Software & Apps - Page 4

All the latest software and app news covering new and upcoming releases from Microsoft Windows updates, to Apple apps, through to the way we use apps daily - Page 4.

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Can I use a VPN to access TikTok? Here's the answer

Jak Connor | Jan 19, 2025 2:54 AM CST

TikTok across the United States has officially been banned, and with now millions of users unable to access the app, many are wondering if a VPN is a viable workaround to the block.

Can I use a VPN to access TikTok? Here's the answer

The TikTok ban came into effect seemingly early as thousands of users reported seeing a message display in their app that stated the app was no longer available in the US due to a new law that had been enacted. The law the message is referring to dates back to April last year when the Senate passed a bill that deemed TikTok a national security threat as the app was found to have ties to the Chinese government. The ban was predicated on protecting the data of the approximately 170 million Americans who use the app from being funneled to the Chinese government.

Now that the app has officially gone dark, many are wondering if there is a way to bypass the block and still use the app. The first thing that springs to mind is a VPN or a Virtual Private Network. In a nutshell, a VPN masks the IP address of a user, which is essentially an address linked to an internet connection so data can be correctly sent/received.

Continue reading: Can I use a VPN to access TikTok? Here's the answer (full post)

TikTok officially banned across the US, Trump named as savior in new message

Jak Connor | Jan 18, 2025 11:52 PM CST

TikTok users across the United States have been locked out of the popular video-sharing platform hours before the deadline for the ban came into place.

TikTok officially banned across the US, Trump named as savior in new message

The banning of TikTok dates back to April last year when the Senate passed a bill that deemed TikTok a national security threat as the app was found to have the ability to scrape the data of the 170 million Americans using the app. Lawmakers decided the app's predatory data-gathering techniques and the possibility of American data being shared with the Chinese government were enough to deem the app as a national security threat.

To remedy this problem, lawmakers gave TikTok owner ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to either sell the app to a US-based and government-approved buyer or have the app banned across both the App Store and Google Play Store. That deadline has now approached, and hours before it ticks over to January 19, users are reporting TikTok already being unavailable, with users receiving the message:

Continue reading: TikTok officially banned across the US, Trump named as savior in new message (full post)

Apple makes rare admission that an 'Apple Intelligece' feature has failed

Jak Connor | Jan 18, 2025 12:01 AM CST

A new report has revealed Apple is preparing to fall on it sword after releasing an Apple Intelligence feature that has been caught producing incorrect information.

Apple makes rare admission that an 'Apple Intelligece' feature has failed

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A new report from the Washington Post claims Apple is preparing to disable its AI summaries generated for news and entertainment apps after the feature produced factually incorrect information several times. For those wondering what this feature does, Apple Intelligence users receive a notification summarizing the most popular news stories. The idea behind the feature is to provide users with a quick summary of the top headlines, which they can then engage with for further reading.

Continue reading: Apple makes rare admission that an 'Apple Intelligece' feature has failed (full post)

TikTok's fate is now in the hands of Trump, says White House official

Jak Connor | Jan 17, 2025 10:39 AM CST

It was in April last year, the Senate passed a bill that deemed TikTok a threat to national security as its data scraping methods were found to be predatory and a risk to the American people.

TikTok's fate is now in the hands of Trump, says White House official

The Senate gave ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, an ultimatum: either sell the popular app to a US government-approved entity and remain in the country or face a sweeping ban across both Android and iOS app marketplaces. ByteDance was given 270 to decide what it wants to do, and now, as we are approaching the deadline of January 19, the Biden administration has somewhat backpedaled on its decision, with a White House official speaking to ABC News and saying, "Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership."

Adding, "Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement." Notably, during Trump's first presidency, the former and now soon-to-be president called for the ban of TikTok, but recently, Trump has changed his tune, saying he will try and keep TikTok available in the US. However, neither Trump nor his administration has outlined a plan for exactly how that will happen.

Continue reading: TikTok's fate is now in the hands of Trump, says White House official (full post)

Microsoft confirms when Office apps on Windows 10 will lose support

Jak Connor | Jan 16, 2025 12:02 AM CST

Microsoft has been not-so-subtly warning Windows 10 users that support for the world's most popular operating system will be coming to an end this year, and now the Redmond company has written via a new blog post that support severance will include Office applications such as Word, Powerpoint, etc.

Microsoft confirms when Office apps on Windows 10 will lose support

Microsoft will be officially ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, and following that date, Windows 10 users will be faced with a difficult decision: upgrade their system OS to Windows 11, which may require a hardware upgrade, or pay the $30 a year for continued security updates. Alternatively, Windows 10 users can do nothing at all and run the risk of their machine exponentially becoming more vulnerable to attacks. Despite Microsoft's continued efforts of trying to entice Windows 10 users to migrate to Windows 11, the now 10-year-old operating system still accounts for more than 60% of the total operating systems on PCs.

In yet another attempt to push Windows 10 users to Redmond's latest operating system, Microsoft has taken to its blog post to remind users, "Microsoft 365 Apps will no longer be supported after October 14, 2025, on Windows 10 devices." Adding, "To use Microsoft 365 Applications on your device, you will need to upgrade to Windows 11." For those wondering if this means Office applications will stop working completely post-October 14, 2025 - they won't, but over time, the performance and reliability of the applications could falter.

Continue reading: Microsoft confirms when Office apps on Windows 10 will lose support (full post)

Microsoft is forcing the new Outlook app on Windows 10 users, ready or not

Darren Allan | Jan 10, 2025 2:30 PM CST

If you're on Windows 10, and don't care for Microsoft's new Outlook app - well, you are out of luck sadly, as the software giant is now forcing this software onto its older OS.

Microsoft is forcing the new Outlook app on Windows 10 users, ready or not

As Bleeping Computer spotted, just as happened with Windows 11, those on Windows 10 will automatically get the New Outlook app.

This will happen with the next cumulative update for Windows 10 - either preview, or the full release of said update.

Continue reading: Microsoft is forcing the new Outlook app on Windows 10 users, ready or not (full post)

Microsoft is crashing PCs with its latest ad about it killing support for Windows 10

Jak Connor | Jan 8, 2025 3:45 AM CST

Windows 10 is scheduled to lose support in October this year, which will force millions of users around the world into deciding whether to upgrade to Windows 11, or pay for continued Windows 10 security updates every year -- or, of course, run the risk of their machine exponentially becoming more vulnerable to attacks.

Microsoft is crashing PCs with its latest ad about it killing support for Windows 10

To remind users Windows 10 is on the chopping block when it comes to support Microsoft has decided to roll out a full-screen pop-up ad that warns Windows 10 users support for the operating system is soon coming to an end, but, unfortunately, some Windows 10 users are reporting this pop-up ad is causing their machine to crash. A recent report by WindowsLatest details the error message that users are finding after seeing the upgrade reminder pop-up, which reads, "Reusable UX Interaction Manager is not responding".

According to the publication the Reusable UX Interaction Manager (RUXIM) is system process responsible for managing prompts and pop-ups across different applications and situations. The RUXIM is used to maintain a consistent user experience with pop-ups such as the one presented after the full-screen ad for Windows 11 crashed, but more interestingly, RUXIM is also associated with Windows update. TechSpot reports RUXIM helps deploy and schedule Windows updates, which is ironic considering RUXIM appears to need an update itself to correctly display an advertisement for Windows 11.

Continue reading: Microsoft is crashing PCs with its latest ad about it killing support for Windows 10 (full post)

Microsoft subtly reminds everyone the world's most popular OS will lose support in 2025

Jak Connor | Jan 6, 2025 4:29 PM CST

Microsoft has pushed out another stark reminder that support for the world's most popular operating system will be ending this year, and that users of that operating system will need to upgrade to Redmond's latest OS to continue getting critical security updates.

Microsoft subtly reminds everyone the world's most popular OS will lose support in 2025

Microsoft has taken to its website with a new blog post by Microsoft EVP and consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi, who explained that Windows 11 is "available at a time when the world needs it most," which references the looming October 14, 2025 date that will mark the end of support for Windows 10. Users still running the now 10-year-old OS will be faced with a choice of no longer receiving critical security updates that will result in their machine becoming exponentially more vulnerable to attacks, or pay the $30 a year to continue to receive Windows 10 security updates.

Despite Microsoft's marketing speak such as Windows 11 being available at a time "when the world needs it most," it's been long reported by myself and numerous other publications that Windows 11 adoption rate will not hit Microsoft's desired mark by the time October 14 rolls around. For example, Windows 10 is still currently on more than 60% of all PCs. In fact, over the last two months Windows 10 user base increased to 62.7% while Windows 11 fell to 34.1%. However, looking at the Steam Survey data, Windows 11 is in the lead with a 55% marketshare, while Windows 10 holds 42%.

Continue reading: Microsoft subtly reminds everyone the world's most popular OS will lose support in 2025 (full post)

Popular antivirus maker warns Windows 10 users to 'switch to Windows 11 immediately' (or Linux)

Darren Allan | Jan 4, 2025 5:37 AM CST

With the new year having arrived, the prospect of Windows 10 support running out has become more concrete - it happens in October 2025 - and that has prompted ESET to issue a warning not to hang around in mulling your upgrade path from Microsoft's older OS.

Popular antivirus maker warns Windows 10 users to 'switch to Windows 11 immediately' (or Linux)

The Slovakian security firm - which makes a popular antivirus app, and other security software besides - penned a blog post on the urgency to move away from Windows 10, as spotted by Neowin.

Thorsten Urbanski, Director of Marketing and Communication at ESET DACH (based in Essen, Germany), tells us:

Continue reading: Popular antivirus maker warns Windows 10 users to 'switch to Windows 11 immediately' (or Linux) (full post)

Windows 11 24H2 runs into more nasty bugs causing audio output to fail and games to crash

Darren Allan | Dec 20, 2024 12:27 PM CST

Is it time for some good news about Windows 11 24H2, finally? No, it isn't sadly, instead we've got further tales of woe about fresh bugs in the 24H2 update.

Windows 11 24H2 runs into more nasty bugs causing audio output to fail and games to crash

There are two new critters which are skittering about in the works of Windows 11 24H2, as highlighted by Microsoft in its release health status dashboard for the OS.

The first glitch is with the Auto HDR feature, and when it's switched on, those running 24H2 may find the colors in games are messed up (with "certain display configurations" Microsoft advises).

Continue reading: Windows 11 24H2 runs into more nasty bugs causing audio output to fail and games to crash (full post)

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