Latest Tech News

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• Activision has officially announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• The game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, but there's no release date yet
• The game will be set 40 years after Black Ops 6 in the year 2035

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Activision has officially announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

To close out the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Activision revealed its next Call of Duty game with a cinematic trailer, starring Gilmore Girls actor Milo Ventimiglia, as David Mason.

Developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, it's confirmed that Black Ops 7 will return to a futuristic setting and be set in 2035, which is 10 years after the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

In this next entry, players will be able to play with friends or play solo in a co-op campaign, a multiplayer mode featuring brand-new maps, and experience the next chapter of the round-based Zombies mode.

"The year is 2035 and the world is on the brink of chaos, ravaged by violent conflict and psychological warfare following the events of Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 6," the official description reads.

"Wielding cutting-edge technology, the Black Ops team led by David Mason must fight back against a manipulative enemy who weaponizes fear above all else."

Activision has confirmed that it will share the next look at Black Ops 7 later this summer.

"The team is looking to build on the incredible community enthusiasm and excitement we’ve seen within the Black Ops universe," said Tyler Bahl, Head of Activision Publishing Marketing, in a blog post.

"This is the first time we’re staying within the Black Ops series with back-to-back releases, so we’re excited to give players a bit more time to enjoy all the live seasons and provide players more of what they want across Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone before we turn the page to Black Ops 7."

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Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 8, #462

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 462 for June 8.

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Latest Tech News

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• Netsh.exe is the most abused Windows tool, and it still hides in plain sight
• PowerShell shows up on 73% of endpoints, not just in admin hands
• WMIC’s surprising comeback shows attackers favor tools no one’s watching anymore

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A new analysis of 700,000 security incidents has revealed just how extensively cybercriminals exploit trusted Microsoft tools to breach systems undetected.

While the trend of attackers using native utilities, known as Living off the Land (LOTL) tactics, is not new, the latest data from Bitdefender’s GravityZone platform suggests it’s even more widespread than previously believed.

A staggering 84% of high-severity attacks involved the use of legitimate system binaries already present on machines. This undermines the effectiveness of conventional defenses, even those marketed as the best antivirus or best malware protection.

Abuse of trusted system tools - netsh.exe tops the list

Some of the tools most commonly abused will be very familiar to system administrators, including powershell.exe and wscript.exe.

However, one tool unexpectedly emerged at the top: netsh.exe. A command-line utility for managing network configuration, netsh.exe was found in a third of major attacks - and while it is still used for firewall and interface management, its frequent appearance in attack chains suggests its potential for misuse is underestimated.

PowerShell remains a key component of both legitimate operations and malicious activity - although 96% of organizations use PowerShell, it was found running on 73% of endpoints, well beyond the scope of what would be expected from administrative use alone.

Bitdefender found, “third-party applications running PowerShell code without a visible interface” were a common cause.

This dual-use nature makes detection difficult, especially for tools not backed by behavior-aware engines.

It raises questions about whether the best EPP solutions are adequately tuned to account for this blurred line between normal and nefarious use.

Another surprising finding was the continued use of wmic.exe, a tool that Microsoft has deprecated.

Despite its age, the analysis shows it is still widely present in environments, often invoked by software seeking system information. It is particularly attractive when attackers are trying to blend in because of its legitimate appearance.

To tackle this issue, Bitdefender developed PHASR (Proactive Hardening and Attack Surface Reduction). This tool employs a targeted approach that goes beyond simply disabling tools.

“PHASR goes beyond blocking entire tools, it also monitors and stops the specific actions attackers use within them,” the company said.

Still, this approach is not without trade-offs. The fundamental dilemma, “can’t live with them, can’t live without them”, remains unresolved.

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Latest Tech News

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• Unihertz Titan 2 brings back the QWERTY keyboard with an impressive 512GB upgrade
• The Titan 2 is not for everyone, but that’s exactly its strongest selling point
• This phone brings back business-class typing and storage in a tank-like body

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Unihertz has announced a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming rugged smartphone, the Titan 2.

In a 16-second ad released by Unihertz, the company said, “We are getting ready for our Kickstarter in June,” offering a first look at a device that feels both familiar and ambitious.

The ad reveals the Titan 2 follows the original Uniherz Titan and the Titan Slim, continuing the brand’s focus on rugged smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards.

A familiar form factor with rugged credentials

With its square screen and hardware keys, the Titan 2 clearly echoes the BlackBerry era, when such designs were synonymous with business productivity and communication.

The new model appears to be a wider, flat-edged version of the Titan Slim, lacking the curved top and bottom design found on the original Titan.

Though detailed specifications remain scarce, Unihertz confirmed to TechRadar Pro that the commercial version of the Titan 2 will offer a substantial 512GB of internal storage.

This marks a significant upgrade from previous iterations, particularly the 2019 Unihertz Titan, which shipped with 128GB of storage, 6GB of RAM, and a MediaTek Helio P60 processor.

The original Titan was notable for its 4.5-inch 1440x1440 display, global LTE support, NFC capability, and 6,000mAh battery, all packed into a bulky 305g chassis with IP67 water and dust resistance.

The Titan and Titan Slim were never aimed at mainstream users. Instead, they targeted those seeking something unconventional.

The Titan 2 now seems poised to build on that lineage, with greater storage and a refreshed design, while remaining firmly rooted in the company’s niche aesthetic and utilitarian philosophy.

This business smartphone does not appear to be a contender for mass-market dominance. However, its physical QWERTY keyboard could appeal to professionals who value tactile input for communication-heavy workflows.

That said, this device is undeniably a niche product, and physical keyboards have long fallen out of fashion.

The Titan 2 will need to prove that nostalgia and rugged durability can coexist with modern expectations, otherwise, it will remain a niche offering.

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Latest Tech News

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• A huge dataset has been discovered unsecured online by researchers
• This contained roughly 4 billion records - including personal information
• The data could potentially be part of a surveillance effort targeting Chinese citizens

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An open instance containing "billions upon billions” of exposed records has been discovered online by cybersecurity researchers - and millions of people could be at risk as a result.

Researcher at Cybernews worked with cybersecurity researcher and owner of cyber risk and data protection site SecurityDiscovery.com to uncover a huge database without a password, leaking 631GB of information, equating to roughly 4 billion records.

The dataset primarily consists of Chinese customers and users from a range of different sources, in what the Cybernews research teams believed is a “meticulously gathered and maintained” database designed to build “comprehensive behavioral, economic, and social profiles of nearly any Chinese citizen.”

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A surveillance effort

This could be part of a surveillance project, researchers argue, and there are plenty of ways that a threat actor could exploit this information, such as social engineering attacks, identity theft, fraud or even blackmail.

“The sheer volume and diversity of data types in this leak suggests that this was likely a centralized aggregation point, potentially maintained for surveillance, profiling, or data enrichment purposes,” the team observed.

The instance was “”quickly taken down” after it was discovered, but it’s not known how long it was open for. Unsurprisingly for suspected surveillance data, the information contains PII like full names, dates of birth, and phone numbers, as well as financial data like card numbers, debt and saving information, and spending habits.

The largest collection of records most likely came from WeChat, a Chinese alternative to WhatsApp, with over 805 million records exposed.

Close behind was a collection of residential data “with geographic identifiers” with 780 million, and a collection named “bank” of 630 million records, primarily with financial and personally identifiable information.

If this data breach is as large as it seems, it contains over a billion records more than the National Public Data breach, which was recently reported as one of the largest data breaches ever.

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Set the Weights Down: BowFlex Adjustable Dumbbells Are Being Recalled. Here’s What to Know

Johnson Health Tech Trading has voluntarily recalled over 3.8 million sets of the BowFlex 552 and 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells. Here’s how to receive a replacement unit.

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Latest Tech News

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• Thunderbolt 5 brings external GPUs closer to delivering real desktop-class performance on thin laptops
• Gigabyte Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box is a dream for power users, not casual gamers
• Heat and power delivery are major concerns when running top-tier GPUs like the RTX 5090

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At Computex 2025, Gigabyte introduced a new external GPU enclosure designed to deliver high-performance gaming and AI capabilities.

The Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box connects via Thunderbolt 5 and is powered by Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 5090, following in the footsteps of previous models like the Aorus GTX 1070 and Aorus RTX 3080 Ti, which also featured top-tier Nvidia GPUs at the time.

With the RTX 5090 widely regarded as the best GPU on the market, the AI Box promises desktop-class performance for machines that previously maxed out with integrated graphics or modest discrete GPUs.

Thunderbolt 5 unlocks new performance potential

Thanks to Thunderbolt 5’s dramatically increased bandwidth, many of the bottlenecks that once plagued eGPU setups are being addressed, bringing users closer to the long-standing goal of running a high-end GPU on a lightweight, ultraportable machine.

Theoretically, the Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box checks nearly every box: cutting-edge graphics, future-proof connectivity, and plug-and-play flexibility. However, eGPU setups still come with inherent limitations.

Despite lower latency and higher throughput, external GPUs often fall short of matching the performance of internal GPUs due to data transfer overhead and potential driver inconsistencies.

Heat and power management also remain critical concerns, especially with a GPU as power-hungry as the RTX 5090.

There's also the question of practicality. This setup will likely be overkill for casual gaming or office tasks, but it will be a compelling option for developers, video editors, and 3D artists who need the fastest PC performance with the flexibility of a mobile setup.

That said, pricing will be a key consideration. Gigabyte has yet to announce the price of the AI Box, but with the RTX 5090 already commanding a premium, and Thunderbolt 5 components adding to the cost, this device won’t come cheap.

For reference, the Gigabyte Aorus GV-N4090IXEB-24GD, launched two years ago, debuted at $2,000. The new model could very well surpass that figure.

Via PCWatch (originally published in Japanese)

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Latest Tech News

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• A watered-down Nvidia RTX Pro 6000 is still potent enough to keep China’s AI ambitions alive
• Nvidia’s workaround isn’t top-tier, but it could still flood China’s data centers
• Export rules slow performance, but they can’t stop parallelized AI scaling by Chinese CSPs

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In response to US export restrictions introduced in April 2025, Nvidia is reportedly preparing a special edition of its RTX Pro 6000 GPU for the Chinese market.

A report from TrendForce claims this new version will switch from high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to the slower but more accessible GDDR7.

The switch will allow the chip to comply with new regulations that prohibit GPUs with HBM-level memory bandwidth or advanced interconnect capabilities, resulting in a scaled-down GPU, but not one lacking power.

Not the best, but enough for decent AI work

The RTX Pro 6000 is a potent chip. Even after being watered down, TrendForce estimates its performance will fall between Nvidia’s older L40S and the L20 China edition. This places the chip well within the range of GPUs capable of meaningful AI workloads.

What’s driving interest is not just availability, but capability, even with the downgrade. Critics have pointed out that a cut-down version of a very powerful card is still extremely capable, especially if it's priced more affordably.

As a result, Chinese cloud service providers (CSPs) are expected to scale horizontally, buying more units and optimizing for larger node deployments.

Yes, this approach will be more expensive and consume more power, but that’s just a numbers game - CSPs will need to increase infrastructure investment and manage higher power demands. The downside, of course, is that such workarounds are inherently inefficient.

Nonetheless, if the price per unit is right, the aggregate performance could still meet, or even exceed, current needs.

It may not be the fastest setup in traditional terms, but in parallelized environments, the performance gap could narrow. That said, Chinese chipmakers like Huawei and Cambricon are working to fill the gap left by restricted access to top-tier Nvidia GPUs.

If the special edition RTX Pro 6000 succeeds, it might delay the domestic adoption of homegrown alternatives. If it fails, it could accelerate them.

Nvidia’s strategy may help it navigate current U.S. restrictions, but it remains an open question whether that will be enough in the long run.

A weaker chip could still be one of the fastest GPUs on the market, and too powerful to ignore, especially when the line between compliance and capability is so finely drawn.

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We'll teach you how to identity phishing links from legitimate ones on your phone or inbox.

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Latest Tech News

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• Meta signs 20-year deal to prop up Illinois nuclear energy facility
• Clinton Clean Energy Center was set to close in 2027
• Facility will provide 1,121 megawatts of "emissions-free nuclear energy"

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Meta has revealed a deal to prop up a nuclear power plant over the next 20 years in what it says is a bid to power the continued demand for AI.

The Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois, owned by Constellation Energy, was due to be mothballed in 2027, but will now stay open thanks to Meta's support.

The 20-year deal will see the facility provide 1,121 megawatts of "emissions-free nuclear energy", with additional incremental capacity of 30MW if needed.

Nuclear power for Meta AI

The deal will mark only the second US site to host a nuclear reactor built entirely this century, following Plant Vogtle, built in 2023 near Waynesboro, Georgia.

"As we have embarked on understanding and helping to grow nuclear energy in the U.S., we have heard from across the ecosystem that existing nuclear power plants will not be able to stay online indefinitely without partners and investments that help extend existing operating licenses and increase generation capacity," Meta said in a statement.

"It’s clear that there are many nuclear power plants serving the U.S. that need long-term support to help our electricity grids remain reliable as energy needs grow."

"Keeping an existing plant operating will have the same positive effect as adding new clean energy to the grid, and avoid the disruption that has occurred when other nuclear units have retired prematurely."

(Image credit: Constellation Energy)

Built in 1987, Meta says the Clinton Clean Energy Center support will also preserve over 1,100 local jobs and contributes $13.5 million annually in tax revenue.

The plant had been facing closure as long ago as 2017 due to financial pressure, but Illinois passed its Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which extended its operations via a zero-emission credit (ZEC) program. This was due to expire in 2027, but Meta's support should now see it operate long past this.

“We are proud to partner with Meta because they asked that important question, and even better, they figured out that supporting the relicensing and expansion of existing plants is just as impactful as finding new sources of energy," noted said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO, Constellation.

"Sometimes the most important part of our journey forward is to stop taking steps backwards.”

A March 2025 report commissioned by the firm and carried out by The Brattle Group claimed shuttering the Clinton plant would have led to 34 million metric tons of additional carbon pollution over 20 years - the equivalent of an additional 7.4 million gas-powered cars coming onto the road for one year - as well causing as Illinois’ GDP to drop by $765 million annually.

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Latest Tech News

Samsung may have quietly handed the smackdown to Apple and whatever super-slim phone the Cupertino crew might be cooking up.

That's because in a recent video interview with our sibling publication Tom’s Guide, Blake Gaiser, director of smartphone product management at Samsung Electronics America, touted the efforts and innovations the South Korean company made to bring the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge to fruition.

Describing it as a “Goldilocks” of smartphones to Global Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer, Gaiser championed how the Galaxy S25 Edge is a true high-end phone that could create a whole new category of smartphone.

“We do consider it to be a flagship. It is a new innovation piece that we're bringing forth where we're taking out so much weight, so much thickness of this device, while not compromising on the things that are really important to our customers, such as durability, the performance of the chipset, having that flagship 200MP camera,” explained Gaiser.

“And so we do believe that this is that kind of Goldilocks for so many of our customers that is going to give them everything they want and not give them the things that they're not looking for.”

Gaiser went on to discuss more aspects of the Galaxy S25 Edge, from its design to its cameras and AI.

But what resonated with me, as a tech journalist with copious amounts of experience writing about and handling some of the best phones, is that Samsung may have seriously thrown down the gauntlet at Apple and what it might do with the rumored iPhone 17 Air.

I feel Apple will need to bring something special to the table in order to somewhat clap back at Samsung, while also being seen as forging its own path.

As it stands, the iPhone 17 Air exists in the realms of rumor and speculation, but I’d place a favourable bet that Apple will look to slim down its next-generation iPhones; as much as I love the design of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I’m not against it getting a nip and a tuck.

Check out the full interview in the video above and then let me know in the comments whether you think Samsung has created something special here or if it's more of a gimmick.

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