Mar 24, 2025Ravie LakshmananMalware / RansomwareA ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation called VanHelsing has already claimed three victims since it launched on March 7, 2025."The RaaS model allows a wide range of participants, from experienced hackers to newcomers, to get involved with a $5,000 deposit. Affiliates keep 80% of the ransom payments, while the core operators earn 20%," Check Point said in a report published over the weekend./p>"The only rule is not to target the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)."As with any affiliate-backed ransomware program, VanHelsing claims to offer the ability to target a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, BSD, Arm, and ESXi. It also employs what's called the double extortion model of stealing data prior to encryption and threatening to leak the information unless the victim pays up.The RaaS operators have also revealed that the scheme offers a control panel that works "seamlessly" on both desktop and mobile devices, with even support for dark mode.What makes VanHelsing notable is that it allows reputable affiliates to join for free, while new affiliates are required to pay a $5,000 deposit in order to gain access to the program.Once launched, the C++-based ransomware takes steps to delete shadow copies, enumerate local and network drives, and encrypt files with the extension ".vanhelsing," after which the desktop wallpaper is modified, and a ransom note is dropped onto the victim system, urging them to make a Bitcoin payment.It also supports various command-line arguments to dictate various aspects of the ransomware's behavior, such as the encryption mode to be used, the locations that need to be encrypted, spread the locker to SMB servers, and skip renaming the files with the ransomware extension in "Silent" mode.According to CYFIRMA, government, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical companies located in France and the United States have become the targets of the nascent ransomware operation."With a user-friendly control panel and frequent updates, VanHelsing is becoming a powerful tool for cybercriminals," Check Point said. Within just two weeks of its launch, it has already caused significant damage, infecting multiple victims and demanding hefty ransoms.The emergence of VanHelsing coincides with a number of developments in the ever-evolving ransomware landscape -The discovery of new versions of Albabat ransomware that go beyond Windows to Linux and macOS, gathering system and hardware informationBlackLock ransomware, a rebranded version of Eldorado, has become one of the most active RaaS groups in 2025, targeting technology, manufacturing, construction, finance, and retail sectorsBlackLock is actively recruiting traffers to drive early stages of ransomware attacks, directing victims to malicious pages that deploy malware capable of establishing initial access to compromised systemsThe JavaScript-based malware framework known as SocGholish (aka FakeUpdates) is being used to deliver RansomHub ransomware, an activity attributed to a threat cluster dubbed Water ScyllaThe exploitation of security flaws in Fortinet firewall appliances (CVE-2024-55591 and CVE-2025-24472) by a threat actor dubbed Mora_001 since late January 2025 to deliver a newly discovered ransomware strain codenamed SuperBlack, a modified version of LockBit 3.0 that utilizes a custom data exfiltration toolThe Babuk2 (aka Babuk-Bjorka) ransomware group has been observed reusing data from earlier breaches associated with RansomHub, FunkSec, LockBit, and Babuk to issue fake extortion demands to victimsAccording to statistics compiled by Bitdefender, February 2025 was the worst month for ransomware in history, hitting a record 962 victims, up from 425 victims in February 2024. Of the 962 victims, 335 have been claimed by the Cl0p RaaS group.Another notable trend is the increase in remote encryption attacks, wherein ransomware attackers compromise an unmanaged endpoint, and leverage that access to encrypt data on managed, domain-joined machines.Telemetry data shared by Sophos reveals that there has been a surge in remote encryption by 50% year-on-year in 2024, and a 141% rise since 2022."Remote encryption has now become a standard part of ransomware groups' bag of tricks," said Chester Wisniewski, director and global field CISO at Sophos. "Every organization has blind spots and ransomware criminals are quick to exploit weaknesses once discovered.""Increasingly the criminals are seeking out these dark corners and using them as camouflage. Businesses need to be hypervigilant in ensuring visibility across their entire estate and actively monitor any suspicious file activity."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

Filmmaking is, more than anything else, a collaboration between tons of people sharing slightly different versions of the same vision, kept in line by a capable director and a budget. It requires a lot of compromise and a lot of finessing, and, for the most part, those who are successful in the industry make it because theyre good team players.Filmmaking also requires a lot of ego, and thats sometimes where things start going haywire. The only thing an audience loves more than a good movie is a good bit of behind-the-scenes drama, which tends to happen no matter how good actors and directors are at playing well with others, and Hollywood is full of stories about great films marred only by on-set controversy. Sometimes thats good for the art, and both parties can channel their frustrations into the scene. Sometimes it means that they never want to see each others faces ever again.Today, were celebrating those actor/director collaborations that did not work out for the best, even if the end result turned out to be a good movie. For every story about a director who loves working with a particular actor over and over, there are ten more about actors and directors whose experience working together made them hate each others guts. Some of these tales of premium beef are as famous as their movies; some of them are still ongoing. No matter how good their films turned out to be, you will almost certainly see any of these 12 pairs work together again.12 Pairs of Actors and Directors With Famous FeudsYou won't see these great actors and directors working together again.Gallery Credit: Emma StefanskyREAD MORE: Directors Who Publicly Admitted They Hated Their MoviesGet our free mobile appMovies We Love Because Theyre Always On CableThere's something fun about surfing through TV channels later at night and happening upon something youve never seen before.Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Valldaura Labs Campus in Barcelona is home to an industrial robot workshop created by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. The project is called Cathedral of Robotic Artisans, or CORA.The structure, made up of cross-laminated timber (CLT), is used for both the roof and the framework, enabling a green roof system with an arborescent structure.CORA is a project from the "Master in Advanced Architecture and Bioscities" (MAEBB) program, where international students were challenged to design and construct a functional building within a period of four months.The 135-hectare Collserola Natural Park in Barcelona is home to the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia's (IAAC) Valldaura Labs Campus. It is renowned for employing cutting-edge technologies in its projects in an inventive manner.Continuing with this practice, the labs have introduced a KUKA industrial robot, which is a versatile tool capable of milling, cutting wood, and other precision tasks.As part of the Master in Advanced Architecture and Biocities (MAEBB), an international team of students was challenged to design and build a working dwelling for this robot over a period of four months.The project's goal was to design a specific area for housing and controlling this industrial 6-axis milling robot. The room quietly echoes the presence of a cathedral thanks to its wooden structure, skylights, and elegant ambiance. The new structure is called CORA, which stands for Cathedral of Robotic Artisans, as a nod to both technology and workmanship.The challenge of the project has been to create a relationship between the new timber structure that reflects 21st-century architecture and the ancient brick structure that was constructed in the 19th century and was initially used as a stable.With suitable areas, facilities, and infrastructure for both robotic operations and human interaction, the new building was intended to be self-supporting.The building was designed by converting an existing structure next to the campus's digital manufacturing and research center, the Green Fab Lab. The building's structural integrity was maintained by meticulously preserving, restoring, and reinforcing the brick walls while removing the old roof.The main building material chosen was timber, which blends in perfectly with the architecture and landscape of the area.In addition to providing a sustainable substitute for conventional building materials, the suggested solution guarantees both practicality and aesthetic harmony.An arborescent structureSeven branching columns that resemble tree trunks support the project's prefabricated, self-sustaining timber framework. A Voronoi-style roof composed of solid wood and Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) joints is supported by these columns.The structure's precision joinery, created by Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining, allows it to span an area of 8.8 m by 4.6 m. CLT panels made at Valldaura Campus Labs were used to build these joints.Owing to the depth restrictions of CNC milling, several joints were composed of four separate machined layers. Cohesive elements were then created by adhering them together. The end product is a smooth, cohesive structural mass that supports a living green roof and contains the workshop's facilities.The joints of structural columns, measuring 200 by 260 mm and beams, measuring 200 by 400 mm, which are composed of solid wood, were built using a combination of digital fabrication processes and traditional joinery techniques, such as half lap or mortise and Tenon.Professional construction workers first pre-assembled the structure's four sides off-site, then craned them into place inside the four brick walls and fastened them firmly to the ground.Mediterranean green roofMaximizing natural light in the space was a major design objective, especially through the skylight above the robot and through glass windows and doors. While the panels offer a complete enclosure, the wooden faade successfully blocks direct sunlight from entering the structure.Notably, the faade bears no structural weight and is not dependent on the old brick walls. The integrity of the current architecture is maintained in this way.On top of the wooden roof panels, a heat gun is used to apply an impermeabilization membrane with root barriers as the initial layer of the green roof. In order to promote the growth of native, autochthonous Mediterranean plant species, the membrane is followed by a layer of hummus, drainage board, and geotextile fabric.The last step was the installation of irrigation pipes to guarantee adequate hydration. French lavender, creeping sedum, sweet clematis, and common honeysuckle were the plants chosen for the green roof. They were all chosen for their aesthetic worth and versatility.As part of its prototyping efforts, the Valldaura Labs team is currently using CORA to assist develop innovative solutions for advanced manufacturing and ecological design.IAAC also built a mass timber observatory based on "zero-kilometre" philosophy to create an ecological interactive prototype within the forest in Valldaura, Barcelona, Spain.In addition, IAAC and Berlin and Potsdam-based non-profit organization Bauhaus Earth added a mass timber installation to the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain.With more than 20 years of experience, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) is a research, training, manufacturing, and communication hub based in Barcelona. Its goal is to spearhead the effort to envision our society's future home and construct it in the here and now. Project factsDirection:Vicente Guallart, Daniel Ibaez and Michael SalkaValldaura Executive Director:Laia PifarrDeveloped by:The students of the Masters programme in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities (MAEBB), 2023/24 class: Alexander Tamazov, Toni Javor, Emma Rodriguez Berghmans, Neeshi Doshi, Lamprini Makarona, Diana Ruzanska, Alfred Ziad Aramouni, Anushreya Kondapi, Juan Sebastin Batallas Cueva, Marianna Santos Fujii, Varun Sreenath, Andr Arruda Navarro, Mustafa Teksoy, Oliver Needham, Alireza Shayan, Alkiviaids Avarkiotis. Maya Shoavi, Sharvari Sharath, Sveta Sathyanadhan, Vanessa Marie Alvarado Barrios, Helen Girma, Karla Velarde Sandoval, Kristina Schssler.Project Management:Esin AydemirExpert Staff:Bruno Ganem, Marielena Papandreou, Lorenzo Salinas, Viorel CazacuStaff:Pilar Fontanals, Laura SanchezAdvised by:Miquel Rodriguez, Elena Orte, Guillermo Sevillano, Ignasi Caus, David Valldeoriola, Silvia Burs, Toni Arola, Ionut Cosenco, Carles Enrich, Firas Safieddine Arturo de la MazaSponsors:Tallfusta, Alberch; MontpartWith the support of:Parc de Collserola, Ajuntament de Cerdanyola del VallsAll images Adri Goula.All drawings IAAC students.> via IAAC

Landowners, developers, joint ventures, design teams and operators are invited to submit innovative concepts which could help unlock the next generation of public spaces capable of supporting economic growth, wellbeing and climate resilience.The Public Realm Innovation Initiative will see a winning participant receive match funding to roll out a test and learn intervention which could help to build an evidence base, consolidate policies and harness meaningful community engagement in support of new high quality public realm.Alan Welby, managing director for the built environment and local growth at Connected Places Catapult, said: We are looking for an ambitious partner who values innovation and is eager to position their location as the centrepiece of a groundbreaking initiative to test and refine new ideas for better public spaces.AdvertisementOur ultimate ambition is to transform how public spaces are planned, funded and delivered - unlocking social, environmental and economic value at scale. By driving innovation, collaboration, and evidence-based decision-making, we aim to create resilient, inclusive and high-impact spaces that benefit both communities and economies.Founded in 2013 the Connected Places Catapult is an innovation agency focussed on cities, transport and place leadership. It has premises in London, at the University of Leeds and at the University of Strathclyde (pictured) in Glasgow.The latest open call seeks an innovation partner who could work alongside the agency, academics and technologists to develop and trial new public realm solutions focussed initially on improving health and wellbeing.The organisation already operates similar test beds initiatives such as the Station Innovation Zone with Network Rail at Bristol Temple Meads and the Connected Airport Living Lab with AGS Airports at Glasgow Airport.Competition detailsProject title Public Realm Innovation InitiativeClient Connected Places CatapultContract value TbcFirst round deadline 30 April 2025Restrictions Expressions of interest are welcomed from individual organisations, consortia, or joint ventures that:Operate in the UK with a focus on real estate development or place management.Have ownership or influence over mixed-use developments and a commitment to enhancing public spaces.Can provide sites within public space for the trial of innovative solutions, whether pre-development land or managed places.Demonstrate previous experience or future ambition to test and implement new ideas, technologies, or approaches.Value health, wellbeing, and sustainability in placemaking.Are willing to share insights and contribute to wider knowledge exchange.More information https://cp.catapult.org.uk/opportunity/public-realm-innovation-initiative/

A firmware update will bring lossless audio and ultralow-latency audio to Apple's flagship headphones -- but only over a wired connection.

The personal DNA testing service went public in 2021 and has been struggling with slowing sales ever since.

Prepare your best shocked face - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will launch for PlayStation 5 on 17th April. Read more

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereA Marvel Rivals TikTok advert that told players to abuse the Invisible Woman has been deemed to be a breach of advertising standards in Australia. During the start of the games Season 1 update, an advert showing the Invisible Woman in her Malice skin told players to abuse her this season.In an Ad Standards Community Panel held on March 5, 2025, Marvel Rivals was found to have breached advertising standards by promoting sexual violence against women within the vidoe game.Marvel Rivals Ad Standards breachIn the case, found here, it explains the adveryisement breaches both the advertising Code of Ethics for violence, but also sex, sexuality and nudity.This TikTok advertisement features a cartoon image of a woman laying back on something wearing a bodysuit, boots and gloves, the case reads. The text Abuse her this season is also featured.In the advert, a player voice says: Guardian Sheild is one of the most busted abilities in the game. So abuse Invisible Woman while you can, but she also has some crazy synergies which is what Marvel Rivals is all about!Following complaints by citizens towards the advert, the panel concluded that the ad does promote violence against women.The Panel noted that the first two seconds of the advertisement featured a still image of a cartoon woman with the text abuse her, the case reads. The Panel considered that the most likely interpretation was that the advertisement was inviting the viewer to harm the woman.While the advertisement is telling players to abuse free access to the character, its said in a way which does depict or suggest violence of a sexual nature. With this in mind, the advertisement does break advertising ethics.During the advertisements investigation period, Disney and NetEase didnt respond to the complaints raised by the Ad Standards panel. We have reached out to developer NetEase Games for comment.The abuse her advertisement isnt the only uncomfortable advertisement for NetEases popular superhero multiplayer game. Another advert, this time on Reddit, was deemed mysgonistic by players for again making use of the Malice skin to draw in players. Marvel Rivals is one of the biggest free-to-play games around with millions of players. Attached to one of the biggest Disney brands ever, the games hyper-sexual marketing is uncomfortable for some.Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereArrowhead recently released a new patch for Helldivers 2 with update 01.002.200, and this provided a long list of weapon buffs and nerfs. Following the update, HD2 players noticed a significant nerf that was not mentioned in the patch notes. Fortunately, Arrowhead has now made it clear that it is a known issue, and the Helldivers 2 devs plan to fix the huge nerf.Helldivers 2 devs plan to fix GL-21 nerfFollowing the release of update 01.002.200, Helldivers 2 fans noticed that the GL-21 Grenade Launcher was nerfed. Arrowhead CEO, Shams Jorjani, quickly confirmed that the nerf was an unintended bug, and now it has been added to Arrowheads known issues webpage.In addition to the GL-21 nerf, below are the other new known issues Arrowhead plan to fix:The GL-21 Grenade Launchers range has been unintentionally reducedAnti-Aliasing leads to visuals looking blurryHelldivers body might appear as a floating torso to other playersShrapnel spawns offset slightly south-west of their explosionsThe Account ID field in the options menu is blank. In the meantime, please make sure to include your in-game name or Steam ID in any support tickets!Hopefully the nerf will be fixed in the next hotfix update from Arrowhead. We dont know when this hotfix will arrive, but updates typically land on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, so hopefully there will be something this week.As for the GL-21, the nerf to its range has made the weapon unplayable in the eyes of fans. Reacting to the Grenade Launcher range change on Reddit, one fan commented, Ugh, this blows. GL was already towards the underpowered end of the spectrum, while another fan said, Its unplayable at the moment. Has little more range than the ultimatum. And the velocity is way down.You can see gameplay of the range change in the embedded Reddit post below:For more Helldivers 2, check out our guide to thebest warbonds ranked, along with thebest stratagemsandbest throwables. We have also a guide to thebest weapons, and, if youre coming back to HD2 for the first time in a long while, we have a bunch oftips and tricksto help you get reaccustomed to the battlefield.Helldivers 2Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5Genre(s):Action, Shooter, Third Person8VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Export to HTML and more in Verge3D 4.9 By Soft8Soft on March 24, 2025 3D News A fresh update of Blender-friendly WebGL creator tool is out! Here is what's new. Direct export to standalone HTML file Auto sliding around an obstacle in first person mode Support for multi-material objects and shared materials Better handling of cloned objects Possibility to replace shared textures individually More control over procedural lines Integration with Blender 4.4 Further optimizations!