It may be something that we are all guilty of failing to do each and every time, but using Windows' Safely Remove Hardware option before disconnecting a USB drive is highly recommended. Sadly, this handy safety feature seems to be broken in Windows 11 2022 Update.

The point of ejecting media using this method is to ensure that Windows has stopped reading from and writing to the drive before it is unplugged. In certain circumstances, users are reporting that instead of being informed that it is safe to remove their device, they see a message that reads Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device.

The release of Windows 11 2022 Update (AKA Windows 11 22H2) has not been an entirely smooth process over the course of the last month. There have been various issues preventing certain people from upgrading, but now one of these problems has been addressed.

It is now several weeks since Microsoft first acknowledged an issue related to some printers, and put a compatibility block in place. With the problem having now been fixed, it means that a large number of people will now be able to upgrade to Windows 11 2022 Update.

In the tech world, it Google that is most readily associated with ads, but it is far from alone. Apple is perhaps not quite as guilty of bombarding people with advertising as some companies, but starting October 25, the App Store will be used to display more ads than ever before.

Although Apple has not exactly shouted about the impending change -- one that is sure to irritate even the most devote fans of Apple -- details of what is happening have been shared in emails sent out to developers. As of Tuesday, the Today tab of the Apple Store will be home to adverts.

Tools that claim to speed up Windows used to be hard to avoid. Now they are far less common, but Microsoft looks ready to get a piece of the action with a new system cleanup, optimization and security app called PC Manager.

Available in public beta, Microsoft PC Manager has been compared to CCleaner. The company is currently testing the app with the Chinese market, but there is nothing to stop you from downloading it and trying it out for yourself (it's available in English). A word of warning, however -- you will be pestered to change your default web browser to Microsoft Edge.

Ads are now part and parcel of using the internet and many apps, and much of what you see is because of Google. It is going to be a long time before Google changes its business model and is no longer reliant on showing you ads, but the company is aware of the annoyance people experience when they see advertising that is is completely inappropriate or touches on sensitive topics.

As such, Google has announced My Ad Center, a portal through which it is possible to gain more control over your ad experience. What this means in practice is that you will be able to do things such as choose whether or not you'd like to see tailored ads, control what sort of information Google is able to use to personalise your ads, and even opt out of seeing ads for certain topics.

Google has started the process of informing YouTube Premium subscribers about an impending price rise for its Family plan. The hike is a significant one, with subscribers in the US looking at a $5 jump from $17.99 per month to $22.99.

The new pricing takes immediate effect for new subscribers, but existing users have at least 30 days from the date of receiving the email from Google. For those who signed up for YouTube Red when it existed, there is a brief stay of execution.

Microsoft has admitted that the sensitive data of thousands of customers was exposed last month because of a "misconfigured Microsoft endpoint". The data includes names, email addresses, the content of emails and attachments related to business between a customer and Microsoft or an authorized Microsoft partner.

Security researchers from SOCRadar notified Microsoft about the server misconfiguration back on September 24. The data exposure is part of a series of leaks from public data buckets which the security firm has dubbed BlueBleed. It is described as "one of the largest B2B leaks in recent years" and affects thousands of individuals and companies across over 100 countries. Microsoft has addressed the misconfiguration, but the company is not happy with SOCRadar.

After what has felt like a very long wait, DuckDuckGo for Mac is now available to anyone who would like to try out the private web browser. Previously only available as a closed beta, the macOS version of DuckDuckGo beta is now open to all.

In addition to protecting privacy in general web browsing, DuckDuckGo for Mac also includes Duck Player, a built-in YouTube player that blocks targeted advertising and stops profiling.

The addition of tabs in File Explorer caused great excitement when Microsoft first talked about them. When the company released Windows 11 2022 Update last month, there was disappointment that the feature was not included. But with the release of the first 'moment' update for Windows 11 22H2, tabs are now rolling out to everyone.

For many Windows 11 users, this is great news, but what if you're really not a fan of the change? Here's how you can disable tabs in File Explorer.

It may be the middle of the month, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft releasing an important update for various versions of Windows, including the KB5020387 update for Windows 11.

The updates fix a TLS handshake issue that causes SEC_E_ILLEGAL_MESSAGE errors. In all, there are seven non-security updates available for Windows, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2022.

Emoji -- you either love 'em or you hate 'em, and at the moment it seems that Google dislikes them quite a lot.

Confused internet users are reporting that performing certain searches about emoji is causing Google to time out and display a server error. The bizarre problem is yet to be explained, but there are theories about what is happening.

No matter how recently Microsoft has launched a new version of Windows or released a significant update, talk about "the next version of Windows" is always babbling in the background. At the recent Microsoft Ignite conference, however, the company gave good reason for people to start looking to and talking about the future by seemingly leaking an update look for Windows -- Windows 12, maybe?

There is not a huge amount to go on, but a still from the video of the opening keynote speech from Ignite shows a version of Windows with a different look. A version of Windows that looks heavily inspired by macOS. A version of Windows with a floating taskbar and a macOS-style menu bar at the top of the screen.

In the latest version of PowerToys released by Microsoft earlier in the month -- version v0.63 -- perhaps the most notable change was the fact that the size of the installer had been dramatically reduced. While this was a welcome step, what most people are looking for is new features and options!

We already know that the PowerToys development team is working away on a new utility called File LockSmith that will reveal which processes are locking a files, but there is much more in the pipeline. What is there to look forward to? In addition to a tool for editing the HOSTS file, Microsoft is also planning to introduce the ability to backup PowerToys settings.

It has been a very, very long time coming, but a cheaper Netflix subscription tier, complete with ads, arrives next month.

The new ad-supported plan is called Basic with Ads, and will cost $6.99 per month when it launches in the US on November 3. Netflix says that the cheaper tier will be available in 11 other countries, and shares details of the limitations subscribers will have to put up with, including the fact that some shows and movies simply will not be available if you're not paying for a more expensive ad-free Basic, Standard or Premium plan.

RSS feeds may not be as popular as they used to be, but for some things they are one of the most efficient and useful means of keeping updated.

Microsoft is aware of this and, having listened to feedback from customers, has launched a new RSS feed to make it easier to keep updated about the latest security notifications from the company. Specifically, there is now an RSS feed for the Security Update Guide (SUG).