Security Now 1050: Here Come the AI Browsers

AI-powered web browsers are hitting the scene fast, but Steve and Leo unpack why these smart assistants could usher in an era of security chaos most users aren't ready for. Brace yourself for the wild risks, real-world scams, and the privacy questions no one else is asking. Secret radios discovered in Chinese-made busses. Edge & Chrome introduce LLM-based "scareware" blocking. A perfect example of what scareware blocking hopes to prevent. Aardvark: OpenAI's new vulnerability scanner for code. Italy to require age verification from 48 specific sites. Russia to require the use of only Russian software within Russia. Russia further clamping down on non-MAX Telegram and WhatsApp messaging. 187 new malicious NPM packages. Could AI help with that? BadCandy malware has infiltrated Australian Cisco routers. Github's 2025 report with the dominance of TypeScript. Windows 11 gets new extra-secure Admin Protection feature. A bunch of interesting feedback and listener thoughts. And why the new AI-driven web browsers may be bringing a whole new world of hurt Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1050-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: bitwarden.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT bigid.com/securitynow threatlocker.com for Security Now

iOS 26.1 & macOS 26.1 are out now, with updates to Liquid Glass. Apple had big results in its Q4 2025. More rumors are emerging about Apple's entry into the low-cost laptop market. And Apple finally launches the App Store for the web! Apple releases iOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, other updates with Liquid Glass controls and more. iOS 26's Shortcuts app adds 25+ new actions, here's everything new. Charts: Apple caps off high-flying fiscal year with Q4 record. Apple results: Holiday dunks and questions dodged. Apple preps low-cost laptop to rival Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Hello, Robot: Sandwich launches "immersive commercial" Use the Apple Vision Pro app on iPhone and iPad. Apple launches App Store for the web. Apple debuts new Apple TV intro with music by Finneas following "Vibrant" rebrand. Apple's Eddy Cue, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht talk 'F1' and Emmys success, upcoming slate, and launching a platform. OpenAI acquires Software Applications Incorporated, maker of Sky. Introducing WhatsApp for Apple Watch. Canva's new free Affinity app wants to sink the Adobe flagships. Tim Cook just turned 65, renewing speculation about his successor. Apple slices its logo for new Apple One branding. How Tim Cook evaded disaster at Apple this year. Picks of the Week Andy's Pick: Logoer Leo's Pick: Iconfactory Tapestry Alex's Pick: Shutter Encoder Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, 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: zocdoc.com/macbreak 1password.com/macbreak threatlocker.com/twit framer.com/design promo code MACBREAK

From AI-powered code generation boosting productivity to adversaries using the same tools to hunt zero-days, the panel exposes the coming wave of AI-fueled cyberattacks—and why most companies aren't ready for it. Cotton blocks Trump-backed effort to make daylight saving time permanent The End of Cybersecurity Amazon says it didn't cut 14,000 people because of money. It cut them because of 'culture' Here's How the AI Crash Happens US government is getting closer to banning TP-Link routers Neato cloud shutdown sees robocleaners robbed of their smarts FCC will vote to scrap telecom cybersecurity requirements Trump FCC Votes To Make It Easier For Your Broadband ISP To Rip You Off Swedish Death Cleaning But for Your Digital Life The F5 Hack is a Big Deal OpenAI Releases Agentic Security Researcher 'Do not trust your eyes': AI generates surge in expense fraud Proton Data Breach Observatory aims to alert you in near real-time Using a Security Key on X? Re-Enroll Now or Your Account Will Be Locked YouTube denies AI was involved with odd removals of tech tutorials 10M people watched a YouTuber shim a lock; the lock company sued him. Bad idea. Samsung's $2000 smart fridges are getting ads - gHacks Tech News ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Jill Duffy, Alex Stamos, and Stacey Higginbotham Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech 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: ziprecruiter.com/twit zscaler.com/security miro.com canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT Melissa.com/twit

Can an AI truly care about your feelings—or is emotional intelligence in machines just the most sophisticated form of manipulation? Dr. Alan Cowen of Hume AI joins the crew to unpack the promise and peril of emotionally adept bots, even as they're quietly shaping how we connect, seek help, and parent in the digital age. Virtual Try On Free Online - AI Clothes Changer | i-TryOn Oreo-maker Mondelez to use new generative AI tool to slash marketing costs OpenAI Moves to Generate AI Music in Potential Rivalry With Startup Suno Surprising no one, researchers confirm that AI chatbots are incredibly sycophantic Microsoft's Mico heightens the risks of parasocial LLM relationships Armed police swarm student after AI mistakes bag of Doritos for a weapon - Dexerto A Definition of AGI OpenAI Finalizes Corporate Restructuring, Gives Microsoft 27% Stake and Technology Access Until 2032 - Slashdot This mom's son was asking Tesla's Grok AI chatbot about soccer. It told him to send nude pics, she says Nvidia Becomes World's First $5 Trillion Company - Slashdot Paris Hilton Has Been Training Her AI for Years How Realistic is OpenAI's 2028 Timeline For Automating AI Research Itself? Tesla's "Mad Max" mode is now under federal scrutiny Zenni's Anti-Facial Recognition Glasses are Eyewear for Our Paranoid Age Alphabet earnings Meta earnings You Have No Idea How Screwed OpenAI Actually Is Elon Musk's Grokipedia Pushes Far-Right Talking Points AOL to be sold to Bending Spoons for roughly $1.5B Casio's Fluffy AI Robot Squeaked Its Way Into My Heart For the sake of the show, I will suffer this torture -jj Machine Olfaction and Embedded AI Are Shaping the New Global Sensing Industry A silly little photoshoot with your friends Bugonia Celebrating 25 years of Google Ads The Data Is In: The Washington Post Can't Replace Its "TikTok Guy" Peak screen? Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Guest: Dr. Alan Cowen 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: zscaler.com/security zapier.com/machines agntcy.org ventionteams.com/twit

Welp, Azure crashed on Microsoft's earnings day, the cloud's weakest link exposed just as AI investments hit mind-boggling numbers. And 2.5 years into the AI era, things are still moving quickly, and there are extreme opinions on both ends of the spectrum. But Paul finally found a source for a good way to evaluate AI and figure out where it works and where it does not. It came from an unexpected place.Windows 11 Week D arrives with a massive Preview Update for 24H2 and 25H2 - including the new Start menu, finally Copy & Search, Voice typing improvements, Proactive Memory Diagnostics, more in Dev and Beta Copilot Vision in Copilot app updated with text input and output across all Insider channels Intel earnings are great unless you understand how numbers work Microsoft 365 Australia regulator sues Microsoft over misleading Microsoft 365 consumer pricing Copilot is being integrated into the People, Files, and Calendar companion apps for Microsoft 365 commercial On the day Microsoft will report earnings, Microsoft 365 and Azure went down. Hilarious! AI OpenAI completes its transition to a for-profit owned by a non-profit Microsoft's stake is 27 percent. A lot has changed in the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership agreement WSJ finally calls out Microsoft for its lack of financial reporting transparency. Paul's been complaining about that for over a decade - Big Tech has became a shell game. These companies are managing money they don't even have and actual products and services and "real" value be damned Big Copilot feature dump for consumers with a human touch: Mico, Copilot Groups, memory improvements, connectors, Proactive Actions in preview, Copilot for Health, Copilot in Edge improvements, and Copilot in Windows updates from last week Microsoft 365 Copilot is getting App Builder and Workflow agents GitHub Copilot to support third-party AI agents Grammarly rebrands as Superhuman Xbox and gaming Credible report claims Microsoft requires Xbox/Microsoft Gaming to deliver 30 percent profit margin That is impossible and this is clearly coming from Amy Hood and has led to the ensh*ttification of Xbox as a platform As Microsoft launches first gaming handhelds, all anyone wants to talk about is the next-generation Xbox console. It started with Sarah Bond last week - "very premium" console with "curated" experience Phil Spencer discusses it this week, who implied Windows at the heart of console The rumor mill churns up - Will be Windows, as we've said, will drop multiplayer paywall that debuted in 2002 Now Satya Nadella is commenting on the next console, confirms publisher focus for this business Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming in 2026, new features, new Unreal Engine graphics, new PS5 compatibility Also, The Outer Worlds 2 is now available. Yes, on PS5 too Amazon relaunches Luna, and the new Amazon layoffs point to a new focus on casual gaming Tips and picks Tip of the week: Understand where AI works and where AI is just a marketing term used to hype something that doesn't work App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder RunAs Radio this week: AI for DBAs with Grant Fritchey Brown liquor pick of the week: Redbreast Dream Casks These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/956 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: framer.com/design promo code WW auraframes.com/ink ventionteams.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

Just when you thought DNS cache poisoning was a thing of the past, Steve and Leo reveal why this 17-year-old bug is making a dramatic comeback—and why most DNS resolvers still can't manage high-quality random numbers after all this time. The unsuspected sucking power of a Linux-based robot vacuum. Russia to follow China's vulnerability reporting laws. A pair of Scattered Spider UK teen hackers arrested. Facebook,Instagram and TikTok violating the EU's DSA. Microsoft Teams bringing user WiFi tracking bypolicy. You backed up. That's great. Did you test that backup? Coveware reports all-time lowransomware payment rate. Ransomware negotiator reports how the bad guys get in. Lots of listener thoughts and feedback about NIST passwords. And against all reason and begging credulity, it seems we still haven't managed to put high-quality random number generators into our DNS resolvers. Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1049-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: hoxhunt.com/securitynow zapier.com/securitynow 1password.com/securitynow veeam.com zscaler.com/security

Apple held a special developer event for immersive media experiences last week, and some of MacBreak's own were there! Did Apple reduced production levels for its iPhone Air? Apple crosses the $4 trillion market cap. And what's going on with Apple's lawsuit against Jon Prosser? Apple holds special developer event touting immersive media experiences for Vision Pro. Samsung takes on Apple's Vision Pro with new Galaxy XR headset. Apple iPhone Air cuts mean very little in October 2025. iPhone Air production cut orders may not be true. The UK CMA says it will label Apple and Google as having "strategic market status", imposing stricter rules on how they run their platforms to boost competition. US judge decertifies Apple app store class action. Apple crosses $4 trillion market cap for the first time. Apple begins shipping American-made AI servers from Texas. Apple says Jon Prosser 'has not indicated' when he may respond to lawsuit. Apple readies new framework to let iPhone users migrate app data to and from Android. iPhone 18 Pro could gain satellite 5G as SpaceX chases Apple partnership. Apple seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 release candidates. Picks of the Week Alex's Pick: Blackmagic Camera Leo's Picks: Adobe's Project Indigo & Casio's G-Shock Nano DWN-5600 Andy's Pick: Susan Kare's Prints Jason's Pick: Daft Music Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, 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: auraframes.com/ink zapier.com/macbreak outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech 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: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

Is the future of artificial intelligence running on your desk instead of in massive data centers? This episode breaks down how Nvidia's Blackwell chip and HP's new ZGX Nano could let anyone fine-tune jaw-dropping language models at home—and why privacy, cost, and control are suddenly up for grabs. Introducing ChatGPT Atlas Claude Skills are awesome, maybe a bigger deal than MCP Leo... AI assistants make widespread errors about the news, new research shows The Majority AI View - Anil Dash OpenAI cracks down on Sora 2 deepfakes after pressure from Bryan Cranston, SAG-AFTRA Is Andrej Karpathy Right About Overhyped AI? Happy 18th Birthday to None Pizza Left Beef Originality.ai Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paris Martineau, and Mike Elgan Guests: Joey de Villa and Andrew Hawthorn 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: agntcy.org fieldofgreens.com Promo Code "IM" ventionteams.com/twit

Microsoft is promising a bold AI-infused future for Windows 11, as the company aims to turn the OS into an AI-powered "agentic" hub. Amid all the Copilot hype, the hosts ask the tough questions: Are these AI features solving real problems, or is Big Tech just chasing a revenue gold rush? Tune in for sharp takes on AI skepticism, notable buzzwords, and the practical impact of Microsoft's ambitious new direction. Windows 11... Windows.ai?? Microsoft announces several new Copilot and AI features in Windows while redefining the term "AI PC" out from under Intel New features: Hey Copilot wake phrase (and goodbye), Copilot Vision is GA, new features coming soon include Copilot replacing Search in the Taskbar, Copilot Actions for local files, Manus AI agent and Filmora integration with File Explorer AI Actions, Zoom integration with Click to Do This is about Windows transforming into an "AI native" agentic OS Which ties into Paul's AI is the End of Apps editorial, where apps became programmable so that they can be controlled by AI - You can see baby steps in Windows 11 in-box apps now Microsoft explains how it will secure agents in Windows because Recall what happened last time Microsoft releases so-called emergency update for Windows 11 after the October Patch Tuesday updates killed USB mouse and keyboard supports in the Windows Recovery Environment (WRE). Windows Insider Program: Mobile devices settings improvements, File Explorer improvements, Drag Tray improvements, and other changes head to Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) channels New Start menu, battery icons, Copilot Vision integration in Taskbar, File Explorer improvements, Voice access improvements, and Click to Do improvements (Copilot+ PC only) head to Release Preview, indicating they will be a Week D preview and then Patch Tuesday release in November Restyle rolling out in Paint across most Insider channels Open AI finally launches long-expected web browser, but only on the Mac because FU, Microsoft Facebook Messenger for Windows is retiring, will chase rabbits on a farm upstate Microsoft What does Microsoft's annual report say about its relationship with consumers? Three core consumer businesses: Windows, Microsoft 365 Consumer, Xbox/gaming Xbox/gaming smallest (500m) but also the most engaged - and also the most discussed in the report Not clear what % of users/revenues is consumer based, but it's not a small number (guessing its at least one-third of each) AI Copilot for Education is coming in December, $18 per student per month Anthropic Claude is coming for Copilot in Microsoft 365 commercial Copilot has AI competition on Samsung smart TVs now Opera Neon is getting an AI research agent Xbox and gaming Xbox president says next console will be "very premium". You know, like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are now available for purchase New wave of games coming to Game Pass across PC, console, and cloud, including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, The Outer Worlds 2, and more Following console price hikes, Xbox Development Kit gets a 33 percent price increase thanks to insane U.S. tariffs Tips & Picks Tip of the week: Laptops are upgradeable again and life is good App pick of the week: A grab bag of apps for Windows users RunAs Radio this These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/955 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: ventionteams.com/twit helixsleep.com/windows framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit