There’s a new bug in Microsoft Word that may delete your files, and according to user reports, they’re not always recoverable through the Recycle Bin. Fortunately, Microsoft is aware of the problem, but it’s unclear when the issue might be fixed. If you want to make sure that your files stay safe, we’ve got a few workarounds to help you out.
In the last few days, the Microsoft community boards have been flooded with reports of people complaining about their files randomly being deleted, with one user saying: “I use Word. Today, it deleted eight hours of work.” Further reports quickly made it clear that the affected files have a few things in common.
The bug occurs when you save a file locally and the file name contains the # symbol or the file extension is capitalized. This means using .DOCX or .RTF instead of lower-case .docx and .rtf. This only happens in Word for Microsoft 365, version 2409. If you’re running an older version, you should be safe — but backing up your data is always a good idea.
There’s more. Microsoft, having acknowledged the problem, found that not all files get deleted (even if they meet the above criteria). The trigger is closing Word and being prompted to save instead of saving manually and then closing the program.
If this happens to you, start by checking the bin — the file might be there. You can also try a few other recovery methods outlined in our guide. However, your best bet is preventing the file from actually being deleted.
To prevent the issue, try the following:
This problem might only affect a small percentage of Word users, but deleted files is never a good thing. After all, losing hours of work is not fun. Let’s hope that Microsoft finds a fix soon, but until then, the above workarounds should help those affected.
Speech-to-text apps have flooded the App Store, making it easier than ever to type on our Macs with just our voice. I have previously covered one such app called TypeWhisper. However, there has been a dearth of good text-to-speech models, and most of the good ones are locked behind a subscription.
Ollama, an open-source app that lets you run local AI models on your computer, wants to change that. It works on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and your prompts are never stored or used for training.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
How can ORISA bring deleted AI conversations back?
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).