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• Garmin has apparently filed documentation for a smart ring
• It seems to be carrying over the Cirqa branding from the fitness tracker
• The device could potentially launch in the coming months

It seems Garmin is on a tear when it comes to expanding its range of fitness wearables: having challenged Whoop with the launch of the screenless Cirqa band in July, it's now apparently mulling over taking on the likes of Oura with its very own smart ring.

As per an Indonesian certification filing spotted by the rumor site Garmin News, the proposed smart ring would carry on the 'Cirqa' branding. It's categorized as a 'fitness product', and is a strong sign that a Garmin smart ring is coming — though not quite a guarantee.

Garmin has previously played down the idea of launching a smart ring to go with all of its smartwatches, but it seems something may have now shifted. It's not clear exactly when we might see the Cirqa smart ring, but a launch within a few months seems likely if the rumor is true; according to Garmin News, upcoming devices 'usually show up in database approvals right before manufacturing'.

The smart ring market is certainly a competitive one, with the recent launches of the Oura Ring 5 and the Ultrahuman Ring Pro. There have also been persistent rumors that Apple might eventually launch a smart ring to go alongside the Apple Watch.

What I want to see

The Oura Ring 5 (Image credit: Oura)

I already have a Garmin Instinct 3 Solar which I love, for the breadth of its tracking features and the excellent battery life (the solar aspect helps here). If Garmin gets it right with the Cirqa ring, I could be tempted to invest in another fitness wearable.

First and foremost, it has to be thin and light enough that I forget I'm wearing it. As great as my Instinct 3 is, it is bulky, and it's not particularly comfortable to wear during strenuous exercise or while sleeping (I tend to use my phone as a sleep tracker instead).

Secondly — and apologies for being very predictable here — it has to offer excellent battery life. Smart rings work best when they're worn constantly. This is an area Garmin has done well in historically, so I'm quite confident here.

Thirdly, I'd like to see it offer as full a range of features as possible, without a Garmin Connect+ subscription. The subscription has already caused enough controversy, and if too many of the Cirqa smart ring features are paywalled, it'll be a no thanks from me.

• Proton VPN's new Rust-based Proton Protocols is in beta on all major apps
• It replaces WireGuard-go for better stability, speed, post-quantum readiness
• It includes an Advanced Kill Switch and Linux Stealth support

Following up on recent teasers, Proton VPN has officially rolled out a massive under-the-hood update across its consumer apps. Powered by a new custom-built architecture dubbed Proton Protocols (known internally as ProTUN), the update is now live in beta across Windows, iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Linux GUI.

This overhaul aims to improve connection stability and censorship resistance. It's a significant upgrade that further solidifies the provider's spot as one of the best VPN services on the market for privacy purists.

Alongside the stealthy new engine, the beta launch brings a host of highly requested functional tweaks. These include persistent ad-blocker statistics across app sessions, a new interactive globe map for visual server selection, and the highly anticipated Advanced Kill Switch.

The team at Proton VPN notes that the shift to this new protocol resolves multiple quality-of-life issues, paving the way for faster, more reliable connections and noticeably more responsive apps across all supported ecosystems.

Proton VPN – best for privacy
The popular privacy-first VPN continues to invest in delivering the best Linux VPN possible. Before adding support for its Stealth protocol, the provider has been upgrading its apps with features like split tunneling, better stability across the board, and broader distro compatibility. Subscriptions start from the equivalent of $2.99 per month and are all protected by a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

What is the Advanced Kill Switch?

A standard VPN kill switch is a failsafe that cuts your internet connection if your VPN server unexpectedly drops, preventing your real IP address from leaking. Made possible by the new architecture, the Advanced Kill Switch takes this a step further by operating as a strict, permanent firewall.

As Proton explains, the Advanced Kill Switch functions like a regular failsafe if your connection drops, but it additionally blocks all internet access entirely unless you are actively connected to the VPN. This strict block remains active even if you restart your device.

Platform compatibility for the new feature is currently slightly fragmented. As of the current beta, the Advanced Kill Switch is strictly supported on Windows, iOS, and Linux GUI. It is not available for macOS, Linux CLI, Android TV, or Apple TV.

Android users have a slightly different setup. Google's operating system features built-in "Always-on VPN" and "Block connections without a VPN" toggles. Because of these native OS settings, Android operates very similarly to the Advanced Kill Switch out of the box, even if it isn't utilizing the exact same backend code.

Crucially, Proton has also fixed a long-standing annoyance with regular kill switches. You can now reliably connect to local LAN devices, like network printers, and use Apple CarPlay even with the standard or Advanced Kill Switch enabled.

A Rust-based core to beat censorshipProton protocols, our new VPN client engine is now in beta on iOS from r/ProtonVPN

The shift to Proton Protocols is a fundamental rewrite of how the apps operate. Historically, Proton used the standard wireguard-go implementation. While secure, that code didn't integrate seamlessly with the native languages used to build the provider's mobile apps, like Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS.

To fix this, Proton has built a new framework in Rust. At its core is libpvpnclient, a platform-independent WireGuard implementation that makes it easier to deploy updates and debug issues consistently across desktop and mobile.

This unified approach gives Proton much more flexibility to dodge roadblocks set up by authoritarian regimes. The update has immediately brought the provider's anti-censorship Stealth protocol to the Linux GUI app.

The shift to ProTun also lays the critical groundwork for a future networking layer called muon, which will eventually hide VPN API connections from internet service providers to defeat SNI snooping, and sets the stage for post-quantum cryptography.

Antonio Cesarano, Product Lead at Proton VPN, explains that libpvpnclient and muon together form a new platform that gives engineers far more flexibility.

"This allows us to experiment safely with improvements in connection stability, battery usage, and resilience, and prepares the groundwork for future technologies, like stronger anti-censorship techniques and post-quantum cryptography," said Cesarano.

Users who want to test the new architecture can opt into the beta program via the settings menu in their respective apps.

The Google Pixel Watch 5 has been officially unveiled at this year's Made by Google event, and much is already being made of its new Health Guardian features such as Breathing Emergency Detection and Insulin Resistance Trends, in addition to the accuracy of its dual-band GPS.

Priced starting from $399.99 / £369 / around AU$565 (TBC) for the 41mm model, and $429.99 / £399.99 / around AU$600 (TBC) for the 45mm model, the watch looks very much the same as its predecessor, the Google Pixel Watch 4: from the domed Actua 3D display teardrop-shape to the sizes and digital crown.

Because it's all quite similar, you could be forgiven for not getting too excited about the device — after all, it's hardly reinvented the wheel. You might even have been considering getting what will likely be one of the best Android watches, but waiting on today's announcement and hoping to be more excited about it. You might have been hoping for an announcement of a rugged Pixel Watch Ultra, or a cheaper model like the Apple Watch SE 3.

Well, worry not, dear reader — below, I've put together a trio of alternative smartwatches, all using Wear OS (or a form of, at least) as their operating system, and therefore compatible with Android phones just like the Pixel Watch 5.

The stylish option: OnePlus Watch 3

(Image credit: Future)

The OnePlus Watch 3, in its original 47mm and newer 43mm sizes, is a terrific Wear OS watch by any stretch. Its main USP compared to the Pixel Watch 5 is that rather than the Google Pixel Watch series' tech-heavy teardrop look, the OnePlus opts for a more classical analog-watch-style look consisting of a titanium and stainless steel case.

Paired with a classic-looking watch face, you'd struggle to tell the difference at first glance between it and a standard sports watch. Once it flares into life, though, that buttery-smooth refresh rate makes all the difference. It's got up to 120 hours of battery life thanks to a dual-operating-system architecture inside it: it runs Wear OS when in use as a smartwatch, and switches to a lower-power OS when quietly running in the background. Clever. The big battery life also means you can do a ton of workouts between charges.

The major downsides here are that you're stuck on the older Wear OS 5 operating system, without the advanced on-wrist Gemini functionalities, and no LTE option.

• Read our full OnePlus Watch 3 review

The rugged option: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

(Image credit: Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, new for 2026, is an adventuring powerhouse. New trail running features allow you to use full-color maps within the workout, following a route while you run in the great outdoors, while an upcoming app from diving experts Mares will turn the watch into a fully-fledged dive computer, just like the Oceanic+ app does to the Apple Watch Ultra series. It's got waypoints, an emergency alarm, and stacks of battery life.

The watch is a little thinner than previous iterations, but it's still built on that solid titanium shell with its distinctive 'cushion' design, so it'll take more of a beating than the Pixel Watch 5 — great news for hard-wearing adventurers. Its distinctive, now-familiar programmable Quick Button nestles between two other up and down buttons, so there's plenty of action compared to the Pixel Watch 5's singular digital crown.

The downsides? It's more expensive than the Google options at $699.99 / £649, and you'll need the Samsung Health app to get the best experience, as the watch runs a form of Wear OS wrapped in Samsung's One UI Watch interface.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review

The cheaper option: Google Pixel Watch 4

(Image credit: Future)

Looks very similar, doesn't it? In terms of performance, there's very little the Google Pixel Watch 5 can do that the Pixel Watch 4 can't: it's got the same suite of Health Guardian tools, the same repairability (allowing you to replace a damaged display or dead battery) and the same funky teardrop design with an Actua 3D domed display packing 3,000 nits brightness. However, you don't get the latest Gemini Intelligence, you only get half the storage, and the GPS isn't as accurate.

Still, this is a very iterative upgrade, and while Google will officially stop selling the Pixel Watch 4, you'll be able to nab excess stock from a third party retailer such as Amazon for a while yet, most likely with some discounts too.

We rated the Pixel Watch 4 highly in our review, calling it 'a slick piece of kit, and one we really like using for the most part. It looked great, and although it was thick on the wrist, it was comfortable, and the Material 3 Expressive software design is a joy to use.'

• Read our full Google Pixel Watch 4 review

Specifications compared:

Component

Google Pixel Watch 5

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

OnePlus Watch 3

Google Pixel Watch 4

Price

Starting at $399 / £369

$699.99 / £649

$499 / £269.99

Starting at $399 / £349

Dimensions

41 x 41 x 12.3mm / 45 x 45 x 12.3mm

47mm: 47.4 x 47.1 x 10.7mm

43.2 x 43.2 x 11 mm / 46.6mm x 47.6mm x 11mm

41 x 41 x 12.3mm / 45 x 45 x 12.3mm

Weight

31g / 36.7g without straps

61g

37.8g / 81g with strap

31g / 36.7g without straps

Case/bezel

Recycled aluminum

Titanium

Titanium and stainless steel

Recycled aluminum

Display

320ppi always-on display AMOLED with up to 3,000 nits brightness

498 x 498 Super AMOLED

AMOLED 1.5-inch LTPO flexible display

320ppi always-on display AMOLED with up to 3,000 nits brightness

Operating System

Wear OS 7

One UI Watch 9 (Wear OS 7)

Wear OS 5

Wear OS 6.0

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor with an ML coprocessor

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite

Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chipset

Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor with an ML coprocessor

Memory

2GB of RAM

2GB of RAM

2GB of RAM

2GB of RAM

Storage

64GB

64GB storage

32GB

32GB

GPS

GPS (Dual-Frequency), Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS

(L1+L5 Dual Frequency GPS)

GPS (Dual-Frequency), GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, and QZSS

GPS (Dual-Frequency), Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS

Battery life

Up to 72 hours with battery saver enabled or up to 40 hours with always-on display enabled

Up to 60 hours with always-on display

Up to 120 hours

Up to 72 hours with battery saver enabled or up to 40 hours with always-on display enabled

Connection

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, Ultra-Wideband

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE

Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE

Water resistance

WR50, IP68

WR100 (diveproof)

5ATM, IP68

WR50, IP68

If you want a great portable fan to keep you comfortable on the move, you've come to the right place — I test heaps of fans as TechRadar's homes editor, and I've used my experience to put together this handy guide to the best models for every budget.

If you're looking for an affordable option, the John Lewis High Power Handheld Fan gets my seal of approval. Despite costing just £20, it delivers serious cooling performance, and in my tests its small fan head delivered a smooth, powerful jet of air. It feels comfortable and well-balanced in the hand, and has a wrist strap that prevents it slipping out of your grip on the move. There are four speed options that you can cycle through using the thumb-operated rocker switch, and the current setting is displayed on a bright LED display in the centre of the fan's head. It's spectacular value, and easy to recommend.

If you want the most powerful fan around, and have £99.99 to spend, the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Fan is the one for you. This sleek little device had a bladeless design that delivers smooth, strong airflow — and I mean strong. You could use the highest of its five power settings as a hairdryer, it blasts out so much air. It's supplied with an ingeniously-designed neck strap that lets you wear it hands-free on the move, plus a charging base that lets it double as a desk fan. In my tests it ran for 8.5 hours on a single charge using its lowest power setting, so it can keep you comfortable all day at work and still have enough charge for your journey home.

For more details of my testing process and results, take a look at my complete portable fan group test. Now, on with the recommendations, including four other great handheld options.

Hand-held fans

John Lewis High Power Handheld Fan

Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Fan

TUNISE Portable Handheld Fan

Warmco Portable Handheld Turbo Fan

SHARK ChillPill

JISULIFE Handheld Fan Life4

Inflation cooled a bit last month, according to a new report from the Labor Department. And, ICE plans to equip its officers with electric shock gloves.

(Image credit: Brandon Bell)

• Apple TV has added third-party movies to its library of original titles for free
• So far the offer is only available in the US, UK, and Canada
• It's not certain whether it's a limited promotion

Apple TV is one of the best streaming services to sign up for if you’re looking for original and high-production movies and shows — but now the streaming behemoth is switching things up.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple has added a handful of classic movies to its library of Apple TV originals, and they’re all included in your subscription plan with no additional fees. The outlet says it’s available in the US, UK, and Canada, although we have spotted a few films appearing for users in Australia, albeit a much shorter list. We can't yet confirm if other international markets have also received a selection of free movies.

We also don’t know if this is a limited-time offering, but you can find the collection of non-Apple TV movies under the ‘Great Movies Available Now on Apple TV’ carousel. Titles are subject to vary depending on region, but the following movies are available to stream on Apple TV in the US now:

• The Martian
• Arrival
• The Bourne Identity
• Looper
• E.T.
• The Proposal (also in AU)
• I, Robot
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• 21 Jump Street
• The Sixth Sense
• Gone Girl
• Zoolander
• Zodiac
• Charlie’s Angels
• Titanic
• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
• A Beautiful Mind
• The Aviator
• The Rookie
• Rocketman (AU)
• Little Miss Sunshine (AU)
• Ford v Ferrari (AU)
• Catch Me If You Can (AU)
• Jurassic Park (AU)

It’s quite an out-of-pocket move for Apple TV, given that it prides itself on housing only original entertainment, and not titles that it doesn’t produce itself.

Subscribers have always had the option to buy or rent third-party titles through the streaming service — similar to Prime Video — but that’s pretty much it. That said, this isn’t the first time Apple TV+ has experimented with a promotion like this.

The streaming platform pulled a similar stunt back in 2024, when it added 50 licensed movies to its library, but it came with two unfortunate caveats. Firstly, the offer was available to US subscribers only, leaving the rest of the world out of the excitement, and secondly it didn’t last very long, as all 50 movies were removed after just one month.

Whether it’s the same situation this time around is unclear. So far, Apple hasn’t explicitly stated if this is another limited offer so that gives us a little bit of hope, but we’re keeping our eyes peeled for more information just in case.

It’s been a busy time for Apple TV+ right now. The fourth season of one its best shows, Ted Lasso, is finally out, which our Senior Entertainment Reporter Tom Power gave a generous four stars in his review — not to mention the new miniseries Cape Fear has really taken off. However, it’s not the only streamer that’s shaking things up with its movie library.

Just this week, Google added over 10,000 movies and TV shows to Google TV Freeplay, a FAST streaming platform baked into supported smart TVs. Additionally, the company expanded its live TV programming, which now includes over 300 free channels across a multitude of genres.

It’s great to see Apple TV has considered bulking out its library of original movies and shows with third-party titles, but I don’t think platforms like Netflix and Disney+ should worry just yet. As mentioned, this might be another limited offer, but if Apple TV decides to get the ball rolling with introducing non-Apple TV titles to its library, then its rivals should consider sleeping with one eye open.

Out of all the platforms, Apple TV is the most dedicated to its original productions by a landslide, while Netflix churns out shows and cancels them shortly after. If Apple TV continues to add third-party movies, viewers will have the best of both: quality original programming and classic, feel-good movies. That's when its rivals should start to rethink things.

• Photos of a Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe laptop have been leaked
• It's clearly similar to Apple's MacBook Neo in terms of its overall appearance and striking colors
• That said, the Lenovo device offers a better port selection and hints suggest it'll be more powerful, so likely pricier – but all of this is just theorizing

Lenovo appears to be readying a rival to the MacBook Neo, based on leaked photos of the laptop that have just surfaced.

Windows Latest got hold of the promo images of Lenovo's IdeaPad Vibe, publishing a bunch of them to give us a good look at the notebook (add your own seasoning around any such leak, but the material looks authentic enough).

(Image credit: Windows Latest)

Going by the trendy name, the 'Vibe' and the range of punchy colors (including a striking yellow, green and pink), it seems clear enough that this is aimed squarely at the Neo's territory – not to mention that it looks more than a little similar to Apple's laptop.

There are differences, of course: you won't find a Copilot key on a MacBook (mind you, a good many people don't want to find it on their Windows laptop, either).

Lenovo has also pushed for more connectivity than the MacBook Neo, and that's the biggest difference we can see just looking at the photos.

There's a pair of USB-A ports on one side, and two USB-C connectors on the other, along with an HDMI port, headphone jack and a microSD slot. As a reminder, you only get two USB-C ports with the Neo, plus a headphone jack, a barebones allocation for connectivity (and that's before we even mention the older USB speeds the MacBook Neo uses).

(Image credit: Windows Latest)

The photos also show cooling vents on the underside of the IdeaPad Vibe, so there'll be a fan for cooling (the Neo is passively cooled, meaning there's no fan).

There are thin bezels around the screen, and a tiny panel on top to house the webcam which also has a privacy shutter.

While the leak doesn't provide any specs, we do learn that based on the image file names, there will be one model with an AMD CPU, and one with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip – although they both look identical.

Analysis: competitive vibes

(Image credit: Windows Latest)

The MacBook Neo has certainly stirred things up in the world of Windows laptops. It did this by coming in at a price point that surprised many (myself included), with Apple offering a lot of value with its new lowest-tier MacBook, which was very much recognized by buyers – it started flying off the shelves. Part of the cost-cutting effort here was dropping the RAM to 8GB, as you may recall, but despite this the Neo still manages to provide enough pep to cover everyday computing duties.

Since then, we've seen a host of planned 8GB laptops that run Windows 11, which was inevitable really, given the RAM crisis pushing up the price of memory (and storage, as well as other components) so much. The Neo also gave these machines a mainstream lead to follow, as it were.

An obvious sticking point, however, is Windows 11's performance running on 8GB compared to macOS. Now, Microsoft is working on fixing Windows 11 so it's speedier with just 8GB, and I'd argue that the Neo is a big reason for this happening. Well, that and the RAM crisis, of course.

In short, the MacBook Neo has forced Windows laptop makers (and Microsoft) to up their game, and Lenovo's effort here couldn't be a much clearer statement of echoing Apple's tactics with its budget laptop.

That said, the IdeaPad Vibe looks to be a more premium device than the Neo, with clues to that such as the privacy shutter, the much beefier port selection, as well as the overall sleek lines, and the active cooling. The latter means the Vibe will likely offer a good deal more performance grunt than the Neo, and it's surely going to be pricier as a result.

We don't get a hint of the price tag, but I'm betting that even after Apple's MacBook Neo price hike – it's no longer quite as affordable as it was at launch – the Lenovo machine's going to be a fair bit more expensive. We shall see, but the price is the main concern here, along with the people on Reddit who have reservations about Lenovo's build quality compared to Apple's (which really nailed quality in a lower-priced laptop).

One Redditor is skeptical and observes: "Pretty sure it won't share the same build quality [as Apple]."

Another adds: "IdeaPad 3 I had, had pretty bad hinges, lasts 1-2 year only."

The IdeaPad Vibe will obviously have to perform well enough on the build quality front if it does want to get in on the action and capitalize on the Neo's current popularity.

It's a twice-a-year injection that is remarkably effective in preventing an HIV infection. Distribution is starting. But questions are being raised about getting it to the areas that need it most.

(Image credit: Osodi Emmanuel)

The $180 Creative XF1 desktop speakers are compact yet deliver rich audio with ample bass sans subwoofer.

Primary results this month in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin paint a muddled picture of just how far to the left Democratic voters want their candidates to be come this fall's midterm elections.

• Claude Cowork is coming to Google Chrome side panels
• Claude can now connect across multiple systems and tools
• Users will start seeing the upgrade now

Anthropic has revealed it is upgrading the Claude in Chrome browser extension tool into a fully-fledged AI-powered work assistant.

The tool, designed as a side panel, will now be a Claude Cowork session, allowing users to access the company's AI tools in the browser to help crack those tricky work tasks.

"Conversations are saved to your history, your skills and connectors work in the browser, and a task you start in a tab can be finished on the Claude desktop, web, and mobile apps," Anthropic noted in a blog post announcing the news.

Cowork in Chrome

The company notes that while many of the tools that users interact with each day are already connected to Claude, others such as internal dashboards, legacy systems, and vendor portals are not.

This therefore needed a separate side panel session, which could interrupt workflows for some workers.

Connecting these via the new addition will mean that Claude can work in these apps through the Chrome browser, carrying context and conversations across your vital tools, whether that's on desktop, web or mobile.

Anthropic says the side panel will run the same Claude Cowork session being used for longer, multi-step work, such as creating a budget spreadsheet that needs to pull in invoices from multiple vendor portals.

Claude in Chrome would be able to gather up the amounts and dates needed before building the spreadsheet, allowing you to continue the session in the desktop app to add files from your computer, or import last month's budget and ask what's changed, allowing you to maintain context across surfaces as you work.

And because sessions live with your account rather than a single device, you can start work in a browser and pick it up later somewhere else.

Anthropic has also moved to address growing concerns around prompt injection cyberattacks against agents such as Claude in Chrome by adding a step where the tool will ask for a check from the user before carrying out any major action, such as submitting a form, sending a message, or downloading a file.

Users on a Max and Team plans will see the change immediately, or can install the extension from the Chrome Web Store now - it will be rolling out to Pro users over the coming weeks.

I’ve found my favorite 20-odd Siri voice commands as Siri AI gets ready for big Apple Home changes.

Twitch channels are quietly being used to train Amazon’s AI models. Here’s how creators can opt out.

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the actions of Jewish settlers who are besieging the home of an American Palestinian family in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

(Image credit: Nidal Eshtayeh)

With all the buzz around nation-state threats, it’s easy for organizations to focus on threats outside the business – and forget about risks that can spiral outwards from within.

Whilst GenAI tools have introduced undeniable efficiencies for employees, these platforms have also introduced a new class of risk: two in three UK organizations admit they can’t track whether employees are sharing data via approved tools.

Most of the time, employees aren’t sharing sensitive data because they have malicious intentions. They are uploading sensitive information – like contracts, client proposals or supplier agreements to models like ChatGPT and Claude to save time on routine tasks.

Almost all (93%) of CEOs across the globe have adopted generative AI to some extent in the past 12 months (PwC). What’s concerning is that much of this activity is happening without any oversight, in the browser – meaning organizations are failing to track the flow of company information, including when and where it’s uploaded.

This is spiraling into serious risk for businesses.

First, because employees may inadvertently share credentials or other access details with public LLMs, which could result in unauthorized access if the model is compromised.

Second, uploading personal data to LLMs can trigger compliance breaches with laws like GDPR and the Data Use and Access Act – resulting in costly fines as well as reputational damage.

To take control of this issue, leaders will need to implement tools and technologies that provide visibility and control over usage at both the browser and the application levels.

The incentive problem

Employees don’t need more mandatory cybersecurity training – the problem is incentive. Many company-owned gated LLMs are still in the pilot stage, falling short of the speed and precision offered by public alternatives.

While the majority of employees understand the risks, 35% of UK businesses admit data sharing through external tools takes place – indicating many would rather ‘throw caution to the wind’ than waste valuable time using slower tools.

But the risks of this behavior – particularly in highly regulated sectors like financial services, could mean unsanctioned LLMs become 'hidden icebergs’ in an organization. Concealed, but capable of causing catastrophic damage upon impact – like inadvertently exposing customer transaction histories or credit scores.

Part of curbing Shadow AI use in the enterprise therefore starts with designing approved AI tools that integrate easily with existing platforms (for example, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace). These tools should be continuously improved based on user feedback, ideally avoiding excessive restrictions that make the tool frustrating to use.

But the fact is, nearly two-thirds of organizations are currently stuck in the pilot stage when it comes to their AI initiatives and haven’t started to scale across the enterprise (McKinsey). So, what can organizations do today to gain control of the Shadow AI problem?

The solution – tools to bring unsanctioned AI usage under control

You can’t control what you can’t see, which is why organizations need a real-time view of who, or what, is accessing what data, from which devices, and where it’s being shared.

Next-gen identity security platforms can help organizations to gain an immediate understanding of how employees interact with consumer AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, tracking interaction frequency and monitoring document uploads.

Once high-risk behavior is identified, organizations can then automate corrective actions, redirect users to secure AI alternatives, or prompt users to justify their business use case before proceeding.

Visibility will become even more important with the emergence of ‘nested’ agents. In this scenario, employees might believe they’re only interacting with a single AI agent, but that chatbot may delegate tasks to multiple underlying agents. The organization has no visibility into how many downstream agents or services its information is being shared with.

An identity security tool makes these identities ‘discoverable’ via a real-time ‘agent ledger’. This ledger acts as a complete, unchangeable trace of all agent activities and interactions. It also applies controls to each agent in the database.

Only the absolute minimum privilege required for a task is granted, at the exact moment it is needed, and for the shortest possible duration. In this way, agent permissions don’t automatically ‘cascade’. If an agent wants to connect with another agent, it must be verified by the system first.

Closing the visibility gap

Shadow AI is more than a tooling problem: it’s an identity problem. Organizations can close the ‘visibility gap’ by using tools that track interaction frequency, block sensitive document uploads, and prompt employees as well as AI agents to justify their business case before they use unsanctioned tools.

Once organizations know which tools are being used, what data they're accessing, and where that information goes, they can apply effective guardrails to secure behaviors – both human and non-human. A simple inventory of AI agents is not enough; now, organizations need to move beyond flat inventories and develop an understanding of the context and relationships that surround every agent.

In essence, identity security platforms become adaptive – moving from static to dynamic, real-time approaches to access. This is helping organizations to operationalize zero trust by ensuring that no identity, human or non-human, is trusted by default.

In the era of AI agents, securing identity has become a prerequisite for innovation.

We've featured the best AI tool.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• Helldivers 2 has been added to the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog
• Its arrival comes alongside the new Devoid of Liberty story update
• A new Warhammer 40,000 warbond has also been added to the game

Helldivers 2, Arrowhead Game Studios' critically acclaimed multiplayer shooter, has officially landed on PlayStation Plus just in time for two huge updates.

As of today, Helldivers 2 is part of the PS Plus Game Catalog and is available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members, reaching even more players since its successful 2024 launch. According to Sony, the game has now surpassed 22.9 million players across PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

"Players continue to recognize the value of PlayStation Plus and an ever-evolving Game Catalog with strong content specially curated for the PlayStation community," said Mary Yee, senior vice president of marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment in a recent blog post.

"With the addition of Helldivers 2, a game that has already been enjoyed by millions of players worldwide, we’re further strengthening the value of PlayStation Plus and creating more opportunities for members to discover and engage with exceptional games."

The arrival of Helldivers 2 to PS Plus also comes alongside the launch of a new chapter, titled 'Devoid of Liberty,' a horror-themed narrative arc that "introduces the first signs of a nightmarish threat emerging from a mysterious void in the galaxy."

The opening will send Helldivers to the void as mutated Illuminate organisms begin appearing across the battlefield, and they'll enter a new biome filled with familiar foes in new forms.

In addition, the update arrives alongside a new warbond available for purchase in collaboration with Warhammer 40,000.

The 'Helldivers 2 x Warhammer 40,000: Castellan’s Creed Legendary Warbond' brings iconic elements of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe to the game, "drawing inspiration from the Cadian Kasrkin, the elite shock assault troops of Warhammer 40,000’s Astra Militarum," and offers new armors, weapons, and vehicle patterns.

• Surfshark unveils scam text protection against SMS-based phishing
• The AI-driven tool screens texts in real time on iOS and Android
• The feature is available for Surfshark One and Surfshark One+ subscribers

If your phone is constantly buzzing with suspicious package delivery updates or urgent bank alerts, you aren't alone. Americans received an average of 19.2 billion spam texts per month in late 2023, a near-threefold increase since 2021. To tackle this growing epidemic, one of the best VPN providers on the market, Surfshark, has launched a dedicated real-time tool to fight back against SMS fraud.

Following the company's recent decision to shift its focus to fighting scams, the new scam text protection feature is designed to safeguard mobile users from "smishing" (SMS phishing). Using AI-driven technology, the tool screens incoming messages to detect dangerous URLs, suspicious sender numbers, and fraudulent content before you can accidentally click on them.

With SMS scams now accounting for 35% of all phishing attempts globally, blocking these threats at the source is becoming essential for mobile security.

“Recently, we have introduced a scam protection hub, a unified space to make it easier for users to defend against modern, human-centric cyberthreats like scams, phishing, or identity fraud," explained Dominykas Simkus, Senior Product Manager at Surfshark. "Scam text protection is our newest feature to be introduced to face these online threats and help users fight increasingly sophisticated SMS-based scams.”

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How Surfshark’s scam text protection works

The new feature handles threats differently depending on your mobile operating system.

For iPhone users, it works entirely in the background. Once a scam signature or suspicious pattern is detected, the iOS native Messages app automatically moves the fraudulent text to the Spam folder. You won't even receive a notification, effectively removing the temptation to open the message.

On Android, the approach is more transparent. Users receive a warning notification from Surfshark alerting them to a detected scam. Clicking the notification opens the message in a controlled, risk-free environment within the Surfshark app, allowing you to examine the contents safely without accidentally triggering a malicious link.

Users also gain access to an in-app dashboard detailing their blocked suspicious messages. In a unique addition for US citizens, the dashboard even calculates an estimate of how much money they likely saved by avoiding each fraudulent text.

For those worried about privacy, Surfshark explicitly states that the feature does not retain your messages, monitor your phone generally, or use any private data to train its AI models.

"While traditional cybersecurity focuses on malware and hacking, modern scams increasingly target human behavior through social engineering techniques that exploit trust, urgency, and exposed personal data," said Simkus, explaining that SMS-based sophisticated scams are very difficult to spot.

"Our tool is built to spot mistakes or suspicious patterns in order to avoid any interaction with bad actors," Simkus added.

The Scam text protection feature is rolling out now for users subscribed to the premium Surfshark One and Surfshark One+ plans. To get immediate access, Surfshark recommends manually updating your app via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

• Surfshark recorded nearly 6 times as many malware detections on Windows
• While trojans mostly target Windows devices, phishing lands harder on Mac
• A "Macs are safe" mindset may leave users more at risk of social engineering

New data from Surfshark shows a stark split in how malware finds its targets: Windows users are hit at nearly six times the rate of macOS users.

The headline number is eye-catching, but the full story is more interesting. While Windows soaks up the vast majority of traditional malware, Mac users face a very different kind of threat, one that a locked-down operating system does little to stop: phishing.

Antivirus software paired with one of the best VPN services remains a sensible layer of defence, whatever you run, but Surfshark's findings are a useful reminder that while risks change depending on the platform, they never disappear.

Surfshark – the best cheap VPN
Surfshark is a fast, easy-to-use VPN that seriously beats the competition when it comes to subscription pricing. Its two-year Starter plan works out at $2.49 a month (plus tax), but we think Surfshark One is the best value plan as it adds an antivirus, data breach monitor, and alternative ID tool starting from the equivalent of $2.79 a month. View Deal

The six-times gap, by the numbers

Surfshark analysed 391,305 malware detections logged by its antivirus between 1 January and 31 July 2026. Windows devices made up 66% of the active user base but accounted for a striking 92% of all detections, while macOS users represented 34% of the base yet just 8% of threats.

That works out to nearly six Windows detections for every one on a Mac.

"Windows' popularity has always made it the biggest target for cybercriminals," said Gabrielė Sinkevičiūtė, Head of Product at Surfshark, pointing to the scale of malware built around Windows' dominant market share, along with differences in how each platform handles third-party software and permissions.

Surfshark's equivalent research from last year yielded similar results, so the trend appears to be consistent.

Trojans dominate Windows, while phishing surges on Mac

Surfshark's new Antiscam hub combines a number of its existing features into one easily navigated location (Image credit: Surfshark)

The threat mix differs sharply by platform. Trojans (malicious software hiding inside safe programs) were the top danger on Windows at 46% of detections, versus 25% on macOS, while riskware (legitimate software that can pose security threats) sat at 19% and 17% respectively. Viruses were level at 9% on both, and adware (software that puts unwanted ads on your device) trailed at 4% on Windows and 3% on Mac.

Phishing is where Mac users lose ground. It ranked third on macOS at 15% of detections, but only sixth on Windows at 3%. Because phishing exploits trust rather than software flaws, a hardened operating system offers little protection, and Surfshark argues a false sense of security can make Mac owners slower to question a suspicious message.

Other research backs this up. Microsoft reported in early 2026 that infostealer campaigns are expanding beyond Windows onto macOS using social-engineering tricks such as ClickFix prompts and fake installers, and Malwarebytes has tracked Mac infostealers becoming a mainstream threat rather than a rarity. TechRadar has likewise reported that the "mythical" security status of macOS is fading.

How to stay safe

The core advice is the same on both platforms: treat unexpected links, attachments and login prompts with suspicion, keep your operating system and apps patched, and only install software from official sources.

Never paste a command into Terminal or PowerShell because a website told you to, as that single step drives many recent Mac infections.

Running reputable antivirus software helps on either system, but the biggest fix for Mac users may be a change in attitude. Dropping the assumption that Apple hardware is inherently immune is the first real step toward not becoming the softer target.

• Pearl Abyss confirms Crimson Desert DLC will arrive in 2026, in latest financial report
• Pearl Abyss continues to provide consistent updates and additions based on player feedback
• Details on the DLC's content aren't clear just yet, but more will be revealed in Q3 of 2026

Pearl Abyss seemingly won't rest until Crimson Desert is at its absolute best, with never-ending updates adding new features or fixes — and unsurprisingly, it won't stop there.

In its latest financial report, Pearl Abyss confirmed that Crimson Desert's DLC is currently under development and scheduled for release in 2026, while it continues to "refine its content direction and overall quality". There are no details on the DLC's content yet, but Pearl Abyss plans to announce it in the third quarter of 2026.

This comes amid Pearl Abyss' highlight of all the important updates and major additions it's made for Crimson Desert since the game's March 19 launch. There's no doubt that the action-adventure game has been a massive success, selling over six million copies and retaining a high player count on Steam months after its arrival.

Frankly, it's quite hard to predict what Crimson Desert's DLC will include, since it's a game that is already full of near-endless amounts of content. However, it's an opportunity for developers at Pearl Abyss to craft new elements based on player feedback (and perhaps even some mods).

What do we want to see in an expansion?

Customization is a crucial aspect of the entire experience, both in terms of character appearance and gear. There's a strong chance that Pearl Abyss is set to deliver a story expansion, so it's hard to pinpoint what new additions await players.

However, based on my 240 hours of playtime and some of the mods I've used, it would be great to see the developers utilize their character creation skills and allow players to make a custom character.

The previous game, Black Desert (which is solely an MMO), arguably has some of the best character creation in any video game to date. While Crimson Desert does have an extensive amount of customization, with Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka having multiple hairstyle and facial hair options, it doesn't come close to what players can do in Pearl Abyss' MMO.

It's an optimistic suggestion and task for developers, but with how ambitious Crimson Desert is, and the fact that users have made custom character creator mods online, it would be a strong addition to the experience.

Multiplayer is also on the cards for Pearl Abyss, but that's certainly not expected in this first DLC, as it states, "integrating multiplayer functionality is far more complex than simply adding a new game mode", but highlights that there's "significant potential" for it.

Whatever it is Pearl Abyss is developing behind the scenes will likely be a surprise, if recent additions to the game are anything to go by, and I'm looking forward to it.

As governments and organizations rethink their reliance on foreign-owned IT infrastructure, data sovereignty has become a boardroom priority.

However, the conversation has become overly focused on where data is stored, overlooking the legal, operational and resilience factors that determine whether organizations are truly in control.

Whether through misunderstanding or a deliberate attempt to mislead, the term data sovereignty is often misused.

Data residency and data sovereignty are being conflated, despite being very different. Data residency is about the physical location of data, while data sovereignty is much broader and also includes legal jurisdiction, operational control, resilience, governance and the ability to manage risk.

Concerns about dependence on foreign-owned digital infrastructure have brought added urgency to issues of digital independence and control over critical technology.

In response, various vendors - particularly the big US-based hyperscalers - are now repositioning themselves with “sovereign” alternatives based primarily on where they store customer data.

While this might address some of their customers’ needs, reducing sovereignty to a question of geography creates a misleadingly simple narrative: if an organization moves data to the “right” country, it will somehow become compliant. In reality, the core issue is not just where data should be hosted, but understanding who may seek access to it and who ultimately controls the infrastructure supporting it.

This misunderstanding is giving rise to what could be described as “data sovereignty washing”, with simplified claims that don't reflect legal or operational reality.

Data sans frontières

Governments the world over have well-established legal mechanisms for requesting information held in other jurisdictions. While data residency influences which laws apply and how requests are handled, it does not provide immunity from lawful access or eliminate international cooperation.

An example is the US CLOUD Act. Under certain conditions, it enables US authorities to request data from US service providers even when it is stored outside the United States. So, even if a UK or European-owned organization hosts data with a US-owned provider in a UK or European data center, it may still be reachable under US legal process. Being physically ‘local’ doesn’t change that.

The US is far from unique in this regard. Many other countries have legislation in place allowing authorities to access data for law enforcement or national security purposes, often supported by cross-border agreements and established legal processes.

The risk is that enterprises treat location as a complete sovereignty strategy, rather than one element of it. Threat actors care about the value of the data, not geography. As a result, organizations can spend significant time and money migrating data to new locations while leaving their biggest security risks fundamentally unchanged.

A more useful starting point is to ask what risks the organization is actually trying to reduce. That shifts the focus and any subsequent changes in approach away from maps, and towards threat modelling, which provides the right context for meaningful conversations about sovereignty.

Start with the threat model

Different organizations have fundamentally different threat models. A local retailer, a multinational bank, a defense contractor and a government department are unlikely to share the same priorities, even if they all process sensitive information.

For some organizations, regulatory compliance or data residency requirements may be the primary concern. For others, resilience against cyberattack, protection of intellectual property, or reducing dependence on a particular technology provider may be far more important. It’s generally a matter of sector-specific and business priorities.

So, rather than simply asking where data is stored, leaders should consider who ultimately controls the infrastructure, how dependent they are on individual cloud providers, what happens if services become unavailable, and whether they retain sufficient visibility and control over critical systems. If any of this raises operational or regulatory concerns, it may be sensible to adjust strategy.

The resilience paradox

An unintended consequence of pursuing absolute data localization is that it can reduce resilience. Organizations often improve availability and data recovery by maintaining geographically separate copies of critical data. Restricting everything to a single jurisdiction can reduce those options.

Decisions about sovereignty should therefore factor in availability, confidentiality, and integrity – all of which are important. The most effective approaches recognize that resilience sometimes requires carefully managed distribution rather than rigid localization.

Consider this scenario: an organization has ensured all their email is stored within a single jurisdiction to meet sovereignty objectives. Months later, their provider has a major outage in that one region, and they lose access to their email for days. Even worse, a serious data loss event affects their backups, which are also stored in the same region. If they had optimized for resilience instead, their data would have been safe and available throughout.

Even though the organization successfully addressed one aspect of sovereignty, they weakened another by reducing their ability to recover critical business information. That's ultimately the difference between treating sovereignty as a marketing claim and treating it as a genuine risk management exercise.

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