Microsoft Erases Tip for Installing Windows 11 on Older PCs; ChatGPT Search Now Free For All; Google Warns Users of AI-Fueled Attacks.. and more!
Every day, we scan the tech world for interesting news, sometimes from outside the tech world. Every Thursday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Thursday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
Microsoft silently erases tip for installing Windows 11 on older PCs
A popular method for bypassing the Windows 11 TPM/CPU hardware lock has been removed from official support pages
s the end of support for Windows 10 draws ever closer, Microsoft is taking subtle steps to convince users to buy new hardware. For example, one entry about bypassing the Windows 11 TPM 2.0 hardware lock was quietly removed from a support page (spotted by Neowin).
Microsoft once explained a popular workaround that allowed older PCs that didn’t meet Windows 11 requirements to install it anyway by tweaking the registry. The method helped get around the strict TPM 2.0 and CPU requirements.
The company expressly warned against using this trick to upgrade incompatible PCs because “serious problems can occur” if the method wasn’t employed properly. They’ve been saying this for a long time, and they reiterated it again at the end of last year.
The registry method still works, though, even if Microsoft no longer provides official tips on how to do it…
OpenAI opens ChatGPT search to all, no account needed
OpenAI says ChatGPT users no longer have to log in to use the model’s search engine feature, setting it directly up against the likes of Google and Bing. The search engine feature, launched for paid subscribers of ChatGPT last October before being extended to all users in December, is now live for anyone without an account.
In December, OpenAI says it has improved the general speed of the search experience based on user feedback. Previously, users had to explicitly click the web search icon to invoke the ability to search. ChatGPT now automatically decides whether to invoke a web search or just rely on the AI for the response. You can still force ChatGPT to use the web search experience by using the web search icon.
Besides giving answers, one of the main features of the ChatGPT search is that it can show a list of sources from which it was informed. This aims to be transparent with users, providing a better understanding of where the information is coming from and how reliable it is….
Gmail warns users to secure accounts after ‘malicious’ AI hack confirmed
Sophisticated scams fueled by artificial intelligence are threatening the security of billions of Gmail users. security warning issued
As AI-powered phone calls mimicking human voices have become incredibly realistic, a new report from Forbes warned that the email service’s 2.5 billion users could be targeted by “malicious” actors that are employing AI to dupe customers into handing over credentials.
The outlet reported that the cybercriminals deploy phone calls posing as Google support — complete with a caller ID that looks convincingly legitimate. The technician might say the person’s account has been compromised in some way, or that they are attempting an account recovery.
The so-called support agent will then send an email to the user’s Gmail account from what appears to be a legitimate Google email address to confirm the account was compromised and receive a code to recover the account….
A new strain of Banshee macOS Stealer puts 100 million Apple users at risk
While Apple’s Macs aren’t targeted by hackers as often as Windows PCs, they’re far from impenetrable. Security researchers at Check Point Research recently pushed out an alert warning 100 million Apple users that a new variant of the infamous Banshee malware has been detected, capable of stealing browser credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, and other personal data.
Check Point first uncovered the Banshee macOS Stealer, a malware-as-a-service targeting macOS users, in mid-2024, and has been monitoring this latest strain since September. The malware managed to remain undetected for over two months by cleverly incorporating the same encryption methods as Mac’s XProtect antivirus detection suite, with the hackers having “stolen a string encryption algorithm from Apple’s own XProtect antivirus engine, which replaced the plain text strings used in the original version,” Check Point explained. Since antivirus programs expect to see this kind of encryption from Apple’s legitimate security tools, they weren’t flagged as suspicious, allowing the Banshee macOS Stealer to quietly siphon data from targeted devices.
This strategy proved devastatingly effective at avoiding detection until the Banshee macOS Stealer source code was leaked on underground forums in November 2024. Though the service was shut down, Check Point warned at the time that new variants would emerge developed by other threat actors…
You’ll care about these 7 big changes coming to Windows 11 in 2025 — here’s what to expect
Start menu upgrades, battery icon improvements, and file sharing changes are all on the cards for Windows 11 PCs in 2025.
It’s a new year for Windows 11, one that Microsoft is proudly calling the year of the Copilot+ PC. As Windows 10’s end of support date nears, millions of users will need to consider an upgrade to Windows 11 this year. So, I thought it would be a good idea to take a peek behind the curtain at what Microsoft is currently working on for Windows 11 in 2025.
Some of the features we’re taking a look at are yet to be announced. Improvements to the Start menu, System Tray, Battery Icon, and File Sharing are all on the cards, and we can take an early look at them today thanks to the latest Windows 11 preview builds and @phantomofearth on X, who has discovered pretty much all of the unannounced features in development so far.
So, let’s take a look at the 7 most interesting changes and features that are currently in the works for Windows 11…
Thanks for reading this week’s Thursday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful.
