Minecraft

Gaming is not often associated with cyberattacks, but it is worth remembering threat actors will always try to exploit a weakness, no matter the tech sector. And a prime target for hackers in the gaming industry is Minecraft. According to Statista, attackers are attracted to the gaming market, which amounts to an estimated $268.8 billion.

Security research firm Kaspersky also points to Minecraft as the game hackers target the most often. In some ways, that is to be expected as Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time. It is also available across platforms, open to modding, and has a major community behind it.

It just makes sense that threat actors would use Minecraft to bait users with malware attacks. Kaspersky says bait attacks on the game affected 131,005 users between July 2021 to June 2022, with 23,239 malware files sent.

Files

Following Minecraft, other games saw a high number of unwanted files distributed: FIFA (10,776), Roblox (8,903), Far Cry (8,736), Call of Duty (8,319), Need for Speed (7,569), Grand Theft Auto (7,125), Valorant (5,426), The Sims (5,005), and CS:GO (4,790).

“The research revealed an increase in attacks using malicious software that steals sensitive data from infected devices,” Kaspersky says.

“It included such verdicts as Trojan-PSW (Password Stealing Ware) which gathers victims’ credentials, Trojan-Banker which steals payment data, and Trojan-GameThief which collects login information for gaming accounts. From July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, Kaspersky security solutions detected a total of 6,491 users affected by 3,705 unique malicious files of these types.”

Tip of the day: Headsets are a vital tool for communication and can cause stressful moments when they don´t work as planned. In our tutorial we are showing you how to properly set up a headset on your Windows PC so this will be a thing of the past.

Source Winbuzzer

Minecraft is extending its collaboration with the Nobel Peace Center and Games for Change. The organisations have once again partnered with Mojang, this time to bring a new map to Minecraft Education Edition.

Called the “Peace Builders” map, it adds four new characters to the Minecraft world. Specifically, these characters are Nobel Peace laureates who will provide insight into preventing conflicts. Mojang says the map is free to all Minecraft Education Edition customers.

To access the map, head to the lesson library, or alternatively, it is purchasable on the Minecraft Marketplace for non-education users running the Bedrock Edition.

Laureates

The four Nobel Laureates in the Peace Builders map are:

• “Carl von Ossietzky was a German journalist during World War II. Leading up to the war, he used his own freedom of speech to reveal the Nazis’ breach of international agreements and alert the world that Germany was preparing for war. In Ossietzky’s world, students will gather evidence that Germany is re-arming for war by using the in-game camera to take photos. They’ll learn how they can use free speech in the fight against war.
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu used non-violent methods to end oppression and racial segregation in South Africa. He was a leading figure in the fight against apartheid, advocating for sanctions on South Africa until the oppressive system was removed. Tutu’s world takes students to a rally where they’ll experience a peaceful protest. They learn about his leadership qualities and the ways tolerance and non-violent protest can earn rights for everyone.
• The United Nations Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, has been helping refugees around the world for more than 70 years. Whether people are fleeing their homes due to natural or human-made disasters, war, or persecution, the UNHCR provides support through international cooperation and humanitarian work. In the UNHCR world, students will rescue people trapped in wreckage after an earthquake.
• Jody Williams is an American political activist from Vermont who led the International Campaign Against Landmines and worked hard to reach an agreement banning their use. In Williams’ world, students will travel to a minefield in Cambodia, where they’ll help her clear a path to a farm for the local villagers. From her example, they learn that you can make a substantial change when you get involved, and that disarmament is an important path to peace.”

Active Citizen

Back in March, Mojang announced its first Minecraft collaboration with the Nobel Peace Center and Games for Change. Known as Active Citizen, the initiative allows users to explore the background of Nobel Peace Laureates and better understand their achievements.

Tip of the day: File History is a Windows back up feature that saves each version of files in the Documents, Pictures, Videos, Desktop, and Offline OneDrive folders. Though its name implies a primary focus on version control, you can actually use it as a fully-fledged backup tool for your important documents.

Source Winbuzzer

While NFTs have been called everything from pointless to a scam, there are clearly people who like them. Moreover, there are some industries where NFTs are more appealing than others. For example, gaming ties into NFTs quite well, but not for Mojang Studios and Minecraft.

In a blog titled “Minecraft and NFTs,” the Microsoft-owned developer takes a firm stance against NFTs, saying “integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow.”

“To ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies are not permitted to be integrated inside our client and server applications, nor may Minecraft in-game content such as worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods, be utilized by blockchain technology to create a scarce digital asset,” Mojang says.

The company points out that implementing NFT content into Minecraft – including skin packs and world files – is something companies have been doing. Mojang says NFTs create an economy around the game that may not be fair for users, who may need to complete tasks outside the game to acquire NFTs.

Rallying Against NFTs

According to the developer, these practices go against the principles of Minecraft:

“NFTs are not inclusive of all our community and create a scenario of the haves and the have-nots,” the studio said. Mojang goes as far as saying that NFTs are “encouraging profiteering.”

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are financial security blockchain data storage distributed ledgers. The blockchain records the ownership of the NFT and allows it to be transferred, sold, or traded. NFTs are controversial because some have sold for millions of dollars. While ownership of the single file (blockchain) is individual, there is nothing stopping other people from making/owning a copy.

Tip of the day: Whether it’s for a presentation, song, or YouTube video, at some point in your life you’ll need to record audio from your computer. Windows 11 has multiple options to record sound due to its litany of apps. In our tutorial, we show you how to record audio using the built-in Windows 10 Voice Recorder and the freeware audio editor Audacity.

Source  Winbuzzer

Exploring Minecraft during in-game daylight is wonderful, complete with sumptuous views. However, doing the same at night can be a chore. This situation is even worse in dungeons. Now Mojang wants to shine a light on this night-time world with the new Minecraft Luminous Night update.

This is the second Seasonal Adventure and provides glowing scenes in Minecraft Dungeons. It also comes with a new dark theme. In a post, developer Mojang says this theme is very dark, so the Minecraft Luminous Night is necessary:

“The Dungeons team has inexplicably removed several light bulbs in the Mojang Studios offices, and it’s likely your fuse box’s next! While this sinister prank left us all in the dark for a while, we now know it was part of a much darker scheme (or maybe theme?) – a new update!” The post reads.

Bundled into the update is a new Tower design that is specific to this theme, where players can visit new floors. Other areas will also be given the luminous treatment. Furthermore, Mojang is also adding a wildfire adversary.

Other Additions

According to the company, wildfire “may prove too hot to handle for even the most seasoned adventurers!” There are also plenty of other changes coming with Minecraft Luminous Night:

‘Just like the previous season, there are plenty of new rewards to earn – rewards that look particularly stylish during the night. Skins, capes, emotes, and flairs will light up your surroundings with a luminescent light, while new adorable pets such as the ministrosity and abomination will light the fire in your heart. You might also appreciate the new quality-of-life features coming, such as the highly anticipated storage chest that will bring order to your chaotic inventory.”

Tip of the day: Need to create an ad-hoc network from your PC? In our tutorial we show you how to easily create a shareable wireless internet connection in Windows as a free WIFI hotspot.

Source Winbuzzer

Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away. I am sure one of the company’s favorite pastimes is trolling customers by teasing cool features and then simply removing them. For example, take this week when a preview revealed the start of testing for Ray Tracing for Minecraft on Xbox Series X. Well, Microsoft now says that was a mistake and has removed it.

Ray tracing is a technology that boosts light quality, making games look graphically better. It has been available on Minecraft for Windows for some time. Xbox Series X and Xbox Serie S both support ray tracing, so gamers have been awaiting support for Minecraft on consoles.

This week, Microsoft’s preview through the Xbox Insider Program seemed to be ending the wait. No, not if Microsoft has anything to do with it. Now the company says the preview was an error:

“The previous Minecraft Preview build available to Xbox Insiders inadvertently included prototype code for ray tracing support on Xbox consoles,” says the Minecraft team in a tweet. “This early prototype code has been removed from Preview and doesn’t signal near future plans to bring raytracing support to consoles.”

Not Gone Forever

Ray tracing is a technology that allows hardware acceleration on the new consoles. With ray tracing, the Series X has better dynamic shadows, physics-based lighting effects, and dynamic shadows. Nvidia’s RTX graphics card with path-traced ray tracing is now part of Minecraft on Windows.

When the preview dropped this week, there were some indications it was not ready. Insiders would need resource packs in Minecraft to enable the feature. Getting those packs installed on an Xbox is complex, so users would need to create a Minecraft session on Windows and accept their Xbox account to join.

Yes, hardly a seamless experience. Maybe Microsoft is correct to remove the preview and focus on getting ray tracing directly on Minecraft.

Tip of the day: Did you know that you can assign keyboard shortcuts for starting applications quickly in Windows 11 and Windows 10? This is a great way to have your most used programs always at your fingertips. In our tutorials we show you how to set those hotkeys for your favorite apps.

Source Winbuzzer

Amidst the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country is paying a heavy price for openly attacking a sovereign nation. We have seen unprecedented economic sanctions that have effectively crippled the ruble and ostracized Russia from the financial community. Companies have pulled operations in the country, and now Microsoft has removed Minecraft from Russian app stores.

The world’s most popular game is no longer available on the Apple (iOS) App Store or Google Play (Android) in Russia. This was almost inevitable when Microsoft announced last week it would cease all sales within in the country.

Apple, Google, and a host of other tech giants have taken a similar stance, while Facebook has been banned in Russia. So, not only is the country now cut off economically and politically, but also technologically.

There is a debate to be had about where to punishments against the Putin regime end and punishments against normal people in Russia begin. It is worth noting that Russians are being fed lies by the Putin government. The party line is Ukraine is a Nazi nation and Russian forces are liberating the country.

Ongoing Punishments

One question is how much these lies convince people in Russia. There are reports of growing protest against the invasion within the country as the truth slowly seeps in. At the moment, there is no doubt that sympathy is entirely with Ukraine and people in Russia a reaping what their government sows.

As well as ceasing sales and removing Minecraft, Microsoft has also banned Russian news sites on its platforms. Furthermore, the company is actively helping Ukraine to thwart Russia-based cyberattacks.

Tip of the day: Do you sometimes face issues with Windows search where it doesn’t find files or return results? Check our tutorial to see how to fix Windows search via various methods.

Source Winbuzzer

Minecraft has spread across all forms of media. From being the world’s biggest-selling game, the Microsoft-owned property is also come to books, comics, TV, and movies. Now, Microsoft is taking Minecraft on the road with a live event call Minecraft: The Exhibition.

According to the company, Minecraft: The Exhibition will be a rolling live tour that will extend over multiple years. It got underway on February 18 at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City.

As the name suggests, the event is an exhibit of everything Minecraft covering 6,000 sq.ft. It has multimedia stands that provide interactive content for visitors to enjoy. For example, life size characters from the game, such as animals and unique characters like the Creeper.

There will also be stands that host game stations. This will allow people to paly Minecraft. Of course, builds are a major part of the Minecraft experience, so the exhibition will highlight some of the best builds ever on the platform. There will be show in time-lapse video from first block to last.

Tour

Other individual build will be biomes and dioramas, alongside a crafting table where visitors can create objects using cards representing in-game materials.

Microsoft’s goal here is to bring the world of Minecraft into the real world, and some of the exhibition will focus on learning. In collaboration with Minecraft for Education and the Museum of Popular Culture, Mojang will provide learning exhibits at the event.

Minecraft: The Exhibition will be at the Liberty Science Center until September 5 before starting its tour to other cities.

Tip of the day: Whether you’re planning an upgrade, tuning CPU timings, or just curious, it’s handy to know information about your RAM. In our tutorial, we show you how to check RAM speed, type, and size using several built-in Windows tools.

Source Winbuzzer

Last month, Microsoft brought Minecraft: Java Edition to its Xbox Game Pass subscription platform. Also last month, Mojang announced at Minecraft Live 2021 that Caves and Cliffs Update 2 will be coming soon. Now, the company is rolling out a snapshot of this update for all Java Edition users.

Called Minecraft: Java Edition Snapshot 21w44a, this release comes with plenty of changes, including for the world blending tool. However, for the most part the update is about fixes and making small improvements to Minecraft: Java Edition.

Essentially, Mojang is preparing the game for the full release of the Caves and Cliffs Update Part 2, which will drop before the end of the year.

Below is the full changelog for Snapshot 21w44a:

Features

• New world generation is now inserted under existing chunks when upgrading a world to the new world height
• Added an Online options screen where you can now find the Realms Notifications option and Difficulty when on a server
• Added an “Allow Server Listings” option to opt-out of having your name displayed in server listings

Changes

• Sleeping now only resets the weather cycle if it is raining
• Blocks and fluids are now also affected by simulation distance. It might be a good idea to test that the behavior of your redstone contraptions remained the same
• Optimized entity collisions

Technical changes

• Servers can now set property hide-online-players to true in order to not send a player list on status requests
• When JFR profiling is started from an external source, the JFR events for network packets are now aggregated instead of one event per packet

Fixed bugs

• Sleeping always resets time until rain
• Foxes can’t spawn on podzol or coarse dirt
• In mineshafts, torches can generate attached to blocks other than the wooden supports
• Mineshafts can generate with light but without any torches
• Torches not spawning in abandoned mineshafts under y=0
• Large dripstone structures can be generated outside the caves
• New mountain biomes don’t count towards “Adventuring Time” advancement
• /jfr stop output does not have a link
• Mobs specific to structures aren’t spawning in their structures
• Foxes & Wolves don’t spawn in Groves
• Adventuring Time does not account for the new cave biomes
• Deep Ocean & Ocean is not needed for the “Adventure Time” advancement
• Values of Infinity in noise settings in default worldgen
• Powder snow strips can’t generate exposed to the surface
• Icebergs go all the way to ocean floor.
• Old Growth Spruce Taiga and Old Growth Birch Forest aren’t part of the “Adventuring Time” advancement
• Windswept Gravelly Hills & Windswept Savanna aren’t a part of the “Adventuring Time” advancement
• Withers do not move down to follow the player when the wither’s health is half or lower
• All torches in mineshafts are facing the wrong way
• Wither Skeletons can only spawn on Nether Bricks
• The “amplified” boolean in noise settings does nothing
• Nether and caves world is missing bedrock
• Nether decorations can be generated on the original bedrock layer
• Terrain shaper in noise_settings is not used

Upcoming Minecraft Updates

As well as the Caves and Cliffs Update Part 2 release, Mojang has recently announced The Wild Update for Minecraft. According to Mojang, the update will bring a bunch of new blocks to the game, additional mobs, and new biomes. Furthermore, there will be new large ancient cities featuring unique loot to the update.

Tip of the day: When Windows 10 or Windows 11 has issues, it’s not rare to run into startup problems. Corrupted Windows files, incorrect system configuration, driver failure, or registry tweaks can all cause this issue.

Using Windows startup repair can fix boot issues caused by the most prevalent issues. Though it may seem that all is lost when you run into startup problems, it’s important to try a Windows boot repair so you can at least narrow down the source of the issue. If it doesn’t work, you may have to reinstall the OS or test your hardware.

Source Winbuzzer

Microsoft’s Minecraft Earth was supposed to be a game-changer. It was the company’s first augmented reality (AR) game and was supposed to be a smash hit. After-all, it was following the mega-successful Pokémon Go, while also being based on the biggest game of all-time, Minecraft. So, it is still a surprise that Microsoft will shutter Minecraft Earth this June.

However, VentureBeat is asking a wider question about what Minecraft Earth’s demise means for the wider AR gaming scene. Along with the clear decline of Pokémon Go, does this all mean AR gaming ends here?

No, is the answer and the reality is AR gaming had a debut few other gaming technologies have ever had. As it now moves through a period of decline, there’s a lot of positives for the future of the genre.

As Microsoft continues to reap the rewards of Minecraft, the game also continues to deliver for players. Thanks to consistent updates, new maps, worlds, DLCs, features, and extras are frequently available. But what about the Caves and Cliffs Update, which promises to be one of the biggest Minecraft upgrades ever?

You may remember Minecraft developer Mojang first announced the Caves and Cliffs Update at Minecon back in 2019. This update would combine two updates into a single release.

Mojang usually rolls out two major Minecraft updates per year. For example, in 2020 the year started with the Buzzy Bees Update (actually released Dec. 2019) and the Nether Update last June. Both annual updates are major releases adding plenty of new features to the sandbox game.

Minecraft Caves and Cliff was meant to combine two updates for 2021. In other words, this ambitious upgrade would combine 2021’s two updates into one single bumper release. It would also bring one of the biggest ever changes to Minecraft.

Summer Launch

Specifically, Mojang promises the update gives mountains a makeover will completely redoing the whole mining experience in the game. Mojang admits an update of this scale takes time, so when will Minecraft Caves and Cliffs launch?

A specific date has not been given, but the company promises a summer 2021 release. As we get closer to that timeframe schedule, expect to hear more information. Considering other mid-year updates have arrived in June, that would be a good starting point for speculation regarding the Caves and Cliffs Update.

Alongside the changes mentioned, expect the update to come with loads of other features, add-ons, and perks.

Tip of the day:

Worried about your privacy in Windows 10 or want to keep different PCs linked to your Microsoft account strictly separate? We show you how to adjust your Windows 10 sync settings , including the clipboard, activity history/timeline, and themes.

Source Winbuzzer