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9 Jul 2025

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Esports World Cup: The contest teams can't afford to miss
The controversial competition returns for a second year - and competitors say its vital for them to be involved.

Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK after 900 years
Bayeux Tapestry will be shown at the British Museum, which will lend treasures to Normandy museums.

The best OLED deal for Prime Day is this $470 gaming monitor
I regret to inform you, readers, that OLED gaming monitors are a little more expensive this year than last year. In fact, the AOC Agon Pro 27-inch, QHD OLED monitor is about 18 percent pricier than it was during the last Prime Day sale…gee, I wonder why. Still, $469.99 for an OLED gaming monitor on Amazon is a darn good deal. The AOC AG276QZD2 is rocking familiar specs, with a 27-inch, 2560×1440 panel that’s positively zippy at 240Hz. While not the fastest OLED on the market, that should be more than enough for the sweatiest of online multiplayer shooter fans. Features are a bit on the basic side — Amazon’s listing says this monitor has USB-C, but I’m not seeing that from AOC’s actual product page or other reviews. The real thing appears to rely on just two USB-A ports, one of which has a little extra juice for charging. That means you’ll be plugging in multiple cables if you want to use this with a gaming laptop. Still, if you’re looking to upgrade to OLED for the absolute lowest price on a new display, this is about as good as it gets for the moment. Amazon’s price is exclusive to Prime subscribers (here’s how to get in for cheap), but you can get this monitor for just a few dollars more from Best Buy, no subscription required. Be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best monitors on the market, or dive deep into the deals over on our Prime Day monitors page (and again, there are plenty of non-Amazon options, too). For other great Prime Day finds, check out the best tech deals that we’ve discovered so far and visit our Prime Day live blog to get the up-to-the-minute updates. Get a 27-inch OLED gaming monitore for $470View Deal

If your VPN doesn’t have this crucial privacy policy, find another one
Connecting to a VPN server hides your traffic by rerouting it through an encrypted tunnel. Your ISP and other outside parties are no longer able to see your online activity—but the one who owns the tunnel still can. All of your data is then solely handled by a VPN provider and that’s why trusting the service to not keep any logs of your activity is imperative. Almost every major VPN provider today will claim to have a “no-logs” policy. But what does that mean exactly, and why is it critical when choosing a VPN service? I’ll break it all down, discuss why it matters, and how to feel safer with your online privacy while using a VPN. If you’re looking for a VPN that you can trust, all of my picks for best VPN services have been thoroughly vetted via independent no-logs audits, so you can rest assured your data will be in safe hands. What is a no-logs policy? A VPN’s “no-logs” policy means the service does not collect—or log—any traffic that passes through its servers, such as private data including browsing history, home IP address, cookies, and files downloaded. This policy represents a VPN’s stance on data retention and commits the company to comprehensive, across-the-board user privacy measures. The issue with no-logs claims is that it’s impossible for a user to verify that their data isn’t being collected from the outside. That’s why many top VPNs go the extra step of hiring external auditors to substantiate these claims. The very best no-logs VPNs provide as much transparency as possible, not only clearly laying out their data collection practices, but also regularly undergoing independent audits. Of course, VPNs do need to collect some user data to make sure the service is properly maintained and running optimally. If the VPN imposes a device limit, it will need to log connection activity. To make sure that servers are not overloaded, a VPN will need to track data usage. The key here is to make sure that all of these logs are anonymous and/or temporary. A VPN should only store your connection activity for the time you’re online and no longer. Data usage should be taken in aggregate across all users rather than user-by-user in order to fully anonymize each individual’s traffic. All of these practices should be clearly laid out in a VPN provider’s privacy policy and verified via independent audits. Why does no-logs matter with a VPN? If you’re using a VPN it means that you are trying to gain some privacy and anonymity in one way or another. Even if you only use a VPN to get around geo-blocking restrictions with streaming services, you are still looking to hide your true identity and connection location. Since privacy is the whole point of a VPN, it should go without saying that the VPN shouldn’t act in any way to compromise that privacy. This is where a no-logs policy comes in. It is the cornerstone of a VPN’s commitment to keeping your activity private and anonymous while connected. Casual VPN users might not be too worried about a VPN recording your traffic, but for political dissidents, journalists, lawyers, and people under oppressive regimes, it’s a huge concern. Without sounding too hyperbolic, for those in high-risk situations, a VPN’s trustworthiness can be a matter of life or death. Even in the worst-case event where a government were to seize control of a VPN’s servers, if the service is abiding by a no-logs policy there would be nothing for the authorities to find. This was the case in 2017 for ExpressVPN when Turkish authorities seized one of its servers while investigating a high-profile assassination. ExpressVPN’s no-logs policy was ultimately vindicated as authorities were left empty-handed. I’m not at all saying that VPNs should be used to hide criminal activity, but they should stay true to the policies they promise. How to check what data your VPN collects IPVanish provides a good example of what a clear and transparent privacy policy should look like. IPVanish If you’re looking to use a VPN to keep you safe online, especially when the stakes are high, then you want a service with a clear and transparent privacy policy as well as a proven no-logs track record. For users who demand the utmost privacy from a VPN, it’s imperative that you meticulously read through the company’s privacy policy before using the service. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to find these privacy policies through the provider’s website. Your best bet is to do a Google search for “(VPN’s name) + privacy policy” then choose the link directing you to the company’s website. Some privacy policies can be extremely detailed and full of legal boilerplate. It might be a slog to get through, I know, but it’s worth it to find out what data is being collected. As a rule of thumb, if a company does not clearly and transparently describe the data that it does and does not collect, then you should avoid that service. Also, be sure that the policy states how long the VPN keeps collected data. This may include connection logs and overall data usage. All of this should be either anonymized or stored for a short time only. If your VPN uses RAM-only servers your data is likely to be safer as anything collected is deleted when the servers restart. Lastly, while a company may have a transparent privacy policy, you’ll have to take them at their word unless they can show proof of independent audits. Third-party audits of a VPN service are one of the best (and only) ways a no-logs policy can be verified. Personally, I do not use a VPN unless it has gone through at least an audit in the last year or two. Ideally, a service will go through regular, yearly or twice-a-year audits.

Study: People who use emojis feel closer to each other
If you ever find yourself second-guessing the urge to add emojis to a text message, consider this: There may be a social significance to that impulse. A new study from the University of Texas shows that using emojis in text messages makes people feel closer to each other and more at ease in their personal relationships. The study was first reported by The Guardian. The researchers interviewed 260 people between the ages of 23 and 67, who were read 15 different messages — some with emojis, some without. Participants were asked to imagine themselves as the sender and to focus on the recipient’s response. These were then evaluated for responsiveness, sympathy, closeness, and relationship satisfaction. The results showed that messages containing emojis were perceived as more responsive than text-only messages. It also showed that emojis act as non-verbal signals that indicate attention and emotional engagement.

Windows 11 may get AI-powered desktop wallpapers
Microsoft may introduce an AI-powered feature for dynamic desktop wallpapers in Windows 11, reports Windows Latest. The feature, found in preview versions under the name “Dynamic Wallpaper,” doesn’t work yet, but is described as a background that automatically updates based on the user’s choice. This could involve selecting a theme or category, and Windows then changing the background depending on the time of day or other signals. Microsoft has previously trialled similar ideas, such as animated backgrounds and parallax effects to add depth and life to the desktop, but these have not been launched. It’s not yet clear whether the new feature uses AI to modify images or just switches them automatically.

This blazing-fast portable SSD we love drops to best price on Prime Day
Prime Day isn’t just bringing impressive discounts on some of the best monitors out there, but also on one of our very favorite portable SSDs. The SK Hynix Beetle X31 is down to $63 right now, its very best price, a 28 perecent discount from its $87.89 MSRP. This is a portable SSD that we had tons of fun reviewing, giving it a 4.5-star rating, appreciating its fantastic performance, and loving the compact design. In fact, at the time, it was one of the top 10Gbps performers. You’ll be moving files around in no time, and considering it has 1TB of storage space available, you’ll have loads of room for all your data. The champagne-gold metallic casing is a matter of taste, but it’s definitely easy to find in a tech drawer at first glance. The SSD even comes with a silicone case you can use to better protect your data (and the device). The case gives it 2-meter drop protection and a barrier against dust and dirt. Stop wasting time because this Prime Deal may not last for the whole week, so get your hands on the 1TB SK Hynix Beetle for $63. Check out the best tech deals we discovered if you want more inspiration and visit our Prime Day live blog too to get the latest deals. Get 1TB of storage space for $63Buy now at Amazon