Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-thirty-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.
The Windows 10 version 1903 feature update is available. You may want to check out Wayne's guides on rolling back to an earlier version and freeing up disk space after upgrading.
Google Photos will soon stop syncing to Google Drive
If you have come to rely on Google Drive to automatically backup the images you have in Google Photos, you may have to find another option very soon. Google has announced that as of July, the way Google Drive and Google Photos integrate with each other is changing.
In short, Google Photos will no longer be automatically synchronize with Google Drive. The change is coming because Google says it has, "feedback that the connection between these services is confusing".
Security software is causing Firefox users to lose saved passwords
Firefox users are reporting that their saved passwords have been lost, with the problem seemingly caused by antivirus software rather than being an issue with Firefox itself.
Antivirus software such as Avast and AVG appears to be corrupting the file in which Firefox stores passwords, rendering it unreadable. Thankfully, passwords can be recovered, but -- for the time being --- they will be corrupted again when you restart your computer.
Hacker hits Symantec and accesses passwords
Security firm Symantec was attacked by a hacker back in February, but the company did not reveal details of the incident.
The attack has been brought to light by Guardian Australia which has seen some of the data extracted by hackers. This comprises not only passwords, but what is thought to be a list of Symantec clients -- including government agencies. But Symantec is downplaying the data breach, dismissing it as a "minor incident".
Chrome 76 makes it easier to get around paywalls
Google is busy working away on Chrome 76, and the beta version of the browser includes a change that will please anyone looking to bypass paywalls and view articles for free.
Many people switch to Incognito Mode, aware that this makes it possible to access paywalled articles on sites such as the New York Times. Many sites offer a number of free articles to non-paying visitors, and using this mode makes it impossible to determine whether you have reached your free article limit or not. As such, some sites blocked access to anyone using Incognito Mode -- but Chrome 76 has a trick up its sleeve.
System76's supercharged Linux-powered Gazelle laptop is finally available
Today is Thursday, which is one of the worst days of the week. I mean, I suppose it is better than Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but it can't hold a candle to Friday, Saturday, or Sunday -- otherwise known as the weekend. So, yeah, Thursday is typically not something to get excited about.
With all of that said, today is a pretty special Thursday for the Linux community. Why? Well, the System76 Gazelle laptop is finally available! This is a laptop we reported on last month, and at the time, System76 only promised it would be available in June 2019. Well, June 13 of 2019 is apparently the exact day it goes on sale, as you can get it now.
Get a charge anywhere in the world with Twist Plus for MacBook [Review]
One thing we have not yet left behind as a society is charging cords. There’s "wireless" charging and a few other interesting attempts, but for now we’re all mostly tied to a USB cable with some sort of plug on the other end -- Micro USB, USB-C, Lightning, etc.
That can become a serious problem in several situations. For instance, ever try to find a free plug in a busy airport? Well, we can’t help you there, but we do have a solution for another situation. That is foreign countries. It seems wherever you go the outlet is different.
Organizations urged to patch for BlueKeep as latest malware charts are revealed
Check Point Research, has released its Global Threat Index for May 2019 and is warning organizations to check and patch for the BlueKeep Microsoft RDP flaw in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 machines, to prevent the risk of it being exploited for ransomware and cryptomining attacks.
BlueKeep affects nearly a million machines accessible to the public internet and many more within organizations' networks. The vulnerability is critical because it requires no user interaction in order to be exploited. RDP is already an established, popular attack vector which has been used to install ransomware.
Computer downtime is biggest workplace irritant
Computer downtime ranks as the most significant irritant in the workplace according to a new survey.
The study of employees at 500 UK businesses carried out by YouGov for Cherwell Software finds 41 percent naming downtime, ahead of forgotten passwords (23 percent), the lack of parking spaces (22 percent) or stolen meeting rooms (15 percent).
CERN is moving away from expensive Microsoft software and embracing open source
CERN -- the European Organization for Nuclear Research best known for its particle smashing Large Hadron Collider -- has decided to eschew Microsoft in favor of open source software.
For many years, CERN benefited from hefty discounts on Microsoft products, but this is coming to an end. Rather than paying hugely increased licensing fees, the organization is instead implementing its own Microsoft Alternatives project, known as MAlt. CERN says it is "taking back control using open software".
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18917 with Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2)
Windows Insiders are currently testing builds from the 20H1 branch due out a year from now.
The latest new flight, Build 18917, introduces download throttling and Windows Subsystem for Linux 2, as well as a whole host of other improvements.
Debian 10 Buster-based Endless OS 3.6.0 Linux distribution now available
When it comes to Linux, I prefer my distributions to be no-nonsense -- Fedora is my favorite distro, for instance. Is Fedora boring? Yes, I suppose. But that is sort of why I like it. Look, I just want the damn operating system to take a backseat to my actual work. Fedora with GNOME allows me to focus on my tasks without getting in the way.
Understandably though, some Linux users like to "distro hop" where they are constantly moving between distributions, always wondering if the grass is greener on the other side. And yeah, I get that -- new is fun. People want excitement.
Free up over 17GB of storage space by cleaning up after the Windows 10 May 2019 Update
Microsoft has released another big feature update for Windows 10. The May 2019 Update is rolling out to compatible systems now, although you can force the update if required.
Of course, a big update like this requires a big download, and the files that Microsoft places on your system don’t get removed immediately afterwards. In other words, the May 2019 Update -- Windows 10 1903 -- could be responsible for taking up tens of gigabytes on your hard drive. Fortunately it’s easy enough to reclaim this.
How to use emoji to name files and folders on Windows 10
If you’ve got bored with using standard characters for naming things on your PC or if you are just a huge fan of emoji, you might wish to know how to use emoji in folder names on Windows 10 (and, naturally, how to use emoji in file names on Windows 10).
The good news is, the trick is quite simple. We have drawn up a handy guide for those who just can’t get enough of those cool symbols, so read on to make your computer more fun.
Security startup aims to provide better visibility into the cloud
As businesses move more of their systems to the cloud to drive digital transformation and gain a competitive edge, IT security teams can struggle to retain the ability to secure data and manage risk.
Israeli startup Orca Security is announcing its Cloud Visibility Platform which uses patent-pending SideScanning technology to deliver comprehensive visibility into the security posture of an organization's cloud footprint in a matter of minutes.
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