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• Synseer's HealthBuds claim 'hearing, heart and health monitoring' perks
• An in-ear infra and ultrasonic operating system takes your heart rate
• The catch? The price – plus the $30 monthly subscription fee on top

When it comes to health tracking features there’s pretty much nothing that the best smartwatches can't do, but audio company Synseer aims to be the next fitness tracking contender, with its new HealthBuds wireless earphones.

Like the newly released Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, they're fitted with heart and ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) abilities, but you also get hearing health tech (the kind you'll only find in Apple's top-tier AirPods Pro 2.

Synseer's HealthBuds are launching today (March 10), and while they sound innovative on paper, there are a few catches you need to know about – and a subscription fee that leaves me with more questions than answers.

(Image credit: Synseer)

Synseer’s HealthBuds claim to pack simultaneous heart and hearing health tracking, which is already a step up from a number of the best earbuds – with the exception of the aforementioned PowerBeats Pro 2, Sennheiser Momentum Sport earbuds and a few others. The HealthBuds are designed for around-the-clock fitness tracking, meaning that they operate in the background while you’re taking a call or listening to your favorite songs.

Using an in-ear infra and ultrasonic operating system to detect changes within the ear, the HealthBuds are Synseer’s first personal health device designed to be an ‘affordable’ option for fitness tracking headphones. I’ve seen a lot of outrageously-priced pieces of tech, but none of them comes close to what you’re about to find out.

A subscription fee on top of an already hefty price tag?

The HealthBuds are available to preorder now and will start shipping later this summer, and according to Synseer you’ll be eligible for a discount if you lock in a preorder now. Instead of paying $799 (which is around £620 or AU$1,260), those who preorder the HealthBuds can claim them for $399, which is… better, but far from the ‘great value’ price tag Synseer mentions in its press release.

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface, because on top of that fee, you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription of $25 (normally $30). What additional benefits does this buy, specifically? We're not sure – Synseer hasn't disclosed the details yet.

It’s a big ask – especially from a relatively unknown audio company – to demand hundreds of dollars for a brand new set of earbuds, then stipulate an additional monthly fee equating to $300 a year, at the discounted rate. You’d expect a fitness subscription to offer benefits such as advanced fitness tracking and maybe hearing aid technology, but it seems as though Synseer is already offering that through the HealthBuds themselves, so the subscription benefits remain a mystery. And let's not forget that AirPods Pro 2 offer specific iOS ecosystem benefits such as Find My, head-tracked spatial audio using Apple Music (although the music service is not free, it's true) audio sharing and so on when paired to your iPhone, all for $249.

How can Synseer compete? Will accuracy be enough? If the company's HealthBuds do indeed prove a reliable health device (something to take the place of medical-grade appliance) then perhaps. It’s impossible to tell right now. Perhaps Synseer has something extra up its sleeve, otherwise it could be a case of misguided pricing. I’m keeping my ears peeled for more information (which is admittedly thin on the ground at present), but as things stand, Synseer has yet to sound as sincere as you'd hope, for this kind of money…

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• New agentic AI tool Manus is being hailed as more capable than previously available agents
• Others are less impressed, citing crashes and hallucinations, while experts call for caution
• A use case gallery shows Manus being used to plan trips and analyse stocks

Manus, a new ‘agentic’ AI tool from Chinese startup Monica, has entered into invite-only preview, and, according to some users, “[redefines] what’s possible” for automated AI workflows to achieve.

That’s according to one Twitter user who asked Manus to ‘code a threejs game where you control a plane’ and “ended up concluding that Manus is the most impressive AI tool I've ever tried”.

Manus’ own use case gallery (via TechCrunch) lays out some of the possibilities, such as planning a trip to and producing a personalised guidebook for a trip to Japan, accessing a database to sort information from it into tables, analyzing stocks in a human-readable dashboard, and scheduling job candidate interviews without intervention from a real person.

What are AI agents?

AI ‘agents’, though powered by large language models (LLMs), differ from AI writers in that they utilise systems to automate a workflow based on a user’s prompt, rather than produce a single piece of output.

Manus isn’t offering anything especially new, though it is notable that, up until now, perhaps, AI agents haven’t had the best reputation; known for struggling with factual information, and basically being non-functional.

Others, however, aren’t as impressed. TechCrunch’s Kyle Wiggers gave a cohesive account of their experience, reporting crashes, and failures on tasks ranging from simple (booking a table at a restaurant) to the convoluted (“Then I asked the platform to build a Naruto-inspired fighting game)”.

Comparisons have also been made with DeepSeek’s LLMs, though these don’t quite add up. Manus and DeepSeek might both hail from China, but DeepSeek is not an agent, and Manus is not open source, and indeed has no release schedule. That said, an open source version, OpenManus, is in active development.

Manus coming from a Chinese startup has caused unease, with some circles, Axios notes, worrying China is gaining ground in a so-called “race for AI supremacy”.

Experts doubt Manus

Two industry figures told TechRadar Pro their doubts surrounding agentic AI still remain. Corpora.ai’s CEO, Mel Morris, said that “Manus' demonstrations showcase the potential of Agentic AI as a significant step forward. However, granting autonomous AI agents like Manus the ability to perform independent actions raises serious concerns.”

“We have already witnessed numerous examples of generative AI and so-called reasoning models producing flawed outputs. If given autonomy over high-stakes tasks - such as buying and selling stocks - such imperfections could lead to chaos. The ability to compare stock fundamentals and trading activity in minutes is vastly different from successfully navigating the complexities of the market.”

Similarly, Copyleaks co-founder and CEO Alon Yamin said that ,“while innovation in AI can drive remarkable efficiency, it also amplifies concerns around transparency, data security, and responsible oversight. Manus’ cloud-based operations surface several critical questions about data governance: Who controls the information? Where does it reside? How is the data protected?”

“As AI systems become more autonomous, ethical development and regulatory alignment must be prioritized. AI governance solutions that help organizations detect and mitigate AI risks remain critical, ensuring advancements like Manus AI are deployed responsibly and transparently.”

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AdGuard just became the latest VPN provider to add quantum-resistant encryption to its software.

Specifically, AdGuard VPN now integrates a combination of classic encryption methods with one of the post-quantum algorithm standards released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in August last year. The feature was rolled out on macOS and Windows on March 6, 2025, with the mobile apps expected to get the upgrade later in the month.

The firm now follows in the footsteps of Google Chrome and some of the best VPN providers on the market by upgrading its encryption protections to ensure user data is protected against new threats posed by quantum computing.

The need for quantum-proof encryption

"We are on the brink of the quantum technology era, and data protection must stay ahead of the threats, not just react to them. By implementing post-quantum cryptography, we are laying the foundation for a secure internet in the future," said Denis Vyazovoy, AdGuard VPN CPO.

Experts predict that it's just a matter of time before quantum computers break current RSA-based encryption methods. This is mainly because these machines will have the ability to process computations that today's computers can't handle, within minutes.

Recent releases such as Google's Willow quantum chip and Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip, AdGuard explains, "are pushing quantum computing closer to solving complex real-world problems." This may be a portent of what the industry has long feared – that current encryption will soon become obsolete.

Quantum computers are still some years away from becoming mainstream, but cybercriminals are thought to have already adopted "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks. These involve malicious actors collecting encrypted data and decrypting it once quantum machines are up for the task.

It's exactly with this in mind that NIST experts released the first sets of quantum-safe algorithms last year designed for specific tasks, namely protection for key exchanges (ML-KEM) and identity authentication (ML-DSA and SLH-DSA).

Encryption refers to the scrambling of data into an unreadable form to prevent third-party access. VPNs – like encrypted messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp – use end-to-end encryption to secure your data in transit. (Image credit: Getty Images)

As mentioned earlier, AdGuard VPN has implemented a hybrid encryption approach that includes the classic X25519 elliptic curve algorithm with the post-quantum Kyber768-based ML-KEM768.

This dual-layer encryption approach, the provider explains, "ensures robust protection against both current and future risks, enabling secure session keys that are resilient to quantum computing advancements."

This is exactly what the likes of Google, Signal, Tuta Mail, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Mullvad VPN, Windscribe, and PureVPN have also done.

Put simply, having a hybrid encryption method ensures that tried and tested algorithms always protect your data, even if the post-quantum protection fails.

If you're using the latest version of AdGuard VPN on desktop, you should already be able to enable this feature through the settings menu. This advanced security option is also expected to land on the iOS and Android VPN apps in the next couple of weeks.

The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, has been having a very bad Monday so far, with users reporting its third outage of the day – and it might not be the last.

The first spike in reported problems on Downdetector happened at 10am ET, with X users in both the US and UK unable to get their usual fix of memes and outrage in the app or website.

While that outage was quickly resolved, X has gone down a further two times – with the latest one approaching an earlier peak at 2pm. So to quote X's own tagline "what's happening"?

Here's all the latest news on the X downfall and when we can expect normal service (if that's ever possible on the reincarnated Twitter) to resume...

The latest news

• X (formerly Twitter) is down for the third time today
• The latest outage started at around 10.50am ET / 2.50pm GMT
• It's affecting both the app and site, with a DDOS attack rumored

When did this latest X outage start?

(Image credit: Downdetector)

This is very much a global X / Twitter outage, with reports of problems climbing fast in the US and UK from around 10.50am ET / 2.50pm GMT on the site Downdetector.

They've just hit a peak of 30,000 reports in the US, which is a massive outage. In the UK, reports have fallen in the past hour, but are still hovering at the 4,700 mark.

So, what's causing the problems? While there's been nothing official, some cybersecurity commentators suggest it may be a so-called DDOS (or Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks, where a flood of internet traffic overwhelms a server.

In other words, buckle up – because this could last a while...

'Something went wrong'

(Image credit: X / Future)

Ever the master of understatement, X is greeting many users (my US colleagues in particular) with error messages like 'something went wrong' or simply a blank screen.

Some have taken to (other) social media platforms like Reddit to exclaim that this is actually an improvement to their lives. But here in the UK, X is back (for me at least) with its usual mix of Elon Musk ramblings, AI-generated memes and Fessholes.

This latest outage has fallen short of the second one earlier today at around 10am ET / 2pm GMT, but it is still pretty widespread. There's still no official word from X on the cause of today's wobbles, but presumably Grok is working on it...

Time to head to Bluesky?

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Not surprisingly, many folks over on Bluesky are enjoying today's X outage and are looking back at the smoking remains of Twitter with a degree of schadenfreude.

Bluesky has managed to establish itself as a genuine X alternative, with the maker of the popular Tweetbot app (which was shut down after Twitter banned third-party apps) recently announcing that it's making an iOS and Mac app for the platform that's aptly called Phoenix.

Some Bluesky fans have noted (below) that it's been a particularly bad day for Elon Musk, with Tesla stock also down. And looking at Downdetector, the X problems don't seem to be easing...

(Image credit: Bluesky) The longest outage of the day...

(Image credit: Downdetector)

It might not have hit the Downdetector peaks of the second outage earlier today, but this latest X wobble is the longest of the day – it's now over the two-hour mark, which means the world's productivity has coincidentally hit a 2025 peak.

That's now over seven hours in total since the first reported problems earlier today, which easily overshadows former Twitter outages in the past like the one in 2022 when the world was denied its memes for only an hour or so.

Back then, that seemed like a long time for the site to be down. Of course, the X workforce has shrunk by about 80% since then, but it did at least go on a cybersecurity hiring spree late last year – and we imagine it's been a busy day for them.  

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• Cisco Talos recently found a bug in PHP-CGI, being used in attacks against Japanese firms
• GreyNoise said the attacks are being seen worldwide, and called for "immediate action"
• A patch was released in the summer of 2024, so update now

Cybersecurity researchers from Cisco Talos recently discovered a critical PHP-CGI vulnerability which could soon become a “global problem” - and doubling down on these findings, experts from GreyNoise have now added “immediate action” from is needed to tackle the threat.

In its report, GreyNoise noted how Cisco Talos recently observed threat actors targeting Japanese organizations through CVE-2024-4577, a critical remote code execution (RCE) flaw in PHP-CGI, with 79 exploits available. Cisco Talos said the unnamed threat actor used the bug to steal credentials and establish persistence on the target system “indicating the likelihood of future attacks.”

“While Talos focused on victimology and attacker tradecraft, GreyNoise telemetry reveals a far wider exploitation pattern demanding immediate action from defenders globally,” the report said.

The US, Singapore, and other targets

Cisco Talos said the threat actors were exploiting the flaw to drop Cobalt Strike beacons, and conduct post-exploitation activities using the TaoWu toolkit.

However, GreyNoise said the flaw was being abused in multiple places around the world, including the United States, Singapore, Japan, and other countries.

The attacks started in January this year, with GreyNoise’s Global Observation Grid (a worldwide network of honeypots) detecting 1,089 unique IPs (separate threat actors, essentially), attempting to exploit CVE-2024-4577 in January 2025 alone.

Almost half (43%) of IPs targeting CVE-2024-4577 in the past 30 days came from either Germany, or China, GreyNoise said.

Cisco Talos has released guidance to help businesses with internet-facing Windows systems exposing PHP-CGI mitigate the threat and defend against potential attacks, which you can find here. A patch was released in the summer of 2024, according to The Record, and GreyNoise added users should run retro-hunts to identify similar exploitation patterns.

Via The Record

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Unplanned downtime costs the Global 2000 a staggering $400 billion annually, according to Oxford Economics research, with each company facing an average loss of $200 million per year due to unexpected digital disruptions.

The repercussions of this can be severe. In a world where customers demand round-the-clock product and service availability, IT organizations are under constant pressure to deliver it for their mission critical IT services. So, what is business downtime, and what are the solutions?

Defining and understanding IT downtime

There’s no doubt that today’s digital landscape is ruled by the applications that we all rely on. While most people don’t spend a huge amount of time thinking about IT downtime, it can be nothing short of a nightmare when it disrupts an application that an organization can’t function without. “IT downtime” describes any period when systems, services, or networks are unavailable. While some downtime is planned, such as maintenance activity, the bigger risk comes from unplanned downtime, typically caused by technical failures, cybersecurity incidents, or natural disasters. For businesses, this unplanned downtime can lead to significant financial and client loss, with Europe and APAC having the longest recovery times from downtime events.

The causes of downtime can range from software bugs to infrastructure configuration errors, networking errors, or even storage failures. Adding to the challenge, IT operations teams often manage hundreds of different inter-dependent applications, making the process of identifying a root cause lengthy, manual and very complicated.

The cyber-attack on the British Museum in October 2023 is one example of just how financially damaging downtime can actually be. A hacker group named Rhysida targeted the British Museum and caused a technology outage. Rhysida demanded a ransom of approximately £500,000 at the time, which the library refused to pay. As a result, Rhysida publicly released approximately 600GB of sensitive data online. The breach forced the library to take its main catalogue offline for several months, with a partial read-only restoration occurring in January 2024. The institution had to use about 40% of its financial reserves, estimated at £6–7 million, to recover from the attack. Ciaran Martin, the previous CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, said, “This incident has been described as "one of the worst cyber incidents in British history.”

Oxford Economic Research shows that some organizations can expect their stock price to drop between one and nine percent after a single downtime event - and then take an average of 79 days to recover. It’s not difficult to understand how these and other hidden costs could easily amount to more than $200 million annually for a single company.

The business impact of downtime

Financial impact: Beyond the costs of restoring systems, businesses may face hefty regulatory fines and penalties. Additionally, operational disruptions can lead to lost revenue and hinder employee productivity. When customers experience service interruptions, it not only affects their satisfaction but can also tarnish the company's reputation, leading to long-term trust issues. Impact on innovation: Innovation is essential for economic growth because it creates new markets, industries, jobs and investment opportunities.

When a company experiences any measure of downtime, it can stymie innovation by disrupting workflows, moving attention away from new projects, creating delays in development cycles and preventing development of new ideas. When systems are unavailable, employees are unable to focus on creative problem-solving and exploring new technologies, negatively impacting the progress of innovative ideation.

Customer experience: Not only can financial and productivity losses impact the bottom line, they can also create a negative customer experience. This can bring ill-repute on an organisation, while potentially dissuading new customers from wanting to do business together. Customers expect reliability and availability from applications, and frequent downtime can frustrate users and erode customer trust. A single incident can result in lost customers, negative reviews, and diminished brand loyalty.

Brand reputation: Organizations have regulatory and compliance consequences to manage. Critical systems that are unavailable can impact reporting and recording leading to legal ramifications and fines, damaging an organization's reputation.

The hidden costs of downtime

With technology, and more specifically applications, becoming increasingly integral to daily operations, business downtime has become a significant risk to the productivity of organizations. In fact, a recent Forbes article reports that large enterprises can see costs as high as $9k per minute from downtime.

The reality is that the cost of business downtime often goes far beyond lost income. The financial impact is compounded by lost opportunities to acquire new customers or expand sales, as well as by recovery costs, such as repairs or overtime compensation. Further, negative publicity can drive away future customers and supply chain disruption can impact supplier relationships.

Actions to strengthen your resilience

So, how can businesses combat downtime as an issue? No one expects businesses to become resilient to downtime immediately, but there are actions organizations can take to navigate and minimize the damage:

1. Agree on a downtime strategy: Regularly testing apps and having the staff on hand to resolve any issues is a strong start to ensure systems are back online as quickly as possible.

2. Analyze historic vulnerabilities: Organizations should get into the habit of analyzing what went wrong every time there’s a forced period of downtime. This helps to avoid issues reoccurring. It is also worth investing in data analytics tools to constantly monitor the performance of critical applications.

3. Enforce data control: By having a clear data governance policy, organizations can better enhance security and resilience by protecting against data shocks and strengthening their ability of recovering and withstanding security threats.

4. Be proactive: Prevention is always better than a cure. Getting ahead of potential issues and coordinating their teams to prevent them from occurring will pay dividends.

Be on the front foot

In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, application failures can have widespread and severe consequences. To mitigate these risks, businesses should adopt proactive and efficient strategies to anticipate potential issues and address them without delay. Prioritizing infrastructure and application resiliency not only minimizes operational risks but also fosters customer loyalty, positioning organizations for sustained growth and innovation in an increasingly competitive market. How resilient is your business?

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“Proper preparation and planning prevents poor performance” is a famous adage that the British Army has used for centuries. The phrase highlights the importance of a well-structured plan - it ensures that teams stay on track, budgets are managed efficiently, and objectives are achieved.

Whilst most enterprises are not combatting tanks or missiles like the military, they are facing constant threats in the form of cyberattacks. Ensuring that employees are well-prepared for whatever challenges arise is crucial.

Being prepared for a cyberattack requires strong cyber crisis management underpinned by individuals with the right skills, which enables effective decision-making, steadfast leadership, and the learning of lessons. Readiness can be the difference between a well-handled, minor cyber incident and a major crisis.

The lessons of past global incidents

“Proper preparation and planning prevents poor performance” has another joking meaning by the British military. Military leaders have used the line when something has gone wrong, but it can still be used to teach a valuable lesson.

In cybersecurity, there is so much focus on the next threat that it can be easy to overlook past incidents. While the tactics and techniques employed by cybercriminals have rapidly changed over the years, having an effective crisis management plan has always been critical.

For example, when it was first discovered in December 2021, around one in three applications using the vulnerable version of Log4Shell were susceptible to remote code execution, marking one of the most extensive cyber threats to date.

Despite the scale of the vulnerability, it was relatively easy to address on an individual level by simply updating to a secure version. The Log4j incident highlighted the critical need for proactive vulnerability management and a robust incident response strategy.

Businesses that lagged on security trends or had ineffective patching processes remained exposed for much longer, with many continuing to use vulnerable versions even years later.

Almost two years later, the MOVEit vulnerability, a zero-day vulnerability that affected more than 2,600 organizations and nearly 90 million individuals, again highlighted the importance of organizations being prepared, but in a different way.

As a zero-day, there was little that could be done to proactively reduce risk. However, clear, transparent, and timely communication with stakeholders was crucial in managing expectations and maintaining trust throughout the incident.

Whilst the two incidents required very different responses from organizations, both carry the lesson of the importance of preparedness.

How to make the right decision during a crisis

In a crisis, leaders face intense pressure, where every decision is significant. Success depends on a clear decision-making framework that balances urgent needs with long-term objectives. So, what does an effective framework look like?

A strong starting point during any crisis is being able to gather all accurate and relevant information. By understanding the full scope of the crisis and its potential impacts, leaders help prioritize actions and allocate resources effectively.

It’s critical in any crisis management framework that leaders establish credible sources that allow them to determine the extent of the crisis and make effective decisions. These sources must be rigorously cross-checked to avoid the spread of unverified information, which will only spread panic and distrust during a crisis.

In addition to having the correct information, leaders should go into cyber crises knowing what their key priorities and strategic focuses are. For example, how do you keep people safe, and which systems are essential for maintaining services?

Actions must align with the organization's mission and values, ensuring responses are both effective and true to core principles. Effective crisis management demands prioritizing resources and making informed trade-offs to minimize the impact of an attack.

Considering such priorities before an incident will also reveal the ethical implications of each choice. This includes the impact of decisions on customers, employees, and business relationships. By considering such implications, leaders can then make decisions that support sustainable recovery.

What to do in the middle of a crisis

As mentioned before, preparation is key to making the right decisions. However, during a crisis, there are a number of points leaders need to follow.

First and foremost, clear and transparent communication is absolutely essential. Stakeholders need to be provided with regular updates so they can manage expectations. It’s critical that any statement provides truthful information about the situation, including any associated risks and uncertainties.

A company might handle the technical aspects of a cyber incident very well, but if they don’t manage communications effectively or address the business impact, it could lead to negative media coverage and customer backlash—the court of public opinion, as I like to call it.

For example, CrowdStrike was both applauded and criticized in the court of public opinion, despite resolving the issue fairly quickly.

On the other hand, Atmos recently showcased the importance of regular communication. Through regular statements, they were able to hit back at ransomware attack claims and then later that week confirm the claims of compromise were unfounded.

By immediately addressing the rumors of a potential breach, they prevented panic from spreading among customers and partners, and fostered a reputation of transparency and credibility.

During a crisis, it’s also critical that leaders remain flexible and adaptable to changes. Cyber incidents are constantly changing, and new information is coming to the forefront. For example, initially, a breach might just be the encryption of systems, but days later it can quickly unfold that customer data has been exfiltrated.

Leaders must learn from ongoing events and adjust their approaches based on real-time feedback and evolving circumstances. By incorporating feedback from stakeholders and team members, leaders can refine strategies and improve crisis management.

Practice makes perfect

It’s easy for organizations to complete their cyber crisis plans and leave them on the shelf until needed. However, preparation doesn’t mean just creating plans but regularly testing and refining them.

An effective crisis management framework should include well-defined roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols. Regular drills and simulations are essential to test and refine the plan, ensuring teams are prepared for real emergencies.

Ongoing training is crucial to reinforce the crisis management framework, instilling confidence and ensuring familiarity with assigned roles. Comprehensive crisis simulations, including cyber drills, should emulate real-life scenarios to enhance preparedness and situational awareness.

Following a cyber incident, it is vital to update the response framework. After the immediate crisis is resolved, a thorough review must be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the response and identify areas for improvement.

Debriefing sessions enable leaders to analyze successes and pinpoint gaps in the response process. Documenting lessons learned and updating protocols based on this analysis ensures the organization is better equipped to manage future incidents. Maintaining a culture of continuous improvement is key to sustaining a robust state of crisis readiness.

Ultimately, the rate and impact of cyberattacks is not going to slow down anytime soon. However, being prepared for such incidents can stop an attack from becoming a full-blown crisis. Preparation is key to stopping cyberattacks, and at the heart of preparation is a proactive and regularly tested crisis management plan.

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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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 10 (game #1141).

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 #1142) - hint #1 - Vowels How 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 #1142) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

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

Quordle today (game #1142) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1142) - 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 #1142) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• L

• J

• S

• R

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

Quordle today (game #1142) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1142, are…

• LINGO
• JUICE
• SHARP
• REVEL

A close shave for me today, due to a poor start and some bad luck. I had an incorrect hunch that there would be lots of Es in today’s puzzle, while I wasted a start word with FUNKY.

Next, I had two near misses before guessing SHARP and LINGO, leaving me zero margin for error with the last couple of words.

Somehow I finished before running out of turns. Phew!

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1142) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1142, are…

• MACAW
• MOODY
• DROOL
• FIERY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1141, Monday 10 March: AVAIL, THESE, TITAN, GAUGE
• Quordle #1140, Sunday 9 March: SKILL, IDEAL, WHERE, REHAB
• Quordle #1139, Saturday 8 March: WATCH, LAPSE, WREST, HEFTY
• Quordle #1138, Friday 7 March: GLEAN, SHINY, DECRY, MANGA
• Quordle #1137, Thursday 6 March: TRICE, EIGHT, BELCH, RIPER
• Quordle #1136, Wednesday 5 March: PLEAD, TWANG, MAJOR, RISKY
• Quordle #1135, Tuesday 4 March: FLOWN, ETUDE, TOPAZ, JOKER
• Quordle #1134, Monday 3 March: FRILL, KAYAK, REBAR, WORDY
• Quordle #1133, Sunday 2 March: TUNIC, GLOSS, DEBUG, LARGE
• Quordle #1132, Saturday 1 March: DENSE, BONEY, KITTY, SMEAR
• Quordle #1131, Friday 28 February: PASTA, RAZOR, PLUMB, DROOL
• Quordle #1130, Thursday 27 February: THIEF, CHAIR, ETHER, GRIME
• Quordle #1129, Wednesday 26 February: LOVER, SPIED, VAPOR, METER
• Quordle #1128, Tuesday 25 February: TWIST, TWEAK, MEANT, CLEAR
• Quordle #1127, Monday 24 February: LEASH, LEVER, TOTEM, CREME
• Quordle #1126, Sunday 23 February: RABID, RELIC, SCRAM, BASIS
• Quordle #1125, Saturday 22 February: ETHER, SONIC, VAUNT, ROUSE
• Quordle #1124, Friday 21 February: STIFF, PRIZE, SCOWL, DONUT
• Quordle #1123, Thursday 20 February: HASTY, DRAPE, FICUS, CRAZE
• Quordle #1122, Wednesday 19 February: ABATE, TROVE, VENUE, DRAPE

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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 10 (game #638).

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 #639) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• PHONE
• BREAK
• FOOTBALL
• LEGEND
• SADDLE
• KEYS
• BELL
• WALLET
• ALTERNATIVE
• KING
• WONDER
• CHANGE
• MOCCASINS
• INTERCOM
• DEPARTURE
• ALARM

NYT Connections today (game #639) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Doing things differently 
• GREEN: Chiming
• BLUE: Made from the same material 
• PURPLE: Playing all the right notes

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 #639) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: VARIATION FROM THE NORM 
• GREEN: THINGS THAT RING 
• BLUE: THINGS TRADITIONALLY MADE OF LEATHER 
• PURPLE: SINGER-SONGWRITER PIANISTS 

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

NYT Connections today (game #639) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #639, are…

• YELLOW: VARIATION FROM THE NORM ALTERNATIVE, BREAK, CHANGE, DEPARTURE
• GREEN: THINGS THAT RING ALARM, BELL, INTERCOM, PHONE
• BLUE: THINGS TRADITIONALLY MADE OF LEATHER FOOTBALL, MOCCASINS, SADDLE, WALLET
• PURPLE: SINGER-SONGWRITER PIANISTS KEYS, KING, LEGEND, WONDER

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I had a hunch that WONDER was connected to Stevie, but my uncertainty over who could join him led me to pursue other groups.

THINGS TRADITIONALLY MADE OF LEATHER was the first connection I saw, mainly down to MOCCASINS and SADDLE, with my only hesitation being FOOTBALL as I knew that in the early days they were called pigskins.

After initially thinking that both BREAK and DEPARTURE had vacations in common, I saw that difference or VARIATION FROM THE NORM was the link. In a huge departure from the norm for me, I managed to get today’s puzzle without a mistake. A unique and enjoyable experience.

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, 10 March, game #638)

• YELLOW: CAT BREEDS RAGAMUFFIN, RUSSIAN BLUE, SPHYNX, TURKISH ANGORA
• GREEN: FAMOUS SMILES CHESHIRE CAT, COMEDY MASK, JOKER, MONA LISA
• BLUE: ATTRACTIONS ICONICALLY DIFFERENT FROM THEIR ORIGINAL FORMS LIBERTY BELL, STATUE OF LIBERTY, TOWER OF PISA, VENUS DE MILO
• PURPLE: ASSOCIATED WITH "THE DUDE" LEBOWSKI BATHROBE, BOWLING, RUG, WHITE RUSSIAN

What is NYT Connections?

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

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

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

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

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 10 (game #372).

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 #373) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… What's the magic word?

NYT Strands today (game #373) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• LAST
• PAST
• REST
• SING
• TANK
• BRASH

NYT Strands today (game #373) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Said with a wave of a wand

NYT Strands today (game #373) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: right, 6th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #373) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #373, are…

• TADA
• SHAZAM
• ABRACADABRA
• PRESTO
• ALAKAZAM
• SPANGRAM: CASTING SPELLS

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 hint

The Strands trend for very long Spangrams continues, with CASTING SPELLS taking up a large chunk of today's puzzle.

The large block taken up by the theme words made for an easier than normal search. The only challenge was navigating the high number of As and coping with the return of an earworm I’d only just shaken…

The song ABRACADBRA by Steve Miller had only just left my head after its appearance in the Connections category #1 SONGS FROM 1982 a couple of days ago and now it’s returned – competing for headspace with Lady Gaga’s song of the same name. Frankly, I need some kind of vanishing magic spell to rid me of this agony.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 10 March, game #372)

• VOLUME
• BACK
• POWER
• HOME
• MUTE
• GUIDE
• CHANNEL
• SPANGRAM: REMOTE CONTROL

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.

• A vulnerability in an old camera is being used to create a botnet
• The camera is no longer supported by its vendor and will not receive a patch
• Users are advised to move to a newer model

Security researchers are warning cybercriminals are abusing a command injection vulnerability in an old IP camera to build out a botnet.

The IC-7100, manufactured by a Taiwanese networking gear maker called Edimax, is vulnerable to a command injection flaw caused by the improper neutralization of incoming requests, security researchers from Akamai found.

Akamai says that a malicious group is using this flaw right now to build out a botnet - however it isn't known which botnet, or how big it is - although usually, botnets are used in DDoS attacks, illegal proxy services, ad click fraud, and more.

Obtaining confidential information

The flaw is tracked as CVE-2025-1316, and has a severity score of 9.3/10 (critical). It allows threat actors to send a custom-crafted request to the device, and thus gain remote code execution (RCE) capabilities.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reportedly tried reaching out to Edimax, to no avail. Akamai was somewhat luckier, being told by Edimax that the camera reached end-of-life and was no longer supported. However, the manufacturer did not say if other, newer models, were also susceptible to the same flaw, and if it would be addressing it any time soon.

The Edimax IC-7100 is a network camera designed for home and small business surveillance. It is used by homeowners, small businesses & retail stores, in offices, and by remote workers. It was released in 2011, and its discontinuation date isn't specified. Unfortunately, many owners don’t keep track of outdated gear, and continue to use hardware and software that is no longer supported, putting themselves at risk.

Unfortunately, the only way to defend against this attack is to remove the cameras and replace them with newer, supported models. Putting it behind the firewall might help mitigate the risk, but it won’t eliminate it entirely.

Via BleepingComputer

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• The NHS is reportedly looking into allegations of a third-party software flaw
• A vulnerability of this kind could leave patients exposed
• However Medefer denies wrongdoing, says it was unaware of issue

The NHS is reportedly “looking into” allegations that a software flaw in a virtual booking provider left patient data exposed for a number of years.

Reports from ComputerWeekly say a researcher found a flaw in Medefer, which handles 1,500 NHS patient referrals per month, with its system allowing patients to book virtual appointments with doctors, as well as giveingphysicians access to the relevant patient data.

However, the APIs in Medefer's software were apparently not secured properly, meaning sensitive patient data could have fallen into the wrong hands, the researcher confirmed.

Patients vulnerable

The researcher, who wished to be anonymous, told Computer Weekly hackers could target these reported vulnerabilities by using "a suite of automated tools and techniques" in order to retrieve personal and sensitive information that could be monetised or used for further malicious activity. Since authentication wasn't required, threat actors could "script automated calls to the APIs to exfiltrate large amounts of data, for example all patient records."

The flaw could have existed for at least 6 years, the researcher said, meaning a large amount of NHS data could be at risk.

However Medefer says that it first heard about the NHS investigation in the media, and that it has had no prior contact from the NHS on this issue.

"There is no evidence of any patient data breach from our systems at any point. This has been formally confirmed by an independent specialist cybersecurity agency" Dr Bahman Nedjat-Shokouhi, CEO of Medefer told TechRadar Pro.

"The external cybersecurity agency has asserted that the allegation that this flaw could have provided access to large amounts of patients’ data is categorically false, confirmed that all of Medefer’s data systems are currently secure, and that it is not possible to access any patient data without appropriate security authentication. The issue has been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) by Medefer, and the commission confirmed no further action needs to be taken."

Healthcare data is incredibly valuable for threat actors, as medical information can be sold on the dark web, and personally identifiable information (like names, addresses, emails) can be used in social engineering attacks or identity theft, so anyone potentially exposed should monitor their accounts carefully.

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• OnePlus will no longer outfit its phones with the iconic Alert Slider switch
• Future OnePlus phones will feature an iPhone-style customizable button
• The button will offer the same functionality as the Alert Slider plus new features

OnePlus will replace the iconic Alert Slider found on most of its premiere phones with an Apple-style customizable button, according to a new statement by the company’s CEO.

In a post to the OnePlus Community forum, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed that the Alert Slider would be replaced due to the limited functionality offered by the three-position slider.

This means the successors to the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R will likely lack one of the brand's most iconic features.

Lau gave few details about the Alert Slider’s successor, only that it would offer more functionality than the current three-position switch, and that switching between sound profiles without unlocking the phone would still be possible.

In fact, the post implies that Lau personally insisted that the new button should be able to offer the same functionality as the outgoing Alert Slider, as well as new and expanded functions that are yet to be revealed.

Overall, this new OnePlus button sounds theoretically identical to Apple’s Action Button, first seen with the release of the iPhone 15 Pro – so we can look at the iPhone to make some educated guesses about the new button’s potential capabilities.

The OnePlus 14 will likely feature an iPhone-style customizable button (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

The Action Button found on the iPhone can be assigned to a long list of functions, including turning the flashlight on and off, opening the camera, activating a shortcut, or toggling do not disturb.

OnePlus takes fairly liberal inspiration from Apple when it comes to software - there is a simulated Dynamic Island on the latest OnePlus 13 interface, for instance - so I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar from the company’s future handsets.

Lau’s post mentions that backlash to the OnePlus 10T, which launched in 2022 sans Alert Slider, inspired internal debate about the future of the iconic hardware feature, and that removing the slider will allow for better use of the devices’ internal space. OnePlus has yet to announce the first product that will feature the new button.

The end of an era

OnePlus is the last remaining major phone maker to fit its handsets with a physical ringer switch – though, as this news entails, not for much longer.

I’ve always found the ringer switch affixed to OnePlus phones to be a useful addition – other functions are easy enough to find in the UI or on the lock screen, and it’s nice to be able to switch my phone into silent mode without even looking at the display when I’m taking a break.

Perhaps even more important is the character the alert slider brings to OnePlus phones – it’s a unique feature that made the best OnePlus phones stand out in a field of increasingly homogenous phone designs, lending as much personality as utility.

When I was daily driving the OnePlus Open, I used the slider every day, and I still use it whenever I’m testing a OnePlus or Oppo phone (Oppo and OnePlus are related companies under the same umbrella parent). Tactility is a rare and underrated thing in modern phone design, so I’ll be genuinely sad to see the Alert Slider go.

What do you think about this decision? Should OnePlus have kept the Alert Slider as is? Let us know in the comments.

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• We’ve had word of the rumored specs for Nvidia’s RTX 5050 desktop GPU
• Two sources are saying that it’ll use slower GDDR6 VRAM, rather than the GDDR7 modules used with other Blackwell GPUs
• Based on that, and the rest of the supposed spec, some PC gamers are not impressed, but it’s too early to judge yet

Apparently Nvidia does have an RTX 5050 inbound as a desktop graphics card (and likely a laptop GPU too), and we’ve just caught a bunch of spilled specs for this low-tier Blackwell model.

As flagged up by VideoCardz in both cases [1, 2], there have been two purported leaks around the RTX 5050, both of which insist that the graphics card will use a slower type of video memory than the rest of the existing Blackwell desktop GPU range.

First off came an assertion from Chinese tech site Benchlife that the RTX 5050 will have 8GB of video RAM, but that it’ll be slower GDDR6 memory, rather than the new GDDR7 featured in all the RTX 5000 GPUs so far (and rumored for the RTX 5060 models, too).

That’s backed up by a regular hardware gossip on X, Kopite7kimi, who also claims to have word on the specs of the RTX 5050. This leaker believes the VRAM will end up as 8GB of GDDR6 (with a 128-bit memory bus), and that the RTX 5050 will have 2,560 CUDA Cores (using the GB207 bottom-tier Blackwell chip).

The power consumption is supposedly set at 130W, we’re told.

GeForce RTX 5050PG152-SKU50GB207-300-A12560FP32128-bit GDDR6 8G130WMarch 9, 2025

This is the first concrete info on the full specs of this graphics card, but obviously, take all this with plenty of caution. However, the fact that we’re hearing more and more about the RTX 5050 now, including firmer spec details, does suggest that it’s more likely to be something Nvidia has up its sleeve, not just as a laptop GPU, but a desktop graphics card. (Remember that the RTX 4050 was a mobile graphics card only, present in budget gaming laptops – there was no desktop incarnation for PCs).

Indeed, the buzz on the rumor mill is that the RTX 5050 could arrive in a matter of weeks, and the RTX 5060 models aren’t too far off either. We may be looking at April (or May) for all these graphics cards to arrive (and announcements from Nvidia could come very soon indeed).

Kopite7kimi also mentions the RTX 5060, echoing previous rumors of the spec, with the RTX 5060 Ti supposedly set to be offered in 16GB and 8GB flavors, and the vanilla 5060 just an 8GB version (with GDDR7 VRAM, though).

The leaker reckons the RTX 5060 Ti will sport 4,608 CUDA Cores, and a power consumption of 180W.

(Image credit: Future) Analysis: RTX 5050 in the bin already? Not so fast…

There’s nothing unexpected in equipping the RTX 5050 with 8GB of video RAM – indeed, this would be the expected allocation at the far budget end of the RTX spectrum – but slower GDDR6 memory is a bolt out of the blue (or green, rather).

Previous rumors suggested Nvidia was sticking with GDDR7 for the entire Blackwell range, but then, we’ve never been sure Team Green intends to make a desktop RTX 5050. Indeed, we still can’t be sure – but as noted, it’s looking more likely at this point.

Would much slower VRAM effectively hamstring the RTX 5050? Well, clearly it wouldn’t help, and a big part of the performance increase with Blackwell has been achieved by Nvidia thanks to the faster GDDR7 modules on these graphics cards. (As Blackwell’s VRAM loadouts have largely stagnated, as we’ve seen with the RTX 5080, 5070, and indeed the rumored plan to stick with the same video memory configurations with the RTX 5060 models).

So, leaving that generational boost out of the equation isn’t going to be good for the RTX 5050, and as gamers are already speculating, we might get a GPU that’s not a whole lot better than the RTX 3060 here (or one that’ll fall short of the RTX 4060, anyway).

Going by the rumor mill, the RTX 5050 is a reaction to the launch of Intel’s Arc B580 graphics card, which would appear to suggest that it’s aiming to compete with Team Blue’s well-received offering. At least in theory, but it feels like what we’re seeing on paper here for the RTX 5050 doesn’t fit that bill, and Nvidia would need something a fair bit peppier. Given that the B580 handles 1440p duties capably – and notably has 12GB of VRAM – whereas the RTX 5050 presented here looks more 1080p fare.

Perhaps Nvidia intends to push clock speeds with the RTX 5050, which the power consumption hints at, in order to get a faster graphics card – but overall, something doesn’t quite add up with the chatter from the rumor mill here, particularly that B580 comparison.

Really, though, speculating on performance at this stage is a bit premature – albeit the temptation is inevitable – but of course we need the price of the RTX 5050 to get a fuller perspective on what’s being offered.

Personally, I think there’s quite a lot of pressure on Nvidia to get some goodwill back with gamers, given how the Blackwell launch has limped along thus far. So an RTX 5050 which is priced very affordably – which lesser performance levels could hint at – would be a great way to do that. We’ve been a long time waiting for an Nvidia RTX desktop GPU at a true budget price level, after all.

Is this naïve thinking? Quite possibly, although other rumors have indicated a possible MSRP as low as $199 (or $249) in the US, and the point is, let’s not go throwing the (purported) RTX 5050 in the bin just yet. It might end up wresting the crown away from Intel’s B580, our reigning best budget GPU, you never know.

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• Security researchers Tarlogic found a hidden feature in the ESPC32 Bluetooth chip
• The affordable chip is found in millions of domestic IoT devices worldwide
• The flaw allowed malicious actors access to the devices and sensitive data coming through

A low-cost Bluetooth chip which allegedly powers millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices around the world has a “hidden feature” that allows those who know of it, to run arbitrary commands, unlock additional functionalities, and even extract sensitive information from the devices.

Cybersecurity researchers at Tarlogic have claimed ESPC32 chips, which allow connectivity via WiFi or Bluetooth, “have hidden commands not documented by the manufacturer.”

“These commands would allow modifying the chips arbitrarily to unlock additional functionalities, infecting these chips with malicious code, and even carrying out attacks of identity theft of devices," they said.

Obtaining confidential information

The ESP32 chip is built by a Chinese semiconductor company headquartered in Shanghai, called Espressif. It costs approximately $2 per unit and, according to the manufacturer, has been sold a billion times from its inception to 2023.

Tarlogic says that its affordability is one of the main reasons why it is so commonly found in Bluetooth IoT devices for domestic use.

Tarlogic first described the findings as a “backdoor”, but later backtracked on that terminology: “We would like to clarify that it is more appropriate to refer to the presence of proprietary HCI commands—which allow operations such as reading and modifying memory in the ESP32 controller—as a “hidden feature” rather than a “backdoor.”,” it said.

Stil, threat actors could use these commands to run supply chain attacks, hide backdoors in the chipset, or execute more sophisticated attacks, Tarlogic added. They could impersonate known devices to connect to mobile phones, computers, and smart devices, even when they’re in offline mode.

Tarlogic said the purpose is, “to obtain confidential information stored on them, to have access to personal and business conversations, and to spy on citizens and companies.”

We have reached out to Espressif for a comment and will update the article if we hear back.

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