Android Authority has been digging around in the files of the latest ChatGPT app (beta version 1.2025.196) and now reports that OpenAI will soon start watermarking images generated using the AI tool. When generating an image with ChatGPT, you will soon be able to select “Save without watermark” in the menu behind the three dots in the top-right corner of the app. Obviously, this feature would be rather useless if images weren’t going to be watermarked. Will all users be able to save images without watermarks? We don’t know yet. Android Authority speculates that the feature may sit behind a paywall and only be available to paid ChatGPT subscribers. None of this has been announced or confirmed by OpenAI as of this writing, and it’s possible this feature won’t make it through to the stable release versions of ChatGPT at all. We’ll have to wait and see. Further reading: Are premium AI chatbots worth paying for? Read...

If you’ve ever wandered through some of the less-legitimate corners of the internet and/or the real world, you may have seen those “stream everything for free” Android TV set-top boxes for sale. As it turns out, they’re a real problem, with many of them hosting malware that turns them into a botnet that hosts proxies and advertising fraud tools. Google is taking an unusual tactic to shut them down: litigation. BleepingComputer reports that the revived BadBox 2.0 malware is now running on over 10 million Android-based devices, mostly those sketchy streaming video boxes. The botnet is mainly used to create fake and spoofed advertising tools that are essentially stealing money from Google and other advertising firms (presumably sending it back to operators believed to be in China) in addition to more varied activities like DDoS attacks, proxies, and ransomware proliferation. Google says those proxy connections are being sold to other criminals, for up to $1,390 USD for 500GB. Fake apps distributed to phones across the world, in third-party stores beyond the control of Apple and Google, are being used to reel in ad money. Google says these cheap Android TV streaming devices and gadgets are being used to host and spread malware.Google While Google can’t do much about hackers in China, it’s siccing lawyers on the companies who host the tools that make this botnet’s basic operations possible. They’ve presented a RICO case (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a frequent tool used by US law enforcement to attack organized crime) that asks the US District Court to shut down more than 100 domains that are allegedly operating the malware and associated tools. If successful, Google and the court would be forcing some pretty big web service companies—including GoDaddy, CloudFlare, Amazon, and Alibaba—to shut down services to these sites. I should point out that, even though these infected devices are running Android, they aren’t your typical Android TV/Google TV setups, and they don’t have Google Play Store or its associated safeguards in place. In fact, this botnet is conceptually no different from the big stuff that used to run almost exclusively across infected Windows machines in the 2000s and 2010s. It’s just that these Android-based boxes are cheap, popular, and easy to compromise thanks to Android’s easily modifiable nature. It’s an unusual move, to be sure, but Google seems to have exhausted the options it has with its own tools, which include monitoring and shutting down ad accounts. It seeks to force registrars to cooperate with Google to identify and shut down the infected domains, with “permanent injunctions” to prevent the hackers from simply repeating the process with new domains. Oh, it would also like some money, in the form of “appropriate equitable relief under applicable statutes and law,” and the usual statutory damages and attorney’s fees. Read...

Artist Anya Beaumont was inspired by `horror` of realising the amount of plastic in her own home. Read...

Windows 11 25H2 is coming this fall, which is right around the corner. But until recently, Microsoft hasn’t given us many details about it, so we’re still pretty much in the dark. But that darkness is slowly receding… and we’re starting to get a better picture of what to expect. The latest news is that Microsoft will be upping the “static analysis” requirements for driver certification, a move meant to improve the security and stability of Windows 11 25H2. According to the Windows Driver Developer blog post from earlier this week, all drivers will be required to undergo a so-called static analysis. “Static analysis is a foundational requirement of Windows Hardware Compatibility Program,” says the post. “The validation … [identifies] potential issues in driver code before deployment.” In other words, companies that want their hardware designated as reliably compatible with Windows 10 and 11 will need their drivers reviewed and validated by Microsoft. Windows 11 25H2 will probably be released at the end of September, but expect the rollout to take a number of months. Further reading: Important Windows settings to change ASAP Read...

Fans of complex strategy games, rejoice! Because this week Epic Games is offering a free PC game that’s truly worthwhile. Starting yesterday, you can get Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Platinum Edition for free! The Platinum Edition not only includes the excellent base game, but also the Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm expansions, plus the six DLC packs that came out post-release. It’s a must-have for fans of the series, but it’s especially great as an entry point for Civ newcomers. What makes Civilization VI so special? The Civ series has earned itself a special reputation among strategy gamers, as it combines all the aspects you could wish for—global strategy with different factions, city building, tech trees, and combat—all at a very high level with deeply complex systems. All of these elements take place on a hex map, which is also an iconic feature of Civilization games. Civilization VI is one of the best-rated games with a current score of 88 on Metacritic. The most recently released Civilization VII wasn’t as well-received by fans, so newcomers should try this one first. In the Platinum Edition, you get all of the following content: Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Civilization VI: Rise and Fall (expansion) Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (expansion) Civilization VI – Viking Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Poland Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Persia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Nubia Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Khmer and Indonesia Civilization & Scenario Pack If you decide to dive into Civilization VI, you can look forward to many sleepless nights thanks to its addictive “one more turn” nature. It’s great solo (local) and multiplayer (online). How to get Civilization VI for free All you have to do is log in to the Epic Games Store with an existing account and download Civilization VI. If you do this by 11 AM on July 24th, you can keep the whole game afterwards at no extra cost. This is an insane deal since Epic normally charges $79.99 for Civilization Vi: Platinum Edition. Get it for free while you can! Read...

Slack launches integrated AI tools and enterprise search, enhancing team productivity with smart writing aids and unified data access across apps. Read...

Most of us are wise to money-saving travel tips from replacing expensive hold luggage with cheaper carry-on cabin bags to buying your foreign currency online rather than at the airport. There’s another wise travel tip that could save you a bundle, and it’s much easier than stuffing all your clothes into a tiny backpack. One of travel’s hidden expenses is expensive foreign data roaming charges when away from your home country, which can rack up significantly for those of us reliant on our phones every day for news, socials and streaming. Getting an eSIM is the way to beat away unwanted hefty data charges via a dedicated digital mobile data plan. GigSky How eSIM’s make everything easy An eSIM is a virtual version of the tiny SIM cards our phone carrier has us install in our phones. Just like the physical SIM, an eSIM controls our calls, texts and data—just 100% digitally. You don’t need to change your phone number to take advantage of the much cheaper data while away, so you needn’t fear about being disconnected when you least expect it in an unusual foreign clime. Safer than Wi-Fi Of course, you could just rely on Wi-Fi, but outside of your hotel you must find a hotspot and then hope it’s a safe one where you won’t run the very real risk of exposing all your otherwise secure details to hackers. An eSIM is the safe, inexpensive and convenient solution to travelling with your phone while abroad. Buying a local SIM requires a physical purchase and activation, whereas an eSIM can be as simple as a download and speedy setup. You just leave your domestic SIM card in place, ready to swap back to when you get home. One of the simplest eSIM implementations we’ve tried is from GigSky, where you control everything simply through a free app—from choosing your destination and setting up your eSIM to activating it when you arrive at your destination and then topping it up with extra data if you need it. It couldn’t be easier. GigSky Who are eSIMs for? Combined with the app, international eSIMs are great for both casual holidayers and frequent business travelers, with fixed data plans range from 500MB to 50GB and in duration from just a three-day city break or business trip to over two weeks in the sun, on the slopes and even on a cruise ship. GigSky provides an unmatched service in 200 countries, including Cuba (which almost no other provider covers. It even works on cruise ships with over 200 of the biggest names such as Carnival, Disney, Celebrity and Princess included. This is bundled with a regular land service so that a single plan works on the entire vacation—as well as inflight on over 20 different airlines. Aside from the simple app that you need download only one, we like US-based GigSky as it is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that owns much of its core network elements, offering more flexibility and control compared to most eSIM providers that are just resellers. This means that its customer service can much better diagnose any network or installation issues, and you don’t need to buy a new eSIM for every plan. As a network operator, the app will always be accessible, even if you run out of data. Free trial Better yet, GigSky offers a free 500MB plan for Europe or 100MB everywhere else (no credit card required), for those who want to test this convenient and money-saving eSIM solution. Get 500MB of free mobile dataVisit GigSky Visa customers can take advantage of special promotional offers that allow them to redeem complimentary mobile plans. Read...

Dr. Ian Cutress, also known as TechTechPotato on YouTube and the industry analyst behind More Than Moore, is a frequent and welcome guest on PCWorld’s videos and The Full Nerd. And with him in the studio in San Francisco, it would be a crime not to pick his brain on the topic of CPU manufacturing. So that’s exactly what Will did. First up: what does it take to actually make a silicon chip in a factory? Or to be more accurate, a fabrication plant, or “fab” for short. I once heard it described as “A bag of goes in a machine on one side, the machine punches the bag, and you get a CPU on the other.” The reality is a little more complex. We’re talking thousands of individual steps with hundreds of different components and processes, some requiring scare and precious materials. And that’s just the physical stuff that goes into a chip. Actually getting the factory up and running is the work of years of planning and developing, and billions — sometimes hundreds of billions — of dollars from start to finish. And of course, things are getting more and more complex as processors become more powerful, using smaller components and processes on the nanometer scale. While a fab can continue making chips for years or decades even after it’s no longer cutting edge, the new stuff is so difficult that it’s getting consolidated into giant competitors. Right now it’s Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Intel, and Samsung. Between them they make chips for pretty much everyone, from AMD and Nvidia to Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, et cetera. But there’s a new “focused effort” to make a new 2-nanometer fabrication plant from a company called Rapidus, which is the spearhead for a new push for chip production in Japan. And like the other (remaining) big players, Rapidus would court production from massive clients like those listed above, along with partner companies in the country including Sony, Toyota, and Softbank, among others with the blessing and tax support of the Japanese government. It should be ready to start making absolutely bleeding-edge chips by 2027. So all this stuff is pretty high-end corporate stuff, and not much of it trickles down to us on the consumer side. But what about the chips that go into graphics cards? And if Nvidia, and to a lesser extent AMD, can make all the money in the world selling chips to the AI industry…why would they even care to sell chips to PC gamers? As Ian explains, a lot of the same tech and development that goes into that AI moneyspinner also goes into standard, consumer-level graphics cards, to say nothing of other applications like game consoles. To say nothing of the extreme specialization — you can’t just get a low-binned AI chip and throw it into a $2,000 graphics card instead. It also helps to diversify and stay relevant to consumers…because investors are consumers, too. Even a billionaire occasionally shops for a laptop. Thanks so much to Dr. Cutress for breaking down these complex topics for us. For more on the latest news and trends in the tech industry, subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube, and watch our weekly podcast The Full Nerd. Read...

Microsoft has decided not to move forward with plans for a simplified system tray in Windows 11, reports Windows Latest. The new design would have removed the full date and time display as well as the notifications icon, with the aim of creating a more stripped-down and barebones system tray. Although we previously lost the clock icon for notifications with Windows 11 24H2, the intended minimalist design was never finalized or fully realized. Microsoft was pretty close to rolling out these further changes, but suddenly pulled back—without offering any explanation. According to company spokesperson Brandon LeBlanc, the decision was made after negative user feedback, with only a few people showing actual interest in the simplified system tray design. As such, Microsoft listened to its user base and ultimately scrapped the plans. Read...

When we first heard about Arm chips in Windows laptops, at least some of us were hoping for more affordable options. That didn’t really happen… at least for a while. But over the last few weeks, we’ve finally started seeing some cheaper Snapdragon models, like this Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x that’s now $449.99 at Best Buy—today only! That’s a huge drop from its original $749.99 price. This 15-inch laptop was already one of the cheapest on the market to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processor, and it comes with the fantastic battery life and Copilot+ features that are the hallmark of that hardware. Getting 16GB of RAM is great at this price—it’s the minimum I would consider for a Windows 11 machine—although 256GB of storage isn’t anything to write home about. With a larger 1920×1200 screen and a roomy keyboard with a number pad, this is a great machine if you want a little more screen space for video or document work. Just don’t expect this laptop to be a gaming powerhouse, as Snapdragon laptops still struggle to perform with 3D games. I do like the fact that it includes a full-sized SD card reader, on top of two USB-A, one USB-C, and one HDMI port. For more details, check out PCWorld’s full review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x. Best Buy is running this significant discount—$300 off the retail price—for just one day. According to the countdown, it’ll end at 1 AM Eastern US time, and it’s possible that stock might run out before then. If this isn’t quite what you’re looking for, though, mosey on over to PCWorld’s picks for the best laptops on the market. Insane! Get a 15-inch Snapdragon Windows laptop for just $450Buy now from Best Buy Read...