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Everyone knows the newest iMac, Mac Mini and 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros have Apple's latest M4 chips, but there were a few details in the Mac updates you might not have caught the first time around.

It looks like Microsoft’s grand AI schemes have hit another snag, with the release of the controversial Recall feature being pushed back again. Recall is one of Microsoft’s new AI-powered offerings, intended to record your desktop activity in Windows 11 by taking screenshots at regular intervals and making them searchable.

When presented, Microsoft painted a picture of a futuristic ‘instant replay’ of sorts that could help you remember what you were doing, like helping you find a specific document you were working on or backtracking to a tab you closed a while ago.

Quickly following Recall’s announcement came a swift current of criticism about the possible security and privacy-related risks that would come with an AI constantly monitoring your PC. It sounds obvious to say, but Recall would presumably capture a great deal of personal and private information - which in turn would be a lucrative prize for the likes of hackers, scammers, and other malicious actors. Researchers and experts in cybersecurity were quick to point out Recall’s flaws, such as captured information being stored on your PC without encryption.

Yet another delay - but it's for the best

Microsoft took note of the reaction to the announcement of Recall and postponed it once already to add new privacy and security protections, like requiring log-in using Windows Hello and making Recall a strictly opt-in feature. The show was seemingly back on the road after that, with Microsoft readying Recall to be released for testing in October 2024. However, just yesterday, on Halloween no less, Microsoft announced that the release of Recall will be postponed again to continue to improve its privacy and security.

I would rather Microsoft really put as much thought and effort into this as possible, of course, but these numerous postponements make me wonder what the state of Recall’s privacy and security was initially. If it was lacking, that’s pretty worrying and makes me think that Microsoft greatly underestimates how ironclad Recall’s security measures would have to be and that it’s now trying to settle on a minimum.

I understand that even Microsoft’s resources and funds aren’t infinite, but exploitable parts of Recall could have devastating consequences for users.

So when will Recall finally arrive?

When speaking to The Verge about the delay, Microsoft said that Recall’s initial release will be delayed to December 2024. In December, it will be released to testers in the Windows Insider Program with Copilot+ PCs, hoping to achieve ‘‘a secure and trusted experience.’’

Microsoft has put out a Windows Blog post explaining the current state of Recall and how it’s working on beefing up Recall’s privacy and security architecture, including allowing users to have control over data collection and ensuring that data is stored securely on devices. I know Microsoft’s not big on making it easy to disable parts of Windows you may not like, but again, it’s pretty frustrating that this wasn’t considered from the beginning.

PCWorld speculates that while Microsoft still appears to be pretty committed to Recall, there’s still a chance that it could be scrapped altogether. If Microsoft can’t get the privacy and security aspects of Recall right, that wouldn’t be the worst idea.

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The Sudanese city of Omdurman lives in the shadow of war, facing daily shelling and battered medical services. But some people are trying to eke out a return to life, however precarious.

(Image credit: Luke Dray for NPR)

Black Friday is coming up quicker than you realize. Here are some early PS5 deals, plus everything you need to know about the big day.

We found quite a few deals to help you save on the excellent (but high-priced) Galaxy Z Flip 6.

There is no way Santa will pass your house by with this smart light display you can change with a tap.

With bombs, brawls, and stolen mail-in ballots already in play, the 2024 election is shaping up to be exceptionally chaotic. WIRED is tracking these incidents as they unfold.

Cybercriminals are attacking surveillance cameras from multiple manufacturers, leveraging two zero-day vulnerabilities to take over the endpoints, watch and manipulate the feeds, and more.

Cybersecurity researchers GreyNoise claim to have spotted the attacks after their AI-powered analysis tool Sift raised an alarm that crooks are attacking network device interface-enabled (NDI) pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras from multiple manufacturers.

The cameras can be found in different environments, including industrial and manufacturing plants, where they are used for machinery surveillance, and quality control. They can also be found in business conferences, used for high-definition video streaming and remote presentations, in healthcare (used for telehealth consultations and surgical live streams), state and local government environments, including courtrooms, and houses of worship, where they’re used for live streaming.

Waiting on patches

GreyNoise says the affected devices are typically high-cost, with some models costing several thousand dollars.

Affected devices use VHD PTZ camera firmware < 6.3.40 used in PTZOptics, Multicam Systems SAS, and SMTAV Corporation devices based on Hisilicon Hi3516A V600 SoC V60, V61, and V63.

The vulnerabilities in question are now tracked as CVE-2024-8956, and CVE-2024-8957. The former is deemed critical (9.1), and the latter high (7.2). When exploited, the vulnerabilities can be used to completely take over the cameras, view and manipulate video feeds, disable different camera operations, and assimilate the devies into a botnet.

While for some models, patches have already been released, others remain vulnerable. According to BleepingComputer, PTZOptics released a security update on September 17, but since multiple models reached end-of-life status (PT20X-NDI-G2 and PT12X-NDI-G2) not all were patched. Furthermore, PT20X-SE-NDI-G3, and PT30X-SE-NDI-G3 are still pending a fix.

Chances are, the list of affected models is a lot longer than what the researchers determined at this time. Users are advised to check with their manufacturer if they’ve released a fix for the abovementioned flaws.

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Create the cozy outdoor space of your dreams with the best firepit for gathering, cooking or relaxing.

Who said that using one of the best VPN apps needs to affect what you can and cannot do online?

While VPN connections are great for keeping you anonymous on the internet and letting you access otherwise geo-restricted content, they are notorious for creating some issues with certain online services or websites. Surfshark has then developed Bypasser to help you get the best of the two worlds – the security of VPNs and flexibility on the standard internet – within a couple of clicks.

While the Bypasser feature was already available for its Windows, Android, and web extension app, the provider has recently added the option also to its iPhone VPN. Support for macOS devices is also on its way.

What is Surfshark Bypasser?

"With the introduction of Bypasser for iOS, we are giving our users the power to manage their internet connection with ease," said Justas Pukys, Senior Product Manager at Surfshark. "This feature allows certain IP-sensitive websites and services to bypass the VPN, ensuring users can access these online destinations directly while maintaining security where it is most crucial."

If you're familiar with other VPN services, you may remember a feature called split tunneling. Surfshark Bypasser, Pukys explains, is the provider's branded version of the split tunneling feature.

No matter what you want to call it, this feature allows you to decide which data to encrypt with a VPN and which to transmit directly.

Surfshark Bypasser is the provider's branded version of the split tunneling feature

Let's imagine you need to certain websites and services that block VPN connections, like your online bank or your account page on a government site. You can use Bypasser to exclude those sites' traffic from the VPN.

"This allows the user to access the content without restrictions while still maintaining VPN protection for other online activities," Pukys told me.

How to use Surfshark Bypasser

Using Surfshark Bypasser on the iOS app couldn't be easier.

All you need to do is open the app and head to the Settings tab you find on the left-hand side of the panel. Click on VPN settings and then on Bypasser.

Once there, tap on Add website to insert the site you wish to exclude from the VPN connection. You can easily review your choice by removing or adding new websites right from the Bypasser tab.

You can easily manage VPN connections directly within your iOS app. (Image credit: Future)

As mentioned earlier, Surfshark subscribers using other platforms have been able to use Bypasser for some time now. The provider previously launched the feature on Windows, Android, and its VPN web extension app.

The new release gives more VPN flexibility to Apple users, too, as they can take advantage of the feature when using their iPhone or iPad devices. Better still, Pukys said: "We are also working on implementing this feature for the macOS operating system."

The console's developer, Panic, says the $199 gadget will be back in stock in December.

The Sephora Savings Event is here, and these are the sale products our wellness team wants more of.

Nominating the Samsung S95D as our TV of the Year for 2024 shouldn’t deliver the same shock factor as when the Samsung S90C OLED TV ended LG’s TV of the year reign in 2023, but the reason it earned this title at the TechRadar Choice Awards 2024 is an interesting mix.

What it came down to was a combination of sensational AI-powered processing and a matte screen. This combination of digital and analog tech gave the Samsung S95D a leg-up over the competition and cemented it as one of the best TVs we’ve ever seen.

When I reviewed the S95D, I was surprised by the effectiveness of its OLED Glare-Free screen. Our TV testing room at TechRadar has harsh overhead lighting to help us test reflectivity, but the S95D made easy work of it, all but eliminating reflections and screen glare. I could even watch The Batman, a notoriously dark-looking movie, in full lighting without being distracted!

Screen reflections have typically been kryptonite for the best OLED TVs due to their relatively low brightness levels, and while the new Micro Lens Array (MLA) tech gives OLEDs like the LG G4 and Panasonic Z95A a serious boost, we found the S95D and its simple matte screen over a stunningly bright next-gen QD-OLED panel to be even more effective for viewing in bright rooms.

As I said, the matte screen isn’t the only reason the S95D won – it’s just one big piece of the TV-of-the-Year-winning pie. Like other TV makers, Samsung talked up AI innovations in its TVs at CES 2024, but the S95D is one that legitimately shows how AI can improve picture quality.

The Samsung S95D's details and textures are ultra-realistic thanks to AI features like Real Depth Enhancer (Image credit: Future)

When testing the S95D, I marveled at how realistic textures and details looked. Even stitching in clothing and cracks in rocks took on a lifelike quality I hadn’t seen before on a TV. Part of this is the S95D’s QD-OLED display panel, but it’s also Samsung’s Real Depth Enhancer AI feature that contributes to the TV’s spectacularly detailed picture.

Other AI features in the S95D include 4K AI upscaling, which I found during testing even worked wonders with lower-resolution broadcast TV. Another new feature, OLED HDR Pro, further boosts brightness, giving HDR highlights in images a bolder, more vibrant look. In our tests, the S95D yielded 1,868 nits peak brightness – an over 35% brightness increase compared with its predecessor, the Samsung S95C, and the brightest OLED we've tested to date.

Combine all these features with the rich color and powerful contrast delivered by the S95D’s QD-OLED panel and you get an outstanding TV that looks great with every source thrown at it.

But it isn’t just picture quality where the S95D delivers. It’s stacked with features we look for in the best gaming TVs including 4K 144Hz, VRR (with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro), HGiG support and ALLM . It also comes with Samsung’s Gaming Hub built-in, a useful destination for gamers looking to get to the action right away.

Rounding everything out, the S95D’s built-in sound provides accurate placement thanks to an Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+) feature. It has a ‘floating’ appearance thanks to a clever stand design, and its external One Connect Box houses all connections with one cable connecting to the TV – ideal for wall-mounting and cable management.

The S95D isn’t perfect. I think one of the best soundbars is needed to add extra audio immersion, and there was some black crush present in dark scenes when I tested it, but there really isn't any other way I could fault Samsung’s top OLED TV.

I’ve seen every major S95D competitor this year – the LG G4, Sony Bravia 9, Panasonic Z95A and Philips OLED909 to name a few – and while they all have their strengths and are superb TVs, none gave me the same feeling of seeing a leap forward that the S95D did. As I said in my review, the Samsung S95D is both “the future of OLED” and “the standard bearer for 2024”. If that doesn’t say TV of the Year, what does?

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Lucasfilm and Disney have dropped a new trailer for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – and, if there were still any doubts, it's definitely going for a 'Star Wars meets Goonies' vibe.

Due to launch on Disney Plus in early December, the last of 2024's new Star Wars TV shows and movies looks equal parts cute, thrilling, dramatic, and action-packed in a teaser set to Peter Schilling's 'Major Tom (Coming Home)' song, albeit one that appears to have been translated into Huttese. It also seems as though it's leaning heavily into the grimy, criminal underworld aesthetic that was a hallmark of the iconic sci-fi franchise's early years, too, which will surely appeal to older Star Wars fans, some of whom – alongside younger viewers – weren't exactly enamored with Star Wars: The Acolyte earlier this year.

If you're a little baffled about what Skeleton Crew's story is about – let's be honest, fun as its latest trailer looks, it's hard to determine its plot – don't worry, because I'm here to help. Essentially, it follows four kids called Wim (played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), who get lost in that famous galaxy far, far away. How do they do so? Well, they find a spaceship buried on their home planet and, after somehow excavating it without any adults finding out, accidentally kickstart its engines and hyperdrive, and wind up in a distant and dangerous part of the cosmos.

But fear not for their safety, because Jude Law's enigmatic rogue Jod Na Nawood, who some observers are already theorizing is a Jedi – or, at the very least, a Force wielder – offers to help them get back home. I suspect, though, that he'll want something in return, and that something could be the very spaceship that the quartet originally found.

#SkeletonCrew is streaming December 3, with a two-episode series premiere, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/Cvwjbg5tiXNovember 1, 2024

This isn't our first official look at Skeleton Crew. In August, Lucasfilm and Disney debuted the sci-fi series' first trailer, which was one of nine big announcements we were most excited to see at D23 Expo 2024. That teaser arrived nine days after Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's official release date was announced alongside some first-look images at its adorable kid characters. For those who didn't read about when it'll take flight on Disney Plus, aka one of the world's best streaming services, in the above X/Twitter post, it'll arrive on December 3 (US) and December 4 (UK and Australia) with a two-episode premiere.

Joining Law and his young co-stars on the cast roster are Kerry Condon and Tunde Adebimpe – the latter of whom, as confirmed in this new trailer, is playing Wim's father. It's unclear who Condon's unnamed character is related to, but I suspect she'll be mother to Fern or KB. Nick Frost is also part of proceedings, with Simon Pegg's long-time collaborator voicing the droid known as SM-33.

Jon Watts, who directed the first three Spider-Man movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has co-created Skeleton Crew with Christopher Ford, who wrote the script for Spider-Man: Homecoming. The pair have assembled a truly talented line-up of directors for this project, too, with The Green Knight's David Lowery, Beef and Thunderbolts filmmaker Jake Schreier, The Mandalorian veterans Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung, and the Daniels – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – helming its episodes. The latter duo's involvement is particularly exciting, especially in light of their work on multi-Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Clearly, Skeleton Crew has a ton of star power attached to it, but will its narrative hold up and earn it a spot on our best Disney Plus shows list? I hope so, but my colleague Rob Dunne believes Skeleton Crew already has a lot of convincing to do. I wonder if this new trailer will make him change his mind.

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Hi-fi lovers, assemble! Wharfedale’s most popular loudspeaker pair, the Linton (but see also the Denton 85 we saw at the 2024 Bristol Hi-Fi Show, to mark Wharfedale's 85th year in the business), has just been elevated to ‘Super’ status. Linton Super, you say? Yes, featuring upgrades to the drive units, crossover and cabinet – but maintaining the glorious wooden cabinet and the offset positioning of the tweeter.

Quick history lesson: the original Linton was one of the UK's heavy-hitters between 1965 and the late 1970s (when I was born. And I remember these speakers the first time around). Wharfedale brought the Linton back in 2019 as part of its Heritage line, lovingly re-engineered. Cut to five years later and Wharfedale’s engineers – buoyed up by their success and led by Director of Acoustic Design, Peter Comeau – decided the design could be pushed even further.

Wharfedale tells me that the team "revisited every element" in the speaker, "from the cabinet to the drive units to the crossover". The result? A Super Linton. It's every inch part of Wharfedale's Heritage Series, but now re-worked for the modern age.

Wharfedale Super Linton: the key upgrades

While its footprint is the same as that of the regular Linton, the Super Linton’s cabinet is 4cm taller – and more internal volume is almost always a good thing in speakers (if you can fit them into your home, that is – and I'd invite these stereo speakers into my small home happily).

The construction now features dual layers of fiberboard, coupled by latex-based damping glue. The 200mm woven Kevlar bass driver's cone is the same, but that extra volume means a more powerful motor system could be added, with increased magnet strength. The treble unit? It's also new, although it inherits much of its design from the one used in the much bigger (and much more expensive) Dovedale, with a 25mm dome formed from a fine fabric weave.

Combining the output of this three-way speaker's units is an all-new crossover network, now split onto two separate circuit boards. The speaker grille is also an improved design, incorporating internal shaping. They certainly sound like contenders for our best stereo speakers roundup.

The new Super Linton is available from mid-November in your choice of walnut, mahogany or black oak wood veneers, priced at $2,499 / £1,999 / AU$5,199 including the matching stands. They're $2,299 / £1,849 / AU$4,599 without the stands but really, why would you?

Bit rich for the blood but want the next-best thing? The 2019-edition Linton remains in the lineup at £1,249 per pair (so around $1,800 or AU$2,450) with the stands or £1,099 without them. You know you need them for those long listening sessions of an evening…

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Former President Trump plans to stop in Dearborn, Mich — a city where a majority of people are Arab American. He and Vice President Harris are each holding Friday night rallies in Milwaukee.

(Image credit: AP)

New research from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has claimed American businesses are facing more cybersecurity events and attacks than ever before.

The report highlights a rise in the number of US small enterprises, defined as those with fewer than 500 workers, experiencing a data or security breach in the past year. Last year, four in five (81%) fell victim, up from fewer than three-quarters (73%) the year before.

ITRC also noted financial losses from these breaches have skyrocketed, revealing the importance of establishing a stronger security posture.

SMB attacks

On average, affected businesses in the small enterprise category are now dealing with losses of more than $500,000, which ITRC says is double what had been reported last year.

Despite the higher prominence of attacks, companies claim to be addressing the challenge. Four in five expressed their commitment to strengthening their security, including cybersecurity training for both IT and non-IT staff (88%), the deployment of new security tools (65%) and increased security budgets (67%).

CEO Eva Velasquez introduced the report by highlighting the importance of adopting passkeys, which are not susceptible to traditional theft methods.

Businesses weren't the only ones to fall victims to cyberattacks – more than four in five (82%) individual consumers also experienced a data breach in the past 12 months. The report also notes a 21 percentage point increase in identity theft victims in the past year.

COO James Lee added that data breaches are the “fuel for most cyberattacks and identity crimes committed today,” which gives both businesses and consumers a clear target when tackling their cybersecurity. AI might have helped criminals to write better code to steal sensitive information, but by protecting this with encryption and cryptography, the chances of an attack become far slimmer.

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A bear attack was initially suspected in Dustin Kjersem’s death. But police now say he was killed by a man he had just met -- and that a beer can offered by Kjersem provided critical DNA evidence.