Siemens launches Questa One Agentic Toolkit, bringing governed agentic AI workflows to automate and accelerate complex chip verification. Read...

The humble spreadsheet is a staple of modern work, one you probably barely think about. But with global systems intimately interconnected, and only growing more so, it seems almost anything can be an attack vector. Such is the case with Google Sheets. Google reports that it disrupted a wide-ranging cyberattack that used the web app as a backdoor to spy on users. Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, working with the Mandiant team (which Google purchased in 2022), points the finger at UNC2814, a China-affiliated group that’s been operating for almost a decade. According to the report, the hackers created a backdoor using the Google Sheets API, allowing it to collect usernames, hostnames, IP addresses, and other information. There was no “infection” in the layman’s sense—this was more of a state-sponsored espionage campaign than a deliberate attempt at theft or sabotage. The report claims the “GRIDTIDE” system has been in place since 2023, with verified intrusions in 42 nations and 53 specific targets, with 20 nations suspected as other targets. “This prolific scope is likely the result of a decade of concentrated effort,” says Google, with a focus on telecommunications and government agencies. The system has been disrupted, or at least is currently inoperable as best as the Threat Intelligence Group can tell. Accounts used to deploy the GRIDTIDE system have been shut down, plus the underlying domains and infrastructure, with affected victims notified formally. Read...

Instagram is adding a new feature that will alert parents when their children repeatedly search for content related to suicide or self-harm within a short period of time, according to Meta Newsroom. The feature will apply to families who are using Instagram’s monitoring tool for teenage accounts. If a teenager repeatedly searches for sensitive terms, the parent will receive a “teen safety alert” notification via the app, email, text message, or WhatsApp. Along with the alert, parents will also have access to expert advice on how to broach difficult conversations in a supportive manner. Instagram’s new self-harm risk alerts will initially launch in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and will be rolled out in more regions later this year. Meta says it’s working on similar parental alerts for other types of conversations using AI, and those alerts are expected to be introduced later this year. Read...

AI is racing into business plans, but NashTech research finds brittle legacy systems and poor integration are quietly throttling progress. Read...

Firms spend millions on data sovereignty and rate awareness high, yet Kiteworks survey finds persistent breaches and cross-border exposure. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Amazing software utility package 4K, 1080p/60Hz options AI glowups work Smooth, configurable zoom PDAF autofocus Cons Magnetic connection to the mount is a bit flimsy Stick-on privacy shutter Our Verdict This tiny little 4K webcam asks for a few dollars more than its competition, but it’s worth it. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Obsbot Meet 2 Retailer Price $129 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The Obsbot Meet 2 may be the tiniest 4K webcam I’ve ever seen. Mounted on your laptop or monitor by a magnetic mount, the Meet 2 delivers surprisingly solid quality for such a tiny device, though the company insists that a stick-on privacy shutter is more effective than a flip-over lid. The camera comes in three different colors: gray, white, and a faintly metallic “aurora green,” and can either use the Windows settings for camera controls or Obsbot’s own utility software. Inside the box is the webcam, the mount, and a USB-C to USB-C cable that stretches a very generous 4.5 feet. (Obsbot also tosses in an USB-A adapter for older laptops.) The Meet 2 offers up to 4K (30Hz) at the top end, with various lower resolutions (including 1080p, at both 60Hz and 30Hz) as you step down. The Meet 2 features what’s known as Phase Detection Auto Focus, or PDAF, a very quick way to pick up and focus on your face. The Meet 2 also does a stellar job of cropping into your face, providing up to 4X digital zoom, which is more than what you’ll need for a standard video call. I’m not a huge fan of the Meet 2’s mini-magnetic mount, though it does have one advantage that other webcams do not: Three out of the four sides of the webcam are magnetic, so the webcam can sit in landscape mode or rotate into portrait mode simply by picking it up and repositioning it. The magnetic grip is strong enough to hold the webcam tight on the mount when connected to a monitor or fixed display, though you’ll have to be mindful of its grip on a laptop: Moving it quickly around might cause it to wiggle or even fall. Since the Obsbot Meet 2 is magnetically mounted, it’s easy to pop on and off.Mark Hachman / Foundry Some webcams use an angled “jaws” mount, so that the webcam sits flat and a hinged jaw supports it by leaning back into the display. In this case, Obsbot added an extra “lip” or flat surface to the top of the mount, upon which the Meet 2 magnetically attaches. It works just fine on a desktop monitor or display. On a laptop, though, the weight of the cable always threatens to yank the webcam off, especially as you’re orienting it for the first time. It’s a weak point. The Meet 2 camera itself also includes the standard threaded hole so that it can be screwed into an external mount, if that’s your preference. In part, the fragility is a consequence of the webcam’s small size. It only measures 1.78 x 1.4 x 0.87 inches and weighs about 1.5 ounces. The Obsbot Meet 2 is a little fragile with its magnetic connection to the mount.Mark Hachman / Foundry Again, I’m not a huge fan of the privacy protection, which requires you to snap on a small privacy cover that’s held magnetically. Of course, you can also lose the privacy protector, too, if you put it down and it disappears into the clutter. You’re probably better off sticking it to the side of the camera itself, or underneath the mount. That worked well. Windows can be used to control the webcam itself — complete with upcoming controls for pan and tilt — or you can use the Obsbot software. Previous Obsbot webcams, like the stellar Tiny 4K, used a swiveling AI gimbal to literally follow you around the room. The Meet 2 is fixed, with no pivot points for it to do that. But it can use the 4K resolution to crop and zoom and “follow” you as you move, or accommodate either tight shots on just you or a group of people in frame. Here, it really can’t do too much beyond what even Windows’ “panning” capabilities can handle. Obsbot continues to offer one of the most sophisticated software utility packages of any webcam I’ve tested, and the company puts an amazing amount of work into the various options. The only hitch is that the Obsbot Center control software might not allow you to preview any changes while another Windows app that uses the camera is open. Obsbot Control isn’t necessary for the camera to work, and the package is 450MB by itself. But it lures you in with its convenience alone. There are menus galore to dive into with the Obsbot Meet 2, as well as ways to give yourself a little glow up before your next video call.Mark Hachman / Foundry Samsung began offering “beauty” options ages ago, but Obsbot provides them by the truckload: options to slim your face, add virtual blush and eye shadow, adjust the position of your nose, even rotate your eyes. Want your eyes to sparkle? Obsbot’s software allows you to do that. Filters? Of course. There are packages for both women and men, and that’s not even including the tweaks you can make to your virtual appearance while standing up. About the only deficiency I found is that the software seems to be packaged for all of Obsbot’s cameras, so certain functions (like the gimbal on Obsbot’s Tiny cameras) are there but unavailable. I also wasn’t able to force the webcam to lock on or zoom in using gestures. Yes, it does sound like overkill. And it is, in places: You really don’t need to dial up the “smoothing” features unless you want your face to look artificially young. Accept yourself for who you are, even if this webcam encourages you to touch things up here and there. Obsbot Meet 2: (Superb) Performance Inside the Meet 2 is a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor and ƒ/1.8 large aperture — perhaps not the most powerful in the industry, but capable of delivering great visuals nevertheless. The camera did a very nice job picking up my face, lit with my monitor and some ambient light down in my office. Just tweaking a filter here and there improved it even further, perhaps indicating that AI has a future in webcams. I probably should smile for these photos, but I really think the color and lighting are great. Well done, Obsbot Meet 2.Mark Hachman / Foundry I turned off all of the assistance in shooting photos, however, as I normally do. Upstairs in my living room, lit by all natural light, the Meet 2 also performed well. I figured that while my sofa pillows did a nice job conveying colors, a more unified color card would be a better solution. Everything looks good, to my eye. I didn’t notice as much difference as I thought I would between the 4K and 1080p resolutions. I liked how this webcam made me look just using the 1080p, 60fps/Hz preset. I’ve always been a fan of zooming in a bit, and the sliding zoom controls on this webcam do an excellent job of allowing you to tweak things as you’d like. Clouds and rain darkened this shot, but the Obsbot Meet 2 still looks pretty good.Mark Hachman / Foundry Obsbot has a pair of of omnidirectional mics inside the Meet 2, and I thought they did a very nice job of capturing my voice and eliminating background audio. Since most people naturally focus on the image quality, the audio is where some webcams skate by with poorer quality. The Obsbot Meet 2 offers images that rank just under the category’s best, a function of excellent hardware and an integrated software package that ranks second to none. Should you buy the Obsbot Meet 2? Yes. There are two sticking points: the mount (fine for the camera, but a risk to be yanked off by the cable) and the lack of an integrated privacy shutter. Otherwise, the superb software package and controls, plus the webcam itself, more than make up for it. The Obsbot Meet 2 may be somewhat on the pricier side for a 4K camera at roughly $100. You can go cheaper and still buy a 4K webcam. But I suspect that the Obsboot Meet 2 might make it into the ranks of PCWorld’s best webcams, even so. Read...

You generally want the latest drivers for anything connected to your PC, especially a high-powered graphics card for beefy PC games. While Nvidia is generally pretty reliable when it comes to this stuff, the latest update was a bit of a miss—and that’s according to Nvidia itself, as it rolls back the newest GeForce driver. According to an update issued yesterday at 2 PM Eastern US time, the Game Ready and Studio 595.59 WHQL has an issue with GPU fan control. The newest version of the driver had specific Game Ready tweaks for Resident Evil Requiem and Marathon, both highly-anticipated recent releases. Windows users can roll back the driver within the official Nvidia app, or just uninstall it manually and download the previous release (591.86 from January) from the Nvidia website. Fan control is kind of a big deal, since it’s cooling a part that could cost four figures. And some users spend a lot of time tweaking fan settings manually for better noise or performance. But according to some users, it wasn’t the only problem with the latest release. VideoCardz documents issues with boost clocks, broken HDR, and sleep resume on some displays, and a handful of other small bugs. It looks like this one definitely needed a little more time in the oven. Read...

If you’re always traveling outside your office and you absolutely hate working on a lone laptop screen, then a portable monitor will work magic for you. I know because I have one myself! Something very similar to this InnoView 15.6-inch model that’s 40% off on Amazon. Normally $99.98, you can now score it for just $59.96! But you have to be quick because this deal ends in less than 24 hours. The 15.6-inch IPS panel on this monitor delivers beautiful colors and excellent color accuracy (in case you’re doing photo or graphic work), plus good contrast and wide viewing angles. The 1920×1080 resolution is pretty standard, offering crisp text when reading PDFs and Word documents while being spacious enough to comfortably juggle multiple apps. It’s also great for streaming Netflix and YouTube! The beauty of this portable monitor is that it’s plug-and-play. It connects to your laptop via USB-C and draws power via USB passthrough. Your laptop will need to support Thunderbolt 3 or 4 or USB-C DP Alt-Mode for this to work. Don’t have that? No worries! You can also opt to connect via HDMI for video and USB-C for power via a power adapter (not included, but you likely have one lying around). It’s very light and slim, measuring just 0.2 inches thick and weighing only 2.7 pounds. Slip it into your bag right next to your laptop and be on your merry way. It comes with a protective case that’ll keep it safe from scratches, and that case doubles as a stand so you can prop it up and read/watch comfortably. And it’s not only for your laptop! You can also use it with your Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck to game on the go. This 15.6-inch portable monitor is a must-have for any laptop owner, if you ask me. Now’s the perfect time to snag one for yourself because it rarely goes on sale for cheaper than this. Get it now for $59.96! Save 40% on this 15.6-inch 1080p IPS portable monitorBuy now at Amazon Read...

Upwind plugs its CNAPP into AWS Security Hub Extended plan to feed runtime data into findings and streamline cloud security procurement. Read...

When you travel outside your home country, you quickly realize that you can’t use the same power plugs all around the world. Up until now, to charge your USB devices, you needed an adapter that converts your power plugs into the type used by the country you’re in. But not anymore! With the Anker Nano Travel Adapter, you get a 5-port charging solution that works in almost any country worldwide—and right now you can score it for just $19.99 on Amazon. The Anker Nano 5-in-1 Travel Adapter has four different sets of retractable outlet prongs: US, UK, EU, and AU. When retracted, the adapter is super compact and easy to throw into any bag for travel, and you won’t have to worry about it snagging or scratching anything. What’s great about this adapter is that no matter which regional outlet you’re plugged into, you now have access to 5 different ports: 2x USB-C ports, 2x USB-A ports, and an AC outlet for anything else that isn’t USB. The USB-C ports are fast-charging at up to 20 watts, so you’ll be able to recharge your phone back to 100% in no time. If you plan on traveling to Europe, the United Kingdom, or Australia, you’re going to want this. It’ll make your time there way more convenient and give you peace of mind. Get it now for $19.99 while it’s on sale! This Anker Nano 5-in-1 Travel Adapter is now 23% offBuy now at Amazon Read...