Windows 11 has an Easter egg where you can spin the Settings cog in certain parts of the interface.
The nifty spinning animation was highlighted by The Verge, who reported on the ability to do this in the Notepad app after a denizen of Reddit posted about it. Further additions to that Reddit thread include the observation that the ability is also present in the new Task Manager, at least in the dev and beta builds for Windows 11 testers.
Again, this is the same deal – bottom-left, there’s a cog icon that you can spin, and it’s a surprisingly addictive little extra.
Presumably we can expect more cogs to be fully spinnable elsewhere in the interface of Windows 11 in the future, too.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Analysis: Some Windows extras are pretty obvious, others not so much…
Hidden extras in Windows are nothing new, of course, and indeed they can go quite some time undiscovered. Very recently an enterprising user managed to find an Easter egg in the very first version of Windows, somehow, which comprised of a secret list of developers who worked on Windows 1.0 (one of them being a certain Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve).
So that particular nugget lay undiscovered for nearly 37 years before it was stumbled across. Makes you wonder if there are some incredibly well-hidden secrets in Windows 10 or 11 (or indeed other recent versions of Microsoft’s desktop operating system). We’re betting there are, somewhere…
While the web is a wonderful thing, there are those who want to take advantage of users through deceptive design choices or “dark patters”.
The Web Foundation's Tech Policy Design Lab is working on some ideas to help reduce these practices, including by producing a portfolio of UX and UI website builder tools that can be used in place of deceptive practices.
“Everything we do online is influenced by how the tools we use are built,” the project states. “Deceptive design are practices built into user interfaces that obscure or impair consumer autonomy or choice and can alter decision-making or trick users into taking actions they might not otherwise take. This harmful design phenomenon is unfortunately widespread today.”
Dark patterns
“In the coming months, we’ll gather evidence of the harms of dark patterns, including who these practices impact the most, and how they affect the most marginalised communities in particular,” says the project.
TechCrunchspoke to some of those behind the initiative, including Kaushalya Gupta, who leads the programme at the Policy Design Lab, who said the goal was to bring “human-centered design” to the web.
The project will bring together various different organisations and groups to help work out some ideas. The end result should – hopefully – be some more user-focused decisions. The initiative was launched after polling thousands of organisations, whittling down 200 topics to “deceptive designs”.
Deceptive designs, or dark patterns, are everywhere on the web. They occur so often that there's even a Twitter account, @darkpatterns, dedicated to documenting them.
Newspapers such as The New York Times, for example, require users to actually call up to cancel a subscription that was started online. Amazon often pushes users towards signing up for Prime. Indian company Byju's offers subscriptions that look free but aren't. Adobe charges users huge fees to cancel subscriptions.
The list goes on and on and the end result is that users lose – often monetarily.
There is a long way to go, and perhaps this project will turn into nothing, but the increasing recognition of the problem, coupled with actual solutions, is definitely a step in the right direction.
While the web is a wonderful thing, there are those who want to take advantage of users through deceptive design choices or “dark patters”.
The Web Foundation's Tech Policy Design Lab is working on some ideas to help reduce these practices, including by producing a portfolio of UX and UI website builder tools that can be used in place of deceptive practices.
“Everything we do online is influenced by how the tools we use are built,” the project states. “Deceptive design are practices built into user interfaces that obscure or impair consumer autonomy or choice and can alter decision-making or trick users into taking actions they might not otherwise take. This harmful design phenomenon is unfortunately widespread today.”
Dark patterns
“In the coming months, we’ll gather evidence of the harms of dark patterns, including who these practices impact the most, and how they affect the most marginalised communities in particular,” says the project.
TechCrunchspoke to some of those behind the initiative, including Kaushalya Gupta, who leads the programme at the Policy Design Lab, who said the goal was to bring “human-centered design” to the web.
The project will bring together various different organisations and groups to help work out some ideas. The end result should – hopefully – be some more user-focused decisions. The initiative was launched after polling thousands of organisations, whittling down 200 topics to “deceptive designs”.
Deceptive designs, or dark patterns, are everywhere on the web. They occur so often that there's even a Twitter account, @darkpatterns, dedicated to documenting them.
Newspapers such as The New York Times, for example, require users to actually call up to cancel a subscription that was started online. Amazon often pushes users towards signing up for Prime. Indian company Byju's offers subscriptions that look free but aren't. Adobe charges users huge fees to cancel subscriptions.
The list goes on and on and the end result is that users lose – often monetarily.
There is a long way to go, and perhaps this project will turn into nothing, but the increasing recognition of the problem, coupled with actual solutions, is definitely a step in the right direction.
Identifying the issues behind a sketchy or badly-connecting Google Meet video call could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new update.
The video conferencing platform has introduced a new service that will let admins monitor call quality and single out any issues or bandwidth bottlenecks.
The new Meet quality tool will even allow admins to monitor connections over time, spotting if there are any specific times when bandwidth may be in high demand.
Google Meet bandwidth
In a blog post announcing the new tool, Google notes that the service will monitor both inbound and outbound bandwidth, covering both used and available.
“Surfacing this information helps admins visualize participants bandwidth compared to the quality of a call, making it easier for them to determine where a bandwidth bottleneck could be causing low quality,” the company noted.
Google added that knowing which bitrates are available or being used for specific endpoints can be crucial when performing troubleshooting or working to improve call quality in your domain. However such data was previously only available as an average across entire calls, which can make it difficult to narrow down problems during specific points in time.
“We hope by surfacing this detailed information, Admins can easily troubleshoot or improve call quality for their users,” it said.
The tool is available by default to all Google Workspace customers now, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.
The news is the latest in a series of updates as Google looks to ensure its video calling tool stays up to speed with competitors such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
Some of its most recent upgrades include allowing up to 500 participants to join a video call at the same time to make it easier to connect and collaborate with colleagues, clients and customers.
Users can also enable live streaming in Google Meet which will allow up to 100,000 viewers to watch at once.
Windows 11 has just given the Task Manager a smart new feature to tame apps which are being resource hogs, something that could help, well, everyone of course, but especially laptop users thanks to ensuing battery life benefits.
Note that this change is just in preview right now, with the new Build 22557 deployed to testers earlier this week, which comes complete with a host of useful moves, including a revamp of the Task Manager.
You may recall that the Task Manager has been given a makeover to bring its appearance more in line with Windows 11’s sleeker and modern look, plus a honed interface, but there’s another big introduction in Build 22557 and that’s Efficiency mode.
The idea with this feature is that when you spot an app which is using a ton of system resources (CPU, GPU, memory, or maybe all of them!) in the Task Manager, rather than killing it to free resources – which you may not want to do, or could have unfortunate consequences – you can switch it to operate in Efficiency mode.
As Microsoft makes clear, this will push the application in question right down the priority list when it comes to system resource allocation, thereby taming its resource usage, making your PC more responsive – if it was chugging under the weight of that particular workload – and providing better energy-efficiency.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Apps or services which are in Efficiency mode will be marked with a small leaf icon, with suspended apps having a pause icon (as seen in the above screenshot).
Note that some processes may not be eligible for Efficiency mode, like core Windows services for example, where deprioritizing them could actually affect system performance negatively and slow your machine down. In these cases, the option to turn on Efficiency mode will be greyed out, ensuring you can’t do any harm when playing with this new tool.
Analysis: Microsoft is taking it slowly with Efficiency mode
Efficiency mode will doubtless prove a useful ability for Windows 11 users whose machines are running sluggishly thanks to an app which is dominating resource usage, as it makes it easy to tame such a process without having to entirely dump it.
As we mentioned at the outset, it’ll likely be a particularly valuable asset for those running Windows 11 on a laptop, where overly demanding applications don’t just slow down the system, but spike power usage and therefore drain more battery. With these kinds of programs tamed via Efficiency mode, users can expect to have more overall battery life, one of the prime concerns for mobile computing.
As noted, this is just in testing right now, but it’s not available to all testers just yet, and is rolling out to a small number of Windows Insiders to begin with. Microsoft sounds like it’s taking this one cautiously and is going to “monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.”
We can expect Efficiency mode to debut with Windows 11 22H2 when it arrives in the second half of this year.
If you were worried that you’d have to wait a while before Windows 11 gets any major new features, then Microsoft has just shared some good news, which means the new operating system will get updated and improved far more regularly than first thought.
Microsoft had initially said that it would be only releasing a single annual feature update for Windows 11 each year, which led some people to worry that they would have to wait 12 months for new features to come to their PCs.
However, as ZDNet has discovered, in a new blog post about the Windows Insider program, Microsoft states that: “We will deliver updates to features and experiences in builds from the Dev and Beta Channels by releasing Feature, Web, and Online Service Experience Packs on top of these builds too.”
This means there will be three ‘Experience Pack’ updates alongside the annual feature updates. Rather than bringing a range of features, bug fixes and security upgrades across the whole of the Windows 11 operating system, as a major feature update does, these new Experience Packs will focus on adding or expanding features for particular aspects of the operating system.
So, Online Service Experience Packs will focus on adding features related to how Windows 11 manages online services and accounts – such as changing or improving the ‘Your Microsoft Account’ settings page.
Web Experience Packs will add features to do with browsing the internet, as well as features within Windows 11 that use the internet to bring you news and information. ZDNet spoke to Microsoft, which clarified that “the Web Experience Pack is updated through the Microsoft Store (while the Feature Experience Packs and Online Service Packs will be updated through Windows Update). The Web Experience Pack will allow Microsoft to update things like the Widgets experience in Windows 11.”
Finally, Feature Experience Packs will contain more broader features, such as updates to legacy apps to make them feel more modern.
Analysis: Keep the improvements coming
These new Experience Packs will be released independently of the annual major operating system updates, and this is good news for several reasons.
As we mentioned earlier, it means that you don’t have to wait a year for new features to be added. While in our Windows 11 review we said there’s a lot to like about the new operating system, it’s still not perfect. By having a regular new features coming to the operating system, Windows 11 will continue to evolve, while feeling fresh and exciting.
There’s another benefit as well. Microsoft’s move to single annual major updates for Windows 11 (and Windows 10, which is getting the same treatment) is a welcome move in many respects. It should reduce the number of times a user gets bugged to download, install and restart their PC. It’s also no secret that Microsoft has having some pretty major issues with recent Windows 10 updates. By focusing on a single update, there’s a hope that Microsoft will be able to ensure these updates are much better built and tested, hopefully reducing any potential problems.
However, if Microsoft kept all of its updates to a single download once per year, that could lead to very large and complex updates. By separating features to their own updates, this will reduce the size of the annual update.
Adding new features to an operating system is also fraught with complexities, and this is where issues sometimes arise. If a new feature is added that doesn’t work as expected – or ends up breaking other parts of the operating system – it should hopefully be easier for Microsoft to identify and fix if it’s part of a smaller Experience Pack update, rather than causing issues in a major annual update (which will also inevitably lead to bad PR).
So, this is good news from Microsoft regarding Windows 11. Hopefully the days of major issues after updating Windows are behind us.
A new bill has been put forth by Democrats in the US House and Senate that could drastically change the entire online advertising industry if passed.
The bill in question, known as the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act, was introduced by Anna Eshoo and Jan Schakowsky in the House and Cory Booker in the Senate. If passed, it would severely limit the way in which Google, Facebook and tech companies serve targeted ads to users.
The Banning Surveillance Advertising Act would prohibit targeted advertising using protected class information such as race, gender and religion. However, it would also prevent online advertisers from using personal data purchased from data brokers.
Google, Facebook, Twitter and other tech platforms would still be able to serve targeted ads based on a user's general location at the city or state level though. At the same time, “contextual advertising” based on the online content a user has interacted with would also still be allowed.
Surveillance advertising
In addition to banning targeted advertising, the bill would give the FTC and state attorneys general the power to enforce violations with fines of up to $ 5,000 per incident. These fines could quickly add up for large advertising firms and tech companies which would serve as an incentive for them to no longer serve targeted ads using a user's personal information.
Data brokers have the most to lose though as their entire business revolves around collecting data on users and selling it to companies so that they can deliver targeted ads.
Democratic congresswoman from California and the bill's lead sponsor, Anna Eshoo provided further insight on the dangers posed by the business model currently used by online advertisers in a statement, saying:
“The ‘surveillance advertising’ business model is premised on the unseemly collection and hoarding of personal data to enable ad targeting. This pernicious practice allows online platforms to chase user engagement at great cost to our society, and it fuels disinformation, discrimination, voter suppression, privacy abuses, and so many other harms. The surveillance advertising business model is broken.”
We'll have to wait and see if the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act passes but in the meantime, you can still force data brokers to give up the data they have on you by using Surfshark's new privacy tool Incogni.
Microsoft is set to roll out an update for collaboration platform Teams that will add a layer of friction to using third-party app integrations, but for good reason.
According to a new entry in the company’s product roadmap, Microsoft Teams users will soon have to manage permissions manually for each third-party app they want to use via the web client.
“In order to better secure Microsoft Teams third-party applications that request native device permissions – such as camera, microphone or location access – we will be requiring users to manually opt-in for these permissions per app in the Microsoft Teams web browser experience,” wrote Microsoft.
This is already the case across the Microsoft Teams desktop and mobile clients, the roadmap entry goes on to explain.
The new web client permissions system is still under development, but should take effect for all users by February next year.
Microsoft Teams apps
Since the start of the pandemic, collaboration software vendors like Microsoft, Zoom and Slack have worked hard to expand upon in-built functionality (video conferencing, VoIP, messaging, file-sharing etc.) with third-party integrations.
In Microsoft’s case, the company is aiming to turn Teams into a central hub for work, by building as wide a range of functionality into the platform as possible, from cloud storage and CRM to project management, calendering and more.
Only last week, Microsoft revealed it is developing a new-look app store that should make it easier to identify the most useful third-party integrations on a per user basis.
As the number of Teams applications grows, however, the likelihood one might be abused for cybercriminal purposes rises too. To nip any potential issues in the bud, Microsoft will soon require users to manually specify app permissions across all Teams clients (desktop, mobile and now browser).
Of course, the measure won’t stop users from giving malicious apps access to their webcam and audio feed, but at the very least it will force people to think twice about which apps they engage with.
If you’ve decided that it’s a good idea to take the plunge with a malware removal tool, there’s probably one question that immediately occurs: will a free app give you good enough protection against all the different (and ever-growing) strains of malware out there?
Let’s dive into the key issues you should consider here, before coming to a conclusion on whether or not a freebie anti-malware will be enough for your needs.
Malwarebytes Premium is today’s best anti-malware tool
Save 25% on your security If you decide to pay for your anti-malware tool, Malwarebytes Premium is reasonably priced and uses heuristic analysis to identify new strains of malware, cleans up existing infections, helps protect you from phishing scams, and helps stop you downloading further malicious software.
We’ll start by looking at the differences between free and paid malware removal software, aside from the glaringly obvious – namely that a freebie won’t cost you anything, whereas a premium product will lighten your wallet to some extent.
Naturally, with a paid anti-malware app, you’ll get more in the way of features – what would be the point in stumping up cash if you didn’t? Exactly what those additional functions may be over and above any free version will obviously differ depending on the security vendor, but typically, a freebie will only give you the very basics.
That said, the basics invariably consist of an on-demand malware scanner backed by a library of definitions to hunt out malware – and that’s all you really need to get going with. It’ll allow you to manually fire up a scan to check your PC for malware, and flag up other possible nasties such as PUPs, those being Potentially Unwanted Programs (apps that may not be malicious, but could still interfere with and slow down your system, and might even intrude on your computing activities by, say, popping up an advert).
The scanning capabilities and core anti-malware engine will be the same as the paid product – with any decent app, that is – so you’re certainly getting a worthwhile app for nothing with a free anti-malware.
Indeed, if you already run a paid antivirus program, then a free malware removal app will prove a solid backup as a second line of defense to check with on-demand scans that nothing has slipped through the net of the antivirus. Those already subscribed to a quality antivirus will likely be happy with this two-line defense, and just plumping for a free anti-malware in reserve.
Malwarebytes scan in progress (Image credit: Malwarebytes)
Premium benefits
With all that said, what are you likely to benefit from with premium anti-malware? Let’s take our top pick of the current crop of the best malware removal software, Malwarebytes, as an example of what extra features are typically included.
With Malwarebytes Free you just get on-demand (manually initiated) scanning as mentioned above… and that’s all.
But go for Malwarebytes Premium and you get a host of extras, the most important of which is real-time protection. This means that the app watches over your system constantly, monitoring files that are introduced and processes run, and scanning for any evidence of malware in the daily operation of your device.
The paid version of Malwarebytes also comes equipped with anti-ransomware tech to defend against this particularly dangerous threat, and an exploit shield to guard against vulnerabilities in software or the OS being leveraged by a malicious party. Finally, there’s web protection on hand to keep you safer when browsing and defeat the likes of phishing attacks or other online scams.
This much broader protection against specific types of attacks (and URL filtering for when you’re browsing) is typical of the kind of features you’ll find in a good antivirus; and that’s the key point here. If you aren’t already signed up for such an antivirus, then the alternative is to grab Malwarebytes Premium instead, and get all this, with the additional focused protection against malware that Malwarebytes delivers. (Remember that anti-malware specializes in ‘behavioral detection’ and spotting newly unleashed malware just by its suspicious activity on the system).
In this case, Malwarebytes Premium is a good option for covering your security bases across all core needs, rather than going with the free version. While some antivirus apps may offer even more features – like a built-in password manager, for example – you may already have that functionality, and what Malwarebytes delivers is that honed behavioral detection to seek and destroy more sophisticated or brand new malware that a traditional antivirus might just miss.
Is free anti-malware good enough?
A free malware removal tool is good enough as a backup for a strong antivirus program, and it’s well worth having regardless as its core malware finding capabilities through on-demand scanning are the same as with a paid anti-malware.
That said, forking out for the premium version of an anti-malware app makes more sense if you need the best malware protection with a broad umbrella of other defenses. This way, you can cover all your vital security needs – while benefiting from the specialized behavioral detection which anti-malware majors in – and not need to fork out for a traditional antivirus app at all.
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