PCWorld

NOW JUST $10 Lisen 3-in-1 Retractable Charging Cable View Deal Is your car’s center console a nightmare to navigate? Wish it was easier to charge your phone while driving and cleaner and more organized when you aren’t? Then you need this 3-in-1 Lisen retractable charging cable. It’s now on sale for just $9.98 at Amazon, and its key feature is that it’s adaptable to pretty much any device you need charged in your car. On the one end, you have a USB-A connector that slots into your car’s own USB-A charging port. On the other end, there’s a 3-in-1 hydra-like set of connectors: a USB-C that supports fast charging, plus a Lightning and a Micro-USB that each only support standard charging. Both ends are retractable, so you can pull it out at up to 1.5, 2.36, 3.05, or 3.67 foot lengths. All three can be used at once, but they aren’t independently retractable—all three retract together as one. That means this single cable can cover all the different kinds of phones, tablets, and gadgets that passengers may need to charge, including newer USB-C devices, older Apple devices with Lightning, and legacy Android devices with Micro-USB. And when it’s retracted, it stays out of your way and keeps your center console clutter-free for safe driving. Note that it’s only worth getting if you actually have a spread of device types to charge on a regular basis. If you’re going to be using the USB-C port 99% of the time, you might as well spring for this Anker USB-C car charger instead, which plugs into auxiliary power (aka cigarette lighter port) and ultra-fast-charges at up to 75W speeds—and still has a retractable design for clutter-free organization.

TL;DR: Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more in a one-time purchase, with no Microsoft 365 subscription required, on sale for $32.97 (reg. $219.99) through September 27. Office is one of those programs nobody gets excited to open, but skipping it isn’t really an option once a client wants a Word doc or a boss wants a spreadsheet. Luckily, you can just buy Microsoft Office Professional 2021 once and be done with it. Office Pro 2021 is on sale for $32.97 (reg. $219.99) through September 27. Microsoft 365 renews every year at full price no matter how often Word or Excel get opened, and canceling it means losing access to the desktop apps. This license skips that cycle entirely, installing once on one Windows PC and continuing to work without a recurring bill. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams in its free version, OneNote, Publisher, and Access all come with the suite. These are the apps that most home and small-business setups rely on day-to-day. Windows 10 and 11 both support installation, though Windows 7 and 8 don’t. The license isn’t compatible with Parallels or other virtual machines — it requires a physical Windows PC rather than a Mac running Windows software. Skip renewing Microsoft 365 — Through September 27, get Microsoft Office Professional 2021 on sale for $32.97. Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

Today, Mozilla released Firefox 156 to the Release channel, which is basically all users in the general public. It’s a pretty limp update by all accounts, without any standout new features and just a handful of minor bug fixes spread out across components. The built-in PDF reader launches about 45 percent faster than before, which is great if Firefox is your PDF reader of choice. (And don’t forget Firefox 150 turned it into a real PDF editor, too.) For users who have “DNS over HTTPS” enabled—which you should for better browser privacy and security—this update fixes a bug that caused some sites that don’t support HTTPS to fail to load. It also fixes another networking bug: unexplained loss of all network connectivity when the built-in VPN is enabled. The built-in VPN, which was introduced in Firefox 149, is a good free option for hiding your IP address and location while browsing the web, although it isn’t as secure or feature-rich as some of the best VPN services. Firefox now has better memory and CPU usage when large JPEG files are shrunk down to fit a page, which should help with web browsing performance on weaker machines and hardware. The rest of the release notes address other situational bugs, like subtitles sometimes not appearing in Picture-in-Picture mode as well as Firefox sometimes blocking an auto-hiding taskbar on Windows. In about two weeks, Firefox 157 will be released. That update should add support for JPEG XL (JXL), a modern image format that offers the same quality as JPEG at a significantly smaller size. Although JPEG XL was launched in 2021, Safari is the only browser to support it yet. For a short period, Chrome also supported it, but that ended in 2022.

Microsoft’s September Patch Tuesday fixed a record 700+ security vulnerabilities across Windows versions, but it also caused some issues—most notably the breaking of USB audio on Windows 11. Now a week later, the company has released emergency out-of-band updates for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 to address some of those issues. ## Windows 11’s KB5129195 update Update KB5129195 resolves some (but not all) of the issues affecting the Windows 11 audio system, plus further issues relating to Claude Cowork and Remote Desktop Services (RDS). Some PCs with AMD Radeon GPUs are also facing issues, but this update doesn’t address that yet—nor does it address issues with File Explorer and File History that were also introduced on Patch Tuesday. Microsoft is automatically rolling out the emergency KB5129195 update to all Windows 11 PCs as a mandatory, cumulative, out-of-band update. It contains fixes from previous updates, and it also addresses a newly discovered elevation of privilege (EoP) security flaw. Installation should take about 10 minutes depending on hardware and requires a restart. ## Windows 10’s KB5129236 update For Windows 10 versions 22H2 and 21H2, Microsoft has released a separate emergency update called KB5129236. According to the changelog, the update resolves the following issues: > [Remote Desktop Services (known issue)] Fixed: This update addresses an issue affecting Remote Desktop Services (RDS) after installing the September 2026 Windows security update (KB5122878). In affected environments, RDS might become unstable, causing RDP connection and sign-in failures or servers to become unresponsive during Remote Desktop configuration. Related tools, including Microsoft Management Console (MMC), RDS Licensing Diagnoser, File Explorer, and the Windows Update page, might also stop responding. > > [Hyper-V (known issue)] Fixed: Some applications that use HCS-managed virtual machines experienced issues when sharing host folder with Linux VMs using Plan9. Folders shared from the Windows host using Plan9 did not appear or could not be accessed in the guest environment. > > [8-channel or 3D audio modes] Fixed: Some USB Audio Class 1.0 devices functioning as expected in standard stereo configurations failed when using multichannel audio features, including 8-channel or 3D audio modes. (Note: There are other audio symptoms not resolved in this OOB update. See the “Known issues in this update” section for more information.)

I’ve been building PCs for over 20 years, and though I’ve gotten pretty good at it, a big part of that is due to the tools I use. Everyone knows you need a decent Phillips screwdriver and enough space to build comfortably, but over the years and many builds, I’ve acquired a collection of extras that make the whole process even smoother. From improved lighting to magnetic trays for all your screws to a blob of sticky tack that’s surprisingly useful, here are my picks for the most overlooked PC building tools that should be in your kit. ## LED flashlight gloves Hinshark If you’ve built even a single PC, you’ll know that lighting is a real problem. Black PC cases with lots of nooks and crannies make it hard to see what you’re doing—even with good overhead lighting. Angle lamps are great, but I’m a big fan of hands-free lighting that can peer into any bit of darkness as needed, ideally without stopping what I’m doing. Some people use headlamps, but I find these LED flashlight gloves work a lot better. Yes, you do need to point your fingers exactly where you want the light to go, but that’s fine since you’re already deep in the case while working on it. It lets you aim the light at all those weird angles that could normally stump you, and it’s excellent for locating screws that fall behind the motherboard tray or PSU shroud. Get the Hinshark LED Flashlight Gloves at Amazon ## Needle-nose pliers Workpro My hands aren’t the biggest, but even my fingers can’t get into some of the tinier confines of modern desktop PCs and laptops. What do you do when you’ve lost screws deep within a case? One option is to lift the whole thing up and shake it upside-down like it owes you money. My preference is to use needle-nose pliers—or in a “pinch,” a hemostat—for reaching into those places where your fingers simply can’t. Get the Workpro Needle-Nose Pliers at Amazon ## Extra-long magnetic screwdriver Kyuionty You already have a screwdriver, but do you have a long-neck model with magnetic tip? A standard screwdriver is fine most of the time, but this is a great supplementary option that can really save your bacon in certain cases. The long neck makes it easier to screw stuff in without having to reach all the way into the case, and the magnetic tip makes screw recovery from hard-to-reach cracks easier. Get this extra-long magnetic screwdriver at Amazon ## Screw assortment kit Kernmax A screw kit is something you can compile yourself over time—just put aside all the spare screws you have after every build—but if you’re just starting out, or if you’re running low on spares, then a PC screw assortment kit is a great investment. It’s less than $10 for 500+ screws, and you get everything from motherboard standoffs to silicon washers to various screw types for motherboards, SSDs, and everything else. They’re great for blacking out a stealth build too. (No more shiny silver screws breaking up your sleek, dark interior.) Get this PC screw assortment kit at Amazon ## Magnetic parts tray Tooleague When you’re taking apart or building a PC, sometimes you’ll end up working with several different types of screws and bits—and lots of them at the same time. Could you throw them all into a bowl and sort them out later? Sure. Or you could use magnetic parts trays to keep them separated and organized. And since they’re magnetic, you won’t lose any. Get the Tooleague Magnetic Parts Tray Set at Amazon ## Plastic pry tools Kaisi Pry tools come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re most commonly used for smartphone repairs. But when I’m reaching into hard-to-reach places that I can’t risk scratching—like when pressing PCIe slot locks or popping out motherboard cell batteries hidden under graphics cards—I much prefer plastic pry tools. Just make sure whatever you get is thin enough to actually fit into those hard-to-reach places and long enough that large heatsinks and fans won’t block its effective use. Get the Kaisi Pry Tool Repair Kit at Amazon ## Anti-static mat Spurtar Anti-static protection may seem like overkill, but it’s better to be safe than sorry when you have hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the line. I don’t bother with anti-static wristbands, but I do always use an anti-static mat. Made from silicon (or similarly non-conductive material), they’re great for preventing shorts, especially when taking apart coolers or removing component shrouds and heat spreaders. They also help to protect whatever surface you’re working on. If you have a gorgeous wooden desk, one of these mats can go a long way to preventing dings and scratches that are hard to buff out. Get the Spurtar Silicone Mat at Amazon ## Cordless air duster/vacuum Yomile Cans of compressed air are common in PC building kits, but I don’t like them. They carry a risk of damaging components due to their high pressure, not to mention the unsavory propellants that can condense on your hardware. I much prefer a cordless air duster and vacuum, which can be used repeatedly thanks to USB charging. No more buying cans of air, no more propellants, and no more damage concerns. Get this cordless air duster/vacuum at Amazon ## Sticky putty Feosky If the needle-nose pliers fail, stick some putty on the end and try again! You can recover almost anything you’ve lost in a PC if you press it hard enough into some putty. No, it’s not the most elegant solution, but if you really can’t get that screw, cable, or coin battery out of that hard-to-reach place, it’s a good last resort. It’s also useful for bracing any components that are causing weird vibrations and noises. Get sticky putty at Amazon ## Alcohol and microfiber cloth Koala If you like a clean PCB without old, dried-on thermal paste, you should keep isopropyl alcohol on hand. And while you could always use it with paper towels or cotton swabs, I wouldn’t. Paper towels risk scratching the PCB and chips, while cotton swabs leave cotton debris behind. Use it with a microfiber cloth—the kind that’s safe for glasses and lenses. Get the Koala Lens Cleaning Cloth at Amazon ## Cable ties and flush cutter Klein Tools, Have Me TD There are all sorts of fancy cable tidies you can use to manage the mess of spaghetti cables, but nothing beats the convenience and cost of standard plastic cable ties. A pack of these will help tidy up all those stray cables left at the end of a build. And if you want to really treat yourself, grab a pair of flush wire cutters. They’re better than standard scissors, which can leave them with sharp edges that’ll slice your fingers. Get this 400-piece cable tie kit at Amazon Get the Klein Tools Flush Cutter at Amazon ## Double-sided and color-coded tape Romeda, Hoaoh I use tape to keep stray cables and RGB strips in place, and both double-sided tape and color-coded tape come in handy for that. The color-coded tape is only needed if you want the tape to blend in with the interior color of your case. Regardless, anything you can’t affix using screws can be kept in place using tape. Keep some on hand and you’ll never find yourself unable to complete a physical repair. Get this thermal adhesive tape at Amazon Get this color-coded electrical tape set at Amazon