Darren Allan

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Articles by: Darren Allan

Man upset at gaming PC, resting head on arms
Microsoft wants to make Windows 11 'secure by default' — but some gamers are up in arms about this security feature that 'wrecks' their frame rates

By Darren Allan Published

Some gamers are up in arms, while others believe that this security feature is a must-have for keeping their PC safe.

Acer Swift Blade 14 being used by a person sat on a concrete step outside
The new Acer Swift Blade 14 is the world's lightest laptop to be launched globally

By Darren Allan Published

IFA 2026 Acer had plenty to show off at IFA 2026, including a highly repairable laptop alongside the featherweight Swift Blade 14.

Dell 14S 2026, four laptops next to each other showing four different colors for this notebook: beige, pink, green and blue
Dell's new 14-inch laptop clearly takes aim at the MacBook Neo — but I'm worried about the price

By Darren Allan Published

IFA 2026 This Dell laptop looks to be a smart rival for Apple's MacBook Neo, but some question marks remain over pricing.

Sad looking person holding head in hands sat at a gaming PC
'It's been particularly bad since Blackwell': Nvidia's new GPU driver has another nasty bug — and gamers are rapidly losing patience

By Darren Allan Published

Gamers aren't happy about the quality of Nvidia's drivers of late, and a new bug has prompted some fresh venting.

Annoyed Windows 10 user
Windows 11's antivirus is repeatedly telling users that it's turned off — but don't panic, this is a bug and it's working just fine

By Darren Allan Published

Think Windows 11's antivirus is broken? Thankfully it isn't, although the app is suffering from a pretty frustrating bug.

TP-Link Deco 8 Ultra mesh router unit placed on a wooden cabinet in a living room
TP-Link reveals 'world's first Wi-Fi 8 lineup' at IFA 2026 with Archer 8 Ultra router and Deco 8 Ultra mesh Wi-Fi system

By Darren Allan Published

Wi-Fi 8 delivers important advances in dealing with wireless signal interference and managing more devices effectively.

Happy PC gamer
Nvidia DLSS 5 leak sparks major turnaround among PC gamers — as some brand it an 'insanely huge graphical update' that means 'there's no going back'

By Darren Allan Published

'Remarkable difference in tone of the reactions': the negativity around DLSS 5 is melting away, it seems.

A woman getting frustrated by her laptop
Windows 11 update arrives with much-wanted features — and very-much unwanted bugs that mess up the mouse cursor and wallpaper

By Darren Allan Published

Miss Microsoft's old-style chunky white mouse pointer? A weird Windows 11 bug turns the cursor retro — and it's messing with wallpapers too.

Confused PC gamer looking at screen
Time for gamers to upgrade to Windows 11? Nvidia GPU driver support for Windows 10 ends in two months — here's what you need to know

By Darren Allan Published

Nvidia GPU driver support is coming to an end for Windows 10 — here's what that means for security and your favorite PC games.

2 Comments
The Valve Steam Machine, pictured on a dark marble worktop.
Nvidia's GeForce Now is officially coming to the Steam Machine — here's why that's great news for gaming in your living room

By Darren Allan Published

Some gamers have been hoping for official GeForce Now support on Valve's PC — and that dream is now a reality.

Happy man with laptop on his lap
Microsoft just gave PowerToys a nifty new feature — and I think it's high time some of these goodies came to Windows 11

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft is busy improving Windows 11, and there's an obvious easy win it's missing: porting over smart PowerToys features.

Young woman using laptop, looking annoyed
'The version Microsoft will build should be known as Copilot OS': Windows built around AI may not be happening, but leaked concept remains a grim portent for desktops

By Darren Allan Published

Remember Microsoft's vision of Windows built around AI? That recent leak has been raked over — and fresh details of 'Copilot OS' make me more nervous about the future.

Confused PC gamer looking at screen
Amazon security engineer hacks PC accessories with Claude Opus to make them work better — Asus, Insta360 and Elgato products reverse engineered in hours for 'better control', but engineer admits this also 'scares me'

By Darren Allan Published

Some nifty tricks are pulled off by the security engineer — but the dark side of all this is worrying to say the least.

Young woman using laptop, looking annoyed
Microsoft's latest move to pay people to use Edge looks desperate — and an odd new Bing app is worrying too

By Darren Allan Published

An app has been spotted that makes Bing your default search, and some users see it as another reason to leave Windows 11.

A header image depicting the best Mac antivirus brands of 2025
Best Mac Antivirus of 2026: Expert Reviews and Top Recommendations

By Benedict Collins Last updated

macOS We've tested and reviewed all the best Mac antivirus, so you can protect your Apple device from harmful malware and viruses.

HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch on table with pink wall and plant in background
Should you buy a Chromebook now or wait for the Googlebook?

By Darren Allan Published

Don't understand what a Googlebook is, or how it's different from a Chromebook? We cut through the confusion for those hunting out a new laptop.

2 Comments
Solar Panels mounted on roof with streaks of rain visible, on a cloudy day
I just did a full solar install instead of waiting for plug-in solar in the UK — here's why

By Darren Allan Published

I'm loving my solar panels, battery and gateway setup so far, although admittedly it's still early days.

Cyberpunk 2077 on ROG Zephyrus G14 laptop
'Took me months to work this out': Redditor explains how Windows 11 can end up stripping out the GPU driver on your gaming laptop

By Darren Allan Published

Windows 11 removed the driver for an Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti laptop graphics card, and you can blame Eco mode.

4 Comments
Upset young man plays computer games at home.
Are your PC games crashing after the latest Windows 11 update? Microsoft is investigating whether a nasty new bug is the cause — but there are workarounds

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft is investigating reports of a nasty bug that breaks some PC games following the latest Windows 11 update.

A UKSOL plug-in solar kit
First plug-in solar kits get regulatory green light in the UK ahead of legal lift-off on August 27 — and they'll start at £699

By Darren Allan Published

'Safety, quality and after-sales support need to matter': UKSOL's ground mount plug-in solar panels are on sale in a week.

6 Comments
Close-up of webcam on MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, with pink wall in background
Windows 11 is getting a much-needed change to privacy settings — but it's something Microsoft should have sorted a long time ago

By Darren Allan Published

Microsoft is finally changing app permissions to make sense for all software.

A person using a Windows 11 laptop
Microsoft is massively improving Windows 11's right-click menu — but it should have been like this from the start

By Darren Allan Published

'Probably has a lot to do with figuring out how to get Windows 11 working on 8GB': Microsoft debloats right-click menu in a big way, but the cynics still aren't happy.

Render of Zotac GeForce RTX GPUs
PC gamers are asking 'what's next?' as RAM crisis sparks further rumors of GPU price hikes, and gaming monitors could get more expensive

By Darren Allan Published

Graphics card maker warns that GPUs are due 'substantial' price hikes, and I'd buy now rather than wait — the same might be true of gaming monitors.

RAM sticks stacked on top of each other
SSD price pain predicted to last until 2030 — as worrying report shows DDR5 RAM is now five times more expensive than a year ago

By Darren Allan Published

Expect the worst for RAM and SSD costs — latest DDR5 pricing and a storage exec's fresh prediction are bleak.

Happy PC gamer
Epic Games Store is going to support Linux 'soon' — and that's great news for Steam Deck owners

By Darren Allan Published

2026 just gets better for Linux gamers, as Epic is making a native version of its launcher, plus the GeForce Now app has officially arrived.

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