Technology

The actor currently stars in six movies available on the platform, two of which are in the US's top 10.

“Pay as you go” now means paying when you stop, too.

LG and Panasonic are just two of the top brands in the OLED TV market, but unlike rivals such as Samsung, Sony and Philips, their TVs often share a lot in common, right down to using the same OLED display panels.

The LG G4 and Panasonic Z95A, two of the best OLED TVs launched in 2024, both used micro-lens-array (MLA) OLED panels manufactured by LG. In 2025, it’s a similar story as the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B both use LG’s new Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel (also known as four-stack OLED).

That means you should expect a similar picture from both, right?

As I’ve discovered when testing combinations of some of the best TVs, models that use the same display panel don’t always look the same. For example, the Samsung S95F and Sony Bravia 8 II flagship OLED TVs use Samsung’s QD-OLED panels, but when I tested them side by side, I got very different results.

The LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B were featured in our recent OLED four-way showdown with a casual judging panel, with the aforementioned S95F and Bravia 8 II rounding out the group, but I thought it would be illuminating to compare the LG and Panasonic on their own.

Brightness Image 1 of 2

In default Filmmaker Mode, the LG G5 (right) clearly has the brightness advantage over the Panasonic Z95B (right) (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

But adjust the Z95B's brightness, and it gets much closer to the G5 (Image credit: Future)

With both the Z95B and G5's default Filmmaker Mode settings active, it was clear that the G5 had a huge brightness advantage – an odd result considering both use the same OLED panel. When viewing some demo footage from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray in HDR10 format, scenes with snow looked far brighter and more vibrant on the G5, with much more brilliant whites and highlights. The Z95B’s picture still looked very accurate, but dim in comparison.

Leaving both sets in Filmmaker Mode, I measured the Z95B’s peak HDR brightness on a 10% white window pattern at 1,028 nits, a significantly lower result than the G5’s 2,268 nits on the same pattern.

After a quick check of the Z95B’s picture settings, I found its Luminance Level (brightness) was set to 70/100 by default, while the G5’s was set to 100/100. After upping the Z95B’s brightness to 100, it hit 2,355 nits, making it the brightest OLED I’d measured to date on this test.

Going back to the same Spears & Munsil footage with the brightness on the Z95B set to 100, the snow scenes now showed much more dazzling whites. It looked very similar to the G5, with the only real difference being the color temperature. I did, however, feel that despite the boost in brightness, the Z95B lost a little of the picture accuracy I’d noted previously.

Color and contrast

With Dolby Vision sources, such as Wicked (pictured) the Panasonic Z95B (left) and LG G5 (right) have very similar colors. (Image credit: Universal Pictures / Future )

Both the Z95B and G5 had superb color in my comparison. Watching more Spears & Munsil footage in HDR10 format, a parrot’s yellow and green feathers looked vivid on both TVs, and a field of red flowers was crisp and refined, with plenty of punch. Once again, the G5’s brightness in default settings gave colors more pop, but upping the Z95B’s brightness brought it to a similar level of vibrancy. The Z95B demonstrated richer, deeper colors, though, thanks to its stronger contrast and more refined black levels.

Switching to Wicked on 4K Blu-ray in Dolby Vision, the default brightness settings were 100/100 in both the Dolby Vision Dark mode on the Z95B and Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode on the G5. This made the colors on both TVs look very similar. Elphaba’s green skin and the pink flowers and blue details on a wall in the Wizard & I scene both had the same eye-popping, vibrant color, and they also looked true-to-life.

Where the TVs differed was that the Z95B's deeper black levels made colors appear bolder and more detailed, whereas they looked brighter and punchier on the G5. This was easy to see in Glinda’s pink outfits and the greens of the Emerald City in Wicked.

Both the Panasonic Z95B (left) and LG G5 (right) deliver excellent contrast and black levels, but the Z95B looked more accurate on The Batman (Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future)

As you’d expect from two top-tier OLED TVs, both black levels and contrast are excellent. Watching Alien: Romulus in Dolby Vision on 4K Blu-ray, shots of space or dark tunnels within the ship showcased rich black levels on both TVs, with excellent contrast between dark shadows and bright highlights from stars, lights and torches. The Z95B had the edge of the two TVs here with its deeper blacks, but again, both looked great.

Switching to The Batman in Dolby Vision on 4K Blu-ray, I used the opening crime scene section I regularly use for testing contrast. For this movie, I had to view in dimmed or pitch black conditions as both the Z95B and G5 struggled with the overhead lighting in our testing lab.

Interestingly, although both showcased excellent black levels and contrast, with the torches carried by detectives balancing well against the dim surroundings, I noticed that in pitch black conditions, black levels were more elevated on the G5. The Z95B’s deeper blacks resulted in stronger contrast, although there was some loss of shadow detail, specifically Batman’s eye and the logo on his chest when he looked towards the camera. Of the two, I found myself drawn to the Z95B as it felt more accurate to the movie.

Bang for your buck

Both the Z95B (left) and G5 (right) are brilliant OLED TVs, but your choice may come down to personal preference and price. (Image credit: Future)

It’s fair to say that in recent years, a drawback of Panasonic’s flagship OLED TVs has been their price, which is often hundreds more than that of its main rivals at launch. This year, however, Panasonic is being more aggressive with its pricing. The 55-inch Z95B is available for $2,399 / £2,299, while the 55-inch G5 is available for $2,199 / £2,299. The 65-inch Z95B, meanwhile, is available for $3,099 / £2799, while the 65-inch G5 is $2,899 / £2.899.

One thing that could swing things in the Z95B’s favor between these two TVs is sound. Panasonic’s TVs are always among the best TVs for sound, and the Z95B is no different.

Watching the Batmobile chase scene from The Batman, the Z95B stood head and shoulders above the G5 when it came to the built-in sound. The Z95B’s punchier sound and much more powerful bass better captured the rumble of the Batmobile’s engine and the crunching of car impacts and explosions. Speech was clear on both sets, but the Z95B delivered better clarity. With the Z95B, you can easily watch without using one of the best soundbars – a factor that saves you money – whereas a soundbar is more recommended with the G5.

Where the G5 has the edge is in its gaming features, which are up there with the best gaming TVs and include 4K 165Hz support on four HDMI 2.1 ports. The LG’s webOS 25 smart TV interface is also one of the best I’ve used and provides a superior overall experience to the Z95B’s Fire TV smart interface.

Both of these are class-leading OLED TVs, and both are in the conversation for TV of the year. But based on this comparison, I found myself favoring the Panasonic Z95B. Its default Filmmaker Mode brightness setting may be odd, but once adjusted, I found myself more drawn to its picture than the LG G5's picture.

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• Finance-themed phishing uses personalized subjects and file names to deliver malware
• Travel and response phishing also use personalization to push information stealers and RATs
• Cofense urges verification of unexpected emails and updates to security tools

Attackers are increasingly personalizing phishing emails to deliver malware, experts have warned, with criminals reaping in huge gains.

In adding the recipient’s name, company and other details into subject lines, file names, and message content, threat actors seek to make the messages appear more legitimate, increasing the chances that recipients will open malicious attachments or click links, researchers at Cofense have revealed.

Cofense analyzed a year’s worth of data and found that while several campaign themes use this tactic, finance-themed phishing was the most worrying due to both its frequency and impact.

Stay safe

Nearly 22% of subject-redacted emails fell into this category, often posing as invoices, tenders, or payment summaries.

Many of these emails carried jRAT, a cross-platform remote access trojan that can give attackers full control of a system, steal files, and install more malware.

Finance-themed phishing is particularly effective because it blends seamlessly with normal workplace communication, as employees often expect emails about contracts or payment updates.

While finance-themed phishing accounted for 21.9% of personalized subject cases, other themes also made heavy use of this approach.

Travel Assistance was the largest category at 36.78%, often used to deliver Vidar Stealer under the guise of reservation or itinerary updates.

Response-themed emails followed at 30.58%, frequently carrying PikaBot in messages disguised as meeting cancellations or order confirmations.

Tax-themed campaigns made up 3.72%, commonly involving Remcos RAT in password-protected archives, while Notification-themed phishing also represented 3.72%, delivering various malware families including WSH RAT and jRAT.

To counter these threats, Cofense advises verifying unexpected email requests through trusted channels, keeping antivirus and malware removal tools up to date, and limiting public exposure of staff details to make targeting harder.

Summing up, Cofense says, “While customized subject lines are not used in all malware email samples, it is a strong tactic to make the recipient feel a higher sense of urgency that may lead to a successful infection. Particularly targeted emails delivering RATs or Information Stealers can be notable for potentially providing remote access or login credentials that can be brokered to ransomware threat actors.”

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Geoffrey Hinton, scientist, former Google employee, and widely recognized 'Godfather of AI,' has made a late-stage career of criticizing his godchildren. And now he's taken it all a step further, insisting we need "AI Mothers," not AI Assistants.

Speaking at the AI4 Conference in Las Vegas this week, and as first reported by Forbes, Hinton again sounded the alarm on the impending advent of Artificial General Intelligence, which he now believes will arrive in a few years, a notion that syncs with recent comments from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

That acceleration from what was once thought to be decades to a few orbits around the sun is, perhaps, what prompted Hinton to argue that we need something other than AI Assistants.

"We need AI mothers rather than AI assistants," Hinton said, according to Forbes. The idea, Hinton posits, is that AI's with "maternal instincts" are a sort of protection system. After all, mothers generally don't harm and usually protect their children.

If AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude AI, and Gemini truly become smarter than us in a matter of years, having them in some way feel as if it's their job to look out for us might prevent them from harming us or society.

Hinton, who recently won a Nobel Prize and helped develop the technological foundation that arguably made all this AI possible, left Google in 2023 and immediately started warning people about a dire AI future. Imagine a parent disowning their child, and you get the idea.

I don't think Hinton is turned off from AI. After all, he can't stop talking about it, and appears to recognize its potential, but it's also clear it scares him.

He previously told The New York Times in 2023 that

• Increased competition is leading to a less cautious approach
• He presciently warned about the flood of fake online content
• He warned about AI taking on all the jobs we don't want to do (it may be taking others, as well)
• He worried about AI that can both program and then run programming (a very dangerous closed loop)
• And he was talking almost immediately about AI outsmarting us

So, sure that day is now fast approaching, but is a motherly AI what we want or need? I don't think so.

The minute we start training "Mom Instincts" into AI, it will start to act like a mother and slip into that creepy, uncanny valley where you can no longer tell if you're talking to a program or a person. Motherly instincts imply warmth, compassion, caring, understanding, and love. I don't want those things from an AI.

What I think we need, though, is for AI assistants to understand what it means to be human. Put another way, if AI chatbots can at least understand humanity, they can serve us better. They can also recognize our propensity for trust and perhaps finally stop presenting us with false narratives and fake friendliness and interest.

We shouldn't want companionship out of our super-intelligent AI systems. Instead, we need utility and trust, an ability to carry out our wishes in a way that best serves our interests.

The last thing we need is an AI full of maternal instincts, which then makes its own choices and, when things go awry, insists, "Well, dear, mother knows best."

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Comedy Central did not air South Park season 27 episode 3 on its expected release date (August 13), with the series now thought to continue next week instead. This also means it now won’t be available on Paramount+ either. However, unlike the season’s previous delay, the episode 3 delay was scheduled in advance. Instead, the network declared the day to be “South Park day,” running a marathon of fan-favorite episodes followed by the sitcom’s pilot episode ‘Cartman Gets an Anal Probe’ in the typical 10pm ET timeslot.

Episode 2 was delayed after the show’s controversial premiere, which featured the likes of a deepfaked Donald Trump with no clothes on and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents shooting puppies and driving around ominously in large groups. Screenshots from the show were quickly used on both the White House and US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s social accounts in order to try and recruit more people to join ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security (NHS) additionally told Newsweek: “We want to thank South Park for drawing attention to ICE law enforcement recruitment. We are calling on patriotic Americans to help us remove murderers, gang members, pedophiles, and other violent criminals from our country.”

It’s for this reason that I can’t help but think the delay of South Park season 27 episode 3 has something more attached to it. It’s certainly a conveniently timed break in the schedule, but given that season 27 has only been on for three episodes yet has suffered two delays already. Surely things aren’t operating smoothly behind the scenes? We always know what we get into with the hit TV show, but that might no longer be to everybody’s tastes.

Has South Park season 27 hit a political snag after its season 3 delay? I wouldn’t be surprised

Kristi Noem's parody in South Park season 27. (Image credit: Paramount)

I don’t need to spell out that the political and cultural landscape has remarkably changed in the last few years, and that’s possibly to South Park’s detriment. While real-world political and cultural affairs are offering a smorgasbord of inspiration, it also comes with a more critical lens. We’ve already had the comments from the NHS, above, with Kristi Noem also weighing in on her portrayal as well. Before her secret post-credits scene was revealed, she responded during an interview on the Glenn Beck Program podcast, slamming her character’s appearance: “It’s so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that. But clearly they can’t – they just pick something petty like that.”

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers also told Variety about the events of episode 1: "Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention."

This won’t be the last round of comments from political figures about what’s happening on the show, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see public conversations between the two sides on a weekly basis. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there’s resistance to what’s being shown behind the scenes, given nobody exactly comes across particularly well if they’re being featured on South Park. We’ve seen critics of the current US Government coming under fire or having their shows canceled (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s cancellation is a great example of this), so discussions about what should and shouldn’t be parodied could be holding up episode releases.

Of course, this is all speculation. We’ve got no idea what the rest of South Park season 27’s 10-episode run has in store for us, and I really hope Paramount and the show’s creators can hold firm to delivering the creative vision they want to. I can’t deny that I’m worried about episodes 4-10, but I’m also holding out hope. After all, South Park wouldn’t be South Park if it wasn’t near the knuckle and beyond, right?

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• Kaspersky warns AI is used to craft convincing emails, generate deepfakes, and more
• The number of clicks on phishing links grows quarter-on-quarter
• Users warned to stay alert to be safe from attacks

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is making phishing attacks smarter, harder to detect, and more widespread, new research from Kaspersky has warned.

Its findings claim in the second quarter 2025, its products detected and blocked more than 142 million clicks on phishing links, representing a 3.3% increase over the first quarter.

While it can mean that there were more phishing attacks over the summer, it can also mean that the volume remained the same - but the actual attacks grew more convincing.

Generating deepfakes

“AI has elevated phishing into a highly personalized threat. Large language models enable attackers to craft convincing emails, messages and websites that mimic legitimate sources, eliminating grammatical errors that once exposed scams,” the researchers said.

“AI-driven bots on social media and messaging apps impersonate real users, engaging victims in prolonged conversations to build trust. These bots often fuel romantic or investment scams, luring victims into fake opportunities with AI-generated audio messages or deepfake videos.”

The researchers also said that GenAI isn’t just being used to eliminate spelling and grammar errors - arguably the biggest red flags in phishing emails.

It is also used to create realistic audio and video deepfake impersonations of trusted individuals, including colleagues, celebrities, and bank officials.

These deepfakes are then used to promote fake giveaways, or steal sensitive information such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) codes, passwords, and similar.

“AI-powered tools analyze public data from social media or corporate websites to launch targeted attacks, such as HR-themed emails or fake calls referencing personal details,” Kaspersky added.

How to stay safe

As the risk of phishing grows, staying vigilant online remains the best way to be safe.

Users should always be skeptical of unsolicited incoming messages, especially those that demand urgent action or threaten with a disaster.

These are, and will continue to be, the biggest red flag in phishing attacks.

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• Dice has announced new changes for the Battlefield 6 Open Beta Weekend 2
• Playlists will receive game mode rotation adjustments, including to the All-Out Warfare, and a Custom Search feature for maps and mode selection
• The second Open Beta starts today and ends on August 17

After the massive success that was the Battlefield 6 Open Beta Weekend 1, Dice has revealed new changes it will be adding for Weekend 2.

The studio revealed the details in a new blog post, where it confirmed that it will be making playlist adjustments in Weekend 2 for more variety and choice, including to the All-Out Warfare playlist, which will include the Breakthrough, Conquest, and Rush game modes. You can check out the updated playlists below.

"Rotating through multiple modes within playlists helps us understand what our community enjoys as we shape the launch experience, and enables us to keep more fan-favorite modes available at the same time," it explained.

The second Open Beta will also add a new Custom Search feature to give players more control over map and mode selection.

"This feature allows you to choose your favorite combinations of maps and modes," the post said. "For example, if you want to play Conquest on Siege of Cairo, then matchmaking will prioritize putting you in a match with this combo, if available. Note that this is not a Server Browser (which is not being tested this week).

During Open Beta, Custom Search will be available for Open Weapon mode playlists as well, allowing players to mix and match maps and modes as they like.

In addition, Training Grounds will continue to offer the Firing Range and gameplay introductions for classes, Breakthrough, and Conquest, and players at career rank 14 and below will be able to access Initiation Mode, which includes AI Soldiers.

"This initiation experience is tailored for new players and will shift from Breakthrough to Conquest. Separately, there will be a non-playable introduction to Rush as well," the developer said.

Dice also confirmed that Open Beta Weekend 2 will kick off today, Thursday, August 14, at 8 AM UTC / 1 AM PT / 9 AM BST.

The full game launches on October 10, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

Open Beta Weekend 2 - Playlists Overview

Day 1 - Thursday, August 14:

• Conquest
• Rush
• Attack & Defend (Breakthrough, Rush)
• Close Quarters; Fast-paced playlist on smaller maps (Domination, King of the Hill)
• Closed Weapons All-Out Warfare (Conquest, Breakthrough)

Day 2 - Friday, August 15:

• Conquest
• Squad Deathmatch
• Close Quarters; Fast-paced playlist on smaller maps (Domination, King of the Hill, Squad Deathmatch)
• All-Out Warfare; Epic battles across expansive maps (Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush)
• Closed Weapons All-Out Warfare (Conquest, Breakthrough)

Day 3-4 - Saturday, August 16 - Sunday, August 17:

• Conquest
• Close Quarters; Fast-paced playlist on smaller maps (Domination, King of the Hill, Squad Deathmatch).
• All-Out Warfare; Epic battles across expansive maps (Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush)
• Closed Weapons All-Out Warfare (Conquest, Breakthrough)

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• Proton VPN has expanded its split tunneling feature to the Linux app
• Split tunneling allows users to selectively route their internet traffic
• Proton plans to bring split tunneling to its macOS app next

Proton VPN has expanded its Linux capabilities with the addition of a new split tunneling feature, currently in beta.

Split tunneling for Linux is available to subscribers using the official Ubuntu and Fedora apps for Proton VPN, which is already one of the best VPN services available according to TechRadar's testing. Though not currently offered for the unofficial Flatpak version of the app, Debian 12 support is on the way.

The latest update brings Proton VPN’s Linux app in line with its Windows and Android apps in offering the feature. Mac users needn’t feel left out with split tunneling for macOS also on Proton VPN’s summer roadmap.

What is split tunneling and why does it matter?

(Image credit: Proton)

Split tunneling is a popular VPN feature, providing users with a greater degree of control and flexibility for managing their internet connections. When you connect to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) server, all of your internet traffic is encrypted and routed through a secure tunnel between your device and the VPN server.

Although it’s undoubtedly beneficial to have all of your data encrypted for the best possible security, split tunneling lets you balance privacy with performance. For example, if you want to browse securely but have the fastest speeds for gaming – even the best gaming VPN can slow things down at times – you can use Proton VPN’s split tunneling feature to have the gaming app bypass the VPN connection.

Likewise, you may have difficulties accessing local network devices, such as a printer, when connecting to a VPN. With split tunneling, you can access these devices through your local connection without disrupting your VPN connection and the protection it provides to the rest of your traffic.

The same goes if you need to access local websites like your online banking or government sites.

How to use split tunneling on Proton VPN for Linux

If you’re a Linux user with a premium Proton VPN subscription and want to take advantage of this new feature, you'll need to update to the latest Linux app version.

The beta feature is currently being rolled out gradually, but you can soon find it via the app’s settings page. Simply navigate to features and toggle on the split tunneling option.

(Image credit: Proton)

For the time being, it’s only possible to select apps to exclude from the VPN connection via the exclude mode. To do this, click “Add” and check the boxes of any apps whose traffic you’d prefer not to route via the VPN tunnel (see image above). Note that you’ll then need to reconnect to the VPN and restart any excluded apps that were opened before connecting to the VPN server.

An include mode, to enable VPN protection only for selected apps, is coming soon, as are IP-based rules for the exclude and include modes.

Proton VPN is one of the best Linux VPNs we’ve reviewed, but it’s not the only VPN with split tunneling for Linux. ExpressVPN has also been busy and released split tunneling for its Linux app in March 2025.

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• HTC has a new pair of smart glasses called the Vive Eagle
• They boast many of the same features as their rivals
• You can only get them in Taiwan right now

HTC has just announced a new Vive wearable, but it’s not another VR headset – instead it’s a pair of stylish AI glasses called Vive Eagle. And I’m feeling twinges of jealousy towards anyone that can get a pair.

That’s because these smart specs could put up a good fight against the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses I’ve come to love (as well as the new Oakley HSTN specs that take the RayBans and make them a smidge better).

Hardware-wise, Vive goes beat for beat with the competition. It boasts a 12MP snapper as well as open-ear speakers, and a solid battery life of up to 36 hours of standby time and 4.5 hours of music playback while still boasting a sleek 49g design.

Where I think it truly shines however is its AI.

(Image credit: HTC)

That’s because while Vive’s own assistant can help you with tasks it can also team up with your choice of ChatGPT or Google Gemini rather than locking you to one service – like how Meta’s glasses are entirely dependent on Meta AI.

As we’ve come to expect from AI companions, Vive also makes clear that “all user data is stored locally” on its glasses meaning it isn’t used for model training. When using third-party AI services your data is also anonymised to provide improved privacy.

Rounding off the AI upgrades, Vive’s specs are better with languages. Meta’s AI currently lets its smart specs translate between English, French, Spanish, Italian and German, Meanwhile Vive’s assistant supports Arabic, Traditional Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Thai, and Turkish.

And I can’t ignore the Eagle’s striking design. I’m boring enough to want to grab the translucent black pair, but the slightly see through berry red, blueish gray, and coffee brown all look beautiful and each perfectly highlight the specs’ blend of fashion and technology.

Though with a Wayfarer-like shape, these glasses perhaps don’t create enough of their own personality from a silhouette perspective.

(Image credit: HTC)

Unfortunately they won’t be easy to get your hands on.

Firstly, the Vive Eagle specs are currently exclusive to Taiwan. Specifically you can find them at 2020EYEhaus premium eyewear locations and designated Taiwan Mobile OP Experience Stores.

Secondly, they are pricier than some of their rivals, such as the Meta Ray-Bans and their new Oakleys collaboration.

Viva's glasses are currently up for pre-order, and when they launch on September 1 they’ll cost NT$15,600 (New Taiwan dollars).

That comes to about $520 / £385 / AU$795 – which is higher than the most expensive Meta Ray-Bans at $379 / £379 / AU$539, and the $499 / £499 / AU$789 Oakley smart glasses with PRIZM lenses (ignoring the UK where the Oakleys are over £100 more).

I’ll need to try the Vive Eagle glasses out before passing judgement, but there is seemingly a lot to love here, and as the AI glasses competition heats up – with Meta Connect promising next-gen specs, and Android XR due next year – Vive’s Eagle wearable is a welcome addition that I look forward to seeing more of.

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• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater's multiplayer mode, Fox Hunt, won't support cross-play
• Konami confirmed this in a social media post, saying cross-play won't be supported between PC and console
• Fans have expressed disappointment and are urging the developer to delay the mode until crossplay gets added

Konami has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater's multiplayer mode, Fox Hunt, won't support cross-play between console and PC.

This announcement comes from the Japanese Metal Gear X / Twitter account, just weeks before the game's release, where the developer said that "cross-play between different platforms will not be supported" (machine translated).

This means players on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S won't be able to play the multiplayer together.

Following Konami's statement, fans have been expressing disappointment online, with many asking the studio to delay Fox Hunt until crossplay is ready to be added.

"Delay FOX HUNT, Please. Crossplay is necessary for players to have fun with their friends on other platforms!" one user said under the post.

"Even if it needs a bigger delay do not launch the mode without crossplay it's 2025 crossplay is not a feature anymore it's something needed," another fan wrote.

【ご案内】『METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER』のオンライン対戦モード 「FOX HUNT」につきまして、異なるプラットフォーム間でのクロスプレイは非対応となります。対応機種PlayStation®5、Xbox Series X|S、Steam®#MGSDelta #MetalGearSolid #メタルギアソリッド pic.twitter.com/sGsv3CjyhWAugust 13, 2025

The reactions over on the Metal Gear subreddit are similar, though fans are hopeful the crossplay will be added to the mode in a later update.

"Crossplay should have become the norm by now," one Redditor said.

Fox Hunt was announced in June and is described as a "completely original online battle mode" that will play differently from 2008's Metal Gear Online.

The multiplayer is being directed by series veteran Yu Sahara and takes place in the same world as the main game. It will also feature hide-and-seek mechanics, mixed with stealth and survival elements.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater arrives on August 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

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• Another Microsoft executive has detailed their vision of a future Windows
• Pavan Davuluri, VP of Windows and Devices, echoes the thoughts previously laid out by Microsoft's VP for OS Security, David Weston
• The overall vision is for more AI, and an OS that watches what you're doing on-screen, tapping into the cloud, which may worry the privacy conscious

Another Microsoft executive has provided their vision of the future of Windows, specifically framed around AI and the cloud, and how this - and voice input - is going to be a big part of the operating system down the line.

Windows Central discovered a YouTube interview with Pavan Davuluri, VP of Windows and Devices at Microsoft. See the video clip below, and be warned, the technobabble is strong with this one. Davuluri says at one point: "Computing [will] become more ambient, more pervasive, continue to span form factors, and certainly become more multi-modal in the arc of time."

Okay, so let's boil this - and the rest of the interview - down a bit. Computing becoming more "multi-modal" refers to using inputs beyond the traditional mouse and keyboard, and the exec touches on voice commands as an important part of the equation. This echoes what Microsoft's VP for OS Security, David Weston, said earlier this month when explaining his vision of Windows in 2030.

Davuluri also says, "Fundamentally, the concept that your computer can actually look at your screen and is context aware is going to become an important modality for us going forward."

Again, that follows up on what Weston observed about the next-gen Windows PC being able "to see what we see, hear what we hear, and we can talk to it and ask it to do much more sophisticated things."

The key idea appears to be Windows watching what you're doing, using AI to determine context, and then applying that to your actions in the OS, and specifically making voice commands more useful due to that context.

Davuluri notes: "You'll be able to speak to your computer while you're writing, inking, or interacting with another person. You should be able to have a computer semantically understand your intent to interact with it."

The exec also talks about Windows becoming "increasingly agentic" (with the first AI agent recently having debuted in the Settings app in Windows 11, of course), and how the cloud will be needed to power these AI abilities. (Although some of the work will be on-device, he indicates, as we see with Copilot+ PCs already - hence the need for NPUs with these laptops.)

Davuluri observes: "Compute will become pervasive, as in Windows experiences are going to use a combination of capabilities that are local [processed on the device] and that are in the cloud. I think it's our responsibility to make sure they're seamless to our customers."

Which is a roundabout way of saying that the level of processing needed for some of these AI powers in next-gen Windows will need to tap the cloud to ensure performance remains responsive enough to feel 'seamless' rather than sluggish.

Analysis: A computing paradise - or Big Brother nightmare?

Microsoft has clearly got a hymn sheet somewhere, as its top-level executives appear to be singing the same tune regarding how Windows will evolve as we head into the next decade.

It's interesting to pick up on the mirrored points between these two interviews Microsoft has recently presented: more AI (surprise, surprise) that determines context by watching what you're doing on-screen, and also allows voice commands to be more effectively used based on that context - with the cloud at least partly powering all this.

Depending on what kind of person you are, this may sound like an exciting new way forward in terms of making it easier to do what you need to do within Windows, or a privacy nightmare.

The more paranoid-leaning Windows users out there are likely to be horrified at the suggestions made about the future of the OS here. An operating system that's watching what you do? The way they'll read this angle from Microsoft is that it's turning Windows into an AI-powered surveillance platform - you can guarantee that.

And it's obvious where such concerns come from when we're told the "computer can actually look at your screen" and take context from there, and leverage the cloud (read: Microsoft's private servers) to crunch the data on what you're doing with your PC.

If this makes using next-gen Windows a breeze, and AI is constantly firing up the apps you need, or searches you want to make, before you get to them, or proactively suggesting files you might want next - or Windows options that could be changed for your benefit in given scenarios - will people even care about what's happening in the cloud? Frankly, the truth is, they probably won't if it makes their computing lives a lot easier.

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• Experts warn FIDO is not supported on certain clients when accessing Entra ID
• This triggers a fallback login mechanism that can be picked up
• Mitigations should be put in place, researchers say

FIDO-based authenticator apps are considered one of the strongest practical defenses against phishing and credential theft, but judging by Proofpoint’s latest research, it is not without its weaknesses.

The company's researchers say they have found a way to force a target to abandon FIDO-based authentication for a weaker login method which can be picked up in transit.

That way, despite being protected by industry-standard defenses, victims can still end up losing access to key accounts.

Missing security features

The “weakness” in this scenario is that not all browsers support FIDO. Safari on Windows, for example, is not compatible with FIDO-based authentication in Microsoft Entra ID, and when a user with such a setup tries logging in, they are offered an alternative - an SMS-delivered one-time password, email, or an OAuth consent prompt.

All of these can then be picked up via an Adversary-in-the-Middle attack (AitM), relayed to the attackers, and used to log into the account.

"This seemingly insignificant gap in functionality can be leveraged by attackers," Proofpoint said in its report.

"A threat actor can adjust the AiTM to spoof an unsupported user agent, which is not recognized by a FIDO implementation. Subsequently, the user would be forced to authenticate through a less secure method. This behavior, observed on Microsoft platforms, is a missing security measure."

So far, Proofpoint says there is no evidence that this method is being abused in the wild, and speculates that threat actors still rather target accounts without multi-factor authentication (MFA) in the first place.

However, as more and more businesses deploy this anti-phishing technique, working around FIDO-based authentication might catch on.

To minimize the risk, businesses should turn off alternative authentication methods for key accounts, or at least turning on additional checks when an alternative is triggered.

Via BleepingComputer

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Cloud has become deeply embedded in how modern organizations operate. While the benefits are clear, the economics are becoming harder to navigate.

As businesses scale usage, questions are mounting about whether rising spend is still delivering proportional value. Gartner’s May 2025 trends report predicts that by 2028, one in four organizations will report dissatisfaction with their cloud outcomes.

This discontent reflects a growing distance between infrastructure and accountability, and the growing need for cloud governance to mature, before inefficiencies become embedded.

Designing for visibility, not just reporting

In many organizations, cost is still treated as a reporting outcome rather than something to shape. Spend is reviewed after deployment, leaving optimization efforts limited to what can be adjusted post-implementation.

Flexera’s 2025 State of the Cloud Report shows that a significant majority of organizations lack detailed visibility into their cloud costs, with only 43% tracking cloud costs at a unit level. This limited visibility hinders most teams’ ability to attribute costs to specific products, services or functions.

Our global data also shows that 34% of enterprises are spending more than $1 million monthly on SaaS. As SaaS adoption grows, so does the importance of managing software licensing costs, which can substantially impact cloud expenditures. Consequently, organizations must look for ways to optimize software license costs as they mature their cloud governance practices.

Visibility needs to move earlier in the decision chain, shaping how environments are constructed rather than rationalizing them after the fact. A shift left approach brings cost considerations – like infrastructure and software licensing costs - earlier into the product lifecycle, so that organizations can make more informed decisions about their cloud usage. By attributing these costs to specific products or services, organizations can gain a clearer understanding of their overall cloud spend.

By embedding cost insight into the architecture stage, organizations are able to steer usage intentionally. They can optimize cloud spend and build cloud environments that reflect business priorities as well as contribute to more sustainable cloud practices, minimizing their environmental footprint.

Bringing cost ownership to where decisions are made

Access to data does not guarantee accountability. Many organizations have detailed cost reporting but continue to struggle with cloud waste.

The issue here shifts from one of visibility towards one of proximity. Our data shows 59% of organizations have a FinOps team that does some or all cloud cost optimization tasks, yet in many cases, these teams still sit at the edge of delivery. So, while they can surface issues, they are often too removed from daily operations to intervene effectively.

The most effective models integrate cost ownership into delivery itself. This means that engineering leads, platform teams and product owners have oversight to take action before inefficiencies take hold.

As a result, when these roles are supported with relevant reporting and shared financial metrics, cost awareness becomes a natural part of the decision-making process. This makes it easier to adjust workloads, retire underutilized services, and optimize environments in-flight, rather than in hindsight.

Organizations with mature FinOps practices are better positioned to manage their cloud costs and reduce waste year over year. This improvement reflects a delivery culture where cost is treated as a design consideration.

Using attribution to prioritize what matters

Many organizations can report how much is being spent and on which services. Far fewer can explain how that spend supports outcomes the business cares about.

87% of organizations view cost efficiency as the primary measure of cloud success, up from 65% last year. This signals a shift in mindset that cloud is no longer assumed to be efficient by default, it must justify its footprint in context.

When cloud spend is tied to individual products, services or customer experiences, the conversation becomes more focused. Governing costs like software licensing ensures that licensing agreements are optimized and aligned with business needs.

Attribution helps shift cloud conversations away from usage and toward value. Taking a holistic approach to cost management not only helps in reducing waste but also contributes to more sustainable cloud practices, ultimately delivering both financial and environmental value.

Early discipline pays off at scale

Control is easiest to build before complexity sets in. The longer organizations delay embedding structure into cloud governance, the harder it becomes to retrofit later. Inconsistent tagging, ambiguous ownership and manual reporting all take time to correct once they are entrenched.

As 33% of global organizations now spend more than 12 million dollars annually on public cloud, this highlights how new services, accounts and tools can be introduced faster than the governance processes required to manage them.

It’s important to note that scaling effectively doesn’t mean avoiding complexity, but there is a need to manage it consistently.

Also, governance does not have to stand in the way of innovation. It can enable it, by improving confidence in decision making, and reducing the uncertainty that often undermines momentum.

Cloud is a system of interdependent decisions, each with its own financial implications. The ability to explain, anticipate and adjust these decisions draws the line between cloud as a delivery of value, or cloud as a cost center. As FinOps matures, designing for cost from the beginning and shifting cost conversations left is key to building cloud environments that scale with control.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-proc

• Cisco Talos finds a new malware framework called PS1Bot
• The framework is distributed through malvertising and SEO poisoning
• PS1Bot can serve as an infostealer, keylogger, screen grabber, and more

Security researchers Cisco Talos have discovered a brand new malware framework which they say really goes the extra mile to infect a device.

PS1Bot can log keystrokes, grab cryptocurrency data, and persist on the compromised endpoint, among other things, the company's report says.

Complementing PS1Bot is a malvertising campaign, as well as SEO poisoning, which tricks unsuspecting victims into downloading the malware. Cisco Talos did not say what the theme of these ill-intentioned ads and pages are using, who the usual victims are, or how successful the campaign is.

Flexible and dangerous

They did say that whoever downloads the ZIP file can expect a JavaScript payload that acts as a dropper and pulls a scriptlet from an external server.

That scriptlet writes a PowerShell script to a file on disk and runs it. In turn, the PowerShell script contacts the threat actor’s command-and-control (C2) server, grabbing additional commands that transform the malware into whatever is necessary at the moment.

There are many things the framework can be turned into. It can serve as a reconnaissance tool, sharing with the attackers details about antivirus programs running on the computer, as well as basic system information.

It can serve as a screen capture or keylogger tool, relaying screenshots and keystrokes to the C2. It can also work as a wallet grabber, stealing cryptocurrency wallet information. Finally, it can persist on the device via a PowerShell script that launches automatically upon restart.

"The information stealer module implementation leverages wordlists embedded into the stealer to enumerate files containing passwords and seed phrases that can be used to access cryptocurrency wallets, which the stealer also attempts to exfiltrate from infected systems," Cisco Talos said.

"The modular nature of the implementation of this malware provides flexibility and enables the rapid deployment of updates or new functionality as needed."

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