{
  "id": 16071026,
  "title": "Windows already has a screen recorder, OCR, clipboard history, and an antivirus that people still pay third-parties for",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/windows-already-has-a-screen-recorder-ocr-clipboard-history-and-an",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-22T16:30:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/windows-already-has-a-screen-recorder-clipboard-history-and-an-ocr-tool-and-people-still-pay-for-apps-that-do-the-same-thing/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Discussions about Microsoft Windows often focus on its flaws, but there are numerous built-in tools that many users overlook. Two of these essential tools include Windows' screen recorder, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), and clipboard history, all of which are available for free with Windows 11. Despite their availability, some people continue to pay for third-party screen capture utilities, OCR tools, or antivirus software.\n\nThe Snipping Tool, for instance, has been a part of Windows since Windows 7, but it has undergone significant improvements. Users can capture screenshots with the keyboard shortcut Win+Shift+S and use Win+Shift+R to begin a screen recording of a selected region. Additionally, Win+Shift+T initiates OCR on any content displayed on the screen. Furthermore, the OCR tool now includes a Quick Redact function, which quickly erases email addresses and phone numbers from screenshots, saving users valuable time.\n\nSimilarly, the screen recorder incorporates features borrowed from Clipchamp, allowing users to transcribe clips directly in the Captions tab. Even the screenshot tool has received enhancements, such as a background color corrector that resolves issues with washed-out or oversaturated HDR captures.\n\nClipboard history, another overlooked feature, has been present in Windows 10 and now extends to Windows 11. Users can access their clipboard history using the Win + V shortcut, which presents a searchable panel listing the last 25 copied items, including text, images, and hyperlinks. Moreover, Windows 11 facilitates clipboard synchronization across devices, enabling users to access copied content on any Windows 11 PC they own.\n\nRegarding antivirus software, Windows 11's built-in security solution, Microsoft Defender, has proven to be a formidable and cost-effective alternative to paid antivirus options. Independent evaluations have consistently demonstrated Defender's superiority in protection, performance, and usability. In fact, it earned a perfect 6.0/6.0 score on all three criteria in the most recent AV-TEST assessment. With such impressive results, there is no compelling reason to invest in costly third-party antivirus software when Defender already delivers top-notch protection.",
  "summary": "If you're paying for these tools, you're paying twice over",
  "key_points": [
    "Windows offers free screen recorder, OCR, and clipboard history tools",
    "Snipping Tool and screen recorder have received improvements in Windows 11",
    "Microsoft Defender antivirus outperforms paid alternatives in AV-TEST tests"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}