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19 May 2024

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Another big blow for the Phoenix as star departs
The last-gasp goal that sent Sky Stadium into a moment of delirium turned out to be a parting gift from Phoenix star Oskar Zawada.

Best Father's Day Gift Ideas for DIY Dads - CNET
These cool gear gift ideas will wow any dad who loves to build and create.

25 Best Graduation Gifts for 2024 - CNET
Give them a thoughtful, practical gift that will help them get ready to take on the world.

16 STEM Toys Your Smarty-Pants Kids Will Love - CNET
Want a fun, engaging gift for kids? These toys are great and they’ll help kids flex their math, science, tech and engineering skills.

Best Gifts for Grandparents in 2024 - CNET
Show Grandma and Grandpa just how much you love them with a thoughtful gift.

Eurovision EU flag ban regrettable, Brussels says
Banning the EU flag from Eurovision was a gift to "the enemies of Europe", the commission's vice-president said

The ultimate free digital security guide: Stay safe without spending a dime
You don’t have to spend a lot of money for online security tools. In fact, you don’t have to spend a single cent to stay secure. There are a lot of great security tools that we recommend — features built into Windows, trustworthy free downloads, and protection practices that won’t cost you anything at all. We do recommend a variety of premium antivirus software, password managers, VPN services, and Windows backup tools. But you don’t need any paid offerings to stay safe online — you can get all the security you need for free. Protect your PC with a free antivirus Antivirus software is an essential security tool on any PC. Even if you’re careful, applications you trust could have security flaws that open your PC to attack. Malware could get onto your PC due to a flaw in your web browser or even a developer’s account falling prey to criminals on a platform like Steam. If you’re using a modern Windows PC running Windows 10 or Windows 11, good news: You already have an antivirus program installed, even if you’ve never thought about it. It’s called Microsoft Defender and is part of the Windows Security suite of software. It works well as baseline protection, but it’s not particularly feature-packed. Still, it’s nice that it doesn’t try to upsell you to a paid antivirus tool. Chris Hoffman/IDG Chris Hoffman/IDG Chris Hoffman/IDG Want to try a different antivirus? We can recommend quite a few other high-quality free antivirus programs, including Avast Free Antivirus. Paid antivirus suites pack in additional features — they may bundle their own password manager, VPN, and even backup tools — but free antivirus programs will scan your PC for malware in the background and keep it safe. You don’t have to pay for capable antivirus software. That’s an antivirus myth. Store your passwords in a free password manager We often recommend premium password managers that cost money, and those paid password managers often have more polished interfaces. But you can get a free, high-quality, secure password manager so you can generate, store, and access all your passwords on all your devices. Our top choice for a free password manager is Bitwarden. It’s not just free — it’s open-source. You get browser extensions for all popular browsers, apps for everything from Windows PCs and Android phones to Linux systems and iPhones, cloud syncing, sharing with one other person, and two-step authentication to protect your passwords — all for free. the best free password manager Bitwarden Read our review Best Prices Today: Free at Bitwarden Bitwarden’s Premium plan adds some nice-to-have features like file attachments, emergency access to your account, and security reports — but they’re not essential, and they’re just $10 a year if you decide you want them in the future. There are other options, too. KeePassXC is free, open-source, and a very traditional experience. It stores your password database locally on your own device so there’s no cloud syncing. It’s not what we’d recommend to most people, but some people will prefer this type of thing. Also, web browsers now often have solid password managers built in — and they’re free. For example, Google Chrome has a capable password manager that doesn’t require installing any extra software. If it feels right to you, you shouldn’t feel bad about using your web browser’s password manager. Use a free two-factor authentication app Two-factor authentication, also known as two-step authentication, is an important tool for keeping your accounts safe — even if you use a password manager. If an attacker gets your password somehow, they still won’t be able to sign in with your two-factor authentication code. Paid password managers often have built-in code generators as a convenience feature. But you don’t need that kind of feature built into your password manager of choice. To generate app-based 2FA codes, you can use an app like Google Authenticator, which is our favorite 2FA authentication app. It’s completely free and available for both Android phones and iPhones. Just use it when setting up two-factor authentication with your accounts. Activate free ransomware protection on your PC Ransomware is one of the most dangerous threats out there. While you can get expensive tools that promise ransomware protection, you can also turn on the ransomware protection built into Windows. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro This feature may be a little annoying to use. You’ll have to go out of your way to allow apps access to locations like your Documents folder when they need it. That’s the tradeoff you make if you want to control which apps have access to these sensitive locations. Of course, your antivirus already protects against known ransomware — but antivirus software isn’t perfect. Back up your files with free tools Backups are a critical part of any online security strategy. They won’t just protect you if ransomware locks up your files or malware takes over your PC and you have to wipe it — they’ll protect your important data if you lose your laptop or your PC stops working for whatever reason. While there’s a lot of paid backup software we like — and cloud backup tools that automatically back up to a remote server — there are lots of good free backup tools, too. the best free backup software Softland FBackup 9 Read our review Best Prices Today: Free at Softland We recommend Fbackup 9 as our favorite free backup tool here at PCWorld, and you can also use the File History feature built into Windows 10 and Windows 11. You’ll just need a location to back up to — an external hard drive, for example, or a network share on a network attached storage (NAS) device. If you’re looking to get some peace of mind from cloud backups, you can also use the OneDrive storage Microsoft provides for free — you get 5GB of storage for free with every Microsoft account. Additionally, if you pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription, you get a whopping 1TB of storage you can store files in. Chris Hoffman/IDG Chris Hoffman/IDG Chris Hoffman/IDG Keep an eye out for phishing and other scams People always say that “the best things in life are free.” Likewise, the best ways to beat phishing and other scams are also free. Yes, you can pay for security suites that provide phishing protection, attempting to warn you when you visit scam websites and see phishing emails. But you already have a lot of these protections: Your web browser has built-in protection against phishing websites, for example, and the email service you use attempts to file away all the phishing emails you can into your spam folder so you never see them. Be sure to watch out for scams and avoid clicking links in suspicious emails. If your boss contacts you via text and asks for a pile of gift cards on the company card, be suspicious! Don’t provide sensitive personal details to anything that isn’t trustworthy. A password manager can help you avoid phishing sites, too: If you always use a password manager to enter your online banking password, for example, you’ll know something is up if you somehow end up on a phishing website impersonating your bank’s website. Your password manager won’t auto-fill those details on an imposter website. Pick the right free VPN (if you need a VPN) VPNs aren’t the ultimate, one-step solution to online security — despite some of the marketing you may see online. Still, they can provide some extra privacy and are useful in certain situations. For example, public Wi-Fi isn’t as dangerous as it once was, but you may still want a VPN for public Wi-Fi networks that you don’t fully trust. the best free vpn we've tested Windscribe Pro Read our review Free VPNs are easy to find, but you shouldn’t trust most of them. Free VPNs have drawbacks. Many free VPNs may sell your data or do other sketchy things to pay the bills. Even the best free VPNs may not provide enough bandwidth to stream another country’s Netflix library, for example. Or, they may limit you to a certain amount of data each month. Still, they should be great for using public Wi-Fi in a pinch. We’ve got a list of free VPNs PCWorld trusts. You don’t have to pay to use a decent VPN, but be sure to pick a trustworthy one. All the most important security tools are free The complete package of useful security tools we recommend above are all available for a grand total of zero dollars and zero cents. Of course, you can spend money on security software if you like! The premium applications we recommend often have extra features, sleeker interfaces, and other goodies. But you can get a complete layer of online protection without shelling out a single cent. Antivirus, Security Software and Services, VPN

Penalty try gift Brumbies win in bizarre finish
With the scores level, the Brumbies were gifted victory when the Crusaders conceded a penalty try for Quinten Strange’s actions at the death.

Best Google Pixel 8A Deals: Contract Deals and Free Gift Cards - CNET
The Pixel 8 is Google's current flagship, but the 8A offers a bunch of the same features at a budget-friendly price.

Buy the Google Pixel 8A at Amazon and Score a $100 Gift Card for Free - CNET
Getting $100 back in Amazon credit is almost as good as getting cash off Google's newest phone.

Why some Spurs fans want Tottenham to lose to City … and what Ange thinks
Victory on Wednesday (AEST) would give Tottenham’s Champions League hopes a huge boost but would also gift their bitter rivals one hand on the Premier League trophy.

8BitDo’s awesome NES-style Retro Mechanical Keyboard is 30% off
8BitDo made a name for itself by selling controllers that are shockingly cheap while being just about as good as first-party versions, burying the legacy of companies like MadCatz in the past. Their first mechanical keyboard follows that pattern, as the Retro is a solid, customizable wireless board, a good deal, and stylish as hell with its NES looks. Today Woot has it for $30 off retail. When I reviewed the Retro keyboard, I praised 8BitDo for nailing all the basics while also delivering on its Nintendo-inspired aesthetics. The keyboard has Bluetooth and dongle-based wireless, PBT keycaps, and even an add-on section with two massive NES-inspired macro buttons. Said buttons, and the rest of the keyboard, can be programmed with the 8BitDo Windows app. Best of all it’s packing hot-swap switch sockets, my must-have feature for mechanical keyboards. Yes, even the big extra buttons are hot-swap. So if you’re not a fan of the noisy Kailh Box White switches, you can sub in any MX-compatible switch you like. At its $100 retail price the 8BitDo is already a darn good deal. But right now Woot is offering it for $69.99, a 30 percent discount. And unlike many Woot listings, this one is good for multiple days — more than two weeks, at the time of writing — and it’s a new keyboard, not refurbished. Both colors are offered, the grey and red based on the American NES and the more burgundy version based on the Japanese Famicom. Go grab one for yourself if you want to see what all the fuss is about, or maybe get a gift for your Nintendo-obsessed friend or family member. Get a wireless, hot-swap, Nintendo-inspired keyboard for just $70 at Woot Keyboards