consumer Archives

AppWizard

June 12, 2026

Meta says ‘We’re working on it’ as Facebook suffers global outage

Facebook and Messenger are experiencing a global outage, affecting users' access worldwide. Reports of functionality issues began increasing at 2 PM on June 12, with users receiving messages indicating that the pages are unavailable. Instagram and WhatsApp remain operational. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone acknowledged the issue, stating they are working to resolve it. Meta's status page indicates 'high disruptions' for Facebook Ads Manager, Messenger API for Instagram, Messenger Platform, and WhatsApp Business Platform, while other business products show no known issues.

AppWizard

June 12, 2026

Meta faces major outage as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp goes down for thousands of users globally

Meta's social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger—are experiencing a significant outage affecting users primarily in India and the United States. Facebook saw peak outage reports of 109,365 in the US, with 56% of users reporting app issues, 27% facing login problems, and 10% having website access issues. In India, Facebook peaked at 1,093 reports, with 49% citing app problems, 30% login troubles, and 12% server connection issues. Instagram in India peaked at 8,582 reports, with 51% experiencing app issues, 36% login problems, and 7% server issues. In the US, Instagram peaked at 8,868, with 57% reporting app issues, 22% login challenges, and 11% server problems. Messenger in the US peaked at 15,403 reports, with 54% related to login problems and 31% to app issues, while in India, it had 91 reports. WhatsApp was less affected, peaking at 216 reports in India, with 37% reporting app issues and 32% login problems, and in the US, it peaked at 153. Meta has not provided a public statement on the disruption, and reports on Downdetector have started to decline.

AppWizard

June 12, 2026

Dutch non-profit set to take Valve to court for keeping game prices high

The Netherlands' Consumer Competition Claims Foundation (CCCF) has launched a campaign against Valve, the parent company of Steam, alleging unfair commercial practices related to Valve's 30% commission on game sales, which they claim inflates prices across all PC storefronts. The CCCF argues that this commission structure pressures publishers and developers to raise prices, affecting competitive pricing on other platforms like the Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store. They also allege that Valve prohibits publishers from offering lower prices on competing platforms and has engaged in "geo-blocking" to restrict the activation of Steam keys purchased in Eastern Europe for use in Western Europe. Valve president Gabe Newell denies these allegations, asserting that there is no policy preventing lower pricing on other platforms. The CCCF claims that Dutch gamers may have overpaid by more than 220 million euros due to these practices. Legal challenges against Valve are mounting, including a class-action lawsuit concerning loot boxes and an antitrust suit from Wolfire Games.

Tech Optimizer

June 11, 2026

Avast One: Security and privacy suite under the microscope

Avast One is the flagship consumer security suite from Avast (Gen Digital), combining antivirus, firewall, VPN, and privacy utilities into a single subscription for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It offers four primary areas: device security, online privacy, identity protection, and performance tools. Device security includes real-time antivirus, Web Shield, Mail Shield, and Ransomware Shield. The online privacy component features a full VPN service with bank-grade encryption and a no-logs policy. Identity protection includes data breach monitoring and, in some markets, credit monitoring. Performance tools assist with disk cleanup and system optimization. Avast One has three plan tiers: Avast One Essential (free), Avast One Individual (paid, supports multiple devices), and Avast One Family (paid, supports up to 30 devices). Pricing varies based on promotions, with Avast One Individual typically around per year and Avast One Family ranging from to 0 per year. The suite can be downloaded directly from Avast's website, with installers available for various platforms. Avast One includes automatic updates and is designed to operate lightly on modern hardware, with options to minimize system impact during scans. Customer support includes self-help documentation, community forums, and direct support for paying customers. Avast One aims to appeal to both non-technical users and power users, providing a user-friendly interface while allowing for advanced configurations. The product is positioned as a comprehensive solution for households looking to secure multiple devices with a single subscription.

AppWizard

June 11, 2026

Xbox’s new chief strategy officer is still a big believer in in-game ads

Matthew Ball, a videogame analyst and chief strategy officer for Xbox, predicts a significant rise in in-game advertising within PC and console games, viewing it as an untapped revenue stream essential for the industry's growth. He highlights challenges such as escalating game development costs and rising hardware expenses, which may lead consumers to reduce their gaming spending, threatening the industry's economic framework. A Comscore report supports this trend, noting that Netflix's ad-supported subscription tiers accounted for 45% of viewing hours in 2025, with free ad-supported services seeing a 43% year-over-year increase in hours watched. Ball emphasizes the need for accessibility, sustainability, and adequate funding for development teams while acknowledging the potential benefits of in-game advertising for the gaming community.

Winsage

June 11, 2026

ReactOS Runs Half-Life Natively: Open-Source Windows NT Clone Clears 3D Graphics Bar

ReactOS has successfully executed Valve's original Half-Life on consumer hardware, marking a significant milestone in open-source software development. This achievement was announced on June 10, 2026, after three decades of effort to reimplement Microsoft Windows. The game was run on a Dell OptiPlex desktop with an Intel Core i5 2400 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS graphics card, demonstrating ReactOS's capability to handle real-time 3D applications without compatibility shims. ReactOS operates independently from Microsoft, sharing no code, and can execute a real-time 3D graphics workload natively. It has achieved approximately 90 percent GPU driver compatibility for Windows XP and Server 2003-era hardware through the implementation of the Kernel-Mode Driver Framework and Windows Display Driver Model subsystems. ReactOS is still in alpha stage, with limitations in application support and driver gaps for modern hardware. The project is working towards a new release, version 0.4.16, to enhance user experience.

Winsage

June 11, 2026

Microsoft is killing the Copilot+ PC advantage, brings Windows 11’s local AI to RTX 30+ PCs with 6GB vRAM

Microsoft has made its local Language Model APIs for Windows 11 accessible on non-Copilot+ PCs, requiring an NVIDIA RTX 30 series GPU with at least 6GB of VRAM. Copilot+ PCs, which debuted on June 18, 2024, require 16GB of RAM, an SSD, and a minimum of 40 TOPS NPU. The new APIs allow broader access to AI functionalities, including AI-powered text formatting, summarization, text rewriting, text-to-table conversion, and general prompt generation, through a compact language model called "Phi Silica." Users with compatible NVIDIA GPUs can utilize these features locally, enhancing privacy compared to cloud-based models. However, some features remain exclusive to devices with NPU chips.

AppWizard

June 11, 2026

Valve Is Killing Physical Steam Gift Cards, Blaming Scammers

Valve has announced the discontinuation of its physical Steam gift card program in retail stores globally due to ongoing issues with scammers exploiting these cards for fraudulent activities. All retail stock is expected to be depleted by the end of 2026. Scammers have been using these cards to siphon funds from victims, often impersonating officials or agencies. Valve has implemented measures to combat these scams but has decided to terminate the retail gift card program. Retailers will sell their remaining inventory but will not restock physical gift cards. Customers can still use existing gift cards on Steam, and digital gift cards will continue to be offered. Consumer protection agencies warn that fraudsters will continue to exploit gift cards from various brands.

AppWizard

June 11, 2026

Valve to discontinue physical Steam gift cards by the end of 2026 due to scammers — says nefarious actors continue to exploit them despite years of restrictions

Valve will discontinue the sale of physical Steam gift cards by the end of 2026, with retail stores expected to deplete existing inventory by the end of this year. Current holders of Steam gift cards can still redeem them at any time, following local laws. Users can still purchase and send digital gift cards through the Steam platform. Additionally, Valve is implementing a reservation-based system for its Steam Controller to prevent scalping, restricting reservations to eligible Steam accounts with a solid purchase history.

Tech Optimizer

June 9, 2026

Fake ChatGPT download site infects Windows and Mac users with malware

A counterfeit website, openew[.]app, is impersonating OpenAI's official ChatGPT download page and distributing malware. Windows users who download from this site receive a credential-stealing malware loader, while macOS users are infected with Odyssey Stealer, a variant associated with cryptocurrency theft. The fake site mimics the legitimate ChatGPT interface and uses HTTPS to appear trustworthy. The Windows malware, Chat_GPT.exe, creates a back channel to an attacker-controlled server, while the macOS malware captures sensitive data and attempts to replace legitimate cryptocurrency wallet applications with compromised versions. Users who download from official sources remain safe, but those who click on ads or unfamiliar links risk compromising their online accounts and sensitive information. Malwarebytes offers protection against this malware. Indicators of compromise include specific file hashes and network indicators associated with the malicious site.