Microsoft has triggered anger by announcing that an upcoming version of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus will change Chrome users’ default search engine to the company’s own Bing. The change — which in less generous terms is called “search hijacking” — will start reaching Chrome users in February and will eventually show up in the Firefox …
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Proxy vs. VPN: A browser
Virtual private networks can be as confusing to understand as the threats they aim to protect us from. The average online denizen is often already mentally maxed-out trying to navigate the ever-shifting cyber-wilds while protecting their bank password in a digital minefield of skyrocketing malware attacks, suspicious public Wi-Fi and corpo-governmental mass surveillance. If that’s you, I’ve got your straightforward …
Read More »The best MLK Day deals for this weekend: Xbox, AirPods, games, robovacuums and more
Many of us have a long weekend coming up — Monday, Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There are a lot of ways you can spend your newfound freedom, and I hope you’ll dedicate a little of it to remembering the American hero whom the day celebrates. But there will also be plenty of time to participate in …
Read More »Samsung’s Neon ‘artificial humans’ are confusing everyone. We set the record straight
This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon. A robot that brings you more toilet paper when you run out. Samsung’s softball-shaped robot named Ballie. Of all the digital pals shown off at CES last week, none were quite as uncanny as Neon, the humanlike “life form” funded by a Samsung lab …
Read More »How to painlessly replace your old Windows 7 laptop now that Microsoft is killing Win 7 support
Microsoft’s support for Windows 7 is officially over, so if you’re still running a PC on it, you’re doing it at your own risk. You can upgrade to Windows 10 and, if you’re currently running a licensed and activated copy of Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 Home or Pro, here’s how to do it for free. But, in my own experience …
Read More »Microsoft’s new Edge browser, a Chrome cousin, is ready to download
Microsoft spent the last year giving its Edge software a browser brain transplant, and now the company is convinced it’s smart enough to help everyone who uses it. Microsoft stripped the beta label from the browser on Wednesday, and you can now download it from Microsoft’s Edge website. Introduced in 2015, Edge was part of a modernization effort that stripped …
Read More »Logitech Ergo K860 changed how I feel about ergonomic keyboards
Ergonomic keyboards and mice are the lightly dressed raw kale salad of computer accessories. They’re good for you, you know you should be using them, but they can be unpalatable and soon you’re right back to the meat and potatoes of your traditional keyboard and mouse. Logitech’s Ergo K860, on the other hand, is a tasty meal of a keyboard …
Read More »Google Chrome’s privacy changes will hit the web later this year
Google’s Chrome team, advancing its web privacy effort, later this year will begin testing the “privacy sandbox” proposals it unveiled in 2019. The Chrome tests, which Google announced Tuesday, are part of an effort to make it harder for publishers, advertisers and data brokers to harvest your personal data without your permission and to track you online. Other browsers, including …
Read More »The 5 biggest tech trends from CES 2020
This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon. With thousands of new products shouting for your attention, you can easily miss the bigger takeaways at CES. Recognizing the trends that develop and will impact the future is one of the most valuable things about the show. And since technology …
Read More »Thunderbolt 4 arrives in 2020, but USB will remain the king of PC ports
This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon. The first PCs using Thunderbolt 4 will arrive this year along with Intel’s new Tiger Lake processor, but it appears the all-purpose port won’t be any faster at transferring data than the 4-year-old Thunderbolt 3. There’s still room for other improvements, but …
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