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• The Vado SL 2 has just launched
• It's Specialized's latest mainstream electric bike
• It features a 520W battery and up to five hours of ride time

Specialized has today unveiled the brand new alloy version of its Vado SL 2 e-bike, which the company says offers an unprecedented combination of power, speed, and range in its weight class.

We recently reviewed the exceptional Vado SL 2 Carbon and loved its excellent power, quiet ride, and smooth handling. However, it costs $6,500 USD, £5,500 UK / $9,900 AUS, an eye-watering amount even for the best e-bikes on the market.

Thankfully, Specialized now offers an alloy version of Vado SL 2 at a slightly more palatable £3,500/£3,800, with US and AUS pricing to be confirmed. That'll get you the new Vado SL 2 Alloy 4.0 or 5.0 respectively. So what do you get in the 4.0 and 5.0 models over the more expensive carbon option?

Specialized's Vado SL 2 alloy: on paper

The new 5.0 and 4.0 models are an ultra-light alloy version of the aforementioned 6.0 carbon. They're very similar in spec (hence the closeness in price). Both are available in either equipped or step-through configurations. They're both powered by Specialized's SL 1.2 motor, which generates 50nm of power and is good for 25kmh. Both have a 520wh integrated battery rated for up to five hours of ride time (e-bike range caveats notwithstanding), and both feature the Mastermind H3 with handlebar remote.

The 4.0 and 5.0 both feature aluminum frame and fork designs, as well as Future Shock 3.1 suspension. They also come with the same tires and wheels, and the same side and rear rack configurations for carrying luggage.

The 5.0 features Tektro TKD-148 brakes, as opposed to Tektro HD-R285 brakes on the 4.0. The 4.0 only has 10-speed gearing versus 11-speed on the 5.0, and the lights on the 5.0 are also slightly better.

The big miss over the more expensive carbon version is obviously the carbon frame. The motor also isn't as good, and the suspension and brakes are also uprated on the carbon model we've already reviewed.

The 4.0 and 5.0 don't feature a removable battery, just like the carbon model, which may be a turnoff for some. Otherwise, this looks like Specialized's best option yet for those who don't want to fork out on its wildly expensive Carbon model.

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Get ready to thrash this summer.

• The Beogram 4000c Saint Laurent Rive Droite Edition costs about $35,000
• Each turntable is a 1970s original, painstakingly restored
• A very limited edition: just 10 pieces

The B&O Beogram 4000 Series turntable is a genuine design classic, a '70s turntable that found a place not just in discerning music fans' homes, but in art museums too. And now it's back in a strictly limited edition that you probably can't afford, but won't be able to tear your eyes away from.

The Beogram 4000c Saint Laurent Rive Droite Edition, to give it its full name, has been created under the watchful eye of Saint Laurent's creative director Anthony Vaccarello.

This isn't the first time Vaccarello has reimagined a classic: for example last year he redesigned the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and accompanying amplifier. But clearly he was just warming up, because this B&O turntable is staggeringly beautiful.

This isn't the first time the Beogram 4000c has been reborn: B&O restored and tweaked 95 of them in 2020 and offered them for $11,000 / £9,000 / about AU$17,000. But this new edition is even more select, and a bit more expensive too.

(Image credit: Bang & Olufsen) The Beogram 4000c Saint Laurent Rive Droite Edition: exquisite and inevitably, expensive

As our colleagues at Wallpaper explain, each turntable is a fully restored and numbered original with silver-plated metal and a Ziricote wood base. Each original turntable is disassembled by B&O in Denmark, and every single part is then cleaned – and by "every" we do mean "every", right down to the tiniest screws – and if necessary, replaced.

The hand-crafted wooden frame is new, as are the new finishes on the zen-like controls aside the platter, and each turntable gets a new cartridge and a new pre-amp too.

The wooden case is made from solid ziricote, which is a dark hardwood; it has "a particularly distinctive grain, creating an object of fascination even when the turntable is not in use," Wallpaper says.

I think it looks absolutely stunning. We're used to seeing a lot of retro-styled turntables or retro-inspired ones, but it's quite something to see a true original come back and show everyone how it's done.

The Beogram 4000c Saint Laurent Rive Droite Edition is available now from Saint Laurent Rive Droite in Paris and LA, and online from both YSL and Bang & Olufsen.

It's yours for €30,000 (about $35,000 / £30,000 / AU$50,845) but if you want one you'd better be quick: there are just 10 turntables in this release.

The beautiful wooden case for the turntable. (Image credit: Bang & Olufsen / Saint Laurent) You might also like

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• Google is asking keen users to pick their favorite feature descriptions
• Focus is on Ambient Screensaver info and Gemini Live on Google TV
• No details of launch date or device availability just yet

Google has been testing the waters for some interesting new Google TV features, and as a result it's revealed a lot about the upgrades coming to a Google TV set or streamer near you.

It's all happening at the Google TV Advisors Club, which launched in late 2024 to get feedback from Google TV users. And its first targeted survey of Club users asked users with help "trying to figure out the clearest way to describe some exciting new features".

So what's Google been cooking?

The updates are likely to come to the Google TV Streamer, as well as (Image credit: Google) What features has Google been asking users about?

We already reported on the fundamental updates coming to Google TV, including Gemini support – but we're getting a little more information about them from the survey.

As Android Police reports, the first feature in the survey is the Ambient Screensaver, which can provide information as well as art; Google's suggested marketing messages talk about how "when you get closer, it switches to an overview of helpful information like time, weather, and news headlines".

There's a lot about Gemini Live on Google TV too. The most detailed proposed messaging talks about having a "natural, free-flowing conversation" with Gemini that you can interrupt if you want to add more detail or change the topic; brainstorming out loud "from finding recipes to planning your next movie-themed party"; exploring new topics by chatting with Gemini; and most interestingly, "practice for interviews, presentations or other important moments with feedback from Gemini."

Again, we knew that Google TV would get Gemini, but the extent to which it support the full flexibility of Gemini Live was unclear – in combination with more far-field microphones in TVs, the idea is clearly that Google TV devices will work as an AI home assistant hub easily.

There's no indication of a release window for these features, or any detail regarding which TVs will get the features first, though they're expect to come to a lot of Google TV sets, which includes several of the best TVs. But if Google's at the stage of testing its marketing ideas, a release can't be very far away.

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What's in a name, especially one as evocative as "Air"? To me, it means light, floating, a breeze, and the distinction matters. In the case of the iPad, it's always meant lighter than the original, or at least it did. But Apple's recent iPad releases have muddied the definition of 'Air' and now Apple's made one change to the latest iPad Air M3 (11-inch and 13-inch) that makes it clear that the "Air" distinction likely belongs elsewhere.

There isn't much difference between the iPad Air 2024 with the M2 chip and the new Apple iPad Air M3 11-inch and 13-inch models unveiled today aside from the more powerful M3 chip. That bit of Apple silicon imbues the iPad Air with overall faster performance and better intelligence features thanks to a super-charged Neural Processor that better supports the Cupertino tech giant's Apple Intelligence ambitions.

'There is, though, one easy-to-miss design change. On the back, right above the three Magic Keyboard smart connectors, is nothing. In this case, nothing is something because I've noticed the absence of two words, "iPad Air," that were on the back of the M2 iPad Air.

I don't know why Apple removed those words, and Apple is not telling us, but it's a notable change. Here's why.

A question of weight

The iPad Air branding on the rear of the iPad Air M2. (Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

It's been 15 years since Steve Jobs introduced us to the "post-PC" world and unveiled the first iPad. That remarkable and sturdy tablet weighed 1.5 pounds. At the time, we lauded it for its sveltness.

Two years later, Apple unveiled the first iPad Air, a skinny, 1-pound, glass and aluminum wonder. The product adopted the Air name from the original MacBook Air, an ultra-thin 3-pound laptop that, in a particularly theatrical flourish, Steve Jobs pulled from a manila envelope.

Since then, all 'Air' products have been dependably lighter and thinner than their base and even Pro counterparts. It's still that way on the MacBook side, but things have gotten fuzzier in the iPad space.

Image 1 of 3

Apple iPad Air M3 specs (Image credit: Apple)Image 2 of 3

Apple iPad Pro M4 specs (Image credit: Apple)Image 3 of 3

Apple 11th gen iPad specs (Image credit: Apple)

Since 2024, Apple's iPad Air has no longer been the thinnest or lightest iPad. That distinction goes to the M4 iPad Pro models. Introduced in 2024, the iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 13-inch use the new Tandem OLED screen technology. This sandwiches two OLED panels for better colors and deeper blacks, while also eliminating the need for a backlight, thereby making the 5.3-milimeter thickness possible. The 11-inch model weighs just under a pound (0.98 pounds), while the 13-inch Pro weighs 1.28 pounds.

Compare this to the new iPad Air with M3. The 11-inch model is 6.1 milimeters thick and weighs 1.01 pounds. The 13-inch iPad Air is the same 6.1 milimeters thick, and weighs 1.36 pounds. The iPad Air is still 0.9 milimeters thinner than the base iPad (which also got a refresh this week) and 17 grams heavier.

These are not vast differences, but it's also clear that until Apple brings the Tandem OLED technology to the iPad Air lineup, that tablet will still use an LCD-based Liquid Retina screen that requires a backlight, which naturally makes it thicker than the iPad Pro.

Will the real Air stand up?

There is nothing wrong with the previous or this new iPad Air lineup. The M3 I've previously experienced in the MacBook Air is an excellent chip and offers ample support for pro-level video and audio editing, AAA gaming, and, of course, Apple Intelligence.

What about it, though, makes it 'Air'-worthy? Without admitting it directly, Apple has given us a clue that maybe the 'Air' name means less than we thought. Taking the label off this new model is a none-too-subtle way of saying that the appellation doesn't mean what it used to.

Choosing which iPad is right for you will no longer be, "Obviously, I want the light and thin Air model." There are other, more nuanced reasons, like getting near-M4 power and a far more affordable price.

After all, the iPad Pro starts at $999 for the 11-inch model. The new iPad Air M3 starts at just $599. It's not the thinnest or lightest iPad you can get anymore, but that balance of price, performance, and support for the Pencil Pro and that new Magic keyboard may be enough – at least until Apple is ready for the iPad Air to reclaim the thin and light crown.

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• Trend Micro says hackers are using Microsoft Teams to get closer to their victims
• Through social engineering, they obtain credentials to remote desktop solutions
• This access is then used to drop advanced backdoors

Hackers are using advanced social engineering tactics to try and get flawed old .DLL files onto people’s computers which, in turn, would allow them to drop backdoor malware.

A new report from cybersecurity researchers Trend Micro claims the new attack starts on Microsoft Teams, where the crooks use impersonation to get close to the victims and trick them into providing a certain set of credentials. Through Quick Assist, or similar remote desktop tools, they gain access to the devices, where they sideload flawed .DLL files using OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.exe, a legitimate OneDrive update tool.

These .DLL files then allow them to drop BackConnect, a type of remote access tool (RAT) that establishes a reverse connection from an infected device to an attacker's server, bypassing firewall restrictions. This allows attackers to maintain persistent access, execute commands, and exfiltrate data while evading traditional security measures.

Commercial cloud solutions

BackConnect is apparently hosted, and distributed, using commercial cloud storage tools.

Trend Micro says the attacks started in October 2024, and have mostly focused on North America, where it observed 21 breaches - 17 in the US, five in Canada and the UK, and 18 in Europe. The researchers didn’t say if the attacks were successful, or which industries they targeted most.

Since most of the tools used in this campaign are legitimate (Teams, OneDriveStandaloneUpdater, Quick Assist), traditional antivirus or malware protection services will not suffice. Instead, businesses must educate their employees to spot social engineering attacks and report them in a timely fashion. Businesses could also enforce the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) and limit access to remote desktop tools.

Finally, they should audit cloud storage configurations to prevent unauthorized access, and monitor network traffic for suspicious connections, especially those going to known malicious C2 servers.

Via Infosecurity Magazine

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Business leaders are paying as much as $5,000,000 to meet one-on-one with the president at his Florida compound, sources tell WIRED, while others are paying $1,000,000 apiece to dine with him in a group setting.

The next game from EA's Hazelight Studios is full of puzzles and action, carrying a pair of players from one exciting set piece to the next.

A new pureLiFi and Solace Power system aims to boost 5G and other fixed wireless connections.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 3 has been delayed two weeks
• The upcoming season will now be released on April 3 instead of March 20
• Activision says it's "taking the time to deliver a great experience"

Activision has announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 3 have been delayed by two weeks.

The news comes from a post on the official Call of Duty X / Twitter account, where it was confirmed that Season 3 will now launch on April 3 instead of March 20.

"Season 03 is a big moment for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6, and we’re taking the time to deliver a great experience starting on April 3," the post reads.

With Season 3 delayed by two weeks, this means that Season 2 could receive some sort of extension in the meantime, giving players more time to complete the current battle pass.

Season 03 is a big moment for Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 6, and we’re taking the time to deliver a great experience starting on April 3. More to come following Call of Duty: Warzone’s 5th anniversary next week… pic.twitter.com/TmPJnoYBZSMarch 3, 2025

Activision also said that more details about the upcoming season will be revealed during Warzone's 5th anniversary next week on March 10.

Fans have speculated that Verdansk, the original Call of Duty: Warzone map from 2020, will make a return and be a highlight of the upcoming update to celebrate the game's 5th anniversary.

Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 2: Reloaded launched on February 20 and currently features an ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle collaboration, complete with a themed map called Grind Ooze, as well as Operator skins designed after the four iconic brothers.

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The 11-inch and 13-inch tablets have the same look as before but with a minor boost in performance. The new iPads ship on March 12.

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When it comes to cybersecurity, most people think that creating strong, unique passwords is enough. A password gives access to a single account, or potentially several if you re-use passwords, which can make you vulnerable to attacks. But your email address is actually more valuable than your passwords. It's basically your digital passport. You wouldn't share your passport details every time you speak to someone or make a purchase in real life, so why would you share your digital passport everywhere online? If it falls into the wrong hands, the stakes are extremely high.

In 2024, the global average cost of a business data breach was $4.88 million. Identity fraud is on the rise and data breaches occur regularly, so we need to start protecting our email addresses to protect ourselves online.

The risk of using one email address

Your email address isn't just for communication, it's your digital identity. It's an incredibly valuable piece of personal information that can be used, sold and abused by companies, governments and scammers. Thanks to this data, spammers have been able to personalize phishing emails well enough to avoid sophisticated spam detection by Google and Microsoft.

When you give your email address to sign up to public WiFi, or to create a new account, that single piece of information can be used to create a detailed profile about you. It's attached to everything you do online, from online shopping to banking, from posting on forums to contacting healthcare professionals. By themselves, individual accounts contain some sensitive information about you, but your email address connects them all. In the hands of a bad actor, it's the key to a gold mine of personal data.

If, like most people, you only use one email address for all your online accounts, you're creating a huge potential risk. If you only use one email address for all your accounts, you will also find it harder to change it if (or when) it's exposed in a breach.

So many of your accounts will be associated with this email address that even if you realize that you've been affected by a data breach, it's not easy to fix. It means updating your account details on potentially hundreds of websites, a labor-intensive task that most people aren't willing to take on. This gargantuan task is reflected in our recent survey: 66% of Brits said they’d rather lose their passport than their email address.

What happens when your email address – your digital passport – is exposed?

If your email address is published online, you become a target for bad actors online. The two main ways that this can happen are through data breaches and data brokers.

Data breaches occur when businesses fall prey to cyberattacks or even just through mistakes, such as Ticketmaster, Microsoft, and Google experienced in 2024. Hackers downloaded and published troves of information, with more than 1 billion records being stolen. If hackers acquire your email address, they can target you with phishing scams, sending emails to convince you to give away sensitive information to help them to access your accounts.

Your email address can also be uncovered by data brokers. Data brokers trade in personal information as a commodity, selling it for marketing and advertising purposes. They combine data points such as your internet history, public records, and purchases. This data is incredibly easy to find online because it's all connected to your email address, and with enough of it, data brokers can sell a detailed profile of you to businesses for a profit. If you're affected, you'll likely find your inbox bombarded with spam from marketers and potentially scammers. You might also find hackers using your data to guess your passwords, access your accounts, and lock you out. Even governments can purchase this data to spy on their citizens using warrantless surveillance.

Anyone can fall victim to data scraping and breaches. Proton's recent study looked into politicians that had fallen victim to data breaches. 68% of MPs in the UK had their details compromised on the dark web – a national security issue waiting to happen.

A lesser-known solution – hiding your email address

The best way of protecting yourself online is not sharing any information in the first place – what companies don't have can't be used against you. But that's not realistic. So the best way to protect your real identity is to hide your digital identity.

Email aliases let you hide your identity from online services. An alias is a randomly generated email address that you can share with online service providers to mask your real email address, shielding it while still letting you receive emails. Despite being easy to create and manage, they're still underutilized.

For example, you can create an alias such as newsletters.perplexed753@passmail.net – a specific alias for receiving a newsletter. Without any identifying information, such as your name, it can't be traced back to you. Even if that business is breached, your personal identity won't be affected. You can create a unique alias for each account, covering your tracks online and protecting your privacy.

Without your email address, data brokers and scammers can't create an online profile for you. Your alias is only tied to one account, and since it doesn't contain any identifiable information, it reduces the amount of information you share online.

If one of your aliases is compromised in a data breach or begins receiving spam emails, you can simply deactivate it. Only one of your accounts is affected and you can create a different alias for that service. The inconvenience and risk associated with your real email address being leaked is eliminated. You can create as many aliases as you like to make sure that any risk is spread across multiple disposable addresses. Instead of a huge task to reset your email address, it becomes a thirty second fix.

Email aliases don't just allow you to receive emails — but send them too. If you want to create an account on a forum but don't want to use your personal email address, your aliases help you communicate with total privacy. You can create email aliases to help you manage a small business using your business domain or even just organize your inbox.

Email aliases are an easy, low-effort tool to combat cybercrime and protect our personal data. As navigating the internet becomes more risky, we need to rethink the way we freely give our personal email addresses to every online service provider. Instead, we should approach sharing your personal email address the same way as sharing your passport — with great caution. This shift in mindset will make it harder for bad actors to flourish online and help you take control of your privacy.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Threat actors seen abusing AWS misconfigurations to gain access to the instances
• They would use the instances to create new SES and WorkMail services
• The emails would bypass email security, while keeping the attackers hidden

Misconfigured Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments are being abused to run phishing campaigns that can bypass email filters and land right into people’s inboxes, experts have claimed.

Cybersecurity researchers from Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 recently spotted a group tracked as TGR-UNK-0011 engaging in this type of attack.

The group, which Unit 42 says significantly overlaps with a separate group called JavaGhost, has been active since 2019. However, the group was initially focused on defacing websites, and only pivoted to phishing in 2022, when they started seeking out financial gain.

JavaGhost

The attacks start with the group obtaining people’s AWS access keys. This gives them access to Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) and WorkMail services.

"JavaGhost obtained exposed long-term access keys associated with identity and access management (IAM) users that allowed them to gain initial access to an AWS environment via the command-line interface (CLI)," the researchers said. "Between 2022-24, the group evolved their tactics to more advanced defense evasion techniques that attempt to obfuscate identities in the CloudTrail logs. This tactic has historically been exploited by Scattered Spider."

After confirming the access, the attackers would create a temporary account and access the console. Then, they would use SES and WorkMail to set up their phishing infrastructure, and would set up SMTP credentials to send the phishing emails.

"Throughout the time frame of the attacks, JavaGhost creates various IAM users, some they use during their attacks and others that they never use," the researchers explained. "The unused IAM users seem to serve as long-term persistence mechanisms."

Since the emails would be coming from a known, and legitimate entity, they would bypass email protections and reach their target’s inboxes. They would also sound more credible, since the two parties most likely communicated in the past, as well.

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The Assassin's Creed Shadows requirements for PC and Mac have finally been revealed. In general, you'll need to know the minimum and recommended specs to work out whether your setup can run the game, and how different levels of ray-tracing can be achieved in-game.

From what we've seen so far, Assassin's Creed Shadows looks to be a bold new step for the long-running action franchise. There are dual protagonists this time around, and even dynamic systems that will affect combat and stealth. We're still waiting to get ahold of the game, but it has a chance of ranking highly on our list of the best Assassin's Creed games from what we've seen so far.

Here's everything you need to know about the Assassin's Creed Shadows requirements for PC and Mac, including a breakdown of what you'll need for each level of ray-tracing in-game. We'll also explain whether AC: Shadows can run on Steam Deck, and some key info on everything from GPU requirements to the resolutions and frame rates that you'll be targeting.

Assassin's Creed Shadows requirements for PC

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Here are the Assassin's Creed Shadows requirements for PC, broken up by the kind of Ray Tracing you want to achieve:

Now, we have the PC requirements for Assassin's Creed Shadows with Standard Ray Tracing switched on:

For those who want to go for extensive Ray Tracing, you'll need the following setup:

Assassin's Creed Shadows requirements for Mac

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Now for the Assassin's Creed Shadows requirements from Mac, which will allow players using Apple silicon to get in on the fun.

Now, here's the requirements for those wanting to target Selective Ray Tracing on Mac:

Finally, here are the Assassin's Creed Shadows requirements for achieving Standard Ray Tracing on Mac:

Can you play Assassin's Creed Shadows on the Steam Deck?

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Unfortunately, Assassin's Creed Shadows won't be playable on the Steam Deck at launch. This was revealed in a Q&A posted to the game's official website:

"At launch, the game will not be compatible with Steam Deck, due to the fact it is below our minimum specs for PC." said Pierre F, Technology Director of Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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The push to ban TikTok was always disingenuous in the United States. Don’t get me wrong – the app’s spyware concerns are well-founded. However, banning one app while ignoring scores of other state-owned, questionable software and hardware is like plugging a leaky dam while water gushes through dozens of other cracks. It’s not a long-term solution to a deep-rooted problem.

For me, as a connected device user and maker of more than two decades, the social media ban (and rapid about-face) raises a bigger, overlooked security concern: the vast network of Chinese-manufactured smart devices in homes and businesses. While TikTok’s data collection makes headlines, the Internet of Things (IoT) captures far more intimate data about our daily lives.

As lawmakers now attempt to find American buyers for co-ownership of TikTok, I’m left asking myself: If this app requires home-grown investment and steering for security, shouldn’t the same apply to the millions of Chinese-made IoT devices?

We know about this threat

Chinese-connected devices have been making headlines for years. First, they’re cheap, which means they’re hackable. Tens of thousands of customers found this out the hard way when Hikvision, a state-owned surveillance camera manufacturer, left users exposed through unpatched software vulnerabilities and default passwords that leaked online.

Further, these devices aren’t just weak – they’re black boxes. Ownership is often unknown or state-linked, so what happens with device data is anyone’s best guess. Additionally, there’s no telling what these devices could do. The hardware, software, and platform are made in China. With full network access, rogue devices could monitor network traffic, inject malicious code, and create distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

What we can say for certain is that these devices – from robot vacuums to video doorbells – collect more intimate, real-time data than any social media app. This includes constant audio, video, and location data. Think about it: social media only sees what you choose to share, while these devices witness your unfiltered life. They come with eyes and ears – cameras and microphones – that can track daily routines, lifestyle, and, well, you.

While TikTok operates in the virtual realm of social media content, IoT senses and actuates with the real world around it. Connected cars with cameras can drive around and discover all kinds of infrastructure, even using sensors like WiFi to discover networks and digital mechanisms. This is just the tip of the surveillance iceberg.

More dangerous than TikTok

The TikTok ban and ownership decision opens up a digital can of worms. It’s just not true to say this app is a national security risk if countless other devices aren’t given the same distinction. This is especially so if the threat from connected devices is actually worse than one app.

Consider, for example, that devices directly connect to cloud platforms – again, determined by the devicemaker – with some even counting facial recognition. Not to mention, TikTok is usually tied to a mobile device, which adds an extra security layer via iOS or Android. Devices don’t have this. How is this not a security and geopolitical risk, again?

The truth is that TikTok’s ban and buyout is based on political posturing rather than consumer safety. For this reason, it’s highly unlikely governments will start divvying up ownership and operation of every dodgy company in Chinese IoT. There’s not enough political will and, ultimately, these devices do a lot of good for economies when onboarded – keyword – safely.

Of course, regulators are trying to encourage device security baselines in Europe (Cyber Resilience Act) and The United States (Cyber Trust Mark) regarding default passwords and patching guarantees. But they can’t and won’t move for outright bans or buyouts. After all, IoT offers excellent efficiency and management insights, and Chinese devices often deliver the best bang for buck. So, what can we do?

Protect yourself, your networks, and your data

Protecting yourself from this threat starts by weighing up the pros and cons of technology from this part of the world. There’s a real chance you’ll pay the price for discounted devices in the form of security backdoors and data loss. So, keep the overall bottom-line impact in mind.

If you decide to bite the bullet, ensure multiple security failsafes. Configure your devices with peer-to-peer communication and end-to-end encryption. Also, store them under your own lock and key at the edge. This way, they’re on their own segmented network closer to home with less latency and fewer intermediary servers.

For the record, I don’t think governments should get involved with the ownership of these companies. Nonetheless, it’s a worthwhile thought exercise with geopolitics moving at breakneck speed and devices entering our most private spaces. Regulations are the right move for the moment and let’s hope our lawmakers keep a close eye on this sector.

Whatever happens next, both consumers and companies need to move with the landscape. Between tariffs and TikTok, nothing is off the table, so be careful not to put your data in the line of fire.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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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 Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, March 4 (game #632).

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 #633) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• BITE
• ONION
• SOFT
• KICK
• PICKLE
• SKIRT
• ALLERGY
• RELIEF
• PAINT
• DODGE
• EDGE
• CLIP
• BORDER
• FILE
• MELODRAMA
• FRINGE

NYT Connections today (game #633) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: On the outside
• GREEN: Cuticle activities
• BLUE: Things to make you blub 
• PURPLE: Add a rhyme with “wall” to make a game

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 #633) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: PERIPHERY 
• GREEN: THINGS PEOPLE DO TO FINGERNAILS
• BLUE: WHAT MIGHT BRING TEARS TO YOUR EYES 
• PURPLE: __BALL RECREATIONAL SPORTS 

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

NYT Connections today (game #633) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #633, are…

• YELLOW: PERIPHERY BORDER, EDGE, FRINGE, SKIRT
• GREEN: THINGS PEOPLE DO TO FINGERNAILS BITE, CLIP, FILE, PAINT
• BLUE: WHAT MIGHT BRING TEARS TO YOUR EYES ALLERGY, MELODRAMA, ONION, RELIEF
• PURPLE: __BALL RECREATIONAL SPORTS DODGE, KICK, PICKLE, SOFT

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

I’m annoyed with today’s Connections because I made a mistake with an answer that is technically also correct.

PAINT could have fitted into __BALL RECREATIONAL SPORTS as well as THINGS PEOPLE DO TO FINGERNAILS. The injustice! It’s not as if I tried to put PICKLE and ONION in a group together – I thought about it, though.

Paintball doesn't involve an actual ball as such, so I guess that justifies its exclusion. But what’s doubly annoying at missing out on an error-free clean run is that this was one of those rare puzzles where I actually understood what all the categories were, for a change.

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 4 March, game #632)

• YELLOW: ADJECTIVES FOR NICE SKIN DEWY, FRESH, GLOWING, SMOOTH
• GREEN: MESS OF HAIR MAT, MOP, TANGLE, THATCH
• BLUE: DICKENS CHARACTERS BUCKET, PIP, SCROOGE, TWIST
• PURPLE: ___CHAIN DAISY, FOOD, MOUNTAIN, SUPPLY

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.