June is over, so it’s time to go over the new products and updates that have pleased not only system administrators but also ordinary users this month. At the end of the article, don't forget to get promo codes for a new VPS from is*hosting and try them out for your own purposes!
DuckDuckGo browser beta for Windows
A beta version of a privacy-focused browser for Windows has been unveiled to the public. DuckDuckGo aims to protect users from third-party tracking, targeted advertising, search engine registration and profiling.
“... no invite codes, no waiting list, just a fast, lightweight browser that makes the Internet less creepy and less cluttered,” - stated the announcement.
In October 2022, the DuckDuckGo browser version 0.30 (beta) was released for Mac, and was used to fix major bugs before the Windows version went into public beta testing.
What does DuckDuckGo offer?
- Tracker blocking;
- Smart encryption;
- Management of cookie pop-up ads (ability to hide them);
- Dedicated "Fire" button to clear session history with a single click;
- Built-in email security;
- Built-in YouTube player for ad-free content viewing.
The developers claim that this browser uses 60% fewer resources than Chrome, thanks to privacy mechanisms. They also promise to expand functionality in the future.
You can download the beta version of DuckDuckGo here, but keep in mind that the browser is not fully stable and may have performance issues.
AI assistants in WordPress and HubSpot
WordPress and HubSpot have introduced AI assistants to their CMS that lets you create content right from the editor.
The Jetpack AI Assistant for WordPress allows you to create headlines and entire posts. In addition to generating text on demand (similar to how ChatGPT works), the AI assistant is able to correct mistakes, use a specific tone, and translate text into any language.
For a limited time, all WordPress site owners can use Jetpack AI Assistant for free. You can activate the AI unit using Inserter or the "/" keyboard shortcut.
As for HubSpot, there were two artificial intelligence-based tools, ChatSpot.ai and Content Assistant.
Content Assistant is designed to help marketing and sales teams quickly and efficiently create content such as blog post headlines, blog post content, landing pages, web pages, emails, and knowledge base articles.
The publicly available ChatSpot.ai allows you to add contacts and companies to HubSpot's CRM, create custom marketing, sales, and customer service reports, and generate sales emails that are personalized to the recipient. Both of these tools are available to HubSpot CMS users.
iVentoy 1.0 for installing Windows and Linux on PCs over the network
iVentoy 1.0 allows you to install Windows, WinPE and various Linux distributions on your PC over the network. iVentoy is an extension of the open-source Ventoy multi-boot OS image project.
iVentoy is an "extended version" of the PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) server, where you can host boot images of different operating systems and then install them on client computers on a local network. Both free and paid (Pro) versions are available.
It is known that iVentoy has been tested on Windows, Linux distributions and VMware ESXi. You can read more about supported versions here.
The new built-in password manager in Windows 11
Microsoft believes that the future belongs to passwordless keys. In this case, they mean Passkeys that are resistant to phishing, recoverable, and speed up the authentication process for users. Keys can be used on any Windows device and on mobile phones.
Windows users are offered a built-in Windows Hello to work with the keys. After saving their credentials in a key-enabled application or website, Windows Hello users can quickly log in using their face, fingerprint, or PIN.
In Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, if the browser displays a custom access key interface, you must select "Windows Hello or external security key" to get the built-in Windows features. Microsoft recommends using Google Chrome Canary to get the latest features. Since Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium, the Chrome Canary experience will eventually carry over to Microsoft Edge.
By the way, we recently talked about what it takes to create a strong password and where to store it.
Linux 6.4 release
Stable Linux 6.3 was released in April, and right on schedule, stable Linux 6.4 became available two months later.
In Linux 6.4, more than 2 thousand developers offered more than 20 thousand fixes. The list of fixes and improvements includes changes to device drivers, the network stack, file systems, kernel subsystems, and code updates to hardware architectures.
In addition, Red Hat developer Richard Jones, who rebooted Linux virtual machines more than 292,000 times (in 21 hours), found a rare bug in the Linux 6 kernel that caused the system to hang. The developer informed the Linux kernel maintainers of the problem, and they have already issued a patch.
Free Windows 11 virtual machines with Moment 3 update
Microsoft recommends building Windows applications in virtual machines with the latest versions of Windows, developer tools, SDKs, and ready-to-run samples.
Windows virtual machines are available for four different virtualization software options: VMWare, Hyper-V (Gen2), VirtualBox, and Parallels. However, Microsoft warns that these virtual machines are evaluation versions with a specified expiration date (90 days). After the expiration date, the desktop background will turn black, a persistent notification will appear on the desktop that the system is not authentic, and the computer will shut down every hour.
The virtual machine includes
- Windows 11 Enterprise (Evaluation);
- Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition with UWP, .NET Desktop, Azure, and Windows App SDK for C# workloads included;
- Windows subsystem enabled for Linux 2 with Ubuntu installed;
- Windows Terminal;
- Developer mode.
A Windows virtual machine requires at least 8 GB of RAM and at least 70 GB of disk space to boot. At the same time, Microsoft is aware of the issues that exist when working with VMs and is responding to user questions.
A New VPS from is*hosting
is*hosting continues to expand its infrastructure, allowing customers to choose a VPS in Ireland (Interxion data center in Dublin) and Hungary (ATW Dataland 1 data center in Budapest).
Additional benefits can be obtained by purchasing virtual private servers in two other European countries:
A VPS in Serbia is available at the CETIN data center, which is the largest interconnection hub in the country for the entire Central and Eastern European region. Use promo code RS to get a great deal. The promotion runs from July 3rd to July 10th.
Due to its location in Western Europe, Interxion's Brussels data center and VPS hosting in Belgium can provide the best connectivity to several neighboring countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. The promo code for better server rental in Belgium, BE, is valid from July 10th to July 17th.
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