News

• Windows 365 Reserve includes 10 days of Cloud PC access
• It's designed to plug the gaps during hardware, software or cybersecurity-related outages
• Affected users can access their work by logging in from a browser or the Windows app

Microsoft has revealed an initial launch of Windows 365 Reserve – a new service which gives users temporary, dedicated Cloud PC access when their primary device is unavailable.

The company says Windows 365 Reserve is designed to maintain business continuity during any type of outage, be it from a cyberattack such as ransomware, a hardware failure, software issues or loss or theft.

In a blog post, Microsoft Senior Product Manager Logan Silliman explained companies already have to deal with, "halt[ed] productivity, delay[ed] deliverables, and strain[ed] IT teams," but the new offering could lift a huge weight off companies during these times of stress.

Microsoft will give users up to 10 days per year, which can be split across incidents or used up in one go.

"With this solution, organizations can proactively establish protections that reduce both financial and operational impacts when disruptions arise," Silliman added.

Promising the usual suite of Microsoft 365 apps, existing Microsoft Intune policies and secure access from any device, Windows 365 Reserve could vastly improve a worker's return to productivity.

It also buys the IT team undisturbed time to remediate whatever the issue is without the worker effectively being offline.

Microsoft noted the feature was developed after customers expressed concerns about challenges preparing for disruptions.

End users affected by any type of outage can regain access to their work by logging into their Windows 365 Reserve via a web browser or the Windows app.

The limited public preview launch comes less than two months after Microsoft first lifted the wraps off the concept.

It remains unclear whether the service will come at an additional cost to businesses, and how any pricing model would work. TechRadar Pro did ask Microsoft to confirm this, but we did not receive an immediate response.

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• Turtle Beach has revealed its new Airlite Fit wired gaming headset for the Nintendo Switch 2
• The headset is also compatible with all prior Switch systems
• Pre-orders are now open and the headset officially launches on September 3

Turtle Beach has announced its new Airlite Fit wired gaming headset, which is officially licensed for the Nintendo Switch 2.

The company re-released the Airtlite Fit for the original Nintendo Switch earlier this year, with several color options including Neon Blue & Red, White & Black, and Ghost Purple.

The latest Switch 2 edition delivers the same lightweight comfort and immersive gaming audio that the headset series is known for, with a new design befitting the latest console.

The Airlite Fit is compatible with the Switch 2 and prior Switch systems, including the Switch Lite and Switch OLED, and comes officially licensed for packaging showcasing the official Switch 2 badge on the headset’s headband. This edition also offers a new Charcoal Black colorway to what was previously available for the Switch.

The headset also features high-quality 40mm speakers for "superior sound", a sound-isolating, bi-directional microphone with flip-to-mute functionality, premium, noise-isolating ear cushions with an over-ear fit, and on-ear volume control.

"Working with our partners at Nintendo, we are excited to release our latest Airlite Fit headset for a lightweight and comfortable gaming experience, licensed for Nintendo Switch 2," said Turtle Beach CEO, Cris Keirn.

"With proven, excellent audio performance at an affordable price, the Airlite Fit enhances the amazing experiences on Nintendo Switch 2 for gamers everywhere."

The Turtle Beach Airlite Fit wired gaming headset for Nintendo Switch 2 in Charcoal Black can now be pre-ordered for $27.99 / £19.99 / €24.99. It launches worldwide on September 3, 2025.

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• Microsoft has a new plan to persuade Chrome addicts to use Edge more
• A planned pop-up is only hidden in testing right now, though
• It may never be enabled, even in preview builds of Windows 11 – and I hope that's the case

Microsoft is apparently testing another way to drive Edge adoption and attempt to cajole Chrome users into switching to its browser in Windows 11.

Windows Latest reports that, in a new preview build of Windows 11 (in the Canary channel), there's some work hidden in the background pertaining to a new campaign to promote Edge.

This is targeting those who use Google's Chrome browser with a pop-up to get them to pin Edge to the taskbar when they close Microsoft's browser. Specifically, it's aimed at those who use Chrome a lot, and Edge a little (obviously you have to use Edge a bit to be exiting the browser in order to be shown the nag screen).

Windows Latest observes that one of the hidden flags – these are just lurking in the background at the moment, and not activated yet, even in testing – is for 'pin Edge when you close the browser' (so with it pinned permanently to the taskbar, you're more likely to come back and use it).

But the shadier move here is another flag which is for 'msPinningCampaignChromeUsageGreaterThan90Trigger' – and the key bit here is that the trigger for the pop-up appearing is if the Windows 11 user's Chrome usage is greater than 90 (meaning 90%.)

This means that those who run Edge more – i.e., those who are using Chrome less than 90% of the time – won't see this pop-up. The reason why, presumably, is because Microsoft doesn't want to annoy people who already use its web browser a fair chunk of the time.

However, those who almost exclusively run with Chrome (90% of the time, or more) will see this nag prompt – and the big question here is how might Microsoft quantify whether any given person's Chrome usage is 90% or more?

We can't jump to any conclusions about Microsoft snooping on folks on the basis of some flags hidden in testing – all of this remains theoretical and speculation. But this does appear to indicate that some sort of measurement is being mulled – and how would Microsoft gauge a heavy Chrome user? The obvious assumption is that it must be through some kind of telemetry (data collection).

And regardless of the answer to this question, or indeed whether this feature is ever enabled, this kind of flag is not going to do anything to assuage the fears of those who believe Microsoft is 'spying' on them with Windows 11.

And there's a good deal of paranoia around that issue, because Microsoft does, of course, utilize some telemetry with Windows 11. (Some of which may be justified, and some of which can be turned off – though notably not all of it, not unless you go to considerable lengths).

So, while we know that Microsoft collects some data on Windows 11 users, glimpses of the inner workings of the operating system laid bare like this aren't going to help the company's reputation. In my opinion, the software giant needs to tread very carefully in areas like this – and gauging browser usage to determine whether or not an Edge pop-up is shown (to Chrome fans) is crossing a line.

It might not ever happen – and I hope it doesn't, because this really isn't a path Microsoft needs to be going any further down. With some of the pop-ups and various suggestions in Windows 11, Microsoft can argue that it's helping the user in some way – prompting them to make a backup might be useful in some scenarios, for example. But in this case, Microsoft is only helping itself (and Edge).

From a broader perspective, we don't need any more nagging to use the Edge browser anyway. There's already far too much of this kind of activity going on in Windows 11 – which I feel is counterproductive anyway.

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• 115 inches to begin with, but more sizes are planned to arrive soon
• Available first in South Korea and then the US before a global rollout
• Approximately $32,000 / £24,000 / €28,000 / AU$49,750

Let's start with the bad news: Samsung's first micro-RGB TV is outrageously expensive. But the tech will quickly make its way to more affordable models, and could be a significant rival to OLED.

The newly announced 115-inch micro-RGB TV uses Samsung's exceptionally small LEDs to deliver what Samsung says is "a new benchmark for color accuracy, contrast and immersive viewing in the ultra-premium TV segment."

It's launching in South Korea first with a price tag of 44.9 million KRW; that works out as roughly $32,000 / £24,000 / €28,000 / AU$49,750. The USA will get the TV next, and it'll roll out to more markets after that.

The display uses a micro-scale RGB LED backlight comprising individually controlled red, green and blue micro RGB LEDs, each of which is less than 100µm in size. That means the TV can deliver much more precise lighting than a traditionally backlit LED TV, and that in turn means more precise and accurate color reproduction.

The display is powered by Samsung's Micro RGB AI Engine, which analyzes each frame in real time and optimizes the color output; it can also enhance dull color tones and intelligently enhance them to make them more vivid and immersive – hopefully less dramatically than the color optimization on my Samsung QLED, which does terrifying things to people's complexions.

The color output meets 100% of BT.2020, the global standard, and has been certified as "Micro RGB Precision Color" by the German electrical engineering institute VDE (Verband der Elektrotechnik).

Although the TV will only be available as a 115-inch model at launch, Samsung intends to expand the range quickly: it promises "a global rollout featuring a variety of sizes to meet customer needs" after the US launch.

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• EDRKillShifter is getting a dangerous upgrade
• The new malware can disable AV and EDR from reputable vendors
• Sophos, Bitdefender, and Kaspersky among the tools being targeted

Cybercriminals appear to have improved their antivirus-killing capabilities, as recent research suggest a new tool being shared within the underground community.

In a new report, security researchers from Sophos said multiple ransomware groups are successfully disabling endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems before deploying the encryptor.

Originally, the group known as RansomHub developed a tool called EDRKillShifter, which Sophos says is now made obsolete thanks to this new and improved variant. The new tool can disable security software from multiple high-end vendors such as Sophos, Bitdefender, and Kaspersky.

The malware is often packed using a service called HeartCrypt, which obfuscates the code to evade detection.

Sophos found the attackers are using all sorts of obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques to protect their tools from security defenders, and in some cases, they’re even using signed drivers (either stolen or compromised).

In one case, the malicious code was embedded inside a legitimate utility, Beyond Compare’s Clipboard Compare tool, the researchers explained.

Sophos also said that multiple ransomware groups are using this new EDR-killing tool, suggesting a high level of collaboration between players.

EDRKillShifter was first spotted in mid-2024, after a failed attempt to disable an antivirus and deploy ransomware.

Sophos then uncovered that the malware dropped a legitimate, but vulnerable driver.

Now, it seems there is a new method - taking an already legitimate executable and modifying it locally by inserting malicious code and payload resources (as was the case with Beyond Compare’s tool). This is often done after the attacker has access to a victim’s machine, or when creating a malicious package that pretends to be legitimate.

To defend against this threat, Sophos suggests users check whether their endpoint protection security products implement, and enable, tamper protection.

Furthermore, businesses should practice “strong hygiene” for Windows security roles, since the attack is only possible if the attacker escalates privileges they control, or if they can obtain admin rights.

Finally, businesses should keep their systems updated, as Microsoft recently started de-certifying old signed drivers.

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