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Most of us have worked under a less than tech-savvy leader at some point or another, but new research suggests C-suite executives are specifically targeted as they often represent an organizations ‘weakest security link.’

Executives have access to critical information and sensitive data, but a tendency to store it on personal devices, making them a target for hackers, and a survey by GetApp has revealed that 72% of US senior executives have been targeted by cyberattacks in the last 18 months.

Attacks are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, with a 29% increase in scams, piracy, and fraud targeting executives in the last year. Worryingly, impersonation scams in particular have seen a 26% rise.

Deepfake impersonations

Given the development of deepfake technology and its deployment against businesses, this could have dire consequences. Millions of dollars have already been lost to cybercriminals this year, and 27% of attacks on senior officials have used AI-assisted deepfakes - highlighting just how critical the threat is.

"The targeting of the C-suite is a strategy for cybercriminals seeking maximum impact. What many organizations fail to realize is that the security of their top leadership needs to be a priority at all times. C-level executives need to be aware of threats beyond the corporate environment," says Andrius Buinovskis, cybersecurity expert at NordLayer.

To mitigate the risks, 87% of IT and cybersecurity professionals think senior executives should receive more training than other employees, and security experts recommend proactive approaches to digital security.

Cybersecurity remains a top concern for many organizations, with budgets expanding due to the demand for the protection of C-suite communications and for firms as a whole. As the threat landscape becomes more complex, companies will have to develop more robust security measures to protect their data.

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If you’re a subscriber to Gemini Advanced then you might not have noticed but Google just quietly upgraded you to version 1.5 Pro-002 of its LLM, which is good news, because it’s much faster and more powerful than the previous version.

This new version 1.5 of Gemini Pro is optimized for chat and now provides better and more accurate responses for prompts related to math and exploring complex topics that invite thoughtful conversation. Effectively this means that you can now provide multi-step instructions without Gemini becoming confused about what you mean. Google also claims the new AI is more helpful, and better at providing relevant information and informative responses. It’s also faster, so you don’t have to wait as long for a response.

ChatGPT recently released an o1-preview LLM model to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, which had much better ability at math, and it will be interesting to compare how it performs to the new Gemini Pro 1.5.

Welcome to the Gemini family

Gemini is the universal name for Google’s LLM family, and it comes in four versions: a Pro version for Gemini Advanced subscribers, which costs $20 a month (£18.99/AU$32.99), and is the best-performing model. Flash, which is the smallest, most cost-effective multimodal mode (and what free tier users get by default). Nano, which is the version you can find embedded on smartphones, for on-device processing. Finally, there’s Ultra, which is its largest model and designed for highly complex tasks.

You used to need a subscription to Gemini Advanced to use Gemini Live - the AI Assistant found on Google Pixel phones that you could talk to using your voice, but Google recently dropped the requirement and made it free for all Android users. Gemini Live doesn’t use the more powerful Gemini Pro 1.5 LLM though, since that remains reserved for Gemini Advanced subscribers.

The AI wars are just beginning

Google isn’t the only AI company that’s upping its game and improving its AI smarts. ChatGPT recently started to roll out Advanced Voice Mode to its paid-for ChatGPT Plus subscribers and Microsoft has just launched a new, rebranded version of Copilot, its own AI that has a voice mode you can use entirely for free. The web-based version of Copilot is still rolling out, but to try Copilot now just download the Copilot app on your smartphone.

While Google’s Gemini Live is free to all Android owners who can run it on their smartphones, Microsoft has responded by making Copilot’s voice mode free to anybody who can run the Copilot app, even on iOS devices. That means iOS users can get their first taste of a voice-activated AI before Siri gets its own proper AI smarts, which should be coming soon.

Of course, the real value of an AI assistant is its ability to integrate with all your other apps, like your calendar and inbox, so it can do more useful things for you. These features are still coming to Gemini and aren't here yet, but a general voice chat with AI, both Google Gemini Live and Microsoft Copilot are currently leading the way.

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According to a new study by Ricoh Europe, British and Irish employees and businesses are more prepared than ever to automate repetitive workplace processes.

However, enthusiasm from both sides has been met with the usual array of concerns, including the disruption of mission-critical services.

Referring to the current state of UK&I workplaces, Ricoh found that around one in three (30%) still lack access to process automation tools despite a similar number (29%) believing that their job satisfaction would improve if they had access to such technologies.

Employees and employers are both looking for more automation

Both parties recognise the benefits of process automation, however slow adoption on the part of employers is the top frustration for employees who seek productivity and efficiency assistance.

Ricoh found that businesses are concerned about the potential disruption caused by process automation to essential business operations, fuelling their cautious approach.

Rob Alonso, Sales Director for Business Process Services at Ricoh UK, commented: “This caution is understandable, but businesses may be hindering growth by failing to make the most of the opportunity process automation presents.”

Nicola Downing, CEO of Ricoh Europe, added: “I know first-hand that the C-suite is justified in being cautious about disrupting mission-critical systems, considering the ramifications if things go wrong."

Looking ahead, the need for better guidance was highlighted by one in three (31%) business leaders, together with IT decisions being made holistically rather than in isolation.

And with nearly one-fifth of employees stating that better technology could influence their decision to stay in their role or seek alternative careers, the need for businesses to react quickly is crucial.

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As a Spotify Premium subscriber, I’m forever grateful for the convenience of offline listening and now that Spotify has launched its latest ‘Offline Backup’ playlist feature, there’s a new way for you to still enjoy audio streaming on one of the best music streaming services even when you lose signal. 

As of today (October 3), Spotify has officially rolled out its 'Offline Backup' feature for Premium users, introducing a new way to enjoy offline audio streaming without having to rely on downloads – including your Spotify playlists – and using extra storage and data. 

The new feature can be found in your 'Home Feed' whenever you’re offline. It amalgamates a rather lengthy playlist (mine is 19 hours and 28 minutes for reference), which could stand as a new contender for your next audio travel companion. 

(Image credit: Future)

Prior to its rollout, a Spotify spokesperson told TechRadar: “We're always exploring new ways to improve our user experience. Last year we began testing offline listening and have continued to innovate on the experience taking user feedback into consideration.” With that said, 'Offline Backup' has been designed to assist you in different situations where you’re not able to stream audio while online. 

The main objective of 'Offline Backup' is to offer you a solution for those moments when your network cuts, which happens often when you frequent public transport systems like the London Underground where there’s not an ounce of phone signal. 

No matter the length of your journey, Spotify’s new offline feature will have you covered from anything from a short car journey to a long haul flight – and the best bit is you don’t have to worry about downloading the playlist before you take off. Travel aside, 'Offline Backup' can come in handy for when you want a break from constant notifications on your phone – switch airplane mode on, and get lost in the music. 

How does Offline Backup work?  

(Image credit: Future)

In addition to gathering songs already saved in your Spotify account, 'Offline Backup' examines your recently listened-to and queued songs and puts them together to create a playlist that’s unique to your audio streaming habits. 'Offline Backup' will generate once you’ve streamed more than five songs recently with the ‘Offline listening’ toggle enabled in your settings. 

If you’re like me and enjoy a cross-genre listening session, you can use 'Offline Backup' to filter through the different genres and moods it presents. Using its integrated filter, you can view and listen to specific genres by selecting the genre tabs that appear in the playlist.  

 How to find your Offline Backup playlist

(Image credit: Future)

When you open the Spotify app on your mobile device anytime while offline, your 'Offline Backup' playlist will appear in your 'Home Feed' automatically. It’s important to note that you need to enable the ‘Offline listening’ toggle in your settings to listen to 'Offline Backup'. This is very simple to find, just go to ‘Settings’ and from there you can find the toggle under either ‘Data Saving and offline’ or ‘Storage’.  

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Rumors are growing that Fujifilm is working on an entirely new camera for 2025. There are suggestions that it won't be based on an existing Fujifilm camera, but that the mystery model will pack an entirely new sensor in a format Fujifilm hasn't used before.

Naturally, this news, which was shared by Fujifilm Rumors, has sparked a wild guessing game among Fujifilm fans, many of whom are speculating about what the retro camera specialist could conjure up. After all, Fujifilm consistently makes some of the best cameras, including the X100 VI, which has been one of this year's highlights, yet it has remained entirely absent from the popular full-frame and Micro Four Thirds (MFT) sensor formats.

Riffing on the rumors – which, to reiterate, are speculation – and based on Fujifilm's current camera lineup, what's most likely?

What sensor format makes most sense for Fujifilm?

Fujifilm's primary camera systems are its X-Series, which includes interchangeable lens cameras such as the X-T5 and its X100VI premium compact, plus its GFX-series headlined by the flagship model, the GFX 100 II. The X-series utilizes an APS-C sensor, while the larger-sensor GFX-series is known as medium format. Those sensor sizes sandwich full-frame.

Many fans think it's unlikely that Fujifilm will enter the full-frame camera space, despite its popularity. Not only could a full-frame Fujifilm camera cannibalize its current systems given the rough similarity in size, but it's a highly competitive market with Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic and Leica focusing their efforts there.

Of course, Fujifilm could create a one-off and unique full-frame camera without committing to the format with a new series, but it isn't perhaps the most likely scenario.

The same could be said for Micro Four Thirds, a sensor format that's slightly smaller than APS-C, and which is used by excellent mirrorless cameras from Panasonic and OM System. So where does that leave us?

Sony's versatile RX100-series of premium compact cameras utilize a 1-inch sensor – a format never used by Fujifilm – delivering a fast aperture zoom lens and premium build quality. (Image credit: Future)

A possibility could be a versatile premium compact camera with a 1-inch sensor and handy zoom lens, much like a Sony RX100-series camera, with the latest model being the RX100 VII. Fujifilm has never utilized this sensor format before, and the premium compact camera market has growing interest, not least of which because of Fujifilm's own success in this space with the X100VI.

Sony looks like it has abandoned its RX100-series, and shoppers are short of new options in this part of the market. Fujifilm could also add its retro twist, thus creating an excellent travel camera that could also be a decent option for vlogging.

Leica recently breathed new life into its D-Lux premium compact camera series with the D-Lux 8. It features a Micro Four Thirds sensor and fast aperture zoom lens. However, being a refresh of the D-Lux 7, its technology is a little dated and Fujifilm could easily create a more compelling option than Leica by using its latest tech.

There are plenty of potential candidates from the plausible to the unlikely, including an interchangeable lens Instax camera. Judging from the rumor forums, whatever Fujifilm may or may not be working on, it could stir up quite the interest.

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Networking gear manufacturer DrayTek has issued patches to address several vulnerabilities found in its residential and enterprise router line-up, including one with the maximum severity rating - 10/10.

The company urged its users to apply the patch immediately, since the flaw can be abused to take over vulnerable devices and move further into the compromised network.

According to the security advisory published with the patch, the critical-severity flaw is described as a buffer overflow bug in the “GetCGI()” function in the web user interface. It is tracked as CVE-2024-41592, and can be abused to either run denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, or remote code execution (RCE), when processing the query string parameters. Since the vulnerability affects different devices - including some that are past their end-of-life date - users are advised to look for the corresponding version on the DrayTek resource page.

700,000 flawed devices

Research from Forescout claims there are just above 700,000 routers with their UI exposed to the internet, and thus at risk of an attack. The majority is located in the United States, with notable mentions including Vietnam, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Australia.

While certainly dangerous, the buffer overflow bug is not the only important vulnerability that the company addressed. In total, there were 14 vulnerabilities, collectively dubbed DRAY:BREAK. Two are rated critical, nine high, and three medium severity. The second critical vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2024-41585, and has a severity score of 9.1. It is an operating system (OS) command injection flaw in the “recvCmd” binary, used for communication between the host and guest OS.

The entire list of the vulnerabilities can be found on this link.

"Complete protection against the new vulnerabilities requires patching devices running the affected software," Forescout said. "If remote access is enabled on your router, disable it if not needed. Use an access control list (ACL) and two-factor authentication (2FA) if possible."

Via The Hacker News

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A new The Sims mobile game has been spotted on the Google Play Store and before you get too excited, no it’s not anything to do with The Sims 5. The game, which is currently titled The Sims Labs: Town Stories is part of the recently announced The Sims Labs platform, which serves as a testing ground for upcoming products and features.

The Google Play Store listing describes The Sims Labs: Town Stories as “an all-new exciting building simulation game”. It’s set in the town of Plumbrook, which your player character has recently moved to. Judging by the screenshots, the gameplay seems to involve traditional The Sims-style building and interacting with town residents. 

Image 1 of 5

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)Image 2 of 5

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)Image 3 of 5

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)Image 4 of 5

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)Image 5 of 5

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Although the game appears to not currently be available to download, an anonymous account on X / Twitter has shared what appears to be some early gameplay footage. They claim that the game is semi-open-world and uses a mix of assets taken from The Sims Mobile and The Sims FreePlay.

Their footage shows the player interacting with fan-favorite The Sims character Bella Goth, suggesting that there will be some call-back references for long–time The Sims players. The overall interface looks quite reminiscent of previous mobile installments, with a couple of elements, such as a bright blue player level bar, that I can immediately identify as borrowed from The Sims Mobile.

Given the use of all these presumed placeholder assets, it’s also quite obvious that this title is still in very early development. A number of visual bugs are present too, especially with its character animations and extremely flat lighting. Still, a new The Sims game is always pretty exciting and I’m looking forward to finding out more about what this could be.

If you would rather stick to a game that is currently released, The Sims 4 is available now as a free-to-play title on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 in addition to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility. 

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WP Engine has launched a federal complaint against Automattic and its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, following what it says are allegations of extortion and abuse of power that fundamentally threaten the open source WordPress community.

The legal action comes after the CEO and WordPress co-founder referred to WP Engine, a rival company to Automattic’s WordPress.com, as a “cancer” that takes from the open-source project without giving back sufficiently.

The complaint focuses on Mullenweg’s failed efforts to get WP Engine to pay tens of millions of dollars for a trademark license that it claims is unnecessary.

WP Engine files a federal complaint against Mullenweg, Automattic

WP Engine claims Mullenweg’s public promises of maintaining the WordPress project as an open, community-driven platform have been false, adding the CEO has taken control over the trademarks to benefit his own for-profit business (that benefits from the open-source project) while harming competitors.

An extract from the complaint reads: “The misconduct at issue here is all the more shocking because it occurred in an unexpected place—the WordPress open source software community built on promises of the freedom to build, run, change, and redistribute without barriers or constraints, for all. Those promises were not kept, and that community was betrayed, by the wrongful acts of a few—Matt Mullenweg and Automattic—to the detriment of the many, including WPE.”

WP Engine is now seeking legal remedies to protect its company and the broader WordPress community from what it describes as Automattic’s monopolistic and damaging practices.

WP Engine told TechRadar Pro: “Matt Mullenweg and Automattic’s self-proclaimed scorched earth campaign against WP Engine has harmed not just our company, but the entire WordPress ecosystem. The symbiotic relationship between WordPress, its community and the businesses that invest millions to support WordPress users, and advance the ecosystem, is based on trust in the promises of openness and freedom. Matt Mullenweg’s conduct over the last ten days has exposed significant conflicts of interests and governance issues that, if left unchecked, threaten to destroy that trust. WP Engine has no choice but to pursue these claims to protect its people, agency partners, customers, and the broader WordPress community.”

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New research from ServiceNow has revealed that a large majority (85%) of UK businesses plan to spend more on artificial intelligence despite initial concerns about how ready their business is.

Based on responses from more than 2,000 executives from the EMEA region, the company's Enterprise AI Maturity Index found that 86% of British companies are optimistic about AI’s positive impact on efficiency and productivity – substantially more than the EMEA average of 76%.

That being said, the report also reveals that many companies are finding themselves stuck in the early stages of adoption where they continue to battle with concerns about the technology.

British businesses are keen to adopt AI

Around one in five (18%) UK companies were deemed ‘pacesetters’ in AI adoption, meaning that they had scored more than 50 out of 100 on an AI maturity test based on factors like strategy, leadership and integration.

This puts the UK behind only the Middle East and Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and aligns with the country’s ambition to become a global AI hub and leader.

The reason that companies are excited to progress their AI strategies becomes apparent – four in five (79%) believe that the technology will help them grow their revenue. AI is also particularly attractive to customer-facing businesses, with even more respondents (85%) anticipating that it could improve their customer experiences.

However, because many nations are still in the early stages of adopting AI, key challenges continue to influence leaders’ decisions. More than half (57%) of UK businesses are still determining which AI skills they need, and 37% believe they don’t currently have the right talent mix. One-third (34%) of executives also expressed concerns about potential errors and inaccuracies in AI-generated content.

ServiceNow Group VP and GM for the UK & Ireland, Damian Stirrett, commented: “The race to put AI to work is still in its early stages. Yet, it’s clear that some organisations have already gained a head start in adopting and integrating it.”

Looking ahead, ServiceNow says that companies can prepare for AI deployment by hiring new talent and upskilling existing workforces.

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Major spoilers follow immediately for The Rings of Power season 2 finale and The Lord of the Rings books.

The Rings of Power season 2's finale may include our first glimpse at the humble beginnings of an iconic elven realm in The Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, two of the Prime Video's biggest stars can't – or, rather, won't – confirm if this is the case.

Speaking to me ahead of the last entry in the hit Amazon show's second season, Robert Aramayo and Benjamin Walker, who play Elrond and Gil-galad, remained tight-lipped when I asked if, alongside Eregion's elven refugees, we've just visited Rivendell for the first time.

In the source material, after Elrond's elven army is routed by Sauron's forces on route to Eregion, his remaining troops regroup at a location near the Bruinen river in eastern Eriador. There, Elrond establishes a stronghold, which was christened Imladris (the elvish name for Rivendell) and becomes a refuge for anyone fleeing Sauron's army as it sweeps across Eriador during the centuries-long conflict known as The War of the Elves and Sauron.

Wait, is this supposed to be Imladris/Rivendell? (Image credit: Prime Video)

Following Sauron's eventual defeat in Eriador, Elrond is made Eriador's vice-regent by High King Gil-galad. Upon being promoted, Elrond permanently settles in Imladris/Rivendell and turns it into one of the strongest elven outposts in Middle-earth. The city, which is later also known as The Last Homely House, is further strengthened by the protective power of Vilya, Gil-galad's Ring of Power that he secretly bestows on Elrond after the kingdom's founding.

Of course, many of these events are yet to play out in Prime Video's TV adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's literary works. However, I suspect that, given how the Sauron/elven storyline ends in season 2, The Wars of the Elves and Sauron will take center stage in season 3, which The Rings of Power's showrunners say they're "working on" as we speak.

But I digress. Season 2 episode 8, titled 'Shadow and Flame', sees Elrond, Gil-galad, Galadriel, Arondir, and Eregion's remaining elves flee the decimated elven city and seek sanctuary in an idyllic, undisclosed location near a river. Based on everything I've mentioned so far, if this isn't evidence that these survivors have stumbled upon the area that'll become known as Imladris/Rivendell before one of the best Prime Video shows ends, I don't know what is.

I guess we'll have to wait for season 3 to find out if this is the First Homely House... (Image credit: Prime Video)

Still, convinced though as I am that we've just seen Elrond's eventual seat of power for the first time in Amazon's prequel series, Aramayo and Walker weren't giving anything away when I proposed this theory to them. Indeed, after shuffling nervously in their seats, Walker suggested this might be the case without actually saying so, while Aramayo, who's a self-confessed Lord of the Rings fanatic, somewhat dodged my question in favor of providing a brief history lesson on Imladris' origins.

"It's a sanctuary, initially, by function," Walker said of the unnamed location. "And that [theorizing that it's Rivendell/Imladris] is a very astute observation on your part. But, I don't know that we can confirm anything. We know [what this location is], but we can't tell you."

"If it's the location of Imladris," Aramayo added, "It's formed first out of necessity. Nobody arrived there and said 'now I will form this'. It's a defensive position that starts very practically, then becomes the Last Homely House, and then becomes Imladris. So, even if that is where they are, they don't know what it's going to become."

You might think you've pulled the wool over my eyes, Messrs Aramayo and Walker, but I'm not backing down! I guess we'll see if I'm right when The Rings of Power returns to our screens for its third chapter. In the meantime, read my season 2 ending explainer that answers your biggest questions about The Rings of Power's latest finale, including some input from the show's cast. Keep an eye out for more exclusives from my chats with some of The Rings of Power's notable cast members over the next couple of days, too.

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New information regarding the upcoming Project Rene has appeared online, giving us our first potential major look at the next installment in the The Sims franchise. The leak, which reportedly comes from a recent private playtest, reveals some further details about the game’s possible mechanics and potential overall direction.

In a recent post to the aptly titled ‘/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours’ subreddit, a user who claims to be part of a recent playtest has spilled the beans on what it involves. They have detailed everything from the information found on the game’s private Google Play Store page to some screenshots of the playtest itself.

They claim that the game was previously internally referred to as The Sims 5 and that this is now no longer the case, which aligns with recent confirmation from developer Electronic Arts that The Sims 5 isn’t in the works any time soon. 

The post also describes some of the game's mechanics, which involve completing daily quests in a large Parisian-style neighborhood. Although the character creator was absent from the early build, the user has shared some screenshots of the four premade sims that were available to play.

The overall art style here looks very similar to The Sims Mobile, with exaggerated proportions and a heavily stylized world, as does the very mobile-centric UI. The focus on completing tasks will also sound immediately familiar to anyone who has played that game. 

In the screenshots we can see the player working a shift at a local cafe, tapping on pieces of equipment to brew coffees and deliver them to customers. Jobs like this will allegedly reward you with an in-game currency that can be spent on outfits and other customization options. The user notes that you can only choose between five preset outfits right now, but this is likely just a limitation of the early access build. 

Of course, as an early playtest, it’s worth bearing in mind that everything here is subject to change and could be reworked before the finished product is released. Still, all of this might come as quite disappointing news to those who expected something akin to a traditional The Sims game. 

I’m personally not that surprised, though, as it’s been clear from that very beginning that Project Rene has always been intended as more of a free-to-play spinoff than anything else - despite a few claims to the contrary. 

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If you're interested in vintage Apple technology – and you have a lot of money sitting in your bank account – we've got the perfect impulse buy for you: a very rare Apple Macintosh #M0001 prototype from 1983 is up for sale, and it could break records for a computer of this type.

The auction is running at Bonhams in New York (via New Atlas) until October 23, and the Mac is estimated to fetch up to $120,000 (that's roughly £90,000 / AU$175,000). However, considering how rare it is, there's a chance it'll smash through that price guide to become the most expensive Mac in history.

There are only a few of these #M0001 prototypes in existence, and another one fetched $150,075 (about £114,405 / AU$219,110) in 2019. These machines have the nickname 'Twiggy' because they used the 5.25-inch Twiggy disk drives, rather than the 3.5-inch versions on the first Macs to launch in 1984.

The story goes that Steve Jobs ordered these pre-production units to be destroyed because of errors related to the drive, but this one has survived – and if you've got enough in your life savings, maybe you could set it up in your home office.

Sold as is

The prototype computer runs prototype software (Image credit: Bonhams)

It's not just the design of the hardware that's special, it's the software too. The computer runs early and unfinished versions of Mac apps, with Steve Jobs himself popping up in certain dialog boxes to give the user instructions.

That said, it's not clear whether or not this computer actually still works (the one from the previous auction definitely did) – which might hurt its chances of fetching a record-breaking price. If you're planning to bid on this it's probably best to check with Bonhams first.

Similar prototypes were previously showcased at a special 30th anniversary of the Mac held in January, 2014, and it took a lot of meticulous effort to get them back to working order – so it is possible to get them working again, even if it's not quite as easy to find spare parts for 1983 prototypes as it is for modern Macs.

The bundle comes with a prototype keyboard and a prototype mouse included, and a whole 512KB of memory (yes, that's kilobytes). It's a genuine slice of Apple Mac history, marking the shift to graphical user interfaces and modern operating systems.

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Meta has announced an information sharing partnership with a number of UK banks in an effort to combat the rising number of scams run on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram.

The Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (or FIRE for short) program will allow financial institutions to share threat intelligence with Meta to better combat scams and protect social media users.

NatWest and Metro Bank are the UK chains to initally join the program, with several more scheduled to sign up soon.

Scammers beware

“This work has already seen us take action against thousands of accounts run by scammers, indicating the importance of banks and platforms working together to tackle this societal issue,” said Nathaniel Gleicher, Global Head of Counter-Fraud at Meta.

“We will only beat these criminals if we work together and share relevant information related to scams. Financial institutions can share unique information with us which we can in turn use to train our systems to take action against more scams globally."

As part of the pilot, both NatWest and Metro Bank shared information with Meta on a prolific concert ticket scam which, in collaboration with Stop Scams UK, was able to take down 20,000 scammer accounts across 185 URLs.

Both the City of London Police and the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) have praised the program, with NECC Director Adrian Searle commenting, “The expansion of Meta’s scam reporting channel, following a successful pilot, is welcome news – demonstrating a willingness to help tackle the scourge of online fraud, by bringing together data from across the bank and technology sectors.”

“It follows the establishment of the Online Fraud Charter in 2023, in which leading tech companies signed a voluntary agreement, recognising and seeking to reduce the risk of fraud and financial exploitation of UK citizens on their platforms. Partnership between the public and the private sector is key to preventing this pervasive threat. We look forward to working with Meta, building on FIRE’s early success, sharing data across sectors to impact the Fraud threat at scale,” Searle said.

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The Google Home app for iOS is getting a major upgrade which will make it much easier to control your smart devices through convenient widgets on your iPhone or iPad's home screen.

Not all iPhone owners are completely sold on Apple's HomeKit ecosystem, and if your smart lights, switches and thermostat are connected via Google Home instead, the new, more convenient controls on your device will be a welcome addition.

The update is rolling out to users now, and as 9to5Google explains you'll have a choice of three widget sizes, each of which contains a series of tiles that represent your different devices. If you have lots of devices, you can choose a larger widget to access more of them at a glance.

Hey, Google

Apple HomeKit is a well established ecosystem with a strong focus on security, but there are a few reasons why iPhone owners might want to use Google Home instead. For example, if you use Google Calendar you'll find it easier to sync with your smart speaker so you can ask to hear the events you have coming up.

It's also possible that the smart home devices you want to use aren't compatible with HomeKit. For example, if you've got your eye on a Nest Learning Thermostat, you'll have to use Google or Alexa instead.

These new shortcuts for iOS are the same ones that Google rolled out for Android and WearOS back in May, so you can check out Google's blog to see how they'll look.

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Do you ever get deja vu? Well, if you got tickets to the GUTS World Tour, you’ll be able to experience it all over again soon. Thanks to Netflix, Olivia Rodrigo is releasing her GUTS World Tour concert film this month, bringing her sell-out tour to your screens at home. Being one of the most streamed pop girls of our time, Rodrigo will spill her guts on one of the best streaming services on October 29.

The concert special was filmed at her August 21 show in the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, one of her many sold out dates. Rodrigo has been on the road since she kicked off the GUTS World Tour in Palm Springs in March this year, and now she’s preparing to share the experience with everyone telling Netflix that “(she’s) so excited to share the GUTS World Tour with (her) fans”.

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As someone who missed out on landing tickets for the show, many fans in the same situation will be ecstatic to finally be able to witness one of the biggest pop tours of the year. In addition to her above statement, Rodrigo added: “For those of you who didn’t get a chance to rock out in-person, now you can have the best seats in the house! And to the fans who cheered, screamed, and danced with me, I am so glad we get to do it all over again!”

Joining forces with production company BLINK, Rodrigo has also enlisted James Merryman – who previously worked on Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, another smash hit concert film that had a theatrical release last year – to direct the special. As for the GUTS World tour concert special, expect to see Rodrigo perform hits such as ‘Driver’s License’ and ‘Get Him Back!’ from her Grammy-nominated albums SOUR (2021) and GUTS (2023) in a 2020s pop-punk spectacle.

Pop girls do it best

This year, music movies have become somewhat of a phenomenon on streaming, especially since Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour landed on Disney Plus following a huge theatrical release. In addition to the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, who embarked on two of pop’s biggest tours, other artists are following suit with live concert specials.

Lady Gaga has been another artist who jumped on the hype, releasing her Chromatica Ball concert movie on Max in May – a show I feel very lucky to have experienced in the flesh. And it’s not over just yet, because as well as Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour concert special, Sabrina Carpenter will be spreading the Christmas cheer in her Netflix holiday special this December. God bless the pop girls.

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Victrola's all-in-one turntables are delightfully retro, and now the firm has added two particularly good-looking new models: the Century Music Center and the Eastwood LP record player. And we're particularly intrigued by the former, because it crams in even more features than other all-in-ones: this is a 6-in-1 music system that promises to scratch every audio itch in a way that most of the best turntables don't.

The Century Music Center is based around a three-speed turntable, and it also includes a CD player, a cassette deck, a 3.5mm aux input and streaming from Bluetooth devices too. It includes a pair of stereo speakers built into the cabinet, and you can also wirelessly connect to the best Bluetooth speakers and the best wireless headphones to listen to your vinyl there instead.

There are two versions of the Century: the standard Century, which has a straight front panel with a small LED display, and the Century Signature+, which adds floor-standing legs and an illuminated clock to make you feel even more nostalgic. You can choose from multiple finishes including walnut, natural wood and black.

Victrola's new turntable is its first full-sized Eastwood model

(Image credit: Victrola)

The new Victrola Eastwood LP is the first full-sized turntable in the firm's Eastwood collection, and once again it looks rather nice in its tweedy fabric and wooden frame. It has a brand new speaker system and a vibration-isolataed turntable, which should significantly reduce vibrations and the subsequent risk of skipping, and the 3-speed turntable is belt driven and features the first 12-inch platter in the Eastwood series. 

The new Eastwood LP features an Audio-Technica AT-3600L moving magnet cartridge and two-way Bluetooth so you can stream from other audio sources or use external speakers and headphones.

Both products are available now from Victrola, Amazon and other big-name retailers. The Eastwood LP has a recommended retail price of $199.99 / £219.99, and the Century is $149.99 / £159.99.

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You've got to ask yourself one question: do I feel like an audiophile? (Well do ya, punk? Sorry.) The thing is, only a dedicated, dyed-in-the-wool audio aficionado would consider – and indeed covet for actual months – this particular separate. But if you've got the system, it'll almost certainly do wonders with it. Simply put, if you want the best hi-res audio your collection of hi-fi separates can possibly deliver, you should probably have a little look at the HiFi Rose RD160 DAC and pre-amplifier.

It uses several new and proprietary HiFi Rose technological acronyms, including ROSE DPC, ROSE NRA, and ROSE CIM. Quick run-down of those? We should, shouldn't we, especially when dealing with this elite end of the market. This is not your average DAC and would doubtless consider itself above even the best headphone DACs we've tested. In fact, it costs more than my entire hi-fi setup combined, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested…

The ROSE DPC (Digital Processing Core) Module "guarantees signal accuracy and precision regardless of the source thanks to using an OCXO clock" according to the company. ROSE CIM (Completely Isolated Module) architecture uses a two-chip solution. Yes, this is a fully balanced, dual-mono DAC design with complete mechanical separation between channels. ROSE NRA (Noise Reduction Analogue) filter achieves, says the hi-fi specialist, a "flat frequency response, even in the very low-frequency range". Impressive.

Wow, DAC's beautiful… and expensive

HiFi Rose tells me that three customized reference-level linear power supplies drive the two channels and the main digital processing board independently, in a bid to reduce interference and crosstalk. Again, RD160 uses two DAC chips per channel; the Asahi Kasei AK4191 handling digital filtering and initial delta-sigma modulation stages and the AK4499EX handling the final digital-to-analog conversion.

Alongside the usual connectivity options, the RD160 also features an SFP USB input, which supports optical USB conversion, and for further compatibility with a wider high-end system, the RD160 also offers 50Ω and 75Ω external clock inputs.

HiFi Rose's RD160 also features an output level setting option, allowing you to select from fixed output levels between 1V and 9V. Why is that good? It allows you to connect to a wide range of amplifiers and avoid low output or too much gain and clipping.

Lastly, we need to talk about that solid aluminum chassis. It's a full-width HiFi Rose product (which means it can be part of your hi-fi 'stack', although you really do need to invest in a proper hi-fi rack at this level) and you get an IR remote control in the box. There's also something the company's calling a "hidden screen" front panel, to relay all key playback information, plus some front-panel buttons and a reassuring hi-fi knob to help you control things.

Through that front screen, you can access four sampling options (Bypass, PCM, DSD, and Upsampling) and six digital filters to find the sound that suits your tastes. And when sat back in your listening position, your multiple screen display options include a live soundwave of each channel, so you can see what you're hearing too.

It's so elegant, no? It comes in black or silver and will arrive in November 2024. And now the delicate topic of coin: HiFi Rose RD160 is officially £4,699 in the UK, which means it'll come in at around $6,180 or a cool AU$9,000.

Need something more portable but have a little cash to spend? Check out the iFi xDSD Gryphon. You won't regret it.

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Ransomware continues to present serious challenges for businesses and organizations across the globe, and with attacks are on the rise, the UK and 38 countries have come together alongside international cyber insurance bodies to develop new guidance to support victims and boost resilience.

The new guidance will advise ransomware victims to carefully consider all options rather than rush to make payments, as data retrieval and malware removal are not guaranteed even if the ransom is paid, and cyber criminals are only emboldened to continue.

Instead, companies are encouraged to develop a comprehensive response framework in case of an attack, with policies and contingency plans in place. If an organization is targeted, the policy recommends reporting attacks to law enforcement, and seeking advice from security experts.

Global crackdown

Ransomware is a profitable business for criminals, with an estimated $1 billion lost to attacks in 2023. However, by taking away the incentive for cyber criminals, the new policies look to undermine the ransomware playbook and prevent future attacks where possible.

“Cyber criminality does not recognize borders. That is why international co-operation is vital to tackle the shared threat of ransomware attacks. This guidance will hit the wallets of cyber criminals, and ultimately help to protect businesses in the UK and around the world”, said Security Minister Dan Jarvis.

The UK is keen to be at the front of the fight against cybercrime and to lead the collaborative approach - bringing in three major UK insurance bodies (the Association of British Insurers, the British Insurance Brokers' Association and the International Underwriting Association) to launch co-sponsored guidance for businesses.

The UK National Crime Agency recently announced it sanctioned 16 individuals from the ‘Evil Corp’ cyber criminal organization, an organization responsible for stealing over $300 million from critical infrastructure, healthcare, and government organizations around the world.

“Ransomware remains an urgent threat and organisations should act now to boost resilience," noted Jonathon Ellison, NCSC Director for National Resilience.

“The endorsement of this best practice guidance by both nations and international cyber insurance bodies represents a powerful push for organisations to upgrade their defences and enhance their cyber readiness. This collective approach, guided by last year’s CRI statement denouncing ransomware and built on guidelines from the NCSC and UK insurance associations earlier this year, reflects a growing global commitment to tackling the ransomware threat.”

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Amazon has just announced the new Fire HD 8 tablet and it has generative AI features built in. Even more exciting, however, is the news that older tablets dating back to as far as 2018 will get some AI tools, too.

Amazon’s AI tools are nothing groundbreaking, just your general writing tools and the ability to summarize webpages when using the Silk browser, but what’s really cool is the company’s approach to making AI accessible, unlike some of its competitors.

Amazon’s Writing Assist (proofreading, rewriting, etc) and Wallpaper Creator, which generates a wallpaper from a prompt, are coming to the Fire Max 11 (2023), Fire HD 10 (2023), and Fire HD (2022, 2024) later this month.

Webpage Summaries will be available on the Fire Max 11 (2023), Fire HD 10 (2019, 2021, 2023), and Fire HD 8 (2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024). That means if you’ve got an older Fire HD tablet from 2018, you can still take advantage of AI, a stark contrast to Apple’s Apple Intelligence approach, which only allows AI features like summaries on newer devices.

AI tools for everyone

In Amazon’s launch video for the new Fire HD 8 (see above), the company showcased the AI features and they work exactly as you’d expect from generative AI on a 2024 tablet. Writing Assist lets you pick a tone of voice, rewrite, and proofread in apps such as Notes and Messages. Wallpaper Creator looks similar to the best AI image generators with the ability to create a wallpaper for your tablet from just a text prompt. It's pretty cool although you’ll probably only use it once. Last but not least, Webpage Summaries enables you to quickly break down an online article into the most important information, which makes it a handy tool for quickly browsing the web.

The 2024 tablet has 3GB RAM for the 32GB model and 4GB RAM for the 64GB model, 50% more than the 2022 model in order to process these AI features with ease.

If you want to access these new Amazon AI tools but don’t own an older Fire HD 8, you can pick up the 2024 model right now for £49.99/$54.99 in an early Amazon Prime Big Deal Days offer. Amazon Prime Big Deal Days takes place on October 8 and 9, following the event the Fire HD 8 (2024) will return to its £99.99/$99.99 RRP.

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We're still some three months out from the expected launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, and it's likely that by then we'll know just about everything there is to know about these phones, with images of a new Galaxy S25 dummy unit the latest leaks to appear.

These dummy units get built based on schematic information supplied to case and accessory manufacturers, so they can prep their products ahead of time, and the new images come courtesy of tipster @xleaks7 and VeePN.

We recently saw a Galaxy S25 Ultra dummy unit from the same source, but this time there's not as much to talk about. A quick comparison with the photos in our Samsung Galaxy S24 review will tell you that very little appears to be changing, design-wise.

There are some dimensions included: 146.94 x 70.46 x 7.25mm, which would make the new phone ever so slightly shorter, narrower, and thinner than the model that was unveiled at the start of 2024.

The rumors so far

EXCLUSIVE: The smallest (and possibly the last!) one in the S series - #SamsungGalaxyS25 More details + video + dimensions: https://t.co/9BdpGQDV9DEnjoy! & follow for more content! pic.twitter.com/iDzmeYrNUbOctober 3, 2024

The rumors and leaks we've seen around the Samsung Galaxy S25 have been something of a mixed bag so far. Unofficial renders that appeared last month match the dummy unit that just leaked, suggesting that not much is changing in the way of the design.

That said, we have heard that the screen size could jump up from 6.2 inches diagonally to 6.36 inches. As for the internals, an extra 4GB of RAM has been mooted, taking it up to 12GB, and it should come with a significant performance boost too.

One of the more surprising rumors we've seen so far is that Samsung might ditch the Galaxy S25 Plus to focus sales on the other two models. On the other hand, perhaps it's the base model that's getting canned, as has been rumored for the Galaxy S26 series.

Less encouragingly, we've heard that the Galaxy S25 will use exactly the same cameras as the Galaxy S24, and that the whole phone series will get a price hike next year. All should be revealed in January, if Samsung sticks to its 2024 schedule in 2025.

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