Apple upgrades MacBook Pro with M5 chip, improved battery life, and faster AI performance

Apple MacBook Pro

As well as announcing a new iPad Pro powered by its M5 processor, Apple today also introduced a new 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the same chip. The latest model focuses naturally enough on AI and efficiency improvements, blending faster performance with extended battery life and the new macOS Tahoe operating system.

The M5 chip builds on Apple’s push toward on-device AI. It features a 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core and a faster 16-core Neural Engine, offering up to 3.5 times more AI performance than the M4 and as much as six times faster than the original M1.

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Apple unveils iPad Pro with M5 chip and major focus on AI performance

Apple iPad Pro

As was widely expected, Apple has taken the wraps off its latest iPad Pro powered by the M5 processor, which includes a 10-core GPU, new ray-tracing support, and a 10-core CPU split between performance and efficiency cores.

The new device, available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, offers faster AI processing, upgraded connectivity, and an improved display, while iPadOS 26 arrives with new tools designed to make the tablet better suited for work and productivity tasks.

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Gen Z targeted by AI-driven extortion scams

extortion fraud victim

New research looking at high pressure extortion scams reveals that Gen Z is being particularly impacted by AI-powered threats. All mobile users are at risk, however, with one in three having been targeted by an extortion scam, often threatening to expose pictures or browsing history, and nearly one in five falling victim.

The research from Malwarebytes shows a distinct target profile for extortion. 69 percent of victims and 64 percent of targets are Gen Z or Millennial (compared 52 percent of victims and 40 percent of targets of other types of scams). 65 percent of victims and 60 percent of targets are male (vs. 48 percent/45 percent)

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Google steps up the fight against scams with new tools and more education

E-mail Popup Warning Window Concept

Scams and fraud are an ever present threat on the internet and the rise of AI means that they’re getting harder to spot with the old giveaways of bad grammar and dodgy attachments largely eliminated.

Google is announcing a range of new tools and initiatives to help people remain safe online. These include improved app features, new account recovery tools and better education and awareness programs.

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Windows 10 Consumer Extended Security Updates slide into the Microsoft Store

Microsoft Store Windows 10 Extended Security Updates

The day has come and gone: Microsoft no longer supports Windows 10 for users who are not signed up for Extended Security Updates. Much has been made of the price and availability of these updates, including the difference between the EU – where they are free – and the rest of the world.

There are various ways to access and sign up for Extended Security Updates (ESU), and Microsoft has just added a new one. It is now possible to access the ESU program via the Microsoft Store – but there is no change to pricing.

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Open source malware up 140 percent

Malware Detected Warning Screen

The latest OS Malware Index from Sonatype shows a 140 percent surge in open source malware as attackers target data and trusted dependencies.

The index is compiled from analysis of 34,319 open source malware packages discovered by Sonatype across major open source registries including npm, PyPI, Hugging Face, and more. This quarter’s count brings the total number of malicious packages Sonatype has discovered to 877,522 since 2019.

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Instagram adopts PG-13 system to protect younger users

Instagram PG13

Meta has announced major changes to Instagram that it will be hoping will keep regulators satisfied. Like all social media platforms, Instagram has long been under pressure to do more to protect younger users from seeing inappropriate content; with this in mind, Meta says Teen Accounts will be guided by the PG-13 movie rating.

What this means in practice is that teenagers should only be able to “see content that’s similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie, by default”. Acknowledging that this will not be enough to keep everyone happy, parents will also have the option of making controls stricter if they feel it necessary or preferable.

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YouTube gets a UI refresh and a host of handy new features

YouTube new UI

Google has announced a series of updates and changes for YouTube, kicking off with a new-look user interface. The updated UI sees various buttons and control elements getting a visual refresh, but there are changes beyond the aesthetic.

An addition that will please many YouTube users is threaded replies. It is now not only possible to reply to comments on a video, but also to reply to those replies and have these comments visible in a tree structure. But there is still more.

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Google Wallet gets a handy new nicknaming option

Google Wallet passes

With Google Wallet, Google has helped to lighten our load by reducing the number of physical cards and tickets we need to take out with us. Debit and credit cards, loyalty cards, boarding passes, travel tickets and more can be stored electronically and accessed instantly.

But with the widespread switch from physical tickets, passes and cards, there comes a new problem – identifying individual things contained within Google Wallet. With a new update, Google is taking steps to try to address this by adding a new nickname option.

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Recovering and rebuilding trust after a cyberattack [Q&A]

Recovery Backup Restoration Data Storage Security Concept

However good your defenses, cyberattacks can still happen. However, in many cases, the aftermath can be worse than the attack itself, as enterprises struggle to calm nerves and reassure staff, customers, and shareholders.

We spoke with Daniel Tobok, CEO of incident response specialist CYPFER, to discuss how organizations can recover from a cyberattack and why the leadership's response is vital.

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Windows 10 support has ended, but Zorin OS 18 is here as the ultimate alternative to Windows 11

Zorin OS 18

Want to know a secret? If you don’t like Windows 11, you don’t actually have to use it. With Windows 10 support officially ending today, millions of PCs are being left behind. For users who want to keep their existing desktop or laptop, Linux offers another way forward, and Zorin OS 18 arrives just in time as one of the best Windows replacements available.

Zorin OS 18 is one of the most user-friendly Linux distributions around and introduces a new design, updated features, and improved compatibility with more of the tools people rely on every day.

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Your PC is spying on you and Ashampoo Privacy Inspector 3 has the evidence

Ashampoo Privacy Inspector 3

Ashampoo has released Privacy Inspector 3, a new version of its Windows privacy management software. The latest release gives users more transparency about what data their systems store, as well as how activity logs, device histories, and hidden files could leak personal information.

Privacy on Windows is a big concern for a lot of users as the OS and related applications gather information in order to improve functionality and deliver personalized experiences (as well as serving up personalized ads).

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Parents worry about children falling for online scams but fail to monitor usage

children kids tablet

A new study of over 1,000 US parents with children at home between the ages of two and 20 finds that 35 percent of families have experienced a phishing scam via text, email or chat, and 25 percent have had a game or social media account hacked.

The report from Bitwarden finds that children as young as three to five are already using the internet, and 42 percent of parents in this age group say their child has unintentionally shared personal information. Nearly 80 percent of kids ages three to 12 have their own tablet, making device access nearly universal by early elementary school.

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AI readiness helps companies gain an edge over their competition

Double exposure of technology hologram with man working on computer background. Concept of big data.

The latest AI Readiness Index from Cisco is based on a study of over 8,000 AI leaders across 30 markets and 26 industries. It finds that what it calls ‘Pacesetters,’ about 13 percent of organizations for the last three years, outperform their peers across every measure of AI value.

Of these Pacesetters 98 percent are designing their networks for the growth, scale and complexity of AI compared to 46 percent overall.

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Opera's mindful browser Opera Air gains an interactive cat companion

Opera Air Cat

Today, October 14, is most notable for being the day when Windows 10 reaches its end of life, but it’s also Global Cat Day. One of those may leave you feeling sad, while the other feline great (sorry).

To mark the cat day, Opera has introduced a playful feline companion within the interface of Opera Air, the company’s mindfulness-focused browser, and also launched a project to help street cats in Istanbul, often (and for good reason -- they're everywhere) called the cat capital of the world.

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