TechRadar News

• Epic has made its Easy Anti-Cheat tool compatible with Windows on Arm
• This means online games that use the tool work with Arm-based laptops
• That includes Fortnite, which is going to be one of the first games to implement this support for Snapdragon X (Arm) chips

If you've got a Copilot+ laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X (Arm) processor that you also use for gaming duties, here's some great news: one of the biggest stumbling blocks for gamers on Arm has now been banished.

As Thurrott.com reports, Epic has made good on its promise to make its Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) tool compatible with Windows on Arm (the version of Microsoft's OS that's installed on Copilot+ PCs with Arm chips, as opposed to AMD or Intel silicon).

The move comes with the new version of the Epic Online Services SDK (for game developers) which now boasts EAC compatibility to offer "secure multiplayer experiences on Arm-based Windows 11 devices", as Epic notes.

EAC is used by some big-name online games to weed out problem players who are using various shady tricks or exploits, and the lack of compatibility with the anti-cheat system meant that those games didn't work at all on Arm-based laptops.

Said games include Epic's Fortnite among other online shooters (Apex Legends, PUBG, and more), as well as the likes of Elden Ring.

Analysis: the ball is now in the developers' court

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Epic previously promised that it was going to make EAC work with Windows on Arm back in March 2025, and what we see here is the necessary work being implemented in the mentioned SDK (software development kit).

However, that isn't the end of this story – not quite. It's now up to game developers to incorporate the support in their titles, and Epic is going to be on the ball itself in that respect when it comes to bringing support to Fortnite.

A Qualcomm spokesperson told Thurrott.com: "Fortnite will be among the first titles to take advantage of this compatibility, bringing one of the world's most popular games to Snapdragon-powered laptops."

At any rate, support is going to filter through gradually to a number of games – hopefully quite swiftly – and this will remove one of the black marks in the 'against' column for Arm-based laptops.

Those devices running Snapdragon X chips can make a good enough effort at running even more demanding games – recall the early days of being impressed at these notebooks running Baldur's Gate 3 in 4K.

Being unable to play Easy Anti-Cheat games on these machines was a notable weakness, and particularly with Fortnite, given that this is a popular choice for laptop gamers (and not a demanding title), it was a shame to see it out of the grasp of those with Arm-based Copilot+ PCs – but that won't be the case for much longer.

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• Cybercriminals leaked stolen data in a Telegram channel
• Almost 3 million records from more than a million people were leaked
• There are ways to mitigate the risk

Experts have warned the data stolen in the recent Allianz Life ransomware attack has been leaked to the open internet, and have urged affected users to be on their guard.

Sensitive information on the “majority” of the insurance company’s 1.4 million customers, including people’s names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Tax Identification Numbers, and even social security numbers, was published in a Telegram group created by ShinyHunters, Scattered Spider, and Lapsu$ threat actors.

In total, 2.8 million data records for both individual customers and business partners were grabbed as part of a wider attack on Salesforce instances. Besides Allianz Life, the group also took credit for a number of other, high-profile incidents, including the attack on Internet Archive, Pearson, and Coinbase.

Stay protected

Usually, cybercriminals would demand a ransom payment in exchange for deleting the stolen files and not leaking it on the internet.

So, if these files were published, it is safe to assume Allianz Life has decided not to pay (or the negotiations broke down for other reasons). There is always the possibility that the crooks leaked the files even after getting paid because these are, after all, cybercriminals.

There are numerous ways hackers can abuse sensitive files. They can impersonate their victims, potentially opening bank accounts in their name, apply for loans and credit cards, or rack up debt. They can also commit fake tax returns, gain access to medical treatment or prescription drugs, and even get a job illegally, which might cause problems for the victims during background checks.

Criminals might also use social security numbers to apply for various Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation, or welfare.

The attack is particularly concerning as such records could contain more than enough of sensitive information for hackers to launch highly personalized, successful phishing campaigns, leading to identity theft, wire fraud, and even ransomware attacks.

How to stay safe

If you're concerned you may have been caught up in the incident, don't worry - there are a number of methods to find out. HaveIBeenPwned? is probably the best resource only to check if your details have been affected, offering a run-down of every big cyber incident of the past few years.

And if you save passwords to a Google account, you can use Google's Password Checkup tool to see if any have been compromised, or sign up for one of the password manager options we've rounded up to make sure your logins are protected.

Via BleepingComputer

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• The US Federal Court Filing System recently suffered a cyberattack
• Initial reports claim Russia is at least partially to blame
• The attack targeted sealed court files

Russia has allegedly been linked to a worrying recent cyberattack against the US Federal Court Filing System.

Reporting from the New York Times (NYT), which said it spoke to people familiar with the matter, claims there is evidence Russia is at least partially responsible for the attack, which has been a “yearslong” effort to breach the system.

The reports added the searches, “included midlevel criminal cases in the New York City area and several other jurisdictions, with some cases involving people with Russian and Eastern European surnames.”

Hacking sealed files

A cyberattack against the system was most recently confirmed on August 7 by the Administrative Office of the US Courts. However, Politico reported that the system had been under attack by an unknown threat actor since early July.

Furthermore, across the US, chief judges of district courts were told to move cases with overseas ties off the regular document-management system.

An internal memo, seen by NYT and issued to Justice Department officials, clerks and chief judges in federal courts by administrators with the court system stated that, “persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors have recently compromised sealed records,” continuing with, “This remains an URGENT MATTER that requires immediate action.”

The Federal Court Filing System, like many filing systems, is a sprawling network that is continuously used and updated with new records, and was built on a system first developed in 1996.

As a result, the system is considered to have several serious vulnerabilities, with the system previously being breached in 2020.

There is still currently no known motive for the attack, but it is possible that if Russian intelligence services are involved they could be gathering intelligence on the potential compromise of assets in the US.

The same has been theorized about the telecoms breaches that hit the US in 2024, which were attributed to China. In these attacks, threat actors breached a backdoor used by law enforcement to pursue court-ordered wiretaps.

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• Kodak might not be able to pay down its debt and survive
• The 137-year-old company has been struggling for years
• It's had a huge impact on photography – and on this author

Travel five hours north of New York City and you can visit the home of Kodak; or more properly, George Eastman's estate in Rochester, the birthplace of Kodak – and what's increasingly looking like its final resting place.

The iconic 137-year-old photography company is now in real danger of shutting down for good – although you'd be forgiven if you thought that happened more than a decade ago when the struggling firm first filed for bankruptcy protection.

As a longtime photographer who got his start shooting on Kodak standard and Kodak Ektachrome film, I considered a trek to the Eastman House akin to the journey to Cooperstown for a baseball fanatic.

George Eastman (left) and Thomas Edison (right). Kodak had a long history of supplying film for movie shoots (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

Kodak, some would argue, single-handedly brought photography to the masses, producing simplified box cameras that asked little more of early amateurs other than "You press the button, we do the rest." That campaign helped spark a revolution that was arguably as transformative as the more recent one in smartphone photography.

In the early part of the 20th century, Kodak had numerous popular camera series, including the classic and very boxy Brownie, but it was probably the 70-million-unit-selling Instamatic that put a camera in almost everyone's hands.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Kodak achieved a 1973 version of a meme when its popular film stock, Kodachrome, inspired a 1973 top-10 hit by Paul Simon, one that seemed to extol the film's virtues:

"Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
Give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah".

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

I missed much of Kodak's early history (geez, I'm not that old), but I grew up with a photographer dad who bought Kodak film and paper in bulk and built a darkroom in our Queens, NY, apartment's walk-in closet.

Naturally, I caught the bug, and by college I was building my own bedroom darkroom and buying Kodak film in giant rolls that let me spin my own 35mm canisters (and save on what was typically the $5 cost of a single roll of Kodak film).

Honestly, I think Kodak first stumbled when it failed to respond to Polaroid. The latter company first made its name in the 1960s with instant photography, producing the Land camera line that let you pull out the finished print (you just had to apply a thin coat of polymer to essentially fix and protect the image).

After the Polaroid SX-70 arrived (the first single-lens reflex instant camera), Kodak belatedly delivered its own instant cameras, but they never sold as well. Polaroid, meanwhile, has gone through travails of its own, including bankruptcy in 2001 and resurrection in 2020 with a whole new line of instant cameras.

Kodak's first digital camera (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

It's been more than 30 years since the dawn of consumer-grade digital photography, but neither company had much of a response to its arrival, perhaps believing – as many pro photographers did – that digital would never be as good a film.

By the time I visited The George Eastman Museum, Kodak's glory days were long gone. Consumers, the people who drove Kodak's original business, had moved on to the next easy photographic platform: their smartphones. Few people these days travel with dedicated cameras, let alone film-based ones; as photographers like to say, "the best camera is the one you have with you", and more often than not that's your phone

Perhaps Kodak can take comfort in the fact that today there's an even easier way to create lasting memories that requires neither film nor a lens: AI. Instead of aiming a camera at a person or scene, you simply dream up a prompt or feed in an image, press a button, and the AI does the rest.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ironically, Kodak's possible demise comes just as Gen Z is showing a fascination with analog film photography, although most acknowledge that this flirtation will be short-lived. There are no one-hour photos around these days, and if you want a roll of film developed you might have to drive an hour away or mail it somewhere. Plus, there's the cost: a roll of Kodak 200 film could run you $10, and developing it might cost an additional $25.

I wish that the reason some people were embracing film again was due to an appreciation of Kodak and what it's done for the art of photography, but something else is at work here, and it mostly has to do with a return to the joy of anticipation (waiting a week to see how your photos turned out) and the simplicity of analog sharing (taking out a stack of photos and sharing them with one friend who can only comment to your face about that outfit).

Kodak might survive this latest round of fiscal bad news, but it's clear that we're never going back to when film was dominant and everyone who sang Kodachrome knew what Paul Simon was talking about.

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• Proxy service Decodo has seen a notable rise in proxy usage from the UK
• Brits are increasingly turning to VPNs and proxies to sidestep age verification checks
• User data may be at risk due to an absence of encryption from proxies

Proxy usage in the UK is on the rise amid the country’s controversial age verification checks. Research from proxy service Decodo shows a significant increase in proxy users coming from the UK, as Brits look to bypass invasive age verification requirements and protect their privacy.

Like a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a proxy acts as an intermediary between a user’s device and the internet. Both VPNs and proxies route a user’s internet traffic through an external server and hide their original IP address, helping access restricted content and retain online anonymity.

Proxies are undoubtedly a useful tool, particularly for businesses looking to carry out market research. Yet, the average internet user may not be fully aware of the differences between the best VPN and a proxy services, and how using a proxy could be putting their data at risk.

An 88% increase in proxy traffic from the UK

(Image credit: Decodo)

The UK’s age verification requirements fall under the Online Safety Act and have impacted not only adult sites but even social media platforms, including Reddit, X, and Bluesky.

Websites and platforms must now have age verification measures in place to prevent minors from accessing potentially harmful content. Age verification methods include facial age estimation, credit card age checks, and photo-ID matching.

Age verification is not without concerns, however, particularly for its impact on data security and user privacy. Indeed, a petition to repeal the Online Safety Act has attracted over half a million signatures to date.

Decodo, the best proxy site we’ve reviewed, has revealed a 65% increase in proxy users coming from the UK, as well as an 88% increase in proxy traffic from the country.

"More organizations in the UK are investing time in understanding the tools that power secure and efficient online operations," said Gabriele Verbickaitė, Product Marketing Manager at Decodo. "Most companies test out different solutions, providers, and do their research on proxies and VPNs, and they’re also making more informed, strategic choices."

Unlike VPNs, proxies aren’t primarily for privacy

Though proxies can be an invaluable tool for businesses and individuals alike, it’s important to understand how they differ from VPNs, particularly as it relates to privacy.

The primary concern with proxies concerning the UK’s age verification checks is that, unlike VPNs, they don’t encrypt your internet traffic. This means that your data – including the websites you visit – can still be seen by snoopers, including your ISP.

Privacy advocates have serious doubts as to whether the websites and services implementing the new measures can properly secure customer data from breaches. It appears to be a valid concern considering the numerous high-profile data breaches in recent months.

VPNs reroute your internet traffic through a secure end-to-end encrypted tunnel that connects your device to a VPN server. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

The most secure VPN providers route all of your outgoing and incoming internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel, preventing it from being seen by prying eyes. This makes a VPN the safest choice for the average user looking to browse the internet privately.

Thanks to encryption and the way they reroute traffic, VPNs are also more difficult to detect and block than proxies, making them a superior option for navigating geographic restrictions and internet censorship.

The UK body regulator Ofcom has, however, discouraged their use to avoid age verification requirements.

Despite this, there’s been a significant spike in VPN signups in recent weeks. It’s then clear that proxies are also benefiting from the UK’s increased desire for online privacy.

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• Windows 11's August update is now available
• It comes with a new feature aiming to recover a PC that won't boot
• There's also an important fix to iron out stability problems gamers are having with Windows 11 24H2

Windows 11 has a new update available that makes some smart introductions, including a fresh PC recovery ability and a vital fix for gamers.

The August patch for Windows 11 24H2 (known as KB5063878) brings in a new Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) feature that's a very welcome addition, but it's something I profoundly hope that I'll never have to actually see.

That's because this functionality – which is inbound for all Windows 11 users, as highlighted by Windows Latest – is designed to help recover your PC from a boot failure. That's the most awful of computing scenarios where you can't even get to the desktop, and obviously, that makes it difficult to troubleshoot whatever's gone wrong with your system.

In these cases, QMR represents a new choice in the Windows Recovery Environment (which can be accessed to attempt to recover a non-booting PC), whereby Windows 11 uses a local network connection to send diagnostic data regarding the system-halting problem to Microsoft. The idea is that this data can (hopefully) be used to find a solution, and that this cure can be automatically patched through.

In short, your PC will fix itself, which is a great idea, obviously, although as I already said, I hope to never use this functionality, because I'd rather not encounter a boot failure in the first place. (These are rare incidents, thankfully.)

There's also a big addition for Copilot+ PCs with the August patch, which is the deployment of the first-ever AI agent in Windows 11. This 'Windows Agent' resides in the Settings app and offers a way of finding the options that you need with a minimum of fuss. Essentially, it's an AI-powered search that uses natural language - so you can ask questions in a conversational manner, and it'll also suggest recommended settings for whatever you're looking for.

While that change is for Copilot+ laptops only, there's also a tweak that traditional Windows 11 PCs are getting, whereby the search box in Settings has been moved to a better, more visible position, centred at the top of the panel.

This latest patch also makes the Black Screen of Death – a more streamlined version of the old Blue Screen – official, though I have my doubts about whether this is an improvement.

The August update for Windows 11 also fixes the various game-related stability issues that have been present in version 24H2, which is a huge boon for gamers - and there's a new gamepad layout for the virtual keyboard of the OS, too.

For further details on this patch, see my breakdown of the preview release that came out late in July, which is essentially the same update (when it was still in testing as an optional upgrade).

Analysis: Slick quick fix trick?

(Image credit: fizkes / Shutterstock)

The highlight here, at least in terms of the features coming to all Windows 11 PCs (not just Copilot+ devices), is Quick Machine Recovery (QMR). This feature will live or die on whether it works well, and how useful it proves in resolving boot failures – although that said, any chance of some extra help in getting your PC to actually reach the desktop will be handy.

The good news is that Windows Latest has tried out QMR and observed that it's been implemented well enough (albeit the tech site didn't get to test it with an actual boot-halting issue).

It's worth noting that when Microsoft previously tested QMR in preview builds, the company said that it would be switched on by default for all Windows 11 Home users. That makes sense, as there's really no reason not to turn on this functionality for everyday folks (business users will have the decision made by their IT admins).

Okay, so maybe some home users won't like the idea of sending any data via the cloud to Microsoft, but when it's diagnostic info that could cure your PC so it boots, saving you a major headache in the process, I think even the more paranoid would concede this is a more than worthwhile trade-off. And if Microsoft doesn't have QMR on by default, the average user may never be aware of the feature, or benefit from it should their PC hit a showstopping bug that prevents it from booting up.

Aside from that, the gaming fix is a big one too. Some gamers running Windows 11 24H2 have been seriously frustrated by crashes in the likes of Fortnite, so hopefully this will bring down the curtain on that sorry episode. (24H2 has been very problematic for PC gamers, as you may recall.)

The AI agent is a great addition for Copilot+ PCs, and using AI to bolster search is a theme Microsoft is pushing ahead with – it's an obvious way to give more depth to a commonly used ability in different areas of Windows. Previously, Microsoft pepped up Windows 11's main search (via the box in the taskbar) with AI, which was good to see. Furthermore, Recall is another such trick for Copilot+ PCs, albeit one I remain unconvinced about.

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• Peal Abyss' Crimson Desert has been delayed to Q1 2026
• It was previously slated for late 2025
• The delay is due to voice-over work and console certification

Gamescom 2025 is shaping up to be one of the best in years, with plenty of games from developers like Capcom and Microsoft's Activision likely to be on show for fans as playable demos. Unfortunately, one ambitious title from Pearly Abyss that I'm pumped for has give us an early update – and, spoiler alert, it's not exactly great news.

As reported by Gematsu, Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert has been delayed to Q1 2026, as revealed during a Q2 earnings conference call. While the open-world RPG has never had an official release date, it was slated to launch in late 2025. This delay is due to the ongoing process of 'voice-overs' and 'console certification' leading up to release.

Crimson Desert will join the likes of Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem with playable demos available for fans attending Gamescom and PAX West in August, with bigger updates on both games expected for Opening Night Live with Geoff Keighley.

To say I'm bummed about Crimson Desert's delay is an understatement, as it's my most anticipated title between 2025 and 2026 – and yes, that means more so than GTA 6.

While the wait for Rockstar Games' next entry in the GTA franchise has been an agonizing one for just over a decade, Crimson Desert looks set to be a big surprise and become a goliath within the action-adventure genre.

I think it's safe to say that we know GTA 6 will be an instant hit in sales and will likely have the most immersive and realistic open-world in gaming. However, a significant number of gamers still believe Crimson Desert's open-world realism is too good to be true. So, the element of surprise that could come from Crimson Desert's potential major success is something I'm very much looking forward to.

Analysis: A delay hurts, but if it means more polish, then that's fine by me

While nobody wants to hear that an exciting title has been delayed, it's not all bad. The performance and optimization of games on consoles and especially PC is the worst I've seen in all my years of gaming, with plenty of developers seemingly relying on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel upscaling methods and frame generation technology.

We know that voice-over work and console certification are suggested to be significant factors in the delay, but I would not be surprised if better optimization before launch is a target for Pearl Abyss.

The same applies to GTA 6, which was also slated to launch in late 2025, but is now set for May 26, 2026. One of the worst things that could happen for any highly-anticipated title is bad performance; Respawn Entertainment's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a prime example, as it's a great sequel to Fallen Order, but is ruined by consistent stuttering on console and PC.

In this case, Pearl Abyss should take all the time it needs to polish and refine Crimson Desert, to help it live up to the huge expectations that it's set.

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In the early days of phishing, the signs were easier to spot: typos, odd phrasing, and clunky formatting that made emails feel off. But times have changed. AI has lowered the barrier to entry for cybercriminals, making it easy to craft emails with flawless grammar and tone.

It’s also allowed attackers to get smarter, using social engineering tactics that mimic the language and behavior of real people, tricking even the most vigilant recipients. Just last month, M&S reportedly fell victim to a social engineering scam so convincing it could wipe out up to £300 million of its operating profit this year.

Against this backdrop, EasyDMARC recently analyzed 1.8 million of the world’s leading email domains. Alarmingly, we found that only 7.7% have the highest level of phishing protection in place. On top of that, more than half haven’t even taken the first step in deploying the most basic level of email security.

That means the vast majority of organizations are still leaving the door wide open to impersonation attacks at a time when phishing is harder than ever to spot.

Why email is the weakest link

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard companies say, “we’ve done the training, so we’re covered.” But the truth is that training your staff to spot malicious emails won’t stop phishing. Not when the email looks like it came from your own domain, signed off by your CEO, and sent at just the right time.

Email is still the backbone of business communication. It’s the channel through which sensitive information flows and core processes are initiated and approved. Its ubiquity, and the trust placed in it, makes it an ideal target for attackers.

The problem is that email was never designed with built-in identity verification.

What DMARC actually does

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) is an authentication protocol designed to stop attackers from sending emails that appear to come from your domain. It works by verifying whether the sender is authorized, using underlying standards like SPF and DKIM, and then tells receiving email servers how to handle messages that fail those checks.

A helpful way to think about DMARC is like border control for your organization's email. SPF and DKIM check the credentials; DMARC is the policy that decides what happens next. Do you let the message through, detain it for inspection, or turn it away entirely?

The DMARC enforcement gap

The problem is that most organizations treat DMARC as something that only needs to be set up, not maintained. They configure it once, leave it on the weakest policy setting, ‘p=none’, which simply logs suspicious activity without taking action, and assume that’s enough. But without proper enforcement, DMARC doesn’t stop phishing; it simply watches it happen.

Our latest research shows just how common this enforcement gap really is. Out of the world’s top 1.8 million domains, only 7.7% have set their DMARC policy to ‘p=reject’, the strongest level of enforcement that actively blocks unauthorized emails from being delivered.

We’ve seen the difference enforcement makes. In countries like the United States, where regulation and provider policies have pushed for stronger DMARC enforcement, the impact has been dramatic. Phishing email acceptance dropped from 68.8% in 2023 to just 14.2% in 2025.

Until more organizations take that final step to enforce DMARC properly, email will remain one of the easiest attack vectors for cybercriminals.

The landscape is shifting

Recent moves by major email providers like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft to enforce DMARC, SPF, and DKIM protocols for bulk senders mark a pivotal moment in email security. Importantly, these changes are not the result of government mandates or new legislation; they’re being driven entirely by the email providers themselves.

That level of unilateral enforcement reflects a high degree of confidence in these protocols, particularly DMARC, as the best form of defense against phishing.

But while email providers are embedding authentication into the heart of communication, many organizations are lagging behind. For most, the response has been compliance-driven; focused on avoiding deliverability issues rather than strengthening overall security posture.

As the threat landscape evolves, the disconnect between regulatory inaction, provider-led standards, and enterprise readiness is becoming more pronounced.

Closing the gap: from compliance to commitment

In May , attackers impersonating HMRC stole £47 million. Attackers didn’t bypass complex zero-day defenses. They simply walked through the front door by spoofing trusted domains.

Enforcement is what turns visibility into action. As email providers lead the charge, it’s time for businesses to catch up, not out of obligation, but out of self-preservation. Because in a world where cybercriminals are better resourced than ever, doing the bare minimum is no longer good enough.

We've featured the best online cybersecurity course.

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

Wanbo has revealed its Vali 1 portable projector, which promises 900 ANSI lumens and costs just $319 / £269 / AU$499.

The Vali 1 is a 1080p smart portable projector that has Android TV 11 built-in for streaming and can display pictures up to 130 inches. It has two 6W speakers for audio and has a flexible stand that rotates up to 200°. It also supports auto keystone correction, auto focus and auto screen fit for setup.

On paper, the Vali 1 carries a lot of the features found in some of the other best portable projectors, so why does this one stand out in particular?

Well, other than its low price, it's the claimed 900 ANSI lumens. That is double the amount claimed by some of its most high-profile rivals.

The Samsung Freestyle Gen 2, currently number one on our best portable projectors list, only has 230 specified lumens and the Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro only has 450 ISO lumens. Even the LG CineBeam Q, one of the best 4K projectors, claims 500 ANSI lumens.

If the Vali 1 could hit this number, it would be a truly remarkable feat, especially given its ultra-low price. The above projectors cost significantly more, so is there a catch?

Bold brightness claims

The 900 ANSI lumens claimed by Wanbo is certainly eye-catching and sounds almost too good to be true. Well, it turns out, it actually could be.

Projector Central tested and reviewed the Wanbo Vali 1 and discovered that it hit 422 lumens, with an absolute peak of 529 lumens in the bottom sector. That 422 lumens is 52% under Wanbo's claimed brightness of 900 lumens, a significant discrepancy and one that could undermine the Vali 1's value.

It's worth noting that 422 lumens is a typical if not respectable number for a projector of this size and price, and is in line with its rivals mentioned above.

We haven't seen or tested the Vali 1 ourselves yet, so we can't give a verdict on it. Still, this brightness gap uncovered by Projector Central is something to bear in mind.

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Having been in the corporate communications industry for the past 25 years and for the past decade in communications technology, my career calling has been to bridge the gap that exists in so many organizations between those professionals working in IT and those in Communications.

My point of view – IT and Communications professionals have unique and important skill sets that are each critical to the success of the companies they work for. Nevertheless, a need for greater collaboration and mutual respect between the two is required for the sake of one – the employee.

One area where this partnership is especially critical is in the decision-making around a company’s corporate intranet. This digital hub is the technological glue that binds an organization whether it be a few hundred or hundreds of thousands of employees. It is the first thing employees see each day—a launchpad to news, tools, resources, collaboration spaces, and more.

When done well, it reinforces culture and streamlines work. When done poorly, it becomes a graveyard of outdated documents, unread announcements and broken links.

Let the conversation begin . . .

Traditionally, intranets have “lived” under IT and have been paid for through IT budgets. This makes sense from a technical standpoint. Intranets require software, servers, authentication, security and support. But the intranet is no longer just a technical utility—it’s a strategic communications platform.

There are various vendors offering modern intranet solutions. Some focus exclusively on the mobile experience and employee apps; others are desktop-only. Some offer integrated communications platforms that unify desktop, mobile, email, digital signage, SMS, etc. and are designed to reduce redundancy, improve content delivery across channels and save money.

This begs the question – who should make the intranet software buying decision? Communications professionals are often more familiar with the emerging tools that impacts the work they do, especially when it comes to creating and managing a meaningful employee experience. Since the employee is at the core of the work that both IT and Communications do, this is why the relationship between the two is so important.

SharePoint and ServiceNow: familiar, but not always a fit

In many organizations, IT controls enterprise licenses for platforms like Microsoft SharePoint and ServiceNow. As a result, there’s often pressure to maximize these investments—even if that means stretching their original use cases and purpose. Over the last decade, I’ve consulted with some of the world’s largest companies on how they manage their employee communications infrastructure. One common theme is the use of SharePoint and ServiceNow as makeshift intranets or communication platforms.

SharePoint was built for document management and team collaboration—not communications. But many organizations have expanded its scope to become their default intranet. Without strong governance, this often results in a proliferation of disjointed SharePoint sites. Content becomes duplicated and outdated. Employees searching for HR policies or benefit documents encounter multiple, conflicting versions. The user experience becomes confusing and inefficient.

Similarly, while ServiceNow excels at workflow automation and IT service management, its interface and capabilities aren’t optimized for communication or content engagement. Yet, due to its cost and enterprise footprint, some companies try to retrofit it for these purposes—with mixed results.

This isn’t to say that SharePoint or ServiceNow can’t work for some organizations in their communications. But for those where employee communications and experience are high priorities, it’s worth taking a closer look at purpose-built intranet platforms that were designed with communications in mind.

The day after: who owns the experience?

• What happens the day after we launch?
• Who’s going to be responsible for the content and keeping the homepage up to date and fresh?
• Who will track employee engagement and usability?
• Who will ensure that the intranet evolves with the needs of employees?

The answer? Communications of course.

Once the intranet becomes a daily ritual for employees, Communications professionals will be the ones responsible for publishing content, organizing information, and driving adoption. It is for this reason that they must have a meaningful role in choosing the platform they’ll be expected to lead.

Shared ownership, shared success

To be clear, this doesn’t mean IT’s role ends at this point. Ongoing collaboration will be essential to ensuring the intranet remains secure, stable, and scalable. But once it is in place, Communications will be on the frontline. They’re the ones who will be expected to bring it to life, every single day.

That’s why intranet buying decisions cannot be made in isolation. The Corporate intranet isn’t just software—it’s an employee communications, engagement and experience strategy. If IT builds it, Comms will be expected to fill it. But both will have the ongoing responsibility for shaping it.

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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

• Manpower says it detected an incident in late 2024
• Almost 145,000 people had sensitive files stolen
• Users should beware of scams and identity theft activity

Staffing giant Manpower has confirmed it suffered a cyberattack in late 2024 in which it lost sensitive data on almost 145,000 people.

The company has filed with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, detailing the breach, what it did to mitigate the threat, and how it helped its victims minimize the threat of follow-up attacks.

In the form, it said it spotted the attack while investigating an IT incident on January 20, noting, "Through that investigation, we learned of information suggesting that an unknown actor gained unauthorized access to our network between December 29, 2024 and January 12, 2025 and potentially acquired certain files, some of which may have contained certain individuals' personal information."

Escalating privileges

"On or about July 28, 2025, Manpower of Lansing learned that your personal information may have been involved in connection with the incident which is the reason for this notification."

In total, 144,189 people have been affected by the attack. Manpower did not say who was behind the incident, or what type of information was stolen.

However, BleepingComputer discovered that RansomHub, a known ransomware group and extortionist, claimed responsibility.

On their data leak website, RansomHub said it stole some 500GB of data, including client databases with personal and corporate information (passport scans, IDs, SSNs, addresses, contact information, and more), a lot of corporate communications, financial statements, confidential contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and more.

However, the leaksters also later removed Manpower from their website, suggesting that the company paid the ransom demand. In the meantime, affected customers were offered free credit monitoring and identity theft protection through Equifax.

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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, August 13 (game #528).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Honest-to-goodness

NYT Strands today (game #529) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• CINEMA
• ]SMOKER
• CHANGE
• FLEA
• SAME
• RIDER

NYT Strands today (game #529) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #529) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 4th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #529) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #529, are…

• LEGITIMATE
• TRUE
• KOSHER
• GENUINE
• REAL
• AUTHENTIC
• SPANGRAM: BONAFIDE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Being AUTHENTIC is something that they really care about on my favorite reality TV show, Traitors. 

I’m often left asking myself if you were a GENUINE and AUTHENTIC person would you really want to go on a TV show where you have to lie and deceive your co-stars in order to win? Surely the more authentic someone is the more suspicious you should be of their motives.

Anyway I digress. I’ll keep it REAL and say that this was quite a basic Strands. A straight up and down spangram that was easy to spot, no strange words and minimal corkscrew turns.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, August 13, game #528)

• PSYCHO
• VERTIGO
• ROPE
• LIFEBOAT
• TOPAZ
• NOTORIOUS
• SPANGRAM: FILM TITLE

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.

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, August 13 (game #1297).

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 #1298) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* 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 #1298) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 3.

Quordle today (game #1298) - 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 #1298) - 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 2.

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 #1298) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• L

• I

• R

• L

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

Quordle today (game #1298) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1298, are…

• LAPEL
• IDIOM
• RENEW
• LIVER

Using three start words does make this game a lot easier, but it leaves little margin for error if you go on a bad run.

Today it took me three guesses to get LIVER, meaning I had just two guesses left to get the remaining two words. Fortunately, LAPEL was virtually in place – but RENEW was a hail Mary that paid off.

Daily Sequence today (game #1298) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1298, are…

• CLASS
• DETOX
• ROVER
• TORUS

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1297, Wednesday, 13 August: CACTI, HOMER, EMAIL, ALBUM
• Quordle #1296, Tuesday, 12 August: SPOOL, TITLE, JAUNT, OVINE
• Quordle #1295, Monday, 11 August: ADULT, BROOM, PURER, CRUEL
• Quordle #1294, Sunday, 10 August: SCRUM, PIPER, TROLL, SPORE
• Quordle #1293, Saturday, 9 August: NOOSE, INLET, ELEGY, VIRUS
• Quordle #1292, Friday, 8 August: KNEEL, KINKY, RALPH, BOOZY
• Quordle #1291, Thursday, 7 August: PLUNK, PROXY, CURVY, PEARL
• Quordle #1290, Wednesday, 6 August: RISKY, APART, FAUNA, HANDY
• Quordle #1289, Tuesday, 5 August: ROAST, SLICK, AUDIT, BILLY
• Quordle #1288, Monday, 4 August: MACAW, SINCE, COLON, CHIRP
• Quordle #1287, Sunday, 3 August: MOTIF, LEERY, LOFTY, BURST
• Quordle #1286, Saturday, 2 August: WARTY, PUPAL, CLEAR, SLICE
• Quordle #1285, Friday, 1 August: ACTOR, MEALY, WIDTH, ADOBE
• Quordle #1284, Thursday, 31 July: STYLE, VALET, AGONY, ALLOY
• Quordle #1283, Wednesday, 30 July: DEBAR, ADMIN, FOLIO, USAGE
• Quordle #1282, Tuesday, 29 July: BATCH, TOPIC, MURKY, BUNCH
• Quordle #1281, Monday, 28 July: CANDY, TRYST, SHIRT, FORGO
• Quordle #1280, Sunday, 27 July: TRAWL, BALER, PIANO, MINCE
• Quordle #1279, Saturday, 26 July: MUDDY, SAINT, KINKY, POLAR

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, August 13 (game #794).

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 #795) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• TRAIN
• BACKPACK
• RACKET
• CABOOSE
• HUBBUB
• SEAT
• BUSTLE
• STICK
• BOUQUET
• BAT
• TAIL
• COOKBOOK
• MALLET
• VEIL
• NITWIT
• BACKSIDE

NYT Connections today (game #795) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Polite words for butt
• GREEN: Sporting equipment 
• BLUE: Here she comes
• PURPLE: A willy-nilly collection

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 #795) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: DERRIERE 
• GREEN: USED TO HIT A BALL IN SPORTS 
• BLUE: COMPONENTS OF A BRIDE'S ENSEMBLE
• PURPLE: RHYMING COMPOUND WORDS 

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

NYT Connections today (game #795) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #795, are…

• YELLOW: DERRIERE BACKSIDE, CABOOSE, SEAT, TAIL
• GREEN: USED TO HIT A BALL IN SPORTS BAT, MALLET, RACKET, STICK
• BLUE: COMPONENTS OF A BRIDE'S ENSEMBLE BOUQUET, BUSTLE, TRAIN, VEIL
• PURPLE: RHYMING COMPOUND WORDS BACKPACK, NITWIT, COOKBOOK, HUBUB

• My rating: Easy
• My score: 1 mistake

My stupid mistake was thinking that BOUQUET belonged with BAT, RACKET and STICK, because it was something you carried in your hand.

At this stage I wasn’t thinking of MALLET in a sporting context. More as something you use to hammer tent pegs into hard ground.

I can only think of two sports that use a mallet POLO and CROQUET, both of which appeal to the same high-born demographic and one which has little use of tent pegs I’m sure.

Anyway, this error aside I breezed through today’s puzzle and particularly enjoyed the yellow group and a reminder of the word CABOOSE. The sort of word you can imagine Dean Martin getting away with, but not many others.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, August 13, game #794)

• YELLOW: CAPTIVATE CHARM, ENTRANCE, RIVET, THRILL
• GREEN: EXCERPT CLIP, EXTRACT, PASSAGE, QUOTE
• BLUE: MEMBER OF A GIRL GROUP BANGLE, CHICK, GO-GO, SUPREME
• PURPLE: STAR___ BOARD, FISH, GATE, STRUCK

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.

• Google has shared a teaser video for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold
• The video shows off the phone in full, but doesn't include any specs
• Leaks and rumors have given us a good idea of what to expect from the phone

You can’t leak something that’s already been officially shown – or at least, that might be Google’s thinking, as the company has now teased multiple upcoming handsets, with its latest teaser being focused on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

In a brief YouTube video, the company has shown the phone from the front and back, revealing a device that looks a whole lot like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, complete with a large camera block that looks a bit like two smaller camera blocks jammed together.

You can also see a punch-hole camera in the top right corner of the foldable screen, which again is a match for the previous model.

No specs are revealed, with the accompanying narration instead joking about the joys of being able to open a new phone twice when you buy a foldable (the first time being the opening of the box, the second of the phone itself).

Still, thanks to leaks and rumors we do have a good idea of what to expect when Google fully unveils this phone – likely on August 20 – and below we’ve listed five of the main upgrades we’re likely to see.

1. An IP68 rating

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

While the Pixel 10 Pro Fold might not look very different to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it could have quite a lot of less visible differences, including better dust resistance.

One leak has suggested that the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will have an IP68 rating, which would mean it’s certified to withstand water at depths of up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes, as well as being dust tight.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold for comparison has an IPX8 rating, which means the same level of water resistance but no real dust resistance.

So adding dust resistance to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold would be a big win, especially as no current foldable phones have much dust resistance. But the fact that none have such robust resistance, also makes us slightly skeptical about whether Google’s phone will achieve it.

2. A big battery

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

As well as lacking dust resistance, foldable phones also often struggle when it comes to battery capacity, with these devices typically having smaller batteries than non-foldable phones – which themselves tend to have far smaller screens to power.

That’s not ideal, but the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold could take a step in the right direction, with reports suggesting it might have a 5,050mAh battery. That’s up from 4,650mAh in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, so it would be a significant improvement in capacity.

It would also mean this phone has a bigger battery than its main rival, as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a far smaller 4,400mAh one.

3. Camera Coach and voice editing

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Google is one of the biggest names in AI, so of course the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will have some new AI features, and we’ve heard of two possible ones.

Most excitingly there’s a rumored feature called ‘Camera Coach’, which will apparently help teach you to take better photos, by analyzing the snaps you take and making suggestions of how they could be improved.

But we’ve also heard about a ‘Conversational Photo Editing’ mode, which will apparently let you use your voice or typed text to tell Gemini to make changes to your images, such as removing unwanted elements or adjusting the background.

These two tools should help further improve the already-impressive Pixel photography experience.

4. A Tensor G5 chipset

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is also sure to be more powerful than its predecessor, with numerous leaks – and past form – suggesting it will have a Tensor G5 chipset, replacing the Tensor G4 of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

So this should give the phone a power boost, which could help with AI, gaming, and more. This chipset probably still won’t be as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite used by the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 line, but for most users it should still be plenty powerful enough.

5. Screen improvements

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Finally, the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold could have a better screen than the current model. Specifically, the cover screen could be slightly bigger at 6.4 inches (up from 6.3 inches on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold). But due to smaller bezels it might still not take up any more space.

Additionally, we’re hearing that the cover display might have a peak brightness of 3,000 nits – which is up from 2,700 nits on the current model. This leak doesn’t mention the main display but it’s likely that would get a brightness boost too, since otherwise it would be less bright than the cover screen.

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• Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and she's using Spotify to kick-start the roll out
• A mysterious Spotify playlist curated by Swift now appears in her artist page, packing 22 of her best songs to tease the next era
• This marks the beginning of the album rollout, taking to a music streaming service first before TikTok to promote new music

It’s official, a new Taylor Swift record is on the way – and the internet is going feral. The singer announced her upcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl, on August 12, and she’s using Spotify in order to prepare us for the next era.

Alongside the announcement of her 12th studio album - also referred to as TS12 - a collection of strange billboards across New York City and Nashville showcasing a giant mint-green Spotify code with cascading orange glitter (see below), which fans immediately spotted.

Mysterious Spotify billboards popped up in NYC and Nashville leading to a new playlist by Taylor Swift. pic.twitter.com/A8qo91Txi6August 12, 2025

When you scan the code in the Spotify app, it takes you to a playlist curated by Swift herself titled ‘And, baby, that’s show business for you’ – and it appears to drop subtle hints for the upcoming release.

For starters, the new Spotify playlist packs 22 of Swift’s biggest pop bangers from albums Red, 1989, and Reputation. Coincidentally, they’re all songs produced by Max Martin with whom she hasn’t worked with since 2017, which leads us to believe her long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff won’t be returning for TS12.

(Image credit: Future)

At the moment, this project is still a little ambiguous, and this mysterious Spotify playlist is all we have as of yet. However, it’s an interesting strategy to say the least, and one that I think could do wonders for encouraging artists to use music streaming services more for music promotion over platforms such as TikTok.

How to find Taylor Swift’s new Spotify playlist

(Image credit: Future)

After scouring the Spotify app for ways to track down the playlist, I've discovered two ways to find it.

The first is by scanning the Spotify code that was teased in the billboards. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be there in person, and you can scan any image of the code online using the camera feature in the Spotify app.

Alternatively, head to the Spotify app and go to Taylor Swift’s artist page. Scroll down until you see the ‘Artist Playlists’ section, and the newly curated playlist will be there. This is the easiest way to locate it, so I would recommend trying this as opposed to scanning the Spotify code.

A new era for music streaming?

For the past few years, it’s been the new norm for artists to use platforms such as TikTok to promote new music, and while Spotify has introduced countdowns to hype new album releases, that’s pretty much it when it comes to offering artists ways to market their music.

At the time of Swift’s 2022 album Midnights, TikTok was crucial to the album rollout, and each week Swift would post a video to reveal one song from the tracklist. Her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department adopted a similar Tiktok-style rollout, but her upcoming project The Life of a Showgirl has been absent from the platform – for now.

While the Swift-curated Spotify playlist is far from revolutionary, it’s certainly a step away from promotional practices we’ve seen become the norm in recent years, as most artists immediately jump on the TikTok bandwagon. Of course, Swift will inevitably take to other platforms as we get closer to the album release date, but it’s still an exciting way to kickstart the new era.

It’s still very early days into the album rollout – we don’t even have an official release date yet – but after Swift was crowned Spotify’s top artist of 2024, this strategy makes a lot of sense. Will other artists catch on and revert to using music streaming services to promote new music instead of throwing it all on TikTok? Let us know what you think about it in the comments below.

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• August 2025 Patch Tuesday update addresses 111 flaws
• These include multiple critical-severity flaws and a zero-day issue
• Users should apply the patch immediately, or risk attack

Microsoft has released its August 2025 Patch Tuesday package, a cumulative set of updates addressing more than 100 vulnerabilities across a host of its products.

Among them was a known zero-day vulnerability in Windows Kerberos, the company's implementation of the Kerberos authentication protocol, which securely verifies user identities in a Windows network using tickets instead of sending passwords over the network.

Kerberos was found to contain a “relative path traversal” flaw which allows an authorized threat actor to elevate privileges over a network.

Critical severity flaws

Besides the zero-day, Microsoft fixed another 106 flaws, including 13 bugs labeled “critical”.

Of those, nine are remote code execution (RCE) flaws that can be abused in device takeover attacks, information disclosure flaws that can be used in data exfiltration attacks, and an elevation of privilege bug.

Some of the more notable vulnerabilities fixed in the release include a 10/10, critical flaw in Azure OpenAI, tracked as CVE-2025-53767 which could allow unauthenticated threat actors to remotely access sensitive information in AI environments.

Another notable mention is a remote code execution bug in Microsoft Graphics Component that can be exploited through malicious files or images. It is tracked as CVE-2025-50165, and was given a severity score of 9.8/10 (critical).

There are also CVE-2025-53766, CVE-50171, and CVE-2025-53792, all of which have a severity score of 9.1 and higher, making them critical.

In total, 111 vulnerabilities were addressed by Microsoft, and although none are marked as being actively exploited in the wild, admins would be wise to apply the fix without delay.

Via BleepingComputer

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Foundation season 3 episode 6 is just days away from making its Apple TV+ debut – and it's got a lot to do if it hopes to live up to its predecessor.

This season's next chapter, titled 'The Shape of Time', will pick up directly after the explosive events of its most explosive episode yet, as well as reunite us with the Vault-based Doctor Seldon, who's been conspicuous by his absence for large portions of Foundation's latest season.

But enough waffling on. You're here to find out when Foundation season 3's next entry will air on Apple's streaming service, so read on for more details.

What is the launch date for Foundation season 3 episode 6?

Not long now until The Vault re-opens, Ebling... (Image credit: Apple TV+)

'The Shape of Time' will air on one of the world's best streaming services on Friday, August 15. As I've suggested in every other episodic release date article for this season, I'd expect it to launch on Apple TV+ a day earlier (August 14) in North and South America due to their regional time zones.

Speaking of said time zones, here's when I think Foundation season 3's next installment will be released. Bear in mind that Apple doesn't publicly disclose the launch times for new episodes of its TV Originals, so the below times are my best guess – based on when chapters of some of the best Apple TV+ shows have aired, mind you – for this week's episode.

• US – Thursday, August 14 at 9pm PT / Friday, August 8 at 12am ET
• Canada – Thursday, August 14 at 9pm PT / Friday, August 8 at 12am ET
• UK – Friday, August 15 at 5am BST
• India – Friday, August 15 at 9:30am IST
• Singapore – Friday, August 15 at 12pm SGT
• Australia – Friday, August 15 at 2pm AEST
• New Zealand – Friday, August 15 at 4pm NZST

When will new episodes of Foundation season 3 come out?

Bayta and Toran's journey across the cosmos continues in this season's sixth episode (Image credit: Apple TV+)

There are four more episodes to come after 'The Shape of Time'. Here's a quick rundown of when each one should be released:

• Foundation season 3 episode 1 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 2 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 3 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 4 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 5 – out now
• Foundation season 3 episode 6 – Friday, August 15
• Foundation season 3 episode 7 – Friday, August 22
• Foundation season 3 episode 8 – Friday, August 29
• Foundation season 3 episode 9 – Friday, September 5
• Foundation season 3 episode 10 – Friday, September 12

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• Two new RGB-MiniLED TVs: 116 and 100 inches
• A 136-inch microLED will arrive later this year
• The RGB-MiniLED models are $29,999 and $19,999

What's 116 inches big and "better than any other TV", according to us? Hisense's flagship 116-inch RGB-MiniLED TV, the 116UX. We tested it earlier this year and were extremely impressed, and now it's available to buy in the US. There's also a new and marginally smaller model, the 100-inch 100UX.

When we tested the 116UX our expert found that it delivered "BT.2020 color more accurately than any other TV I'm aware of, and its high brightness and swath of interesting technologies mean it will excel when watching most things." And it's yours for just $29,999, or $19,999 if you plump for the 100UX.

(Image credit: Hisense)Why RGB-MiniLED could be the next big thing in bright TVs

Hisense says that its "RGB-MiniLED TVs are a preview of where the industry is headed." Instead of the white backlights and quantum dots of other TVs, RGB-MiniLED uses individually controlled red, green and blue LEDs. That in theory means up to 8,000 nits of peak brightness once the TV's warmed up, and it achieves 95% of the BT.2020 color space.

In these TVs the panels are teamed with Hisense's Hi-View AI Engine X for dynamic image optimization, and there's a CineStage X 6.2.2 sound system with Dolby Atmos.

These are big TVs with big price tags, but something even bigger is on the horizon: the microLED Hisense 136MX, which as the name indicates is a massive 136 inches diagonally.

Hisense describes it as "an ultra-luxury MicroLED display featuring self-emissive pixels for perfect black levels, infinite contrast, and exceptional brightness." It'll be the largest consumer-targeted microLED display to date, and while we don't know what it'll cost here's a prediction: it'll be a lot.

The new Hisense 116UX and 100UX are available now from Hisense and from authorized resellers and select national retailers.

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• Bitdefender finds new piece of malware in the wild
• It attributed it to a brand-new cyber-espionage group
• The researchers believe the group is Russian

Cybersecurity researchers at Bitdefender recently spotted a new threat actor using a never-before-seen piece of backdoor malware to target critical infrastructure organizations in eastern Europe.

Bitdefender named the new group Curly COMrades, since it heavily relies on the curl.exe tool to pull data and communicate with the C2 server, and since it hijacks Component Object Model (COM) objects during its attacks.

In its attacks, Curly COMrades deploy a backdoor named MucorAgent, a custom three-stage malware component, “engineered as a .NET stealthy tool capable of executing an AES-encrypted PowerShell script and uploading the resulting output to a designated server.”

When in doubt - blame the Russians

In other words, it’s a piece of Windows malware that runs hidden commands, keeps them encrypted to avoid detection, and sends the results back to the attacker.

So far, identified victims include government and judicial organizations in Georgia, and energy companies in Moldova.

Given the targets, the researchers believe the attackers are of Russian origin, or at least Russia-aligned.

However, they did stress that there are no strong overlaps with known Russian APT groups, but Curly COMrades’ operations “align with the geopolitical goals of the Russian Federation."

Bitdefender also could not determine the initial access vector - how crooks managed to infiltrate the target endpoints to deploy MucorAgent to begin with.

They claim to have seen installations of multiple proxy agents, including Resocks which, they suspect, may have been used to that end.

Ever since Russia’s attention turned towards Ukraine in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, countries on its eastern border have lost the spotlight. Georgia, however, is in a similar position to Ukraine, with two regions declaring independence with the help of the Russian military - South Ossetia, and Abkhazia. Therefore, it would make sense that Russia’s cyberspies would like to keep tabs on neighboring countries and their diplomatic efforts.

Via BleepingComputer

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