Engadget Podcast: Surface Pro 12-inch and a chat with (Google) X's Astro Teller
This week we're diving into the new 12-inch Surface Pro, which, alongside the 13-inch Surface Laptop, is a foray into smaller Surface hardware. You can thank Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus chips for that. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Igor Bonifacic explore the compromises Microsoft had to make for these devices, and they dive into the rumors around Half Life 3 and the leaked photos of Microsoft and ASUS's potential Xbox handheld. Also, Devindra chats with the head of Google's X division, Astro Teller, about the past and future of the "moonshot factory." This embedded content is not available in your region. iTunes
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Google Podcasts Surface Pro 12-inch review: less weight, less power? – 2:04
ASUS' Xbox handheld photos leak in FCC filing – 21:39
OpenAI restructures business, announces plan for hostile takeover-proof public benefit corp – 26:14
The EPA announces plans to shut down the Energy Star Program – 31:16
Telemessage, a Signal clone favored by Trump administration officials has been hacked – 34:44
Samsung subsidiary buys Masimo and now it owns all the fancy speakers – 36:35
Half-Life 3 is fully formed and playable?! – 40:59
Around Engadget – 49:53
Pop culture picks – 51:42
Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Igor Bonifacic
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
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CNET
43 minutes ago
- CNET
Xbox Brought These Call of Duty and Warcraft Games to Game Pass in June
The Call of Duty franchise got its start as a first-person shooter set during World War II. Game Pass subscribers can now return to that war and take part in historical battles in Call of Duty: WWII. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors' Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new titles, including Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles. Read more: Play Classic Games From the '80s and '90s on Xbox Game Pass Now Here are all the games Microsoft is bringing to Game Pass soon. You can also check out all the titles the company added to the service in May, like Metaphor: ReFantazio. Call of Duty: WWII Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now. Land in Normandy on D-Day and battle across Europe in this Call of Duty game. You'll trade in some of the more modern gadgets and guns from the Modern Warfare and Black Ops games for grease guns and classic carbines in this game from 2017. You'll also experience the bonds of camaraderie, the unforgiving nature of war and more as you fight against the Nazis. Warcraft 1: Remastered (PC) Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now. Microsoft Get ready to experience the war between orcs and humans that shook Azeroth more than 30 years ago. You decide whether to defend humanity or seek to destroy it playing this real-time strategy game. This version of the classic game features enhanced controls, widescreen battles and more updates so you can enjoy this game on modern hardware. Warcraft 2: Remastered (PC) Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now. Blizzard After playing the original Warcraft game, you can hop into the sequel. You'll captain your own fleet and explore far-off lands for this real-time strategy game that delves even further into the war between orcs and humans. This updated version includes modernized controls, new visuals and more fresh features. Warcraft 3: Reforged (PC) Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now. After playing the first and second Warcraft games, why not play the third installment? This game introduces two new races of armies to command: the Night Elves and the Undead. Build massive armies, relive epic battles and explore huge campaigns in this real-time strategy game filled with overhauled visuals and contemporary social and matchmaking features. Star Trucker New to Game Pass Standard. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have been able to play this interstellar hauling game since September, and now Game Pass Standard subscribers can enjoy it as well. Haul cargo, trade items with other truckers and explore the ultimate open road -- outer space. Take the driver's seat in a rocket-powered big rig and cruise the hyperhighways as you deliver cargo across the galaxy. Customize your rig, gossip on your CB radio with other truckers and enjoy your view of the stars. Wildfrost New to Game Pass Standard. Microsoft brought this to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in January, and now the company is bringing it to Game Pass Standard customers. An endless winter has blanketed the world and to banish it, you need to build the perfect deck to battle the evil forces across the cold land. You'll rescue and recruit frozen companions and uncover treasure in the frozen tundra. The deck you build is influenced by the path you take, so choose carefully. Rematch Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now. Tackle, dribble and score in this team-based football game (or soccer, depending on your locale). This game was designed for 5v5 online multiplayer matches where players control a single athlete. 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But instead of focusing on helping a single city or community, in this game, you must build a network of interconnected settlements made of different races to prosper. You'll need to figure out how to make the humans, beavers, harpies, lizards and foxes coexist, or they will all perish. Little Nightmares 2 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on July 1. "Charming" and "horror" are not usually paired together to describe anything, but those two words work nicely to talk about Little Nightmares. You play as a little boy named Mono who finds a girl locked in a basement. The two of you will work together to open trapdoors, climb huge furniture and survive the terrors of the Pale City. Rise of the Tomb Raider Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play on July 1. This one is returning to Game Pass a few months after Microsoft removed it from the service. This is the second entry in the Survival trilogy of the popular franchise, and it follows Lara Croft as she searches for the legendary city of Kitezh. You'll use stealth and your wits to traverse environments without being noticed by enemies on Croft's first tomb raiding expedition. Games that left Game Pass While Microsoft is set to add those games to Game Pass soon, the company removed six others from the service. So you will have to buy these games separately now if you need to finish your campaign or any sidequests. For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.
Android Authority
an hour ago
- Android Authority
I've tried every browser, but this is the one that works best for me
Andy Walker / Android Authority I open Microsoft Edge, and everything just feels right. It's not flashy or experimental. It's stable, fast, and capable. It 'just works.' I've jumped between browsers over the years, the way someone tests mattresses. I'm always seeking that one that feels just right. But no matter what I try, I keep returning to Edge. Microsoft's modern Chromium-based browser has earned my trust with thoughtful features, dependable performance, and a seamless cross-platform experience. It has all the extensions I can use on Chrome. It has a fantastic password manager, handles passkeys, and can be customized more than Chrome. Sure, it's not perfect, but for me, it's just right, and that's what I'm looking for in a browser. Have you ever seriously tried Microsoft Edge? 0 votes Yes it's my primary browser NaN % Now and again NaN % No, but I'll give it a shot NaN % Only to download another browser NaN % All hail Google Chrome Rita El Khoury / Android Authority I'm a tech enthusiast, especially for consumer and small business-facing software. I get easily distracted by the next shiny thing, like when Arc Browser dropped. I let myself get caught up in the buzz around Arc, and when I tried it out finally I was left a little disappointed. Sidebar tabs? Well, Edge has had those forever as an option. Spaces were not that interesting, because Edge has Workspaces. The peek feature is kinda neat, I guess, but overall, I just went back to using Edge and forgot about Arc. I started with Netscape Navigator back in the day, then slowly migrated to Internet Explorer. Firefox was the first browser I was excited to use. The open-source alternative to Explorer fit what I wanted perfectly. It was fast, pretty, and easy to use. It didn't stall out the way Internet Explorer did, because it wasn't bloated and clunky. Then came Chrome. I started with Netscape Navigator back in the day. Like many others, I jumped on Chrome the day it was released in Canada. I had already been a Gmail user for four years. Chrome was exciting, simple, fast, reliable. It looked great, it had a massive extension library, and soon Google made it so I could access my entire online life through this one browser. But Google became increasingly disjointed. It kept shutting down popular services, and the bloat crept into Chrome. The company grew more monopolistic. So I started shopping for a replacement. My browser-hopping period Megan Ellis / Android Authority I tried Vivaldi for its extreme customization. It felt like the Linux of browsers. I found it overkill for my daily use, and too complicated. Opera was okay, but I just never fell in love with it. I even used the original Microsoft Edge, launched in 2015. It used Microsoft's own proprietary rendering engine and the Chakra JavaScript engine. It was sluggish, and lacked extension support. It was like a prettier version of Internet Explorer, so I wasn't surprised when Microsoft canned it. Brave was maybe the best Chrome alternative of the bunch. Fast, reliable, and with superb privacy tools built in like an ad blocker and a VPN. The crypto stuff was sketchy, and the project's leadership is questionable with its politics. But then Microsoft released a Chromium-based Edge in 2020. What Edge gets right My Bing on Microsoft Edge. Outlook Calendar side panel. The Collections feature. Edge's Workspaces tool. Edge's compatibility across platforms drew me in. I use a Windows desktop PC for most of my work, and a MacBook Pro for my on-the-go work. Edge syncs history, passwords, and tabs seamlessly between the two. More than that, however, was how well it manages memory. It's as light as a feather on RAM usage compared to Chrome. It even uses less RAM than Safari on Mac. The vertical tabs feature is great. I can keep things tidy by moving tabs to the vertical edge of the browser, instead of having dozens of tabs crowded into a shrinking horizontal bar. This is invaluable when researching an article or juggling multiple projects at once. Collections is another standout feature. I use Collections to gather links, screenshots, and create Pinterest-like shopping lists of things I want to buy one day. It's a built-in digital scrapbook, and it lives in a little sidebar I can access at any time, without having to leave whatever I'm working on. I recently interviewed some musicians for an article, and I used this Collections feature to keep everything organized in a way that was better than any of my note-taking apps. I use Collections to gather links, screenshots, and create Pinterest-like shopping lists of things I want to buy one day. Workspaces are another win for Edge, in my books. I can sort multiple tabs into a workspace, and it will keep them all even when I close Edge. To get back into them, I just choose the workspace I want and everything opens up just the way I left them. There's so much more, as well, like a great Reader Mode, something Chrome still struggles with, a PDF viewer that lets me markup documents right in the web browser, and even a math solver. Where Edge falls short Bing's busy news feed on Microsoft Edge. Nothing is perfect, and Edge is far from it. It leans too hard into Microsoft's ecosystem. I understand the need for Microsoft to nag people to use Edge on Windows, but switching default browsers is a little too much for most people. Luckily for me, I chose to stick with Edge. Bing isn't bad, but I like Ecosia myself, and the constant prompts to switch to Bing in Edge is enough to make me use Firefox now and again. At least that browser respects my choices as an adult. The opening screen in Edge is a little chaotic until you wrest it under control. I don't care for Bing's news. It doesn't seem to ever understand what I'm interested in. Google Discover knows I don't care about the latest episode of Love Is Blind. Bing can't seem to figure that out, even when I blatantly click 'Don't show me this' on the news story. The Edge mobile browser feels a little too cramped. It's like Microsoft tried to jam the desktop interface into the mobile app. It works great, and everything loads fast, but as a UX guy, I don't like it. Of course I can customize it. But most consumers won't, and they'll see the ugly mobile interface and switch back to Chrome. It's a serious oversight by Microsoft. It works great, and everything loads fast, but as a UX guy, I don't like it. In fact, despite all the features and improvements, Edge has a reputation problem stemming back to the Internet Explorer days. Many people associate Edge with the old Microsoft, before Satya Nadella transformed the company into the sleek and modern beast it is today. Many still see the company as the one run by sweaty Steve Balmer and Bill Gates awkwardly dancing on stage for the Windows 95 release. Edge, as a result, is the 'thing you use to download Chrome.' Why it sticks with me Edge just works, even despite these annoyances. It's just a reliable tool for my life. Reading, surfing the web, working, you name it, Edge does the job and never fails. I've never had a crash or a slowdown. It's like Chrome, but sleeker and with more productive tools built right in. The UI is clean and functional, on desktop at least. The sidebar means I can quickly check something without leaving the page. I can even do a separate web search in the sidebar, without leaving the page in the main window. I often draft quick notes in that sidebar with the source open right in the main window. At the end of the day, it's a Microsoft tool, and its privacy isn't any better or worse than Google's tools. But I trust Microsoft more than Google, at least when it comes to its motivations for my data. I appreciate its enterprise-first, no-advertising approach to development. I still use Fastmail for most of my productivity, but Edge is the browser I keep coming back to.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Silent Breach Exposes 16 Billion Passwords: 5 Things You Must Do Now
A staggering 16 billion passwords were exposed in a silent, decentralized breach compiled from years ... More of malware activity — an unseen cyber threat now looming over governments and tech giants alike. picture alliance via Getty Images While the cybersecurity world was focused on usual suspects like ransomware gangs, nation-state espionage and zero-day exploits, something massive happened in the background. A credential leak of staggering proportions quietly spilled onto the open internet. No ransom note. No press release. No named corporate victim. Just a silent detonation of more than 16 billion individual records containing usernames and passwords for Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and government accounts across 29 countries. Let that sink in. Sixteen billion login records. The scope of this breach eclipses almost every known hack to date. Yet most people have never heard about it. On June 26 2025, researchers at Cybernews revealed that they had discovered 30 unsecured datasets containing over 16 billion records. These were not theoretical vulnerabilities. These were usernames and passwords that provide real access to real systems. The data included everything from private citizen logins to accounts tied to government domains. Facebook, Telegram, Instagram, PayPal, Discord, Roblox — no platform seemed untouched. The data was formatted exactly as infostealing malware delivers it: a string of website URLs, usernames and passwords scraped from infected machines over time. And it was found online, publicly accessible for a period of time before being locked down. One of the earlier warnings came from cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who in May uncovered 47GB of data with 184 million records, sitting in the open on an Elasticsearch server. The server was hosted by World Host Group, a global web hosting provider. Once alerted, the company disabled access and confirmed the server had been spun up by a fraudulent user. But the damage had already been done. 'This is probably one of the weirdest ones I've found in many years,' Fowler told Wired . 'As far as the risk factor here, this is way bigger than most of the stuff I find, because this is direct access into individual accounts. This is a cybercriminal's dream working list.' It wasn't just tech companies that were implicated. Fowler found 220 government email addresses from more than two dozen countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Israel and Australia. May 2025 : Fowler discovers 184 million exposed records, including government and enterprise credentials, and immediately notifies the hosting provider. : Fowler discovers 184 million exposed records, including government and enterprise credentials, and immediately notifies the hosting provider. Early June 2025 : World Host Group disables the server. No further public comment or disclosure from affected entities. : World Host Group disables the server. No further public comment or disclosure from affected entities. Mid-June 2025: Cybernews publishes a report about the larger aggregation of 30 databases, revealing the total exposure: 16 billion credentials. Unlike high-profile hacks with clear attribution and corporate response, this breach is fragmented. It is the byproduct of years of careless digital hygiene, cybercriminal harvesting and the steady drip of malware-infected machines feeding stolen credentials into dark web markets. How It Happened: Death By A Thousand Infostealers This was not a hack in the conventional sense. No firewalls were breached. No zero-day vulnerabilities were exploited. Instead, the records were compiled over years using infostealer malware. Infostealer malware is a class of malicious software that silently lifts login credentials from infected devices. Christiaan Beek of Rapid7 noted that the data showed 'a lot of overlap' and was 'a combination of old and new' credentials, adding that the aggregation itself posed a serious threat. 'It reflects around 30 separate breaches, stealer logs compiled over years,' he said. Much of the leaked content appears to come from previously compromised password dumps. But according to Cybernews, the presence of fresh infostealer logs makes this breach 'particularly dangerous for organizations lacking multi-factor authentication or credential hygiene practices.' Why This Leak Hasn't Made Headlines Despite its unprecedented scale, this breach has flown under the radar, unlike the United Natural Foods hack, which triggered widespread headlines. One reason is that no single company was directly compromised. There was no named victim, no regulatory filing and no incident response to point to. The data was quietly compiled over years through malware infections and older breaches, then briefly exposed on an unmanaged server. Without a clear villain or breach notification, traditional media had little to latch onto. They couldn't point to one actor or failure. In truth, we are all to blame. Many of the records were previously stolen which led some to dismiss the incident as old news. But that misses the point. The true threat lies in the scale, the recency and the way this data can now be weaponized by attackers against organizations that have not enforced basic security practices. Further, just because the records were previously stolen, a significant percentage were still active. The Bigger Picture: What We Are Doing Wrong This breach was not about a single company failing. It was about everyone failing. As security analyst Chester Wisniewski of Sophos put it, 'These massive dumps are typically just a recycled pile of credentials with a few new ones sprinkled in.' But even old passwords still work when users reuse them. When organizations fail to enforce password resets. When there is no MFA. And therein lies the danger. Infostealer malware is doing exactly what it was built to do: harvest credentials from unprotected machines. The real problem is how unprepared the world remains to stop it. What Needs To Happen Now This is a five-alarm fire for anyone not practicing basic cybersecurity hygiene. Sixteen billion records are now in circulation. Many are still active. Some are tied to government systems. And nearly all were exposed without any one company triggering the alarm. This should be a wake-up call not just for IT departments, but for every executive and individual who relies on digital tools to function. This is not the time to assume you're safe. This is the time to act. Five Immediate Actions For Individuals: Change your passwords across all platforms: Start with your primary email, banking and social media accounts. If you use the same password in multiple places, change every one of them. Password reuse is the single biggest vulnerability exploited in these kinds of leaks. Use unique passwords for every service: One password per account. No exceptions. This ensures that if one login is compromised, the rest remain safe. Use a password manager if you need help generating or storing them. Enable multi-factor authentication on every account that allows it: MFA is no longer optional. Even a simple text message code can stop an attacker with your password. Wherever possible, use app-based or hardware key MFA for stronger protection. Scan your devices for malware, especially infostealers: This data did not appear out of nowhere. It was harvested from infected machines. If you have not scanned your device recently, or if you have never run anti-malware software, now is the time. Infostealers run silently in the background, siphoning off your credentials without leaving a trace. Monitor account activity for unauthorized access: Watch for unfamiliar logins, password reset attempts, or new devices on your accounts. Most services provide tools to review recent activity. Use them. Set up alerts for suspicious behavior. If anything looks off, change your credentials immediately. Five Immediate Actions For Businesses And IT Leaders: Deploy Endpoint Detection and Response tools: Infostealer malware thrives on unmanaged or poorly protected endpoints. EDR tools allow your security team to detect, isolate and remediate these threats in real time before they cause widespread damage. Enforce password managers and centralized identity platforms: Encourage or even better, mandate the use of enterprise-grade password managers. Combine that with Single Sign-On and identity federation to reduce the number of credentials employees must manage and attackers can steal. Conduct ongoing employee security training: One-time training is not enough. Phishing and credential theft are constantly evolving. Organizations need to build a culture of cybersecurity awareness that reinforces good behavior, simulates attacks and rewards vigilance. Implement real-time credential leak monitoring and dark web scanning: Do not wait for a breach notification. Be proactive. Invest in services that scan known dark web marketplaces and data dumps for your domains, employee emails and customer credentials. When a match is found, move fast to rotate access and contain the risk. Apply Access Controls Based on Risk, Not Convenience: Implement role-based access and least privilege policies. Restrict administrative access to only those who absolutely need it. Too many organizations default to broad permissions, giving attackers more room to move once they are inside. Aligning access with actual job function reduces the blast radius when credentials are compromised. The playbook is not complicated. But it does require discipline and urgency. The organizations that act now will be the ones still standing when the next wave of credential-based attacks begins. Compliance Is the Starting Line, Not the Finish Too many organizations mistake compliance for security. Checking the box on a framework does not stop infostealer malware. But it does give you a baseline. Compliance is the first signal that your organization is taking security seriously. It offers structure, policy and governance. But it must be paired with continuous improvements, proactive monitoring and threat intelligence. Treating compliance as the finish line is like bolting your front door while leaving all the windows wide open. A Sobering Reminder This breach should be a sobering reminder that we are losing the war on credentials. Sixteen billion of them just got dumped onto the internet. Some old. Some new. All dangerous. And the biggest threat may not be the data itself, but how few people noticed. If this breach did not reach your radar, let it serve as a wake-up call. If your organization is still relying on usernames and passwords without MFA or threat monitoring, you are playing defense without a helmet. The calculous has now changed. Cybercriminals are not just breaking in. They are now logging in.
