TechRadar News

• AWS and Orbital want carbon-negative data centers by end of 2025
• Carbon removal costs are estimated at $0.20 per GPU hour
• Orbital’s AI model Orb will debut on AWS platforms

AWS and Orbital Materials have announced a partnership using generative AI to boost data center sustainability and efficiency.

The partnership will focus on developing new materials for carbon removal, chip cooling, and water utilization within AWS data centers.

Traditional material development has relied on lengthy trial-and-error processes in laboratories, but Orbital Materials says its own generative AI platform can allow rapid design, synthesis, and testing of advanced materials.

Generative AI transforms materials discovery for faster, efficient innovation

Since establishing its lab in early 2024, Orbital says it has achieved a tenfold improvement in material performance, showcasing unprecedented speed in materials discovery.

The company's first product, a proprietary carbon removal material for direct air capture (DAC) has captured AWS's interest, allowing Orbital to develop a DAC system designed to operate within data centers, repurposing waste heat to drive carbon removal, and significantly reducinges scope 3 emissions, aligning with AWS’s sustainability goals.

Data centers are critical to powering modern technology but are also significant energy consumers with complex carbon footprints. Through the partnership, AWS aims to integrate Orbital’s DAC system into its data centers, demonstrating a full-scale pilot by the end of 2025.

Orbital estimates its material could achieve carbon negativity for renewable-powered data centers for $0.20 per GPU per hour, a small fraction of current GPU usage costs, which range from $2 to $10 per hour. The potential economic viability of this technology could pave the way for scalable adoption across the cloud computing industry, enabling AWS and others to mitigate environmental impacts.

As part of the partnership, Orbital’s generative AI model, Orb, will become available to AWS customers through Amazon SageMaker JumpStart and AWS Marketplace. Orb is the first AI-for-materials model on AWS platforms and will enable researchers and businesses to simulate and develop advanced materials more efficiently. Applications for Orb extend beyond carbon removal and include technologies like semiconductors, batteries, and electronics.

To support its AI advancements, Orbital will pre-train and fine-tune its foundation models on Amazon SageMaker HyperPod, AWS’s purpose-built infrastructure for large-scale distributed training. Additionally, Orbital plans to evaluate the deployment of AWS Trainium, a custom silicon designed to optimize the cost performance of deep learning workloads.

“Our partnership with AWS will accelerate the deployment of our advanced technologies for data center decarbonization and efficiency. Working with the market-leading AWS team will ensure that our suite of products in cooling, water utilization and carbon removal enables the next generation of data centers powering the AI revolution,” said Jonathan Godwin, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbital Materials

Howard Gefen, General Manager of AWS Energy & Utilities said "AWS looks forward to collaborating with Orbital and their mission to drive data center decarbonization. Through Amazon SageMaker HyperPod and AWS Trainium, we can accelerate the development of breakthrough sustainability technologies."

"By integrating Orb with Amazon SageMaker JumpStart and AWS Marketplace, we will enable sustainable innovation more widely. Together, we have the opportunity to set new benchmarks for carbon removal and efficiency across the industry," Gefen concluded.

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• Google CEO Sundar Pichai is teasing that Gemini could one day feature advertisements.
• It tracks as Google is pretty crafty at inserting ads into most of its offerings
• You can already see hints of ads in AI overviews in Google Search

Google’s Gemini AI might not have ads today, but let’s be real: the idea that Google is looking to bring advertising to AI assistants is hardly surprising. Google has spent decades fine-tuning the art of turning eyeballs into revenue, and Gemini may be next in line, according to CEO Sundar Pichai. During Alphabet’s latest investor call, Pichai gave a not-so-subtle hint that while you can use Gemini for free or pay for a subscription to extra features, advertising will likely come along to boost the company's bottom line in some way.

Google Gemini doesn't have banner ads popping up mid-conversation at the moment, but it doesn't take much imagination to picture a time when ads will support the free version of Gemini, and the premium subscription will count its lack of advertisements as one of its perks. It makes sense. AI isn’t cheap to run, and Google has already announced plans to spend $75 billion this year to keep up in the AI race. That kind of money doesn’t grow on trees; it grows on ad revenue.

"On the monetization side, obviously, for now, we are focused on a free tier and subscriptions. But obviously, as you've seen in Google over time, we always want to lead with user experience. And we do have very good ideas for native ad concepts, but you'll see us lead with the user experience," Pichai said during the call. "But I do think we're always committed to making the products work and reach billions of users at scale. And advertising has been a great aspect of that strategy. And so, just like you've seen with YouTube, we'll give people options over time."

Ads AI

If you want a preview of how ads might sneak into Gemini, just look at Google’s AI Overviews. These AI-generated search summaries are already discreetly inserting sponsored results. Search for “best ways to remove grass stains,” and in the AI-generated blurb, you might see a nice little link to buy a specific detergent. It's not exactly subtle. Google has spent years mastering the art of blending ads into everyday searches, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t do the same with its AI chatbot.

Ads through AI are not a unique Google idea, of course. Microsoft has been playing with ads in its Copilot AI chatbot, as has Perplexity with its sponsored follow-up questions. Amazon has pursued something similar, albeit in reverse, by making its Rufus AI chatbot also offer sponsored suggestions for purchases.

If Gemini starts recommending products based on your conversations, will you still want to converse with the AI? Mid-chat sponsored messages might annoy anyone into opting out, but maybe you'll be okay with an ad at the bottom of your chat window. The only thing more inevitable than ads from Google in Gemini is that the company will claim the ads will "enhance the user experience.”

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• Apple showed off a robot lamp in a new research paper
• The work here may hint at future product plans, and expression is front and center
• The robot lamp prototype reminds us of Pixar and Disney

There have been plenty of rumors of Apple working on internal robotic projects, most notably a tabletop robot that could potentially move around and have a screen similar to an iPad, as Bloomberg reported. But thanks to a new research paper published by Apple, we now have the first look at a robot built by the company, and it’s downright cute.

In simpler terms, Apple has a robotic lamp that evokes major Pixar Luxo Jr. vibes, and I’d be super-happy to see it eventually come to market. Even at this early stage, it’s a much more playful and fun approach to robotics. Still, though, this is a prototype in a research paper from Apple Machine Learning, so it is still far from being something you can walk into a store and purchase.

The robot lamp is shown off in a video in a research paper titled “ELEGNT: Expressive and Functional Movement Design for Non-Anthropomorphic Robot.” It’s authored by Yuhan Hu, Peide Huang, Mouli Sivapurapu, and Jian Zhang.

That title certainly shows Apple's thoughtful approach to robotics. It wants the robot to be expressive, similar to a human. This approach is akin to that of Anki’s Vector and Cozmo robots or the animated faces associated with Amazon’s Astro – still an invite-only robot.

In the video, you can see how the robot is both expressive and functional, allowing it to interact with the researcher and follow instructions from what appears to be gestures. At one point, it’s asked to move over via a finger flick and responds. Apple’s goal, or at least that of this research team, wants it to be an elegant robot, one that is inviting – important for a device that will be in the home – expressive and ultimately functional.

At one point, almost leaning into Apple’s movements in the health space, it reminds a user to drink water by nudging the glass closer. It’s really cool, and watching the full video – it’s only four minutes and forty-six seconds long – is well worth it.

As a Disney and Pixar fan, I find the vibe seriously similar to that of the fun-loving, sometimes mischievous Luxo Jr. lamp we all know. The lamp seemingly does more than move or illuminate, though. In one scene, it’s shown moving along with an assistant playing a response – likely Siri – so it might have a speaker built-in. In another, it projects a video onto a wall to help with a project the researcher is conducting.

The opening where the lamp comes to life, swinging around, knocking over blocks, and performing a delightful wiggle is simply great. While this doesn’t give exact information on what a future product might look like, it does give us a first glimpse at a robot prototype made by Apple, and that certainly adds a bit more credence to a potential device.

(Image credit: Apple)

It also shows how Apple is thinking about a device that could be used daily in more one-to-one interactions with people, and there’s a certain amount of care that goes into that. Apple’s ELEGNT is way less dystopian and more fun and welcoming, which is a better way to think about the future.

Apple writes in the research paper, “Nonverbal behaviors such as posture, gestures, and gaze are essential for conveying internal states, both consciously and unconsciously, in human interaction. For robots to interact more naturally with humans, robot movement design should likewise integrate expressive qualities—such as intention, attention, and emotions—alongside traditional functional considerations like task fulfillment, spatial constraints, and time efficiency.”

It’s clear that’s at the top of Apple's mind, and that very well could be a major differentiator for Apple in a space that is increasingly being billed with robots of all sorts. You can see the research paper in full from Apple Machine Learning Research here.

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• Rollable displays could transform retail advertising strategies
• Transparent microLEDs could enhance car dash displays
• MicroLED TV prices could be reduced from current $100,000 tag

MicroLED displays, renowned for their superior brightness, efficiency, and lifespan, have long held promise for helping advancing the display industry.

Foldable phones have already revolutionized the smartphone industry, but making them any bigger has long held problems, leaving businesses in industries such as retail, healthcare, and automotive searching for scalable solutions.

Now though, Smartkem, a leader in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), is addressing these challenges through collaboration with AUO, Taiwan’s largest display manufacturer, with the companies aiming to develop the world’s first rollable, transparent microLED display.

MicroLED production with OTFT technology

Smartkem’s OTFT technology enables processing at temperatures as low as 80°C - significantly lower than the industry standard of 300°C. Smartkem’s transistors can be fabricated directly on top of microLEDs, eliminating costly and complex processes such as mass transfer and laser welding, which have hindered scalability and affordability in microLED manufacturing.

The company’s approach also introduces a “Chip-First” display architecture, leveraging low-cost, flexible, and transparent plastic substrates instead of rigid glass, allowing the production of dynamic display solutions such as rollable signage in retail, or lightweight, transparent displays in automotive dashboards.

This project commenced in January 2024, and received a grant from the Taiwan-UK Research & Development Collaboration, funded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Innovate UK. The development will utilize ITRI’s Gen 2.5 assembly line, underscoring the advanced capabilities of both Smartkem and AUO in producing next-generation displays.

“We believe that collaborating with global display industry leader AUO to develop a novel microLED display puts Smartkem’s technology on the frontier of microLED display commercialization," noted Ian Jenks, Smartkem Chairman and CEO.

"Our unique transistor technology is expected to enable display manufacturers to efficiently produce microLED displays, making mass production commercially viable. Smartkem’s technology has the potential to take today’s microLED TVs from high end market prices of $100,000 down to mass market prices."

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• Leica has revealed a new MagSafe camera grip for iPhones
• The LUX Grip has physical controls like a shutter button and settings dial
• It costs $329 / £260 (around AU$515) and comes with other limitations

As a photographer and TechRadar's former cameras editor my main criticism of the best camera phones has always been their handling – they're still just no fun to shoot with. Leica has now joined a growing number of camera grip accessories that aim to fix that, but some unfortunate drawbacks have dented the new LUX Grip's appeal.

At first glance, the LUX Grip looks like a great addition to any MagSafe iPhone (which includes any model from the iPhone 12 onwards). It manages to look both stylish and functional, with a tube-like design that can naturally be flipped to suit both right- and left-handed shooters. It's so nicely designed I can even forgive Leica calling it "the perfect symbiosis between Leica and iPhone".

Like the best mirrorless cameras, there's a mechanical two-stage shutter release (almost certainly better than the iPhone 16's flawed Camera Control), among other controls. Those include a settings dial, plus two customizable function buttons for those who like to shoot in manual. As much as I like the idea of Apple's Camera Control button, physical controls make way more sense on something like the LUX Grip than an 8mm-thick glass slab.

But then come those frustrating drawbacks. Firstly, and most annoyingly, the LUX Grip is only compatible with Leica's own LUX app. That's right, you can't use it with Apple's own Camera app (or any of the other best camera apps), unlike alternatives like the ShiftCam ProGrip or Fjorden Grip. Leica actually now owns Fjorden, so you'd have thought it'd follow suit with its compatibility, but strangely, it did not.

That wouldn't be so bad, but the Leica LUX app only offers basic features before requiring a subscription. Okay, you get a one-year Pro subscription to the app when you buy the LUX Grip, but beyond that, it needs a hefty monthly fee to unlock the full functionality you'd need when buying a grip that is this expensive.

Lastly, there's the price. Surely a phone accessory that costs $329 / £260 (around AU$515) should unlock longer or unlimited access to an app that costs $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$9.99 a month? I get that this is Leica, and the app does have some fascinating features (like computationally recreating classic Leica lenses). Still, these all feel like unnecessary barriers to what is otherwise a compelling accessory.

There is still something here

(Image credit: Leica)

The Leica LUX Grip might be blighted by frustrating drawbacks, but I think Leica is onto something here – and there's a chance it could still open the brand up to a whole new audience if it changes tack a little.

I've been fascinated by the idea of smartphones computationally replicating the look of classic camera lenses since portrait modes started maturing to today's levels. Of course, this is dangerous territory for most camera giants, who still want to sell us real cameras and lenses, but Leica is easily in the best position to experiment.

Like Ferrari, the German brand operates in a world that's almost entirely detached from the market realities that others have to negotiate. Leica camera buyers are also in a different Venn diagram from anyone who'd buy the LUX Grip, which is why the artificial barriers like limited third-party app compatibility and pricey app subscriptions feel a bit unnecessary.

I'm sure Leica could make a camera grip like this with a lower price tag and a multi-year app subscription that gives people who'd never buy a Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 lens a taste of its vintage magic on their iPhone. Exclusivity is part of the Leica brand, and perhaps I've underestimated the development costs of the LUX Grip and app, but if they could be nudged in a more affordable direction, I could still see them in my iPhone's future.

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Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, February 6 (game #1109).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1110) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1110) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1110) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1110) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1110) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• P

• A

• A

• C

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1110) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1110, are…

• PETAL
• ABASE
• AMONG
• CORER

It could not have been closer for me today after I wobbled between two words – PETAL and AMONG – and got both wrong (although I got very close with Metal).

CORER gave me Quordle deja-vu, as it featured just over a month ago in the January 4th puzzle (a particularly tricky day that also included CRATE, QUASI and EXIST).

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1110) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1110, are…

• EGRET
• LOGIN
• WITTY
• MORPH

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1109, Thursday 6 February: MADAM, SCAMP, FAUNA, TRACK
• Quordle #1108, Wednesday 5 February: SIXTH, VERVE, BLURB, CACTI
• Quordle #1107, Tuesday 4 February: BIRTH, DRAWN, MILKY, JOIST
• Quordle #1106, Monday 3 February: SLEET, TENSE, SEIZE, SCAMP
• Quordle #1105, Sunday 2 February: LOUSY, PENNE, CHUMP, SALVE
• Quordle #1104, Saturday 1 February: FACET, BLISS, FLUFF, FRANK
• Quordle #1103, Friday 31 January: PARER, SYNOD, BRAWN, BANJO
• Quordle #1102, Thursday 30 January: WEEDY, CHIRP, STALE, SUGAR
• Quordle #1101, Wednesday 29 January: CROWN, SCENE, AGILE, CRANK
• Quordle #1100, Tuesday 28 January: TOKEN, DAISY, INANE, PLIED
• Quordle #1099, Monday 27 January: ANGEL, GLOBE, MAYOR, BRAVE
• Quordle #1098, Sunday 26 January: WATER, ORBIT, BRIDE, TOUCH
• Quordle #1097, Saturday 25 January: GIVER, GROOM, GUSTO, MAKER
• Quordle #1096, Friday 24 January: GRIND, STOCK, SERVE, TOUCH
• Quordle #1095, Thursday 23 January: RUGBY, SASSY, WORRY, BANAL
• Quordle #1094, Wednesday 22 January: SLANT, TRUNK, WOOZY, EATEN
• Quordle #1093, Tuesday 21 January: CHART, VIGOR, PRINT, SPAWN
• Quordle #1092, Monday 20 January: SIXTY, THONG, TATTY, ROBIN
• Quordle #1091, Sunday 19 January: WREST, RINSE, SCOUR, CANNY
• Quordle #1090, Saturday 18 January: BLARE, ITCHY, BICEP, PIPER

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, February 6 (game #340).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #341) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… A flair for fashion

NYT Strands today (game #341) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• QUITE
• THEN
• TANG
• BLING
• CLASS
• DINE

NYT Strands today (game #341) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Sewing add-ons

NYT Strands today (game #341) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 7th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #341) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #341, are…

• EMBROIDERY
• LACE
• FRINGE
• TASSEL
• SEQUINS
• SPANGRAM: CLOTHING ACCENTS

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 hint

A lovely Strands today with a rare long word that I can actually spell – EMBROIDERY.

Depending on your taste, all of the CLOTHING ACCENTS in today’s puzzle either power-up a garment to another level of glam or destroy a perfectly decent piece of clothing.

Personally, I’m all for pimping clothes and have spent many a happy hour with my daughters sewing and sticking sequins onto anything they wanted them added to – from hats to socks. And then many years afterwards, after dreams of becoming a mermaid have long faded, finding random sequins under furniture like finding pine needles in the month after Christmas.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, 6 February, game #340)

• FRANK
• WILL
• DREW
• MILES
• CHASE
• CHUCK
• ROBIN
• JIMMY
• SPANGRAM: FIRST NAMES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, February 6 (game #606).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #607) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• BLUE
• VELVET
• RUN
• TIRE
• LEAD
• BALLOON
• ERASER
• HEAD
• BULL
• LAMP
• CROSS
• WISHES
• DIRECT
• GALOSH
• EARRING
• HERRING

NYT Connections today (game #607) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Bossing it
• GREEN: Bouncy material
• BLUE: Magically appear in an enchanted folktale
• PURPLE: Precede with a color

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #607) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: BE IN CHARGE OF
• GREEN: THINGS MADE OF RUBBER 
• BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH THE GENIE IN "ALADDIN" 
• PURPLE: RED -_ 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #607) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #607, are…

• YELLOW: BE IN CHARGE OF DIRECT, HEAD, LEAD, RUN
• GREEN: THINGS MADE OF RUBBER BALLOON, ERASER, GALOSH, TIRE
• BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH THE GENIE IN "ALADDIN" BLUE, EARRING, LAMP, WISHES
• PURPLE: RED -_ BULL, CROSS, HERRING, VELVET

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

It took me ages to get ASSOCIATED WITH THE GENIE IN "ALADDIN" – I had LAMP and WISHES, which I could have done with three of today, but it took me two mistakes before I solved it and got all four answers, even after landing the yellow and green groups.

A nice touch today to see a tribute to the late director David Lynch with two of his most famous films namechecked across four words – BLUE VELVET and ERASER HEAD .

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, 6 February, game #606)

• YELLOW: DELICATE FAINT, LIGHT, MILD, SOFT
• GREEN: MAGNANIMOUS GRAND, GREAT, LOFTY, NOBLE
• BLUE: THINGS WITH NECKS BOTTLE, GIRAFFE, GUITAR, LAMP
• PURPLE: FIRST NAMES IN JAZZ CAB, COUNT, DIZZY, DUKE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

• Apps delivering malware to users to steal crypto found on iOS app store
• Some of these apps have thousands of installs across iOS and Android
• The 'SparkCat' campaign has been active since March 2024

Crypto-stealing malware dubbed ‘SparkCat’ has been discovered on iOS and Android app stores, and is embedded with a ‘malicious SDK/framework for stealing recovery phrases for crypto wallets’.

A report from Kaspersky has identified malicious apps, some with upwards of 10,000 downloads, that scan the victims gallery to find keywords - if relevant images are found, they are then sent to a C2 server.

This is the first time a stealer has been found in Apple’s App store, and this is significant because Apple reviews every entry to ‘help provide a safe and trusted experience for users’ - so these malware-infected apps show that the review process is not as robust as it should be.

Although aimed at stealing cryptocurrency wallet recovery phrases, Kaspersky notes that the malware is ‘flexible enough’ to steal other sensitive data from victim’s galleries - here’s what we know.

Multiple malicious apps

The ‘SparkCat’ malware campaign was first discovered in late 2024, and is suspected to have been active since March 2024.

The first app Kaspersky identified was a Chinese food delivery app, ComeCome. The app had over 10,000 downloads and was based in Indonesia and the UAE. The app was embedded with malicious content, and contained OCR spyware which chose images from the infected devices to exfiltrate and send to the C2 server.

This wasn’t the only infected app though, and researchers found that infected apps available in Google Play had been downloaded a combined total of over 242,000 times. In 2024, over 2 million risky Android apps were blocked from the Play Store, including some which tried to push malware and spyware - so although Google is improving its protections, clearly some still make it through.

In the app store, some apps ‘appeared to be legitimate’, like the food delivery services, while others had apparently been built to ‘lure victims’. An example of this, researchers outlined, is a series of similar AI-featured ‘messaging apps’ by the same developer, including AnyGPT and WeTink.

It’s not clear whether these infections are deliberate actions by developers, or are a result of supply chain attacks, but the report does note that the “permissions that it requests may look like they are needed for its core functionality or appear harmless at first glance.”

“What makes this Trojan particularly dangerous is that there’s no indication of a malicious implant hidden within the app” Kaspersky adds.

Mitigating malware

If you have one of the infected apps installed on your device, Kaspersky of course recommends removing it and steering clear until a fix is released - the list of infected apps can be found here.

There is software that can help protect your device, like antivirus software - and as a key part of this malware in particular is the exfiltration of sensitive data through screenshots, the best advice is to avoid storing passwords, confidential documents, or sensitive information in your gallery.

Instead, check out the best password managers to securely store your information, as these present a much safer and convenient option to keeping your passwords in your photos. Make sure you don’t reuse passwords on multiple sites, and change your passwords regularly to avoid a breach.

There are some tricks to avoid malware apps, and considering that dangerous malware apps have been found to have been installed millions of times, it’s always best to be safe.

First of all, be wary of the warning signs. Go through the feedback and reviews - especially the negatives, as it's likely someone else will have already flagged a bug. Be very suspicious of an app which asks for your existing social media credentials - as this could be criminals looking to hijack your account.

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• A hiring company has reportedly left millions of CVs in a publicly accessible AWS bucket
• Foh&Boh has partnerships with leading food and hospitality services
• The dataset is now closed, but users may still be at risk

A dataset containing a staggering 5.4 million files has been discovered by researchers online, and is believed to be primarily CVs (resumes) from hiring giant Foh&Boh.

Researchers from CyberNews discovered the publicly accessible AWS bucket containing the exposed records, and after ‘multiple attempts to reach the company’, the dataset was closed.

It’s not clear whether malicious actors have accessed the dataset, but cybercriminals often have automated tools to scan the internet for unprotected instances, and immediately download them, so victims still face very real risks - here’s what we know so far.

Plenty of personal data

The hiring platform, Foh&Boh, aims to ‘find and recruit talent for the hospitality industry’, and partners with independent restaurants, franchises, hospitality groups, and ‘some of the world’s largest hotel chains. The platform boasts partnerships with industry giants like Nobu, Taco Bell, and KFC.

Of course, CVs contain personally identifiable information (PII), and the research team claims this leak includes full names, phone numbers, email addresses, social media links, and employment and education histories, among others.

The data was available online for a fairly significant period of time, with discovery on September 16, 2024, initial disclosure on October 22 2024, and the leak closed on January 8 2025.

This, like all data leaks, leaves those exposed in danger. Primarily, the concern is identity theft, especially since a CV hands over a comprehensive set of personal details over to potential attackers.

“The leak significantly heightens the risk of identity theft, enabling cybercriminals to create synthetic identities or fraudulent accounts, leaving individuals exposed to a range of sophisticated cyberattacks,” the researchers said.

This might sound familiar to some, as just two days ago on the February 4 2025, a large dataset containing over a million CVs stored by Valley News Live was discovered, so it's a pretty lousy week for jobseekers.

Data breaches have unfortunately become a part of life for anyone on the web. In 2024, one single breach leaked the details of 100 million Americans (although the total is now reported at 190 million - so almost 75% of US adults) - which just shows that no-one is safe.

Also a risk with breached credentials, is social engineering attacks. These commonly come in the form of phishing campaigns, and are designed around the information hackers have obtained, often appearing to know the victim personally or preying on people in difficult financial situations by offering ‘get rich quick’ scams.

“Attackers could craft highly personalized emails referencing specific job details or interests from the resumes, making their phishing attempts ever more convincing” the researchers said. “This targeted approach could deceive candidates more easily, exposing them to further risks.”

How to stay safe

To protect yourself from the risk of identity theft, it’s crucial to keep a close eye on all of your accounts. Monitoring your cards, statements, and transactions for any suspicious activity means that you can quickly identify any issues.

If a service you use has suffered a data breach, make sure you change your password - and probably your passwords to any site that would hold sensitive information. If you’d like some tips on how to choose a secure password, we’ve listed some here.

In short, include capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters - and never reuse a password, especially for sites that carry important information like health or financial data.

If that all seems a little overwhelming, we’ve tested out all the best password managers and the best password generators to simplify the process.

Phishing attacks are most commonly delivered in the form of emails, so be very cautious of any email that urges you to take action, or one which rushes you to click a link or download a file.

Double check any domain names and email addresses, like supp0rt@google instead of support@google, as this is a big indicator that something may not be right.

We’ve made a comprehensive guide on how to spot a phishing email for anyone who wants to make sure they're wise to scammer’s tricks.

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• Windows 10 ESU will be available from November 2025 for three years
• It’ll cost $61 per year, with prices doubling annually thereafter
• Windows 10 is still preferred over Windows 11 by many users

With the official Windows 10 end of life deadline months away, Microsoft is still hoping users will opt to upgrade to its flagship OS, Windows 11, but it has also issued a series of notes detailing how users can continue to use the older software.

A newly-updated support document from the company has detailed the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, including costs and eligibility.

Microsoft promises its ESU will continue to provide “critical and important security updates” for a period after Windows 10 loses support - but this will come at the expense of an annual subscription.

Windows 10 ESU details revealed

In the post, Microsoft revealed devices running Windows 10 22H2 will be eligible to participate in the ESU program, but stressed this would only include important security updates and not new features, non-security updates, design change requests or general support.

Users can enrol on the ESU program via the Microsoft Volume Licensing Program, and it’ll cost $61 per device for cover between November 2025 and November 2026. From thereon in, costs will double annually, but ESU membership terminates after three years. In other words, Windows 10 fans can buy themselves another three years of safe usage before they’re ultimately forced to run a potentially insecure OS or upgrade to Windows 11.

The company also added ESUs are cumulative, so you’ll need to have bought year one before upgrading to year two. If you decide at the start of the second year to get security updates, you’ll be able to join retrospectively by paying for the previous year’s coverage.

“Windows 10 PCs will continue to work, but we recommend customers upgrade eligible PCs to Windows 11 using Windows Autopatch, Microsoft Intune, or transition to a new Windows 11 PC for the best, most secure computing experience," the company added.

The rose among the thorns is that Windows 10 virtual machines running in Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop will get Extended Security Updates free of charge.

However, even Microsoft’s best efforts haven’t deterred users from opting to stay on Windows 10 – the nearly-deprecated operating system accounts for 60% of all Windows installs (via Statcounter). Still, Windows 11 adoption has increased slowly in recent months to a 37% market share.

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• A new discovery highlights Microsoft's efforts in improving privacy while in incognito mode on Chrome
• The clipboard history is no longer saved on Cloud Clipboard
• Media previews of content viewed in incognito are hidden

Microsoft has been under pressure from many PC users (including myself) lately due to the litany of issues that Windows 11 24H2 has introduced - but for once it seems to have done something I, and others, approve of.

As highlighted by Windows Latest, one of Microsoft's previous updates disabled Google Chrome from saving clipboard history when browsing in incognito mode on both Windows 11 and Windows 10. It was previously possible to copy your content to the Cloud Clipboard, which allows you to cut and paste across devices on the same Google account, but this negated what incognito mode is used for.

While Chrome is Google's software, it didn't stop Microsoft from stepping in to make this change. If you're copying sensitive private data, it's not entirely ideal for users, especially since it's easy to forget you've done so.

The update also applies to viewing videos while in incognito on Chrome - normally, adjusting the volume from your keyboard (particularly on Windows 10) would display what content is being viewed with its title as a media preview. With this change, it now shows 'a site is playing media', making incognito work the way it's intended and allowing people to browse in privacy.

Now, just please fix Windows 11 24H2...

I'm pleased Microsoft has seemingly gone out of its way to ensure user privacy while using the clipboard - but I'm also hoping 24H2 can finally be rid of its issues soon.

I'm aware that it takes time to update and identify bugs , but I won't pretend it isn't frustrating when new patches seem to introduce new issues. Since it's clear Microsoft is slowly shifting its users away from Windows 10 for Windows 11, it's only right that the operating system is in top-tier shape.

For both desktop and handheld gaming PCs, we can only hope that this is the case - handheld PC gaming is quickly growing, and I'd hate to see more complaints and frustrations thrown around regarding Windows 11's functionality when Valve has SteamOS, which feels like it's getting more popular by the day...

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• DeepSeek’s V3 and R1 models are available through Huawei’s Ascend cloud service
• They are powered by the Ascend 910x accelerators banned in the US, EU and UK
• The pricing is much lower than offered by Azure and AWS who have started trialing DeepSeek

DeepSeek recently massively unsettled global markets with the launch of its open reasoning LLM, which was built and trained for a fraction of the cost of models from much larger US competitors, although OpenAI has since accused DeepSeek’s developers of using its models to train theirs.

A new paper had claimed DeepSeek’s V3 LLM was trained on a cluster of just 2,048 Nvidia H800 GPUs - crippled versions of the H100 designed to comply with US export restrictions to China. Rumors around DeepSeek’s newer reasoning model, R1, suggest it may have been trained on as many as 50,000 Nvidia “Hopper” GPUs, including H100, H800, and the newer H20, although DeepSeek hasn’t - and likely won’t - confirm this. If true, it raises serious questions about China’s access to advanced AI hardware despite ongoing trade restrictions, although it’s no secret there’s a thriving black market for advanced Nvidia AI hardware there.

Now, in a move that’s going to further shake Western firms, the South China Morning Post reports Huawei Technologies’ cloud computing unit has partnered with Beijing-based AI infrastructure start-up SiliconFlow to make DeepSeek’s models available to end users for an incredibly low price.

Powered by Huawei hardware

This collaboration, which was worked on during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, provides efficient, cost-effective access to DeepSeek’s V3 and R1 models through Huawei’s Ascend cloud service, which is powered by Huawei’s own homegrown solutions, including the controversial Ascend 910x accelerators which are banned in the US, UK and Europe.

Huawei has made no secret that it wants to become the Chinese Nvidia, and Huawei Cloud claims its performance levels are comparable to those of models running on premium global GPUs.

SiliconFlow, which hosts the DeepSeek models, has come out swinging with some aggressive pricing, offering it for 1 yuan (approximately US$0.13) per 1 million input tokens and 2 yuan for output tokens with V3, while R1 access is priced at 4 yuan and 16 yuan.

Microsoft added DeepSeek to its Azure AI Foundry a few days ago, and Amazon swiftly followed suit, adding the LLM to its AWS’ Bedrock managed service. AWS showcased the AI model using an ml.p5e.48xlarge instance, powered by eight Nvidia H200 GPUs delivering 1128GB of GPU memory. It’s early days for both cloud offerings though, and they work out much more expensive than SiliconFlow’s super-low pricing.

The collaboration between Huawei, SiliconFlow and DeepSeek highlights China’s broader strategy to strengthen its domestic AI capabilities while reducing reliance on Nvidia hardware.

The South China Morning Post notes, “The move to launch DeepSeek’s models on a homegrown hardware backbone highlights China’s progress in cutting dependency on foreign technology and bolstering its domestic AI industry amid growing efforts by the US to choke off China’s access to high-end chips that the US government said could be used to advance military aims.”

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• Disney Plus lost 700,00 subscribers this past quarter
• This is the first time the service has posted a quarterly subscriber drop
• But the service is making more revenue than ever

Disney Plus has lost 700,000 users since September 28, 2024, likely due to price increases and its password-sharing crackdown, but I have bad news for you: that’s not going to stop Disney from raising prices again. In fact, Disney’s tactics have been a complete success.

At first, it doesn’t look like a Disney win; after all, this would mark the first time it has posted a quarterly subscriber drop since the Disney Plus platform was launched. But this negative milestone isn’t significant when you get into the numbers.

Firstly, the platform now sits at 124.6 million users, down from 125.3 million, so 700,000 represents just over 0.5% of users leaving between its quarterly reports. Meanwhile, those price rises – which saw Disney Plus with ads go from $7.99 to $9.99 and the ad-free tier going up to $15.99 from $13.99 – represent a 25% and 14% hike, respectively, for each tier, so the remaining subscribers would more than cover the cost of people leaving.

(Image credit: AFM Visuals / Shutterstock.com)

But the real kicker for people hoping we could somehow convince Disney, Netflix, and the rest that price rises and password-sharing crackdowns are a bad idea is this: in researching this article, I found that Disney’s subscriber drop was from international Disney Plus users – not those in the US or Canada where these significant price hikes happened. In fact, US and Canada Disney Plus numbers rose by 800,000 this past quarter despite the hike.

So according to Disney’s earnings report, in the US and Canada, Disney Plus went from making an average of $431.2 million a month to $453.83 million, and overall, it went from $902.16 million to $940.73 million per month.

All this is to say, as loud as we all are about hating price hikes and not being able to share our passwords for free, companies are incentivized to keep doing it because, financially, it’s a clearly successful strategy. So even though Disney is expected to lose even more subscribers by its next quarterly report, don’t expect it to change course any time soon – and as much as I hate to say it, expect 2025 to include plenty more price hikes across the best streaming services, and more password sharing crackdowns too.

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• Workbooks announces the integration of advanced project management directly into its CRM
• The goal is to simplify project management, optimize team efficiency, and more
• The company has new project management tiers for newcomers

Workbooks, one of the best CRM providers, has announced the integration of advanced project management tools into its CRM platform. With this latest addition, the company aims to help businesses experience streamlined workflows, better resource allocation, and optimize revenue tracking.

In a press release shared with TechRadar yesterday, Workbooks explained how the project management tools enable businesses to simplify project and task management (things like assigning budgets, monitoring efforts, or tracking progress), optimize team efficiency (by viewing resource availability and thus balancing workloads for maximum productivity), and enhance financial oversight (by allowing businesses to monitor projected monthly revenue).

Workbooks will be offering two project management tiers for newcomers - Project Management Core, and Project Management Pro.

Core will offer functionalities such as task creation and tracking, resource and budget allocation, customizable dashboards, and real-time reporting.

The Pro tier will include multi-company management, multi-currency documents, and enhanced security measures.

Addressing business challenges

Existing customers will get the Advanced Projects add-on, which will offer “seamless integration” into current licenses, making sure businesses can scale capabilities while maintaining cost efficiency.

For Dan Roche, Chief Marketing Officer at Workbooks, the new offering means “cutting through the BS that customers are facing right now.”

”They’re having to manage multiple vendors and disparate systems, while usually not seeing the results they want,” he said. “By integrating CRM with advanced project management, we’re providing a single platform that provides a direct benefit to CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and the consultants/project managers at mid-size services businesses.”

Roche says that early adopters are already seeing “significant business benefit”, adding that the company is seeing “strong interest from other customers and prospects.”

According to data from the company’s website, Workbooks serves over 1,400 mid-market customers across 30 different countries. It employs approximately 80 people and has an estimated annual revenue of $11.3 million.

For more information, make sure to read our in-depth Workbooks review.

Comment from the expert

Long gone are the days of CRMs being used exclusively to store contact details and track deals. Although these are certainly still a crucial part of what makes a great CRM, now we are seeing the expansion of CRM capabilities to support multiple processes across business.

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Workbooks project management tools at a customer event last year. Talking to users, I found that the general consensus is that this will be a welcome addition, helping them minimize the time and resources spent on managing multiple business tools.

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The Google Pixel 9a could prove a compelling alternative to the Google Pixel 9, since this upcoming mid-ranger is likely to cost less, yet might not be much of a specs downgrade.

Nothing is known for certain yet, but the Pixel 9a has been extensively rumored, pointing to a phone with solid specs and a surprising redesign.

You’ll find everything we’ve heard about the Google Pixel 9a below, and we’ll update this article whenever we hear anything more.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next mid-range Pixel
• When is it out? Possibly March 19
• How much will it cost? Possibly $499 / £499 / AU$849

A March launch and an unchanged price

The Google Pixel 8a (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Reportedly landing on March 19
• The starting price might be the same as the Pixel 8a's

We can get quite specific about when the Pixel 9a might launch, as one source claims the phone will go up for pre-order on March 19.

Now, they don’t mention the actual announcement date, but given that the Google Pixel 8a went up for pre-order on the day of its announcement, there’s a good chance March 19 will be the announcement date too – if this source is right. They also claim that the Google Pixel 9a will start shipping on March 26.

Given how much we’ve now heard about the Pixel 9a, these imminent dates are believable, but it’s worth noting that the Pixel 8a didn’t launch until May of last year.

We also have an idea of how much the phone might cost, with one early Pixel 9a price leak pointing to a starting price of $499.

Since then, the same site reiterated that claim, but added some more details, saying that the $499 Pixel 9a model will have 128GB of storage, and that there will also be a 256GB version for $599.

If so, then the starting price – at least in the US – will be the same as that of the Pixel 8a. Assuming the price is the same elsewhere too, we’ll be looking at a starting price of £499 / AU$849.

However, $599 for 256GB would be $40 more than last year, which might mean a similar increase to perhaps around $599 / AU$999 elsewhere.

You will probably at least get some freebies thrown in with the phone though, with one leak saying the Pixel 9a will come with a six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium, a three-month subscription to the 100GB tier of Google One, and a three-month subscription to YouTube Premium.

Can you trust these rumors?

Given that the Pixel 8a only landed back in May, we’d take claims of a March launch with a pinch of salt, but as no sources disagree with this and the phone has extensively leaked, it’s believable.

We’re also inclined to believe the starting price might not increase – at least in the US, though until more sources chime in we can’t be at all sure.

Bigger and lighter, with a questionable redesign

The Google Pixel 8a (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• The Pixel 9a could have a 6.3-inch 120Hz screen
• Its cameras might look very different to the Pixel 8a's
• It could be lighter than the current model

We first got a look at the possible Google Pixel 9a design back in August, with photos of what’s likely a prototype unit.

These images – which you can see below – show a very different camera design to either the Pixel 8a or the Pixel 9. The camera bar of those phones is gone, and replaced by a glossy, almost flat ring around the lenses.

It’s not a design we love but it’s one we may well be getting, because since then we’ve seen photos of another Pixel 9a prototype and some Pixel 9a renders, all of which you can see below, and all of which show this same design.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: @VNchocoTaco)Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: @feni_book)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Android Headlines / @OnLeaks)

These subsequent images also gave us a closer look at the front of the phone, though not as much has changed there, with this having a flat screen and a punch-hole selfie camera.

We’ve also heard that the Pixel 9a might have dimensions of 154.7 x 73.2 x 8.9mm, which would make it slightly taller and wider than the 152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9mm Pixel 8a. Does that mean the Pixel 9a will have a bigger screen? Quite possibly, because another source agrees with those dimensions, and adds that the Pixel 9a’s display will be 6.3 inches – up from 6.1 inches on the Pixel 8a.

This second source adds that it will unsurprisingly be a 120Hz display, and that the Pixel 8a will weigh 186g, which is slightly surprising as the supposedly smaller Pixel 8a is a little heavier at 188g.

Finally on the design front, we’ve also heard that the Pixel 9a’s colors might include Porcelain (off-white), Obsidian (black), Peony (pink), and Iris (bluish-purple). Of those, only Iris would be particularly new for the Pixel line.

Can you trust these rumors?

Given how many sources have shared images of the Pixel 9a, we’d say it’s likely that this is the design we’ll see.

The dimensions are also probably accurate, since again they come from multiple sources, and as that makes the phone bigger than its predecessor it’s likely to also have a larger screen.

The colors and weight we’re less sure of though until we hear the same from other sources.

A new camera

The Google Pixel 8a (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Could have a new 48MP main sensor
• The other cameras might be unchanged

From the various leaked images we’ve seen it’s looking likely that the Google Pixel 9a will have a dual-lens camera, and beyond that, one source has claimed that the Pixel 9a will have a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultra-wide one, along with a 13MP front-facing snapper.

The Pixel 8a also has 13MP ultra-wide and selfie cameras, so those sensors might be the same, but that phone has a 64MP main camera. In other words then, the main camera here might be upgraded, or at least changed.

Can you trust these rumors?

As only one source has spoken about the camera specs so far, we’d take them with a pinch of salt, but we’re almost certain that the Pixel 9a will have a dual-lens camera.

A Tensor G4 and a big battery

The Google Pixel 8a (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Likely to be equipped with a Tensor G4
• The battery could be 5,000mAh

According to one source, the Google Pixel 9a will have a Tensor G4 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM and a choice of 128GB or 256GB of storage. Another source has also claimed the Pixel 9a will have that chipset, which is no surprise, as the rest of the Pixel 9 line uses a Tensor G4. Those RAM and storage amounts would be the same as the Pixel 8a though, so there might not be any upgrades on that front.

That second source also claims to expect seven years of Android updates, and we’ve heard that the Pixel 9a might have a 5,000mAh battery with 18W wired and 7.5W wireless charging.

Those are the same charging speeds as the Pixel 8a, and a little lower than the Pixel 9, but at 5,000mAh its battery would be bigger than either of those phones.

Can you trust these rumors?

The Pixel 9a will almost certainly use a Tensor G4 chipset, since its predecessor uses the Tensor G3. Most of these other claims are believable too but we’re a bit skeptical that it will have a 5,000mAh battery, since leaks suggest it will be lighter than the Pixel 8a, and a bigger battery is sure to add some weight.

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• Let's Encrypt will halt certificate expiration emails from June 2025
• It says most users have automated renewals anyway
• Move will also see organization will delete millions of email addresses from its database

Let’s Encrypt has revealed it will no longer notify website administrators when their SSL/TLS certificates are about to expire. While this sounds like trouble - it actually seems to be a good thing.

The news was confirmed by the company’s executive director and co-founder, Josh Aas, in a blog post noting email notifications will stop going out on June 4, 2025, citing four key reasons. The first one is that a growing majority of subscribers have automated certificate renewal, reliably, rendering the service somewhat obsolete.

The second reason is to cut down on costs - providing expiration notifications costs the organization “tens of thousands of dollars per year,” Aas said, adding that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Protecting user privacy

“Providing expiration notifications adds complexity to our infrastructure, which takes time and attention to manage and increases the likelihood of mistakes being made,” he said in the article. “Over the long term, particularly as we add support for new service components, we need to manage overall complexity by phasing out system components that can no longer be justified.”

However, the fourth reason is particularly interesting, since it essentially protects user privacy. Sending out email notifications also means that the organization needs to retain millions of email addresses connected to issuance records. “As an organization that values privacy, removing this requirement is important to us.”

In other words, Let’s Encrypt will delete millions of email addresses from its database, reducing the risk of those emails being snatched by a threat actor.

For those who would like to continue getting email notifications, Let’s Encrypt suggests using a third-party service such as Red Sift Certificates Lite, which is free for up to 250 certificates.

Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority (CA) that provides SSL/TLS certificates to websites. It helps encrypt web traffic, ensuring secure connections between users and websites (HTTPS).

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• Veeam finds security bug plaguing a number of its products
• The bug allows threat actors to run arbitrary commands
• Patches are already available, so users are instructed to update now

Multiple Veeam Backup products were found carrying a critical severity vulnerability that allowed malicious actors to run arbitrary commands on compromised endpoints.

The company said the vulnerability was discovered in the Veeam Updater component, allowing threat actors to run man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, executing arbitrary codes with root-level permissions. It is now tracked as CVE-2025-23114, and comes with a severity score of 9.0/10 (critical).

Multiple products are vulnerable, including Veeam Backup for Salesforce (3.1 and older), for Nutanix AHV (5.0 and 5.1), for AWS (6a and 7), for Microsoft Azure (5a and 6), for Google Cloud (4 and 5), and Veeam Backup for Oracle Linux Virtualization manager and Red Hat Virtualization (3, 4.0, and 4.1).

Patches and risks

The patches are already available, so users are advised to update their products to the newest version to mitigate potential risks. A full list of patches can be found on this link.

Veeam also stressed that not everyone is vulnerable: "If a Veeam Backup & Replication deployment is not protecting AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Nutanix AHV, or Oracle Linux VM/Red Hat Virtualization, such a deployment is not impacted by the vulnerability," it said.

Veeam’s solutions are popular among SMBs and enterprises, and as such are often targeted. In mid-October last year, researchers warned of cybercriminals abusing a vulnerability in Veeam Backup & Replication, tracked as CVE-2024-40711. This bug allowed them to create a local account which they subsequently used to deploy two ransomware variants: Fog and Akira.

The researchers observed a handful of attack attempts. Admins were advised to upgrade to the latest version to mitigate the risk of exploitation.

Via The Hacker News

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• Invincible season 3's first three episodes are out now on Prime Video
• This season's third episode adapts a hugely significant Oliver Grayson moment from the comics
• The R-rated show's take on this key event left me with mixed feelings

Invincible season 3 has taken flight on Prime Video – and, out of everything that transpires in its first three episodes, there's one hugely important moment that I keep coming back to for a myriad reasons.

The incident in question takes place in this season's third chapter, titled 'You Want a Real Costume, Right?', and revolves around a graphically violent coming-of-age situation for Oliver Grayson. If you've watched Invincible's latest episodes, you'll know exactly what moment I'm referring to.

There'll be some of you, though, who haven't, so this is your one and only warning: Full spoilers immediately follow for season 3 episode 3 and the graphic novel series that it's based on, so turn back now if you'll be streaming them at a later date (bookmark this page, though, and come back once you've seen episode 3 and/or read the comics).

You can't save everyone, Mark... (Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios/Prime Video)

If you're still here and have watched episode 3, you won't need reminding that the half-brother of Mark Grayson, aka the adult animated show's eponymous hero, makes his first kill during that chapter of the best Prime Videos' third season. Or, rather, first two kills, because he murders the villainous Mauler Twins after they break into a missile silo with the view to launching a nuclear warhead to destroy Earth's satellite system. You see, the Maulers want to own the planet's communications network – wrecking the one that's currently in place means every nation will need to pay them in order to send messages to each other.

That's what they're hoping for, anyway, until Mark and Oliver arrive to *ahem* save the day. But, when the Maulers successfully launch their nuke, Mark is forced to fly after it to stop it. That leaves Oliver alone to deal with the Mauler Twins.

That's where things take a turn for the worse. After they knock Oliver about a bit and then goad him for being a little dweeb, the Maulers find out just how powerful Mark's younger sibling is. He breaks one of the twins' jaws, flies right through his other foe's abdomen (which kills him instantly), and then, despite the broken jawed Mauler surrendering, Oliver smashes his head in with such force that he decapitates the remaining Mauler.

Oliver Grayson #INVINCIBLE #INVINCIBLESeason3 pic.twitter.com/kFotkn1pG6February 6, 2025

It's not only an incredibly shocking and ultraviolent moment in the comics and Amazon's TV adaptation, but also proves how sociopathic and psychopathic Oliver is. Indeed, his insatiable bloodlust, obvious disregard for the Maulers' lives, and clear incomprehension at what he's just done are all traits that his and Mark's father – Nolan Grayson, aka the now-disgraced Viltrumite warrior known as Omni-Man – displayed in abundance throughout Invincible's first season.

Surprising no-one, Mark is absolutely furious when, after stopping the nuke, returns to Earth to find out Oliver has murdered the Maulers. The fact that he has to hear it second hand from Global Defence Agency (GDA) director Cecil Stedman, who becomes the latest person to betray Mark (in Mark's mind, anyway) in season 3's early episodes, doesn't help, either. Long story short: Mark whisks Oliver away to scold him for executing the Maulers in cold blood.

Until this point, Invincible season 3 has performed a near-perfect adaptation of how this scenario plays out in the graphic novels. Once Mark and Oliver are alone, though, the show makes some nuanced changes in the scenes that follow – and it's these tweaks that help and hinder the melodrama to come.

We all looked like Debbie (right) when Oliver (left) killed the Mauler Twins, right? (Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios/Prime Video)

Let's start with the positives. Unlike the source material, which sees Oliver follow Mark into the sky to receive his telling-off, Mark grabs his sibling by the left arm and drags him into the stratosphere. It's a subtle but fascinating alteration that indicates how mad Mark is with Oliver, especially after the former has constantly told the latter that killing people, no matter if they're good or bad, is a big no-no.

The incredibly tense conversation that follows plays out in a similar fashion to the anger-fuelled chat depicted in the comics. The show, though, makes another minor tweak by making Oliver teary-eyed as he defends his actions. It's a reminder that Oliver is still just a kid – one who's excited by the prospect of possessing superhuman abilities, but also a pre-teen who has no idea of the damage he can cause by using them, especially if he's in a highly emotional state. People, adults and kids alike, can well up and/or cry when they're angry, so this is another example of how dramatic this scene is, and how Amazon has upped the ante to make it as hard-hitting as possible.

Lastly, an emotionally distressed Oliver flies away from Mark, who's forced to chase after him. It's a switch-up from the scene in the comics – one that sees the pair continue to verbally spar above the missile silo – which adds a dynamism and fraughtness to proceedings as Mark is coerced into following his half-sibling before he can accidentally hurt himself or anyone who might get in his way. The chase also forces Mark to engage his brain and compose himself emotionally so that, once he catches up to Oliver, he can explain why it was wrong to kill the Maulers in a more mature fashion.

For me, there are parts of this Invincible scene in the comics that hit harder than they do in the TV show (Image credit: Image Comics)

To me, this seemingly negligible changes make for a much better sequence than what's depicted in the comics. However, in my view, the scene that follows feels like a downgrade on its graphic novel counterpart, and the aforementioned chase sequence is partly to blame. Indeed, with Mark and Oliver now discussing matters in a largely calmer manner, the tension built up pre-chase is lost. In the comics, the conversational fury intensifies with each clapback and counterpoint, and leads an increasingly anxiety-driven situation.

My biggest bugbear with the show's presentation of this iconic moment, though, is the absence of a single word uttered by Mark on the page. In the comics, after Oliver asks if Mark ever considered that Nolan was right in his belief that humanity wasn't worth saving in its current guise, a blind-sided by meditative Mark replies "...sometimes". In the TV show, Mark remains silent as he stares forlornly at Oliver.

I recognize why the change might have been made. At its thematic core, Invincible season 3 is an entry that deconstructs the concept of heroism. As viewers, we're asked to consider what it means to be a hero and whether they're infallible or not (spoiler – they're not). Mark's hushed response to Oliver's query suggests he's similarly pondering that fact.

Comment from r/Invincible

Nevertheless, ever since Invincible's first season ended, Mark has grappled with the notion that he's not only Nolan's son and the fact he's part-Viltrumite, but also struggled to move past the sins of his father. Is he destined to follow in Nolan's footsteps and bring planet Earth (and humanity) to heel under the Viltrum Empire's tyrannical boot? Or, will he be able to emerge from his dad's world-conquering shadow and be a more empathetic superhero who values life above all else? It's a dilemma Mark battled in Invincible season 2 part 1 and Invincible season 2 part 2, and is now doing so again here.

I firmly believe that if Amazon's adaptation had kept the "...sometimes" line, it would've been a far stronger showing of how Mark continues to wrestle with the idea of the hero he wants to be and the hero he has to be. Without it, his reaction to Oliver's burning question just doesn't hit as hard as I wanted. It might not matter to those who've only watched the show or even to other long time fans of Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, and Corey Walker's literary works. To paraphrase Mark in Invincible's season 2 part 2 finale, though: I thought it would've been stronger from a gut-punch perspective.

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CES is the launchpad for many of the biggest upcoming tech releases, but this year you'd be forgiven for thinking it’s the new stage for Robot Wars owing to the sheer volume of whacky and innovative robot vacuums roaming the trade show's halls.

Robovac manufacturers from across the globe flocked to Las Vegas to give us the first peek at what’s to come in automated cleaning solutions, with everything from robotic arms to bunny-hopping legs making debut appearances at the show. I had the chance to see most of them in action in person, and it’s made me pretty excited – and just a little nervous – at what’s to come this year.

However, not all of these next-generation robots can win the title of the best robot vacuum we’ve tested, and in fact, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion only a few of the new flagships I’ve seen so far might fit the bill.

Raise your hands in the air

The most obvious and attention-grabbing development has been in obstacle clearance hardware, with both Roborock and Dreame flexing their design skills by adding limbs to their upcoming robot vacuums.

First up, there’s the one-armed Roborock Saros Z70, which won our award for the Best robot vacuum at CES for its retractable robot arm which can collect items weighing up to 300g / 10.5oz (like socks and toys), and safely deposit them in an assigned area to allow for a fuller coverage clean.

Not only is the Z70 informed by its AI and obstacle detection, but there’s also a camera on the arm to help it with fine motor movements. This doubles as a secondary camera for home monitoring, allowing you to get a higher view at home by manually controlling the arm. It’s expected to launch in May or June of 2025, with no official pricing confirmed as of right now. Judging by the hardware and Roborock’s price history, expect anything upwards of $2,000 / £1,500 when it hits the market later this year.

Then there are models like the upcoming Dreame X50 Ultra, a robot vacuum with retractable legs that allow it to climb steps up to 6cm / 2-inches. While it didn't always behave exactly as intended during CES demos, I did manage to catch it in action, and was pretty impressed by its hop-and-pivot technique (less so by the almighty 'thunk' as it traverses back down steps). It will go on sale in the US from February 13 for $1,699.99, and in UK from February 7 at a list price of £1,299.

I’d be remiss to mention that really, this is an iteration on existing retractable wheel-based clearance hardware, with brands like Eureka demonstrating similar tech in its J15 model. It’s also of note that really, steps aren’t what this will be most useful for; small barriers in-between rooms, furnishings with feet that stand proud from the floor and particularly thick-pile carpets are most likely to benefit from this new clearance technology.

I'm testing the X50 Ultra out out as we speak, and am intrigued to see how well it differentiates between dangerous ledges and manageable ones on the descent – nobody wants a robovac that launches itself into the abyss.

Heads down, thumbs up

The next trend rolling out across a range of robot vacuums is retractable LiDAR (or Light Detection and Ranging) or front-mounted sensors. LiDAR is one of the ways in which robot vacuums navigate – this remote sensing technology uses laser pulses to create 3D models of its surroundings, allowing robovacs to access hard-to-reach, dark spaces like underneath furniture.

The problem? Well, many LiDAR sensors are placed on top of robot vacuums, housed in a short beacon which can add anything from an average of 0.75-1.5-inches / 2-4cm to the vacuum’s overall height. Great, except for the fact that this also limits the robovac’s access to those very same hard-to-reach places.

This year at CES, a number of robot vacuum brands demonstrated their workarounds; models like the aforementioned Dreame X50 Ultra as well as the Mova V50 Ultra and Roborock Saros 10 all sport retractable LiDAR scanners, which sink into the device when it’s time to clean underneath low-clearance obstacles. Also great, except for that this might present its own challenges in that without LiDAR, these vacuums will now have lower visibility in the very spaces LiDAR presents the most benefit.

Of course, we won’t know until we’ve tested these bots in the months ahead, but my personal feeling is that models like the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni, which opts for embedded LiDAR sensors without a periscope, might come out on top in the long run.

Mop till you drop

If you’ve been following robot vacuum news for more than a year or so, you’ll know all about the recent boom in combination robot vacuum and mops. More and more flagship devices feature mopping tech, or at least include a combination model as part of the product range.

The issue? Well, I’ve not encountered many robot vacuums that are particularly good at mopping. Whether due to poor on-board spill and dirt detection or just that some stains need a good amount of elbow grease, most combination robot vacuum and mops are decent at best.

That could all be about to change with new mopping form factors and software, however. Models like the new Narwal Flow series at CES opt for roller mops, which could offer faster rotations, improved in-motion mop pad cleaning and better mobility for cleaning hard-to-reach areas.

(Image credit: Narwal)

The Flow’s fabric-covered roller constantly rotates, in the opposite direction to the movements of the robot. It's soaked with clean water by its onboard water tank, while dirty water is fed into a separate, dirty water tank, meaning the robovac cleans itself on-the-go instead of once it returns to the docking station.

It offers wood floor management and edge cleaning, jutting to the side when needed, meaning you can clean all the way up to your skirting boards – though as with vacuuming, those pesky corners are likely to remain an issue. The Flow series is also compatible with Narwal’s automatic water exchange module, which allows you to plumb Narwal robot vacuums for automated clean and dirty water management.

There are other roller mop devices out there, but Narwal’s is among the most detail-oriented I’ve seen. Plus, it also offers some excellent vacuuming features like CarpetBoost cleaning, wherein the device shuffles back and forth to dislodge even the most stubborn hairs and debris with its brushroll, and leverages a brushroll cover to increase the pressure and improve lift.

An honorable mention goes to Ecovacs’ Deebot X8 Pro Omni, which made its debut at IFA last year but had a strong presence at CES. It partners with vacuum-focused sister-brand Tineco to improve its mopping prowess, featuring an on-the-go self-washing mop much like the Dreame X50 Ultra, as well as improved edge cleaning.

Elsewhere, more iterative updates appeared in models like the Eureka J15, which now offers improved transparent spill detection and cleaning, thanks to its dual camera system using both an infrared camera and a full HD camera to create 3D images of your floor.

Robovacs gone rogue

It’s exciting to see disruptive new technologies finding their way into robot vacuums. New mechanized and motorized parts bring more opportunities for intelligent design, but they also mean there’s a whole lot more that can go wrong with these devices.

I’ve seen countless costly robotic cleaners with jammed appendages, or robovacs suffering fatal injuries due to navigation miscalculation. And that’s not what you want from a robot vacuum that costs upwards of $1,500 / £1,000 / AU$3000.

That’s not to say I have any reason to believe the models coming up this year will be bad robot vacuums, but market-first features with complex hardware and software are an easy recipe for a whole load of kooky behavior in real-world settings.

Whether it’s an arm, a leg, or a retractable sensor, I’m a little concerned that this next wave of robot vacuums are more flashy than they are functional. Still, it’s super exciting to see these advances, and competition drives innovation, so hopefully the robot vacuums I saw at CES 2025 are just the first step in improving automated home cleaning.

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