Plays from Plays.tv is by far one of the easiest game capture programs to use. All you have to do is sign in to the desktop app on Windows, play a game, and it starts automatically recording your gameplay. Once you’re done, Plays allows you to edit short clips from your gaming session and post them online to Plays.tv—a sort of Instagram for gamers.

Note: This review is part of our roundup of the best game capture software. Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.

Plays recently received a significant overhaul and is a little different from the last time we looked at it. When you first boot up Plays it features three options on the left hand rail: Sessions, Profile, and Alerts.

IDG

Sessions shows all your game recordings as you collect them. By default, Plays will save up to 10GB of video and automatically delete the oldest ones once your library hits about 90 percent of capacity. To change the maximum amount of storage space the desktop program will use, click Settings at the bottom of the left rail and select Advanced > Storage.

Profile is a list of your uploads that are live on the Plays.tv website, as well as your friends and followers count and your basic profile information. This section used to be called Feed and would show you not only your own clips but also those of people you follow. It’s not clear if the ability to watch other people’s clips will be coming back to the desktop app, or if you’ll need to go online from now on to see your friends’ activities.

Finally, there’s Alerts, which is where you receive notifications, such as when your latest video has been uploaded.

When Plays runs it starts recording your gaming sessions automatically, as we mentioned earlier. It records gameplay at 720p resolution and 30 frames per second, but you can adjust that if it’s not to your liking.

The desktop program has three keyboard shortcuts you can use while in-game. To bookmark a certain moment to come back to for later editing hit ctrl + F2. If you want to save the last 30 seconds of your gameplay hit ctrl + F4. If 30 seconds isn’t the right amount of time for you, you can set Plays to save as little as the last 5 seconds or as much as the last 10 minutes.

IDG

Finally, there’s the Instant Replay feature that plays back whatever just happened while you are still in-game. This won’t pause your game; instead it plays back the highlight using picture-in-picture mode. Unfortunately, Plays automatically puts the PIP window smack dab in the middle of the gaming area, which makes it hard to watch a moment while you’re active.

You can manually move the window to wherever you want, but this is not something you want to do in a time-based game such as Sonic Generations or a battle royale game like Fortnite. You also can’t resize the window.

To activate Instant Replay hit ctrl + F5. This will also bookmark the replay within the larger game recording. You can set Instant Replay to play back as little as 5 seconds or as much as 90 seconds. By default, Instant Replay’s playback is 30 seconds.

I can see Instant Replay developing over time into a fantastic feature, and something that could be very attractive to broadcasters who’d like to playback something for their viewers while still moving forward. 

Once you’re done with your gaming session, Plays pops up on the desktop with your recorded gameplay and very simple tools for cutting down your video into a shareable clip. If you’re playing League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, Dota 2, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the client will even automatically flag key moments like deaths, kills, and bomb plants.

IDG

Nvidia’s GeForce Experience (GFE) software for PCs equipped with GeForce graphics cards looks straightforward enough as a tool for optimizing your game library and downloading the latest GeForce drivers. But underneath that primary utility are a few nice, yet not-so-obvious features, including a highly regarded game recording application called ShadowPlay.

Note: This review is part of our roundup of the best game capture software. Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.

What new users may find confusing, however, is that the words ShadowPlay never appear inside GeForce Experience itself. Nevertheless, we’ll still use the term as long as Nvidia keeps using it.

To start using ShadowPlay, click the triangle-looking “share” button in the upper-right corner of the GFE window. This will summon what Nvidia calls the Share UI. It’s a fullscreen overlay where you can see ShadowPlay’s three recording features—Instant Replay, Record, and Broadcast Live—and the screenshot tool. (Hit Alt + F1 in-game to take a screenshot)

Instant Replay (when activated) continually records the last five minutes of your gameplay in a temporary location. To save any cool moves for posterity, press Alt + F10 and the last five minutes are automatically saved to your Videos folder in Windows.

Instant Replay is a fantastic tool if you don’t want to record your entire gaming session but would still like to save a cool move or some ridiculous bug should it come up. If five minutes isn’t enough, Instant Replay can be set to store your last 20 minutes of gameplay up to 1440p resolution at 60 frames-per-second.

The Record feature is a way to manually record your gameplay. To activate it hit Alt + F9, and then deactivate it with the same keystroke. This tool is great if you want to record a specific in-game event or stage such as a Survival session in The Division.

Broadcast Live, meanwhile, is a way to stream your gameplay live to the world. ShadowPlay’s broadcasting works with Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. It can stream up to 720p resolution at 30 frames per second on Facebook, 1080p/60fps on Twitch, and 1440p/60fps on YouTube.

Each recording feature has settings to tweak video quality, recording length, bitrate, and frame rate. To tweak the settings for Instant Replay, you’d hit the Share button, select the Instant Replay tile, and then select the Settings option that appears below it. This is the same for Record and Broadcast Live, though Record has the same settings window as Instant Replay.

There are also general settings for tweaking your audio and webcam video capture for broadcasting, and customizing the placement of framerate counters and other items for the in-game heads-up display.

If you ask me the ShadowPlay interface (Share UI) looks a little strange. Nvidia created it as an overlay to make it accessible in-game, but when you’re outside of a game, setting things up on your PC feels very odd.

There’s also a newer feature called ShadowPlay Highlights that doesn’t have its own tile, because there’s not much to tweak. Highlights automatically records your best gaming highlights in select games, similar to a feature in Plays.tv’s Plays desktop app. 

If you go into the general settings in the Share UI you’ll see a Highlights section where you can turn the feature on or off, specify the location where the PC temporarily saves highlights, and the maximum disk space the clips can take up.

Current games that use highlights include Call of Duty: WWII, Fortnite: Battle Royale, PUBG, and Tekken 7. Nvidia has a complete list of Highlights-compatible games on its website.

Like a bad movie, the sequel to the “Collections” data breach—Collections #2-#5— have snared an estimated 2.19 billion email addresses and passwords, far more than the original leak.

Researchers at the Hasso Plattner Institute have reportedly discovered that that 611 million of the credentials in Collections #2–5 weren’t included in the Collection #1 database. That brings the total to 2.19 billion, though its not clear whether some of this information may have been circulated elsewhere, according to heise.de. 

What’s clear, though, is that with over 2 billion email addresses and passwords on the loose, it’s almost certain that one of yours may be in the hands of potential attackers. (A private email I hardly ever share escaped being exposed, but a more public email address I’ve used appeared in a number of different databases.)

What can you do?

Though researcher Troy Hunt, the owner of the HaveIBeenPwned website, has added the previous “Collection #1” database, the remaining “Collections” have yet to be added. The Hasso Plattner Institute has its own Identity Leak Checker, however, which has added the database. The Identity Leak Checker asks for your email (nothing more), then uses that email to generate a list of information that’s out in the wild, including your name, IP address, and password, if applicable.

What the Identity Leak Checker can do is tell you if a password has been matched to your email address. What it can’t tell you is how recent that password actually is. It’s probably a good idea to change an affected email address password again—yes, again—to something unique. 

If it’s available, you should also make sure that two-factor authentication is turned on, especially for email addresses that can potentially be exploited to obtain information from other sites that you have access to. Two-factor authentication isn’t foolproof, but it provides another layer of security. An even surer way to secure your personal information is with a password manager, which can automatically generate unique, secure passwords for the services you use.

Right now, when you buy one of HP’s gaming laptops with powerful GeForce RTX 2070 graphics, you’ll get either Anthem or Battlefield V for free (your choice).  Step it up a notch to GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or 2080, and they’ll give you both. Check out this deal, and the full line of qualifying Gaming PC’s from HP’s store at this link right nowRemove non-product link.

Affiliate Disclosure: We receive a commission for purchases made through the links on this page.

So, you’ve bought yourself a brand-new laptop; one that comes with a mostly empty hard drive, neatly wrapped cables, and that fresh box smell. But, how do you keep this pristine system safe when you go online or venture out into the world? We show you the best ways to protect your purchase, with our five top tips.

Add security software

The internet presents probably the biggest potential threat to the safety of your laptop, with viruses, spyware, malware, ransomware, and other nasties all eagerly looking for a vulnerable PC to infect. While Windows and macOS do come with built-in security features, to really make your device secure you’ll want to invest in dedicated software.

Norton is the leader in consumer cybersecurity, providing comprehensive protection against the online threats above.  As part of Symantec, Norton is an integral piece of the world’s largest civilian cyber intelligence network allowing them to see and protect against advanced cyber threats.  Norton also has the Virus Protection Promise, and Norton is so confident in its protection that it’s guaranteed. If your PC or Mac gets a virus that Norton experts cannot remove, they’ll give you a refund.¹

Should you want to cover your smartphone and table as well, then there’s Norton Security Deluxe for up to five devices.

Use a VPN

While public Wi-Fi is convenient, it’s not always safe. Sending data over the web when using Wi-Fi hotspots, like those at coffee shops, airports, or hotels, could expose your most sensitive information like passwords, photos, and credit card numbers to cybercriminals.

Virtual private networks (VPN) give you online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public Internet connection.

Using a VPN, such as the excellent Norton Secure VPN, creates a private, encrypted data tunnel that helps prevent cybercriminals from hacking into your Wi-Fi connection and intercepting the data you are sending and receiving from your computer or mobile devices.  Norton Secure VPN is a no-log VPN that doesn’t track or store your online activity.  Browse anonymously and avoid being tracked online by advertisers and other companies

Norton’s ‘no log’ policy also means that even the company itself has no record or your activities, so you can browse in peace knowing no one is looking over your shoulder.

You can also pick up a bundle that combines both Norton Security and Norton Secure VPN, so you enjoy protection at home and on the go.

Norton

Affiliate Disclosure: We receive a commission for purchases made through the links on this page.

With so much of modern life taking place online, and increasingly monitored by powerful third parties or hackers, it’s very important to ensure that your data and activities remain private when you use public Wi-Fi.

Norton Secure VPN Privacy aims to do just that, employing bank-grade security encryption and VPN technology to keep prying eyes at bay. We explore what it does and why you should be using it on your Mac, PC, or mobile device.

What is Norton Secure VPN?

Symantec

Whenever you use public WiFi connections like those found in coffee shops, airports, or hotels you’re taking a big risk. Hackers target these particular types of networks, using techniques such as man-in-the-middle attacks that intercept information sent between your device and the server, or exploiting vulnerabilities to directly upload malware onto your system.

Norton Secure VPN Privacy helps put a stop to this by creating a Virtual Private Network or VPN. A virtual private network gives you online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public Internet connection. With Norton Secure VPN, all of the most sensitive data that you send and receive from your device like passwords and credit card numbers are encrypted and converted into unreadable, untraceable data until it reaches Norton servers.

Features and ease of use

While the idea of setting up a Virtual Private Network might sound complicated, Norton Secure VPN Privacy keeps things simple.

When you launch the app, it gives you the option to turn on the VPN. Doing so automatically creates a private network using the public WiFi. You’ll see this is working when the small map showing your location changes from red with the words ‘Unsecured Connection’ underneath to green and ‘Secured Connection’.

That’s it. No fiddling with network settings or proxy servers.

Now you can search the web with your normal browser, use online banking, access and send sensitive data, all in the knowledge that you’re protected by the same encryption technologies used by the major banks. Norton Secure VPN helps keep your online identity and activity anonymous when you use the Web. Norton Secure VPN is a no-log VPN that encrypts your personal information and doesn’t track or store your online activity or location.

Along with maintaining your privacy, the app has a couple of other very useful features. The first prevents ad-trackers from using cookies to follow you around the web and continually serve annoying ads. The other is masking your IP address and location.

By using servers around the globe, the VPN allows you a personalized browsing experience.  The VPN helps protect your online privacy by blocking intrusive activities like tracking or controlling your online activities or location by Internet service providers, mobile carriers, advertisers, and websites.

Setting your location is easy. Just open the app, select the Virtual Location tab, then choose the country you want. Norton Secure VPN Security will reroute your connection in seconds. When you’re finished, simply revisit the tab and select your home nation once more.

Price and availability

Norton Secure VPN may be used on one, five, or ten Windows PCs, Macs, iOS, and Android devices, with unlimited use during the subscription term.

For one device it’s $4.99 per month (plus applicable taxes) or $39.99 per year (plus applicable taxes). Terms apply. Move to five and your monthly amount goes up to $7.99 per month (plus applicable taxes), while yearly cost remains the same. This makes it a great choice if you want to protect your laptop, desktop, tablet, and smartphone. Families can opt for a ten-device tier which costs $9.99 per month (plus applicable taxes) or $59.99 per year (plus applicable taxes). 

There are also bundle deals that combine Norton’s WiFi Privacy and Security software, beginning at $69.98 per year (plus applicable taxes) for one device and going up to $94.98 per year (plus applicable taxes) for ten devices.

Verdict

Protecting yourself from the increasingly sophisticated online threats around today is a regrettable necessity. Thankfully, Norton Secure VPN Privacy makes this daunting task easy due to its clean and understandable interface. With no real setup required users can quickly find themselves browsing safely and anonymously from their phone, tablet, or PC.

The ability to change server locations opens up a literal world of online content, while having ad-tracking efforts blocked at the same time is a useful side-benefit.

Norton’s wide range of subscription tiers means there are packages for everyone, from securing your phone to all your devices, and at prices that suit any pocket. We’d say it will be money well spent.

Affiliate Disclosure: We receive a commission for purchases made through the links on this page.