Our Picks

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Fast X' tops the chart, followed by 'John Wick: Chapter 4'. ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie' completes the top three.
 
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources.
 
This week we have two newcomers on the list. “Fast X”, which came out as a high-quality pirate release, is the most downloaded title.

Microsoft has released the June Patch Tuesday update KB5027231 for Windows 11 users, taking it up to build 22621.1848. It comes with several highlights and improvements and carries the improvements made available in the KB5026446 update released towards the end of May.

It's the second Tuesday of the month, which means it's Patch Tuesday time again. As such, today Microsoft is rolling out the monthly security update (also called "B release") for June 2023 on Windows Server 20H2, and Windows 10 for the latest supported versions, 21H2, and 22H2. The new updates are being distributed under KB5027215, bumping up the builds to 19044.3086 and 19045.3086. You can find standalone links to download the new update on Microsoft Update Catalog at this link here.

Microsoft has announced the end of support for Windows 10 version 21H2. Select editions of the operating system will no longer receive monthly updates with security improvements, bugfixes, and other necessary changes. Therefore, those using Windows 10 version 21H2 should update to a newer release as soon as possible to keep their systems protected and up to date.
 
As the name implies, Windows 10 version 21H2 arrived in the second half of 2021 with a modest list of changes. It received 18 months of active support for Home, Professional, Professional Education, and Professional for Workstations SKUs. Business-focused editions, Enterprise, Education, IoT Enterprise, and Enterprise multi-session, will continue receiving updates for one more year—Microsoft plans to drop their support on June 11, 2024.

Google aims to bring slight enhancements with the Chrome Refresh 2023 update, and the company is getting ready to launch it for mass usage later this year. The "Chrome Refresh 2023" major design update for Google Chrome will be available on Windows 11, macOS, and other platforms.
 
Chrome Refresh 2023 is now going out to testers in Canary via "Google Labs," a new means to test forthcoming improvements after previously being concealed by experimental flags. Luckily, you don't have to wait for the official release and test it beforehand!
 
Google Chrome users may be interested in learning more about Chrome Refresh 2023 and how it may impact their browsing experience. The codename for a significant update to the Chrome browser that is scheduled to debut in 2023 is Chrome Refresh 2023. It takes design cues from Google's Material You design language, which promises to produce more individualized and adaptable user experiences for various platforms and devices.

Microsoft Edge is a feature-packed browser with many tools and options to make your browsing experience better and more convenient. However, some of those features raise privacy concerns.
 
Not so long ago, Microsoft Edge ended up in hot waters after users discovered a bug leaking your browser history to Bing. Now you may want to toggle off another feature to ensure Edge is not sending every picture you view online to Microsoft.

Microsoft often force-pushes feature updates onto user PCs. As an example, it is going to do so soon for devices with Windows 10 21H2, a version of Windows that is reaching the end of servicing status very soon.
 
While this is generally to ensure that such machines continue receiving security patches among other updates, the company actually trained its own machine learning (ML) model while doing so for Windows 10 20H2. Microsoft has explained on a separate occasion how and when it pushes these updates.
 
Alongside feature updates, quality updates, and security patches, Microsoft also pushes WHQL-signed driver updates for components belonging to third-party hardware vendors. For example, it often updates AMD, Nvidia, or Realtek drivers, among others, with what it feels is the most appropriate version of it, overwriting what the user has installed.

This week, a pre-release Windows 11 build made it to the public. Version 21380 was never publicly announced, so enthusiasts did what enthusiasts do and went deep into the build's guts to see what was inside the early Windows 11 build. They uncovered a weird mix of Windows 10 and 11 and a unique default wallpaper.
 
Unlike public Windows 11 builds and their Bloom wallpaper, pre-release version 21380 has a modified Windows 10 wallpaper (via @XenoPanther), different from what we used to see before. It is the third variant of the picture Microsoft introduced in 2015 (here is how the company created it), with slightly dimmer lights and toned-down colours.

Today, Microsoft has released builds 22621.1830 and Build 22631.1835 (KB5027305) to the Beta Channel for Windows 11 Insiders. The company writes in its blog post:
 
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1830 and Build 22631.1835 (KB5027305) to the Beta Channel.

I love PowerToys. I also love the Windows Package Manager. What I now love even more is that thanks to a third-party plugin I can combine the two together in a beautiful, time saving union. 
 
I've previously written how my frustrations with the Windows 11 Start Menu led me to stop using it and focused on opening things using PowerToys Run. As a Linux fan, also, this type of launcher is common to me, allowing quick access to apps and files without ever leaving the keyboard or what you're working on. 

While the shutdown of RARBG is bad news for former users, scammers are happily exploiting the confusion to boost their own traffic. One copycat in particular, which has been around for years, has sneakily managed to convince some people that the site hasn't been shut down. RARGB is working just fine! Oh, wait...
 
Last week the popular torrent site RARBG closed its doors. The operators cited personal and financial reasons for the surprise decision, which came as a shock to many.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'John Wick: Chapter 4' tops the chart, followed by 'Hypnotic'. ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie' completes the top three.
 
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources.

Microsoft Edge is arguably one of the best browsers right now. However, not very many users use it as their default browser on their Windows PC.
 
Admittedly, it hasn’t been a smooth sail, but it has gotten better over time. It’s very apparent Microsoft has been busy at work to ensure that it delivers a desirable user experience, hence the regular release cycle of features as well as improvements across the Dev, Beta, Canary, and ultimately the Stable Channel.
 
Of course, other users might prefer third-party browsers like Google Chrome or even Firefox over Microsoft Edge. And while each browser ships with its advantages, I prefer Microsoft Edge, which is why I use it as my default browser across all my devices. Here’s why.

Nvidia released a hotfix driver to address some of the flickering issues that were being reported by several GeForce GPU owners. The latest WHQL-signed display driver from Nvidia, version 535.98, is causing black screen flickering for many users.
 
The new hotfix driver release notes makes it clear that the driver only resolves the flickering problem for multiple-monitor setups when its adaptive sync technology, G-SYNC, is enabled.

Last week at Build 2023, Microsoft very casually mentioned it would add support for opening files in a number of formats to Windows 11, including opening RAR files. This move was so unexpected we decided to contact the company behind the popular file archive program WinRAR to get its reaction.
 
In the email response we received, Louise Cusworth of the WinRAR sales team stated that the company felt "honoured with Microsoft's decision." However, Cusworth did add, "Are we concerned? Of course we are, because we are a small company and Microsoft is a big international multi-billion dollar company with a lot of power. " She also stated that this developer creates "both challenges and benefits for our business."
 
Well, it would appear that WinRAR might be a bit more concerned than Cusworth let on in her statement to us last week. The official WinRAR Twitter page posted a new message stating "Us right now. #Windows11" . The well-known "This is fine" meme image of a cartoon dog surrounded by fire is right below it.

RARBG, one of the most popular torrent websites for getting high-quality versions of movies and TV shows, suddenly shut down its website today. It had been running since 2008, but apparently, a number of factors caused the people behind the site to close its virtual doors.

Microsoft has recently unveiled Moment 3, an updated feature for Windows 11 that offers a range of advantageous enhancements and performance improvements. This update holds the potential to persuade numerous Windows 10 users to make the transition to Windows 11.
 
In a blog post published shortly after the release of Moment 3, Microsoft provided a comprehensive account of the company's year-long efforts to enhance the experience for over a billion users worldwide. The post serves as a condensed overview of all the changes implemented in the Insider channels throughout the past year, now incorporated into the Moment 3 update.

Microsoft recently released the latest feature update for Windows 11 version 22H2 dubbed Moment 3. Almost simultaneously, a special configuration update via the Controlled Feature rollout (CFR) was also quietly published by the tech giant.
 
A few days after, Microsoft also released a list of performance-related enhancements that it made throughout the year to "more than one billion users worldwide". It is essentially a rundown of what changes were introduced over the past year on Insider channels that have now made their way to the Moment 3 feature.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'John Wick: Chapter 4' tops the chart, followed by 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'. ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' completes the top three.
 
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources.
 
This week we have three newcomers on the list. “John Wick: Chapter 4”, which came out as a high-quality pirate release, is the most downloaded title.

Widgets, the Edge Bar search field and Microsoft Edge sidebar, and Windows Copilot can all be displayed on the Windows desktop, and that is not even considering other features that Microsoft may be working on.
 
Only one of these is available currently in stable versions of the Windows 11 operating system, but Microsoft announced all the others recently or has introduced functionality already in developer builds of the operating system.

Microsoft introduced a new feature in stable versions of its Windows 11 operating system recently. It is called "Get Updates as soon as they're available" and a new option in the Windows Updates settings.
 
The feature is not explained on the page and most Windows users may not click on the "learn more" link to find out more about it.

Earlier this week, Microsoft released the Windows 11 "Moment 3" update with a few quality-of-life improvements and new features (check out our full review here). One of the most notable changes in the release is the ability to enable seconds for the system clock. However, Microsoft warns that enabling the feature will result in higher power consumption and lower battery life. I decided to conduct a small (and limited) experiment to see if the claim is true, and if it is true, see how significant is the battery life impact.

Windows XP continues to hold a special place in the hearts of PC enthusiasts. Despite Microsoft discontinuing support and turning off the activation servers for Windows XP, enthusiasts seeking to relive the nostalgia or utilize old hardware/software often face challenges. A recent blog post by TinyApps highlights an offline activation tool that provides a solution for activating Windows XP. The tool was discovered by Reddit user retroreviewyt.
 
The newly introduced offline activation tool, xp_activate32.exe, offers a compact executable package designed as a "phone activation utility" for Windows XP. This tool allows users to activate the operating system entirely offline, eliminating the need to connect to potentially risky online environments.

Microsoft made a lot of big announcements during its Build 2023 developers conference this week. That included reveals like Windows Copilot, a redesign of its Edge browser, and adding Bing Search to ChatGPT.
 
However, one reveal that Microsoft casually mentioned deep inside in a blog post managed to get a lot of attention from users and the media online. Windows 11 will soon add native support for opening a number of archive file types, including RAR.

Microsoft released its latest feature update for Windows 11 yesterday as it began rolling out Windows 11 22H2 Moment 3. The company has since published a changelog for the update delivered under KB5026446 (Build 22621.1778). Among the changes is OneDrive storage capacity display now in the Settings app, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) audio support, and more.