Oldest Countdown contestant, 96, left school at 14
Nonagenarian numbers fan Donald Elsom makes his debut on the long-running show. 
© 2025 BBCWorld 11:05pm 6 Windows settings I change to make my PC less vulnerable to hackers
A decent antivirus program and VPN are a great first line of defense against hackers. But if you haven’t tweaked certain Windows settings, you could still be leaving back doors open for malicious actors to access your PC and compromise your sensitive data.
Here are the top six Windows settings and changes you need to know about to minimize the risk of getting hacked.
Check Windows Exploit Protection settings
If you haven’t heard of Windows Exploit Protection settings, basically they adjust how Windows runs apps and programs to limit the number of exploits that are activated by them.
You can find these settings by navigating to Settings > Privacy and Security > Windows Security > App and browser control > Exploit protection settings.
In this menu you’ll find two sub menus: System settings and Program settings. In the Programs settings tab, Windows will typically add a program or app to the protection list after you’ve used it.
Have a browse of that list. If you don’t see programs or apps that you think should be on it, you’ll need to add them manually with the + feature to ensure they’re protected against exploits.
Now in System settings you should also check that all the settings are toggled on by default, except for the tab named Force Randomization for images (Mandatory ASLR). Keep this off to prevent errors occurring in apps that don’t support it.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
Disable Windows Network discovery
This feature of Windows allows my PC to discover and connect to other devices on the same network and vice versa. But it can also leave my PC vulnerable to malicious attacks if it’s activated when I’m connected to unsafe or unknown networks.
To switch it off in Windows Settings I go to: Network & Internet > Advanced Network Settings > Advanced Sharing Settings. Then I just switch the toggle to Off next to Network discovery in both public and private networks. With these settings toggled off, devices on the same network can’t connect to my PC.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
Turn off Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop is a cool feature of Windows that lets me access my PC from another device — so it’s ideal for when I’m working remotely or need to send and receive files from my PC and I can’t physically access it.
But this feature can also be an easy way for hackers to also access your desktop remotely, so I’ve changed the settings on my PC to stop that happening.
To do that, I opened Windows Settings and navigated to System. Then I clicked on Remote Desktop and toggled the setting Off. I then clicked Confirm to validate my choice.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
Activate Windows Firewall
I don’t use a separate firewall, so I always have Windows Firewall turned on as a second layer of defense after my antivirus app. To turn it on, in Windows 11 Settings select Privacy and Security > Windows Security > Firewall and network protection.
Now click on Domain network, Private network, and Public network sequentially and in each tab toggle Microsoft Defender Firewall to On.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
Disable Windows Script Hosting
Windows Script Hosting is a feature that allows you to automate processes in Windows using scripts. Like other useful features of Windows, it can be exploited by malicious actors to run malware and then compromise your PC files or data.
I don’t use this feature, so I keep it disabled as a precaution against hackers running their own malicious scripts, which they’ve been known to do. To do the same, type reg into Search and then select Registry Editor in the menu to open it.
Now, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > Windows Script Host > Settings.
Once there, right-click in the box to create a new DWORD (32-bit) value and name it “Enabled.” Set the Value Data to 0. Once that’s done restart your PC and your WSH should be disabled.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
Stop your PC automatically connecting to a Wi-Fi network
After you’ve connected to a public Wi-Fi network, your PC saves the SSID and password you typed in in Managed Networks. If it’s set to connect automatically to Wi-Fi, it’ll then go ahead and connect to that same Wi-Fi network the next time you’re within range — that’s whether you want it to or not. It’ll even connect before you’ve had the chance to open your VPN and or antivirus programs.
That’s why I disable this feature. To follow my lead, in Settings click on Network & internet on the left. Then navigate to Wi-Fi > Manage known networks.
Browse the list of networks and select the one you want. Once selected, untoggle Connect automatically when in range to prevent your PC connecting automatically to that Wi-Fi network next time.
Dominic Bayley / Foundry
© 2025 PC World 10:45pm  
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The world’s first rollable laptop drives home why I’m a PC—not a Mac
I’m typing this on the world’s first rollable laptop. With an OLED display that extends upwards at the push of a button, it feels like something you’d see in a science fiction show—or like a tech demo you’d see at CES that would be too costly to produce and sell. But it’s here!
Should you buy one yourself? Probably not. It’s beyond the average laptop buyer’s price range! But that’s not the point. The point is that it’s new and exciting. It’s experimental, it’s interesting, and it’s fun. You aren’t stuck with a one-size-fits-all idea of what a computer can be, which is what you get when you buy from Apple.
Thinking back to Apple’s old “Get a Mac” ads, I say with pride: I’m a PC. The PC platform is fun, experimental, flexible, while the Mac platform is stuffy, old, and boring. Apple would never release a product this wild.
I love that Lenovo’s rollable laptop exists
Lenovo’s world-first rollable laptop—the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable—features a rollable OLED screen and a motor that engages at the press of a button. The display unrolls itself from within the laptop, and then shrinks itself back to normal laptop size when you don’t need it.
It sounds like it shouldn’t work very well, but it does. For a first-generation product, it’s incredible and feels like magic. Sure, it’s a whopping $3,300 and not everyone can afford it, but that’s okay for now. Maybe rollable laptops will be the new foldable phones in a few years. (By the way, foldable phones are another thing Apple refuses to make. For fun stuff like that, you’ll need to switch to Android.)
Matt Smith/Foundry
I can hear the Apple apologists now. “It’s not polished enough!” Yes, you can barely see a few odd reflections from just the right angle due to the rollable display, and Apple would never release a product like that. If you’re a Mac, you’re not getting a product like this until Apple decides a rollable display is right for every MacBook user—and as long as it isn’t for everyone, then it isn’t worth developing.
And that’s why MacBooks are so boring. If you want anything beyond a basic traditional laptop experience, you’re out of luck. If you’re a Mac, there’s really only one way to use a laptop; if you’re a PC, you get to make your own choices.
PCs are about choice — and freedom
Lenovo’s rollable laptop is just one example of choice and freedom. You can also get a dual-screen laptop—like the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, which is a 2-in-1 convertible featuring two displays attached at a hinge. It’s also brilliant to use on a regular basis.
IDG / Matthew Smith
There are other types of 2-in-1 laptops, too. With a PC, you can get convertibles like the Surface Pro with its awesome tablet-with-a-stylus experience that lets you use full desktop art software, or 2-in-1 “yoga”-style laptops that fold back on a 360-degree hinge and can be navigated using a convenient touchscreen. (Want a stylus on a Mac? Too bad! That’s what iPads are for—and iPads don’t run full Mac apps.)
IDG / Chris Hoffman
Powerful gaming laptops and high-end gaming desktops are also exclusive PC territory, as Apple has never shown much of an interest in gaming (aside from microtransaction-filled mobile gaming). But the industry has embraced handheld gaming PCs starting with Valve’s Steam Deck. It’s a sign of what’s possible with PC hardware, with the Steam Deck running on the Linux-powered SteamOS. PCs have grown bigger than Windows, and even PC gaming has now grown beyond Windows to offer even more flexibility.
The Raspberry Pi is another awesome device that only exists in PC land. On the Mac side, the closest thing is a Mac Mini, which is much more expensive and has less flexible hardware and software.
IDG / Chris Hoffman
The PC experience lets you build and upgrade your own hardware. You can now build and upgrade your own laptops with the Framework Laptop, and you also have the Framework Desktop, which might just be the easiest PC you’ll ever build. These feel a lot closer to Apple’s original hacker spirit when it was founded in 1976. Today, they feel almost the opposite of what Apple is all about.
Apple’s famous ad feels different now
Remember Apple’s famous 1984 ad from over 40 years ago? A hero—representing Apple—bravely charges into a dark gray room and smashes a telescreen. The Macintosh was all about “Thinking Different” and not being like everyone else, at least according to the marketing.
In 2025, the Mac has devolved into a one-size-fits-all platform. Meanwhile, PC manufacturers—like Lenovo with its rollable laptop, Valve with its Steam Deck, and many others—are playing around and trying different things. Apple is the company that says you can’t be trusted to run unapproved software on your phone or tablet. (Thankfully, you can still run whatever you want on a Mac.)
Macs work well and they’re polished, for sure. If you want Mac software and the MacBook form factor is what you want, great. If you want anything else—if you want to “think different”—then you’ll need to stop marching in line with the Macs and be a PC instead.
In 2025, I’m still a PC and proud of it
I don’t really want a Mac. I prefer the Windows desktop experience, and I like playing PC games and having a Steam library. But I like Linux, too. I like having flexibility and choice in my hardware.
I’m glad I’m comfortable with Windows. If I had been using macOS for decades with a big library of Mac software, I’d be trapped. I wouldn’t want to leave Apple’s ecosystem and I’d be stuck with whatever hardware Apple’s employees in Cupertino think I should be using, even as the rest of the industry moves on to new, interesting, fun ideas.
Don’t let Apple make you think PCs are boring. PCs are fun, free, and creative—the kind of thing Apple talks up in advertisements but no longer delivers. That’s why I’m a PC, and that’s why PCs are awesome.
Further reading: Why I’m switching to an eco-friendly laptop
© 2025 PC World 10:45pm 
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