TechRadar News

• Experts say Microsoft Teams and Zoom are perfect for hiding Ghost Calls
• Attackers can obtain temporary TURN credentials and create a tunnel
• Vendors must implement safeguards, because there are no vulnerabilities in sight

Researchers from Praetorian have shed the light on Ghost Calls, a post-exploitation command-and-control evasion technique which send attacker traffic through legitimate Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN) servers used by the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams, to evade detection.

The attack works by hijacking the temporary TURN credentials that conferencing calls receive when they join a meeting, and then establishing a tunnel between the compromised host and the attacker's machine.

Because all the traffic is routed through trusted Zoom/Teams IPs and domains, which are typically whitelisted inside enterprises, these types of hijacking attacks can fly under the radar.

Teams and Zoom susceptible to attacks

Praetorian explained that because the attack leverages infrastructure already allowed through corporate firewall,s proxies and TLS inspection, Ghost Calls can easily evade traditional defenses.

Blending traffic with normal, low-latency video meeting traffic patterns also helps the cybercriminals, who can eliminate the exposure of attacker-controlled domains and servers

Praetorian explains in the first of its two blog posts that video conferencing platforms "are designed to function even in environments with relatively strict egress controls," so if an attacker can crack into these systems, they could have a higher chance of data exfiltration.

"Additionally, this traffic is often end-to-end encrypted using AES or other strong encryption. This means the traffic is naturally heavily obfuscated and impossible to analyze in depth which makes it a perfect place to hide as an attacker," the researchers added.

TURN credentials typically expire after two to three days, so tunnels are short-lived, but alarmingly, Praetorian explains that there isn't necessarily a vulnerability for vendors to patch, adding that they must instead focus on introducing further safeguards to prevent against Ghost Call attacks.

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Prime Video is one of the best streaming services out there, but it's also not the cheapest, which is why it's great to see that its 30-day free trial is still up for grabs.

That’s a huge draw for entertainment junkies, giving potential new subscribers an entire month to catch award-winning Amazon Originals, live sports and whole host of movies, including recent Oscar winners like Anora, for free.

• Prime Video free trial: sign up to get it now!

Signing up is easy, there’s tons to watch, and a paid membership doesn’t have to break the bank once the Prime Video free trial has come to an end. Indeed, there's so much to uncover – just look at our best Prime Video shows and best Prime Video movies roundups for the biggest and best titles.

I've really been enjoying Prime Video, especially since the streamer adapted my favorite video game series, Fallout, for the small screen. With Fallout season 2 and other great Prime Video Originals like The Wheel of Time and The Rings of Power impressing audiences, it's worth sticking around beyond your free trial.

Steps for how to get an Prime Video free trial

If you’re new to Amazon Prime, or it’s been over twelve months since you were a Prime member, then the 30-day Prime Video free trial is available. It’s even better for students, who are entitled to an incredible 6 months of free streaming.

Signing up is easy, just follow the bullet points below:

• Go to Prime Video
• Select ‘Try Prime’
• Sign in to your Amazon account
• Follow the on-screen instructions if prompted

Your Amazon account will need a current, valid credit card linked to it. But, as long as you cancel your membership before the free trial period expires, you won't be charged.

In the US, Amazon Channels often provide a seven-day trial too, letting you explore a la carte options like Cinemax. But you need to be a fully-fledged, Amazon Prime subscription member to get those.

Step by step guide for how to get a Prime Video free trialVisit the Prime Video app or site

(Image credit: Prime Video)

To get started, head to the Prime Video site or download the app on your tablet or phone. If you're a new customer, you'll be prompted to "start your 30-day free trial", which you can click on to navigate to the next step.

Sign in to Amazon or create a new account

(Image credit: Amazon)

If you already have an Amazon account but you've never used Prime Video, you can sign in to continue to your free trial. If you're a new customer, you'll be prompted to sign up for an Amazon account where you'll provide details like your email, shipping address, and preferred billing card details. You will also complete a small captcha puzzle to verify you are human.

Sign up for your 30-day free trial

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Finally, you'll be taken to this screen which prompts you to add a billing card for when your 30-day free trial ends. Once you've done this, you'll be redirected to start your trial. Remember to cancel before your 30-day period is up if you don't want to get charged!

Prime Video free trial: What to watch

Don't miss the critically-acclaimed Fallout on Prime Video. (Image credit: JoJo Whilden/Prime Video)

There’s plenty to feast your eyes on with thousands of movies and TV series. It has classic Hollywood fare licensing movies like It’s A Wonderful Life, brooding modern thrillers – like You Were Never Really Here and Zodiac, for example – and plenty of comedies and feel-good indie flicks.

Prime Video is packed with great Prime Video Originals too, including Hunters, Fleabag and The Boys to name only a few. Then there’s a slew of hugely anticipated releases like the Gen V, as well as Mr. and Mrs.Smith.

Meanwhile, sports fans can enjoy live matches and docuseries like All or Nothing. And, if some of your favorite programming is missing, chances are you’ll find it via Amazon Channels. There are more than 100 you can subscribe to, such as HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and Shudder, which often provide their own 7-day free trial.

Much like Netflix, the content available does vary from country to country. So the best way to see exactly what's on offer where you are is to head to Amazon and grab that 30-day free trial.

Prime Video free trial: FAQsHow much does Prime Video cost?

Amazon Prime – which bundles together Prime Video, unlimited music, free delivery, and more – typically costs $14.99 a month in the US and £8.99 in the UK, AU$9.99 in Australia and €8.99 in Europe.

If you pay for a full annual membership, you can save a decent chunk of change, all the while getting lightning-fast delivery and multi-media entertainment all year round.

Plan

Monthly

Annually

Standard

$14.99 / £8.99 / AU$9.99 per month

$139 / £95 / AU$79 annually

Ad-free

$17.98 / £11.98 / AU$12.98

$174.88 / £130.88 / AU$114.88

Which countries is Prime Video available in?

Prime Video can be watched in over 200 countries and territories, giving access to both Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscriptions to anyone with a compatible device.

The only places it's not available is Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Russia, Belarus, Syria, and Vietnam. 

Can I get a Prime Video free trial as a student?

Yes, in the US you can sign up for Prime for Young Adults, a six month free trial which gives you access to free shipping, access to Prime Video and Amazon Music.

You are eligible for this deal if you are a currently enrolled student, or between the ages of 18-24. It lasts until you turn 25, or graduate. After that sixth month trial, Prime for Young Adults members are charged a monthly payment of $7.49 unless cancelled.

In the UK, you can sign up for a similar subscription called Prime Student which entitles you to the same benefits, and entitles you to a six month free trial. You’ll need to be enrolled at a UK university with a .ac.uk email address to be eligible, and after the trial you'll pay £4.49 a month.

How do I cancel my Prime Video free trial?

1. Go to Amazon.com
2. Go to Account & Settings, then select the Your Account tab.
3. If it's a Prime Video-only subscription, select End Subscription.
4. To cancel your whole Amazon Prime subscription, go to Prime Membership Settings, Manage Subscription, then choose to End Subscription.

Has Prime Video had any price hikes?

When Prime Video launched back in 2016, it cost $8.99 /  £7.99 / AU$8.99 per month, and it has gone up since then thanks to the addition of a new tier.

In 2024, Prime Video did see a price hike as the streaming service introduced a new ad-supported tier. This meant that those wanting to watch without ads would have to pay an additional $2.99 / £2.99 / AU$2.99 per month.

• Microsoft's AI helper for gaming has debuted in Windows 11
• Gaming Copilot is in the Game Bar, but it's only in beta testing for now
• Gaming handheld owners may worry about performance, but Microsoft says it's optimizing the feature for these devices

As Microsoft promised earlier this year, Gaming Copilot - the AI helper for gamers - is now on PCs (after previously debuting in testing on smartphones in the Xbox mobile app).

Neowin highlighted a blog post from Microsoft announcing that Gaming Copilot (previously called Copilot for Gaming) is now in the Game Bar for Windows 11 PCs, although the functionality is still in beta testing.

This means that Xbox Insiders (testers) will get an icon for Gaming Copilot in the Game Bar - just click that to fire up the assistant in Windows 11 on your gaming PC (or perhaps handheld).

The AI understands what game you’re currently playing, and is designed to help you when you get stuck in a game, and to do so seamlessly - in the Game Bar overlay - without having to switch away to a web browser window to look for tips and so forth.

Microsoft also points out that for added convenience, there's a Voice Mode, so - assuming you have a microphone - you can talk to Copilot to ask for help. The AI will also use screenshots of the game that's running to understand what you're asking about, and hopefully provide more relevant info and guidance as a result.

As noted, this feature is now available on the Game Bar, but only to those who are in the Xbox Insider program - you'll also need to ensure the Xbox app on your PC is updated to the latest version.

Note that Microsoft has only deployed this feature to the US and certain other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Singapore. Notably, the UK and Europe aren't getting Gaming Copilot yet, which is unusual and likely bound up in data regulations.

Analysis: Concerns about in-game handholding on handhelds - and more besides

(Image credit: Microsoft)

This looks to be a useful feature, despite the cries of 'no, not more AI jammed into Windows 11'. I get that sentiment, but in fairness, if you're not interested - or worried about privacy in some way (with the AI 'watching' your gaming) - just don't use Gaming Copilot.

As to how useful this AI assistant will be, I haven't tried it personally, but it does look like a neat time-saver. There is a worry when it comes to Windows 11 gaming handhelds, namely that it's going to hit performance (and battery life). After all, this is an extra task going on in-game (which is the mentioned convenience) - so how might that affect frame rates?

Microsoft acknowledges this concern in its blog post and notes that right now, the feature is limited on handhelds. The company advises: "While Gaming Copilot (Beta) is also available now for Xbox Insiders to try on Windows handhelds with limited functionality, further optimizations are underway for handhelds as we approach the launch of the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X."

Of course, if you have your smartphone handy, you can always use Gaming Copilot on that second screen - via the Xbox mobile app - and swerve any performance concerns (albeit that's hardly a seamless way of working).

Perhaps there's another potential worry here, too, and that's related to the convenience of having hints and help on tap in such an easy fashion. Are AI-powered abilities like this going to encourage more laziness in gaming, with people reaching for help after only being stuck for a very short time, rather than trying to figure things out themselves?

I guess that's a broader, more philosophical concern about gaming, and the choice to enlist the help of AI seamlessly, at the drop of a hat, could have more of an impact than we might imagine in the future. Although the bigger worry will doubtless be with AI snaking its helpful tentacles into competitive games, and Microsoft is already talking about how Gaming Copilot will offer 'proactive coaching' and 'richer game assistance' in general.

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