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26 Jul 2025

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This 11-port USB-C laptop docking station is a steal for only $100 now
There are some awesome docking stations out there, looking gorgeous and offering everything you could possibly want. The good ones are pretty expensive, though. If you want a solid one at an affordable price, you should grab the Baseus Spacemate 11-in-1 USB-C docking station. Right now, it’s on sale for $99.98 (was $129.99)! There are sooooo many ports on this thing that you’ll absolutely find useful. With modern laptops slimming down and cutting back on ports, you lose a lot of connectivity. But this Spacemate comes with multiple video outputs (two HDMI and two DisplayPorts, only three of them can be used simultaneously), which lets you turn your laptop into a full-blown home workstation with multiple high-res monitors. It plugs into your laptop’s USB-C port and grants you several fast data transfer ports (two USB-A and one USB-C) plus a slower USB-A for peripherals. There’s another USB-C port for charging, supporting up to 100W of power delivery so your laptop won’t die while you use it. It’s rounded out by a 1Gbps LAN port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a nifty little “screen lock” button on top for instantly locking your laptop. When we reviewed the Baseus Spacemate, we were impressed by its compact design, its ability to power three displays, its unique screen-lock button, and how well it keeps itself cool. The only downsides were that triple 4K displays could only go up to 30Hz and the USB-C power delivery could’ve been higher. But at this price, it’s hard to complain. Get the Baseus Spacemate 11-port laptop docking station for $100 before this awesome price cut on Amazon comes to an end. Save 23% on this excellent-value 11-port USB-C docking stationBuy now at Amazon

Malware sneaks onto Steam, for the third time this year
Hey, Valve. I know y’all are busy banning porn games and not making a new Steam Deck design. But is everything okay over there? I ask because, for the third time in 2025, someone’s been caught sneaking malware into a new game on the Steam storefront. This is becoming a trend. According to security researchers at Prodaft (via BleepingComputer), this might not be a case of the game being uploaded via Early Access to spread malware. Instead, a known hacker injected the game files for post-apocalypse crafting game Chemia with spyware on July 22nd. Researchers say that two separate packages were remotely added to the game files, with the intention of being distributed via Steam’s store. Both the HijackLoader and Fickle Stealer packages were discovered in the game’s download files. Chemia is still available to download for free on Steam via the Playtest feature, a sort of invitation beta program. The Early Access game has no release date and no current user reviews, so the number of actual infections may be quite low. Games hosting malware on Steam were discovered in February (PirateFi) and March (Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution), but in both cases the games and the listings appeared to be deliberate fakes with stolen assets, presumably made with the sole intention of spreading malware via free downloads. They were both quickly removed from Steam. Chemia was posted to the Steam store 15 months ago. There’s no indication that it’s anything but a legitimate game, albeit one of many thousands that get posted to Steam and then languish in development. It seems possible that the developer themselves (Aether Forge Studios, no other projects) got hacked and their access to Steam was compromised. Regardless, it’s a disturbing trend for those who trust Steam for safe downloads.

Lenovo Performance Windows Hello webcam review: Budget reliability
At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Reliable Basic 1080p, 30Hz functionality No issues with Windows Hello Attractive price Cons Just the basics — no added features Our Verdict The Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam is just a basic, functional, reliable 1080p Windows Hello webcam. If that’s what you want, go buy it. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam Retailer Price Lenovo $42.99 View Deal $55 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Sometimes you just want to buy a Honda Civic: cheap, reliable, dependable, without any of the bells and whistles. If you want a 1080p Windows Hello webcam that fits the bill, check out the Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam. Lenovo sells a pair of Windows Hello webcams: the Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam, reviewed here, and the slightly more expensive Lenovo 510 FHD webcam. Both are basically identical 1080p Windows Hello webcams, though the Performance FHD webcam appears to have a chassis that’s somewhat better designed. Listings on shopping sites seem to play a little fast and loose with the descriptions, however, so it’s simpler to click through the links above. As those links indicate, this is a very moderately priced Windows Hello webcam, with 1080p resolution and fixed focus. A broad swathe of modern laptops now offer 1080p resolution at 30Hz, so the appeal here is the upgrade to Windows Hello. Windows Hello allows your PC to “recognize” you, offering both convenience and security, especially as passkeys have become more prevalent. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best Windows Hello webcams for comparison. Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam: Design and features Lenovo’s Performance FHD Webcam arrived in a small, non-descript brown box, with just the barest of instruction manuals inside. There’s a black-on-black logo on the webcam itself, very nondescript. The Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam, mounted to a laptop.Mark Hachman / Foundry Some webcams ask you to download an additional piece of utility software to manage more sophisticated functions like backlight adjustments. Lenovo’s webcam does not: The illustrations guide provides basic guidance on how to connect the webcam to your display and then attach the cable, and that’s it. If you want budget Windows Hello capabilities that work reliably and without spending more than you need to, this is the webcam for you. The webcam measures 2.22 x 4.72 x 2.48 inches, with a cable length of about 5.6 feet. The included USB-C to USB-A cable plugs into a USB-C port on the webcam, leaving you to find an available USB-A port on your PC. Like most webcams, Lenovo’s camera uses what I call a “jaws” mount. An upper jaw with an overhanging “lip” hangs on to the front of your monitor or screen. The weight of the camera pulls it back, but it’s supported by the bottom “jaw” which rests against the back of the monitor or screen. Some webcams have an additional, pivoting surface on the bottom jaw to lay flat against the back surface, but this one does not. However, the rubberized surface prevented it from moving accidentally. It’s totally stable on the top of a display, but less so on top of a laptop’s screen — no different than most webcams, unfortunately. I don’t especially like the mount design, but the rubbery coating on the rounded bottom “jaw” does a fine job holding the Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam in place.Mark Hachman / Foundry Lenovo’s webcam perches on top of a swivel ball, which is handy for tilting it forward and back. I always felt like it constantly was tilted a few degrees off-kilter, however. Lenovo uses a sliding manual shutter on the top of the camera itself for privacy. When closed, there’s a small red dot where the lens is to indicate that the camera is off. There’s no indication that the shutter turns off the microphone, however. Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam: Performance Again, Lenovo doesn’t provide its own utility software. Instead, Lenovo allows Windows to manage its settings, found within the Windows 11 Settings (Bluetooth & devices > Cameras > [name of camera]). There, you’ll find contrast, brightness, and saturation controls. Lenovo’s Performance FHD Webcam also has 4x digital zoom, and you can adjust that too within the Windows controls. Most video calling apps seem to crop down to your face automatically, but it’s an option I like to use if available. I think this shot in my downstairs office from the Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam is pretty good, actually.Mark Hachman / Foundry As a webcam, Lenovo’s device seems pretty decent. My downstairs office is pretty gloomy, but with windows behind me and to one side. Lenovo’s camera (1/2.9-inch RGB sensor, with a 95-inch field of view, and 4x digital zoom) picked up on my face, rather than the window behind me, which was blown out. (I block it with a privacy screen for my test shot, above.) The color makes me slightly ruddier than normal, but otherwise I think everything looks pretty good. Upstairs, the webcam painted a somewhat dim image of my family room, with afternoon light coming through the shaded window to my right. Here, though, Lenovo’s webcam does a decent job with the color and the scene, otherwise. I test any noise filtering by recording my voice on the Windows Sound Recorder app, while playing back some rock music and then some white noise on a phone speaker at a loud volume. Lenovo’s webcam does a fine job filtering out background noises like rain and thunder. However, the mic clearly picked up the rock music. It was faint, but audible. The webcam did a good job of capturing my voice, clearly and at a good volume. Mark Hachman / Foundry Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam: Windows Hello performance I had no issues with setting up Windows Hello with this webcam, which I used on a machine without a Windows Hello webcam already installed. I didn’t record how long it actually takes to look and store my image, but it was on the order of a few seconds, which is normal. Lenovo’s Windows Hello recognition also survived a haircut, which was pretty badly needed. Lenovo’s webcam woke up when the laptop did, and logged me in quickly and consistently, even when I had it attached to a laptop docking station. When the webcam is optically recording you, a small white LED lights up to the left of the camera glass. When you’re being recognized by the webcam via Windows Hello, a bright red light flashes on the left-hand side as well. It’s a little disconcerting, but it’s only on for a second or two. Supposedly Windows Hello webcams have stopped working as effectively as they should in the dark, so I clipped the webcam to the laptop and tried repeatedly logging on and off while standing in a darkened hallway, with just the laptop screen as illumination. I didn’t have any issues. Should you buy the Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam? Our recommendations for the best webcams, specifically the budget models, offer some tremendous value for the money — there are 4K and 2K cameras priced at what you might expect the price of an ordinary 1080p webcam to be. Lenovo’s Performance FHD Webcam doesn’t offer the higher resolutions some webcams do, but it adds Windows Hello capabilities. There’s value there. Typically, the products we recommend as part of our best Windows Hello webcams command some sort of price premium. Lenovo’s webcam doesn’t, or at least not really. Lenovo’s Performance FHD Webcam is a basic, functional budget 1080p Windows Hello webcam without any added features. And that’s fine. If you want budget Windows Hello capabilities that work reliably and without spending more than you need to, this is the webcam for you.