Summer thunderstorms aren’t the only things crackling across Charleston skies this week—Microsoft dropped a monster Patch Tuesday, AI rumors hit a fever pitch, and new hardware leaks promise laptops that sip power but gulp data. Meanwhile, ransomware got sneakier, the IRS kicked off a “Protect Your Clients” campaign, and Verizon dangled fresh grant money for Main-Street entrepreneurs. Pour a tall glass of sweet tea; here’s the low-down for Lowcountry families, home-office heroes, and small-business dynamos.
News For The Week:
Microsoft’s July Patch Tuesday Crushes 137 Bugs—One Active Zero-Day
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-july-2025-patch-tuesday-fixes-one-zero-day-137-flaws/
Microsoft’s KB5062553 bundle fixes 137 vulnerabilities, including a SQL Server flaw already under attack (CVE-2025-36901). BleepingComputer Fourteen of the bugs are rated critical, and two patch AMD side-channel issues—so Ryzen rigs need love too. The update also refreshes the servicing stack (KB5063666) for smoother future installs. Microsoft Support
For small offices, schedule a weekend reboot and verify line-of-business apps; we can stage the rollout after hours so your point-of-sale doesn’t skip a beat.
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Windows 11 Build 26100.4762 Hits the Release Preview Channel
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/07/10/releasing-windows-11-build-26100-4762-to-the-release-preview-channel/
The new build adds Recall reset options, “Click to Do” AI text actions, and Teams shortcuts straight from selected email addresses—handy for impromptu meetings. Windows Blog Home users gain granular export for Recall snapshots (EEA-only for now) and Reading Coach integration for on-screen text.
If you run preview code on a mission-critical PC (we see you, brave souls), create a restore point before updating. We can spin up a Hyper-V sandbox so nothing torches payroll.
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Security Update Sneaks In Seven New Windows 11 Features
https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/7-new-features-coming-with-the-july-2025-security-update-for-windows-11
July’s cumulative patch quietly delivers small taskbar icons, image compression in the Share menu, and region-aware language settings. Windows Central Families juggling aging laptops will appreciate the tidier taskbar; SMBs can shrink screenshots before emailing quotes.
Tip: enable the new “archive-apps” toggle under Settings › Storage Sense to auto-offload seldom-used programs—free space without uninstall regrets.
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Intel Arrow Lake Refresh Leak Teases Beefier NPU, H2 2025 Launch
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/intel-prepping-arrow-lake-refresh-with-minor-clock-speed-bump-and-a-new-copilot-ai-compliant-npu-lifted-from-core-ultra-200v-reportedly-launches-in-the-second-half-of-2025
ZDNet Korea sources claim Arrow Lake-S will ship with a Core Ultra-style NPU, pushing Copilot+ tasks to 45 TOPS while nudging clocks a few hundred MHz. Tom's Hardware Expect drop-in upgrades for existing LGA 1851 boards—music to DIYers who’d rather spend money on GPUs than motherboards.
Holy City Computer Services can benchmark the refresh against your current rig and advise whether to jump or hold.
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Handheld Console Leak Shows AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 Flexing 40 RDNA 3.5 CUs
https://www.techradar.com/pro/imagine-a-gaming-console-that-could-be-used-as-an-ai-workstation-gpd-may-be-working-on-a-prototype-with-the-amd-ryzen-ai-max-395-at-its-core
A leaked GPD “STX Halo” prototype scored 10,393 in 3DMark Time Spy—double today’s handhelds—thanks to AMD’s 16-core “Zen 5” APU and chunky integrated graphics. TechRadar With a 120 W default TDP (but capable of sipping 25 W), the device blurs the line between gaming toy and portable AI workstation.
Creators on the go could batch-edit photos or run local LLMs at the coffee shop—no thunderbolt eGPU required.
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GPT-5 Rumors Heat Up—“Before Labor Day,” Insiders Say
https://medium.com/predict/gpt-5-is-coming-in-july-2025-and-everything-will-change-643252fe6849
A leaked staff memo hints at a July preview with “massively expanded” context and tighter reasoning. Medium Translation: chatbots that remember your entire onboarding process instead of asking for it twice.
We’ll test GPT-5 head-to-head with Claude 4 and Gemini once the API drops, so stay tuned for real-world benchmarks.
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Surprise Pixel Drop Brings Gemini to Wear OS and More
https://blog.google/products/pixel/pixel-drop-july-2025/
Google’s July Pixel Drop adds Gemini voice summaries to Wear OS smartwatches, upgraded car-crash detection, and new Photo Unblur presets. blog.google For home users, your wrist can now TL;DR a Slack thread while you grill burgers—hands free and sauce safe.
Businesses using Pixel phones gain fresh spam-call controls, letting owners auto-block robo-pitches before they interrupt a client demo.
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Mamona Ransomware Works Offline, Self-Deletes—Yikes
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/security-researchers-discover-dangerous-malware-thats-small-fast-can-work-locally-and-doesnt-need-a-master-command-heres-what-you-need-to-know
Researchers at Wazuh spotted Mamona, a 75 KB binary that encrypts files, waits three seconds, drops a ransom note, and erases itself—no command-and-control traffic to flag. TechRadar Offline execution blindsides network-based defenses, so endpoint monitoring (e.g., Sysmon + YARA rules) is crucial.
Holy City Computer Services can deploy File Integrity Monitoring and off-site immutable backups, shielding your data from this stealthy strain.
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IRS & Security Summit Launch “Protect Your Clients” Summer Campaign
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-security-summit-launch-summer-series-to-help-tax-pros-protect-clients-from-identity-theft-as-nationwide-tax-forums-begin
IR-2025-73 renews weekly alerts for tax pros, spotlighting new spear-phishing schemes where scammers pose as “new clients” and lob malware-laden attachments. IRS The agency urges MFA on all preparer accounts and encrypted email when sending returns.
If you store client records locally, we can set up BitLocker with TPM-protected keys and train staff to spot rogue “I-need-a-quote” emails.
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Verizon Digital Ready Grant Cycle Opens—Apply by July 31
https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-announces-commitment-supporting-small-businesses
Verizon’s latest round awards $10,000 each to fifty small businesses; applicants must complete two Digital Ready courses before the July 31 deadline. Verizon Grants pair nicely with Verizon’s pledge to equip one million SMBs with digital-skills training by 2030.
Holy City Computer Services can help polish your application—think cybersecurity posture write-ups and cloud-migration roadmaps that look great to grant reviewers.
Windows Tips For The Week:
- Create a Safety Net: Hit Settings › System › Recovery › Create a restore point before installing KB5062553. BleepingComputer
- Shrink the Taskbar Icons: After updating, toggle Settings › Personalization › Taskbar › Taskbar size › Small to reclaim screen space. Windows Central
- Reset Recall: In Build 26100.4762, go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Recall & Snapshots and press Reset to wipe snapshots if the feature feels too nosy. Windows Blog
AI Prompt Ideas:
“Act as a Charleston tour guide turned IT guru. In 140 words, explain why off-site, immutable cloud backups beat thumb drives—use a beach hurricane analogy, one shrimp-boil joke, and invite readers to call Holy City Computer Services at 843-670-4153.”
Copy–paste into your favorite LLM for a marketing blurb that’s both tasty and tech-savvy.
Whether you need weekend patching, GPU advice, or ransomware resilience, Holy City Computer Services translates headlines into hassle-free solutions. Call 843-670-4153, email support@holycityit.com, or visit www.holycityit.com to make this week’s tech work for you—securely and sweet-tea smooth.