Technology

Discord messages from eligible public servers may appear in web search. Check rollout dates, privacy settings, and separate controls for AI summaries.

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• AI firm DeepGreen has suggested building data centers underwater
• This would help to keep the locations cool and running efficiently
• But the proposed locations could seriously harm endangered whale species

AI data centers need an awful lot of water to keep their machines running at optimal temperatures, and that creates a problem: just how do you get that much water on-site? One potential solution seems almost blindingly obvious: why not build them underwater? Yet as residents across the US are discovering, that idea is proving to be highly controversial.

Take the recently-pitched $100m underwater data center located off the coasts of Maine and Alaska, for example. AI firm DeepGreen Holdings has proposed building data centers off Western Passage, Maine, and Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska, and they would cover some 1,650 acres and comprise 66 compute pods and 300 tidal turbines.

The problem? Both locations are home to endangered whale populations that could be significantly impacted by the developments. In the case of the Maine site, the Gulf of Maine is linked to critical habits for the North Atlantic right whale. As for Upper Cook Inlet, that’s a designated critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale.

Whales rely heavily on echolocation to aid their feeding, navigation and social activities. Construction of enormous data centers of this scale would produce sizable noise pollution that could adversely affect the whale populations, potentially threatening what are already endangered animals.

According to researchers (via Gadget Review), the heat produced by the data centers, meanwhile, could scare off the cold-water prey that the whales need to survive.

Putting whales at risk

(Image credit: datacenterdynamics)

As you might expect, these projects have not gone down well with researchers and the public. For instance, Cooper Freeman of the Alaska Center for Biological Diversity described the move as “just really outrageous.” Freeman added that “We’re deeply concerned about all the harms this project could bring,” adding that the proposal lacks an awareness of “how dangerous this is for the inlet.”

On Reddit, meanwhile, members of the public seem equally upset at the idea. One described it as “Evil. May these people be judged one day and punished for this level of absolutely evil. Disgusting.” Others were even skeptical that underwater data centers are even feasible in the long run, due to the hardware's longevity.

With AI data centers consuming untold amounts of energy and requiring significant cooling to keep everything humming along, it’s not surprising that some companies are looking to submerge their facilities beneath the waves as a remedy. But when that idea involves worsening the situation for endangered species, perhaps it’s time to find another solution.

A 31-year-old Seattle woman turned to ChatGPT-4o when she became concerned about side effects from her medication.

Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro arrives Nov. 6. Explore pricing, M5 Pro and M5 Max specs, OLED features, battery life, and whether it's worth upgrading.

The post Apple Touchscreen MacBook Pro Cheat Sheet: Price, Specs, and More appeared first on TechRepublic.

• A wheeled robot lays battlefield wire while engineers remain under cover
• A remote-controlled frame unwinds wire across exposed battlefield terrain without nearby engineers
• Ukrainian ground-robot missions rose from 7,511 in January to 19,940 in July 2026

Ukrainian troops are using remotely-operated wheeled robots to construct defensive obstacles in dangerous locations where military engineers face direct exposure.

The ground robot carries coils of wire on specially designed frames, releasing the material across designated areas as it moves forward.

Images from the Ukrainian military show one of these autonomous vehicles with six wheels, but the manufacturer and model remain unknown.

Ground robots take over dangerous engineering duties

The ground robot comes with a specially constructed framework mounted above its wheels that helps it to hold the wire rolls in place.

Its sloping support structure permits the material to unwind gradually while the machine advances, creating obstacles along the chosen route.

This machine is remotely operated by Ukraine's 16th Separate Support Brigade while remaining under cover.

This minimizes the risk and removes the need for engineering teams to stand outside protected positions while manually deploying wire across exposed terrain.

Ukrainian military officials acknowledge these dangers, explaining that robotic machines are now being deployed to construct battlefield obstacles instead of exposing soldiers.

“Installing barriers in an open area is always a risk for combat engineers. But today, this hard work is done by ground-based drones,” the Ground Forces of Ukraine said on social media.

At the moment, details regarding the carrying capacity, operational distance, and the amount of fencing that this robot can deploy in a single mission remain undisclosed.

Robotic missions increase sharply across Ukraine

This latest deployment extends Ukraine's expanding employment of unmanned terrestrial machines, protecting soldiers from confrontations.

Similar systems already transport ammunition and essential battlefield provisions, reducing the frequency of dangerous supply missions.

Data from Ukraine’s DELTA military management platform shows that robotic activity has increased considerably during the ongoing war with Russia.

Recorded operations reached 19,940 in July 2026, compared with only 7,511 in January, which points to much greater reliance on remotely operated ground equipment.

By the beginning of September, the total had reached roughly 112,000 recorded missions, showing how quickly these machines have become part of military operations.

These numbers cover robotic operations in general rather than wire installation specifically, so they cannot show how often these particular vehicles are used.

The military has not said how many barrier installation vehicles are currently in use, or whether other units operate similar equipment on the battlefield.

No figures have been released for successful installations, equipment losses or the distance these machines cover during each assignment, so their real effectiveness remains unclear.

Via Drone Front

When the deal is complete, both companies are expected to continue operating separately.

Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees, including Copilot and Windows staff. Here's what the workforce changes could mean for enterprise IT teams.

The post Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60,000 Staff in Windows, Copilot appeared first on TechRepublic.

Well, it’s finally happened: Apple has got with the times and finally made a laptop with a touchscreen. However, while the new MacBook Pros with PROLED screens look like fantastic devices, I think Apple has made a mistake by putting its first laptop touchscreen on the more expensive MacBook Pro, rather than the more mainstream MacBook Air… or even the MacBook Neo.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with a touchscreen starts at $2,899 / £2,899 / AU$4,599, and the 16-inch model starts at $3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,499. That’s a big ask for most people, especially these days.

Of course, MacBook Pros, as the name suggests, are aimed at professionals, and thanks to their high-end components, they should really be seen as investments that allow you to speed up your workflow.

Interestingly the new touchscreen MacBook Pros come with Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. If you want Apple’s latest M6 chip, you’ll need to go for the non-touchscreen 14-inch MacBook Pro that was announced a few days earlier. Perhaps confusingly, the M6 is less powerful than the M5 Pro and M5 Max, and so far there are no hints that Apple is preparing to release M6 Pro and M6 Max chips.

(Image credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN / Getty)

My point is that by putting its first-ever laptop touchscreen on its most powerful — and expensive — MacBooks, Apple is severely limiting the potential audience for the technology. Had it instead put a touchscreen on the more affordable MacBook Air, it could have had a real hit on its hands.

Who’s it for?

As someone who has used plenty of Windows laptops and Chromebooks with touchscreens in the past, I know how useful they can be for certain tasks, and I often miss them when using a MacBook.

Being able to scroll down a website with a finger, turn a page in an ebook, or quickly tap a menu item feels natural and intuitive, and I’m sure it will on the new MacBooks. My daughter, who grew up with touchscreens on everything, would also instinctively poke an often sticky, grubby (kids, you’ve got to love them!) finger at a MacBook screen and be surprised when nothing happened.

If you’re dropping $3,000+ on a touchscreen laptop just to use the touchscreen for browsing websites, then you’re either super-rich or you should get help with your budgeting.

These are all pretty simple tasks and gestures. What I've never used touchscreens on laptops for, however, is for complex tasks and tools, such as recording and editing music in Ableton Live, or editing videos in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Instead, for things that needed precision or complexity, nothing beat the good old combo of keyboard and touchpad (or even better, keyboard and a mouse), as well as other external peripherals such as MIDI controllers and drawing tablets. Which leads me to wonder why Apple picked the MacBook Pro, a device that’s supposedly designed for exactly those type of tasks, to showcase its first laptop touchscreen.

If you’re dropping $3,000+ on a touchscreen laptop to mostly just to use the touchscreen for browsing websites, then you’re either super-rich or you should get help with your budgeting.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and no touchscreen starts at $2,999 / £2,999 / AU$4,799. As the MacBook Pro with the PROLED XDR touchscreen with the same specs costs $400 / £400 / AU$700 more, that’s quite a premium for the touchscreen.

Yes, I know the PROLED XDR screen offers better image quality as well thanks to its tandem OLED tech (check out our explainer on why this is a big deal), but if you don’t need that additional image quality, which includes better contrast, higher brightness levels, and support for the Adobe RGB color gamut, and are just interested in the touchscreen, then essentially yeah, you’re paying $400 extra for it.

If you’re a professional, especially one in the creative industry, you’ll need to think long and hard if that investment is worth it. Meanwhile, the likes of the MacBook Air and MacBook Neo aren’t really used for complex creative tasks, and instead used for casual day-to-day use, where touchscreens are much more useful.

(Image credit: Mario Tama / Getty)

Granted, adding an extra $400 / £400 / AU$700 to the price of a MacBook Neo or MacBook Air wouldn’t be great, especially as they’ve just had a price bump earlier this year, but Apple wouldn’t need to include the OLED tech and advanced image-quality options included in the MacBook Pro. A touchscreen MacBook Neo for $899, say, could be a real hit, especially if Apple was to also keep the non-touchscreen model for people who still want the ultimate affordable way to get into the Mac ecosystem.

This isn’t just an Apple problem, of course. The new laptops powered by Nvidia’s RTX Spark SoC, which are aimed at the same creative professionals and heavy local AI users as the MacBook Pro (with similarly high price tags), come with touchscreens. I’ve spent a decent amount of time with each one at various events, and I found that the touchscreen was the least-used part of the laptop — in fact, I often forgot those laptops had one. Because there aren’t cheaper, non-touch, models, though I didn’t resent its inclusion.

As I said, I do get the appeal of touchscreen laptops, but I find the technology is best used in 2-in-1 devices where the keyboard can be flipped behind the screen (or removed entirely) so that it can be used as a tablet-like device.

In an ideal world, then, Apple would have put its touchscreen on an entirely new 2-in-1 MacBook, but I can’t see that happening any time soon. Apple sort of has a device like that — the powerful iPad Pro, which can be paired with a Magic Keyboard that turns it into a touchscreen laptop. The problem there, however, is that despite coming with Apple’s powerful M-series chips, the same you’ll find in MacBooks, the iPad Pro is limited to the iPadOS operating system and mobile apps.

Put macOS on that bad boy, however, and allow us to run full desktop applications on it, and hey presto: Apple has a touchscreen MacBook that utilizes the tech in a way that’s actually useful. Until then, I’ll stick with my standard MacBook Pro, and just try to remember not to prod it with my sausage fingers too often.

• YouTube announced it's hit 150 million subscribers across Premium and YouTube Music
• The platform also generated $11.2 billion in ad revenue
• Users say free tier ads are only getting worse, with some calling them 'unbearable'

YouTube announced that it has surpassed a whopping 150 million subscribers across its Premium and YouTube Music experiences — marking a huge milestone for the video platform and one of the best music streaming services.

Alphabet Inc CEO, Sundar Pichai, announced the figures in the platform’s Q3 earnings release on Wednesday (October 28), which increased by 25 million from a total of 125 million subscribers in March 2025, though individual numbers for Premium and YouTube Music weren’t disclosed. Pichai also shared that YouTube’s ad revenue rose to more than $11.2 billion compared to $10.3 billion in 2025.

Speaking about the milestone, Google’s Chief Business Officer, Philipp Schindler, said "With Premium and Premium Lite, viewers have choice. As more people opt into premium experiences, it’s a win for viewers, creators, and our business. Subscriptions help fund the creator ecosystem and drive the platform forward."

YouTube has accumulated over 25 million subscribers between now and when it last confirmed its total membership count in March 2025. When you break that down, that’s approximately 1.25 million new subscribers signing up each month, and it’s only going to increase.

While it’s not a traditional on-demand film and TV content platform, YouTube has emerged as a serious competitor among the best streaming services. In 2017, the company launched YouTube TV, and according to a recent report from Nielsen, it has surpassed Netflix in popularity for TV viewing. In July 2026, 49% of TV time was viewed via streaming platforms, with YouTube making up 14.2% of that, followed by Netflix at 7.8%.

There’s no denying YouTube Premium is rising in popularity, but as the company puts more effort into improving its paid services, a number of users have said its free version is becoming increasingly difficult to use because of the number of ads.

Earlier this year, I bit the bullet and signed up to a YouTube Premium free trial and, annoyingly, the experience was vastly more enjoyable. Not only does it grant you ad-free viewing, you get background and offline listening, as well as small but handy control tools and full access to YouTube Music. But once you go back to its free version, that’s when you truly realize how out of control YouTube’s ads have become — and I’m not the only one who’s noticed (see below).

Youtube ads have become out of control. from r/youtube

In addition to YouTube’s ‘completely unbearable’ ads, users have also pointed out the rise in AI-generated sponsored content which one Redditor claims advertise "obvious scam products". The combination of the two is the main catalyst for users abandoning YouTube as a platform altogether, and tech-savvy users are already opting for alternative ways to bypass ads.

One of the most popular ways YouTube viewers are working their way around ads is downloading browsers such as Brave, which users on Reddit have praised. Browsers like this come with built-in ad blockers, so it can automatically skip over ads when you’re streaming YouTube for free.

While YouTube gives you the option to tailor your ad experience and block certain types of promotional content, some users claim that when they do this, YouTube only feeds these ads to them even more. One user on Reddit used Old Spice as an example, saying "it's like blocking them has a reverse effect." Similarly, another user had an experience where they reported a potential scam ad, only for YouTube to email them with a counterargument.

I’m with a lot of other users who continue to call out YouTube for how expensive Premium has become (it now costs $15.99 / £12.99 / AU$22.99 a month), especially when you factor in your existing streaming subscriptions, so many of us just put up with its free service. Despite enjoying what Premium had to offer during my free trial, it doesn’t justify adding another subscription plan to my roster — my bank account will fall out with me.

• Attackers abused camera management software to gain initial access and establish persistence on networks
• Campaign used DLL sideloading and reverse shells to evade detection and maintain control
• Researchers urge treating camera systems as security-sensitive assets and monitoring them for abnormal activity

Security researchers have warned of an ongoing campaign targeting an apparent vulnerability in camera management software. The vulnerability is being used for initial access, allowing threat actors to establish a foothold on company infrastructure.

The warning bells were sounded by security outfit Huntress, whose researchers Harlan Carvey and Lindsey O'Donnell-Welch said that in September and October 2026, they observed a “handful of incidents” originating from camera management software.

In all cases the attackers abused a legitimate camera management system to side-load a malicious DLL file and gain access to the underlying system.

Who watches the watchmen?

Surprisingly, the team could not determine which camera software was being targeted, nor by whom.

“Huntress analysts were unable to determine the full name or creator/vendor of the software, as the file did not contain an embedded File Version Information section,” they said.

However, they did find an executable containing a few notable strings, which led them to believe a Korean company called 3R Global could be involved. They couldn’t confidently say that the Camera Management System (CMS) executable was downloaded from that company’s website, though.

Unfortunately, without knowing the exact name of the software being targeted, it is impossible to tell how many victims there were, or how big the attack surface is. Huntress’ “handful” designation does very little to explain just how dangerous this vulnerability is.

While the lack of key data limited their visibility into exactly how the threat actors were compromising the software, they could see what they were doing once they were inside - launching a reverse shell and side-loading malicious DLLs.

Once the initial access had been established, the attackers would drop a file named rs.win32.exe to the endpoint and would launch it via a command line. The command line would supply a remote IP address and port, and include an admin username.”This led us to see this as a reverse shell,” they said.

From there, they would drop a file called WpcMon.exe - a legitimate Microsoft Windows Parental Control Monitor file, used for parental-control and activity-monitoring features. In this case, however, the file is used to load malicious DLLs called IPHLPAPI.DLL and samcli.dll. On the surface, both appear to be legitimate zlib compression libraries, but in fact, they were changed to provide beaconing, contacting the external C2 server from time to time.

Huntress watches the watchmen watching the watchmen

“Part of the infection process also included creating persistence by adding a reference to the newly installed WpcMon.exe in a value beneath the user's Run key,” the researchers explained. “Threat actors typically add a program path to a user's Run registry key so Windows automatically launches their payload whenever that user signs in.”

Side-loading malicious DLL files is a popular infection technique. Instead of deploying an obviously malicious program (which might get flagged by antivirus products), the attackers drop a DLL file containing weaponized code, and then get a legitimate program (such as the parental control software) to run it. Since the process starts with a legitimate executable, it is more difficult to identify as malicious.

It does not guarantee evasion of security software, though.

Defenders should treat cameras and their management platforms as potential entry points into the broader business environment, Huntress warned. They should inventory the software, restrict its access, and monitor for unusual processes and outbound connections.

The researchers also advise defenders to use application control to prevent unapproved executables and DLLs from running in user-writeable paths, and to investigate the sequence of CMS.exe, rs.win32.exe, abnormal WpcMon.exe, and unapproved outbound connections.

In a year that saw the arrival of next-gen RGB mini-LED to the mass market and elite OLEDs get more impressive and flexible than ever for brightness, my TV of the Year at the TechRadar Product of the year Awards 2026 is, in fact, the mid-range LG C6 OLED TV.

The latest in the LG C-series lineage, the LG C6 earned the full five stars in my LG C6 review, delivering what has always made LG’s C-series TVs among the best TVs around, but taking a few key features to another level (more on that below).

When I compared it to its predecessor, the LG C5, my admiration for the C6 was further solidified, again as the latter showed major upgrades over the former — that's not something you always see in newer TV models. At the time, I said I thought the C5 was better value — but six months on, the C6's price has dropped significantly, and it's now phenomenal value.

This win actually marks LG’s first return to the top of the TV of the Year podium since 2022, with Samsung’s mid-range QD-OLED the S90C taking the crown in 2023, with subsequent victories for Samsung’s flagship OLED models, the S95D in 2024 and the S95F last year. While Samsung released very impressive TVs in 2026, one of the key things we're all looking for even more than usual this year is value, and C6 has a few key elements that make it the best bang for buck.

Accuracy, brightness and power

The LG C6 (left) has a new, improved processor that means it deliver better brightness and colors over its predecessor the LG C5 (right) (Image credit: Future)

One of the LG C6’s big upgrades was to its processor. While previous generations of the C-series had used LG's Alpha 9, the C6 was fitted with the Alpha 11 AI Gen 3: LG's most powerful chip, and the same one used in the flagship LG G6. This meant faster processing times for easier use and navigation, as well as upgraded picture features including 13-bit image processing for reduced color banding, and an upgraded brightness booster.

But did these features actually translate into real-world improvements? When I compared the C6 to the C5, the answer was a resounding yes. The C6 registered 1,438 nits peak HDR brightness in Filmmaker Mode in a 10% window — a notable step-up over the C5’s 1,180 nits in the same test. It even hit 245 nits fullscreen HDR brightness, which was 50 nits higher than the C5. That may not sound like much, but for an OLED battling against reflections in bright rooms, it makes a clear difference.

As for actual real-world viewing, the HDR brightness boost was best demonstrated in scenes with a sunset on horizon, such as Wicked and Top Gun: Maverick, where the C6 clearly had higher peak brightness, resulting in punchier HDR highlights. Bright scenes and colors also looked more impactful and engaging on the C6, particularly when large areas of white, such as snow, were on screen.

It was the C6's (left) improved color temperature accuracy that impressed me the most, making movies like The Batman look even better than they did on the LG C5 (right) (Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future )

But, the thing that impressed me the most with the C6 during my testing was its color temperature accuracy. When I viewed the C6 and C5 together, it was obvious that the C6 had a green tint effect on it (something that has affected OLED panels in the past), which you don't really register when you're watching it solo, but is clear when comparing against other high-end panels.

This was most noticeable in The Batman, namely the scene after he fought with a gang on a subway platform. Watching the scene on both the C6 and C5, they both demonstrated excellent contrast with well-balanced dark and bright tones, but the C6 clearly had a much more accurate color temperature, meaning the gray tones of the walls and platform actually looked gray, whereas the C5’s green tint took away some of that true-to-life accuracy.

Outside of this, the C6 also delivered bolder colors that popped more on screen, more accurate skin tones and slightly more refined dark tones than the C5. Watching Elemental during my C6 testing was a particular treat, as the red, purples, pinks and blues throughout really dazzled on screen. The C5 had also done a great job with that movie, but the C6 just had more.

Unbeatable value

The LG C6 really can do it all, from superb picture quality to razor-sharp gaming performance: all for better value than its closest rivals (Image credit: Disney / Future )

The C6 is not a ‘cheap’ TV by any means, but one thing the C-series has always excelled at is value for money. It’s got a full suite of gaming features, and when you pair it with responsive, smooth performance, it’s easily the best gaming TV available. Its motion is also super smooth for sports, and because it's available in sizes from 42 inches to 83 inches, it’s versatile for any space. It really is a jack-of-all-trades TV.

But in this year’s C6, an exciting new twist happened with its larger 77- and 83-inch models, both known as the LG C6H: they received the same Tandem RGB OLED panel used in the LG G6. And the best part? This came at no changed cost from the LG C5, which used a less-advanced OLED EX panel. So at these sizes, the LG C6 is practically the same TV as the LG G6, but cheaper.

We always worry about price increases from previous models when a TV launches, due to inflation as well as upgrades touted by manufacturers — and obviously this year has been especially hard for tech price rises.

However, the C6 launched for nearly identical prices and those prices have been dropping ever since. At the time of writing, several months from its release in April 2026, you can pick up a 65-inch C6 for $1,499 / £1,799 / AU$3,995 already, which is a $1,200 / £700 price drop (none in Australia yet unfortunately). And with Black Friday around the corner, there’s only more opportunities to get one for less.

When you put its upgraded performance and features over its predecessor, stable prices, upgraded panels in larger sizes at no extra cost and its genuine value for money together, the C6 is my obvious pick for TV of the Year. Yes, there may be more impressive TVs out there if money's no object, but here in 2026 money very much is an object — and no other TV ticks all the box boxes, including value, so impressively.

Lucky folks who managed to preorder the Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Nintendo Switch 2 are having a great time, as today's the day it should arrive on your doorstep. However, given its unsurprisingly popularity, the limited-edition console sold out extremely quickly at most retailers. However, there's good news if you're still hoping to hook one for yourself.

It appears that multiple retailers will restock the gorgeous Zelda Switch 2 from November 5 to coincide with the launch of Ocarina of Time on Nintendo's latest hybrid console. This is according to briefly seen information on the Target store page, news of in-store restocks at Best Buy, as well as a Reddit post suggesting Walmart will not get more consoles until November 6.

For those in the UK, the console is actually available to order right now at several retailers, as stock has been less of an issue on this side of the pond.

Most of the current availability will also ship next week on November 5, as it's the second version of the console with a replaceable battery to meet upcoming EU regulations. Any immediate availability is more likely for the first wave of the console, which doesn't include this replaceable battery. Keep that in mind depending on your preferences.

Other retailers may take a different approach to restocks over the next week, so it's worth keeping an eye on the key links below — and I'll check them regularly to offer any updates right here.

Zelda Nintendo Switch 2 — US restock quick links

• Best Buy: in-store restocks Nov 5
• Walmart: restock expected Nov 6
• Target: restock expected Nov 5
• Nintendo Store: out of stock
• Amazon: restock TBC

Zelda Nintendo Switch 2 — UK restock quick links

• EE: in stock now
• Amazon: sold out
• Argos: restock TBC
• Currys: sold out
• Nintendo Store: restock TBC
• Very: restock TBC
• Smyths Toys: restock TBC
• ShopTo: restock TBC

(Image credit: Future / Nintendo)The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time preorders — US quick links

• Amazon: preorder for $59.88
• Walmart: preorder for $59.88
• Nintendo Store: preorder for $69.99
• Best Buy: preorder for $69.99
• GameStop: preorder for $69.99
• Target: preorder for $69.99

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time preorders — UK quick links

• Amazon UK: preorder for £54.99
• Nintendo Store: preorder for £58.99
• ShopTo: preorder for £54.85
• Currys: preorder for £54.99
• Argos: preorder for £54.99
• Smyths Toys: preorder for £54.99
• Very: preorder for £54.99
• The Game Collection: preorder for £59.95
• Game: preorder for £54.99

Proton plans to reassess employees' AI skills in interviews that could affect their jobs, raising questions about AI adoption and workforce evaluations.

The post Proton to Re-Interview Employees on AI Skills as Jobs Hang in Balance appeared first on TechRepublic.

ETH Zurich's experimental implant uses continuous glucose monitor readings to lower blood sugar without insulin. See how it works and what mouse tests found.

The post New Implant Lowers Blood Sugar Without Insulin: How It Works appeared first on TechRepublic.

Samsung Galaxy Buds On launch in the US Nov. 6 for $229. Explore the open-ear design, battery life, audio features, compatibility requirements and key trade-offs.

The post Samsung Launches $229 Galaxy Buds On in the US With Open-Ear Clip Design appeared first on TechRepublic.

Windows 11 Cloud Rebuild lets users reinstall PCs that won't boot without a USB drive. Learn how it works, recovery steps, and important data-loss risks.

The post Windows 11 Gets Cloud Rebuild for PCs That Won’t Boot: How It Works appeared first on TechRepublic.

• DHS data breach exposes personal details of over 41,000 employees and contractors
• The information includes personal information on ICE agents, as well as details of surveillance operations and tools used by undercover agents
• Numerous high-level officials across US government agencies have been named within the breach

The details of over 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees and contractors has surfaced online, including staffers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection, following an apparent data breach.

The leak contains sensitive information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and office addresses for employees alongside internal information on how Homeland Security conducts undercover operations and surveillance programs.

The archive was published by a group calling itself the Department of Peace. They dubbed the leak ‘Icepick’, and shared a note stating, “They have our information, so it’s only fair that we have theirs.”

‘Icepick’ data dump exposes agents and contractors

The DHS has been locked in a battle with activists, protestors, and anonymous social media users who have been tracking and cataloguing the movements and behavior of ICE employees.

In response to protests and activist activity, the DHS has expanded its definition of “doxing” - the malicious exposure of personal information such as home addresses - to include basic information such as names.

The Icepick data leak has since been turned into a searchable database by Swiss cybersecurity researcher and journalist maia arson crimew, who said, “I don't think we should let them scare us into not looking into them.”

“The DHS especially as an agency completely lacks accountability, despite many parts of it being incredibly unpopular,” crimew said. “The people who work there know this too; for example, some of their LinkedIn bios simply say ‘stuff at US Government’.”

Of the 41,000 records exposed, around 10,000 belong to ICE employees, 6,200 belong to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and a further 1,000 are Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency accounts.

Details on DHS operations contains references to “Keyhole” - an undercover surveillance of Minneapolis protest groups that took place earlier this year - alongside references to a Communications Intercept Center TechOps (CICTO) Program,” a “Title III Intercept Program” for wiretaps, and an “Illicit Sensor Intercept Program (ISIP).”

Tools used by employees have also been revealed in the breach, which include Palantir’s Falcon investigative platform, the PenLink platform used to analyze phone records and social media, and AI platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot.

According to the transparency nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets, who verified the leak on behalf of Wired, the data was obtained from the DHS's Okta login system. An Okta spokesperson said, “We are aware of this report. Okta is secure, and we have no evidence our data or systems were compromised.”

A DHS spokesperson said that the agency is “aware of a potential breach and is actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively. We take all security threats against our employees and officers seriously and will work to ensure all are properly protected. We will update the public when more information is available”

• FBI and international partners seized infrastructure tied to Virtualine, a hosting provider allegedly serving cybercriminals
• Authorities say the service facilitated phishing, ransomware operations, illicit crypto activity, and other crimes
• Investigators seized servers and customer data, though no arrests have been announced so far

The FBI has announced it seized the website of Virtualine, a bulletproof hosting service that allegedly allowed child pornography, laundered stolen and extorted crypto, and facilitated a wide range of other criminal activities.

The operation was carried out in partnership with German and Dutch authorities, as well as multiple private companies, with police raiding a data center in Limburg to seize “dozens of physical servers” that also hosted “hundreds” of virtual servers. As a result, they gained access to information about more than 3,000 of Virtualine’s customers, it was said.

“The police are currently taking follow-up actions towards these users,” the Dutch police said, although it’s difficult to say how valuable the information will be, since most bulletproof hosting providers don’t ask for private data, and criminals are good at hiding it, as well.

Bulletproof hosting

Every website, including hacking forums, criminal service providers, even fraudulent landing pages, needs a server that hosts it. Hosting providers renting out these servers are generally compliant with law enforcement agencies, so when the police requests a takedown or files a complaint, most of them comply. However, there is a subset of hosting providers, colloquially called “bulletproof hosting”, which are unusually resistant to pressure from the authorities.

It doesn’t mean all of them are inherently illegal or malicious. There are cases where such services are necessary - in countries with strong censorship, or where website owners want to protect their identities.

In this case, however, Virtualine was openly criminal, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) saying it advertised its services to criminals on cybercrime forums saying, on at least one occasion, “You can use Virtualine for all illegal/black hat activities (including phis[h]ing, carding, email spam, port scanning and all others) except for child contents and terrorism activities.”

The company took it a step further. In March 2026, it introduced an “additional protection plan” that offers customers who receive takedown requests “another shell company not affiliated with Virtualine, after which the server is reactivated.”

Interestingly enough, Virtualine said it did not accept child porn or terrorism content, but according to the DOJ - did exactly the opposite.

One of its clients created a forum that allowed users to post and sell access to “nude, sexually suggestive, and/or sexually explicit images and videos of minors and adults,” while also promoting a hack-for-hire service that broke into people’s accounts and stole their explicit photos and videos. Virtualine was even notified about it by law enforcement agencies from Germany, Canada, and Australia, but decided to ignore the warnings and continue hosting the client.

At the same time, Virtualine’s customers were allowed to pay in Bitcoin, offering an unhosted bitcoin address that allowed customers “to direct pay without concern their funds would be flagged as illicit”. Citing Chainalysis data, BleepingComputer said the company’s wallet was seen receiving funds from ransomware operations, infostealers, Russian-language cybercrime forums, and more.

“Virtualine then laundered those proceeds to conceal their origin,” the blockchain company added.

Piercing the kevlar

Besides confiscating the servers and the data, the main website - virtualine.net - was defaced and now shows the usual FBI “this website has been seized” message. Unfortunately, no arrests have been made, which means the service will most likely continue operating.

According to BleepingComputer, it is “partially online” but its network prefixes currently have very low routing visibility, which could mean that much of its infrastructure was pulled offline.

Usually, disruptions such as this one are only temporary, and it won’t take long before they are remedied and the service becomes fully operational again.

• The next Hitman Elusive Target has been revealed
• The limited-time mission will see Agent 47 taking down an annoying podcaster
• The target will be played by real-world content creator Seán McLoughlin

The next Hitman Elusive Target has been revealed, and it's something that could happen in 2026.

As of October 29, players will be able to take out Finn Colton – a controversial millionaire content creator who goes by the online handle 'Finnvictus'. The mission will see the flashy mansion of the existing Hawke's Bay map turned into an even more elaborate space for content creation, with its own underground studio and cameras that live-stream everything 24/7.

Bald assassin protagonist Agent 47 has managed to gain entry thanks to an invite to appear on the content creator's flagship podcast and will have to contend with an environment that has eyes almost everywhere.

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

That's not all, however, as Colton is played by Seán McLoughlin, better known as 'Jacksepticeye', with the popular streamer lending both his likeness and voice to the character.

"I’ve been playing Hitman with my community for years, so getting to actually step into the World of Assassination is unreal," shared McLoughlin.

"Finn is loud, paranoid, and completely obsessed with content, and playing him was an absolute blast. I can’t wait to see all the creative ways you take him down."

The mission will be available for free for a limited time, though die-hard Hitman fans can pick up a themed DLC pack as well. It costs $7.99 / £6.99 and includes permanent access to the mission via the Elusive Target Arcade mode plus a new suit and some unique equipment to try.

Hitman: World of Assassination is available now for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, and PC, or as Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition for Nintendo Switch 2.

• Ofcom has assessed the best ways of enforcing age checks online
• The regulator also identifies methods that aren't effective
• Around 4 in 10 under-16s plan to try to get around the ban in the UK

Back in June, the UK government ruled that under-16s should be banned from social media platforms, with enforcement scheduled to start during the first half of 2027. Now the communications regulator Ofcom has set out the ways it expects tech companies to abide by the law.

The challenge isn’t simply checking someone’s age. It’s doing so without turning everyday internet use into an identity check.

Pieter Arntz, Malwarebytes

In its new announcement (via the BBC), Ofcom highlights four "highly effective" methods for keeping under-16s out of apps and off sites they shouldn't be accessing — and they're all going to be familiar to anyone who's used age-gated services online in recent times.

The four methods are photo ID matching (using something like a passport or driving license), bank-based checks (Ofcom says 90% of UK 16-17 year-olds have a bank account), digital ID services (a third-party service like EasyID or Yoti), and facial age estimation via a webcam (which Ofcom says is best deployed as a secondary check).

This is a "rapid assessment" from Ofcom, and none of these approaches are confirmed yet — UK lawmakers will take the suggestions on board, and decide the best way to enforce the rules at a later date, most probably before the end of the year. All of these methods can be delivered "in a way that protects users' privacy" according to Ofcom.

Ultimately though, it will be down to tech companies to decide how to implement age checks that fulfil the requirements set down by the government. "Here are things that can work, they must preserve privacy, they must protect people's data, but it's on you to put in place what you think works for you," Ofcom CEO Dame Melanie Dawes told the BBC.

Challenges ahead

The recommendations put forward by Ofcom (Image credit: Ofcom)

Ofcom also lists checks that it thinks are ineffective: self-declaration, general contractual agreements, and verifiable parental consent. The regulator also acknowledges that "the risk of circumvention cannot be entirely eliminated", but says that correctly implemented safeguards should "significantly reduce the likelihood" of unauthorized access.

In its rapid assessment announcement, Ofcom also encourages app stores to take more responsibility over age checks. Right now, self-declarations are most commonly used to unlock downloads for age-restricted content.

The challenge for social media platforms is that teenagers don’t like to be told ‘no’.

Olli Krebs, SVP EMEA at Incode

These are going to be tough rules to enforce, whatever the approach is: recent research from EE suggests that 42% of 11-15 year-olds are planning to try and get around whatever restrictions are put in place. This could be by switching to apps or platforms not covered by the new laws, including messaging services and gaming sites.

Last week Ofcom also admitted that the Online Safety Act introduced in July 2025 had so far made "no significant change" to the harmful content children had been exposed to online. The act was intended to ensure protection from content involving pornography, serious violence, suicide material, racism, misogyny, and bullying.

"This finding is concerning and shows that further progress is needed to protect children online," says Ofcom. The regulator also recommended adding material around body stigma and depression to the primary content categories that children should be protected from online.

Analysis: What do privacy experts think?

(Image credit: natureaddict / Pixabay)

Ofcom's proposals are likely to spark some familiar privacy concerns — and security experts told us they aren't without foundation.

“The challenge isn’t simply checking someone’s age. It’s doing so without turning everyday internet use into an identity check," said Pieter Arntz, Senior Malware Intelligence Analyst at Malwarebytes. "Photo ID matching brings highly sensitive documents and facial images into the process, potentially creating another attractive target for criminals. The risks aren’t hypothetical: as I reported last year, a breach at a third-party support provider for Discord exposed government ID images belonging to around 70,000 users," he said.

Even if facial estimation techniques are more secure, there are are still downsides. "Facial age estimation can avoid uploading an identity document, but it still processes a sensitive image and makes an imperfect prediction," Pieter Arntz added. "Ofcom itself acknowledges that some technologies have a margin of error of a few years at 16, meaning people near the threshold may face an additional verification check," he said.

"My preference is double-blind verification: a provider confirms that you meet the age requirement but doesn’t learn which service you’re accessing, while the service receives proof of age without learning your identity. Proving you are old enough should not mean revealing who you are," he said.

Others feel the risks are more around teenagers finding workarounds.“The challenge for social media platforms is that teenagers don’t like to be told ‘no’. Many will conform, but tech-savvy young people are going to search for an open window on the ground floor," said Olli Krebs, SVP EMEA at the identity verification software provider Incode. "If the process is clunky, users of all ages will actively seek ways around it," he added.

Those workarounds could unintentionally make the problem worse. "The experience of countries such as Australia is that there will be a real risk of an increasingly technologically sophisticated population of young people will resort to a variety of circumvention techniques (primarily, but not exclusively VPNs) to access content hosted outside of the UK," said Will Richmond-Coggan, Partner specialising in Data and Privacy Disputes at Freeths.

"Such content is liable to be less well regulated generally, and to pose further risks of users gaining unsupervised access to progressively more dangerous and problematic content in relation to which the UK online safety legislation is largely powerless to take action," he added.

“None of this will be perfect. Young people will always push boundaries, and anyone promising a hundred per cent online safety is being unrealistic," concluded Olli Krebs from Incode. Exactly how successful it is depends very much on how the social media giants implement Ofcom's suggested age-check methods.

What you think of the social media ban, and Ofcom's new proposals? Let us know in the comments below.