A little before Thanksgiving, my colleague Mark Hachman sent me a Threads link. It showed a cute little animated cat running on your taskbar. The add-on from GitHub claims to show your CPU load, with the feline running faster the harder your processor works. The comments on the thread run the gamut of wary to enthusiastic. (My favorite, from a user named gerb: “It might be malware, but at least it’s cute.”) But most people liked the idea. Maybe not specifically a cat—dogs got nominated as an idea—but they were onboard with an adorable addition to the taskbar. Why hasn’t Microsoft started selling this kind of thing?  (Hold your pitchforks.) Welcome to The Full Nerd newsletter—your weekly dose of hardware & software talk from the enthusiasts at PCWorld. Missed the surprising topics on our YouTube show or latest news from across the web? You’re in the right place.  Want this newsletter to come directly to your inbox? Sign up on our website! In the old days, I could have added something like this with less fear of infecting my computer. (It wasn’t completely safe, but a general sense of good citizenship still prevailed when fewer people were online.) Heck, even a year ago, I would have told people to at least investigate the source and see if anyone else had examined the code.  But bad actors have rapidly incorporated AI into their attacks, making them easier to deploy faster and more sophisticated, too. For example, Google has already spotted malware that can dynamically change in real-time and is harder to detect. The methods have become sneakier as well. Several times this year, legitimate games on Steam ended up spreading malware. Meanwhile, Microsoft owns multiple game studios, some of which have made beaucoup bucks doing precisely what I’m suggesting—selling skins and accessories. Also, it runs a little storefront for its Xbox console ecosystem, so it’s not a stranger to this business. The Microsoft Store is doing okay for itself, too. Ori and the Blind Forest is still one of my most favorite games.Microsoft / Steam And yet. I can’t buy little bits of code that would let my version of Windows have: Nyan cat, flying through space on my taskbar Microsoft’s Ninjacat as an animated screensaver Animated Ori and the Blind Forest wallpaper  A whole Ori theme where there are animated bits, icon packs, several wallpaper choices, a screensaver, and a properly color coordinated background and accent color chosen because I suck at that Animated turtle that walks around in the left corner of the taskbar when it’s warm and hides when it’s cold (This is not an exhaustive list of what I could be enticed into purchasing. Not remotely.) Before anyone hurts me for suggesting Windows microtransactions, let me be very clear. I never want Microsoft to slap a price tag on individual features related to Windows operations. Not even minor ones. That would suck, and I want to stress that I’m deeply grateful that PowerToys exist. (Thank you again to the devs who work on those.) All I’m saying is, I have a growing collection of ugly sweaters. I bought the Microsoft XP Crocs (and actually considered for a second if I would ever buy the Xbox Crocs). What a squandered opportunity to bring back the true vibes of the 90s, when we all spent literal hours collecting (and rotating through) different Winamp skins. People love aesthetic customizations. You know how people don’t want to pay $30 to extend Windows 10 licenses? I bet a pack of something from any one of Microsoft’s big game franchises could make some serious money. Probably more than the $30 for an Extended License. I don’t even buy Moira skins and I’m hundreds of hours into Overwatch as a Moira OTP. But I would buy fun Windows customizations from a reputable source. No other developer would be more trustworthy than Microsoft itself. (Or so one hopes.) In this episode of The Full Nerd In this episode of The Full Nerd, Brad Chacos, Adam Patrick Murray, Alaina Yee, and Will Smith must eat their words. Yep, our annual tradition returns, in which we all suffer the consequences of not making accurate predictions for 2025. For those new to our show, our predictions episodes work like this: In the first part, we review last year’s forecasts. For every wrong one, the traditional punishment is to literally eat your words—you write the inaccurate guess down on a piece of paper and down the hatch it goes—but some of us have since spun off from Gordon’s methodology. Then, in the second part of the show, we make new predictions for the coming year. The cycle continues. With the many twists and turns of 2025, I was surprised we got any predictions right. Still, we missed enough that Brad, normally the guy who escapes a lot of suffering, ended up deeply regretting his choice to down Da Bomb Beyond Insanity hot sauce for every wrong pick. I don’t mean just discomfort while on the show. About three hours later, we received a message in our work group chat that said: “ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff i forgot to wash my hands before using the bathroom ????” On Wednesday, he said he still hadn’t fully recovered. Also, to remember washing your hands after cleaning up hot sauce. Heard, boss. Willis Lai / Foundry Missed our live show? Subscribe now to The Full Nerd Network YouTube channel, and activate notifications. We also answer viewer questions in real-time! Don’t miss out on our NEW shows too—you can catch episodes of Dual Boot Diaries and The Full Nerd: Extra Edition now! And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds. This week’s unsettling nerd news I had hoped for a quiet stretch between Christmas and New Year’s, but uh, apparently the Ghost of PC Building Future had different ideas. Maingear announced on Tuesday that it would begin offering custom systems without RAM, if you prefer to save some cash and BYOR instead. (Bring your own RAM.) …Where does one find that independently sourced affordable DDR5 RAM, exactly? XPG BYOR hurts as a concept: We actually discussed this prediction the very same day that Maingear made its announcement about Bring Your Own Ram configurations. Strap in, 2026’s going to be quite a ride. Nerfed SSD performance in Windows 11 may finally end: Remember the move to software-based encryption in BitLocker, and it tanking SSD speeds? Well, Microsoft is now promising that coming hardware-based encryption will undo most of that issue. Here’s to hoping. LimeWire was not on my 2025 bingo card: Especially not as a tool for circumventing potential censorship and keeping information freely available. Perhaps nostalgia is good for us: I’m going to interpret this study showing that happiness from reliving good childhood memories (via console games like Super Mario Bros.) means I’m perfectly justified in buying retro consoles and not actually making progress on my games backlog. Take a look at this vintage Texas Instruments computer! Will got a really cool close-up look at the TI-99/4A, thanks to Huxley from Retro Roadshow stopping by our offices and bringing his childhood computer with him. Long live OLED: I’ve been holding out for an affordable OLED TV, but I have to admit I’ve been a bit hesitant due to burn-in concerns. Looks like I may have little to worry about. Hmm… Shoutout to the OG: Valve is discontinuing the LCD version of the Steam Deck, leaving the OLED version as its default champion of handheld gaming. Rest in peace, trailblazer. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate—and I’ll catch everyone again just after New Year’s, with some thoughts about 2026 (and possibly some related resolutions). For now, I’m off to enjoy family time, video games, and a ton of excellent food! ~Alaina This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld. Read...

I’m always looking for helpful websites that can make life easier. Two I’ve recently discovered are TypingClub and Calculator Soup. Let’s take a peek at both! TypingClub I type relatively accurately and quickly now, but to get to that stage I needed to use a program to teach me how to type. There are a bunch of good ones around, but if you’re looking for low maintenance typing tutor you can just go to the website TypingClub. TypingClub shows you how to type quickly and correctly on your keyboard. You can participate in free training, and you don’t need a membership to use it. The tutorials take you through the steps to touch typing and after each tutorial there are practical activities for you to try. You also get presented with stats at the end of each one so that you can see your touch-typing speed and how you did on accuracy. Dominic Bayley / Foundry CalculatorSoup If you’re struggling to do anything worthwhile in Windows calculator, then it may be just too simple for you. You might need one of the calculators at CalculatorSoup. On the website you’ll find all kinds of calculators from general math calculators to loan calculators to chemistry calculators. Each calculator comes with a description and corresponding math laws so that you can apply them correctly. Dominic Bayley / Foundry That’s a wrap for this Try This. For more recommendations like these be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter. Read...

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At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Solid typing with huge gasket mount Lots of features Hot-swap sockets Cons A little pricey Few software options Our Verdict The Alto Keys K98M is a great upgrade for Logitech boards dedicated to quality typing. Thanks to additional features like hot-swap sockets and PBT keycaps, it’s a solid start for those who want to get into mechanical designs. Just wait for a sale. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Logitech Alto Keys K98M Retailer Price $99.99 View Deal Logitech US store $99.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices As a keyboard nut, Logitech frustrates me. It’s by far the most visible manufacturer of mice and keyboards, outside the gaming space. And it makes some good stuff for both of those. But I can’t recommend Logitech’s mechanical keyboards. They’re too expensive for what they offer, and have far too few features, to recommend to anyone over alternatives.  But somebody at Logitech is listening. If not to me specifically, then to the general market that’s gone “meh” at the company’s mechanical offerings as others innovate. Enter the Alto Keys K98M. Gasket mount? What’s that?  This keyboard hits a shocking number of the features I would consider essential once you get above the $100 mark, like hot-swap key switches, triple-device wireless, and PBT keycaps. Already it’s earning more points than the last Logitech mechanical keyboard I reviewed.  And that doesn’t even mention the keyboard’s signature feature, the “UniCusion.” This is Logitech’s answer to a gasket mount, basically a layer of suspended silicone (or something similar) that goes into the plastic frame and underneath the printed circuit board. This is a somewhat unique approach, a sort of blend of a typical gasket mount (which just sandwiches the PCB in between two layers of squishy material) and full internal dampening.  This keyboard hits a shocking number of the features I would consider essential… The result, combined with custom linear switches, is a typing experience that’s surprisingly elevated. It’s both satisfying and soft with a bit of bounce. Don’t get me wrong, this won’t compete with a super-premium keyboard at a much higher price. But it’s definitely the best Logitech mechanical keyboard I’ve ever tested for typing, both in standard “office” flair and on the gaming side. And if you don’t like the switches (which aren’t particularly quiet or clicky), you can swap them out. Any standard MX-style switch will fit. That’s pretty huge for any mechanical keyboard fan (guilty), but it’s a great way to introduce the more general user to the joys of keyboard customization. Ditto for the PBT keycaps, which are also surprisingly good. The only non-standard sizes on this 1800 layout are the right-Shift key and control keys, as well as the 0 on the number pad.  Michael Crider/Foundry Refreshing style  In terms of style, I’m a fan. The indigo and white keycaps on the translucent plastic body, which shows off that gigantic internal gasket, are nice in a sort of faux-retro way. You can also get a dull gray or white option, but seriously, this blue is nice, especially when the internal LEDs are blaring. Speaking of which, the battery lasts about two weeks with maximum brightness, and I’ve seen it go for at least another week in battery-saver mode. That means months and months of battery if you don’t mind turning off the lights. Even the bottom looks nice in that matching off-blue — note the keyboard feet and a little hollow in the case for the USB wireless dongle. Logitech If this keyboard has a glaring downside, it’s software support. Using Logitech’s Options+ manager, you have only a few options. Custom key binds for F4 to F12, plus End, Page Up, and Page Down. Logitech graciously lets you build in ChatGPT commands with the “AI” Prompt Builder. You can set the backlight brightness and duration, and that’s about it.This is a lot fewer options than any gaming keyboard, or any standard keyboard with VIA or similar customization. But that’s okay. It’s a bit annoying that you can’t do more — for example, I’d like to be able to bind macros to the number pad, which I don’t use otherwise — but this is about what you’d expect from any “office” board.  Michael Crider/Foundry And on the subject of gaming: Yeah, you can do it with this keyboard. It’s not ideal, it doesn’t have superhuman polling or anything like that. But even on the relatively slow wireless dongle it’s fine, unless you’re the kind of player who counts I-frames.  Is the Logitech Alto Keys K98M worth it? I’m not going to say that the Alto is an amazing keyboard. It’s pretty good. In terms of value it compares poorly to a lot of other keyboards at about half the price, which might offer all the same bells and whistles, plus RGB lighting and full VIA programming.  Michael Crider/Foundry But Logitech is, as I said earlier, a pretty substantial brand. That comes with confidence, and that’s worth something. If you’re looking to dip a toe into the mechanical keyboard world and you’re feeling anxious about all those scary, complicated terms, this might be a good place to start. Ditto if you’re buying a gift for someone, or looking for a mechanical keyboard that a child can’t damage too badly. Michael Crider/Foundry I’d like this board a lot more if it was $20 less. At $120 it doesn’t look great next to the MX Keys S ($130), though I’d certainly prefer it for extended typing sessions. Fortunately, that seems to be the case! At the time of writing Logitech is selling it at a much more palatable $99.99, and I think it would be safe to assume that price will be found on a pretty regular basis over the next year or so. Read...

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You can often summarize cybersecurity as “same stuff, different day.” Attacks change, but rarely so dramatically you can’t see familiar methodology underneath. The latest example: Bad actors exploiting WhatsApp’s device linking process to infiltrate unsuspecting users’ accounts. As detailed by antivirus software maker Gen Digital, parent company for Norton, Avast, and AVG, this “GhostPairing” campaign relies on duping unsuspecting users into helping hackers login to their WhatsApp account (h/t BleepingComputer). It’s a variation on a phishing attack, and works like this: You receive a WhatsApp message from one of your known contacts. They tell you they’ve found a photo of you online, and include a link. The link preview supposedly shows a Facebook page, but is actually a faked site. When you click on the link, you’re asked to verify your account to see the photo. The fake site then asks for your phone number. Once received, the attacker begins the login process from their side. A real verification code will be sent to your phone. The fake site then asks for this login code. If you input the code, that information is captured and then used to complete the device linking process. Victims that fall prey to this attack will believe they’re verifying the account for Meta’s purposes, but in actuality, they’re going through a legitimate login process. Once hacker has access to your account, they can see all of your existing messages and any new incoming messages. They can also send messages on your behalf to contacts to further the cycle of snooping on others for sensitive data. An example of the fake Facebook login verification screen, taken by Gen Digital.Gen Digital Fortunately, this type of attack isn’t new, which means you can more easily recognize it. First, it relies on unquestioning faith in your contacts—that you trust they would only ever send you uncompromised links. Second, it follows a similar pattern as more typical phishing attempts. You click on a fraudulent link, then input necessary login information on a fake (but convincingly real) site. Those credentials get captured and used by the attacker. The main difference here is that instead of recording your password (which can then be used for later credential stuffing attacks) and stealing two-factor authentication codes, this malicious campaign adapts to WhatsApp’s login method. Third, it tells on itself through odd behavior. In a normal scenario, you would not verify your access to Facebook content with your WhatsApp login details. The attacker is hoping you’re not paying too close attention to what’s happening! To avoid getting tripped up by this dirty trick, be mistrusting. Don’t interact with the link. Instead, if it’s someone you know, contact them through a different method, like a phone call or different messaging app, and ask what’s up. (Pun mildly intended.) If you don’t know them well, ignore the message. And in general, don’t share login codes with sites until you’ve verified the site is actually official. If you’re worried that someone might have access to your WhatsApp account, you can check to see what phones, tablets, and/or PCs are connected by heading to Settings > Linked Devices. You can also perform a similar check for many major services, like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and more. I always recommend taking a peek every so often, just to make sure you’re locked down and safe. Read...

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Texas has officially filed a lawsuit against Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL, BleepingComputer reports. The reason for the lawsuit is that these five companies allegedly used Automated Content Recognition (ACR), a technology that takes periodic screenshots of what users are watching (twice per second) and sends that information to servers in Japan, South Korea, and China. In the official press release, the lawsuit is summarized as a “suit against five major television companies for spying on Texans by secretly recording what consumers watch in their own homes.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton writes: “Companies, especially those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have no business illegally recording Americans’ devices inside their own homes.” He goes on: “This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful. The fundamental right to privacy will be protected in Texas because owning a television does not mean surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries.” If the allegations are true, this will be one of the biggest breaches of user privacy in smart TVs, and it’s not like smart TVs are exactly bastions of privacy to begin with. While it’s hard to avoid smart TVs these days—TVs without internet connections are getting rarer and rarer—it’s another notch in favor of not making everything we own online 24/7. You can read the actual lawsuits filed against each company with these links: Sony (PDF), Samsung (PDF), LG (PDF), Hisense (PDF), TCL (PDF). Read...

Google loves to send its services off with the Grim Reaper. The latest casualty: Google Dark Web Report, which scans the internet’s underbelly for your personal information and alerts you of fresh sightings. Starting January 15, 2026, Dark Web Report will cease looking for new results.  A month later, the scythe makes a final swing on February 16, 2026, when Google removes all collected data. Users will not be able to view the information starting on this date. In the email notification sent, Google attributes this death to feedback stating the feature lacked helpful next steps. Instead, the company plans to “focus on tools that give [users] more clear actionable steps to protect [their] information online.” Whether those tools still plumb the dark web for information remains to be seen—which I personally view as a bummer. Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. True, Google gave no context to these dark web reports, but why not add such information to results instead of killing the whole thing off? The death notice itself includes general advice like changing passwords, switching to passkeys, enabling two-factor authentication, and making use of Google Password Manager. There’s still about a month for you to run a Dark Web Report, if you’re curious to see what Google can find on you.PCWorld Without Dark Web Report, consumers will have one fewer source for data breaches—one that sometimes gave a heads-up days before disclosure from the affected companies, allowing users more time to lock down vulnerable accounts. As a free service, it was an easy recommendation as an online security tool. Time will tell whether Google’s next moves will be as effective at helping users avoid the flood of spam and scams hitting their inboxes. Meanwhile, the company will maintain its Results About You feature, which lets you find and request removal of Google search results containing personal information like your home address and phone number. I also recommend signing up for Have I Been Pwned if you haven’t already—while it’s not always as fast as Google’s Dark Web Report with notifications, this data breach database is still a valuable method of keeping tabs on where your details end up. Be sure to register all the email addresses you actively use, so that you don’t miss any important alerts. Read...