Technology

Now that Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has been out in the wild for several weeks now, many of us die-hard AC fans have devoured every corner of its world and hoovered up every collectible and secret to dive deep into the lore once again.

It's a fantastic remake of one of the best Assassin's Creed games, and also has plenty going on in its stories, lore, quests, characters, and world that can be fun to test your knowledge on.

So I've built this quiz to do exactly that! Featuring questions on Black Flag and the Resynced remake, below are 15 questions that cover characters, the setting, links to other games, and more!

I've tried to make this Assassin's Creed Black Flag and Resynced quiz a bit tricky in places, and going a little deeper into lore here and there, so I hope it's the right balance of a test of knowledge combined with a few intriguing melon scratchers — including one that can't be confirmed, but for the life of me I am convinced is correct.

Good luck!

How did you find the quiz on Black Flag? A bit niche in places or a good test? Let me know in the comments, and feel free to let me know what other quizzes on games we could try!

Lanterns will aim to bring back brighter days for DC Studios after the DC Universe's (DCU) darkest period. Indeed, with Supergirl being the first major flop of the comic giant's rebooted cinematic universe, all eyes are on its forthcoming Green Lantern TV show to see if that was a minor blip or not.

Thinking of tuning in to see the new comic book-inspired sci-fi crime drama? You'll want to know when and where its first episode, titled 'Pilot', will arrive. Read on to learn more.

When can I watch Lanterns episode 1? And what is its runtime?

#Lanterns premieres this Sunday at 9pm ET on @hbomax. pic.twitter.com/lsm6Up5UbXAugust 11, 2026

Lanterns will premiere in the US and Canada on Sunday, August 16 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.

The DCU Chapter One TV series' first episode, which clocks in at 57 minutes including its end credits, will also be available to watch in other nations, but it won't air until Monday, August 17. Here are the launch times you need to know about if you live in the following countries:

• US — Sunday, August 16 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• Canada — Sunday, August 16 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• UK — Monday, August 17 at 2am BST
• India — Monday, August 17 at 6:30am IST
• Singapore — Monday, August 17 at 9am SGT
• Australia — Monday, August 17 at 11am AEST
• New Zealand — Monday, August 17 at 1pm NZST

Where can I watch Lanterns episode 1?

HBO Max is the primary streaming home for all DC Studios projects, so you'll need to sign up to one of the best streaming services if you don't have an account to watch Lanterns.

That said, HBO Max hasn't launched in every territory yet, so some of you will find it on another streaming platform or TV network. Luckily for you, I've compiled a list of the places it'll be available to watch below, so scroll on to see where it'll drop in your neighborhood:

• US — HBO and HBO Max
• Canada — Crave
• UK — HBO Max, Sky Atlantic, and Now TV
• India — JioHotstar
• Singapore — HBO Max
• Australia — HBO Max
• New Zealand — HBO Max

Lanterns full release schedule

You might be able to catch Lanterns episode 1 at your local bar, but I wouldn't advise watching it there... (Image credit: HBO)

Like most other HBO TV Originals, new episodes of DC Studios' Green Lantern TV show will be released weekly once its first chapter has dropped. That means viewers in North and South America will need to check back in every Sunday evening for new entries, while the rest of the world can watch them every Monday.

Here's a rundown of the all-important launch dates to be aware of:

• Lanterns episode 1 — August 16/17
• Lanterns episode 2 — August 23/24
• Lanterns episode 3 — August 30/31
• Lanterns episode 4 — September 6/7
• Lanterns episode 5 — September 13/14
• Lanterns episode 6 — September 20/21
• Lanterns episode 7 — September 27/28
• Lanterns episode 8 — October 4/5

What is Lanterns about? And who's involved?

Initially, Lanterns sees Stewart and Jordan investigate a rural town murder in America's heartland (Image credit: HBO)

Here's the series' official logline: "Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery with cosmic ties as they investigate a murder in the American heartland."

As the above synopsis notes, Pierre and Chandler will play Lanterns' co-leads in Stewart and Jordan. The Rebel Ridge and Friday Night Lights alums are joined on the official cast roster by Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

TV veterans Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen) and Chris Mundy (Ozark), plus comic book writer Tom King (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow) are its creators and some of its executive producers. Mundy also holds the position as its lead showrunner.

For more ahead of the show's debut, find out everything else we know so far about Lanterns. Then, check out my near-full season review of Lanterns.

• Marvel's Wolverine's Performance Mode runs at 60fps with ray tracing on PS5
• Insomniac Games says this is the default mode
• Senior project director Jess Reiner-Reed says, "The game feels super smooth"

Insomniac Games has confirmed Marvel's Wolverine's Performance Mode will run at 60 frames-per-second (fps) with ray tracing enabled on the base PlayStation 5.

That's according to senior project director Jess Reiner-Reed, who told IGN that the team wanted to make 60fps with ray tracing the default mode on PS5, something the studio has never offered before in games like Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.

"From early on in development, we knew we wanted to make this 60fps, working on the base PS5 in performance mode," Reiner-Reed said. "And we've definitely been able to accomplish that. The game feels super smooth."

Insomniac's head of technology Mike Fitzgerald continued, saying the studio has always had these fidelity and performance modes in previous games, and always "sort of last minute" added the performance mode with ray tracing.

"So for this game from the start, we said, ‘You know what? We know we're confident we can ship this now," Fitzgerald said. "This is going to be a 60 frames per second game with ray tracing as the PS5 should have. We're going to build the game around this and towards this.’ And it's the default mode for the first time for us in one of our games. It’s important for the presentation.”

Marvel's Wolverine launches exclusively on PS5 on September 16 and will be "fully playable" on disc.

Elsewhere, Insomniac Games has explained why Logan's suits regenerate after combat, with Fitzgerald explaining that there are "some practicalities to it" and "you can’t play through most of the game wearing just shredded rags on his body."

Apple has a hidden certified refurbished store that offers the popular MacBook Neo for $100 off.

Earth’s neighbor still has secrets that science is trying to figure out, and one of them is potential signs of life.

• Flock is making it harder for its systems to be abused
• Its CEO says the company's priority is public safety
• You can now 3D print a Flock Sock to disable cameras near you

Flock knows that its license plate readers and other surveillance tech are facing a substantial backlash from citizens and privacy groups, and it's now rolling out upgraded safety guardrails to protect against its systems from being misused — while CEO Garrett Langley says "we're not Big Brother".

That line comes from an interview with Bloomberg, in which Langley says his company's cameras are built to improve public safety and reduce crime. They're also now going to be subject to tighter restrictions, including more controls over the information that Flock's customers can share with other agencies.

Data logged by the license plate readers will now be kept for 7 days rather than 30 by default, Flock says, while the recently introduced Audit Assistance tool — which watches out for "abnormal activity" on Flock systems — will be made compulsory rather than optional. Accounts involved in this activity will be automatically suspended, too.

In addition, specific case codes will be required for law enforcement searches, and Flock is improving the security protocols around its data. The company also says it's committing to making its privacy policies easier to understand, and being more transparent about how its systems are being used.

In a separate interview with CNN, Langley said "I'm sorry the system has failed you" in response to a question asking him for his message to people who feel they've been victimized by the company's technology. "I'm sorry that you no longer trust the police department that's job is to protect you" he added.

Unlawful tracking

Meet the Flock Sock (Image credit: Squidlink/Maker World)

As highlighted by rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Flock cameras have previously been used for purposes outside their approved remit: to track protestors, for example, and women seeking abortions. Police officers have also used the tech to stalk people they've been in a relationship with.

Whether these latest changes will help remains to be seen. Flock's 120,000 license plate readers are now being used by some 6,000 law enforcement agencies and around 1,000 private companies (including FedEx), and the company is also making moves into other areas, such as drones for first responders.

Meanwhile, a sizable number of the general public aren't too happy at having their license plates scanned and logged automatically. There have been numerous reports of Flock cameras being smashed up or otherwise disabled in protest, amid worries that the surveillance capabilities of this network go way beyond crime prevention.

One enterprising inventor has even gone as far as making a 'Flock Sock', a 3D-printed design that you can pop over a license plate reader to stop it from recording anything. Rather cleverly though, it's marketed as a way of protecting these cameras from sunlight: "The very least you can do is help protect these valuable civil servants from getting a bad sunburn."

Google says the new Quick Share feature is an “instant, two-way exchange” for sharing.

• iFixit opened up Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 8 foldable phone
• It found the device’s hinge was vulnerable to dust and sand particles
• Apple’s upcoming iPhone Ultra might be similarly susceptible

If you’re considering getting the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 — or any of the best foldable phones, for that matter — you might want to check out iFixit’s teardown of Samsung’s flashy new device. Because it looks like the foldable has a fatal weakness that could swiftly ruin your expensive investment, if you're not careful.

The handy folks at iFixit noticed that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has an ingress rating of IP48, meaning it can resist water but not smaller dust particles. With that in mind, iFixit decided to give the foldable a light sprinkling of sand, complemented by UV-reactive dust that showed where the particles ended up — and how they affected Samsung’s phone.

The results were not pretty. With the dust in place, iFixit said that the phone’s hinge “started making truly awful crunching and grinding noises, and the phone stopped opening normally.” That’s a pretty disastrous result — after all, most phones will encounter dust particles on a very regular basis.

Although Samsung says the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has an IP48 rating, this only protects against particles 1mm in size or larger. Yet that might not be enough for ordinary usage, as the everyday sand iFixit used in its testing featured particles measuring 0.16mm. As we saw from the results, it doesn’t offer much in the way of defense.

The problem is that the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s hinge contains a lot of moving mechanical parts, all of which provide an opportunity for small particles to “cause trouble,” in iFixit’s words. While Samsung’s internal seals did a good job of keeping dust out of the batteries and main electronic components, they couldn’t ensure the safety of the hinge. And without this component, a foldable phone loses its entire raison d’être.

A warning for the iPhone Ultra

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 teardown isn’t just interesting for Samsung fans — because Apple’s long-awaited iPhone Ultra is expected to take on a similar form factor, it could provide a few hints (and warnings) about what might arrive at the Cupertino firm’s upcoming September launch event.

And it’s not like dust ingress is something Apple will automatically be immune to. As iFixit put it, Samsung’s device “still has one enormous liability: it folds.” It’s near-impossible to keep dust away from a phone in everyday use, and since folding is the entire point of the iPhone Ultra, it could well be beset by similar problems, unless Apple has an ingenious solution.

A clue to the iPhone Ultra's ruggedness will be in its specs, or more specifically its IP (Ingress Protection) rating. This tells you how well it repels dust and dirt — on the scale from zero to six, iFixit says the Galaxy Z Fold 8 only scores four.

Ultimately, we won’t find out if Apple has found a way to beat this score until the company launches its iPhone Ultra, which is expected to land this September. But considering it’s Apple’s first foray into the foldables market, the stakes are already high.

• The Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Edition is reportedly leading pre-order sales by 89%
• Digital intelligence firm Sensor Tower says 90% of players on Xbox are spending the extra cash for the Ultimate Edition, compared with 88.5% on PlayStation
• Karl Kontus, SVP and GM of Video Game Insights at Sensor Tower, predicts GTA 6 could reach around 25 million pre-orders when the game launches

According to digital intelligence firm Sensor Tower, the $100 Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Edition is leading pre-order sales by 89%.

Last week, Take-Two Interactive reported earnings of $1.39 billion during GTA 6's pre-order period, with CEO Strauss Zelnick saying that the game "had an exceptional start to pre-orders", but he couldn't disclose specific sales numbers.

"I can say that the level of pre-orders is unprecedented and astonishing, and we’re very grateful for that,” Zelnick said at the time. “But they are so unprecedented that we just don’t know how it’ll translate into sales, which is a question I answered earlier. We genuinely don’t, and we just don’t believe in claiming victory before it occurs."

While the publisher is not disclosing specific sales figures to avoid misleading investors, the CEO also told CNBC that they're "skewing more to the premium edition," and suggested it was due to die-hard fans pre-ordering it.

Now, Karl Kontus, SVP and GM of Video Game Insights at Sensor Tower, also reported something similar (via GamesIndustry.biz), saying that 89% of preorders for GTA 6 are for the more expensive Ultimate Edition, rather than the $80 Standard Edition.

Kontus also said the percentages are similar for both versions of the game, with 90% of players on Xbox spending the extra cash for the Ultimate Edition, compared with 88.5% on PlayStation. He also told GI.biz that preorders for GTA 6 could reach around 25 million when the game launches on November 19, which would amount to “unprecedented preorder performance" and translate to $2 billion in revenue, which would cover GTA 6’s development cost and the majority of marketing spend.

As Zelnick suggested, Kontus said special editions "always tend to perform well during the preorder period," because the games are typically preordered by dedicated fans who want a premium edition.

"That being said, I have never seen a 90% premium share before," he added. "A 50% premium share during preorders is a great number. Typical premium shares for games tend to be at around 10–20%."

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

However, he expects the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition sales percentage to decline over time as more casual players buy the game, "but it's likely it'll stay significantly above the industry standard," adding that the split between the $80 and $100 versions will be determined by how effective the marketing campaign will be.

Since the full marketing campaign hasn't kicked off yet, Kontus expects most pre-orders will come in the last week of pre-launch, but the split will be "much closer to 50/50."

Unlike the Standard Edition, which comes with the base game, the more expensive Ultimate Edition has a ton of extra features, including premium and exclusive content like missions, Vice City shops, locations, and outfits. While the latter is more expensive, Kontus doesn't believe the difference is "that big," and reckons the move was smart.

"The difference between $80 (already higher than the industry standard $70 we see today) and $100 isn't that big, and the $100 SKU comes with a lot of additional content," he said. "

"Sometimes the premium SKUs are just filler content to justify a higher price, but the GTA 6 premium SKU comes with a meaningful amount of vehicles, weapons, and even a custom mod shop that you wouldn't get otherwise. For a lot of people, this is the one 'must buy' game this year, and they will want to make the most of it. I'm actually kind of surprised they didn't do a $150 SKU – feels like money left on the table (but also fewer players being angry as a result)."

It won't be long before fans can get a proper look at the game, as the 'Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look' premieres on Netflix on August 27.

• Epic's launcher is being ported over to Linux
• This is happening just as Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming app came out of beta and officially launched on Linux
• This year is getting better and better for Linux gamers, as GOG is also porting its Galaxy client over too

Epic will be making a native version of its launcher for Linux, and on top of that, Nvidia's GeForce Now app for Linux is also official, having emerged from beta.

The delivery of the Epic Games Store for Linux will be a big win for Steam Deck owners, and other Linux gamers who want to access Epic's gaming platform with no fuss, and as Steam Deck HQ reports (via VideoCardz), that native incarnation is coming.

An Epic employee (@onepercentnachos) was questioned on this subject at an AMA ('ask me anything' session) on the Discord server for the Epic Games Store community. They replied that a native version of the store is coming "soon" albeit not in the next preview build. The staffer noted that "we need to do more than simply have a build of the launcher that can run natively on Linux".

Nvidia also just announced that the Linux app for its streaming service, GeForce Now, is no longer a beta. The officially released full version of the app "focuses on performance, stability and polish while continuing to support Ubuntu 24.04 and later", we're told.

And while it's not related to gaming, OpenAI's release of a ChatGPT app for Linux is another milestone for the platform. As TechCrunch reports, the Linux app for ChatGPT is still a preview, but it gives users a native app experience for a number of different distros. Those include Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04 LTS, Debian 13, as well as Fedora 43 and 44.

OpenAI said: "Linux has been one of the most-requested platforms for the desktop app, and this launch extends ChatGPT and Codex across every major desktop operating system."

Analysis: a rosier future for Linux gamers — but Fortnite remains a bone of contention

(Image credit: Future/Epic Games)

The Epic Games Store arriving natively is great news for gamers running Linux — including SteamOS — as it means a much more convenient way of playing games from the store, as opposed to the current situation with fudging and workarounds (using a third-party app such as the Heroic Games Launcher).

It's worth noting that the distros which will be supported remain unconfirmed, but presumably the gaming-focused SteamOS will be one of them. Also, there will still be limitations even with this native implementation, notably games with anti-cheat. Indeed, Epic's own Fortnite doesn't work on Linux (and that's down to Epic actively blocking the game from running due to issues around cheating, which remains a source of controversy).

Given the apparent changing attitude here with its launcher being ported over, maybe Epic will reverse course on Fortnite eventually. Some gamers on Reddit are highly skeptical about that possibility though, and as one doubting Redditor put it: "I wouldn't hold my breath."

Another went just a touch further than that, observing: "I wouldn't be shocked if Tim Sweeney [Epic's CEO] would rather die than let Fortnite run on Linux, honestly."

At any rate, the Fortnite controversy aside, with GOG also working on a native Linux spin on its Galaxy client, there are some considerable strides being taken for gamers – and Nvidia's GeForce Now becoming official for Linux is another useful step forward to boot.

There are plenty of ways to get rid of ads online, but ChatGPT has come up with an unusual approach to the bargain for its own ads. Free ChatGPT users can give up some of their messaging quota to make advertising inside ChatGPT disappear.

As OpenAI expands advertising on ChatGPT's Free tier (ads launched in the several countries, including the UK, this week), users can choose an Ads-Free version without upgrading to a paid subscription. The catch is that choosing it means accepting lower usage limits and potentially losing access to some features. It all depends on whether you value an uncluttered chatbot conversation or more opportunities to actually use it.

I was curious about what that trade actually amounted to in normal use. An ad appearing underneath a ChatGPT response sounded mildly irritating, but running out of useful interactions halfway through a conversation sounded considerably worse. OpenAI is evasive about precisely what the trade-off is, so I decided to experiment on my own.

Ad options

(Image credit: ChatGPT)

I wasn't going to just spam ChatGPT with meaningless prompts until it finally refused to answer. I came up with a fairly common use for the AI and decided to see if having the advertising toggle on or off made much of a difference.

To set up the experiment, I started a Free account, opened Settings and the Data menu where the Ads options live. You can see the choices above. ChatGPT encouraged signing up for a subscription to avoid ads, but the ad-free experience “with reduced usage” is right there.

I started with ads enabled and asked ChatGPT a bunch of questions about potential purchases, activities to do on the weekend, and other mundane queries, with plenty of follow-up questions as part of it.

(Image credit: ChatGPT)

The ads barely interfered with any of the conversation. OpenAI currently places ads below responses and keeps them visually separate from ChatGPT's answer, as you can see above. They're easy to ignore and never made an answer harder to read. It felt more like a sponsored Google result than an unskippable video in terms of annoyance levels.

Still, I never had to wonder whether ChatGPT itself was recommending the advertiser. That's good for OpenAI since it's a particularly awkward environment for advertising. When a chatbot is telling you what restaurant to visit, which laptop to buy or how to plan a vacation, even the suggestion that money could influence its answer would undermine the entire experience

The price of silence

The ad-free option felt pretty similar to the version with sponsored posts. You'd have to actually be watching for the ads to have much of an impact. OpenAI only says Ads-Free users receive fewer messages per day, may run into rate limits more often, and can lose access to tools like deep research or its image-making options. I noticed the reduced feature option, but multiple attempts to reach the ad-free limit had mixed results. It took nearly 40 messages to get a warning from ChatGPT in one instance, and another experiment crossed 60 messages without a peep from the chatbot.

The rate limit may matter a lot more for people using ChatGPT professionally. But when it comes to regular conversations that aren't as extensive, I didn't really feel constrained. Not to mention, even if you do hit the ad-free ceiling, you can always turn the ads back on to get more access.

My verdict? As much as I might prefer an ad-free ChatGPT conversation, I'd rather deal with the easily forgettable sponsored links than having to start all over with the toggle flipped back on. Slightly more clutter around the conversation beats possibly having to start over because I hit the rate limit.

Plenty of Anycubic 3D printers have passed through our studio workshop for testing, and they've impressed us on price and performance, particularly the budget and beginner-friendly models.

One example that's worth looking at is the Anycubic Kobra 4 Combo, now $380 (was $500) at Anycubic. If you're in the UK, switch your location on the site to grab the Kobra 4 Combo for £329 (was £449).

This open-enclosure multi-color 3D printer bundles the machine with Anycubic's ACE 2 Pro filament system for native 4-color printing out of the box. And it's cheaper direct than it is at Amazon, which also has the Anycubic Kobra 4 Combo discounted to $400 in the US and £370 in the UK.

Kobra 4 Combo 3D printer: was $499.99 now $379.99
260mm x 260mm x 260mm build volume, native 4-color printing via the bundled ACE 2 Pro (expandable to 8 colors with a second unit), quick-swap hardened steel nozzle, automatic bed leveling, and a 720p onboard camera with AI print monitoring. Ships nearly fully assembled.

In the UK: now £329 (was £449)View Deal

• Also available for $400 (was $430) at Amazon.com and £370 (was £530) at Amazon.co.uk.

Why we recommend it

Beyond our own experiences testing Anycubic's well-built range of 3D printers, our sister site Tom's Hardware tested this exact Combo configuration and called it a solid machine and a good value, even while noting it is more of a refinement than a leap over Anycubic's previous model.

Arriving almost fully assembled, with the ACE 2 Pro filament system already in the box, the site praised its quick-swap hardened steel nozzle, which lets you change or clear a jammed nozzle without tools. The review also highlighted genuinely quiet operation, with the ACE 2 Pro staying nearly silent outside of active filament drying.

Anycubic has clearly refined its auto bed leveling and Z-offset calibration through this generation, and the reviewer noted the leveling process is thorough, covering PID tuning, resonance testing, and noise cancellation before every print. Loading filament into the ACE 2 Pro was also described as far simpler than the previous generation, which often needed multiple attempts to feed correctly.

The ACE 2 Pro's ability to dry filament while printing is a genuinely useful feature for anyone working with moisture-prone materials like PETG, and the built-in 720p camera adds print monitoring with AI-based failure detection, which the review found worked reliably without being oversensitive.

Also consider

Kobra X Multicolor 3D Printer: was $459.99 now $299.98
This multicolor FDM printer offers native four-color printing, expansion to 19 colors, 600mm/s maximum speeds, a 260mm³ build area, 49-point auto leveling, AI monitoring, dual-band Wi-Fi, and LAN connectivity.

In the UK: now £260 (was £329)View Deal

Price Context & Historical Value

As a new model 3D printer, this is the lowest price yet if you pick it up direct from Anycubic.

Over at Amazon, it's slightly more expensive at $400 (was $430) in the US, and £370 (was £530) in the UK - and that's the lowest price it's been there, too.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Anycubic Kobra 4 Combo if...

You are new to 3D printing and want multicolor output without a steep learning curve, quiet operation matters in your workspace, or you want a filament dryer built into your setup for moisture-sensitive materials like PETG.

❌ Skip the Anycubic Kobra 4 Combo if...

You already own a comparable multicolor printer like the Kobra X, you are tight on desk or shelf space, or fast color-swapping matters more to you than an all-in-one solution for drying and printing.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

Filament swaps between colors can be slow, and the default flushing settings wasted a meaningful amount of filament during testing, close to 40 grams on one multicolor print. The Combo also has a larger footprint than Anycubic's own Kobra X, and running TPU requires bypassing the ACE 2 Pro and loading filament directly into the toolhead, since the system could not run TPU through the standard feed path at the time of review. The reviewer ultimately preferred the Kobra X for value and space efficiency, so if you already own one, this is not an obvious upgrade.

• US: Shop the full 3D printer sale at Anycubic
• UK: See the full Anycubic 3D printer sale

The recent release of Anthropic Mythos is a wake-up call for the tech industry – and the fact that Anthropic themselves chose not to release it publicly speaks volumes about the level of risk we have now reached. AI agents have evolved from chatbots with upgraded capabilities to effective employees with database access, API keys, and system privileges.

However, the security protecting them is built on the same strategy that failed to stop ChatGPT jailbreaks in 2023. And this time, there’s no human to review an agent’s output, just an autonomous agent carrying out commands in a silo.

AI agents are reshaping enterprise systems and the way work gets done. Securing them requires an equally fundamental shift in thinking. Ultimately, now that agents act independently, resilience must be rooted in foundational controls, including hardware-level and lower-stack security, to be ready when the higher-level safeguards fail.

How AI agents expand the attack surface

Before agentic AI, the biggest AI risks were bad recommendations, inappropriate responses, and conversational data exposure. Human oversight acted as a safeguard for every action, and AI systems operated without direct access to sensitive information. The primary concern was reputational damage rather than risks to underlying infrastructure.

When Anthropic released the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in November 2024, it established a standardized framework that allows AI agents to connect to databases, file systems, and enterprise tools. But within eight months, a critical vulnerability emerged (CVE-2025-49596, CVSS9.4), triggering emergency security responses across the industry.

The risk came from four factors working together. Autonomy means agents can decide and act without human review. Privileged access gives them credentials, tokens and file system permissions. Machine-speed execution leaves little time for human intervention. And cross-system reach means one compromised agent can move across connected environments.

Together, these factors expanded the attack surface far beyond what traditional security controls – even AI-enabled ones – were built to manage.

Why software-only defences keep falling short

The industry is moving quickly to secure AI agents, but the response largely mirrors a familiar approach: adding more layers of software. Most companies are focusing on two main layers: input guardrails – implementing more software tools designed to stop malicious instructions from ever reaching AI agents, and permissions and monitoring – limiting what compromised agents can access.

It’s the same strategy the industry had relied on for decades: deploy quickly, remain agile, and address vulnerabilities as they emerge. Both methods operate inside the software trust boundary.

But history shows this approach often ends the same way: with the need for hardware-layer protections. In the 1990s and 2000s, network security responded to software exploits by deploying additional software layers. Breaches persisted until organizations eventually adopted hardware-enforced network segmentation.

The same pattern played out with endpoint security in the 2000s and 2010s. As malware evolved to bypass detection, the response was behavioral analysis, sandboxing, and endpoint detection and response. Yet more software. Breaches continued until TPM (Trust Platform Module) chips and hardware-enforced secure boot became widely adopted. Cloud security, in the 2010s and 2020s, followed a similar path.

A common lesson runs through each of these domains: when the software trust boundary is compromised, the hardware layer – where data actually lives – must be secured too.

The case for hardware-level security

This time, we cannot afford to learn slowly. Agents are already being connected to the systems that business rely on for their daily operations. Incidents like the MCP critical vulnerability and recent reports of a data leak caused by a Meta AI agent show how quickly the risks can become real.

Guardrails, permissions, and monitoring are necessary, but they are insufficient, and they represent the security layers that history shows will eventually be bypassed. Effective defense requires a third layer – one that exists beyond the software trust boundary and provides oversight at the hardware level, where sensitive data is ultimately stored and processed.

Hardware Root of Trust serves as the final security barrier, helping contain breaches before they escalate into a full system compromise. As the number of companies using AI agents continues to grow, security needs to move deeper than the application layer.

The industry has already learned that software alone cannot secure complex systems – it should not wait for a major compromise to learn the same lesson again.

We've featured the best endpoint protection software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• Insomniac Games explains why Logan's suit in Marvel's Wolverine heals itself
• Head of technology Mike Fitzgerald says there are "some practicalities to it" and "you can’t play through most of the game wearing just shredded rags on his body"
• He adds that the team invested a lot of time in showing damage progression to suits

Insomniac Games has explained why Logan's suit in Marvel's Wolverine regenerates after fights, and its reason makes a lot of sense.

If you've watched any of Marvel's Wolverine trailers, you've probably noticed that after bloody battles, Logan's fancy hero suit heals itself of any combat damage.

Wolverine can heal his injuries very quickly thanks to his innate mutation, and since his skeleton is coated in an alloy called adamantium, he's near-indestructible. Initially, fans thought this might be why his suit was regenerating in the game, or perhaps it was even nanotech; however, Insomniac has settled the matter, explaining that it's simply about keeping the superhero vibe intact.

"I think mostly there’s some practicalities to it,” head of technology Mike Fitzgerald said in an interview with IGN. "You can’t play through most of the game wearing just shredded rags on his body. So we find the right balance between clothing that reflects the gameplay you’re doing and this brutal combat and the realities of that, and then finding the right moments to have it restore itself so you get that right cinematic feel of Wolverine."

Senior project director Jess Reiner-Reed also commented on finding the right balance, adding, "Early on you would be playing through missions and your clothes are shredded for way too long. You don't feel as powerful as you're playing through. So yeah, we definitely found that right balance was the right thing to say."

While Logan's suit will heal after fights, Fitzgerald explained that the team still had to show damage progression across his different suits and enemies, as well.

"We invested a lot in how damage is reflected on him in his suit, on enemies and their suits," Fitzgerald explained. "And then as you attack them, the blood sprays coming off them are some really interesting fluid tech. So it's not just pre-baked visual effects. These are actual blood particles coming out.

"They hit the ground and make the exact splatter mark they would make if they land on Logan. They leave blood there. If he walks through water, it washes off and leaves blood swirls in the water."

Marvel's Wolverine launches on PS5 on September 16. Insomniac recently confirmed that it will be "fully playable" on disc following Sony's decision to end physical disc production.

In today’s supply chain, a week is not merely a long time. It can be the difference between protecting margins and absorbing avoidable cost; maintaining availability and losing sales; or preserving customer trust and explaining why another commitment has been missed.

Geopolitical tensions, tariff changes, economic uncertainty and supplier instability are no longer occasional interruptions to an otherwise predictable operating environment.

They increasingly overlap, interact and move faster than traditional planning cycles.

The external risk picture supports that conclusion. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 identifies geoeconomic confrontation as the leading risk for both 2026 and the period to 2028. Half of the experts surveyed expect the global outlook over the next two years to be turbulent or stormy.

This is creating a decision-speed challenge at the heart of global commerce.

Research with supply chain leaders, found that only 20% can develop and deploy a response to a geopolitical disruption within 24 hours. A further 38% require more than a week.

During those seven days, transport costs can change, capacity can disappear, inventory can become stranded and competitors can secure alternative sources of supply. By the time a response has passed through every functional review and approval, the original assumptions may already be obsolete.

The critical question is not whether an organization can see disruption. It is whether it can convert that signal into an executable enterprise decision while there is still time to influence the outcome.

Visibility is not the same as readiness

For many years, supply chain transformation focused on improving forecasts, optimizing individual functions and reducing cost. Those disciplines remain important, but many of the operating models surrounding them were designed for a more predictable world.

Today’s disruptions cut across procurement, manufacturing, logistics, inventory, commercial planning and finance simultaneously. Yet many organizations still manage them through separate systems, functional metrics and sequential decisions.

Consider a tariff change. It may require the business to reassess sourcing, production, inventory deployment, pricing, customer allocation and margin exposure. If each function develops its own answer before the enterprise reconciles the trade-offs, valuable time is lost.

A dashboard may reveal the disruption quickly, but it does not determine which customers to prioritize, what financial exposure is acceptable or who has the authority to act.

Visibility without decision rights is simply faster awareness of the same problem.

Confidence is becoming polarized

The research also reveals a decline in overall confidence. Only 66% of leaders now consider their supply chains ready for the future, compared with 73% in 2025.

46% describe themselves as highly optimistic about their supply chains. These leaders are also more likely to report shared cross-functional KPIs, integrated data and stronger end-to-end visibility.

Optimism itself does not create better performance. Rather, confidence appears to reflect the capabilities these organizations have already built.

Less optimistic organizations are 2.3 times more likely to experience slow data sharing and integration, 2.5 times more likely to operate in functional silos and four times more likely to describe their supply chains as disjointed.

The divide is therefore not simply technological. It is organizational and operational. Connected businesses are better positioned to develop a common understanding of events, evaluate enterprise-wide consequences and align teams around one response.

From unified data to unified decisions

Unified data platforms are now the most widely adopted new technology in the survey, deployed by 51% of organizations. Adoption rises to 64% among the more optimistic cohort, compared with 40% among less optimistic leaders.

That foundation is essential, but it is only the beginning.

The real value emerges when common data supports connected decisions across planning and execution. This enables organizations not only to identify disruption, but also to assess its end-to-end impact, evaluate alternative responses and orchestrate action across the network.

Technology provides the foundation, but achieving decision speed also requires shared enterprise outcomes, clearly defined decision ownership, agreed intervention thresholds, pre-modelled scenarios and the authority to act.

European businesses are already adapting. European Commission survey evidence found that 27% of EU firms had changed, or planned to change, their strategies in response to tensions, disruption or policy changes in foreign markets. Among those adapting, 38% were changing sourcing or destination countries, while 22% were increasing inventory buffers.

Resilience is no longer an abstract ambition. Businesses are actively reconfiguring supply networks—but every adjustment carries consequences for cost, working capital, service and risk. The faster those trade-offs can be understood across the enterprise, the more choices leaders retain.

In grocery and consumer goods, the response window is narrower still because shelf life, availability and promotional commitments leave little room for delay.

AI can accelerate decisions - but foundations determine value

AI will play an increasingly important role in reducing the time between signal, insight and action. Machine learning and predictive AI are already used by 45% of respondents, with another 29% implementing them. Generative AI adoption has doubled from 12% to 24%, while agentic AI remains at an earlier stage, with 8% reporting live deployment.

AI can continuously monitor conditions, identify exceptions, evaluate scenarios and recommend responses at a scale human teams cannot match. When connected to planning and execution, it can also help translate those decisions into coordinated action across the network.

However, autonomy is not a shortcut around unresolved transformation challenges. AI operating across fragmented data, conflicting objectives and unclear decision rights may accelerate activity without improving outcomes.

Before giving AI agents greater scope to act, leaders must be confident in the data, guardrails, accountability and operating model surrounding those decisions. The question is not simply, “Can the agent act?” It is: “Should it act, within what boundaries and in pursuit of which enterprise outcome?”

The new measure of resilience

No organization can predict every disruption. A more practical measure of resilience is how quickly the organization can understand what has changed, determine what matters, make the necessary trade-offs and mobilize a coordinated response.

That is the real 24-hour test.

The organizations pulling ahead are not simply those with more information. They are those that can connect intelligence, decisions and execution quickly enough to act while choices still exist.

In an increasingly volatile world, resilience will not be determined by who sees the disruption first. It will be determined by who can make - and execute -the best decision before the window to respond closes.

We list the best data visualization tools.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

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I didn't set out to build a Breakout clone, but that's what I — or really Claude, under my direction — did, and it took less time than it takes to watch a half dozen cat videos.

Here's how it started. Claude was having issues. Anthropic's powerful and popular generative AI platform was apparently going up and down, and some were complaining, but when I checked, Claude told me, "I'm doing well, thanks for asking!" I realized, though, that if the problems were intermittent, I might need a tougher task to test Claude's overall stability.

More than a year ago, I worked with Claude, or rather guided Claude through the process of recreating the early 1980s arcade game classic: Asteroids. The final game, which Claude exported as a shareable artifact, was the product of hours of guidance and back-and-forth between me and the AI. It didn't start off great, but with each prompt, we iterated, and the game improved until I had a rather robust and true-to-the-original Asteroids knockoff.

With that in mind, I tasked Claude AI, running the free Sonnet 5 model at "Medium" level, with creating a Breakout clone.

Breaking out

Breakout is one of my favorite games, something I've played on early consoles, PCs, and even my old BlackBerry, where "Brick Breaker" was one of the few preloaded games.

The game rules are pretty simple. There's a multi-level brick wall (usually eight bricks deep) at the top of the screen, a paddle at the base, and a bouncing ball you bounce off the paddle to break down the brick wall.

For my prompt, I tried to describe, in some detail, my game, and was not coy about it being an online version of Breakout:

Let's make a quick game. I want an online version of the old Breakout game, but let's replace the bricks with robots that are always slowly marching down toward you (if they reach you, it's game over). The ball that you bounce off your side-sliding controller is a gear that breaks up the robots easily in the first level. In the second level, the robots are shinier and harder, and the gear takes three or more hits to break and make a robot disappear. If you clear the level, the gear turns into a titanium ball that bounces faster but is more powerful. Controls are either keyboard/arrow based and mouseable. Want this to result in a web-based, shareable game, so a link/artifact I can share online.

(Image credit: Claude)

That's all the direction I gave it. I didn't describe colors, the initial speed of the ball, or even how quickly the robots would march down the screen. I didn't get into details about the look of the robots, instead relying on generalities and some material descriptions to help guide Claude.

It took me a minute or two to write the prompt and around three minutes for Claude to deliver the results, which it cleverly called "Gearbreaker".

I got a brief description of gameplay and levels (there are just two for now) :

"How it plays:

Level 1 — matte robots, one hit each from the spinning gear ball. They march downward on a timer; let them cross the dashed red hazard line and it's instant game over.

Level 2 — shinier robots (metallic gradient, cyan eyes) that soak up 3 hits, shown as pips along the bottom of each unit. Same gear ball, tougher targets.

Clear level 2 → the ball forges into a titanium core: bigger, faster, hits for 2 damage instead of 1. Levels keep scaling procedurally after that (more rows, faster march, tougher units), so it runs endless with a local high-score save.

Controls: arrow keys or mouse to slide the paddle, Space or click to launch/pause/restart. Basic touch support too."

On the right side of the screen, there was my playable game. There's also the artifact publish button, which I chose to use so I could share the game with you.

It's a stunningly complete render of a completely playable and, in some ways, challenging Breakout clone, and it took five minutes. I'd call the design clean and efficient. The bricks have a robot look, and the ball is a blue spinning gear (in the first level). The movement and physics are basically perfect, and there's enough on-screen instruction to easily grasp gameplay.

Just the beginning

(Image credit: Claude)

It's just another mind-boggling example of the incredible pace of AI development. While I had expected a playable game, I assumed it would be missing enough crucial components to make it dull or uninteresting — something similar to my earlier AI game development projects. Instead, I got something that displays a clear understanding of the purpose of such a game: challenge, entertainment, and replayability.

Using my mouse, I played through a couple of times, failing to break all the bricks in Level One and ending the game. I realized I had to take Claude's output more seriously, and, with some effort, as I watched the robot bricks steadily march down my screen, I finally cleared all the bricks in Level One and then started in on the tougher Level Two. As I had instructed, the robots on the second level looked and reacted differently. It now took at least three direct hits to make them disappear. I failed and already want to play again.

(Image credit: Claude)

This is by no means the wildest example of the AI development process or vibe coding; it's just me prompting Claude to code a complete game with the barest of instructions.

Claude and these models cannot do this on their own, but it does make you think about the agentic AI that's now being unleashed on the world. It's more powerful and autonomous. I could imagine someone asking one to start work on recreating all the popular video games of the last half century. The only limit would be time and compute tokens.

Speaking of which, Claude just informed me that this Breakout task used up about 90% of my credits for the day. I think it was worth it.

Take the game for a spin and let me know what you think in the comments below.

VPN Super Unlimited has amassed various forms of attention. Be it the experienced lineup of executives, the boom of popularity in Australia, or the reasonable price tag, there are several understandable reasons why.

That said, there's clear room for improvement. We've put it through our rigorous processes involving proprietary testing and everyday use and it raises some concerns.

Barebones feature sets, missing security functionalities, and limited privacy policies raise the biggest alarm bells. That said, what it does have, seems to work very well for such a cheap provider. Read on to see just why it might be the VPN for you, or why you should steer clear for now.

Pricing and plans

Unlike a growing cohort of VPNs that have introduced multiple subscription tiers with varying feature levels, VPN Super Unlimited keeps things simple.

There’s just one subscription tier available, meaning your only decision involves choosing between billing durations: a one-month plan ($8.79), a six-month plan ($5.59/month billed as $33.55), and a one-year plan ($4.79/month billed as $57.50).

(Image credit: VPN Super Unlimited)

Depending on which plan you select, you’ll receive a complimentary eSIM offering progressively larger data allowances: 1GB for monthly subscribers, 3GB for six-month, or 5GB for annual subscribers.

VPN Super Unlimited’s one-month plan substantially undercuts most competitors. For comparison, NordVPN charges $14.99 and Surfshark $16.45 for the same duration – a difference approaching double the cost.

However, the annual pricing strategy reveals a more complicated picture. The yearly rate of approximately $57.50 puts it directly alongside these established providers despite offering considerably less functionality overall, making the price harder to justify.

The six-month option stands out as genuinely uncommon among major VPN providers. Most push binary choices – premium monthly rates or annual discounts only. This middle-ground flexibility bridges the gap between short-term commitment and a meaningful discount.

A free tier exists but carries significant limitations requiring careful consideration. You don’t need to sign up to connect to its servers. However, the service runs on ads.

During testing, my desktop experience (macOS) remained ad-free, but iOS suffered from aggressively intrusive full-screen video pop-ups nearly every time I opened the app or connected to a server. Static banner clutter occasionally appeared beneath the connection interface.

VPN Super requests consent to share personal data with over 300 third-party vendors. Collectible information includes current IP addresses, device identifiers, and browsing history unless specifically toggled off during initial setup – which I strongly recommend you do.

This VPN allows up to 10 devices under its premium subscription, but the restriction is based on registered devices, not simultaneous connections. Once your slot count fills, you’re blocked from adding more until you visit the website to manually remove existing entries – a clunky workaround most competitors have moved beyond.

Most concerning is the platform lock-in baked into the purchase model. Subscriptions bought through Google Play only activate Premium access on Android devices linked to that same Google account. This means buying through an app store effectively traps you in that ecosystem, preventing you from freely mixing devices.

The website advertises a standard 30-day money-back guarantee, which is standard nowadays, though CyberGhost distinguishes itself with 45 days of coverage. Somewhat concerning is VPN Super Unlimited’s abbreviated Terms of Service document, which does not refer to refund procedures or billing processes – a notable omission for purchase protection.

Anonymous payment methods also fail to materialize. Unlike NordVPN, Proton VPN, or Mullvad, which accept cryptocurrency or cash transactions, VPN Super Unlimited limits purchases to credit card, PayPal, and Google Pay.

Features: What can VPN Super Unlimited do?

Available on Google Play since 2020 and iOS since 2022, Super Unlimited brings significant industry credibility with over 100 million Android downloads. It enjoys strong ratings on both Google and the Apple App Store – though these likely come predominantly from free users rather than subscribers.

The executive roster includes a former Rakuten CTO as CEO, an ex-Dropbox CFO as chairman, and an Electronic Arts co-founder on the board – a lineup reflecting deep experience scaling tech products at major firms.

Yet this high-level experience makes certain shortcomings all the more puzzling. Consider the planned support for V2Ray, an open-source VPN protocol for bypassing censorship.

Announced in July 2025, a year later only a support page remains to show for it – there’s no sign of integration within any of the apps. Curiously, however, it continues to appear advertised on the website’s feature page.

(Image credit: VPN Super Unlimited)

Some combination of WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 is offered in the apps. For optimal speeds, WireGuard is the best choice.

What’s notably absent, however, is a native kill switch in the Windows and Mac apps. This is a significant oversight, given that a kill switch is a key security feature that cuts internet traffic if the VPN connection drops – protecting your IP address from exposure.

Most major paid VPNs now include this functionality across all major platforms. By comparison, VPN Super Unlimited’s mobile apps do offer “Always-on VPN” options.

Additional feature gaps exist across VPN Super Unlimited’s apps. Split tunneling is a welcome addition on Android, letting you choose which apps bypass the VPN connection. But this functionality is unavailable on iOS, Windows, or Mac.

Aside from a recent eSIM addition, VPN Super Unlimited remains light on features. There are no ad or tracker blockers or Double VPN servers, never mind antivirus software or a password manager, found in some of the best VPN services today.

Server Network and Locations

VPN Super Unlimited is inconsistent in reporting its server network size. The homepage claims 210+ cities across 55+ countries, yet the dedicated server list page states just 100+ locations.

Our testing counted 97 actual locations – the latter figure being far more accurate. While networks can fluctuate at short notice, claiming twice the number is misleading.

Even so, 97 locations remain respectable, rivaling smaller providers like Mullvad. Overall coverage spans 61 countries, putting it on par with PrivateVPN and VyprVPN. If you primarily need servers in the US (33 locations) or Europe (34 locations), VPN Super Unlimited offers plenty of choices. South America is fairly well represented as well, with five locations.

Asia includes servers across 17 locations. Though these cover most major countries, selection lags behind some similarly-sized competitors.

Coverage becomes sparser elsewhere. Africa receives just two locations - a notable limitation. Similarly, Australia gets only one (Sydney), which is surprising when many paid VPNs offer at least three Australian locations.

This makes VPN Super Unlimited’s rise in popularity in Australia following the country’s new age verification measures all the more puzzling, although not too surprising given its free tier.

As for VPN Super Unlimited’s free plan, it provides access to 18 countries, including nearly two dozen US cities, far exceeding offerings from most competing free VPNs.

Tests confirm servers are hosted in or near their claimed locations, which is reassuring. More unexpectedly, the Russian server appears to be hosted in Moscow itself. This is increasingly uncommon in today’s regulatory environment, given Russia’s strict data retention requirements and tightened VPN regulations.

Privacy & Security

VPN Super Unlimited provides scant information about its security features - it doesn’t even specify the encryption employed. Given that WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocols are offered, the service likely uses ChaCha20 and 256-bit AES encryption, which represent industry-standard security.

More concerning is a significant security flaw discovered during Windows app testing. When our researcher simulated a connection drop, the app did reconnect automatically - but not before exposing users to a brief window for potential IP leaks, with no alert indicating the drop had occurred.

A VPN’s value ultimately hinges on its no-logs policy. VPN Super Unlimited states it doesn’t “inspect or record the contents of what you are browsing, viewing, or doing,” noting that since it collects no information related to your browsing activities, it has nothing of significance to provide even if compelled.

The concern, however, is that unlike most major VPN providers such as ExpressVPN, VPN Super Unlimited has undergone no independent audits to substantiate these claims. That said, there are no publicly reported data breaches or major security incidents associated with it.

The service does automatically collect certain information during use: your IP address (VPN Super Unlimited says this is not stored long-term) and approximate location, app usage patterns, and anonymized usage data.

For free-tier users, additional considerations apply – the version includes ads, and unless opted out, advertisers may collect your device/mobile advertising identifiers alongside your IP address.

As for the privacy policy itself, it’s lengthy and not particularly accessible. However, it is thorough, including coverage of regional rights – a rare plus compared to some competitors’ offerings. Overall, there are no major red flags to be found.

Speed & performance

VPN Super Unlimited proved challenging to test under ideal conditions: the app refused to log in on our data center cloud PC, preventing standard server-location speed testing. We pivoted to 5G home broadband Windows laptop testing instead.

Despite these constraints, the results were encouraging. Against a baseline connection of 135 Mbps, VPN Super Unlimited delivered 118.5 Mbps via UK-to-UK connections and 120 Mbps over UK-US routes - retaining approximately 87.8% of original speeds.

This performance exceeded FastestVPN and held its ground impressively against Mullvad, one of the fastest VPNs in our benchmark tests. Long-distance routes told a different story. Speeds became noticeably less consistent across greater geographic distances, suggesting network capacity strain during peak usage times.

For casual streaming or light browsing, performance remains adequate, though bandwidth-intensive tasks or cross-continent connections may encounter more variance depending on where you connect.

Streaming unblocking

VPNs often struggle with streaming unblocking, yet VPN Super Unlimited excelled here despite lacking dedicated streaming servers. It seamlessly accessed multiple major platforms right out of the gate.

Tested libraries included various Netflix, Disney+, and DAZN regional catalogs, alongside Prime Video and YouTube. Country-specific services also proved reliable – BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and 9Now all streamed without issue.

Nearly everything worked on the first attempt. The UK’s Channel 4 required switching servers once before connecting successfully.

However, two Australian broadcasters posed persistent problems: 7 Plus returned a MEDIA_ERR_ENCRYPTED error we couldn’t bypass, while Channel 10 threw a login error. Both streams functioned properly on competing VPNs during our tests, pointing toward a limitation on VPN Super Unlimited’s end.

A few notable failures round out the picture: Prime Video and YouTube (US), YouTube and Channel 5 (UK), plus TVNZ+ remained inaccessible. Performance isn’t flawless - but very few VPNs achieve perfection when tackling geo-blocking restrictions head-on.

P2P and Torrenting

As for torrenting, we successfully downloaded a test torrent via VPN Super’s Edinburgh location – it worked without issue. This is promising, given that the provider’s support pages do not refer to P2P, while the website ambiguously mentions access to “P2P networks.”

However, significant caveats remain. Beyond the lack of clear information, there are no dedicated P2P servers optimized for file sharing. More critically, VPN Super Unlimited doesn’t offer port forwarding – an important consideration for serious torrent users.

Without port forwarding, your client can’t accept incoming connections from other peers, which typically slows download speeds and hampers efficient seeding. For casual downloading only, this limitation matters less; for regular heavy-duty torrenting, it’s a notable drawback.

Usability & Accessibility

VPN Super Unlimited is available for Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS - downloadable directly from app stores and straightforward to install within minutes. Just be careful: several similarly named VPN apps exist on both platforms.

It doesn’t help either that VPN Super Unlimited operates under two different developer entities on Android and iOS. It’s listed in the Google Play and Apple App Store as “VPN - Super Unlimited Proxy. It’s just that for Android, you’ll want to make sure it’s from VPN Super Inc, whereas on iOS, the company behind it is Mobile Jump Pte Ltd.

However, significant gaps exist elsewhere. There’s no native Linux app, no support for Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV, and no browser extensions. Router compatibility is also absent - a notable omission that may prove limiting for whole-home network protection.

Make no mistake: VPN Super Unlimited’s apps are super simple – and super limited. The conventional interface centers on a convenient quick-connect button and an expandable location menu. Users can scroll through available servers, though there’s neither a search function nor the ability to favorite frequently used locations.

(Image credit: Future)

A “Recents” tab helps locate previously-connected servers. You can also see each server location’s latency and sort servers by speed – useful for when you need optimal speed for streaming or torrenting.

(Image credit: Future)

Feature parity, unfortunately, varies considerably across platforms. Both Android and iOS support OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols, though only the Android app offers split tunneling. Windows supports WireGuard and OpenVPN, while Mac is limited to OpenVPN alone - neither includes split tunneling either.

The settings menus are similarly sparse. iOS and Mac offer just “Always-on VPN”; Android adds split tunneling; and Windows provides five options (most of which offer only marginal utility).

Whereas the Windows app can automatically connect on launch, the Mac, Android, and iOS apps have no such option.

A further tablet consideration: apps lock to portrait mode without rotating to landscape. This wastes larger screen real estate on larger displays.

Website accessibility scored 71% via AccessibilityChecker - excellent relative to most VPN competitors tested. Some structural issues remain, however, which could hinder screen reader comprehension across sections.

More disappointing was Windows app keyboard navigation: technically functional, yet lacking visible focus indicators, which significantly reduces usability for keyboard-only users.

In-app help varies by platform. Mobile and macOS versions include built-ins covering connection troubleshooting, billing, and FAQs - with screenshots included for key steps.

(Image credit: Future)

Windows lacks this integration; instead, a link redirects to the external support site. While helpful, these web-based guides are less detailed and text-only.

Customer support exists but operates slowly via email only, sometimes taking several days to get a response. Live chat isn’t offered, which is a limitation compared to industry standards.

Verdict

VPN Super Unlimited suits mobile-first users prioritizing streaming on a budget. The annual plan ($57.50) is competitive, with solid speed plus reliable unblocking of Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+.

However, desktop users should avoid it. Having no kill switch on Windows and Mac creates genuine IP leak risks if connections drop. Multi-platform households face similar hurdles with missing Linux, Fire TV, and Apple TV apps and an absence of router support or browser extensions, limiting flexibility. Split tunneling is Android-only while V2Ray remains unimplemented a year post-announcement.

For true cross-platform support, consider Private Internet Access instead. It delivers broader device coverage - including Linux and Fire TV apps - maintains audited no-logs privacy verified by third parties, and ensures consistent security features like kill switches across all platforms. These differences matter when you need reliability beyond budget-conscious streaming.

Agentic AI’s prolific use of tokens can create sizeable, unexpected costs for organizations. But saving on token costs without factoring in risk can be a fatal step.

As upfront prices for flagship artificial intelligence models continue to shrink, organizations have begun to wise up to the hidden costs they encounter with agentic AI models.

Specifically, the costs of tokens, which may look tiny when viewed as individual charges, can add up exponentially as AI agents become more active, leaving organizations with hefty AI expenditures they may not have anticipated.

This is putting CISOs in something of a bind. If they seek to save money on inference costs, primarily driven by token generation incurred by agentic AI, they may increase their security risk and accumulate hidden technical debt that puts their Agentic Development Lifecycle (ADLC) in jeopardy. It’s a problem that many CISOs may not have factored into their security budgets, but it cannot be left unaddressed.

The effectiveness of automated security processes is being impeded by fragmented pricing across the AI landscape, whether we’re talking about hyper-optimized nano models (essentially lightweight, yet powerful models built for a specific use, like Google’s Nano Banana 2 image generator) or premium reasoning engines, like Salesforce Atlas or OpenAI o3.

Organizations do have to keep a close eye on token costs to prevent them from spiraling, but CISOs also need to examine how agentic AI is affecting their security.

The hidden costs of AI agents

Erratic pricing has been a trademark of generative AI pretty much from the beginning.

About two years after OpenAI released ChatGPT, the Chinese company DeepSeek shook up the AI market with the release of a powerful, open-weighted large language model whose training parameters were publicly available, allowing users to customize the model and build on the cheap compared with other generative AI models.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and other AI companies started doing the same, and suddenly, the costs of using GenAI systems dropped off a cliff. In fact, prices fell faster for GenAI than for any other technology in history.

The emergence of agentic AI has introduced some stealth costs into the equation, however. The costs of agentic software range from free for open-source models to enterprise agents, with prices that vary from one-time fees (roughly $15,000 for basic models to more than $1 million for global enterprise models) to monthly subscriptions (which can range from a few thousand to $13,000 or more).

But those costs are fixed. Inference costs are another story: they scale with usage and can amount to 90% of AI lifecycle costs.

Tokens come into play when an AI agent requests processing from GenAI models, which charge agents for processing information. At a glance, the costs may appear inconsequential. Input tokens generally range from 15 cents to $5 per million requests. Output tokens, which require slightly more processing, cost from about 60 cents to $25 per million.

They may start small, but can add up in no time, thanks to AI agents that work very quickly, autonomously, and unpredictably. They are designed to interact with systems and other agents throughout the enterprise. A single action might generate scores of LLM calls. Token use, which has grown exponentially with the use of AI agents, has already increased IT budgets by about 20% according to recent estimates.

The accelerating cost of agentic AI is prompting CISOs to look for ways to save money where they can, and one way is to identify LLMs that charge the least per token. But what they may not be considering are the risk factors associated with those LLMs. If CISOs concern themselves only with the costs, they may open themselves up to security risks.

But better security doesn’t necessarily have to cost more. Depending on what they’re using agentic AI for, they may find they don’t always have to trade security for lower token costs.

Getting costs (and risks) under control

There are a few things organizations can do to help stop token costs from getting out of hand, including:

Match Agents and LLMs to the Job at Hand. Commodity AI systems can cost little or nothing, but they lack the deep reasoning for complex security synthesis. But not every application or function within the organization requires a reasoning engine. You can set up agents to work with low-cost LLMs on low-risk projects, while preserving higher-cost LLMs for critical tasks. It’s also worth being aware of which agents are likely to request more LLM calls.

Factor Risk Scores in Choosing Agents and LLMs. The security implications of using AI can’t be ignored. When developing a budget plan, include risk factors.

Monitor Workflows. Keeping a close watch on workflows can help you track costs and performance, allowing you to better understand which tools work best in which situations.

Lean on Human Oversight. Despite agentic AI’s autonomy, in fact, because of agentic AI’s autonomy, forgetting about the importance of the human element is risky business. Teams need thorough upskilling in secure development, with clearly defined ownership roles. And they must be given prominent oversight roles throughout the ADLC.

Agentic AI is fast becoming integral to enterprise operations, and organizations must control its associated costs. But a race to the bottom on token pricing creates hidden technical debt. Instead, CISOs need to weigh security performance when choosing AI tools as part of establishing an up-to-date security maturity model and an AI governance policy that emphasizes performance, costs, and risk management.

Only that approach allows agentic AI to be deployed without either breaking the budget or putting your entire organization at risk.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

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When my co-founders and I started building our platform, the prevailing industry consensus was that the future of AI belonged exclusively to a tiny handful of elite, hyper-capitalized technology labs. The dominant narrative insisted that massive centralized scale and closed proprietary control were the only viable paths to frontier capabilities.

Today, that multi-billion-dollar bet on proprietary infrastructure is facing a massive market disruption. From my perspective as a founder, the era of treating AI as a rented utility is rapidly drawing to a close, replaced by an urgent global demand for open-source independence and data sovereignty.

The first major driving force behind this change is the reality of corporate accounting. Being fully dependent on a cloud provider for the core infrastructure of cognitive capabilities has transformed from a convenient beginning into a huge liability in strategic and security terms. It simply does not make sense to remain in a permanent closed-door monopoly.

As shown by recent research carried out by a scholar at UC Berkeley, moving an enterprise project from a proprietary API to open-source cuts the cost of computation from $3,000 down to $31. Recent reports say that this economic revolution takes place all over the world due to the fact that the quality difference between open and closed systems has become non-existent.

Independent LMSYS leaderboard shows the leaders of open source solutions to be just two per cent behind the best proprietary systems, such as Claude Opus.

Sovereign AI

Beyond the obvious economic advantages, the call for open architecture has become highly geopolitical. Both within the government sector and the business sector alike, institutions are now realizing that there are real risks involved in being tied to a foreign company's products. We are starting to see how such friction points manifest themselves through governmental actions.

In Germany, the increasing conflicts between Bavaria and Microsoft regarding data protection issues and regulations illustrate precisely why businesses cannot afford to be tied into closed systems and rely on overseas hyperscalers.

This is why I am such an avid supporter of Sovereign AI, where one is able to have complete and absolute control of their own data, their own models, and their own jurisdictions instead of continually leasing it from a third party.

This fast deconstruction will result in a great wave of stranded investments due to the immense amounts of capital being channeled into centralized and monolithic data centers.

The trend of technology is no longer towards a reliance on hyper-scale. With open source becoming so much more efficient and smaller in its footprint, there is no longer any need to do everything within a few large-scale server farms.

Engineering advancements mean that highly specialized architectures can do all of the heavy lifting locally or in a distributed network of various hardware configurations. There will be no competition between monolithic centers meant for renting proprietary compute cycles and sovereign, local networks run by companies themselves.

Open source

It is no secret that I believe that attempts to tame AI by limiting access to closed models will always boomerang against the interests of the proprietary software developer. Once there is a looming possibility that they may lose access or encounter political restrictions on export, they simply get pushed into going for open models that they will own and control themselves in their jurisdiction.

That is the whole idea of the open source philosophy. The results of scientific work and technical progress cannot be confined to just a few private labs of major corporations. With an open model, everyone can adjust its parameters for their particular use cases.

Applications of open model architecture clearly demonstrate just how much open-model architectures can achieve in terms of adaptation to a particular localized purpose. Closed-model architectures will surely remain temporarily ahead in individual benchmarks, especially in terms of the most complex and experimental functions. However, most companies do not require a Porsche on each and every trip.

What they require is a highly advanced model that is completely optimized for a specific task, which they can always have access to without being dependent on the decisions of a couple of tech leaders.

Whereas AI has the potential to revolutionize all aspects of our collective existence as well as business operations in the world, such a process cannot be controlled by a handful of providers in any way that would be safe. The general market simply wouldn’t tolerate it. It would be too risky for any contemporary company to tie its strategic development path to a single provider.

That is exactly the reason why technology leaders are pouring resources into infrastructure that is neutral and open. We can’t just invest in software and hardware; we have to invest in sovereignty.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

The Google Pixel 11 range is here with preorders officially underway in Australia, and we’ve covered all the best offers from both retailers and telcos across the country.

While there are plenty of great options out there, for our money, the best preorder deal comes from Vodafone. The telco is quite literally giving away a Sony PlayStation 5 Slim console and an extra DualSense controller for free when you preorder the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL until August 19.

Given that the PS5 Slim has seen multiple price increases since launching in 2020 and discounts are getting harder to come by, this deal is hard to pass up for any gamer looking to upgrade their phone and console at the same time, all from as low as AU$103.30p/m for a 36-month contract.

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL (256GB) | Vodafone Small Plan | 65GB | 24 months | AU$132.45p/m

This offer is available whether you sign up for a 12-, 24- or 36-month plan with the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL. Vodafone is offering the 256GB in only three colours — Canyon, Olive and Obsidian — and the 512GB model is only available in Obsidian. The Small Plan includes 65GB of mobile data, unlimited national calls and texts, unlimited international texts and 5GB of daily roaming for an extra AU$5 per day.View Deal

The Google Pixel 11 Pro XL brings some notable upgrades from its predecessor, headlined by the new Tensor G6 chipset, a brighter display with 3,600 nits peak brightness (up from 3,300 nits) and a new LED notification light in the camera flash module called HiLight.

The cameras also get upgrades, with the main shooter having a new sensor designed to improve low-light performance, as well as boosting the zoom capabilities up to 120x, up from 100x in the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

It’s not all good news, unfortunately, as the base 256GB model only gets 12GB of RAM instead of 16GB in last year’s model (despite the price increase from AU$1,999 to AU$2,099), but it was to be expected given the current climate of component shortages.

Fortunately, this bundle with a PS5 thrown in for free could go some way to softening the blow, and is a deal that you can’t miss if you’re in the market for a new Pixel phone and a new gaming console. The convenience of a monthly payment instead of shelling out AU$3,108 for both devices and a spare DualSense controller makes it an even more compelling buy.

Be quick, as Vodafone is only running this promotion until Wednesday, August 19.