Many Ghacks users use the backup software Macrium Reflect Free for their backup tasks on their Windows devices. The free for non-commercial use version is being retired by parent company Paramount Software UK Limited on January 1, 2024.

Users of Macrium Reflect Free may receive information about the end of the product as a service announcement during updates. It states:

Macrium Reflect Free - Service Announcement

This is to notify that Macrium Reflect Free Edition is being retired. Security patches will be provided until 1st January 2024, but there are no planned feature changes or non security related updates following this update.

Note: This notice only applies to Macrium Reflect Free.

Please see the section 'Macrium Reflect Free Product - End Of Life (EOL)' in our support policy for more information.

The information is not shown in the Macrium Reflect interface nor on the Macrium website when you open the Macrium Reflect Free section. There is a product support policy page on the website, however, which provides information on the end of life of Macrium Reflect Free.

Paramount Software UK Limited plans to provide security updates for Macrium Reflect Free until January 1, 2024. No further updates will be provided after that date. Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7167 was the last release to receive bug fixes, compatibility updates and features. Users of the free version may continue to use it, but they are on their own when they run into issues.

All commercial versions of Macrium Reflect remain available. Macrium Reflect Home is available for €57.95 regularly.

Macrium Reflect Free alternatives

With Macrium Reflect Free being retired, users of the backup software face a tough decision. While they may continue to use the free version, it is not advised to do so. Imagine running into a bug that prevents recoveries or that the app starts on the system. While it is possible to pay for Macrium Reflect Home, a license is good only for a particular major release version.

If you purchase a Macrium Reflect 8 Home license, support is guaranteed until the release of Macrium Reflect 9 plus one year.

There are free alternatives available for Macrium Reflect, here is a short list:

• AOMEI Backupper -- Another free solution with paid upgrades. The Standard Edition is free to use, supports file, system, disk and partition backups to all sorts of storage devices, including Network/NAS and cloud. It lacks some features, including differential backup, encryption or dynamic disk backups.
• Paragon Backup & Recovery Free -- This is the backup solution that I use. It supports all major features, including file, partition/disk and entire computer backups, scheduled backups, incremental and differential backups, and more.
• Rescuezilla -- An open source backup solution that supports creating and restoring data backups. It is operating system agnostic.

Now You: are you affected by the decision? Have another backup suggestion? (thanks Peter for the tip)

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Backup software Macrium Reflect Free is being retired appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Hasleo Backup Suite 3.0 is the latest version of the free backup solution for Windows, which I reviewed back in mid-2021 for the first time. Just like previous versions, Hasleo Backup Suite is compatible with all versions of Windows starting with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

The initial version of Hasleo Backup Suite supported the backing up of partitions and the cloning of disks only. It lacked features that other backup applications, like Paragon's Backup & Recovery Free or Macrium Reflect, offer. Among the features were backup scheduling, the ability to restore files and folders from backup images, or storing backups on network shares.

All of these features were introduced in updates. The latest update, which raises the version to 3.0, adds the last missing puzzle piece: file backups. When you open the Backup page of the application after installation, you find File Backup listed next to the already existing system backup and disk/partition backup options.

Selection of the feature allows users to backup folders or files. All important backup options, including support for encryption and compression, retention settings or splitting, are supported.

These backups are configured with just a few clicks. One click to select File Backup, several to select files and folders using a tree structure, another to set the destination folder for the backup, and that is it. Options and scheduling require more clicks, but these are optional.

Existing users of the backup program may notice performance improvements during backup jobs. The developers note also that backup scheduling is improved in version 3.0, but do not provide details on these improvement.

Another new feature in Hasleo Backup Suite is the ability to inject drivers into the WinPE image to support devices that would otherwise not be supported at all or supported only with basic feature sets. Just select Tools > Common Tools > Emergency Disk to add drivers to the recovery environment. It is a good idea to create such a recovery environment, as it may be needed to restore a system, partitions or files if the Windows operating system won't boot anymore.

You can check out the full changelog and all previous changelogs here. The application is free to use.

Closing Words

Hasleo Backup Suite has been improved significantly since the initial release in mid-2021. The program performed as expected on a test system; it backed up and restored the system partition and non-system partitions without issues.

Now You: which backup apps do you use, if any? (via Deskmodder)

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Hasleo Backup Suite 3.0 launches with file backups and other improvements appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Google published a security update for its Chrome Stable web browser that addresses a security issues that is exploited in the wild. Other browser makers who use Chromium, the core that Chrome uses, have released security updates as well already, or will in the near future.

Google released the update to the Chrome Stable channel, the Chrome Extended Stable channel, and for Chrome for Android. Chrome Stable's version increases to 107.0.5304.121 for Mac and Linux and 107.0.5304.121/.122 for Windows, the Chrome Extended Stable version increases to 106.0.5249.199, and the Chrome for Android's version is 107.0.5304.141 after the update.

Desktop users of Chrome may run a manual check for updates to download the update immediately. All it takes is to load chrome://settings/help or select Chrome Menu > Help > About Google Chrome to do so. The page that opens displays the current version that is installed on the device and runs a check for updates. Any update that is found during the scan is downloaded and installed.

All updates address a single security issue in the browser. Google lists it as CVE-2022-4135: Heap buffer overflow in GPU, and assigned it a severity rating of high. High is second only to critical in the severity scale.

Google notes that the issue is exploited in the wild. Chrome users should update the browser immediately to protect the browser from potential attacks.

Google Chrome for Android updates automatically. There is no option to speed up the process, as Google Play lacks an option to run a manual scan for updates, similarly to how it is done on the desktop.

Brave updates as well

Brave Browser was one of the first third-party Chromium-based browsers to release an update that addresses the security issue. The release notes merely state that the browser has been updated to Chromium 107.0.5304.141, but the official Twitter account confirms that the update patches the security issue in the browser.

Brave desktop users may load brave://settings/help to display the installed version and run a check for updates.

Other browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi or Opera, have no update available yet that addresses the security issue.

Now you: do you use a Chromium browser? Has it been updated yet?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google releases security update for Chrome that is exploited actively appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Google Chrome Canary users may enable experimental support for Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) now. Encrypted Client Hello, also referred to as Secure SNI, improves the privacy of Internet connections. It is rather technical, but broken down to its core, ECH protects hostnames from being exposed to the Internet Service Provider, network provider and other entities with the capability of listening in on the network traffic.

You may check if ECH is enabled in your browser using Cloudflare's Browsing Experience Security Check website.

The introduction of ECH support in Google Chrome Canary marks the beginning of a wider rollout among most Chromium-based browsers. While experimental flags may be removed without further notice at any time, it seems unlikely that ECH support will not be rolled out to Chrome Stable and other browsers based on Chromium. Mozilla added support for ECH in 2021 already in Firefox.

Chrome Canary users who want to give this a try need to make the following adjustments in Chrome Canary:

1. Load chrome://settings/help to make sure that the latest version of Chrome Canary is installed. Chrome checks for updates and will install any that it finds. A restart is then required to complete the updating.
2. Load chrome://flags/#encrypted-client-hello in the browser's address bar.
3. Set the status of the Encrypted ClientHello flag to Enabled.
4. Restart Google Chrome.

Encrypted Client Hello is enabled in Chrome after the restart. You may undo the change at any time by setting the status of the flag to Disabled using the step by step instructions above. Use Cloudflare's test page or any other test page to find out if the feature is working as advertised.

Google describes the feature in the following way:

"When enabled, Chrome will enable Encrypted ClientHello support. This will encrypt TLS ClientHello if the server enables the extension via the HTTPS DNS record"

Web servers need to support the feature, which means that it does not work on the majority of sites visited in Chrome Canary at the time of writing. The feature is available for all supported operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and Chrome OS.

Now You: do you use Secure DNS, ECH and other security/privacy features? (thanks ISO8601 for the tip)

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Google Chrome Canary gets experimental Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) support appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

It is no secret that the Thunderbird team is working on bringing the Thunderbird experience to Android. The team announced some time ago that it decided to cooperate with an existing email app for Android, K-9 Mail, instead of developing an app from scratch.

A revised version of K-9 Mail will be released in the future to align it with Thunderbird; this includes improved workflows, new features, sync support, and also redesigns of current views.

The Thunderbird team showed on Twitter how the new message view may look like in the first release version of the email client for Android. Note that development is ongoing at this point and that what is shown today may not necessarily be the view that launches with the first release.

The view displays more information, some optional to users to improve workflows. The Thunderbird version for Android displays the name of the account the message was sent to, if more than one account is available. Thunderbird users find quick reply and more buttons attached to the email header. The header lists all recipients, but may also display "to me" if the account has just one identity.

A tap on a gray area in the view displays additional details about the message; this interface can be dragged up so that it covers the entire screen on the device. Search and filter options may be included, which is useful for large lists of recipients. Details include information about all recipients, sorted into from, reply-to, cc and bcc groups by the email client.

Thunderbird for Android is a work in progress. The developers have yet to announce a release date for the initial version. The release may be aligned with the desktop version's next big release, Thunderbird 114, which is expected in mid-2023.

Use of the Android version is completely optional, but it may improve email workflows for Thunderbird desktop users, as they will be using a familiar interface and have all their custom data synced between the desktop and Android versions of the email client.

Now You: do you use email on mobile devices?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Thunderbird for Android: preview of the message view appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Now is your chance to grab a license for Microsoft's newest Office suite for Windows and Mac OS. Windows users may get their hands on a Office Professional 2021 license for just $29.99, and Mac users may get Office Home & Business 2021 for $29.99 as well.

Office Professional 2021 is a one-time purchase release, unlike Office 365 or Microsoft 365. You pay once and may use the Office program on one PC. The Windows Office Professional 2021 edition includes the following Office programs:

• Microsoft Office Word
• Microsoft Office Excel
• Microsoft Office PowerPoint
• Microsoft Office Outlook
• Microsoft Office Teams
• Microsoft Office OneNote
• Microsoft Office Publisher
• Microsoft Office Access

The Mac version includes most, with the exception of Publisher and Access.

Click here to open the offer on the Ghacks Deals website

Not for you?

You find hundreds of other deals with new deals posted daily on Ghacks Deals.

Disclosure: The deal is provided by StackCommerce in partnership with Ghacks Technology News; you need a StackCommerce account to participate in giveaways or make purchases. Check out the privacy policy and Terms of Service here.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Ghacks Deals: Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows or Mac: Lifetime License (91% off) appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

The first alpha version of the upcoming Paint.net 5.0 image editor is now available. The release is not available via the program's updater, but only as a standalone version. Paint.net users who want to test the new version may want to download the portable release, as it can be run without interfering with the stable version on the same device.

Paint.Net 5.0 is a new major release that makes changes to the program's system requirements. The new version runs only on 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and 11. Older versions of Windows are no longer supported, and users who still run these devices may keep on running Paint.net 4.x instead.

Paint.Net 5.0 - the major changes

Paint.Net 5.0 is a major new release that "has many major performance improvements, new features including pressure sensitivity for pens and drawing tablets, and a brand new effect plugin system with GPU rendering support" according to the author of Paint.Net.

One of the main improvements is performance in the new version of Paint.Net.  The new version expands GPU acceleration work that started in Paint.Net 4.0. In Paint.Net 5.0, core user interface parts, including the history and layers windows, the ruler, the image list and the Curves and Levels adjustment user interfaces make use of GPU acceleration. Besides user interface accelerations, most "adjustments and effects" use the GPU now in the new release. An added benefit of the change is that the "quality of rendering and the accuracy of colors" is greatly improved.

Paint.Net 5.0 users find two graphics controls in the Settings. The first enables them to toggle hardware acceleration for the user interface and the canvas, the second to select the rendering device, if multiple graphics processing units are available.

Performance is just one area of improvements. The new release introduces support for pressure sensitivity; this requires a Windows Ink compatible input device. It enables Paint.Net users to draw "beautiful, natural-looking brush strokes". The feature supports path smoothing, which is enabled by default. It smoothes the brush stroke using a "centripetal Catmull-rom spline".

Paint.Net 5.0's image resize tool, located under Image > Resize or by pressing Ctrl-R, supports two new resampling modes, adaptive and lanczos. The existing resampling modes, bilinear and bicubic, have seen quality updates as well according to the developer. Users may select one of the available resampling methods; adaptive (best quality), is selected by default.

Super Sampling, a mode that is available in previous versions of Paint.Net, is no longer available, as it is inferior to the adaptive mode.

The new version of Paint.Net includes new effects. There is Straighten, which users find under Effects > Photo, which "makes it easy to rotate and automatically zoom an image" to make it fit within the canvas. The new Drop Shadow effect, found under Effects > Objects, and a Bokeh Blur effect, that "produces an extremely high quality result that eliminates almost all fringing artifacts".

Paint.Net 5.0 comes with a new effect plugin system, but does not throw support for the old system overboard. The new system offers advantages, including hardware accelerated GPU rendering, which plugins may take advantage of. Plugin developers may want to check the full release notes for other improvements and changes introduced by the new system.

There is more to the update than that. Users find new adjustments, exposure, highlights & shadows, and temperature & tint, in the new release, and an option to apply embedded color profiles.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post First Paint.net 5 Alpha release is now available appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

A few weeks ago, Microsoft confirmed that the Windows 11 22H2 update was causing performance issues in some games, and that it had blocked the upgrade on impacted systems. One of these blocks has now been removed, which will allow some users to update their operating system.

This is not the first time Microsoft has had to prevent the upgrade from rolling out to users. Recently, it had to block it on some devices due to an issue with the Xbox Game Bar's capture feature. That bug was quickly fixed in the preview update KB5018496.

Some users with Nvidia graphics cards had reported that they experienced lower performance in games. This issue was patched in the Nvidia GeForce Experience 3.26 update that was released at the end of September.

Microsoft's handling of Windows 11 22H2 has been rather shambolic. There have been a multitude of problems in the OS related to copying files, printing, Windows Hello, Direct Access, and more recently a remote desktop issue. What's shocking here is that all of these bugs surfaced in the span of less than 3 months.

Back to the gaming issues on Windows 11 version 22H2, Microsoft had issued two blocks to prevent the upgrade on certain systems. The safeguard IDs for these were 41766570 and 41990091.

The Redmond company has updated the hold on the 2nd safeguard ID, 41990091. According to a note that has been added to the support page, spotted by Neowin, this safeguard will only block the Windows 11 Upgrade on devices that have one of the small subset of games and apps which are affected by the issue. So if you have a game that is on the blacklist, your computer won't be eligible for the software upgrade until the bugs have been patched out.

Microsoft has not mentioned which games are affected by the bug. This is annoying, isn't it? Unless you upgrade to Windows 11 22H2, you won't experience stutters in the affected games. And if you have multiple games installed, one of them could be the problem, but you won't know that it is the reason why you are unable to update to the latest version of the OS. This makes it very difficult for users to tell whether their PC is impacted or not. On the bright side, if you haven't updated to 22H2 yet, perhaps it would be better to wait for a while until the issues have been sorted out.

Microsoft has recommended users not to update to Windows 11 22H2 manually using the Media Creation Tool to prevent any issues with games.

Personally, I have not had any problems while playing games in Windows 11 22H2. For context, I have played a few AAA games like Doom, Forza Horizon 5, and also some games using emulators such as Cemu and Yuzu. I did not experience any stutters or lags in them, the frame rates have been stable at 60 fps settings.

The OS upgrade will be offered (rolled out) to users about 48 hours after the safeguard has been removed, so it should be available by Friday or Saturday. Microsoft says that users who weren't able to upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 can also check for updates manually, to see if the new version is available for their PC.

Have you experienced poor performance in games on Windows 11 22H2?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11 22H2 upgrade block partially lifted on computers affected by performance issues in games appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Microsoft released the Windows 10 2022 Update last month and with its release comes the question regarding future updates for the operating system. Will Microsoft release additional feature updates for Windows 10, or is the Windows 10 version 22H2 update the last for the operating system?

Last month's feature update was a significant update for Windows 10. Not because of the features and changes it introduced, which Microsoft still has not revealed and likely won't, because there are not many, but because of its meaning for the support of the operating system.

Microsoft plans to support Windows 10 until October 14, 2025. The Home and Pro editions of last month's Windows 10 2022 Update release reach end of support on May 14, 2024 according to Microsoft. The Enterprise and Education editions of the Windows 10 2022 Update reach end of support on May 13, 2025. Only Enterprise Long-Term Servicing Channel and IoT Enterprise Long-Term Servicing Channel and Long-Term Servicing Branch editions are supported for longer. Version 21H2 will be supported until January 13, 2032 by Microsoft.

If you look at the dates, you may notice that there is not a lot of room left for future feature updates, provided that these follow the same support lifecycle. The Home editions could see an update in the second half of 2023, which would then be supported until October 2025. The Enterprise and Education editions, on the other hand, have no room left for a feature update that follows Microsoft's current support lifecycle. A 2023 update for Enterprise and Education would push support into 2026 under current terms.

Microsoft could adjust the support lifecycle again, or, decide to make Windows 10 2022 Update the last update for Windows 10, as Martin Geuß over at Dr. Windows suggested.  There is still the six months period to consider between support end for Windows 10 version 22H2 and the end of support for the operating system.

Microsoft has yet to reveal its plans, and it seems unlikely that Microsoft will reveal how it plans to proceed in the coming months. I expect an update closer to the potential 2023 feature update release, if it will ever happen.

When you look at last month's feature update for Windows 10, you may come to the conclusion that it does not really matter if Microsoft releases another one. The last was unspectacular and there is a great chance that any other feature update that Microsoft may release will be equally unspectacular. Most Windows 10 customers may not even mind if Microsoft won't release another feature update, considering that it is unclear what the last feature update included.

Now You: will there be another feature update for Windows 10?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Will there be another Windows 10 feature update? appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Microsoft confirmed a remote desktop issue that is affecting the company's latest operating system, Windows 11 version 22H2, today. The issue affects devices running the Windows 11 2022 Update, but not devices that run the original release version of the Windows 11 operating system nor earlier versions of Windows.

After installing Windows 11, version 22H2 (also called Windows 11 2022 Update), the Windows Remote Desktop application might stop responding when connecting via a Remote Desktop gateway or Remote Desktop Connection Broker, Microsoft says in the known issues report on the Windows Release Health website.

Devices that connect to a Remote Desktop Services collection, using methods such as RemoteApp or Desktop Connections, may be affected by the issue according to Microsoft's bug report.

The Redmond company reveals that the issue won't affect most Home users of Windows, as the affected connection processes are not the default when using the Windows Remote Desktop application.

Windows 11 version 22H2 users may notice the issue during the client's "loading virtual machine" or "configuring remote connection" steps of the connection process. The operating system that the remote computer users appears irrelevant to the issue in question. Microsoft notes that some users may get the error message "Your Remote Desktop Services session has ended", but this is not always the case.

The Remote Desktop application may become unresponsive in the process. Users may use the Windows Task Manager to terminate the process.

1. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-Esc to open the Windows Task Manager on the affected device.
2. Switch to the Details tab.
3. Locate the process mstsc.exe
4. Right-click on the process name and select the End Task option.

Microsoft published a workaround that resolves the issue on devices using a Group Policy. The workaround disables UDP on the client; this may, in some cases, reduce the connection quality so that users may experience poor performance.

Note: the Group Policy Editor is only available in Professional versions of Windows, not in Windows 11 Home.

1. Open the Group Policy Management Console (for managed devices, e.g., Enterprise and organization devices) or the Group Policy Editor on unmanaged devices. The latter can be opened by selecting Start, typing Group Policy and selecting the Edit Group Policy item from the results.
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Connection Client.
3. Double-click on "Turn Off UDP On Client".
4. Set the policy to Enabled in the window that opens.
5. Select OK to close the window again.
6. Restart the device.

Microsoft is working on a resolution at the time of writing.

Now You: do you use Remote Desktop on Windows?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft confirms Windows 11 Remote Desktop issue appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Telegram for desktop was updated to 4.3.2 yesterday. The new version seems to have broken the autoplay functionality for GIFs and videos.

Telegram for desktop does not autoplay GIFs and videos

I noticed the issue right after updating the app yesterday. I wasn't alone, several users have reported that they are facing the same problem. The autoplay feature does not work in Telegram's desktop app, even if the setting for it is enabled. The data and storage settings don't seem to affect the behavior either.

So every time you send or receive an animated GIF or a video, Telegram just displays a preview of it with a play button on top. You have to click on the media to start the playback, and if you click on a second GIF, the first one stops playing.

Note: Animated stickers and emojis are not affected by this bug.

This problem isn't limited to GIFs and videos, it also extends to the automatic downloading of photos. Now you will have to click on each photo to fetch the media. This can become a bit of a chore, especially if your friends or groups share a lot of media. This autoplay and auto download issue also affects the portable version of Telegram, which is the one I prefer to use. The feature stills work properly in the mobile apps.

If you have not yet updated to Telegram 4.3.2 on your computer, and don't want your app to be updated automatically, click on the hamburger menu button in the top left corner of the interface. Open the application's Settings, go to the Advanced section, and toggle the "Automatic Updates" option.

If you see the "Update Telegram" button at the bottom of your chat list, it means that Telegram has automatically downloaded the update. This will happen in new installs too, as the app is set to update to new versions automatically, i.e. it downloads the new version even before you sign in to your account and disable the setting. You can skip the update by deleting the update files that are located in the temp folder under the "Telegram\tupdate" directory.

Warning: You will have to check for app updates manually if you disable the automatic update setting. So you may miss out on bug fixes, security patches, and feature updates.

Users have already filed an issue regarding the broken autoplay handling on Telegram's GitHub page, and a bug report has been submitted on its support portal.

Workaround for Telegram not playing GIFs and videos

The only workaround for Telegram not playing GIFs and videos, is to downgrade to the previous version. You can find the Telegram 4.3.1 binaries for Windows, Linux and macOS at the GitHub page. You will have to uninstall the current version of the app, and reinstall the old one. Don't forget to disable the auto update setting that I mentioned above.

(Telegram 4.3.2 on the left, and 4.3.1 on the right)

If you don't want to disable auto updates, you may want to try third-party apps like Unigram alongside the official version. I should tell you that Unigram uses way more system resources than the Telegram app does. Or, you could download the portable archive of the previous version and use it temporarily while we wait for a proper fix.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Telegram for desktop does not autoplay GIFs and videos after latest update appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Mozilla plans to launch support for Manifest V3 extensions in Firefox 109, which it aims to release on January 17, 2023. The first Firefox Stable release of the year introduces support for browser extensions that make use of the capabilities that Manifest V3 provides them with.

Manifest V3 won't replace support for Manifest V2 extensions in Firefox. Mozilla decided early on to do the splits by supporting both Manifest V2 and V3 in Firefox.

Google, a driver behind the introduction of Manifest V3 and its largest proponent, decided early on to drop support for Manifest V2 in the Chrome browser.  The company did, however, extend the deadline of the retiring of Manifest V2 support in Chrome into early 2024.

Read also: It may be time to switch from Chrome to another browser.

Manifest V3 is a controversial release, especially regarding content blockers and privacy tools. The initial version of Manifest V3 hamstringed certain types of extensions because of limits that Google introduced. Google revised the capabilities several times since the initial release, but limitations are still in place.

While these may not affect most Chrome users, some users, especially those who use custom filter lists and multiple tools, may still run into usage problems when Manifest V3 becomes the new standard.

Chrome won't support Manifest V2 extensions anymore at that time, unlike Firefox. Other Chromium-based browsers will follow Google eventually. Some have content blockers of their own, which will continue to work.

Mozilla highlights that its implementation of Manifest V3 differs from Chromium's implementation in two major ways:

• Firefox continues to support Manifest V2's web request blocking API next to Manifest V3's declarativeNetRequest API. Extension developers may use either in their extensions.
• Firefox will support Manifest V3's Event Pages, but will also continue to support Service Workers.

Firefox's Manifest V3 compatibility will improve over the next year, according to Mozilla.

Mozilla rolled out a new Unified Extensions button in Firefox Nightly already that relies on Manifest V3 and gives users greater control over the website access of extensions. You see how it looks in the screenshot at the top of the article.

Closing Words

Mozilla got it right at this time. Firefox continues to support Manifest V2 and will also support Manifest V3; this gives extension developers flexibility. Content blockers should continue to work in Firefox just like before, because of that.

Now You: how is your browser handling Manifest V3? (thanks for the tip / the courier pigeon)

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post January's Firefox release will support Manifest V3 extensions appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

AdGuard calls its content blocking solution the world's most advanced ad blocker. Now is your chance to get a lifetime AdGuard Family Plan subscription for just $29.99. There is also the personal plan for users who need AdGuard on up to three devices; it is available for $19.99.

The Family Plan allows you to use AdGuard on up to 9 devices. Devices that are officially supported are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Android and iOS.

• Get rid of annoying banners, pop-ups & video ads once and for all
• Hide your data from the multitude of trackers & activity analyzers that swarm the web
• Avoid fraudulent & phishing website and malware attacks
• Protect your kids online by restricting them from accessing inappropriate & adult content

Click here to buy the AdGuard Family Plan on Ghacks Deals

You find hundreds of other deals with new deals posted daily on Ghacks Deals.

Fine print: make sure that you check out the specs and terms of the deal.

Disclosure: The deal is provided by StackCommerce in partnership with Ghacks Technology News; you need a StackCommerce account to participate in giveaways or make purchases. Check out the privacy policy and Terms of Service here.

Ghacks Technology News benefits from sales made on the Ghacks Deals website through a revenue share agreement.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Ghacks Deals: AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription (76% off) appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

iCloud for Windows reportedly has some major problems. Some users have alleged that the app is showing photos from strangers in their library.

iCloud for Windows is displaying images from random people

A report by MacRumors mentions that a user from its community forums had discovered that they were unable to play videos recorded with their iPhone 14 Pro Max after downloading them to their PC. The user could access the media on their Mac, another Apple device, and via iCloud.com without any issues. But, when they tried syncing it to their computer with iCloud for Windows, the downloaded media was not playable, it ended up with a black screen with scan lines, i.e, the videos were corrupted.

In what seems to be a rather bizarre twist to an unusual problem, the video was not only playable, but also displayed an image (likely a thumbnail) from sources they didn't know. The user went on to explain that the issue only occurred with videos that were recorded with the HDR and HEVC setting enabled in their iPhone 14 Pro Max's camera. They weren't the only one facing this issue, other users with an iPhone 13 Pro reported a similar incident.

The bigger of the two issues is that the iCloud for Windows app seems to be picking up images from strangers. Can you imagine how it would be if you see photos taken by someone appears in your library randomly? And what about the photos that you take on your iPhone? Your pictures could end up with a random person, that is pretty creepy.

One user at the community forums speculated that the person could have downloaded a video belonging to someone else. The downloaded media may have been encrypted, which is why they couldn't play the video, since they don't have the decryption key for it. They also suggested that the thumbnail displayed in the folder may not have been encrypted, and that's the reason why the person could access it. That makes sense, doesn't it?  If true, this could mean that the thumbnails of images and videos uploaded to the cloud are not end-to-end encrypted. That could be a serious privacy issue.

Could this problem actually have something to do with the recent iCloud Photos integration in the Windows 11 Photos app? That seems unlikely, because the user says that they were able to replicate the issue on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Since photos from other iPhone users are showing up in the iCloud library, this is likely an Apple related issue, maybe something related to the authentication on its servers, which in turn affects the syncing process on Windows PCs. 9to5Mac suggests that this bug could be due to a rendering issue in the iCloud app for certain file types.

Apple Insider also received similar reports about the issue. I haven't experienced such problems with media from my Macbook and iPad. It does seem scary, and not just in terms of privacy. If the videos are corrupted and synced to the cloud, you could lose access to the original videos. This is why it is better to rely on good old local backups.

This news comes in the wake of allegations that Apple is able to identify what users are accessing on its App Store via telemetry (analytics).

Have you experienced a similar issue with your iPhone and Windows PC?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Users claim that iCloud for Windows is showing photos from strangers in their library appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Windows 10 version 22H2, which Microsoft released just last month, has already been designated for broad deployment by the company. The latest feature update for Windows 10 was released on October 18, 2022 to the public.

The fact that Microsoft did not reveal the changes and improvements that it implemented in Windows 10 version 22H2 made it a peculiar update. Microsoft revealed next to nothing about the update, leaving users and administrators hanging in the air regarding the feature update's changes.

The rollout of the Windows 10 version 22H2 feature update appears to have progressed well, as it has reached the final stage a month after its initial release.  "The Windows 10, version 22H2 feature update is entering its final rollout phase and is now designated for broad deployment", the company says in a Windows 10 Health Dashboard update.

Broad deployment makes the update available for all eligible Windows 10 devices, provided that they are not affected by safeguard holds or configured to defer updates. Administrators need to open the Windows Update settings and activate the check for updates button on the page to run a check for the update. It should be returned at this point with a download and install option.

Windows 10 devices with versions 20H2 or later installed will have a fast update experience according to Microsoft. The feature update should install like a cumulative update for the operating system for the most part.

The broad deployment designation comes a month before Windows 10 version 21H1's end of support date. The operating system won't receive updates anymore after next month's Patch Tuesday on December 13, 2022; this leaves two support versions of Windows 10. Last year's Windows 10 version 21H1 release, which is good for another seven months of updates before it reaches end of support on June 13, 2023, and last month's Windows 10 version 22H2 release. The latter reaches end of support on May 14, 2024.

Microsoft may enforce updates on Windows devices that run versions of the operating system that it does not support anymore. The next feature update release for Windows 10 is expected at the end of 2023, likely in October. Considering that it will be released for 2 years, it could very well be the last major release for Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system.

Now You: do you run Windows 10, 11 or another operating system? (via Neowin)

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 10 version 22H2 is ready for broad deployment appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Clipchamp is a new default application of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system. Microsoft purchased the web-based video editor in 2021 and integrated it into development builds of Windows 11 in early 2022.

The free version of Clipchamp was not really usable back then, as it had too many restrictions. It watermarked all videos and limited exports to 480p. Microsoft lifted some of the restrictions and changed the available plans. Exports support 1080p now and watermarks are no longer added in free version exports.

Microsoft made Clipchamp a default app in the Windows 11 2022 Update.

Windows 11 users may come into contact with Clipchamp in various places. One of them is File Explorer, more precisely, in the right-click context menu of media file types.

The Edit with Clipchamp option is placed prominently in the context menu. Windows 11 users who don't use the media editor have two main options to remove the context menu listing in File Explorer:

1. Uninstall Clipchamp entirely on the system.
2. Edit the Windows Registry to remove only the Clipchamp context menu entry.

The first option is straightforward and better suited for most users, as it is simpler to execute.

Uninstall Clipchamp on Windows 11

1. Select Start > Settings.
2. Switch to Apps > Installed Apps.
3. Type clipchamp in the search field at the top to locate the app quickly.
4. Activate the three-dots menu next to Clipchamp's entry and select the uninstall command.
5. Confirm the uninstall command.

Clipchamp is removed from the system, including the application's context menu entry.

Remove Clipchamp's context menu entry

Windows 11 users who use Clipchamp, but do not need the context menu entry, may remove just the entry from the operating system. This method may also be useful if Clipchamp was removed through other means, which did not remove the context menu entry.

Note: The Registry is a core system of Windows and it is recommended to create a backup before proceeding. If you don't use a backup program yet, try the free Paragon Backup & Recovery.

1. Open the Start interface.
2. Type Registry Editor and select the result.
3. Confirm the security prompt that is displayed.
4. Paste the path Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions into the address field at the top.
5. If the subkey Blocked does not exist, right-click on Shell Extensions and select New > Key. Name it Blocked.
6. Right-click on Blocked and select New > String value.
7. Name it {8AB635F8-9A67-4698-AB99-784AD929F3B4}. The string is the Clipchamp GUID.
8. Exit the Registry Editor.
9. Restart the system.

Tip: you can reinstall Clipchamp at any time from the Microsoft Store.

Closing Words

Windows 11 users who don't use the Clipchamp media editor may remove it from the system without ill-effects. It is the easier option and there is an option to install Clipchamp again from the Microsoft Store if it is needed in the future.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11: How to remove Edit With Clipchamp from File Explorer's context menu appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Microsoft released DirectStorage 1.1 recently, an updated technology to improve the loading times of PC games significantly. Games that make use of DirectStorage 1.1 may move decompression tasks from the processor to the graphics processing unit; this speeds up the operation, as GPUs are better suited for these tasks, and reduces the load on the CPU at the same time.

DirectStorage 1.1 does not change the hardware requirements introduced with DirectStorage 1.0: a fast NVMe drive and a GPU that supports DirectX 12 and Shader Model 6.0 is required to make use of the feature.

Graphics processing units that support DirectStorage  do support the updated version as well. Manufacturers like AMD, Intel and Nvidia may release optimizations, called metacommands, to optimize the feature on devices that run their graphics cards.

Intel released a new driver for its ARC GPU series this week that introduced support for " optimized Microsoft DirectStorage* 1.1 with GPU accelerated decompression for developer integration".

AMD has yet to release a public driver with metacommands; the company revealed that it has "a build of a metacommand-enabled graphics driver" for partners available.  Nvidia released driver 526.98 and with it official support for DirectStorage 1.1.

What about games?

The operating system and video cards support DirectStorage, but this means little if there are not any games available that have implemented the API. In fact, gamers will be hard pressed finding games that support the feature right now.

One of the first developers to announce support for DirectStorage was the developer behind the Forspoken game, which will be released on January 24, 2023. Another game is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, or better, the next-gen version of the game, which CD Project Red plans to release on December 14, 2022. It is unclear if the PC version will include support for the feature on release though.

DirectStorage will make an impact in the coming years, but there is no hurry for gamers to hop on the train right now.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post AMD, Intel and Nvidia are ready for DirectStorage 1.1 appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Microsoft's SwiftKey is back on the iOS App Store. The popular keyboard app is available on Apple's storefront out of the blue, after a month-long hiatus.

SwiftKey for iOS is back

In September this year, Microsoft had announced that it would be ending support for SwiftKey for iOS on October 5th. It had reassured users of the Android version, that it would not be affected by this change. The news came as quite a shock for iOS users, who had requested the Redmond company not to discontinue the keyboard. Unfortunately, their hopes were crushed, as the app was delisted last month as planned.

Things took a turn for the better over the past weekend, when Vishnu Nath, the Vice President & General Manger of the Office Product Group including SwiftKey, made a surprise announcement on Twitter to confirm that SwiftKey is back on iOS. Microsoft's Caitlin Roulston released a statement to The Verge saying that the keyboard had been reinstated based on customer feedback. So it appears that they did listen to users after all. That is welcome news, considering the state of keyboard apps available on the mobile platform. Even Apple's iOS keyboard is not very good compared to SwiftKey, let alone the third-party apps like Gboard.

In my previous article, I had mentioned that Microsoft had removed all support pages for SwiftKey, when it had announced it would be deprecating the app. Now, the company has done the opposite by taking down the news about the discontinuation, and restoring the support portal for the keyboard. That may be helpful for troubleshooting issues related to the app.

Even though SwiftKey for iOS is back on the App Store, the keyboard app has actually not been updated. Microsoft has basically just restored the old version without making any changes to it, i.e. it is still version 2.9.2 that was released in August 2021. That is not exactly great, because it clearly has the same bugs. For example, I tried signing in to SwiftKey's account system today, but it won't let me log in. This is annoying because you can't sync your iPhone or iPad's typing data to the cloud, and between devices.

These complaints aren't new, users have been reporting about such issues for a long time. The fact that these bugs were never fixed over a year was what actually led people to believe that SwiftKey had been abandoned, even before Microsoft had announced that it would be discontinuing the app.

Now that the app has made a comeback, the big question is, what happens now? What is SwiftKey's future? Nath's message ask users to "stay tuned to what the team has in store for it". This sentiment was echoed by Pedram Rezaei, the CTO of Microsoft Maps & Local Services Division, who said that the company is investing heavily in the keyboard.

That is precisely the kind of reassurance that users were expecting to hear. Hopefully we can expect some bug fixes, and feature updates to be made available in the near future.

Download SwiftKey for iOS from the App Store.

Are you happy that the app is back?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft's SwiftKey is back on the iOS App Store appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

The days of the classic Start Menu are numbered on Windows. Previously, the Start Menu was used by users to launch programs, access system tools and settings, and run searches.

Now, with the release of Windows 10 and even more so with Windows 11, comes a fundamental change that is turning the Start Menu into a delivery system for advertisement.

The Windows 11 Start Menu displays a list of pinned apps, a search option, and a menu that displays all installed programs. There is also a recommended section available, more about it later.

Microsoft is testing several additions to the Start Menu that will introduce advertisement to it. We recently mentioned two additions that we are aware of: website listings under recommended, and an ad in the account menu when users activate it to use functions such as switch user or sign-out.

Some of these are used to promote Microsoft services, especially those linked to subscriptions or the sharing of data. Others, like the aforementioned website recommendations in the Start Menu, promote third-party services.

In the example that Microsoft provided, the websites Etsy and Twitter were promoted as "common websites" under the recommended section of the Start Menu.

Microsoft provides the following description for the feature:

"We’ve been working on adding more valuable content to the Recommended section in Start and are excited to introduce a new content type: websites.

For the first phase, we will recommend common websites based on your region or browsing history to help you easily get back to the websites you care about. This can be controlled by right-clicking on a website and choosing to remove that website individually or to stop showing all recommended websites entirely."

The company suggests that website recommendations are one type of "valuable content" that it is working on right now to improve the Start Menu of the operating system. The feature derives the sites from the user's browsing history and a list of common regional websites. While Microsoft makes no mention of it, it is likely that only Edge's browsing history is one of the sources of the feature.

Admittedly, users may remove individual websites from Start or disable the feature entirely, according to Microsoft. Microsoft refers to the current implementation as the first phase, which suggests that the company has plans to change the feature in the future. Information on how the next phase could look like is missing, however.

It is unclear for which group of users Microsoft created the website listings under recommendations. The generic listings display just the site name; users who know about them do not need them listed there, and users who don't, may not click because they do not know these sites.

It looks as if this is just another way of getting users to use Microsoft Edge, the browser that is opened when users activate the links in the Start Menu.

Closing Words

Last year, I wrote The Windows 11 Start Menu is barely usable. The launch of Windows 11 and the redesigned Start Menu reduced its functionality compared to Windows 10. Microsoft removed several features, including the ability to resize the start menu. Some, like the ability to create folders, were reintroduced in the Windows 11 2022 Update, but others won't.

The fixed design, with the pinned section at the top and the recommended section below it, is still not customizable. Users can hide all recommended items, but the recommended section remains visible, albeit with an empty region.

Microsoft's recent tests in Insider builds suggest that the company is interested in adding promotions to the Start menu and less in making it more usable to users of the Windows operating system.

Windows customers may switch to a third-party Start Menu instead. The $4.99 applications Start11 and StartAllBack restore classic versions of the Start Menu on Windows 11.

Now You: what is your take on this development?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft is turning Windows 11's Start Menu into an advertisement delivery system appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

Microsoft started to experiment with search and the search field of its Windows 11 operating system some time ago. One of Microsoft's latest addition was the display of icons in the search field that depicted a special event that Microsoft picked for the day. Microsoft calls the feature Search Highlights.

Now, more and more Windows 11 users are seeing a bigger search field on the Windows 11 taskbar. Microsoft placed it next to the Start icon and before any pinned icons. Windows 11 users who configured the taskbar alignment to be left, have the widgets icon placed on the right side of the search field.

Activation of search opens the main search interface. It is divided in two main columns: the left displays suggestions, e.g., apps to start, tips or suggestions, and the right content from the Web.

While that may be useful to some Windows 11 users, most may dislike it.

In contrast, opening Start displays pinned programs and, if still enabled, recommendations. Start includes search functionality as well, and the results window is actually using the Search interface.

In other words: it does not matter if a user searches from Start or the Search field, the resulting page is identical.

Why then keep the Search field enabled? Suggestions are basic and not useful to the majority of users. Some users may appreciate web results, but opening any browser displays similar content. Windows 11 users who like it can open the MSN website to get similar content.

It is easy enough to remove search. One additional advantage of doing so is that there is more space for icons on the taskbar.

Here is how you remove the Search field from Windows 11's taskbar:

1. Right-click on a blank spot on the Windows 11 taskbar and select Taskbar Settings. Alternatively, if there is no blank space left, open Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar to get there.
2. The Taskbar Items group at the top of the page that opens lists Search as one of the elements that users may display or hide. Just toggle it to off, and search is no longer displayed.

A click on Start, or a tap on the Windows-key opens the search options of the Start Menu. Just tap Windows and start to write to run a search on the system.

Closing Words

Microsoft pushes search on Windows for a specific reason, and it is not for the benefit of the user. Third party tools like the excellent Everything search or a Start replacement app, like Start11, are good options to skip the default Windows 11 search options entirely.

Now You: do you use the built-in search on Windows, or an alternative?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post The big search field on Windows 11's taskbar is unnecessary appeared first on gHacks Technology News.