So Microsoft wants you to use Windows 11 with an account, you can bypass that!

Microsoft insists you to use a Microsoft account when setting up a brand-new Windows PC, but what if you don’t want to? Fortunately, Windows 11 (Home 24H2) works in the same way previous Windows 11 iterations used to–without a Microsoft account or the need to go online. It’s not straightforward however, and you need to pull off a couple of simply technical tricks to make it happen when you’re setting up your computer.

The best way to do this is to use the official ISO file from Microsoft to install Windows 11 24H2 or create a USB stick for the installation. You can do this with official tools and sources from Microsoft. Additional tools aren’t even necessary, as everything can be done during the installation.

Click here for the rest of the article on PCWorld, that gives directions on how to bypass

5 smart ways to put your old laptop to good use

If you’ve got an old laptop sitting at home and taking up space, you may be tempted to dispose of it. But before you give it the heave-ho, know this: Your old laptop actually has more potential than you think and that’s worth exploring, even if you have a new laptop up and running.

You can do a lot of neat things with an old laptop, both practical and recreational. To boost productivity, you can turn it into a second monitor or a distraction-free writing device. If you’re looking to have a bit of fun, you can even set it up to play your favorite retro games. If you can avoid ditching your old laptop and adding to the e-waste problem, I’d really recommend it. You’d be saving money and helping the environment–that’s a win-win right there. Here are five creative ways to repurpose your aging laptop.  Click here for more information from PCWorld.

My God, it's here, renting a printer, thank you (not) HP

Hate owning and maintaining a printer? One of the companies often blamed for the madness, HP, is responding by offering a subscription program that’ll let consumers rent one.

On Wednesday, the company announced the HP All-In Plan, which it developed after hearing feedback from customers that owning a printer can be a “never-ending struggle.”

“Well, we hear you, and we have a solution. Say goodbye to your tech troubles and hello to hassle-free printing without ever having to buy a printer or cartridge again,” the company says.

The HP All-In Plan is designed to give subscribers a new printer and all the ink they need. In addition, customers will get access to HP’s “24/7 Pro Live support” with the promise to replace a faulty printer the next business day for free if the company can't fix the issue.

To start, customers can choose one of three models: the HP Envy 6020e, HP Envy Inspire 7258e, or the HP OfficeJet Pro 9010e, which range from $129 to over $220.

The goal is to offer an “all-inclusive, flexible and convenient service” that gives customers, including small business owners, the option to upgrade to a new printer after two years. But it seems like the devil may be in the details. The program starts at $6.99 per month($83.38 per year), but you'll only be able to print 20 pages each month.

(HP)

To print additional pages, you'll need to pay more, from $8.99 to as high as $60.99 per month, depending on which printer you sign up for and how many pages you need. Still, HP says the goal is to accommodate a range of printing needs, from occasional users to professionals.

The announcement also notes that “if your printing exceeds your monthly page plan, HP will automatically apply any available rollover pages and may provide additional page sets at an additional cost.”

HP adds that “early cancellation fees will apply if you cancel after the first 30 days and during the first and second year of your Plan based on the printer you select. After the 24-month term, you may cancel anytime without a cancellation fee provided you return the printer to HP.” In other words, subscribers need to be locked into HP All-In Plan for two years. A more detailed FAQ is available over the vendor's website.

The company announced the program months after it ran an ad campaign in Europe called “Made to be less hated,” which subtly conceded its printers can be infuriating to use. At the same time, HP is facing class-action lawsuits for allegedly blocking customers from installing more affordable third-party ink cartridges in its printers.

Why you should avoid free VPN services

A virtual private network (VPN) is a useful and sometimes indispensable tool for protecting privacy, circumventing country restrictions, or protecting oneself from persecution by totalitarian regimes. For example, you can use it to access your Netflix content from another country, send absolutely anonymous emails, or protect yourself as a whistleblower.

In principle, it works quite simply: Instead of connecting directly to the internet, you first log on to a VPN service through which all web traffic is redirected. Because you get a new IP address, curious people, trackers, or malicious actors can no longer follow you on the web. The new IP address no longer leads to one’s own connection or internet provider, but only to the VPN service used.

However, this is exactly where the weak point of the process lies: If the VPN provider is not trustworthy, uses weak encryption, or is lax with user data, the VPN protection shield quickly collapses. Free VPN services often give a bad picture.

This is a list of the best VPN services. And below are seven good reasons why you should choose one of our picks over a free VPN service.

Lousy data protection

Quite ironic: Actually, we use VPNs for reasons of data protection, but sometimes the exact opposite occurs with a free service. Instead of protecting us from surveillance and the sale of our data, free VPN services like to collect data about their users themselves — to make it worthwhile for the “free” provider.

The tried-and-tested saying applies: “If you don’t have to pay anything for a product, you are probably the product yourself.”

One can almost understand it: Hosting servers and managing traffic takes effort and costs money that cannot be recovered directly from free users. That’s why it’s almost always worthwhile to go for a paid VPN: Here, market-leading providers rely on well-founded data protection guidelines, do not use logs or sell off private user data.

Anonymity and data protection are the benchmark for paid VPN services that potential customers use as a point of comparison among the competition. Serious providers therefore attach great importance to this.

best for privacy

IVPN

Best Prices Today: $6.00 at IVPN

Slow transfer rates

A short but crisp point: With almost all free VPN services, limited bandwidths is a top annoyance. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that free services are popular and attract numerous users, but at the same time the providers here like to save on the infrastructure — after all, no one pays to use them.

If you want to avoid the geo-blocking of a foreign news site, a narrow bandwidth is usually no problem, but you can usually forget about streaming, loading videos, or online gaming.

Data limits

This continues the previous point in a logical but nerve-racking way: The low bandwidth of a free VPN is always accompanied by a limited data volume. After a few gigabytes per month, that’s it.

Users either have to switch to the next free VPN service (which can further undermine data protection) or wait until the end of the month when the provider distributes new data crumbs.

Advertising and pop-ups

If you look hard enough, you can find it: A free VPN that does without log files (zero-log policy) and promises truly anonymous surfing with secure protocols. But even this joy quickly comes to an end with the free VPN when the free service covers us with pop-ups, annoying advertisements, or promos on its own behalf.

There is one thing you can be sure of: There are certainly no data limits when loading such ads.

Restricted server landscape

Because with a VPN service the traffic is redirected via a remote server, it is quite important where this server is located. In order to avoid geo-blocking, it is important, among other things, that the server used is located in the same country from which the requested content is transmitted.

With 195 countries in the world, VPN services often have to invest a lot of money in their infrastructure in order to operate servers in all relevant parts of the world. Free users, however, are deprived of many such nodes. Without an available server in the USA, for example, you cannot access the country-specific Netflix offer there.

Further reading: Best VPNs for Netflix streaming

Encryption sometimes not up to scratch

The main argument for a VPN is, after all, data protection and the promised anonymity. Both depend directly on the encryption used — and can quickly disappoint with free services.

Sometimes outdated and weak protocols such as PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) are used. The NSA probably cracks this standard with ease by now.

Without the protection of solid encryption, private data can be siphoned off and abused without much effort. A free VPN has neither the financial means nor any particular interest in investing in sound data protection for users who pay nothing for it.

Customer service – what customer service?

You can probably imagine that as a free user you shouldn’t have high hopes for solid support. In case of questions, breakdowns or technical problems, you are pretty much on your own.

The situation is completely different with premium services like CyberGhost or NordVPN, where you can expect trained customer service representatives to be available seven days a week. Any uncertainties or technical problems can be solved at short notice.

best vpn for features

NordVPN

Price When Reviewed: $3.49 per month

Best Prices Today: $3.49 at NordVPN

Conclusion

Almost every argument for using a VPN is also an argument against a free VPN. Anonymous surfing, secure protocols, and sound data protection are only really guaranteed with premium services.

In addition, there are high bandwidths, reliable support, modern standards, and often global server coverage. Ultimately, with free VPNs you don’t pay with money, but often with your own data — and that’s what you really want to protect with a VPN service.

Setting up a local account in Windows 11 is tricky. Here’s how to do it

Microsoft might want everyone on an active internet connection while setting up Windows 11, but that’s not always possible. Some people have limited internet connections, while others may find Windows doesn’t recognize their ethernet and/or wireless hardware.

Having no internet can seem like a big problem, too, since Microsoft doesn’t want people creating local accounts during Windows 11 setup. Even when disconnected from the internet, the setup screen insists you sign into a Microsoft account.

Fortunately, you can get around this restriction. Turns out local accounts are still available during Windows 11 setup if you put in a little bit of keyboard work.

During setup, when you reach the Let’s connect you to a network screen, it will appear as if you can’t go further without an internet connection. But you can—start by typing Shift + F10 to open a Command Prompt window. 

Next, type OOBE\BYPASSNRO into the Command Prompt window. (This command is not case sensitive, so you can enter it in lowercase and it will still work.) Your PC should reboot, then show the start of the Windows 11 setup again. Go through the same steps as before to reach Let’s connect you to a network screen once more.

You should now have a new option at the bottom right of the screen: I don’t have internet. Choose it, then select Continue with limited setup. A screen with Microsoft’s terms and conditions will appear. Accept to move on to the next screen, which lets you pick a name for your PC. After you create a password and security reminder questions, you’ll finally arrive at the desktop.

 By the way, if Windows 11 didn’t recognize your ethernet and/or wireless hardware, you likely need to install their drivers. For prebuilt PCs, head to the product page for your specific model on the vendor’s website (e.g., dell.com, hp.com, etc) to find a link to related downloads. For a DIY PC, visit the product page for your motherboard for a link to the necessary downloads.

Afterward, you should probably switch to logging into Windows 11 with a Microsoft account. (You can do so in Settings > Accounts.) This sign-in method offers extra protection against dangers like loss, theft, and ransomware—for example, you get automatic device encryption on compatible PCs, as well as automatic backup of your documents, photos, and videos to your OneDrive account. You never know when having better security and rudimentary backups will bail you out of an unexpected bad situation.

How to upgrade to Windows 11: Every option explained

Since Microsoft has said that Windows 10 won’t receive any new features from now until it ends support in 2025, it’s a good time to consider upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11. It’s a free upgrade for your Windows 10 PC.

Downloading Windows 11 is very much like downloading the original Windows 11 beta, but there’s an additional tool that Microsoft has added to facilitate the process. In fact, there are four ways to download Windows 11, each with its own unique advantages. We’ll show you all four, after explaining what you should know before upgrading.

You can always consult our reasons to upgrade to Windows 11 (and reasons not to!) if you’re still on the fence and want to examine the question from all sides.

Click here for the full article on PCWorld.com