Learning to spot the AI phone scammers
Scam phone calls are a fact of life these days, whether it’s home improvement grants or someone pretending to be your bank. UK mobile network O2 recently blocked 50 million dodgy calls monthly using its defense system.
But now they’re often being made using AI rather than real people in distant call centers. Naveed Janmohamed, CEO and founder of the AI research assistant Anara, says learning to spot artificial voices during phone calls might save thousands of people from sophisticated cons that have already stolen millions from unsuspecting consumers.
Brit’s fear privacy breaches despite Online Safety Act
Although the UK's Online Safety Act has made significant strides in holding online platforms accountable for harmful content, new research reveals a concerning gap in personal cybersecurity awareness among British internet users.
The study from AstrillVPN analysed search data from Google Keyword Planner to identify the privacy concerns most frequently searched by Britons. The results show password security and anonymous browsing are currently dominating the public’s attention.
How biometrics are reshaping authentication [Q&A]
The death of the password has been predicted for a very long time, though other methods are now gaining significant traction.
Perhaps the most successful of these is the use of biometrics. We talked to David Stauffer, director of sales North America at Veridas, about how biometrics is transforming authentication across financial services and telcos, and how voice-based verification enhances security against fraud, user experience and operational efficiency.
Google will make it easy to switch to vertical tabs in Chrome
Browser tabs have been positioned in a horizontal strip in just about every browser since they first appeared, Chrome included. There have been various attempts to disrupt this – and to cater to different tastes and needs – by introducing vertical tabs, and Google is still working on this feature.
As is so often the case, the preview builds of Chrome give a very good sign of things to come, and this is where we have already seen vertical positioning of the tab strip. While this is still very much a work in progress, details have emerged about changes that have already been made.
Dell has some terrible news for Microsoft about Windows 10
With the end of mainstream support for Windows 10 having reached us over a month ago, Microsoft will have been hoping that users will feel forced into upgrading to Windows 11. Has this happened? Not really.
Dell has revealed that there are millions upon millions of PCs out there that are still running Windows 10 and simply cannot run Windows 11. The company also used its Q3 earnings call to share the news that PC sales are slowing – something it predicts will continue into 2026.
YouTube Music now offers an AI enhanced 2025 listening recap
Like Spotify, YouTube offers an annual summary of listening habits for individual users, but for 2025 there is a slight change. This time around, perhaps inevitably, artificial intelligence has been used.
The insertion of AI into just about every product and service has become predictable, but there is always the interesting question of whether its use is necessary, and if it brings any benefits. So, what is the verdict with YouTube Music?
Philips launches Evnia QD OLED monitor for gamers and creators
Philips has announced the launch of the Evnia 27M2N6501L, a 27-inch QD OLED monitor built for users who want a capable QHD (2560 x 1440) display without spending a premium. Part of the Evnia line, the new screen's focus is on picture quality, high refresh performance and everyday usability at a lower price than most QD OLED screens retail for.
The new monitor uses a 26.5 inch panel and uses QD OLED technology to produce deeper contrast and richer colours. Philips has paired it with a 240Hz refresh rate, which should help with fast paced games. It also supports tear free gaming through G Sync compatibility.
Alibaba debuts its first self developed AI glasses in China
Alibaba has launched a new range of AI eyewear in China. The Quark AI Glasses come in two models -- S1 and G1. There are three styles of the dual display S1 and three versions of the camera focused G1, with different frame colors and lens choices. All models work with Alibaba’s new Qwen App and respond to voice commands or touch controls.
The glasses are designed to act as a hands free gateway to Alibaba’s consumer ecosystem. Powered by Qwen, they can recognize prices, answer questions using text or images, translate speech in real time, guide users with near eye navigation and produce meeting notes. They can also handle reminders, teleprompter functions and context based suggestions.
AI generated founding fathers go bargain hunting in this new ad for Black Friday
AI ad testing firm MediaPET.ai has released a new Thanksgiving commercial that features photorealistic recreations of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin going Black Friday shopping.
The clip shows the three founding fathers browsing outdoor stalls in a 1776 Philadelphia market as they look for seasonal deals.
Power availability shapes future data center plans
Power constraints in the world’s largest data center hubs are now reshaping where hyperscalers plan their next wave of expansion, according to new analysis by DC Byte.
The analysis tracks activity across more than 8,000 facilities and looks at how the geography of hyperscale growth is evolving in response to mounting infrastructure pressure. Hyperscalers are now securing power and land up to 24 to 36 months before delivery as constraints intensify in markets such as Northern Virginia, Frankfurt and Singapore.
Newegg partners with PayPal to bring AI driven shopping to Perplexity
Newegg, in conjunction with PayPal, is bringing its product listings into AI powered shopping channels, starting with Perplexity. Customers will be able to discover and buy Newegg items from inside conversational search tools that use PayPal’s agentic commerce technology.
The retail giant says the move is in response to growing numbers of people searching for products using AI chat tools rather than performing traditional web searches. Instead of browsing categories or clicking through a store, customers will be able to ask an AI agent for help finding a specific product and be shown Newegg listings in the response.
AI browser Opera Neon gains new tools and Gemini 3 and Nano Banana support
Opera has released a major update for Opera Neon, the experimental agentic browser it launched two months ago. The update adds a new one minute mode to the Opera Deep Research Agent (ODRA), introduces Google’s Gemini 3 Pro and Nano Banana Pro models, and lets users choose which AI model to use in conversations. It also expands Neon’s agentic features to support tasks inside Google Docs.
Neon is designed for testing AI features and exploring agentic browsing, where AI tools don’t just answer queries but can also complete multi step tasks.
How LLMs could revolutionize ad blocking
Ad blocking software has traditionally relied on filter lists. These need time consuming and regular maintenance in order to keep them up to date and effective.
There have been previous attempts to update ad blocking using machine learning, but new research from AdGuard looks at the potential to use large language models (LLMs) to improve the way it works.
Online shoppers warned of QR code phishing scam
With Black Friday on the horizon and peak holiday shopping underway people are expecting deliveries. When shoppers are tracking multiple orders at once they are far more willing to trust a parcel that arrives unexpectedly and a new quishing scam is looking to exploit that.
If scammers have your name and address from previous data breaches, scraped social media posts or public directories, they cab easily make a fake parcel look authentic. Adding a QR code makes people think it’s related to tracking or returns so they’re likely to scan it without thinking.
Microsoft is working to simplify updating apps in Windows 11
A hatred of having to use the Microsoft Store to update many Windows 11 apps is far from being a unique experience. Thankfully, it looks as though Microsoft is working to make some improvements in this area to help alleviate some of the annoyance.
The latest Insider builds of Windows 11 have been found to include an "app updates" page in the Settings app. This, assuming it becomes a mainstream feature, will make life a lot easier for Windows 11 users.
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