QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking, and storage solution innovator, today launched new entry-level business NAS models including 4-bay TS-432X and 6-bay TS-632X, tailored for personal studio and SMBs to optimize workflows and collaboration. Featuring a quad-core processor, high-speed 2.5GbE/10GbE ports, and PCIe expansion capabilities, both new models excel in performance and versatility to streamline multi-device file backups, data security, and file management while also simplifying data storage, search, and sharing tasks.

Andy Chuang, Product Manager of QNAP, stated "With the rising popularity of 10GbE applications, the TS-432X and TS-632X offer ideal solutions for small to medium-sized businesses seeking smaller-capacity 10GbE NAS options. Users can benefit from a versatile storage solution featuring multiple LAN ports and PCIe expandability, all within a modest budget."

Microsoft has unexpectedly halted the rollout of the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 update to Windows Insiders on the Release Preview Channel. The pause was quietly announced through an update to the original release blog post, which had initially touted the preview's new features like Wi-Fi 7 support, Sudo for Windows, Rust in the Windows kernel, and various UI enhancements. Microsoft has not provided an official reason for hitting the brakes on the 24H2 preview rollout. Brandon LeBlanc, the Windows Insider Senior Program Manager, simply stated, "We are working to get it rolling out again shortly."

However, a glimpse at the Microsoft Feedback Hub reveals a multitude of issues reported by Insiders testing the 24H2 build. Complaints range from application freezes and performance degradation to VPN connectivity problems. Some users have even taken to social media to voice their frustrations, with one describing the Arm version as a "disastrous, worst 'release' preview I can remember." The Release Preview Channel is typically recommended for commercial users and those wanting to test upcoming Windows releases before general availability. Meanwhile, the Dev Channel caters to users who are comfortable with instability and rough edges. As The Register notes, the current situation echoes Microsoft's troubled rollout of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, which contained a data deletion bug.

EnGenius, a leading innovator in connectivity solutions, is thrilled to announce the launch of its latest product, the XG60-FIT gateway, a solution designed specifically for small businesses' security and networking needs. With the XG60-FIT gateway, small businesses can efficiently manage remote worker networks and branch locations, ensuring secure communication and data protection without needing dedicated IT teams.

Robust Cybersecurity and Seamless Network Performance
The XG60-FIT gateway provides dependable connectivity, efficient security, and easy management. This robust connectivity solution offers high throughput performance and real-time protection for businesses' networks, allowing for collaboration and secure data sharing. Its innovative approach to simplicity makes VPN setup a breeze, enabling quick and secure connections between branches or remote workers with just a few clicks. To enhance network reliability, the gateway features dual-WAN ports for load balancing and failover support, with cellular WAN serving as a backup connection in case of WAN failures. Additionally, it offers multiple gigabit ports and a PoE+ port to power Wi-Fi access points, delivering high-performance Wi-Fi for small businesses, branch offices, and WFH employees.

GL.iNet unveiled its latest Wi-Fi 6 AX6000 home router, Flint 2 (GL-MT6000). Designed to fulfill scenarios such as heavy data transfers, hyper hundreds of device connections, and ultra-low latency gaming environments, this device is a modern home and office router capable of
high-performance demanding connectivity.

The Flint 2 is ideal for users with high speed, capacity, and stability requirements. With dual band AX6000, up to 160 MHz bandwidth, 4x4 MU-MIMO support, and eight high-power FEMs. Not only does the Flint 2 extend Wi-Fi coverage to meet the Wi-Fi 6 high-speed, along with the dual 2.5G ports, also allows this device to access 2.5G high-speed broadband with 2.5G intranet transmission capability easily.

Amazon announced eero Max 7, its first Wi-Fi 7 mesh system and the fastest, most powerful eero yet. eero Max 7 combines the company's patented TrueMesh networking technology with the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard to dramatically increase speeds, avoid interference from neighboring networks, and improve mesh latency-and with 10 Gigabit Ethernet, it's now possible to download a 4K movie in 10 seconds or a 50 gigabyte video game in less than a minute.

"Connectivity is core to our everyday lives—we stream movies and TV, take video calls for work, play online games with our friends, and use an ever increasing number of connected devices," said Nick Weaver, co-founder and CEO of eero. "With tens of millions of eero devices around the world, we know customers notice even a millisecond delay when streaming a movie or gaming, want reliable connectivity in every corner of the home, and always look for faster speeds. eero Max 7 is the culmination of everything we've learned—this is an entirely new class of eero, built without compromise."

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, today launched the QGD-1600 16-port Gigabit smart edge switch/cybersecurity switch and QGD-1602 8-port 2.5GbE and 8-port Gigabit smart edge switch/cybersecurity switch. Besides adopting Layer 2 network management and software defined features, the QGD-1600 and QGD-1602 supports running VMs to deploy VPN, firewalls, and network management functions. ADRA NDR software is also supported to provide the widest cybersecurity protection for all the connected LAN devices at the access switch layer.

"Our QGD smart edge switches innovatively integrate the functions of NAS and switches and have received positive feedback from our users," said Alex Shih, QNAP Product Manager, adding, "the addition of the affordable non-PoE models QGD-1600 and QGD-1602 provides a cost-effective all-in-one network solution with cybersecurity software for enhanced LAN security, or running VMs for more software applications."

If you own one of several recent ASUS router models, then you're being urged by ASUS to upgrade your firmware to the latest release as soon as possible, due to a few serious security flaws. The two most severe being CVE-2022-26376 and CVE-2018-1160, both of which are rated 9.8 on a scale of 10 in terms of severity. However, if you're running the third party Asuswrt-Merlin firmware, you're apparently safe, as the author of the third party firmware has already patched all the known security issues that ASUS has announced patches for.

The affected models are the GT6, GT-AXE16000, GT-AX11000 PRO, GT-AX6000, GT-AX11000, GS-AX5400, GS-AX3000, XT9, XT8, XT8 V2, RT-AX86U PRO, RT-AX86U, RT-AX86S, RT-AX82U, RT-AX58U, RT-AX3000, TUF-AX6000, and TUF-AX5400. That's 18 different models in total, all of which should be built around Broadcom hardware. It's unclear if more models are affected or not, but these are the ones ASUS has issued updates for. The security flaws in question could allow someone to take over an unpatched router and make it a part of a botnet or similar. ASUS has suggested turning off features like DDNS and VPN servers, as well as more obvious things like WAN access, port forwarding, port triggers and DMZ until the firmware has been updated on the affected models.

Technology is creating amazing opportunities for our industry and the world, and Windows 11 is at the center of innovation with new experiences that transform how we interact with the Windows PC and each other. With Windows 11, we're seeing record engagement, our highest customer satisfaction over any previous version of Windows in the U.S., and accelerated growth in commercial deployments. In fact, we recently shared as part of our latest earnings report that over 90% of Fortune 500 companies are currently trialing or have already deployed Windows 11.

In February, we brought the new AI-powered Bing to the taskbar and other features to improve the way people get things done on their PCs. Today, we are providing a look at new features and enhancements for Windows 11 that will start to become available tomorrow, May 24, that focus on business needs, such as security and IT management, and new benefits that enhance professional and personal usability. For developers building on Windows, this week we are announcing new innovation at Microsoft Build.

Google has made changes to its Google One plans yet again, although this time around, its customers are actually getting more for their money. For those not familiar with the Google One service, it's Google's Dropbox, Microsoft's OneDrive and Apple's iCloud. However, Google has included things like support for its services though its One service and higher tiers have seen added benefits beyond more storage space, such as free access to Google's VPN service. Now the company has decided to give those on its 100 GB US$1.99 and 200 GB US$2.99 service tiers access to not only its VPN service, but has also added what the company calls a dark web report.

The dark web report allows you to search for potential stolen private information on the dark web, or rather, Google does the searching for you and tells you if there are any results in a report. The tricky part here is that you need to have the right info to search for in the first place, but it could be something simple like your email address or phone number, but it could also be your credit card details. The VPN service is for the time being limited to 22 countries that you can find in the screenshot below. It's unlikely that Google offers the best VPN service out there, but it could help protect against man in the middle attacks when using public WiFi if nothing else and it's a decent perk if you're already paying for the Google One service.

According to multiple reports and sources close to Tom's Hardware, Intel and Microsoft have quietly resumed operations and a basic level of support in Russia. As to comply with sanctions imposed by Europe, the UK, and US, Intel and Microsoft are forbidden to sell any new technology within the state of Russia. This has made Intel and Microsoft block official software downloads. However, Intel has stated that the company is obliged to provide warranty services that are a part of purchasing an Intel product. "Intel continues to comply with all applicable export regulations and sanctions in the countries in which it operates. This includes compliance with the sanctions and export controls against Russia and Belarus issued by the US and allied nations. Access to resources that meet driver update needs, such as the Intel Download Center and Intel Download Support Assistant (IDSA), are part of Intel's warranty obligations," said Intel, adding that "There have been no recent changes to our operations."

These changes are not exactly "recent," as reports close to Tom's Hardware have noted that downloads were resumed towards the end of 2022. Izvestia and CNews reported that users could access the Intel download portal without VPN and IP masking. This required finding a download section through Google/Yandex, as the official Intel Russia website is still not officially reachable by Russian IPs.

IceWhale Technologies has launched ZimaBoard, a low-cost single board server that functions as personal cloud storage and software router, and allows users to set up a VPN, stream 4K video, access media collections, and reinvent smart home projects on Amazon. Three models with tiered processing power are available in the brand's shop for US customers: ZimaBoard 216 (2 GB RAM, 16 GB eMMC storage, dual-core Intel Celeron processor) is $139.99 USD, ZimaBoard 432 (4 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC storage, quad-core Intel Celeron processor) is $169.99 USD, and ZimaBoad 832 (8 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC storage, quad-core Intel Celeron processor) is $229.99 USD.

"Following our Kickstarter campaign and fulfillment to backers in July, we're excited to announce our move to Amazon," said founder Lauren Pan. "Getting here was no small feat, especially after more than a year of chip shortages and unpredictable lockdowns, but here we are. ZimaBoard is one board to rule them all—one that puts individuals back in control."

TP-Link, a leading global provider of consumer and business networking products, today held an epochal WiFi 7 product launch to announce its WiFi 7 networking solution.

As the world's first vendor to release a full home and enterprise WiFi 7 product line, TP-Link launched new WiFi 7 routers, Deco products, Omada EAPs, and Aginet products for ISP markets to cover all usage scenarios. Additionally, TP-Link's new HomeShield 3.0 provides more reliable and smarter network solutions.

NETGEAR, Inc., the leading provider of award-winning connected products designed to simplify and improve people's lives, today launched a powerful addition to its unlocked 5G mobile hotspot lineup. At a time when access to fast, secure and reliable internet is more important than ever, the NETGEAR Nighthawk M6 Mobile Hotspot Router (MR6150) raises the mobile broadband experience to new heights by upping the maximum 5G speed that can be supported and adding 160 MHz capability to connect with the latest WiFi 6 client devices.

NETGEAR launched the world's first unlocked 5G hotspot in 2021 with the award-winning Nighthawk M5. Now the company is building on that achievement with the M6, which is 20 percent faster than the M5 at 2.5 Gbps over 5G and has the capacity to hit a maximum combined WiFi speed of up to 3.6 Gbps when connecting to 160 MHz WiFi 6 devices. Additionally, the M6 comes with a first of its kind new In-Home Performance Mode which boosts WiFi coverage up to 2,000 square-feet when the device is plugged in, and the battery is removed.

Leading consumer privacy and security company ExpressVPN today announces its first foray into hardware products with the launch of ExpressVPN Aircove. Aircove is the first and only Wi-Fi 6 router that comes with built-in VPN by default and a user interface tailored for those seeking to protect their families with a VPN. With Aircove, users can enjoy holistic home security easily, with VPN protection straight out of the box.

"The average US home now has 25 devices connected to the home Wi-Fi network. From laptops to smart TVs, things add up quickly and it becomes more difficult to keep track and know that every device is protected. That's why we built Aircove, to provide users with simple, flexible VPN-protected internet connection across every room, on every device, for every household member," said Harold Li, vice president, ExpressVPN.

Sierra Wireless, a world leading IoT solutions provider, today announced the AirLink RX55 LTE cellular router solution to bring advanced networking capabilities to the Industrial IoT (IIoT) and deliver intelligence securely at the edge for mission-critical applications on both public and private networks. The new AirLink RX55 cellular router solution provides ultra-low power consumption, which combined with its wide operating voltage, makes it ideal for solar or battery powered remote monitoring installations. Its' compact, rugged design is built to withstand harsh conditions and with edge intelligence capabilities, the router's future-proof design enables applications including grid modernization, smart city, automation and remote machine and sensor monitoring.

The AirLink RX55's design along with its' ultra-low power, ethernet and dual-serial port makes it ideal for use in both fixed and mobile industrial applications including power and water utilities, oil fields, pipelines, mines, agriculture, manufacturing, waste management, private networking and SCADA applications.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro, a stylish gaming router that's ready to deliver ultrafast WiFi 6 and 10 Gbps Ethernet to every type of gamer.

The GT-AX11000 Pro is designed from the ground up to punch through increasingly congested wireless airwaves and maintain low-lag gaming experiences, wickedly fast download speeds and vast signal coverage. This coverage is expanded by leveraging ASUS RangeBoost Plus, and ASUS AiMesh compatibility allows users to combine AiMesh routers to create a whole-home mesh WiFi network—or instantly augment an existing one—in order to eliminate any dead spots. The second 5 GHz band includes new Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure 4 (U‑NII 4) support, which enables an extra high-speed 160 MHz channel for compatible client devices. The GT-AX11000 Pro is easy to manage via the free ASUS Router mobile app, which gives any level of user intuitive access to the router's arsenal of powerful features. There's also an easy-to-use web-based interface that additionally allows configuration of the new 10 Gbps LAN/WAN port.

EnGenius Technologies, a leading global manufacturer of networking and voice communications for more than 20 years, has released its first ever security gateway product line—that crucial first line of defense for business networks—bringing unparalleled simplicity, faster speed, enterprise features, enhanced security, and greater cloud management from anywhere. The EnGenius security gateway (ESG) series will consist of three sequential gateway models, beginning with the launch of the ESG510. The ESG series will work seamlessly with any third-party vendor network—all without the complex setup and configuration that plague other gateways.

"We are pleased to announce the launch of our company's very first cloud-managed security gateway. Most security gateways are complicated, but the EnGenius security gateway isn't. Our goal is to make installations easier and insights clearer," said M. C. Leo, general manager at EnGenius Technologies. "The gateway offers the horsepower and feature set to handle any business network of any size. The bottom line is an end-to-end cloud-managed solution that makes installation, configuration, and monitoring a snap."

eero, an Amazon company, today introduced eero Pro 6E and eero 6+—the newest additions to the eero 6 series of mesh wifi systems. eero Pro 6E, the first Wi-Fi 6E-enabled eero mesh wifi system, supports network speeds up to 2.3 Gbps, provides coverage for over 100 devices simultaneously, and offers access to the newly-authorized 6 GHz band, all of which ensures more devices can get gigabit+ speeds across your home. eero 6+ is the most affordable gigabit-capable eero system, with access to 160 MHz radio channels for fast connectivity for activities like AR, VR, and 8K streaming; plus, it supports over 75 simultaneously-connected devices. For customers looking for Wi-Fi 6 performance at an affordable price, eero 6 is now available at a starting price of $89.

"Since eero's beginning a little over eight years ago, we have had a vision to provide every home around the world with wifi that just works," said Nick Weaver, Co-Founder and CEO of eero. "Wifi has changed a lot since then, and we've worked hard to expand our portfolio and make our easy-to-use, fast, secure, and reliable whole-home wifi systems more accessible and affordable for everyone. With the introduction of eero Pro 6E and eero 6+ alongside our existing eero 6 series devices, we're taking a big step in delivering our highest performing and most affordable wifi systems for everyone."

QNAP Systems, Inc. (QNAP) today officially released the QuTS hero h5.0 operating system, the latest version of the ZFS-based NAS operating system. Including an upgraded Linux Kernel (5.10), improved security, WireGuard VPN support, snapshot instant clone, and free exFAT support, QNAP's QuTS hero NAS provides exceptional solutions for data storage/backup, virtualization, or time-sensitive collaborative media editing.

"Data security is a top priority for QNAP, and we have implemented a major system kernel update for QuTS hero to enhance NAS security and reliability," said Sam Lin, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "In QuTS hero h5.0, we have also optimized the overall performance to meet larger and complex business workloads."

When VPNs first hit the scene, everyone was amazed.

But the novelty of hot new tech soon grows tired. Customers find endless faults and tear their hair out trying to figure why it doesn't do XYZ.

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QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, today announced the desktop smart edge PoE Switch - QGD-3014-16PT. With sixteen 30-watt Gigabit PoE ports, two 2.5GbE host management ports, Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core 2.0 GHz processor, and four 3.5-inch SATA drive bays, the QGD-3014-16PT supports QVR Pro, HBS 3 and QuWAN SD-WAN to integrate surveillance deployment, video storage computing, and multi-site remote management to offer SMBs innovative intelligent IP surveillance infrastructure and remote backup solutions.
"Expanding multi-site surveillance networks can be costly and involve large amounts of equipment with low transmission efficiency between multiple remote devices - not to mention the complexities involved in deployment and management. " said Daniel Hsieh, QNAP Product Manager, adding, "the QGD-3014-16PT desktop Smart Edge PoE Switch integrates PoE, surveillance capabilities, and data backup management to simplify these requirements and increase the transmission and backup efficiency of surveillance videos."

NETGEAR, Inc., the leading provider of networking products that empower your gaming experience, has announced the much anticipated availability of the new Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR1000 WiFi 6 AX5400 router. The XR1000 couples next-gen WiFi 6 hardware with advanced DumaOS 3.0, the latest innovation in managing your network settings for optimized gameplay. DumaOS 3.0 software is purpose built for gamers to enjoy superior gameplay and smoother video streaming. This state-of-the-art software combined with the most advanced networking hardware ensures stabilization of ping and reduction of lag spikes with reliable connectivity over both wired and wireless networks.

The Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR1000 is the first WiFi 6 gaming router powered by DumaOS 3.0 gaming software. With the latest WiFi 6 technology, XR1000 is designed specifically to improve performance and reduce network latency when it comes to the gaming environment but will also enhance the overall home networking experience for every connected device. To further boost the gaming experience and give gamers the best gaming connection possible, the DumaOS 3.0 software includes new top features, such as: customizable Geo-Fencing, Ping Heatmap, Application QoS with Bandwidth Allocation, Connection Benchmark, and Traffic Controller. This new Nighthawk Pro Gaming router stands alone with its advanced list of features, which provide optimized control over the network connection while gaming or streaming, ensuring that gameplay can continue uninterrupted.

Steam has updated their purchase and pricing restriction in wake of continued abuse from users exploiting regional price-differences via VPN. You may have read about this recently following the availability of PS4-exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn on the PC platform, with the release being priced differently by the publisher according to the purchase region of its respective users. However, one way users found to circumvent these restrictions and purchase games at a lower price was to use a VPN service and appear as if they were connecting from one of the lower-priced regions. This prompted a price-hike for Horizon: Zero Dawn in those exploited regions - sometimes by as much as 389%. Such was the case for Argentina, where the game, which was originally being sold for ARS$539,99 ($7,47) got its price hiked to ARS$2100 ($29,06). The game was being sold in US-based stores for $39.

Now, Steam is forcing currencies used on the purchase to match those of the country where the purchase is (apparently) being made. This means you can't pay in dollars a game that is priced in Argentinian pesos or any other currency. This move by Steam aims to keep pricing fair according to users' and countries' purchasing power, and aims to protect users with lower purchasing power from price-hikes derived from the exploitation of regional pricing. An Argentinian user, where the country's minimum wage is set at $233,55, now is protected from users with higher purchasing power being responsible for game price hikes that mean it costs them 10% of their minimum wage to get a single game from the Steam store. You can replace Argentina with any other country that saw its regional pricing being abused via VPN-hidden users who wanted to take advantage of the price difference. I can hear some Game of Thrones bells ringing in the distance.

Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is proud to introduce the NA346, a 4-LAN fanless network appliance platform designed in a small form factor. This ultra-small desktop network appliance is powered by the Intel Celeron processor N3350 (code name: Apollo Lake) featuring the lowest Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 6 W to meet the specific configurations of low-power requirement. The reliable NA346 is positioned as an entry-level SD-WAN, VPN and security gateway for industrial IoT security applications.

"The 5G network is foreseeable to transfer data with greater bandwidth, higher speed and boost the edge computing and AIoT application. The cutting-edge NA346 offers two mini-PCIe slots and SIM socket supporting 3G/4G/LTE communications and connectors to 5G modules," said Kiwi Lee, a product manager of Product PM Division at Axiomtek. "Space limitation is one of the constraints in today's industrial environment. Axiomtek's ultra-small NA346 can be easily installed in narrow spaces. Featuring fanless operation, this network security appliance is perfect to be used in noise-sensitive environments."

Mozilla, the maker of popular web-browser Firefox, has announced that it is now offering virtual private network (VPN) services. Available for right now as a beta product, the company is promising that it will soon release the software as a fully-fledged application. Firefox Private Network's Mozilla VPN is designed to help users gain more control and safety over their internet traffic while offering protection for a whole device. if you wish to try it out, you would need to join a waitlist. There you can get the VPN app while it is still in beta for iOS, Android, Windows, and Chromebook devices. Support for macOS and Linux is coming soon. The service costs $4.99 a month, while if you own a Firefox browser, you can get it free of charge as an extension.