YouTube is turning to AI to hit you with ads at the most annoying times
Unless you can count yourself among those who have a premium subscription, using YouTube means having to endure ads. This is annoying, but it could be getting a whole lot worse.
And things are getting worse because of artificial intelligence. Google has announced Peak Points, a Gemini ai-powered feature that gives advertisers way to hit you with ads when you are most engaged with a video.
Chainguard launches malware-resistant dependencies for Python
The Python programming language has become the foundation of modern AI and machine learning applications. Of course that makes it a prime target for supply chain attacks.
Public registries do minimal vetting of hosted artifacts, and they don't provide assurance that the distributed library matches its source code, exposing enterprises to supply chain attacks. Python libraries are also susceptible to supply chain attacks because many projects include more than just pure Python code -- for example project maintainers often rebundle shared system libraries into their Python libraries to ensure stable behavior.
HBO Max makes a surprise comeback
In another twist for streaming subscribers, Warner Bros. Discovery is scrapping the “Max” brand and reviving the “HBO Max” name this summer. The company made this move official at its Upfront event today in New York, touting it as a way to double down on what works best: the HBO brand and its reputation for quality programming.
Executives point to billions in profit improvements and millions of new subscribers, insisting that shifting the focus back to HBO will help the company hit a projected 150 million global subscribers by 2026. But as someone who follows streaming trends closely, I can’t ignore the constant rebranding.
How high availability mitigates the risks of application downtime
Delivering IT infrastructure that’s highly available, performant and secure is paramount for organizations of all sizes competing in today’s dynamic application landscape. With applications at the core of business operations, users expect them to be available 24/7.
Keeping these applications online and responsive so users enjoy the best application experience is vital to organizations' financial, reputational and operational health.
NordVPN finally gets a proper GUI on Linux
For years, NordVPN made Linux users live in the terminal. Sure, the command-line interface technically worked, but let’s not pretend it was ideal for everyone. Meanwhile, competitors like Surfshark and ExpressVPN had already given their Linux users full graphical interfaces. Now, NordVPN has finally caught up by launching its very own GUI for Linux.
So, what exactly does this mean? Well, instead of typing in commands, users can now click their way through connection options, settings, and even theme preferences like light or dark mode. This will arguably make using the service on Linux much easier.
Stratoshark has been donated to the Wireshark Foundation to boost open source cloud security
Cloud security company Sysdig has announced the donation of Stratoshark, the company's open source cloud forensics tool, to the Wireshark Foundation.
This move is aimed at fostering innovation within the community, building in the open, and pushing security forward with advanced tools that better understand cloud-native environments.
AI leads to a new phishing threat every 42 seconds
AI-powered phishing campaigns are bypassing traditional defenses as threat actors flood inboxes with polymorphic phishing, spoofed brands, and new malware families.
New research from the Cofense Phishing Defense Center (PDC) has tracked one malicious email every 42 seconds. Many of these were part of polymorphic phishing attacks that mutate in real-time in order to bypass traditional filters.
Poor online experience leads to rise in 'digital rage'
A new report from performance analytics company Conviva highlights a rise in 'digital rage' as 91 percent of consumers report encountering frustrating digital service issues in the past year.
Businesses risk backlash, lost revenue, and damaged reputations if they fail to address these problems. Poor digital experiences have immediate and tangible impacts on revenue as 55 percent of consumers abandon their purchase, 50 percent switch to another company, and 39 percent cancel their subscription.
UK government uses AI 'Humphrey' tool to review consultation responses
Fans of the 1980s British sitcom 'Yes Minister' will know the character Sir Humphrey -- a senior civil servant whose main role seemed to be to prevent ministers from implementing their policies. You may also know that Humphrey is the name of the Downing Street cat.
With its tongue firmly in its cheek then, the UK government is introducing 'Humphrey', a bundle of AI tools designed to speed up the work of civil servants and cut back time spent on admin, and money spent on contractors.
Mozilla wants to show you the future in Firefox Labs
For those who like to live on the cutting edge, beta software, preview programs and the like are incredibly enticing. Just about every major software title -- operating systems, even -- has one or more preview builds available, and web browsers like Firefox are no different.
But Mozilla has a slightly different option for anyone who feels uncomfortable with the idea of installing alpha, canary, or beta builds of apps -- Firefox Labs. This is Mozilla’s way of giving users access to optional features which have not yet made it into the main version of the browser. Here are the unreleased features you can try out right now.
Microsoft will support Office on Windows 10 until 2028 -- but not the operating system
It has been difficult to escape the fact Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 later this year -- on October 14 to be precise. The company has made much of issuing reminders about this date as well as endlessly pestering people to upgrade to Windows 11.
But it was not just Windows 10 that was to lose support in October. Microsoft had also said that Office (or Microsoft 365) on Windows 10 would not be supported from the same date. Now the company has had a change of heart, and will provide support for much longer than it previously announced.
How network APIs are transforming telcos [Q&A]
As network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) unlock more advanced capabilities like Quality on Demand, Device Location, Number Verification, and SIM Swap, they will also support cutting-edge solutions like private 5G networks using network slicing, which grants enterprises greater autonomy and control over their wireless networks.
We spoke to Doug Makishima, advisor to the Mobile Ecosystem Forum, to discuss the impact of network APIs as well as how mobile network operators (MNOs) are moving from being 'data pipes' to adopting Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) models and what this means for the industry
The modern workplace has a burnout problem: Is AI the remedy?
Burnout has long been an issue in the workplace, made worse by today’s “always on” culture. In fact, data shows that 77 percent of employees report feeling burned out.
If left unchecked, not only will it lead to health consequences, but also negatively impacts business outcomes. For instance, burnout often worsens employee performance and creates talent retention challenges if morale becomes too negative.
Active Directory recovery: Rebuilding the forest from root to tip
After 25 years, Active Directory remains a stalwart of IT infrastructure. Supporting access for an estimated 610 million employees, it enables seamless, secure connectivity to the networks that power daily business operations worldwide. Favored by nearly 90 percent of Global Fortune 1000 companies, according to Frost & Sullivan, Active Directory has long been the primary mechanism for enabling staff to connect, collaborate, and work efficiently.
Despite the rise of cloud-based alternatives, Active Directory's scalability, compatibility, and established integration with Windows environments has ensured its continuing appeal for hybrid and on-premise infrastructures. Its unrivaled scalability and powerful centralized control make it the go-to solution for managing users, devices, and policies at scale.
Nobara 42 ditches Firefox for Brave while becoming the friendliest Fedora-based Linux distribution ever
The latest version of Nobara has officially landed, and it’s packed with many thoughtful changes that continue to make it one of the most user-friendly Linux experiences around. With version 42, the Fedora-based distribution receives GNOME 48, KDE 6.3.4, Nvidia driver version 575.144, and Linux kernel 6.14.6.
One of the most noticeable changes, however, is the web browser switch. Firefox is surprisingly out, and Brave is now the default. That might sound controversial at first, but there’s actually solid reasoning behind it.
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