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• Researchers found 250+ fake dating apps targeting Android users
• The apps ask extensive permissions and end up stealing sensitive files
• Victims are later extorted under threat of releasing the files to friends and family

An “emotionally manipulative” extortion campaign has been spotted leveraging hundreds of mobile apps across mobile ecosystems.

Security researchers Zimperium zLabs claimed to have found more than 250 Android apps, all pretending to be dating and romance apps.

While they all look slick and well-designed, they all work as infostealers, grabbing contact information, photos, and other data from the devices. In some instances, the victims were lured into granting access through “emotionally charged interactions”, and exclusive “invitation codes”.

How to stay safe?

Zimperium calls the campaign SarangTrap, as it targets mostly people living in South Korea.

If the threat actors find any incriminating information on the compromised devices, they reach out to the victim and threaten to share it with their family, friends, and partners, unless a payment is made.

“This is more than just a malware outbreak, it’s a digital weaponization of trust and emotion,” said the zLabs research team. “Users seeking connection are being manipulated into granting access to some of their most personal data.”

To make matters worse, out of the 80 domains used in this campaign, many were allegedly indexed by popular search engines, making them appear legitimate to victims looking to do their due diligence.

In its report, Zimperium advises mobile users against downloading apps from unfamiliar links, or unofficial app stores, hinting that none of the 250+ apps used in the campaign could be found on the Play Store, or App Store.

Apple and Google are quite diligent when it comes to their app repositories, and while malware finds its way in from time to time, it’s a lot harder to pick up malware on the official store, than on an unvetted, third-party one.

Users should also be careful of apps requiring unusual permissions or invitation code, regularly review the permissions they granted, and installed profiles they operate, and should install on-device mobile security solutions that can help detect and block malware.

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• Cloudflare has started blocking many pirate domains for users in the UK
• Hundreds of illegal streaming sites could be affected
• This is the first time that an internet intermediary has started blocking pirate sites in the UK

Cloudflare has just started blocking access to certain pirate streaming websites – but only for users in the UK.

Pirate streaming sites are already commonly blocked by most of the biggest internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK. However, those restrictions can often be bypassed by using one of the best VPN providers. Not this time – using a UK VPN endpoint still triggers the block, preventing the website from loading.

Cloudflare blocked the websites due to a legal order, most likely issued by the Motion Picture Association (MPA). According to reports, up to 200 domains could be affected by this new block.

Cloudflare blocks illegal streams in the UK for the first time

Cloudflare's block on pirate streaming websites in the UK appears to have come into effect just this month, but the legal case may have started as early as February 2024.

Due to this block, users who try to visit pirate streaming sites are faced with an error. Cloudflare's Error HTTP 451 is reserved for situations when a website is blocked due to legal reasons.

Cloudflare doesn't appear to be a party in this conflict, though. As the Lumen Database reveals, a private law firm delivered a court order to Google, listing 14 websites — but Torrentfreak estimates that as many as 200 pirate domains could be affected.

(Image credit: Lumen Database)

Many UK citizens are already used to pirate streaming sites being blocked. ISPs such as BT, Virgin Media, and Sky usually carry out these blocks following court orders, which means that many users will never even see the error message from Cloudflare — their ISPs will block the website from loading first. However, those blocks are easily bypassed with a VPN, which lets you keep your activities private.

Many users often connect to a VPN server based in the same country to avoid high latency, but Cloudflare's involvement makes that impossible. If the ISP doesn't catch it, Cloudflare itself will.

Can you still use a VPN to access these websites?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cloudflare's block goes beyond what any ISP can place on any given website. As geo-blocking is being used, the websites are simply unavailable in the UK, point blank.

For the first time, this also means that using a virtual private network (VPN) won't bypass these restrictions, as long as the server is based in the UK.

Although we're unable to test this ourselves, connecting to a VPN based outside of the UK might still help circumvent these blocks. Keep in mind that this content is considered illegal, and TechRadar doesn't condone using VPNs to access pirate websites.

A rise in anti-piracy orders

Cloudflare operates one of the fastest public DNS (domain name system) resolvers in the world. It's responsible for connecting billions of users to their desired websites, and as such, it can also step in and block them from doing so before any network-changing tool can interfere. This is why these blocks also affect VPN users.

Cloudflare previously criticized anti-piracy network blocking as ineffective and overreaching. The company has previously told TechRadar that "network blocking is never going to be the solution."

Cloudflare's Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy, Alissa Starzak, went as far as to say that such efforts have collateral effects and they're "ruining the internet." Cloudflare has even filed an appeal with the Spanish Constitutional Court earlier this year, attempting to combat IP blocking during La Liga football matches.

DNS providers aren't the only ones being targeted in Europe, either, as efforts to get rid of piracy continue.

Canal+, a major French streaming provider, scored a legal victory in May when a landmark ruling ordered five popular VPN providers to block access to 200+ illegal sports streaming sites. This, however, sparked questions about where the line between fighting piracy and censorship is really drawn.

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• Eyes of Wakanda is set to make its Disney+ debut earlier than expected
• Marvel's next animated TV series will be released on August 1
• The Black Panther anthology spin-off show was originally due out on August 27

Marvel is reportedly set to release Eyes of Wakanda, the comic titan's next animated TV show, almost one month earlier than we anticipated.

The four-part anthology series was originally due out on Disney+ on August 27. However, according to Entertainment Weekly (EW), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project's launch date has been brought forward to August 1. All four episodes will arrive on the same date and, unlike other Marvel animated projects, are officially canon in the MCU – i.e., they sit on the so-called Sacred Timeline.

I've reached out to Marvel and Disney for official confirmation on EW's report, and I'll update this article if I hear back.

One of Eyes of Wakanda's episodes will be set in the year 1260 B.C. (Image credit: Marvel Television/Disney Plus)

Billed as a Black Panther spin-off, Eyes of Wakanda will explore the fictional, technologically advanced African nation's history in more detail across four time periods.

Indeed, each episode will each feature a different protagonist who are members of the Hatut Zaraze. This collection of highly-trained Wakanda warriors-cum-spies will carry out dangerous missions to retrieve stolen Wakandan artifacts and vibranium-based weaponry.

The miniseries, which is helmed and created by showrunner Todd Harris, was developed in part by Ryan Coogler – the latter being the writer-director of 2019's Oscar-nominated film Black Panther and its 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Coogler was also an executive producer on recent Disney+ live-action show Ironheart and is in the early stages of developing Black Panther 3.

Opinion: Eyes of Wakanda's new release date might not be to its betterment

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will have only been in theaters for a week by the time Eyes of Wakanda comes out (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

It's rare to see Marvel Studios move up the release date of one of its films or TV show. More often than not, the comic giant has pushed back projects due to reasons outside of its control – the Covid-19 pandemic being a case in point – or due to production issues. Just look at the recent announcement concerning Avengers: Doomsday, which was originally set to land in theaters next May but whose release has been delayed to December 2026.

Nevertheless, I think releasing Eyes of Wakanda three weeks earlier isn't the smartest move. Its revised August 1 launch date means it'll arrive just seven days after The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the final MCU movie of 2025 and one of this year's most anticipated new movies, achieved lift-off in theaters. You can see what I thought of the aforementioned film by reading my review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

For a studio that usually likes to stagger the launch of its projects, it's bizarre to see Marvel release two in quick succession. It's even stranger when you consider that, even though they're available on different platforms, MCU devotees are far more likely to watch First Steps than Eyes of Wakanda.

Indeed, I suspect more fans will opt to see the latest attempt to give Marvel's First Family the big-screen adaptation they deserve than its small-screen counterpart. Compare the A-listers who are part of First Steps' cast against the talented yet less-well-known stars who'll voice characters in Eyes of Wakanda, and the allure of the former easily trumps the latter from a star power perspective, too.

This isn't an attempt to discredit Eyes of Wakanda, by the way. I'm sure it'll be one of the best Disney+ shows of the year and, if it is, its positive word of mouth will turn people onto the fact that it's already out on one of the world's best streaming services.

That said, when I think back to interviews with Marvel actors, directors, and producers during my time at TechRadar, one thing is always abundantly clear: Marvel likes to give each project room to breathe. The company doesn't subscribe to the notion of cannibalizing one production's viewership or box office takings in favor of another.

That begs two questions, then: Why release Eyes of Wakanda just one week after First Steps? And, considering there'll be no Marvel films or TV series until Marvel Zombies arrives in early October, wouldn't it have been best to stick with Eyes of Wakanda's initial August 27 release date?

I doubt I'll ever get definitive answers to the above – Marvel Studios is a notoriously secretive company, after all. Still, regardless of whether Eyes of Wakanda is good or not, it deserves better than being dumped on Disney+ when one of Marvel's most anticipated films has just landed in theaters.

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• A popular npm maintainer fell prey to a phishing attack, sharing login credentials with cybercriminals
• The attackers accessed their npm account and pushed malware through a popular package
• They were removed six hours later, but users should still take caution

Experts have warned that ‘is’, an npm package with more than 2.8 million weekly downloads, was also compromised in the same manner, and served malware for roughly six hours.

This comes shortly after Eslint-config-prettier, another popular npm package, was recently compromised in a supply chain attack which made it serve malware, after its maintainer, JounQin, received an email that spoofed the support@npmjs.com account, asking them to “verify” their account which, when they did, gave the attackers their login credentials.

The access was used to push install versions 8.10.1, 9.1.1, 10.1.6, and 10.1.7 of the eslint-config-prettier package, which carried malware. Other compromised packages belonging to the same developer include eslint-plugin-prettier, synckit, @pkgr/core, and napi-postinstall.

Backdoors and infostealers

Now, new reports claim that John Harband, the maintainer of the ‘is’ was also compromised the same way. The attackers maintained access for roughly six hours, during which they pushed versions 3.3.1 through 5.0.0, which contained malicious code.

‘Is’ is a lightweight JavaScript utility library that basically helps check what kind of value something is.

For example, it can tell you if something is a number, a list, or a word. It can also check if something is empty or if two things are the same.

It is simple, but rather popular, being widely used as a low-level utility dependency in development tools, testing libraries, build systems, and backend and CLI projects.

The malware deployed through these packages was a WebSocket-based backdoor that granted the attackers remote code execution capabilities on compromised endpoints. The Eslint one was also dropping Scavanger, an infostealer grabbing data stored in the web browser.

Via BleepingComputer

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The world of rock lost one of its father figures when Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman for legendary British metal band Black Sabbath, sadly died this week, at the age of 76.

Ozzy, as he was affectionately known to his fans, had completed his farewell ‘Back to the Beginning’ concert just three weeks earlier, to rapturous reviews.

As you’d expect, heartfelt tributes to the late self-styled “Price of Darkness” flooded in on my social feeds. My Facebook feed (I’m Gen X, so yes, I still use Facebook, sorry) was full of tributes, but one in particular I found a bit unnerving and off-color...

It was an AI-generated video retrospective through the key moments of Osbourne’s life, like his marriage to Sharon Osbourne, the release of his comeback album No more tears, and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Each moment was represented by a photo, but AI had generated video of Osbourne moving between the photos and getting younger with each one. The overall effect was somewhat unnerving. Especially his transition from wheelchair to throne. See for yourself:

The overall effect is of a weirdly plastic-skinned, uncanny valley version of Ozzy smiling away at the camera as he grows ever younger and travels back through time.

To make matters worse, the background music to the video is Forever Young by Alphaville from 1992, and while I've got nothing against Alphaville, its music cannot remotely be described as being either rock or metal.

That’s not the sort of thing I'd expect to hear on an Ozzy Osbourne video, especially when he has a song like Mamma I’m coming home in his back catalog, which would be more appropriate for a tribute video.

It gets worse - when you look closer at the text on screen, you start to notice mistakes. For example, at the end of the video, it says, “Co-founds Legendary Band Black Sabbat” instead of “Black Sabbath”.

Paranoid?

Then, I found out that there’s a whole collection of these sorts of videos, created for pretty much every famous person who has died relatively recently, or is simply old and still alive! All the videos use the same music. George Michael, Audrey Hepburn, Steve Irwin, the list of celebrities it covers goes on and on.

The whole thing just feels wildly inappropriate, sloppily done, and represents the worst of AI slop. That is, videos generated cheaply using AI simply for garnering views on social platforms.

When Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, talks about a future where AI inspires creativity and lowers the barriers of entry for people to start being creative, he says things like the "upsides will be tremendous for society."

I really hope these sorts of videos aren't in the future he’s imagining.

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• Secretlab has announced its new OTT Adjustable Legrest, launching July 24
• The new accessory is designed as a companion for any Secretlab chair and features Secretlab's PlushCell memory foam cushioning
• The legrest can be adjusted for almost any sitting position

Secretlab has revealed its new OTT Adjustable Legrest, designed specifically for desk lounging and as a companion for any Secretlab chair.

As part of Secretlab's Footrest and Legrest Collection, this latest accessory features dedicated leg and foot support and combines the company's PlushCell memory foam cushioning for added comfort.

It also offers research-backed ergonomic adjustments that can be altered any way the user wants. There are three independent points of adjustability, height, tilt, and distance from the chair, which can be personalized for almost any sitting position to reduce the build-up of stress in the muscles.

The cushion is sculpted in a pebble shape and designed as a seamless extension of one of the best gaming chairs, the Secretlab Titan Evo, with curves that help pressure distribution for the feet.

Alongside microscopic memory pockets that deliver optimal density and pressure relief for long hours of comfort, the legrest also features four reinforced glass-filled nylon legs that anchor it in place and can be moved as close to a Secretlab chair as possible.

"Many of us instinctively want to kick up our feet when we sit down, and often improvise by propping our feet up on makeshift stools, boxes, inflatable seats, and even hammocks," said Vincent Sin, head of industrial design at Secretlab. "The problem is that these flimsy surfaces don’t offer the right angles for comprehensive support. Meanwhile, conventional legrests have limited adjustments that force your legs into one fixed position.

"When designing the Secretlab OTTO Adjustable Legrest, we were intentional about engineering a versatile chair accessory that our users would look forward to returning to, no matter what they’re doing at their desk. And when paired with a Secretlab chair, it combines the pure comfort of lounging with a full range of adjustments for your desired leg and feet support—no other legrests offer this level of personalization."

The Secretlab OTT Adjustable Legrest launches on July 24, 2025.

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• Splitgate 2 is being put back into a beta state but will remain playable
• 1047 Games has said it will rework major parts of the game following player feedback
• The studio is also laying off employees and shutting down the original Splitgate servers to accomadate Splitgate 2's overhaul

1047 Games has announced that its free-to-play first-person shooter Splitgate 2 is returning to beta following player feedback.

The studio shared its decision in an X / Twitter statement, saying that the game, which launched on June 6, will go "back to beta" and the team will be reworking the game until early 2026.

After admitting it rushed certain features, 1047 Games said major parts of the game will be overhauled, including progression, gameplay, and monetization.

"We’ve heard your feedback, and we agree with you: we launched too early," 1047 Games said. "We had ambitious goals with Splitgate 2, and in our excitement to share it with you, we bit off more than we could chew. We rushed certain features, made some boneheaded mistakes, and most importantly – we didn't give you the polished, portal-filled mayhem you fell in love with.

"So we're going back to beta. We'll be heads down until early next year, rebuilding major parts of the game to capture the spirit of what made Splitgate special. That means reworking progression from the ground up, adding more portals to our maps, simplifying monetization, refocusing on classic game modes you've been asking for, and more, which we’ll share soon."

As a consequence, and just over a month since cutting an undisclosed number of jobs, 1047 Games is laying off additional staff members, to "shift our resources to focus on this rework".

"This is heartbreaking. These are our teammates and our friends, and they helped build what we have today," 1047 said. "They're receiving severance and job placement support, and we're committed to doing everything we can to help them through this transition. We hope to bring them back when we can."

In addition, the original Splitgate servers will also be shutting down this month, "in an effort to retain as many team members as possible", but is considering the possibility of supporting offline or peer-to-peer matches.

"While we'd love to keep servers online indefinitely, it's cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past couple of years, and we have to prioritize our team," the studio explained.

Although Splitgate 2 is returning to beta, the game will remain playable, and Chapter 3 will still ship as intended, along with bug fixes and "high-priority changes."

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• Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has an official trailer
• The horror movie is confirmed to be released in cinemas on December 5
• Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail and Matthew Lilard reprise their roles from the first movie

The Five Nights at Freddy's 2 official trailer has been released ahead of the sequel movie's cinema premiere on December 5. The upcoming new movie has, strangely, bypassed the Halloween release window, so fans will have to wait until closer to the festive season.

The sequel is set to unleash more animatronics out into the wild than the first Five Nights at Freddy's did, as it will take us beyond Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria – and notably, Scott Cawthon is involved in adapting the screenplay again.

Looking at the trailer, fans can expect Easter eggs and some new faces – or lack thereof – when it comes to Withered Bonnie, the broken rabbit animatronic from the second game.

What is Five Night's at Freddy's 2 about?

Set a year after the first Five Nights at Freddy's movie, the official plot synopsis teases that the stories of the pizzeria have been "twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town’s first-ever Fazfest".

So yep, you guessed it, people have developed a morbid fascination with what went down and now there's a festival dedicated to the creepy animatronics, which totally isn't a recipe for disaster or anything.

We'll once again follow former security guard Mike and police officer Vanessa, who are doing everything they can to protect Mike's 11-year-old sister Abby. But when Abby sneaks out to try and see the animatronics again, she "reveals dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy's, and unleashing a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades".

Not a bad way to continue the story, in my opinion, but despite the last movie being Peacock's biggest ever launch, it was a critical flop, so there's a chance I'll stick to playing the games instead.

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From the outside looking in, the AI coding assistance market might seem like one big blur of assisted coding. The reality is far more nuanced and moving at breakneck speed.

What started as simple code completion has evolved through distinct generations, each representing a fundamental shift in how developers work with AI tools. And if you're not paying attention, you're already behind.

The First Generation: When AI Learned to “Complete Our Sandwiches Sentences”

The AI coding revolution began modestly with code completion - think of it as autocomplete on steroids. Early pioneers like Kite paved the way, but it was GitHub Copilot that brought this capability to the masses through Microsoft's vast distribution channels. By 2024, 62% of developers reported using AI tools for writing code, with code completion as the gateway drug.

But here's where the industry got it wrong: the marketing promised a revolution while delivering an evolution. GitHub aficionados touted 20% productivity improvements, skeptics countered that it was a net-negative trend generating garbage code, and the truth, as always, lived somewhere in between. It was a wonderful, helpful capability that developers genuinely liked.

But game-changing? Not quite.

The numbers tell an interesting story. As of 2024, over a quarter of all new code generated by Google is written by AI. Yet despite this massive adoption, according to the 2024 DORA report, speed and stability have actually decreased. The first generation delivered on quantity but struggled with quality - a classic case of solving the wrong problem.

The Second Generation: From Assistant to Agent

Then, at the beginning of 2024, something fundamental changed. Cursor, Zencoder, and other AI tools that live in developers' IDEs got completely new brains with radically different capabilities.

These weren't just code completers anymore - they were in-IDE coding agents. What enabled this generational shift is the new class of models that are more agentic, specifically, they are better at using tools, understanding your project environment, and keeping their wits together over longer sessions.

The shift was deceptive because visually, nothing changed. Same interface, same integration points, but under the hood? A completely different beast. The agents could fix a bug in a large repository or help users "vibe code" an entire prototype using unfamiliar technology.

It’s one of those rare cases of “same UI, different UX” - the use cases have changed, and the usage has changed with them. Developers spend 10 times more on these second-generation tools, burning significantly more tokens as they offload increasingly complex tasks.

The Third Generation: SDLC-Integrated Software Engineering Agents

Mark the second quarter of 2025 in your calendars as the early emergence of the third generation, and it's happening faster than most realize:

-May 9th: Zencoder launched Zen Agents, marking a shift from individual productivity to team-based agents covering full SDLC.

-May 16th: OpenAI launched Codex, allowing you to use ChatGPT semi-autonomously in your GitHub.

-May 19th: GitHub Copilot launched agentic DevOps.

-May 20th: Google announced an asynchronous Jules agent.

-May 22nd: Anthropic announced Claude 4, upgrading its Claude Code tool that supports command line automation.

-June 10: Zentester is launched to bring automated verification into AI SDLC

The industry is keen on unlocking the next level of value by moving from IDE-based coding agents to software engineering agents integrated across the entire software development lifecycle. These agents can grab issues from your backlog, implement features, run automated tests, and leverage your CI/CD pipeline's security scanners. They will soon be self-correcting the errors that appear in this cycle.

I’m a big fan of collective intelligence and human ingenuity. Over the last four decades and 100M engineers (who are still the golden standard of intelligence), the industry has evolved a sophisticated suite of tools and processes to support software engineering.

I have always felt that early attempts to train LLMs to replace tools like compilers or debuggers were commercially and scientifically a dead end, and that teaching LLMs to leverage existing tools and processes is a better route. That philosophy (leveraging existing tools) moved the industry to the second generation, and now that philosophy (leveraging dev ops) is leading to the third generation.

The Reality Check: We're Still in Beta

Here's the crucial caveat: just as first-generation code completion evolved from buggy and primitive to genuinely helpful, this third generation is still nascent. The capabilities are there, but they're rough around the edges. For the next six months, plan to re-evaluate these tools every two months - that's a breakneck pace at which we'll see step-function improvements. As is common with AI, you can get tremendous value if you deploy it in the right scenario with the right context.

The promise of 10x engineers is coming to life, and the biggest shift is happening this calendar year. In my career, it took 5-15 years to see generational changes in any particular software category, and we now see them twice within 12 months. First-generation tools needed strong code LLMs and fill-in-the-middle benchmarks.

Second-generation agents acquired longer context windows, tool usage capabilities, and the ability to navigate development environments. Now, third-generation agents are leveraging better models that can navigate websites for end-to-end testing, understand CI/CD tools, and orchestrate multiple specialized agents working in concert.

What This Means for You

The industry is moving from AI coding assistants to in-IDE coding agents to SDLC-integrated software engineering agents. Each transition represents not just an improvement but a fundamental reimagining of how developers work with AI. By the end of 2025, most start-ups and forward-looking enterprises will heavily use second-generation in-IDE agents and will offload a sizeable chunk of routine work to the third-generation agents integrated into CI/CD.

The future of software development isn't about typing faster - it's about thinking bigger while AI handles the implementation details. Keep your eyes open, update your tools frequently, and most importantly, adjust your expectations and evaluations. The age of software engineering agents has arrived, and it's moving faster than any of us anticipated.

We list the best Large Language Models (LLMs) for coding.

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

• Google revenue is up 14%, driven by a 32% growth in Google Cloud revenue
• The cloud division's annual revenue run-rate is now $50 billion
• The Gemini App has 450 million monthly active users

Alphabet has exceeded quarterly revenue expectations by a not-so-insignificant $2.43 billion by posting $96.43 billion in its second quarter 2025, marking a health 14% year-over-year increase, with the company having AI and its cloud services to thank.

Google Cloud revenues rose by 32% in the quarter to $13.6 billion – considerably more than the 12% rise in Google Services revenue, which covers areas like Search, subscriptions, devices, YouTube ads and more.

In a blog post breaking down the earnings, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed Google Cloud's annual revenue run-rate has now passed the $50 billion mark.

Google Cloud boosting Alphabet's overall revenue

"We are seeing significant demand for our comprehensive AI product portfolio," Pichai explained in the post.

"We operate the leading global network of AI optimized data centers and cloud regions."

Pichai added nine million developers have now built with the company's Gemini 2.5 family of models, while 70 million videos have already been generated using Veo 3, which Pichai described as a "viral hit."

Speaking about Google Cloud revenue in particular, Pichai revealed the number of large contracts worth more than $250 million has more than doubled year-over-year. Google Cloud also signed the same number of $1 billion+ deals in the first half of 2025 as it did in the whole of 2024.

Wayfair, Mattel, Target, Capgemini and BBVA were cited among Google Cloud's major clients, with OpenAI also recently confirming that it would use Google Cloud infrastructure to support ChatGPT in the US, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.

On the consumer side, the Gemini App now has more than 450 million monthly active users, and daily request have grown by more than 50% since last quarter.

All of this saw stock prices rise by about 3% in after-hours trading, with Google currently ranking as the world's fifth-most valuable company with a market cap of $2.315 trillion, just a few paces behind Amazon.

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I spent weeks testing robot lawn mowers and found that while they save time, they're not as automated as you might think. Here's what surprised me the most.

The midsize SoundLink Plus sits between the SoundLink Flex and SoundLink Max in Bose's line of portable Bluetooth speakers. After testing it for a few days, I found it to be the best all-around package of the three.

This natural wood bed frame might be the first thing I've put together quickly... and correctly.

• The Link To Windows app on Android has a new 'Lock PC' button
• This allows you to remotely lock your Windows 11 PC from the phone
• Other goodies introduced with Link To Windows recently also include the ability to grab clipboard contents from your PC on your smartphone

Windows 11 users are getting the ability to lock their PC remotely by using their Android smartphone, assuming these two devices are hooked up via the Phone Link app.

Windows Central reports that the ability to lock your Windows 11 PC with the tap of a button from your phone is now present in the overhauled Link To Windows app on Android. Apparently, it's in version 1.25071.165 of the app (or newer), but the functionality is still rolling out, so it may take a while yet to turn up for all users.

The 'Lock PC' button could come in very handy if you leave your desktop PC for a quick trip to the coffee machine, but end up called away for longer, and so you want to ensure the device is secure while you're away (without having to return to the computer).

As Windows Central notes, when you use this remote lock function, it will disconnect your smartphone from the Phone Link app until you log back in.

The freshly redesigned Link To Windows app now also lets you access the contents of the clipboard on your Windows 11 PC (if you have this synced), and allows for viewing recently shared files, too.

(Image credit: Shutterstock AI)Analysis: a battery-saving alternative to dynamic lock

These are potentially very useful extras that add a good deal of convenience - it might be very handy to grab Windows 11 clipboard contents on your smartphone. And as noted, the ability to remotely lock your computer could be a security lifesaver of sorts in certain situations (maybe not often, but when you need the ability, you'll be glad of it).

There is something else to be aware of here, though, in terms of existing functionality. As Windows Central points out, you can already have your PC automatically lock when you're not present by using a Bluetooth-powered feature. This is called dynamic lock, and it works by kicking in when you've left your PC, and your smartphone is far enough away so the Bluetooth signal weakens to a certain level.

The catch here is obvious enough, though - not everyone wants to keep Bluetooth on constantly (given the battery drain on the phone, or indeed the Windows 11 PC, if it's a laptop). So, a simple manual alternative in the form of the 'Lock PC' button is clearly a boon.

Microsoft is making good progress with Phone Link, even if that progress is more of the slow and steady variety than huge leaps forward. Still, some bugbears remain with users, most notably that only Samsung Galaxy phones get the best features.

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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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, July 24 (game #508).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Step to it!

NYT Strands today (game #509) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• PANTHER
• HATE
• STALE
• GRACE
• HARM
• CHAT

NYT Strands today (game #509) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #509) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: bottom, 5th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #509) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #509, are…

• MUSIC
• COSTUME
• RECITAL
• TEACHER
• CHOREOGRAPHY
• SPANGRAM: DANCE CLASS

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 hints

A tough one for me today, so kudos if you roared through the search without any issues. I even struggled to find non-game words.

In hindsight, I should have seen DANCE CLASS a lot more quickly, as I’d already gotten class as a non-game word – but was completely blind to the word that preceded it.

The other reason today’s game took me longer than usual was that my first hint gave me MUSIC, which didn’t help narrow things down at all. I quite patently failed to “step to it”. 

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, July 24, game #508)

• GROWL
• SNARL
• HISS
• HUFF
• SCREECH
• STOMP
• RATTLE
• SPRAY
• SPANGRAM: WARNING

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 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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, July 24 (game #774).

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 #775) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• ОН
• MARY
• FAIR
• MOTHER
• MUM
• BEE
• IN
• OUT
• MA
• BALL
• BED
• SECRET
• FOUL
• QUIET
• OK
• PRIVATE

NYT Connections today (game #775) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Don’t tell anyone
• GREEN: Four of the 50
• BLUE: Heard at the ballpark
• PURPLE: Precede with a royal word

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 #775) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: HUSH-HUSH
• GREEN: STATE ABBREVIATIONS
• BLUE: BASEBALL CALLS
• PURPLE: QUEEN __ 

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

NYT Connections today (game #775) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #775, are…

• YELLOW: HUSH-HUSH MUM, PRIVATE, QUIET, SECRET
• GREEN: STATE ABBREVIATIONS IN, MA, OH, OK
• BLUE: BASEBALL CALLS BALL, FAIR, FOUL, OUT
• PURPLE: QUEEN __ BED, BEE, MARY, MOTHER

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Perfect

My brain always goes into a kernel panic when there are two-letter words in Connections, which is why I'm rating today’s puzzle as hard. 

That said, there were only four of them – which meant that you could get STATE ABBREVIATIONS even if it wasn’t immediately obvious. It wasn’t to me, so I was relieved to have guessed them correctly and not fallen into a dastardly trap.

Fortunately, my lack of baseball knowledge didn’t stand in the way of completing all four groups without a mistake, but I did waver over whether to include MOTHER or FOUL in the QUEEN group. I was imagining some kind of chess infraction. 

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, July 24, game #774)

• YELLOW: COLOSSAL GIANT, GREAT, MAMMOTH, TITANIC
• GREEN: LEAVE QUICKLY BOUNCE, DIP, JET, SPLIT
• BLUE: PARTS OF A BASKETBALL HOOP BACKBOARD, NET, POLE, RIM
• PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF SYNONYMS FOR "NAB" KNICK, LUTE, RABE, STEEL

What is NYT Connections?

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

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

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

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

Looking for a different day?

A new 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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, July 24 (game #1277).

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 #1278) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1278) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1278) - 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 #1278) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1278) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• B

• R

• C

• M

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

Quordle today (game #1278) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1278, are…

• BONUS
• RESIN
• CEDAR
• MADAM

Another good round for me today, although I later realized I wasn’t as clever as I first thought (often the case!).

With A-D-A locked in as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th letters and knowing the word also containedan M, there was no other choice other than MADAM, while my final word could only end with US – so BONUS wasn’t the stretch guess I initially thought.

Daily Sequence today (game #1278) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1278, are…

• TODAY
• FILET
• SUNNY
• LIMIT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1277, Thursday, 24 July: AGONY, VERVE, GLEAN, MINUS
• Quordle #1276, Wednesday, 23 July: OZONE, PENCE, ROOMY, WIDER
• Quordle #1275, Tuesday, 22 July: OPTIC, GIDDY, VOCAL, ADULT
• Quordle #1274, Monday, 21 July: KNEED, SNAIL, PINTO, FEAST
• Quordle #1273, Sunday, 20 July: GRACE, COUNT, EGRET, GIANT
• Quordle #1272, Saturday, 19 July: EARLY, CLICK, TRITE, SPREE
• Quordle #1271, Friday, 18 July: CINCH, FOYER, FUDGE, TAFFY
• Quordle #1270, Thursday, 17 July: CRESS, TABOO, POWER, HATER
• Quordle #1269, Wednesday, 16 July: UNCLE, NADIR, REMIT, BROOM
• Quordle #1268, Tuesday, 15 July: VILLA, FLECK, TIGER, CRANE
• Quordle #1267, Monday, 14 July: SURGE, PIZZA, PAPER, POPPY
• Quordle #1266, Sunday, 13 July: KAYAK, DECRY, RUDDY, HATER
• Quordle #1265, Saturday, 12 July: WREAK, NANNY, CLASP, STAIN
• Quordle #1264, Friday, 11 July: LAPEL, DRAIN, FROND, GROSS
• Quordle #1263, Thursday, 10 July: CROSS, WHEEL, UNDID, PENCE
• Quordle #1262, Wednesday, 9 July: SHIRE, SIXTH, SINGE, IMAGE
• Quordle #1261, Tuesday, 8 July: PLIED, PRANK, GAWKY, OXIDE
• Quordle #1260, Monday, 7 July: DROLL, TRUCE, TWIRL, SINCE
• Quordle #1259, Sunday, 6 July: AMPLY, SPAWN, EXTOL, RIDGE

• Turkey's telecom regulator, the BTK, has blocked access to websites and apps of major eSIM providers
• Holalfy advises users to install and activate eSIMs before they travel
• Failure to activate the eSIM before could leave thousands without internet access

The BTK, Turkey's telecom regulator, has banned access to the websites and apps of major eSIM providers.

As summer holiday time commences, around 13 million Brits are flying away on holiday in the next two months, with Turkey one of the top tourist destinations.

The ban includes top eSIM providers for international travel, including Holafly, Airalo, Ubigi, and Saily.

How can travelers still access the Internet in Turkey?

With these recent changes, UK travelers are strongly advised to install and activate their eSIM before they take off, meaning users should ensure the eSIM is fully downloaded and activated on their device before departure.

"To avoid getting caught out, UK travellers should ensure their eSIM is fully downloaded and activated before leaving the UK. This means setting up your digital SIM while still on UK networks and confirming it's working properly before departure," says Pablo Gomez, CEO of Holafly.

Most eSIM providers for Turkey allow you to install and activate your plan ahead of time, and the process is typically quick and simple.

However, failing to do so could leave users without internet access on arrival. In that case, users will have to rely on public Wi-Fi or try to find a physical SIM, not ideal when free Wi-Fi isn’t always available, and many people are understandably wary of the security risks that come with using public networks.

“Otherwise, you could be left without internet access the moment you land, which can be a serious issue if you rely on your phone for maps, transport, or bookings,” added Gomez.

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• This independent testing lab confirms Saily users save nearly 30% of mobile data while traveling
• Traveling somewhere else? We've covered the best eSIMs for Japan
• Check out our roundup of the best eSIMs for Europe