TL;DR: Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows is $27.97 (reg. $219.99) through October 20, with no subscription.

Microsoft 365 charges you every year just to keep opening your own spreadsheets. If you’d rather pay once, a Microsoft Office Professional 2021 lifetime license is on sale for $27.97 (reg. $219.99).

You get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access, and the free version of Teams. Everything installs on one Windows 10 or 11 PC for home or work use. Your license is tied to that device rather than your Microsoft account. Publisher support ends after October 2026, so plan around that if you use it.

Delivery is instant. Your license key and download link arrive right after checkout, and you have seven days to redeem. One heads-up: this isn’t Microsoft 365, and it won’t run in Parallels or other virtual machines.

Stop renting the apps you open every day. Through October 20 at 11:59 p.m. PT, get Microsoft Office Professional 2021 on sale for $27.97 (reg. $219.99).

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

The better I get at using AI, the less I trust it.

I know, I know — that sounds backwards. We’re being sold a future where increasingly capable AI assistants take more and more work off our plates. But after spending a frankly embarrassing amount of time building an elaborate AI-powered NFL betting project over the last few months — and especially after suffering through an infuriating $1,500 catastrophe this week — I’ve come to the opposite conclusion.

AI works best when you treat it like an idiot.

Some context: I co-host a small NFL player-prop show as a side project. Because I am apparently incapable of enjoying hobbies like a normal person, expanded my existing research into creating an AI research system to augment my own analysis. I want to know ball on camera, obviously.

It started simply: Analyze the games. Find interesting player props. Tell me what you think. Let’s make some money!

That worked surprisingly well — until it didn’t.

AI desperately wants to be helpful. Ask it a question and it wants to give you an answer, even when the correct answer is “I don’t know.” Give it a theory and it’ll happily find evidence supporting it. Find a promising new approach and, if you aren’t careful, suddenly that approach has somehow become part of the methodology that supposedly produced last month’s results. I could go on.

So BWR, as I call my increasingly deranged side project, evolved. And as I saw how stupid and forgetful AI can be, I started putting the AI in a cage.

Research ideas couldn’t automatically become part of the production model. New approaches had to compete against the existing one. Historical testing could only use information available at the time. Results were preserved so failures couldn’t conveniently disappear. I created separate AI challengers whose job was essentially to tell the main system that it might be full of shit, because AI is so often deeply full of shit.

I even had to teach the damned thing that “I don’t know” is an acceptable answer. Seriously!

After endless days of trials, errors, and hammering rules into place: It worked! The less freedom I gave the AI, the more useful it became.

That’s been my biggest lesson from this rabbit hole. AI can do things that still blow my mind, but capability and reliability aren’t the same thing. The more I care about the result, the less I trust AI to simply figure things out. I want boundaries, checks, receipts, and explicit permission to fail rather than make something up.

I thought I’d built enough of those safeguards.

Then BWR friggin’ blew up this week.

AI stumbles over its own feet

Without drowning you in the deeply uninteresting details of my fake football laboratory, I discovered that critical pieces of the project’s underlying state weren’t preserved and recoverable the way they should have been, despite my safeguards.

And fixing the mess created an even nastier problem. I’d built safeguards to stop AI from hallucinating about football. I hadn’t adequately safeguarded against AI hallucinating about itself.

Now I was asking AI to reconstruct its own missing history — and a plausible reconstruction isn’t necessarily the real one. I couldn’t just ask, “Is everything fixed now?” and trust the cheerful answer. Every recovered piece had to be treated like evidence at a crime scene.

I spent roughly 25 hours this week, during a frantic period here at my normal job, doing AI forensics on a system I’d specifically designed to protect itself from AI failure. Between my time and the obscene number of tokens I burned fixing it, I figure the fiasco would’ve cost north of $1,500 at standard rates.

For an NFL betting side project. (Again: Normal hobbies aren’t really my thing.)

BWR survived. My sanity mostly did. But the experience changed how I think about local AI.

Seizing my own AI destiny

Jon Martindale / Foundry

Running a model locally won’t magically make AI trustworthy. A local model can confidently make stuff up just as well as a cloud model. But I can control everything around it.

I want the logs. I want the checkpoints. I want the artifacts. If I’m going to spend months building something increasingly complex, I want its state sitting somewhere I control rather than trusting a black box to remember what matters, and to be fully recoverable if the brittle house of cards ever falls down again.

Cloud AI isn’t going anywhere for me; having some frontier hooks is crucial in my quest to break Las Vegas. But local AI suddenly looks less like a fun enthusiast experiment and more like infrastructure if you’re doing serious work.

Fortunately, I have an RTX 4090 system sitting a few feet away.

It’s funny how quickly “running AI locally” becomes appealing after catastrophic AI hallucinations eat 20 hours of your life.

So yeah, the better I get at using AI, the less I trust it. Maybe it’s time I owned more of it, too.

That’s it from me. AI guru Ben Patterson will be back in the saddle (and your inbox) next week! Don’t forget to sign up to start receiving this newsletter directly.

Just when I think I’ve seen everything Reddit has to offer, some obscure subreddit pops up and proves me wrong. There are seemingly endless numbers of them, so realistically you don’t have enough time to browse your way to the bizarre, underappreciated stuff.

But with a site like Map of Reddit, you might be able to find those niche subreddits a bit easier. It’s a free, interactive site that plots more than 116,000 subreddits as dots in one giant galaxy. Each dot represents a community and the closer two dots are together, the more overlap their communities have.

The map is built from around 1.5 billion Reddit comments, which makes for a more nuanced and accurate picture of relationships rather than an algorithmic guess at which topics belong together. And you might be surprised at how some of the neighbors are ones you’d never predict—quizzically looking at you Twitter and FBI subreddits.

The map is fully interactive so you can click and drag to move around, zoom in, or use the search bar to find a specific subreddit. If you click on a community dot, you’ll get some more information plus links to all of the related subreddits.

Personally, I’ve used it to discover a ton of subreddits devoted to hobbies I didn’t even know were a thing. Ever heard of r/BirdsWithArms? Or how about r/HaveWeMet? 

Reddit is a weird and wonderful place, but sometimes you need a map to find your way.

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TL;DR: Get a lifetime license to Visual Studio Professional 2026 plus 15 coding courses for $32.97 (MSRP $1,999.99).

Learning to program usually means paying for courses in one place and a professional IDE in another. This bundle pairs a lifetime license to Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 with 15 coding courses, and it’s on sale for $32.97 (MSRP $1,999.99) through October 20.

Python lessons start at the beginner level and work up to building Flask websites, scraping data, and automating a browser. Other courses teach C++, Java, JavaScript, SQL databases, Flutter mobile apps, and Ruby on Rails, plus how to connect to OpenAI’s API. Anyone working toward a Salesforce Platform App Builder certification gets exam prep, and a Unity game course teaches kids as young as 7.

Everything you learn can go straight into Visual Studio 2026. You can write and debug .NET and C++ apps for Windows, Linux, and containers, and the C++ course even walks through debugging memory in Visual Studio. IntelliCode learns patterns from your codebase and suggests the next line or block, so you type less and catch more bugs. Live Share lets a teammate or mentor join your session to edit and debug without cloning the repo.

Learn new programming languages and write them in an IDE you own for life.

Through October 20 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can get the Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 + The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle on sale for $32.97 (MSRP $1,999.99). No coupon is needed.

Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 + The Premium Learn to Code Certification BundleSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Firefox 158 is out for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. This version brings improved PDF support, the ability to fill forms with the help of “AI,” as well as fixes for over 75 security vulnerabilities. Updates are also available for Firefox ESR versions.

Firefox 159’s release is scheduled for October 27th, 2026.

What’s new in Firefox 158?

Following the new Nova design introduced in Firefox 157, now a few technical boosts are being rolled out. The AI-based Smart Windows feature is designed to help users fill in forms more quickly. It’s being rolled out gradually, so it won’t be available to all users straight away.

Another improvement involves the saving of web pages as PDFs. Firefox now generates more accessible PDF files (i.e., fewer barriers), and a number of other shortcomings in PDF rendering have been fixed.

Firefox now supports the JPEG XL image format, which has been running as a Firefox Labs experiment since June. Image compression with JPEG XL is more efficient than with older formats like JPEG, PNG, and WebP, all while maintaining comparable image quality.

Security flaws fixed in Firefox 158

In the security advisory for Firefox 158, Mozilla lists 77 security flaws that have been fixed, 37 of which were discovered and reported by external security researchers (OpenAI’s Amy Burnett stands out with 9 reports).

Mozilla classifies 30 vulnerabilities as “high risk,” 33 as “medium risk,” and 14 as “low risk.” Among the fixed security vulnerabilities are 24 use-after-free (UAF) flaws, some of which can be exploited to run malicious code. Eight vulnerabilities can be exploited to escape the browser’s sandbox.

Firefox ESR updates

In addition to Firefox 158.0, ESR versions 153.5.0 and 115.43.0 are also now available. However, the latter is only available for Windows 7 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12 to 10.14, and will remain so until March 2027.

In the ESR versions, Mozilla has fixed the same aforementioned flaws that were also present in the code of these older browser generations. That amounts to 61 fixes in Firefox 153.5.0 and 17 in Firefox 115.43. (Firefox ESR 140 received its final update on September 29th.)

Yesterday was October Patch Tuesday, and Microsoft’s security updates addressed 1,416 new vulnerabilities. Not only is that another record broken, but it’s also the first time over 1,000 flaws were fixed in a single month. Indeed, October 2026 saw more security vulnerabilities fixed in the month than were fixed in any previous year.

Alongside flaws fixed in Windows and Office, we also saw a bunch of fixes in Exchange Server, SQL Server, Hyper-V, Skype for Business, Microsft Defender, .NET Framework, Visual Studio, and Microsoft’s cloud services.

Microsoft classifies 85 of the 1,416 vulnerabilities as “critical,” including 67 remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities. The other vulnerabilities are classified as “high risk,” with one vulnerability already being exploited in the wild while two were publicly known in advance.

The next Patch Tuesday is scheduled for November 10th, 2026.

Windows security vulnerabilities

A large number of the vulnerabilities—over 1,000 this time—are spread across the various Windows versions (10, 11, Server) for which Microsoft still provides security updates, including Windows 10 via the Extended Security Updates program, which was extended until October 12th, 2027.

Note: If you’re still on Windows 11 24H2, this is your last Patch Tuesday. Computers running 24H2 will no longer receive security updates going forward. When prompted by Windows Update, you should upgrade to Windows 11 25H2 or 26H2. That’ll keep you secure and up to date.

Windows under attack

One Windows security vulnerability is already being exploited in the wild this month. CVE-2026-96951 in the Windows Shell allows attackers to bypass the system’s defenses by disguising the origin of an executable file from the internet (Mark of the Web, or MotW).

Critical Windows vulnerabilities

Microsoft has classified 42 Windows vulnerabilities as critical, including 30 RCE vulnerabilities. Via these flaws, an attacker could remotely execute injected code without authentication or user interaction. The malicious code could then spread further across the network.

Microsoft Edge security vulnerabilities

The latest security update to Microsoft Edge 155.0.4283.45 is dated October 8th and based on Chromium 155.0.8059.40. It addresses 247 Chromium vulnerabilities, which are not included in the sum of flaws fixed in Microsoft Edge this month.

Microsoft Office security vulnerabilities

Microsoft has fixed 194 vulnerabilities in its various Office products, including 25 RCE vulnerabilities classified as critical. With “critical” RCE vulnerabilities in Office, the preview pane is usually an attack vector—a user doesn’t need to open an infected file for an attack to succeed, but rather only needs to preview it in the preview pane. Meanwhile, “high risk” RCE vulnerabilities usually require a user to open an infected Office file in a vulnerable Office product (open-and-own).

Among the numerous vulnerabilities in SharePoint, CVE-2026-102866 is an elevation of privilege (EoP) vulnerability that Microsoft classifies as critical. It is also the only SharePoint vulnerability that an attacker could exploit without a user login. They would need to obtain a valid user token, modify it, and impersonate that user on the server.

Exchange Server security vulnerabilities

Microsoft has fixed 7 vulnerabilities in Exchange Server this month. Six of these are classified as high risk, including five EoP vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-70571 is also included, an RCE vulnerability classified as critical.

Sure, we all use AI in our everyday lives now, but what about taking a crack at training your own? Google Labs has a really cool project called Teachable Machine, which allows you to create and train your own basic AI model. The best part? You don’t need to know a thing about coding to do it.

Right now it’s limited to making models that recognize images, sounds, and body poses. More capabilities may arrive in the future. Teach it the difference between a ripe banana and a green one, how to recognize a clap instead of a whistle, or even to tell whether you’re sitting or standing. Those are just ideas off the top of my head. You can let your imagination run wild.

On the Teachable Machine website, click Get Started and choose whether you want to work with images, audio, or poses. Now it’s time to train the model by giving it examples to learn from. So, for example, if you’re training it to recognize images, you can upload photos or just use your webcam to show it different objects—the more examples the better. It’ll ask you to give each group of examples a name. Now click Train Model and watch it get to work.

Once training is complete, you can show it new photos or use your webcam to see how well it recognizes different objects in real time. If it isn’t getting things right, then it’s time to get back to training. Add more examples, train it again, and see if it improves. It’s a great way to get a feel for why the data you feed an AI model is so important.

If you want to take things a step further, you can even export your trained model and use it in your own website or app, although you’ll probably need some coding know-how for that. Otherwise, Teachable Machine is a fascinating afternoon project and an easy way to dip your toes into AI development.

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A VPN, or virtual private network, is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your online privacy and security. Whether you’re protecting yourself on public Wi-Fi, hiding your IP address from trackers, or accessing region-locked content while traveling, a VPN adds an important layer of protection by encrypting your internet traffic. The problem is that there are hundreds of VPNs competing for your attention, and separating the genuinely good services from the mediocre ones can be overwhelming.

Let us save you the time and effort. We’ve tested and reviewed a wide range of VPNs to narrow down the field to the very best options available today—whether you’re looking for the best overall VPN, the fastest service, the best free option, or the best choice for privacy, streaming, or travel.

When looking for the best VPN, you’ll want to look for a few things: trustworthy privacy practices, strong connection speeds, reliable streaming access, and a large, well-distributed server network. Every VPN featured below delivers on those essentials and adds something extra to help it stand out from the competition.

Why you should trust PCWorld for VPN reviews and buying advice: Here at PCWorld we’ve been testing computer hardware, software, and services since the 1980s. As reviewers and users of PC hardware and software, we put every product through its paces using rigorous benchmarking and hands-on evaluation. We’d never recommend something we wouldn’t want for ourselves.

NordVPN – Best VPN overall

Pros

• Tons of VPN configuration options
• Outstanding speeds
• Included antivirus and password manager

Cons

• Expensive

Price When Reviewed: Basic plan from $3.39 a month for 2 years. Usually $12.99 a month.

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NordVPN (Monthly)

$3.39

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Who should use NordVPN?

It’s difficult to select the best overall VPN. For many years we chose the best VPN based purely on privacy, but VPNs have evolved to be more than just tools to browse online anonymously. Privacy is still important, to be sure, but so are speeds, extra features, server network size, and ease of use. NordVPN has it all, and that’s why it’s my top choice for VPNs and a truly solid option for everyone.

Nord is the most full-featured service on the market with tools that will appeal to power users as well as an easy-to-use app that is intuitive and straightforward even for beginners. The service also carries out regular independent audits and uses RAM-only diskless servers for increased security, so the privacy-conscious user can rest assured their data will remain anonymous.

For those who deem speed a priority, NordVPN will impress as well. Speeds in my testing averaged 72 percent of the base internet speed across all servers — making it the fastest VPN I’ve ever tested.

NordVPN: Further considerations

NordVPN’s desktop app is very easy to use and offers a ton of different features including access to the TOR network over VPN, multi-hop connections, Meshnet file sharing network, a security suite complete with ad- and malware-blocking, and Nord’s latest password manager and link-checker safety tool. Also, there will be no problems accessing any streaming service while using NordVPN and it has an extensive server network to connect to all over the world.

The only real downside is that NordVPN’s pricing can be more expensive than many other VPN services. Even with the discounts offered by long-term plans, it can still seem pricey. Still, you get what you pay for and in this case, it’s more than worth it.

Read our full NordVPN review

ExpressVPN – Best VPN runner-up

Pros

• Excellent speeds
• Unblocks all streaming services
• Great security and privacy practices

Cons

• More expensive than other VPNs
• Light on extra security features

Price When Reviewed: Plans from $2.99 a month for 2 years + 4 free months

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ExpressVPN (Monthly)

$2.99

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Who should use ExpressVPN?

Just like my other top pick, I think ExpressVPN is a great option for everyone. VPN novices will find that they can easily download the software, choose their server location, and connect — it’s as simple as that. But more advanced users will be able to choose from features such as split-tunneling, protocol optimization, kill switch, and more.

Plus, ExpressVPN has one of the most expansive device support networks I’ve ever seen. So the VPN can be used across practically any and all platforms no matter what device you’re trying to protect — with up to 14 simultaneous device connections (depending on your subscription tier).

The only reason I placed it second is due to the slight edge NordVPN has in regards to features and average speeds. Still, you can’t go wrong if you decide to go with ExpressVPN as your VPN of choice.

ExpressVPN: Further considerations

ExpressVPN has wide device support, as well as a smart DNS feature for set-top boxes, consoles, and more. It now offers an even more advanced version of it’s Lightway protocol called Lightway Turbo which increases speeds for many of its server connections—although not across the board as I found during my review. It’s even begun branching out to take a more holistic approach to security for users, adding ad- and tracker-blocking and, most recently, a password manager to the service, as well.

It’s not the cheapest VPN out there, but you do get excellent value for your money. Plus, ExpressVPN recently just revamped its membership model offering multiple subscription tiers so you can pick the plan that works best for your price range. The service also regularly brings in third-party auditors to validate its privacy credentials. And to top it off, ExpressVPN has proven time and time again to have a sterling user privacy record.

Surfshark – Best cheap VPN

Pros

• Unlimited simultaneous device connections
• Tons of extra features
• Low price on long-term plans

Cons

• Expensive month-to-month plans
• Large portion of global servers are virtual

Price When Reviewed: From $1.88 a month for 2 years + 3 free months. Usually $15.45 a month.

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Surfshark (Monthly)

$1.88

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Who should use Surfshark?

Surfshark is one of those VPNs that does everything well. It has blazing-fast speeds, a robust feature set (second only to NordVPN), and excellent privacy credentials thanks to its no-log policy and multiple independent audits. A subscription comes with all of your standard VPN features, plus infinitely customizable dynamic multi-hop connections, identity protection alerts, and antivirus/malware protection.

But the best thing about Surfshark is the price. Taking advantage of its 2-year plan offer will net you comprehensive protection for just over $2 per month. That’s basically unheard of for a premium VPN service—especially with the feature set it offers. Surfshark is a great all-around VPN option for most people. That being said, those who don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for their VPN will find that Surfshark easily meets their needs without breaking the bank. If you want to save some money and get one of the best VPNs on the market, look no further.

Surfshark: Further considerations

While the price for a monthly subscription to Surfshark might seem exorbitant, the long-term plans are much more affordable. Committing to long-term VPN plans should be weighed against each user’s needs, but Surfshark’s very affordable price means you won’t regret it even if you don’t use the full term.

The only other thing that potential users should be aware of is that Surfshark is based out of the Netherlands. The country itself has strong personal privacy laws, but it’s a member nation of the 14 Eyes Data Sharing Alliance, meaning the government could require Surfshark to share user data if asked. It shouldn’t matter due to the company’s independently verified no-logs policy, but it’s still something privacy-conscious users should be aware of before committing.

Read our full Surfshark review

Private Internet Access – Best cheap VPN runner-up

Pros

• Multiple independently verified no-log audits
• Unlimited simultaneous device connections
• Vast server network

Cons

• App is a little clunky
• Speeds are fairly pedestrian

Price When Reviewed: From $2.19 a month for 2 years + 2 free months. Usually $11.99 a month.

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Private Internet Access (Monthly)

$2.19

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Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

Who should use Private Internet Access?

Private Internet Access (PIA) has been around for awhile and has demonstrated that it can continue to innovate and improve with each passing year. The latest version of PIA is no different. By putting itself through yet another independent audit of its no-logs policy it keeps proving that user privacy is its top priority.

I think it can be a great VPN for all users. However, where PIA really shines is in its price and extensive customizable feature set. It has one of the least expensive subscription plans of any top VPN, both monthly and long-term. Plus, power users and those who like their apps to be customized to their individual needs will especially love all of the tweaking that this app allows you to do.

Private Internet Access: Further considerations

PIA also provides generous unlimited device connections and an absolutely insane server network that claims to have over 35,000 available servers, but with fewer country locations than other top competitors on this list.

The service does have a rather outdated interface and I found a few awkward interface issues. It’s also not the fastest service I’ve ever tested, with speeds well below the fastest I’ve seen. But neither of these issues should take away too much from the great value PIA offers.

Read our full Private Internet Access review

Proton VPN – Best free VPN

Pros

• Excellent privacy and transparency
• Strong catalog of security features 
• Unrivaled free plan
• Good connection speeds

Cons

• Premium plans aren’t the cheapest
• Not all features available across apps

Price When Reviewed: From $4.49 per month for 2 years. Free VPN available.

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Proton

$4.49

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Who should use Proton VPN?

Whether you opt for the free or paid version, Proton VPN is a good choice for anyone. The free version specifically will appeal to those on a tight budget, or those who just need a VPN to do the occasional online task safely and securely online.

Many free VPNs come with either ridiculous limitations or annoying ads. Mercifully, Proton VPN has no ads and the restrictions are fairly tame compared to other services. For the low, low cost of nothing, you’ll get a one-device connection limit and access to 10 servers located all over the world. In my testing I found that speeds were very good even with the free version, ranking in the top 10 of all VPNs, paid or free. And since there are no monthly data limits on Proton’s free VPN servers, it’s also an excellent option if you want to stream videos while using a VPN — just be aware, the free servers don’t promise to work with Netflix like some of Proton’s paid servers do.

Overall, you get a lot for paying nothing and this easily makes it our favorite free VPN.

Proton VPN: Further considerations

The VPN is from the same company behind Proton Mail, a privacy-focused email service, so it’s very easy to integrate the VPN into the whole Proton ecosystem if you so wish.

The company has undergone multiple independent audits confirming its no-logs policy — including the free VPN, as well. The monthly price for the premium version does come in at the expensive side though, so I would recommend trying out the free version first before you upgrade.

Read our full ProtonVPN review

Mullvad – Best VPN for privacy

Pros

• Exceptional privacy protections
• Strong security features
• Fast connection speeds
• Transparent and trustworthy company practices

Cons

• Weak streaming support
• Relatively small server network
• Lacks extra features

Price When Reviewed: $5.26 a month (€5) flat fee, regardless of commitment length

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Mullvad

$5.26

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Who should use Mullvad?

Mullvad is the undisputed king of privacy and anonymity. I’ve never seen another VPN that actively resists knowing who you are the way Mullvad does. Mullvad doesn’t ask for your email address, name, or anything else. Instead it assigns a random account number that acts as your identifier and login. The service accepts payments using standard methods such as credit cards and PayPal, but you can also mail your payment in cash to remain as private as possible. Mullvad also comes with a strict no-logs policy and doesn’t collect any identifying metadata from your usage, all of which has been backed up by multiple independent security audits.

Mullvad is built with one goal in mind: protecting your privacy, even if it means leaving out a few extra features. It’s still an excellent VPN for everyday use, but privacy-focused users will get the most out of its anonymous payment options, strict no-metadata policy, and unwavering commitment to keeping your data private.

Mullvad: Further considerations

Mullvad does come with a few more perks than just privacy. It’s also fast, ranking among our top five for speeds. Additionally, it offers a standardized fee across all plan lengths. While this makes it very affordable month-to-month, it does lose value compared to other top VPNs in the long-term.

I also found some hiccups when trying to access streaming services, so users who want their VPN to bypass location-restricted content may want to take that into consideration before subscribing.

Read our full Mullvad review

CyberGhost – Best VPN for travelers

Pros

• Enormous global server network
• Independently verified no-log policy
• Generous 45-day money-back guarantee

Cons

• Server speeds can be hit-or-miss
• Lacks extra security features offered by competitors

Price When Reviewed: $2.19 a month for 2 years + 2 free months. Usually $12.99 a month.

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CyberGhost (Monthly)

$2.19

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Who should use CyberGhost?

If you travel frequently then you want variety and wide coverage in the server locations from your VPN. CyberGhost provides both by offering a staggering 11,500+ servers for users to connect to, which is more than twice as many as most other VPNs on this list. Unlike some competitors, these servers aren’t all concentrated in the U.S. or Europe, either. The server network totals 100+ countries all across the world. The service even recommends optimized servers to users for various needs such as gaming, streaming, and torrenting and has special secure physical “NoSpy” servers that you can connect to housed in its home offices in Romania.

Due to its plethora of servers and locations, CyberGhost is one of the best options for finding a server no matter where you are in the world. For those who travel a lot or just need access to a diverse and vast server spread, CyberGhost is definitely worth consideration.

CyberGhost: Further considerations

CyberGhost also has a well-designed Windows app that is intuitive and easy to use. It lacks some of the power-user features that other VPNs on this list provide such as multi-hop and IP rotation, but that shouldn’t be a deal breaker for the average user.

In my testing I found that some of the servers were faster than others, with servers located in Europe having excellent speeds and servers in Asia not fairing as well. But overall, the speeds are good enough to do most of what you want to do with a VPN — web browsing, streaming, etc. Thankfully, the service is in the process of upgrading its network to 10Gbps so speeds should get a bump in the near future.

Read our full CyberGhost review

Other VPNs we liked

With the large number of VPNs out there, it’s good to know that there are several that rise above the fray. Not all of them can make our list of the best VPNs, but the following are strong options in their own right.

• PrivadoVPN: A strong overall service, but the free version of the VPN really stands out and is second only to Proton VPN. The server network is smaller and it doesn’t come with quite as many extra features though.
• Windscribe Pro: Great security, with both a Windows client and browser extension that work in tandem to block ads while keeping your browsing private. It also has a decent free version, but a wonky interface and small server network hold it back.
• Hide.me: A well-rounded service that ticks almost every box and the fantastic array of configurable settings make it a power-user’s dream. My latest tests showed inconsistent speed results and the Windows app is a bit tricky to use if you’re not used to VPN settings.
• IPVanish: This U.S.-based VPN nails all of the basics: decent speeds, a large global server network, and privacy promises backed up with independent audits. However, it stumbles a bit with unblocking streaming services and the monthly price is steep.
• Norton VPN: This simple and effective VPN from trusted security giant Norton is quickly becoming hard to ignore. It has a dead-simple-to-use interface and it’s recently seen big upgrades to its feature set and privacy commitments, but it only offers yearly pricing and the server network is still on the smaller side.

Can I get a better VPN deal?

The VPN prices on this page are the latest daily tracked baselines, but they do not always account for the lowest promo price. In shopping, it pays to compare long-term discounts against renewal pricing.

See PCWorld’s compilation of the best VPN deals for the best pricing on our favorite VPN services. Special deals are offered frequently throughout the year, so you should have a few chances to snag your favorite VPN at a steep discount if you can time it right.

Additionally, sales events such as Amazon Prime Day in mid-July and Black Friday at the end of November provide excellent opportunities to find even cheaper VPN deals.

How to choose the best VPN

One of the first things you should look for when shopping around for a VPN is the number of servers and locations. It’s difficult to judge any VPN by just one feature, but a semi-reliable way to tell if a VPN is even worth your time is to look at the server network. Anything with 1,000 or more servers and 30 or more country locations will do.

Speed

The next thing to consider is a VPN’s speed. This may be tricky to do since you aren’t likely to be able to test connection speeds without paying to use the service. Reading reviews online will give you a general estimate. Look for reviews, like ours, that give you a relative average of connection speeds rather than direct Mbps speed comparisons, for a more accurate picture. Consistency across time and servers provides you with a better idea of how the VPN connections will be during real-world use.

Privacy

You’ll also want to read up on a VPN’s privacy protections. Does it have a no-logs policy? Has it undergone any independent audits of its servers? Where is the VPN company located? Look for a clear no-logs policy, strong encryption, and trusted protocols like WireGuard or OpenVPN. Independent audits can help verify that a VPN actually follows through on its privacy claims. Useful extras like a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and RAM-only servers can provide additional protection. Knowing where the VPN is based, who owns it, and how open the company is about its data practices can give you good insight as well.

Price

When choosing a VPN based on price, don’t automatically go for the cheapest option. Look at the long-term subscription cost, renewal price, money-back guarantee, and what you actually get for your money. Many VPNs advertise tempting discounts on one- or two-year plans, but the price can jump sharply when it’s time to renew. In most cases, the best value comes from a VPN that combines a reasonable long-term price with the speeds, features, and privacy protections you need—even if that means paying a bit more to ensure you’re getting the best of these features.

The VPN features you should care about

Don’t let a large number of extra features that a VPN offers seduce you. Chances are, you’ll only find real value from a handful of VPN extras. Among those, be on the lookout for the following:

Kill switch

Say your VPN disconnects for some unexpected reason, the kill switch will automatically activate and block access to the internet, thereby keeping your online activities from accidentally being revealed. 

Split tunneling

This feature allows you to designate certain types of traffic to be encrypted and sent through the VPN, while other content, such as games, remains unhindered by the extra security. In other words, it’s a way to avoid any potential bottlenecks that could affect performance.

Multi-hop

When you want to be extra private, or a situation seems to warrant added measures — such as public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop — multi-hop lets you send your traffic through two or more VPN servers, as opposed to just one, where it is re-encrypted at each pass.

Protocols

A VPN’s protocol is the set of rules that governs how online traffic moves from a device, through a VPN server, and to the web. There are several popular options, such as OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, PPTP, and others, and each has its own advantages. Our preference is WireGuard. It’s the best choice for most people, and is open source, so it’s continually being refined and checked for security weaknesses.

To learn more, see PCWorld’s “5 VPN features you need to start using today.”

Price When Reviewed

$60 for 1 PC license

Best Prices Today: NTI Backup Pro 7

NTI Backup Pro 7 is what one might refer to as the whole enchilada. It offers file backup, imaging/drive backup, continuous backup as well online backup to NTI Cloud (powered by Microsoft Azure). It backs up to and from networks, and is one of the rare backup programs that supports optical discs.

I was psyched at the feature list and assumed that in the 10 years since I last visited NTI’s flagship backup program, it would be finely honed and bullet-proof. However, first in 2024, and now in 2026, there are still numerous glitches of various types. In the end everything works, but with this much time on the market, it should be rock-solid in all aspects.

Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best backup software for Windows for comparison.

What are NTI Backup Pro 7’s features?

As I mentioned, NTI Backup Now Pro 7 offers file and folder backup, drive and partition image backup, continuous backup, and cloud backup. Continuous backup is file and folder backup where changes are backed up as they occur. Cloud backup is also file and folder backup, but to NTI’s own, extremely pricey online storage.

The plain file/folder, image, and online backups are stored in proprietary container files (single large files with all the data contained inside), while the continuous backup is a browsable plain file backup — i.e., files are copied as you would using Windows Explorer. Older revisions of files are kept in a separate folder.

The Backup Now Pro 7 interface is very straightforward, though unlike the EZ version, there’s no hand-holding when it comes to selecting data to back up. No biggie, but it could be just a tad friendlier.

The just-mentioned NTI EZ Backup Now 7.5 (which is $10 less per license) has a slightly more intuitive workflow, though the interface is not one of the prettiest. It lacks the Pro version’s continuous backup, but is otherwise roughly feature equivalent.

Back to Pro…. There’s granular scheduling (in addition to the continuous, of course) available, as well incremental backups to save space, and automatic maintenance of destination storage by purging older files when necessary. Encryption and password protection are also provided.

An NTI Backup Now Pro 7 feature that I absolutely love is the ability to choose multiple local destinations (a secondary internal drive plus external drive, etc.) for a backup job. It would be nice if you could combine local with network locations and the NTI Cloud, but hey, it’s a start

And yes, the program will back up both to and from network locations. As well as to FTP. And, as mentioned up top, Backup Now Pro 7 even supports optical discs.

How much does NTI Backup Pro 7 cost?

At the time of this writing, NTI Backup Now Pro 7 was on sale for $50 (it was $40 two years ago), down from the normal $60 retail price. The EZ version without the continuous backup was $35, $15 off of full list. The continuous backup-only NTI Shadow program is also $30 on sale.

NTI Cloud (required for cloud backup) is free for one-month of 16GB, $5 a month for 32GB, $10 monthly for 64GB, $20 a month for 128GB, $40 per month for 256GB, $100 a month for 640GB, and $200 a month for 2TB.

Google Drive offers 15GB for free. No matter which way you cut it, the NTI Cloud is extremely expensive. As it’s the only online storage service supported, Backup Now’s online backup is not well suited to the average user.

Note that you can use just about any backup program, with nearly any online storage service, by employing a cloud storage manager.

How well does NTI Backup Pro 7 perform?

The interface scaling issues I experienced during my last look two years ago were gone on one test bed, but I still had to override High DPI settings on another to get Backup Now Pro to render properly. It’s still very slow to enumerate the storage tree and the program in general is less than sprightly — aka, slow. Given that our test bed is quite fast, there’s no excuse

Seemingly, it doesn’t query the file system pre-emptively as is common practice. While all these idiosyncrasies may seem picayune, they add up, and do nothing to reassure me that the actual backup functionality will be bullet proof. As it turned out….

While file/folder and continuous backups to local media went off without unusual glitches, imaging proved an issue — as it turns out, because we remote control the test beds using Microsoft Remote Desktop. Backup Now Pro 7 didn’t like this, cancelling every image job before it was five seconds old.

After over a week of back and forth, and hours of troubleshooting, NTI explained this as a security “feature.” However, the logic behind it escapes me, and it’s hard to consider it a feature when no other program exhibits the same behavior. R-Drive Image, Acronis Cyber Security Home Office, Aomei Backupper, and Macrium Reflect Home all backed up without a fuss.

I checked NTI’s EZ Backup Now 7.5 (see above) to see if it suffered the same ‘feature,” and while it failed initially, on the the second try it imaged a partition correctly. Apparently, a partial implementation of said “feature.”

Another annoyance was that choosing to stop a 7GB cloud backup job at 30 percent didn’t stop the backup. I waited a full 10 minutes, then killed the process to cancel the job. Perhaps I was impatient, or perhaps the stop request wouldn’t have been processed until the current 7GB container file was completed — i.e., at 100 percent.

A smaller online backup of the documents, desktop, and downloads folders proceeded without incident, as I’m sure the larger one would have too, if I hadn’t needed to cancel.

On another positive note, creating a recovery disc went without a hitch and booted on both test beds. The image that I was eventually able to create was restored successful as well.

Should you buy NTI Backup Pro 7?

In the end, NTI Backup Pro 7 worked as advertised, but the unfixed annoyances I encountered and the super-high cost of the cloud storage leave me less than enthusiastic. You can give it a spin and see if it’s right for you, but EZ Backup Now 7.5 is likely a better fit for most users

Also, there’s a whole lot of feature-equivalent, less buggy competition out there in the form of Easeus ToDo Backup and Aomei Backupper, not to mention the free version of Macrium Reflect and Windows own File history, which is integrated into operating system.

Note that NTI hinted at big changes for the next version, including porting to a better development platform. Here’s hoping.

How I test software

All software is installed on an AMD Ryzen 3700X system utilizing an MSI MEG X570 motherboard with 64GB of Kingston DDR4 memory, and several PCIe 4 NVMe SSDs. The operating system is Windows 11 21H2, to which only security updates are applied to maintain a level playing field over time. The test bed is largely kept off the Internet unless testing the software demands it. All pertinent features are tested and the program rated for stability, suitability to task, ease of use, and feature set.

Should issues arise, all possibly conflicting applications are uninstalled, and if that doesn’t fix the problem, Windows is reinstalled. And as off this writing, controlling the test bed remotely will be checked.

TL;DR: You can get Windows 11 Pro for life for just $14.99.

Windows 10 is over 10 years old, and it really starts to show when you look at some of the security features or just basic usability. Upgrading used to be expensive, but right now, you can get Windows 11 Pro for just $14.99(reg. $199).

Windows 11 Pro is Microsoft’s best current operating system. If you’ve been hesitant to upgrade to Windows 11 Home, Pro gives you quite a few good reasons. BitLocker encrypts your whole drive, so nobody can read your files if your laptop is lost or stolen. Hyper-V lets you run virtual machines, and Windows Sandbox lets you test new apps in a separate space that can’t affect the rest of your PC. Azure AD support connects work PCs to business networks and manages sign-ins.

You also get everything that’s included with Windows 11 Home. Snap layouts put windows side by side on your screen, and DirectX 12 Ultimate helps new games run at your hardware’s full power. You can sign in with your face or fingerprint, and TPM 2.0 adds hardware-level security to that sign-in. Copilot sits in the taskbar and answers questions, summarizes pages, and writes content when you ask.

Upgrade your old Windows 10 PC with one payment and no subscription.

Get Windows 11 Pro on sale for $14.99.

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StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: UPDF is a full PDF editor with a lifetime subscription on sale for $69.99 (reg. $149.99).

Most good PDF editors charge a monthly fee, even popular ones like Adobe Acrobat. UPDF is a PDF editor for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android that replaces the constant cost of software subscriptions with a single one-time payment, and it’s on sale now for $69.99 (reg. $149.99).

With UPDF, you can change the font, size, and color of text in a PDF. You can also crop, rotate, or replace images on the page. Markup tools include highlights, sticky notes, shapes, drawing, stamps, and signatures. When you need a different file type, UPDF converts PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, image files, and several text formats.

UPDF uses OCR to turn scanned documents into text you can search and edit, and it reads 38 languages. Note that the Mac App Store version doesn’t include OCR. You can also make fillable forms, add digital signatures, black out private information, and lock files with a password. Batch tools convert, merge, compress, and watermark many PDFs at once, so you don’t have to open each file one by one.

Your lifetime plan also includes 2GB of UPDF Cloud storage for syncing files between devices.

Get a UPDF lifetime subscription on sale for $69.99.

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StackSocial prices subject to change.

Windows’ built-in screenshot Snipping Tool gets the job done, but if you’re taking screenshots as often as I am, it starts to feel pretty limited. ShareX is a free, open-source tool that provides a more robust set of capture and editing tools without adding a bunch of unnecessary complexity.

It covers the basics you’d expect—full-screen captures, a single window, or a custom area—but it also handles scrolling captures, screen recording, and quick GIFs.

The real value, though, is in its advanced editing tools. ShareX’s editor lets you add useful markups to your images, like arrows, text, and highlights. Plus, if there’s anything sensitive in the shot, you can blur or pixelate directly in the app.

The feature I probably use the most is optical character recognition, or OCR. Essentially, OCR allows you to pull out text from an image and copy and paste it elsewhere. Sure, Snipping Tool has this as well, but I’ve found ShareX’s OCR to be more accurate, capturing less text noise from an image overall.

Yes, its advanced feature set does come with a deep settings menu, but don’t let that scare you off. Just start with basic screenshots, GIFs, and a couple of keyboard shortcuts, then maybe experiment from there.

For more fun and helpful tips, tricks, website and app recommendations, be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.

“You f*cking idiot, I asked for…” might seem harmless if you’re saying it to an AI chatbot, and a lot of people are doing it. But if you’re one of them and your LLM of choice is Anthropic’s Claude, you might want to start keeping your frustration-driven interactions in check.

Anthropic recently updated its fine print regarding how users are allowed to interact with Claude. The changes come into effect on November 12th, 2026, and they’re part of a wider update to Anthropic’s terms of service.

According to this 2026 Usage Policy Update post, the goal is to address “extreme cases where users repeatedly act cruelly toward our models, with no discernible purpose.” The rule doesn’t apply to “common versions of user frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research.” (It’s unclear where the line sits between “frustration” and “cruel behavior.”)

The full relevant text:

Addressing abusive behavior toward our models

We’ve added a prohibition on sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior toward our models. The policy update is meant to apply only in extreme cases, where users repeatedly act cruelly toward our models, with no discernible purpose. It does not apply to common versions of user frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research.

This addition aligns with a step we’ve already taken, allowing Claude models to end rare conversations with persistently abusive users on Claude.ai and Claude Code. Such abuse is the main focus of this update; Claude’s ability to end these interactions will remain the primary enforcement mechanism.

What happens if Claude is offended by your behavior? The main consequence is a terminated chat. Anthropic has already given its models the ability to end chats with users who persist in abusive behaviors on Claude.ai and Claude Code—this change enshrines that as an explicit prohibition in the company’s terms of use.

The update also includes clarifications on: political content and election interference, surveillance and law enforcement, weapons technology, and high-risk use cases involving health, legal rights, and finances.

Yesterday, Microsoft dropped the amount of OneDrive cloud storage included with Microsoft 365 Family, Premium, and Pro. The change only affects new customers right now, but existing customers will get hit with the reduction at their first subscription renewal on or after May 2nd, 2027.

Prior to this change, Microsoft 365 Family, Premium, and Pro provided 1TB of OneDrive storage per user, with all plans able to be shared with up to 5 other users (for a total of 6TB per account). After this change, both Family and Premium accounts are limited to a 2TB storage pool that’s shared by all users. Pro accounts get 5TB of cloud storage to share.

It’s a mixed bag. Solo users who were previously capped at 1TB now get twice the storage to play with, and anyone who was sharing with only one other person isn’t facing a huge difference. But if your account was split between three or more users, it’s a big downgrade.

What stings the most is that Microsoft isn’t adjusting the pricing on any of the plans. Microsoft 365 Family remains $12.99/month or $129.99/year, while Premium stays $19.99/month or $199.99/year. Meanwhile, Microsoft 365 Pro is a whopping $99.99/month with no annual option.

On this support page regarding the change, Microsoft makes it clear that it’s one shared storage amount: “The primary subscriber and up to five additional members draw from the same shared storage pool.” However, that doesn’t mean access is shared between all users: “While storage quotas are shared, files remain private.”

And you can expand the size of the storage pool with add-on purchases. It doesn’t sound like individual users can boost their own individual caps, but rather only contribute to the shared cap: “Storage add-ons purchased by subscription members are automatically added to the shared pool. Eligible family members’ free storage grants also contribute to the shared pool.”

The non-shareable plans remain unchanged: Microsoft 365 Basic gets 100GB of storage for $1.99/month or $19.99/year, while Microsoft 365 Personal gets 1TB of storage for $9.99/month or $99.99/year.

From treasured family photos to essential client footage, losing files can be devastating. Whether it’s down to a corrupted SD card, sudden power loss, or accidental deletion, recovering as much of that data as possible is critical. Wondershare Recoverit V15 is built to cover thousands of loss scenarios, across over a million different storage devices, giving you the best chance of salvaging that data.

With over 20 years of data recovery experience, Wondershare’s services combine robust and effective file recovery for photos, videos, and other data, with a streamlined process that helps you dig through even large file systems to recover and organize the most important files.

No SD Card Left Behind

For creators with hundreds or thousands of photos and videos on SD cards, an accidental deletion or sudden corruption event can feel catastrophic. That’s where Recoverit V15’s Profession SD Card Recovery can step in and help prevent disaster. It can identify the device and card information to use a bespoke scanning strategy to maximize file recovery and minimize data loss. You can track the recovery process the whole way, too, letting you preview photos and videos in real time, so you begin file recovery as soon as you confirm the footage is viable, without having to wait for the scan to finish. It has full support for the most popular video and image resolutions, too, including HDR and high-bitrate video.

After recovery it can organize the recovered files based on camera directory structures and the specific relationships between different files, making it easier to find the exact files you need to get back.

This works across other external storage solutions, too. If you’ve lost data on a corrupted flash drive, memory stick, or CF card, Recoverit V15’s Profession SD Card recovery tool is an excellent solution to the problem.

AI Advantage: Find Exactly What You Need

When recovering large quantities of lost media files, finding the most important photos and footage with traditional recovery tools isn’t easy; Recoverit V15’s smart search helps you narrow the results. It uses large language models to generate file tags and facilitate natural language search, helping you to find what you need.

Recoverit V15 groups scanned files for more focused recovery, linking related RAW and JPEG files, pairing videos with associated subtitles, and making it clear which files are ready to recover, and which ones may need further repair. In-built recovery quality evaluation ensures users have a clear picture of the state of the data. Quality checks show the condition of the scanned files, while automated repair tools attempt to fix any damage.

A Tool For Everyone

Recoverit V15 is compatible with Windows and macOS systems, allowing file and partition recovery on either operating system, with support for Apple Silicon, including the newer M5-based Macs and Mac Neo. Whether you’re running an older version of these operating systems or the latest Insider previews, Recoverit V15 is built to offer fast, effective file recovery with the same streamlined interface.

Give Wondershare Recoverit V15 a go today to help recover your lost files.

Why in the world would you ever give ChatGPT access to your email? It’s a reasonable question, given everything we’re hearing about rogue AI agents, not to mention the privacy implications of unleashing AI in your inbox.

Then again, one of the best ways to appreciate the power of a personal AI assistant is to let it triage your unruly inbox, culling the spam and the marketing blasts while highlighting the messages that truly matter.

An agent with access to your messages can also give you a heads-up about impending meetings, warn you that your building’s elevator is out of service (that happened to me earlier this week), keep you current on that Jira ticket you filed, and perform other powerful workflows (like the one in this week’s prompt of the week, below).

To get access to your email, AI services like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Meta’s Muse agent need tools, and among the most common AI tools for email are those for Gmail. These tools allow AI models and agents to perform certain Gmail tasks, like “read message,” “add label,” “draft message,” or even — gulp — “send message.” 

They also come with sets of rules and permissions that (generally speaking) you can customize, allowing some actions to happen autonomously while others require a user’s approval, or are blocked altogether. Tweak these rules the right way, and you can minimize the chance of your agent, say, sending an email on its own when it shouldn’t. 

The key word, of course, is “minimize.” AI agents like ChatGPT Dots, Claude Cowork, Gemini Spark, and Meta Muse can act in unpredictable ways, and while you can prevent the agents from scooping up your Gmail messages for AI training data, sensitive details from your Gmail conversations could wind up in your AI chat threads, where they could be stored as memories.

So if you’re uncomfortable taking those risks — and hey, I get it — my advice is to leave the Gmail tools alone.

If you do choose to move ahead, know that enabling an AI’s Gmail integrations is just the first step. (ChatGPT has a Gmail “plugin,” while Claude and Muse call them “connectors,” and Gemini folds its Gmail integration under its “Personal Intelligence” umbrella.) Dig deeper, and you’ll find more granular controls for those Gmail tools, where you’ll be able to do things like set guardrails for when an agent can or can’t send email on its own. 

For Claude, click Settings > Connectors, then click on Gmail. From there, you’ll find a wide range of Gmail rules, from allowing Claude to peruse received and drafted messages to whether it can add labels to messages or even send them on its own. You can set entire groups of read-only and write/delete rules to “Always Allow,” “Needs Approval,” or “Blocked,” or you can set specific rules for each action. 

ChatGPT’s Gmail plugin rules (check Settings > Plugins) aren’t nearly as granular as Claude’s, giving you just four total options: “Always ask,” “Allow read actions,” “Allow low-risk actions,” or “Allow all actions.” The second setting — “Allow low-risk actions” — is the default, but personally I’d stick with “Allow read actions,” just to be sure ChatGPT asks before sending email on its own. 

Gemini is even more vague about the rules for its Gmail tool, essentially limiting you to turning its Gmail integration either on or off. According to a Google support page, Spark is “designed to ask for your review” before “sending communications,” which means it should stop and ask before sending a Gmail message on its own. But if Gemini’s lack of specific permission controls for Spark gives you pause (and that’s perfectly understandable), you might want to switch its Gmail connector off.

Finally, Meta Muse keeps its tool settings under Settings > Permissions > Connectors. Select the Gmail option, then start tweaking. As with Claude, Muse’s permission settings for Gmail allow you to fine-tune whether it can do things like access and search your email, draft messages, and send emails on its own, with your approval, or never. 

Aside from general Gmail permissions, you’ll want to block the use of your Gmail for AI model training. The best way is to ensure you have the overall “help improve our models” setting for ChatGPT, Claude, and Meta Muse turned off (check under Settings > Data Controls or Privacy). Google, for its part, says it won’t train its models “directly” on your Gmail messages, but may train on “limited info,” such as “specific prompts in Gemini or AI Mode and the model’s responses.”

Now that you’ve hardened permissions and checked your AI model-training settings, what can you do with your new Gmail AI superpowers? Check the prompt below for one example, and I’ll have more in the weeks ahead.

More in AI this week

• Google will now let anyone try its SynthID detector, a tool that lets you check images, videos, and audio files for AI watermarks. Just keep in mind that the detector can’t prove whether a suspicious-looking viral video is real. [PCWorld]
• ChatGPT is about to get its own digital wallet, which could allow ChatGPT Dot agents to make web purchases on its own. [PCWorld]
• Common Sense Media is sounding the alarm over ChatGPT for Teens, which “could give parents false confidence in guardrails and safety alerts that frequently don’t work.” [The Verge]
• Anthropic’s just filled out its 5.5 family of Claude models with the fast and cheap Haiku 5.5, which joins the mid-range Sonnet 5.5 and the top-end Opus 5.5. I plan on giving the new Haiku a test drive in the next few days, so I’ll report back on what it can and can’t do. [VentureBeat]
• AI is crushing it when it comes to solving math’s toughest riddles. But while their solutions check out, their reasoning is often indecipherable to human mathematicians, with some grimly predicting the “end of math as we know it.” [Quanta Magazine]

Prompt of the week: The “find my forgotten accounts” prompt

So, you took a deep breath and connected your Gmail to AI. Here’s an agentic “outcome”-oriented prompt to put that new ability to the test.

With this prompt, you’ll be directing an AI agent to scour your Gmail for messages about long-lost accounts you previously signed up for, with the AI doing a read-only search for “verify your email” and “confirm your account” messages.

When it’s done, you’ll get a spreadsheet detailing all the accounts the agent found, with the most dormant at the top, along with links (when available) for deleting the forgotten accounts you don’t want anymore.

That’s all for now!

Thanks for reading the latest issue of Prompt Mode.

Want more next week? Don’t forget to sign up to start receiving this newsletter in your inbox.

I don’t know about you, but there’ve been countless times that I go to bed exhausted only for my brain to suddenly decide it’s the perfect time to replay an awkward conversation from five years ago. If that sounds familiar, then I recommend giving the site Fall Asleep a try. It’s a free website with a small collection of exercises aimed at helping you quiet your thoughts so you can drift off to sleep.

Shutting your brain off at night can be easier said than done, especially when your whole life is full of awkward moments. The most successful method I’ve found is called “cognitive shuffling” and Fall Asleep has a really neat tool for this. Cognitive shuffling serves up random, unrelated words and images that you then visualize and focus on in your mind. The idea is to break up the connected, problem-solving thoughts that tend to keep your brain switched on when you should be sleeping.

Cognitive Shuffling works best for me, but Fall Asleep offers a few other tools like a simple guided breathing exercise and a tool called “Brain Dump” that encourages you to jot down your busy thoughts before bed. According to the site, nothing is shared and all data is stored locally on your web browser.

Unlike sleep tracking smart watches that overload you with anxiety-inducing data metrics, Fall Asleep keeps it low-key and that’s for the best. So the next time you’re lying awake at 1 a.m. staring at the ceiling, go ahead and fire up Fall Asleep and see if it helps. 

For more fun and helpful tips, tricks, website and app recommendations, be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.

You need antivirus software. Because of AI, online threats keep getting more sophisticated—more and more AI-fueled attacks pop up with each passing week. Even the tech-savvy and cautious can get tricked into exposing themselves to malware, spyware, ransomware, or a phishing attack. This guide compares the best Windows antivirus suites, including when Windows Security is enough and when extra privacy, parental, or identity tools make a paid suite worth it.

Make sure you understand how all our picks differ before settling on any one choice. For instance, Norton is great for all around value, but Avast is great for ease of use, AVG for budget buyers, Avira Prime for beginners, McAfee for the privacy-conscious, and Panda for a surfeit of features. Not to mention what Windows Security brings to the table at no cost at all.

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Why you should trust PCWorld for antivirus reviews: PCWorld has been deep in the trenches of testing computer hardware, software, and services since 1983—including security suites. As users of PC hardware and software, we run all products through rigorous testing, with plenty of hands-on evaluation and benchmarks (when the later is applicable). We don’t recommend gear or apps we wouldn’t use ourselves.

Best antivirus of 2026 reviewed and ranked

Norton 360 Deluxe – Best antivirus for PC overall

Pros

• Strong antivirus protection
• Wide protection against major online threats
• Simple, straightforward features

Cons

• Performance impact on some PCs
• User interface would benefit from consolidation
• Upselling of additional services

Price When Reviewed: 5 devices I $49.99 first year I renews at $124.99/yr

Best Prices Today:

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Price

$49.99

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Who should buy Norton 360 Deluxe?

Norton 360 Deluxe works for everyone—it consolidates all the biggest protections you need online into one affordable package, including parental controls. If you have trouble keeping up with security experts’ recommendations (or haven’t yet gotten around to following all of them), this suite centralizes and simplifies it all. That’s how it won out as our pick for the best antivirus software of 2026.

This plan has just about everything most PC users need, without extra bloat. For antivirus performance, Norton offers strong online protection, while having minimal impact on system resources if you don’t often download or copy large amounts of files. Additionally, you get malicious link and attachment screening, dark web and privacy monitoring, and webcam safeguards. Norton also tosses in 50GB of storage for cloud backups, access to Norton’s password manager and VPN, parental controls, and PC utilities that include the ability to monitor for outdated software. And those major extras—the password manager, VPN, and parental controls—have easy, simple interfaces, without feeling stripped to the bone.

Norton 360 Deluxe: Further Considerations

As part of its efforts to consolidate online security protections into a single software interface, Norton sports a refreshed user interface. It also began promising better scam protection at the beginning of the year, in addition to its other features. And despite all this value, its pricing remains very reasonable. For the first year, you’ll pay $50 for five devices, and then $120 per year thereafter.

Read our full Norton 360 Deluxe review

Avast One – Best antivirus overall runner-up

Pros

• Good new design
• Well priced
• Excellent performance

Cons

• Smart scan requires too much user intervention
• Avast asks to install Google Chrome

Price When Reviewed: Premium Security: $49.99 first year / renews at $77.99/yr, Ultimate: $49.99 first year / renews at $109.99/yr

Best Prices Today:

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Price

Avast

1% off original price$49.08

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Who should buy Avast One?

For those seeking utter ease of use, Avast One not only offers solid protection, but a simple, friendly interface. Combine that together with useful extra features and multi-device coverage, and you have a winning combo.

In addition to top-ranked antivirus protection, it offers safeguards against remote webcam takeovers, malicious websites, and trackers. The Avast One plan also includes dark web monitoring, a VPN with unlimited bandwidth, and protections for saved passwords to a browser. You get utilities to help you keep your PC’s drivers up to date, clean up your PC, and optimize your apps, too.

These features may sound standard, and to be fair, many of them can be found in rival software. But Avast makes staying on top of security dead simple, whether you’re a novice or a security veteran. Its default settings require little input to keep your PC protected, and if you want to dig in further or tinker, you still have that option, too.

Avast One: Further Considerations

Unlike Norton 360 Deluxe (our top pick), Avast One does not come with a password manager, nor parental controls. As a result, it doesn’t cost as much. You have the option of the 1+1 device plan (PC and mobile) for $38.99/yr ($77.99 thereafter); or you can cover 10 devices for $49.99/yr ($99.99 thereafter).

Read our full Avast One review

AVG Internet Security – Best budget antivirus suite

Pros

• Top-rated antivirus protection
• Expanded protection against malicious websites and remote attacks
• Clean, straightforward interface

Cons

• Some PCs may experience a performance hit during heavier workloads
• Several features are a bit rudimentary

Price When Reviewed: 10 devices I $59.88 first year I renews at $99.99/yr

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AVG

$59.88

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Who should buy AVG Internet Security?

AVG is best known for its excellent free antivirus software, but there’s good reason to upgrade. AVG Internet Security not only offers more comprehensive protection, but also easy management of those tools. That user-friendly interface is valuable if you find keeping up with online threats too overwhelming or time consuming.

The Internet Security plan builds upon the free version’s top-ranked protection against malware and web, email, and network threats. It also guards the passwords saved to your browsers; webcam takeovers; unknown access to files with sensitive data; malicious redirects for websites you’re trying to visit (aka DNS hijacking); and Windows Remote Desktop attacks. Dark web monitoring is included as well. And the app has minimal impact on system resources when monitoring your system in the background, though full scans can hit budget or older systems harder.

AVG Internet Security: Further Considerations

AVG Internet Security costs just $60 during the first year for 10 devices, with the fee rising to $100 thereafter. The price is fair, especially given the deeper control and more expansive protection compared to the free version. But without elements like parental controls, VPN, and a password manager, it doesn’t provide the same value as Norton 360 Deluxe.

Read our full AVG Internet Security review

Avira Prime – Best antivirus for beginners

Pros

• Strong security with a reasonable subscription price
• Well designed and user-friendly
• Offers a host of features in the areas of security, privacy, and performance

Cons

• No subscription option for fewer than five devices
• Simplicity of app feels slightly at odds with the depth of the PC tools

Price When Reviewed: 5 devices I $59.99 first year I renews at $109.99/yr

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Avira Operations GmbH

$59.99

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Who should buy Avira Prime?

Avira Prime is one of the best choices for those seeking more help with managing their PC, thanks to its simple, clear interface and feature lineup. In addition to to solid antivirus protection, it offers a password manager, unlimited VPN, and a boatload of PC utilities that (among other things) can keep apps up to date, securely delete files, and back up data.

Thise security suite will best suit users seeking a simple antivirus suite, broad online protections, and robust PC utilities—and also want to use those latter tools for more confident management of their computer. Not every utility is a winner, but the overall set can help you identify and understand the more technical aspects of Windows and system upkeep.

Avira Prime: Further Considerations

The one major feature missing from Avira Prime is a set of parental controls. You can’t use it to filter web content or monitor device usage. The app also can hit older and budget PCs hard when full scans are running, if you’ve added or changed large amounts of files. But typically, it only minimally affects system performance when left to run in the background, so most people won’t notice Avira running.

For the first year, you’ll pay $60 for the first year, and then $105 for every year after. That first-year cost is slightly higher than our overall top pick, but if you prefer more newbie-friendly software, it’s worth the extra ten bucks.

Read our full Avira Prime review

McAfee Total Protection – Best antivirus for privacy

Pros

• Good protection
• Nice features like file shredder and home network analyzer

Cons

• Mixed impact on performance
• New app design is a little scattered

Price When Reviewed: $89.99/yr

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PCWorld Software Store

77% off original price$19.99

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Who should buy McAfee Total Protection?

Your personal information can be used against you online—and with data breaches so painfully common these days, it can be a relief to have help in tracking who has your info. For anyone who doesn’t have as much time to handle that work themselves, or even keep track of a separate service, McAfee Total Protection can serve as a central spot for managing all your online security concerns.

Total Protection hunts down current threats to PCs, with solid results. These days, dangers extend beyond just malware to identity and privacy issues, and this app addresses these just as much as it does ransomware and phishing sites.

That ID protection makes it stand out against competitors, especially if you pay to scale up the service. The plan we tested included dark web scanning for multiple pieces of personal information (email address, phone number, social security number, passport, driver’s license, date of birth, tax ID, credit card, usernames, and more). The app also offers to help change your password for online accounts, when applicable. VPN access is included as well.

McAfee Total Protection: Further Considerations

Mid-tier and budget machines can see impact on system resources when running McAfee scans. When we ran a full scan during a variety of common tasks (web browsing, document editing, etc), we noticed some dips in performance. You can mitigate this effect by timing scans for off hours, however.

Currently, McAfee Total Protection is available through third-party sellers (McAfee has turned its attention to its slightly newer McAfee+ plans on its website). We like this version still because of how extremely affordable it is—for example, a license on PCWorld’s own software site is just $19 per year, which covers up to 10 devices for one year.

Read our full McAfee Total Protection review

Panda Dome Complete – Most feature-rich antivirus

Pros

• Very easy-to-understand mobile-like interface
• Contains some basic smart home network monitoring
• Month-to-month pricing option

Cons

• Good performance results but currently limited in third-party testing

Price When Reviewed: 1 device: $58.49 I 3 devices: $64.99 I 5 devices: $71.49 I 10 devices: $110.49

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Panda Security

$30.10

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Who should buy Panda Dome Complete?

All deluxe antivirus suites offer extra tools as part of their package, but Panda Dome Complete particularly stands out. It also has one of the most striking interfaces we’ve seen, while still putting everything right at your fingertips. Similar to Microsoft’s Bing homepage, Panda Dome features a beautiful background photo, with the interface elements placed on top of it.

A whole raft of utilities come with this suite, including a virtual keyboard, advanced virus removal, an update manager for your Windows apps, a disk defragmenter, hard drive cleaner, and startup apps manager. You also get Wi-Fi protection (which lets you see what devices are connected to your network), a password manager, parental controls, and a VPN that offers 150 megabytes of bandwidth per day.

In addition to offering reliable antivirus protection, Panda had the most minimal impact on system performance during our benchmarks. So minor, in fact, that in the real-world it worked out to no difference.

Panda Dome Complete: Further Considerations

As one of the most feature-rich offerings, Panda Dome Complete is among the more expensive options. You can purchase a subscription for $54 during the first year ($90 per year afterward), but that’s covers just one device. Fortunately, it only costs a little more to upgrade to a three device plan ($55 for the first year, $100 per year afterward) or five device plan ($54 for the first year, $110 per year afterward).

Read our full Panda Dome Complete review

Windows Security (Microsoft Defender) – Best free antivirus for Windows

Pros

• Built into Windows 10 and 11
• Settings are easy to review and customize
• Integrates with other security aspects of Windows

Cons

• Tends toward false positives, especially with SmartScreen
• Lacks the advanced features found in third-party products

Price When Reviewed: Included with Windows 10 and 11

Who should choose Windows Security?

Windows’ built-in security suite is an excellent free antivirus option—as we discovered in our roundup of the best free antivirus—even if its protection isn’t quite as strong as third-party rivals when your PC is offline. It bundles together Defender, which monitors for viruses and malware; Firewall, which blocks malicious incoming traffic and suspicious outgoing traffic; ransomware protections (including controlled access to folders, as well as data recovery via OneDrive integration); app restrictions; and even basic parental controls.

The most important of these protections are automatically enabled in Windows—you don’t have to lift a finger to get real-time antivirus scanning or network protection. You will have to manually switch on some features, though, including ransomware folder controls and file recovery.

You can find more features in other antivirus suites, like online privacy tools, a VPN, and encrypted cloud backups. But this free protection comes preinstalled on Windows machines and does a good job of keeping you protected from most threats.

Windows Security: Further Considerations

To coax the most out of Windows Security, you will have to configure it. (See this Windows Security primer to learn more.) You’ll also need to separately choose and manage additional security services for optimum online protection—e.g., privacy tools, VPN, password manager, and encrypted cloud backup.

Read our full Windows Security review

Other antivirus software tested

• Surfshark One: This VPN software includes adequate antivirus protection with a clean, simple interface, but you’ll get more bang for your buck (and a lighter hit to your PC’s system resources) by choosing rival security software with a stronger focus on antivirus protection.
• McAfee+ Ultimate: This comprehensive all-in-one package offers strong antivirus protection and a vast array of online protections, but its apps, services, and tools could use more polish. Its scans also can tangibly decrease performance on mid-range and budget PCs.
• Avast Premium Security: You can choose a couple of different paths when upgrading from Avast’s already excellent free antivirus software—and this branch of the company’s software leans hard into safeguarding your PC. However, a couple of buggy features keep this suite from standing out among its rivals.
• Bitdefender Total Security: Superb antivirus defenses are packed into an easy-to-use app that includes a unique safe payment environment. However, it lacks some features you get with similarly priced suites, like a password manager.
• Malwarebytes Premium Security: Technology newbies will like this antivirus software’s simplicity, but you can get more bang for your buck elsewhere.
• Norton Antivirus Plus: Its one-device limitation is tight, but this simplified antivirus suite is affordable and offers more features than similar rivals. If you can work comfortably with its quirks and potentially heavy performance effect, it can be ideal software for digital minimalists.
• Trend Micro Maximum Security: Even when you can count on Trend Micro Maximum Security to work, this beginner-friendly antivirus suite feels underbaked. You can find much stronger malware protection, along with a more robust set of features, in rival software—and often at a lower price.

How to choose the best antivirus software

When shopping for antivirus software, you want to be mindful of the must-haves versus the nice-to-haves. The former consists of core protection and usability features: If an antivirus program doesn’t offer the following three things, it’s doing it wrong:

• High detection rate for malware and other threats, both online and offline
• Low use of system resources
• A simple, clear interface

Beyond that, it’s up to you what other additional features are necessary from your antivirus. Security suites now come packed with extras like a backup service for essential files, mobile apps for Android and iOS, advanced firewall features, content restriction and GPS location for family members, and the ability to install the app on multiple computers. Access to a VPN and a password manager have become more common, too. Your budget and personal situation will dictate if you need these additional features.

If you’re looking to go beyond the basics, our baseline recommendation is to find a suite that comes with a firewall, supports enough devices to cover what you own, and (if you don’t already have separate services set up) access to a password manager and VPN. Not sure if you need all that? Our guides on security suite features, password managers, and VPNs can help you decide.

When you’ve reviewed as many tech products as I have, you wind up with dozens of abandoned online accounts, most of them created and forgotten the moment I was done with my testing.

Over the years, I’d started to wonder: How many of those accounts are still floating around, idle but still active? Good question, and I’m sure I’m not the only one curious about the online accounts they’ve left behind.

A good method for tracking down forgotten online accounts is to scour your inbox for signup confirmations, and Consumer Reports has a detailed explainer on how to do just that. But I was curious to take it a step further, enlisting Claude’s help for a prompt that would automate the process, sifting through my email for me to catalog the accounts I’d collected over the years.

This prompt takes two of Consumer Reports’s best ideas — searching through your email, as well as checking sites like haveibeenowned.com for possible account breaches — and hands the busywork to Claude Cowork or another AI agent, like Google’s Gemini Spark, Meta’s Muse, or a ChatGPT Dot.

Now, this prompt does involve giving your agent access to your email, typically via a Gmail integration or connector (and all the four AI agents I just mentioned have one). If that prospect makes you uncomfortable — and that’s a perfectly reasonable reaction — by all means, skip this prompt.

Still here? OK, here’s the prompt we’re going to use:

Search my email from the last 5 years for signs that I created an account somewhere — welcome emails, “verify your email” or “confirm your account” messages, and password-reset emails. Build a new spreadsheet (a Google Sheet if you can) with one row per service: service name, website, date of the earliest signup email, date of the most recent email from them, and whether the service appears on haveibeenpwned.com’s public list of breached websites (with the breach year). For each service, find its official account-deletion page and add the link; if you can’t find one, write “not found” — don’t guess. Put services I haven’t heard from in 2+ years at the top. Don’t sign in anywhere, request password resets, type my email address into any website, delete anything, or contact anyone.

This is a lengthy prompt, by design; rather than trying to prompt to alter an AI’s behavior, we’re telling the agent what we want it to do — and what not to do.

Namely, this is a passive, hands-off search, meaning the agent won’t try to log onto any outside websites or ping anyone about your accounts. That also goes for the haveibeenowned.com search, with the agent only checking whether a given service has recently been compromised rather than plugging in your particular email address. 

When you’re done, you’ll get a spreadsheet that details all the online accounts the agent found, with the ones that appear the most dormant at the top.

I tried this prompt with all four of the biggest consumer-level AI agents, and they all spat out their spreadsheets within anywhere from five minutes to half an hour. Each agent tagged at least 50 accounts, with my ChatGPT Dot leading the pack with 73 accounts detected.

Looking over the spreadsheets, many of the discovered accounts are ones I recognized and use frequently: Facebook, Netflix, Hulu, Instagram, Microsoft, and Disney+ are all there, along with SeatGeek, Roborock, and OpenTable.

But there were also some surprises and “oh, right”-type finds. I’d forgotten all about the Bowers & Wilkins account I’d signed up for way back in 2022 (I must have been reviewing a pair of B&W headphones), as well as a Hawaii Pacific Health MyChart account from 2023 (created, as I now recall, after I’d broken my toe during a Honolulu vacation). 

I also spotted a Dunkin’ Rewards account I have no memory of signing up for, along with Dick’s Sporting Goods (huh?), Golf Galaxy (no clue), and strangest of all, LocalFlirt (which, as it turns out, was one of those random “confirm your account” emails that slipped past my Gmail spam filter).

The spreadsheets also include links for deleting the various accounts, although roughly half of them came back with “not found” or simply point to privacy FAQs. You’ll also see which of the various services have suffered recent breaches, although again, those notes don’t pertain to your specific email address.

In any event, this “find my old accounts” prompt is a good example of the kind of busywork AI agents are good at, and I’ll be teeing up more for you in the weeks ahead.

Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Ultra is powered by a Mediatek CPU and Nvidia’s powerful RTX Spark SoC, which is mainly designed to run local AI models on the user’s lap. Five competing laptops—from Dell, HP, MSI and more—will offer additional options.

Here’s the thinking. Microsoft is banking on near-future AI developers and enthusiasts running local AI models and tools directly from their PC. If needed, they’ll tap Microsoft’s Copilot AI for more horsepower. Microsoft calls this “hybrid intelligence” and it’s basically an acknowledgement that users won’t necessarily care which device does what. It’s a compromise, as is most anything that’s AI-related in productivity: some love it, others despise it.

There are further tradeoffs. Users will be able to run models locally, but the Surface Laptop Ultra ships with a 140W power adapter. That’s a signal that it will consume much more power than typical laptops, though not gaming laptops. (That’s another question: is this a gaming laptop? Microsoft showed just a single Gears of War game running on the Ultra, with no indication of frame rate.)

Nevertheless, I left the Windows and Surface Event with a question that no one at Microsoft could answer: What will be the battery life of these laptops? In one demonstration, Microsoft employee Kayla Cinnamon proudly put the Surface Laptop Ultra into “airplane mode,” showing how the laptop could run entirely disconnected from a network.

(Microsoft’s official stance: “Battery life details for Surface Laptop Ultra will be shared closer to availability,” reads the Ultra’s spec page. “It varies based on usage, settings, configuration, and other factors.”)

But these laptops may not even work on airplanes. For one, 140W is more than some airplane power outlets can supply—110W to 150W is apparently typical. (Edit: Jason Rabinowitz, cohost of the AVTalk podcast and an avid airline enthusiast, says that 60 to 100 watts is actually more common.) Will you be able to run AI agents continuously throughout a 13-hour flight from San Francisco to Taiwan? I very much doubt it. We don’t even have a reliable way to test the battery life while churning tokens.

All of these unknowns left the analysts I spoke to shaking their heads. Who’s going to buy these devices? The $2,599 price is the base, which means as users scale up to more and more memory—to run larger and more powerful AI models—the price will balloon with it. We’re still in 2026, a time when the $699 Apple MacBook Neo blew up headlines.

“I think it’s very obvious that no one wants to spend all this crazy money [on cloud AI],” said analyst Bob O’Donnell, principal at Technalysis. But how users want to divvy up their work between slower local AI and faster, more expensive cloud models remains to be seen.

It seems we have a new breed of laptops that might not really be laptops at all—they may not have the battery to last with how much power they chug, and they can’t plug in while on the go. They’re “portable” AI workstations for a niche of users who are willing to pay more than what it costs for a normal productivity laptop, for “productivity” loathed by some of its users. Whew.

Updated at 2:02 PM with additional detail.

Aw, have you seen that viral video of the little puppy nuzzling with a baby? It’s absolutely adorable — so adorable that it’s probably AI, although not even Reddit seems to know for sure.

Now Google has unveiled a site featuring a tool designed to spot AI-generated images, videos, and audio files, using a technology called SynthID to pinpoint invisible watermarks embedded in AI-generated content. Surely the SynthID tool can tell us whether that suspicious puppy video was created by AI, right?

I plopped the ultra-cute video into the tool, waited a few seconds, and got the result: no AI watermarks detected. So, the video must be real, right?

Well, not exactly.

Developed by Google as a method of tagging AI-generated content, SynthID allows AI models to embed invisible watermarks in the images, videos, audio files, and other content that they create. There’s even a version of SynthID for watermarking text, but this particular SynthID detection tool (which was previously available to researchers, journalists, and other media professionals) is limited to image, video, and audio formats.

Of course, not every AI model supports SynthID watermarking, and for now, Google’s SynthID tool can only detect AI-generated media created by models from Nvidia, Google, OpenAI, and South Korea-based Kakao.

Put all that together, and it means Google’s SynthID detection tool can tell you one of two things: that it detected a SynthID watermark in a given piece of content, or that it didn’t detect one. That’s all.

To put the tool to the test, I asked Gemini and ChatGPT to create some AI slop for me — namely, images and videos of “a robot visiting Disneyland.”

I plugged those images and clips into the Google tool, and got a result within seconds: “SynthID was detected,” with the site correctly telling me that one image was created by OpenAI (ChatGPT) while the other was from Google AI (Gemini).

But the baby video I mentioned earlier? The SynthID tool chewed on it for a moment before returning its verdict — not that the video was real, mind you, but merely that it hadn’t detected an embedded SynthID watermark.

Ben Patterson/Foundry

I got the same results from other and more obvious AI slop videos I found on Reddit and elsewhere, including one of a man gulping soda from an overturned Coca-Cola truck and another of a bunch of cute kittens lining up to sip milk from a row of baby bottles. Were those videos generated by AI? Sure. Were they watermarked? Nope.

Another look at the SynthID’s report spells it out: “It is unlikely that this media was made with AI from a SynthID partner,” the tool says, while adding that “this may have been generated by a non-partner organization, or at a time prior to a partner adopting SynthID.”

In other words, Google’s SynthID tool can’t prove that an image, video, or other content was definitely created by a human; instead, all that it can tell you is whether it found a SynthID watermark or not. That doesn’t mean Google’s SynthID detector is broken; instead, it’s simply a tool with a narrowly defined job.

So when will we get a foolproof AI detector, including one that works with watermarking tools from a wide range of companies? As Google notes in its SynthID detector FAQ, developing such a tool “takes time,” and would require a “layered ecosystem where watermarking, metadata standards, and verification tools work together across the industry.”

In the meantime, is that video of the puppy nuzzling the baby real or AI? Your guess is as good as mine.

If the sight of a boxy, dull-beige desktop and a floppy disk drive gives you a weird little rush of nostalgia, then Desktop98 is about to blow your mind.

It’s a free Windows 98 simulator that runs in your browser. Not only does it give you the desktop nostalgia, it goes well past that, making you feel like you actually sat down at a computer in 1998. I can just hear the gentle buzzing of the CRT monitor in the background and smell the molten hot Pizza Rolls.

With Desktop98, you can fire up AOL and listen to a 56K modem screech its way onto the internet. You can open Winamp—remember that? You can browse the web in Internet Explorer or, better yet, Netscape Navigator. All of the browsers link to real archived pages from the era through the Wayback Machine. That means that Geocities, Yahoo, AltaVista, and my personal favorite, Ask Jeeves, are all available to browse.

Beyond just the retro-nostalgia of the early internet you can also use old programs like MS Paint, Minesweeper, and Solitaire. There’s even DOOM and Duke Nukem 3D emulators. They run through DOS emulation, so you can play the original games in a browser tab.

Probably the most ambitious throwback is the AOL recreation, which includes chat rooms, instant messages, Buddy Lists, and yes, “You’ve Got Mail.” The chat rooms mix real Desktop98 users with AI characters playing people from 1998. They stay in character and outright refuse to acknowledge that any year after 1998 exists. It’s kitschy, but also kind of delightful.

If you lived through this era, then Desktop98 is about as close as you’ll get to a time machine back to the golden days—minus your mom yelling at you to get off the internet because she needs the phone.

For more fun and helpful tips, tricks, website and app recommendations, be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.

Keeping a modern PC safe, secure, and optimized can feel like a complex juggling act of different apps and services. Learning how they work, keeping them updated, and actually remembering to run them often takes far too much time and effort. Bringing those tools together in one application can make the job far simpler. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense is built as an all-in-one solution for managing your PC’s security, privacy, and performance.

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Boost performance, lock down security

When it comes to protecting against viruses and malware, the best defense is proactive. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense includes real-time monitoring and a system shield that actively protects against trojans, ransomware, and spyware. That helps stop any nasty applications from gaining a foothold in your system by blocking them before they even get started.

It’s not just malware you need to watch out for online, though. Websites and advertisers scrape all kinds of information when you use their services. Something as innocuous as your PC’s hardware and font list are often enough to identify you to advertisers. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense locks that information down to better protect your personal privacy and make it much harder to track you online.

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Whatever web services you use, you should have a strong and unique password for each of them. Re-using passwords is never a good idea, but with this tool’s built-in password generator you can quickly make a new password for every site and service, and store it conveniently offline. Local data encryption further protects your login credentials against outside attacks.

No matter how safe you are, though, a slow and unresponsive PC is a chore to use. That’s why  System Mechanic Ultimate Defense also includes automated repair algorithms that clear up unnecessary files to boost performance and free up extra storage capacity and memory space. Better yet, these tools run in the background while the PC is idle, so you don’t need to start those tasks manually. Automated optimization, with as little hassle as possible.

Easy to use, easier to manage

A convenient all-in-one tool doesn’t just consolidate features; it unifies the user experience. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense is a single app with an intuitive and familiar layout that means everything you need is just a couple of clicks off the main menu. That means less time figuring out different tools next time you want to clear up some files, or come up with a new password.

You get a free month of 24/7 technical support too, and you can extend that to cover your entire subscription period if you like.

System Mechanic Ultimate Defense brings together security, optimization, and privacy to make managing your PC simpler, easier, and less time-consuming.

Download System Mechanic Ultimate Defense today, and you can get the full suite of tools for just $39.95 for a year. Just input the code “PCWORLDSMUD” at checkout

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TL;DR: Visual Studio Professional 2026 is Microsoft’s full IDE, and a lifetime license is on sale for $30 through October 11.

Professional IDEs usually have a recurring license fee, and you keep paying it as long as you write code. Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 is the full 64-bit version of the IDE for Windows, but you don’t need to pay a recurring fee to use it. During this limited-time sale, you can get a lifetime license for just $29.97.

Because Visual Studio Pro 2026 is a 64-bit IDE, it can handle large solutions and heavy workloads without slowing down. You can build mobile and desktop apps with .NET MAUI, write web interfaces in C# with Blazor, and build and debug .NET and C++ apps for Windows, Linux, and containers. Hot reload updates a running app right away, so you don’t have to restart after every change.

IntelliCode suggests code based on your variable names, libraries, and coding patterns, and it can finish whole lines or blocks. AI-assisted refactoring reduces boilerplate code and bugs. CodeLens shows recent changes, authors, test status, and commit history in the editor. With Live Share, teammates can edit and debug your code with you at the same time, without cloning the repo first.

This single-user license works on one PC running Windows 10, Windows 11, or Windows Server 2019 or 2022. You need a Microsoft account to activate it online, and you have 30 days to redeem the code. Minor updates and security fixes for the 2026 release channel are included.

Stop paying a recurring fee for your IDE.

Get Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 on sale for $29.97.

Sale ends October 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Letting an AI agent do your shopping is, for better or worse, one of the hottest AI trends. And now it’s looking like ChatGPT will soon be joining the agentic shopping spree.

Tapping the Customize button on the ChatGPT mobile app reveals (among other options) a new Wallet option, labeled as “Coming soon.”

“A little wallet. A world of possibilities. Your Wallet is on its way,” the copy reads after tapping the “coming soon” link. The ChatGPT wallet teaser first started attracting notice last week.

ChatGPT parent OpenAI hasn’t made much of the new wallet, and there wasn’t any mention of shopping abilities for Dots, ChatGPT’s new personal agents, during the company’s annual developer conference last week. I’ve reached out to OpenAI for comment.

But giving agents access to digital wallets has become a hot new AI trend, allowing users to send their AI assistants off to shop on their behalf for anything from groceries to theater tickets.

Meta’s Muse agent already has access to a digital wallet powered by Link by Stripe. Aside from facilitating purchases with merchants who take Stripe payments, Link by Stripe can also create a one-time virtual credit card that’s “scoped” for an individual purchase, meaning the agent can shop pretty much anywhere there’s an online credit card form. 

Muse is programmed not to make purchases without asking for permission first, and Link by Stripe is designed so the agent can’t see the details of the payment methods you’ve added to your Stripe account.

Now, it’s not clear whether ChatGPT’s wallet will work the same way as Meta Muse’s, or what will power it.

It’s worth noting that OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman is also a co-founder of World Money, a financial “super app” that can hold US dollar and local-currency stablecoin balances that allow for easy cross-border money exchanges. That said, it’s not clear whether World Money and ChatGPT’s forthcoming wallet are connected.

Of course, the big question about digital wallets for agents like Meta Muse and ChatGPT’s Dots is whether you trust those agents with your credit cards.

We’ve already seen cases where Muse took actions that caught its users by surprise, such as sending the home address of a user to a complete stranger. (That user had asked Muse to take charge of their Facebook Marketplace account.) 

And while Muse is supposed to never complete a purchase without a user’s explicit A-OK, there’s always room for interpretation about what counts as permission.

That said, I’ve no doubt that agentic AI shopping is going to be a thing, and ChatGPT’s introduction of its own digital wallet will only make the trend more mainstream.

If you like audiobooks but don’t want to be tied down to Audible, there are actually some good free alternatives out there. Two that I recommend are Audiobookshelf and Storyteller.

Both are self-hosted, which means that your library stays on your own computer or server, rather than in a company’s cloud. The only catch being that you need to own your audiobooks to use them—something that isn’t possible if you’re switching directly from Audible.

Both are perfectly fine Audible audiobook listening alternatives, but they have slightly unique features that set them apart from one another.

Audiobookshelf

Audiobookshelf feels a lot like a Plex server but for audiobooks and podcasts. You can upload your audiobook files and it builds a library with cover art, metadata, chapters, and listening progress for you.

You can listen to your audiobooks in a web browser or in the AudiobookShelf Android and iOS apps, which both support offline downloads. It also syncs your progress across devices, allowing you to pick up at the exact same spot if you switch from one to another.

If you have a big pile of DRM-free audiobooks on a hard drive, then go ahead and start here.

Storyteller

Storyteller also offers basic audiobook functions, but it’s really designed for those who often switch between reading a book and listening to it. If you upload both a DRM-free ebook and a DRM-free audiobook of the same title, Storyteller will sync your progress between the two as you progress.

I use this feature almost everyday between listening to an audiobook in my car and then switching to my e-reader to continue reading at home. Storyteller effortlessly saves my spot across both using EPUB 3 media overlays. And much like Amazon’s Whispersync, it can also highlight the current line of text as the audiobook plays.

Setup is a little more technical, but as a free alternative to Audible, Storyteller offers the best e-book/audiobook alignment that I’ve found.

For more fun and helpful tips, tricks, website and app recommendations, be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.

TL;DR: Turn complex data into digestible visuals with this Microsoft Visio Professional 2024 lifetime license for Windows, on sale now for just $49.97 (MSRP $579.99) through tonight at 11:59 PM.

When you have a project with a lot of moving parts, sometimes the easiest way to tackle it is to get a good visual. Microsoft Visio Professional 2024 makes that possible, giving you the tools to turn complex data, processes, and workflows into clear, professional diagrams.

Right now, you can lock in a lifetime license for Windows for just $49.97.

Map out your next project with Microsoft Visio Professional

Whether you’re trying to get everyone on the same page or just hoping to keep better track of the steps you need for a project, Microsoft Visio Professional 2024 is ready to help. This diagramming software helps you turn complex data, processes, and workflows into visuals for industries ranging from IT and engineering to business and architecture.

If you’re familiar with Microsoft Office apps, you’ll find Microsoft Visio easy to use. It’s packed with over 250,000 shapes across multiple diagram types, giving you tools to make everything from simple flowcharts to complex engineering designs.

Microsoft Visio lets you link data to diagrams, so you can visualize it in real time from Excel, SQL Server, or other databases. If you’re working with others, there are also improved collaboration tools that let you work on the same diagram simultaneously no matter where you all are.

Bring ideas to life with this Microsoft Visio Professional 2024 lifetime license for Windows, on sale for just $49.97 through tonight at 11:59 PM.

Microsoft Visio Professional 2024: Lifetime License for WindowsSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get a year of Microsoft 365 Personal with Copilot and 1TB of cloud storage for $69.99 (reg. $99.99).

Microsoft 365 is one of the best ways to get the core Microsoft productivity apps like Word and Excel, but the $99.99 yearly price tag is a hard lift. If you want a cheaper option, right now you can get a Microsoft 365 Personal 1-Year Subscription on sale for $69.99, and it even includes Copilot AI.

Copilot is the newest addition to the Microsoft 365 suite. Microsoft integrated it directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the other Office apps, where it automates tasks and cuts down on routine work. Microsoft Editor checks spelling, grammar, and style as you write, and Clipchamp adds a video editor with premium filters and effects.

You’ll also get access to 1TB of OneDrive storage, enough space for a full photo library and years of documents, and those files open on any device you sign into. OneDrive also detects ransomware and can recover files for up to 30 days after an attack or accidental deletion. For sensitive documents, Personal Vault adds two-step verification.

One person can use this plan on up to five devices at the same time across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. PC users also get Access and Publisher, though Publisher support ends after October 2026.

Get Copilot, 1TB of storage, and the full Office suite for the next year.

Get a one-year Microsoft 365 Personal subscription on sale for $69.99.

Microsoft 365: 1-Year SubscriptionSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Firefox is making it easier to work with two web pages at once. In version 149, the developers added a new feature that allows a single tab to display two web pages side by side. You could, for example, keep Google Maps open on one side to follow your route while searching for accommodation on the other.

Activating this feature is simple. Just right-click a tab in the Firefox title bar and select Add Split View. The page will now appear on the left, while Firefox displays its home screen with a search bar on the right. From there, you can visit any page you like.

If you already have other tabs open, Firefox will show you a list of them, allowing you to place one alongside the first page. The same feature is also available in the latest versions of Google Chrome and Opera. In Chrome, simply right-click a tab and select New Split View with Current Tab.

Once you’ve loaded a web page on each side, right-click and select Arrange Split View → Swap Views to switch the positions. In Opera, the context menu command is called Split Screen.

OpenAI unveiled several flashy new features during its annual developer’s conference Tuesday, from the always-on “Dot” work agent to a new, cloud-based security system that keeps constant watch for cyber threats. But one of the biggest — and to many ChatGPT users, the most infuriating — headlines from DevDay wasn’t announced on stage.

The news centered around the $200-a-month ChatGPT Pro 200 plan, which the company had paused for new signups earlier this month due to demand for GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI’s most powerful and token-hungry model. 

First, the good news: OpenAI said it was taking new signups for the Pro 200 plan again. The not-so-great news? The plan’s relative usage limits compared to the $20-a-month ChatGPT Plus plan were being greatly reduced.

Previously, the Pro 200 plan got you 20 times more usage than Plus plan, but according to a rough chart shared by OpenAI’s Thibault Sottiaux on X, the $200-a-month Pro plan will now only offer 10 times the usage limits of Plus, a 50-percent reduction. (Existing Pro subscribers are getting a brief grace period along with usage credits to smooth things over.)

Naturally, those explanations aren’t going over too well in the ChatGPT community, with some users cancelling their subscriptions in protest.

OK, so why is this happening? Sottauix, the Head of Core Products at OpenAI, served up a few different explanations, including the debut of new DevDay functionality that demand “a lot of compute,” while noting that OpenAI passed on the chance to “compromise in other ways,” including the reintroduction of a rolling five-hour usage limit.

More importantly, Sottauix pointed out the recent 50-percent API rate cut for two of its newer and more efficient models, GPT-6 Sol (which already has a successor in GPT-6.1 Sol) and GPT-6 Luna. (API rates are essentially pay-as-you-go, versus opting for a flat subscription rate.)

“We don’t want to put an incentive on ourselves to artificially inflate the API list prices to make it look like [subscribers] are getting a lot (and workaround it through discounts, etc),” Sottauix wrote. “Instead we want to continue to both rapidly reduce prices and increase capabilities of models on the API.” 

The result for Pro 200 subscribers getting their usage limits chopped in half is essentially a wash, although as Sottauix promises, “we guarantee that over time you always get more work done and with an increasing level of quality … as a result of models getting more efficient.” Sottauix also hinted at the addition of “more things to the subscription that won’t draw on the usage,” which turned out to include chats with OpenAI’s new Dot assistants.

Still, the changes to OpenAI’s Pro 200 plan point to a trend we’ve been tracking for months: namely, the big AI providers endlessly tinkering with their flat-rate subscription plans to keep pace with ever-changing and increasingly powerful AI features, particularly the token-heavy agentic ones. Expect more of the same in the weeks and months to come.

More in AI this week

• Here’s more about ChatGPT’s Dots, which are geared less toward home use and shopping and more toward collaborating at the office. [PCWorld]
• Google finally took the wraps on its revamped frontier Gemini model, Gemini 4 Aragon. Google-provided benchmarks look impressive, but the new model is being limited to “trusted testers” before rolling out to the general public. [Google]
• Gemini Gems are going away, but Gemini skills — which were formerly reserved for paying Gemini Spark users — are replacing them, and they’ll now work for free users. [PCWorld]
• President Trump has announced a “morally binding” accord with AI leaders over safety, while announcing that artificial intelligence should henceforth be called “super intelligence.” I’ll just leave it at that. [Reuters]
• Bill Gates sat down for Ezra Klein’s podcast to expand on his AI worries. If you’re looking for reassurance about AI apocalypse fears, you won’t find much here. [New York Times]
• Meta’s Muse AI agent has run headlong into various privacy snafus, including one in which it sent the home address of a user (who had asked Muse to take charge of his Facebook Marketplace account) to a complete stranger. [The Verge]

Prompt of the week: The “don’t build until I say” prompt

Claude Sonnet 5.5 has arrived, and with it comes a prompt that could help keep any AI agent from leaping into action before making a plan first.

The prompt, which comes directly from Claude maker Anthropic, concerns “open-ended” requests, including those that don’t strictly define boundaries for what the AI should and shouldn’t do.

Specifically, the prompt can help keep Sonnet and other AI models from spinning up charts, videos, and other “artifacts” when all you really wanted was just a plan.

That’s all for now!

Thanks for reading the latest issue of Prompt Mode.

Want more next week? Don’t forget to sign up to start receiving this newsletter in your inbox.

TL;DR: Get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more when you get a Microsoft Office Pro lifetime license, only $30 through October 11.

Microsoft 365 Personal costs $99.99 a year, and there’s no guarantee it won’t go up later. If you don’t want to get stuck paying for the same apps year after year, you can now switch to a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Pro 2021. You get stable versions of many of the same apps, and it only costs $29.97 on sale (reg. $219.99).

Your license includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access, plus the free version of Teams. Office 2021 lets you customize fonts, layouts, and indentation straight from the ribbon, so formatting a report or an email takes fewer clicks. Updates are included, every language is supported, and no monthly or yearly fees ever show up on your card.

This is Office 2021, not Microsoft 365, and Microsoft ties the license to your PC instead of your Microsoft account. You can use it at home or at work. You’ll need Windows 10 or 11 because Windows 7 and 8 aren’t supported, and this version won’t run in Parallels or other virtual machines.

Your code and download link arrive by email right after purchase, and you have 7 days to redeem them.

Pay for Office once and keep using it for good.

Get a Microsoft Office Pro Lifetime License on sale for $29.97.

Sale ends October 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

PDF files are a necessary component of our multi-platform world. With this convenient file format, users are able to view and share documents across various devices, using various operating systems and software programs.

While tasks such as simple viewing and/or commenting on a PDF can be accomplished with free software, there are times when you need a broader range of tools for working with a PDF document. You might want to make edits, reorganize the elements of a file, or collaborate with others to make changes. In cases such as these, you’re better served by a full-featured PDF editor.

The best PDF editors allow you to edit, create, alter, and convert PDF files just like you would with any other text document. Adobe’s Acrobat Pro is full-featured PDF editor, and probably the most well known. Adobe has earned its renown honestly with an excellent feature set and overall utility. But it’s also expensive.

Fortunately, there’s a whole range of capable and even great third-party PDF editors that provide less pricey alternatives to Adobe’s premier product.

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Our picks below cover the gamut of PDF editing needs and budgets.

Why you should trust PCWorld for PDF editor reviews and buying advice: At PCWorld, we’ve been testing PC hardware and software for over 40 years. Our evaluation process is always hands-on and thorough, taking into account real-world usage needs. We don’t ever recommend something we wouldn’t be comfortable using ourselves.

Adobe Acrobat Pro – Best PDF editor overall

Pros

• Easily navigable tabbed interface
• Comprehensive PDF editing features
• Streamlined sharing feature makes it easier to fill documents and get signatures

Cons

• Rich feature set can be overwhelming for new users

Price When Reviewed: $19.90/mo I $239.88/yr

Best Prices Today:

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Price

Adobe

$239.88

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Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

Adobe Acrobat Pro remains the industry standard for good reason. Its rich combination of creation, editing, reviewing, and security features are mimicked by the best alternative options, but we feel Acrobat still does it best. Its recent interface redesign makes it much easier to navigate through its robust toolset than the nested menus of yore, and its cloud subscription option puts its advanced features within reach of more individuals and small businesses. (See how it compares to the Adobe Acrobat Standard.)

Though many of its features are available in other, cheaper PDF editors, Acrobat is still the editor against which all others are judged. Not surprisingly, Acrobat Pro includes an Al assistant, albeit not at an additional $4.99 per month. Depending on your PDF editing needs, the AI’s ability to summarize, answer questions, or extract key details from documents could earn its keep in valuable time saved. See our article on “5 ways Adobe Acrobat’s AI Assistant gives you a productivity edge.”

Read our full Acrobat Pro DC review

Nitro PDF – Best PDF editor runner-up

Pros

• Intuitive Microsoft Office ribbon-style interface
• Excellent document conversion
• Multi-platform

Cons

• Expensive
• May be more than casual users need

Price When Reviewed: $15 per user/mo or $270 for 3-year license

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Nitro

$15

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Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

A fully featured PDF editor that can go toe-to-toe with Acrobat Pro’s feature set, Nitro PDF is a less costly alternative by about $60 per year. The Standard plan’s subscription fee is $15 a month, or $180 per year. Its full suite of PDF editing features cover the range of needs and scenarios: content editing; review and markup; form fill and signing; and multiple security options for sensitive documents including permissions, password protection, and data redaction. It even facilitates adding, removing, and editing bates numbering in legal documents.

A Microsoft Office-style ribbon interface makes workflows feel familiar and intuitive. The addition of AI is judicious, and can provide practical assistance such as by summarizing PDFs and allowing you to ask questions about content.

But don’t just take our word for Nitro PDF’s impressive capabilities. You can learn that first hand by taking advantage of Nitro PDF’s 14-day free trial. No credit card is required and none of the features are locked — there’s nothing like a test drive to persuade you.

Read our full Nitro PDF review

EaseUS PDF Editor – Best cheap PDF editor

Pros

• Full set of editing tools
• Annotation options enable easy collaboration
• Straightforward interface

Cons

• Windows only
• Needs subscription to remove usage limits

Price When Reviewed: Free I $29.95/mo I $49.95/yr I $79.95/lifetime

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Price

EaseUS

25% off original price$22.46

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Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

EaseUS PDF Editor might not have the name recognition of some of the other editors on this list, but it’s more than capable of holding its own in the crowded PDF editor market. It provides all of the essential tools for managing PDF files without any of the elaborate or hard-to-understand features. It allows users to jump right in to their toolset and get straight to editing.

While EaseUS’s features are great, they are also pretty standard fare among PDF editors. What makes it stand out among the pack is its affordable price—$29.95 a month, $49.95 annually, or $79.95 for a lifetime license. It’s a great value for those who regularly edit PDFs and don’t want to pay out the nose.

EaseUS also offers a fully functional free version (with embedded watermarks on your edited documents) so users can take it for a spin to see if it meets their needs before they commit to paying any money.

Read our full EaseUS PDF Editor review

PDF Candy – Best free PDF editor

Pros

• Many advanced features
• OCR capability
• Very easy to use

Cons

• No Mac support
• Free trial only offers basic features

Price When Reviewed: Free

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PDF Candy

Free

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Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

PDF Candy is the rare free PDF editor that offers a lot of the features you’d typically have to pay for. We’re talking scanning, multiple file-conversion options, and OCR functionality. A whopping 98 tools in all. This is what makes PDF Candy stand out among the multitude of lesser free PDF editors.

Of course, being free, there are compromises. In this case, the interface is a little disjointed, with the tool icons lacking any discernible organizing principle. But once you get familiar with the layout, you’re off and running.

There’s also the fact of being limited to one PDF task per hour with the free version. This is a non-issue if your needs are modest and consist of the occasional PDF editing task. If you want unfettered access, you need to shell out $6 per month, or $48 per year.

Read our full PDF Candy review

PDF Expert – Best PDF editor for Mac

Pros

• Syncs across Mac, iPhone, and iPad
• Comprehensive editing and annotation tools
• Simple, intuitive interface

Cons

• Requires annual payment
• Lifetime license enables use on Mac only

Price When Reviewed: Free 7-day trial, $79.99 annually, $139.99 lifetime

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Readdle

$79.99

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PDF Expert is an excellent editor that fits seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem, making it our pick for Macs, iPads, and iPhone users.

While macOS does include a PDF editor in its Preview app, iOS devices don’t have a native PDF editor and PDF Expert fills that gap nicely.

It has a clean and intuitive interface and offers a plethora of easy-to-use editing options such as page management, converting scanned files into editable documents, and conversion to other file formats, among other things. The pricing plan is also considerably cheaper than most of the other top picks, meaning this is a no-brainer for Apple users.

In its latest iteration, PDF Expert includes and AI-powered chat assistant that can be particularly helpful with long or complex documents. For example, it can extract key points, summarize information, and generate hashtags as a navigation aid.

Read our full PDF Expert (iOS) review

Apple Preview PDF editor – Best free PDF editor for Mac

Pros

• Full set of PDF markup tools
• Supports form filling
• PDFs can be protected with passwords, encryption, and permission controls

Cons

• Limited native sharing options
• Only available to Mac users

Price When Reviewed: Built into macOS

Best Prices Today:

Retailer

Price

Check

Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

Mac users needn’t look beyond the macOS for their PDF editing needs, since there is a full set of PDF markup tools already available at their disposal in Apple Preview. It has the chops to handle most personal and business PDF editing needs, including encryption, password protection, and permissions for files.

Apple Preview’s PDF features and capabilities are impressive and should be all you need for most common editing tasks. The drawback, of course, is that only Mac users can take advantage of them.

Read our full Apple Preview PDF editor review

pdfFiller – Best online PDF editor

Pros

• Intuitive web-based interface
• Robust security options
• Lots of business-ready capabilities

Cons

• Business features won’t be needed by some users
• Requires annual commitment to get best value

Price When Reviewed: Basic: $8 per month; Plus: $12 per month; Premium: $15 per month. Those prices require an annual commitment. Prices start at $20 a month with no commitment.

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30-day trial

Free

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pdfFiller monthly (on annual contract)

$8

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Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

pdfFiller is a browser-based PDF editor that allows you do to just about everything PDF-related—editing, securing, sharing, creating, and storing PDF files—all from its intuitive and simple web interface.

Its design is similar to a desktop app, with the toolbar across the top, and document thumbnails along the side, so it’s very easy to select the page you want to work on and perform the desired function, be it adding, deleting, or copying/pasting text; changing font style, size, and color; and so on. A standard set of markup tools is also available. It has a surprisingly deep set of features for both personal and business use. For instance the Premium plan offers an impressive legal document library, as well as SignNow support.

While incredibly versatile, not all of pdfFiller’s advanced features will suit everyone. Fortunately, there are three subscription tiers, which gives users a way to meet their editing needs without paying extra for unnecessary features: Basic for $8/mo; Plus for $12/mo; Premium for $15/mo with an annual commitment. Month-to-month options are also available, but at a higher cost, of course.

Read our full pdfFiller review

Other PDF editor reviews

• MyPDFTools: This handy, free PDF toolkit offers easy and effective basics, but more demanding jobs expose some limitations.
• Swifdoo PDF for Windows: This full-featured, low-priced Acrobat alternative should serve most users well, with most everything you’d need for editing PDFs.
• MobiPDF: Budget buyers will find a lot to like about PDF Extra. It offers good basic-to-intermediate PDF functionality that will please both casual and professional users, for a fraction of the cost of pinnacle program Adobe Acrobat Pro.
• PDF24 Creator: This is a capable free editor that comes in handy for casual use, but if you need a program for more regular editing duties, PDF24 Creator has annoyances that will hinder its helpfulness.
• PDF-XChange Editor: Another full-featured PDF editor that will fulfill most editing needs for a reasonable price. It also offers a respectable free version, if you can accept its watermarks.
• Kofax Power PDF 5: This is a close alternative to Adobe Acrobat Pro with essential and advanced editing tools and lots of help resources, making it suitable for old hands and those new to PDF editing.

A word about online PDF editors

Why spend a chunk of change on a desktop editor when free online PDF editors abound? The simple answer is because you get what you pay for. Generally, free online editors will let you add text and comments, merge and split documents, and convert files to and from PDF. With rare exception, however, they won’t let you edit existing text and many have file-size and page-volume restrictions. And a lot of them will watermark your edited document. For these reasons, web PDF editors are best reserved for simple, fast editing jobs. Call in these big dogs for anything more demanding.

How to choose the best PDF editor

PDF editors come in a variety of flavors, offering varying feature sets—from basic functionality to power-user tools. It’s important to know what features best match your workflow before you commit to a PDF editor.

Create, convert, and export PDFs

The most fundamental function of a PDF editor is to make PDFs, either from scratch, scanned hard copies, or by converting digital documents. A good PDF editor should be able to transform a variety of file types—from Microsoft Office formats to images to HTML—and do so seamlessly, preserving the original formatting. It should also include OCR technology to make the PDF text searchable and editable. Likewise, a good PDF editor must be able to export PDFs into other editable formats such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, HTML, or plain text, maintaining the original files hyperlinks, images, and other elements.

Content editing

Another bit of magic that PDF editors unlock is the ability to modify text; insert, resize, and move images; and reorganize pages in the PDF. A good one will perform these tasks as easily as in a text document or slide deck, allowing in-line editing, dragging-and dropping graphics, and adding or removing hyperlinks.

Review and annotate

A good PDF editor should also let you or anyone else using it add comments and other annotations to PDF files during review. It should have tools to mark up both text documents and graphic-heavy files like webpages. Common options include sticky notes, callout boxes, highlighting, freehand drawing tools, and stamps with messages like “approved,” “revised,” and “confidential.”

Security

All businesses deal with documents containing sensitive data. Look for a PDF editor that includes security features that allow access for authorized eyes only. Good options will usually offer several levels of security, including password protection, permissions setting, and content redaction, which “blacks out” selected text and images. Most PDF editors will also offer one or more ways to electronically sign documents.

Mobile support

While deep PDF editing is best done on a desktop, it’s nice to be able to review and annotate files when you’re out and about. While PDFs can typically be reviewed in any PDF reader or editor, regardless of which one they were created in, consider looking for an editor that has a dedicated mobile app, is optimized for mobile devices, or allows cloud access to features through a mobile browser.

One of the great things about a PDF is that it can be read and edited in any PDF program regardless of which one it was created in. So beyond the features outlined here, let your personal preferences guide you in making your decision.

Firefox 157 is out for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android and the biggest change in this version is the new Nova design, which brings a more modern look to the browser. Mozilla has also fixed over 70 security vulnerabilities, and updates are also available for the Firefox ESR versions.

The release of Firefox 158 is scheduled for October 13th, 2026.

What’s new in Firefox 157?

Now that Firefox has adopted a two-week release cycle, major new features are growing fewer and farther between. With Firefox 157, the focus is on the new Nova design, which has heavily rounded corners and subtle color gradients on surfaces. You’ll find 12 themes, each in light and dark variants.

Mozilla has also brought back the popular Compact Mode, which groups elements together to save space—great for smaller screens.

You can learn more about the Nova redesign and what it entails in this announcement post by the Mozilla team.

Security fixes in Firefox 157

In the security advisory for Firefox 157, Mozilla lists 76 vulnerabilities that have been fixed, 30 of which were discovered and reported by external security researchers.

Mozilla classifies 38 vulnerabilities as high risk, 29 as medium risk, and nine as low risk. Among them, 32 are use-after-free (UAF) vulnerabilities, some of which could be exploited to inject and execute code, and 15 of which could be exploited to escape the browser sandbox.

Firefox ESR updates

In addition to Firefox 157, Firefox ESR releases 153.4.0, 140.17.0, and 115.42.0 are also now available. However, the latter are only available for Windows 7 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12 to 10.14 until March 2027.

In the ESR versions, Mozilla has fixed the aforementioned vulnerabilities that were also present in the code of these earlier browser generations. That amounts to 62 vulnerabilities in Firefox 153.4.0, 43 in Firefox 140.17, and 31 in Firefox 115.42.

Firefox ESR 140 received its final update on September 29th. In two weeks, this version will finally be replaced by Firefox ESR 153. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to start planning the switch.

Price When Reviewed

$25 perpetual license I $16 per month subscription

Best Prices Today: Ashampoo Backup Pro

Despite the somewhat odd name, Ashampoo peddles some very effective software. Not the least of which is Backup Pro 27. For the average home user, it’s a friendly and solid backup solution.

However, the program is still missing a couple of features that would make it truly “Pro” and ditched another — real-time/continuous backup — for version 27 .

Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best Windows backup software for comparison.

What’s new in Ashampoo Backup Pro 27?

Other than the aforementioned deprecation of real-time/continuous backup, Backup Pro 27’s biggest morph is a rather significant alteration to the workflow and the way it’s presented — i.e., there’s a new, friendlier look that can operate in both light and dark modes.

Gone is the division between simple and comprehensive wizards. Now there is a single approach with all pertinent options packed into a couple of scrollable pages. It’s simple enough for anyone, and offers easy access to all the bells and whistles that advanced users might utilize.

However, as mentioned above and shown below, missing in action this go-around is the “real-time” backup I tested last time. I used quotes because it was more continuous backup than real time, backing up at granular intervals (continuous), not as files changed (real time).

However, even that continuous granularity is gone. While I found a way to back up hourly, or even every few minutes, defining it was exceedingly tedious — requiring a “New Time Entry” for every additional occurrence. Why? I suppose someone thinks that users never want to back up more than a couple times a day.

Beyond that, the major functionality remains intact. Additionally, the program as a whole is more mature and stable. Indeed, I suffered none of the installation and operational bugs I did with version 26, which admittedly, was only a day old at the time I first tested it.

What are Ashampoo Backup Pro 27’s features?

Backup Pro 27 lets you image entire partitions and drives (incremental and full — no differential), back up files and folders with versioning (keeping older copies), and disaster recovery — including boot media. In case the term “imaging” is new to you, it’s copying all the data blocks on a drive into a container file. Generally, empty sectors are bypassed.

Backup Pro 27 uses the relatively common .vmdk format as its backup container. This, however, is a feature that could be considered “pro” as it is the native virtual drive format for VMWare. The free VirtualBox also can open this virtual drive for browsing.

However, browsing using VM software is only possible if you don’t encrypt the images (you can compress). If you do encrypt, you must use Backup Pro to mount the image and restore files. I think Microsoft’s VHD would have been a better choice, as you could mount those with nothing more than Windows itself. Just saying.

Backup Pro must also be used for file/folder backups that are encrypted and/or compressed. File/folder backups that aren’t encrypted may, of course, be browsed using nothing but Windows Explorer.

While Backup Pro will create a rescue USB stick or CD/DVD, the usual option for creating an ISO image doesn’t exist. But what I also find less than “pro” is that the rescue disk is restore-only — i.e., there’s no facility for creating new backups when you boot using it.

Many users will only want to restore, but backing up before attempting to solve someone’s software or hardware issues is something most pros do religiously.

Note that even if your subscription (see the pricing section below) expires, the rescue media will still restore backups.

Conspicuously missing from the cloud destinations are Amazon S3 and S3 compatibles, which often offer the best value. To utilize these with any backup software, use one of the utilities in our roundup of cloud managers. But this lack, again is not “pro.”

One thing I’d like to see is Backup Pro show physical drives with their numbers and partitions grouped together in some fashion rather than separated as you’ll see below (the first two hidden partitions are on the same disk as Windows, but inexperienced users might not realize this.

There is an info box saying pertinent hidden and system partitions will also be backed up when you select any partition on a bootable disk, the Windows drive in this case. A good thing, as disaster recovery requires all of them.

Back on the sunny side…. A couple of the very useful Backup Pro features are the ability to trigger backups on media insertion, and support for network locations as both sources and destinations. These do drift towards the “pro” side of the equation as many end-user targeted backup programs only back up to network locations.

There’s also a handy “Check Disks” utility so you can determine the health and status of your local media.

How does Ashampoo Backup Pro 27 perform?

Unlike my first look at Backup Pro 26, version 27 performed flawlessly from the jump. Of course, this time I didn’t have the older version installed which is what caused issues last time.

Backup Pro 27 never glitched during any of the multiple tasks I threw at it: Imaging and file backup, local and online, encrypted/compressed, unencrypted/uncompressed, plus restore of all.

Speed-wise, all was about par for the course given the media used for the destination. When I say par, backup software generally operates at around half the maximum transfer rate of any given media.

How much is Ashampoo Backup Pro 27?

A perpetual license for Backup Pro 27 was available at the time of this writing for $25, discounted from $66. You can also rent it for $16 per year, though I’d stick with uncompressed, unencrypted backups if a subscription is your choice. Otherwise you’ll only be able to restore those compressed/encrypted backups from the recovery disc if and when the subscription lapses.

Those discounted prices are lower than I saw last time when the perpetual version was $33 and the yearly was $18.

Should you buy Ashampoo Backup Pro 27?

Backup Pro 27’s support for so many common backup chores, plus its comprehensive, easy-to-understand interface are major selling points for less-experienced users. If it meets your needs (there’s a trial), at $25, heck yeah.

But the lack of backup from the recovery disc, no differential backup, and the newly limited scheduling are definitely not “pro” in my book. I’d balk big time at the full $66 retail.

I strongly advise that you don’t rent (pay yearly) Backup Pro as the program seems to be shedding features rather than gaining them. The pace of development in the backup space in general is so slow, not to mention largely unnecessary, consider that general advice. Unless there’s online storage involved, that is.

If you’re moving your data to the latest version of Microsoft Outlook, it’s important to know that your calendar and contacts may need to be handled separately from your email.

Classic Outlook can export your data in a PST file, but New Outlook does not restore calendar and contact information in the same way. Instead, you need to first export your calendar as an ICS file and then your contacts as a CSV file, then you need to import those files to the new version.

Restoring your calendar

To restore the calendar, open New Outlook and click on Add Calendar underneath the monthly view. Next select Upload from File, then Browse. Find the ICS file and select Open. Under Select Calendar, pick the calendar you wish to restore. Once you’ve clicked Import, Outlook will add the stored data to your current calendar.

Restoring your contacts

Now your contacts.

Save your contacts as a CSV file. In New Outlook, open Contacts on the sidebar. They will appear there under the People tab. Next, click Export Contact in the ribbon, then Export.

Outlook will then compile the CSV file with your contact information and save it to your local Downloads folder. Now open Contacts and click on Import Contacts. Next click on Select Browse for a File and upload the CSV file. Finally, select Open and then Import in the next window.  

Phones and computers don’t always play nice together, especially when you’re bouncing between the two–it can be super annoying. KDE Connect is a handy app that helps fix this issue by linking your devices and letting them share files and notifications, while also allowing you to control your PC from your phone (or vice versa).

File sharing is probably what people use KDE Connect for most. It allows you to send files straight between your phone and computer—think AirDrop, but for PCs. And while KDE Connect does this perfectly well, I still recommend something like LocalSend if file sharing is your only goal. LocalSend is a bit more intuitive and easier for quick tasks.

However, KDE Connect sets itself apart thanks to its deeper device integration and remote control tools. The app mirrors your phone notifications on your desktop, which is great for those times when you’re in the middle of something at work and can’t check your phone. On supported devices, KDE Connect lets you reply to text messages from your computer, too.

The remote control aspect will appeal to power users in particular. I use it to control music on my PC, and even the virtual trackpad option can be useful. There’s also the ability to turn your phone into a presentation remote if you ever forget your clicker. You can even set up custom commands to do things like lock or shut down your computer from your phone.

KDE Connect is free and open source, with versions for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

For more fun and helpful tips, tricks, website and app recommendations, be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.

TL;DR: Microsoft Project Professional 2024 is a full project management tool for Windows, and a lifetime license is on sale for $49.97 (reg. $1,129.99) through October 4.

Most of the good project management tools are locked behind a monthly or yearly subscription. Microsoft Project Pro used to have the same problem, but it doesn’t anymore. Instead of paying monthly, you can now get a Project Pro lifetime license on sale for $49.97 (reg. $1,129.99) during this September Flash Sale.

Instead of muddling through the early stages of a complex project, you can use Project Pro’s pre-built templates to get a new plan moving fast. Start and end dates even auto-populate from task dependencies, so moving one deadline updates the rest of the schedule. Multiple built-in timelines show how a complex project fits together, and task path highlighting in Gantt charts makes the links between tasks easy to follow.

Reports like Burndown and Resource Overview give stakeholders a clear read on progress, and baselines let decision makers compare where things stand against the original plan. What-if scenarios test different task assignments before you commit to them, and timesheets record hours on both project and non-project work for payroll and invoicing. For teams already running Project Online or Project Server, the desktop app syncs with both.

One license gives you Project Pro on a single Windows PC indefinitely. Just make sure to redeem your code within seven days of completing your purchase. Updates are also included.

Until October 4 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can get a Microsoft Project Pro Lifetime License on sale for $49.97.

Microsoft Project Professional 2024: Lifetime License for WindowsSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

By now, the importance of backing up your Windows PC or laptop goes without saying. It only takes a moment to consider how much of your data is at potential risk of a drive failure, natural disaster, or a bad actor, if you don’t have a solid backup plan in place. The best Windows backup software includes file backup, sure, but also disk imaging and full image restore, as well as disaster recovery.

Our picks for best Windows backup software are selected with all the must-haves of data backup and recovery in mind, so in the tragic event that your primary local data repository is compromised, you’re fully covered.

What backup utilities come with Windows?

Sadly, while other operating systems make backup easy, Microsoft saddles users with a patchwork system of utilities and holdover imaging tools from Windows 7.

Some of these work well (Restore Points, File History), others don’t (System Repair Disc, Recovery Drive). None are suitable for quick and easy disaster recovery — even the online backup that is available when you use Windows with a Microsoft cloud account.

Thankfully, there are a number of highly capable and far more reliable third-party backup options for Windows that cover the panoply of backup, restore, migration, and disaster recovery.

Why you should trust PCWorld for backup software reviews and buying advice: It’s in our name — PCWorld. Our reviewers have been testing PC hardware, software, and services for decades. Our backup evaluations are thorough and rigorous, testing the promises and limitations of every product — from performance to the practicalities of regular use.

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EaseUS Todo Backup 2026 (Home) – Best overall Windows backup for most PC users

Pros

• Imaging, backup, sync, and disaster recovery
• Comprehensive and option rich
• Great interface

Cons

• Occasional non-fatal oddities during file backup and sync
• No third-party online storage support

Price When Reviewed: Yearly: $39.95 I Perpetual: $59.99 I Lifetime Upgrades: $79.99

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$39.95

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Who should buy EaseUS Todo Backup 2026?

EaseUS Todo Backup 2026 (home) has matured into an outstandingly versatile and comprehensive backup solution. With a still-affordable perpetual license, it also costs less than some of the now subscription-only competition such as Acronis True Image and Macrium Reflect X.

The paid tier of EaseUS is the best all-round home-PC choice for anyone who wants comprehensive backup and recovery with a straightforward “buy once, use forever” license

EaseUS Todo Backup 2026: Further considerations

Imaging, disaster recovery, plain or compressed file/folder backup, sync, real-time (actually continuous) backup, and nearly every bell and whistle in the backup space are accounted for by Todo Backup.

In addition to its comprehensive and reliable set of features, Todo Backup greets you with a pleasingly-rendered, animated interface and a supremely logical layout.

The fact that it doesn’t force you into a subscription model is also a big plus in its favor. That said, if you want to use EaseUS’s cloud storage (third-party isn’t supported directly), you do need to opt for a yearly plan. Fortunately, it’s decently affordable: software plus 1TB of cloud storage for $60/yr.

Read our full Easeus ToDo Backup 2026 review

Acronis True Image – Best comprehensive backup and malware protection

Pros

• Imaging, backup, and disaster recovery
• Actively protects against viruses and ransomware
• Integrated cloud storage available

Cons

• Heavy installation footprint
• Subscription only
• Lots of telemetry

Price When Reviewed: $49.99 to $124.99 per year

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50% off original price$24.99

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$34.99

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Who should buy Acronis True Image?

True Image is a great option for anyone who wants seasoned and reliable file and image backup as well as full-fledged protection from malware (including ransomware).

True Image is for users who are amenable to a subscription-only plan, the benefits of which are the iterative and ongoing update potential as well as the inclusion of cloud storage.

Acronis True Image: Further considerations

Acronis established itself as a trustworthy stalwart in backup software years ago. In meantime the program’s moniker morphed for a while to Cyber Protect Home Office (which is actually more descriptive), but is now back again to the more recognizable True Image.

Throughout the changes, the program remained super-reliable, and gradually evolved into a versatile, flexible, backup and malware protection solution. While True Image doesn’t offer support for third-party cloud storage, only its own, the program does allow you to back up to and from network locations.

As I noted in my review, “If you’re looking for a comprehensive, set-it-and-forget-it data-safety solution, I know of nothing better — or comparable for that matter.” This does however, result in a rather heavy system footprint with multiple background processes running.

Alas, for better (the comany’s) or worse (yours), True Image is now subscription-only. I recommend bumping up from the Essentials plan to the Advanced plan, which includes 250GB of storage (with the purchase link in this article, it’s only $24.99 per year, down from $72.99).

Read our full Acronis True Image review

Easeus Todo Backup Free – Best free backup and disaster recovery for Windows

Pros

• Imaging, file backup, and sync
• Super-friendly, attractive interface
• Disaster recovery with boot media

Cons

• No cloud storage support (a trial is offered)
• A couple of minor non-fatal file function errors

Price When Reviewed: Free

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Who should use Easeus Todo Backup Free?

Anyone who wants friendly, easy to use backup and reliable disaster recovery in one package should take a look at Easeus Todo Backup Free. The only cost to a startlingly capable suite is a couple of ads and nags.

To clarify the distinction between our paid and free picks, the free version of Easeus Todo Backup includes imaging, file/folder backup, scheduling, and boot media. Cloud storage and deeper advanced features require you to step up to the paid tier.

Easeus Todo Backup 2025: Further considerations

Easeus Todo Backup Free covers all the backup basics: File/folder backup (compressed and plain), one-way sync, system/drive/partition imaging, and all with scheduling. But there are extras you might not expect from a freebie such as backup from network locations, and what EaseUS calls real-time backup (it’s actually continuous — close enough). That’s unique for a freebie.

Todo Backup 2025 also sports the easiest, most attractive (in our estimation) interface on the market. That alone should recommend it to most users. But the fact that it just works (there are a couple of odd, non-fatal peccadilloes in the file sync), and comes with reliable disaster recovery and boot media seals the deal.

There’s a professional version that adds numerous advanced features, as well as EaseUS’s own cloud storage. See the entry above.

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX – Best Windows backup for SMBs

Pros

• Fast and reliable continuous data protection
• Super easy restores to real or virtual hard drives
• Handy timeline overview
• Excellent disaster recovery

Cons

• Somewhat daunting login dialog
• Image-based backup only
• Pricey for end users

Price When Reviewed: $99.95

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$99.95

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Who should buy Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX?

Home, small, and other businesses who are looking for backup software more powerful than the norm, that also scales nicely in networked ecosystems will do well with this solid, feature-laden, and very fast backup program.

Besides Arcserve’s support for SMB / mixed Windows-Linux environment, it’s heavy on features that are overkill for most home users, but great for the more robust needs of business users.

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX: Further considerations

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX is loaded with pro- and enterprise-level features including support for third-party virtual hard drives (VHDs, etc.). It is also an excellent choice for Linux users or those in mixed Windows/Linux environments as it’s available for both operating systems.

ShadowProtect SPX is a bit pricey, but it’s extremely reliable backup software with foolproof continuous data protection. Note that the company no longer targets the average user, but I found that it works exceptionally well even on a single computer.

Read our full Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX Desktop review

Other notable Windows backup software

• Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition: A free program that offers robust file backup that should meet the needs of most users.
• Perfect Backup:  Fast and competent, this free backup program is more versatile than Windows File History.
• Aomei Backupper Pro: A complete backup solution capable of preserving your important data both locally and remotely.
• Aomei Backupper Standard: A respectable free backup program if you can tolerate the occasional ad.
• Retrospect 19 Solo: Includes support for both proprietary and third-party cloud storage, but sadly it lacks disaster recovery.
• Retrospect 19 Desktop: The pro version of the above covers all the bases, but has a steep learning curve and high price.
• Backup and Restore (Windows 7): Conveniently installed with Windows, and good for imaging but bad for disaster recover.
• MSP360 Managed Backup: Uses a handy web-based console to provide imaging and file backup services for multiple devices at a reasonable price.
• MSP360 Backup: The free incarnation is a worthwhile upgrade to Windows File History.
• Iperius Backup: Has power aplenty, but the learning curve and interface might occasionally flummox less-experienced users.
• Handy Backup 8.5 Professional: Top-notch features that might’ve garnered an Editors’ Choice award had it been entirely glitch-free and a bit easier to learn.
• MiniTool ShadowMaker Pro 4.6: There’s a lot to like, particularly its unique ability to interface with all computers on a network.
• Macrium Reflect Home: Would likely qualify as our favorite backup software if it wasn’t relatively pricey. It’s an exceptional program that offers everything we want from backup software — full drive/folder backup, ease of use, reliability, etc.
• DriveImage XML: A viable free backup solution, albeit only for MBR disks.
• Ashampoo Backup Pro 26: Overarching support for myriad backup chores with easy-to-understand wizards, but no backup from the recovery disc or option for “differential” backups.

Note that in this article we focus on local-software based solutions, although many also include a cloud component. For cloud-first backup, see our roundup of the best online backup services. Admittedly, the distinction between the two categories is blurring as they each expand their feature sets.

How to choose backup software

If you recently purchased an external HDD or SSD from a major vendor such as Seagate or WD, check to see if there are backup utilities or a backup software license included. Whatever backup software you use, keep in mind the following key aspects of the best solutions: file backup for documents/photos, image backup for whole-PC rollback, boot media for dead-drive recovery, versioning for accidental overwrite protection, and know which are critical to your backup plan.

File backup

If you want to back up your essential data (operating systems and programs can be reinstalled, though it’s mildly time- and effort-consuming), a program that backs up only your important files is essential. Some programs even automatically select the appropriate files or folders. File backup can include operating system files if you wish but is still not suitable for disaster recovery.

Image backup/imaging

Images are byte-for-byte snapshots of your entire hard drive (normally not including empty sectors) or partitions, and can be used to restore the operating system, drivers, programs in one swift, fell swoop. Imaging also ensures that you don’t omit anything important as can happen with file backup.

Recovery boot media 

Should your system crash completely, you need alternate means to boot your system and restore data using your backup software. Any backup program worth its salt should be able to create a bootable optical disc or USB thumb drive. Some will also create a restore partition on your hard drive, which can be used if the issue isn’t a failed drive.

Note that we’ve run into multiple issues with Microsoft’s own Recovery Drive and System repair disc — don’t rely on those.

Scheduling

If you’re going to back up effectively, you need to do so on a regular basis. Any backup program you purchase should let you schedule backups and run them in the background. Some even will backup files as they change (real time) or at very short intervals (continuous)

Versioning

Versioning is simply retaining older version of files (or backups) rather than overwriting them during the backup/sync process. You can generally define how many versions to keep, but if you choose to cull older files, this is till not true backup which again, is an immutable copy of your data, drives, or system.

Optical discs

Every backup program supports hard drives, but as obsolete as they may seem, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are great archive media. If you’re worried about optical media’s reliability, M-Disc claims its discs are reliable for a thousand years, backed up by Department of Defense testing.

Online storage (cloud) support

An offsite copy of your data is a hedge against physical disasters such as theft, flood, fire, and power surges. Online storage services are a great way to meet that need. Some backup software will let you back up to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Amazon S3 and compatible, etc. however Cloud Managers can serve as a workaround with backup programs that don’t. The downside to cloud storage is relatively slow performance. Keep a local backup for faster restores.

Network access

Backing up to other computers or NAS boxes on your network or in remote locations (say your parent’s or children’s house) is another way of safeguarding your data via a physically remote copy. If you use network storage, it can also be handy to back them up to you local system.

FTP/SFTP can be used for offsite, while SMB (Windows and most OS’s) and AFP (Apple) are good for other PCs or NAS on your local network. Network support is not universal, and some backup programs allow you to back up to, but not from network shares. Just be careful in the way you expose your computers on the Internet.

Real-time backup

Real-time backup means that files are backed up whenever they change, usually upon creation or save. It’s handy for keeping an immediately available backup of rapidly changing data sets. For less volatile data sets, scheduled backups will do just fine.

Continuous backup

Continuous simply means backing up on a tight schedule, generally every few minutes, rather than in real time, daily, weekly, or monthly. Use continuous backup for rapidly changing data sets where transfer rates are too slow, or computing power too precious for real-time backup.

Performance concerns

Most backups proceed in the background or during dead time, so performance isn’t a huge issue in the consumer space. However, if you’re backing up multiple machines, backing up to multiple destinations, or dealing with very large data sets, speed will be a consideration. That said, backup speed is highly dependent upon the hardware and transport technology in use.

Further reading: Check out PCWorld’s roundup of best external drives for recommendations on reliable storage options — an important component in a comprehensive backup strategy.

Some people spend most of their digital lives on social media and save almost nothing with the intention of preserving it for the future. They might share photos and videos on Instagram or send them via a messaging app, but it’s all ephemeral. If they ever want to keep something, they might order prints or a photo book.

Most people, however, have a great deal in their digital collections – both on their computers and on their smartphones – that they hope will remain, if not forever, then at least indefinitely. Family photos, holiday videos, scanned documents, old newspapers, and letters are among the files that I want to remain even after I’ve kicked the bucket.

But unlike books and physical photo albums, it’s by no means a given that digital files will still be there or accessible in 25, 50, or 100 years’ time, just as you can’t leave a photo album out on the balcony and expect it to be intact many years later. The moral of the story is this: You need to look after your digital assets. But how to do that in a way that’s sustainable in the long term isn’t always obvious.

How do the experts who work on preserving all kinds of information for the future go about it, and do they have any advice for us mere mortals?

Privat

Ina-Maria Jansson is a researcher and archivist at Uppsala University Library and works on the preservation of personal digital archives. She says there is one important thing to bear in mind for anyone who wants to ensure that their loved ones will be able to enjoy their digital collections, apart from the choice of storage media, file formats, and how backups should be handled:

Document everything! What seems obvious to you may be a jungle for your next of kin. Write down exactly what’s in your digital archive and create an index to describe the contents of your folders and files. Label hard drives and other storage media with their contents. Let those who will be your next of kin know that the documentation and files exist, and make it easy for them to find the documentation.

She notes that a common mistake many private individuals make is failing to consider that their next of kin may not share the same keen interest in those files.

Digital material requires active stewardship that is difficult to avoid, regardless of the measures taken. Will children and grandchildren have the time and energy to take on digital stewardship when they are busy living their own lives? To make things easier, it’s important to explain the content as clearly as possible – what it is and why it’s important. If possible, it’s best to go through the content with your children and grandchildren well in advance, so that they know it exists.

Pavel Danilyuk

Put it in writing

Ina-Maria Jansson wants to make a case for physical or analogue archiving of the most important photos and documents.

We humans are often more primitive than we might like to admit. If something isn’t visible, it doesn’t exist! Because digital photos and videos don’t take up the same physical space and aren’t as easy to look at as a box of photo albums, they’re easily forgotten during a move or when clearing out an estate.

Creating physical copies of photos and other items you really cherish makes them both more durable – as long as you look after them properly! – and easier for your loved ones to preserve and appreciate.

For those who want peace of mind, I’d advise against storing things digitally unless you’re certain that a surviving relative will want to continue managing the digital collection. Instead, select paper copies of your best photographs and place them in acid-free paper sleeves along with details.

Sami Türk

Ina-Maria Jansson acknowledges that video is trickier than photographs. But if you have some truly cherished films that you think your descendants might actually enjoy, there is a way to preserve them in analogue format, too.

You can turn to a company that can transfer the digital films to analogue 16-millimeter film. Many of us may have spent a great deal of money digitizing older films, so it might seem strange that I’m suggesting the opposite, but you’ll understand the point better if you think in terms of a working copy and an archive copy.

In that case, the digital file can serve as a working copy, while the analogue film takes on the role of an archive copy. Under optimal conditions – kept cool, preferably frozen in a metal container – analogue film has a lifespan of up to 500 years! Compare that to a hard drive, which might last for 10 years.

Of course, many people have far too many photos to be able to print them all out. Even if you weed out all the dull ones, you can still benefit from a certain degree of analogue archiving.

Even if the files themselves are stored on your computer, you can create a folder, a keepsake box, or a notebook where you can collect prints and information about your digital legacy.

Jamies X Co

An ongoing task

When I ask Ina-Maria Jansson whether there is any technology that makes it possible to copy important files once and then leave them untouched for many years without risking their loss, the short answer is: no.

Sooner or later, some sort of action will need to be taken. You can choose storage media with the longest possible lifespan, but sooner or later they’ll need to be reviewed. Files on a standard home computer with a hard drive may last a few years, but they’re also exposed to both physical threats such as a house fire and digital threats such as viruses and bit rot. They’re also susceptible to other issues such as the file format becoming unreadable.

Technologies are currently under development that make it possible to store data for thousands or even millions of years, in extreme environments. A couple of years ago, researchers at the University of Southampton demonstrated five-dimensional memory crystals in which data is stored using extremely fast laser beams inside quartz crystals. The largest prototype can store 360 TB with an estimated lifespan of several billion years, and the researchers have, among other things, stored a human’s complete DNA code in a mountain cavern in Austria called Memory of Mankind.

Zulfugar Karimov

For consumers, media can last for several decades if stored correctly. The problem is that it’s impossible to know when they’ll start deteriorating. That’s why it’s important to go through and check everything that’s still working and can be read, so that any incipient faults can be detected while the files are still in a position to be recovered.

For most private individuals, Ina-Maria Jansson says that cloud storage is the best option.

You don’t need to worry about having lots of backups stored in different places, as long as you make sure that your accounts and login details are properly documented. It’s also a good idea to make sure any fees for the cloud service continue to be paid even if the account holder passes away suddenly. Inform your next of kin that the account exists and make it easy for them to find your login details and documentation.

Bit rot and other threats

As Ina-Maria Jansson mentions, files stored on physical storage media in your home can be lost in many ways. Hard drives, SSDs, and Blu-Ray discs can be lost in a fire or flood. If the files are stored on a hard drive or SSD connected to a computer, they may be lost due to malware (like ransomware) or accidentally overwritten. The files may also become corrupted over time, a phenomenon known as bit rot.

If you’ve worked with old data, then you’ve probably experienced this phenomenon. Files that are a few years old can suddenly become corrupted or impossible to open, even though everything appears to be working correctly. Sometimes, it’s possible to repair them, but not always. This could be due to natural wear and tear on the storage medium itself or digital circuits losing their power. Sometimes, it’s caused by read and write errors in the software. It’s also a risk that arises when files are copied or moved and the entire file isn’t transferred.

William Warby

She says there’s software that actively combats bit rot by periodically scanning all files and using checksums to verify that no files have been altered. It only takes a single 1 or 0 to be changed for the checksums to fail to match, at which point the system can repair the file in question. This is called scrubbing and is a feature of, among others, the ZFS file system, which you can use on NAS devices, for example.

Other threats to be aware of include software updates required to open the files and ensuring you have digital playback equipment compatible with your storage medium. A lot can happen in a decade, and your files are meant to last considerably longer than that, aren’t they?

Choose open file formats

When it comes to long-term storage, Ina-Maria Jansson says that researchers usually distinguish between archive formats and everyday formats. The latter are formats that are practical to use in day-to-day life and to share with family and friends. Archive formats, on the other hand, are chosen because they are most likely to remain usable many years from now. They are open formats such as PDF, TIFF, and PNG.

Jan Novaczek

When it comes to video, things are once again a little more complicated. The National Archives recommends Matroska files (.mkv) with video in FFV1 format and audio in LPCM format for long-term preservation. However, uncompressed high-definition video takes up an incredible amount of space, so the vast majority of people have to make do with a compressed format.

The most common compressed format today is H.264, but it’s not entirely open. A modern alternative is AV1, which is both open and free from royalties and other restrictions, so it’s highly likely that software capable of playing such files will be available in the future.

But, as I said, as long as we haven’t sorted out a long-term digital preservation solution that can be passed to future generations, the file format doesn’t really matter that much.