Google versus the bad guys. | Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Google is beefing up its malware detection with new protections designed to suss out ever-sneakier bad actors. Android’s Google Play Protect service is getting an update called live threat detection which seeks out potentially harmful apps on your phone by analyzing app behavior and alerts you in realtime if something looks fishy. The update was first announced at Google I/O earlier this year and is available now to Pixel 6 and newer phones. It should come to additional non-Pixel Android phones from Lenovo, OnePlus, Nothing, and Oppo, among others “in the coming months.”Live threat detection targets particularly hard-to-spot malware apps that hide their intentions well. Rather than just scanning apps for malicious code when you... Continue reading…

It’s been 25 years since the first Final Cut Pro was announced. More than a decade after the launch of Final Cut Pro X, Apple’s video editing software is taking a step forward. The app is now being updated to Final Cut Pro 11, after dropping the number in its name for the past few years. The update includes new AI masking tools, the ability to generate captions directly in your timeline, spatial video editing features, and a set of workflow improvements. The new version is free for existing users and a $299 one-time purchase for new users. Final Cut Pro for iPad and Final Cut Camera are also getting some updates today, too.I’ve spent the last week testing out these new features, and many of them are great improvements. I’ve been particularly impressed by the speed and accuracy of one new feature... Continue reading…

How secure do you feel your passwords are? Whatever they may be, they have to be more secure than we used in the 2000s, right? After all, we're storing all of our personal information and financial details on clouds and websites, so naturally, we should have also improved our password hygiene. Well, NordPass is here to tell us, nope, we still set our passwords like we're paying for a dial-up connection, and it's a little embarrassing at this point.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Sonos is still trying to climb out from the hole it dug itself earlier this year by recklessly shipping an overhauled mobile app well before the software was actually ready. Today, just a couple weeks after the release of its latest hardware products — the Arc Ultra and Sub 4 — Sonos reported its fiscal Q4 2024 earnings. And the damage done by the app debacle is clear. Revenue was down 8 percent year over year, which Sonos attributed to “softer demand due to challenging market conditions and challenges resulting from our recent app rollout.” During the quarter, the company sank $4 million into unspecified “app recovery investments.” (Sonos previously estimated it could spend up to $30 million to resolve all of the trouble that has... Continue reading…

Image: The Verge The Wall Street Journal is experimenting with AI-generated article summaries that appear at the top of its news stories. The summaries appear as a “Key Points” box with bullets summarizing the piece. The Verge spotted the test on a story about Trump’s plans for the Department of Education, and the Journal confirmed it’s trialing the feature to see how readers respond.The “Key Points” box has a message explaining that an “artificial intelligence tool created this summary” and that the summary was checked by an editor. The box also points to a page about how the WSJ and Dow Jones Newswires use AI tools. Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge The AI-generated “Key Points” from this WSJ article. “We are always... Continue reading…

While static Excel charts are adequate for basic data analysis, they fall short when you want to explore trends, compare scenarios, and truly interact with your information. Here is where dynamic visualization in Excel comes in clutch. In this post, we will go over the techniques to transform your ordinary spreadsheets into powerful tools for data discovery. Whether you are a beginner, a data scientist, or an advanced Excel user, the tricks below will help you create interactive charts and dashboards that can respond to your needs in no time.

Your choice of web browser will shape your experience when surfing the internet, and for my work-related activities I've used Safari almost exclusively. A couple of weeks ago, I had a hankering to try something new and decided to ditch Apple's browser in an effort to find something fresh. I wasn't especially let down by any of the alternatives I tried, but there was just something missing from all of them that I couldn't quite get over. I tried browser after browser, and after trying seemingly every option, I decided to stick with Safari for a variety of reasons that I can explain.

Apple Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 with Quantec Room Simulator | Image: Apple Apple today announced some minor updates to Logic Pro for both the Mac and the iPad, including the ability to search for plug-ins and sources and the addition of more analog-simulating sounds. In Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1, you can now reorder channel strips and plug-ins in the mixer and plug-in windows to make it easier to organize the layout of an audio mix. As for the new sounds, Apple added a library of analog synthesizer samples called Modular Melodies, akin to the Modular Rhythms pack already found in Logic. A more exciting sonic addition is the new Quantec Room Simulator (QRS) plug-in, which emulates the vintage digital reverb hardware of the same name, found in professional recording studios all over... Continue reading…

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images OpenAI is preparing to release an autonomous AI agent that can control computers and perform tasks independently, code-named “Operator.” The company plans to debut it as a research preview and developer tool in January, according to Bloomberg.This move intensifies the competition among tech giants developing AI agents: Anthropic recently introduced its “computer use” capability, while Google is reportedly preparing its own version for a December release. The timing of Operator’s eventual consumer release remains under wraps, but its development signals a pivotal shift toward AI systems that can actively engage with computer interfaces rather than just process text and images.All the leading AI companies have promised autonomous AI... Continue reading…

Black Friday is just a couple of weeks away, but that doesn't mean there aren't great deals to be had right now. With this early Black Friday deal, we're seeing one of Anker's best chargers drop to its lowest price. The Anker Prime Charger is normally $85, but can now be had for 41% less, with a price that comes in at just $50. This charger is perfect for smartphones, tablets, and even laptops. So get it while you can because this deal won't be around for long.

PBO or Precision Boost Overdrive is an automated mechanism on AMD's Ryzen CPUs that dynamically adjusts the power limit, voltage, and clock speeds to increase performance. It changes the PPT (Package Power Tracking), TDC (Thermal Design Current), and EDC (Electrical Design Current) limits of your Ryzen CPU based on a few simple inputs to deliver extra performance without the need for manual overclocking.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is here, and it's the best gaming CPU you can get right now. It comes with 105MB of 3D V-Cache, the star of the show for gamers and one of the biggest reasons why it manages to claim the top spot. However, there are a ton of reasons why it's the best CPU for gamers right now, and it's not just cache that manages to make it so.