TechRadar News

• 1-bit Rainbow is offering the tiniest classic Mac on the market
• It has a two-inch display and is powered by a Pico Zero Raspberry Pi
• You can buy a fully assembled unit for just $59

You might have heard the phrase “small form-factor PC” to describe computers that are smaller than the average rig, but someone has just taken the SFFPC concept to a whole new level with a working Mac that features a display measuring just two inches across.

Appropriately dubbed the Pico-Mac-Nano, this tiny computer from 1-bit Rainbow features a 3D printed chassis that faithfully recreates the classic Macintosh look from the 1980s, albeit on a minute scale.

On the inside, the device is powered by a Pico Zero Raspberry Pi, while it packs in a two-inch 480p display for somewhat uncomfortable reading, plus 512MB of memory, a microSD card slot for storage, and a three-volt CR2 battery. It runs the MicroMac 128K emulator, which provides the vintage Mac operating system flavor. That means it’s a fully working computer, although whether it’s actually practical is another matter.

You can buy the fully assembled Pico-Mac-Nano for a mere $59 (around £44 / AU$92) – so much for the Apple tax. Alternatively, 1-bit Rainbow has supplied the 3D printing files if you want to print your own case and flash a regular Pico Raspberry Pi yourself.

There’s even a special Collectors Edition of the Pico-Mac-Nano that comes in a small-scale replica of Apple’s original ‘Picasso’ Macintosh shipping box. This version will set you back a modest $78 (or about £58 / AU$122).

A true small form-factor Mac

(Image credit: 1-bit Rainbow)

As someone who loves and owns both a SFFPC and a Mac, I’m always keeping an eye out for fascinating projects that can bridge the gap between both worlds.

This device, though, might be taking it a little too far even for me. I can’t imagine I’d be able to run many of the best Mac games on it – never mind “can it run Crysis?,” perhaps we should be asking “can it run Chess?”

Still, there’s no doubt that this product is an incredible achievement and shows just what can be done with modern hardware and software. Whether or not you want to 3D print it yourself, you’ll still be getting your hands on a neat little project that makes a faithful nod to the Macs of old.

So, if the miniscule M4 Mac mini isn’t quite small enough for you, perhaps the Pico-Mac-Nano will do the trick. Just don’t expect it to handle DeepSeek R1’s large language model any time soon.

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• Researchers found a website spoofing Bitdefender antivirus
• The site delivers a remote access trojan
• Crooks are using it to steal people's money

One of the best antivirus programs out there is being abused in a new campaign delivering the dangerous VenomRAT Remote Access Trojan (RAT).

Cybersecurity researchers Domaintools recently posted an in-depth analysis of the malicious operation after they spotted a malicious domain called “bitdefender-download[.]com”, which leads to a website titled “DOWNLOAD FOR WINDOWS”.

Aside from a few subtle differences, the website looks seemingly identical to the legitimate Bitdefender download web page: “There are subtle differences between them such as the legitimate page using the word “free” in several places whereas the spoofed version does not,” it was explained.

VenomRAT

The landing page has a “Download for Windows” button, which triggers a file download from an Amazon S3 bucket.

The bundled executable is named “StoreInstaller.exe”, and was found to contain malware configurations associated with VenomRAT, Domaintools further explained. It also contained code associated with open source post-exploitation framework SilentTrinity and StormKitty stealer.

VenomRAT is a lightweight RAT that cybercriminals use to gain control over compromised Windows systems. It enables the theft of login credentials, and allows threat actors to log keystrokes, access webcams, and run additional commands, remotely.

In this case, Domaintools says the goal was to steal people’s cryptocurrency and then sell the access to a different threat actor, saying there is “clear intent to target individuals for financial gain by compromising their credentials, crypto wallets, and potentially selling access to their systems.”

The researchers also found that the campaign overlaps, both in time and infrastructure, to other malicious operations in which banks and “generic IT services” were being impersonated. The Armenian IDBank, and the Royal Bank of Canada, are some of the companies being mentioned in the report.

As usual, the best way to minimize these threats is to be careful when clicking on links in emails and social media messages, and only download software from legitimate sources.

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• Google Photos is celebrating its 10th birthday
• New editing tools are coming to Android and iOS
• Users will also be able to share photos via QR code

Google Photos has now been with us for 10 years, and Google is marking the occasion by redesigning the app's photo editor, and adding some of the AI-powered trickery that was previously exclusive to the best Pixel phones.

The editor revamp collects together some key features while adding new ones: choose to edit a photo and you'll see a number of suggested enhancements pop up. Tap on someone or something in an image, and even more suggestions appear, such as the option to move the selection somewhere else in the picture, or blur the background behind it.

Tools that have previously been exclusive to the Google Pixel 9 series are now going to be available for everyone. They include Auto Frame for getting suggested crops for a shot, and Reimagine, which works like a mini AI image generator to let you introduce new elements or edit existing ones with text prompts.

Other examples provided by Google include getting suggestions as to how to enhance a particular area of a photo, and changing the look of the sky using the Reimagine tool – so you can turn a cloudy day into a sunny one, if you want to. The redesigned editor reaches Android next month, with iOS following "later this year".

Easier sharing

You can view your photos and videos based on where they were taken (Image credit: Future)

Away from the redesigned editor, the Google Photos apps are also making it easier to share photos with other people. You'll now be able to do this using a QR code – so you can just pass the code on to other people or post it publicly for anyone to use.

Google has also used the occasion to share some tips and tricks for using its photos app. These aren't new but you might not have been aware of them: like the way you can tap Places on the Collections tab to see your photos spread out across locations, and focus on pictures and videos from particular spots.

Another feature highlighted by Google is the way you can use natural language in searches, whether it's "me in a blue shirt" or "at the beach" – and Google's AI will find what you're looking for. Just tap the Search button down in the lower right corner, then put your query in at the top.

According to Google, since its launch 10 years ago, more than 9 trillion photos and videos have been stored on the service, and more than 1.5 billion people are using it monthly – making 210 edits each month between them. Personally though, I think it's still a shame Google took away unlimited storage for Pixel owners.

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• MathWorks confirmed suffering a ransomware attack
• It is bringing systems online but the process is taking time
• No threat actors have yet claimed responsibility

MathWorks, a prominent mathematical computing software developer, has confirmed suffering a ransomware attack that crippled its operations.

In an announcement published on a dedicated status page, the company said the attack happened almost two weeks ago, and it still hasn’t been fully remedied. The company did start to tentatively bring operations back online.

“MathWorks experienced a ransomware attack. We have notified federal law enforcement of this matter. The attack affected our IT systems,” the status page reads. “Some of our online applications used by customers became unavailable, and certain internal systems used by staff became unavailable, beginning on Sunday, May 18. We have brought many of these systems back online and are continuing to bring other systems back online with the assistance of cybersecurity experts.”

Negotiations ongoing?

The newest update, posted on May 27, says MATLAB Answers, Cloud Center, and File Exchange, have been restored for existing users. The latter is operating “in a degraded state with file viewing and GitHub sync not yet enabled.”

MathWorks is best known for MATLAB and Simulink, two popular solutions used worldwide for data analysis, simulation, and model-based design in engineering and scientific applications, with its products used by more than 100,000 organizations and more than 5 million customers across the world.

At press time, there was no information about the perpetrators, as no threat actors have yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and crucial details are still missing.

We don’t know who the threat actors are, or if they stole any sensitive company or customer data from MathWorks’ systems, as is the usual practice with ransomware attacks.

One of the possibilities is that the attackers are currently negotiating with the company, which is why the details are being kept hidden.

Via BleepingComputer

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Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2: key information

- No release date confirmed yet
- Announcement could be made at Netflix Tudum 2025
- Production began in September 2024 and wrapped in May 2025
- Main cast set to return from season 1
- New cast additions revealed in November 2024 and Mat 2025
- Story will reportedly feature a time jump
- Its Nickelodeon animated TV namesake holds the key to where its plot will go next
- A third and final season is now in production

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 could be released on Netflix sooner than any of us think. Indeed, with filming wrapped in May and the possibility of a launch date announcement being made Netflix Tudum 2025 on May 31, we could be reunited with Aang and company before the end of the year.

Before Netflix's live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon's animated classic returns to our screens, what do we know about it? Below, we've rounded up the latest information on Avatar season 2, including our prediction about when it'll be released, its confirmed cast, story specifics, and more.

Full spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1. Possible spoilers are also discussed for the show's sophomore season.

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 release date prediction

The Avatar will return. AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER Seasons 2 & 3. Only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/sUnY5w6JgfMarch 6, 2024

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 doesn't have a release date yet. However, we've known it's been on the way for a while now. Indeed, Netflix renewed the hit fantasy show for two more seasons last March.

Principal photography began in September 2024 and officially wrapped in May 2025. Now, we've just got to wait for post-production to be completed before one of the best Netflix shows' second season is available to stream.

So, when do we think it'll be released? A release date of late 2025 to early 2026 isn't out of the question, especially with filming having been completed. Will we get more details – or, whisper it quietly, an actual launch date reveal – at Netflix Tudum 2025? That would be enough to make us shout "Yip yip!"

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 trailer: is there one?

Prepare yourselves for season 2's official teaser, whenever it'll be released (Image credit: Netflix)

A trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 hasn't made its debut yet. Once one is released, we'll update this section.

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored

Commander Zhao's return in season 2 seems unlikely (Image credit: Netflix)

Full spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1.

Here's the confirmed cast for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 so far:

• Gordon Cormier as Aang
• Kiawentiio as Katara
• Ian Ousley as Sokka
• Dallas Liu as Zuko
• Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai
• Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Zuko
• Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula
• Miya Cech as Toph
• Chin Han as Long Feng
• Justin Chien as King Kuei
• Amanda Zhao as Joo Dee
• Crystal Yu as Lady Beifong
• Kelemete Misipeka as The Boulder
• Hoa Xuande as Professor Zei
• Lourdes Faberes as General Sung
• Rekha Sharma as Amita
• Madison hu as Fei
• Dichen Lachman as Yangchen
• Dolly De Leon as Lo and Li
• Lily Gao as Ursa
• Terry Chen as Jeong Jeong
• Jon Jon Briones as Piandao
• Tantoo Cardinal as Hama

The first seven actors will reprise their respective roles from the series' first outing. Everyone else from Cech onwards, though, is new to the show.

Speaking of Cech, she was cast as fan-favorite character Toph in November 2024. For the uninitiated, she's an extremely powerful Earthbender, who'll accompany Aang and company on their quest to stop the Fire Nation's attempts to become this world's tyrannical rulers.

We have our Toph!! Please welcome Miya Cech to Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/p7V7akclraSeptember 20, 2024

There have been plenty more cast reveals since Cech was added to the show's roster, too. Last November, eight more actors were confirmed to appear, including Justin Chien as King Kuei, aka the Earth Kingdom's current ruler, and Crystal Yu as Lady Beifong – the latter being Toph's mom.

A post shared by Avatar: The Last Airbender (@avatarnetflix)

A photo posted by on

Then, to celebrate the end of filming on season 2, Netflix unveiled another seven cast additions. The most notable name among this contingent is Dichen Lachman, who some viewers will recognize as Gemma Scout/Ms Casey from the hugely successful Apple TV+ series Severance. She'll be playing Yangchen in Avatar season 2.

A post shared by Avatar: The Last Airbender (@avatarnetflix)

A photo posted by on

For Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), he appears to meet his demise in the season 1 finale following a battle with Zuko, who unleashes his fire powers upon him. Asked by RadioTimes.com about his potential return, Leung said, “In the original, we do know what happens to him – he ends up in the Fog of Lost Souls in the spirit world. As this is a re-imagining, I don’t know how that part of it will be re-imagined, if it will be, so I’m in the same boat as you!”

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 story speculation

Suki and Sokka will continue to support Aang in battle (Image credit: Netflix)

Major spoilers follow for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1. Potential season 2 spoilers also follow.

When it comes to the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series, there’s certainly a storyline and timeline for Netfli'sx adaptation to follow. One of the biggest issues that Netflix’s version faces, though, is that the original took place across the same 12-month period.

By keeping the same cast in this remake, season 1 showrunner Albert Kim had to allow for the actors to grow up on screen. Given they'll have aged up since the first season was released, a narrative tweak was needed in the form of including a time jump, as Kim previously confirmed in a chat with Entertainment Weekly (EW).

How does this impact the arrival of Sozin’s Comet, aka the celestial object that depicts the passage of time in the original show? Kim added: "We removed that particular ticking clock from our show for now because we couldn’t know exactly how old our actors would be for the subsequent seasons."

Season 1's mid-credits scene revealed Sozin’s Comet would be part of the story moving forward, though, so it'll be interesting to see how its inclusion factors into the time jump that's been introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2.

Aang will be older than the last time we saw them (Image credit: Netflix)

Elsewhere, in conversation with Netflix's in-house Tudum, website, executive producers Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani revealed a bit more about what viewers can expect next time around.

"We’re going to challenge our characters with more complex and nuanced obstacles as they navigate a more tactile world," the pair teased. "Just as the animated series matured and progressed, the live- action will also take these characters and worlds, and grow them."

The show's exploration of more mature themes won't be a surprise to anyone who watched Netflix's remake and/or the original.

Where the former is concerned, Aang and the Waterbenders successfully repelled the Fire Nation's attack on the Northern Water Tribe at Agna Qel’a. Unfortunately, the Fire Nation simultaneously attacked the Earthbenders in the city of Omashu and were successful in defeating those defending their tribal stronghold.

This sets the plot up nicely for the Earthbending focus of season 2, which matches the original series. More training, more harnessing of skills, and more battles for Aang and company are certainly on the cards, then.

"I thought it was really clever of the writers to end season 1 in that way, because you want to get a sense that the universe of the show is expanding with every season," Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Zuko and Azula’s ruthless father, Fire Lord Ozai, told Tudum. "And they really did a good job of that with that cliff-hanger and also created a sense of urgency and time."

What's next for Zuko (center) and his allies? (Image credit: Netflix)

There’s also the escalating tension between Zuko and Azula as they continue their complicated family dynamic. Azula took the city of Omashu and its King Bumi captive, while an injured Zuko fled from the battle in the North. Zuko is one of the most fascinating characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender and, while long-time fans know what lies in store for him in future seasons, it'll be no less intriguing to see him evolve as an individual.

And what of Aang’s face-to-face with the aforementioned pair's father and ruler of the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai?

"Always leave the audience wanting more," Lee teased. "I just had chills seeing Lizzy as Azula. You’ve got King Bumi in shackles, and it’s just like, ‘Oh, there’s so many cliff-hangers.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I want to shoot season 2 [and] 3 right now.'"

Unfortunately for Kim, he hasn't done that, with Boylan and Rassani assuming the reins as co-showrunners. It'll be equally interesting, then, to see if Avatar: The Last Airbender seasons 2 and 3 are better (or worse) than what's come before. Speaking of the show's third season...

Has Avatar: The Last Airbender been renewed for a third season?

That’s a wrap on Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2!The time of Sozin’s comet draws near. Season 3 is now in production! pic.twitter.com/Esx3ZOOGAqMay 20, 2025

It has. As we mentioned earlier, Netflix renewed Avatar: The Last Airbender for two more seasons last March. As the above X/Twitter post reveals, season 3 has entered full production as of May 2025, too.

With season 2 taking around six months to film, its sequel could take a similar amount of time. If that's the case, principal photography could wrap on the series' final installment before the end of 2025. That could allow Netflix to release seasons 2 and 3 within close proximity of one another, or ensure season 3 arrives no later than a year after Avatar season 2's launch. In short: Avatar: The Last Airbender could be done and dusted as a Netflix TV Original by the end of 2026.

For more Netflix TV-based coverage, read our guides on One Piece season 2, Stranger Things season 5, Wednesday season 2, and Squid Game season 3.

• ExpressVPN's mobile applications just recieved a major redesign
• This major update comes only a few days after the provider released its new AircoveOS v5.3
• Both upgrades promise to deliver faster and smoother performances

ExpressVPN now promises an even better experience for users after releasing some major updates on some of its applications.

The first to undergo a revamp has been its router with a built-in VPN, Aircove. The AircoveOS v5.3 update unveiled on May 22, 2025, now brings a more intuitive design to better manage all its flagging features and settings.

Only a few days later, ExpressVPN has now also launched a completely redesigned version of its mobile apps. The ethos is the same, though – make the VPN "faster, smarter, and more user-friendly across both platforms," explains the provider.

ExpressVPN's new mobile apps

Despite being one of the best VPN services thanks to its reliable performance and easy-to-use applications, the ExpressVPN team has decided to make the experience for mobile users even better.

Both its iOS and Android VPN apps now offer a cleaner and faster design (see image below) to make the overall experience more intuitive.

This includes a new built-in speed test tool that allows users to check how the VPN server they're connected to performs in real-time, and discover which may be the fastest choice. This could be advantageous for those who use ExpressVPN as a streaming or gaming VPN.

The redesign also includes a new map view for the very first time, helping more visual users get a sense of where they're connected, especially when they need to change location often.

A new server map view (on the right) and speed test (on the left) both aim to help users choose the best server for their needs. (Image credit: ExpressVPN)

TechRadar needs you! We want to know what you think about the world of VPNs. Whether you're a novice or a VPN pro, we want to hear your thoughts. Don't worry, though, your responses are completely anonymous, and it takes less than five minutes to complete!

To take part, click the link below: https://futurenet.questionpro.eu/tr-vpn

With this update, ExpressVPN's Smart Location – a feature which connects you to the best server location automatically – also promises to be even "smarter."

"It uses speed, latency, and distance to suggest the best servers for you, plus you’ll see the top 3-5 fastest locations at the top of your list," the provider explains in a blog post.

Lastly, iPhone VPN users now have the option to pick OpenVPN as their chosen protocol, in addition to the provider's very own Lightway and IKEv2.

"Lightway is still our go-to protocol for speed, reliability, and security, but we know one size doesn’t fit all. Adding OpenVPN to iOS gives you more flexibility and control," said the provider.

The team started to roll out this update on May 27 and ensured it would become available for all users by May 30.

ExpressVPN AircoveOS v5.3

The revamp of both Aircove and Aircove Go has a simple goal – strengthening the core infrastructure to make the user experience more stable and easier.

"Whether you’re streaming, managing multiple devices, or setting up your router for the first time, you’ll spend less time troubleshooting and more time enjoying the internet safely," said the provider in its official announcement.

To achieve this, the team implemented a series of technical fixes, including updating some key system components like the Linux kernel and Wi-Fi drivers, as well as improving internal hardware component management. You can find the full technical details here.

What you can expect, though, is a faster experience when setting up your Device Group choices, thanks to less scrolling required and the ease of setting up the VPN location directly when creating a device group.

Managing groups got easier, too, thanks to improved drag-and-drop capabilities and a new dropdown option. The provider explains that these changes would be especially advantageous on mobile and tablets.

Helpful setup tips and smoother animations would also make it easier for new VPN router users to get started.

Enhancements to Wi-Fi Link and parental controls are also among the new batches of releases coming for Aircove users, so stay tuned.

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• Microsoft spots fake Entra pages being distributed in phishing emails
• The attacks targeted organizations in the West, mostly in critical infrastructure
• The goal was to gather intelligence for the Russo-Ukrainian conflict

Russian hacking campaigns, part of the country’s wider war effort against Ukraine, are getting more aggressive, security researchers from Microsoft have claimed, after they spotted a change in how a specific threat actor, called Void Blizzard, is running its operations.

Void Blizzard, also known as Laundry Bear, would usually buy login credentials off the dark web and use them to gain access to their targets’ IT infrastructure. Once inside, the hackers would exfiltrate emails, sensitive files, and business data, and look for means to continue moving laterally throughout the organization.

However, in recent times, the group has switched from buying login credentials into stealing them itself, and to do that it started spoofing Microsoft Entra login pages.

NATO in the crosshairs

Microsoft Entra is a comprehensive identity and network access solution that many organizations use to secure access to their digital resources across both cloud and on-prem. Void Blizzard would create fake pages using typosquatted domains and then distribute them to the victims using spear phishing and similar methods.

The victims are mostly small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) located in the West, as the campaign “disproportionately” targets organizations in Ukraine and NATO member states, Microsoft says, suggesting it is actually part of Russia’s war on Ukraine, and is designed to collect intelligence from critical sectors.

That being said, the majority of the victims are in government, defense, transportation, media, NGO, and healthcare.

In some instances, the hackers targeted education, telecommunications, and law enforcement agencies, as well, with more than 20 NGOs in Europe and North America targeted.

“Void Blizzard primarily targets NATO member states and Ukraine. Many of the compromised organizations overlap with past—or, in some cases, concurrent—targeting by other well-known Russian state actors, including Forest Blizzard, Midnight Blizzard, and Secret Blizzard,” Microsoft concluded.

“This intersection suggests shared espionage and intelligence collection interests assigned to the parent organizations of these threat actors.”

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It was just a glimpse, two 8-second Veo 3 videos, but as with so many life-altering things, I'll never forget my first time generating synchronized audio and video with one deftly crafted prompt.

I'm currently running Google AI Pro, the $19.99 a month account that gives you access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model and, more importantly, a limited trial of Veo 3 video generation.

Veo 3 is the tipping-point level of generative video creation that, for the first time, makes it possible to create videos with dialogue, background noises and sound effects, all synced to the action.

While I understood that my Veo 3 access might be limited, I wasn't sure how many videos I could generate with the new model. The answer, it seems, is exactly two. If I want unlimited access, I can switch to Google AI Ultra for an eye-watering $249.99 a month (there's a three-month deal for $124.99 a month). And Veo 3 is currently US-only.

Since Veo 3 launched at Google I/O 2025, my TikTok feed has been filled with these incredible and often quite realistic AI clips. Some look like infomercials or commercials, others are just impossible, like a woman interviewing a smiling man who is clearly on fire.

I was torn between creating realism, hyper-realism, and something fantastic. In the end, I built a prompt in the Gemini 2.5 Pro window that supports video creation that was a mix of sci-fi, drama, and whimsy.

Writing inside the prompt window, though, turned out to be a mistake because I accidentally hit return before fully fleshing out my idea, and suddenly Veo 3 was busy generating my video.

This was my first prompt:

"Bill and Jessica live in a log cabin built on the surface of Mars. Bill emerges from the cabin to find jessica fighting a martian using nothing but a stuffed animal.

Bill screams at Jessica: What are you doing?

Jessica: This damn martian wants our land and he can't have it."

As you can see, there isn't much detail, and as easy as it is to generate a video in Veo 3 (and the audio-free Veo 2), you'll get a better result by including more detail and dialogue. Veo 3 will not have the characters say anything you didn't script. In this case, because I hit return too soon, Jessica's dialogue is cut off and I didn't get to polish my prompt.

Even so, Veo 3 took the scant details and in roughly 5 minutes created a striking piece of video. Take a look (sound up for the full effect).

It's far from perfect. Bill doesn't actually speak his line, though we hear it from off-camera. Jessica's scream (or is it the Martian's?) also comes from somewhere off camera.

There's an unfortunate sound effect that might be coming from Bill, and that I did not script. Also, I don't know why Jessica speaks her lines directly to camera.

Again, I assume that had I directed who she should be talking to, Veo 3 might have made a different choice.

Still, there are so many more subtle things that are impressive. Veo 3 gets the setting right; notice the reddish overcast of Mars daylight. The Martian is terrifying. I'm more impressed, though, by the sound effects like the sound of the cabin door, footfalls on the Martian soil, and the sound of the stuffed animal hitting the Martian's chest.

Take 2

For my second prompt, I wrote and edited it outside of Gemini. I did my best to set the scene, describe the characters, and delineate the dialogue and any sound effects. Here's the prompt:

The scene is a lush forest with sunlight streaming in from overhead. We hear the shrieks of pterodactyls in the background and the sound of leaves swaying in a light breeze.

A Tyrannosaurus is carefully painting a large canvas that depicts a colorful image of a man about to be destroyed by an asteroid.

The Tyrannosaurus is quietly singing to himself, “Pink Pony Club, I’m gonna keep on dancing at the...”

A Velociraptor wanders over and asks, “Why are you painting that?”

The Tyrannosaurus: “The AI made me do it.”

The Velociraptor backs away in horror and says, “The what?!!”

As you can see, I was, in part, inspired by some of the self-referential Veo 3 videos I'd been seeing on TikTok where the characters break the fourth wall and mention they're AIs in a video. While my detail work mostly paid off, Veo did make a number of questionable choices.

I don't know why it chose to dress the T-Rex but neglected to give him a paintbrush, or why the character in the painting looks like some sort of 1970s kid detective. And while Gemini clearly knows a thing or two about what dinosaurs look like, it got the relative sizes of the T-Rex and Velociraptor all wrong. I was also disappointed that instead of "shrieks of pterodactyls," I got a static image of pterodactyls and the sound of birdsong in the background.

The dialogue sync is mostly good, though I was hoping for more emoting from the velociraptor.

Overall, it took me a few minutes to write these prompts and another 3-to-5 minutes for Veo 3 to generate each video. I believe that if I spent more time painting a detailed picture, even writing a whole short story, I might get an even better result.

I'd let you know for sure, but I just ran my brief trial dry. If you plan on attending a couple of Veo 3 videos, here are my core tips:

• Write your prompt outside of Gemini
• Choose your topics carefully
• Spell out every detail, from the look of the characters to the scene
• Detail every action, or Veo 3 will make something up or have a character doing nothing
• Spell out the dialogue so it's clear.
• Describe the emotion behind dialogue delivery
• Include details on background noises
• Include sound effect descriptions if you desire specific sounds
• Each video is 8 seconds maximum. Plan accordingly
• Try creating multiple videos that continue a storyline, but keep descriptions consistent

Good luck with your Veo 3 test drives. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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• Nintendo's list of compatible Switch games for Switch 2 has been updated
• The company has identified well over 100 games with start-up issues
• The vast majority should still work without issue on the new system

The list of Nintendo Switch 2 games that could have compatibility issues at launch has been updated by the company.

Nintendo's compatibility page has links to three PDFs. These highlight 115 games "with start up issues on Nintendo Switch 2," 46 games that successfully start up but may have some compatibility issues, and finally 49 games that have issues "planned to be addressed at launch or shortly after."

Furthermore, Nintendo has highlighted software that outright cannot be used on Nintendo Switch 2. These include Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit, as well as video apps including Crunchyroll, Niconico, Abema, and Hulu. The comics and manga app InkyPen will also be unusable. It remains to be seen if these apps will receive dedicated Switch 2 versions in the future.

Lastly, a bunch of original Nintendo Switch games will require the use of that console's Joy-Con controllers, and presumably won't be compatible with the Joy-Con 2. These are as follows:

• Ring Fit Adventure
• 1-2 Switch
• Everybody 1-2 Switch!
• Game Builder Garage
• Nintendo Switch Sports
• WarioWare: Move It!
• Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit
• Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 02: Robot Kit
• Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit

So far, Nintendo has tested well over 15,000 Nintendo Switch games for Nintendo Switch 2. The vast majority, around 99% of Nintendo games and 65% of third-party games, have no compatibility issues.

For everything else, the issues are at least being investigated by Nintendo, and it should be fair to expect most Switch 1 games to work just fine on Switch 2 by the end of 2025.

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• Anthropic is rolling out a new voice mode for its AI chatbot Claude
• You can use it to search Google Calendar and Gmail on a paid plan
• Voice mode will also be available on the free tier, but with usage limitations

Claude, the popular AI chatbot from Anthropic, is rolling out a voice mode to all its mobile app users. Whilst still in beta, the new voice mode will be in English and accessible for users on all current plans, including the free plan.

Voice mode with Claude works just like voice mode in Gemini or ChatGPT. In fact, you tap on an icon that looks pretty much identical to the Gemini Live icon to activate it.

Once voice mode is activated, you just start talking to Claude to hear its voice responses. As it talks, it displays its key points on screen, which enables you to seamlessly switch between text and voice within the same conversation.

You get five different Claude voices to choose from, according to the Claude voice mode documentation, and you can change between them at any time by simply going to Settings, then Voice Preferences.

Hey Claude

You can get a preview of how voice mode will work in Claude thanks to a handy video Anthropic has posted on X.com:

We're rolling out voice mode in beta on mobile.Try starting a voice conversation and asking Claude to summarize your calendar or search your docs. pic.twitter.com/xVo5VHiCEbMay 27, 2025

The video demonstrates how, by simply talking to Claude (even while brushing your teeth) you can get the AI to check your calendar, search through your Gmail inbox or Google Drive, and even draft an email for you.

This kind of ability moves Claude firmly into the role of a digital assistant however it’s worth noting that Gmail and Google Calendar integrations are only available on Claude’s paid plans, which start at $20 (around £16 / AU$32)for a Pro account, and go up to $200 (around £148 / AU$311) a month for Max 20x.

Usage limits

You don’t get unlimited access to voice conversations in Claude. Each conversation counts towards your regular usage limits based on your subscription plan.

Free users of Claude can expect approximately 20-30 voice messages before reaching session limits, while paid plans have significantly higher limits.

Voice mode is a timely upgrade to Claude, which was lagging behind its rivals, ChatGPT and Gemini, by not providing a voice mode. Anthropic has also just updated Claude's LLM to Claude Opus 4.0 and Claude Sonnet 4.0. Opus 4.0 is a powerful AI model that excels at coding, while Sonnet is a lightweight model designed for regular use and a big improvement on the previous Sonnet 3.7 model.

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• Lilo and Stitch fans are raging about the changes made to the story's ending
• The live-action remake's final scene is completely different from the animated classic
• Viewers are heading to Disney+ to watch the original movie and its sequels amid the controversy

Disney's live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch might be breaking records at the global box office, but it's also breaking long-time fans' hearts over the unnecessary change to the story's ending.

Following its release last Friday (May 23), one of 2025's most anticipated new movies set a new record for the largest four-day Memorial Day weekend in the US. Indeed, according to an official press release from The Walt Disney Company, Lilo and Stitch's reimagining earned over $182 million stateside and $361 million worldwide across its opening weekend.

It's not all good news for the rambunctious but lovable blue alien and his Hawaiian counterpart, though. Despite also earning a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, some viewers have hit out at Disney for altering the film's final scene – a creative decision that's infuriated some who adored the 2002 animated original.

Full spoilers immediately follow for 2002 and 2025's Lilo and Stitch.

"Ohana means family", unless your sister wants to pursue her own career on the other side of the US (Image credit: Disney)

In the original, the film ends with Stitch remaining on Earth with Lilo and her older sister Nani. That's because, according to an adoption form that the pair signed at an animal shelter that was housing Lilo (he was presumed to be a dog at the time), Nani and Lilo legally own him.

However, the live-action remake upends that heart-warming ending. Instead of staying with Stitch and her younger sibling and rebuilding their family home, Nani heads off to the University of California to study marine biology. Meanwhile, Lilo and Stitch are taken in by David and Tutu, with the latter duo becoming the former pair's guardians.

Why has this alteration enraged fans? Because, in some viewers' eyes, Lilo and Stitch's most recognizable line of dialogue – "Ohana means family" – and, by proxy, the film's primary theme, is completely ruined by the fact that Nani leaves her sister and Stitch behind to study on the other side of North America.

Indeed, numerous irked fans have taken to Reddit to express their frustration and exasperation over the unwelcome change. "I’m happy Nani got her ending," Parmesan_Pirate119 wrote, "But it felt forced and untrue to the original spirit of the film."

Comment from r/disney

"This was not a Lilo & Stitch story, this was a Nani story," an annoyed TownIdiot25 said. "And, as a Nani story, I don’t like how they completely changed the ending when it comes to the guardianship-of-Lilo situation."

"In the end, they actually have Nani give Lilo up to the neighbors (...though nani gives lilo up to state first) and go to college instead, which feels completely wrong and out of character," spider-man2401 added. The most frustrated reaction that I've seen, though, comes from noakai, who wrote: "Nani agreeing to give custody of Lilo to the state and then Lilo going to live with other people so Nani could go to California for college is so amazingly stupid I can't believe they went with it."

This quartet is a mere snapshot of fans vexed by the change, but there are some who have defended the remake's final sequence. For example, MrChiquitaBananaRN said: "The ending will be the big divide – Ohana IS family, but Ohana is also found family (i.e. Stitch). So, Lilo telling Nani to 'go to the marines' and Nani actually doing it, while Lilo has her new support system there, I think it works."

2002's Lilo and Stitch movie is the most popular film on Disney+ in the US and UK right now (Image credit: Disney+)

Regardless of what people think of Lilo and Stitch's modified ending, there's one unmistakable positive impact that the remake has had: it's caused an uptick in the number of people watching the original and its sequels on Disney+.

Indeed, in the UK, viewers have flocked to one of the world's best streaming services to watch the 2002 animated movie and its sibling films. At the time of publication, Lilo and Stitch is the number one movie on Disney+ UK, with Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch placing at number two. Stitch! The Movie and Leroy and Stitch find themselves at numbers five and six, respectively.

It's a similar story in the US, with Lilo and Stitch sitting atop of the most-streamed movies list and Stitch! The Movie ranked at number two. Leroy and Stitch is in fifth position, too.

Will these flicks have staying power on Disney+? Probably not. They've likely seen a surge in viewership off the back of the remake's release and the controversy surrounding its ending. Nevertheless, it's interesting to see how well these animated films are performing on Disney's primary streamer. Maybe 2002's Lilo and Stitch deserves a spot on our best Disney+ movies list!

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The cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, with new threats and solutions appearing every day. But the rate of change in the past two years, intensified by the mass implementation of AI, has seen meteoric growth in the number of cyber-attacks. Unfortunately for businesses and their IT security teams, AI-driven attacks are becoming more sophisticated, and businesses must rethink their security strategies to stay resilient in the face of changing cyber threats.

Accelerating security and networking enhancements will continue to take center stage for UK organizations in 2025, but added complexity can slow enterprises down. Adding simplicity as a key vector for networking and security posture optimization is key to successful, secure connectivity strategies for the year ahead.

The growing threat of AI-powered attacks

In today’s threat landscape, cybercriminals are leveraging artificial intelligence to orchestrate attacks with unprecedented speed and accuracy. AI’s capability to identify vulnerabilities, craft hyper-realistic phishing scams, and execute complex malware campaigns is increasing the difficulty of threat detection and mitigation. One of the most concerning trends is the rise of “deep phishing” attacks, where AI-generated deepfake content is used to impersonate trusted individuals and deceive employees into revealing sensitive information.

Cyber breaches are already a top concern for organizations, downtime prevention and data protection taking center stage, but what is more unsettling is not being aware when a breach occurs. The longer an attacker remains in the system - intruder dwell times can range from several weeks to months and even over a year - the more costly and damaging these “silent breaches” become. Being unable to identify when a breach took place means that restoring systems to a safe version is much harder.

To counteract these risks, organizations need to deploy security tools capable of recognizing behavioral anomalies and responding in real time to potential breaches.

AI cyber defense - the other side of the cybersecurity coin

As the advent of AI presents new security challenges, it also offers us the tools to strengthen cyber defenses. AI-based networking assistants and correlation engines are gaining traction, providing advanced capabilities in real-time threat detection and response.

The potential for human-supported with various degrees of AI autonomy for secure networking deployments is being explored, which could change how enterprises approach security and networking. By leaning into AI-led penetration testing, automated vulnerability mitigation, and self-healing network infrastructure AI is revolutionizing security strategies.

With intuitive AI tools, security teams can gain deeper insights into vulnerabilities and rapidly address potential threats. This will be particularly crucial as UK businesses face a growing cybersecurity skills gap, requiring intelligent automation to bridge expertise shortages and upskill quickly. In 2025, we will see more businesses will turn to AI-driven security intelligence tools that allow teams to query complex security data using natural language interfaces.

The democratization of security intelligence through intuitive AI tools will empower non-experts to play an active role in cyber threat mitigation. This shift will be instrumental in fostering a culture of shared responsibility between IT and security teams, enhancing collaboration and improving overall security outcomes.

The shift from prevention to incident response

While traditional security strategies have focused on threat prevention, 2025 will also see a distinct shift towards rapid incident response. Companies will do well to prioritize detecting and containing breaches to augment preventive measures, increasingly allocating budget resources to solutions that enable swift incident identification and response.

This shift reflects an understanding that breaches cannot always be prevented, and in reality, should be expected. Instead, mitigating their impact through rapid detection and containment will be the key to minimizing damage.

One development that is representing this shift is the adoption of self-healing security systems. These AI-powered systems can autonomously detect, analyze, and respond to threats, significantly reducing response times and mitigating damage.

Indeed, using machine learning, self-healing networks can dynamically adjust a company’s cybersecurity measures based on real-time risk assessments. This self-healing security will be a game-changer, as automated incident response will enable businesses to bolster their security teams and protect their assets. AI and human partnerships can help businesses strengthen their overall resilience when facing a cyber-attack.

So, what’s next for businesses navigating the threat landscape?

As cyber threats become more advanced, businesses must embrace a holistic approach to security, that can introduce simplicity for observability, control, management and response. Consolidating cyber defense, network and data management, and operational resilience into a single, integrated platform will help organizations navigate the increasingly turbulent threat landscape efficiently.

This access to and complete visibility over these systems and tools means that teams can identify risks and opportunities as a passive activity, and invest time into value-driving initiatives, as opposed to combing through multiple applications for status updates.

Ultimately, 2025 will be the year where more AI-driven corporate security strategies move from theory to practice. Organizations that proactively adapt to these emerging trends will be better equipped to withstand the ever-evolving challenges of the digital age. For businesses, staying ahead of the curve will require embracing automation, strengthening incident response capabilities, and continuing to hold security as an organizational priority.

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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-pro

• Security researchers spot new campaign targeting Docker instances
• The attack deploys a cloud crypto miner, and a worm for further propagation
• The miner generates the Dero currency

Hackers are building a botnet out of misconfigured Docker API instances and using it to mine the Dero cryptocurrency, experts have warned.

Security researchers from Kaspersky reported finding a “container zombie outbreak” that started with an exposed Docker API.

“This led to the running containers being compromised and new ones being created not only to hijack the victim’s resources for cryptocurrency mining but also to launch external attacks to propagate to other networks,” they explained.

Negotiations ongoing?

In this zombie outbreak, the “patient zero” is a misconfigured API that’s left open to the internet. There, the attackers deploy a piece of malware disguised as ‘nginx’, a high-performance, open-source web server and reverse proxy server.

The malware scans for vulnerable instances and infects them, and then creates new malicious containers and forces existing ones to mine Dero. At the same time, it continues to spread to other systems.

This is a two-step process, Kaspersky explains. Nginx is the propagation tool that scans for new victims, with the miner being a cloud-based solution. Both components are written in Golang, which makes them rather difficult to detect.

Kaspersky also says that unlike traditional cryptojacking campaigns, this one doesn’t rely on a command & control (C2) server, but instead spreads autonomously, like a worm.

Users running Docker should check their API settings, and make sure it’s not exposed to the internet. Furthermore, they should fortify their login credentials, and perform regular security audits and monitoring.

While cybercriminals usually hijack servers to mine Monero with the XMRig, this is not the first time researchers spotted Dero. According to The Hacker News, CrowdStrike saw Kubernetes clusters being targeted back in March 2023, and a subsequent iteration of the same campaign was spotted by Wiz in June 2024.

Similar to Monero, Dero is also a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain, built to support decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.

Via The Hacker News

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The AI race is accelerating, with tech giants announcing multi-billion-dollar investments to supercharge computing power and infrastructure. From headline making supercomputer projects to record-setting data center expansions, the scale of ambition is unmatched.

This surge, supported by billions in investment from governments and corporations, has extended from advanced chipmaking to the expansion of high-powered data centers. The AI market has tripled in size over the past year alone and is expected to quadruple again by 2030.

Yet alongside the opportunity lies a growing complexity. AI brings with it a new wave of environmental, ethical, and operational challenges that organizations, particularly their boards, must confront with urgency. While the excitement around AI often focuses on what it can do, there is an equally critical question being: is it being done responsibly?

Board visibility and decision-making are becoming ever more important to navigate the opportunities and challenges.

But the challenge of keeping pace with AI’s rapid evolution while sustaining progress on long-term sustainability goals remains. Addressing this requires a governance approach that is both agile and strategic, capable of enabling quick decisions, without compromising ethical considerations. One that requires stronger alignment between technology, ESG targets, and long-term value creation.

AI – both part of the problem and the solution

AI is already testing the boundaries of many companies’ ESG strategies. We’ve already seen big corporations like the famous GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft) struggling to manage the environmental impact of AI expansion, with some AI investments consuming millions of liters of water or gigawatts of power.

That said, organizations are also exploring how AI can actively support in reducing emissions through the additional capabilities it brings to the table.

Optimizing energy & asset utilization in data centers through AI driven workload and capacity distribution is one of the promising use cases AI bring to the table.

Greater visibility on current status and data-driven insights on sustainability projects with direct prioritization based on ROI and impact, is another one. For example, conversational AI tools designed to help business leaders see and interact with their energy and sustainability data. Tools like this allow companies to ask natural language questions about their energy use and sustainability projects, instantly generating prioritized recommendations to maximize carbon reduction and financial return.

These initiatives, among others, show that while AI presents new sustainability challenges, it can also be part of the solution. The central question for companies of all sizes is how to understand how AI can apply to their business model and operating models in a way that bring tangible business value, but also how that usage is meaningful with regards to the resource consumed for it, which are not yet part of the economic equation of AI business models for the time being, without losing eye on the longer term implications of AI.

Indeed, responsibly embracing its potential without compromising environmental targets or stakeholder trust is key. Maximizing it’s impact on workforce future proofing & ethical usage with regards to customers are others aspects to look into.

Boards have a central role to play in this balancing act. As stewards of long-term strategy, they are uniquely positioned to oversee the development of frameworks that can mitigate AI’s risks- while unlocking its potential to support sustainability goals.

However, this requires foresight, subject matter expertise, and adaptability to the sheer speed of evolution we see in the AI space, and hence an updated and adapted governance structures that is adapted to the pace of change.

Evolving board structures for effective AI Oversight

To manage AI’s risks and opportunities effectively, organizations need to evolve their own internal governance structures. One way companies are doing this is by including dedicated AI or technology oversight committees. These may be supported by panels of external advisors, futurists, ethicists, data scientists who help translate emerging risks into actionable insight.

Equally important is the distribution of responsibility across the board, ensuring that AI oversight doesn’t rest with a single function or team. Adapted executive compensation and well defined leading and lagging KPIs, tied to the outcomes and progress sought after are a good way to ensure the above.

Education is also a critical enabler here. Many board members (but also executives!) today are not technologists, and that’s entirely reasonable. However, in the context of AI’s growing influence on strategy, risk, and reputation, a baseline understanding of its capabilities and implications is now essential. Ongoing board & executive education, training programs, and engagement with research institutions or industry conferences will help bridge this gap and ensure AI oversight is both informed and effective, beyond the current hype seen in the market.

Another practical mechanism for improving oversight is the use of real-time metrics. Much like ESG dashboards that track emissions or water usage, similar systems should be developed for AI-related performance, ethics, and environmental impact. These tools can give board members a clearer view of how AI is evolving inside the business, whether it’s aligning with sustainability commitments or where interventions may be needed.

Empowering the ecosystem

Importantly, boards must also consider how AI’s effects ripple through their entire value chain, especially for large corporations aiming to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

Be it the need for resources the investment in AI will require; to the issues (including Sustainability related ones) companies will be enabled to solve with AI tools. Implications certainly do not limit themselves to the very company’s very own operations but go across. In this context, a company’s business ecosystem is a strategic resource giving access to expertise, applied knowledge, access to markets and customers, as well a common drive for mutual success, and should not be overlooked, but rather engaged and if possible embedded when making plans in order to reach objectives.

Building transparent, structured frameworks that boards & executives can look to when shaping responsible AI strategies inclusive of the whole value chain will help maximize outcomes and turn sustainability and AI from siloed priorities into shared ecosystem goals that can drive impact at scale.

Future proofing governance

In the end, the challenges AI presents are significant, and hence need to be anticipated for financial returns and impact maximization. The key lies in understanding the speed and scale at which technology evolves and responding with governance that is equally adaptive, in term of knowledge (or access to it), access to data and insights, and with strong frameworks to maximize value and mitigate risks across the value chain, with strong translation mechanisms into the business operations, including through executive compensation mechanisms.

Whether through dedicated oversight committees, external advisory panels, real-time performance dashboards, companies have the tools to lead responsibly. Boards that embrace this moment, investing in education, fostering cross-functional agility, and embedding sustainability at all levels-will be better positioned to harness AI for long-term impact, not just for short-term gains.

As we look to the future, one thing is clear: effective AI governance is no longer optional. It is a fundamental requirement for preserving stakeholder trust, delivering on climate commitments, and ensuring that innovation serves the business together with people and the planet.

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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-pro

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, May 28 (game #1220).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1221) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1221) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1221) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1221) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1221) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• D

• S

• N

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1221) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1221, are…

• CRIER
• DRAPE
• STRUT
• NEIGH

A tricky Quordle today thanks to a pair of double letter words in CRIER and STRUT.

Had I gone with COULD instead of WOULD as a starter word I might have reduced my thinking time a little, but that’s the only wrong choice I made. Getting out after seven turns feels good after a run of close shaves. 

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1221) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1221, are…

• SOBER
• SHIRE
• CHEAT
• IDYLL

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1220, Wednesday, 28 May: HELLO, BEADY, VIGIL, PURER
• Quordle #1219, Tuesday, 27 May: TWEET, RANGE, POPPY, RADAR
• Quordle #1218, Monday, 26 May: BLEAT, HOWDY, ASIDE, SCOOP
• Quordle #1217, Sunday, 25 May: OCEAN, AMBER, PIPER, GLEAN
• Quordle #1216, Saturday, 24 May: HUSKY, HEIST, FOGGY, POLAR
• Quordle #1215, Friday, 23 May: SHIRE, GIANT, AWAIT, CAPER
• Quordle #1214, Thursday, 22 May: LOSE, GLOVE, STINT, EXCEL
• Quordle #1213, Wednesday, 21 May: NOVEL, CHOSE, DIRTY, DONUT
• Quordle #1212, Tuesday, 20 May: DECOY, SHAKE, MAPLE, PURER
• Quordle #1211, Monday, 19 May: LINK, HANDY, DITCH, WAIVE
• Quordle #1210, Sunday, 18 May: QUACK, ROACH, PURGE, DOWNY
• Quordle #1209, Saturday, 17 May: STRIP, RANGE, UNITE, GEESE
• Quordle #1208, Friday, 16 May: SHEEP, SNUCK, DRIFT, BREAK
• Quordle #1207, Thursday, 15 May: PAINT, CROUP, PEDAL, FLUKE
• Quordle #1206, Wednesday, 14 May: FAVOR, METER, PICKY, MAKER
• Quordle #1205, Tuesday, 13 May: SCENT, AGAPE, POLAR, YEARN
• Quordle #1204, Monday, 12 May: ROYAL, ARGUE, BUNCH, READY
• Quordle #1203, Sunday, 11 May: QUASH, MUNCH, ALTER, UNDUE
• Quordle #1202, Saturday, 10 May: RELIC, BADGE, CHAMP, SATIN
• Quordle #1201, Friday, 9 May: MINUS, CRIME, NOSEY, SLAIN

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, May 28 (game #717).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #718) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FROST
• RIGHT
• MUSCULAR
• HONOR
• HAIL
• FIT
• POLISH
• POWDER
• PROPER
• ENTHUSIAST
• NUDE
• APPLAUD
• SPRINKLE
• PRAISE
• APT
• GLAZE

NYT Connections today (game #718) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Tribute
• GREEN: Satisfactory
• BLUE: Dunkin and Krispy
• PURPLE: Connecting word rhymes with “stuff”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #718) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: SALUTE 
• GREEN: SUITABLE
• BLUE: VERBS FOR FINISHING DONUTS
• PURPLE: WHAT "BUFF" MIGHT MEAN

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #718) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #718, are…

• YELLOW: SALUTE APPLAUD, HAIL, HONOR, PRAISE
• GREEN: SUITABLE APT, FIT, PROPER, RIGHT
• BLUE: VERBS FOR FINISHING DONUTS FROST, GLAZE, POWDER, SPRINKLE
• PURPLE: WHAT "BUFF" MIGHT MEAN ENTHUSIAST, MUSCULAR, NUDE, POLISH

• My rating: Easy
• My score: 1 mistake

Fools jump in... so I immediately thought that FROST, POWDER and SPRINKLE were describing types of snow, added HAIL… and got "one away".

That’s when I realized it had to do with baking instead, although I wasn’t thinking VERBS FOR FINISHING DONUTS.

I got SALUTE next, which was quite tricky for the so-called easiest group and then the SUITABLE green group.

I missed seeing WHAT “BUFF” MIGHT MEAN but four different meanings for one word make it the archetypal hardest Connections group – and I say this as a Connections buff.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, May 28, game #717)

• YELLOW: CONNECT BRIDGE, JOIN, LINK, UNITE
• GREEN: PARTS OF A BIKE CHAIN, PEDAL, SADDLE, WHEEL
• BLUE: BEST PICTURE WINNERS SINCE 2000 CHICAGO, CRASH, GLADIATOR, MOONLIGHT
• PURPLE: MUSIC GENRES PLUS A LETTER BLUEST, POPE, ROCKY, SKAT

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, May 28 (game #451).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #452) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… It's a little buggy

NYT Strands today (game #452) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• GIANT
• SPARE
• SPAM
• SALE
• FAST
• ANTICS

NYT Strands today (game #452) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 6 letters

NYT Strands today (game #452) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: right, 4th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #452) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #452, are…

• BUTTERFLY
• MOTH
• WASP
• FLEA
• HORNET
• DRAGONFLY
• SPANGAM: INSECT

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

After getting BUTTERFLY, MOTH and WASP in succession, I thought we were looking for a spangram describing flying minibeasts. Instead it was the much more straightforward INSECT

A six-letter spangram is very off-brand for Strands these days, but this game's ability to keep players guessing is impressive. That said, this was one of our easier days.

I know many people like them, but the sight of a DRAGONFLY freaks me out a bit as I’ve got an irrational fear that they’re going to fly in my mouth. So, whenever I see one I clamp my mouth shut. I guess I’m the freak, not them.

That said, they do breathe out of their rectums, so there is that too. I don't want something that breathes out its rectum in my mouth, thanks.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, May 28, game #451)

• WINNER
• CHAMP
• TITLEHOLDER
• VICTOR
• MEDALIST
• SPANGRAM: FINISH STRONG

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

• Vietnam has issued an order to block Telegram for failing to cooperate with authorities in halting crimes
• According to authorities, nearly 70% of Telegram channels and groups in Vietnam contain harmful content
• A new law requires social media providers to store Vietnamese users' data and share it with authorities upon request

Vietnam has blocked Telegram for failing to cooperate with authorities in halting crimes allegedly happening on the platform.

As reported by Reuters, the country's Head of the Telecom department issued the blocking order against telecommunications companies on May 21, 2025, with an obligation to report back to the ministry by June 2.

While the block didn't come into force immediately, Telegram appears to be inaccessible from the country at the time of writing. This means everyone living in or visiting Vietnam now needs one of the best VPN services to keep accessing the popular messaging app from the country.

Vietnam Telegram block

As per international and local sources, Vietnamese police said that nearly 70% of the almost 10,000 Telegram channels and groups accessible in the country contain "poisonous and bad information," Al Jazeera reported. Some groups have even been found to have links with illicit activities, like drug trafficking or terrorism.

This is why authorities decided to issue an order to all the country's telecoms providers "to deploy solutions and measures to prevent Telegram's activities in Vietnam."

Talking to Reuters, a Telegram spokesperson said to be "surprised by those statements," adding that the team responded to legal requests from Vietnam on time.

Yet, as per what a government official told Reuters, Telegram failed to share user data with authorities when asked as required by law.

Vietnam indeed enforced a controversial law in December last year that requires social media providers to store Vietnamese users' data and share it with authorities upon request. However, as per Surfshark's data, Vietnam had already restricted social media twice before that, with temporary blocks on Facebook and Instagram in 2016.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in August 2024 in France for, among other things, failing to properly moderate the app to combat crimes occurring on the platform. After that, Telegram appears to have strengthened its moderation policies.

Globally, Surfshark recorded a total of 34 countries that have banned Telegram since 2015, either temporarily or permanently, with Vietnam being the 35th to do so.

TechRadar needs you! We want to know what you think about the world of VPNs. Whether you're a novice or a VPN pro, we want to hear your thoughts. Don't worry, though, your responses are completely anonymous, and it takes less than a minute to complete!

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How a VPN can help

A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that encrypts your internet connections while spoofing your real IP address location. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Some local journalists and internet users lamented difficulties in accessing Telegram from Vietnam without a VPN starting from May 25, 2025.

Local users also confirmed TechRadar that Telegram is blocked in the country at the time of writing, but VPNs keep working fine to bypass restrictions.

This is because VPN services and similar circumventing tools come with IP-spoofing capabilities that allow users to look like they're browsing from a different country entirely within a couple of clicks.

All you need to do is download a reliable VPN for Vietnam, pick a server in a country where Telegram isn't blocked, and keep using the app as usual. You can find all the up-to-date information on how to unlock Telegram with a VPN on our dedicated page.

If you aren't willing to invest some money in a premium services, I reccommend checking out our free VPN page to pick the most secure freebie out there. Tor browser is also a great alernative to stay anonymous and bypass internet cenrsohip free of costs.

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• Many of CISA's senior leaders are leaving the agency, memo claims
• The organization is currently facing its third staff reduction of 2025
• There are worries about how the agency will perform going forward

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is reportedly experiencing a serious flight of senior personnel, with most planning to leave by the end of May 2025.

CISA is responsible for safeguarding US critical infrastructure, and its senior personnel are critical in the agency’s ability to liaise with its strategic partners, other federal agencies, and international security organizations.

The sudden exodus in senior leadership across five of CISA’s six operational divisions and six of its 10 regional offices comes as the agency faces its third workforce reduction this year.

CISA loses leadership

A statement issued by CISA’s executive director, Bridget Bean, said, “CISA is doubling down and fulfilling its statutory mission to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure and strengthen our collective cyber defense. We were created to be the cybersecurity agency for the nation, and we have the right team in place to fulfill that mission and ensure that we are prepared for a range of cyber threats from our adversaries.”

While the remaining CISA leadership may be putting on a brave face, a number of CISA employees who spoke to Cybersecurity Dive shared reservations about the agency’s future and performance following the departure of senior leadership.

One employee, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said, “With these significant number of senior departures, several of which are leaders who have been here since the days of US-CERT, there’s a lot of anxiety around when the cuts and departures will finally stop and we can move forward as an agency.”

A second employee, also speaking anonymously, said, “It feels like the wrong people are leaving. All of these departures make it feel like people are leaving the mission and creating a vacuum.”

For CISA’s operational divisions, acting head of the Infrastructure Security Division Steve Harris left on May 16, acting head of the Stakeholder Engagement Division Trent Frazier left on May 2, No. 2 official in the Emergency Communications Division Vince Delaurentis is due to leave on May 30. These follow the previous departures of No. 2 official in the Cybersecurity Division Matt Hartman, and head of the Integrated Operations Division Boyden Rohner.

Recent and upcoming regional office departures include Region 2 Director John Durkin, Region 4 Director Jay Gamble, Region 5 Director Alex Joves and Deputy Director Kathy Young, Region 6 Director Rob Russell, Region 7 Director Phil Kirk, and Region 10 Director Patrick Massey.

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Internet security giant Kaspersky has released a report saying that it identified over 7 million "compromised accounts" for the best streaming services that have leaked online in 2024 alone.

The details weren't leaked due to a breach in the security system of the streaming services themselves, but were instead grabbed by other malicious means, such as spyware browser extensions, which scrape the information you type into your computer and send it away to scammers, or fake websites that trick you into entering your account information (known as phishing).

Netflix accounts were by far the majority of the leaked information identified by Kaspersky, numbering over 5 million of the 7 million in total. However, there were also leaked accounts for Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, and Apple TV+.

The highest number of leaked accounts appears to be for people based in Brazil, then Mexico, then India – but accounts leaked from everywhere, from the UK to Canada to Australia to Japan.

How big a problem is this?

If your account has been breached, the good news is that it shouldn't put your financial information in much danger, with a couple of notable exceptions.

Your billing info should be securely stored by all of these streaming services, and not visible to anyone simply browsing your profile if they log in maliciously.

With the likes of Netflix and Disney+ cracking down on password sharing between households, someone using your logins to watch from another country could cause these streaming services to give you a warning about adhering to their terms.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

However, the larger danger is whether the passwords involved give them access to other services. For example, if your Prime Video login is the same as your Amazon Prime login, then that one account may mean they can order things online from your account.

Similarly, if your Apple TV+ login is the same as your overall Apple ID login, then someone could potentially spend money from the payment details connected to your Apple ID.

However, Amazon and Apple both support two-factor authentication, meaning the password alone shouldn't be enough for someone to log into your account – if you don't have this active, you absolutely should change that now.

However, in all cases, if your password for these services is the same one you use for every other login, then the danger isn't someone logging into your Netflix – it's them using the same details to log in as you on online shopping platforms, or other sites where they could do some financial damage.

This is why we always recommend using one of the best password managers, so you have a unique password for every service without the hassle of needing to remember them all. iPhones and Android phones all have this capability built into them.

What should you do next?

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

If you're concerned about your accounts for these services, you should log in to them and change your password right away.

In general, activating two-factor authentication on any services that support it is a no-brainer. Netflix, notably, doesn't offer this option, but it has its own page on how to keep your Netflix account secure.

If you aren't already using one of the best password managers, now is the perfect time to start. Many of these services will tell you if one of your passwords appears in leaked account information, so you can take action to change it right away.

But also bear in mind how these details leaked: not through hacks of the services, but because people downloaded dodgy browser extensions and software, or were caught in phishing schemes that asked them to enter their details into fake websites.

Being cautious online is just as important as using technical options like a password manager or two-factor authentication.

Kaspersky's report highlights three things to remember:

• "Always use a legitimate, paid subscription when accessing streaming services and ensure you’re using apps from official marketplaces or the official websites."
• "Always verify the authenticity of websites before entering any personal information. Stick to trusted, official pages when watching or downloading content and double-check URLs and company name spellings to avoid phishing sites."
• "Be cautious about the file extensions you're downloading. Video files should not have .exe or .msi extensions — these are typically associated with harmful programs."

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