Wayne Williams

We’re edging closer to the launch of the next big Windows 10 feature update, codenamed Redstone 5, and Microsoft is hard at work tidying things up, and rolling out new builds for Insiders to test.

The latest build to hit the Fast ring is Build 17733, which -- among other changes -- delivers the Dark Theme for File Explorer that was begun in Build 17666.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 has got over its early teething problems, and is now shaping up to be an excellent operating system. It might have taken a long while to get there, but the fact it’s about to overtake Windows 7 shows how far the new OS has come.

However, you only have to read one of our lively comments sections to realize there are plenty of people who still prefer Windows 7 and have no desire to switch to Windows 10.  Those people typically aren’t fans of Microsoft’s telemetry gathering, forced adverts, and unwanted features, and I get that. However, there is a way you can quickly lock down the new OS and make it -- dare I say -- more like an updated version of Windows 7.

Continue reading →

Piriform rolled out updates for CCleaner on a monthly basis, and this is something that has continued since Avast took over. The latest update, CCleaner 5.45, wasn’t at all well received due to a number of changes affecting privacy, and the company’s response to the matter proved to be unsatisfactory -- to say the least.

Now it seems that Avast has seen the light, and pulled the latest update. The current version available is 5.44. On its forums the company had this to say:

Continue reading →

Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 Redstone 5 Build 17728 to Insiders on the Fast ring three days ago, and at the same it teased its new Your Phone app.

This app allows iOS and Android users to sync content from their phones to a Windows 10 PC. Today, the software giant rolls out another new Insider build, and announces that Your Phone is now live.

Continue reading →

Yesterday I wrote about why people might want to skip the latest version of popular system cleaning tool CCleaner. This isn’t the first time that I, and other long-time users, have expressed dissatisfaction in how the program is evolving under Avast.

Following yesterday’s piece, the Avast-owned Piriform -- CCleaner’s maker -- contacted me to clarify the situation. This is what the company had to say.

Continue reading →

NetMarketShare reports on the state of the desktop operating system market on the first day of each month. Usually at least. It spent a few days auditing June’s figures last month, which caused a bit of a delay.

There’s no such lag for July’s figures though, which arrive on time and show Windows 10 continuing to cut into Windows 7's dominance.

Continue reading →

The Kodi Foundation is hard at work polishing up the next version of its hugely popular home theater software -- Kodi 18 'Leia'.

The updated software introduces a huge number of changes (you can view the full changelog here) and you can try it out now.

Continue reading →

A month ago, I wrote about how I felt Avast was ruining CCleaner, the excellent system cleaning software it took over when it acquired Piriform last year.

In Avast's short tenure, we've already seen CCleaner suffer from malware, bundled software, and pop-up ads. In my article headline I asked "what’s next?" Well, with a new version of CCleaner available to download, we now have the answer. Inevitably, it's not good.

Continue reading →

The second Windows 10 Redstone 5 Bug Bash is currently underway, but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft rolling out Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17728 (RS5) to Insiders in the Fast ring.

This new build introduces a number of changes, improvements and fixes, and Microsoft also used this new flight to detail the forthcoming Your Phone app which will soon allow iOS and Android users to sync content from their phones to a Windows 10 PC.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 has always had a bad reputation for snooping on users. While that was a valid issue at the start, each new feature update has made changes to the privacy side of the operating system, and users now have much greater control over things.

When you perform a clean install of Windows 10, the operating system connects to a large number of sites for different purposes, including -- naturally enough -- to send and receive email, download apps and security updates, and so on. The sheer number of endpoints that the operating system connects to might surprise you however. It's a very, very long list.

Continue reading →

Malwarebytes is one of the better tools for keeping your PC safe from the many threats you can encounter on the web, and today the company introduces a browser extension for both Firefox and Chrome.

Called simply, Malwarebytes Browser Extension (BETA) it blocks malicious websites and filters out unwanted content, which the company says results in "up to three times faster webpage load times".

Continue reading →

When is the most popular time for ordering pizza, Chinese food, or other forms of takeout? You might think there's no set answer, but it turns out that wherever you are in the world there’s a particular time when most people think about getting food.

Actually, that’s not completely true. There are two times.

Continue reading →

It’s been a couple of weeks since Microsoft last rolled out a new Windows 10 Redstone 5 build to Insiders on the Fast ring, but today the wait is over. In addition to new RS5 Build 17723 the software giant also releases a new build for Insiders who have opted to join (or rejoin) the Skip Ahead ring.

Build 18204 is the first release on the 19H1 (Redstone 6) branch that will become the first feature update of 2019. Because these two builds have just split, they are largely the same -- as you might expect -- but this will change, going forward.

Continue reading →

If you’re a business leader, you’ve heard, read or thought about it more than you probably want to: the ceaseless war to protect your company’s network and data from a hacker.

The next big data breach is always lurking around the corner, but businesses don’t have to live in fear of losing critical data.

Continue reading →

Much of the world is experiencing a prolonged heatwave at the moment. These sunny days are great for topping up a tan, and enjoying the beach, but not so great for using a mobile phone -- and not only because of the risk of it overheating.

If you have an iPhone, you will likely have encountered the issue of the screen brightness suddenly changing. One moment you’ll be able to see things just fine, and the next it will be too dark to view properly in the sunshine. Adjusting the brightness won’t make any difference either, but don’t worry, there is a secret setting you can use to stop this behavior.

Continue reading →