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The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to lift a midnight deadline to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was deported to a prison in El Salvador by mistake, to the U.S.

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The Trump administration has defended the deportation of Maryland man mistakenly sent to El Salvador.

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Snapfish photo book review

Snapfish offers a vast range of customizable keepsakes and gifting items in over 30 countries including the US, the UK, and Australia. Customizing Snapfish photo books can be pretty simple thanks to a selection of ready-made templates, but my focus was on how easy it would be to add a TechRadar twist to see whether the design interface and resulting print quality are suitable for something a little more creative.

When reviewing different services, we always order a 12 x 12-inch matte hardcover standard-bound photo book. This configuration from Snapfish included twenty 200gsm satin finish pages as standard for a list price of $74.99 / £38.99 / AU$89.95, with the option to add two-page spreads for $2.49 / £1.99 / AU$2.90 each. Our finished book required four additional spreads, bringing the overall total to $84.95 / £46.95 / AU$101.55. Snapfish appears to offer regular deals and it’s always worth keeping an eye out for any banners or pop-ups, as in my experience they don’t apply the offers automatically at checkout if missed.

One thing Snapfish had in abundance was tutorial videos, which I’m sure would prove helpful for some. However, as someone who has used many of the best photo book services, as well as professional design software, I’d rather it had just been an intuitive process, rather than something I’d need to revise for.

(Image credit: Future)

The Snapfish photo book builder is fairly basic, but it's not straightforward to use. Tools and settings are limited: there is a top toolbar for saving, zooming, and adding or viewing pages, and a toolbar on the right of the design area, with photo, background, and embellish tabs. There was no tab or dedicated sidebar to offer a quick view of the spreads; instead, I had to click on the All Pages icon or click the zoom out button three times.

Speaking of zoom, the Snapfish builder had frustratingly poor zoom and navigation control. There were simple zoom-in and out buttons with a range of just three clicks, meaning the page was either smaller than I wanted or so large I had to use the browser's scroll bars to move around. I found the “large view” icon at the bottom of the page more convenient, as it increased the page size so that the page height filled the available space, but a manual zoom bar would have been more convenient.

Adding photos was a fairly simple process, but after uploading my first batch of photos I spotted a little “upload preferences” button on the bottom right of the screen. Hidden within this menu, I found the option to upload my photos in standard or full resolution, for no extra cost. Snapfish had this set to standard by default, which is pretty cheeky.

(Image credit: Future)

When dragging photos or elements onto the page, it wasn’t possible to know the exact dimensions, so any sizing had to be done by eye. Moving the photos within their frames was simple enough, but increasing or decreasing the size was controlled by a zoom bar, which proved fiddly at times.

I was really pleased to find that guidelines would pop up on the pages as I worked. However, I practically had to move the image pixel by pixel until I hit the right spot, as images and elements wouldn’t snap onto any of the guidelines. On a more positive note, some features I found really useful were the object alignment and size matching options, which popped up whenever I selected more than one element.

It proved particularly tricky to replicate our TechRadar photo book template in the Snapfish builder. While there are around 135 background colors to choose between, other low-cost printing services such as Mixbook offer custom color options from color sliders and hex codes, making it a better choice if you want your photo book to match your branding.

The lack of color options was even more apparent when it came to replicating the colored blocks that accompanied some of our photos. There was no option to apply a chosen color to simple shapes, so I needed to find the best match by searching through the elements. This still didn't prove the quick fix I’d hoped for though, as the shapes were all fixed ratio, forcing me to hide the excess behind the neighboring images or a white shape.

From left to right: the covers of the Blurb and Snapfish photo books. (Image credit: Future)

I found text boxes to be another source of frustration throughout this process. There wasn’t a huge range of fonts to choose from, but this did become somewhat of a blessing when I found I couldn’t find a font by typing it in, having to scroll through the list instead. Fortunately, however, recently used fonts were saved at the top of the list, making it easy to switch between a select few.

Initially, I thought the font size was limited to 30, however, I discovered that larger sizes aren’t shown if the text box is too small. This way of restricting the text to the bounding box also proved frustrating when trying to resize text boxes to help with alignment, as the font size subtly reduced on occasion if I made the box a little too small.

You may notice I stated 30, rather than 30pt: this is because the font sizes aren’t standardized, meaning a size 30 in one font could be half the size of another. This may not be the end of the world if you’re creating a photo book to reminisce over fond memories, but if you’re trying to make something cohesive, this makes life much harder.

(Image credit: Future)

Once I’d arranged each spread as close to the TechRadar photobook template as possible, I clicked the Review and Buy button. I was warned of a low-resolution photo, something I’d already been made aware of thanks to a warning that appeared on the image itself after I’d placed it on the page. However, it neglected to warn me about images going over the edges of the page, or if an image wasn’t within the bleed margin, which would have saved some errors on the printed article.

After confirming I was comfortable to proceed, I had the opportunity to preview my finished photo book. I was really quite impressed with the way Snapfish presented it; unlike other photo book services I’ve used that show a flat spread, Snapfish shows the pages as if they are in a standard bound photo book, so I could see the effect the spine would have on the photos that spanned over two pages.

Delivery times will vary depending on location, time of year, and demand, but in my case, I ordered my Snapfish photo book on a Wednesday, opting to pay £6.99 for priority, and received it the following Monday. If I’d paid for second-class postage the latest advised delivery date would have only been another two days wait. The photo book arrived in a plastic wrapper inside a simple cardboard outer; despite the plastic protection, there was still a fair bit of debris on the front and back cover, although this was likely worse than usual due to the soft matte finish and dark coloring.

Photo books from left to right: Shutterfly, Snapfish, and Mixbook. (Image credit: Future)

Speaking of the finish on the Snapfish photo book’s cover, it was lovely and soft to the touch, but I would recommend against it if you want a dark cover or if the book will be handled regularly. My Snapfish photo book ended up with lots of marks and fingerprints from just a few hours of viewing and photography, despite being handled carefully, and they proved difficult to remove without leaving evidence of the cleanup attempt.

As the outer lines of the pages on the Snapfish builder were thick blue, and there were no warnings when images went into or over the bleed area, I found one of my images fell short of the edge of the page. This was tricky for me to see on the Snapfish builder, even when looking for it specifically, so this highlights the need for a better zoom function, clear outer bleed margins, and a better warning system that flags when an image is not placed optimally.

(Image credit: Future)

It was noticeable that the larger prints were slightly wonky on some pages, as the space between the images and the edge of the page wasn’t consistent in width. I couldn’t help but question the print tolerance too, as it became apparent that the inner border must have been the “outer” bleed line, despite being shown within the page on the Snapfish builder and there being no warnings when my images crossed these boundaries. The image was well within the edge of the page, but the finished result looked like an error.

The cover image of my Snapfish photo book was noticeably darker than the original photo, and to all four of the photo books I was comparing it against. The print lacked the intense vibrancy and detail present on the other photo book covers, which I assume is due to the image being printed onto the black background without any underprinting to preserve the colors.

The color of the printed images inside the book looked fine in isolation, and the print quality seemed acceptable for the price, but they were undoubtedly lower in quality when I compared them to the same photos in the similarly priced Blurb photo book we reviewed. This was especially noticeable when it came to color blending, as the colors of the sky in the Snapfish example showed posterization, leading to obvious steps between colors rather than the colors smoothly blending together, as they did in the same print in the Blurb photo book.

The print quality in the Snapfish book (right) was outshone by the smooth and richly colored Blurb equivalent. (Image credit: Future)

Overall, it’s hard to recommend the Snapfish photo book over one from a competitor like Blurb. The only exception to this would be if it’s on sale, as I could have bought my book for less than £30 if I’d taken advantage of the 40% offer, or if a quick turnaround is key. In my case, a few weeks before Mother’s Day in England, the Snapfish photo book was manufactured in the UK and was in my hands in less than a week. If you’d like to explore offerings from other photo book services, I’d recommend taking a look at our pick of the best photo books.

Should I buy the Snapfish photo book? Buy it if…

You don’t want your photos altered
Snapfish didn’t appear to make any alterations to our images, unlike some of the other photo book services we’ve reviewed, which had been over-edited pre-production. While the colors on the printed article weren’t as vibrant as I’d have liked, this may be preferable in some cases.

You want a cheap photo book
When the Snapfish photo book is on offer, it’s a low enough price to purchase a couple as gifts without your bank account taking too much of a hit.

You want a quick turnaround
Granted, quick production and delivery can’t be guaranteed, but I was impressed to receive my photo book in just a few days with only a few weeks to go before Mother’s Day here in the UK.

Don't buy it if…

You want full creative control
While some will be perfectly satisfied using the pre-prepared layouts, for those of us who want the alignment to be spot-on without having to move a pixel at a time or want images and text to be a specific size, this is not the photo book service for you.

You want to use your own color palette
Sadly I found myself limited to Snapfish’s choice of background colors, and a hard-to-navigate and limited range of colored shapes, which is a stark contrast to the likes of Mixbook that allow free rein when it comes to color choice.

You want clear boundaries
Unfortunately, the print margins were not clear or well-placed, and I wasn’t given any warnings when my images weren’t in the right place, so this is another reason to stick to the Snapfish templates.

Snapfish photo book review: also consider

Blurb
I was highly impressed with the color accuracy and print quality of our photo book from Blurb. The colors of the cover image were beautifully vibrant without any OTT pre-production editing. Aside from a little damage during shipping, the entire book was nicely presented and looked worth the cost, which was perfectly reasonable to begin with.

Cewe
With dedicated software featuring a full suite of editing features and plenty of template options, Cewe is a good choice for people who want a little more creative freedom when designing their photo book. There’s a wide variety of paper and cover materials, and they even offer foil detail on the cover too.

How I tested the Snapfish photo book

• I created a photo book from scratch to recreate our TechRadar photo book
• I explored the Snapfish Builder, testing the different features and tools
• I ordered a photo book and assessed the quality of the finished product

I spent time testing out the different features in the Snapfish builder, seeing how easy their pre-made elements were to use, and the different elements they included for free. I also investigated other services providing photo books to compare prices and features.

I started with a blank canvas and used the tools available to recreate our TechRadar photo book. Recreating an existing design is important so that we can assess how capable the different services are when faced with different requirements.

I ordered my completed photo book and evaluated the finished product, paying close attention to quality, print finish, and alignment, and kept a close eye for any imperfections.

• First reviewed: March 2025
• Read more about how we test

The Trump administration is firing hundreds and perhaps thousands of federal workers as part of a crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Many of the fired weren't in DEI jobs.

Watch Celebrity Big Brother 2025 online

Celebrity Big Brother is back, with another set of familiar faces looking to stick out the UK version of television's original social experiment to its end. UK viewers can catch daily episodes live and on demand on the free-to-air ITV and ITVX services, and if you're away, you can watch Celebrity Big Brother 2025 online from anywhere with a VPN.

AJ Odudu and Will Best are back on hosting duties for the 24th edition of the celebrity-based shenanigans and Monday's launch episode saw the 13 contestants enter the house – you can see a full list at the bottom of this article.

This year's main attraction is Oscar-nominated actor Mickey Rourke, with the Hollywood star intermingling with the likes of the unlikely best chums RuPaul's Drag Race UK's Danny Beard and bouffant-haired former MP Michael Fabricant. Joining them are one-hit-wonder Chesney Hawkes, Eastenders legend Patsy Palmer and double Olympic champion Daley Thompson, with Love Island's Chris Hughes looking like an early favorite.

Thankfully for Mickey (and some viewers, no doubt), Hawkes has been on hand to explain who his fellow housemates are. The actor's low key manner is the polar opposite of JoJo Siwa's pink-and-sequin energy. So far it's all been good vibes, special powers and getting-to-know-yous – the drama is yet to come.

Below we’ve got all the information on where to watch Celebrity Big Brother 2025 online and stream every episode from wherever you are.

Can I watch Celebrity Big Brother 2025 for FREE?

Viewers in the UK can watch series 24 of Celebrity Big Brother completely FREE on ITV1 on TV and its ITVX streaming service online.

Use a VPN to access you usual streaming services from abroad. Full details on how follow...

How to watch Celebrity Big Brother 2025 from outside your country

If you’re traveling abroad when Celebrity Big Brother 2025 airs, you’ll be unable to watch the show like you normally would due to regional restrictions. Luckily, there’s an easy solution.

Downloading a VPN (Virtual Private Network) will allow you to stream online, no matter where you are. It's a simple bit of software that changes your IP address, meaning that you can access on-demand content or live TV just as if you were at home.

Use a VPN to watch Celebrity Big Brother from anywhere.

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The best value plan is the two-year deal which sets the price at $3.09 per month, and includes an extra 3 months absolutely FREE. There's also an all-important 30-day no-quibble refund if you decide it's not for you.

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How to watch Celebrity Big Brother 2025 online in the UK

Since returning to screens last year, Brits can now watch Celebrity Big Brother 2025 episodes every night of the week at 9pm BST on ITV1. Episodes will be an hour each.

It will also be available to stream for FREE both live and on demand on the ITVX streaming platform.

Its sister show – Celebrity Big Brother: Late & Live – goes out immediately after each daily episode on ITV2 and will also be available to stream online in the same way on ITVX.

Away from the UK right now? Just use a VPN to alter your IP address so you can stream your favorite TV shows and films online just like you would at home. More details above.

Can I watch Celebrity Big Brother UK online in the US, Canada or Australia?

The British version of Celebrity Big Brother only airs in the UK, so you won't find it in your TV listings or on streaming services if you're overseas.

That means that the only way that Brits abroad can watch episodes is by using a VPN. We've explained above how to do that and what service we recommend – for us, the best is NordVPN.

Celebrity Big Brother 2025 housemates

• Danny Beard – drag queen
• Angellica Bell – TV presenter
• Michael Fabricant – politician
• Trisha Goddard – TV presenter
• Chesney Hawkes – singer
• Chris Hughes – Love Island contestant
• Patsy Palmer – EastEnders actress
• Donna Preston – actress
• Mickey Rourke – Hollywood actor
• Jack P. Shepherd – Coronation Street actor
• JoJo Siwa – TV personality
• Daley Thompson – former Olympic athlete
• Ella Rae Wise – The Only Way Is Essex cast member

The business sector has tried to avoid criticizing Trump in public and welcomed his vows of lower taxes and deregulation, but the market sell-off appears to have loosened more tongues on Wall Street.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

NPR obtained emails that went out last week to leaders at health agencies offering to transfer them to postings in tribal communities. Officials close to Dr. Anthony Fauci got the offer.

(Image credit: Dawnee Lebeau)

• Apple has released its iOS 18.4 software update, which includes 8 new emojis
• The new emojis come at the same time as iOS 18.4's Ambient Music feature and new Photos tool
• Since being released, users have taken to the new additions well, especially Apple's new smiley emoji

It’s been a week since Apple released its latest iOS 18.4 update, and despite its rather rocky rollout of Apple Intelligence, the new software update packs some redeeming features - one of them being the addition of eight new emojis.

Apple’s library of emojis is extensive to say the very least, offering small visual elements that iPhone users including myself rely on to bring a text message or group chat to life.

Although the company has introduced only eight new ones, each is unique, and there’s one in particular that’s far too relatable. It’s easily the best one of the bunch.

Yes, new emojis are the most basic feature iOS 18.4 introduces – it also brings a new Photos tool and Ambient Music feature – but that doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to be excited about them.

I’ve had a real hard look at the eight new additions to Apple’s range of emojis and already I know which ones I’ll be using the most, and the ones I could do without - here’s my verdict.

8. Root vegetable

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

Is it a turnip? Is it a radish? I don’t know. But what I do know is that this is the emoji I will be using the least. There are enough food emojis out there already, so what impact is this one having?

7. Bare tree

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

I use Apple's nature emojis quite often, especially when captioning a photo with a picturesque natural landscape or quirky plant. The new bare tree emoji just looks a little sad, though.

The only instance where I would maybe use this is during autumn or even Halloween, but it’s not one I’m itching to use right now.

6. Spade/ shovel

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

Let’s call a spade a spade. This one is on the more boring side of Apple’s iOS 18.4 emojis. If you have a particular attachment to spades or shovels, then perhaps you’ll find yourself visiting this emoji over and over. For me, not so much.

5. Flag of Sark

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

Like most flag emojis, you’d only use them in very specific contexts or if you’re expressing national pride (I use the Welsh flag emoji constantly). That aside, it’s a pretty neat-looking flag, and it's nice to see Apple bring more national flags to its library.

4. Splatter

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

From its design, the purple splatter emoji is another one that I would’ve thought was always part of the emoji gallery. But alas, it’s shiny and new.

This is another one that looks good, but the only thing that lets it down is the lack of different color options, which would entice me to use it more.

Perhaps the next iOS update will fix this?

3. Fingerprint

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

The fingerprint emoji is just cool to look at. Is it as exciting as the new smiley emoji? I wouldn’t say so, but design-wise, it still packs a punch and is a solid addition to the emoji library.

2. Harp

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

It’s strange that a harp emoji is one of the new additions to iOS 18.4 because I would’ve assumed that this was always there. That shows how often I use musical instrument emojis.

Though this is a very specific emoji, it’s very summery. With all the summer photo dumps I have planned for the coming months, I could definitely see myself using this in an Instagram caption somewhere.

1. Undereye bags face

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

Okay, so Apple does have a sense of humor after all. The new emoji face with undereye bags wins by a landslide, not because it’s particularly inventive or creative, but because it’s the most relatable.

Since iOS 18.4 was released, this emoji has received a lot of praise from Apple users for the reason above alone. This shows that relatability is everything when it comes to emojis, and there’s no doubt this one will be a hit with users.

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Meta's chief global affairs officer says the company will now stop fact-checking after unveiling a shift to Community Notes in January.

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• The Nintendo Switch 2 retail price has proven controversial
• Some have speculated that the cost was in part due to potential US tariffs
• Nintendo of America Doug Bowser has now said that this is not the case

There's been a lot of discussion about the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 and now the Nintendo of America president has chimed in.

Some, including several notable industry analysts, have speculated that the $429.99 / £395.99 starting price was decided with potential US tariffs in mind.

Speaking in a new interview with The Verge, Doug Bowser has clarified that this is not the case. "Any previous tariffs were not factored into the price itself," he said plainly.

This would help explain why Nintendo has made the unprecedented decision to delay Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders in the US. In a statement provided to TechRadar, Nintendo stated that this was due to "the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions."

Bowser added that "the new [of the tariffs] is fresh, and like many companies right now, [Nintendo] are actively assessing what the impact may be."

He went on to try and explain the reasons behind the price tag, citing its improved specs and new features. He also said that "you want to consider pricing relative to Switch since we still have that in distribution but, really, the consideration was driven more by what is a part of this particular gaming experience versus what it is relative to the Switch."

The varied prices of games, for example the $79.99 / £74.99 Mario Kart World, has also been controversial. Bowser said that "each game, we believe, is a unique experience, and therefore can command a distinct price tag.

You might also like...

• Nintendo Switch 2 vs Nintendo Switch: comparing price, specs, design, features and more
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• I fell off the map in Mario Kart World and didn’t respawn – here’s why that’s awesome

• Security researchers uncover new flaw in WinRAR
• The flaw allowed threat actors to bypass Mark of the Web and deploy malware to Windows devices without warning
• WinRAR released a new version to fix the bug, so update now

Experts have uncovered a flaw in WinRAR which could allow threat actors to bypass the Mark of the Web (MotW) and deploy malware on people’s computers.

The vulnerability was discovered by Japanese researcher Shimamine Taihei from the Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions, and is now tracked as CVE-2025-31334, and was given a severity score of 6.8/10 (medium).

MotW is a security mechanism that displays a warning when an executable file is downloaded from the internet. It is built into Windows and serves as an additional layer of security, warning people that files downloaded from the internet might be dangerous - however, there is a way to work around the warning when a file is shared in an archived format.

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Symlink

“If symlink pointing at an executable was started from WinRAR shell, the executable Mark of the Web data was ignored,” WinRAR explained the vulnerability.

A symlink (short for symbolic link) is a shortcut or alias to a file or folder. Instead of copying a file, a symlink just points to it. Therefore, a hacker could create a symlink pointing to an executable with MotW, and if a victim runs it, the MotW wouldn’t show.

The vulnerability was found in all older versions of WinRAR, and it was addressed in version 7.11, which is now available for download.

Ever since Mark of the Web was introduced, cybercriminals have been looking for different ways to bypass it and deliver malware without warning.

In late January 2025, 7-Zip patched a major flaw that enabled just that. It is tracked as CVE-2025-0411 and was given a high severity score, 7/10. Earlier still, in 2022, researchers found a password-protected .ZIP file with an .ISO file inside that was able to bypass MotW.

To mitigate the risk, users should always keep their archivers up to date, and be vigilant when downloading files from the internet.

Via BleepingComputer

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Eufy continues to pack additional handheld tools into its robot vacuums. The new E28 is a portable deep cleaner, robot vacuum and mop.

As we did some digging on Scanguard, we came across the fact that it seems to be owned by Total Security LTD. Hopefully, this means that it’s benefiting from the same minds that are behind the Total AV products. We’re optimistic that this could translate into numerous updates over time, potentially crystallizing Scanguard into a more premium offering in the antivirus & security space. Nevertheless, Scanguard is its own thing at the moment, and it has a lot to offer regardless. It’s essentially a total security and optimization suite that covers everything from viruses to PC improvement through junk file removal, a password vault, and even a VPN.

The offering starts off with security features, which include: advanced real-time protection against various threats, including malware, ransomware, spyware, and adware, through specialized guards like Malware Guard, Ransomware Guard, Spyware Guard, and Aware Guard. You can give most of the functions a free try, as the company offers a free version of the application for Windows. The time it took to update and apply the definitions in the free tool was a bit worrying, we’re not sure whether it was a connection issue or the free version just being slow. The initial scan, however, was quite quick on a 512 GB SSD filled roughly to 30% of its capacity. The entire scan took under five minutes, going through a malware scan, junk removal, browser cleanup, and startup app check. A note of caution here, as the app scans your PC for any tracking cookies it finds, it will notify you, with an attempt to upsell you to the Pro version, so the cookie, or malware, can be removed. To be fair, the company does offer a 90% discount if you’re trying out their software and musing whether to purchase a license, which means you can get Scanguard Essential Antivirus for as low as $9 for the first year. Beware of the price for the renewal license, though!

(Image credit: Future) Features

The initial scan that we ran with Scanguard, called “smart scan” as we mentioned, was quite quick, covering malware, security and privacy issues, PC performance issues, system junk, and duplicate files with just one click. However, if you want to do a full system scan, which runs a more comprehensive check, be ready to wait up to 20 minutes. Of course, there is the Custom Scan option if you want to specifically target some folders in the scan, potentially speeding up your scan times. In the settings menu, you can additionally tweak your scan options with a toggle for scanning: removable drives, inside archives, specific file types, or scheduling a scan.

(Image credit: Future)

Moreover, the above-mentioned four features make up the core security offering, with the Malware Guard protecting your PC from trojans and worms. The Ransomware Guard guards from hackers taking over your PC and files, Spyware Guard deletes and blocks tracking software, and finally, Aware Guard blocks pesky adverts. We would also add the WebShield to this core, which protects you from malicious sites in real-time. Additionally, this feature offers a web cache cleaner, which can be useful if you do opt to visit the “Low Trust” websites the WebShield designates for you. It works quite well, preventing access to most well-known sites featured on PhishTank, though we did manage to access some more obscure sites, which were blocked by other security solutions, so stay vigilant regardless of which security solution you use.

You can enhance your security by installing the free ScanGuard web extension for browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari. It’s quite handy in blocking unwanted browser notifications and clearing up your cookies with just one click. Note, the Ad Block Pro is only available if you have the Pro version (paid plan) of the solution. Speaking of web extensions, another useful one offered by Scanguard is the Password Vault browser extension, but for it to function properly, you need to set up the Password Vault on the Desktop app first. If you do so, you will have access to auto-fill and auto-save features, as well as the password generator that will help you create secure passwords. We would have liked to see some features like 2FA for the vault itself, and options to share passwords, save notes, and files securely, but none of that was available. Standalone password managers, like 1Password, offer much more, but Scanguard does cover the basics, so if you need a more advanced password manager, you will have to buy an additional one.

If you opt to pay for the VPN, which is an extra feature, you will get the industry standard features such as data encryption, a kill switch, and encryption protocols like IKEv2 and OpenVPN. There are roughly 100 servers, most of which are located in North America and Europe, thus providing solid options for circumventing geo restrictions. The speeds are acceptable when streaming or torrenting (available only for non-US servers). We feel that other premium providers like Nord offer a much better VPN, with stable and higher speeds, as well as additional features.

If you’re worried about identity theft protection, apparently Scanguard offers some solid features in this regard. Note, we did not test out the offer, nor purchase it. It’s an additional service (paid separately), which covers dark web and social media monitoring, identity restoration, lost wallet assistance, and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. You also get the Data Breach Check, which scans whether your passwords have been compromised as part of an online data breach. All you need to do is provide your email, and Scanguard does all the heavy lifting.

Rounding off the offer is Scanguard's system optimizer or tune-up utility, which covers junk file cleaning (including duplicate files), an application uninstaller, start-up manager, and a browser cleanup. The junk cleaner seems impressive as it ran under a minute, removing some odd 300 MB of junk files from my PC in the first run. The duplicate scanner, on the other hand, is not perfect; it flagged two different videos as duplicates hidden in a wide tree of folders, both had different names, lengths, sizes, and content, so make sure you double-check before letting the app remove the files by itself. The browser cleanup offers to clear your browsing and download history, cookies, and junk files from your browser, speed up the loading of websites, and put idle tabs to sleep. During our test, it worked quite well, we did not notice any issues with it. Despite having some useful features, we would have liked to see some disk optimization features as well as some gaming boosters, as seen in some other premium offerings. Sure, there is a “game mode,” but it simply makes sure no notifications or scans come up as you game, but there are no PC performance tweaks for gamers with Scanguard.

If you’re an Android user, there is a dedicated app for you; however, if you use an iPhone, then tough luck, there is no Scanguard app for you. On Android, you can not get the app from the Google store, you have to find the link to it in the Scanguard website’s help center. Google will warn you that the app is not safe. Most of the Desktop features are available on the mobile app as well. They work without any issues, but you don’t get advanced security features like SMS filtering, scam call filtering, etc. So all in all, the mobile experience is a bit underwhelming, to say the least.

Pricing

(Image credit: Scanguard)

Luckily, Scanguard gets it right with its pricing plan approach, offering just two pricing plans. The first one is the free one, giving you some basic protection and a taste of what the suite encompasses and offers. The paid plan costs $29 for the first year if you purchase through the site, and here is where things get complicated. The site advertises $29 for the first year instead of $99, which is your annual renewal price. Yet, if you install the free version of the app and from the options menu click on upgrade, you get a price of $9 for the first year, and a renewal price of $99. But wait, there’s more! If you decide to make the purchase, be ready to pay for it using only PayPal, as there is no other payment option. Furthermore, once you do go through the purchase, an upsell moment arrives, offering the VPN as a service at an extra cost, as well as the Ad Blocker Pro.

The initial pricing strategy and plan started off quite promising, but the various offers through the site and the app just left a bad taste in our mouth, loathing the entire process. Sure, we understand that some marketing magic needs to be used to get the best sales results, but communicating everything in one place and transparently makes much more sense in our book.

The offer on the website for the paid plan includes the following: real-time virus and phishing protection, cloud-based threat detection, and tools to defend against adware and spyware. It also includes a secure password vault, system tune-up tools, disk and browser cleaners, and even a web shield extension to block harmful sites. With added Android protection, 24/7 customer support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Protection

(Image credit: VB100)

Checking reliable testing sites, you will only come across a VB100 test result for Scanguard from October 2023. It successfully passed the test at the time, but the website states that Scanguard is not VB100 certified, as the test results have not been refreshed or done recently. However, the test from October 2023 states that it achieved a detection rate of 96.94%, successfully identifying 1,871 out of 1,930 malware samples. Just as importantly, it scored a perfect 0.000% false alarm rate, meaning it didn’t flag any clean files as malicious across 100,000 legitimate test samples. This balance of strong malware detection and zero false positives demonstrated at the time that Scanguard provides reliable protection.

Ease of use

Scanguard has a beautiful design philosophy, with a modern UI, a black, green, and blue color scheme, and large icons that are intuitive and informative once you hover over them. Initial installation may take some time since all of the databases need updating, but it's not concerning. Under the settings tab, everything is laid out logically, with most settings offering a toggle switch for easy customization. Despite having numerous customization options, it never felt overwhelming.

Final verdict

In the end, Scanguard represents a peculiar offer in the security suite space. Some things, like the malware protection and web protection in general, it does well; we would argue on par with some more renowned companies. On the other hand, there are major issues with the mobile app, which is difficult to install. To this, we would also add the pricing fiasco from the app to the website, and the fact that no independent lab has tested Scanguard in 2025 to offer an insight into how well it compares to the others.

All in all, if you’re not too picky or demanding, Scanguard can keep you safe online, but knowing that there are much better offerings in the field, priced similarly to Scanguard, it’s simply difficult to recommend it as a go-to solution.

• We've also highlighted the best antivirus software in this roundup

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• Marvel has released one final trailer for its Thunderbolts* movie
• The new teaser puts the focus squarely on Lewis Pullman's Sentry
• It reconfirms the superhero's dark alter-ego will be the film's Big Bad

Well, Marvel isn't hiding it anymore. As it ramps up its marketing campaign for Thunderbolts*, the comic book titan is no longer being coy about the movie's Big Bad.

Admittedly, it wasn't anyway. Anyone who's kept tabs on the final Marvel Phase 5 film's development since January 2024 will know who its main villain was likely to be. With each new round of footage, it's become more and more obvious who it'll be, too.

While Thunderbolts' official trailer heavily implied that its primary antagonist would be someone you expected to be a good guy, though, its latest teaser, which you can view below, just comes out and says it.

Who is the villain in Marvel's Thunderbolts movie?

The film's latest trailer confirms the titular band of misfits and disgraced heroes will face off against The Void, aka the nefarious alter-ego of Lewis Pullman's Bob Reynolds/Sentry. Heck, Pullman's mentally unstable superpowered being even says "I am The Void" in the teaser, which is as good a confirmation as any.

It sounds like Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, and company have got their work cut out, too. Pullman's Reynolds informs them "there's no use fighting" him, before CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine calls him "invincible, all-powerful [and] stronger than all of the Avengers rolled into one."

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If planet Earth had a supremely powerful human at its disposal, it begs the question: why wasn't he called upon to help the Avengers to try and stop Thanos from wiping out half of all life in the universe in Infinity War?

Based on how terrifying The Void appears to be, it wouldn't have been worth the risk. That's made clear when he menacingly says: "You have no idea what I'm capable of... maybe I should show you." Anyone else get shivers down their spine?

This seemingly timid guy – Bob Reynolds – is a potentially world-ending threat (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Anyway, Reynolds/Sentry/The Void will be sticking around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for longer than many Marvel villains. Indeed, he was announced as part of the initial 27-strong cast that was announced for Avengers: Doomsday in late March. So, while we don't know how the eponymous ragtag group will actually 'defeat' Sentry/The Void, he will make it out of this film alive and play an active role in that Marvel Phase 6 flick.

Do you want to spoil anything else before Thunderbolts crashes into theaters on May 1 (UK) and May 2 (everywhere else), Marvel? I hope not. While we wait for the Disney subsidiary's next big-screen project to arrive, get the latest on it via my dedicated hub on Marvel's Thunderbolts movie.

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