Technology

As Hollywood studios, actors, and writers wrangle over the use of AI in films, a major new release has fully embraced it.

• Google has accidentally leaked its Jarvis AI
• Jarvis AI browses Chrome for you
• It's expected to be officially unveiled in December

Google has accidentally leaked its upcoming AI agent, Jarvis AI, which will browse the web for you in Chrome.

According to The Information, Google posted an internal preview of the product, codenamed Jarvis, on the Chrome extension store but was quick to remove the prototype before too many users noticed.

The listing read "a helpful companion that surfs the web with you.” which lines up with the news from October that Google was developing Jarvis, the AI agent that would help you shop online and even be able to book your next vacation.

Those who managed to download the Jarvis AI prototype before it was pulled from Chrome's extension store were unable to use it as the program required specific access permissions.

With The Information reporting Google plans to officially unveil Jarvis in December, this leak confirms that we won't have long to wait.

Christmas shopping for me

Anthropic released the 'computer use' feature (above) for its Claude AI, which similarly lets it interact with your computer. (Image credit: Anthropic)

Jarvis AI is expected to allow users to automate web browsing tasks from within Google Chrome so they can focus on more important things while the AI agent shops or even books flights for you.

For example, think of how great this could be for mundane Christmas shopping – after all, nothing says 'I love you' more than a gift purchased by AI.

AI agents, which are systems that can complete tasks without your supervision, are starting to pop up increasingly with companies like Anthropic releasing a product similar to Jarvis last month. It's also reported that OpenAI could be working on an agent too, although we're yet to see how that would differ from Google's upcoming product.

AI development is booming with companies releasing new tools almost daily. Just last week ChatGPT Search became available to Plus subscribers ushering in a new era for AI search engines. With Jarvis AI, however, we might not even need to do the searching ourselves.

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• Proton Drive gets new E2EE Suggesting Mode
• The Swiss company says it is seriously committed to secure collaboration
• Users will have more control over sharing with Proton Drive

Proton has announced even more encryption for its cloud storage solution as it looks to improve productivity and collaboration for users across the globe.

The company has rolled out Suggesting Mode for its web-based and Proton Drive-based word processor, Docs, making it the “first and only” encrypted collaboration feature of its kind.

By introducing end-to-end encryption, Proton hopes to have the one-up on competitors like Google Docs and Notion, which do not offer E2EE yet.

Proton boosts encryption for Drive, Docs

In its announcement, the company cited external research revealing two-fifths of the data stored on Google Drive contains sensitive information. The same is likely true of other cloud storage drives, including OneDrive, iCloud Drive and Dropbox.

As a collaboration tool for Docs, Suggesting Mode enables users to propose edits without altering the original text and keep a log of changes, including version history.

More broadly across Drive, Proton is rolling out public links, which gives users control over things like expiration dates and reader permissions.

Much like Google Drive online, the Proton Drive Windows app has also gained a new Shared with Me feature for making it easy to locate documents shared by colleagues without having to comb through emails.

Moreover, Proton says its, “dedication to continuously enhancing user experience” is reflected by its “rapid advancements” – other recent changes include PDF export abilities, keyboard shortcuts, a word count tool and more formatting options.

“This commitment to secure collaboration is at the core of our mission: to ensure complete privacy during document editing and commenting—so secure that not even we can access your data," said Anant Vijay Singh, Product Lead for Proton Drive.

The news comes shortly after the company confirmed that it would be launching Proton VPN for Windows ARM devices after successful beta testing.

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Harlan Coben’s mystery-thriller novels have been the foundation for a number of the best Netflix series. After the announcement that Netflix would be turning two more Harlan Coben novels into series, we finally have first-look images of Missing You – a brand new detective series set in New York City.

Based on Coben’s novel of the same name, Missing You will mark the next collaboration between the author and one of the best streaming services, locking in an official release for January 1 next year. Following the successes of his other book-to-series adaptations The Stranger (2020), Stay Close (2021) and Feel Me Once (2024), Missing You will be Coben’s ninth on-screen adaptation.

(Image credit: Netflix)

As it is with most of his adaptations, Coben will be returning to his post as executive producer partnering with fellow producers Nicola Shindler, Richard Fee, Danny Brocklehurst, and series’ writer Victoria Asare-Archer. Hoping to bring another thrilling mystery to life from the pages of Coben’s novel, Netflix has resumed its partnership with Quay Street Productions (which previously worked on Fool Me Once). Filming took place in March this year around Manchester and the North West of England.

According to Netflix Tudum, the upcoming limited series “features the author’s signature blend of twists, turns, and surprises that will have you on your toes ’til the very end”. And one of the best parts about Netflix’s new limited thriller series is that you won’t have to wait much longer before you can unravel the mystery for yourself –but what will Coben’s next series be about?

What happens in Missing You and who’s in the cast?

(Image credit: Netflix)

The cast of Missing You is made up of notable names from British television who have earned notoriety starring in some of our other favorite television and movie productions, including Rosalind Eleazar (Slow Horses), Richard Armitage (Fool Me Once, Obsession), and Sir Lenny Henry (Three Little Birds, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power).

All of these names come together to create one monster cast that tells the story of NYPD detective Kat Donovan (Eleazar), who 11 years prior to the events in the show experienced the unexpected disappearance of her fiancé Josh (Ashley Walters, Top Boy, Bulletproof). After hearing nothing for the past decade or so, she sees his face while swiping on a dating app and her world completely erupts.

The reappearance of Josh gives her no choice but to come face-to-face with the strange case of her father’s murder, and unveil dark secrets from the past which pose the question; is there a connection between her fiancé's disappearance and her father’s untimely death?

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• WhatsApp will let you use Google to reverse image search received images
• This may offer context and warnings for altered or misleading images
• The feature is currently rolling out to beta testers

WhatsApp is adding a new feature to make it easier to check received images for authenticity in an effort to combat the proliferation of misinformation, disinformation, and misleading content.

A new update will enable users to access Google reverse image search from within WhatsApp directly, which may in turn provide context and any evidence of manipulation or misleading the audience.

This update ostensibly aims to give users quick access to a basic form of fact-checking in an era where online misinformation presents as a major issue.

The feature was found by WaBetaInfo in a scan of the latest test build (version 2.24.23.13) of the Android version of WhatsApp – we aren’t sure yet whether the new feature will be coming to iOS.

To access the new feature, users simply need to open the image from the WhatsApp chat, tap the options menu represented by three vertical dots, and select “search on web”.

It’s important to note that this won’t always return contextual information – this is more of a benefit of Google’s reverse image search than a guaranteed effect, and the function may just return similar images.

And as Android Authority notes, the feature being hidden away in the options menu means it might take a while before reverse image searching becomes standard procedure – not that it should be considered the end-point of fact checking either.

WhatsApp is well-known for its approach to privacy, and all messages sent through to platform are sent with end-to-end encryption.

As a pop-up note states when the feature is activated, images processed through the new reverse-search feature are shared with Google but not with WhatsApp directly.

The new Search on web feature is currently rolling out to beta testers, but we expect to see widespread availability soon.

For the latest official updates as we hear them, be sure to keep up with our dedicated WhatsApp coverage, and Android coverage.

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• The handy Pixel Screenshots app is about to become even more useful – here’s what’s coming

The next Pixel update has been accidentally teased early by a Verizon support page that detailed all the fixes coming to the Google Pixel 9 line-up – and older Pixel 6,7 and 8 devices.

First spotted by 9to5Google the patch should have supposedly launched on November 5 according to the Verizon page, however, the update isn’t yet live at the time of writing. That said, we expect it’ll roll out sometime soon to bring the following improvements to your Pixel 9 smartphone via version AP3A.241105.008:

• Security
  • Provides the most up-to-date Android security patches on your device.
• Bluetooth
  • Addressed an issue with Bluetooth range under certain conditions.
• Camera
  • Addressed an issue with camera tilt when zooming between cameras under certain conditions.
• Sensors
  • Addressed an issue that occasionally prevented Adaptive brightness from activating in certain conditions.
• Touch
  • Addressed an issue when pressing the keyboard dismiss button in certain conditions.
• User interface
  • General improvements for performance and stability in certain UI transitions and animations.
• Display & Graphics
  • Resolved an issue that caused white dots to flash under certain conditions.

(Image credit: Google)

The AP3A.241105.007 update for the Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 7, and Google Pixel 8 devices includes fewer stability fixes and instead just includes these details:

• The most up to date Android security patches on your device.
• General improvements for performance and stability in certain UI transitions and animations.

So nothing too major for any of the Pixel phones unlike the arrival of Android 15 last month. However, if your Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, or Pixel 9 Pro Fold has had problems with any of the listed issues, you’ll appreciate that they’ve finally been addressed.

As for non-Pixel updates, Samsung users are still waiting for the full Android 15 launch, though a One UI 7 beta has been tipped to land later this month with new icon styles, lock screen live widgets, and math and physics support in Circle to Search among other tools. The non-beta rollout is expected sometime in early 2025.

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• RAM specs for the Galaxy S25 have been predicted
• The standard model could lose its 12GB option
• 16GB of RAM is expected on the S25 Ultra model

The Samsung Galaxy S25 leaks aren't showing any signs of stopping – with the flagship series expected to make an appearance in January – and the latest rumor suggests we won't be getting much of a RAM upgrade this time around.

This is a tip from well-known leaker @Jukanlosreve, who suggests that the standard Galaxy S25 will have 8GB of RAM, the Galaxy S25 Plus will have 12GB of RAM, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have either 12GB or 16GB of RAM.

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S24 that launched in January 2024 features either 8GB or 12GB of RAM, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus has 12GB of RAM, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with 12GB of RAM.

In other words, the Ultra model may be getting a bump in terms of what's available, if you go for the 1TB storage option, but there's no change elsewhere – and the standard model might even lose the 12GB RAM option.

To be confirmed

Not confirmed. Vanilla 8 Plus 12 Ultra 12/16 (1TB)November 5, 2024

While this source has a decent record as far as leaks go, they do add that these specs are "not confirmed" – so take them as possibilities rather than certainties for the time being. It could be the case that Samsung is still finalizing its plans.

Earlier rumors suggested that the standard Galaxy S25 model would be getting a bump up to 12GB of RAM across all variants, and a 16GB of RAM option for the Ultra model is also something that we've heard talk of before. The 12GB for the Plus model has been mentioned more than once as well.

While we're still unsure about the RAM that's going to be on offer here, it should be a clearer picture when it comes to the processor inside: it's almost certain that all three Galaxy S25 models will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, in every region.

The only sliver of doubt is that some Geekbench 6 listings for an international variant of the Plus model, spotted by X user @sondesix, have suggested it may get a 10-core Exynos chip instead.

As far as aesthetics go, don't expect too much in the way of design changes. While the Galaxy S25 Ultra could well have a more rounded look than its predecessor, there are unlikely to be many design tweaks elsewhere.

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• Steam’s Game Recording feature is out of beta and available to everyone
• It automatically records the last 120 minutes of gameplay
• The feature leverages the video encoding chops of AMD and Nvidia GPUs

The recent Steam Families update proved beneficial for many PC gamers, and Valve has taken another step in the right direction with Steam’s Game Recording functionality exiting beta, and now being available to all users.

This fresh innovation allows Steam gamers to have their gameplay recorded automatically with titles that support the platform’s overlay feature. As VideoCardz reports, when set to ‘Background Recording’ mode, it will capture the last 120 minutes of gameplay (temporarily, in case you need it). Or alternatively you can initiate a manual ‘On Demand Recording’ and start, then stop, the recording yourself.

Game Recording also allows game developers to hook up with the official API, so devs can implement the ability to add markers for specific events in a recording (like when a boss battle happens, for example) to help you better navigate the recorded footage and find what you want.

This could be a game-changer (literally) for many content creators, with the convenience of running both a game and the recording feature seamlessly together on Steam.

That said, it’s important to note that running Game Recording could meaningfully impact in-game performance (especially on handheld gaming PCs or weaker desktop configurations), but there are options for both lower quality recordings which could help soften any potential performance drops.

Game Recording will use the video encoding chops of your AMD or Nvidia GPU, if you have one, or rely on the CPU if your PC lacks graphics capabilities. In the latter case, that's likely to cause more in the way of performance hiccups, as you might imagine.

(Image credit: Valve) An eventual dream team of Steam streaming integration?

While Steam’s Game Recording is a notable enhancement for all users on the platform, Valve is yet to implement any streaming capabilities. OBS Studio and StreamLabs both feature manual recordings and streaming, which are ideal for social platforms like YouTube and Twitch.

Fortunately, Game Recording on Steam has different bitrates to choose from within its video settings (and also low and high presets) - if you were only using the aforementioned streaming platforms for manual recording, you can make the move to Steam without much worry. More broadly, this is a significant move in allowing the huge number of PC gamers using Steam to get easy access to game recording right there, directly within Valve’s platform, without having to install anything else.

If Valve can integrate streaming services on Steam and possibly improve streaming directly to friends, we could very well be looking at new competition in this particular facet of the gaming arena (up against Discord too).

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• Samsung Galaxy Watch owners are reporting phantom vibrations
• The problem affects Watch 7 and Watch Ultra owners, with no clear cause
• Some suggested fixes include uninstalling WhatsApp or a factory reset

Samsung Galaxy Watch owners are reporting phantom vibrations on their wrist, with no clear cause apparent.

As reported by SamMobile, numerous users are reporting random haptic feedback being triggered on their wrist for no reason - often one tap followed by three in quick succession. The report points to a post in the Samsung Community forums from as early as August. One user reported random vibrations on one of the best Android smartwatches, the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, and other users have reported similar problems on this device and the Galaxy Watch 7, as well as a host of possible causes and fixes.

According to the report, possible causes include a loss of connectivity between Galaxy Watch and phone, Google Maps mirroring, and WhatsApp. If you've been experiencing these phantom taps for yourself, here are some things you can try.

Fix random vibrations on Samsung Galaxy Watch

(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)

Based on reports, it seems that one of these three issues above could be causing these random taps. According to SamMobile, the disconnection issue seems unlikely because other users have confirmed the taps happen even when their watch and phone remain connected.

If you think Google Maps mirroring might be the issue, you can open Google Maps on your Watch, swipe up to Settings, and turn off Mirror on Phone. However, some users have reported that the issue persists even after doing this.

If the problem is WhatsApp, one possible solution is uninstalling the app from your watch for a while.

Finally, if in doubt, you can always try a factory reset from the General section of Settings. This one is a bit of a pain but is usually a good last resort for issues like this.

Unfortunately, these solutions are all guesses at this stage. TechRadar has reached out to Samsung for comment, and we'll update this story with any new information.

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• A cyberattack targeted tracking device provider Microlise
• UK Government contractor Serco affected in the incident
• Prison van tracking devices and panic alarms taken offline

A cyberattack targeting telematics and technology solutions firm Microlise has taken tracking software used for prisoners offline.

The software is used by outsourcing giant Serco to provide protection for employees and to monitor prisoners, keeping track of their whereabouts.

Microlise provides a ‘seamless eco-system around remote assets for operators’ to a number of large corporations with lorry fleets, and the attack also affected panic alarms inside Serco prison vans and express mail courier DHL, whose fleets were left without tracking capabilities.

Outsourced security

Microlise told the London Stock Exchange it was, “working hard to quickly bring the affected services back online” in its notification of the incident. Crews were said to have been sent out without proper security for staff members.

The contingency plans outlined by Serco included crews contacting base every 30 minutes, staff using ‘paper maps and guidance’ and ensuring mobile devices are charged.

“We are aware that one of our subcontractors has been impacted by a cyber incident. We have put in place mitigation plans and we have continued to provide prisoner escorting services uninterrupted for the Ministry of Justice,” said Serco.

Microlise has since confirmed some systems have now been restored, and that it has appointed external cybersecurity specialists to fully restore all affected systems.

Serco came under scrutiny earlier in 2024 for failing to fit hundreds of prisoners with electronic tags after they were released early as part of Starmer’s plan to ease overcrowding. This was not the first time Serco has been criticised, as a previous tagging scandal led to a Serious Fraud Office investigation.

“Serco has a long history of poor performance and negligent conduct on tagging contracts and needs to be held to account by the MoJ [Ministry of Justice]” said Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Andy Slaughter.

Serco holds a number of government contracts, and recently opened Britain’s first ‘smart prison’, HMP Fosse Way. The ‘resettlement prison’ boasts smart technology such as in-cell devices and robust security, including ‘cutting edge body scanners’ to prevent contraband.

Via Financial Times

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• Mozilla Foundation will lay off around 30+ workers
• A “relentless onslaught of change” has been blamed
• The Foundation remains committed to “a healthy internet”

The Mozilla Foundation, an American nonprofit linked to the company responsible for the Firefox browser, has confirmed it will be laying off nearly a third (30%) of its employees.

The decision to reduce its headcount comes after what the Foundation describes as a “relentless onslaught of change.”

The Mozilla Foundation is now believed to have up to 120 workers, meaning that the layoffs will affect around 36 employees.

Mozilla Foundation to lay off a third of its workers

“The Mozilla Foundation is reorganizing teams to increase agility and impact as we accelerate our work to ensure a more open and equitable technical future for us all," confirmed Brandon Borrman, Mozilla’s VP of Communications.

"That unfortunately means ending some of the work we have historically pursued and eliminating associated roles to bring more focus going forward. We’re not sharing a specific number, but it represents about 30% of the current team.”

This isn’t the first time Mozilla has laid off workers – Mozilla Corporation, not to be confused with the Foundation, laid off around 60 workers in February 2024 - the equivalent of around 5% of its workforce.

The Corporation is the name that many consumers will already be familiar with, through projects like the Firefox browser, but it’s the Foundation that oversees governance and sets policies. Mozilla has three other organizations – the tech-for-good investment fund Mozilla Ventures, AI R&D lab Mozilla.ai and Thunderbird-maker MZLA.

The Foundation also lobbies for “privacy, inclusion, literacy, and all principles of a healthy internet,” including more recently safe AI.

Nabiha Syed, Mozilla Foundation’s executive director, shared in an email with colleagues (via TechCrunch): “Navigating this topsy-turvy, distracting time requires laser focus — and sometimes saying goodbye to the excellent work that has gotten us this far because it won’t get us to the next peak.”

Borman added: "We also want to clarify that the restructuring has not dropped advocacy; on the contrary, advocacy is still a central tenet of Mozilla Foundation’s work and we are in the process of revisiting our approach to it."

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• A new photo-sharing option has been spotted in Google Messages
• It would enable higher-resolution image sharing over RCS
• For now the relevant code is hidden inside the beta version of the app

Google is continuing to push Google Messages as the all-purpose messaging app for Android – and it could soon introduce a new feature that improves the photo-sharing experience for users, something that's a key part of any chat app.

As spotted by the team at Android Authority, hidden code in the latest beta version of Google Messages for Android can be enabled to activate a photo quality picker: you can choose from "original quality" (HD+) or "reduced quality" (HD).

While a lot of the time you're going to want to share photos in the best quality possible, the benefit of going with the reduced quality option is a smaller file size – so the message gets sent and received more quickly, and uses up less data.

This will also require the more advanced RCS feature to be enabled, rather than plain old SMS. As it stands, photos sent over RCS in Google Messages are at a significantly better resolution than SMS, but still compressed from their original size.

Coming soon

Here are some new changes in the Google Messages app. 1. Google Messages jazzes up read receipts with new animation and location https://t.co/hP3Plg2Ind 2. Google Messages will soon let you choose photo resolution before sendinghttps://t.co/7NH0eA8WcL More- pic.twitter.com/NzJuC8jmuoNovember 2, 2024

As ever with code like this, there's no guarantee that Google will decide to keep the feature and push it out properly into the app. However, it makes sense for an option like this to be included, to match up with similar options in apps like WhatsApp.

It's not clear from this sneak preview whether "original quality" will genuinely send the photo at its original size, or at a resolution somewhere between the default currently used in the app, and the actual dimensions of the picture.

This is the latest discovery from Android Authority contributor @AssembleDebug, who has also spotted a number of other small changes potentially coming to Google Messages – including tweaks to the position and appearance of read receipt indicators.

It also looks as though Google Messages will soon let you see timestamps for individual messages, and show multiple warnings for 'sensitive content' inside messages. Look out for official announcements from Google in due course.

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