When an SSD, hard drive, or old notebook is sold, people usually delete their personal files beforehand. However, many users do not realize that the hard drive often still contains information that is of great interest to curious people or criminals, for example: The browser history can allow conclusions to be drawn about surfing behavior and bank details. Stored email traffic reveals details of business transactions and provides information on subscribed streaming services and times when no one is at home. FTP tools such as Filezilla offer to save access data so that the user does not have to enter it again and again, thus opening up access to FTP servers of companies and organizations. Browsers open the way to accounts and services of all kinds via their password managers. FTP clients such as Filezilla offer to save the access data to frequently used FTP servers. This data is freely accessible if the hard drive is lost. IDG Complete erasure of the hard drive required Windows and applications hide your personal data in numerous places in the file system and in databases such as the registry, where it is almost impossible to find. It is therefore advisable to completely erase the drive before you hand it over. How you proceed depends on the type of storage medium. In the private sector, practically every computer today contains an SSD. The drives are many times faster than hard disks and they are robust. With SSDs, it is very difficult and often even impossible to recover deleted files. This is easier with mechanical hard drives, but they are almost only found in NAS devices and in company storage systems, where high capacities and lower acquisition costs are more important than speed. USB sticks and external hard drives, on the other hand, obey completely different rules to internal models. Let’s start with the internal SSDs first. Deleting data partitions on solid state drive Right-click on a partition to easily format or completely delete data using Windows Disk Management.Foundry The first step is to delete the data partition(s), if present, i.e. drive D:, E:, F: and the like. This can be easily done by formatting with the disk management: Right-click on the Start icon in the taskbar, go to “Disk Management.” Alternatively, you can also use diskmgmt in the search field of the taskbar. Right-click on the partition you want to delete and go to “Format.” In the following dialog window, delete the tick in front of “Perform quick format” — this will actually remove the files from the drive and not just their entries in the Master File Table (MFT). Then start the process by clicking “OK.” Deleting the system partition with a boot CD or stick Deleting the system partition, i.e. the C: drive, is a little more complicated. As Windows is installed on this drive and cannot delete itself, you need a bootable installation medium from which to carry out the deletion process. If you have a Windows DVD, use it to boot your computer. If you do not have a DVD, you will need a bootable USB stick for the process. Microsoft provides the Media Creation Tool on its website, which you can use to pack the Windows installation files onto a stick. Foundry The easiest way to create such a stick is with the Media Creation Tool, which is available free of charge from Microsoft. After you have agreed to the license terms, click on “Next,” and specify under “Select medium to be used” that you would like to create a USB stick. A stick with a capacity of at least 8GB is required. Insert the stick and click on “Update drives” if necessary. After clicking on “Next,” the Media Creation Tool deletes the existing files on the stick and populates it with the Windows installation files. The finished stick is bootable. Start your computer with it and click on “Next > Install now” when the country settings appear. Click on “I don’t have a product key” and select one of the Windows versions offered. Tick the box next to the license agreement, click “Next,” and select “Custom: Install Windows only.” Then select the system drive — you can recognize it by the name you have given the partition — and click on “Delete.” You can then cancel the installation by closing the window. The SSD is now completely empty, drive C: no longer exists and is listed as unallocated storage space. With an SSD, it is also virtually impossible to restore the data previously saved there. This is primarily due to the Trim function (see next section). Making SSDs and hard disks unusable If you’d rather not pass along an SSD or hard drive to another person, you can simply destroy both mechanically. This will ensure that no-one can read the data contained on them. First remove the drive from the computer. This also works with most notebooks. They have a cover secured with a screw on the underside, behind which you will find the SSD. Normally, the data carrier is only plugged in. To make the hard drive or SSD unreadable, either take a drill and drill a hole in it vertically. Or you can hammer a strong nail through the housing. Caution: Risk of injury! One hole is enough to damage the drive to such an extent that it is practically impossible to recover the data. Secure deletion thanks to the Trim command The Trim command ensures that SSDs are written to evenly, thus extending the service life of the drive. The command is now supported by practically all SSD drives for the SATA interface. It has been included in Windows since version 7 and is active by default. Normally, you do not need to do anything else, the Trim function runs automatically in the background. If you delete data from an SSD, Trim informs the drive that these storage areas are no longer being used. The next time the computer switches to idle mode, the drive’s Active Garbage Collection ensures that all areas marked by Trim as no longer valid are released for deletion. Permanently remove data from hard drives The situation is somewhat different with hard drives. They do not have a Trim command, so the data can still be recovered after deletion and even after formatting with some effort. Here too, however, there are ways and means of making the data permanently unreadable. For data partitions, you can use tools such as Ascomp Secure Eraser. This will not only delete the files the drive contains, but also overwrite it with random data. With Secure Eraser, click on “Securely erase hard drive/partition” on the start screen, select the drive in the following window, and click on the downward-pointing arrow next to the “Start erasure process” button. This opens a drop-down menu in which several methods for overwriting with data are available. A single overwrite is sufficient to make the files unreadable, so select the “Low” or “Normal” setting. Then click on “Start deletion” to begin the deletion process. You can use the Secure Eraser tool from Ascomp to reformat data drives and overwrite them with random data.ASCOMP You have to proceed differently with a system partition. As Windows cannot delete itself, you need a live system with which you can boot your computer from a CD/DVD or USB stick. You can then delete the data on C: from there. In contrast to an SSD, it is necessary to overwrite the deleted memory areas with new data afterwards so that the original content can no longer be reconstructed. The freeware Darik’s Boot and Nuke, DBAN for short, has proven itself for this purpose. First download the ISO file. Then connect a USB stick to your PC. It does not need to be large; the tool only requires around 16MB of space. Download and install the Rufus freeware and enter the DBAN ISO file in the “Startup type” field. Then let Rufus create a bootable USB stick and start your PC from this drive. With Darik’s Boot and Nuke you can boot your PC from a USB stick and then securely delete and overwrite the existing drives. IDG Darik’s Boot and Nuke is based on a stripped-down Linux system without a graphical user interface. After starting, you can use the command autonuke to automatically delete and overwrite all data on your hard drive. Alternatively, you can select the desired options by pressing the Enter key. Securely erase USB drives Although USB sticks and hard drives are closely related to SSDs, they do not support the Trim command. You should therefore also format the stored files after deleting them. The aforementioned Ascomp Secure Eraser software can only erase and overwrite hard drives and SSDs. The freeware Disk Wipe is suitable for USB drives. Open the program, select the drive, and click on “Wipe Disk.” In the first window, the wizard will ask you for the desired file system. Normally NTFS is the best choice. After clicking on “Next,” select how the data should be overwritten. Here, “One Pass Zeros” or “One Pass Random” is sufficient. In both settings, Disk Wipe performs an overwrite process for the data. Click on “Next,” type erase all in the input field, click on “Finish,” and confirm the erasure process. The program will then first format the drive and then start overwriting the individual memory cells. Deleting data on NAS devices NAS devices contain several hard disks or SSDs, which they format with a Linux file system. For secure deletion processes, you should therefore use the commands of the NAS operating system. Both Synology and Qnap devices are capable of securely deleting data. With Synology, open the “Storage Manager” in the main menu and select “HDD/SSD.” Select the drive you want to edit and click on “Action > Secure Erase.” You will probably need to remove the drive from the storage pool first. For a Qnap model, open the Control Panel and then go to “System -> Backup/Restore > Reset to factory settings.” Then click on “Restore factory settings & format all volumes.” Alternatively, you can also remove the hard drives/SSDs from the NAS enclosures, install them in your Windows PC, format them with NTFS, and then overwrite them as shown in the article. Read...

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Massive data leaks and breaches are continually piling faster upon each other—just in the last few months, we learned about a few billion records lost through National Public Data, another few million through Medicare, and 100 million through MC2 Data. Companies that handle background checks and other data processing services just aren’t securing the sensitive data flowing through their fingers. Unfortunately, we the public must take the brunt of the consequences, which comes in the form of higher risk of fraud, identity theft, account takeovers, and other schemes seeking to rob of us our money. But you don’t have to leave yourself open to such attacks—at least, not wide open. You can make it more difficult for bad actors to steal from you. Because your time is just as precious as your cash, and trying to recover from a successful scam can take both from you. Make your login methods stronger The more that passwords leak onto the internet, the easier it becomes for hackers to guess what yours might be. Not only can they feed that data into their cracking tools, but they can also use the passwords for credential stuffing attacks—that is, plugging in known email and password combinations around the web to see what accounts can be accessed. So at minimum, you need passwords that are both strong and unique to safeguard your accounts. (A password manager can help you keep them all straight.)  Choosing a password manager can be as easy as using the one included with a good paid antivirus software suite.Chris Hoffman/IDG But even a good password can’t keep out intruders if someone obtains or guesses it. You really want stronger protection—which is where two-factor authentication and/or passkeys come in. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a second hurdle for hackers to clear before account access is granted. Most commonly, an app that generates a one-time code is used as a method for 2FA, but an even more secure method is a hardware dongle like a YubiKey. As a physical item, someone would need to have it in their possession to use it. (Note: You can use codes sent to you by email or text message for 2FA, but they’re weaker methods, as SMS and email can be intercepted.) Alternatively, you can skip passwords all together by using passkeys instead. This newer login method is more secure than passwords and less hassle than 2FA. Because passkeys are encrypted and tied to both the device and the website they’re created for, they can’t be stolen through phishing or used across the web like a password. You also authorize use of the passkey through biometric or PIN authentication for added protection. Many major services now support passkeys.WABetainfo I now recommend a passkey as a primary method for login where available, so long as you’re using a system that backs them up. Apple and Android phones automatically sync passkeys across devices, as do password managers that can save passkeys. If you don’t trust the cloud, you should set up more than one hardware dongle as a passkey device. You can also leave a very strong password + 2FA on your account as a backup method of login, in case you lose your device and can’t access an alternative one with synced passkeys. Transitioning all your accounts to more secure logins can take time—so at minimum, tackle your most sensitive accounts first, like those related to finances, taxes, and your primary email accounts. Related: Microsoft just made passkeys even easier to use in Windows 11 Lock down your financial life The data lost to breaches and leaks include personally identifiable information—and not just full names, birthdates, and addresses, but also social security numbers for U.S. residents, putting them at high risk for identity theft. You should consider taking the following steps to protect yourself:  Freeze your credit Check your credit report Freeze your banking report Set up an IRS identity protection PIN You can read more about each step in our full rundown of how to stay safe when your personal details can be found on the dark web, but this list summarizes the basics for U.S. residents—and can serve as topics to consider if you live elsewhere. You want to freeze your credit and banking reports so only you can open accounts in your name, review your existing credit report for any fraudulent activity, and set up an identity protection PIN with the IRS so only you can file a tax return in your name. Don’t let someone else steal your tax refund from you.PCWorld If all goes smoothly, you shouldn’t need more than half an hour per step—meaning most people can tackle these over the course of a week pretty easily. Afterward, you’ll need to keep track of PIN numbers to temporarily unfreeze your credit or banking profiles, as well as file your taxes. You can use a password manager to store these securely—if you’re concerned about someone breaching your service, you can opt for a locally stored file. (Or you can split the difference and use a database file saved to a cloud account with a major company with robust security teams, like Google, Apple, or Microsoft.) Be careful of who you talk to At this point, the dark web is full of personal identifiable information on most of us—meaning bad actors can easily craft personalized scams. They know not just details like your name and residence, but also websites and services you’ve signed up for. So screen all your communication carefully—and be wary of anything full of high urgency. Maybe your package is truly about to go astray, suspicious activity has actually appeared on your credit card, or your brother really did lose his wallet on vacation. You still have time to figure out if the message is legitimate, as security experts recommend. Look up official contact information and initiate communication through them to verify that a message or call you’ve received is legtimate.PCWorld For example, if your credit card has been compromised, don’t click on links in the email or text message informing you about it, or give personal information to whomever has called you. Instead, you should initiate contact with your bank using the contact info listed on your credit card or their website, and follow up through those means. If instead you’re trying to verify communication from someone you know, rather than a corporation, the same rules apply. For phone calls, ring them back on their known line (since incoming phone numbers can be spoofed). For messages over email, text, or other communication platforms like Messenger, try a different alternative in case their account has been hacked. (Ex: If you get a request for a quick wire transfer over Messenger, try calling or texting them to confirm their account wasn’t hacked.) In this new hellscape for digital privacy, trust no longer can be something you automatically give—especially with the rise of AI being used to create even more sophisticated scams. Stay current with the news As part of avoiding personalized scams, it helps to know what further data breaches and leaks have occurred. For example, AT&T subscribers aware of the company’s loss of customer data (including social security numbers) could more carefully scrutinize communication related to their accounts. Google’s Dark Web Monitoring used to be an exclusive perk for its Google One subscribers—but the company has since made it free to all of its users.PCWorld You can stay abreast of the news in several ways—and generally, you’ll want to lean on more than one source, as not ever service reports the same events, much less on the same timetable. Here are some to consider: Broadcast and online media (including PCWorld): These outlets generally report on huge breaches, as well as those relevant to their core audience Google: If you have an account, you can access the company’s Dark Web Monitoring service, which can be surprisingly quick to report new leaks or breaches Antivirus suites: Paid subscriptions often include Dark Web Monitoring, while free ones will sometimes report if basic information about you (email, name) has leaked And as always, keep an eye out for email updates from the companies and services you do business with. Often email or written communication will include details about the information lost and any remedial services being offered—but you’ll want to corroborate the details with news reports to make sure the message you’ve received is trustworthy. Related: Hackers know your social security number. Here’s how to stay safe Read...

Whether you’ve been working from home for years, or you’re new to the game, there are probably several ways in which you can improve your home-office setup for maximum comfort and productivity. We’re talking both hardware and software upgrades here. Things such as a Thunderbolt dock for adding extra ports for external displays and storage, or a monitor arm for total flexibility and improved ergonomics, or a trustworthy VPN and full-featured PDF editing software can all make a world of difference in your overall work satisfaction and success. Here we present our favorite work from home tech of 2024/2025, all of which has been personally tested and approved by PCWorld’s hardware and software experts. Dell Inspiron 14 Plus – Best work-from-home laptop Your home office laptop needs to be reliable; it needs zippy performance and a penchant for productivity; and for optimum flexibility the device should be easy to transport and have exceptional battery life. You get all that with the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus — and you get it for less than $1,000. The Inspiron line is all about business-like practicality, but the Inspiron 14 Plus, while feeling quite durable, features some welcome aesthetic upgrades in the form of its partially aluminum chassis and slender profile. Inside, an Intel Core 7 Ultra 155H, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD make for exceptionally snappy performance. But there’s more to a satisfying work laptop than capable internals. The Inspiron 14 Plus comes correct with an array of suitable accoutrements: a firm and surprisingly quick keyboard with white backlighting, a biometric fingerprint sensor for easy login, and a nice assortment of ports that belie its compact size — headphone jack, microSD card reader, a couple USB-A ports, Thunderbolt 4 port, and full-size HDMI. The screen is also a treat, with a clear 2240×1400 resolution image, comparatively high peak brightness, and an anti-glare coating that can withstand challenging lighting conditions. The icing on the cake is an exceptional battery life lasting just over 17 hours. Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus – Best work-from-home Chromebook Let’s face it, there are many work scenarios in which a full-fledged Windows laptop is overkill. Emails, documents, spreadsheets, and even presentations, are all easily handled using online apps — something a Chromebook can accomplish for a fraction of a Windows laptop’s cost. Of course, some Chromebooks are more capable than others, such as the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. Among Chromebooks, the Plus designation signifies more robust performance, in this case an Intel Core i3-1315U CPU, Intel UHD graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD. What really sets the Flex 5i Chromebook Plus apart, however, is its attractive styling and impressive build quality. In the words of our reviewer: “This thing looks and feels fancy, real fancy.” The 2-in-1 design lets you use the device as a standard clamshell, in a tent configuration, or as a tablet. Input options include both a backlit chiclet-style keyboard that’s pleasantly springy to use, or touch input via the 1200p crisp and vibrant display. Performance is speedy and satisfying, and the battery, while not stellar, ran for over nine hours on a single charge — enough to last a full day away from an outlet. Read our full Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review NexiGo HelloCam – Best work-from-home webcam Best Prices Today: $69.99 at Amazon$69.99 at NexiGo There are a couple reasons why we consider the NexiGo HelloCam to be the best work-from-home webcam. For starters, it does what you want a webcam to do: Its 1080p/30fps fixed-focus lens produces a good picture that will have you making a positive impression in your Zoom meetings. The noise-cancelling mics will ensure that you’re being heard loud and clear. But the NexiGo HelloCam offers another perk for home workers: Windows Hello support, which lets you log in to your Windows computer with facial recognition. This is a feature that’s usually relegated to higher-priced webcams. The HelloCam also offers a requisite privacy shutter, here in the form of a physical barrier that shuts when the webcam is not in use. Alternative option: If you don’t need Windows Hello, you can save a little money and get a slight boost in resolution (to 1440p) with the Anker PowerConf C200. Dell U2724DE – Best work-from-home monitor Best Prices Today: $499.99 at B & H Photo There’s no better all-around home office monitor than Dell’s Ultrasharp U2724DE. Image quality is top-notch thanks to the IPS Black panel. Besides boasting an impressive contrast ratio, it also excels at color performance. A 120Hz refresh rate means that it can be pressed into service for after-hours gaming sessions. The stand is fit for purpose with solid construction and all the expected ergonomic adjustments, including 90-degree rotation into portrait mode. But the real show-stopper is the near-universal connectivity that should meet the needs of almost any scenario. Multiple video inputs, support for “daisy-chaining,” 90 watts of power for charging a device connected via USB-C, downstream ports for peripherals, and even a 2.5G RJ45 jack. There’s also a KVM switch and an ambient light sensor for intelligently adjusting screen brightness. Indeed, the U2724DE is no slacker! Read our full Dell U2724DE review Herman Miller Flo – Best work-from-home monitor arm Best Prices Today: $295 at Herman Miller A monitor arm is one of those pieces of gear that turns a conventional home office into a seriously professional setup. That’s particularly true of the Herman Miller Flo, which ticks all the boxes for a premier product. Aesthetically, it’s about as smooth and stylish as a monitor arm can be, capable of blending in with any environment. Setting it up is simple, thanks to a refined design that requires relatively few screws and a VESA mount that can be pre-mounted to a monitor and then clipped into place. The Flo offers a wide range of adjustment including tilt, swivel, and rotation, but more importantly, its operation is smoother than other products, moving into place with only a nudge. It also comes with a 12-year warranty and 24/7 customer support. It’s pricey, but everything about the Flo is top shelf. Anker 555 PowerExpand 8-in-1 USB-C Hub – Best work-from-home USB-C hub Best Prices Today: $49.99 at Amazon Whether you’re using a laptop or a desktop PC, port accessibility might be lacking. In such cases, the Anker 555 8-in-1 USB-C Hub has the answer. Anker’s hub offers a full complement of connectivity for legacy USB devices like mice and keyboards, for both SD and microSD media, for charging USB-C devices at up to 85W, and for running a monitor over HDMI at 60Hz. An Ethernet port is also part of the mix. The hub is well designed, even elegant, with a premium aluminum and polycarbonate exterior that keeps cools in use. It’s got a nice, sturdy heft at 4.5 ounces, and even comes with a carrying pouch. Plugable TBT3-UDZ – Best work-from-home Thunderbolt dock Best Prices Today: $255.41 at Amazon$369 at Newegg There are times when a USB-C hub falls short of your connectivity needs, such as when you want to connect two high-res monitors — scenarios that call for a Thunderbolt dock. The the best of the bunch is Plugable’s TBT3-UDZ. Okay, yes, it uses Thunderbolt 3 rather than Thunderbolt 4, but the capabilities and performance are mostly equivalent (while saving you a few dollars). What impresses us most about the TBT3-UDZ is its flexibility. Whether your two monitors use DisplayPort cables or HDMI, this dock will accommodate them. Two 4K displays can run at 60Hz in tandem. Of course, the TBT3-UDZ has every other kind of port you could want, as well — USB-C, a plethora of USB-A, standard and micro card reader, headphone jack, Ethernet, the whole gamut. It can charge a smartphone and a laptop. We also appreciate the space-saving vertical orientation of the attractive and solid gun-metal chassis, and the ample 30-inch cable that connects the dock to your PC. Read our full Plugable TBT3-UDZ review Logitech MX Keys S Keyboard – Best work-from-home wireless keyboard Best Prices Today: $109.99 at Amazon For anyone who favors a stylish keyboard that works effortlessly with multiple devices, the Logitech MX Keys S is it. Sporting an almost Apple-like clean aesthetic, the MX Keys S is a low-profile board that comes in Graphite, Gray, or Rose colorways. Besides being visually stunning, the full-sized layout is comfortable to type on, with a smooth and sure feel to the keys. The white backlighting automatically adjusts to the ambient lighting conditions. Using either Bluetooth or the bundled proprietary Logi Bolt dongle, the keyboard can be switched among three devices. If you prefer a mechanical, “clicky” keyboard, we recommend the also-very-good Logitech MX Mechanical variant. Read our full Logitech MX Keys S Keyboard review Creative Pebble X Plus – Best work-from-home computer speakers No home office is complete without a good set of computer speakers. For a compact, capable, but affordable solution, we think the best option is the Creative Pebble X Plus. The system consists of two speakers and a subwoofer. It offers Bluetooth, aux, and USB connection to your audio source of choice. A button on one of the satellites lets you switch between devices. The sound output is clear and can easily fill a room. There’s excellent detail in the treble and midrange. Besides providing a significant boost over your laptop’s audio, the Pebble X Plus features RGB for some added visual flare when it’s time to clock off and unwind. Read our full Creative Pebble X Plus review Lexar SL600 Blaze 20Gbps USB SSD – Best work-from-home external SSD Best Prices Today: $129.99 at B & H Photo There are many very fast external SSDs to choose from. But in our tests, the Lexar SL600 Blaze is not only among the fastest, but also competitively priced, making it an obvious recommendation for portable storage. Available in up to 4TB capacity, this USB 3.2 x 2 (Superspeed 20Gbps) not only has the space for even large, multimedia projects, it will be reading and writing that data at a wonderfully brisk pace. While SSDs are known for their durability, the SL600 Blaze’s 5-year warranty just provides extra assurance. Read our full Lexar SL600 Blaze 20Gbps USB SSD review SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD – Best work-from-home SSD for backups Best Prices Today: $249.99 at Western Digital There is no worse feeling than laboring over a project — be it work-related or personal — only to lose it all because of a drive crash, power outage, mistaken deletion, or some other tragedy. This is why the importance of a solid backup solution cannot be overstated. Laptop users in particular should consider an external drive for backup. And if time is money, an SSD will get ‘er done far faster than an external hard drive. The SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD is the external backup SSD to beat. Available in 4TB or 8TB capacities, this rugged desktop companion will not only provide that relatively speedy auxillary storage for data redundancy and/or overflow, as an SSD you needn’t worry about its susceptibility to jostles, shocks, or drops, as you would with a mechanical hard drive. Read our full SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD review R-Drive Image 7.2 – Best work-from-home Windows backup Best Prices Today: $44.95 at R-tools Technology As noted above, there’s no excuse not to prepare for data disaster. We’ve told you what backup drive to use, but what about backup software? R-Drive Image has a legacy of reliability that makes it unmatched in this space. Indeed, in our experience its record is unblemished! Now at version 7.2, R-Drive Image is more full-featured and capable than ever. It offers the range of backup duties: disk and partitions, files and folders, WinPE and Linux boot media creation, the works. You can save your backups locally, to the network, or to your preferred cloud storage. You can even replicate backups across multiple destinations.  The interface is straightforward, and performance is speedy. There’s really no need to consider other options.  Read our full R-Drive Image review EaseUS PDF Editor – Best work-from-home PDF editor Best Prices Today: $49.95 at EaseUS There is no denying that the pinnacle of PDF editing is Adobe’s Acrobat Pro DC. But it’s probably overkill for the needs of most home office-workers, while being relatively expensive. That’s why our recommendation for the best PDF editor for a home office is EaseUS PDF Editor. For just $49.95 a year, or an incredible $79.95 lifetime subscription, you get a full set of PDF editing tools, including a variety of annotation tools for easy collaboration. The app is straightforward, making it possible to jump right in and get started. Add and remove text; add images; change font type, color, and size; add watermarks, background, headers and footers; enable permissions and password protection. It’s all here. The one caveat is that it’s Windows only. For more suggestions, see our roundup of the best PDF editors. Read our full EaseUS PDF Editor review ExpressVPN – Best work-from-home VPN A virtual private network (VPN) is a key component of online privacy, routing all your internet traffic through an anonymized and encrypted funnel. If you want to protect your work (or personal) online activities protected from prying eyes and/or hackers, a VPN is a must. In addition to that, by allowing you to run your internet browsing through servers all across the globe, a VPN can help you access your streaming services when you’re abroad, or bypass other regional restrictions. ExpressVPN is our favorite VPN overall. It’s feature-rich but easy to use; it provides broad device support; it uses diskless servers, so none of your data is ever permanently stored; it undergoes third-party audits for added reassurance about its privacy practices; and it offers some added benefits such as ad- and tracker-blocking and a password manager. Read our full ExpressVPN review Norton 360 Deluxe – Best work-from-home antivirus software For full-coverage antivirus protection at a reasonable price, Norton 360 Deluxe is the total package. You can relax knowing that Norton’s strong online protection has your back with minimal resource overhead. In addition to real-time monitoring against threats online, you can also perform scans of varying scope or complexity at will or on a schedule. Norton has earned very high marks from the major third-party testing outfits. Norton 360 Deluxe also offers lots of extras, such as cloud backup, a password manager, dark web monitoring, and even PC utilities. All those things might be value adds for you, but the core competency of the product — keeping you, your data, and your devices safe from nefarious actors — is why we consider it the best antivirus software overall. Read our full Norton 360 Deluxe review Read...

TL;DR: Manage your PDFs easily with this SwifDoo lifetime license, now only $34.99 (reg. $129). While PDFs are the universal file type used by countless businesses, they’re not necessarily the easiest to manipulate if you find spelling errors or want to add an annotation for clarity. Fortunately, PDF management is simple when you have SwifDoo PDF Pro. A lifetime license is now available for only $34.99 (reg. $129) while supplies last. Enjoy lifelong access to intuitive, user-friendly PDF tools with SwifDoo PDF Pro. This platform offers editing and annotating features to make contracts, business reports, work proposals, and academic writing more clear by adding text, highlighting passages, and inserting notes. PDF conversion is also seamless with this platform, as you can turn them into Word, Excel, JPG, and CAD (and vice versa) without losing the formatting you selected. In addition, you can add or remove protective PDF watermarks in a single click, secure sensitive PDFs with encryption, and even add digital signatures. Working with PDFs doesn’t have to be a nightmare.  Grab a lifetime license for Swifdoo PDF Pro for just $34.99 while inventory is still available.   SwifDoo PDF Pro: Perpetual Lifetime License for Windows Only $34.99 at PCWorld StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

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