Feed aggregator

AI chatbots are changing the healthcare landscape, but privacy and transparency remain critical concerns.

The e-commerce giant blames increases in component costs for the device price hikes.

Pluto lost its planethood for a very specific reason. Whether or not that’s a good reason depends on who you ask.

I put these multimodal models through a camera test.

• Anti-AI sentiment and data center opposition is rising, and communities are costing tech firms billions with their opposition
• Trump says communities opposed to data centers are "making a mistake", and calls fossil fuel burning generators "beautiful"
• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says that AI data centers "basically dug their own grave", adding that "they got the backlash they deserve."

The US government has gone all in on AI, so it’s no surprise that President Trump doesn’t fully understand why so many Americans are opposed to their presence within their communities.

During an interview with his ally Michael Cohen, Trump said “Communities that don't take a data center, they're making a mistake,” adding that their presence adds “tremendous amounts of jobs and money” to communities.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently offered his own take on data centers, saying that “They basically dug their own grave for the problem that's been caused for them, and that's why they got the backlash they deserve.”

Red and blue states opposed to data centers

AI data centers are requesting an unprecedented amount of energy from US electrical grids, prompting Trump to not only lift clean air restrictions on data centers, but also push forward one of the biggest repeals of environmental protections.

As a result, data centers are being built with enormous gas turbine plants that release pollutants and cause health issues for local residents. In his interview, Trump said, “They're making their own power plants. They're building the most beautiful, you've never seen power plants like this.”

Across the political spectrum in the US, there has been a singular, clear message. AI is making people very concerned. Outside of the environment, the main concern comes in the form of job replacement. The majority of Americans in a recent poll said the technology will lead to fewer jobs.

Young people are especially distrustful of those running AI companies, again arguing that the technology would lead to fewer jobs. Almost three quarters of Americans believe that the pace of AI is moving too quickly - and they may have a point. Regulations and governance on AI are quickly falling behind.

Representatives of red and blue states have been banding together to push for more restrictions on AI development and moratoriums on data center construction to give the US time to put together a plan on how best to not only build out AI capacity, but also create an AI ecosystem that benefits all Americans, not just those at the top.

But how does Trump’s argument that data centers are creating “tremendous amounts of jobs and money” hold up under scrutiny?

Are data centers creating jobs and money for local communities?

The first thing to note is that while data centers do create short-term jobs while under construction, they only require a skeleton staff once operational. The companies hired for data center construction are often larger firms with the capability to handle large infrastructure projects who often aren’t local companies at all.

Where data centers do create jobs is further down the digital pipeline as the AI capacity is leveraged by existing industries. While some industries are seeing a rise in AI-related jobs creation, 2026 has been the worst year for AI layoffs with more than 176,000 people laid off for AI-related reasons.

On the money side of the equation, Meta has recently revealed that its 4,000-acre data center campus has led to local teachers receiving bonuses of as much as $50,000 due to tax revenues gained from the site.

But Meta received $3.3 billion in tax exemptions for the site. This is a common incentive to attract investment, but many states are quickly realizing the exemptions they have granted for AI data centers are quickly becoming unsustainable.

Ohio projected a revenue loss of $136 million when it granted tax exemptions for new data centers constructed in the state, but Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently revealed that number has reached $1.6 billion. Now, states are quickly repealing or amending their tax exemptions.

Until the Trump administration recognizes that the American public wants AI to benefit everyone in a sustainable way, rather than just AI bosses and the super rich, they’ll likely continue facing widespread opposition to their AI agenda.

It took 127 blood-splattered minutes for 2024’s outrageously violent flick Deadpool & Wolverine to reach a kill count of 178. In my two-hour preview of Insomniac’s Marvel’s Wolverine, I’m pretty sure it took even less time to match it.

The game starts with a delirious murder spree against the forces of human supremacist Bolivar Trask on the Asian island of Talenbang, who has taken Team X’s leader Nathaniel Essex captive.

I’m soon slicing arms off in brutal finishing moves and pummeling their insides into paste with barrage attacks. When I get to staggering foes into the blast radius of a nearby grenade, turning them into a mushy pile of goo, it’s abundantly clear this isn’t your friendly neighbourhood Wolverine.

It’s an impressively percussive, weighty combat system. With Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton in mind, I’d describe it as heavy metal combat.

Rip and tear

(Image credit: Sony)

At first, soldiers are summarily dispatched with a chain of light attacks and a heavy attack finisher. Later, in Canada, shield-bearing Reavers demand an initial kick before a five-knuckled skewer to the sternum. And the Hand, red-gowned ninjas recently spotted in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, come with longer blades of their own, sometimes left lodged in Wolverine’s body to impede him until it either falls out or he rips it out to furiously stab an enemy.

The environment plays an important role too, whether you’re knocking hapless enemies off a rooftop or slamming them into a wall to leave them vulnerable to a barrage attack sure to relieve them of their entrails. Those enemies often come prepared, with mutant power inhibitors locking Logan’s regeneration unless you target the machines first — either by stealth or all-out assault.

(Image credit: Sony)

Wolverine’s slower speed meant I took a few more hits than I needed when I couldn’t cancel attacks to dodge an incoming blow or use a Hurricane move to clear my vicinity. But once I’d adjusted to the pace (and learned how crucial the leap attack is for staying in combat), I was stringing together brutal extended combos to the point that Devil May Cry’s style meter wouldn’t have gone amiss.

In my one-man blood donation campaign, I’m building up my rage meter. As it ascends through tiers, you first unlock the Last Stand recovery mechanic, next enhanced finishing moves, then, lastly, the ability to trigger all-out carnage.

All of a sudden, environments fade away into monochrome irrelevance. The bodies of enemies pulse bright and ripe for shredding. Instakills become available with one squeeze of the trigger buttons.

It’s a thrill of delirious violence, and delete-on-sight kills comparable to Ninja Gaiden 4’s immensely satisfying Berserk mechanic last year.

(Re)generating action

(Image credit: Sony)

Jess Reiner-Reed, Senior Project Director, tells me that turning players into frenzied berserkers was always the plan, but balancing that aggression with Wolverine’s rapid healing ability required some mechanics to shapeshift in a manner worthy of Mystique.

“When people think of Wolverine, they say, ‘How are you going to make a video game about a guy that doesn't die?’ We had some versions that didn't work very well — versions where we were incentivizing the player to hide and have their health regenerate, like an FPS mechanic. But then we really landed on this version where we're incentivizing you to be aggressive.”

After years producing family-friendly fare in the Spider-Man series and Ratchet & Clank, the exact degree of this aggression and its gratuitous violence surprised many. Reiner-Reed gleefully reminds me that Insomniac isn’t new to this after the M-rated Resistance series.

“In Spider-Man, we always had to make sure Spider-Man doesn't kill people, because that's not Peter Parker; he webs guys to the side of the building. In Marvel's Wolverine, we get to kill people in the face.”

(Image credit: Sony)

Focusing up close rather than tearing through Manhattan at 60mph meant Insomniac can lavish attention on details that would pass in a blur for Spider-Man. The game’s richly detailed levels look fantastic, with a focus on satisfyingly physics-driven destructible objects.

One moment in the demo particularly looked like it could have come straight out of Ratchet & Clank, and not for the better. I was pitted against the Proto Sentinel, a giant armoured robot boss rooted in place and limited to pummelling fists, laser-eyes and missile launchers. The somewhat formulaic boss battle was bested by dodge rolls and sprinting from clearly telegraphed blast zones. Despite Team X’s occasional interventions to enliven the fight, it felt like a dated chore compared to more recent similar battles like Clive’s fights against Final Fantasy XVI’s Eikons.

I found the Nightmare Doors sequences similarly deflating. These are portals into Logan’s Canadian wilderness cabin, where he unlocks forgotten memories by navigating a timed obstacle course, scrambling up tree trunks and leaping from eerily suspended shipping containers. The two examples I saw felt like perfunctory diversions compared to the far superior storyline chases.

Wolverine can throw hands with the best of them, but does the unrelenting focus on its excellent close quarters have legs? With no weapon mixups, ranged abilities, or a wide suite of movement abilities evident so far, the variety must come from elsewhere.

Reiner-Reed reassures me that variety will be found through build variations created through the player’s chosen special moves and custom augmentations to shape their build, whether they want to focus on stealth or accelerate into a raging rampage.

Moment to moment, it certainly has the X-Factor you’d expect from the X-Men’s headline act; I catch my pulse racing at the end of my demo, and the Team X team-up attacks with the gigantic Sabertooth and Mystique have me itching to see what punchy combinations await.

But in the space of two hours, I was craving more movement options and could already feel the leap attacks become a crutch.

Downtime in Lowtown

(Image credit: Sony)

Insomniac has far more to offer than just Deadpool & Wolverine’s glib humour and sadistic mayhem, as much as Reiner-Reed relishes team meetings to discuss blood physics. Off duty in a trademark flannel shirt and a cowboy hat, as Wolverine, I got to visit Lowtown for some R&R in the lawless slums of Madripoor.

The sequence provided ample opportunities for Liam McIntyre to show his range between macho posturing with Sabretooth and self-effacingly confronting his inability to find a suitable gift for Jean Grey (despite the advantages he gets from sniffing out her trail).

But it was a simple yet artfully composed game of Never Have I Ever at the bar with Mystique that impressed me most. Logan confronts his misdeeds and inner demons through the bottom of a glass. As I choose to drink and not drink at some of Mystique’s revealingly probing interrogations, I can safely say this: never have I ever been so struck by just waiting to see if Logan’s hesitant outstretched arm raised the cup to his lips.

“I love Logan as a character and always have because I found him one of the most emotionally complex characters,” says Liam McIntyre, the gravel-voiced Aussie actor who’s demonstrating Logan’s unfettered rage and nuanced regret in even these quieter moments.

“He doesn't want to go and high-five people in New York City; that's not his deal. He wants to stay off and be remote and do what he has to do and not make a big deal out of it [...] He feels the most grounded of the superheroes to me.

McIntyre does such a fine job making Wolverine a character you want to spend time with; I was almost disappointed when The Hand’s intrusion brought this lull to an abrupt close. Although crossing blades with them on an exhilarating rooftop chase that closed out the demo soon banished any momentary disappointment. The single-minded narrative momentum I saw here can remove any fears Spider-Man’s open world would be missed.

Both McIntyre and Reiner-Reed point to the game's ending as the moment they're most looking forward to seeing players’ reactions. If it can top what I saw in the first act’s (unfortunately embargoed) rollercoaster climax, I’m eager to see how Marvel’s Wolverine can top it when it arrives on PlayStation 5 on September 15.

Who's ready for another episode of Ted Lasso season 4? I hope you raised your hand because, well, why else would you be here if you weren't?

Anyway, the Apple TV show's next chapter, titled 'Greyhounds' Day Off', will be available to stream very soon, so you'll want some firm details on its launch date and time. Well, don't delay — read on to see when the hit soccer comedy-drama's next installment will come out!

What is the launch time for Ted Lasso season 4 episode 4?

What's got AFC Richmond Women's team bent out of shape? (Image credit: Apple TV)

Episode 4 of Ted Lasso's fourth season will be released in the US and Canada at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Tuesday, August 25.

As I've explained in other articles like this one, Apple had publicly indicated that new chapters would drop on one of the best streaming services worldwide every Wednesday. However, this season's first three entries have aired in North and South America on Tuesday evenings, so this week's installment is all but certain to do likewise.

Where the rest of the world is concerned, Ted Lasso season 4 episode 4 will arrive on Wednesday, August 26. Check out the list below to see what time it'll come out where you live:

• US — Tuesday, August 25 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• Canada — Tuesday, August 25 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• UK — Wednesday, August 26 at 2am BST
• India — Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30am IST
• Singapore — Wednesday, August 26 at 9am SGT
• Australia — Wednesday, August 26 at 11am AEST
• New Zealand — Wednesday, August 26 at 1pm NZST

What is the full release schedule for Ted Lasso season 4?

Expect more Keeley and Rebecca-based drama in this season's fourth entry (Image credit: Apple TV)

Ted Lasso season 4 made its Apple TV debut in early August, and it'll run for 10 weeks, with new episodes dropping weekly until the season 4 finale airs in early October.

For a quick rundown of the all-important release dates you need to know about, read on:

• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 1 — out now
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 2 — out now
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 3 — out now
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 4 — August 25/26
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 5 — September 1/2
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 6 — September 8/9
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 7 — September 15/16
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 8 — September 22/23
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 9 — September 29/30
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 10 — October 6/7

Samsung's summer clearance sale is slashing prices on its best-selling TVs, so you can score a brand-new display at a record-low price. You can save over $1,000 on Samsung 4K, QLED, and OLED TVs, with prices starting at just $129.99.

• Shop Samsung's full summer clearance sale

I've listed Samsung's 12 best summer clearance TV deals below, which include a range of top-rated TVs, from premium 2026 OLED displays to big-screen budget sets and Samsung's new lineup of Micro RGB displays.

A few standout deals that offer incredible value include Samsung's popular 50-inch 4K Crystal TV on sale for $249.99, the stunning 55-inch The Frame QLED TV on sale for $799.99, and Samsung's new 75-inch Micro RGB R85H 4K TV at its lowest price ever of $1,899.99.

Shop more of today's best TV deals below, and keep in mind these are limited-time offers, and Samsung offers free, fast shipping.

Samsung Summer Clearance Sale

Samsung 43-inch Class Mini LED M70H 4K Samsung TV(2026)

Samsung 43-inch Class Crystal UHD AI Smart TV U8000H (2026)

Samsung 50-inch Class Crystal UJD U7900F 4K Smart TV (2025)

Samsung 55-inch Class The Frame QLED 4K Art Mode Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2025)

Samsung 55-inch Class The Frame Pro LS03HW Neo QLED 4K Smart TV (2026)

Samsung 65-inch Class QLED Q6F 4K Smart TV (2025)

Samsung 65-inch Class OLED S90F 4K Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2025)

Samsung 65-inch Class OLED S90H 4K Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2026)

Samsung 65-inchnch Class OLED S95H 4K Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2026)

Samsung 75-inch Class Micro RGB R85H 4K Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2026)

Samsung 77-inch Class OLED S90H 4K Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2026)

Samsung 98 Inch Class Crystal UHD U9000H 4K Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2026)

• Researchers found banking malware requests VPN permissions to block Google Play and Play Protect on infected Android phones
• ToxicPanda 2.0 bypasses security to install hidden payloads, targeting 349 banking and crypto apps across 16 countries
• The malware can even seize shell-level control of a device

Security researchers have flagged a new twist in Android banking malware: a trojan that turns your phone's own VPN feature against you.

A report from mobile security firm Zimperium details how ToxicPanda 2.0 abuses VPN permissions to shut down Google's built-in protections before it strikes.

The tactic is effective because it hides in plain sight. Plenty of legitimate apps ask for VPN access, and even the best VPN apps rely on the same underlying permission to route your traffic. ToxicPanda copies that request, but uses the access to cut your phone off from Google Play instead.

Once Google Play Protect can no longer reach the device, the malware has a clear runway to install its payload and begin harvesting your data.

How ToxicPanda uses VPN permissions to blind Google Play

ToxicPanda operates as a "dropper," an app that smuggles in a second, hidden program. According to Zimperium researchers, the malware first shows a fake installation screen and prompts the victim to grant VPN permissions. That request looks routine, so many users tap "allow" without a second thought.

Granting it lets ToxicPanda create a local network interface that sits between the phone and the internet, giving the malware control over all traffic passing through the device. It immediately uses that control to block communication with Google Play and Google Play Services.

Cutting off this connection lets the malware interfere with app verifications, updates, and Play Protect, the security layer that would normally flag or remove a harmful app. With Google effectively blindfolded, ToxicPanda decrypts a payload hidden in its own files, installs it, and then asks for Accessibility Service permissions to dig deeper.

(Image credit: Zimperium)

This release is a major escalation from the previous ToxicPanda iteration.

As Zimperium says, ToxicPanda 2.0 now supports 167 remote commands. It can also overlay fake login screens on 349 banking, e-wallet, and crypto apps across 16 countries, up from just 16 apps previously. A separate module harvests PINs from more than 140 financial apps using invisible overlays that capture your taps.

The trojan can also spoof your Android lock screen to steal your PIN, pattern, or password, and it abuses Android's Wireless Debugging (ADB) feature to gain shell-level access and grant itself permissions without prompts.

ToxicPanda first appeared in 2024, targeting European banks. Other similar malware such as Rokarolla, has also hit hundreds of banking and crypto apps in recent months.

How to stay safe

The strongest defense is to keep the malware off your phone in the first place.

Only install apps from the official Google Play Store, and avoid sideloading APK files from links, ads, or third-party sites. Be aware that dangerous VPN links have even slipped into official app stores, so treat any surprise VPN prompt with suspicion.

A legitimate VPN remains a valuable privacy tool, but this campaign is a reminder that the permission itself is powerful, so grant it only to apps you genuinely trust.

• Windscribe's AI-generated ad featuring Adolf Hitler has sparked massive backlash online
• Some users have threatened to cancel their VPN subscriptions over the marketing stunt
• The controversy has also shone a spotlight on the company's use of AI for support, code, and testing

A highly controversial marketing stunt has landed Windscribe in the center of a massive online storm, with furious users taking to social media to declare they are canceling their subscriptions.

The provider, frequently evaluated in discussions for the best VPN services, is facing intense scrutiny after posting a bizarre, AI-generated advertisement featuring Adolf Hitler to its official X account.

In a bid for edgy humor that has spectacularly misfired, the video was immediately slammed by privacy advocates and customers, who were left stunned by the decision to use the infamous dictator to promote a digital privacy tool. The backlash swiftly migrated to Reddit, where threads condemning the video garnered thousands of upvotes within hours.

The outrage didn't stop at the marketing misstep; it also reignited debates over the security implications of Windscribe's public admission that it uses artificial intelligence to handle customer support, write code, and conduct testing.

TechRadar has reached out to Windscribe for comment on the backlash. We will update this story if we receive a response.

Windscribe: a feature-packed VPN
Beyond dubious marketing, Windscribe VPN is fast, capable, and stacked with features. While the provider offers one of the best free VPNs around, Windscribe Premium gives you access to the full server network across 115 locations and extra features, including threat protection and port forwarding. If you find that you're unhappy with the product, you can get your money back within a week of signing up. View Deal

"A line crossed too far"

The outrage on platforms like Reddit's r/Windscribe and r/Piracy has been palpable, with users expressing total disbelief. One user summed up the collective shock, stating, "I just canceled my subscription."

Another user criticized the brand's attempt at adopting an overly casual, shock-jock persona, writing: "One could argue this is normal since Windscribe has always been edgy with their emails and April Fools' gags, but straight up using Hitler is a line crossed too far."

Other users were even more direct, questioning the recent trend of bizarre behavior from VPN providers. "What's with these VPN companies doing this nonsense lately," one commenter noted.

For many, the misstep isn't just a simple mistake but proof that shock-value advertising can easily alienate a core audience relying on these tools for safety.

The AI security elephant in the room

The Hitler video isn't the only issue causing subscribers to hit the cancel button. Screenshots circulating alongside the controversial ad show Windscribe openly discussing its extensive use of artificial intelligence in day-to-day operations.

The company publicly confirmed that its support, coding, and testing are handled by AI.

Wait till you hear how we do support, write and test a lot of our code....August 19, 2026

While integrating artificial intelligence tools is becoming standard practice across the software industry, virtual private network (VPN) users are notoriously protective of their data.

A service designed to encrypt sensitive information and hide digital footprints requires bulletproof cybersecurity practices. The idea that a company's core infrastructure or testing protocols might rely too much on AI has led to understandable anxiety. Bragging about AI while simultaneously botching a PR stunt doesn't inspire confidence.

For now, Windscribe's attempts to go viral have succeeded, but entirely for the wrong reasons. Until the company addresses the community's concerns, its reputation as a reliable guardian of online privacy remains under a heavy cloud.

When you open a forecasting app, you simply select a location, choose an hour and read the answer.

Behind that screen, however, lies one of the hardest prediction problems in science.

The atmosphere is a three-dimensional, constantly changing system.

Before a model can predict what it will do next, it must first answer a surprisingly difficult question: what exactly is the atmosphere doing right now?

We never see the whole atmosphere

No single instrument provides a complete picture of the weather. Weather radars detect precipitation particles. Satellites observe clouds, moisture and temperatures from space. Ground stations measure conditions at individual locations. Weather balloons and aircraft provide information from different altitudes.

Each source has its own resolution, update frequency, coverage gaps and measurement errors. Building the current state of the atmosphere is therefore like reconstructing traffic across an entire city using cameras that point in different directions, refresh at different times and leave many streets completely invisible.

Meteorologists call the process of combining observations with a previous forecast “data assimilation”. It produces an estimate of the current atmospheric state, known as an analysis, from which the next forecast begins.

As ECMWF explains, forecast quality depends crucially on the accuracy of this analysis. Even an excellent model will struggle if its starting picture is incomplete, inaccurate or already out of date.

Why apps lie

One common short-term forecasting technique is optical flow. It analyses consecutive radar images, estimates how precipitation is moving and extrapolates that motion into the future. This can work well when a rain band is moving steadily. The problem is that storms are not static shapes sliding across a map. They form, intensify, weaken, split and merge. A new convective cell can appear where no rain existed 20 minutes earlier.

Imagine a storm approaching a mountain. A simple extrapolation may predict that it will continue moving at the same speed. In reality, the terrain can alter airflow, slow the system and contribute to heavier rain or hail. The challenge is therefore not only predicting where existing precipitation will move. A useful model must also predict how the weather system itself will change.

Another issue is that large-scale models are good at describing weather fronts, pressure systems and atmospheric circulation across countries and continents. But many events that affect people and businesses happen on a much smaller scale. A thunderstorm may affect one part of a city while leaving another almost dry.

A cloud front can sharply reduce output at one solar farm but miss another facility 20 kilometers away. Wind conditions can differ substantially between the ground, a rooftop and the altitude at which a drone operates. Those they can’t predict.

Weather is also highly sensitive to its initial state. Small uncertainties in temperature, humidity or wind can grow as a forecast extends further into the future. This is the real meaning of the “butterfly effect”. It does not mean that one faulty sensor automatically destroys a global forecast. It means that we can never measure the atmosphere perfectly, and uncertainty in its initial state grows over time.

That is why modern forecasting systems increasingly produce ensembles: multiple plausible forecasts rather than one supposedly certain answer. For many decisions, knowing that there is a 30% probability of a severe storm is more useful than receiving a confident prediction that later turns out to be wrong.

Not to late

Latency is one of the least discussed sources of forecast error. Consider a model that produces an excellent forecast based on atmospheric conditions measured two hours ago. If a thunderstorm formed 20 minutes ago, the forecast may already be operationally useless, regardless of how sophisticated the model is.

The World Meteorological Organization defines nowcasting as detailed local forecasting from the present up to six hours ahead. For real-world applications, however, nowcasting is more than a forecast horizon. It requires a continuous pipeline that collects new observations, checks their quality, synchronizes them in time, runs the model and delivers an updated result within minutes.

At the same time, real-time weather forecasting does not mean literally zero delay. What system does is keeps listening to the atmosphere and updates quickly enough to influence the decision being made.

And that means a lot for some industries. A consumer deciding whether to take an umbrella may tolerate an imperfect hourly forecast. Many operational systems cannot. A delivery drone needs to know whether heavy precipitation, icing or dangerous wind will cross its route before it reaches the area. An airport may need to adjust runway operations as a thunderstorm develops nearby.

A solar operator needs to anticipate a fast-moving cloud front before generation suddenly falls. Logistics and mobility platforms can reroute vehicles before flooding or severe rain disrupts a road network.

The same principle applies to outdoor events, emergency services, agriculture and energy trading. These users do not simply need “tomorrow’s weather”. They need to know what is changing, where it is changing and whether there is still time to act.

AI makes forecasting faster, but speed alone is not enough

AI weather models can generate forecasts much faster and with less computing power than many traditional numerical models. Some already outperform physics-based systems on particular variables and forecast horizons. But AI does not eliminate the observation problem.

Most global AI forecasting models still begin with an atmospheric analysis produced by traditional numerical weather prediction infrastructure. If that analysis is several hours old, fast inference cannot make the initial state current again.

AI models can also underestimate the intensity of rare events because extreme examples are underrepresented in their training data and because some training methods favor smoother, more statistically likely outcomes. Recent research has found that leading AI models can produce larger errors than physics-based systems when forecasting record-breaking heat, cold and wind events.

This is why the future is unlikely to be a simple contest between AI and physics. ECMWF already runs its operational AI forecasting system alongside its traditional physics-based model.

The strongest architecture will combine global models, high-frequency local observations, AI-based nowcasting, physical constraints and probabilistic estimates of uncertainty.

We've reviewed, rated, and ranked the best cloud backup platforms.

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

Corsair remains one of the premier RAM-makers in our experience, and while much of the attention this year has been on soaring DDR5 prices, but DDR4 hasn't escaped the wider memory squeeze either, making upgrades much more expensive than they were last year.

Still, for a nice saving on a top memory maker, the 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 kit is down to $260 (was $300) at Newegg.

What you're getting for your money is a well-established Corsair kit with a good combination of capacity, speed and relatively tight timings for an existing DDR4 system.

32GB Vengeance RGB Pro RAM: was $299.99 now $259.99
The kit consists of two 16GB DDR4-3200 modules running at CL16, with 16-20-20-38 timings. Intel XMP 2.0 support lets compatible systems apply the performance profile through the BIOS. Each module also has an anodized aluminum heat spreader and ten individually addressable RGB LEDs.View Deal

Why we recommend it

DDR4-3200 CL16 remains a decent specification for many existing Intel and AMD DDR4 systems. It offers reasonably tight latency, and the two-module configuration gives you a straightforward dual-channel setup.

Corsair also uses a custom PCB and screened memory ICs with stability and overclocking in mind. XMP 2.0 makes reaching the rated settings straightforward on compatible hardware so there's no need to configure timings manually.

It looks good too. The RGB implementation gives you ten individually addressable LEDs on each module, with extensive customization available through iCUE.

Price context & historical value

$259.99 is around 13% off the usual $299.99 asking price. That's not too bad in today's expensive memory market, but 32GB DDR4 kits have sold for an awful lot less in the not-so recent past.

Memory prices have risen massively this year (thanks mainly to AI), so this is about reducing what you have to pay now, rather than getting anywhere close to when DDR4 was cheap.

For more savings, we've picked out this week's best RAM deals.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro if...

You have an existing DDR4 desktop that needs more memory and want a 32GB dual-channel kit rather than replacing the rest of your platform just to move to DDR5. It's suitable for systems where 16GB is beginning to feel restrictive when multitasking or running memory-hungry apps.

❌ Skip the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro if...

You're building an entirely new PC and have the option of choosing a DDR5 platform. Buying DDR4 makes much more sense as an upgrade that extends the life of an existing machine than as the foundation of a new high-end system.

Part of the appeal of Vengeance RGB Pro is its lighting and design, and if you don't need that then a less elaborate 32GB DDR4 kit may make more sense and cost less.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The biggest issue is obvious: $259.99 is still a lot of money for 32GB of DDR4. That said, you're not going to find many bargains right now, so any saving is still worth considering.

These RGB modules also have relatively tall heat spreaders, so clearance is worth checking if you use a large CPU air cooler.

• See all desktop memory at Newegg

• Microsoft has concocted another scheme to pay people to use Edge
• It's a referral link that gives you reward points for every friend invited
• A strange Bing app has also been spotted that switches some browsers to have Microsoft's search engine by default, and it's proving controversial

Microsoft is once again pushing Edge — and also Bing — in promotional efforts that may elicit more than a few groans from Windows 11 users.

We're used to this kind of thing in Windows 11, mind, and I'll come back to Bing later, as this is an apparent plan that hasn't kicked into action yet. However, the latest Edge scheme is active, and as Windows Latest reports, it's offering financial incentives to get people to use Microsoft's web browser.

This is happening on the mobile version of Edge where users are being offered a referral scheme. If you can get a friend to switch to Edge via a referral link, you'll receive 500 Microsoft Rewards points (with the ability to accumulate up to 7,500 points per month if you're feeling ambitious).

The person you invite can't be an existing Edge user (they must never have installed the mobile browser), and they will also earn 500 points for signing up. However, your invited friend must sign into Edge and use the browser for at least two days (web searching on Bing, too) within the first two weeks of being referred.

Windows Latest observes that there's no way to access this referral scheme should you be interested — you'll just have to keep using Edge mobile and wait until it's presented to you.

As well as the promotion of Bing in that offer (in terms of the requirement to use the search engine for a couple of days), there's a more brazen initiative to push Bing usage that Windows Latest also spotted.

This was highlighted in a post on X by leaker Xeno who discovered a small app called 'Microsoft Recommended Search' which has one sole and simple purpose: to change your default search engine to Bing.

When run, it offers up a simple slider to set Bing as the default engine, and if you allow this, the app switches to Microsoft's search engine across some of your installed browsers. That means Chrome and Firefox, and also apparently Brave and possibly others, via extensions which are added to these browsers. Apparently the experience is rounded off by sending the user to the Microsoft Rewards page.

Where is this app exactly? Thankfully it isn't something that's being deployed to Windows 11, and Windows Latest notes that it's just a standalone application hosted on Microsoft's official download servers (download.microsoft.com) — for the time being, anyway.

Analysis: an ominous sign?

(Image credit: Tada Images / Shutterstock)

Does this mean that the Bing switching application is something Microsoft intends to pipe out to Windows 11 at some point? That's the obvious worry, because you've got to wonder why Microsoft built this mini app in the first place. I'm guessing that this is something for use in testing, though, and not active deployment — although it could come to Windows 11 in theory (or something similar could).

I really hope not, and given that Microsoft is doing its level best to get everyone to appreciate its desktop OS this year, it's obvious that anything along these lines would be highly counterproductive to that goal.

However, there's plenty of suspicion on Reddit about Microsoft's intentions here, and chatter from those who've already switched to Linux, pointing out that this kind of thing is exactly why they migrated. As one Redditor put it: "Every day is a Microslop news day, I'm so glad I quit Windows a while ago." There are quite a few others in that thread who see this as another reason to defect to Linux, despite the fact that nothing has happened with this Bing app yet.

As for the referral scheme to promote Edge, this isn't the first time Microsoft has effectively offered lowkey bribes to get people to switch to the browser. Indeed, the likes of million-dollar prizes have been thrown around recently (and the same has been true of Bing in the past). Not that there's anything wrong with this idea in principle, except it does show that Microsoft's getting rather desperate in its efforts to recruit folks to use Edge and Bing.

The most baffling part of all with Edge is that it's a good web browser which stands on its own merits, and I think it would benefit from not being promoted so much (as that activity only makes people suspicious, or determined not to use Edge as a reaction to being constantly cajoled about it).

TP-Link's Roam 7, a compact Wi-Fi 7 travel router, proved to be an impressive essential when we tested real-world performance, connecting to public hotspots to create our own private Wi-Fi network. Currently, the TP-Link Roam 7 is down to $90 (was $130) at Amazon.

And you're not limited to repeating public Wi-Fi. The Roam 7 can use an Ethernet connection or USB phone tethering, operate as an access point or range extender, and connect wired devices to a wireless network, making it useful for business trips and working on the move beyond hotel rooms. In the UK, TP-Link's Wi-Fi 7 mobile router is now £100 (was £160) at Amazon.

Roam 7 BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Portable Travel Router: was $129.99 now $89.98
A dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router offering theoretical speeds of up to 2,882Mbps over 5GHz and 688Mbps over 2.4GHz. Wired connectivity includes a 2.5Gbps WAN port and 1Gbps LAN. It can create a network for as many as 90 devices simultaneously.

In the UK: now £100 (was £160)View Deal

Why we recommend it

The Roam 7's biggest strength is its flexibility. Depending on what's available, it can get online through public Wi-Fi, Ethernet or USB phone tethering, rather than relying on one particular type of connection.

In his 4.5-star review, our expert Alastair said: "If you work in different locations with multiple devices, then an option like the TP-Link Roam 7 makes absolute sense. Connect the router to the internet, then connect all other devices to it; no need to reconnect each. It offers a balanced set of security features, including VPN support, making it a great solution at a lower price than most mobile routers."

He also called it a "very appealing as an option to use anywhere, be that traveling or in a location that you just want to set up a private network, such as in an office, studio or workshop where a separate network can be useful."

Price context & historical value

The Roam 7 usually sells for $129.99, and $89.98 is a reasonable $40 (31%) saving. We have seen it cheaper in the past though, but not massively. The price has dropped to a low of $80, but not for long. I'd saying paying around $10 more today still makes this a good deal, especially if you need a travel router now.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the TP-Link Roam 7 if...

You regularly travel with several connected devices or want an easier way to share hotel, Airbnb, airport or other public Wi-Fi. Once the router is connected, your devices can use the private network you've created rather than each having to connect to the public network individually.

Setup through TP-Link's Tether app is quick, and the full web interface provides extensive options for managing the network and connected devices.

❌ Skip the TP-Link Roam 7 if...

You want a completely self-contained mobile router. The Roam 7 doesn't have an internal battery or SIM slot, so you'll need to supply power over USB and provide an internet connection via Ethernet, public Wi-Fi, phone tethering or a USB modem.

I'd also skip it if you're specifically looking for tri-band Wi-Fi 7. Despite supporting Wi-Fi 7, the Roam 7 operates over the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and doesn't support 6GHz.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

Don't mistake the Roam 7 for a mobile hotspot that provides an internet connection by itself. There's no internal SIM or battery, so it needs both an external power source and an available internet connection.

OpenWrt isn't supported and while the router can make managing and sharing public Wi-Fi considerably easier, it can't improve a painfully slow hotel connection unless you have an alternative connection available for failover.

Also consider

Roam 6 Ax1500 Portable Wi-Fi 6 Travel Router Dual-Band Usb C 3.0: was $59.99 now $49.98
If you want to spend less, consider the Roam 6 which offers dual-band Wi-Fi 6 up to 1,501Mbps, support for 60 devices, dual Gigabit Ethernet, USB-C, phone tethering, multiple operating modes, OpenVPN and WireGuard support.View Deal

• Shop all routers at Amazon

• SickKids hospital in Canada hit by third‑party software vulnerability, exposing employee data
• Clinical systems and patient records unaffected; patient care continued without disruption
• Affected staff and applicants offered 24 months of free credit monitoring and identity protection

The Hospital for Sick Children, a major pediatric hospital in Canada, suffered a cyberattack that affected parts of its website, and resulted in the loss of some employee personal information.

In an announcement published on its website, the organization (also known as SickKids) said the unnamed attackers abused a “vulnerability in a third-party software application used by SickKids and other organizations.” The announcement did not say exactly which app was used in the attack, or what the vulnerability was, but stressed that clinical systems and patient information were not affected.

“Patient care has continued as usual”, it added.

This is not SickKids' first attack

After launching an investigation, SickKids learned that personal information of some former and current employees working at SickKids, Boomerang, and SickKids Foundation, as well as SickKids job applications, was exposed. It did not detail the nature of the exposed information, or how many people are affected.

Whatever that number is, those people have been offered 24 months of complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services, for free.

“We remain committed to maintaining strong protections and continuously enhancing our cybersecurity measures to help protect the information entrusted to us,” the company concluded. Ironically, SickKids was also committed in late 2022 and early 2023, when it was struck by LockBit and had its systems locked down by the ransomware threat actor.

While, in that incident, LockBit apologized, gave the decryptor away for free, excommunicated the affiliate responsible, and did not mention any stolen data, by late 2022 double extortion attacks were standard practice, meaning data was likely exfiltrated then, as well.

At the time, LockBit was one of the most active and most dangerous ransomware operators. In early 2024, its operations were severely disrupted through Operation Cronos, but it seems the group is making a comeback. There are reports from late 2025 of LockBit 5.0 claims, including a purported attack on U.S Bank, but the news is yet to be confirmed.

Via The Record

Having tested out the Beelink EQi mini PC, we were delighted to find an Intel-powered machine that's "highly tuned" for the office. Built around Intel's new Wildcat Lake Core 3 304 processor, which features five cores, five threads and speeds of up to 4.3GHz, right now the Beelink EQi is down to $469 (was $549) at Amazon.

It comes with 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, with an 85W power supply built into the chassis. You get both 10GbE and 2.5GbE Ethernet alongside Wi-Fi 6E, making the EQi particularly good for fast NAS access, large file transfers, server duties and network-heavy home-office setups.

EQi Mini PC: was $549 now $469
The Intel Core 3 304 can reach 4.3GHz and is accompanied by integrated Intel graphics and 16GB of LPDDR5 memory. Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI provide support for three simultaneous 4K displays at 60Hz. You also get five USB ports, Bluetooth, and useful business features including Wake-on-LAN, PXE Boot and automatic power-on.View Deal

Why we recommend it

The Beelink EQi is very well equipped for a compact office or networked workspace.

In his 4.5-star rave review, our expert Alastair said: "The EQi is highly tuned to an office environment, and when connected to my 10GbE network, it felt right at home. When opening Microsoft Office, Lightroom, and browsing the internet, the speed was surprisingly sharp."

He went on to explain that the "strength of this machine comes in day-to-day office work, where it excels," declaring it to be "one of the more capable small machines I have tested this year."

For more top performers, we've selected the best mini PCs to undergo our tests.

Also consider

A6 mini PC: was $649 now $549
The A6 packs a Ryzen 7 6800H, Radeon 680M graphics, 16GB DDR5 RAM, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, USB4, 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 6E, and support for four 4K displays.

Read our full 4.5-star reviewView Deal

M5 Ultra Mini PC: was $499.99 now $449.99
The GMKtec M5 Ultra packs a Ryzen 7 7730U, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, Radeon graphics, dual 2.5GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6E, and support for three 8K displays.

Read our 4-star reviewView Deal

Price context & historical value

At $469, the Beelink EQi is $80 below its usual $549 price at Amazon, around 15% off. That's not an enormous saving, and it has been cheaper in the past. It was as low as $330 around this time last year, but like a lot of devices the price went up considerably in 2026 due to increases in components. That said, this is still a very good deal. 10GbE networking and Thunderbolt 4 aren't features I'd normally expect to see in a sub-$500 productivity mini PC.

For more savings, we've also checked for this week's best mini PC deals.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Beelink EQi if...

You want a mini PC with the combination of 10GbE and 2.5GbE networking. Triple 4K output gives you plenty of desktop space, and Thunderbolt 4 provides a versatile 40Gbps connection for docks, external storage and other high-speed peripherals.

❌ Skip the Beelink EQi if...

You primarily want the most CPU or graphics performance possible for $469. The Core 3 304 is designed to provide efficient everyday performance rather than compete with the more powerful Ryzen 7 and Core Ultra processors. The 16GB of LPDDR5 memory is also fixed, so unlike the storage, you can't expand it later.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The supplied 512GB UFS 3.1 storage is the biggest compromise. It's functional for Windows, applications and everyday files, but it isn't the PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD you might expect to find as the primary storage in a mini PC at this price.

Fortunately, the two M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots give you a straightforward upgrade path. The bigger limitation is the soldered 16GB LPDDR5 memory. You'll need to consider whether that will be enough RAM for your long-term needs.

• See all mini PCs at Amazon

The challenge for marketers has quickly shifted from not having enough data to make informed decisions to having so much data that it becomes nearly impossible to organize, present, and act on it in any meaningful way.

I had the opportunity to talk to Tara Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitly, to get her insight into how modern businesses can better understand what data really matters, how to collect it, and how to move away from making 'gut-feel' decisions that could be costing your business.

How is AI changing how potential customers interact with marketing content?

The clicks that do happen mean so much more.

Tara Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitly

AI has changed the early stages of the customer journey pretty significantly. People still want to make informed purchase decisions, but increasingly, they’re researching and comparing options inside AI tools and LLMs rather than exclusively clicking through a traditional search results page. That creates a much bigger “dark funnel” for marketers because more of the customer journey occurs in places we can’t easily see or measure.

At the same time, the visibility signals we’ve historically relied on are becoming less reliable. Ranking highly on a SERP, for example, doesn’t necessarily translate to the same level of traffic when AI Overviews can give someone the information they need without requiring a click.

On the other hand, since there are now fewer clicks than before AI became so intertwined in discovery, the clicks that do happen mean so much more. If someone looks at the AI summary, gets the answer they need, and still clicks, that shows real intent, not just casual browsing.

So, marketers should really strive to change their mindset from “how can I get more clicks” to “how do I make sure I know what's happening with the clicks I do get, and how do I create content good enough that a human or an AI system wants to surface it in the first place.

Your recent study found that 56% of marketers rely on gut instinct to make marketing decisions. With so much data now at marketers' fingertips, why do you think this is still the case?

This stat has stayed with me the most since we gathered the data. It’s not that marketers don’t want to be data-driven, but that the data they collect is spread across too many tools, making it difficult to make strategic decisions in real-time.

Our research revealed that teams are juggling an average of six different tools to measure performance, and more than a third are using seven or more. With this amount of data on hand, many would think that this provides clear campaign performance insights. Instead, the data is fragmented and typically focuses on only one channel. Very few are integrated with other tools, so teams are looking at pieces instead of the full picture.

So when faced with a tool and data overload, marketers lean on what has worked for them in the past, which is often going with their gut. This isn’t a bad strategy when the data fails to bring clear insights because those efforts worked for a reason, but in today’s landscape, that’s not what’s going to create success. Just because one tactic worked in a previous campaign doesn’t mean it will work again in the current one. My take is that the fix isn't "try harder to be data-driven"; it's giving people faster, cleaner signals that are easier to access so instinct becomes the backup plan instead of the default.

Your report also shows that 73% of marketers only realize a campaign is underperforming after it’s too late. What processes and tools can marketers put in place to ensure data is timely and helpful?

Locked-in budgets were the number one thing marketers told us limits their ability to act on what they're seeing.

Tara Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitly

My biggest tip is to be proactive.

Instead of looking at the data at a campaign level and analyzing it after it's complete, look at the interaction level and get granular with your insights from clicks, scans, and visits.

The overarching issue is that 86% of marketers wait until a project is complete to analyze data at the broader campaign level. By the time final reporting comes around, the budget is spent, and the window to optimize is closed. Analyzing granular interactions in the early days of a campaign gives you the agility to adjust in real time.

Other tips I usually share are to set a check-in point when campaigns are being built instead of waiting until after to see if it works. Set multiple, if needed, especially when just starting out.

Second, use AI to help with data analysis to accelerate the time-to-insight process. It’s still a good idea to always double-check your work, since AI can still make mistakes, but we found that marketers who incorporate AI into their workflows report receiving faster data insights and are more confident in their decisions, yet only 16% are actually doing this today.

Finally, build a little flexibility into your budget and your plan. Locked-in budgets were the number one thing marketers told us limits their ability to act on what they're seeing — you can have perfect visibility and still be stuck if there's no room to move.

How should small businesses use AI to better understand their data and make more informed marketing decisions?

Small businesses don't usually have a dedicated marketing team to thoroughly review, analyze, and act on the data that’s collected behind marketing activity. AI-enabled tools can help close that gap and surface insights to help direct the "what's next?" decision.

The goal isn't to get every new tool that comes to market, but to make sure the tools they already use provide clear insights quickly. Instead of exporting a spreadsheet and trying to manually figure out why last week's numbers moved, you should be able to just ask the tool.

I would start small. For example, business owners could ask AI assistants to provide weekly summaries of what changed. This way, if some of the numbers aren’t adding up, the issue can be detected sooner. When you are the one running the show, any way to save time on routine tasks is helpful. The businesses getting real value aren't the ones with the most sophisticated AI setup; they're the ones who made asking questions and getting answers often and quickly a habit.

Around 18% of marketers said they struggled to connect marketing efforts with customer retention. Beyond repeat purchases, which metrics can marketers monitor to better understand customer lifetime value?

Repeat purchases tell you a customer came back. They don't tell you why, or how close that customer might be to leaving anyway. To actually understand lifetime value, I look at three things beyond the purchase itself:

Customer research and direct feedback. NPS and CSAT are useful, but only if you're measuring them at the moments that matter, not once a year in a company-wide survey. Score it right after onboarding, right after a support ticket, right before renewal. The number tells you something moved; the open-ended verbatims tell you why. That qualitative layer is what most retention dashboards are missing.

Activation and usage depth, especially if you're product-led. Time to first value, breadth of feature adoption, whether usage is expanding or flatlining. A customer who renews but uses less of your product every month isn't retained; they're on their way out and still paying you for now. Watching usage trendlines catches that months before the churn shows up in your revenue numbers.

What happens in the white space between purchases. Are they opening your emails, engaging with your content, actually using your loyalty program? Rising support ticket volume or a drop-off in engagement is usually the earliest signal you'll get that something's wrong, well before it shows up as a lost customer.

None of this replaces repeat purchase rate as a metric. It just gives you the why behind the number, and enough runway to act on it before the customer is already gone.

Top-level metrics often give an idea of the way a campaign is going, but don’t always give the full picture. What micro-interactions and signals should people be looking for?

These analytics are what I think marketers aren’t focusing on enough. When reviewing success at the program and campaign levels, reporting gives you an overall view of how performance went, but it won’t provide the specifics.

More than half of the marketers who participated in our study said they focus on high-level strategy to inform decisions, while only 14% actually track micro-interactions such as individual clicks, scans, or page visits.

The small, seemingly inconsequential data points are often where the real story lies. Knowing which specific link or QR code is gaining the most traction, or even which channel it originated from. Whether a spike in engagement on one post actually correlates with anything downstream or is just noise. Knowing what happened before they converted could make the difference between a successful and failing campaign.

Even going as small as the time and location patterns can be helpful. Are most of the interactions coming from a QR code located in the store or one shared digitally? These small indicators reveal insights into customer intent. None of these metrics typically end up on top-line dashboards or reports, but when viewed as a whole, you can review which touchpoints are performing well and which ones aren’t.

How can businesses cut bloat when picking which marketing and analytical tools are right for them?

Fewer, better-connected tools will always beat more tools that don't talk to each other.

Tara Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitly

I suggest beginning with a thorough review of the tools you currently use and what you would be losing if you let it go. Tools are often added to the stack to solve one problem at a time, and a year later, those issues might no longer be relevant. Be mindful of what each offers and whether you truly need them, and always remember that you should be looking at your strategy BEFORE your tooling. Not the other way around.

Before adding a new tool to the stack, ask yourself what is unique about this product that nothing else you currently use provides. If features overlap, you don’t need to have both. I’d also consider whether those tools integrate well with the other programs you’re using. They are often forgotten about if they aren’t directly in your workflow. Fewer, better-connected tools will always beat more tools that don't talk to each other — that's basically the key finding of our research in one sentence.

• NordVPN found a malware campaign impersonating 65 brands
• It tricks victims into clicking on messages requesting urgent action
• If you use an Android phone, it’s worth checking your apps

Summer is still in full swing with many people out enjoying their holidays. Unfortunately, cybercriminals never stop trying to steal money by tricking people into believing they are on trustworthy websites or using legitimate apps — especially when our attention is more likely to wander.

That’s what NordVPN, the pinnacle of the best VPNs, recently investigated, issuing an alert urging caution over a widespread and sophisticated malware campaign targeting Android users through highly convincing phishing schemes.

The malware is posing as over 65 well-known brands, including Ryanair, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, as well as tax authorities, registry offices, and social security systems that lure you into downloading their apps.

The dangerous trojan tracks your messages and logins, spies on you through your camera, records your voice, and bypasses two-factor authentication before ultimately draining your bank account.

The campaign has targeted users in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

NordVPN – the best VPN overall
NordVPN came out on top in our 2026 round of VPN tests. We think it's the best VPN for most people. We’re confident that virtually anyone can sign up for NordVPN and get what they need from it. It’s easy to use, very secure, fast enough for gaming, and offers flawless streaming service unblocking.

Subscriptions start from $3.49 per month, and you can try it out risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

What the research found

NordVPN spent the last 12 months investigating the malware campaign — including its infrastructure and impersonation targets — analysing malware clusters and mapping more than 100 domains linked to the campaign.

It discovered that the campaign tricks users into installing an app that grants full access to their Android phones or computers by impersonating highly trustworthy companies — brands people are accustomed to providing their personal data without questioning it.

Victims are lured by a variety of requests via SMS, WhatsApp, or social media that look totally innocuous, like a job opening at an airline, a cheap flight, or a tax refund.

Once installed, the Trojan runs quietly in the background and stays active even if the phone is restarted, accessing your messages and call logs, capturing the screen, recording audio, and accessing the camera.

Attackers can even log into the victim's banking app and approve transactions themselves by using SMS interception to steal your money, as most banks implement two-factor authentication through one-time codes sent by text.

Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN, says: "One install, and the phone is no longer yours. The attacker sees your screen, reads your SMS codes, and empties your accounts from the inside."

Trusted brands are often the most spoofed brands in phishing scams, alongside other malware 'tricks' to gain trust, such as multi-platform PR campaigns promoting malware as legitimate software, or even Chrome extensions impersonating VPNs.

However, unlike many opportunistic phishing attempts, these attacks have been particularly hard to spot, featuring extremely accurate replicas of legitimate websites, meticulously copied and professionally translated.

How to stay safe

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Briedis advises Android users to be very careful not to install apps from links received via text message. "Real airlines, banks and government bodies distribute apps through Google Play, not SMS or WhatsApp," he stresses.

As with other AI impersonating scams, users should treat any urgent request as a warning sign: whenever there is mention of a refund or an account being blocked, check the source carefully before clicking on anything or taking any action.

Checking that a website is legitimate and does not operate from domains ending in .cc, .lol, .xyz, .mom, or .pw will be a clear safety indicator.

Furthermore, do not rely on 'the padlock icon': an HTTPS connection merely indicates that the connection is encrypted, not that the site is genuine.

If you suspect that a suspicious app is already on your phone, disconnect your phone from the internet, uninstall the app, change your password from another device, and contact your bank: this will ensure you’re back in the clear.

And remember that if even the current UK Prime Minister can be a scam target, perhaps you should remain vigilant too.

• AI claims another victim: Dr. Dre admits to using it for music production
• The legendary producer doesn't detail how he uses it, though
• Certain uses could run him afoul of new streaming pushes

Another former musician has admitted to embracing artificial intelligence — Dr. Dre, formerly of N.W.A, has admitted that he uses AI when he's producing music.

In an interview with the New York Times the rapper, who's actually called Andre Romell Young, joined the likes of David Guetta, Timbaland and Grimes in admitting to using AI in their works.

"It's a new tool for creativity," Dre said, "I'm embracing it. I can't wait to see what's going to happen with this." He also repeated a common AI-user talking point, comparing it to drum machines or synthesizers and describing how much of a backlash there was against those now-common tools when they were first introduced.

In the interview, Dr. Dre didn't open up about how he actually uses AI. So it's not clear whether he uses it to artificially create entire tracks or stems, like Boy George infamously did with his We Will Dance Again, or simply to isolate elements of existing tracks, as Paul McCartney famously did to remaster a Beatles song.

Given how many simple tech tools are labelled as AI, he could simply be using it to organize files.

Dre runs afoul of the streaming war

(Image credit: Deezer / TechRadar)

Streaming services are currently waging a war against the deluge of AI music which gets dumped on their platforms daily. According to Deezer, half of its uploads are AI-generated, and the issue has pushed the major platforms to lay down the law with AI slop.

Deezer has been busy releasing non-AI features and unveiling AI removal filters, while Qobuz recently spoke to us about its own plans to tackle AI, and Tidal doesn't give royalties to AI music. Spotify has been much slower on the draw than its rivals, but even it recently unveiled an AI Persona tag to identify 'artists' who aren't real people.

It was done best by Bandcamp, which simply and easily banned music which was "generated wholly or in substantial part by AI". Now that's how you stick up for your users.

Given that he's a known entity in the music world, with a large back catalog that predates AI, it's very unlikely that Dr. Dre would fall afoul of these existing anti-AI rules. You're not going to see an AI tag on California Love, or find Straight Outta Compton has been demonetized.

But the goalposts are constantly changing, as music streaming services cotton onto just how much listeners hate AI slop, and discover new ways of identifying and quashing artificial music. While Dre's ambiguous AI use won't break streaming service rules now, that could change as these services redefine what they allow.

The current narrative around enterprise AI is rapidly shifting from the excitement of the pilot phase to the sobering reality of production. As organizations race to integrate generative AI into their workflows, they are hitting a wall that has less to do with technology capability and everything to do with how those models are deployed.

Increasingly, companies are discovering that the problem isn't AI itself, but the assumption that every task requires the most powerful model available. This has led to widespread "tokenmaxxing" - the tendency to default to the largest and most expensive models even when a smaller, cheaper alternative could complete a task.

Rather than matching the right model to the right job, many organizations assume every workflow requires frontier-level reasoning power.

This over-engineering of automation creates a structural drag on profitability. When companies treat every problem as if it requires a frontier model, infrastructure costs inevitably outpace the value of output.

The market is witnessing the consequences of this approach, with reports of major enterprises burning through entire AI budgets in months and canceling internal licenses as costs spiral.

As enterprises experience AI sticker shock, it is becoming clear that AI spending is often outpacing the tangible value it delivers.

Moving beyond the pilot trap

The core issue is that the success of isolated, controlled pilots often serves as the benchmark for current enterprise AI initiatives. In a pilot, the variables are limited, and the cost per process looks manageable. But the moment those floodgates open to enterprise-wide usage, the messy reality of production, edge cases, multistep retries, and high-volume variability, takes hold.

Because probabilistic AI generates a different cost for every run, it creates an unpredictable expense that finance departments cannot forecast. With traditional software, a fixed budget aligns with a predictable cost per task. With AI, that stability is missing. When the same process costs one dollar one day and a hundred dollars the next, it cannot be safely moved onto an operating budget.

This is why 80% of enterprises admit they miss AI cost forecasts by more than 25%, and over 95% of GenAI pilots fail to reach meaningful production. Enterprises are not currently optimizing a cost-to-value ratio; they are discovering that ratio the hard way, often after the financial damage is already done. For many leaders, the only perceived lever left is to "use less", throttling usage or restricting access.

But this response is flawed. The real shock is not the size of the bill itself, but the realization that the only lever management has left is to restrict consumption. By rationing access, the organization is effectively admitting that its AI implementation is too costly to run at scale, turning a potential competitive advantage into a defensive retreat.

Rethinking the economics of automation

Today, most organizations focus on optimizing model selection, essentially deciding which model should handle a task, but the bigger opportunity lies in optimizing the work itself. Because costs reset every time a request starts from scratch inside a large model, assuming every task requires a frontier-level LLM quickly becomes an expensive mistake.

Standard routing tools operate at the request level: they look at an incoming task and forward it to whichever model seems adequate, but that model still performs the entire task as a single, opaque generation. The only thing being optimized is which model answers, and nothing produced makes the next run any cheaper. True scalability requires going one level deeper.

This requires shifting toward an architecture that owns the business process rather than relying entirely on the underlying model. Rather than simply routing work to an endpoint, this architectural approach manages the process itself. It sits above individual models, breaking a workflow into discrete, code-backed steps to generate an auditable trace at every stage.

This single architectural choice is what separates structural optimization from surface-level cost management, offering a depth of efficiency that conventional routing tools cannot reach. This shift leads to a more efficient cost structure. Rather than relying on a single model to perform every task, computation is distributed across specialized, code-backed steps, improving resource utilization and changing how the workflow is executed.

In a high-volume loan- processing workflow, for example, this approach improves overall economics by reducing reliance on expensive model inference where it is not required. Moving toward this modular, process-driven architecture provides a sustainable path for managing the costs of high-volume operations.

Because the process is decoupled from any specific provider, organizations retain full flexibility. They can freely apply optimization strategies, rotating between frontier LLMs, open-source weights, and smaller specialized models as performance and cost needs evolve, without having to rebuild their core infrastructure.

And because every execution produces a deterministic, auditable trace of reasoning steps, tool calls, and outcomes, those records become valuable data assets, improving specialized alternatives that already know how to handle predictable tasks without defaulting to general-purpose calls.

Elevating human capacity through precision

The goal of this new approach is to transition from AI as a capped experiment to AI as the standard means of performing work. When repetitive cognitive tasks, such as verifying data or confirming disclosures, are handled by automated digital workers, the human role changes entirely. Analysts are no longer forced to spend their day manually opening files and keying in data; instead, they shift their focus to high-judgment exceptions, complex strategy, and creative problem-solving.

This is the promise of sustainable AI adoption. By converting unpredictable expenses into a known cost base and focusing on re-architecting workflows rather than just swapping models, companies can finally open the floodgates. This gives organizations a path toward sustainable and measurable ROI as adoption scales, empowering their workforce to focus on the high- value, evaluative work that technology cannot replicate.

The future of enterprise AI will not be determined by model capability alone, but by the ability to deploy integral AI systems that finally make the technology economically viable at scale. It is time to leave behind the era of unsustainable experimentation and embrace a disciplined, architectural approach to AI adoption. For organizations ready to move beyond the pilot stage, the challenge is no longer proving that AI works. It's making it economical enough to scale.

We've reviewed, rated, and ranked the best business laptops.

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