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Lucasfilm and Disney have dropped a new trailer for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – and, if there were still any doubts, it's definitely going for a 'Star Wars meets Goonies' vibe.

Due to launch on Disney Plus in early December, the last of 2024's new Star Wars TV shows and movies looks equal parts cute, thrilling, dramatic, and action-packed in a teaser set to Peter Schilling's 'Major Tom (Coming Home)' song, albeit one that appears to have been translated into Huttese. It also seems as though it's leaning heavily into the grimy, criminal underworld aesthetic that was a hallmark of the iconic sci-fi franchise's early years, too, which will surely appeal to older Star Wars fans, some of whom – alongside younger viewers – weren't exactly enamored with Star Wars: The Acolyte earlier this year.

If you're a little baffled about what Skeleton Crew's story is about – let's be honest, fun as its latest trailer looks, it's hard to determine its plot – don't worry, because I'm here to help. Essentially, it follows four kids called Wim (played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), who get lost in that famous galaxy far, far away. How do they do so? Well, they find a spaceship buried on their home planet and, after somehow excavating it without any adults finding out, accidentally kickstart its engines and hyperdrive, and wind up in a distant and dangerous part of the cosmos.

But fear not for their safety, because Jude Law's enigmatic rogue Jod Na Nawood, who some observers are already theorizing is a Jedi – or, at the very least, a Force wielder – offers to help them get back home. I suspect, though, that he'll want something in return, and that something could be the very spaceship that the quartet originally found.

#SkeletonCrew is streaming December 3, with a two-episode series premiere, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/Cvwjbg5tiXNovember 1, 2024

This isn't our first official look at Skeleton Crew. In August, Lucasfilm and Disney debuted the sci-fi series' first trailer, which was one of nine big announcements we were most excited to see at D23 Expo 2024. That teaser arrived nine days after Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's official release date was announced alongside some first-look images at its adorable kid characters. For those who didn't read about when it'll take flight on Disney Plus, aka one of the world's best streaming services, in the above X/Twitter post, it'll arrive on December 3 (US) and December 4 (UK and Australia) with a two-episode premiere.

Joining Law and his young co-stars on the cast roster are Kerry Condon and Tunde Adebimpe – the latter of whom, as confirmed in this new trailer, is playing Wim's father. It's unclear who Condon's unnamed character is related to, but I suspect she'll be mother to Fern or KB. Nick Frost is also part of proceedings, with Simon Pegg's long-time collaborator voicing the droid known as SM-33.

Jon Watts, who directed the first three Spider-Man movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has co-created Skeleton Crew with Christopher Ford, who wrote the script for Spider-Man: Homecoming. The pair have assembled a truly talented line-up of directors for this project, too, with The Green Knight's David Lowery, Beef and Thunderbolts filmmaker Jake Schreier, The Mandalorian veterans Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung, and the Daniels – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – helming its episodes. The latter duo's involvement is particularly exciting, especially in light of their work on multi-Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Clearly, Skeleton Crew has a ton of star power attached to it, but will its narrative hold up and earn it a spot on our best Disney Plus shows list? I hope so, but my colleague Rob Dunne believes Skeleton Crew already has a lot of convincing to do. I wonder if this new trailer will make him change his mind.

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Hi-fi lovers, assemble! Wharfedale’s most popular loudspeaker pair, the Linton (but see also the Denton 85 we saw at the 2024 Bristol Hi-Fi Show, to mark Wharfedale's 85th year in the business), has just been elevated to ‘Super’ status. Linton Super, you say? Yes, featuring upgrades to the drive units, crossover and cabinet – but maintaining the glorious wooden cabinet and the offset positioning of the tweeter.

Quick history lesson: the original Linton was one of the UK's heavy-hitters between 1965 and the late 1970s (when I was born. And I remember these speakers the first time around). Wharfedale brought the Linton back in 2019 as part of its Heritage line, lovingly re-engineered. Cut to five years later and Wharfedale’s engineers – buoyed up by their success and led by Director of Acoustic Design, Peter Comeau – decided the design could be pushed even further.

Wharfedale tells me that the team "revisited every element" in the speaker, "from the cabinet to the drive units to the crossover". The result? A Super Linton. It's every inch part of Wharfedale's Heritage Series, but now re-worked for the modern age.

Wharfedale Super Linton: the key upgrades

While its footprint is the same as that of the regular Linton, the Super Linton’s cabinet is 4cm taller – and more internal volume is almost always a good thing in speakers (if you can fit them into your home, that is – and I'd invite these stereo speakers into my small home happily).

The construction now features dual layers of fiberboard, coupled by latex-based damping glue. The 200mm woven Kevlar bass driver's cone is the same, but that extra volume means a more powerful motor system could be added, with increased magnet strength. The treble unit? It's also new, although it inherits much of its design from the one used in the much bigger (and much more expensive) Dovedale, with a 25mm dome formed from a fine fabric weave.

Combining the output of this three-way speaker's units is an all-new crossover network, now split onto two separate circuit boards. The speaker grille is also an improved design, incorporating internal shaping. They certainly sound like contenders for our best stereo speakers roundup.

The new Super Linton is available from mid-November in your choice of walnut, mahogany or black oak wood veneers, priced at $2,499 / £1,999 / AU$5,199 including the matching stands. They're $2,299 / £1,849 / AU$4,599 without the stands but really, why would you?

Bit rich for the blood but want the next-best thing? The 2019-edition Linton remains in the lineup at £1,249 per pair (so around $1,800 or AU$2,450) with the stands or £1,099 without them. You know you need them for those long listening sessions of an evening…

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New research from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has claimed American businesses are facing more cybersecurity events and attacks than ever before.

The report highlights a rise in the number of US small enterprises, defined as those with fewer than 500 workers, experiencing a data or security breach in the past year. Last year, four in five (81%) fell victim, up from fewer than three-quarters (73%) the year before.

ITRC also noted financial losses from these breaches have skyrocketed, revealing the importance of establishing a stronger security posture.

SMB attacks

On average, affected businesses in the small enterprise category are now dealing with losses of more than $500,000, which ITRC says is double what had been reported last year.

Despite the higher prominence of attacks, companies claim to be addressing the challenge. Four in five expressed their commitment to strengthening their security, including cybersecurity training for both IT and non-IT staff (88%), the deployment of new security tools (65%) and increased security budgets (67%).

CEO Eva Velasquez introduced the report by highlighting the importance of adopting passkeys, which are not susceptible to traditional theft methods.

Businesses weren't the only ones to fall victims to cyberattacks – more than four in five (82%) individual consumers also experienced a data breach in the past 12 months. The report also notes a 21 percentage point increase in identity theft victims in the past year.

COO James Lee added that data breaches are the “fuel for most cyberattacks and identity crimes committed today,” which gives both businesses and consumers a clear target when tackling their cybersecurity. AI might have helped criminals to write better code to steal sensitive information, but by protecting this with encryption and cryptography, the chances of an attack become far slimmer.

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The biggest retail event of the year has grown into an entire month of sales that ebb and flow. Here’s how to make the most of it.

Microsoft has launched several new AI-powered tools designed to improve the developer experience as well as the brand new GitHub Copilot for Azure, a coding assistant that will be embedded in popular development environments like Visual Studio Code.

Amanda Silver, CVP of Product for Microsoft’s Developer Division, said in an interview with VentureBeat that developers are faced with a growing number of tools that are leading to “cognitive overload,” hence the introduction of what should hopefully be a simpler process.

Quantifying the added stress that an excess of tools brings, Microsoft revealed switching can cost developers up to 23 minutes each time, which adds up over the course of a week.

Microsoft wants to simplify developers’ lives

To coincide with the announcement and the coding platform’s recent series of announcements, GitHub’s CPO Mario Rodriguez noted that the future workload of developers will center around integrating AI into all elements of software.

By introducing new complexities, like prompt engineering, model evaluation and managing AI model outcomes, GitHub’s consensus, supported by a growing number of studies, is that artificial intelligence would change existing roles and introduce new ones, rather than replace human workers.

The company has also introduced new AI App Templates to allow developers to deploy artificial intelligence applications in “as little as five minutes.” Azure AI’s selection of models have also been extended to GitHub via GitHub Models, which is now in preview – users can compare model performance, experiment, and mix-and-match a open and proprietary models for free.

More broadly, a number of other important announcements were made at GitHub Universe, including the introduction of new models like Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Gemini 1.5 Pro to Copilot.

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The first weekend of November has arrived, and there's a pleasing mix of genre-specific new movies and shows to enjoy on the world's best streaming services.

The return of The Diplomat on Netflix notwithstanding, this week's offerings aren't as headline-grabbing as they have been recently. Nonetheless, that means you'll have to leave your streaming comfort zone and sample something entirely new, which is always worth doing if you ask us.

Anyway, these are the seven biggest new TV series and films worth watching before the working week starts up again. Enjoy!

The Diplomat season 2 (Netflix)

The Diplomat is one of the best Netflix shows around and its second chapter promises to be a gripping affair, with season 2's teaser trailer clearing up an important question about the show's return.

Following last season's explosive finale, Keri Russell's Kate Wyler discovers that – spoilers! – the deadly explosion, which nearly killed her almost ex-husband Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), was an inside job directed by the British government. Kate goes on a mission to uncover the truth while trying to balance her fractured marriage, a complicated relationship with British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi), and a threatening visit from Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney).

The Diplomat is another addition to Netflix's top-tier selection of political thrillers. With my personal favorite, The Night Agent season 2, not returning until 2025, The Diplomat season 2's high-octane action and heart-pounding thrills is just what I need this weekend.

Grace Morris, entertainment writer

• Watch The Diplomat season 2 on Netflix

Wizards Beyond Waverley Place (Disney Plus)

What better way to keep the Halloween Week thrills going this weekend then to sit back with a returning Disney Channel Show filled with wizards and magic? The new fantasy series Wizards Beyond Waverly Place has nine episodes available to stream on Disney Plus – and it looks like perfect viewing for the entire family.

A sequel to the popular teen sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place from the late 2000s, it sees David Henrie and Selena Gomez reprise their roles as siblings Justin and Alex Russo, who are now grown ups trying to lead a 'mortal' life. Well, that's until Alex brings home Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown), who's in need of some magical help.

Will Justin be able to remember his magical training? Can he mentor the young wizard-in-training Billie while also keeping the future of the 'Wizard World' safe? There's a 'magical' button below that'll take you to Disney Plus to find out, so click it and see if it can conjure up a place on our best Disney Plus shows list.

Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch Wizards Beyond Waverley Place on Disney Plus

Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour (Netflix)

This one's for all the fans that missed out on getting tickets to the ongoing concert tour of pop's brightest new star: Olivia Rodrigo. When news first dropped that she was getting a larger-than-life Netflix spectacle similar to what we've seen with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, TechRadar's Rowan Davies couldn't help but see it as another reminder of failing to score tickets to one of this year’s biggest tours.

Luckily, we can all now get a piece of the action from the sold out August 21 show in the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, as Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour is available to stream. Given its blinding success on the road, I'm going to go out on a whim and say that this is going to get a high enough rating from critics and, whisper it quietly, even qualify for our best Netflix movies guide (check back soon).

Want to keep the party going after watching this one? I recommend these five favorite music movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes to stream next.

Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour on Netflix

Music by John Williams (Disney Plus)

No matter whether you're a film fanatic or more of a casual moviegoer, you'll have watched a movie whose music has been scored by the incomparable John Williams. Indeed, the legendary composer has written iconic soundtracks for beloved franchises including Star Wars and Indiana Jones, as well as standalone flicks like Jaws, E.T, Schindler's List, Superman: The Movie, JFK... the list goes on and on.

As a big fan of Williams' famous back catalog, then, this documentary celebrating the adored musician's life and body of work is right up my alley. Featuring many of his most well-known pieces of music, as well as interviews with his closest collaborators (Steven Spielberg among them), industry titans, and other famous faces who've been touched by his artistry, Music By John Williams looks like the kind of Disney Plus docufilm that'll confirm my adoration for the man behind some of the movie industry's most recognizable film scores.

Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

• Watch Music By John Williams on Disney Plus

Paris Has Fallen (Prime Video)

If one political thriller wasn't enough for you this week, Paris Has Fallen on Prime Video is also worth a gander. Gerard Butler introduced us to the Has Fallen blockbuster franchise in 2013 and now he's taken a back step as an executive producer for this spin-off series set in the French capital.

Paris Has Fallen follows French security officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) and British MI6 operative Zara Taylor (Ritu Arya), who join forces when a terrorist group attack a high-profile embassy reception, with the French Minister of Defence as their target. However, when things take a dark turn, Vincent and Zara soon discover that the plan goes far beyond than what they had imagined. Not only will I be watching Paris has Fallen to see if Butler makes a cameo as Secret Service agent Mike Banning from the original movies, but also to witness Arya as a hotshot super spy as she's brilliant in The Umbrella Academy. I'm not sure, though, if it'll have enough about it to join our best Prime Video shows list.

Grace Morris, entertainment writer

• Watch Paris Has Fallen on Prime Video

Janet Planet (Max)

Whether its my favorite movie of the year in I Saw the TV Glow, or other iconic modern horrors like Hereditary or Midsommar., Max is home to many big A24 hits in the US. But, despite the fact they've made some of the best horror movies, A24 is certainly not limited to one genre. The production company is just as good at dramas – and Janet Planet is among them.

The directorial debut for Annie Baker, the filmmaker has already made quite an impression with this coming-of-age drama about an 11-year-old girl called Lacy and her relationship with her mother Janet. These two powerful lead performances make it worthy of a recommendation, and the slower pace does not take away from its quality. If anything, it elevates it. Don't be shocked if it winds up on our best Max movies list.

Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Janet Planet on Max

You Would Do It, Too (Apple TV Plus)

I've devoured many of the best Apple TV Plus shows by this point, but Apple's streamer continues to impress me with its unique, fresh offerings. Indeed, while I've never been more impatient for a series to return than Severance season 2, I increasingly find myself spending a lot of time watching other TV Originals on the platform.

The arrival of You Would Do It Too, a gripping new eight-part series that sees a bus hijacked by three robbers who end up dead before they can get away, prompting detectives and former lovers to try to uncover the truth behind the six witnesses' inconsistent timelines, may be next on my to-do list. Since they can't interrogate the robbers themselves, they have to rely entirely on eyewitness statements. So, what's the truth and will we ever find out? I can't wait to find out.

Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch You Would Do It, Too on Apple TV Plus

For more streaming recommendations, read our guides on the best Disney Plus movies, best Hulu shows, best Paramount Plus movies, and best Max shows.

Warner Brothers is reportedly developing a Game of Thrones movie, with multiple sources telling The Hollywood Reporter that the company is keen to bring Westeros to the big screen – which could mean it won’t be a Max-first flick.

Now before we get too excited it’s worth noting the Game of Thrones movie is super early in development – so early in fact that reportedly no cast, writer, or filmmaker is yet attached to the project. So even if it does get greenlit we might not see it for some time.

It being at such an undeveloped stage means we also don’t know when it might be set. Both other follow-up Game of Thrones projects – the hit House of the Dragon, and the upcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – have been prequels. However, sequels have previously been bandied about – such as the seemingly scrapped John Snow show (via Vanity Fair).

If you recall there were originally plans to have multiple Game of Thrones movies, with the original showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, as well as author George R.R. Martin, expressing interest in concluding the story with three feature films instead of a final season. However, HBO reportedly shot the idea down as it wanted to keep Game of Thrones as an HBO series.

This new movie discussion does follow Warner Bros.' modern approach of sharing its properties between the two mediums of film and TV. The Penguin, Dune: Prophecy, and the upcoming Harry Potter show have all brought film worlds to TV shows, so why couldn’t a TV world be transformed into a movie?

Do we need another prequel, or is it time to look forward? (Image credit: HBO) What we want from the Game of Thrones movie

As a series Game of Thrones was known for its sprawling character arcs, with episodes feeling almost like several minisodes carefully stitched together. The large cast of key characters gave the series an epic feel as each season featured multiple different warring factions creating conflict throughout Westeros – without any battle or betrayal feeling tired.

However, with season one alone having a length of around nine and a half hours it had the time to make space for the plethora of plot threads. A feature-length film at two, maybe three hours (at a push) would want to hone in on a smaller slice of Westeros.

That’s why a sequel movie feels like it makes the most sense. It could take the form of a more character-driven flick – perhaps focused on the adventures of John Snow, Arya Stark, or another of the main series’ protagonists post the happenings of season eight – as the more honed-in story would better suit the scope of a movie, and this is the kind of route we hope the movie takes.

Alternatively, Warner Bros. could show us how the more united Westeros (and the North) handle a new invading threat – giving us a massive battle on the big screen, without needing to split our time among too many factions. This approach could also play into a prequel movie that shows us the first conflict between the First Men and the White Walkers.

Do we need to see the Night King lose again? (Image credit: HBO)

However, neither of those sounds particularly appealing if you ask us. Westeros was interesting because of its in-fighting, and we’ve seen united armies face off against big on-screen threats before (from Warner Bros. itself with the likes of Lord of the Rings). Meanwhile, a look into that first White Walker conflict could feel equally uninspiring as many of the mysteries of how they defeated the undead were revealed in the main show – and ultimately we know the conflict won’t have a satisfying resolution because neither side can really ‘win’.

We'll have to wait and see what Warner Bros. announces in the coming months and years with respect to this project. House of the Dragon has done a lot of great work bringing back our love for the fantasy series that had previously ended on a low note, and we're excited to see what comes next.

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X has announced sizeable changes to the pricing structure of its API subscriptions, justifying the considerable jump by adding more functionality.

The monthly cost of the Basic API tier has now doubled, increasing from $100 per month to $200. In return, developers using APIs for various applications, like data analysis and engagement tools, can now process 15,000 posts, up from 10,000.

The company confirmed in an X post that new API endpoints, such as ‘reposts_of_me' and community searches, will also become available.

X Basic API tier costs rise

The Pro tier’s $5,000 monthly rate remains unchanged, but adjustments have been made to its usage caps to offer subscribers more value for money.

The social media platform has also introduced annual plans for both the Basic and Pro tiers, priced at $2,100 and $54,000, thus marking a 12.5% and 10% saving over monthly payments.

The company continues to offer a free tier, but the post limit has been reduced from 1,500 to 500 per month, with the read API capped at 100 requests, all in an effort to push customers to part with their money.

X shared on its developer community page: “Since our initial launch a year ago, the Self Serve X API has been used by developers to support a wide range of use-cases.”

Responses shared in the comments of the platform’s X post are mixed – while many sing the praises of the introduction of free experimental read access, others criticize the company for vastly overcharging for API access.

The changes form part of CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to monetize X and stamp out bots, which have historically plagued the site.

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Spoiler alert: We probably won't know the winner on election night, so you might as well go to bed.

If you're like me, you've no doubt been impatiently waiting for the arrival of Welcome to Derry, Max's prequel series based on Stephen King's iconic (and mammoth) book, It. The book is so large that the most recent movie adaptation was split into two parts, and honestly, its lore is big enough to make it more than worthy of more adaptations.

Thankfully, we're getting just that, although we haven't been given a trailer so we'll have to wait a little longer. But there's plenty of great stuff coming to Max in November.

Despite the lack of trailers, Max has released some stills to tide us over. This gives us a little look inside Derry, which is thankfully fictional, so there's no chance of any of us actually ending up there – I hope not, anyway.

Take a look at the images below, fresh from one of the best streaming services.

Your worst dream come true... a first look at the HBO Original Series #ITWelcomeToDerry, coming to Max in 2025. pic.twitter.com/RU6Na83YbcOctober 31, 2024

What do we know about Welcome to Derry?

The creators are being fairly tight-lipped about plot details. According to a Max press release: "Set in the world of Stephen King’s It universe, It: Welcome to Derry is based on King’s It novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films It and It Chapter Two.”

So it's a prequel series and will expand on the lore we already know, which is making me impatient for a trailer and more information. It's one of my favorite books and I hope that this adaptation will be worthy of a spot on our best Max shows list, but only time will tell.

If you need more horror in your life before then, check out our best horror movies list or our big Halloween Week feature, which has plenty of streaming recommendations across all genres, so there's something for everyone.

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Cash in on these early Black Friday deals and score top-tier audio for a lot less.

LiteSpeed Cache, an immensely popular WordPress plugin for site performance optimization, suffered from a vulnerability which allowed threat actors to gain admin status.

With such elevated privileges, they would be able to perform all sorts of malicious activities on the compromised websites.

According to researchers from Patchstack, the vulnerability was discovered in the is_role_simulation function, and it is relatively similar to a different vulnerability that was discovered last summer. The function apparently used a weak security hash check that could be broken with brute force, granting the attackers the ability to abuse the crawler feature and simulate a logged-in administrator.

Who is vulnerable?

There are a few factors that need to align before the vulnerability can be abused, though.

That includes having the crawler turned on, with run duration between 2500 and 4000, and the intervals between runs being set to 2500- 4000. Furthermore, Server Load Limit should be set to 9, Role Simulation to 1 (ID of user with admin role), and Turn every row to OFF except Administrator should be activated.

The vulnerability is now tracked as CVE-2024-50550, and has a severity score of 8.1 (high severity). It was already patched, with the version 6.5.2 of the plugin being the earliest clean one. LiteSpeed Cache is one of the most popular plugins of its kind, with more than six million active installations.

There is no talk of any evidence of in-the-wild abuse, so chances are cybercrooks have not picked up on the vulnerability in the past.

However, now that the patch is public, it’s only a matter of time before they start scanning for vulnerable websites. Currently, almost three-quarters (72.1%) of all LiteSpeed Cache websites are running the latest version, 6.5, with 6.7% running 6.4, and a notable 21.2% running “other” versions. Therefore, at least 27.6% of sites could be targeted, which is more than 1.6 million.

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• Google has revealed an experimental travel feature called Talking Tours
• It provides AI-generated commentary on over 50 locations
• You can try it out in the Google Arts & Culture app or website

Google made it pretty clear with its recent Google Maps upgrades that it wants to be your virtual tour guide – and a new Talking Tours experiment takes those ambitions to the next level.

Found in Google's Arts & Culture app for iOS and Android (you can also try it online), the Talking Tours feature gives you AI-generated commentary on big landmarks for 55 locations around the world.

But what makes it feel like a glimpse of the future of walking tours is the ability to let you look around a 360-degree panorama, take a snap, and then have the AI feed you information about what's in the scene.

Naturally, the audio guides are restricted to major tourist locations like the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul. We tested it on one of London's three locations and it did a solid, if fairly basic, job of filling us in on the scene around the London Eye.

For this "first experimentation", Google says it worked with a "small selection of partners and cultural sites", with "more to be added in the future". But the use of AI-generated audio means it could potentially be scaled very quickly and become a handy free travel resource in the future – if Google doesn't send it to the Google Graveyard.

Just add AR glasses

(Image credit: Google)

Our early tests with Talking Tours show it currently isn't yet close to being a replacement for a real city walking tour guide – and likely won't ever match the human touch or anecdotes of an experienced pro.

But it is also a glimpse of the kind of free travel advice that isn't too far away. Combine a more advanced version of its AR-generated commentary with the smart glasses that the Google Play Store appears to be gearing up for and you could have a very useful, free city break assistant with knowledge of virtually anything you're looking at.

In our quick play, the Talking Tours' knowledge of the London Eye was fairly basic, but after we spun around to take a 'snap' (inside Street View) of the river, it recognized the boat and filled us in on the benefits of the city's riverboat cruises.

Google has previously dabbled with offering city guides in the likes of Google Lens and Google Earth, but the combination of computer vision and AI-generated commentary means the feature is potentially far more scalable – and Talking Tours could be our first taste of that future.

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Plus, a couple of chemical-free ways to do so.

Or so says a controversial Stanford researcher, who finds that the latest systems have, against all odds, mastered a high-level cognitive skill.

21 years ago I wrote, "I Search Therefore I Google". It's something I could arguably still write today, along with the billions of others who start their day with a query dropped into the Google homepage or, more likely, their address bar where Google is casually seated. All that could change, though, and now, after using ChatGPT search, I wonder if a half decade from now, I'll write "I search therefore I ChatGPT".

OpenAI's ChatGPT has already had an incredible run as one of the first generative AI platforms everyone knows about, if not uses. The ambition to add search to the platform was well-known and, in some ways, seen as a smart way to bridge the gap between what often appeared to be canny answers and too-frequent hallucinations and misinformation.

With the indexed and current web as a foundation, ChatGPT is instantly smarter. The allure of a generative AI search engine is the conversational nature and the ability to maintain context without restating the initial query. Discovery is more of an interactive exploration.

When OpenAI announced its plans to introduce SearchGPT (what became ChatGPT search) I signed up for early access. As a result, even though I have a free ChatGPT account, I got access to ChatGPT 4o with integrated search. It's a pretty subtle integration; you access search by selecting the globe in the prompt box. Once you do that, you're in ChatGPT search until you turn it off.

For the TL;DR crowd, here's what I found:

• Fast
• No ads
• Accurate
• Clean looking
• Aware

With the exception of awareness, ChatGPT Search is all the things early Google was before it started monetizing our eyeballs.

Modern Google Search now carries so much water for all of Google's other products and services (and its voracious need for revenue) that it's unrecognizable from the search engine I loved in 2003.

Generative AI in the form of the ChatGPT 4o model is the not-so-secret sauce and is what makes this search seem almost aware and able to synthesize disparate information into cohesive text that makes sense. It's also how it keeps track of the conversation so that subsequent searches continue the discovery thread instead of forcing you to restate it.

Throughout my experience, I kept looking for any of ChatGPT's signature errors and hallucinations. After all, OpenAI still makes it clear with a label at the bottom of the page that "ChatGPT can make mistakes".

Perhaps we can attribute the accuracy to ChatGPT search not relying solely on its ability to guess at what word should come next (a key component of large language models (LLMs). It appears to craft the generative response based on the facts it finds on reputable websites.

A different kind of AI view

While Google is top-loading AI overviews that push down traditional results, ChatGPT is nothing but the overviews. Yet it somehow seems cleaner, more concise, and less like an uninvited search results guest.

I asked about the best products in categories like turntables and DSLRs. In each case, I got clear summaries with bullet lists. Under each of them was a citation (I often found information culled from TechRadar).

As with other searches, I could ask a follow-up without restating the initial question. In the case of DSLRs, I asked which is best for wildlife photography. I got a brief summary of what makes a good wildlife camera and then details on which ones are best, again all from reputable sources.

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I asked how much 45 pennies weigh and got a nice detailed answer that noted that the weight has changed over the years. Usually, the sources are inline, but in this case, I had to click the Sources button to see that it pulled the information from the US Mint and Wikipedia, among others. That button, by the way, usually shows a group of tiny brand icons to credit sources,

When I followed up with “Are any more valuable than others?” ChatGPT Search knew I was still talking about the pennies. For what it’s worth, 1,943 copper pennies are particularly valuable.

Then I asked Google the same question, AI overviews weren’t available and the first result was a link to Quora with a summary of what appeared to be guesses. I’m surprised the US Mint results didn’t appear above the virtual fold.

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When I asked ChatGPT for directions from Bryant Park to Dumbo Brooklyn, it used a source I’d never heard of (Rome2Rio), but it was accurate.

When I asked a follow-up, “Can I see a map?” it maintained context and showed me an MTA subway map. Later, I conducted the same search but this time followed with "Is there good food?"

Again, ChatGPT search knew I was still talking about Dumbo and returned almost a dozen options that I could pursue through a side-scrolling carousel. Vinegar Hill House with its cast-iron chicken looks yummy. In one funny turn, though, directions for each eatery link to – wait for it – Google Maps.

When I conducted the same Bryant Park to Brooklyn search on Google, it did a better job of integrating a big Google Map and also used Rome2Rio. Below that was one of Google's many search enhancements, the “People also ask” section. It's not something I asked for, though some might argue details about, for instance, which subway is closest to Bryant Park, could come in handy.

There really isn't a good way in Google to apply a follow-up question like, "Is there good food?" First, I had to delete the text already in my Google Search box and the results returned restaurants for my area and not Dumbo, Brooklyn.

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Unlike Google, ChatGPT search doesn't generate an entirely new page for my queries and instead maintains the thread. I can scroll back up to see where I've been, what I've been asking, and the answers ChatGPT search returned.

I'm not arguing that SearchGPT is the better search engine. It's way too early for that and I doubt OpenAI's knowledge graph is anywhere near as rich as Google's. Plus, Google integrates its myriad tools into search in ways not yet possible with ChatGPT. Even so, right now, ChatGPT search just feels better. But being better doesn’t mean ChatGPT search wins.

Google is a verb and ChatGPT is far from that. Sure, everyone is talking about it but consumers do not use it at anywhere near the level they do Google, which is essentially a homepage for many.

I’m sure that when I’m done experimenting with ChatGPT search, I’ll lapse right back into using Google, like a reflex. Unless, of course, I install the Chrome extension that could make ChatGPT my browser's new default search engine. Now that would be interesting and probably a significant concern for Team Google.

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A major Chinese botnet called Quad7 is being utilized to mount password spray attacks against organizations in the west, Microsoft experts have warned.

In a new report, the company's researchers say the group, called Storm-0940, then use the passwords to establish persistence, steal even more credentials, and ultimately engage in more disruptive cyberattacks.

The end goal of the campaign is, most likely, espionage, Microsoft believes , as targets include think tanks, government organizations, non-governmental organizations, law firms, defense industrial bases, and more.

Targeting SOHO routers

"In particular, Microsoft has observed the Chinese threat actor Storm-0940 using credentials from CovertNetwork-1658," the report states, adding that the group was being extra careful not to get spotted.

"In these campaigns, CovertNetwork-1658 submits a very small number of sign-in attempts to many accounts at a target organization," it was said. "In about 80 percent of cases, CovertNetwork-1658 makes only one sign-in attempt per account per day."

Still, as soon as there is a hit, Storm-0940 moves in to further compromise the target. In fact, Microsoft said that on some occasions, the infiltration was done the same day when the passwords were guessed. Storm-0940’s first move was to dump credentials, and install RATs and proxies, for persistence.

Quad7 is a fairly known botnet. In late September 2024, we reported the botnet adding new features and expanding the attack surface. It was first spotted by a researcher alias Gi7w0rm, and experts from Sekoia, when it was only observed targeting TP-Link routers. However, during the following weeks, Quad7 (which was named so for targeting port 7777), expanded to ASUS routers, and now has been observed on Zyxel VPN endpoints, Ruckus wireless routers, and Axentra media servers.

The attackers built custom malware to compromise these endpoints, targeting different clusters. Each cluster is a variant of *login, with Ruckus, for example, having the ‘rlogin’ cluster. Other clusters include xlogin, alogin, axlogin, and zylogin. Some clusters are relatively large, counting thousands of assimilated devices. Others are smaller, counting as little as two infections.

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