hard drives Archives

AppWizard

August 25, 2026

How have the genres of hit PC games changed since 2021?

- The unreleased Steam game Wardogs, a 100-player FPS, is trending at #1 with a peak of 105,000 concurrent users during its playtest. - Sally Face 2 is at #2, Dear Passengers at #3, Phantom Blade Zero at #4, Rerouted at #5, Tulpa The Unseen Lover at #7, and Heatwarped at #10. - Steam is testing personalized recommendations for its Midweek Deals for logged-in users. - Silent Hill: Townfall will be a PS5 exclusive for at least six months post-release. - Valve was founded 30 years ago. - There is a decline in physical retail for games, particularly with fewer Xbox consoles in big box stores. - Indie developer Kernel Hearts announced 50,000 pre-orders on the Epic Games Store, influenced by a promotional Fortnite skin. - Steam updated its documentation for pre-orders, advising developers to enable encrypted preloads for anticipated games. - Roblox has blocked certain bots, leading to decreased concurrent users, while the game Steal an Egg set a record for reaching 500,000 concurrent users quickly. - Entity raised .8 million to develop console-quality games for web browsers. - The issue of 'keyword squatting' on consoles continues, with the release of Lethal Corporation drawing attention for its misleading title. - The PC game market has shifted from survival games, city builders, and action RPGs in 2021 to a rise in Roguelite and Roguelike genres by 2025. - Roguelite gained 39 spots, Roguelike gained 37 spots, and Life Sim games climbed 31 spots to #6. - The Idler genre rose 46 spots to #15, while Survival Horror dropped to #26. - The 2025 list of top games includes three titles priced below , compared to only one in 2021.

AppWizard

August 20, 2026

Sony may be discontinuing video game discs — but there’s still a way to get physical copies

Sony will phase out physical discs for new PlayStation titles starting January 2028. GOG reassures gamers of ownership rights, allowing them to own and preserve purchased games on physical media. The Tomb Raider I-VI Remastered bundle is available for purchase, featuring enhanced versions of the classic series. All games on GOG are DRM-free, enabling players to download and burn titles onto discs. The process for burning games involves logging into the GOG library, downloading the offline installer, and burning the game file onto a disc. GOG also offers alternatives for game storage, such as external hard drives and cloud storage, ensuring long-term ownership without reliance on a launcher or internet connection. GOG has a selection of over 5,200 DRM-free games available for purchase.

AppWizard

July 31, 2026

Gamers compress 80TB map of Minecraft’s oldest anarchy server down to a 15TB download

A team of Minecraft enthusiasts has mapped the entire 2b2t server, resulting in a 15TB compressed download that can expand to an 80TB archive. The project, known as the 2b2tplace preservation initiative, began in 2024 and concluded in April 2026 after 22 months of work using 28 bot accounts to map over one million blocks across the Overworld, Nether, and End dimensions. The team developed a custom compression format (.zvcr) to achieve an 81.25% space savings, allowing the data to be stored more efficiently. The 2b2t server, which has been operational since 2010, is known for its lack of rules and moderation, fostering a unique anarchic environment. Despite preservation efforts, concerns exist among players about the server drifting from its original spirit.

Winsage

July 28, 2026

Your Windows Recycle Bin is a privacy risk—here’s how to actually delete your files

The Recycle Bin in Windows, introduced in 1995, serves as a temporary storage for deleted files rather than permanently removing them. When a file is deleted, it is moved to the Recycle Bin, which requires manual emptying or activation of a Storage Sense policy to clear its contents. This can lead to reduced hard drive space for users unaware of its behavior. The Recycle Bin can contain sensitive information, and if someone gains access to a Microsoft account, they can view its contents. Even after emptying the Recycle Bin, data can be recovered unless overwritten, with different recovery processes for solid-state drives (SSDs) due to maintenance routines like the TRIM command. Risks extend beyond physical access, as compromised accounts or malware can access deleted files. To securely delete sensitive files, users can use the Shift + Del shortcut, file shredding applications, and consider encrypting their drives with BitLocker. Specialized shredders for SSDs exist, and users can optimize drives through Windows settings to manage data recovery risks.

TrendTechie

July 27, 2026

Скачал запрещённый контент через торрент: в Николаеве осудили мужчину за хранение детской порнографии

The Ship District Court of Mykolaiv ruled against a local resident guilty of purchasing and possessing child pornography. The defendant admitted guilt and cooperated with the investigation. Between November 2024 and September 2025, he downloaded prohibited files from the Internet using "qBitTorrent" and a flash drive. A search in February 2026 confirmed the materials as child pornography. The court imposed a 1-year probationary supervision, restricted his ability to work with children for 1 year, ordered the confiscation of seized devices, and required him to pay over 21,800 hryvnias for judicial examination costs. The verdict can be appealed within 30 days. During probation, he must register with the probation authority and cannot leave Ukraine without approval, facing potential punishment if he evades the terms.

Winsage

July 26, 2026

Windows 11’s File Explorer is now faster at deleting large files, in a rare speed win from Microsoft

Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Experimental Preview Build 26300.8935 on July 20, which improves File Explorer's ability to delete large, fragmented files more quickly in certain scenarios. The update promises at least a 30% speed increase for bulk deletions and enhances the responsiveness of the Home tab in File Explorer. The Recommended section now supports touch scrolling. Future updates will include a modernization of the Properties dialog and improvements to search functionality. These enhancements aim to address the sluggishness of File Explorer, which has been attributed to fragmentation issues in NTFS and the hybrid architecture of the application.

AppWizard

July 16, 2026

DIY Steam Cartridges Bring Physical Game Media Back To PC With SSDs

A Reddit user developed a game cartridge system for Steam using individual SATA 2.5-inch 128GB SSD drives, allowing for tangible management of game libraries. This system, created by u/Jibril-sama, directs Steam to the corresponding game page upon SSD insertion and operates on a Linux base, with Windows compatibility lacking auto-navigation. Another user, u/halcyonforeveragain, showcased repurposed SD cards for use with the Steam Deck, enhancing game transfer capabilities. However, modern titles may require SSD performance for optimal gameplay, as traditional hard drives and standard SD cards may not meet the necessary speed. The cost for a 128GB SD card and USB4 card reader is about USD, while a 128GB SATA SSD with a docking station costs approximately USD. Customizing cartridges with art or labels is also suggested for a personalized gaming library.

AppWizard

July 15, 2026

GOG is now my go-to storefront for buying PC games since Sony and Microsoft are seemingly against it

Major players in the gaming industry, such as Sony and Microsoft, have recently made controversial decisions, including Sony discontinuing physical game discs and removing 500 movies without refunds, and Microsoft laying off around 3,200 Xbox game developers while suspending user accounts without justification. In contrast, GOG.com has emerged as a proponent of digital preservation, offering DRM-free games that come with standalone offline installers, allowing users to own their games permanently and play them without an online store's permissions. GOG encourages users to save their games to discs for sharing and backup purposes.

Winsage

July 10, 2026

A hacker’s arrest just revealed how Microsoft can track your Windows device

A teenager named Peter Stokes is facing federal charges in Chicago for allegedly hacking a U.S. jewelry retailer while using a VPN to conceal his online activities. Microsoft provided the FBI with data linked to a tracking mechanism called the Global Device Identifier (GDID), which is a unique number assigned to every Windows installation that persists through updates. This identifier allowed authorities to connect Stokes' computer to specific websites, despite his VPN usage. Stokes was arrested in Helsinki in April 2026 while trying to board a flight to Japan, carrying two two-terabyte hard drives. The GDID enabled Microsoft to track Stokes' activities on third-party services, raising concerns about privacy and data tracking.

Winsage

July 10, 2026

You can’t fully disable Microsoft’s GDID Windows 11 tracker, but these settings limit what it captures

A 19-year-old named Peter Stokes was detained at Helsinki airport in April 2026 while traveling to Japan, carrying two 2TB hard drives. He was subject to an Interpol Red Notice and faced a federal complaint from U.S. prosecutors by July for his alleged involvement in the Scattered Spider hacking group, which breached a U.S. luxury jewelry retailer in May 2025, leading to a ransom demand. The Global Device Identifier (GDID), developed by Microsoft, is a persistent identifier that uniquely identifies a Windows installation on a device. It links online activities back to a single identity, which law enforcement can use to trace a device's owner. The GDID is generated when a user signs into Windows with a Microsoft Account and remains through updates but does not survive a clean reinstall. Stokes' use of the same Windows device allowed investigators to trace his activities through the GDID, which linked him to the hacking incident. Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the lack of consent for GDID assignment and the potential for surveillance.