Personal Computers

It ain’t easy to find a deal on a gaming monitor, particularly if you want one that has a quality IPS panel. But today, Acer (via its official branded eBay store) is offering just such a deal: a refurbished 27-inch 1440p 240Hz gaming monitor, with that crucial IPS tech, for just $178.99. That’s over $100 off the retail price.

That refurbished status is presumably what’s driving this hefty discount, and you’d be right to be wary. But considering that this is coming directly from the manufacturer with a two-year warranty included (Allstate, so not amazing but better than the usual 90-day fare), I’d say this still qualifies as a bargain—and a pretty good one at that.

Finding a fast IPS panel in this category is pretty tricky on a budget. But with it, you’re getting better color accuracy and viewing angles than with a cheaper VA design, which is what you usually see on gaming monitors. I insist on an IPS panel for myself, since I’m often doing photo editing on the same screens as I game on.

Beyond the panel, impressive 240Hz speed, and 2560×1440 resolution, this monitor doesn’t get many extras. There’s no RGB lighting, though it does have some built-in speakers that I’m going to beg you not to actually use. At least it has a standard VESA mount, so you can add on a monitor arm. That also makes this great for a multi-monitor setup—a good companion to, say, a primary OLED gaming monitor.

The stock for this deal will be limited by how many refurb monitors Acer has lying around. If it goes out of stock, be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best monitors on the market.

Stuck on a boss? Don’t know how to “perfect parry?” Microsoft is adding its AI assistant, Copilot, to help you with your games via an addition to the Windows Game Bar application.

Right now, what Microsoft is calling “Gaming Copilot (Beta)” will show up only for those enrolled in previews for Xbox Insiders on the PC platform. Microsoft has issued a similar update for handheld PCs, too.

Microsoft says that Gaming Copilot understands what game you’re playing, which makes sense. A Voice Mode allows you to open an oral conversation via the “microphone” widget and then pin the widget to your screen as you play. You can also snap a screenshot of your screen and then let Gaming Copilot “look” at it for additional help.

To use the new Copilot-equipped Game Bar, you’ll need to be enrolled in the program, launch Game Bar (the Windows key+G) and then look for the Gaming Copilot logo on the home bar to open the widget, Microsoft says. It’s available for Xbox Insiders in the United States, but only if you’re 18 or older. Microsoft doesn’t explain the last requirement.

Oddly, Microsoft already has a technology to “see” your entire screen and help you out: Copilot Vision, which Microsoft says is out of beta and is available for all PCs in the United States. But Copilot Vision’s vision was pretty lousy when I tested it on games like Solitaire, let alone quick first-person games.

Microsoft may have improved its “vision” capabilities with the new Copilot Game Bar, but I wouldn’t expect it to be as helpful as an online guide or just a nearby buddy. But with the Copilot application cropping up everywhere — within Windows, the Edge browser, even applications like Microsoft Excel — expect Copilot’s march to continue into pretty much every PC application that Microsoft owns.

With new AI systems comes new AI vulnerabilities, and a big one was just discovered. It’s a flaw in Microsoft’s method of allowing agents to interact with websites on your behalf.

Microsoft calls this technique NLWeb, which is a kind of HTML for AI agents. The company unveiled this at its Build conference this spring, and has since leaned into that vision with an experimental Copilot Mode for its Edge browser. (Microsoft hasn’t confirmed whether it uses NLWeb for this.)

Researcher Aonan Guan, however, has discovered a vulnerability in NLWeb: a path traversal bug that lets any remote user read sensitive files like system configurations and cloud credentials via a malformed URL.

In a Medium post, Guan showed how he was able to download a list of the system passwords along with Google Gemini and OpenAI keys. This would let an attacker run additional server-dependent AI applications “for free,” without being charged by OpenAI.

According to Guan, Microsoft’s Security Response Center pushed a patch to the GitHub repository in June, confirming the problem was fixed. Microsoft hasn’t issued an official patch report. Users, however, don’t need to take any actions.

It’s fair to say that AI development has proceeded at breakneck speed. But, as Guan points out, the line between chatting with an AI and issuing it commands can blur.

“The very nature of NLWeb is to interpret natural language,” Guan said. “This blurs the line between user input and system commands. Future attack vectors could involve crafting sentences that, when parsed by an agent, translate into malicious file paths or actions.”

We’ve already seen ChatGPT interactions leak out into Google’s search results. (ChatGPT has now reportedly turned off the flag that makes ChatGPT chats discoverable.) As Guan (and The Verge, which reported the story) note, leaks of such magnitude in an AI agent can be catastrophic for all involved.

• Displays up to four camera feeds at once
• No cloud, no ads, no subscription required
• Easy setup and intuitive interface
• Long battery life with flexible mounting options

• Only works with Eufy devices
• No support for Alexa, Google Assistant, or third-party integrations
• No built-in voice assistant or smart display features
• Some features require the Homebase S380 NAS box

The Eufy Smart Display E10 is a fast, focused, and private way to manage your home security–provided you’re living in Eufy’s home security ecosystem.

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Smart displays aren’t new, but Eufy’s take on the category is a little different. The Smart Display E10 isn’t a voice assistant with a screen. Rather, it’s a dedicated visual control panel for your Eufy-powered home security system, one that puts live video feeds, visitor alerts, and event summaries all in one place. Unlike an Echo Show or Nest Hub, it does it all without leaning on the cloud, serving up ads, or connecting to a server somewhere.

The Eufy Smart Display E10 looks more like a small tablet than a security device. Its 8-inch, high-definition (1280 x 800 pixels) touchscreen is framed by slim bezels and a matte white housing that blends easily into most rooms. There’s nothing flashy here—no light rings (apart from a low-battery warning), no oversized branding. It’s designed to fade into the background until you need it. (Note: I’ll repeatedly write “Smart Display E10” for clarity, because Eufy markets disparate products using the model number E10, including a breast pump for nursing mothers.)

The Eufy Smart Display E10 will automatically switch to the Live Streaming screen whenever motion is detected, based on the trigger types you’ve set in the Eufy app.

Above the display are dual microphones, an ambient light sensor, a low-battery indicator, and a time-of-flight sensor (basically, a proximity detector that wakes the display when someone approaches it). On the top, you’ll find physical buttons for power, volume, and an “action button” that’s essentially a manual alarm trigger for compatible Eufy devices. A speaker and a set of charging pins—for use with the included dock—sit on the bottom edge. A microSD card slot (supporting cards with capacities up to 512GB) and a USB-C port for direct charging are set into the side. There’s also a folding stand and wall-mount slots built into the rear.

The Smart Display E10 has and 8-inch touchscreen and a 4,050 mAh battery  that gives you more than 24 hours of use on a single charge.

Ben Patterson/Foundry

You can place the Smart Display E10 wherever it makes the most sense—on a shelf, a nightstand, or mounted to the wall—using the included dock or mounting hardware. The 4,050 mAh battery gives you more than 24 hours of use on a single charge, so it’s easy to move the display from room to room without plugging in. When it’s time to recharge, you can drop it onto the magnetic dock or plug it in directly using the USB-C port.

The Smart Display E10 is meant purely for viewing and interacting with your existing Eufy home security gear, including arming and disarming your Eufy home security system. You can view up to four camera feeds at once on the screen, which is handy if you want to keep an eye on multiple entry points or monitor different areas of your property without switching between views. If you have a compatible Eufy video doorbell or smart lock, the Smart Display E10 will announce who’s at the door by name when the bell is pressed. And if you pair the Smart Display E10 with Eufy’s Homebase 3 network-attached storage device (that’s Eufy model S380), you unlock the Smart Daily Event Summary, which compiles a quick video recap of the day’s activity. You get one in the morning and one at night, which saves you from scrubbing through endless alerts.

Getting the Smart Display E10 up and running is straightforward. Assuming you already have one or more Eufy devices on your network, you just power on the display, connect it to your Wi-Fi network (both 2.4- and 5GHz networks are supported), and log in to your Eufy account. From there, the setup wizard guides you through the rest of the process. Compatible cameras and other devices automatically appear on the display’s dashboard.

The display can be mounted to a wall or slotted into its charging dock.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

The Smart Display E10’s lock screen gives you a quick snapshot of activity around your home. The time and date are displayed in the top left corner, with network and battery icons in the top right. Beneath that is a “Guarding Today” panel showing counts for common events—such as package pickups, deliveries, or missed rings—along with the last time a pet was seen, if applicable. Notifications appear front and center as they come in; motion alerts, like someone spotted in the living room, are timestamped and stacked in a clear list. A small thumbnail of the associated device appears next to each notification, so you can immediately tell where the activity occurred.

The main screen presents three horizontally scrollable tiles. The first is a live-view panel that can display up to four live camera feeds at once, letting you monitor multiple areas of your home in real time. The thumbnail image for each updates in regularly to give you an at-a-glance view of recent activity, and tapping on any one opens a full-screen view of that camera’s live feed.

The second tile is labeled Recent Events and shows motion-triggered recordings as they occur. Until activity is detected, it simply displays a “No Detections Yet” message. The third tile displays icons for each connected camera and provides quick access to that device’s settings. The interface is clean and swipeable, making it easy to flip between live monitoring, recorded events, and individual camera settings like privacy modes or night vision without digging through menus.

You can access the Smart Display E10’s settings through the small gear icon in the top right corner of the main screen. From here, you can adjust screen brightness, notification preferences, audio volume, and other device-level controls. One setting worth noting is Auto Live View. When enabled, the Smart Display E10 will automatically switch to the Live Streaming screen whenever motion is detected, based on the trigger types you’ve set in the Eufy app.

You can plug the display into its dock for continuous power.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Day to day, it’s a genuinely helpful tool. If a camera spots movement or someone comes to the door, the Smart Display E10 can put that camera’s feed on screen automatically. You don’t need to fish out your smartphone or launch an app. It’s especially helpful in households with small children, or older adults who might not be as comfortable with tech. They can see who’s outside without pressing a thing. It also makes sense in a small business setting; say, at a front desk or office with deliveries coming and going.

That said, the Smart Display E10 is a closed system. It doesn’t work with Alexa, Google Assistant, or any third-party smart home gear. And if you want features like facial recognition or daily event summaries, you’ll need to pair it with the Eufy Homebase 3). Without it, you’re getting basic video and alerts, nothing more.

At $199, the Eufy Smart Display E10 is priced in line with other smart displays, including the newish Amazon Echo Hub and the aging Google Nest Hub Max, but that comparison only goes so far. This isn’t a device for checking the weather, streaming music, or video-chatting with Grandma. It’s a dedicated home security monitor, built for one job and it does it well. If you’re using a mix of brands, or rely heavily on voice assistants like Alexa or Google, the Smart Display E10 won’t slot easily into your setup.

If you already own Eufy cameras, doorbells, smart locks, or motion and door/window sensors—or plan to go all-in with that home security brand—the Eufy Smart Display E10 makes a lot of sense. It centralizes everything, works fast, and makes it easier for everyone in the house to stay on top of what’s happening around your space. Families with kids or elderly relatives, or anyone running a small business with frequent foot traffic, will appreciate having that live view always within reach.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers and displays.

Microsoft has shared a video in which David Weston, who holds the title of Corporate Vice President of Enterprise & Security, shares his vision of how Windows will work in 2030. Here’s what his vision looks like:

As it turns out, the use of AI agents will mean that we’ll no longer need keyboards and mice for our computers. According to Weston, keyboards and mice will feel “as alien as DOS” to Gen Z (which seems an odd statement given that Gen Z is already between 13 and 30 years old).

Judging by the comments on the video, few are interested in the future being painted. For example, many users say they would rather switch to Linux or Mac than run Windows without a keyboard and mouse.

Let’s be honest–whether you’re grinding through schoolwork, getting lost in your favorite games, or just streaming random stuff late into the night, you need a laptop that can keep up. And yeah, picking the right one? It’s really confusing. Do you spring for a bigger screen? Is a dedicated graphics card actually worth it?

That’s where we come in.

We’ve tested all the laptops on this list ourselves, so these aren’t just specs pulled from a product page. They’re real recommendations, based on hands-on experience.

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We’ve cut through the clutter to bring you the top picks across every category–from sleek, no-fuss Chromebooks to powerhouse gaming machines.

Pros

• Attractive OLED touchscreen
• Good CPU and integrated GPU performance
• Outstanding battery life

Cons

• Blah design
• Keyboard isn’t memorable
• Mediocre connectivity options

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is honestly one of the most well-rounded laptops we’ve come across in a while, which is why we think it’s a great choice for just about anyone. The 14-inch 1200p OLED touchscreen is sharp, vibrant, and a joy to behold. Inside you’ll find an Intel Core Ultra 5 155H processor, which keeps everything running nice and smooth. Plus, at just under three pounds, it makes the perfect travel companion. The battery lasts all day, too–over 16 hours if you’re wondering!

The Zenbook 14 OLED is missing some ports (no Ethernet and limited USB-A) and the glossy OLED screen can be a pain to use outside or in bright rooms. But overall, the good stuff drastically outweighs the downsides. This is a great laptop.

Read our full Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review

Pros

• Affordable
• Decent battery life
• Good display visibility

Cons

• Big and bulky
• Cheap build
• Limited performance

The Acer Aspire Go 15 is a cheap and easy laptop that does the basics. It’s good for browsing, emails, and streaming shows. Plus, with about 12 hours of battery, you won’t need to go searching for an outlet.

The appeal mostly lies in its value, though. While more expensive laptops nail the polish and the speed, the budget variety is strictly about what’s functional and that’s exactly what you’re getting here. It’s a good option for students or anyone seeking a reliable, no-frills machine under $500.

You’ll also find a surprisingly generous port selection on the Acer Aspire Go 15–USB-A on both sides, a USB-C, an HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington lock. That’s more than what some laptops get twice the price.

Like many laptops in the budget category, the Aspire Go 15’s got a few trade-offs to be aware of. The chassis is made of plastic, though that’s part of what keeps the cost down–cheaper materials. It also weighs a little over four pounds. Sure, it’s not the lightest machine in the world, but this is such a minor nitpick and it’s still fine for day-to-day portability. The 1920×1080 display also isn’t very bright, but it’s sharp enough for day-to-day usability.

Read our full Acer Aspire Go 15 (2024) review

Pros

• Over 24 hours of battery life (in our standard test)
• Good build quality
• Snappy desktop performance
• 2-in-1 experience with pen

Cons

• On the expensive side
• Lunar Lake’s low multithreaded performance is an issue for some workflows

If you want a laptop that just keeps on trucking along, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 blew us away with its crazy-long battery life. PCWorld clocked it at just over 24 hours—closer to 25—so you won’t be stuck hunting for outlets throughout the day.

Stamina aside, it’s also very portable at under three pounds. Add in the flexible 2-in-1 design and a seriously good keyboard, and you’ve got a laptop built to keep up with real life stuff.

There’s a lot to love here, but it’s not cheap ($2,336 as tested). And if you want a built-in SD card reader, for instance, you’ll need to pick up a dongle. But if you need a professional laptop that truly lasts, this is it.

Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition review

Pros

• Zippy processor performance
• Nice keyboard
• A wide array of connectivity options
• Chic design

Cons

• Battery life isn’t competitive
• The display’s 16:9 aspect ratio feels a little cramped

If you’re in the market for a reliable, good-looking Chromebook for everyday use, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 has it all. This machine will run daily tasks just fine thanks to its Intel i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. The 14-inch 1080p display also looks sharp, and the 1080p webcam is perfect for Zoom calls.

While the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 offers smooth performance and a pretty design, there are minor trade-offs to be aware of like the non-competitive battery life (13 hours) and the lack of a touchscreen. You’ll also need to be comfortable with ChromeOS. If you prefer Windows or macOS, we’d recommend looking elsewhere.

Read our full Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 review

Pros

• Excellent battery life
• 256GB SSD is now two NAND chips, maintaining performance

Cons

• Expensive memory upgrades
• Dual external display support requires closed lid

The MacBook Air (M3) if you’re after a quiet and powerful machine that won’t completely murder your wallet. It can handle daily use and light creative work no problem thanks to the zippy M3 chip. The battery also lasts up to 19 hours and the 15-inch Liquid Retina display is lovely to look at, though it’s not as bright as the one on the MacBook Pro. It’s thin and light, too–it’s just over three pounds.

Need a powerhouse for 3D rendering or video editing? The MacBook Pro (not the Air) is better equipped for those tasks. For the everyday stuff like checking e-mail and scrolling through your Facebook feed, the MacBook Air will deliver on that front.

Read our full MacBook Air (M3) review

Pros

• Great GeForce RTX 4060 performance
• Good build quality
• Nice cooling and vent positioning

Cons

• Display is a little dim

Want solid gaming performance without breaking the bank? The Lenovo Legion 5i hits that sweet spot. It’s rocking an Intel Core i9 CPU and an RTX 4060 GPU, so expect high frame rates on modern games at 1080p. Plus, that 165Hz screen? Makes everything look sharp and buttery smooth.

There are some nice extras worth noting. The first is a 1080p webcam with a physical shutter and the second is a full-sized keyboard with a number pad. It might not seem like much on paper, but these things are important and further add to the value as a whole.

Read our full Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 review

Pros

• Fast performance
• Fast 165Hz display with good colors

Cons

• Fully plastic build
• Mushy keyboard

If you’re after a gaming laptop that won’t totally decimate your wallet, the Acer Nitro V 16 is an awesome pick. Powered by an RTX 4060 GPU and a Ryzen 7 CPU, you can run most modern games at 1080p no problem. It’s not trying to be a high-end powerhouse, but that’s kind of the point.

The 16-inch 1200p display is quick and smooth thanks to its 165Hz refresh rate, which makes a big difference whether you’re in a fast-paced game or just scrolling around. For around $1,000, you’re getting solid performance without all the extra fluff. It’s a good, no-nonsense pick if you just want to play games and get on with your day.

The thing about the Nitro V 16 is that it really leans into the gamer aesthetic with its sharp lines and glowing keyboard. If you dig that style, cool. If not, this might not be the laptop for you. The battery life lasts about four hours, which is typical for a laptop in this category, but you probably can’t game untethered–at least not for very long!

Read our full Acer Nitro V 16 review

Pros

• Big touchpad with virtual scroll wheel
• Gorgeous 4K OLED display
• More connectivity than the competition
• Good battery life

Cons

• Chassis is light, but doesn’t look remarkable
• CPU performance falls behind the best
• Can get hot under load

If you want sharp, gorgeous visuals and a laptop that can handle some serious work, the Asus ProArt P16 is a solid pick.

The 16-inch 3840×2400 screen makes everything look awesome — whether you’re editing photos or just watching movies. Inside, it’s got an Intel Core i9 CPU and an RTX 4070 GPU, so it can easily handle heavy stuff like video editing. Battery life is pretty good too, around nine hours, so you’re not stuck hunting for an outlet all day. And with USB 4.0, moving big files is quick and painless. All in all, it’s a great machine if you want power without the fuss.

Performance and display quality are the standout features here, of course, but understated design deserves a mention too. Some may find the all-black chassis too plain while others find it elegant. Also, under heavy workloads, the chassis can run a little warm.

Read our full Asus ProArt P16 review

Pros

• Compact and well-built
• Good office performance
• All Copilot Plus features available
• Good battery life

Cons

• Narrow screen to work on
• No HDR support
• No charger included

If you’re always bouncing between places—on the train, working from coffee shops, or just working around the house—the Surface Pro 2025 is kind of perfect. It’s super light (1.51 pounds!) and still powerful enough to handle all the usual stuff like emails and Zoom calls.

With its Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus CPU, it’s great for anyone who wants something that works like a laptop but feels like a tablet. You can doodle or get work done, all without feeling like you’re lugging around a heavy brick.

The compact screen won’t suit everyone for full-time multitasking, and there are only two USB-C ports (you’ll want a dock or hub). Also, while battery life can stretch surprisingly far, it varies widely. Expect around two hours at full brightness under heavy use or up to 19 hours with lighter tasks.

Still, if your work mostly lives in the cloud and you value portability above raw power, this is the best ultraportable Windows device you can get right now.

Read our full Microsoft Surface Pro 2025 review

Pros

• Spectacular battery life
• Attractive and robust design
• Plenty of RAM and solid-state storage for the price

Cons

• Cramped keyboard and touchpad
• IPS touchscreen’s image quality doesn’t stand out
• Lackluster CPU and GPU performance

If you want a 2-in-1 that’s easy to take anywhere and just keeps going, the MSI Summit 13 AI+ Evo is a solid choice. It gets almost 21 hours of battery life, which means you can pretty much forget about charging all day. Honestly, that alone makes life easier. This is a great pick if you’re always on the go and don’t want to be tied to a wall outlet.

The chassis is primarily plastic, which isn’t a huge deal in the short term, but durability may be affected over time. The keyboard’s also got a compact layout, which may be uncomfortable if you’ve got bigger hands, and the audio quality is average at best.

Read our full MSI Summit 13 AI+ Evo review

Pros

• Repairable and upgradeable
• Great keyboard
• Display is easy on the eyes

Cons

• High up-front cost
• Battery life lags way behind
• Not quite seamless design

Need a laptop that’s super easy to upgrade and tough enough to stick around? The Framework Laptop 13 (2025) is where it’s at. You can swap out pretty much anything—RAM, storage, even the motherboard if you want. It runs on an AMD Ryzen AI 300 processor and is slim enough to toss in your bag and go wherever.

The price might sting a bit upfront, and the built-in graphics are okay for everyday stuff, but don’t expect much gaming performance. Battery life’s decent, but nothing groundbreaking.

Read our full Framework Laptop 13 (2025) review

These laptops didn’t crack the top of our list, but they’re still worth a look.

The Asus Zenbook A14 brings a gorgeous OLED touchscreen, sturdy build, and battery life that lasts a good while. The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a powerhouse gaming laptop with top-tier Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, Nvidia RTX 5080 graphics, and premium features like a mechanical keyboard. And then there’s the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro with its 16-inch AMOLED screen that’s pure eye candy, plus battery life that can stretch past 20 hours if you play your cards right.

The PCWorld team puts each and every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests.

For a much deeper look at our review methodology, check out how PCWorld tests laptops.

It’s in our name! PCWorld prides itself on laptop experience and expertise. We’ve been covering PCs since 1983, and we now review more than 70 laptops every year. All of the picks below have been personally tested and vetted by our experts, who’ve applied not only performance benchmarks but rigorous usability standards. We’re also committed to reviewing PC laptops at every price point to help you find a machine that matches your budget.

Hi, I’m Ashley Biancuzzo, and I oversee all laptop and Chromebook coverage at PCWorld. While you’ll see me review Chromebooks on occasion, I’m also really into the broader world of consumer tech. I spend a lot of time writing and thinking about where laptops are headed–from AI and sustainable designs to long-term trends. When I’m not deep in the world of tech, you’ll probably find me gaming, getting lost in a good book, or chilling with my rescue greyhound, Allen.

Regular ones are fine for everyday stuff. 2-in-1s are cool because the screen flips around. Chromebooks are cheap and good if you mostly do web browsing.

Depends on what you’re doing. For basic web or email, an Intel Core i3 or Ryzen 3 works fine. If you’re into video editing or creative stuff, an i7/i9 or Ryzen 7/9 is better. And if you’re handling heavy 4K editing or lots of apps, a Ryzen 9 is your best bet.

If you’re gaming or editing videos, you want a proper graphics card (like Nvidia or AMD) for better performance. But if you’re just browsing or watching stuff, the built-in integrated graphics work just fine.

8GB of RAM is plenty for most stuff. If you’re gaming, 16GB is better, and 32GB will keep you covered for a while. Content creators should try to get as much RAM as they can.

If you’re doing video editing or a bunch of media stuff, go for a bigger screen, like 15 to 17 inches. But for most people, 13 to 14 inches hits the sweet spot. Bigger screens mean heavier laptops, so 13 or 14 inches is usually the best combination of portability and value.

If you’re gonna carry your laptop around, try to get one that lasts 10 to 12 hours on a charge. That’s usually enough for a long flight or a full day of classes. Some of the new Snapdragon laptops are even crushing that, with one going up to 25 hours thanks to their super-efficient chips. Just remember, bigger batteries usually mean heavier laptops. (Also, check out our roundup of the best laptop chargers.)

Good laptops usually run $500 to $750, but if you’re on a budget, Chromebooks or basic business laptops under $500 work fine. Around $750 to $1,000 gets you better screens and more power. Over $1,000 means premium build and performance.

Gaming laptops cost more (expect $1,000+ for decent 1080p gaming). Better graphics and features can push prices into the thousands, but $1,200 to $2,000 usually gets you a powerful rig.

I like laptops with lots of ports so you don’t need adapters. Having both USB-C and USB-A is great, and an HDMI port is a bonus and super handy for hooking up to a monitor.

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is probably the best all-around choice for most folks. It costs about $850, runs smoothly, lasts forever on a charge (like 16 hours!), and has a nice, vibrant 14-inch 1200p OLED screen.

The Acer Aspire Go 15 is PCWorld’s favorite budget pick. It’s cheap, runs well, and won’t die on you halfway through the day. It’s got an Intel Core i3-N305, a nice 1080p screen, and battery life that’s better than you’d expect at this price.

The Lenovo Legion 5i nails that performance-for-the-price vibe. With an i9 and RTX 4060, it handles heavy games like Metro Exodus just fine. The 16-inch screen is sharp and smooth, even if it’s not OLED-level flashy. It’s a great pick if you want power without overspending.

The best time to snag a laptop is usually around big sales like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Back-to-school season’s also solid, lots of deals pop up with students in mind.

A 2-in-1 laptop (or convertible) is basically a laptop that can flip, fold, or detach into a tablet. You get a touchscreen, a full keyboard when you need it, and tablet mode for browsing or sketching. They’re a hit with students and creatives who want a bit of everything in one device.

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Snapdragon-powered laptops aren’t for everyone, but they’re great if you’re looking for incredible battery life. They’re starting to get a lot more affordable, too. Take Best Buy’s deal of the day, a 14-inch Dell Inspiron 14 with a Snapdragon X processor and 16GB of RAM. It’s just $499.99 with a $300 discount—but this deal ends at 1 AM Eastern US time.

When Mark Knapp reviewed the Inspiron 14 for PCWorld last year, he found the laptop a bit dull and overpriced for the lowered performance of the Snapdragon X Plus CPU versus Intel alternatives. But that was at its $800 base price. At $500, the 3.3-pound laptop with a 1200p screen might be a lot more palatable. You also get 16GB of RAM (the minimum I’d consider for a Windows 11 laptop), 512GB of storage, and an infrared camera for face unlock. I also like the microSD card reader, something you don’t often see in budget designs.

This particular model doesn’t aim to be an amazing bread-and-butter member of the now-extinct Inspiron family, but it did run for 17 hours on a 4K video test in our review and over 8 hours with more typical use. Keep in mind that, while pretty much everything you’d want to do on the web is supported on Arm-based Snapdragon processors, they do struggle with high-end games.

Best Buy is offering this deal today only, August 6th. If it doesn’t strike your fancy, be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops on the market, including budget-friendly options.

If you’ve received emails that appear to come from Mozilla, you should avoid clicking on any links within those emails. According to a Mozilla blog post, there’s an extensive phishing campaign going on right now to trick you into providing your login details.

The most common phrase used by the hackers is “Your Mozilla Add-ons account requires an update to continue accessing developer features,” or some variation of that, reports BleepingComputer.

This is just another in a line of cybersecurity headaches for Mozilla, who has recently been battling cryptocurrency wallet scams in Firefox’s add-on repository—a problem that won’t quit even after Mozilla began auto-screening for such scams.

It’s a dangerous time to be a web user, with all kinds of phishing scams happening everywhere. Stay on guard and keep your eyes peeled, as phishing scams can be anywhere. For example, you might even find phishing links within Gmail’s new AI summaries.

When Microsoft introduced Recall for Windows 11, data privacy and protection experts were horrified. Why? Because Recall continuously takes screenshots of your screen and saves them on your computer, even if those screenshots contain sensitive data like passwords and credit card details. Back then, Recall was still in testing, and the backlash was enough to get Microsoft to postpone its release.

Microsoft has since developed Recall even further and implemented several promised security and privacy features, but some remain unconvinced. We’ve tested Recall ourselves and still don’t trust it, and we aren’t the only ones. The Register carried out a test and found that it can “still capture credit cards and passwords, a treasure trove for crooks.”

In short, Microsoft promises the opposite, but Recall can continue to record passwords and credit card data under the right conditions. Microsoft integrated a filter to recognize the input or display of sensitive data and prevent screenshots in those cases, but The Register was able to get around that filter.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Their test also found that Recall also took screenshots of account balances currently visible on the screen. Only the login details for the bank account were avoided by Recall. The Register writes: “So an attacker would know which bank I use and how much money I have, both details that could help them, but not my credentials or account number.”

Recall recorded credit card details in one case, but didn’t in another. Recall reliably recognized the input of passwords and didn’t record them, but it did create screenshots of a file containing passwords. Recall obviously doesn’t always recognize when passwords are displayed on the screen and can therefore possibly record them.

Also, when logging in to PayPal, Recall captured the login screen with the user name but not the password.

The conclusion here is that, despite Microsoft’s improvements and additions, Windows Recall still has problems reliably recognizing sensitive data and refraining from recording it. According to The Register, Recall’s filtering of sensitive information is “good, but not good enough.”

It should be noted, however, that Windows Recall stores its screenshots in encrypted form, so it isn’t exactly easy for strangers to view them. Still, if you want to avoid the potential for sensitive data leaks, you should disable Windows Recall and skip the risks altogether.

As the web fills up with junk text written by robots, it’s no surprise that AI-generated slop is also making its way into ebooks, YouTube, and even Wikipedia. That last one is a particular problem, since Wikipedia’s open access is its greatest strength and its primary method for dealing with misinformation. In response, the site’s administrators are using new policies to combat the onslaught of AI text.

According to a new policy write-up, Wikipedia administrators now have the authority and the tools to rapidly delete articles and edits that are obviously generated with large language models. It’s an expansion to an existing “speedy deletion” option that skips a week-long discussion process among Wikipedia’s teams of volunteer editors and administrators for a full deletion.

But articles that are new or have been substantially rewritten can now be flagged with tags of obvious signs of LLM text, including phrases like “Here is your Wikipedia article on…” or citations and references to things that don’t exist. (That’s a common problem for auto-generated text, as some lawyers and would-be diners of glue-enhanced pizza have discovered.) The presence of both is a strong indicator that whoever’s submitting the article hasn’t even read through it themselves.

If the article shows such telltale signs of being automatically generated, it can be tossed out under the speedy deletion option, something previously reserved for additions that were obvious nonsense or thinly-disguised advertisements.

In an interview with 404 Media, Wikimedia editor Ilyas Lebleu says that most new articles that are removed still use the week-long discussion option. But the slew of quickly-generated content necessitated a method of quickly dealing with obvious junk in a much faster manner. Lebleu says this is a “band-aid” for the most egregious examples of AI-generated submissions, though the larger problem will continue.

Not for the first time, I can’t help but think of John Henry racing the steam drill, a timeless image of humans versus machines. Wikimedia’s new policy is notable in contrast to a would-be change from earlier this year, when editors overwhelmingly rejected AI-generated article summaries. “Wikipedia’s brand is reliability, traceability of changes, and ‘anyone can fix it.’ AI is the opposite of these things,” said Wikipedia editor Bawolff.

After years of teases, hints, and vague promises, standalone streaming ESPN is finally, really coming, and now we have a launch date as well as pricing details.

Disney said the new streaming service, called simply ESPN, will go live on August 21 — just in time for the 2025-26 NFL season. 

Pricing for the new ESPN streamer were previously announced back in May, and the price points vary whether you get it on a standalone basis or as part of a bundle. 

To stream an “ultimate” version of ESPN that includes all its linear networks as well as broadcasts on ABC, it will cost you $29.99 a month, or $299.99 a year. If that sounds steep, it is, and our own Jared Newman has already deemed streaming ESPN to be a “ripoff.” But hey, it’ll soon be here if you want it. 

You’ll also be able to get ESPN in a bundle along with Disney+ and Hulu with ads for $35.99 a month, while an ESPN bundle with ad-free Disney+ and Hulu will run you $44.99 a month. 

As part of a special introductory offer, Disney will serve up the with-ads version of the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN bundle for $29.99 for the first 12 months. 

The “ultimate” tier of the new ESPN streaming service will include—at last—everything ESPN, including all its linear networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Deportes) along with all ESPN broadcasts on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+, and ACCNX. 

You’ll also get such signature ESPN shows as SportsCenter, Get Up, First Take, NFL Live, The Pat McAfee Show, Pardon the Interruption, College GameDay, and NBA Today. 

That’s a big change from the ESPN+ streaming service, which only ever offered a sliver of ESPN’s linear content. Indeed, plenty of ESPN+ signups have found themselves caught off guard when they learned that SportsCenter, Monday Night Football (save for occasional one-off games), and other key ESPN shows weren’t included. 

Speaking of ESPN+, that service will morph into what Disney is calling “select” ESPN. The “select” tier will cost $11.99 a month, or $119.99 a year, while bundles go for $16.99 a month (with ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu) or $26.99/month (with the ad-free versions of the latter two streamers). 

Those who are still ESPN+ subscribers when the new ESPN streaming service arrives will automatically be moved over to the “select” version of the new service, meaning the old ESPN+ is effectively going away. 

News of the ESPN’s launch date comes just a day after Fox announced a launch date and pricing for its own new streamer, Fox One. The upcoming Fox service will kick off on August 21–the same day as ESPN–and cost $20 a month.

The arrival of a standalone streaming ESPN has been years in the making, with Disney execs finally confirming the service last year. 

Up until now, the only way to get the full-on ESPN experience has been through a cable or live streaming TV service, neither of which come cheap. There was ESPN+, but as I mentioned earlier, it was a poor substitute for the real deal. 

Updated on August 6 with a launch date for the new ESPN streaming service.

Time and again, dangerous security vulnerabilities are discovered in the hardware of certain manufacturers. Lenovo AIO PCs landed in the news as recently as last week, and now Dell laptop owners need to watch out. Certain Dell models—we’re talking over 100 different models and millions of affected devices—are affected by a chip security vulnerability that can lead to serious problems.

Dell has issued a warning about it, categorizing it as “critical” and stating that it’s a flaw in Broadcom BCM5820X series chips, which are mainly installed in Dell’s Precision, Latitude, and Pro laptops. A list of all affected devices can be found in Dell’s support article.

We’re looking at a total of five individual vulnerabilities with designations CVE-2025-24311, CVE-2025-25215, CVE-2025-24922, CVE-2025-25050, and CVE-2025-24919. It’s a problem with the ControlVault3 function, which is used to store passwords and biometric data, among other things, which is why the problem is particularly dangerous.

In the worst-case scenario, attackers could exploit the flaws to steal data and remotely execute malicious code. Due to the nature of the vulnerability, it’s also likely that stored passwords are no longer secure.

Dell told The Register the following when asked:

Working with our firmware provider, we addressed the issues quickly and transparently disclosed the reported vulnerabilities in accordance with our Vulnerability Response Policy.

Customers can review the Dell Security Advisory DSA-2025-053 for information on affected products, versions, and more.

The vulnerability was first disclosed on June 13, but further details have apparently only now been communicated. Dell strongly recommends that users update their devices with the latest Dell security updates to protect against attacks and ensure the safe use of affected devices.

Affected users can find the relevant download links in Dell’s support document. Alternatively, you can search for updates in the Dell Command Center and should at least install the critical patches being offered.

• Extremely powerful and granular selection criteria
• Support for legacy and modern storage — including online
• Excellent performance
• Anti-ransomware monitoring

• No disaster recovery
• Not always easy
• Minor bugs
• Pricey given the missing features

Retrospect 19 Solo shares many excellent features with its Desktop sibling, including ransomware protection and new support for cloud storage. But it lacks disaster recovery, which is a bit of a gotcha for pay backup software.

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Retrospect 19 Solo shares a lot of useful features with its pricey Desktop sibling — including ransomware protection and fantastically powerful selection criteria. However, what it doesn’t share is arguably the most important feature of pay backup software: disaster recovery.

Windows offers several backup tools that take care of data, but its disaster recovery tools are unreliable. Yeah, go figure. The pricier Desktop version of Retrospect 19 does offer disaster recovery. Hint, hint.

Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best backup software for comparison.

Retrospect Solo is a stripped down version of a venerable enterprise-level backup program that is sold to smaller businesses and end users. The Desktop and enterprise versions offers features well beyond the scope of most consumer backup products. Solo does not — with one or two exceptions.

The most welcome new feature in Retrospect 19 Solo is cloud storage support. This includes third-party services such as Amazon S3 and S3-compatibles, Dropbox, Wasabi, Google cloud, Azure, and even Retrospect’s own (using Wasabi as the back-end).

Unfortunately, support for the popular OneDrive and Google Drive have been omitted. Why Dropbox and not those? Don’t know. But the lack is exacerbated by Retropect pricing its own online storage well above the mean. More on that below.

On the plus side, there is a new granular compare function that let’s you see the actual differences between your existing data set and a backup. This gives you a bird’s eye view of changes that could indicate suspicious activity, aka ransomware activity. If Retrospect sees a troubling pattern, it will flag it as a possible ransomware attack. More on that later.

Features and options include: compression and password–protected encryption; extremely granular scheduling; pre- and post-backup operations; filtering (including a copious helping of presets for common file types); differential, incremental, full, and block-level (only changed portions of a file) backups; deduplication (not backing up copies of the same file); notifications, and most of the bells and whistles found in the backup space.

That’s all well and good, but Solo’s lack of disaster recovery is a major issue, dwarfing the lack of backup from NAS, or network locations; and the inability to back up using tape drives. Few users will care that Solo can only run two backups simultaneously, whereas Desktop can run four and some of the Enterprise versions 16. Two is more than most of us need!

As to Retrospect 19 Solo’s anti-ransomware features — ransomware is no joke. I was attacked while hosting my website on a local NAS box with an outdated version of WordPress (yes, I know…). A recent local backup (hint, hint…) saved my tuchus, but geez Louise was it a wake-up call!

Retrospect’s local anti-ransomware features aren’t real-time like a true anti-malware, anti-data tampering background application such as Acronis True Image, Macrium Reflect, or Windows Defender.

Instead, before Retrospect starts backing up, it checks to see how much the data has changed and in what ways. If the number of new or altered files exceeds a user-definable percentage, it cries foul and alerts you; meanwhile not overwriting anything in an existing backup. This is referred to as anomaly detection.

If you’re not familiar, most ransomware attacks work by encrypting your files to new ones, deleting the old ones, then ransoming the encryption key. That entails a whole lot of changes, and what Retrospect is looking for.

Of course, this approach is passive and relies upon your backing up regularly so you can restore the un-ransomed, unencrypted versions of your files. As Retrospect Solo has granular scheduling, I recommend daily as the minimum.

The other half of Retrospect’s anti-ransomware solution is interfacing with the immutable data option offered by services such as Backblaze, Wasabi, S3, etc. Immutable data is data that a storage service won’t allow to be altered or deleted for a set period of time — even by known entities, unless specifically disabled.

Retrospect 19 Solo is $49. That’s a perpetual license for a single computer (Solo). You can also get Annual Support and Maintenance (ASM), which includes more than rudimentary support and updates to new whole number versions should they appear, for an additional $80. Ahem.

I should note that some of the competition such as Acronis and Macrium no longer offer perpetual licenses. Hence, over time, Retrospect 19 Solo might be a relative bargain.

A Retrospect 19 Solo perpetual license retain all functionality and will receive any dot upgrades — i.e., it’s not subscription software that goes into restore-only mode if you stop paying as do Acronis True Image and Macrium Relfect X.

If you want a more detailed breakdown on the differences between versions of Retrospect, check the comparison chart on the Retrospect site.

As you can see below, the Wasabi-powered Retrospect cloud storage is a bit pricey for the average user. Did I say a bit? I meant a whole lot. In point of fact, it’s three times Wasabi itself, which was $7 per TB per month at the time of this writing. Err…

Even though Retrospect Solo 19 makes it a tad difficult to use third-party online storage, I can’t recommend a service that’s three times the cost of others. Even if it’s slightly easier to use. As to that…

Retrospect 19 Solo’s interface is a bit dated in appearance, but the major learning hurdles come from it operating differently from most backup programs. Everything makes sense in the end and the power and versatility of pricier versions can be worth it, but the program’s approach simply makes for a steep learning curve.

A good long look at the Retrospect 19 users guide is almost a necessity. Thank me later. As to some of the particulars…

First off, the program’s vernacular is off the beaten path. Data repositories to be backed up are defined as “Volumes,” which can be drives, per normal nomenclature, but also clients on other computers, or files and folders, which are added under “Subvolumes,” and “Defined as volumes.”

Destinations are “Backup sets,” which makes sense when it comes to sets of media you might rotate (which Solo does not help with), but isn’t intuitive to the average user. BTW, rotating means swapping out multiple discrete media according to a schedule — say, employing seven hard drives, optical disc/tape “Devices,” and using each only on a specific day of the week. This is really an enterprise deal where carousels and tape libraries are still common.

“Selecting” is where you find the filters that skip or include various types of files. This is an area where Retrospect really shines — you can apply any number of rules or criteria about what to back up and what to skip. It’s also likely overkill for the average user.

Jobs are “Scripts,” which aren’t created until you schedule a job created with Backup Now. Extremely efficient but not entirely intuitive. Scripts are not found under the Backup, but the Configure section of the function tree at the left of the main window.

You can apply any number of rules or criteria about what to back up and what to skip.

Retrospect uses discrete catalogs, aka indexes, for its backups and these are stored separately (with the rest of the program data) from the backup. Most backup programs store indexes inside the backup container, or along with it.

Discrete catalogs have a great advantage in speed when retrieving data from a slow medium such as tape. Solo does not support tape, so catalogs could be seen as an unnecessary adjunct for mainstream users.

You can, of course, rebuild the catalog from the backup should you somehow lose the original — however, this can be a rather lengthy procedure. I had to do it once with tape. Never again.

The company recommends that you back up these catalogs to external media for access in case you need to perform a full system recovery from a crashed computer.

Retrospect is decently easy to use once you know it, but it’s obvious that functionality was removed from Solo without proper adjustment to the interface. The program will actually let you select a network resource to back up (see above), but then not back it up, with an error in the log that basically says “not allowed by license.” Sloppy.

Adding a cloud destination requires either providing keys from your storage provider, or signing in to the service via web access. However, this must be done for every different backup. Perhaps this is more secure, but it’s most certainly a pain during setup. Most backup programs retain their storage service connections.

So, no, Retrospect 19 Solo is not easy to learn, but yes, once you know it, it’s easy enough to use. It is extremely versatile and powerful, but if you’re looking for simplicity then Retrospect 19 Solo is quite likely not your cup of tea.

To confirm that Retrospect’s backup engine hadn’t gone AWOL after 30 years (it hasn’t), I ran a host of backups: full, differential, and several incrementals, targeting a 10Gbps USB SSD, the network, and internal NVMe SSDs.

As expected, Retrospect purred like a kitten during those backups and the subsequent restores. Even with two backups going at once. Indeed, the only times I’ve ever had an issue with a Retrospect backup, it was a problem with the media — back in the days of, yes, tape.

I also tested the anomaly detection by altering and renaming files in various numbers, and Retrospect detected those changes as advertised.

Retrospect 19 Solo was perfection when it came to both the backup and restore operations that it supports. Faster than most, glitch-free, and with accurate feedback on the progress of backups — something not a lot of backup programs provide.

I have zero qualms about Retrospect 19 Solo’s reliability and performance, it’s merely a matter of value.

Honestly, no. The steep learning curve, but most especially the lack of disaster recovery makes it largely an unnecessary expenditure. You can do roughly the same thing using Windows File history.

Retrospect 19 Desktop is a different kettle of fish. It’s initially pricey at $169 for the perpetual license, but it has the disaster recovery, network backup, and extensive hardware support that Solo lacks.

But there are plenty of more affordable (some free) options than either Retrospect version out there. Easeus Todo Backup, Aomei Backupper, and Minitool ShadowMaker to name a few. Check out the best backup software hub for even more choices.

Nvidia is sitting on an absolutely mind-boggling amount of money… like, enough to make Solomon and Midas and Croesus go, “Wow, that’s a lot of money.” It’s become one of, if not the, richest companies on the planet by riding both the crypto and AI chip booms. But are all those pricey chips secure? Nvidia says they are—and should stay that way, much to the chagrin of some lawmakers.

“To mitigate the risk of misuse, some pundits and policymakers propose requiring hardware ‘kill switches’ or built-in controls that can remotely disable GPUs without user knowledge and consent,” reads a blog post from Tuesday. “Some suspect they might already exist. Nvidia GPUs do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors.”

The blog post is an obvious response to the tensions between the United States and China, which are currently in something of an arms race for “AI” technology, with Nvidia’s chips a key point of contention. Earlier this year, a US lawmaker proposed putting location trackers in Nvidia chips to keep them from being smuggled into mainland China, something that happens on a regular basis to evade export restrictions.

Chinese cybersecurity authorities summoned Nvidia employees last week to rather pointedly ask if newly available industrial H20 AI chips contained spyware or backdoors. The highly-sought-after chips were cleared for export by the Trump administration in April, immediately after an apparent bit of personal lobbying from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a $1-million-a-head dinner at Trump’s personal residence in Florida.

“There is no such thing as a ‘good’ secret backdoor—only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated,” wrote Nvidia’s chief security officer in the blog post. “Kill switches and built-in backdoors create single points of failure and violate the fundamental principles of cybersecurity.” In light of the bill proposed earlier this year, it seems possible that the US could demand exactly that as a condition of clearing hassle-free and lucrative chip exports to China. I wonder if more expensive dinners are in Jensen Huang’s future.

The blog post gives a brief history of chip-level security failures, name-dropping Spectre and Meltdown. It’s important to note that what Nvidia is denying here is deliberate, intentional means of disabling or spying upon chips—not security vulnerabilities or bugs that make them susceptible to attack, which do crop up from time to time.

Still hanging on to the old Hulu app? If so, it’s probably time to say goodbye. 

Disney has announced it will roll out a new and “unified” Disney+ app that will “fully” integrate Hulu. Disney CEO Bob Iger stopped short of declaring the fate of the standalone Hulu app, but the writing’s on the wall.

Disney first began integrating Hulu content into the Disney+ app back in 2023, and users have been able to access all of Hulu’s TV shows and movies with the Disney+ interface since last year. 

Through it all, the standalone Hulu app has stuck around, handy for those who’d rather not deal with any of the various Disney Bundles. Those bundles include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN, and they’re priced in a manner where it’s tempting to “go large” with a combo rather than subscribe to just one service. 

Maintaining the standalone Hulu app may have been convenient for some streamers, but it’s clear Disney would rather put all of its streaming wares under one roof. 

“Today we are announcing a major step forward in strengthening our streaming offering by fully integrating Hulu into Disney+, “ Disney said in a statement (via Variety) alongside its third-quarter 2025 results, adding that the new Disney+ app will serve up an “improved customer experience” while saving on tech infrastructure by putting all its services “on one tech platform.” 

Naturally, “advertising revenue potential” is also part of the equation, with the unified Disney+ app making it easier for Disney to sell ad placements. 

While the standalone Hulu app probably isn’t long for this world, the Hulu brand doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. There’s also been no talk–yet–of yanking the option to subscribe just to Hulu, although as always, plans change (both literally and figuratively). 

Updated to clarify that Disney hasn’t definitively said what will happen to the standalone Hulu app.

• Strong antivirus protection
• Essential protection against major online threats
• Simple, straightforward features

• Performance impact on some PCs
• User interface would benefit from Consolidation
• Upselling of additional services

A one-device limitation can feel tight to many people, but if that’s all you need, Norton Antivirus Plus provides plenty of value for its price. This entry-level antivirus suite is affordable and reliable while still costing less yet offering more features than rivals. If you can work comfortably with its quirks and potentially heavy performance effect, it can be ideal software for digital minimalists.

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Antivirus makers stuff a ton of features into their most touted-plans, but not everyone needs those extra bells and whistles. Maybe all you seek is the basics for online protection in a single software package—and for just one device.

Norton Antivirus Plus is one slimmed down option that hits those notes exactly, with malware protection and a password manager as the standout features. As an affordable entry-level suite, you can skip the extraneous pieces of more expensive plans without sacrificing what you really need. The only caveat: You can acclimate to Norton’s quirks, including an app with two different interfaces.

Though its name lacks the reference, Norton Antivirus Plus is part of Norton’s 360 lineup—albeit as the most stripped down version, both in features and number of devices supported. Its primary focus is on direct threats to your online security, with the antivirus engine protecting you against malware and the firewall blocking network threats. The app screens for dangerous links and attachments as well.

This subscription also offers 2GB of cloud backup storage, access to Norton’s password manager, and PC utilities that include the ability to clear temporary files and monitor for outdated software.

Norton’s introductory pricing can vary—but generally you’ll find it between $20 and $30 for the first year.

Norton / PCWorld

As an entry-level software suite, Norton Antivirus Plus is an affordable, reliable option for those who don’t mind its dual set of interfaces.

If you buy through Norton, the Norton Antivirus Plus plan costs $30 for the first year, and then increases to $60 thereafter. You can try the software for 30 days before committing, though you’ll have to put down a credit card. Subscriptions also come with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Be aware that Norton automatically enrolls you into auto-renewal at sign-up.

Norton Antivirus Plus (1 device)

• $30 for the first year
• $60 per year thereafter

Norton Antivirus Plus supports PC, macOS, Android, and iOS, but this plan limits you to just one device.

You can save even more on Norton Antivirus Plus if you purchase your license through third-party retailers like Amazon or even PCWorld’s own software store—generally the price hovers around 75 percent off the normal price, and sometimes with extra bonus months.

After purchasing a subscription to Norton Antivirus Plus, you’ll get access to the installation file, which automatically downloads.

After installation, the My Norton window will be the first thing you see—it’s one of two interfaces you’ll interact with. It has a contemporary look and serves as a springboard to the most important features. You can start scans, update the app and its virus definitions, jump over to the password manager, manage your cloud backups, and fire up the secure browser. You can also run the software updater, as well as dig into a few program settings. (Tip: Turn off notifications for “Special offers” in the settings while rooting around.)

Generally, this view is simple and straightforward, with one exception. You get no back button while navigating through submenus (like in settings).

For a deeper dive into the program, you must switch to the Classic view by clicking on the Open button within the Device Security part of My Norton. A second window with a more outdated vibe will appear. Selecting any four of the tiles (Security, Internet Security, Backup, and Performance) reveals the full lineup of features related to that topic. The fifth tile takes you back to the My Norton view.

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Also within the Classic view are the feature settings (like behavior of antivirus scans). You can adjust how antivirus scans, the firewall, and backups behave, as well as the protections for email and apps, and a several app settings.

This dual interface setup can be confusing initially—but it becomes less of a problem the more you use the program.

Norton Antivirus Plus protects your PC in real time by scanning new or changed files, watching for unusual app behavior, and screening for malicious scripts, attachments, and links in downloads and local email. Additional defenses (like protected folders, if you have a particular concern about ransomware) are only available on higher plans—though these days, ransomware is less of a concern for most individuals.

To avoid phishing sites and other malicious pages (including ones that cause your PC to automatically download sketchy files) while browsing, you must first install the Norton Safe Web extension. It blocks dangerous sites and provides visual indicators for how trustworthy a link is.

By default, Norton Antivirus Plus will run a full scan of your PC once per month. Scheduling can be very precise—if you want to run one every 13 hours, it’s possible. You can also set a schedule for the other default scan types (Quick Scan, Drive Scan, Folder Scan, File Scan), as well as for any custom scans you’ve created.

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For manual scans, you can choose Scan Options from the Device Security dropdown menu in the My Norton view, or click on Scans in the Classic view. Norton includes the option to scan for hard-to-find threats, as well as get diagnostic reports and recommendations on which of your files should be examined.

Advanced users may find scan settings too simplified—for example, the full scan only allows you to change if it looks within compressed files, scans network drives, removes infected folders automatically, and wipes low risk and tracking cookie files. The other default scans have even fewer settings. You also can’t choose to check over all files, even if unchanged.

Rare is the PC that isn’t continuously connected to the internet. Since web browser use is a daily occurrence for most everyone, Norton includes several browser extensions to boost online safety: Norton Home Page, Norton Safe Search, and Norton Safe Web.

Norton Home Page switches your default to Norton’s own start page, while Norton Safe Search changes your default to Norton’s search engine. Meanwhile, Norton Safe Web scans links results for malicious content and also adds a visual badge to Google and Bing results showing if it’s safe to click (green is good, red is dangerous). Of this set, Norton Safe Web is the most useful—most people already have their own preferred home page and search engine.

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A fourth browser extension, Norton Password Manager, lets you manage your passwords. While not strictly necessary (you can access the service through the website), it’s the most polished of all available extensions and easy to use.

Having backups of your most important files is a wise move—even if you’re not afraid of ransomware locking you out, premature storage drive death or a lost device always loom as dangers. Norton attempts to help on this front by allowing you to save copies of your documents to its servers.

By default, cloud backups will upload all but email and video files in your Windows document folders (i.e., Documents, Pictures, Music, etc). You can add or exclude file types, as well as specific files and folders. Norton also allows the creation of different backup rules (called a “Backup Set”), which is handy since you can only save to one location per backup set.

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Note that for the Norton Antivirus Plus plan, you don’t get much included storage—just 2GB. That won’t be enough to back up music or a even a moderate photo collection, but should adequately cover your important text-based documents.

You can also create backups that save to a local drive—but in my experience, this option is buggy. On more than one computer, Norton would claim it had saved files to an external drive, but the files wouldn’t actually appear. You’re better off setting up your own system for local backups.

Though simple, Norton’s password manager is good—a pleasant contrast to services that feel too stripped down. Setup is straightforward, with Norton prompting you to create a separate vault password, then to download a recovery key. (If you forget your vault password, you’ll need this key to recover the account.)

This double login system (once with your standard Norton credentials, then your vault password) would normally be a pain, but using passwordless authentication through the Norton Password Manager mobile app nips that in the bud. It’s seamless, if fractionally slow with authentication approval requests. You can access your vault through the website, a browser extension, or the mobile app.

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Note that for the browser extension, you can’t set the clipboard to automatically clear a copied password after a certain time. That’s a feature usually offered by rival password managers.

Norton includes a handful of PC tools in its antivirus suite, which replicate existing Windows features, sometimes in a more limited way.

Optimize Disk is one such example. It’s Norton’s version of the Windows Optimize Drives utility, but more limited—it only defragments hard disk drives. Windows’ native tool is the better call, since it handles both HDDs and SSDs with the appropriate protocols. (Solid-state drives don’t benefit from traditional defragmentation.)

File Cleanup wipes temporary files in Windows, including any unwanted Internet Explorer files. (If the latter is applicable to you, it’s time to upgrade your operating system.) Again, you’re better off using the native Windows utility for this task.

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Startup Manager controls which apps launch automatically when Windows starts up—but you can easily manage this in Windows by typing startup apps in Windows search.

Graphs is the only interesting one of the lot, showing a history of system use (installations, downloads, optimization, virus detections, quick scans, and alerts). If you like to know exactly what your system is doing in the background, this overview makes those details easily accessible.

For these four tools, you must dig into Norton’s Classic view to find them. An additional tool lives in the My Norton view—Software Updater keeps track of out of date apps and lets you update them directly from the interface. (Our recommendation: Use the utility as a notification system, and then manually update yourself, to avoid potential software issues down the road.) Overall, Norton’s inclusion of these features is a nice thought, but not what sells the suite.

If you’re wary of Chrome, Norton Antivirus Plus includes an alternative called Norton Secure Browser. It’s also based on the same Chromium code as Google’s browser, but with a more curated experience.

Norton Secure Browser drops onto your PC preconfigured with the Norton Privacy Guard (which blocks trackers and some ads, but not sponsored search results), Norton Password Manager, and Coupons add-ons already installed. You can only uninstall the Password Manager and Coupon extensions.

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If you want to add more add-ons, Norton offers a pared-down storefront—but you can get more by scrolling all the way to the bottom for a link to the Chrome Web Store (or just hop on Google or Bing search). That’ll allow you to install stronger ad-blocking add-ons like uBlock Origin, if you want more comprehensive screening.

Help with Norton Antivirus Plus is available within the app, both from the My Norton and Classic views. Of the two, the Classic view is easier to navigate, but the My Norton view puts the answers to commonly asked problems right upfront.

You can also look up information on Norton’s support pages and community forums, and get technical support through chat, social media, and phone assistance. The in-app help and support pages are a good place to start, while the forums and company support are better options for troubleshooting.

Norton automatically updates the virus definitions and app version, but the LiveUpdate feature within the app also lets you manually check for pending updates. It looks for any changes to the antivirus protection, Norton app, and process protection.

If you need to find the version of your Norton app, you can access it through Help > About in the Classic view.

Norton generally performs well in tests performed by leading security research institutes—for online protection, at least. It caught 100 percent of the threats in AV-Test’s zero-day attack and malware tests for March and April 2025 (the most current results released), blocking all 459 zero-day attack samples. For recently widespread and prevalent malware, it detected 100 percent of the 18,722 samples.

In AV-Comparatives’ real-world protection test for February through May 2025, Norton spotted 99.5 percent of the 423 test cases, with 9 false positives. (Rival ESET had just three false positives, for comparison.) The samples were a mix of exploits (like drive-by downloads), malicious web addresses, and URLs linking directly to malware. Effectively, Norton will protect against dangerous websites, but its sensitivity can end up blocking legitimate websites or downloads.

AV-Comparatives’ real-world test results for February through May 2025.

AV-Comparatives

When facing AV-Comparatives’ March 2025 malware protection test and its 10,030 samples, Norton scored a 97.7 percent offline detection rate, 99.3 percent online detection rate, and a 99.96 percent online protection rate, with 10 false positives. Of these results, the online protection score matters most, since it represents how well antivirus software stops threats that reside on your PC—and Norton’s is among the top on the chart.

In AV-Comparatives’ June 2025 anti-phishing certification test, Norton detected 95 percent of the 228 phishing URLs thrown at it.

Norton did not participate in AV-Comparatives’ October 2024 Advanced Threat Protection Test, which evaluates a security suite’s resistance to more sophisticated, targeted attack methods like malicious scripts and fileless attacks.

AV-Comparatives’ malware test results for March 2025.

AV-Comparatives

As for PC performance, Norton Antivirus Plus can have a notable effect on common tasks—if running full scans while you’re active on the computer. The impact is softer during everyday activities, as shown by our PCMark 10 test. This benchmark simulates web browsing, video chatting, gaming, and file editing in open-souce programs like GIMP and LibreOffice. When idle in the background, watching for real-time threats, Norton Antivirus Plus had virtually no impact on PCMark 10’s test scores. But when a full scan ran simultaneously throughout the benchmark, the results decreased by about 6 percent.

That performance drop increased during our UL Procyon benchmark, which simulates document editing in Microsoft Office apps like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Benchmark results fell about 6 percent at idle, and almost 10 percent during a full scan. That difference swelled for our Handbrake encoding test, with a 11 percent decrease on idle and a sizable 22 percent tumble during a full scan.

However, these numbers don’t reflect how Norton typically handles full scans. After an initial full scan, subsequent ones only examine new or changed, which speeds up the scan time and reduces the hit to system resources. And by default, full scans are scheduled for off-hours.

Still, if you’re often copying to or changing files on your PC, Norton’s affect on system performance is something to consider—especially if you use a mid-range or budget computer.

As an entry-level software suite, Norton Antivirus Plus is an affordable, reliable option for those who don’t mind its dual set of interfaces. Its one-device limitation can be tight in an era where most people own at least a computer and a smartphone, but it’s cheaper than similar rival plans while offering more features. If you don’t need extra devices or features — smartphones are very secure even without third-party antivirus protection these days — this can be an ideal antivirus solution.

If you’re looking for an affordable Windows machine under $500, a blazing fast gaming beast for those intense matches, or a portable 2-in-1 for school or work, you’ve got plenty of great choices right now. We’ve hunted deals from Amazon, Best Buy, and beyond–so you don’t have to.

Want to see even more? Take a peek at PCWorld’s list of the top laptops you can get right now.

Dell

Our top pick: Dell Plus 2-in-1, $499.99 ($350 off at Best Buy)

If you’re after a convertible Windows laptop under $500 with good performance and everyday versatility, the Dell Plus 2-in-1 is a phenomenal pick. Its AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 processor and AMD Radeon 840M graphics deliver enough power for multitasking, web apps, and light editing. You also get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage, specs you rarely see at this price point.

According to PCWorld’s review of this exact configuration, it’s a “well-rounded budget 2-in-1 that offers good bang for your buck.”

• HP 14 Laptop, Intel Celeron N4020 processor/14-inch 1366×768 display/4GB RAM/64GB storage, $173.49 ($56.05 off at Amazon)
• Asus Vivobook Go, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $409 ($20.99 off at Amazon)
• Dell Inspiron 15 3535, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $423.26 ($26.73 off at Amazon)

• Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Chromebook, Pentium Silver N6000 processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 touchscreen display/8GB RAM/128GB eMMC, $319 ($130 off at Best Buy)
• Lenovo IdeaPad 1, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/256GB SSD, $329.99 ($250 off at Best Buy)
• Dell Plus 2-in-1, AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 processor/14-inch 1920×1200 touchscreen display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $499.99 ($350 off at Best Buy)

• HP Chromebook x360, Intel Celeron N5100 processor/11.6-inch 1366×768 touchscreen display/8GB RAM/64GB eMMC, $234.99 ($165 off at Adorama)
• Asus Vivobook 14, Intel Core i5-1334U processor/14-inch 1920×1080 display/12GB RAM/256GB SSD, $449.99 ($50 off at Adorama)
• Lenovo IdeaPad 5, Intel Core 5 120U processor/14-inch 1920×1200 touchscreen display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $499.99 ($50 off at Adorama)

• Acer Aspire 3, AMD Ryzen 5 7430U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $469.99 ($30 off at Newegg)
• Lenovo IdeaPad 5, Snapdragon X Plus processor/14-inch 1920×1200 touchscreen display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $485.99 ($114 off at Newegg)
• MSI Modern, AMD Ryzen 7 7730U processor/14-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $499.99 ($180 off at Newegg)

Samsung

Our top pick: Samsung Galaxy Book4 360, $749.99 ($600 off at Best Buy)

The Samsung Galaxy Book4 360 is a fantastic deal because it packs some featured you’d normally find in pricier laptops (like that gorgeous 15.6-inch 1080p AMOLED screen!). Performance-wise, it should handle multitasking and streaming without slowing down thanks to the Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM. It’s also light and easy to carry at 3.22 pounds, and the convertible design means you and switch between laptop and tablet mode whenever you want.

• Acer Aspire 5 15, Intel Core i7-1355U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 touchscreen display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $647.84 ($52.15 off at Amazon)
• Samsung Galaxy Book4 (AI), Snapdragon X Plus processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $724.81 ($175.18 off at Amazon)
• Apple 2025 MacBook Air, M4 chip/13.6-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $799 ($200.99 off at Amazon)

• Asus Zenbook 14, Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 1 125H processor/14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $639.99 ($160 off at Best Buy)
• Apple MacBook Air, M2 chip/13-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $699 ($100 off at Best Buy)
• Samsung Galaxy Book4 360, Intel Core 7 Series 1 150U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 AMOLED touchscreen display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $749.99 ($600 off at Best Buy)

• Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, Intel Core i5-1235U processor/12.4-inch 1536×1024 touchscreen display/8GB RAM/128GB SSD, $749.99 ($150 off at Adorama)
• Asus Vivobook 16, AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 processor/16-inch 1920×1200 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $759.99 ($70 off at Adorama)

• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor/15.3-inch 1920×1200 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $649.99 ($250 off at Newegg)
• Acer Aspire Lite, Intel Core i7-1255U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $679.99 ($120 off at Newegg)

Acer

Our top pick: Acer Nitro V, $809.99 ($240 off at Newegg)

The Acer Nitro V is a great pick if you want to game without dropping over a grand. It’s got a Core i7 and an RTX 4050, so it should handle most games smoothly at 1080p. There’s 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, which means fast loading and decent space. The 144Hz 1080p screen keeps things smooth, and the fans do a pretty good job keeping the heat under control during long sessions.

• Asus ROG Strix G16, Intel Core i9-14900HX processor/RTX 4060 graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,598.99 ($101 off at Amazon)

• HP Victus, AMD Ryzen 7 7445HS processor/RTX 4050 graphics/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $649.99 ($250 off at Best Buy)
• Asus TUF Gaming F16, Intel Core i7-14650HX processor/RTX 5060 graphics/16-inch 1920×1200 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,259.99 ($280 off at Best Buy)
• Asus ROG Strix G16, AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX processor/RTX 5070 Ti graphics/16-inch 1920×1200 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,549.99 ($450 off at Best Buy)

• HP Omen Transcend 16, Intel Core i7-14700HX processor/RTX 4070 graphics/16-inch 1920×1200 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,899.99 ($120 off at Adorama)
• HP Omen Transcend, Intel Core i7-13700HX processor/RTX 4070 graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $2,049.99 ($569.44 off at Adorama)

• Acer Nitro V, Intel Core i7-13620H processor/RTX 4050 graphics/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $809.99 ($240 off at Newegg)
• MSI Cyborg, Intel Core i7-13620H processor/RTX 4050 graphics/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $819.99 ($180 off at Newegg)

MSI

Our top pick: MSI Summit A16 AI+, $1,099.99 ($600 off at Newegg)

Honestly, the MSI Prestige A16 AI+ feels like the best deal here. It’s the same price as the Summit model ($1,099.99), but you’re getting a sharper 3840×2400 display instead of the lower resolution (2560×1600) one. That’s a pretty solid screen upgrade for no extra cost. And since both have the same processor, RAM, and storage, so why not grab the one with the better screen for the same price?

• Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024), Snapdragon X Elite processor/13.8-inch ‎2304×1536 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $968.79 ($431.02 off at Amazon)
• Apple MacBook Air, M4 chip/13.6-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $999 ($200 off at Amazon)
• Asus ZenBook 15 Pro OLED, Intel Core i7-13620H processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.99 ($100 off at Amazon)

• Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1, Intel Core Ultra 7 processor/16-inch 1920×1200 touchscreen display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $919.99 ($230 off at Best Buy)
• Asus Vivobook Pro 15, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 OLED display/24GB RAM/2TB SSD, $1,049.99 ($450 off at Best Buy)

• MSI Creator A16 AI+, AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor/16-inch 2560×1600 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,649 ($350 off at Adorama)
• Apple MacBook Pro, M4 Pro chip/16.2-inch 3456×2234 display/24GB RAM/512GB SSD, $2,299 ($200 off at Adorama)

• MSI Summit A16 AI+, AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor/16-inch 2560×1600 touchscreen display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.99 ($600 off at Newegg)
• MSI Prestige A16 AI+, AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor/16-inch 3840×2400 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.99 ($600 off at Newegg)
• Asus Vivobook S 16 AI, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor/15.6-inch 2880×1620 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,329 ($240 off at Newegg)

You’ll want at least 8GB, though 16GB is preferable, especially if you play games. Don’t buy laptops with under 4GB of RAM or 128GB of SSD storage—though on a Chromebook or a budget Windows machine, this configuration is acceptable. Check out our article on how much RAM does a laptop need for more in-depth info.

The one big difference between a Chromebook and a Windows laptop is the operating system. Chromebooks run ChromeOS and Windows run, well, Microsoft Windows.

Chromebooks make good everyday machines because they’re designed for browsing the web, checking e-mail, and so on. They use less resources and are generally more affordable than the Windows variety. They also don’t need antivirus protection. A Windows laptop is a lot more versatile in what it can do, and not just in terms of running local programs. You can really pump a Windows laptop up with a ton of RAM, storage, and so on.

You’ll likely find the best laptop deals during Prime Day (mid-July), Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), and back-to-school season (June-August). Sure, you’ll find good laptop deals throughout the year, but if you really want to save big, we’d recommend scoping out your favorite online retailers during those times.

You can find all kinds of deals across a wide range of online retailers such as Newegg, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and so on. However, we’d recommend checking out deals from laptop manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, and Dell. You’ll usually find many different configurations on sale and the discounts can be pretty darn steep.

For more options, check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now.

I find that writing up a to-do list takes a lot of the guess work out of my day. Since most of the apps I use daily are within the Microsoft ecosystem, it makes sense to use the Microsoft To Do app to make my list.

If you’re unfamiliar with it, To Do is Windows 11’s built-in app for managing tasks. It works on the web but also across iOS and Android, which means I can get reminders about things I need to do from anywhere. It’s also free.

I especially like the My Day feature in Microsoft To Do, which is the app’s personal daily planner. It’s easy to follow and straightforward to set up tasks.

What I want to show you here is how to use Microsoft To Do to create tasks based on emails you flag from your Outlook inbox. It’s something I do every morning, and it really boosts my productivity.

• Open and log in to Microsoft To Do. To find the app, type To Do in the Search bar and then click on it. The app may need to update. If you intend on using it regularly you might want to pin it to your desktop taskbar.
• Also log in to your Microsoft Outlook email account. Read your emails and flag any that you’d like to make tasks from.
• Now in Microsoft To Do click on Flagged Emails on the left menu. Your flagged emails should automatically appear. If they don’t, you just need to turn on this feature in Microsoft To Do’s settings.
• Once your flagged emails appear, right click on the ones you want to add to your to-do list and select Add to My Day.
• Now click on My Day on the left. You should see your that flagged emails have now become tasks in your daily planner. Click on each task to add a reminder, due date, accompanying file, note, and other relevant information.

Dominic Bayley / Foundry

And that’s it. There’s a lot more you can do in Microsoft To Do. For example, you can also share your to-do lists with colleagues, family, or friends, so be sure to have a play around with it to familiarize yourself.

One more thing… We’re emailing tips like this one out twice a week every week to subscribers of our PCWorld Try This newsletter. So be sure to sign up if that sounds like your jam.

Windows licenses cost a lot—painfully so. Paying $139 for Windows 11 Home or $200 for Windows 11 Pro feels expensive when Linux is free. That much money can easily swallow a third of a budget PC build. Yet with less developer support for Linux, Windows is a necessity for most people.

What’s not a given is paying full retail price. Yep, you can snag discounts on Windows 11. How much you’ll save depends on your circumstances (and your stomach for hassle), but if you’re lucky, you could technically get it for free. Legitimately for free, since installing Windows without ever activating it doesn’t count as a full, sanctioned copy of the software. (Ahem.)

Here’s how, in several different ways. These strategies often apply for Windows 10 licenses too, but that operating system gets the axe in October of this year. Your better bet will be Windows 11, as it’ll get feature updates.

Microsoft

• Price: Free

If you want to switch to Windows 11, you don’t need to pay to upgrade from Windows 10. You can make the jump for free.

You can only trade up to the same kind of edition, however. So if your license is for Windows 10 Home, you’ll move up to Windows 11 Home. Likewise if you have a Pro license.

Our Windows 11 upgrade checklist breaks down the steps for an easy transition, but in a nutshell:

1. Verify that your PC meets Windows 11’s requirements.
2. Run either the Windows 11 installation assistant or create Windows 11 installation media for a clean install.
3. If performing a clean install of Windows 11, match your edition type (Home or Pro) to what you had in Windows 10.

Also, if you choose a clean install, ensure you have your Windows 10 license key on hand, in case your hardware isn’t automatically recognized and you need to manually activate Windows. Not sure what your key is? Run a program like Magical Jelly Bean Product KeyFinder in Windows 10. (Our step-by-step guide explains how it works.)

Wondering what happened to the free upgrades from Windows 7 or 8/8.1 to Windows 10? Unfortunately, Microsoft finally shut that down in September 2023.

PCWorld

• Price: $120 (Windows 11 Home), $160 (Windows 11 Pro)

Our next suggestion is a method available to everyone and has the least amount of hassle: Purchasing an OEM license.

License types are different than operating system versions. They dictate what you can do with the software, while OS versions are distinguished by the features available. Multiple Windows license types exist, but the two commonly available to a home user are the retail and OEM varieties.

Buying Windows 11 from Microsoft’s website or from a brick-and-mortar store gets you the retail license. If you visit an online retailer like Amazon or Newegg, you can find both retail and OEM licenses for sale. You can usually spot an OEM license by its price, which tend to go for $120 for a Windows 11 Home license and $160 for a Windows 11 Pro license—though you can grab them for less during periodic sales.

All the features of the operating system version are the same for both license types. The difference is that with a retail license, you can transfer the license key to a different PC later on.

The process for activating a Windows 11 OEM license is the same as for a retail license.

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You can’t do that with an OEM license. In exchange for a lower price, you get to use the license key on only one PC, period. If you build a system, and then put together a replacement one four years later, you can’t transfer the license to the new machine.

Also, if the hardware used to identify your system fails—namely, the motherboard—Microsoft’s registration servers won’t recognize your license as valid after you replace the dead part. Microsoft has historically been kind about such situations, however. You can usually call to reactivate the license after replacing a fried mobo. But it is an extra hassle.

For further savings through a retailer, you’ll have to wait for a sale (like Black Friday), when you can get an OEM license in the neighborhood of $85 (Windows Home) to $120 (Windows Pro).

Otherwise, you can pick up a cheaper license through PCWorld’s very own software store. (Yes, that’s really us, and yes, the licenses are legit.) We’re currently selling Windows 11 Home licenses for $60, and Windows 11 Pro licenses for $80. Sometimes we even put them on sale!

Microsoft

• Price: $0 (Windows 11 Education)

Not all student discounts are reserved for the under-24 set. Your local community college might be a source for a free or extremely discounted copy of Windows—and nearly the equivalent of Windows Enterprise, to boot. You’ll just have to put in some legwork (perhaps literally) to get it.

As mentioned above, license types determine what you can do with Windows—and who can use it, as well. Through the Academic Volume Licensing agreements, schools can purchase access to Windows 11 Education for their students, faculty, and staff. Some make it available only on campus machines. Others will grant a license for use on a home machine.

In that latter camp are a number of community colleges, and they often make the Windows license free. The catch: You have to sign up for at least one course to qualify for campus discounts.

PCWorld

To get access to the software, you should register for your class first. Afterward, find the download information for your campus’s download method. Verification of student status is typically required before the installation file becomes available.

A one-unit class usually counts though, and depending on your state, it can cost as little as $80 including administrative fees. You’ll often find one-unit classes offered by the physical education or dance departments (swim, ballet, jazz, boot camp workouts, etc.), but you can also find the occasional class on topics like Beginning Drawing, Intro to HTML & CSS, and Video for the Web.

If you were already planning on taking a class in one of these subjects, you’re getting an amazing deal. The Education edition of Windows, which is similar to the Enterprise edition, includes popular Windows Pro features like Bitlocker encryption and the Sandbox feature. You’re essentially getting Windows Pro (and then some) for as much as 60 percent off—and you get to learn something new.

Windows 11 Pro’s Bitlocker feature makes encrypting a drive a very easy process.

PCWorld

Even if you aren’t interested in the classes, you’re still paying considerably less than what you would for even a Windows Pro OEM license. We don’t encourage truancy, but there’s nothing saying you have to show up for class, so long as you’re comfortable with a failing grade on your record.

Obviously, if your local community college doesn’t have an agreement with Microsoft in place, this strategy won’t work. Also, if the total cost of the class, administrative fees, and license fee adds up to more than the retail cost of a Windows Pro license, and you wouldn’t have otherwise taken the class, that negates this deal, too. In those cases, your main options are the OEM license (outlined above) or buying through a reseller (detailed below).

Note: If you use this method, also keep an eye out for other software deals through your school. For example, your school might offer a free Microsoft 365 account, or a heavily discounted Adobe Creative Cloud account (usually $20 per month, but we’ve seen it for as little as $100 per year).

PCWorld

• Price: Under $30 (Windows 11 Home and Pro)

Scoring Windows 11 at an 85-percent discount (or more) is possible, and it’s not even difficult. But this approach comes with a salt mine of caution.

Platforms like eBay and Kinguin allow buyers to purchase product keys from third-party sellers. Some sites, like Kinguin, specialize in digital software sales—to buy Windows, you’ll find the listings for Windows 11 Home (or Windows 11 Pro), pick a seller from the list, then add their product to your cart and check out.

What makes the license keys so cheap is that they’re gray market at best. In other words, the keys aren’t illegal, but they’re likely extras from a volume licensing agreement and not meant to be sold individually to home users. So they come with risk. Critics of this method rightly point out that you can buy keys that don’t work, or eventually lose their activation status because of their unknown origins. And that has happened to some people. Customer service is often poor for these kinds of sites, too, leaving you high and dry.

Fans of this method say many people never run into issues, and in fact urge you to find the keys as cheap as possible (usually through eBay) to minimize problems. You can also buy with a credit card for some added protection. If you go this route, you should get Windows Pro keys. The cost difference is often negligible from Home and you get better features like Bitlocker encryption and other Pro features.

But what we actually recommend is to buy through reputable sources of cheaper keys instead. For example, some professional organizations are able to negotiate deals for their members—we suggest starting there. You can also check to see if your favorite media sites have special pricing for readers. PCWorld’s own software store is a good source—it offers Windows Home and Pro keys at sizable discounts (often it’s regularly as low as $60 for Home and $80 for Pro), and the keys are guaranteed to work.

What if your laptop always had a 5G internet connection wherever you were, just like your smartphone? You’d never have to connect to a Wi-Fi network again or fumble with your phone’s hotspot feature.

Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 5G is the latest laptop with cellular connectivity. A 5G laptop can be as awesome as it sounds, but there are some catches. They aren’t right for everyone. And even if you’re willing to shell out the cash for one, I may have a better suggestion for you.

Here are several things you need to know about 5G laptops before you buy one and what your other options are.

Modern versions of Windows—both Windows 11 and Windows 10—have built-in support for mobile 5G data networks.

You don’t need any clunky manufacturer-provided apps or dongles. You don’t even have to insert a physical SIM card because Windows has native support for eSIMs. (For example, with Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 5G, you can insert a nano SIM card but you can also use an eSIM.)

A 5G connection on a modern Windows laptop just works… assuming you have a laptop with the right hardware, and you’re somewhere with a solid 5G signal, and you’re willing to spend extra for a cell phone plan. That’s where the trade-offs start to appear.

Most laptops still don’t include 5G hardware, and some laptop classes never include 5G hardware at all. Want a gaming laptop, or even just a workstation with a strong GPU? Don’t expect 5G. That isn’t the type of machine that gets a 5G configuration.

Microsoft

Indeed, 5G connectivity is generally found on business laptops from brands like Lenovo, Samsung, Dell, HP, and Microsoft. 5G is generally intended for workers on the go rather than consumers, although anyone can buy a 5G laptop and hook it up to a cellular plan. But 5G isn’t a standard feature even on business laptops!

Take the Surface Laptop 5G, for example. Microsoft says 5G will only be available on “different SKUs [models] of the Surface Laptop for Business” and only on the 13.8-inch model. Want a 15-inch Surface Laptop with 5G? Not an option. 5G is a high-end feature you pay extra for, and it limits your hardware choices. You can’t get it on whatever laptop you want.

A laptop with 5G hardware costs extra and Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptop 5G is the perfect example of this. The 13.8-inch Surface Laptop for Business starts at $1,499 while the 5G variant starts at $1,799. That’s an extra $300 just for the 5G hardware.

For Lenovo’s high-end ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 business laptop, you can add 5G hardware to the laptop when configuring it on Lenovo’s online store… and that upgrade will cost you $200 extra.

These are high-end models and they don’t often go on sale. You’re almost certainly going to spend a few hundred bucks on top of a laptop’s normal retail price for 5G capabilities.

You’ll have to pay for an extra cellular data plan for your 5G laptop. That’s an extra recurring cost on top of the high shelf price of the laptop, and the plan probably isn’t going to be cheap.

AT&T

For example, AT&T offers a DataConnect plan for laptops, which is 50GB of data for $55/month or 100GB of data for $90/month. If you run out of data in a month, you’ll pay an additional $10 per 5GB.

Verizon

Verizon will let you add a laptop data plan for $10 or $15 extra per month, which sounds like a good deal… but you need to be paying for an Unlimited smartphone plan through Verizon already.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile sells laptop data plans for $25 or $40 per line per month, but only to businesses. You may be able to use a T-Mobile tablet data plan with a laptop, but this isn’t officially allowed and T-Mobile could block it.

With those data caps, the dream of never connecting to Wi-Fi again may not be possible yet. But even if you had unlimited high-speed 5G data on your laptop, a solid Wi-Fi network usually offers a more stable connection anyway. And you almost certainly won’t have unlimited high-speed 5G on your laptop—it’s likely to be deprioritized after a certain point, even if the carrier doesn’t charge extra for using more data.

Your smartphone has a built-in mobile hotspot feature, which basically lets your laptop piggyback off its own 5G data connection. Unless you have a budget cell phone plan that blocks hotspot data, this should work out pretty well—it’s what most people do these days.

Chris Hoffman / Foundry

This can be clunky, of course, since you have to activate the hotspot every time you want to use it… but it doesn’t have to be! If you use a Samsung Galaxy phone, or any other phone that includes Microsoft’s more powerful Link to Windows (pre-installed) software, you can use the convenient “instant hotspot” feature that makes it much easier to activate your phone’s hotspot with just a few clicks from your PC.

Note that hotspot mode can drain your smartphone’s battery fast. But if you charge your phone while tethered, it’s a pretty nifty and convenient experience. Is it as seamless as if your laptop had built-in 5G? No, but using your phone’s hotspot is significantly cheaper.

A dedicated 5G hotspot device—like a Netgear Nighthawk M6—may be a better solution if you need constant internet connection for your laptop everywhere you go and you’re often beyond the reach of Wi-Fi.

Wes Davis / Foundry

A standalone hotspot connects to the cellular network, creates a local Wi-Fi network, then lets you connect your devices to it—laptop, tablet, phone, and anything else. These portable hotspots generally have more powerful antennas than the ones in a laptop or smartphone, so you get a stronger signal. They don’t drain your battery as fast, either.

Of course, a dedicated 5G hotspot would be another device you have to lug around and keep charged. You’ll also need a 5G plan for the hotspot, but at least you can share its data with multiple devices.

Dedicated 5G hotspots are generally marketed to consumers while laptop plans aren’t. They’re a better deal because you can connect multiple devices, and you don’t have to hunt down rare business-only 5G devices. You can use them with any device you want.

5G feels like magic when it works… but it doesn’t always work in the real world. When you pull over on a road trip and open your laptop where there aren’t any Wi-Fi hotspots, you may not get a 5G signal either. And even if your laptop does get a signal, it’s still just 5G.

We know from our phones that 5G isn’t perfect, and those much-hyped 5G speeds aren’t guaranteed everywhere. 5G may not be perfect indoors, either! If you hope to use 5G instead of Wi-Fi, you may find yourself connecting to Wi-Fi anyway if you’re somewhere where the cellular signal can’t properly penetrate the building’s walls.

It’s easy to tolerate issues like these in a pinch if you’re tethering with your smartphone’s data—it is what it is, and you can move somewhere else for a better signal. But if you spent a bunch of cash on a 5G laptop and you’re shelling out for an extra data plan every month, you may start wondering why you bought a 5G laptop in the first place. After all, your phone’s hotspot works just as well in most situations!

Most people should not buy a 5G laptop. Your smartphone’s data connection works pretty well, and there’s a good chance you already have hotspot data bundled with your phone plan. If you want more than that, a dedicated hotspot is the ideal solution that gives you a lot more flexibility. That’s the upgrade I’d recommend for most people.

If you spend a lot of time on the road and you want a cellular connection to “just work” without any extra setup, a 5G laptop can work. But you’ll be spending extra for less flexibility. In most cases, phone tethering or a dedicated hotspot are better options overall.

That said, I look forward to a future where every laptop has 5G cellular data (or better) and the cellular networks are robust enough to support them! We just aren’t there yet… and it might be a while.

Further reading: The best laptops that we’ve tested