Security Now 1048: Mic-E-Mouse

Think your mouse is harmless? Steve and Leo uncover how modern optical mice might be secretly "listening" in, and reveal why satellite data pouring down on us is almost entirely unsecured. The long awaited lawsuit to block Texas SB2420. Embattled Texas SB2420 also impacts Google Play. At long last, NIST modernizes their password policy. Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters demise was exaggerated. China claims that the NSA has been hacking them. Half of all geosynchronous satellite traffic is unencrypted. The AWS outage highlights the rising risk of Internet monoculture. A terrific collection of listener feedback and... Could your PC's mousehave much bigger ears than you know? https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1048-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: Melissa.com/twit hoxhunt.com/securitynow threatlocker.com for Security Now joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT bitwarden.com/twit

NordVPN Open Sources their Linux client, AMD and Intel are cooperating on what the next iteration of X86_64 will look like, and Fedora 43 is going to be a week late. Blender 5 and PipeWire 1.6 are each right around the corner and the Free Software Foundation has announced their Librephone initiative. For tips we have the FastMail desktop app, octopi for pacman package management, the Gemini CLI for agentic AI on the command line, and using shred and hdparm for secure data deletion. You can find the show notes at https://bit.ly/3WLdPVO and have a great week! Host: Jonathan Bennett Co-Hosts: Rob Campbell, Ken McDonald, and Jeff Massie Download or subscribe to Untitled Linux Show at https://twit.tv/shows/untitled-linux-show Want access to the ad-free video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

If you ever saw the IMAX spectacular, "The Dream is Alive," you've seen astronaut Terry Hart in action, capturing the Solar Max satellite with the shuttle's robotic arm. But even if you missed that film, Terry has had a fascinating career as an Air Force pilot, NASA astronaut, senior leadership at Bell Labs (more than once!), and as an academic and creator of a new aerospace engineering program at Lehigh University. Join us for an enjoyable hour with one of our favorite guys. Also, is Jared Isaacman back as the new NASA Administrator? Will the Orion capsule soon be used for non-NASA missions? And what's going on with the layoffs at the Jet Propulsion Lab? All this and more on This Week in Space. Headlines: Jared Isaacman Back in the Running for NASA Administrator Lockheed Martin Considers Launching Orion on Rockets Other Than SLS JPL Hit Hard by Layoffs and Uncertainty Amid NASA Budget Woes Main Topic: Astronaut Terry Hart's Career, Space Shuttle Missions, and NASA's Evolution Terry Hart Recaps a Multifaceted Aerospace Career from Bell Labs to NASA Behind the Scenes of the IMAX Film "The Dream is Alive" and Shooting in Space In-Depth Look at STS-41C: First Shuttle Rendezvous, Satellite Repair, and Pioneering On-Orbit Servicing Long Duration Space Experiments and the Legacy of LDEF Reflections on Challenger, Shuttle Risks, and Safety Culture in Human Spaceflight The Ongoing Shift from NASA-Led Programs to Private Spaceflight Industry Preparing the Next Generation: Aerospace Education and Lehigh University's New Graduate Program Insights on Space Bees, Life Aboard the Shuttle, and Visions for the Future of Space Manufacturing Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guest: Terry Hart Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Windows 11's 25H2 release isn't hitting every device right away—find out how to jump the line and enable hidden new features before the official rollout. Host: Paul Thurrott Download or subscribe to Hands-On Windows at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-windows Want access to the ad-free video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

Listener Daniel bought a $150 turntable/CD player to listen to some records by his friend's band, but the sound was terrible. He would like some recommendations for a not-terribly-expensive turntable that sounds decent, and Scott Wilkinson has some. Host: Scott Wilkinson Download or subscribe to Home Theater Geeks at https://twit.tv/shows/home-theater-geeks Want access to the ad-free video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

If you think Spotlight is just for searching, think again. Discover how its revamped browsing modes and new smart actions can change the way you interact with your Mac! Instantly access apps, files, actions, and even your clipboard history, all with a few keyboard shortcuts. Navigating Spotlight Search using menu, keyboard, and mouse shortcuts Categorized app browsing and launching, including iPhone mirroring integration File browsing in Spotlight with intelligent suggestions and advanced filtering Viewing files in grid or list mode, with previews and usage-based organization Accessing and customizing Spotlight Actions, with hundreds of shortcut possibilities Clipboard history now searchable and actionable within Spotlight, supports files and text Privacy controls for Clipboard search and management of sensitive data in Spotlight Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Apple at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-apple Want access to the ad-free video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

Discover the latest book and audiobook apps that let you read, listen, and even borrow digital titles for free! From surprise updates to hidden features inside Apple Books, Kindle, Kobo, and more, get the essential scoop on what's changing for readers on iPhone. Deep dive on Apple Books: features, store, audiobooks, customization Kobo ecosystem: devices, app, syncing, Kobo Plus, unified reading/listening Kindle and Audible: app experience, syncing, subscriptions, accessibility options Libby library app: digital books, audiobooks, local library access, features News: iOS 26.0.1 bug fixes and updates Feedback: iPhone Air impressions, camera concerns, battery experience Shortcuts Corner: Attention Aware and notification automation limitations App Caps: Reverse Audio and Threes+ Apple Arcade game Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at [email protected]. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Want access to the ad-free video and exclusive features? Become a member of Club TWiT today! https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

Can open-source AI models really be truly neutral, or are they just another conduit for hidden agendas? Hear how the founder of Nous Research is battling Silicon Valley giants to put ethical, user-controlled AI in everyone's hands. TOpinion | The A.I. Prompt That Could End the World AI videos of dead celebrities are horrifying many of their families (20) Sam Altman on X: "We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right. Now that we have" / X The AI water issue is fake California becomes first state to regulate AI companion chatbots | TechCrunch Walmart Announces It Will Sell Products Through ChatGPT's Instant Checkout Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead AI is changing how we quantify pain Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests, a study shows Social media must warn users of 'profound' health risks under new California law Google will let friends help you recover an account AI content on the net AI writing hasn't overwhelmed the web yet Karpathy tweet Humanity AI Commits $500 Million to Build a People-Centered Future for AI Sal Khan is the new TED You won't believe what degrading practice the pope just condemned Nano Banana is coming to Google Search, NotebookLM and Photos. Paper: Machines in the Crowd? Measuring the Footprint of Machine-Generated Text on Reddit THOUSANDS OF AI AUTHORS ON THE FUTURE OF AI A Twitch streamer gave birth live, with Twitch's CEO in the chat DirecTV will soon bring AI ads to your screensaver Japan wants OpenAI to stop ripping off manga and anime What Is Really Going on With All This Radioactive Shrimp? Inherently funny word Boah, Bahn! A book is being marketed with mayo-scented ink. Jealous? Me? Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Guest: Jeffrey Quesnelle Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: spaceship.com/twit pantheon.io Melissa.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit

Forget the doomsday headlines about Windows 10's end of life. Paul, Richard, and Leo break down why most users can relax, what Microsoft really has planned, and why the supposed landfill crisis around old PCs is mostly exaggeration. Also, Microsoft said OneDrive's new app was coming next year, but your file system says otherwise. Windows 11 October Patch Tuesday arrives, 1st for 25H2 Copilot+ PCs: Click to Do improvements, AI agent in Settings, File Explorer improvements 24H2/25H2: Desktop improvements, File Explorer improvements, Keyboard shortcuts for en and em dashes, Administrator Protection (off by default), Passkey improvements, Game Bar improvements Windows 10 (didn't) reach EOL and the world didn't end Zorin OS and ChromeOS Flex seize the moment Windows Insider: Copilot on Windows gets Connectors, Document creation and export. Copilot on Windows gets Settings support. Dev and Beta get AI agent in Settings improvements (Copilot+ PC), Setting search improvements (ditto), Drag Tray, Click to Do improvements, Dark mode improvements Dashlane partners with Yubico to make security keys primary vault access Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q QC is a Snapdragon X-based SFF PC HP OmniBook 5 16-inch shows why even the cheapest Snapdragon X chip is a winner Hope springs eternal: Intel Panther Lake is the efficiency of Lunar Lake plus the performance of Arrow Lake. Hopefully, it's not the reliability of either IDC: PC sales jumped 9.4 percent in Q3, just not where you live AI AI is the end of apps Microsoft reveals its first image generation model Opera Neon adds Nano Banana (image gen) and Sora (video gen) capabilities Xbox and gaming Target and Walmart will keep selling Xbox consoles unlike those losers at Costco A veteran of Halo Studios leaves, warns everyone Sorry, but there will be a sequel to the Minecraft movie Game Pass member? Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is free to play for one more day Sony and AMD trickle out some PS6 news in a bizarre way - oh, and we're just getting started Tips and picks Tip of the week: Yes, Virginia, you can still sign in to Windows 11 25H2 with a local account App pick of the week: The new OneDrive app RunAs Radio this week: The End of NTML with Steve Syfuhs Brown liquor pick of the week: Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bourbon Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zapier.com/windows bitwarden.com/twit

Could Tim Cook retire soon? California has signed a new age verification law that requires parents to enter their kids' ages when setting up a smartphone. Could a new MacBook Pro be coming soon, say this week? And Apple has increased its bug bounty award payout for big exploits to $2 million! Apple CEO Tim Cook visits China: receives custom LABUBU doll and hosts first livestream sales event. Tim Cook took over Apple's operations and started to change the world 20 years ago. Apple renames 'Apple TV+' to 'Apple TV'. Everything new in iOS 26.1 beta 3. macOS 26.1 beta 3 changes polarizing Macintosh HD icon. Newsom signs age verification law, siding with tech giants over Hollywood. California enacts age-gate law for app stores. Apple teases new MacBook Pro: 'Something powerful is coming'. Apple to move Health, fitness divisions to services in reorganization. Here's the latest on Apple suing Jon Prosser over iOS 26 leaks. It's not too late for Apple to get AI right. Apple beats Musk, buys Prompt AI startup. Apple ups the reward for finding major exploits to $2 million. Explainer: How is XProtect's data updated? Apple sued over use of copyrighted books to train Apple Intelligence. Apple says goodbye to the Clips app. Elon Musk tries to make Apple and mobile carriers regret choosing Starlink rivals. A 15-year mystery solved: The 20 bytes of code that fixed Antennagate. The great software quality collapse: how we normalized catastrophe. Picks of the Week Andy's Pick: The Loneliness Epidemic: Big Tech's Role and Responsibility Jason's Pick: YoLink Water Sensors Hosts: Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, and Jason Snell Download or subscribe to MacBreak Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/macbreak-weekly. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: Melissa.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit 1password.com/macbreak pantheon.io