Theres nothing more done to death than the vampire. Director Robert Eggers says he tried to avoid the obvious by returning to the older folklore.

AI voice cloning and deepfakes are supercharging scams. One method to protect your loved ones and yourself is to create secret code words to verify someones identity in real time.

The end of the year means its time to reflect on whats really important in life: friends, family and Windows PC tips.That may sound silly, but Ive always believed its true. Useful tech tips and solutions help people get work done and accomplish tasks quickly so they can get back to whats actually important in their lives.Ive shared a lot of PC tips over the last year. Its easy for some of that to get lost in the hustle and bustle. So, as we wrap up 2024, its a good time to look back at the best advice of the year especially useful Windows suggestions that can take your computing to the next level, whether youre being productive on the job or just tweaking your personal PC at home.Find this sort of advice useful? You dont have to wait until the end of 2025 for more! Subscribe to my free Windows Intelligence newsletter to get new Windows tips each and every Friday.Windows PC tips #14: PC productivity upgradesTop 10 Windows productivity tipsThese productivity tips are the best of the best recommended by the incredibly smart and awesome readers of my Windows Intelligence newsletter!8 easy ways to transfer files between Windows and your phoneWe all have phones, and we all need to transfer files back and forth even if its just a few quick photos now and then. Here are lots of easy ways to get that done, with something for practically every type of workflow.20 insanely useful Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts I use every dayKeyboard shortcuts are an essential tool to take your PC productivity up a notch. This list is a great place to get started youll almost certainly learn something new!8 brilliant browser tab tricks for Windows power usersAs PC users, we tend to wrangle with browser tabs all day. These ideas will make you even more efficient in your web browser of choice, whether thats Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Brave, or anything else.Windows PC tips #57: Computer customizations10 ways to turn off Windows worst adsWindows can be full of obnoxious, noisy ads and notification pop-ups. But it doesnt have to be.5 dark mode upgrades for your Windows 10 or 11 PCDark mode has come a long way on Windows in the last few years, but it still has a way to go. If youre a dark mode fan, this advice will make your dark mode experience much better on Windows.5 ways to stop Windows Update from rebooting your PCDoes Windows Update restart your PC when you least expect it? If youd like more control, theres a lot you can do to take much more control of Update so it will work on your schedule.Windows PC tips #811: Features you need to try5 ways to control Windows with your voiceMicrosofts Cortana voice assistant is long gone, but Windows still has a suite of powerful voice-powered features. You can use your voice to type and even to navigate the desktop and apps no third-party software necessary!You should be using your Windows PCs touchscreen: 5 must-know tipsMany modern Windows laptops include touch screens. Heres how to start putting that easily overlooked element to more effective use.How to trim a video on Windows 11 or Windows 10Did you know you can trim a video file on Windows in a few clicks, cutting just the portion you want? Its possible with a quick tool buried in Windows no big Clipchamp video editor necessary.Why you should link your phone to your PCIf you havent set up the Phone Link app yet, you should! And if you have set it up, its worth a deeper look. This useful app included with Windows is packed with features for both Android phones and iPhones although its more powerful with an Android phone.Windows PC tips: #1214: Excellent apps to install10 PowerToys you should use on WindowsIm a big fan of Microsofts free and frequently updated PowerToys package for Windows PCs. Its packed with especially useful utilities you can install in a few clicks. Heres a tour of many of the most useful ones.The ultimate Windows app launcherMicrosofts new Workspaces PowerToy is a particularly useful and customizable app launcher that could transform many workflows. It might just be the best way to launch and arrange your apps after powering on your PC and signing in.The best ways to run Android apps on a Windows PCMicrosoft axed Android app support in Windows 11. But dont let that stop you: If you want to run Android apps on a Windows 11 PC, there are still some great alternatives.As always, I hope you find some especially helpful PC tips and tricks. And Ill see you in 2025 for even more Windows wizardry.Why wait? Uncover even more useful Windows tips and tricks with my free Windows Intelligence newsletter three new things to try every Friday and a free Windows Field Guide as soon as you sign up.

The worst technologies of 2024. The future of mixed reality. AIs impact on the climate. These are just a few of the topics we covered this year in MIT Technology Reviews monthly event series, Roundtables.The series offers a unique opportunity to hear straight from our reporters and editors about whats next for emerging technologies. Available exclusively for subscribers, these 30-minute online discussions provide insights, analysis, and perspectives on timely topics such as gene editing and smart glasses.Roundtables is also a chance for subscribers to ask questions about the latest technologies and learn more about their impact directly from our experts and guests. Subscribers can access recordings of past sessionsabout EVs in China, climate-friendly food, CRISPR babies, and AI hardware.To access the library, simply log in with your subscription or subscribe now to save 25% and unlock access to the entire series.Here are some highlights from this year in Roundtables:The Worst Technology Failures of 2024MIT Technology Review publishes an annual list of the worst technologies of the yearchronicling flops, failures, and other mishaps. The 2024 list was unveiled in December by executive editor Niall Firth and senior editor for biomedicine Antonio Regalado. They had a lively discussion about each of the eight items on this listand what we can learn from these fiascos.Whats Next for Mixed Reality: Glasses, Goggles, and MoreThis year brought many new developments in one particular consumer device category: smart glasses. After years of development, new augmented-reality specs from several companies made their debut. Editor in chief Mat Honan and AI hardware reporter James ODonnell talked about where its all heading.Putting AIs Climate Impact into PerspectiveThe rise of AI comes with a growing carbon footprint and greater demand for electricity. Analysts project that AI could drive up data centers energy consumption by 160% this decade. So how worried should we be? Editor at large David Rotman, senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkil, and senior editor for energy James Temple explored the energy trade-offs involved in AI.CRISPR Babies: Six years laterGene editing can correct or improve the DNA of human embryos, potentially opening the door to the technological evolution of our species. But in 2018, a premature attempt to use the technology this way led to a prison term for He Jiankui, the researcher involved. Editor in chief Mat Honan and senior editor for biomedicine Antonio Regalado had a conversation with He, a biophysicist and the creator of the first gene-edited humans, to revisit this controversial technology and the future of editing in IVF clinics.Why Thermal Batteries Are So Hot Right NowThermal batteries could be a key part of cleaning up heavy industry. Executive editor Amy Nordrum and senior climate reporter Casey Crownhart told us what we can expect next from this emerging technologywhich was also voted the 11th breakthrough technology of 2024 by our readers.

As we run, drive, bike, and fly, we leave behind telltale marks of our movements on Earthif you know where to look. Physical tracks, thermal signatures, and chemical traces can reveal where weve been. But another type of trail we leave comes from the radio signals emitted by the cars, planes, trains, and boats we use.On airplanes, technology called ADS-B (Automatic Dependent SurveillanceBroadcast) provides real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data. For ships at sea, that function is performed by the AIS (Automatic Identification System).Operating at 161.975 and 162.025 megahertz, AIS transmitters broadcast a ships identification number, name, call sign, length and beam, type, and antenna location every six minutes. Ship location, position time stamp, and direction are transmitted more frequently. The primary purpose of AIS is maritime safetyit helps prevent collisions, assists in rescues, and provides insight into the impact of ship traffic on marine life. US Coast Guard regulations say that generally, private boats under 65 feet in length are not required to use AIS, but most commercial vessels are. Unlike ADS-B in planes, AIS can be turned off only in rare circumstances.A variety of sectors use AIS data for many different applications, including monitoring ship traffic to avoid disruption of undersea internet cables, identifying whale strikes, and studying the footprint of underwater noise.Using the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Associations Marine Cadastre tool, you can download 16 years of detailed daily ship movements, as well as transit count maps generated from a years worth of data showing each ships accumulated paths. The data is collected entirely from ground-based stations along the US coasts.I downloaded all of 2023s transit count maps and loaded them up in geographic information system software called QGIS to visualize this year of marine traffic.The maps are abstract and electric. With landmasses removed, the ship traces resemble long-exposure photos of sparklers, high-energy particle collisions, or strands of fiber-optic wire.Victoria, British Columbia, and Seattle.DATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATALake HuronDATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATASavannah, GeorgiaDATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATALouisianaDATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATAZooming in on these maps, you might see strange geometric patterns of perfect circles, or lines in a grid. Some of these are fishing grounds, others are scientific surveys mapping the seafloor, and others represent boats going to and from offshore oil rigs, especially off Louisianas gulf coast.Hiding in plain sightHaving a global, near-real-time system for tracking the precise movements of all ships at sea sounds like a great innovationunless youre trying to keep your ships movements and cargoes secret.In 2023, Bloomberg investigated how Russia evaded sanctions on its oil exports after the invasion of Ukraine by spoofingtransmitting fake AIS datato mislead observers. Tracking a fleet of rusting ships of questionable seaworthiness, reporters compared AIS data with what they actually saw on the seaand discovered that the ships werent where the data said they were.Monitoring the fishing industryClusters of fishing vessels gravitating toward known fishing grounds create some of the most interesting patterns on the maps.Global Fishing Watch is an international nonprofit that uses AIS to monitor the fishing industry, seeking to protect marine life from overfishing. But it says that only 2% of fishing vessels use AIS transmitters.The organization, which is backed by Google, the ocean conservation group Oceana, and the satellite imagery company SkyTruth, combines AIS data with satellite imagery and uses machine learning to classify the types of fishing technology being used.In a press release announcing the creation of Global Fishing Watch, John Amos, the president and founder of SkyTruth, said: So much of what happens out on the high seas is invisible, and that has been a huge barrier to understanding and showing the world whats at stake for the ocean.A version of this story appeared in Beautiful Public Data (beautifulpublicdata.com), a newsletter that curates visually interesting datasets collected by government agencies.

The Iranian nation-state hacking group known as Charming Kitten has been observed deploying a C++ variant of a known malware called BellaCiao.Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky, which dubbed the new version BellaCPP, said it discovered the artifact as part of a "recent" investigation into a compromised machine in Asia that was also infected with the BellaCiao malware.BellaCiao was first documented by Romanian cybersecurity firm Bitdefender in April 2023, describing it as a custom dropper capable of delivering additional payloads. The malware has been deployed by the hacking group in cyber attacks targeting the United States, the Middle East, and India.It's also one of the many bespoke malware families the Charming Kitten actor has developed over the years. Affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the advanced persistent threat (APT) group is also known by the monikers APT35, CALANQUE, Charming Kitten, CharmingCypress, ITG18, Mint Sandstorm (formerly Phosphorus), Newscaster, TA453, and Yellow Garuda.While the group has a history of orchestrating creating clever social-engineering campaigns to gain targets' confidence and deliver malware, attacks involving BellaCiao have been found to weaponize known security flaws in publicly accessible applications like Microsoft Exchange Server or Zoho ManageEngine."BellaCiao is a .NET-based malware family that adds a unique twist to an intrusion, combining the stealthy persistence of a web shell with the power to establish covert tunnel," Kaspersky researcher Mert Degirmenci said.The C++ variant of BellaCiao is a DLL file named "adhapl.dll" that implements the similar features as that of its ancestor, containing code to load another unknown DLL ("D3D12_1core.dll") that's likely used to create an SSH tunnel.Unique to BellaCPP, however, is the lack of a web shell that's used in BellaCiao to upload and download arbitrary files as well as run commands."From a high-level perspective, this is a C++ representation of the BellaCiao samples without the web shell functionality," Degirmenci said, adding BellaCPP "uses domains previously attributed to the actor."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.

Traditional data protection methods often fail to provide effective cyber resiliency. Here are 5 questions to ask to allay the impact of evolving ransomware variants.

The worst technologies of 2024. The future of mixed reality. AIs impact on the climate. These are just a few of the topics we covered this year in MIT Technology Reviews monthly event series, Roundtables. The series offers a unique opportunity to hear straight from our reporters and editors about what's next for emerging technologies. Available exclusively for subscribers, these 30-minute online discussions provide insights, analysis, and perspectives on timely topics such as gene editing and smart glasses. Roundtables is also a chance for subscribers to ask questions about the latest technologies and learn more about their impact directly from our experts and guests. Subscribers can access recordings of past sessionsabout EVs in China, climate-friendly food, CRISPR babies, and AI hardware. To access the library, simply log in with your subscription or subscribe now to save 25% and unlock access to the entire series. Here are some highlights from this year in Roundtables: The Worst Technology Failures of 2024 MIT Technology Review publishes an annual list of the worst technologies of the yearchronicling flops, failures, and other mishaps. The 2024 list was unveiled in December by executive editor Niall Firth and senior editor for biomedicine Antonio Regalado. They had a lively discussion about each of the eight items on this listand what we can learn from these fiascos. Whats Next for Mixed Reality: Glasses, Goggles, and More This year brought many new developments in one particular consumer device category: smart glasses. After years of development, new augmented-reality specs from several companies made their debut. Editor in chief Mat Honan and AI hardware reporter James ODonnell talked about where its all heading. Putting AIs Climate Impact into Perspective The rise of AI comes with a growing carbon footprint and greater demand for electricity. Analysts project that AI could drive up data centers energy consumption by 160% this decade. So how worried should we be? Editor at large David Rotman, senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkil, and senior editor for energy James Temple explored the energy trade-offs involved in AI. CRISPR Babies: Six years later Gene editing can correct or improve the DNA of human embryos, potentially opening the door to the technological evolution of our species. But in 2018, a premature attempt to use the technology this way led to a prison term for He Jiankui, the researcher involved. Editor in chief Mat Honan and senior editor for biomedicine Antonio Regalado had a conversation with He, a biophysicist and the creator of the first gene-edited humans, to revisit this controversial technology and the future of editing in IVF clinics. Why Thermal Batteries Are So Hot Right Now Thermal batteries could be a key part of cleaning up heavy industry. Executive editor Amy Nordrum and senior climate reporter Casey Crownhart told us what we can expect next from this emerging technologywhich was also voted the 11th breakthrough technology of 2024 by our readers.

As we run, drive, bike, and fly, we leave behind telltale marks of our movements on Earthif you know where to look. Physical tracks, thermal signatures, and chemical traces can reveal where weve been. But another type of trail we leave comes from the radio signals emitted by the cars, planes, trains, and boats we use. On airplanes, technology called ADS-B (Automatic Dependent SurveillanceBroadcast) provides real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data. For ships at sea, that function is performed by the AIS (Automatic Identification System). Operating at 161.975 and 162.025 megahertz, AIS transmitters broadcast a ships identification number, name, call sign, length and beam, type, and antenna location every six minutes. Ship location, position time stamp, and direction are transmitted more frequently. The primary purpose of AIS is maritime safetyit helps prevent collisions, assists in rescues, and provides insight into the impact of ship traffic on marine life. US Coast Guard regulations say that generally, private boats under 65 feet in length are not required to use AIS, but most commercial vessels are. Unlike ADS-B in planes, AIS can be turned off only in rare circumstances. A variety of sectors use AIS data for many different applications, including monitoring ship traffic to avoid disruption of undersea internet cables, identifying whale strikes, and studying the footprint of underwater noise. Using the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Associations Marine Cadastre tool, you can download 16 years of detailed daily ship movements, as well as transit count maps generated from a years worth of data showing each ships accumulated paths. The data is collected entirely from ground-based stations along the US coasts. I downloaded all of 2023s transit count maps and loaded them up in geographic information system software called QGIS to visualize this year of marine traffic. The maps are abstract and electric. With landmasses removed, the ship traces resemble long-exposure photos of sparklers, high-energy particle collisions, or strands of fiber-optic wire. Victoria, British Columbia, and Seattle.DATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATA Lake HuronDATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATA Savannah, GeorgiaDATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATA LouisianaDATA: NOAA; MAP: JON KEEGAN / BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC DATA Zooming in on these maps, you might see strange geometric patterns of perfect circles, or lines in a grid. Some of these are fishing grounds, others are scientific surveys mapping the seafloor, and others represent boats going to and from offshore oil rigs, especially off Louisianas gulf coast. Hiding in plain sight Having a global, near-real-time system for tracking the precise movements of all ships at sea sounds like a great innovationunless youre trying to keep your ships movements and cargoes secret. In 2023, Bloomberg investigated how Russia evaded sanctions on its oil exports after the invasion of Ukraine by spoofingtransmitting fake AIS datato mislead observers. Tracking a fleet of rusting ships of questionable seaworthiness, reporters compared AIS data with what they actually saw on the seaand discovered that the ships werent where the data said they were. Monitoring the fishing industry Clusters of fishing vessels gravitating toward known fishing grounds create some of the most interesting patterns on the maps. Global Fishing Watch is an international nonprofit that uses AIS to monitor the fishing industry, seeking to protect marine life from overfishing. But it says that only 2% of fishing vessels use AIS transmitters. The organization, which is backed by Google, the ocean conservation group Oceana, and the satellite imagery company SkyTruth, combines AIS data with satellite imagery and uses machine learning to classify the types of fishing technology being used. In a press release announcing the creation of Global Fishing Watch, John Amos, the president and founder of SkyTruth, said: So much of what happens out on the high seas is invisible, and that has been a huge barrier to understanding and showing the world whats at stake for the ocean. A version of this story appeared in Beautiful Public Data (beautifulpublicdata.com), a newsletter that curates visually interesting datasets collected by government agencies.

If sticking to a budget is important, there are plenty of worthwhile phones for less than $300. And these phones will likely take a new spotlight as holiday deals discount them even more, but there's a big tradeoff to phones in this price range. A phone with modern specs like an eye-catching design, improved multitasking and wireless charging might still only receive one major software update and three years of security patches. Some sub-$300 phones have a longer timeline of four years for software updates and five years of security updates. But those devices skimp on certain features, possibly leaving you wanting to upgrade sooner anyway.This is the dilemma I've been weighing after testing a variety of phones that cost less than $300 over the course of 2024. We take software and security timelines seriously in our reviews because these updates can dictate whether devices get new software features and critical fixes. Now that premium phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 8 are promised seven years of software and security updates, we'd like to see more affordable phones step up to at least four to five years.However we're not there just yet. Most phones that cost $300 or less are shipping with a promise of one additional software update and three years of security updates. While Samsung is taking the opposite approach with its $200 Galaxy A15 5G and $300 Galaxy A25 5G, both of which get four years of software updates and five years of security updates, both have a dated design and lack features found on comparable phones.That means shoppers have to contend with the very same decision I've been pondering over the last few months: Do you go with a more feature-packed phone, such as the $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5G, which has extremely fast wired charging and a 108-megapixel main camera? Or is it better to choose a more bare-bones phone like those in Samsung's Galaxy A series, which will get crucial software updates for years to come. And to make matters more confusing, what about an older device that's now available at a discount, such as theGoogle Pixel 6A? Left to right: The Samsung Galaxy A25 5G, Motorola's Moto G Power 5G, Google's Pixel 6A and the OnePlus Nord N30 5G. Mike Sorrentino/CNETMore features, but shorter updatesMotorola and OnePlus both offer $300 phones that are worthy of your time and attention.This year's Moto G Power 5G is a looker, starting with its Pale Lilac vegan leather design. The entire Moto G line now makes use of this material, which results in an easier grip should you choose to not use the phone with a case. Motorola has also thrown 15-watt wireless charging into the mix, making it one of the cheapest phones to include this option. You'll get faster 30W speeds when plugging in the phone and charging it the old-fashioned way, but the flexibility to charge it without a cable is quite helpful -- and rare at this price.Last year's OnePlus Nord N30 5G has an attractive reflective design, which emphasizes its 108-megapixel main camera. It took decent photos when I reviewed it last year, but the real value feature was its 50-watt SuperVooc charger. Even though it's proprietary (meaning only the included charger achieves these speeds), it replenishes the battery up to 75% in 30 minutes -- a speed that most other phones do not achieve.Both of these phones include a super smooth 120Hz refresh rate, NFC for contactless payments and processors that are fast enough for multitasking along with playing games. But unfortunately, both of these phones also have shorter update schedules, with the OnePlus phone already a year into its update timeline having received Android 14. While the N30 is still on sale, it's only getting two more years of security updates. Meanwhile Motorola's new Moto G Power 5G will at least get Android 15 at some point in the future and security updates through 2027. Samsung's Galaxy A25 (bottom) puts its selfie camera into a bezel-adjacent notch, while the Moto G Power 5G, Pixel 6A and OnePlus Nord N30 5G use a sleeker display cutout for the camera. Mike Sorrentino/CNETLong lifespan, but a phone that's less funSamsung deserves recognition for extending the lifespan of its cheaper Galaxy A series phones. It's absolutely wonderful that both the $200 Galaxy A15 and the $300 Galaxy A25 will receive four years of software updates and five years of security updates. No competitor comes even close to that promise.Yet I wish both phones were more fun. Samsung nailed the basics for both of these phones, with high-refresh displays, NFC contactless payments and powerful enough processors.But compared to other similarly priced phones, Samsung's Galaxy A devices feel dull. Both are made of plastic and have a blocky notch rather than the sleeker cutout for the selfie camera found on most other competing phones. While Samsung's cheaper phones can handle essentials without issue, they struggle with simple multitasking. The A15 in particular loads consistently slow. While the A25 fared better with most tasks, it occasionally stutters when loading games or playing music while using a web browser and password manager simultaneously.This makes the Galaxy A15 and Galaxy A25 completely adequate if all you want is a phone for communication that won't need replacing anytime soon. But I worry that you'll run into dead ends as apps and services develop over the coming years, especially if these phones are already easily overwhelmed. While the OnePlus Nord N30 5G released in 2023 and Google's Pixel 6A in 2022, both phones are still available for under $300 with features worth considering. Mike Sorrentino/CNETCould Google's Pixel 6A be the low-budget champion?You may have noticed that I didn't discuss the cameras on any of the previously mentioned phones. That's because while all of them feature at least 50-megapixel main cameras, none of them take particularly impressive photos. Yet Google's Pixel 6A remains available for saleand often gets priced under $300.Thanks to a recent extension given to the Pixel 6 and later, the Pixel 6A will now get software updates until July 2027 along with security updates for the same amount of time. This is a major boost to this cheaper phone's usability, especially considering that Google originally planned to sunset the Pixel 6A's software updates in 2025.The Pixel 6A's 12.2-megapixel main camera is still impressive for the price. It runs on Google's first generation Tensor processor and comes with many of the Pixel's flagship features like Magic Eraser for editing photos, Live Translate and other long-standing Pixel exclusives like Call Screening and Hold for Me. The Pixel 6A also includes the AI-powered Circle to Search. Even though the Pixel 6A will miss out on Google's newer and more advanced Gemini AI features, it's still a promising option even two years after its release.However, you won't get wireless charging or a headphone jack on the Pixel 6A, and its screen is smaller and dimmer than other phones mentioned in this story. The Moto G Power 5G (left) includes wireless charging while the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G (right) gets more years of software and security updates. Mike Sorrentino/CNETHow to decide the best option?Your priorities matter most when choosing a budget phone. If you want the most features for an affordable price wrapped in an eye-catching design, consider phones from Motorola, Google and OnePlus.However, if the most important reason for buying a cheaper phone is to avoid upgrading for as long as possible, you should consider Samsung's Galaxy A phones.The irony is that you can't have both. The phone that gets updated for four years may not necessarily be the one you want to hang on to for four years.