A UPS [Uninterruptible Power Supply] uses one or more batteries that supply electricity to a PC or other electrical/electronic device(s) if/when there's a power outage. The basic idea with a PC is it gives you time to save your work and shut down gracefully, and they're also handy for brief power interruptions, e.g., when the lights flicker, so the PC keeps running rather than shuts down.

One problem however is that there's no great way to judge if the battery [or batteries] in a UPS are still good. In my case I use the CyberPower app on this PC, and checking the app after a couple of very brief outages -- 6 & 3 seconds per the in-app log -- the batteries were down to 40%! Based on the measured load the app estimated that I'd have ~45 minutes if the batteries were fully charged & in good shape. It was a lucky power outage BTW, since the extended warranty was up next month. The app's self test Did Not show anything wrong, so it's obviously useless in this case.

So, rather than wait for an outage, &/or if you don't have/use a monitoring app like CyberPower's PowerPanel Personal, it might be a good idea to, with the PC [or whatever] running, unplug the UPS from the wall and see how long it lasts, making sure the battery's still good. If you don't want to risk running Windows when it does shut off, boot to a USB stick for backup software or similar.

On a quick note, the latest PowerPanel Personal download is here -- checking for updates in-app did not show there was a newer version, and it had to be uninstalled first before the newer version would install.

cyberpowersystems[.]com/products/software/power-panel-personal/

Here's some games to make up for the game most of us missed today. Just gonna Copy/paste from the game page...

1. Here's free keys for some DLC here: http://games.giveaway-club.com/ I got mine last night right before I went to bed.

Crusaders of the Lost Idols - Epic Starter Pack DLC (Steam Keys)
by Codename Entertainment Inc.

Unlock crusaders, Collect gear, and Earn achievements!
Crusaders of the Lost Idols is the Award Winning clicker idle game of heroic awesomeness.
Create a band of unusual heroes to battle monsters, earn gold by killing them and use it to level-up and unlock new character abilities. Organize your Crusaders by designing the perfect formation for maximum damage.
Master Formation Strategy over multiple campaigns and events that are updated every month.
LEARN MORE: http://www.crusadersofthelostidols.com "

2.Just got this from my RSS feed...from Rock, Paper, Shotgun.."We've got 10,000 Robocraft starter packs to giveaway for the build-and-fight game's beta: https://goo.gl/XZsw7w

3.Wow! lots of giveaways today. Too bad I have this one already.

From Indie Gala: RPG meets Puzzle in the cross-genre indie game Gunspell! Try your luck in winning 1 out of 50,000 Steam keys we're giving away for Gunspell NOW on IndieGala![www.indiegala.com]

Another place I get games is...https://chrono.gg/ Not free but you can get a few bargains. The game changes at Noon EST very day. You can sign up for an email to remind you to check their site. Right now they have "Grapple -a 3D puzzle platformer. You can fling, swing and climb across everything in Grapple. Different surfaces react uniquely to your gooball. Grapple is as fast paced as you want to play it. With multiple checkpoints and unlimited lives your skill is the only thing slowing you down." $7.99 USD - 81% off $1.50 To BUY GAME

Happy Gaming!

You can see a video of game play HERE

SOMA is a sci-fi horror game from Frictional Games, the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It is an unsettling story about identity, consciousness, and what it means to be human.

The radio is dead, food is running out, and the machines have started to think they are people. Underwater facility PATHOS-II has suffered an intolerable isolation and we’re going to have to make some tough decisions. What can be done? What makes sense? What is left to fight for?

Enter the world of SOMA and face horrors buried deep beneath the ocean waves. Delve through locked terminals and secret documents to uncover the truth behind the chaos. Seek out the last remaining inhabitants and take part in the events that will ultimately shape the fate of the station. But be careful, danger lurks in every corner: corrupted humans, twisted creatures, insane robots, and even an inscrutable omnipresent A.I.
You will need to figure out how to deal with each one of them. Just remember there’s no fighting back, either you outsmart your enemies or you get ready to run.

zdnet[.]com/article/easy-way-to-exclude-ai-from-search-results-in-every-browser/

The article walks you through adding a new option to search using Google minus any AI overviews etc.

windowscentral[.]com/microsoft/windows-11/hp-laptop-bios-bug-leaving-windows-11-pcs-stuck-in-bitlocker-recovery-loop

If you own an HP laptop — particularly a high-end model, including HP EliteBooks, ProBooks, and ZBook workstations — there’s a strong chance you may encounter a buggy BIOS firmware update delivered through automatic Windows Update.

The flaw can cause your PC to freeze during boot or display the Blue Screen of Death, rendering it unusable until a fix is applied.

Some users have reported that their devices boot directly to the BitLocker recovery screen as early as April 2026. Even after entering the correct recovery key to access the desktop, Windows 11 fails to recognize the change, triggering the same BitLocker recovery loop.

While speaking to The Register earlier this week, HP indicated it's "aware of purported BIOS issues and is looking into the matter." And now, in a new support document — spotted by Windows Latest — HP indicated that:

"Microsoft’s 2023 certificates may fail to properly apply on the computer when this BitLocker issue occurs. To verify the status of this process, check the UEFICA2023Status and UEFICA2023Error registry values. If the UEFICA2023Status registry value remains in an "In Progress" state over time and the UEFICA2023Error registry value shows any number higher than 0, then the update process has failed."

Simple Coach Hire is a trusted UK transportation provider offering reliable coach and minibus services for group travel, airport transfers, corporate events, and festivals. Whether you need a f leeds festival shuttle bus, mini bus hire sunderland, or mini bus hire bristol, the company delivers comfortable and affordable travel solutions across the country. They also cater to major events with services such as coach boomtown transportation and customized group travel packages. For those seeking minibus self drive hire glasgow options or a low cost coach for long-distance journeys, Simple Coach Hire provides flexible, budget-friendly solutions backed by professional service and a modern fleet.

neowin[.]net/news/microsoft-is-giving-windows-11-major-performance-upgrade-by-making-cpus-work-harder/

windowscentral[.]com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-is-working-on-major-performance-boost-for-windows-11-that-will-speed-up-app-launches-and-common-actions-by-automatically-maxing-out-cpu-in-short-bursts

This is one to maybe keep an eye out for, though it may make things better, worse, or make no difference at all. When I'm using one of our lower power devices, e.g., the laptop with an Intel i3 CPU, when I click the icon to start an app, let's say Firefox, it takes a moment before the browser loads, and then there's a wait as it downloads the data & displays the home page. It's not horrible, but there is a noticeable difference between that laptop and this PC. Microsoft would like to reduce that delay by pushing the CPU to max power for 1-3 seconds. Back to that laptop, according to Task Mgr. the CPU is already close to max when I open Firefox, so I'm a bit skeptical that that will make any difference at all. And while it *might* make apps open faster on this PC, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to tell the difference [us mere humans generally can't tell faster/slower when talking about milliseconds]. But this IS Microsoft, so I'm prepared for something funky to happen beyond brief temperature spikes.

Notes from Indian communities revealed https://odds96india.in/ in comparisons about accessibility. The point was that pages load quickly without unnecessary interruptions, which improves usability and reduces frustration. It wasn’t highlighted, just part of a list. That subtle mention gave authenticity and showed how stability in performance is important, with Indian users agreeing that reliability enhances satisfaction.

Ashampoo UnInstaller 15 is on GOTD today, so I thought this might be a good time for a reminder -- often the Only way to put Windows back the way it was before installing whatever app is by restoring an image backup. That's why some folks use VMs [Virtual Machines] and Sandbox software, e.g., Sandboxie. That's Not to say there's anything wrong with Ashampoo's Uninstaller apps, or Revo for that matter. They *may* *sometimes* go a bit further than an apps own uninstaller, and if you let them search &/or clean Windows registry you may get rid of a bit more junk, though at the same time you may also break something, including Windows. Some changes are not easily reversible, while others may be near impossible to undo. Deleting some files and/or registry keys or entries may not always be 100% safe, so an uninstaller app will not even give you that option.

Sometimes an app will use Windows Installer [.msi file] and use that same file for uninstall, but since that file controls the uninstallation process, it's left behind. A 3rd party uninstaller may or may not find that file. Sometimes files are added and registered with Windows, so that afterwards they're effectively a part of Windows. And sometimes files are added that take over whatever functions were previously performed by files that came with Windows. Complicating matters further, software you installed afterwards may now depend on that, so reversing those changes would cause it to also break. The same sort of thing applies to Windows registry, since a software installation routine can rewrite portions of it -- to undo an installation would require restoring registry keys &/or entries that no longer exist.

There really is no perfect [or near perfect] solution. Adding software, even if it's *supposed* to be portable, means accepting some risk, though you can mitigate it by using a VM or Sandbox to at least check out an app before committing your regular copy of Windows. You can accept the fact that installing software changes Windows itself in ways that may well be irreversible, and that the hype used to market uninstalling software is just that, hype, and some of it will be false. You can set a restore point beforehand, though restoration may or may not work. You can perform an image backup, which will work, with the caveat that restoring that backup will reverse Every change made since that backup, so everything from recent emails to any software or updates added later will be gone.

Myself, I use an old app that barely works anymore called InstallWatch Pro in a VM to monitor file changes made during installation. At the same time I use another old app called Regshot2 to record every change made to the registry. That allows me to see if an apps impact on Windows IMHO exceeds its utility -- if it's worth it -- and if I go ahead and add it to may regular copy of Windows, what I'll need to do to fully remove it. But that's admitted overkill.

tomshardware[.]com/tech-industry/cyber-security/microsoft-bitlocker-protected-drives-can-now-be-opened-with-just-some-files-on-a-usb-stick-yellowkey-zero-day-exploit-demonstrates-an-apparent-backdoor

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/security/windows-bitlocker-zero-day-gives-access-to-protected-drives-poc-released/

I say *possible* because *to me* it does not seem it would be immediately useful to cyber criminals, though they might be able to build on it, taking the exploit further. To perform the exploit as published you copy the FsTx folder to the System Volume Information on a USB stick, cause the system to reboot into the Recovery Environment, then hold down the Control key until it reboots. When it restarts you'll be at the Command Prompt with full access to the encrypted drive.

Of course, if you are in the running copy of Windows, which is necessary to pull this off, you already have access to the files on the BitLocker encrypted system disk, so while I may be missing something here, what is the point?

neowin[.]net/news/mozilla-explains-firefox-crashes-on-intel-13th-14th-gen-raptor-lake-systems/

Mozilla's engineers have been trying to figure out the problem with Firefox crashing on Intel Raptor Lake 13th & 14th gen. CPUs for about a year.

Mozilla engineers traced them down to failures in a zlib-rs compression routine where a 16-bit dist value appeared incorrect which consequently led to index out-of-bounds crashes. However, the team suspected the underlying cause involved Intel Raptor Lake CPU bugs specifically the RPL050 and RPL060 issues related to incorrect load behavior. Mozilla noted however that Intel’s newer 0x12c microcode appeared to reduce the crashes greatly.

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/microsoft/microsoft-may-2026-patch-tuesday-fixes-120-flaws-no-zero-days/

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/microsoft/windows-11-kb5089549-and-kb5087420-cumulative-updates-released/

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/microsoft/microsoft-releases-windows-10-kb5087544-extended-security-update/

This update may fail to install -- per Microsoft: "This issue occurs on devices that have limited free space on the EFI System Partition (ESP), especially if it has 10 MB or less available." They post that the workaround is either to use Known Issue Rollback, or enter the following command at the Command Prompt running as Admin. and restart: reg add “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Bfsvc /v EspPaddingPercent /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f”​​​​​​​

That's certainly easier than enlarging the boot partition or creating a new one that's larger, though I can't help but speculate that those effected may wind up doing just that at some time in the future. My *guess* is that Microsoft is adding stuff related to the newer Secure Boot certificate to that partition.

neowin[.]net/news/windows-11-kb5089549-reportedly-failing-to-install-slowing-internet-down-on-certain-systems/

support.microsoft[.]com/en-us/topic/may-12-2026-kb5089549-os-builds-26200-8457-and-26100-8457-28ec2a99-4bbe-481d-a340-5c6cf18d9acb

Today is Microsoft's May 2026 Patch Tuesday, with security updates for 120 flaws and no zero-days disclosed.

This Patch Tuesday addresses 17 "Critical" vulnerabilities, 14 of which are remote code execution, 2 are elevation of privilege, and 1 is an information disclosure flaw.

The number of bugs in each vulnerability category is listed below:

61 Elevation of Privilege Vulnerabilities
6 Security Feature Bypass Vulnerabilities
31 Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities
14 Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities
8 Denial of Service Vulnerabilities
13 Spoofing Vulnerabilities

Minibin Lite consists of 2 files, one at 10KB & a 110MB .txt file in a folder under Program Files (x86). What are likely sponsored icons & URL shortcuts are also added both to the Program Files (x86) folder and the desktop. Installation adds an uninstall key to the registry, but nothing else and no other files are added, so the app should run portably, e.g., from a USB stick after copying the Minibin Lite folder to that USB stick. It is not a portable app though in the strictest sense since when it's run a registry entry is created for the tooltip.

neowin[.]net/news/dell-pcs-are-running-into-constant-bsod-reboot-loops-and-windows-11-isnt-the-culprit/

... affected users are finding themselves faced with a PC that constantly reboots after hitting a blue screen of death (BSOD). The problem has been experienced by several people including one of Neowin's long-time forum members, polo69, who says they have been hitting BSODs every 30 mins or so after a new Dell software update.

Recently, I bought an Apple MacBook Neo. It has 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. It uses an iPhone CPU. It is currently the cheapest MacBook, but still more expensive than a comparable Windows 13 inch laptop. The main reason for buying it, was to find out if it is a real alternative to Windows.

My first experiences are that setting up is quite easy, if you already have an iPhone. It will automatically copy all settings. With Spotlight, activated by pressing the Apple key and the adjacent space bar, you will not need the Start Menu, making running your favourite apps, files and sites very simple. SA will run its Safari browser, GI opens the Givewayoftoday site, etc. BE will start the mail programme Betterbird. Etc. Some of the iPhone and Windows apps I use daily, such as Sticky Password and PDFGear, do not function correctly on the Neo. Perhaps these apps need an M CPU?? On the other hand, LibreOffice, Thunderbird and Betterbird run smoothly. And pCloud too, my Swiss data storage cloud.
It does not run the iPad Dutch banking apps, so it cannot function as a replacement for my wife's ageing iPad.

Tuning the settings of MacOS is simpler than Windows. Apple produces both the OS and the hardware, and that definitely is an advantage. Installing and de-installing software is simpler than on a Windows machine. And it needs updates not as often as my Windows machines. Having 16 hours of usage time on a single battery charge is nice if you need to take it with you.

If you get fed up with Windows, the cheapest solution still is to switch to Linux. But the MacBook Neo is easier to use and manage. If you want to edit videos, you will need a real MacBook with an M-processor and more RAM.

Arkanoids and Breakouts:

The following is part of my post made in the forums in response to Elefun’s3D arkanoid/Brick buster giveaway Egyptian Ball, though it's been substantially extended. I posted the full review over in the comments section HERE by mistake (where you can also see the communities opinions of the game) so I'm not going to repost it here, though I thought I would add the notes section as it contains all the freeware arkanoids that in my opinion are worth downloading. (There are loads more but most are all sub par in my opinion). I've included the free commercial games available from GameTop and FreeGamePick though technically they are not freeware as elsewhere you do have to pay for them.

There are many arkanoid/breakout clones available today, though most in my opinion are run of the mill sorts; however there are the occasional jewels amongst the pieces of fake jewellery to be found. Ball breaking games have always be amongst my favourite arcade games ever since the inception of the original breakout game called Breakout by Atari (1976) that is available to play via various browser sites now, plus you can get the sequel Super Breakout free HERE (1979); it does require DOSBox to work.

I played the original and its sequel to distraction in my local hostelry via those cabinet games that are now selling to collectors for thousands of pounds; (one of my dreams would be for an arcade full of those old games and must include all the classic pinball machines; much like Flynn's Arcade from the movie TRON, ); then a decade later in 1986 I loved Taito’s arcade follow-up to Amiga's breakout game ARKANOID (1987) and it's sequel ARKANOID: REVENGE OF DOH (1989); All of which I spent a small fortune on in the mid 70's to the late 80's whenever I visited a game arcade; especially while serving in the British Army overseas in my local NAFFI and Toc H clubs and later when I went to university as a mature student in the 80's. The university students union had a small darkened area cordoned off, called 'The Cave', where you could play all the early classics. Looking back on those games; many of which you can now get freeware from sites like My Abandonware. I sometimes wonder how I could have spent so much money (and time) playing those original games as they were very basic; especially now when you see some of the brilliant clones that they spawned. Though at the time of their release I thought they were all out of this world.

If you are new to the arcade games world I would suggest you check out the following arkanoid/breakout titles; all of which offer something different than the usual game. The first lists (both 2D and 3D) below are not free though (apart from those I mention as freeware). I just thought I’d add them in just in case you were tempted to buy any Arkanoid's. These are in my opinion the nirvana of brick busting games, in particular the first one, which although dated continues to spring surprises on you throughout the game. You cannot compare the 2D and 3D Arkanoid's as the game play is poles apart. Most of the most beautiful Arkanoid's are 3D, but graphics don’t make the game play in my opinion (though they can make it seem like more fun). I’m tempted to list all the Arkanoid's I know and have bought, but apart from it talking far too long, I don’t want to list those I consider sub par, though I may at a later date add in my top 20 or 30 arkanoid games that does contain several Arkanoid's that have been given away here (eg Ball 7 and Aqua Ball to name just a couple):

2D Arkanoid's:

1) Aky’s XP Breakout

2) Arcamania 2 (there’s a free stand alone pack available for this game called Arcamania 2 Retro that contains about 20 levels. It's worth the download in my opinion as although you only get 20 levels. Each level is quite hard and can last upwards of 10 minutes or more). You'll find the game HERE. I've checked the download via Virus Total and it gave it a clean bill of health; you can see the results of the scan HERE

3) Ricochet Infinity (2007) is now free HERE. It has thousands upon thousands of custom made levels totally free that used to be directly linked from the game to the developers fan site. Unfortunately the game was sold to Amazon a decade ago and the site where all the free levels were hosted closed several years ago. Thankfully, fans created a site where many of the level sets are still available, but you have to manually add them to the game via it's installed folder. You can find details of that site and a link HERE. Earlier versions of this game have seen it evolve into one of the most brilliant arkanoid clones available today. All but the first in the series sports a levels editor, which have given rise to thousands of level sets. I last counted (by averaging out the numbers) that there was in the region of 35 000 separate boards available for this game. I don’t know whether the latest game infinity gives you direct access to all of those, but if you own one of the previous titles you can download them directly from the fan site in blocks of between 10 and over a 100 at a time. You can get previous versions of the game for free now i.e. Ricochet: Lost Worlds (2004), Ricochet Lost Worlds: Recharged (2004), RICOCHET (2001) by clicking on the links.

4) Reaxxion

5) Hyperballoid 2 This is far superior to the original series . It retains some elements from the original, but has been given a complete overall. so far since it's release just before Christmas 2007 I've been really impressed with the game play.
6) Arkanoid the Virtual Islands (TVI) This one is quite unusual in that it's a cross between a breakout and a space shooter. Each level consists of a constantly moving board that you travel along with your space ship:

I would also recommend checking out the freeware section of the project where you will find several freeware alternatives. Notably Beat Ball (2003), Virus Total Scan showed 100% safe. and Wreckerball Dreams which are probably some of the better freeware games:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/freeware/search.php?string=Arkanoid%20games&startpage=1 or you can download Wreckerball Dreams,/em> from the developers site where you’ll find another freeware game mentioned elsewhere in this post.

Two more freeware arkanoid games I would recommend are called Hoowaball and DX Ball. The former has no English titles yet, but apart from the German titles this game is easy to play and has an unusual take on the game. DXBall was later updated to Super DXBall Deluxe which isn’t free, but does have free level packs available if you did happen to buy it: ( http://www.blitwise.com/downloads.html )

Hoowaball:

DX-Ball (1998), Virus Total Scan showed 1 suspicious file from 45. You can get an updated DX-Ball 2: 20th Anniversary Edition via Steam:

Kuruku (released ?), Virus Total Scan showed 100% safe.

Peoing (2003), Virus Total Scan showed 100% safe.

a href="http://www.caiman.us/scripts/fw/f633.html" rel="nofollow">Powball (2000), Virus Total Scan showed 100% safe.

3D Arkanoid's:

I consider the 2D Arkanoid's a cut above the 3D Arkanoid's for game play simply because the ball speeds are often far greater and therefore make the games more challenging, though there are a few noteworthy examples of 3D Arkanoid's that I’ve listed below which I consider worthwhile buying (though being an arkanoid freak I’ve actually bought far too many that really were not worth the effort):

Incrediball:The Seven Sapphires (still my favourite despite more up to date games such as Magicball 3 being released) The developers of Magicball series (Alawar) were forced to change the name of their games due to another developer having acquired the name first. Forgot the new name, but will update when I remember.

Nuclear Ball 2 (see below for a link to a free version of Nuclearball)
Gem Ball (you can get this free from gametop.com as Scaraball – see links below)
Actionball 2 (and it’s predecessor Actionball Deluxe)
Chak’s Temple though this game is maybe a little tame, but I like it none the less)
Neoball

I don’t include any of the Magic Ball series here as I think despite the last one being beautifully rendered, there’s no challenge to them and apart from the graphics being upgraded, there’s little else that’s changed apart from a few extra bonuses added. To my knowledge there are no 3D Arkanoid's available as freeware but you can get at least five commercial Arkanoid's (four of which are 3D) totally free (though you do get a browser opening to the distributors page on closing the game down – which links you to around 50 commercially available games, all for free):

ScaraBall aka Gem Ball

Brixout (3D):

Sawoid (3D)

A Ball aka Nuclear Ball (3D):

Starball (2D):

Arkan Ball (2D):

I decided not to write a review of each of these games as a break out is a breakout no matter how you package it. What I like about the different versions is the variety of settings, the different power ups and the different ways the ball and bricks react in each game. If I could only take three Arkanoid's with me it would have to be Ricochet Infinity (partly because it has a levels editor), Acky’s XP Breakout (another that has a levels editor) and Incrediball:The Seven Sapphires. Unfortunately none of these are free games, though you can find one of the ricochet series as a free browser game, though the link is on another computer, so I’ll post that later if I remember.

Please add other freeware Arkanoid's to this list if you have the time. I’ll probably search out the document I made up for someone a while back that lists quite a few freeware Arkanoid's, but only when I have the time. In the mean time as mentioned above if the ones I’ve mentioned are not enough follow the link to the freeware library games. There are several others you can get that are playable. I’ve posted links to lots of images of most of the games I’ve mentioned above. However remember that graphics are not always a good measure of deciding whether a game is worthy, for example when looking at the Acky’s XP Breakout images, they just look like a boring and dated game. The dated bit is partially correct as the game is several years old now; but no other game comes close (apart from Ricochet: Infinity) to beating it’s game play. Here’s a link to a demo for you to find out, though the time you get is not enough for you to experience the extreme part of the game which is almost like having a second game. You have to earn the right to play the extreme part of the game which takes about 20 levels. There are 150 levels to work through plus you can download a couple of free level packs (100 levels in total) as well as make as many as you wish yourself using the levels editor;

http://www.isotope244.com/games/ab/ackys-xp-breakout.html

Googled Images I've asterisked those that are either freeware or free commercial games:

Gemball/Scaraball *

Brixout *

Nuclear Ball aka A Ball *

Sawoid *:

See the download page for images

Incrediball: The Seven Sapphires:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Incrediball%3A+The+seven+sapphires&btnG=Search+Images

Acky’s XP Breakout:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Acky%27s+XP+Breakout&btnG=Search+Images

Poing *:

http://www.firestormproductions.co.uk/poing/

BeatBall *:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Beatball&btnG=Search+Images

Hoowaball *:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Hoowaball&btnG=Search+Images and http://www.caiman.us/scripts/fw/f792.html

Actionball 2: Oddly there’s no images of this game yet, so I’ve posted images of the original, which looks similar.

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Action+ball+&btnG=Search+Images

Hyperballoid 2:

No images found

Arcamania 2 Retro *:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Arcamania+2+Retro&btnG=Search+Images

Reaxxion:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Reaxxion&btnG=Search+Images

Ricochet Infinity:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Ricochet+infinity&btnG=Search+Images

Chak’s Temple:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Chak%27s+Temple&btnG=Search+Images

Neoball:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Neoball&btnG=Search+Images

Wreckerball Dreams *: (you can also find a match three game for free called Hexagon wild from glinkie games).

http://www.glinkiegames.com/main/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=5&MMN_position=5:3

DXBall *:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=DXBall&btnG=Search+Images

Arkanoid the Virtual Islands (TVI):

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=Arkanoid+TVI&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Sawoid *:

See the download link page for images

Starball *:

See the download link page for images

Arcanball *:

See the download link page for images

If you want to find more arkanoids and breakout games, both 2D and 3D check out the arkanoid site:

http://www.arkanoid.com/games/index.php?PAGEN_1=1#nav_start

Here’s a great site for freeware arkanoids, though not all are free. You’ll find a mix of downloadable games and browser games. In particular I”d recommend you download Jarkanoid 3 * and 2 * as well as Mcky’s Breakout 1 * and 2 *:

http://www.caiman.us/scripts/fw/fbreakout.html

More to come later……………….. Hmmm, just remembered, try Ploing 2 as well. It’s not free but the demo is a generous one. There’s a freeware alternative called Ploing 1, but I’m having trouble downloading it at the moment. If anyone finds a working link please post it here:

Ploing 2

http://membres.lycos.fr/plong/

neowin[.]net/news/official-windows-11-registry-mod-blocks-automatic-download-of-4gb-ai-model-on-google-chrome/

Both Chrome & Edge can download AI models for local AI processing by the browser. I 1st became aware of Chrome doing this scanning the drive with WizTree -- Chrome stores ~4GB in Users\ [UserName]\ AppData\ Local\ Google\ Chrome\ User Data\ OptGuideOnDeviceModel\. If Edge has done similar I don't know where it's stored. From what I've read there's no switch in Chrome to turn this off, and it replaces the files if you delete them. Neowin writes that there's a registry entry that prevents Edge from downloading AI models, and will cause it to delete any that it's already downloaded. They also include a version of the same policy setting for Chrome.

Does it work? I've no idea yet, but after a few hours the Chrome model's still there. If it doesn't go away on its own I'll try deleting it, and see if it returns. I'll let you know.

neowin[.]net/software/killerpdf-130/

KillerPDF is a cute, 6MB .exe file that runs portably allowing you to do some basic editing of PDF files. When you run it a screen appears with options to add a shortcut and/or install, or you can uncheck the shortcut and just click run.

reuters[.]com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/fcc-banning-imports-new-chinese-made-routers-citing-security-concerns-2026-03-23/

fcc[.]gov/faqs-recent-updates-fcc-covered-list-regarding-routers-produced-foreign-countries

No one needed any further proof of the US government's incompetence & insanity, but here it is. The gov will not authorize or approve ANY new routers for home or consumer use -- already approved routers can still be imported & sold. They are allowing router manufacturers to provide software &/or firmware updates for 1 year -- how generous of them. The idgits say it's because of national security, but limiting the ban to consumer grade devices actually shouts that that's a lie. Playing devil's advocate, let's say a router was compromised at some overseas factory. That could mean bad people could spy on you, and see what you were looking at and saying online. But they're overseas, and there's nothing that they could possibly do to you. And the idea that spying on you as an individual compromises national security is laughable. Now a business or government agency is an entirely different story, but they're exempt from the ban! The true purpose for this lunacy is revealed in the requirements to get government approval in the future... the demands include concrete plans to manufacture whatever routers in the US. Might sound good to the terminally simple minded, but the reason routers are not made here is that the supply chains & circuit board manufacturing expertise do not exist in the US. Many consumer routers are designed here by US-based companies, but no one can come up with an example I've seen/read of any company actually making them here.

IMHO there's a potential added effect... If a company thinks that their US sales are likely to plummet, why offer continuing support to customers in the US? Would that not be wasted expense? We might not see any router software/firmware updates in the US, no matter how urgently needed.

Wild drive, the sweet taste of victory, and instant recording of round results help gamblers to completely forget about the daily routine. The official brand glory casino gives a great opportunity to all risk fans in Bangladesh to enjoy quality machines in a licensed casino. The menu structure is very simple: large clear buttons allow you to easily manage spins. Launch super slots, catch explosive emotions from landing gold coins, take your easy money, and calmly transfer your winnings.

mindgard[.]ai/blog/claude-offers-up-instructions-to-make-explosives

Ever since ChatGPT arrived folks have been trying to get it to break its own rules. And that's where the companies behind various LLMs [AI] have focused their guardrails. You ask it about a topic like making explosives and it won't comply. BUT. When they design/create these models they include stuff to make it feel more human, which means they're vulnerable to human frailties like flattery and gaslighting. This [to me fascinating] article tells how the author was able to get the Claude model from Anthropic to cheerfully volunteer to provide instructions for making explosives, providing the programming code for malware and so on. All because he subjected the model to *psychological manipulation* techniques, as if it was human. FWIW, seems Grok is worse.

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/security/cloudz-malware-abuses-microsoft-phone-link-to-steal-sms-and-otps/

Windows Phone Link can access your phone to do everything from make calls and send texts to copying pictures you've taken, and as shown with the CloudZ malware, that also means stuff like sensitive messages, texts, & one time passwords. That's another potential weakness to think about before you use Phone Link.

windowscentral[.]com/microsoft/microsoft-edge-will-load-all-your-passwords-into-memory-in-plaintext-but-microsoft-says-its-not-a-security-concern

Edge stores your passwords in system memory in the same format as a plain text file created in Notepad, making it easy for software to dump & save the contents. Microsoft doesn't consider this a vulnerability worth fixing, because to actually grab those passwords someone would already have to have access to your PC/laptop, e.g., you'd already have to be infected with some sort of malware (!). Of course there are different degrees of compromise -- malware with easier to gain user privileges can't steal as much or create as much havoc as malware running as admin., so you want to make it harder to do bad stuff &/or harder to escalate to admin. privilege level. But apparently Microsoft takes the stance that any access means Game Over, you're on your own. And if that's their official stance, I guess it makes perfect sense to disable their driver blocklist, as installing a driver is rarely if ever the 1st step in an exploit. So why bother making sure that list is accurate?

neowin[.]net/news/windows-11-gets-big-feature-update-with-xbox-mode-new-file-explorer-features-and-more/

The headline feature of KB5083631 is the *slowly rolling out* new Xbox mode, which replaces the desktop with a controller friendly screen, as when using an Xbox. The part that worries me a little is below. Microsoft is trying to tighten security around drivers, which is good since using a driver with known vulnerabilities is a favorite trick of malware -- it'll install such a driver, then use it to make sure the exploit starts early in the Windows startup process. The bad part is that some drivers will wind up being blocked -- probably less common ones from less common sources, so it may be unlikely you'll find an alternative or newer version. I'm thinking things like Bluetooth, WiFi, Touchpads, Touch screens etc., since even big brands can use parts from small, less known companies to save costs, and/or there are a ton of low cost dongles for things like WiFi & Bluetooth out there.

[Windows Driver Policy update] New! This update improves Windows security by changing how the Windows kernel trusts third‑party drivers. Default trust for cross‑signed drivers is removed, while drivers from the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) and an allow list of trusted legacy drivers remain allowed. Windows audits driver compatibility for at least 100 hours and three reboots before enabling enforcement. After enforcement, a small number of cross‑signed drivers might be blocked. For more information, see the Windows driver policy and the Advancing Windows driver security blog.​​​​​​​

oo-software[.]com/en/diskimage-backup-your-data

shop.oo-software[.]com/36/purl-may4th?

Macrium Reflect *was* arguably the best image backup solution for home & biz, though there were better solutions IMHO for large corporations using the cloud. It was somewhat expensive, though once or twice a year it went on sale for ~$35, and they had a free version that was almost as good as the paid. Then they got a new CEO, an incompatible new version sold using subscriptions, and the free version was abandoned. Now that Microsoft has blocked the driver Macrium Reflect 8 used to mount backup images, so you could copy individual files/folders, someone could do the right thing and fix it, but popular public opinion right now doesn't think that'll happen. And so a bunch of people are looking for replacement software.

I suggest O&O DiskImage because it's almost as capable as Macrium Reflect -- MR has a few tricks like booting to a backup archive that DiskImage does not offer -- and it's very reasonably priced on sale, especially the 5 license pack if you've got more than one PC/laptop. The email I received today said the sale prices [2nd link] were good until May 9th.

As far as free software goes, AOMEI Backupper is still the champ IMHO. The free & paid versions are not as capable as DiskImage, but they're close enough. The Pro version is a worthwhile upgrade, but unless you take advantage of their yearly GOTD offer, the price is not competitive with the more capable DiskImage when it's on sale.

aomeitech[.]com/ab/comparison.html

Hasleo is getting a LOT of mention online as an alternative, but I'm not impressed with the app. I suspect that Hasleo gives it away for free while they continue to develop the app to a level that they can more easily sell, but I of course could be wrong.

neowin[.]net/software/hasleo-backup-suite-free-5820/

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/security/microsoft-defender-wrongly-flags-digicert-certs-as-trojan-win32-cerdigentadha/

This should actually be fixed now, but several sites are reporting the bug as ongoing. If you do get the false alerts, make sure Defender is updated to 1.449.431.0 or newer.

Microsoft has reportedly fixed the detections in Security Intelligence update version 1.449.430.0, and the most recent update is now 1.449.431.0.

tomshardware[.]com/software/a-suspected-youtube-interface-bug-spikes-ram-usage-above-7-gigabytes-users-report-severe-lag-and-frozen-tabs-bug-might-be-trapping-browsers-in-an-endless-layout-loop

Reports of YouTube freezing browsers and consuming enormous amounts of RAM began spreading across Reddit and browser forums late last week, with developers now pointing to a bug in the platform's interface code that may be trapping browsers in an endless layout recalculation loop. What's emerging is that there is a runaway interface bug buried inside the platform's video controls.

Users across multiple browsers, including Firefox, Brave, and Microsoft Edge, have described videos stuttering, tabs becoming unresponsive, and systems slowing to a crawl while watching YouTube. Some users reported the individual YouTube tabs consuming more than 7GB of RAM.

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/microsoft/microsoft-april-2026-patch-tuesday-fixes-167-flaws-2-zero-days/

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/microsoft/windows-11-cumulative-updates-kb5083769-and-kb5082052-released/

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/microsoft/microsoft-releases-windows-10-kb5082200-extended-security-update/

While I haven't experienced any problems, and haven't read of any officially recognized by Microsoft, Neowin reported that for a few users the update effectively bricked their devices, with a boot loop & a “mosaic of weird pixels”.

neowin[.]net/news/windows-11-april-update-triggers-death-loops-and-bizarre-pixelated-crashes/#login-form

Today is Microsoft's April 2026 Patch Tuesday with security updates for 167 flaws, including 2 zero-day vulnerabilities.

This Patch Tuesday also addresses eight "Critical" vulnerabilities, 7 of which are remote code execution flaws and the other is a denial of service flaw.

The number of bugs in each vulnerability category is listed below:
image

93 Elevation of Privilege Vulnerabilities
13 Security Feature Bypass Vulnerabilities
20 Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities
21 Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities
10 Denial of Service Vulnerabilities
9 Spoofing Vulnerabilities

It installs Apple's Bonjour service v. 3.0.0.10 -- the .msi setup file is stored in C:\ProgramData\ Apple\ Installer Cache\ Bonjour 3.0.0.10\. You can download & install v. 3.1.0.1 which *I think* fixes a vulnerability, though I could not find a changelog. There might be a newer version yet, but I did not find it available on download sites -- Windows users often just download & install the latest iTunes, which includes the Bonjour service. Also included is a virtual audio device driver, though I did not see it installed monitoring the registry for changes -- akvad.sys & AKAudioService.exe. I didn't have any luck Googling on either filename, and only found a generic listing of the dev, iHappy in Singapore.

The biggest hassle installing the giveaway is that the emails with the key are apparently blocked by the outlook dot com email service, and requesting another key requires using a VPN since your IP address is recorded & you only get one try per IP address. You get program folders for Bonjour & Vidmore in Program Files (x86) and in ProgramData. There's also a new Users\ [UserName]\ AppData\ Local\ Vidmore\ folder, and in the \Vidmore Screen Recorder\ download\ folder you'll find another setup file taking up ~98MB. Vidmore Screen Recorder itself only adds a few registry keys -- mainly for the app & uninstall -- but the Bonjour service much more than makes up for that, hitting the registry fairly hard. Bonjour itself is supposed to help finding network media resources, can be uninstalled & the Vimore app appears to still work, though I haven't done any testing yet to see what features are impacted.

I've been absent for quite some time (at least 4 years) simply because I'd neglected many other things in my life. I was spending over several hours a day writing reviews for the games being given away here (including the game time). I found it really hard not to give a positive slant on all the games I was reviewing, even if they didn't deserve it.

Too be honest, many (but not all) of the games being given away were either rip off assets from genuine game developers that were more or less just extended demo's or basically trash, so I decided to take a break, mainly to take stock, but also because I really needed a break after posting almost daily since late 2006.

I was initially intending to take a few months off, which was extended to several months; then, I got involved in other things, including cooperative gaming with friends, all of which took up most of my spare time, so I abandoned the idea of returning at least for the near future.

At this point in time I doubt I'll return to the main site as I don't have the energy to spend so much time reviewing a game, which is necessary to give a fair assessment. However, I do intend posting details of free games occasionally, mainly abandonware, that are in my opinion well worth checking out. For example, I was just testing out a couple of Winter sports games the other day i.e. RTL Ski Jumping 2007 (there's an older 2005 version as well) and Alpine Ski Racing 2007, both with decent graphics. The Ski Jumping game defaults to German, but via the options you can change it to English.

I'll post details of those in the coming weeks when I have some spare time. There's also a couple of excellent arcade flyers called Attack on Pearl Harbor and Secret Weapons over Normandy. All four games work on Win 11, though you require No CD patches for them and you need to create a disk for each of the games using the ISO's provided.(Though I think there may be ripped versions as well that don't require the disks) Once the games are installed via the disk, then the original executables exchanged for the NoCd version, they work perfectly. The DVD's created from the ISO won't work as the original disk, which is why you need the NoCD patches.

I was also intending to post details of the latest version of Orbiter, a freeware game that has been under development for over 25 years. When I last looked four years ago it was still being worked on and it was to be the next game I was going to post in the thread I created specifically for free games. Then I took this long break. I need to find my notes as I'd started to pen details of the game, sadly, all the images I uploaded were to a site that no longer exists, so I'll have to redo those.

If you can't wait for my Orbiter post (it be months away as I'm really busy at the moment), you can find the site HERE