Technology

During October Prime Day, make your smart home smarter by adding Alexa voice control to any outlet in your home.

The Soundcore Motion X600 is a capable speaker, and right now you can save $50 off yours.

Epic Games Store users get a free game every Thursday. Here's what's free this week.

Last weekend, Katie Santry joked on TikTok that her mysteriously cracked computer screen was the result of a haunting—and if it was connected to the mysterious rug she found buried in her back yard.

Another TV show has fallen victim to the Netflix ax as That '90s Show has been canceled after two seasons. But fret not, as the critically acclaimed Yellowjackets is coming to the best streaming service in October.

That '90s Show is a sequel to the classic sitcom That '70s Show, which propelled the likes of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis to Hollywood stardom back in the early noughties. However, franchise star Kurtwood Smith has now confirmed that the comedy series, which has 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, will not be renewed for a third season in an Instagram post.

That '70s Show follows the lives of six teenage friends in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin from 1976 to 1979 and ran for eight seasons until 2006. In 2023, That '90s Show debuted on Netflix and centers on Leia Forman (Callie Haverda), the daughter of Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon) from the original series, as she visits her grandparents for the summer and meets a new generation of Point Place kids.

A post shared by Kurtwood Smith (@therealkurtwoodsmith)

A photo posted by on

Almost the entire original cast of That '70s Show returned for the sequel series, including Kurtwood Smith (Red), Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty), Topher Grace (Eric), Mila Kunis (Jackie), Ashton Kutcher (Kelso), Laura Prepon (Donna) and Wilder Valderrama (Fez).

But while That '90s Show is another axed show to add to the list of five shows canceled by Netflix in 2024 so far that you should still watch, Yellowjackets, which has an even better Rotten Tomatoes score of 96% has been added to everything new on Netflix in October 2024.

What is Yellowjackets about?

Yellowjackets, one of the best Paramount Plus shows, is a time-hopping thriller about a girls soccer team whose plane crashes into the Ontario wilderness in 1996 on the way to a tournament. After surviving the catastrophe, they must make some tough decisions to get through the harsh conditions. The series then jumps back to the present time and follows the consequences of this event in their adult lives in 2021.

When Yellowjackets debuted on Showtime in 2021, it became the cable channel's biggest original series in years and now it's set to receive even more praise when it becomes one of the best Netflix shows.

The show features a star-studded cast of Ella Purnell, Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis, who have been praised for their performances, with The Verge writing in their Yellowjackets season 2 review: "It has, across the board, a brilliant ensemble cast with stellar chemistry."

Filming for Yellowjackets season 3 was underway in May 2024 with an expected 2025 release date but if you can't wait that long (understandable!), here are eight fleshy dramas to watch while you wait for the next instalment of the show.

You might also like

• Netflix is getting a new sci-fi slasher just in time for Halloween but the trailer for Time Cut is a lot like one of Prime Video’s best horror movies
• Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour concert special lands on Netflix this month
• Netflix shares first images of new epic sci-fi movie The Electric State from the Russo brothers, and nobody's sure what to make of it

Can't decide between a new TV or a new piece of wall art? This early Prime Day deal is bringing you a two-for-one special.

Can't remember your Wi-Fi password? It might be a few clicks away on one of the devices you use every day.

Privacy activist Max Schrems has won another legal fight against Meta, this time limiting how the company can use off-platform activity—and public statements—to target ads.

Not only is the 28GB OnePlus Nord N30 discounted by $50, OnePlus is throwing in a free pair of OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro.

The recently-revealed Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) security flaw may be even worse than expected following new claims it can be abused to amplify distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

Researchers from Akamai have claimed the attacks can have an amplification factor of 600x - for an average attack, a worrying prospect for victims everywhere.

CUPS is an open-source printing system developed by Apple for Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and macOS. It provides a standardized way to manage print jobs and queues, supporting both local and network printers. CUPS uses the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) as its primary protocol, allowing seamless printer discovery and job submission across networks. It also includes a web-based interface for managing printers, print jobs, and configurations.

Infinite loop

CUPS was recently revealed to possess four flaws: CVE-2024-47076, CVE-2024-47175, CVE-2024-47176, and CVE-2024-47177, and when chained, these can allow threat actors to create fake, malicious printers, which CUPS can discover. The only thing the crooks need to do is send a specially crafted packet to trick the CUPS server. The moment a user tries to print something using this new device, a malicious command gets executed locally on their device.

Akamai’s experts, on the other hand, claim that each packet sent to flawed CUPS servers makes them generate larger IPP/HTTP requests, aiming at the targeted device. As a result, both CPU and bandwidth resources get eaten up, in classic DDoS fashion. Their research determined that there are almost 200,000 internet-exposed devices, out of which almost 60,000 can be leveraged for DDoS campaigns.

In extreme cases, CUPS servers will continue to send requests, entering an infinite loop.

"In the worst-case scenario, we observed what appeared to be an endless stream of attempted connections and requests as a result of a single probe. These flows appear to have no end, and will continue until the daemon is killed or restarted," Akamai explained. "Many of these systems we observed in testing established thousands of requests, sending them to our testing infrastructure. In some cases, this behavior appeared to continue indefinitely."

The DDoS amplification attack can be run in mere minutes, for almost no money. IT teams are urged to apply the fix for the above-mentioned flaws as soon as possible.

Via BleepingComputer

More from TechRadar Pro

• Thousands of fake Microsoft emails are being sent out to trick businesses — here's what to look out for
• Here's a list of the best firewalls around today
• These are the best endpoint security tools right now

You can download the iOS update to your iPhone now.

The Dutch National Police (Politie) has confirmed its network was breached and a threat actor accessed work-related contact details of Dutch police officers.

Officials say it is ‘highly likely a state actor is responsible’ for the attack, which saw officers' phone numbers, full names, email addresses, and some private details of the 65,000 employees leaked, but it will still investigating the ‘nature, scope, and consequences of the data leak.’

The Chair of the Netherlands Police Union has called the hack ‘a nightmare’, saying it is the priority to ‘protect data, protect colleagues’. The agency confirms police are now required to use two-factor authentication to avoid further data loss.

Continuous monitoring

It’s not clear exactly how much data was compromised, and the Politie have not yet named the state it believes is behind the attack, but have confirmed it will not do so until all the details are collected and analyzed.

“Based on the intelligence services' information, the police immediately implemented strong security measures to counter this attack. To prevent making the perpetrators more aware and to not jeopardize further investigation, no more information can be shared at this time.” the Politie confirmed in a statement.

This type of attack is becoming more common, as critical infrastructure is attacked more than ever. Since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Europe and allies of Ukraine have found themselves at the receiving end of cybercriminals looking to exfiltrate sensitive data.

Threat actors from around the world use critical infrastructure as a way to inflict maximum damage by leveraging information, installing malware, or crippling operations - leaving citizens without access to key services. It’s not yet clear what the motivations for this attack were, but it almost certainly won’t be the last of its kind.

Via BleepingComputer

More from TechRadar Pro

• Check out our pick of the best malware removal on offer
• Data breach gives hackers access to 1.7 million people’s credit card details
• Take a look at our pick of the best identity theft protection around

As technology companies continue to expand their use of artificial intelligence, the demand for energy-intensive data centers is growing rapidly.

Tech firms are searching for sustainable ways to power these operations, with a focus on reducing their environmental impact, and while nuclear energy is being viewed as an attractive option due to its ability to provide large amounts of power with minimal emissions, other solutions are emerging as well.

ECL has announced its development of TerraSite-TX1, the world’s first 1GW off-grid, hydrogen-powered AI factory data center. Located on a 600-acre site near Houston, Texas, this facility is set to provide Lambda and other AI leaders with both space and power for future projects, while maintaining zero emissions.

Up to 2GW

The first phase of TerraSite-TX1 is scheduled for completion in summer 2025, with an estimated investment of $450 million. This phase will deliver 50MW of data center capacity, focusing on cloud and AI cloud operators. The full 1GW project is expected to cost approximately $8 billion, financed by ECL and its partners.

Ken Patchett, Vice President of Data Center Infrastructure at Lambda, the facility’s first tenant, said, “The data center technology committed to by ECL is truly transformative in the industry. We believe ECL’s technology could unlock a powerful and eco-conscious foundation for AI advancement. This new infrastructure could give researchers and developers essential computational resources while drastically reducing the environmental impact of AI operations.”

ECL previously launched ECL-MV1, the first off-grid, hydrogen-powered modular data center, which boasts zero emissions, a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.05, and enhanced data density per rack. When it's up and running, TerraSite-TX1 will receive hydrogen through three pipelines, minimizing the need for additional fuel transport, and its modular design will allow for future expansion up to 2GW.

The TerraSite-TX1 project arrives at a critical time for Texas, where the state’s power grid is expected to double its capacity needs by 2030 due to the expansion of data centers and AI.

“While others talk about delivering off-grid, hydrogen-powered data centers in five, ten, or 20 years, only ECL is giving the AI industry the space, power, and peace of mind they and their customers need, now,” said Yuval Bachar, co-founder and CEO of ECL. “The level of innovation that we have introduced to the market is unprecedented and will serve not only us and our customers but the entire data center industry for decades to come.”

More from TechRadar Pro

• Bill Gates backed firm constructing 'affordable' nuclear power station
• Data center demand is booming - but we don't have the power to deal with it
• Micro nuclear reactors could cost as little as $20 million and launch by 2031

Cybersecurity researchers from Gen Threat Labs have observed multiple websites distributing a piece of malware called WarmCookie disguised as updates for popular softwarre.

These websites were either built from scratch, or were legitimate once and then taken over at some point, the experts noted, but were all seen serving a fake warning to the visitors, that different components of their computer were out of date and required updating.

These were either their web browsers, Java, VMware Workstation, WebEx, or Proton VPN - and visitors that fell for the trick and accepted the download were dropped a backdoor called WarmCookie - a piece of malware that was first spotted in mid-2023.

WarmCookie backdoor

The experts have warned the malware can steal data and different files, enumerate programs via the Windows Registry, run arbitrary command execution via CMD, grab screenshots, and drop additional payloads to the target endpoints, at the operator’s will.

What’s more, WarmCookie can run DLLs from the temp folder and send back the output, and transfer and execute EXE and PowerShell files.

Fake update attacks are nothing new - in fact, they are as old as the internet itself, and revolve around tricking the visitor into thinking their computer is at risk. At its most basic level, the attack is nothing more than a popup.

The best way to defend against these attacks is to learn how most of these programs communicate with their users, and how they are updated. Most browsers update automatically, and never ask their users to download and run an executable file. Other programs usually require the user to visit the official home page and download a new installation file which, most of the time, overwrites the existing installation. Also, having an antivirus program installed helps.

Via BleepingComputer

More from TechRadar Pro

• Hackers have been spreading malware via fake Chrome updates
• Here's a list of the best firewalls around today
• These are the best endpoint security tools right now

New data has suggested Chief Information Security Officers (CISOS) in the US and Canada have seen their salaries rise to $565,000 ($426,000) on average.

The findings come from the fifth annual survey from IANS Research, which also suggests that the best way to boost your salary as a CISO is to switch jobs or issue your employer with an ultimatum.

Going this route supposedly brings a 31% increase in average compensation, while sticking it out in a job you perform well in brings an increase of just 6.3%.

Training and AI

Per the IANS report, CISO turnover has almost halved since 2022, with Nick Kakolowski, IANS’ chief research director, suggesting workers are happy to wait for stability and their companies to come through with raises or even other non-cash incentives, like equity.

He also stressed that geography plays an important role in raising this average. The survey shows that Californian CISOS are more likely to be higher paid and being granted equity. Better paid CISOs are also getting richer, with 23% of the top 10% in the role reporting a pay rise of 20%, while, of the lowest paid, two-thirds reported that their pay had risen by less than 5%, if at all.

Kakolowski also cited North Carolina’s financial services, the biotech sector, and Texas’ own growing status as a tech center. The North East is the next most lucrative place to work behind California, while Canadian CISOs earn the least.

Via The Register

More from TechRadar Pro

• We’ve also listed the best endpoint protection software right now
• Security pros are missing attacks due to an overload of pointless alerts
• We’ve also listed the best online cybersecurity course right now

“I was loath to jump into it,” Black List founder Franklin Leonard says of expanding into publishing. “It’s not a great look to be like, ‘I'm from Hollywood and I'm here to save you.’”

Microsoft Edge’s settings page is getting an overhaul in December, which the company promises will boost its performance. This overhaul is the latest in a series aimed at improving the responsiveness of the browser overall in a bid to gain more market share from Google’s rival web browser, Chrome, which continues to be the most widely-used browser by a huge margin.

The improvements revolve around migrating the to Microsoft’s new WebUI 2.0 toolkit. Microsoft describes WebUI 2.0 as “markup-first”, meaning it prioritizes technologies like HTML and CSS over more demanding tools like JavaScript. In Microsoft’s words, “Modern browser engines are very fast at rendering [page content] so long as you don’t let JavaScript get in the way.”

The problem with using JavaScript is that you have to download it before it can start working – and that can end up slowing everything down, especially, as Microsoft notes, on low-end devices.

Can Chrome be toppled?

Microsoft’s solution to this apparently “minimizes the size of [its] bundles of code, and the amount of JavaScript code that runs during the initialization path of the UI.” In plain English, this means that parts of Edge’s user interface (such as buttons and menus) should feel a lot faster and more responsive.

Microsoft has already migrated Edge’s Browser Essentials UI – which presents security information, and browser stats like memory usage – to the new system. It also migrated the Favorites part of Edge and says this has improved response time by 40%. The Browser Essentials change makes pages load 42% faster overall, and, up to 76% faster on low-end devices, such as machines without SSDs and less than 8 GB of RAM – at least, according to Microsoft.

As for Edge Settings, the changes aren’t totally under-the-hood. Microsoft has also taken the opportunity to provide “minor visual and content upgrades to improve overall usability and utility. This includes optimizing for concise wording of individual settings, simplifying the number of pages and reorganizing content, and creating a cohesive user interface.”

Any improvements to the performance of Edge is welcome, especially as despite Microsoft’s best efforts (such as installing it as default in Windows 11, and constantly badgering users to stick with it), its web browser still seriously lags behind Chrome when it comes to user numbers.

I’m sure most people would rather Microsoft try to win over new users to Edge by improving the overall web browsing experience, rather than shoving some more ads in the Start Menu.

You might also like

• Microsoft admits Windows 11 24H2 could play havoc with some online games – and it’s blocked the update for affected PCs
• Microsoft explains how Windows 11’s controversial Recall feature is now ready for release – it’s coming to Copilot+ PCs in November
• Don’t make these 5 big mistakes when using Windows 11

Despite opposition from Germany, the European Union will start imposing tariffs as high as 45 percent on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Elon Musk’s marque takes the smallest hit.

So, it's official – NordVPN is the top VPN we tested when it comes to blocking malware and phishing. The newly launched Threat Protection Pro was the winner. Yes, you'll need to pay an extra fee to use this tool, but our results clearly show that it's well worth it for your online security.

This may not come as a surprise as NordVPN recently revamped its tracker blocker offering to help users avoid falling victim to ever-growing phishing attempts and online scams. Nonetheless, we were really pleased to see Nord living up to its promises on this front.

All the best VPN services now have built-in ad, tracker, and malware-blocking tools. While the efficiency and convenience of these tools might be taken for granted by many - TechRadar's VPN reviews look to the core of the issue, and see just how much protection they give, and right now NordVPN is coming out on top.

How does NordVPN protect you against malware, phishing, and intrusive ads?

In June, NordVPN revamped its tracker blocker offering, and it now offers two tools: Threat Protection Pro and Threat Protection.

Threat Protection is what used to be called Threat Protection Lite and works as a DNS filter. This means it blocks harmful websites, trackers, and ads only on the domain level. Other VPN providers offer a similar service, including ExpressVPN and IPVanish. In all these cases, you must be connected to the VPN to benefit from these extra protections.

Threat Protection Pro promises to go even further and act more as an antivirus rather than an ad-blocker, working even without an active VPN connection. The Pro version works at the URL and Javascript levels to help you avoid tracking, phishing, scams, malware, and annoying ads. It also notifies you about potentially dangerous sites and zero-day phishing attempts before clicking on them, while blocking trackers and ads when you access a web page.

The big difference between the two versions you should keep in mind is availability. Threat Protection Pro is exclusive for Plus, Complete, Ultimate, and Ultra subscribers on Windows and macOS only. While, Threat Protection is available to all NordVPN customers using Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, macOS, and browser extensions.

This is how Threat Protection Pro looks on NordVPN macOS app. (Image credit: Future) How good is NordVPN blocking malware, phishing, and intrusive ads?

In August, NordVPN became the first VPN provider to rank among the top tools for avoiding online shopping scams. Its anti-phishing protection, Threat Protection Pro, was certified as the third-best tool out of 35 by the top independent lab AV-Comparatives.

Nonetheless, we decided to run our own tests and attempted to open 100 brand-new malicious URLs from anti-phishing experts OpenPhish. The results were very positive, with Threat Protection Pro blocking 87% of our sample threats. Only Bitdefender was fractionally better, blocking 89% of URLs in its own tests. Surfshark antivirus did really well, too, blocking 94% of phishing sites – but it's a standalone product rather than a VPN feature as is the case for Nord.

Something even more important: "NordVPN Threat Protection Pro was the only one showing any real impact against new phishing sites," said TechRadar Lead Security Reviewer, Mike Williams. Most DNS-level blockers could only catch them when they were over a week old, in fact. This is crucial considering that phishing sites don't generally last long, meaning most are new and may not last long enough to be picked up by other providers.

NordVPN was also the best against malware, dominating the results with 79% of malware threats blocked. Both Threat Protection and Threat Protection Pro were very efficient in blocking ads (84%), too, but the winner of this category was ExpressVPN instead with a brilliant result of 90% blocked ads.

(Image credit: Future)

Phishing attacks, malvertising incidents, and similar online scams are on the rise everywhere. As per NordVPN data, Threat Protection Pro reportedly blocked over 5 billion intrusive ads, almost 40 billion trackers, and 60 million malware infection attempts in May alone. People in the UK were the most affected amounting to over 18 million incidents since the beginning of the year. This is an average of 97 malware-related incidents per device per month, compared to the US median of 89 monthly attempts.

During the research period (January 1 and May 31), criminals heavily impersonated popular brands to trick victims into clicking phishing links and downloading infected files. Malicious Office365 (86K impersonated URLs discovered), Gazprom (60K), AT&T (28K), Facebook (19K), and Bet365 (15K) were the most used big names to spread malware.

You'll need to pay an extra fee, but our results clearly show it's worth it for your online security

What all these types of cyberattacks have in common is tricking people into clicking on malicious links through which criminals can inject malware software into their devices. Cybercriminals are increasingly executing well-crafted scams thanks to AI-powered tools, so it's very difficult now to spot red flags even for experts.

All this shows the growing need for tools like NordVPN Threat Protection Pro. Given how crucial it is to stay more anonymous online, a VPN (virtual private network) alone isn't enough to fight back all the modern threats you may face when you browse the web. This is exactly why many providers include a built-in blocking tool. Yet, not many can offer – as Nord Threat Protection Pro does – antivirus-like protection without having to download additional software.

As we mentioned earlier, Threat Protection Pro is no longer a basic feature, as you need to upgrade to a more expensive plan to benefit from its protection. If you are after only antivirus protection and don't want to put your hands in your wallet, I recommend checking out Avast Free. Remember, though, doing this means you won't have VPN protection.

Get your pictures off your phone and in front of your friends and family with these connected displays.