How much RAM does my laptop need? 4GB vs. 8GB vs. 16GB, etc.
Determining the specs for a new laptop (or a laptop upgrade) can be a delicate balancing act. You want to spend enough so you won’t be miserable in the future, but not so much that…
Alaina Yee
Alaina Yee
Don’t feel bad about using Chrome’s password manager
According to advice on the web, you should never use a browser’s password manager. Security experts particularly dunk on Chrome, the most popular browser. If they had their way, no one would touch it with…
Mozilla is kicking one of its privacy partners to the curb
Mozilla’s services beyond its Firefox browser have been experiencing a shake-up lately — and the bumpy ride isn’t over yet. The company is now dropping its partner for Mozilla Monitor Plus, its paid data-broker cleanup…
Apple’s unfixable CPU exploit: 3 practical security takeaways
All systems can be exploited. Whether that’s a freebie giveaway or computer hardware, humans will often find the weaknesses. Back in in 2018, Intel first swallowed this bitter pill when the widespread Spectre vulnerability came…
How we test antivirus software at PCWorld
Antivirus software can be confusing. If security protections are already built into Windows, what makes a third-party alternative worth the switch, much less the money you might pay for it? And heck, what makes Microsoft…
New SIM-jacking attack silently empties bank accounts
You’ve done the usual things to protect your sensitive accounts. You use a unique password. You have alerts sent to your phone. But a thief could still bypass all that with a simple “hack”—stealing your…
Windows Hello can protect your Chrome passwords. Here’s how
Passwords stored in Chrome are convenient, but they can also expose you to risk. Share your device with someone else, and they can log into any website with saved credentials. At least, they can if…
How to protect your Chrome passwords with Windows Hello
Passwords stored in Chrome are convenient, but they can also expose you to risk. Share your device with someone else, and they can log into any website with saved credentials. At least, they can if…
Chrome’s Safe Browsing protections just got a lot stronger
A modern browser does more than just serve up webpages. Good ones protect you from malicious sites, too. Chrome calls its take on this feature Safe Browsing — and the default version of it just…
How to turn on Microsoft Windows’ built-in ransomware protection
Ransomware is nasty stuff. This type of malware encrypts files on your PC so that you can’t access them—unless you must pay the attacker to unlock the data. In other words, your files are held…