Technology

• Zimperium research finds SMishing campaign leveraging carefully crafted PDF files
• The campaign is impersonating the USPS
• The goal of the campaign is to steal login credentials

Corporate email accounts may be under the watchful eye of different security solutions, but mobile devices aren’t enjoying the same level of protection, experts have warned, as criminals are devising advanced, complex mobile phishing attacks to steal valuable login credentials.

Cybersecurity researchers at Zimperium recently discovered a new campaign using a unique obfuscation technique - they would first build a PDF file, mimicking the United States Postal Service (USPS). The file’s structure is quite complex, the researchers said, as it has a header, body, cross-reference table, and a trailer. The link, which leads to a malicious landing page, is embedded without using the standard /URI tag, which makes detection and forensics somewhat more difficult.

The uniqueness of the attack is seen in the URL, which comes with an embedded XObject. This allows the crooks to turn it into a clickable button.

SMS messages and PDF files

The attack starts with an SMS message, instead of an email. This way, the threat actors are able to bypass any email security protections set up, but also presents two unique challenges: one - they need to know their victims’ phone numbers, and two - sending SMS messages in bulk is not as cheap, easy, or private, as sending emails.

In the SMS message, the attackers impersonate the USPS and, in the usual scamming fashion, warn the victims about a parcel. They share the link to the PDF, which then leads to a malicious landing page, where victims end up sharing their login credentials. This information is ultimately encrypted and relayed to the attacker-owned C2 server.

This campaign highlights the fact phishing attacks can happen anywhere, not just in email, and that businesses need to expand their training sessions to cover virtually all communications platforms in use today.

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Spidey swings back onto the small screen, with a fresh take on his origin story.

DeepSeek AI is a new open source AI model out of China that claims to be outperforming OpenAI, Google and Meta.

The federal pause does not affect federal student loans or Pell Grants, but its impact on other student aid programs remains unclear.

• Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti is supposedly going on sale on February 20
• This is purportedly info gleaned directly from Nvidia by a tech site
• That date does align with some past rumors, making it seem more likely

Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti could be out on February 20, or that’s the latest talk coming from the rumor mill, taken with the usual pinch of seasoning as ever.

VideoCardz has the scoop on this one, with the tech site informing us that this is word from Nvidia itself, courtesy of the latest info on review embargoes from Team Green.

Obviously this must still be regarded as a rumor, but the theory is that reviews of the RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards that are pitched at MSRP ($749 in the US, or £749 / AU$1,109) will arrive on February 19, and those above the MSRP level will follow the next day, with the GPUs all on shelves on that same day, February 20.

There’s an important point to note about the RTX 5070 Ti, and that’s the fact that this graphics card won’t have a Founders Edition from Nvidia, unlike all the other GeForce Blackwell models that have been announced so far.

In other words, only third-party RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards (from the likes of Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, PNY and Zotac) will be available to buy.

According to VideoCardz, Nvidia originally intended to launch these RTX 5070 Ti models on February 14, but that date was put back due to the Chinese New Year (and presumably stock concerns therein).

All that Nvidia has officially said is that the RTX 5070 models, both the vanilla and Ti graphics cards, are going to be out in February 2025.

(Image credit: Shutterstock / DC Studio) Reinforcing past rumors, and worries around RTX 5070 timing

It’s no surprise to hear that Nvidia is planning to unleash the RTX 5070 Ti later in February, as this is something we’ve caught wind of before. Previously, there was some speculation about a mid-to-late February release, before a retailer actually listed a February 20 launch date, as aired here.

It’s also not surprising that the RTX 5070 Ti could turn up later next month, given the rumors we’ve been hearing about stock shortages – and there’s been a lot of that chat floating around. Such a weight, in fact, that it’s becoming easier and easier to believe that Nvidia will have issues here (and it’s not like this hasn’t happened before).

So, the hope with the RTX 5070 Ti is that, unlike the rumors around the RTX 5080, we’ll actually get a decent amount of graphics cards that are priced at the MSRP (or at least very close to it).

The difference with the RTX 5070 Ti is that, as noted above, there isn’t a Founders Edition in place underlining the MSRP. So, you’d hope Nvidia will be pushing to ensure that its card making partners are going to have a suitable selection of 5070 Ti models at that MSRP, otherwise, well, setting that recommended pricing level starts to look a bit pointless (if everyone’s ignoring it).

Moving from the hope, to the fear with the RTX 5070 Ti, this is that stock is going to sell out lightning-quick, as we get the first semi-affordable – a relative term, of course – Blackwell GPU actually available to buy. In particular, those graphics cards at the MSRP may disappear in the blink of a ray-traced eye, and we may be waiting for some time before stock levels get beefed up a bit (given the inevitable price scalping, too).

The other question is if the RTX 5070 Ti is due on February 20, where does that leave the RTX 5070? To be fair, in theory the vanilla card could be close behind, and as it’s grabbing more interest than the 5070 Ti currently – as gamers are not convinced the 5070 Ti will provide a convincing uplift over the 4070 Ti – that may pull the focus from the Ti model in short order.

This is all guesswork naturally, certainly the talk around the RTX 5070 Ti looking like a less robust next-gen upgrade – that’s mostly based on a few Nvidia performance graphs, the GPU’s specs, and drawing parallels based on how the RTX 5090 panned out relative to its predecessor – and so these are notions we should not get carried away with.

There are also some rumors that the RTX 5070 might be delayed to March 2025, though, and if there’s anything to that particular smouldering fire – with no mention of this GPU from Nvidia yet, apparently – the RTX 5070 Ti might be the only option on the Blackwell mid-range table for a little while. All as AMD looks to get into the game with its RX 9070 models in March, although those GPUs have faced plenty of controversy of their own.

Indeed, I’m not sure I can ever remember a pre-launch period for GPUs that has been so thick with rumors and oddities, than this current run-up to Blackwell and RDNA 4.

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Knowing how to use credit-building cards responsibly is just as important as choosing the right one.

There’s nothing like a bit of comparative advertising to spice up Flagship Android Launch Season, and Chinese mobile maker Honor seems determined to play chief mischief-maker.

After apologizing to Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 owners who may have felt “let down” by their “chunky” folding phone last year, the company has again taken aim at Samsung by highlighting five key hardware and software features supposedly missing from the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

The jab comes as part of a new social campaign that sees Samsung – or ‘Sam’ – gifted with accessories designed to “enhance” the Galaxy S25 Ultra. These include a zoom lens, a power bank, and a ring light. The implication here is that Honor’s new flagship phone, the Honor Magic 7 Pro, boasts better zoom capabilities, battery life, portrait capture technology, and other key features versus Samsung’s latest device. Meow.

In a press release accompanying the new campaign, Honor details these supposedly superior features in writing:

• Magic Portal for Seamless App Access: Magic Portal enables quick access to over 150+ third-party apps with a simple circle gesture, streamlining tasks across search, transportation, entertainment, shopping, and office tools.
• AI Super Zoom for Richer Details: Leveraging cloud AI, Honor's AI Super Zoom delivers superior image quality for long-distance shots beyond 30x, capturing far clearer and more detailed photos compared to Samsung’s Space Zoom.
• Stunning Portraits and Fast Capture: Featuring the industry’s first on-device portrait large model, the Magic 7 Pro delivers striking portrait details with AI Enhanced Portrait and Harcourt Portrait. Its HD Super Burst and AI Motion Sensing further solidify Honor's leadership in fast capture technology.
• Unmatched Durability and Charging: The Magic 7 Pro boasts IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance, 100W wired SuperCharge, and 80W wireless SuperCharge. It also features the industry’s first dual 3D biometric security system with 3D Ultrasonic Fingerprint Unlocking and 3D To Face Locking.

Jeez, talk about confidence.

Seeing as the Galaxy S25 Ultra only launched a matter of days ago, we haven’t yet put the phone through its paces, and as such, we’re not in a position to say whether Honor is being too big for its boots here.

We do, however, know that features like AI Super Zoom, Harcourt Portrait, and Magic Portal are unique to the Magic 7 Pro and more of the best Honor phones, so we can understand Honor’s eagerness to highlight them in some playful marketing.

Image 1 of 2

The Honor Magic 7 Pro hit shelves in January (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was announced at Galaxy Unpacked (Image credit: Future)

Indeed, we described Honor’s latest flagship as “an outstanding phone that impresses in almost every area” in our Honor Magic 7 Pro review, and it’s true that Honor’s proprietary smartphone software has come on leaps and bounds in recent years (see its Deepfake Detection feature).

That said, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is certainly no slouch – and we don’t need to have completed our full review process to tell you that.

In our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review, we described Samsung’s latest flagship as potentially “the most complete AI-ready mobile package on the market,” so we look forward to pitting the Galaxy S25 Ultra against the Honor Magic 7 Pro and more of the best Android phones very soon.

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• AI company has released a design of a keyboard dock for smartphones
• With a beige color scheme and a pseudo-mechanical keyboard, it has a strong 1980s feel to it
• It is expected to cost less than $250 and will appeal to those looking for a Psion 5MX replacement

Amber.Page, an AI startup for writers, has teased a new keyboard case that transforms an iPhone into a portable, laptop-like writing device.

Shared by company founder Justin Mitchell on Threads, the renders of what he’s calling the AmberDeck show a clamshell-style design reminiscent of retro tech, like a mini Tandy TRS-80 Model 100 or the Psion 5MX. The latter had a similar design with what was widely considered one of the best keyboards ever made for a device of its size.

The device offers a minimalist setup for drafting articles, editing text, and even tackling writer’s block with the support of the startup’s AI-powered writing assistant.

Mitchell wrote, “Been cooking on some hardware for Amber over the holiday break. Always wanted a clamshell iPhone keyboard for focused writing on the go, so I made one.”

The case isn’t intended as a permanent enclosure for your phone; rather, it serves as a docking station, turning your device into a focused typing tool with a high-travel pseudo-mechanical keyboard that features a compact 60% layout. Yanko Design says when docked, you won’t be able to use your phone for usual tasks such as accessing the camera or making calls, but if you're focused on writing that will be a good thing.

A work in progress

Mitchell wrote, “Been cooking on some hardware for Amber over the holiday break. Always wanted a clamshell iPhone keyboard for focused writing on the go, so I made one.”

The case isn’t intended as a permanent enclosure for your phone; rather, it serves as a docking station, turning your device into a focused typing tool with a high-travel pseudo-mechanical keyboard that features a compact 60% layout. Yanko Design says when docked, you won’t be able to use your phone for usual tasks such as accessing the camera or making calls, but if you're focused on writing that will be a good thing.

The clamshell case includes an adjustable hinge for screen positioning and a charging port for the keyboard itself. Yanko Design notes the case doesn’t appear to support pass-through charging for the phone, and the keyboard lacks backlighting, which will limit its usability in low-light settings. That said, this is still only a prototype, so things could change.

Indeed, in another thread, Mitchell has updated the design based on feedback and suggestions from his social media followers, including changes made to improve functionality and compatibility. In the updated design, the hinge is centered and features a dual-action mechanism, allowing the case to lay completely flat thanks to an internal gap inside the top shell.

The arrow keys have been reconfigured to a standard layout, with the shift key moved to the right and enlarged for a more intuitive typing experience. A gap has been added around the faceplate, making it easy to pop off and customize or swap as needed. To accommodate a wider range of devices, including Android phones, the inset on the inside has been squared off for better versatility. Additionally, the lip of the case has been moved to the top.

Mitchell has suggested the AmberDeck could sell for under $250, and while these early renders are just a preview, the case could potentially appeal to writers, journalists, and editors looking to turn their phones into compact writing devices that can be used anywhere.

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The company will also change the name of Denali mountain in Alaska back to Mount McKinley.

• Some gamers are queueing up ahead of RTX 5090's launch
• The jury is out on whether these are scalpers or not
• Shortages for the RTX 5090 have been anticipated

The hype for Nvidia’s upcoming flagship graphics card, the GeForce RTX 5090, continues as we get closer to the release date. And it seems that gamers are also excited, as lines have already started to form ahead of its launch.

Several sources, including a report from IGN and the r/Microcenter subreddit, have confirmed through photographic evidence that tents have been pitched in front of retailers, securing places in line well before the card goes on sale – including a brick-and-mortar ​​Micro Center in Tustin, CA.

Even a Redditor is claiming to be one of the campers, though they insist that the RTX 5090 will be “for our own use” and not for reselling purposes. They also state that everyone “in line at the moment” is “very nice and respectful.”

Regardless of whether we’re seeing scalpers attempting to profit off the next new tech toy or genuine gamers excited for the RTX 5090, it’s always fascinating watching just how far people are willing to go to get their hands on something coveted.

Possible RTX 5090 shortages and more

One of the biggest obstacles to getting one of the best graphics cards will most likely be the shortages. MSI reports that RTX 5090 supply will be limited at launch, which suggests a chip shortage on Nvidia's end. Another source, IT Home (translated from Chinese), states the possible shortage “stems from miscommunication between Nvidia and partners, plus the 'Spring Festival' (Chinese New Year) affecting factory opening times.”

It seems that there are some measures to ease this issue in physical retail locations at least. Micro Center’s website states that it’ll use a ‘voucher system’ on the launch day, with customers receiving a voucher on a first-come, first-served basis before the store opens at 9am EST / 6am PST. This will at least ensure that said customers will have access to at least one of the graphics cards, though it doesn’t guarantee which one they’ll get.

But if you’re trying to track down your own flagship card, you can check out our live guide on where to buy the Nvidia RTX 5090. You can also read our review of the card, which awards it four and a half stars, citing its best-in-market performance, excellent dual-slot design, remarkable DLSS 4, PCIe 5.0 GPU, and 8K gaming capabilities.

Hopefully, whatever shortages are set to happen will abate in short order, or else the situation could turn dire thanks to scalpers, upcoming tariffs affecting the US, and anything else. But if all else fails, it might be simply best to wait it out, especially since the RTX 4000-series is more than powerful enough for the best gaming PCs.

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• After DeepSeek’s surge in popularity, Nvidia is commenting on the AI newcomer
• Nvidia calls DeepSeek an ‘excellent AI advancement’
• Nvidia hints that its GPUs are still critically important

If you hadn’t heard the fuss about DeepSeek over the weekend, there is a good chance you'll at least have heard the term by now. It rose to fame because it provided a genuine competitor to ChatGPT at a fraction of the price, and it has caused turmoil in the stock market, seeing tech share prices plummet. Nvidia in particular suffered a record-breaking $600 billion share price drop, the largest share price drop in history.

Released by a Chinese startup of the same name, DeepSeek is a free AI chatbot with ambitions to take on the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. There are also new models with some multimodal capabilities, mainly in image creation and analysis. It has taken the AI world by storm and is still the number one app in Apple’s App Store in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The app and website proved popular, with DeepSeek experiencing an outage and a reported ‘malicious attack’ the same day it rose to fame.

While Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, responded, we also heard from Nvidia, arguably the global leader in AI chips, which has risen in prominence as the AI wave has continued to grow.

In an emailed statement to TechRadar, Nvidia wrote, “DeepSeek is an excellent AI advancement and a perfect example of Test Time Scaling. DeepSeek’s work illustrates how new models can be created using that technique, leveraging widely-available models and compute that is fully export control compliant. Inference requires significant numbers of NVIDIA GPUs and high-performance networking. We now have three scaling laws: pre-training and post-training, which continue, and new test-time scaling.”

(Image credit: Adobe Stock)

It's certainly strong, calling DeepSeek “an excellent AI advancement,” which speaks to the performance of DeepSeek’s R1 model. It also confirms what we knew: new models can be established using existing models and chips rather than creating entirely new ones.

Nvidia clearly wants to remain a key part, noting that this type of rollout requires a lot of Nvidia GPUs and plays off the fact that DeepSeek used China-specific Nvidia GPUS. Reading between the lines, it also hints that DeepSeek will need more of its chips … at some point.

DeepSeek claims it used an innovative new training process to develop its LLMs using trial and error to self-improve. You could say it trained its LLMs in the same way that humans learn, by receiving feedback based on their actions. It also utilized an MoE (Mixture-of-Experts) architecture, meaning it activate only a small fraction of its parameters at any given time, significantly reducing the computational cost, making it more efficient.

Sam Altman also praised DeepSeek’s R1 model, “particularly around what they're able to deliver for the price.” He reiterated that OpenAI will “obviously deliver much better models,” but he welcomed the competition. Nvidia seems to be keeping its future cards closer to its chest.

It’s still a waiting game of sorts to see when DeepSeek AI will turn back on new sign-ups and get back to full performance, but if you’re curious about its staying power, read my colleague Lance Ulanoff’s – TechRadar’s Editor-at-Large – thoughts on its chances of sticking around in the United States. As well as our hands-on of DeepSeek AI versus ChatGPT from John-Anthony Disotto, one of TechRadar’s AI experts.

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• Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 accidentally went live on PS5 causing some issues
• Patch 8 has since been rolled back and may cause issues for PS5 players
• Larian Studios states players should perform a full reinstallation of their game to solve the problem

Larian Studios has offered a quick fix for Baldur's Gate 3 players on PlayStation 5 who were affected by the unintentional release of Patch 8.

Yesterday, the highly-anticipated update, which doesn't have a launch date just yet, was accidentally pushed live on PS5 ahead of the release of the Patch 8 stress test, which seemed to confuse a lot of players.

"No, the Patch 8 stress test hasn’t yet begun," Larian clarified on social media at the time. "Yes, PS5 players do currently have access to Patch 8. While we work with our partners to understand what’s going on, please note that any new saves made while on Patch 8 will not be compatible with Patch 7. How’s your Monday going?"

The update was swiftly rolled back, however, this may have caused some compatibility issues for those on PS5 who were affected, especially if they are using mods. It could render their save game unplayable or corrupted.

Thankfully, Larian has shared an easy solution to hopefully get players back on track

"Our partners have confirmed that some regions mistakenly received the Patch 8 build as an update to their live game version, in preparation for the Patch 8 stress test," the studio said in a new blog post. "This version of Patch 8 is not supported, and you may experience compatibility issues with save games and mods.

"You can return to the Patch 7 game version by uninstalling and reinstalling your Baldur’s Gate 3 game."

According to Larian, if users have version 01.800.000 or 4.1.1.6583053 in the corner of their main menu, then this is the Patch 8 version and is unsupported. Anything below that number should be the correct Patch 7.

The blog post also notes that if you still have Patch 8 installed, then multiplayer will be inaccessible, there will be trouble with mods, and any new saves made on Patch 8 will be incompatible with the Patch 7 version of the game.

For the latter, this means players will need to "create a new save or override an existing save while on Patch 8" as they "won’t be able to continue using this save if you revert to Patch 7".

Patch 8 was revealed in November 2024 and will introduce all-new features to Baldur's Gate 3, including photo mode, cross-play, and 12 new subclasses.

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• We've got our first proper look at Samsung's Project Moohan
• MKBHD has shown us Android XR fetaures too
• Gemini looks like it would be awesome on AR glasses

Thanks to a video on his YouTube channel, MKBHD, Marques Brownlee has given us our best look yet at Samsung and Google’s VR headset prototype Project Moohan – and the Android XR platform as a whole. It does some exciting stuff, but there’s some important questions (*cough* price *cough*) that we still need answered.

Starting with the hardware, and we got to see some key headset design details – though bear in mind that this design of this prototype might not match that of the consumer version set to launch later this year. As it stands, though, similarities with the Apple Vision Pro go beyond the device’s silhouette.

There’s no over-the-head strap, but rather a single Meta Quest Pro-like adjustable strap round the back. Brownlee says that this, combined with the differently shaped facial interface, means that it's comfortable without one (unlike the Vision Pro).

Just like Apple’s headset, the device relies on an external battery pack. One difference here is you can connect the USB-C cable into either the official battery or any battery pack you choose (although there may be risks if you use an unofficial pack). I was expecting this subtle design upgrade; it allows you to decide if you want a sleeker pack or a bulkier battery with a much longer battery life, based on your needs.

Speaking of the Meta Quest Pro, Moohan borrows its optional light blockers. These add-ons allow you to block out light for a more immersive VR experience. Alternatively, you can take them off to see more of your actual surroundings – ideal for mixed reality, as you have a better connection with the real world.

On that topic, the mixed reality quality looked solid, though it’s hard to say too much on it as Brownlee appeared to be in a very bright room (an ideal environment for MR) and as I’ve seen first-hand with the Meta Quest 3 headsets, the recording of your passthrough cameras is higher quality than what the wearer experiences. So we’ll have to test it first hand to understand how good it is for mixed reality.

Lastly, we learnt Project Moohan lacks your typical VR controllers and instead relies solely on hand tracking (sort of – more on that in a moment). This could change, but the hand tracking seemed reliable enough. It closely matches the hand tracking style used by Meta’s Quest headsets, which has you reach out to touch and point a little more than the Apple Vision Pro. This should help app creators port their XR apps from Meta systems to Android XR.

Meta could face some competition (Image credit: Meta ) Gemini is made for AR glasses

This is a good point to segue into software. Brownlee focuses on Android XR’s Gemini integrations, which in fairness seem neat.

This XR version of Gemini Live is just as smart as your smartphone version, with many of the same features – you can talk to it, and it can even take inspiration from the real world around you. Brownlee demoed one interesting trick, where he held up a book to the headset’s cameras and asked it “Can you take me to here?” To which Moohan responded “Sure, that looks like Wadi Rum in Jordan” before opening up the Google Maps app at the rough location of where the picture was taken (even Rainbolt isn’t able to escape the AI uprising).

It also comes with in-built circle to search, allowing Brownlee to use the AI to try and search the web for examples of the shoes he was wearing or of the art on the wall in the room. He also highlighted how Gemini allows you to open up apps with your voice, which makes for a less physically taxing way to interact with XR.

Overall, though, I’m a little disappointed. Gemini is a fun include for the device, but I could see it working a lot better on glasses compared to a headset – as you’re unlikely to be walking around with Moohan on in your day-to-day, unlike AR smart glasses. The other software teases – XR versions of existing Android apps – didn’t light my world on fire either.

Android XR smart glasses would be fantastic with Gemini (Image credit: Meta)

This is where the Apple Vision pro fell down. It’s not showing us much more utility from Moohan than your regular smartphone and pair of the basic smart glasses such as the Xreal Air 2s, which project your screen in front of you.

That said, it's still early days. Samsung and Google might still be able to convince XR developers to create exclusive and more meaningful uses for Moohan that your other devices can’t mimic. Obviously a lot of this critique hinges on Moohan’s price – which Samsung is remaining tight lipped on. If that changes, we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

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• Security researchers are warning about "hidden text salting" in emails
• Hackers can hide parts of the text to confuse email scanners
• The hidden text helps the email pass the scans and land in the inbox

Hackers are increasingly using “hidden text salting”, or “poisoning” techniques, to work around email security measures and get phishing messages to land in people’s inboxes.

A new in-depth guide published by cybersecurity researchers from Cisco Talos outlines how cybercriminals are abusing HTML and CSS properties in email messages, setting the width of some elements to 0, and using the “display: hidden” feature to hide some content from the victims. They are also inserting zero-width space (ZWSP) and zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ) characters, and ultimately hiding the true email content, by embedding irrelevant language.

As a result, email security solutions, spam filters, and brand name extractors get confused, and the emails that would otherwise end up in the spam folder, make it directly to the inbox.

Advanced filtering

In its writeup, Cisco Talos has given multiple examples, including one in which attackers hid French words in the email’s body. This confused Microsoft’s Exchange Online Protection (EOP) spam filter which ultimately let the message pass.

In another example, Cisco Talos said threat actors were using CSS properties and ZWSP characters to hide email content, successfully mimicking Wells Fargo, and Norton LifeLock.

To tackle this strategy, the researchers suggested IT teams adopt advanced filtering techniques that scan the structure of HTML emails, rather than just their contents. An email security solution could, thus, look for extreme use of inline styles or CSS properties such as “visibility: hidden”. Deploying AI-powered defenses is also recommended.

Email remains one of the top attack vectors, due to its simplicity, omnipresence, and low cost for a large-scale operation. It also owes its popularity to the fact that it attacks the email security chain on its weakest link - the human.

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• Philips H8000E are new noise-canceling headphones
• 40mm graphene drivers, hi-res audio, and Bluetooth Auracast
• "Easily replaceable" batteries for sustainability

Philips has announced its new competitor in the world of the best noise-canceling headphones, the Philips H8000E. They're over-ear headphones with ANC, customization options via the Philips Headphones apps, Bluetooth LE Audio and the next-gen LC3 codec, Bluetooth Auracast, 50 hours of battery life with the ANC on (70 with it off), and even replaceable batteries for repairability.

That's a lot of stuff, but there's one thing notably missing so far: the price. Philips has described these headphones as "mid-range", but that could mean anything from under $150 to under $250 depending on your particular view.

They're due to launch in September 2025 in the US, UK, and Europe, which means they're going to have an interesting time likely competing with the Sony WH-1000XM6 that are expected to launch in the summer – and also a lowered price for the existing Sony WH-1000XM5.

So it's good that they've got a few advantages over Sony currently, with the biggest probably being the 50-hour battery life – Sony's headphones manage 30 hours with the ANC on.

There's also the future-proof support for the LC3 codec, which is capable of higher-res audio and better quality sound generally while using less power, which still isn't totally common among premium headphones.

And like Sony's headphones, they support the LDAC higher-res Bluetooth codec.

There are five levels of noise cancellation power selectable through the app, and the promise that 'AI microphones' will aid call quality.

There's a folding design that's good for travel, and they're lightweight. Philips says that they have some sustainability goals in mind too, featuring recycled plastic in the construction, and "easily replaceable integral batteries and detachable ear pads" with the aim that you can use them for years and years (though let's hope that the batteries are easier to replace than the last headphones that iFixit tried to repair).

With eight months to go until they're due to be released, let's hope that Philips really has future-proofed the sound quality, features, and planned price of these cans, because a lot may have changed in the world of the best headphones by then. I wouldn't be surprised to see new models before then not only from Sony but also Sennheiser.

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• Unofficial AMD Radeon drivers reveal FSR 4 DLL file
• The file suggests RDNA 4 GPUs will have access to FP8 WMMA, which may be a prerequisite for FSR 4
• Games that already have FSR 3.1 will have FSR 4 implemented instantly

While AMD has already confirmed that the new FSR 4 (FidelityFX Super Resolution) upscaling method will be exclusive to RDNA 4 GPUs, some gamers were holding out hope that older GPUs could one day benefit from its addition - but a recent revelation may have shut that possibility down entirely.

As reported by VideoCardz, an FSR 4 DLL file was spotted in unofficial Radeon drivers.

According to Osvaldo Pinali Doederlein on X, FSR 4 uses a machine learning algorithm with an 8-point floating-point implementation - and reports are also suggesting that RDNA 4 GPUs will use FP8 WMMA (Wave Matrix Multiply Accumulate that helps to accelerate AI applications), which is what is supposedly required for FSR 4 to function.

With this in mind, it would mean older GPUs won't be able to take advantage of FSR 4, as RDNA 3 GPUs (like the RX 7900 series) reportedly won't receive the full optimization of FP8 WMMA, while older RDNA 2 GPUs won't receive any FP8 support at all.

Since rival Nvidia's DLSS 4 upscaling tech will be available for all RTX GPU users, this could easily lose Team Red some fans.

(Image credit: Joseph GTK / Shutterstock) What does this mean for RDNA 3.5 handheld gaming PCs?

It remains to be seen whether RDNA 3 GPUs will be able to make the cut for AMD's new FSR 4, so I fear for what this may mean for handheld gaming PCs. Upcoming devices like the Lenovo Legion Go 2 will be using the Ryzen Z2 Extreme APUs, which are likely built-in RDNA 3.5 architecture.

If it wasn't clear enough already, upscaling will be an important feature for games going forward, especially graphically-intensive ones. If new handhelds can't take advantage of what Team Red's new frame generation will have to offer in terms of performance enhancements, then the ability of these handhelds to be able to play the latest AAA games will be compromised.

Games that already have FSR 3.1 support will instantly have FSR 4 implemented once it becomes available - so it begs the question of whether this could mean older GPUs could still use FSR 4 super-resolution, but lose out on potential improved frame generation tech, similar to Nvidia's DLSS 3 and 4 with RTX 3000 and 2000 series GPUs. Hopefully, older AMD GPUs can get something out of this...

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• Security researcher finds related attacks and dubbed them Clone2Leak
• This allowed threat actors to leak credentials through Git's credential helper
• Patches are already available, so update now

A number of flaws was recently found in distributed version control system Git’s credential helper which allowed malicious actors to exfiltrate login credentials from different projects. It was responsibly disclosed to the developers and shut down.

Git's credential helper is a feature that securely manages credentials (usernames and passwords, or personal access tokens) required to authenticate with remote repositories. It simplifies authentication by caching or storing credentials so users don't need to repeatedly enter them for every Git operation.

Recently, a cybersecurity researcher from the Japanese GMO Flatt Security outfit, alias RyotaK, found three separate, but related attacks, and dubbed them “Clone2Leak.” He explained that the flaws revolve around the improper handling of authentication messages sent to the credential helper. As a result, Git could end up sharing stored credentials to a malicious server.

Multiple flaws

GitHub Desktop, Git LFS, GitHub CLI/Codespaces, and the Git Credential Manager, were said to be vulnerable.

Clone2Leak comprises these three flaws: CVE-2025-23040, CVE-2024-50338, and CVE-2024-53263. The first two are described as “carriage return smuggling” flaws affecting GitHub Desktop and Git Credential Manager, while the third one is described as “newline injection” in Git LFS. The researcher also discovered a logic flaw in credential retrieval, tracked as CVE-2024-53858, affecting CitHub CLI and GitHub Codespaces.

Users are now urged to migrate to the safe releases to mitigate the risk of potential credential leakage.

All of the above-mentioned bugs have since been addressed, and users are now urged to update their tools, audit credential configurations, and be extra careful when cloning repositories. That being said, the versions they should go for include GitHub Desktop 3.4.12, Git Credential Manager 2.6.1, Git LFS 3.6.1, and gh cli 2.63.0.

Users should also enable Git’s ‘credential.protectProtocol’, it was said.

Via BleepingComputer

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• WWE 2K25 is coming to PC and console on March 7
• The world-famous wrestler Roman Reigns will be the headlining cover star
• The next WWE 2K entry will feature new modes, match types, and over 300 wrestlers

WWE 2K25 has been officially revealed with world-renowned wrestler Roman Reigns announced as its cover star.

The next entry in the WWE 2K franchise will have three editions at launch, including a Standard Edition, which will arrive on March 14 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

For those looking to play early, they can purchase the WWE 2K25 Deadman Edition or The Bloodline Edition which will be released on March 7.

New features will be introduced in WWE 2K25 including the 2K Showcase: The Bloodline's Dynasty mode, "an interactive celebration of the legacy of the extended Anoa’i wrestling family", as well as new match types like Underground Match, Bloodline Rules Matcher, and Intergender matchups, the return of Chain Wrestling, a new MyRISE experience, and more.

The game will also feature The Island, allowing players to explore and challenge others while also completing quests, challenges, and live events. However, this will only be available on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

WWE 2K25 also boasts "the largest ever WWE 2K roster" of more than 300 Superstars, Legends, and Hall of Fame wrestlers, including some of the most iconic faces, like John Cena, Rhea Ripley, The Rock, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, CM Punk, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Jade Cargill, Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, Ultimate Warrior, Trish Stratus, and more.

Roman Reigns, aka "The Original Tribal Chief", will be featured on the Standard Edition cover, as well as the Bloodline Edition alongside other famous wrestlers, while the Deadman Edition will headline The Undertaker to celebrate his 35th anniversary in the WWE.

"I am personally and professionally excited that the Original and Only Tribal Chief and the extended Anoa’i family are the focus of WWE 2K25," said Roman Reigns.

"We’ve been building toward this moment for generations and I challenge players everywhere to show me and my Wiseman, Paul Heyman, what they’ve got, and prove they’re worthy of the attention of their Tribal Chief."

Greg Thomas, president of developer Visual Concepts added, "WWE 2K25 expands on our winning formula in nearly every aspect of the player experience. Our new approach to 2K Showcase and MyRISE storylines really tap into the creativity of the development team, and we're excited to see our community enjoy these updated features."

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