Pornhub Premium is now free globally so you can enjoy self-isolating from coronavirus
With a huge proportion of the world now in lockdown as governments take steps to stop the spread of coronavirus, millions of people are seeking ways to entertain themselves at home... and Pornhub has come up with a solution.
Having previously made its premium services available for free in Italy, Spain and France, the site says that it wants to "lend a hand". Looking to give people "an enjoyable way to pass the time", Pornhub Premium is now available to everyone around the world for free... for a while, at least.
UK fintech Revolut officially launches its banking app in the US
Having amassed millions of customers in Europe, the British fintech Revolut is bringing its banking app and debit cards to the US.
The official launch comes after nine months of beta testing and has been facilitated by Revolut's partnership with Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB). While Revolut is not a bank, it offers many services including the ability to receive salary payments to your account, fee-free currency exchange, and a polished mobile app for easy money management.
There's a simple fix for the Windows Defender bug in Windows 10
Yesterday we wrote about a bug in Windows Defender, seemingly introduced by a recent update. Only affecting Windows 10, the bug causes some virus scans to fail, and in others a somewhat unhelpful message informs users that there were unspecified "items skipped during scan".
The error message goes on to make reference to scanning exclusions as well as network scanning settings, and it is here that a simple solution has been found.
Microsoft warns that hackers are exploiting two unpatched Windows bugs
Microsoft has warned that all versions of Windows feature critical unpatched RCE vulnerabilities. The security problems stem from the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library, and relates to the parsing of fonts.
The company is working on a fix which will be released when the next Patch Tuesday rolls around -- but for Windows 7 users, despite the critical nature of the bugs, it is only those who have paid for an ESU licence that will get the security update. There is a bit of good news, however. While the vulnerability is yet to be patched, there is a workaround available that will do the job for the time being.
hide.me quintuples its data limit for users of its free VPN tier
There are a lot of VPN services to choose from these days, and a lot of reasons for wanting to use one. But there is the matter of money to consider. Whether you're strapped for cash, or just want to give a VPN a serious test drive before committing to it, the more generous the free data allowance the better.
hide.me is one of many VPNs that offers a free package, and it has just announced that the data allowance for people on this tier has increased fivefold. The increase to 10GB per month is generous, but the way the free tier works means that you actually get an unlimited amount of VPN traffic for free.
Microsoft says new versions of Edge are on hold for the time-being
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are widespread and varied across the tech world. Streaming video services have been reducing quality to ease the strain on the internet, support for old versions of Windows has been extended, and many brand-new cinema releases have been pirated earlier than normal.
In addition to delaying the end of support for Windows 10 version 1709, Microsoft also says that the COVID-19 crisis will impact on the development of its Edge browser. This means that Edge 80 is the last stable build we're going to see for a while.
Security warning: Microsoft has broken Windows Defender with an update for Windows 10
Microsoft's run of problematic updates for Windows 10 continues. This time an update is causing an issue that could have serious security implications for users -- it has broken Windows Defender.
While the Windows Defender security tool is included in Windows 7 and 8 the problem only affects Windows 10. Many people are finding that when they perform a virus scan, an error message is displayed that reads: "Items skipped during scan. The Windows Defender Antivirus scan skipped an item due to an exclusion or network scanning settings". For others, scans simply fail after a few moments.
Kodi is knocked off Google following DMCA takedown request
If you've been searching for Kodi using Google, you will have noticed that the media playing software has vanished from search results.
The banishment comes after a DMCA takedown request from the Turkish pay-TV service Digiturk. Owned by the beIN Media Group, the DMCA takedown request related not only to the content of a pirated stream, but to the use of a copyrighted logo on suc ha sstream.
Apple internally acknowledges Personal Hotspot problems in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13
If you've been having trouble using your iPhone or iPad as a hotspot for other devices, you are not alone. Many people have experienced problems using the Personal Hotspot feature, either failing to connect at all, or suffering frequent disconnections.
Although Apple is yet to publicly acknowledge that there are issues, leaked internal documents show that the company is aware of the problem and has warned Authorized Service Providers that there may be an influx of queries from customers.
Google launches COVID-19 site to provide information about coronavirus
In times of crisis, information is important -- and this is certainly true of the current coronavirus pandemic. Google is well-placed to judge how much interest there is in the topic, and the company says that searches released to COVID-19 are the most popular right now.
Responding to this, Google has announced not only changes to the way it search engine works when people look for coronavirus information, but also that is it launching a dedicated COVID-19 website to provide easy access to information, help and resources.
Pirates rush to download Onward, The Invisible Man and The Hunt as coronavirus shuts cinemas
In addition to death, illness and panic, there have been plenty of other effects of the spread of coronavirus -- some expected, others not. With people self-isolating and seeking entertainment, streaming video services like Netflix and YouTube have seen an uptick in usage, despite a reduction in quality.
The COVID-19 pandemic means that many businesses are shut, including cinemas. To ensure that movie-lovers are still able to see the latest releases, some movie studios have decided to make newly released titles available for rental streaming much earlier than normal -- and this has in turn led to an increase in piracy, with major movie being available to all far earlier than normal. Titles such as The Hunt, Onward, The Invisible Man and Emma, as well as Pixar's Onward, are all available to download from torrent sites.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard [Review]
We're constantly reminded of the importance of backing up data. "Do it now, or you'll regret it later", and phrases of that ilk, are frequently bandied around, but many of us are guilty of ignoring the advice and flying by the seat of our pants. Which is all well and good until something goes wrong. A hard drive fails, documents get corrupted, someone else deletes things from your computer: that's when you may -- after you've finished crying -- turn to data recovery software.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is an example of such a tool, and it's available in free and paid-for versions. Depending on how much data you have to retrieve, you may well find that the free version is all that you need, but there is a Pro version available if your requirements are greater.
Netflix and YouTube reduce streaming quality during coronavirus pandemic
As a result of the self-isolation, social distancing and quarantining caused by coronavirus, huge numbers of people around the world are now working from home. As Microsoft will attest, this is putting networks and services under huge strain as they struggle to keep up with a massively increased demand.
Streaming videos services have been sucking up huge amounts of bandwidth, causing congestion and poor online performance in Europe. To help counter this, both Netflix and YouTube have said they will reduce streaming bit rates to help cut down on traffic.
Microsoft announces DirectX 12 Ultimate with improved raytracing
Proclaiming that "it is time for DirectX to evolve once again", Microsoft has revealed DirectX 12 Ultimate which unifies the graphics technology for Xbox Series X and PC gaming.
There are a number of graphic hardware features for developers to take advantage of, including DirectX Raytracing 1.1, Variable Rate Shading, Mesh Shaders and Sampler Feedback. But Microsoft stresses that the new API will not reduce compatibility. DirectX 12 Ultimate is described as an "additive initiative"; hardware that does not support it will still be able to run next-generation games, but without some of the visual enhancements.
Microsoft teases new Windows 10 UI including updated Start menu
Microsoft recently announced that Windows 10 had hit the milestone of running on a billion devices. To mark this, the operating system team created a celebratory video. What's interesting about this video is the fact that it gives us a glimpse of new features coming to Windows 10, as well as changes to the UI.
We've already had a hint of the direction Microsoft is going in aesthetically with the roll-out of new icons, but this new video also shows off the redesigned Start menu, wider adoption of Fluid UI, and an updated version of File Explorer
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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