutionary enough to justify laying down hundreds of bucks on new hardware.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the bugs and glitches that have plagued Windows 11 since 24H2! There’s no way I’d willingly subject myself to that kind of frustration.
Dave Parrack / Foundry
It also doesn’t help that, as I’ve written about before, I use a Chromebook for most of my everyday activities. Which means that my Windows 10 PC has been pushed to the sidelines a bit, only there for those times when I need it instead of my Chromebook.
Am I just getting old?
One concern that has crossed my mind is, maybe this all is just an age thing. As I approach 50, could it be I’m reaching that stage of life where I prefer to stick with familiar tech and don’t want to bother with “the next thing”? I don’t remember having these same feelings when I had to upgrade from Windows XP to Vista or from Windows 7 to 10. It very well could be (at least partly) a “me problem” here.
Still, I can’t deny that Microsoft is making me feel backed into a corner and wanting to push back, carrying on with the hardware I’ve been using for several years. I’m resentful that this multibillion-dollar company is basically forcing me to buy a new computer and switch to an inferior operating system instead of working Windows 11 into a product so good and desirable that it makes me want to switch.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there’s anything bad about Windows 11. It just hasn’t given me a compelling reason to upgrade. If I could freely upgrade without needing a new PC, sure, maybe I would do it. But with it coming with a real cost, I’m choosing to stick with Windows 10.
How to stick with Windows 10 (for now)
If you’re in a similar position as me and want to keep using Windows 10 even after the end of support date passes, you have a few different options on going about it safely and securely. Whatever you do, don’t just keep using it in its unsupported state. Without a continued source of security updates, you’d just be asking for trouble.
There are actually three ways to join the Windows 10 ESU program. A valid Microsoft account is needed for all three options:
Option #1: Pay $30. This is a flat one-time fee that unlocks the extra year of Windows 10 security updates with no other strings attached (apart from needing a Microsoft account). Price may vary if you’re outside the US.
Option #2: Enable Windows Backup. Windows Backup is a free feature that backs up selected files, folders, and settings to OneDrive so you don’t lose them even if your PC dies, gets lost, or stolen. After activating Windows Backup, your Windows 10 PC gets extended updates.
Option #3: Spend 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Instead of paying $30, you can instead sign up for Microsoft Rewards and start earning points by doing things like searching on Bing, playing select games on Xbox One, buying stuff on the Microsoft Store, etc. Points can then be redeemed for extended security updates.
If any of these options sound good, you should be able to enroll your PC in the Windows 10 ESU program via a banner at the top-right corner of your Windows Update settings page.
There’s also another unofficial option
If none of Microsoft’s official ESU options seem good to you—maybe you don’t want to create a Microsoft account at all—then there’s one more thing you can try, but this path has caveats.
There’s a free third-party tool called UpDownTool that allegedly provides several more years of support for Windows 10. How does it work? By converting your PC to Windows 10 LTSC (“Long-Term Servicing Channel”), which is a special cut-down version of Windows 10 that isn’t meant for general-use PCs. Windows 10 LTSC has regular support until January 12th, 2027 as well as extended support until January 13th, 2032.
UpDownTool
UpDownTool is actually aimed at Windows 11 users who regret upgrading and want to revert back to Windows 10. However, it can still be used by people on Windows 10 (or any other version of Windows) to switch over to Windows 10 LTSC.
By switching to Windows 10 LTSC, you’ll end up with a PC that basically runs on Windows 10 except without any of the usual bloatware or any of the nagging pop-ups about upgrading to Windows 11. The caveat is that Windows 10 LTSC doesn’t get feature updates, doesn’t support the Microsoft Store, and doesn’t support apps that are regularly maintained via the Microsoft Store, such as Microsoft Edge.
Again, UpDownTool is a third-party tool that isn’t officially supported by Microsoft, so use it as your own risk if you choose this path.
It’s still Windows 10 for me
I’m most likely going to enroll my PC in the Windows 10 ESU program by activating Windows Backup before the October 14th deadline, which will keep my PC secure and protected until at least October 13th, 2026.
Beyond that, I’m undecided on how I’ll move forward. I may finally bite the bullet on a new PC that comes with Windows 11, but I’m also tempted to abandon Windows altogether in favor of ChromeOS—and if I end up doing that, Microsoft will only have itself to blame.
The iconic “Blue Screen of Death” (now known as the Black Screen of Death) has grown increasingly rare with Windows 11 users hardly seeing it anymore. But that isn’t stopping Apple from using it in its latest advertising/marketing campaign.
Apple’s new “Macs don’t panic” ad video is over eight minutes long and mocks Windows being used at a trade show, where an initially successful event ends in the glow of a blue screen fiasco.
Apple describes the video:
The Underdogs are ready for their first-ever trade show until a PC outage strikes and the Blue Screen of Death threatens their beloved Container Con. Thanks to the security of their Apple products, the Underdogs are unaffected and experience extraordinary success. See how the magic of Mac, iPhone, and iPad comes together to help the Underdogs meet potential clients, bag new business, and even lend a hand to a fellow packaging company.
Okay, only marketing people could come up with copy like this. The “Underdogs” are a small start-up and Container Con is a trade show. The short film occasionally shows off Apple elements like the ringtone of an Apple Watch or the “Find My” feature to locate a lost iPhone.
But the central concept here is Windows bashing, where the room turns blue because the Windows PCs used at the event crash with blue screens. According to Windows Latest, this is a reference to the global CrowdStrike IT outage, which incidentally was not Microsoft’s fault.
Apple seems to be manufacturing a false impression with this short film, as modern Windows 11 computers don’t actually crash en masse like this, nor are Windows users panicking over their operating systems. The scaremongering culminates at 5:03 into the video with the statement: “Huh? It’s a PC problem. Your Macs are secure.”
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