Windows 10 is dying as scams skyrocket. We asked a security expert for advice

Welcome to The Full Nerd e-newsletter—your weekly dose of hardcore {hardware} speak from the lovers at PCWorld. In it, we dive into the most well liked subjects from our YouTube show, plus sizzling information from throughout the online.

This week, we dive into safety with moral hacker Mike Danseglio. Among our subjects: Windows 10, Linux, DNS, these USB drives Adam retains selecting up off commerce present flooring.

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In this episode of The Full Nerd…

In this episode of The Full Nerd, Adam Patrick Murray, Alaina Yee, Will Smith, and particular visitor Mike Danseglio chat in regards to the doubtless safety implications of Windows 10’s coming demise, scams, and a heck of much more associated to on-line safety. (I’ll have positively sidetracked us with questions on DNS safety.) We cowl a lot floor the episode runs a full three hours!

• When Windows 10’s end of life arrives this October, will you turn to Windows 11? Or is your PC too previous to make the bounce? It’s a divide that many gained’t be capable of cross, and so we ask Mikey for his ideas on what conduct he expects to see.

  The ensuing dialog finally ends up crossing by way of a number of lanes, however the coronary heart of the query friends into what we lovers do versus what most mainstream customers will find yourself doing. Does Linux once again pop up as a subject? You betcha.

• With scams persevering with to rise, we additionally choose Mikey’s mind on not simply what to anticipate, but additionally find out how to defend ourselves in opposition to the onslaught. Once once more, we zigzag our method by way of a number of branches of associated thought, together with why sure types of fashionable communication have vulnerabilities. AKA: Why SMS is such a weak type of communication from a safety perspective, and why it’s not as well-protected as DNS decision—additionally a system with recognized vulnerabilities. 

• Normally our Q&A piece of episodes is lighthearted, however this time Mikey and I put up our dukes and sq. off. (The purpose: I’ll have proposed to Mikey that perhaps writing down passwords on paper isn’t such a foul thought in any case.) Overall, we cowl much more floor about password managers, when a passkey is good, two-factor authentication, and when to decide on a passkey vs a password. Among different issues that trigger extra sparring.

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This week’s finest PC {hardware} nerd information

Microsoft

Why is it that almost all safety information is grim? Two alerts went out in latest days about extreme flaws—and that’s commonplace today. (Perhaps that’s why I’m shedding a lot hair.) But not all the things of observe is darkish. Turns out, while you lose a storage, you’ll be able to achieve an sudden retro battlestation discover.

• A hacker could steal encryption keys from your AMD Ryzen CPU: If you will have an AMD Ryzen 3000 collection or newer processor, patch its firmware pronto. The latest AGESA replace fixes a flaw that enables an attacker to ship instructions to your TPM—which might put your encryption keys (e.g., Bitlocker), biometric information (e.g., Windows Hello), and different saved secrets and techniques (e.g., passwords) in danger.
• A critical flaw in Asus Armoury Crate lets hackers take over: Running Asus’ all-in-one app in your PC? Update it ASAP. A vulnerability that lets hackers have full Windows admin rights has been discovered—a reasonably nasty safety hazard.
• Cloud gaming is winning? Brad’s long-running recommendation of leaning on GeForce Now’s cloud gaming has taken root finally. A examine suggests a majority of players below 40 are open to the concept of cloud gaming, as long as latency points had been minimized—at the least, that’s the vibe whereas GPU costs are so excessive.
• DDR4 is reaching an end: Two weeks in the past, I shared information about rising DDR4 costs, and the way that would successfully kill AMD’s AM4 as a platform. I didn’t wish to be proper about that, a lot much less how briskly that demise could also be coming. I’m legitimately bummed.
• What year is it? Windows Insiders bought an sudden jolt from the previous when Windows 11 began utilizing Windows Vista’s boot sound. As reminders of tough durations in Windows historical past goes, this isn’t the worst that would have occurred to the Windows devoted (no different method of actually classifying Insiders), however Vista nonetheless is second-to-last in my rankings. At least it wasn’t Windows ME. Ugh.

• Lose a garage, gain a RCA Spectra 70/35 terminal: A Redditor shares a shock discovering on r/retrobattlestations—an uncommon IBM management panel from the 60s, which was simply quietly dwelling out its retirement days in a storage till its discovery.
• This older Anker power bank is a fire hazard: Not fairly fanatic information, however price a PSA. Anker’s been having a tough spell of it—four power bank recalls in simply over two years. This newest one impacts an older 10,000mAh fashions bought between 2016 and 2022. If you’re affected, get your free alternative ASAP, because the recall is prompted by stories of burns, fires, and explosions, plus cumulative property injury totalling over $60,000.
• Microsoft is making PC gaming great again? I wasn’t round for the darkish years, however primarily based on the bleakness of the tales informed by grizzled vets (aka TFN conspirators Brad & Will), Microsoft having its Xbox group work with its Windows group to “make Windows the number one platform for gaming” could herald a brand new period we’ve by no means seen earlier than. At least, hopefully much less traumatic than the 00s.
• Framework’s latest 2-in-1 DIY laptop is pretty neat: I’m the proper viewers for this. I like 2-in-1 type elements, I like constructing issues, and I like the concept of with the ability to swap the motherboard/CPU combo for one thing newer down the street. Price isn’t dangerous, both.
• Worried about your GPU’s 16-pin power connector? This RTX card uses its RGB lighting to warn you of danger: People like to hate on RGB, however you understand what? You can’t argue with this sensible use of shade distinction. (Yes, the melting shouldn’t be a problem, however generally we don’t get what we count on in life.)
• AMD reveals benchmarks of Ryzen Threadripper 9000: This information comes direct from AMD, in order ordinary, anticipate benchmarks to show these claims. But for the second, it appears to be like like AMD’s subsequent gen of HEDT chips will present between 16 to 25 % uplift in comparison with Zen 4 Threadripper. Zoom zoom.

Summer begins this Friday within the U.S.—and whereas I’ll be the oddball updating a few of my safety practices to match Mikey’s strategies, I’m nonetheless very blissful in regards to the longest day of the yr falling proper on a weekend. Catch you all subsequent week!

-Alaina

This e-newsletter is devoted to the reminiscence of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and government editor of {hardware} at PCWorld.