Editor's take: Taking screenshots on modern mobile devices is incredibly easy. However, inexperienced users often overlook the potential security risks of saving images containing sensitive data. This oversight can lead to financial losses, as cybercriminals are always ready to exploit such lapses in operational security. Kaspersky has uncovered a new malware campaign designed to breach users' crypto wallets and steal Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Dubbed SparkCat, the malware leverages advanced optical character recognition technology integrated into modern smartphone platforms to scan for recovery phrases used to access crypto wallets. Notably, it affects both Android and iOS ecosystems.SparkCat was found embedded in several Android and iOS apps, some of which were available in official app stores. The malware employs a malicious SDK that integrates Google's OCR technology, enabling it to scan users' photo galleries for screenshots and extract crypto wallet recovery codes from images.The infected apps discovered on Google Play had been downloaded over 242,000 times. Meanwhile, some malicious apps targeting iOS remain available for download, including two AI chat tools (WeTink and AnyGPT) and a Chinese food delivery app (ComeCome).Kaspersky believes the SparkCat campaign has likely been active since March 2024. The malicious apps featured a previously unseen protocol written in Rust, which proved useful for communicating with command-and-control servers operated by the cybercriminals behind the attack.The origin of SparkCat remains unclear. Kaspersky has not determined whether the infection was part of a sophisticated supply chain attack or the result of deliberate actions by the app developers. The malware employs tactics previously observed by researchers in 2023, when ESET analysts discovered malicious "implants" in Android and Windows apps designed to scan images for crypto wallet access codes. // Related StoriesSparkCat underscores the risks of poor security practices on personal mobile devices. Saving screenshots in a phone's gallery is already a potential vulnerability, but for users who have invested in cryptocurrency, it can turn into a serious security threat.

Not every tablet needs to be packed with features. Sometimes, the essentials are all it takes, which makes tablets like the Lenovo Tab M9 all the more appealing. As a matter of fact, this Lenovo product is part of an exclusive doorbuster sale:Right now, when you order the Lenovo Tab M9 (4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage) through the manufacturer, youll only pay $94. The full MSRP on this model is $150. Its one of the best tablet deals weve seen all week, so dont miss out!Lightweight and portable is the name of the game with the Lenovo Tab M9. Small enough to hang out in just about any backpack, handbag, or piece of luggage, the M9 delivers up to 13 hours of battery life on a full charge, making it perfect for school and work applications or hours of HD video playback. Speaking of pixels, the nine-inch touchscreen supports 1340 x 800 resolution and delivers up to 400 nits at peak brightness.RelatedPowered by a MediaTek Helio G80 processor and running Android 12, you can expect fast and reliable performance from the Tab M9. Whether youve got multiple web pages open at the same time or youve got a night of HD movies lined up to watch, the M9 has got you covered! Youll also be treated to two Dolby Atmos-capable speakers for some of the best tablet audio youve ever heard!The Lenovo Tab M9 also includes a USB-C 2.0 port, a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot should you need additional storage. Its hard to say how long this discount is going to stick around, though Lenovo doorbusters do tend to fly off the shelves. That being said, today could be the last day to save.Take $56 off the Lenovo Tab M9 when you order today. We also recommend having a look at our lists of the best Lenovo laptop deals, and best Lenovo ThinkPad deals for even more discounts on Lenovo hardware.Editors Recommendations

When Vivo launched the x200 lineup last year, it teased an Ultra model but said we wouldnt see it until 2025. While were still not clear on a release date, weve learned a few details about the upcoming flagships camera setup that have us excited. A tipster leaked the information on Weibo and revealed several key details about what to expect from this handset.The Vivo X200 Ultra is said to have a three-camera setup that includes a 50MP main camera, a 200MP periscope telephoto camera, and a 50MP ultrawide camera. If that sounds a little familiar, its because the Vivo X200 Pro has the same main and telephoto units. What sets the X200 Ultra apart is the sensor for its ultrawide. A 1/2.76-inch sensor will allow much more light to enter, making it ideal for taking higher-resolution shots even in dim conditions.Recommended VideosIn addition, the main camera will default to a 1.5x zoom. Thats roughly a 35mm focal length on its standard zoom, and the ultrawide will default to a 1x zoom setting instead of 0.5x or 0.6x. Like any other phone, though, youll be able to adjust the zoom on the fly.Tushar Mehta / Digital TrendsWhile the camera upgrades arent as flashy as others, the increased sensor size will offer better low-light photography. The phone is also rumored to have a 6.78-inch display with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a battery up to 6,000mAh in size. While impressive, theres just one problem: we arent sure if this phone will release globally or not.Please enable Javascript to view this contentVivo releases some of its phones in the western market, but not all. The Vivo X200 is not available for purchase in the United States, and that doesnt bode well for its Ultra variant.Editors Recommendations

The agreement settles claims that Brinks Global Services USA operated as an unregistered money-services business.

The actor hosts a three-part documentary on FOX Nation about Yosemite National Park and a legendary camping trip there in 1903, when naturalist John Muir lobbied the president to better protect the nations natural wonders.

The new cookbook Sift is chock-full of tempting recipes and clever baking tips

Clean, but not fully green The UK got rid of coalwheres it going next? The UK has transitioned to a lower-emission grid. Now comes the hard part. Gordon Feller Feb 6, 2025 3:20 pm | 0 Credit: Gannet77 Credit: Gannet77 Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWith the closure of its last coal-fired power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, on September 30, 2024, the United Kingdom has taken a significant step toward its net-zero goals. Its no small feat to end the 142-year era of coal-powered electricity in the country that pioneered the Industrial Revolution. Yet the UK's journey away from coal has been remarkably swift, with coal generation plummeting from 40 percent of the electricity mix in 2012 to just two percent in 2019, and finally to zero in 2024.As of 2023, approximately half of UK electricity generation comes from zero-carbon sources, with natural gas serving as a transitional fuel. The UK aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent to 48 percent by 2027 and achieve net-zero by 2050. The government set a firm target to generate all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040, emphasizing offshore wind and solar energy as the keys.What will things look like in the intervening years, which will lead us from today to net-zero? Everyones scenario, even when based in serious science, boils down to a guessing game. Yet some things are more certain than others, the most important of these factors being the ones that are on solid footing beneath all of the guesswork.Long-term goalsThe closure of all UK coal-fired power stations in 2024 marked a crucial milestone in the nation's decarbonization efforts. Coal was once the dominant source of electricity generation, but its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions made it a primary target for phase-out. The closure of these facilities has significantly reduced the UK's carbon footprint and paved the way for cleaner energy sources.With transition from coal, natural gas is set to play a crucial role as a "transition fuel." The governments British Energy Security Strategy argued that gas must continue to be an important part of the energy mix. It positioned gas as the "glue" that holds the electricity system together during the transition. Even the new Starmer government recognizes that, as the country progresses towards net-zero by 2050, the country may still use about a quarter of the gas it currently consumes.Natural gas emits approximately half as much carbon dioxide as coal when combusted, making it a cleaner alternative during the shift to renewable energy sources. In 2022, natural gas accounted for around 40 percent of the UKs electricity generation, while coal contributed less than two percent. This transition phase is deemed by the government to be essential as the country ramps up the capacity of renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar power, to fill gaps left by the reduction of fossil fuels. The government aims to phase out natural gas thats not coupled with carbon capture by 2035, but in the interim, it serves as a crucial bridge, ensuring energy security while reducing overall emissions.But its role is definitely intended to be temporary; the UKs long-term energy goal is to reduce reliance on all fossil fuels (starting with imported supplies), pushing for a rapid transition to cleaner, domestic sources of energy.The governments program has five primary targets:Fully decarbonizing the power system (2035)Ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars (2035)Achieving "Jet Zero" - net-zero UK aviation emissions (2050)Creating 30,000 hectares of new woodland per year (2025)Generating 50 percent of its total electricity from renewable sources by 2030Offshore wind energy has emerged as this strategys key component, with significant investments being made in new wind farms. Favorable North Sea wind conditions have immense potential. In recent years, a surge in offshore wind investment has translated into several large-scale developments in advanced planning stages or now under construction.The government has set a target to increase offshore wind capacity to 50 GW by 2030, up from around 10 GW currently. This initiative is supported by substantial financial commitments from both the public and private sectors. Recent investment announcements underscore the UK's commitment to this goal and the North Seas central role in it. In 2023, the government announced plans to invest $25 billion (20 billion British pounds) in carbon capture and offshore wind projects in the North Sea over the next two decades. This investment is expected to create up to 50,000 jobs and help position the UK as a leader in clean energy technologies.This was part of investments totaling over $166 million (160 million euros) to support the development of new offshore wind farms, which are expected to create thousands of jobs and stimulate local economies.In 2024, further investments were announced to support the expansion of offshore wind capacity. The government committed to holding annual auctions for new offshore wind projects to meet its goal of quadrupling offshore wind capacity by 2030. These investments are part of a broader strategy to leverage the UK's expertise in offshore industries and transition the North Sea from an oil and gas hub to a clean-energy powerhouse.Offshore windAs the UK progresses toward its net-zero target, it faces both challenges and opportunities. While significant progress has been made in decarbonizing the power sector, the national governments Climate Change Committee has noted that emissions reductions need to accelerate in other sectors, particularly agriculture, land use, and waste. However, with continued investment in renewable energy and supportive policies, the UK is positioning itself to become a leader in the global transition to a low-carbon economy.Looking ahead, 2025 promises to be a landmark year for the UKs green energy sector, with further investment announcements and projects in the pipeline.The Crown Estate, which manages the seabed around England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, has made significant strides in facilitating new leases for offshore wind development. In 2023, the Crown Estate Scotland announced the successful auction of seabed leases for new offshore wind projects, totaling a capacity of 5 gigawatts. And in 2024, the government plans to hold its next major leasing round, which could see the deployment of an additional 7 GW of offshore wind capacity.The UK government also approved plans for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which will be the world's largest offshore wind farm when completed. Located off the coast of Yorkshire, this massive project will ultimately generate enough electricity to power millions of homes. Dogger is a joint venture linking SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vattenfall.This is in line with the governments broader strategy to enhance energy independence and resilience, particularly in light of the geopolitical uncertainties affecting global energy markets. The UKs commitment to renewable energy is not merely an environmental imperative; it is also an economic opportunity. By harnessing the vast potential of the North Sea, the UK aims not only to meet its net-zero targets but also to drive economic growth and job creation in the green energy sector, ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.Recognizing winds importance, the UK government launched a 2024 consultation on plans to develop a new floating wind energy sector.The transition to a green economy more generally is projected to create up to 400,000 jobs by 2030 across various sectors, including manufacturing, installation, and maintenance of renewable energy technologies.Its growing offshore wind industry is expected to attract billions in investment, solidifying the UKs position as a leader in the global green energy market. The governments commitment to offshore wind development, underscored by substantial investments in 2023 and anticipated announcements for 2024, signals a robust path forward.Moving away from gasStill, the path ahead remains challenging, requiring a multifaceted approach that balances economic growth, energy security, and environmental sustainability.With the transition from coal, natural gas is now poised to play the central role as a bridge fuel. While natural gas emits fewer greenhouse gases than coal, it is still a fossil fuel and contributes to carbon emissions. However, in the short term, natural gas can help maintain energy security and provide a reliable source of electricity during periods of low renewable energy output. Additionally, natural gas can be used to produce hydrogen, potentially coupled with carbon capture, enabling a clean energy carrier that can be integrated into the existing energy infrastructure.To support the countrys core clean energy goals, the government is implementing specific initiatives, although the pace has been quite uneven. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is being strengthened to incentivize industrial decarbonization. The government has also committed to investing in key green industries alongside offshore wind: carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), and nuclear energy.Combined, these should allow the UK to limit its use of natural gas and capture the emissions associated with any remaining fossil fuel use.While both countries are relying heavily on wind power, the UKs energy-generation transformations are different from Germanys. While both governments push to make some progress on the path to net-zero carbon emissions, their approaches and timelines differ markedly.Energiewende, Germany's energy transition, is characterized by what some critics consider to be overly ambitious goals for achieving net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. Those critics think that the words dont come close to matching the required levels of either government or private sector financial commitment. Together with the Bundestag, the chancellor has set interim targets to reduce emissions by 65 percent by 2030 and 88 percent by 2040 (both compared to 1990 levels). Germany's energy mix is heavily reliant on renewables, with a goal of sourcing 80 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030and achieving 100 percent by 2035.However, Germany has faced challenges due to continued reliance on coal and natural gas, which made it difficult to reach its emissions goals.The UK, however, appears to be ahead in terms of immediate reductions in coal use and the integration of renewables into its energy mix. Germany's path is more complex, as it balances its energy transition with energy security concerns, particularly in light of how Russias war affects gas supplies. 0 Comments

immune evasion Protection from COVID reinfections plummeted from 80% to 5% with omicron New study shows why annual COVID boosters are critical to controlling COVID. Beth Mole Feb 6, 2025 2:57 pm | 10 Credit: Getty | Thomas Trutschel Credit: Getty | Thomas Trutschel Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWith the rise of omicron came the fall of long-lasting protection from reinfection with the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to a study published in Nature.Using population-wide data from Qatar, researchers found that a COVID-19 infection from a pre-omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 (such as alpha or delta) yielded around 80 percent protection from reinfection with another pre-omicron variantand that level of protection lasted over the course of at least a year. But, things changed in late 2021 with the emergence of omicron, which still reigns supreme today. According to the data, an infection with omicron provided an initial protection of nearly 80 percent between the first three to six months after infection, but that protection rapidly declined. Between nine months and a year, protection fell to around 27.5 percent, then dropped to a negligible 5 percent after a year. Effectiveness of previous infection against reinfection. Credit: Chemaitelly et al., Nature, 2025 The results of infection-derived protection were similar regardless of whether people were vaccinated or unvaccinated, a sub analysis found. The study did not evaluate vaccine efficacy. A study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that the 2023-2024 mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were 52 percent effective at preventing infection after four weeks, with effectiveness falling to 20 percent at 20 weeks (a little over four and half months).The only bright spot in the new data was that regardless of what a person was infected withpre-omicron or omicronprotection from severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19 during a reinfection was nearly 100 percent, and that level of protection was sustained for over a year.It should be noted, though, that the population of Qatar is predominately male and relatively young. The median age of the over 1.5 million people who represented cases and controls in the study was between 32 and 33. So, the findings here may not be generalizable to populations that skew older. For context, the median age of the US population is around 39.Here to stayStill, the stark difference in protection from reinfection between the pre- and post-omicron eras of the pandemic is clearand it's critically important for our current handling of SARS-CoV-2. The reduction of long-term protection from reinfection means that we will continue to face periodic waves of infection and that annual updated vaccines will be critical for dulling potential disease spikes and protecting vulnerable people."The short-lived immunity leads to repeated waves of infection, mirroring patterns observed with common cold coronaviruses and influenza," Hiam Chemaitelly, first author of the study and assistant professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, said in a statement. "This virus is here to stay and will continue to reinfect us, much like other common cold coronaviruses. Regular vaccine updates are critical for renewing immunity and protecting vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions."Chemaitelly and colleagues speculate that the shift in the pandemic came from shifts in evolutionary pressures that the virus faced. In early stages of the global crisis, the virus evolved and spread by increasing its transmissibility. Then, as the virus lapped the globe and populations began building up immunity, the virus faced pressure to evade that immunity.However, the fact that researchers did not find such diminished protection against severe, deadly COVID-19 suggests that the evasion is likely targeting only certain components of our immune system. Generally, neutralizing antibodies, which can block viral entry into cells, are the primary protection against non-severe infection. On the other hand, immunity against severe disease is through cellular mechanisms, such as memory T cells, which appear unaffected by the pandemic shift, the researchers write.Overall, the study "highlights the dynamic interplay between viral evolution and host immunity, necessitating continued monitoring of the virus and its evolution, as well as periodic updates of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to restore immunity and counter continuing viral immune evasion," Chemaitelly and colleagues conclude.In the US, the future of annual vaccine updates may be in question, however. Prominent anti-vaccine advocate and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to become the country's top health official, pending Senate confirmation next week. In 2021, as omicron was rampaging through the country for the first time, Kennedy filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to revoke access and block approval of all current and future COVID-19 vaccines.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 10 Comments

Humpback whales in the South PacificTony Wu/Nature Picture Library/AlamyHumpback whale songs have statistical patterns in their structure that are remarkably similar to those seen in human language. While this doesnt mean the songs convey complex meanings like our sentences do, it hints that whales may learn their songs in a similar way to how human infants start to understand language.Only male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) sing, and the behaviour is thought to be important for attracting mates. The songs are constantly evolving, with new elements appearing and spreading through the population until the old song is completely replaced with a new one. AdvertisementWe think its a little bit like a standardised test, where everybodys got to do the same task but you can make changes and embellishments to show that youre better at the task than everybody else, says Jenny Allen at Griffith University in Gold Coast, Australia.Instead of trying to find meaning in the songs, Allen and her colleagues were looking for innate structural patterns that may be similar to those seen in human language. They analysed eight years of whale songs recorded around New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean.The researchers started by by creating alphanumeric codes to represent every song from every recording, including around 150 unique sounds in total. Basically its a different grouping of sounds, so one year they might do grunt grunt squeak, and so well have AAB, and then another year they might have moan squeak grunt, and so that would be CBA, says Allen. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterOnce all the songs had been encoded, a team of linguists had to figure out how best to analyse so much data. The breakthrough came when the researchers decided to use an analysis technique that applies to how infants discover words, called transitional probability.Speech is continuous and there are no pauses between words, so infants have to discover word boundaries, says Inbal Arnon at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. To do this, they use low-level statistical information: specifically, sounds are more likely to occur together if they are part of the same word. Infants use these dips in the probability that one sound follows another to discover word boundaries.For example, in the phrase pretty flowers, a child intuitively recognises that the syllables pre and tty are more likely to go together than tty and flow. If whale song has a similar statistical structure, these cues should be useful for segmenting it as well, says Arnon.Using the alphanumeric versions of the whale songs, the team calculated the transitional probabilities between consecutive sound elements, making a cut when the next sound element was surprising given the previous one.Those cuts divide the song into segmented sub-sequences, says Arnon. We then looked at their distribution and found, amazingly, that they follow the same distribution found across all human languages.In this pattern, called a Zipfian distribution, the prevalence of less common words drops off in a predictable way. The other striking discovery is that the most common whale sounds tend to be short, just as the most common human words are a rule known Zipfs law of abbreviation.Nick Enfield at the University of Sydney, who wasnt involved in the study, says it is a novel way of analysing whale song. What it means is that if you analyse War and Peace, the most frequent word will be twice as frequent as the next and so on and the researchers have identified a similar pattern in whale songs, he says.Team member Simon Kirby at the University of Edinburgh, UK, says he didnt think the method would work. Ill never forget the moment that graph appeared, looking just like the one we know so well from human language, he says. This made us realise that wed uncovered a deep commonality between these two species, separated by tens of millions of years of evolution.However, the researchers emphasise that this statistical pattern doesnt lead to the conclusion that whale song is a language that conveys meaning as we would understand it. They suggest that a possible reason for the commonality is that both whale song and human language are learned culturally.The physical distribution of words or sounds in language is a really fascinating feature, but theres a million other things about language that are just entirely different from whale song, says Enfield.In a separate study published this week, Mason Youngblood at Stony Brook University in New York found that other marine mammals may also have structural similarities to human language in their communication.Menzeraths law, which predicts that sentences with more words should be composed of shorter words, was present in 11 out of 16 cetacean species studied. Zipfs law of abbreviation was found in two out of five species where available data made it possible to detect.Taken together, our studies suggest that humpback whale song has evolved to be more efficient and easier to learn, and that these features can be found at the level of notes within phrases, and phrases within songs, says Youngblood.Importantly, the evolution of these songs is both biological and cultural. Some features, like Menzeraths law, may emerge through the biological evolution of the vocal apparatus, whereas other features, like Zipfs rank-frequency law [the Zipfian distribution], may require the cultural transmission of songs between individuals, he says.Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adq7055Journal reference:Science Advances DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads6014Topics:

Culex pipiens f. molestus is a form of mosquito found in cities all over the worldblickwinkel / Alamy Stock PhotoA form of mosquito associated with the London Underground evolved to live in human environments long before subterranean railways sprung up in the 19th century.Culex pipiens f. molestus is found in cities all over the world, but it became widely known as the London Underground mosquito after the second world war, when it was the scourge of Londoners sheltering in tube stations during the Blitz. AdvertisementIt is closely related to a bird-biting form of the same species known as Culex pipiens f. pipiens, and biologists thought the molestus form had evolved in urban environments within the past few centuries.To learn more about its origins, Lindy McBride at Princeton University and her colleagues analysed the DNA of 790 mosquitoes from 44 countries around the world, including the molestus and pipiens forms as well as some closely related species.The results suggest that, rather than arising in London tube tunnels, the molestus mosquito probably evolved in the Middle East thousands of years ago. There are three main lines of evidence for this. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterFirst, the molestus form is genetically closer to pipiens populations from the Mediterranean basin than it is to pipiens populations in northern Europe. They are like close cousins to these Mediterranean pipiens mosquitoes, says McBride, suggesting that one arose from the other.Also, molestus mosquitoes from the eastern Mediterranean region are genetically more variable than molestus in underground habitats from northern Europe. This suggests that they have been present in the eastern Mediterranean for a significantly longer period of time, says McBride.Finally, the pipiens form doesnt exist in the Middle East. This makes it much easier to imagine how the ancestors of the molestus mosquitoes could have colonised the region and evolved to bite humans in isolation, without interbreeding with the bird-biting pipiens insects, says McBride.Based on the teams analysis of genetic mutations, it is almost certain that the molestus mosquitoes are far more ancient than previously thought, says McBride. Our calculations tell us that it must have been at least 1000 years ago and more likely 2000 to 10,000 years ago [that they evolved]. This lines up perfectly with the development of agriculture in the Middle East.Instead of evolving from scratch in urban underground spaces, molestus was already primed for city life thanks to much older adaptations, she says. Once established in cities, it has likely evolved further.The crowded environments of cities may lead to new hybrids between the bird-biting and human-biting forms, which would have public health implications, says McBride. Even if hybridisation is rare, these mosquitoes may show intermediate behaviour and increased ability to transmit West Nile [virus] from birds to humans.Reference:Biorxiv DOI: 10.1101/2025.01.26.634793Topics: