Software & Apps - Page 2

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has announced "Atlas," a new AI-powered web browser that will be directly competing with Google Chrome, the most popular web browser in the world.

The ChatGPT creator is looking to take away market share from Google, which currently maintains 66% of the web browser market with Google Chrome. OpenAI has announced via a new press release that Atlas is built with ChatGPT at its core, and with that, the new web browser will be removing the classic search bar that is found at the top of most popular web browsers, and instead, users will be querying ChatGPT directly, which opens via a sidebar.

Notably, Atlas will also be able to summarize content on a webpage, analyze data from any site, and even compare products. Additionally, Atlas comes with an "agent mode," which enables paid users to have an AI agent interact with a website on their behalf, which means the agent can complete designated tasks such as filling out forms, researching a topic, or even completing a shopping list.

Meta has removed the Messenger app from both the Windows and macOS application marketplaces, as the company is discontinuing the desktop app entirely.

Messenger on Windows will officially stop working on December 14, 2025, according to a notification within the app itself. On Mac, Messenger will undergo a deprecation process, which allows users 60 days to use the app before it is fully deprecated.

Once the 60 days are over, users will be blocked from using the Mac Messenger app, and instead, will be automatically directed to Facebook for messaging. Users will be informed that the deprecation process has begun with an in-app notification.

Windows 11 25H2 update, which is the big October 2025 update for the operating system, is rolling out now to all users. Although it's light on bringing new features to the OS, the update is introducing a number of new bugs, including one that breaks the ability to recover Windows 11. Yes, as part of a newOctober 14, 2025 - KB5066835 update for Windows 11 25H2 that "addresses security issues for your Windows operating system," Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) has become unusable.

WinRE is the environment that you use for troubleshooting startup issues, restoring your system, resetting your PC, and accessing other tools when there are OS issues or you want to roll back updates, go into your BIOS, or repair your PC. It's an integral part of Windows, and with the latest Windows 11 25H2 update, USB keyboards and mice no longer work in the Windows Recovery Environment, rendering it unusable.

Microsoft has confirmed that the bug exists, with it being listed on the Windows 11 25H2 'Known Issues' page. Microsoft notes "this issue affects USB devices only within WinRE after installing Windows updates released on October 14, 2025," while confirming that a fix is on the way "in the coming days."

YouTube is updating the aesthetics of its video player, and it appears to have drawn significant inspiration from Apple's recent design change, which was recently rolled out to iOS devices.

In a new blog post, Google, the owner of YouTube, has announced a bunch of new changes coming to the video platform, most of which are intended to usher in a cleaner, more immersive viewing experience. The update includes an overhaul of the visual experience on mobile, web, and TV devices, which includes updated controls and icons. Google writes that these changes are to make the "viewing experience more visually satisfying while obscuring less content".

The announcement also states YouTube has made changes to the "Seek" feature, which is the ability to double-tap either side of the screen to fast-forward/rewind the video by several seconds. The improvement involves the skip feature being modernized and less intrusive to the viewing experience.

With Siri, Google, Alexa, and other voice-activated digital assistants, it's not exactly surprising to hear that Microsoft's Copilot is adding voice controls. However, Copilot Vision is something different, in that it's an AI-powered agent that can see what it is you're doing in Windows 11 and offer advice, assistance, guidance, tips, and more.

Microsoft believes that Copilot Vision is the next step in making every Windows 11 PC an AI PC. All you need to do is say "Hey Copilot" to engage with the AI agent and then use natural language to do everything from answer questions about something on-screen, analyzing documents to find something specific, or provide tips while you're playing a game.

In addition to being able to see what's on your screen, Copilot Vision will also have "full app context" for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, so it can review an entire document or deck without being limited to just what's on screen. Copilot Vision is a new opt-in feature, and surprisingly, it's now available "in all markets where Copilot is offered."

It was the end of the road for Windows 10 support yesterday, but in terms of what to do next if you're running that operating system, one of the options you probably haven't considered is switching to a Commodore OS.

No, this isn't a suggestion that you head back to the eighties - the heady days of the Commodore 64 and Amiga - and start using Workbench again, but rather Commodore OS Vision 3.0.

This is Commodore's spin on Linux for the contemporary world, and as spotted by Tom's Hardware, the company is pushing its various merits, mainly angling it against Microsoft's telemetry and privacy concerns.

Discord recently confirmed that approximately 70,000 users had sensitive information compromised from an unauthorized third party, with the voice communication platform saying it wasn't Discord itself that got hacked, but one of its third-party customer service companies.

However, Discord's story has now had a wrench thrown into it as that third-party customer service company has now denied it was "hacked". Here's what happened. Discord confirmed that it was hacked, with reports stating the unauthorized party stole 1.5 terabytes worth of age verification images from the customer service company. Discord refuted these claims, saying the purported 2 million images that were stolen weren't an accurate figure, and that the hackers made off with "limited" personal information.

Discord outlined the personal information that was stolen, including names, Discord usernames, emails, and other contact information, along with limited billing information, such as payment type, last four digits of credit card numbers, purchase history, IP addresses, messages with customer support agents, and limited corporate data, such as training materials and internal presentations. Furthermore, the platform said it had immediately severed its connection with the third-party customer service company once it was made aware of the hack.

As you've no doubt seen, today is the official end of support for Windows 10, and Microsoft has managed to break the Media Creation Tool (MCT) for those thinking of making the upgrade to Windows 11.

In a case of very unfortunate timing, Windows Latest reports that Microsoft admitted that the latest spin on the Windows 11 MCT - which is used to create a bootable USB (or DVD) to install the newest OS - has gone awry.

Microsoft said:

Microsoft officially severs support from Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, marking the End-of-Life phase for the popular operating system, as it will no longer receive security updates, new features, bug fixes, or necessary patches.

While Windows 10 is more than a decade old, the operating system still has a substantial user base of hundreds of millions of people, who are now faced with the decision of upgrading the machine they currently have with the necessary hardware to run Windows 11, buy a completely new Windows 11 capable PC, abandon Windows altogether for competing operating systems such as MacOS, or simply run the risk of their current machine exponentially being prone to security breaches since Microsoft is no longer providing vital security updates to malware hunting software.

There is another option, albeit it is a band-aid fix for the situation, as Microsoft offers one-year extended security updates for Windows 10 users, but that will require a payment of $30 per system, or logging into Windows 10 with a Microsoft account to sync your settings. It should be noted that Microsoft is officially ending support for all versions of Windows 10, which means Home, Pro, and Enterprise.

Microsoft has been progressively tightening its grip on the Windows setup process for quite some time now, and in a recent Windows update, Microsoft has further made things more difficult for some users.

In the latest Windows 11 preview build rolled out to beta testers within the Windows Insider Program, numerous changes have been made to the Windows Out Of Box Experience (OOBE), several of which were the removal of methods of bypassing the requirement to sign in to a Microsoft account throughout the setup process. The now-removed methods involved creating local user accounts.

According to Microsoft, this improvement addresses the setup process, as the company believes that many machines weren't fully configured. This is a roundabout way of Microsoft acknowledging that these loopholes in the setup process were being exploited to create local accounts that are separate from a Microsoft account. Now, Microsoft requires a user to fully complete the OOBE and sign in with a Microsoft account with an active internet connection to 100% complete the Windows setup process.

Yes, Windows 11 has had a 'Dark Mode' or theme since its debut, building off the dark mode found in Windows 10. If you're one of the many who prefer a dark theme over the bright white burn your eyes default mode, like me, then you've probably noticed that the Windows 11 dark mode doesn't apply to everything - namely, File Explorer's various dialog boxes.

Well, that's finally changing, with Microsoft updating the "dark mode experience in File Explorer" as part of the latest Windows 11 build on the Dev Channel. This means that the various small pop-up dialog boxes and windows for tasks such as copying, deleting, and replacing files will finally be presented using the dark mode theme and overall look.

You can see the end result above; above all, it's surprising that it took Microsoft this long to deliver a proper dark mode experience in Windows 11. There's more to Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6772 (KB5065797) than updating the dark mode for File Explorer, so here's a quick summary of what else is included.

It's not unusual for tech companies to poke fun at their direct competitors through slick marketing campaigns, or advertisements, and Apple is no stranger to this, nor is Microsoft. However, Apple is the latest company to throw punches at the Windows maker, and this time it's using the nefarious Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) as a way of propping up Mac over Windows.

Apple has used the CrowdStrike debacle that happened on July 19, 2024, when the security firm released a faulty update to its Falcon Sensor, its malware detection software, and as a result, millions of Windows PCs around the world crashed with BSODs. It's estimated that 8.5 million PCs were knocked offline as a result of the faulty update.

More specifically, the faulty update involved a configuration file that triggered an out-of-bounds memory access. When Windows runs its validation, it detected this out-of-bounds memory, flagging it as a critical failure, and to protect the system from any further harm, Windows automatically terminates any further processes and presents a BSOD to the user informing them of the misvalidation. Notably, CrowdStrike's Falcon software operates within the Kernel of a Windows PC, meaning it has privileged access to the system's components and drivers.

Is Windows 7 making a comeback in 2025? Well, it looks to be the case as the latest operating system numbers from StatCounter show that when it comes to the worldwide desktop Windows version market share, Windows 7 is sitting at an impressive (and surprising) 9.6%. And Windows 7 use is surging, with it increasing from around 2% in July to almost 10%.

Windows 7 was first released back in 2009 as the successor to Windows Vista. Unlike Vista, Windows 7 quickly gained popularity among all users, especially gamers and those using their PCs for multimedia purposes. Windows 7 received its last security update in 2023, so it is surprising to see its market share rise in recent months.

According to StatCounter's latest data, although Windows 11 is the most popular version of the operating system, its market share has remained relatively unchanged since June. In fact, even though the market share for Windows 10 has dropped from around 48% to 40%, the chart suggests that Windows 7 has gained those customers.

If you've been a PC gamer for a while and have built a new gaming rig or two in your day, then MSI Afterburner probably needs no introduction. The popular tool for customizing GPU settings, fan curves, and performance monitoring remains the go-to option for many PC gamers in 2025. However, you might be surprised to learn that the tool hasn't received a 'Stable' or non-Beta release for a couple of years. That is, until now.

MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 Stable is the latest version of the tool, available for download and installation now via Guru3D (and coming soon to MSI.com). This new version arrives over two years after the last 'Final' or Stable release, 4.6.5 from 2023, bringing "wide-ranging improvements, expanded hardware support, and security updates."

Under the hood, this new version utilizes the Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 compiler, which means it no longer supports Windows XP. In terms of new stuff, MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 includes full support for NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 Series, including GPUs with four fans, as well as AMD's new RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 9000 Series. As MSI no longer sells Radeon GPUs, this support is unofficial.

After spending time in the Windows Insider Release Preview circuit, Microsoft is rolling out Windows 11 25H2 to the public, and it contains many improvements behind the scenes.

Windows 11 users will begin to get 25H2 now, and according to Microsoft, the update isn't a large one, but does contain significant improvements to the inner workings of Windows 11, such as advancements in build and runtime vulnerability detection, in addition to AI-assisted secure coding. The update contains all of the features in Windows 11 version 24H2, as both versions use a shared code base and services branch, which means the update will be streamlined for users.

In addition to the update being streamlined, the shared codebase enables Microsoft to continue rolling out new features to both 24H2 and 25H2 simultaneously. Furthermore, the update removes PowerShell 2.0 and the Windows Management Instrumentation command-line.

Windows 11 is bringing another exclusive feature to Copilot+ PCs, and this time it's about organizing your photo collection - at least partially.

Many of us have an expansive collection of photos on our computer, and it may be tricky to find what you need amongst that sprawl.

This is where the new feature comes in for the Microsoft Photos app in Windows 11, although it's only in preview at the moment, and the extent of the functionality is rather limited.

Valve has updated Steam, revamping the storefront UI with a new menu system designed to make it easier to find games and access the areas you visit most often. The most notable aspect of this update is that the top blue menu bar has effectively merged with the left column to create a unified menu system featuring tabs that expand to display large buttons, icons, and graphics, which disappear when inactive or outside the mouse pointer's reach.

The updated UI also adds the new menu and Steam search bar "on more pages across the Store" for easier access. Dramatically changing the navigation flow of Steam, an app that has been around for decades, might seem like a bold move on Valve's part. But the revamped Steam UI has received a generally positive response from the community.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the improved Search Panel, as it now includes quick access to the genres of games that make up most of my playtime, alongside recently viewed items and some of the most popular current community searches. That, and the new Ways to Play tab that offers quick access to Steam Deck-enhanced, controller-friendly, and VR titles.

The rise of artificial intelligence-powered tools is leading to the creation of AI-generated art, which is making its way onto platforms that human artists currently dominate.

One of the most notable examples of AI-generated art making waves on a platform is the band The Velvet Sundown, a completely AI-generated band that exploded in popularity with the release of their song "Dust On the Wind". The song attracted millions of streams on Spotify, and the band now has nearly 300,000 monthly listeners.

With AI tools being so sophisticated now, Dust On the Wind sounds like a song that was made by real people, which has sparked widespread concern about how listeners are meant to tell if the music they are listening to is made by real people or an AI in a matter of seconds.

Microsoft is officially ending support for Windows 10 next month, and ahead of the change, European regulators have altered what Microsoft will require of users if they still want to receive security updates to protect systems.

Notably, Microsoft is prepared to provide much-needed security updates to Windows 10 for an extra year, but users will have to first qualify and then pay $30 per device, or they will have to agree to syncing their PC settings with Microsoft's cloud via a Microsoft account through the Windows Backup tool, or use Microsoft Reward points. It should be further noted that the extended security plan is just for security updates and doesn't include technical updates or even bug fixes.

However, the Euroconsumers group has stated that Microsoft's requirements to access security updates after the October 14, 2025, deadline for Windows 10 support won't apply to residents of the European Economic Area, which is most of western Europe.

If you'd like a larger clock in Windows 11, then Microsoft has decided it's time your wish came true - this is now happening in a new preview release.

Microsoft has a new preview build (27938) in the Canary channel and one of the changes is something that's apparently been asked for a lot, we're told - the larger clock from Windows 10.

Microsoft notes: