Technology

It's been a rocky few weeks for digital library The Internet Archive, following a number of distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks which left the service offline and allowed hackers to access the data of up to 31 million users.

The stolen data was initially said to include email addresses, screen names, and Bcrypt passwords. Now, however, there seems to be some confirmation that email addresses relating to Internet Archive support tickets have definitely been stolen.

Numerous Internet Archive users have shared their experience of receiving replies from the info@archive.org support email that appear to have been sent by one of those responsible for the attack, who still maintains some level of control over Internet Archive systems.

API keys not rotated

An email received by The Verge from the Internet Archive stated:

“It’s dispiriting to see that even after being made aware of the breach 2 weeks ago, IA has still not done the due diligence of rotating many of the API keys that were exposed in their gitlab secrets.

As demonstrated by this message, this includes a Zendesk token with perms to access 800K+ support tickets sent to info@archive.org since 2018.

Whether you were trying to ask a general question, or requesting the removal of your site from the Wayback Machine—your data is now in the hands of some random guy. If not me, it’d be someone else.

Here’s hoping that they’ll get their shit together now.”

An application programming interface (API) key is a token used to authenticate an application or user to access an API. API tokens are unique and kept hidden to prevent unauthorized access, and typically rotated to mitigate the window of opportunity presented to a hacker who compromises a key. However, according to the author of the email, the Internet Archive apparently did not follow the best practices for API key security.

A blog post from Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle published on October 18 said that “The stored data of the Internet Archive is safe and we are working on resuming services safely. This new reality requires heightened attention to cyber security and we are responding. We apologize for the impact of these library services being unavailable.”

“We’re taking a cautious, deliberate approach to rebuild and strengthen our defenses. Our priority is ensuring the Internet Archive comes online stronger and more secure,” Kahle’s statement continued.

Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor, ESET, said, “The Internet Archive failed to replace the previously stolen digital keys which has left the platform vulnerable once again to persistent attackers. Failure to clean up any exposed vulnerabilities, such as breached tokens, can lead to further problems like what we are witnessing here. Threats actors, including both the original attackers and new groups testing their (if any) new security, will continue to target a platform until a full patch is delivered and working.”

“As a result of this latest breach, attackers were able to gain access to even more sensitive user information and once again have put their users at risk. This highlights the importance of quick reactions and protocol following a cyberattack. It is vital that companies act swiftly in a full audit as it is clear that malicious actors will come back time and time again to test their new defences,” Moore said.

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Apple Intelligence is set to launch before the end of October – and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook believes the AI tools have already changed his life.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook emphasized just how much he believes in Apple Intelligence, despite the messy launch of the technology, which sees new features rolled out to users in phases over the next year.

“We weren’t the first to do intelligence,” Cook told the WSJ. “But we’ve done it in a way that we think is the best for the customer.” At Apple’s WWDC keynote in June, the company claimed Apple Intelligence was “AI for the rest of us”, and in the interview Cook said that while Apple isn’t the first company to introduce AI tools to a smartphone, the company’s approach is “Profoundly different.”

He added that he believes the addition of Apple Intelligence will completely change the way people use the iPhone, iPad, and Mac in the same way the iPod’s click wheel or iPhone’s touch screen once did. “I think we’ll look back and it will be one of these air pockets that happened to get you on a different technology curve,” he said.

Cook said one of his favorite Apple Intelligence features is the ability to summarize emails and notifications, which had, he told WSJ, “changed my life.” He added, “If I can save time here and there it adds up to something significant across a day, a week, a month.”

Apple's AI approach

Siri's new redesign in iOS 18.1 activated on an iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Apple)

Apple Intelligence is expected to release on October 28, and while users who get to use Apple AI for the first time might find the limited features underwhelming at first, Apple is banking on small quality-of-life improvements like email summaries making a huge difference to the way we use our devices.

Initially, Apple Intelligence will launch with Writing Tools, Notification Summaries, Clean Up, and a redesign of Siri which emanates from the edges of your device. These features are similar to other generative AI tools we’ve seen on the best Android phones, including the Google Pixel 9, although this is with Apple’s polish and design.

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be an iPhone, iPad, or Mac user with Apple Intelligence’s arrival upon us. While we can’t fully predict the impact of Apple’s entrance into the AI industry, we anticipate that it's going to be significant. The first few months of Apple Intelligence might prove to be frustrating at times, with some of the best features held back until 2025, but if these features prove as life-changing as Tim Cook suggests, we might in time be able to forgive Apple for the less-than-seamless launch.

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As 2024 draws to a close it’s looking less and less likely we’ll get a base iPad refresh – a shame especially after last week’s surprise iPad Mini 7 reveal has left the base model as the only iPad to not get an update this year. The latest rumors now suggest it won’t arrive until 2025.

That means those of you desperate for an update will have to make do with an iPad Mini 7, or upgrade to an iPad Air (2024) or iPad Pro (2024) to get a new Apple tablet in 2024 – or wait a little longer. This is based on reports that Apple iPad display shipments are set to begin this month (via Ross Young in a subscriber-only tweet), which would line up with an early 2025 launch – the same time as when the next MacBook Air is expected.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman backed up these display shipment claims, and – in the latest edition of his Apple newsletter – has said that the iPad “will probably get updated” with Apple Intelligence features sometime next year adding further support to the iPad refresh being on the way. The current iPad model only uses an A14 Bionic chipset, which isn’t set to support Apple Intelligence, so a new model would need to be released to change this hardware deficiency.

This is far from a confirmation, but if the iPhone SE leaks hold true and it gets Apple Intelligence in March 2025 as expected, the iPad would remain the only main Apple product (except for the Apple Watch) to not have a model which supports the Apple AI. It seems unlikely Apple would want to leave it alone in this bucket for too long, so a 2025 refresh feels inevitable.

Why no 2024 refresh?

The iPad Mini 7 has the specs it needs for Apple Intelligence (Image credit: Future / Apple)

Unless Apple comes out and explains precisely why a new iPad didn’t launch in 2024 we’ll never know for sure, but Apple Intelligence is likely one key factor.

As we started to highlight above, Apple wants Apple Intelligence to be a major feature of as much of its tech as possible. However, because it needs to rely on as much on-device processing as possible for user privacy reasons the hardware required for the software has to be fairly powerful – limiting it to the most recent A17 and later chipsets.

However the iPad usually lags a little further behind with two year old iPhone Pro chips. That’d mean it would boast an A16, which Apple says doesn’t have the juice to deliver Apple Intelligence – as it has confirmed it’s skipping the base iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 Pro models.

If Apple wants to maintain this release gap and launch an iPad with Apple Intelligence then it can’t do so before 2025. And we know this does all sound rather silly as Apple is sticking to arbitrary limitations it has kinda imposed on itself, but when you also factor in the iPad is designed to be an entry-level gadget (and older tech costs less, helping to achieve that goal) as well as the fact the iPad Mini 7 just launched with an A17 chipset (eating into Apple’s supply) it makes some sense why Apple might want to delay its next iPad launch a little longer.

As with all leaks, rumors and speculation, we should take these details with a pinch of salt. However given the tablet's popularity, an iPad launch is a matter of when, not if. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled over the coming months and year to be ready when a launch finally comes our way.

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Netflix has released another intense trailer for its upcoming horror thriller Don't Move and if I wasn't already paralyzed with fear after the first trailer, I certainly am now.

The best streaming service dropped the first trailer as part of Netflix's Geeked Week and now the second trailer coincides with some exciting streaming announcements at New York Comic Con. With legendary Evil Dead director Sam Raimi producing Don't Move, it's understandable that there's been a lot of buzz surrounding the new Netflix movie and has the potential to become one of the best horror flicks.

A lot can happen in 20 minutes, but fighting for your life while being chased by a killer deep in the forest certainly isn't something you would expect to spend your day doing. Unfortunately, this is exactly the case for Iris (Kelsey Asbille) in the new Don't Move trailer (see below). The trailer opens with a 20 minute countdown as the killer (played by Finn Wittrock) tells her: "You have about 20 minutes before you’re completely paralyzed,” while a terrified Iris asks: “What did you do to me?”

“Just a special relaxant to make things easier on both of us,” he replies. As I witness the horror unfold of Iris' body gradually shutting down and begging a stranger for help, it's just another reminder that I would never be able to survive a serial killer chasing me.

What is Don't Move about?

Don't Move, which is set to be released on October 25, focuses on grieving mother Iris and her desperate fight for survival as she's injected with a paralytic agent by a stranger in the forest. With only 20 minutes until her entire nervous system shuts down, she must run, hide and fight to escape a killer hellbent on murdering her.

The new trailer accentuates the horrifying fact that Don't Move unfolds in real time. The potential best Netflix movie takes place around the same amount of time as the characters are experiencing, so the audience feels like they're living through the nightmare moment by moment.

In my exclusive interview with Don't Move directors Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, they revealed why this makes the suspense movie even more harrowing. Netto shared: "It's pretty close to real time. The three things we said we didn't want to do are: we did not want to do voiceover, we didn't want to live entirely in her head, and we wanted to tell it as linear story. But I think for us, that's what made it more harrowing, because we always knew the idea of slowly losing mobility again. If this is something that is fearful for you, if whether it's people are afraid of deep water or claustrophobic or afraid of heights, you want to milk those moments. I think suspense films are about milking the moments, so we wanted to live in it as much as possible. That's what I think induces the sweaty palms and makes you fidget in your seat."

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The Kwikset Halo Select arrives later this fall with Matter compatibility and a magnet-based, super-slim door sensor.

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It seems as Spectre still haunts Intel and AMD processors after cybersecurity researchers found new working speculative execution attacks.

To improve their performance, modern processors try to “guess” what tasks to do next. Speculative execution attacks abuse this mechanism to trick the computer into leaking private information, like passwords or other sensitive data, while it’s working ahead of time on the wrong guesses.

The most popular attack was called Spectre - first observed in early 2018, together with a sister vulnerability called Meltdown. At the time, it was said that most computers were vulnerable to Spectre and Meltdown, and the subsequent rush to fix the flaws made an even bigger mess, with some computers completely bricked as a result.

8BASE and Everest

Now, cybersecurity researchers Johannes Wikner and Kaveh Razavi from ETH Zurich claim that years after Spectre, there are multiple similar attacks that can work around existing defenses.

Among them are two methods that work on Linux, and affect a wide range of Intel processors (Intel’s 12th, 13th, and 14th chip generations for consumers, and 5th and 6th generation of Xeon processors for servers), and many AMD chips (Zen 1, Zen 1+, Zen 2).

The attacks undermine the Indirect Branch Predictor Barrier (IBPB) on x86 processors, it was explained. IBP is pivotal in defending against speculative execution attacks.

In the meantime, the researchers notified both Intel and AMD of their findings, and both companies have acknowledged the existence of the vulnerabilities. In fact, both said they already discovered them and are working on a fix. Intel is tracking it as CVE-2023-38575, and AMD is tracking it as CVE-2022-23824. Intel fixed it with a firmware update released in March, but according to BleepingComputer, the fix has not yet reached all operating systems.

Via BleepingComputer

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Xiaomi has launched a crowdfunding project for a two-in-one coffee machine that can make espressos, macchiatos, cappuccinos and lattes in just three minutes. Kind of.

The Seven & Me comprises a hot plate, a milk frother, and the coffee maker itself. According to Xiaomi, this will produce "authentic Italian espresso", but as Deirdre O'Donnell of Notebookcheck points out, the fact that the water is heated from the bottom and forced up through the grounds rather than pushed down means that this is actually a moka pot rather than an espresso machine.

A moka pot, as coffee grinder company JavaPresse notes, produces a much stronger brew than the best drip coffee maker, but the flavor profile isn't the same because the pressure is much lower (around two bars compared for nine for the best espresso machines).

Silky milks

The milk frother seems to work in a similar way to the Dreo Baristamaker I reviewed recently. Rather than using pressurized steam to force air into milk while heating it, the Seven & Me appears to warm the milk from below, while whisking it to create foam. I found that the Baristamaker tended to create large bubbles rather than silky microfoam, which wasn't ideal for latte art, but perhaps Xiaomi's machine will perform better.

Like the Baristamaker, the Seven & Me has presets for different types of plant milk, including that are notoriously tricky to steam well. The Seven & Me's brew time, pressure, and heating can be adjusted depending on your choice of drink as well, but despite Xiaomi's assertion that this is the "smartest" coffee machine in the world, there are no features like wireless connectivity that I'd normally associate with such a claim.

Nevertheless, the idea is clearly proving popular. At the time of writing, the crowdfunding project only has one machine remaining at the early bird price of $199 (about £150 / AU$300) - a discount of 33% off the list price.

Strangely, the machine appears to be almost, if not entirely, identical to the Xiaomi Household Mini Latte Coffee Machine, which is currently available for only £38 in the UK from Xiaomi wholesaler MiOT (fitted with an EU plug), and has reviews on Amazon.com dating back to 2021. The company has even re-used some of the same promotional images.

Looking for something more conventional? Our roundup of the best coffee makers has lots of options, including plenty of budget-friendly picks.

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Not content with tussling with GoPro in the action camera space, DJI is reportedly preparing to launch its first-ever 360-degree camera to take on Insta360.

@JasperEllens on X (formerly Twitter) leaked a US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing that seemingly certifies the DJI Osmo 360 (see below), which would almost certainly be a handheld 360-degree camera to rival the five star-rated Insta360 X4.

Given that GoPro has repeatedly delayed the launch of the Max 2, the successor to the now five-year-old GoPro Max, we need another X4 rival besides the decent Kandao QooCam Ultra 3, and DJI could surprisingly steal a march on GoPro here.

Given its track record, DJI disrupting the Insta360-dominated market would be an exciting move. It's Osmo Action 5 Pro is the latest in a line of action cams that are compelling GoPro alternatives, while the Osmo Pocket 3 instantly became our favorite vlogging camera. If DJI was to work the same magic with a 360-degree camera, it could be onto another winner.

No details of the camera have been leaked yet, but based on DJI's previous action-cam and pocket camera products, what could we expect from its rumored Osmo 360?

Last but not least there is a new camera on the horizon. Say hello #Osmo360. Good to see DJI finally stepping into the 360 camera market. FCC filed today. Thanks for the heads up @UKDroneClub. pic.twitter.com/qUZdMTqmxYOctober 18, 2024

Will DJI get it right first time?

If we take the action camera space as an example, the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro, GoPro Hero 13 Black and Insta360 Ace Pro (with a rumored Ace Pro 2 successor imminent) are jostling for top spot, each with distinct features to set them apart.

Compared to its rivals, DJI's Osmo Action 5 Pro has the lowest-resolution video at just 4K, but a bigger sensor which means better low-light performance. Its screens are brighter too, and its build quality is superb, including class-leading waterproofing and battery life.

While DJI may be making more progress with its flagship series of action cameras than GoPro, 360-degree cameras are a whole other proposition, and getting it right first time, and producing a serious rival to Insta360's cameras, will take some doing. DJI usually eschews high-resolution video in favor of better low-light performance, but that won't cut it in this space.

360-degree cameras utilize twin lenses with a wide field of view, and extra resolution gives greater flexibility when editing your 360-degree videos to focus in on key action areas. DJI will need 5.3K video at the very least to compete with the 8K-wielding Insta360 X4 and Kandao QooCam Ultra 3 360-degree cameras.

However, even those cameras will recommend you drop resolution down to 5.3K when shooting in low light to preserve image quality, while their smaller sensors can struggle to retain detail in highlights and shadows even in good light unless you select the HDR mode.

DJI could double down on 5.3K video quality by equipping its rumored Osmo 360 with a larger image sensor than its rivals. It could also use its considerable image stabilization know-how to deliver a rival-beating system.

To succeed in this space, DJI will also need to develop a user-friendly app for editing 360-degree videos and photos. Pain-free editing is paramount for such a camera.

I'm not surprised that DJI looks set to enter the 360-degree camera space – it's a logical next step for the innovative brand, and I hope the Osmo 360 (and new app) can deliver the goods at the first time of asking.

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I got early access to Apple's AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid software, and it's clear Apple has something unique here.

Apple's hearing health software update for the AirPods Pro 2 arrives next week, turning the earbuds into hearing aids. CNET's Bridget Carey gets early access to try the hearing aid and hearing protection features, and explores how it compares to other hearing tech used today.

Apple AirPods Pro 2's promised suite of hearing health features, which could make the true wireless earbuds a viable alternative over-the-counter hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss, is nearly here. After being unveiled at the technology giant’s September 9, 2024 “It’s Glowtime.” event and receiving FDA approval on September 12, 2024, Apple’s now confirmed that the three-features-strong hearing health update will start to rollout as a software update starting next week.

So, if you have a pair of AirPods Pro second-generation with a USB-C or Lightning port, you’ll want to update them once the software begins rolling out. It will be one of the more significant updates to Apple’s flagship earbuds, allowing them to function as hearing aids for mild to moderate loss, amplifying the audio around you, allowing you to take a hearing test, and further protecting your hearing from environmental sounds.

In fact, AirPods Pro is the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device authorized by the FDA in the United States. This was issued after an evaluation that included a study with over 100 participants, all of whom experienced mild to moderate hearing loss.

In a release on the authorization, the FDA said the results “demonstrated that subjects who used the HAF (read: Hearing Air Feature) self-fitting strategy achieved similar perceived benefit as subjects who received professional fitting of the same device.”

AirPods Pro 2 are the first over-the-counter hearing aid software buds to gain FDA approval in the US

These tests conducted by the FDA likely mirrored what Apple performed internally to test and create the feature. Once your AirPods Pro second-generation receive the latest firmware, you’ll be able to conduct a hearing test right from your iPhone. With it, the AirPods will check your environment, so you’ll want to be in a quieter space and will retest the fit of your ear tips to ensure a proper seal.

If it comes up that the fit isn’t ideal, it’ll ask you to swap to a different ear tip. You’ll need to find the box of your AirPods Pro for the additional sizes, or you can pick up an extra set of ear tips from Apple. You can get four pairs – extra small, small, medium, and large – for $12.99 online from Apple’s online store or find it at your local store.

Once the fit is good and you’re in a spot that is quiet enough, you’ll learn how the tests work and then dive right in. With the Hearing Test, you’ll see a graphic on-screen, and a set of tones – each pulse three times – will play for the left and right ear. It’ll last for about five minutes for each ear, and once done, you’ll get a result with a category given and the results – delivered in dBHL – plotted on a map.

If you receive a result for mild to moderate loss, you can turn on the Hearing Aid mode under Hearing Assistance. There, you can adjust the amplification, balance, tone, ambient noise reduction, and even turn on or off ‘Conversation Boost.’ You can also customize “Hearing Protection” features, but this will appear if you get a result higher or lower than mild to moderate. You can restest your hearing whenever you like with AirPods Pro and see the results within the Health app on your iPhone.

Apple will begin rolling out its hearing health features next week, first in the United States for AirPods Pro second-generation. Of course, if you still need a pair they’re currently on Amazon for $199 from $249 in the United States or £229.99 in the United Kingdom.

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Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, which is thinner and lighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 while sporting larger displays and an improved camera system.

The Z Fold Special Edition also comes with 16GB of RAM to support a “‘Galaxy AI’ experience optimized for foldables” and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset. We’ve yet to hear about how much storage the unit ships with.

The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition will only be available in South Korea when it launches on October 25, and the sole Black Shadow color option will cost 2,789,600 won (or roughly $2,000 / £1,550 / AU$3,000).

Leaks have pointed to a South Korea release for months, but the rumored China launch remains unconfirmed. There are currently no signs of a wider global release.

The official announcement includes comments from Sung-Taek Lim, executive vice president of Samsung Korea, who called the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition a “gesture of gratitude to domestic consumers who are leading the foldable market”.

We hope the upgrades given to the Z Fold Special Edition will make their way to the next globally released Z Fold phone – but the Z Fold 6 was just released back in August, so we might be waiting a while to find out.

With that in mind, here’s a rundown of the major upgrades coming to the Z Fold Special Edition.

Larger, wider displays

The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition has a 6.5-inch outer display and 8-inch inner display, as compared to the 6.3-inch outer and 7.6-inch inner displays of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

These enlargements bring Samsung back in line with its competitors, as the Z Fold 6 didn't quite catch up to rival phones like the OnePlus Open and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold when it comes to display size. And with an aspect ratio of 21:9, the outer display on the Special Edition is proportionally wider than the skinny 22:9 cover screen of the Z Fold 6.

The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition marks the first increase in inner display size since the Z Fold 2 released in 2020, and boasts the same almost-square 20:18 aspect ratio as the inner display on the Z Fold 6.

A properly flagship camera

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition may mark a turning point for the Z Fold series by finally offering a comparable photography experience to Samsung’s flagship slab phones.

The Z Fold Special Edition comes equipped with a 200MP main wide camera, the same resolution as the main camera on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. This is a major step up from the 50MP main camera affixed to the Z Fold 6; at least on paper.

Our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review found its 50MP camera to be a frustrating oversight. So we’re glad to see steps towards parity with Samsung’s other ultra-premium phone and hope to see the same steps taken with the next global Z Fold release.

Thinner and lighter

Though the race to produce thinner slab phones has been over for years, in the foldable world it’s just heating up.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition boasts a folded thickness of 10.6mm, shaving off an impressive 1.5mm as compared to the Z Fold 6.

At 236g, it’s also 3g lighter than the Z Fold 6 – a modest improvement, but still a welcome boost for one handed use.

This means the Z Fold Special Edition is both thinner and lighter than most other flagship folding phones, slimmer than both the OnePlus Open or Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold but still beaten by the Honor Magic V3.

We’d like to see Samsung keep the same competitive spirit when it comes to the design of the next global Z Fold phone, too.

As mentioned, we aren’t likely to see a global release for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, but we’d otherwise have expected to see this new phone land a spot on our lists of the best Samsung phones and best folding phones.

And as ever, for the latest updates be sure to check in with our Samsung phones coverage.

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