TechRadar: latest computing news https://www.techradar.com/rss/news/computing Tue, 14 Feb 2023 09:58:17 +0000 en <![CDATA[ NYT Wordle today — answer and my hints for game #1917, Friday, September 18 ]]>
Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Wordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here.

Skip the hints and jump straight to today's column.

It's time for your guide to today's Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.

Don't think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.

Want more word-based fun? TechRadar's Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at our NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for our verdict on two of the New York Times' other brainteasers.

SPOILER WARNING: Today's Wordle answer and hints are below, so don't read on if you don't want to see them.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #1 - Vowels

How many vowels does today's Wordle have?

• Wordle today has a vowel in one place*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #2 - first letter

What letter does today's Wordle begin with?

• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is S.

S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. In fact, it's almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #3 - repeated letters

Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?

• There are no repeated letters in today's Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #4 - ending letter

What letter does today's Wordle end with?

• The last letter in today's Wordle is Y.

Y is the second most common ending letter in the game, behind only E. In total, 364 Wordle answers end with a Y.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #5 - last chance

Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1917.

  • Today's Wordle answer is coated with soft frozen water.

If you just want to know today's Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I'd always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We've got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.

If you don't want to know today's answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don't say you weren't warned!

Today's Wordle answer (game #1917)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1917 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)
  • NYT average score: 3.9
  • My score: 3
  • WordleBot's score: 3
  • My skill score: 94
  • My luck score: 62
  • My start word performance: SANER (31 remaining answer)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (70)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Today's Wordle answer (game #1917) is… SNOWY.

It's been another good week for me in Wordle, and I don't really know why. Sometimes it just goes like that, I suppose. It has been a fairly easy week, admittedly — we've not had a game above 4.0 since Saturday, and before that we only had two others in the week before. But I already spent a whole column this week writing about how Wordle isn't getting easier as such, it's just having an easy period, so I won't do that again.

SNOWY isn't easy as such — it has an average of 3.9, so it's right in the standard range for the game — but it was easier for me, because my start word, SANER gave me a green S and a yellow N.

That left 31 options, which broadly fell into three groups. First, there were the SN--- words: SNIFF and SNOOP and SNUCK. Then there were the S---N words, such as SHOWN and SPOON and SWOON. But the biggest group were the S--N- words, with the N generally followed by a T or G or Y or K: STING and STINK and SHUNT and SHINY.

This was a classic narrowing-down job, then. I decided PILOT was my weapon of choice, because the P, L and T were all letters that might well follow an S at the start, while the I and O were the two most common remaining vowels.

Pretty basic stuff, really, but it worked: PILOT ruled out all but three options, SOUND, SHOWN and SNOWY.

Going for SOUND would have been risky, because it might have left a 50/50 between the other two. So I went for SNOWY and was rewarded with another 3.

Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1916)

In a different time zone where it's still Thursday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1916, too.

  • Wordle yesterday had vowels in two places*

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

  • The first letter in yesterday's Wordle answer was T.

T is one of the most common starting letters in the game, beginning 149 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. That gives it a ranking of fourth in the alphabet, behind only S, C and B.

  • There were repeated letters in yesterday's Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.

  • The last letter in yesterday's Wordle was A.

A is a relatively common ending letter. It ranks 10th in this regard and today's game is one of 63 in which you'll find an A there.

Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1916.

  • Yesterday's Wordle answer is a greek letter.

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1916)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1916 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)
  • NYT average score: 3.9
  • My score: 3
  • WordleBot's score: 3
  • My skill score: 95
  • My luck score: 63
  • My start word performance: SANER (105 remaining answer)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (2)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1916) was… THETA.

Wordle is a very well-read game, with a deep knowledge of classical history and especially Greek. Or at least that's my guess, based on the fact that THETA joins ALPHA (game #451), DELTA (#75), GAMMA (#93) and OMEGA (#1501) as an answer.

Obviously in reality those letters are a) used in modern Greek too and b) generally have dual meanings these days. I say 'generally': THETA is not like ALPHA or DELTA in having a clear English-language meaning. There is apparently a term "theta rhythm", which means "a relatively high amplitude brain wave pattern", but I doubt that was why it was included in Wordle.

It's the first game in a week to contain a repeated letter. The last one was DRYLY, which I found really difficult (I scored a 5) but which had a middling average of 3.9 overall. Here, I found it a lot easier (and scored a 3), but the average is once again 3.9.

The task will have been easier for those people who started with SLATE, because that left only two options. However, the other one was EARTH, and I suspect that many Wordlers will have gone with that next, as did WordleBot, and so will have scored a 3 rather than a 2.

I had to work a little harder — but only a little. SANER had left 105 possibles, so it seemed unlikely that I would get home in only two more guesses, but my choice of CLEAT reduced that shortlist by 104, leaving THETA as the only solution.

Wordle answers: The past 50

I've been playing Wordle every day for more than four years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday's answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.

  • Wordle #1916, Thursday 17 September: THETA
  • Wordle #1915, Wednesday 16 September: WISPY
  • Wordle #1914, Tuesday 15 September: DEALT
  • Wordle #1913, Monday 14 September: RINSE
  • Wordle #1912, Sunday 13 September: FOCUS
  • Wordle #1911, Saturday 12 September: NIFTY
  • Wordle #1910, Friday 11 September: ASTER
  • Wordle #1909, Thursday 10 September: DRYLY
  • Wordle #1908, Wednesday 9 September: BURST
  • Wordle #1907, Tuesday 8 September: LIVEN
  • Wordle #1906, Monday 7 September: BLIND
  • Wordle #1905, Sunday 6 September: BEIGE
  • Wordle #1904, Saturday 5 September: SOUPY
  • Wordle #1903, Friday 4 September: WAGER
  • Wordle #1902, Thursday 3 September: JOIST
  • Wordle #1901, Wednesday 2 September: RULER
  • Wordle #1900, Tuesday 1 September: REMIX
  • Wordle #1899, Monday 31 August: MOUND
  • Wordle #1898, Sunday 30 August: INTEL
  • Wordle #1897, Saturday 29 August: BLOOD
  • Wordle #1896, Friday 28 August: TWEEN
  • Wordle #1895, Thursday 27 August: UNCUT
  • Wordle #1894, Wednesday 26 August: CAPON
  • Wordle #1893, Tuesday 25 August: CLICK
  • Wordle #1892, Monday 24 August: RUNNY
  • Wordle #1891, Sunday 23 August: OLDEN
  • Wordle #1890, Saturday 22 August: PRAWN
  • Wordle #1889, Friday 21 August: TRACE
  • Wordle #1888, Thursday 20 August: MURKY
  • Wordle #1887, Wednesday 19 August: GRILL
  • Wordle #1886, Tuesday 18 August: STRIP
  • Wordle #1885, Monday 17 August: TRIBE
  • Wordle #1884, Sunday 16 August: ASPIC
  • Wordle #1883, Saturday 15 August: LOOSE
  • Wordle #1882, Friday 14 August: GEODE
  • Wordle #1881, Thursday 13 August: CRASH
  • Wordle #1880, Wednesday 12 August: WIMPY
  • Wordle #1879, Tuesday 11 August: FENCE
  • Wordle #1878, Monday 10 August: SNIPE
  • Wordle #1877, Sunday 9 August: CLUNK
  • Wordle #1876, Saturday 8 August: PRIVY
  • Wordle #1875, Friday 7 August: FEIGN
  • Wordle #1874, Thursday 6 August: GRIPE
  • Wordle #1873, Wednesday 5 August: POSIT
  • Wordle #1872, Tuesday 4 August: MOTIF
  • Wordle #1871, Monday 3 August: REPLY
  • Wordle #1870, Sunday 2 August: PENAL
  • Wordle #1869, Saturday 1 August: SLUSH
  • Wordle #1868, Friday 31 July: PURSE
  • Wordle #1867, Thursday 30 July: FLUME

What is Wordle?

If you're on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you've not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it's the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm in 2022 and is still going strong in 2026.

We've got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.

What is Wordle?

Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it's in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it's not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?

It's played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times' Games app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.

Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.

What are the Wordle rules?

The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.

4a. Answers are never plural.

4b. …unless they are. There have been a couple of plural words that don't end in an S or ES, including FUNGI (game #439), ATRIA (#1478) and TEETH (#1551). But S and ES plurals are definitely outlawed.

5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.

8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.

9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.

10a. All answers are drawn from Wordle's list of 2,309 solutions…

10b. …unless they are not. That's because the NYT has added in some of its own words which weren't in that list of 2,309 solutions. More will undoubtedly come over the next few years.

10c. Plus, the NYT has now started repeating answers that have already appeared in Wordle. We have no idea how often it will do this, so you'll need to be on your guard.

11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won't be right (see point 4a above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.

]]> https://www.techradar.com/news/wordle-today gVH9Tee5L9wGgEdPqXZmRm Thu, 17 Sep 2026 23:00:50 +0000 false false false
Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Wordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here.

Skip the hints and jump straight to today's column.

It's time for your guide to today's Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.

Don't think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.

Want more word-based fun? TechRadar's Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at our NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for our verdict on two of the New York Times' other brainteasers.

SPOILER WARNING: Today's Wordle answer and hints are below, so don't read on if you don't want to see them.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #1 - Vowels

How many vowels does today's Wordle have?

• Wordle today has a vowel in one place*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #2 - first letter

What letter does today's Wordle begin with?

• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is S.

S is the most common starting letter in the game, featuring in 365 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. In fact, it's almost twice as likely to begin an answer as the next most common starting letter, C.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #3 - repeated letters

Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?

• There are no repeated letters in today's Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #4 - ending letter

What letter does today's Wordle end with?

• The last letter in today's Wordle is Y.

Y is the second most common ending letter in the game, behind only E. In total, 364 Wordle answers end with a Y.

Wordle hints (game #1917) - clue #5 - last chance

Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1917.

  • Today's Wordle answer is coated with soft frozen water.

If you just want to know today's Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I'd always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We've got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.

If you don't want to know today's answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don't say you weren't warned!

Today's Wordle answer (game #1917)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1917 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)
  • NYT average score: 3.9
  • My score: 3
  • WordleBot's score: 3
  • My skill score: 94
  • My luck score: 62
  • My start word performance: SANER (31 remaining answer)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (70)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Today's Wordle answer (game #1917) is… SNOWY.

It's been another good week for me in Wordle, and I don't really know why. Sometimes it just goes like that, I suppose. It has been a fairly easy week, admittedly — we've not had a game above 4.0 since Saturday, and before that we only had two others in the week before. But I already spent a whole column this week writing about how Wordle isn't getting easier as such, it's just having an easy period, so I won't do that again.

SNOWY isn't easy as such — it has an average of 3.9, so it's right in the standard range for the game — but it was easier for me, because my start word, SANER gave me a green S and a yellow N.

That left 31 options, which broadly fell into three groups. First, there were the SN--- words: SNIFF and SNOOP and SNUCK. Then there were the S---N words, such as SHOWN and SPOON and SWOON. But the biggest group were the S--N- words, with the N generally followed by a T or G or Y or K: STING and STINK and SHUNT and SHINY.

This was a classic narrowing-down job, then. I decided PILOT was my weapon of choice, because the P, L and T were all letters that might well follow an S at the start, while the I and O were the two most common remaining vowels.

Pretty basic stuff, really, but it worked: PILOT ruled out all but three options, SOUND, SHOWN and SNOWY.

Going for SOUND would have been risky, because it might have left a 50/50 between the other two. So I went for SNOWY and was rewarded with another 3.

Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1916)

In a different time zone where it's still Thursday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1916, too.

  • Wordle yesterday had vowels in two places*

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

  • The first letter in yesterday's Wordle answer was T.

T is one of the most common starting letters in the game, beginning 149 of Wordle's 2,309 answers. That gives it a ranking of fourth in the alphabet, behind only S, C and B.

  • There were repeated letters in yesterday's Wordle.

Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.

  • The last letter in yesterday's Wordle was A.

A is a relatively common ending letter. It ranks 10th in this regard and today's game is one of 63 in which you'll find an A there.

Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1916.

  • Yesterday's Wordle answer is a greek letter.

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1916)

NYT Wordle answer for game 1916 on a green background

(Image credit: New York Times)
  • NYT average score: 3.9
  • My score: 3
  • WordleBot's score: 3
  • My skill score: 95
  • My luck score: 63
  • My start word performance: SANER (105 remaining answer)
  • WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (2)
  • Tomorrow's start word: SANER

Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1916) was… THETA.

Wordle is a very well-read game, with a deep knowledge of classical history and especially Greek. Or at least that's my guess, based on the fact that THETA joins ALPHA (game #451), DELTA (#75), GAMMA (#93) and OMEGA (#1501) as an answer.

Obviously in reality those letters are a) used in modern Greek too and b) generally have dual meanings these days. I say 'generally': THETA is not like ALPHA or DELTA in having a clear English-language meaning. There is apparently a term "theta rhythm", which means "a relatively high amplitude brain wave pattern", but I doubt that was why it was included in Wordle.

It's the first game in a week to contain a repeated letter. The last one was DRYLY, which I found really difficult (I scored a 5) but which had a middling average of 3.9 overall. Here, I found it a lot easier (and scored a 3), but the average is once again 3.9.

The task will have been easier for those people who started with SLATE, because that left only two options. However, the other one was EARTH, and I suspect that many Wordlers will have gone with that next, as did WordleBot, and so will have scored a 3 rather than a 2.

I had to work a little harder — but only a little. SANER had left 105 possibles, so it seemed unlikely that I would get home in only two more guesses, but my choice of CLEAT reduced that shortlist by 104, leaving THETA as the only solution.

Wordle answers: The past 50

I've been playing Wordle every day for more than four years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday's answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.

  • Wordle #1916, Thursday 17 September: THETA
  • Wordle #1915, Wednesday 16 September: WISPY
  • Wordle #1914, Tuesday 15 September: DEALT
  • Wordle #1913, Monday 14 September: RINSE
  • Wordle #1912, Sunday 13 September: FOCUS
  • Wordle #1911, Saturday 12 September: NIFTY
  • Wordle #1910, Friday 11 September: ASTER
  • Wordle #1909, Thursday 10 September: DRYLY
  • Wordle #1908, Wednesday 9 September: BURST
  • Wordle #1907, Tuesday 8 September: LIVEN
  • Wordle #1906, Monday 7 September: BLIND
  • Wordle #1905, Sunday 6 September: BEIGE
  • Wordle #1904, Saturday 5 September: SOUPY
  • Wordle #1903, Friday 4 September: WAGER
  • Wordle #1902, Thursday 3 September: JOIST
  • Wordle #1901, Wednesday 2 September: RULER
  • Wordle #1900, Tuesday 1 September: REMIX
  • Wordle #1899, Monday 31 August: MOUND
  • Wordle #1898, Sunday 30 August: INTEL
  • Wordle #1897, Saturday 29 August: BLOOD
  • Wordle #1896, Friday 28 August: TWEEN
  • Wordle #1895, Thursday 27 August: UNCUT
  • Wordle #1894, Wednesday 26 August: CAPON
  • Wordle #1893, Tuesday 25 August: CLICK
  • Wordle #1892, Monday 24 August: RUNNY
  • Wordle #1891, Sunday 23 August: OLDEN
  • Wordle #1890, Saturday 22 August: PRAWN
  • Wordle #1889, Friday 21 August: TRACE
  • Wordle #1888, Thursday 20 August: MURKY
  • Wordle #1887, Wednesday 19 August: GRILL
  • Wordle #1886, Tuesday 18 August: STRIP
  • Wordle #1885, Monday 17 August: TRIBE
  • Wordle #1884, Sunday 16 August: ASPIC
  • Wordle #1883, Saturday 15 August: LOOSE
  • Wordle #1882, Friday 14 August: GEODE
  • Wordle #1881, Thursday 13 August: CRASH
  • Wordle #1880, Wednesday 12 August: WIMPY
  • Wordle #1879, Tuesday 11 August: FENCE
  • Wordle #1878, Monday 10 August: SNIPE
  • Wordle #1877, Sunday 9 August: CLUNK
  • Wordle #1876, Saturday 8 August: PRIVY
  • Wordle #1875, Friday 7 August: FEIGN
  • Wordle #1874, Thursday 6 August: GRIPE
  • Wordle #1873, Wednesday 5 August: POSIT
  • Wordle #1872, Tuesday 4 August: MOTIF
  • Wordle #1871, Monday 3 August: REPLY
  • Wordle #1870, Sunday 2 August: PENAL
  • Wordle #1869, Saturday 1 August: SLUSH
  • Wordle #1868, Friday 31 July: PURSE
  • Wordle #1867, Thursday 30 July: FLUME

What is Wordle?

If you're on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you've not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it's the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm in 2022 and is still going strong in 2026.

We've got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.

What is Wordle?

Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it's in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it's not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?

It's played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times' Games app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.

Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.

What are the Wordle rules?

The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.

4a. Answers are never plural.

4b. …unless they are. There have been a couple of plural words that don't end in an S or ES, including FUNGI (game #439), ATRIA (#1478) and TEETH (#1551). But S and ES plurals are definitely outlawed.

5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.

8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.

9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.

10a. All answers are drawn from Wordle's list of 2,309 solutions…

10b. …unless they are not. That's because the NYT has added in some of its own words which weren't in that list of 2,309 solutions. More will undoubtedly come over the next few years.

10c. Plus, the NYT has now started repeating answers that have already appeared in Wordle. We have no idea how often it will do this, so you'll need to be on your guard.

11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won't be right (see point 4a above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.

]]> <![CDATA[ Quordle hints and answers for Friday, September 18 (game #1698) ]]>
Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, September 17 (game #1697).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #1 — Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• M

• M

• A

• T

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1698) — the answers

Quordle answers for game 1698 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1698, are…

  • MUCUS
  • MIRTH
  • APPLE
  • TILDE

I made quite a meal over APPLE, mainly due to the fact that the were so many options for words containing a letter A and ending in LE.

Fortunately, it only took me one wrong guess.

Elsewhere, two words beginning with the letter M were the major helper.

Daily Sequence today (game #1698) — the answers

Quordle answers for game 1698 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1698, are…

  • IONIC
  • KIOSK
  • VOILA
  • BORNE

Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
  • Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
  • Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
  • Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
  • Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
  • Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
  • Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
  • Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
  • Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
  • Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
  • Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
  • Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
  • Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
  • Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
  • Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
  • Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
  • Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
  • Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
  • Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER
  • Quordle #1678, Saturday, 29 August: OVINE, ALLOY, VOICE, CARVE
]]> https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/quordle-today-answers-clues-18-september-2026 8XD8SuZng9TUyaBnGQQ9Tj Thu, 17 Sep 2026 23:00:00 +0000 false false false
Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, September 17 (game #1697).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #1 — Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• M

• M

• A

• T

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1698) — the answers

Quordle answers for game 1698 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1698, are…

  • MUCUS
  • MIRTH
  • APPLE
  • TILDE

I made quite a meal over APPLE, mainly due to the fact that the were so many options for words containing a letter A and ending in LE.

Fortunately, it only took me one wrong guess.

Elsewhere, two words beginning with the letter M were the major helper.

Daily Sequence today (game #1698) — the answers

Quordle answers for game 1698 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1698, are…

  • IONIC
  • KIOSK
  • VOILA
  • BORNE

Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
  • Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
  • Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
  • Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
  • Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
  • Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
  • Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
  • Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
  • Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
  • Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
  • Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
  • Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
  • Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
  • Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
  • Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
  • Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
  • Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
  • Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
  • Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER
  • Quordle #1678, Saturday, 29 August: OVINE, ALLOY, VOICE, CARVE
]]> <![CDATA[ NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, September 18 (game #929) ]]>
Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, September 17 (game #928).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Shake on it

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • LETTERS
  • TEAM
  • PATE
  • GEAR
  • POET
  • TONAL

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: top, 2nd column

• Last side: bottom, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #929) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 929 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #929, are…

  • COVENANT
  • PACT
  • TREATY
  • CONTRACT
  • AGREEMENT
  • SPANGRAM: LETSMAKEADEAL
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

COVENANT is a pretty unusual word to begin a word search with, but that's how my game played out today, because I was stumped and looking for non-game words; I was in the process of bagging “coven” when I saw the much longer word.

From here, though, after my slow start, I roared through the remainder of the search at an agreeable pace.

I cannot remember deals ever really being in the news at all, but in 2026 the making of them, or indeed the failure to make them, seems to be the only news there is. Frankly, I missed the days when we muddled along.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, September 17, game #928)

  • PEANUTS
  • ZIPPY
  • MUTTS
  • PICKLES
  • ZITS
  • BLONDIE
  • SPANGRAM: THEFUNNYPAGES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

]]> https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/nyt-strands-today-answers-hints-18-september-2026 cY8tAHVGChRsspphTi36Hn Thu, 17 Sep 2026 23:00:00 +0000 false false false
Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, September 17 (game #928).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Shake on it

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • LETTERS
  • TEAM
  • PATE
  • GEAR
  • POET
  • TONAL

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #929) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: top, 2nd column

• Last side: bottom, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #929) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 929 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #929, are…

  • COVENANT
  • PACT
  • TREATY
  • CONTRACT
  • AGREEMENT
  • SPANGRAM: LETSMAKEADEAL
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

COVENANT is a pretty unusual word to begin a word search with, but that's how my game played out today, because I was stumped and looking for non-game words; I was in the process of bagging “coven” when I saw the much longer word.

From here, though, after my slow start, I roared through the remainder of the search at an agreeable pace.

I cannot remember deals ever really being in the news at all, but in 2026 the making of them, or indeed the failure to make them, seems to be the only news there is. Frankly, I missed the days when we muddled along.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, September 17, game #928)

  • PEANUTS
  • ZIPPY
  • MUTTS
  • PICKLES
  • ZITS
  • BLONDIE
  • SPANGRAM: THEFUNNYPAGES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

]]> <![CDATA[ Samsung unveils next-gen OLED tech that hits 10,000 nits of brightness — but the bit you should be excited about is the 30% efficiency improvement ]]>
  • Samsung Display unveils new 'M16' OLED phone screen tech that can hit 10,000 nits of brightness in small areas
  • The more useful news is that it can be 30% more efficient than its previous-gen M14 OLED tech
  • It's appearing first in the Vivo iQOO 16 phone, in China

    • Samsung Display has unveiled the first OLED panel to deliver 10,000 nits of peak brightness, and it's already coming in a phone.

    The new 'M16' OLED display is capable of 10,000 nits in 1% of the window, although in full screen it puts out a less searingly bright (but massively impressive) 2,800 nits. These numbers put it in the region of micro-LED tech, and way beyond anything we've seen for OLED so far.

    Of course, brightness is all well and good, though few people are probably begging for their phone to be as bright as a full sunny day. What's arguably more exciting is that the panel is Samsung's second-generation polarizer-free OLED, which enables it to deliver significantly improved energy efficiency and brightness — the claim is a 30% improvement in efficiency.

    This means that even if you view it more like the 1,000 nits of most elite phones, you're saving way more battery — and since the display is one of the biggest battery hogs in phones (or the best smartwatches, where the tech would also be really useful), that could make a real difference to phone longevity.

    The M-series panels are made for smartphones and other mobile devices, but the advances in OLED material here may make their way into the best OLED TVs too, at least partly.

    Where to see Samsung Display's new ultra-bright OLED

    According to industry site FlatpanelsHD, Samsung Display will be providing the M16 OLEDs to Vivo for its iQOO 16 gaming phone.

    Previous reports also suggest that Apple is using the M16 in its iPhone 18 Pro, as Apple has previously used even-numbered M-series OLEDs in its iPhones. My colleague Matt Bolton highlighted the longer battery life in the iPhone 8 Pro as one of its, uh, highlights — noting that battery improvements usually come from multiple elements combining, so it would makes sense if this new display is one of those elements.

    For TV buyers, the most significant thing here is how fast OLED tech is evolving. Samsung announced its first 5,000 nit OLED in March 2025, and it's doubled the brightness and massively increased the energy efficiency in just over a year.

    It'll be some time before these more efficient displays make their way to monitors and TVs (monitors might come sooner), and there are currently trade-offs involved — the lack of a polarizer can mean less defined contrast and black levels, which may be Apple is adding other anti-reflective tech to its displays — but clearly, any so-called OLED killers can't be complacent when OLED is evolving at such a speed.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/phones/samsung-unveils-next-gen-oled-tech-that-hits-10-000-nits-of-brightness-but-the-bit-you-should-be-excited-about-is-the-30-percent-efficiency-improvement kXToSjdgw2gWSe9ZeDZDok Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:00:00 +0000 false false false
    • Samsung Display unveils new 'M16' OLED phone screen tech that can hit 10,000 nits of brightness in small areas
    • The more useful news is that it can be 30% more efficient than its previous-gen M14 OLED tech
    • It's appearing first in the Vivo iQOO 16 phone, in China

    Samsung Display has unveiled the first OLED panel to deliver 10,000 nits of peak brightness, and it's already coming in a phone.

    The new 'M16' OLED display is capable of 10,000 nits in 1% of the window, although in full screen it puts out a less searingly bright (but massively impressive) 2,800 nits. These numbers put it in the region of micro-LED tech, and way beyond anything we've seen for OLED so far.

    Of course, brightness is all well and good, though few people are probably begging for their phone to be as bright as a full sunny day. What's arguably more exciting is that the panel is Samsung's second-generation polarizer-free OLED, which enables it to deliver significantly improved energy efficiency and brightness — the claim is a 30% improvement in efficiency.

    This means that even if you view it more like the 1,000 nits of most elite phones, you're saving way more battery — and since the display is one of the biggest battery hogs in phones (or the best smartwatches, where the tech would also be really useful), that could make a real difference to phone longevity.

    The M-series panels are made for smartphones and other mobile devices, but the advances in OLED material here may make their way into the best OLED TVs too, at least partly.

    Where to see Samsung Display's new ultra-bright OLED

    According to industry site FlatpanelsHD, Samsung Display will be providing the M16 OLEDs to Vivo for its iQOO 16 gaming phone.

    Previous reports also suggest that Apple is using the M16 in its iPhone 18 Pro, as Apple has previously used even-numbered M-series OLEDs in its iPhones. My colleague Matt Bolton highlighted the longer battery life in the iPhone 8 Pro as one of its, uh, highlights — noting that battery improvements usually come from multiple elements combining, so it would makes sense if this new display is one of those elements.

    For TV buyers, the most significant thing here is how fast OLED tech is evolving. Samsung announced its first 5,000 nit OLED in March 2025, and it's doubled the brightness and massively increased the energy efficiency in just over a year.

    It'll be some time before these more efficient displays make their way to monitors and TVs (monitors might come sooner), and there are currently trade-offs involved — the lack of a polarizer can mean less defined contrast and black levels, which may be Apple is adding other anti-reflective tech to its displays — but clearly, any so-called OLED killers can't be complacent when OLED is evolving at such a speed.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ NightmareStresser group responsible for thousands of DDOS attacks has domains seized in major operation ]]>
  • US law enforcement seized Nightmare Stresser domains, a long‑running DDoS‑for‑hire platform
  • Service enabled hundreds of thousands of attacks since 2022; FBI banner now replaces sites
  • Part of Operation PowerOFF, which has seized 100+ domains and charged 12 people so far

    • US law enforcement agencies disrupted yet another Distributed Denial of Service for hire (DDoS-for-hire) platform. In a press release published earlier this week on the District of Alaska’s Attorney General’s Office website, it was said that two internet domains associated with the Nightmare Stresser service were seized.

    Describing it as “one of the world’s longest running Distributed Denial of Service for hire services,” the DoJ says Nightmare Stresser was used in “hundreds of thousands of actual or attempted DDoS attacks targeting victims worldwide since 2022”.

    Services such as this one are called “booters” or “stressers”, and are often advertised as legitimate, allowing users to stress-test their websites against possible DDoS attacks.

    No arrests

    However, researchers have warned on multiple occasions that this is merely a cover for what’s essentially illegal activity. These platforms rent their services to anyone, including cybercriminals, and have been used to disrupt and take businesses, public organizations, and individuals offline, causing reputational and financial harm.

    Nightmare Stresser’s two domains were seized - nightmare-stresser[.]com and nightmarestresser[.]org. Visiting these sites now shows the usual FBI defacement banner saying, “This website has been seized as part of a coordinated law enforcement action taken against illegal DDoS-for-hire services.”

    To run DDoS attacks, threat actors need infrastructure - hundreds of thousands of internet-connected devices infected with malware that forces them to direct their traffic towards a single point. The DoJ’s announcement says nothing about the infrastructure being dismantled, or the malware used to create Nightmare Stresser being discovered or sinkholed. It also does not mention any arrests being made, so it is safe to assume Nightmare Stresser will be back to its usual shenanigans sooner, rather than later.

    Still, the press release says that the takedown is part of Operation PowerOFF, an ongoing campaign aimed at dismantling DDoS-for-hire infrastructure worldwide, as well as “holding accountable the administrators and users of these illegal services.”

    So far, more than 100 domains were seized as part of the effort, and 12 people were charged.

    Via The Hacker News

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/nightmarestresser-group-responsible-for-thousands-of-ddos-attacks-has-domains-seized-in-major-operation SW7ep4qFf9kXCPLTZyzGHm Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:15:00 +0000 false false false
    • US law enforcement seized Nightmare Stresser domains, a long‑running DDoS‑for‑hire platform
    • Service enabled hundreds of thousands of attacks since 2022; FBI banner now replaces sites
    • Part of Operation PowerOFF, which has seized 100+ domains and charged 12 people so far

    US law enforcement agencies disrupted yet another Distributed Denial of Service for hire (DDoS-for-hire) platform. In a press release published earlier this week on the District of Alaska’s Attorney General’s Office website, it was said that two internet domains associated with the Nightmare Stresser service were seized.

    Describing it as “one of the world’s longest running Distributed Denial of Service for hire services,” the DoJ says Nightmare Stresser was used in “hundreds of thousands of actual or attempted DDoS attacks targeting victims worldwide since 2022”.

    Services such as this one are called “booters” or “stressers”, and are often advertised as legitimate, allowing users to stress-test their websites against possible DDoS attacks.

    No arrests

    However, researchers have warned on multiple occasions that this is merely a cover for what’s essentially illegal activity. These platforms rent their services to anyone, including cybercriminals, and have been used to disrupt and take businesses, public organizations, and individuals offline, causing reputational and financial harm.

    Nightmare Stresser’s two domains were seized - nightmare-stresser[.]com and nightmarestresser[.]org. Visiting these sites now shows the usual FBI defacement banner saying, “This website has been seized as part of a coordinated law enforcement action taken against illegal DDoS-for-hire services.”

    To run DDoS attacks, threat actors need infrastructure - hundreds of thousands of internet-connected devices infected with malware that forces them to direct their traffic towards a single point. The DoJ’s announcement says nothing about the infrastructure being dismantled, or the malware used to create Nightmare Stresser being discovered or sinkholed. It also does not mention any arrests being made, so it is safe to assume Nightmare Stresser will be back to its usual shenanigans sooner, rather than later.

    Still, the press release says that the takedown is part of Operation PowerOFF, an ongoing campaign aimed at dismantling DDoS-for-hire infrastructure worldwide, as well as “holding accountable the administrators and users of these illegal services.”

    So far, more than 100 domains were seized as part of the effort, and 12 people were charged.

    Via The Hacker News

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Gyazo breach exposes 23.62 million user records and 490 million image records — PII and metadata exposed in huge attack ]]>
  • Helpfeel confirmed a Sept 11 breach compromising 23.62M records tied to Gyazo users
  • Stolen data includes PII, login/session IDs, Google SSO tokens, and 490M image metadata records
  • Payment info safe, but private images may have been exposed; viewing disabled pending investigation

    • A Japanese customer-support and knowledge-base company suffered a cyberattack recently in which it lost millions of user records, including personally identifiable information (PII) and, possibly, customer photographs.

    The company in question is called Helpfeel. It is an established organization with more than 200 employees, operating as a combination of a modern help center, intelligent search, and an AI support agent. It runs an image-sharing service called Gyazo. According to a breach notification published earlier this week, the breach happened on September 11, when an unidentified threat actor abused a vulnerability to upload malware, gain access to the service’s servers, and run arbitrary commands on them.

    A subsequent investigation determined that the attacker compromised 23.62 million records. Multiple records are tied to the same user, and many of the records were generated by customers without user accounts, so the actual number of affected individuals is not yet determined (but it’s definitely less than 23.6 million).

    Image metadata exposed, too

    The compromised records fall into these categories: names, emails, password hashes, user IDs, device IDs, login session IDs, X integration tokens, email addresses associated with Google SSO, profile information, language preferences, registration date and time, login date and time, subscription plan, billing status (without credit card numbers), and usage statistics.

    “We have confirmed that no payment information, including credit card numbers, was disclosed without authorization,” Helpfeel confirmed.

    PII aside, the attackers also accessed image metadata. Roughly 490 million records associated with images registered in or before January 2019 were compromised, including image IDs, source IP address used for the upload, user-agents, EXIF location data, OCR text extracted from the images, image titles, source URLs, and hashed passphrases for private images.

    Since some of this metadata is used to generate image URLs, Helpfeel does not rule out the possibility that the attackers viewed actual images, as well. “We have temporarily disabled viewing of some images to prevent further harm,” it said. “As we cannot rule out the possibility that some private images may have been viewed by the third party, we are continuing our detailed investigation.”

    Via The Hacker News

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/gyazo-breach-exposes-23-62-million-user-records-and-490-million-image-records-pii-and-metadata-exposed-in-huge-attack Uodvy6AViSbpZLBSmj5QJ8 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:30:00 +0000 false false false
    • Helpfeel confirmed a Sept 11 breach compromising 23.62M records tied to Gyazo users
    • Stolen data includes PII, login/session IDs, Google SSO tokens, and 490M image metadata records
    • Payment info safe, but private images may have been exposed; viewing disabled pending investigation

    A Japanese customer-support and knowledge-base company suffered a cyberattack recently in which it lost millions of user records, including personally identifiable information (PII) and, possibly, customer photographs.

    The company in question is called Helpfeel. It is an established organization with more than 200 employees, operating as a combination of a modern help center, intelligent search, and an AI support agent. It runs an image-sharing service called Gyazo. According to a breach notification published earlier this week, the breach happened on September 11, when an unidentified threat actor abused a vulnerability to upload malware, gain access to the service’s servers, and run arbitrary commands on them.

    A subsequent investigation determined that the attacker compromised 23.62 million records. Multiple records are tied to the same user, and many of the records were generated by customers without user accounts, so the actual number of affected individuals is not yet determined (but it’s definitely less than 23.6 million).

    Image metadata exposed, too

    The compromised records fall into these categories: names, emails, password hashes, user IDs, device IDs, login session IDs, X integration tokens, email addresses associated with Google SSO, profile information, language preferences, registration date and time, login date and time, subscription plan, billing status (without credit card numbers), and usage statistics.

    “We have confirmed that no payment information, including credit card numbers, was disclosed without authorization,” Helpfeel confirmed.

    PII aside, the attackers also accessed image metadata. Roughly 490 million records associated with images registered in or before January 2019 were compromised, including image IDs, source IP address used for the upload, user-agents, EXIF location data, OCR text extracted from the images, image titles, source URLs, and hashed passphrases for private images.

    Since some of this metadata is used to generate image URLs, Helpfeel does not rule out the possibility that the attackers viewed actual images, as well. “We have temporarily disabled viewing of some images to prevent further harm,” it said. “As we cannot rule out the possibility that some private images may have been viewed by the third party, we are continuing our detailed investigation.”

    Via The Hacker News

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Australia considers ‘world-leading’ ban on smart glasses in government — as minister says there are 'legitimate privacy and security concerns’ ]]>
  • The Australian government might ban smart glasses at all of its agencies
  • Devices like Meta’s glasses have garnered controversy over user privacy
  • The move would follow Australia’s banning of social media for under-16s

    • The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have been in hot water ever since they launched amid concerns they could be used to record people without their consent. And the privacy backlash has grown so vocal that the Australian government is now considering a “world-leading” ban on the devices inside any workplace run by the state.

    The ban would affect any government-run offices, services centers, laboratories and local councils. It goes a lot further than the state’s current position, which is to allow workplaces to set their own rules on the controversial wearable tech. While the ban would affect most municipal locations, schools and hospitals run by the government would be allowed to decide their own rules on the glasses.

    Katy Gallagher, the Australian public service minister, said that the nation’s public has been asked for feedback on the next move, adding that “Smart glasses can raise legitimate privacy and security concerns, particularly because of their ability to record and capture information.”

    “We need clear and consistent guidance for public servants,” Gallagher said. So far, no national government has banned smart glasses across its agencies, with the Australian Albanese administration saying it sought to create a “world-leading” standard.

    A privacy storm

    The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Collection is stylish

    (Image credit: Future)

    Meta’s smart glasses have attracted growing criticism for their potential to encourage harassing behavior and to record members of the public without their consent. They’ve been popularly branded “pervert glasses” in light of the controversy, while a University of Sydney study found that of 350 public Instagram videos shot with the glasses, around 60% could be classified as potentially containing harassment of a person or people.

    The negative blowback has not been aided by Meta’s abysmal record on user privacy. The company has been accused of harvesting triple the data of its rivals, ignoring users’ desires not to be tracked, feeding untold reams of private data into its artificial intelligence (AI) models, and more. The company’s apps, including Facebook and Instagram, have been labeled among the worst offenders for privacy violations — news that will likely surprise few people.

    If the Australian ban goes into place, it would only be the most sweeping of a similar set of moves made around the world. Courts in England, Wales and New York state have banned smart glasses, as has the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Several cities and local councils in Australia have barred the glasses in playgrounds, childcare centers, gyms and public swimming pools.

    And Australia also took the lead on restricting social media usage by children when it banned under-16s from using a range of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and more.

    Considering the current hostile reaction to smart glasses, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see other governments follow Australia’s cue and outlaw the devices at their state facilities and workplaces. Until Meta can allay public concerns over the privacy-busting potential of its glasses, this storm isn’t likely to pass any time soon.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/australia-considers-world-leading-ban-on-smart-glasses-in-government-as-minister-says-there-are-legitimate-privacy-and-security-concerns 4YeZpbVJmMkciH8wF2Cj8Z Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:31:46 +0000 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:21:30 +0000 false false false
    • The Australian government might ban smart glasses at all of its agencies
    • Devices like Meta’s glasses have garnered controversy over user privacy
    • The move would follow Australia’s banning of social media for under-16s

    The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have been in hot water ever since they launched amid concerns they could be used to record people without their consent. And the privacy backlash has grown so vocal that the Australian government is now considering a “world-leading” ban on the devices inside any workplace run by the state.

    The ban would affect any government-run offices, services centers, laboratories and local councils. It goes a lot further than the state’s current position, which is to allow workplaces to set their own rules on the controversial wearable tech. While the ban would affect most municipal locations, schools and hospitals run by the government would be allowed to decide their own rules on the glasses.

    Katy Gallagher, the Australian public service minister, said that the nation’s public has been asked for feedback on the next move, adding that “Smart glasses can raise legitimate privacy and security concerns, particularly because of their ability to record and capture information.”

    “We need clear and consistent guidance for public servants,” Gallagher said. So far, no national government has banned smart glasses across its agencies, with the Australian Albanese administration saying it sought to create a “world-leading” standard.

    A privacy storm

    The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Collection is stylish

    (Image credit: Future)

    Meta’s smart glasses have attracted growing criticism for their potential to encourage harassing behavior and to record members of the public without their consent. They’ve been popularly branded “pervert glasses” in light of the controversy, while a University of Sydney study found that of 350 public Instagram videos shot with the glasses, around 60% could be classified as potentially containing harassment of a person or people.

    The negative blowback has not been aided by Meta’s abysmal record on user privacy. The company has been accused of harvesting triple the data of its rivals, ignoring users’ desires not to be tracked, feeding untold reams of private data into its artificial intelligence (AI) models, and more. The company’s apps, including Facebook and Instagram, have been labeled among the worst offenders for privacy violations — news that will likely surprise few people.

    If the Australian ban goes into place, it would only be the most sweeping of a similar set of moves made around the world. Courts in England, Wales and New York state have banned smart glasses, as has the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Several cities and local councils in Australia have barred the glasses in playgrounds, childcare centers, gyms and public swimming pools.

    And Australia also took the lead on restricting social media usage by children when it banned under-16s from using a range of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and more.

    Considering the current hostile reaction to smart glasses, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see other governments follow Australia’s cue and outlaw the devices at their state facilities and workplaces. Until Meta can allay public concerns over the privacy-busting potential of its glasses, this storm isn’t likely to pass any time soon.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Cisco hit by max severity zero-day exploit targeting Identity Services Engine, so it's time to patch up ]]>
  • Cisco fixed critical ISE flaw (CVE‑2026‑76460) allowing unauthenticated API authentication bypass
  • Actively exploited; no workarounds exist—patching is the only mitigation, per Cisco PSIRT
  • CISA added to KEV catalog, mandating federal agencies patch or disable ISE by Sept 19, 2026

    • Cisco has fixed a maximum-severity vulnerability found in its Identity Services Engine (ISE) that is being actively exploited in attacks.

    ISE is the company’s Network Access Control (NAC) and identity-based policy platform which decides who or what is allowed onto a company’s network, and what they’re allowed to access inside.

    “A vulnerability in an API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication,” the company said in a security advisory.

    Abused in the wild

    “This vulnerability is due to insufficient authentication control on an API endpoint. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to an affected API endpoint. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the affected device by bypassing the web-based management interface.”

    The bug in question is tracked as CVE-2026-76460. It was given a severity score of 10/10 (critical), and was said it affects Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC), regardless of device configuration.

    In the same advisory, Cisco said its Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) was aware of active exploitation and urged customers to upgrade to a fixed software release as soon as possible. There are no workarounds available for this flaw, and a patch is the only solution. The full list of vulnerable versions and the corresponding patches can be found on this link.

    At the same time, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added the bug to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, giving Federal agencies a three-day deadline to patch, or stop using ISE entirely. The deadline expires on September 19, 2026.

    Cisco has shared Indicators of Compromise (IoC) and advised defenders to hunt for suspicious usernames in access.log files on every node. It also recommended re-imaging nodes and restoring them from backups, in case of a breach.

    Via BleepingComputer

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/cisco-hit-by-max-severity-zero-day-exploit-targeting-identity-services-engine-so-its-time-to-patch-up bUfB9kve6QFAA9sjmTbTuW Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:05:00 +0000 false false false
    • Cisco fixed critical ISE flaw (CVE‑2026‑76460) allowing unauthenticated API authentication bypass
    • Actively exploited; no workarounds exist—patching is the only mitigation, per Cisco PSIRT
    • CISA added to KEV catalog, mandating federal agencies patch or disable ISE by Sept 19, 2026

    Cisco has fixed a maximum-severity vulnerability found in its Identity Services Engine (ISE) that is being actively exploited in attacks.

    ISE is the company’s Network Access Control (NAC) and identity-based policy platform which decides who or what is allowed onto a company’s network, and what they’re allowed to access inside.

    “A vulnerability in an API of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication,” the company said in a security advisory.

    Abused in the wild

    “This vulnerability is due to insufficient authentication control on an API endpoint. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to an affected API endpoint. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the affected device by bypassing the web-based management interface.”

    The bug in question is tracked as CVE-2026-76460. It was given a severity score of 10/10 (critical), and was said it affects Cisco ISE and Cisco ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC), regardless of device configuration.

    In the same advisory, Cisco said its Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) was aware of active exploitation and urged customers to upgrade to a fixed software release as soon as possible. There are no workarounds available for this flaw, and a patch is the only solution. The full list of vulnerable versions and the corresponding patches can be found on this link.

    At the same time, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added the bug to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, giving Federal agencies a three-day deadline to patch, or stop using ISE entirely. The deadline expires on September 19, 2026.

    Cisco has shared Indicators of Compromise (IoC) and advised defenders to hunt for suspicious usernames in access.log files on every node. It also recommended re-imaging nodes and restoring them from backups, in case of a breach.

    Via BleepingComputer

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ I tried out Snap Specs, the social platform's chunky AR smart glasses — and they delivered in more ways than I expected ]]>
  • Snap’s Specs are its sixth-generation AR glasses
  • They may be hefty devices, but they’re surprisingly comfortable to wear and easy to use
  • The Specs come packed with engaging features, including a new AI assistant

    • It’s been almost a decade since Snap Inc. released its first Spectacles smart glasses back in 2016, and the series has grown a lot since then. The original pair was essentially an extension of Snapchat, designed to record short 10-second clips for the social platform.

    Since then, Snap’s tech has grown into a robust augmented reality platform, improving both the hardware and software along the way.

    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas
    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas
    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas

    For Fall 2026, Snap Inc. will soon launch what is technically its sixth generation of Spectacles. However, it seems that the company is looking for a fresh start, as these smart glasses will simply be known as the Snap Specs.

    The Specs were initially unveiled at the Augmented World Expo 2026 in June, and it was revealed then that the company was placing greater emphasis on regular consumers rather than strictly an enterprise audience.

    I had the opportunity to try out the Specs myself at Snap Inc.’s headquarters in Santa Monica, California. And it was instantly clear to me that the glasses are meant to be the entry point to a vast AR ecosystem. While I had a lot of fun using them in an early demo, the experience wasn’t without its quirks.

    Big frames, vibrant screen

    While these 6th-gen Specs are much slimmer than the previous generation, they are still quite chunky, sporting thick black frames made out of a Swiss TR90 polymer.

    Snap offers two sizes: a 47mm model weighing 132 grams and a 52mm model weighing 136 grams. For anyone keeping score, that's significantly heavier than a pair of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which weigh just 50 grams. But Snap did a good job of distributing weight. The 52mm devices felt quite comfortable on my head. The smaller 47mm glasses, on the other hand, pinched my temples.

    These glasses project a digital screen with a 51-degree field of view (FoV) in front of your eyes, providing a decent amount of viewing space. Snap equates the floating display to a 24-inch desktop monitor. Combine that with the liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) lenses, and you get high-resolution, vibrant images.

    Snap Specs 6th Gen

    (Image credit: Cesar Cadenas)

    Smart, intuitive software

    Most of my hands-on time with the Specs was spent using the consumer-facing software. The UI is clean and easy to understand. Features are split between the Home and My Lenses menus, with the main window remaining visible in your immediate view. Digital objects can be repositioned using a simple pinching gesture.

    In my experience, dragging and dropping windows was a little finicky. The process was smooth most of the time, although there were instances when the glasses didn’t register my hand movements, and I had to repeat the gesture several times.

    Navigating the interface takes some getting used to, although there is an alternative. Holding your left hand up toward the camera brings up a quick menu that lets you quickly navigate to the Home screen as well as other parts of the system.

    A major aspect of the Specs is the new on-board AI assistant, Specs Intelligence. Like other AI assistants, such as Google Gemini, Specs Intelligence can provide contextually relevant information in response to voice commands. It will keep listening until instructed otherwise. Do note that you’ll need to speak up for the microphones to pick up your voice.

    It also builds an understanding of your routines so it can surface useful information when you need it. I found Specs Intelligence to be one of the best parts of the glasses. It’s quick to operate, delivering accurate search results and suggestions in almost no time.

    Seeing the Apps

    I had access to a few third-party apps, namely Spotify and Google Docs. When it comes to audio, the glasses' stems have speakers on either end that point directly toward your ears. Music from Spotify came through crystal clear, with a bit of punchy bass. The best part is how little audio leakage there is. I held the glasses close to my face during the demo, and I could barely hear the music.

    With Google Docs, you can connect a wireless keyboard to the Specs glasses via Bluetooth for on-the-go work. It’s a nice utility to have, although there was noticeable latency between the keyboard input and what appeared on the page. I asked if I could connect a mouse to the wearables. I was told that currently, users can't connect computer mice.

    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas
    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas

    Outside the third-party software, there were plenty of first-party apps, including an internet browser, an image gallery, navigation, direct access to Snapchat, and, most notably, a translation tool. What’s cool about the translation tool is that it translates other languages in real time. I had a Snap representative speak to me in Italian, and the translated text appeared on the display a few seconds after they finished speaking.

    Admittedly, I don’t know how accurate the translation tool is. I don’t speak Italian, so I can’t verify it myself, but we were able to have a fluid conversation without issue.

    The early verdict

    Snap’s new Specs were pretty fun to use. They’re comfortable to wear despite their size, and the software felt intuitive. Yes, the gesture controls were a little inconsistent, but there is still time before the official launch to address those quirks.

    At the time of this writing, you can pre-order the Snap Specs for an eye-watering $2,195 (around £1,640 / AU$3,090) with a $200 deposit, making them quite the investment.

    A release date is set for sometime this Fall (in other words, sometime before the end of November). An exact date has not been given. It is worth pointing out that Snap Inc. will let interested shoppers try the smart glasses at the Specs First Look pop-up in the Westfield Century City shopping mall in Los Angeles, starting October 1. Given that date, an October launch seems likely.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/i-tried-out-snap-specs-the-social-platforms-chunky-ar-smartglasses-and-they-delivered-in-more-ways-than-i-expected RGRxebMErRnbRGaJFzMqui Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:05:00 +0000 false false false
    • Snap’s Specs are its sixth-generation AR glasses
    • They may be hefty devices, but they’re surprisingly comfortable to wear and easy to use
    • The Specs come packed with engaging features, including a new AI assistant

    It’s been almost a decade since Snap Inc. released its first Spectacles smart glasses back in 2016, and the series has grown a lot since then. The original pair was essentially an extension of Snapchat, designed to record short 10-second clips for the social platform.

    Since then, Snap’s tech has grown into a robust augmented reality platform, improving both the hardware and software along the way.

    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas
    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas
    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas

    For Fall 2026, Snap Inc. will soon launch what is technically its sixth generation of Spectacles. However, it seems that the company is looking for a fresh start, as these smart glasses will simply be known as the Snap Specs.

    The Specs were initially unveiled at the Augmented World Expo 2026 in June, and it was revealed then that the company was placing greater emphasis on regular consumers rather than strictly an enterprise audience.

    I had the opportunity to try out the Specs myself at Snap Inc.’s headquarters in Santa Monica, California. And it was instantly clear to me that the glasses are meant to be the entry point to a vast AR ecosystem. While I had a lot of fun using them in an early demo, the experience wasn’t without its quirks.

    Big frames, vibrant screen

    While these 6th-gen Specs are much slimmer than the previous generation, they are still quite chunky, sporting thick black frames made out of a Swiss TR90 polymer.

    Snap offers two sizes: a 47mm model weighing 132 grams and a 52mm model weighing 136 grams. For anyone keeping score, that's significantly heavier than a pair of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which weigh just 50 grams. But Snap did a good job of distributing weight. The 52mm devices felt quite comfortable on my head. The smaller 47mm glasses, on the other hand, pinched my temples.

    These glasses project a digital screen with a 51-degree field of view (FoV) in front of your eyes, providing a decent amount of viewing space. Snap equates the floating display to a 24-inch desktop monitor. Combine that with the liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) lenses, and you get high-resolution, vibrant images.

    Snap Specs 6th Gen

    (Image credit: Cesar Cadenas)

    Smart, intuitive software

    Most of my hands-on time with the Specs was spent using the consumer-facing software. The UI is clean and easy to understand. Features are split between the Home and My Lenses menus, with the main window remaining visible in your immediate view. Digital objects can be repositioned using a simple pinching gesture.

    In my experience, dragging and dropping windows was a little finicky. The process was smooth most of the time, although there were instances when the glasses didn’t register my hand movements, and I had to repeat the gesture several times.

    Navigating the interface takes some getting used to, although there is an alternative. Holding your left hand up toward the camera brings up a quick menu that lets you quickly navigate to the Home screen as well as other parts of the system.

    A major aspect of the Specs is the new on-board AI assistant, Specs Intelligence. Like other AI assistants, such as Google Gemini, Specs Intelligence can provide contextually relevant information in response to voice commands. It will keep listening until instructed otherwise. Do note that you’ll need to speak up for the microphones to pick up your voice.

    It also builds an understanding of your routines so it can surface useful information when you need it. I found Specs Intelligence to be one of the best parts of the glasses. It’s quick to operate, delivering accurate search results and suggestions in almost no time.

    Seeing the Apps

    I had access to a few third-party apps, namely Spotify and Google Docs. When it comes to audio, the glasses' stems have speakers on either end that point directly toward your ears. Music from Spotify came through crystal clear, with a bit of punchy bass. The best part is how little audio leakage there is. I held the glasses close to my face during the demo, and I could barely hear the music.

    With Google Docs, you can connect a wireless keyboard to the Specs glasses via Bluetooth for on-the-go work. It’s a nice utility to have, although there was noticeable latency between the keyboard input and what appeared on the page. I asked if I could connect a mouse to the wearables. I was told that currently, users can't connect computer mice.

    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas
    Snap Specs 6th Gen
    Cesar Cadenas

    Outside the third-party software, there were plenty of first-party apps, including an internet browser, an image gallery, navigation, direct access to Snapchat, and, most notably, a translation tool. What’s cool about the translation tool is that it translates other languages in real time. I had a Snap representative speak to me in Italian, and the translated text appeared on the display a few seconds after they finished speaking.

    Admittedly, I don’t know how accurate the translation tool is. I don’t speak Italian, so I can’t verify it myself, but we were able to have a fluid conversation without issue.

    The early verdict

    Snap’s new Specs were pretty fun to use. They’re comfortable to wear despite their size, and the software felt intuitive. Yes, the gesture controls were a little inconsistent, but there is still time before the official launch to address those quirks.

    At the time of this writing, you can pre-order the Snap Specs for an eye-watering $2,195 (around £1,640 / AU$3,090) with a $200 deposit, making them quite the investment.

    A release date is set for sometime this Fall (in other words, sometime before the end of November). An exact date has not been given. It is worth pointing out that Snap Inc. will let interested shoppers try the smart glasses at the Specs First Look pop-up in the Westfield Century City shopping mall in Los Angeles, starting October 1. Given that date, an October launch seems likely.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Scammers pose as airline customer support to help with your complaints and then steal your credit card info ]]>
  • Check Point warns scammers spoof airline customer support on social media to steal payment data
  • Hundreds of fake accounts created daily, luring frustrated passengers into private chats or forms
  • Campaign active since 2024; mirrors earlier fake support scams seen during crypto wallet fraud

    • Scammers are now posing as customer support for airlines, tricking already frustrated customers into sharing payment details and possibly losing money, too.

    People who have had poor experiences flying would often vent their frustration on social media, be it X, Facebook, Instagram, or any other platform. They would tag the company and demand help, or at least an explanation. However, according to new research from security experts Check Point, the airline’s social media department is not the only one monitoring these complaints - hackers do it, too.

    Not only are they monitoring the channels, they are actively preparing to hop in and talk to the customers.

    Years-old campaign

    Every day, hundreds of new social media accounts are created - some are built to spoof the airlines themselves, others are built to look as if they’re used by the airlines’ customer support or similar department. When the customer leaves a post or a comment, the criminals swoop in, publicly apologizing for the inconvenience, and offering assistance in a different, private channel. Sometimes those are the platform’s DMs, and sometimes it is WhatsApp or a different platform entirely.

    The end result differs from case to case. Sometimes, the criminals would try to get the victims to share their personal and payment information and would later try to make a wire transfer. In other instances, the crooks would prepare a fake form for the victims to fill out, possibly creating a database for later use.

    Check Point doesn’t know exactly when the campaign started but found some of the impersonation accounts dating back to before 2024, with the majority being created either in 2024, or later. “This suggests that the activity has accelerated over the past two years. The campaign remains highly active, with hundreds of new accounts appearing daily and new scam techniques continuing to emerge,” they said.

    However, we can confirm that this type of fraud has been around for a lot longer than that. Fake customer support scams were rampant on X even in 2021, during the crypto ICO craze, during which crooks were taking advantage of people losing access to their wallets, or making transactions towards nonexistent wallet addresses in the same way.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/scammers-pose-as-airline-customer-support-to-help-with-your-complaints-and-then-steal-your-credit-card-info QHBQAXmpsNefuJXxoP4dr4 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:50:00 +0000 false false false
    • Check Point warns scammers spoof airline customer support on social media to steal payment data
    • Hundreds of fake accounts created daily, luring frustrated passengers into private chats or forms
    • Campaign active since 2024; mirrors earlier fake support scams seen during crypto wallet fraud

    Scammers are now posing as customer support for airlines, tricking already frustrated customers into sharing payment details and possibly losing money, too.

    People who have had poor experiences flying would often vent their frustration on social media, be it X, Facebook, Instagram, or any other platform. They would tag the company and demand help, or at least an explanation. However, according to new research from security experts Check Point, the airline’s social media department is not the only one monitoring these complaints - hackers do it, too.

    Not only are they monitoring the channels, they are actively preparing to hop in and talk to the customers.

    Years-old campaign

    Every day, hundreds of new social media accounts are created - some are built to spoof the airlines themselves, others are built to look as if they’re used by the airlines’ customer support or similar department. When the customer leaves a post or a comment, the criminals swoop in, publicly apologizing for the inconvenience, and offering assistance in a different, private channel. Sometimes those are the platform’s DMs, and sometimes it is WhatsApp or a different platform entirely.

    The end result differs from case to case. Sometimes, the criminals would try to get the victims to share their personal and payment information and would later try to make a wire transfer. In other instances, the crooks would prepare a fake form for the victims to fill out, possibly creating a database for later use.

    Check Point doesn’t know exactly when the campaign started but found some of the impersonation accounts dating back to before 2024, with the majority being created either in 2024, or later. “This suggests that the activity has accelerated over the past two years. The campaign remains highly active, with hundreds of new accounts appearing daily and new scam techniques continuing to emerge,” they said.

    However, we can confirm that this type of fraud has been around for a lot longer than that. Fake customer support scams were rampant on X even in 2021, during the crypto ICO craze, during which crooks were taking advantage of people losing access to their wallets, or making transactions towards nonexistent wallet addresses in the same way.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Autonomous AI agent hit Spanish firm with vulnerability scans before accessing files and data ]]>
  • Spain’s data protection agency (AEPD) reported its first breach carried out by an autonomous AI agent
  • Agent chained multiple attack stages: accessed public files, scanned systems, exploited a flaw, and modified data
  • AEPD urged businesses to factor AI‑driven attacks into risk assessments, stressing faster response and stronger identity controls

    • A Spanish company was apparently hit with a data breach conducted by an autonomous AI agent.

    Earlier this week Francisco Pérez Bes, president and deputy of the Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) published a new article on the agency’s blog, saying it “received the first notification of a personal data breach in which the incident was reportedly carried out using an artificial intelligence agent powered by a well-known large language model.”

    As per Pérez Bes, the agent first used the target’s “publicly accessible files”, through which it was able to log into its system. From the inside, the agent then started scanning for vulnerabilities and after finding one, used it to modify personal data and gain access to invoices.

    A call to action

    The author stresses that there is very little known about this incident and that a thorough investigation is currently ongoing. He pointed out that the attack doesn’t imply the AI model or the provider’s infrastructure were compromised or malicious by design, but said that the attack was “significant from a data protection perspective,” since the AI agent was used to chain together multiple stages of the attack.

    For Pérez, the attack is a call to action - businesses need to rethink how they assess and manage security risks. He claims businesses need to “explicitly account for AI-assisted and AI-driven attacks when assessing the risks associated with personal-data processing,” and need to reassess their response times.

    “Procedures designed around manually executed attacks may not be sufficient when an AI agent can analyze multiple assets at once, test different avenues of attack, and rapidly adapt its behavior based on what it finds.”

    He also stressed the “growing importance of digital identities and credentials,” since an AI agent with an account or an API key “can operate at machine speed and move across different services before an organization has time to detect the anomalous activity.”

    Via The Register

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/autonomous-ai-agent-hit-spanish-firm-with-vulnerability-scans-before-accessing-files-and-data bMfs4FLqnTwRrCfCbfDLbn Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:15:00 +0000 false false false
    • Spain’s data protection agency (AEPD) reported its first breach carried out by an autonomous AI agent
    • Agent chained multiple attack stages: accessed public files, scanned systems, exploited a flaw, and modified data
    • AEPD urged businesses to factor AI‑driven attacks into risk assessments, stressing faster response and stronger identity controls

    A Spanish company was apparently hit with a data breach conducted by an autonomous AI agent.

    Earlier this week Francisco Pérez Bes, president and deputy of the Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) published a new article on the agency’s blog, saying it “received the first notification of a personal data breach in which the incident was reportedly carried out using an artificial intelligence agent powered by a well-known large language model.”

    As per Pérez Bes, the agent first used the target’s “publicly accessible files”, through which it was able to log into its system. From the inside, the agent then started scanning for vulnerabilities and after finding one, used it to modify personal data and gain access to invoices.

    A call to action

    The author stresses that there is very little known about this incident and that a thorough investigation is currently ongoing. He pointed out that the attack doesn’t imply the AI model or the provider’s infrastructure were compromised or malicious by design, but said that the attack was “significant from a data protection perspective,” since the AI agent was used to chain together multiple stages of the attack.

    For Pérez, the attack is a call to action - businesses need to rethink how they assess and manage security risks. He claims businesses need to “explicitly account for AI-assisted and AI-driven attacks when assessing the risks associated with personal-data processing,” and need to reassess their response times.

    “Procedures designed around manually executed attacks may not be sufficient when an AI agent can analyze multiple assets at once, test different avenues of attack, and rapidly adapt its behavior based on what it finds.”

    He also stressed the “growing importance of digital identities and credentials,” since an AI agent with an account or an API key “can operate at machine speed and move across different services before an organization has time to detect the anomalous activity.”

    Via The Register

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ US Treasury wants banks to be better at filing cyber scam reports after noting nearly $13 billion in losses since 2023 ]]>
  • The US Treasury's FinCEN arm asks financial institutions to file scam center suspicious activity reports under a new keyword
  • FinCEN says that it flagged financial moves across 33,904 different filings, but actual losses might differ significantly, as the approach is prone to double-counting transactions
  • Only 1,300 institutions filed reports, with 10,082 (29.7%) of them centering around exploitation of the elderly by scammers

    • The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issuespublished an alert and a companion data analysis telling banks, credit unions, digital asset exchanges, and securities firms that it needs sharper reporting on the overseas scam centers that it says target Americans at an industrial scale.

    FinCEN puts total damages, per its reporting mechanism, at roughly $12.7 billion linked to suspected digital asset investment scams between September 2023 and the end of 2025.

    The number comes from adding up the dollar values of 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act filings that referenced the keyword from its 2023 "pig butchering" alert, which may be overstated, as it includes both attempted and successful transactions as well as both inbound and outbound reports, often of the same transactions, causing significant overlap.

    FinCEN's new requirement is a keyword

    While the $12.7 billion is a measure of what institutions have flagged and is prone to double-counting and errors, victim losses, a significant chunk of which go unreported, may be considerably higher.

    This has prompted Gene Lange, who effectively works as the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, to call these scams "one of the most significant fraud threats facing Americans today."

    It has also prompted a new suspicious activity report keyword: "FIN-2026-SCAMCENTERS," which institutions are expected to use to indicate that a scam center is potentially involved.

    FinCEN also wants chat logs, scammer phone numbers, social media handles, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, and the URLs victims were told to deposit into, filed in the structured cyber indicator fields rather than left out.

    Institutions to volunteer more information to stop scams

    The move is part of its push to have institutions volunteer more information under the US Patriot Act, as it aims to confront what is a growing intelligence problem: scammers tend to route victims through several institutions in sequence; most filers see only one slice of a scam's lifecycle and often have difficulty tracing it all the way.

    For example, a crypto exchange might see a customer buying USDT and sending it off-platform, a bank might see a wire to that exchange, and a brokerage might see a retirement account liquidated. None of them would have the bigger picture of what essentially happened or what triggered the transaction.

    Combined, with properly linked information, it makes it much easier to identify a potential scam; separately, these incidents can inflate the number of reports, which often aren't linked, and investigations can lack insight into the origin or final destination of the funds.

    FinCEN's Rapid Response Program has interdicted $1.8 billion and recovered just over $1 billion for 5,790 US victims since 2015, which, against the flagged totals, is a very limited recovery at best compared with the actual funds at stake. This highlights a larger fundamental problem: institutions mostly detect these schemes after the money is gone, and reporting them correctly and thoroughly may yield limited dividends at best against an industry that has morphed, relatively unchecked, into a multi-billion-dollar juggernaut.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/us-treasury-wants-banks-to-be-better-at-filing-cyber-scam-reports-after-noting-nearly-usd13-billion-in-losses-since-2023 rUUM3bQNWeHeYDRYeLBTfA Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:10:00 +0000 false false false
    • The US Treasury's FinCEN arm asks financial institutions to file scam center suspicious activity reports under a new keyword
    • FinCEN says that it flagged financial moves across 33,904 different filings, but actual losses might differ significantly, as the approach is prone to double-counting transactions
    • Only 1,300 institutions filed reports, with 10,082 (29.7%) of them centering around exploitation of the elderly by scammers

    The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issuespublished an alert and a companion data analysis telling banks, credit unions, digital asset exchanges, and securities firms that it needs sharper reporting on the overseas scam centers that it says target Americans at an industrial scale.

    FinCEN puts total damages, per its reporting mechanism, at roughly $12.7 billion linked to suspected digital asset investment scams between September 2023 and the end of 2025.

    The number comes from adding up the dollar values of 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act filings that referenced the keyword from its 2023 "pig butchering" alert, which may be overstated, as it includes both attempted and successful transactions as well as both inbound and outbound reports, often of the same transactions, causing significant overlap.

    FinCEN's new requirement is a keyword

    While the $12.7 billion is a measure of what institutions have flagged and is prone to double-counting and errors, victim losses, a significant chunk of which go unreported, may be considerably higher.

    This has prompted Gene Lange, who effectively works as the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, to call these scams "one of the most significant fraud threats facing Americans today."

    It has also prompted a new suspicious activity report keyword: "FIN-2026-SCAMCENTERS," which institutions are expected to use to indicate that a scam center is potentially involved.

    FinCEN also wants chat logs, scammer phone numbers, social media handles, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, and the URLs victims were told to deposit into, filed in the structured cyber indicator fields rather than left out.

    Institutions to volunteer more information to stop scams

    The move is part of its push to have institutions volunteer more information under the US Patriot Act, as it aims to confront what is a growing intelligence problem: scammers tend to route victims through several institutions in sequence; most filers see only one slice of a scam's lifecycle and often have difficulty tracing it all the way.

    For example, a crypto exchange might see a customer buying USDT and sending it off-platform, a bank might see a wire to that exchange, and a brokerage might see a retirement account liquidated. None of them would have the bigger picture of what essentially happened or what triggered the transaction.

    Combined, with properly linked information, it makes it much easier to identify a potential scam; separately, these incidents can inflate the number of reports, which often aren't linked, and investigations can lack insight into the origin or final destination of the funds.

    FinCEN's Rapid Response Program has interdicted $1.8 billion and recovered just over $1 billion for 5,790 US victims since 2015, which, against the flagged totals, is a very limited recovery at best compared with the actual funds at stake. This highlights a larger fundamental problem: institutions mostly detect these schemes after the money is gone, and reporting them correctly and thoroughly may yield limited dividends at best against an industry that has morphed, relatively unchecked, into a multi-billion-dollar juggernaut.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ How the mighty have fallen — the notorious Stuxnet malware source code has been replicated and posted on GitHub for all to see ]]>
  • A pseudonymous GitHub account has published what it calls a reconstruction of Stuxnet malware that purportedly took out a fifth of Iran's centrifuges before being discovered
  • The original source has never surfaced, and the 'Stuxnet' moniker that the account uses comes from Symantec's coining of the name weeks after it was discovered
  • The code remains unverified and untested, with some users indicating that it is likely an AI-generated replication of the original binaries' behavior, which has been widely documented

    • A GitHub account has published what it describes as a faithful reconstruction of Stuxnet, the worm that sabotaged Iranian uranium-enrichment centrifuges.

    It also became the first piece of software widely accepted as having caused physical destruction in the real world, highlighting how malicious software can often do much more harm to people and hardware than just stealing or manipulating data.

    The repository surfaced via a Show HN submission, which mainstream media outlets then picked up, highlighting the as-yet-unknown researcher's reverse-engineered code.

    Not the first or last Stuxnet repository

    The original Stuxnet source, written by whoever built it, has never been leaked and did not leak last week. The repository's README explicitly states that it is a reconstruction assembled from decompiled binaries, and those binaries have been in public circulation since Belarusian firm VirusBlokAda pulled samples from an Iranian customer's machines in June 2010.

    Everything that followed, including Symantec's W32.Stuxnet Dossier and Ralph Langner's To Kill a Centrifuge, was built on those samples and how they reacted in test environments.

    This is also not the first time readable C-language code aiming to replicate Stuxnet has been published online. Malware researcher Amr Thabet published a decompilation of the MRxNet rootkit carrying a 2010 to 2011 copyright notice. Christian Roggia followed with a dropper decompilation called open-myrtus, copyrighted 2012 to 2014, which has since been forked into a long chain of repositories.

    The irony is that if such code were a faithful replication of the infamous malware, it would not have mentioned "Stuxnet" in multiple places, including registry keys. This is because the moniker is not one the developers likely used, but one Symantec switched to from its original 'W32.Temphid' identifier.

    The thread where it was first brought to attention by a user called Sadpainy also has mixed views from developers, many of whom have branded it 'AI slop' or a 'fake' that relies on a mixture of already existing repositories, even as the about page on its GitHub repo states that it was reproduced by the researcher for educational purposes and is designed to only work on Windows XP and Windows 7.

    For those looking to test it, a virtual machine might be their best bet, especially given Stuxnet's ability to physically damage hardware, but it is also a stark reminder of what a rogue AI agent could do if left unchecked without specific instructions or safeguards.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/how-the-mighty-have-fallen-the-notorious-stuxnet-malware-source-code-has-been-replicated-and-posted-on-github-for-all-to-see WkE4QVsk8vEKiGpG2R3i3X Wed, 16 Sep 2026 23:05:00 +0000 false false false
    • A pseudonymous GitHub account has published what it calls a reconstruction of Stuxnet malware that purportedly took out a fifth of Iran's centrifuges before being discovered
    • The original source has never surfaced, and the 'Stuxnet' moniker that the account uses comes from Symantec's coining of the name weeks after it was discovered
    • The code remains unverified and untested, with some users indicating that it is likely an AI-generated replication of the original binaries' behavior, which has been widely documented

    A GitHub account has published what it describes as a faithful reconstruction of Stuxnet, the worm that sabotaged Iranian uranium-enrichment centrifuges.

    It also became the first piece of software widely accepted as having caused physical destruction in the real world, highlighting how malicious software can often do much more harm to people and hardware than just stealing or manipulating data.

    The repository surfaced via a Show HN submission, which mainstream media outlets then picked up, highlighting the as-yet-unknown researcher's reverse-engineered code.

    Not the first or last Stuxnet repository

    The original Stuxnet source, written by whoever built it, has never been leaked and did not leak last week. The repository's README explicitly states that it is a reconstruction assembled from decompiled binaries, and those binaries have been in public circulation since Belarusian firm VirusBlokAda pulled samples from an Iranian customer's machines in June 2010.

    Everything that followed, including Symantec's W32.Stuxnet Dossier and Ralph Langner's To Kill a Centrifuge, was built on those samples and how they reacted in test environments.

    This is also not the first time readable C-language code aiming to replicate Stuxnet has been published online. Malware researcher Amr Thabet published a decompilation of the MRxNet rootkit carrying a 2010 to 2011 copyright notice. Christian Roggia followed with a dropper decompilation called open-myrtus, copyrighted 2012 to 2014, which has since been forked into a long chain of repositories.

    The irony is that if such code were a faithful replication of the infamous malware, it would not have mentioned "Stuxnet" in multiple places, including registry keys. This is because the moniker is not one the developers likely used, but one Symantec switched to from its original 'W32.Temphid' identifier.

    The thread where it was first brought to attention by a user called Sadpainy also has mixed views from developers, many of whom have branded it 'AI slop' or a 'fake' that relies on a mixture of already existing repositories, even as the about page on its GitHub repo states that it was reproduced by the researcher for educational purposes and is designed to only work on Windows XP and Windows 7.

    For those looking to test it, a virtual machine might be their best bet, especially given Stuxnet's ability to physically damage hardware, but it is also a stark reminder of what a rogue AI agent could do if left unchecked without specific instructions or safeguards.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, September 17 (game #1697) ]]>
    Looking for a different day?

    A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, September 16 (game #1696).

    Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

    Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

    SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #1 — Vowels

    How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

    • The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 2*.

    * Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #2 — repeated letters

    Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

    • The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

    Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

    • No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

    Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

    • The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

    If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

    What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

    • C

    • C

    • N

    • F

    Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — the answers

    Quordle answers for game 1697 on a yellow background

    (Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

    The answers to today's Quordle, game #1697, are…

    • CRIER
    • CHIRP
    • NEIGH
    • FREER

    A very taxing game despite its heavy use of the letter R and lack of vowels.

    NEIGH was the hardest to get to, but once I entered N-E-I onto the tiles I realized there was no other possibility.

    Daily Sequence today (game #1697) — the answers

    Quordle Daily Sequence answers for game 1697 on a yellow background

    (Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

    The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1697, are…

    • SOBER
    • STONY
    • IDYLL
    • QUARK

    Quordle answers: The past 20

    • Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
    • Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
    • Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
    • Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
    • Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
    • Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
    • Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
    • Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
    • Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
    • Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
    • Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
    • Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
    • Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
    • Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
    • Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
    • Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
    • Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
    • Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER
    • Quordle #1678, Saturday, 29 August: OVINE, ALLOY, VOICE, CARVE
    • Quordle #1677, Friday, 28 August: WAIST, EDICT, BONUS, DEUCE
    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/quordle-today-answers-clues-17-september-2026 YhwNnN4AoRoM4FzkqFVr58 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 23:00:00 +0000 false false false
    Looking for a different day?

    A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, September 16 (game #1696).

    Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

    Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

    SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #1 — Vowels

    How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

    • The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 2*.

    * Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #2 — repeated letters

    Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

    • The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

    Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

    • No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

    Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

    • The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

    If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

    Quordle today (game #1697) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

    What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

    • C

    • C

    • N

    • F

    Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

    Quordle today (game #1697) — the answers

    Quordle answers for game 1697 on a yellow background

    (Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

    The answers to today's Quordle, game #1697, are…

    • CRIER
    • CHIRP
    • NEIGH
    • FREER

    A very taxing game despite its heavy use of the letter R and lack of vowels.

    NEIGH was the hardest to get to, but once I entered N-E-I onto the tiles I realized there was no other possibility.

    Daily Sequence today (game #1697) — the answers

    Quordle Daily Sequence answers for game 1697 on a yellow background

    (Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

    The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1697, are…

    • SOBER
    • STONY
    • IDYLL
    • QUARK

    Quordle answers: The past 20

    • Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
    • Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
    • Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
    • Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
    • Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
    • Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
    • Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
    • Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
    • Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
    • Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
    • Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
    • Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
    • Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
    • Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
    • Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
    • Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
    • Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
    • Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER
    • Quordle #1678, Saturday, 29 August: OVINE, ALLOY, VOICE, CARVE
    • Quordle #1677, Friday, 28 August: WAIST, EDICT, BONUS, DEUCE
    ]]>     <![CDATA[ NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, September 17 (game #928) ]]>
    Looking for a different day?

    A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, September 16 (game #927).

    Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

    Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

    SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #1 - today's theme

    What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

    • Today's NYT Strands theme is… A little comic relief

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #2 - clue words

    Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

    • MUST
    • TUNE
    • NECK
    • STICK
    • PUPPY
    • BLOCK

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #3 - spangram letters

    How many letters are in today's spangram?

    • Spangram has 13 letters

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #4 - spangram position

    What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

    • First side: top, 1st column

    • Last side: bottom, 6th column

    Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - the answers

    NYT Strands answers for game 928 on a blue background

    (Image credit: New York Times)

    The answers to today's Strands, game #928, are…

    • PEANUTS
    • ZIPPY
    • MUTTS
    • PICKLES
    • ZITS
    • BLONDIE
    • SPANGRAM: THEFUNNYPAGES
    • My rating: Hard
    • My score: 3 hints

    After missing out on getting an easy Spangram-first yesterday I was on a mission to spot it today and it ended up being far easier than I thought.

    I was unsure exactly what the theme meant, but seeing the word 'funny' in the middle of the board and then the word 'the' in the top-left-hand corner helped me connect THEFUNNYPAGES.

    This, though, was where my good fortune ended, as I needed three hints to find all of the comic strip names, being familiar with only Peanuts.

    Comic strips were less of a big deal in the UK, where I grew up, although the cartoon strips on the back page along with the TV listings section were the only parts of the newspaper I read as a kid. Ours, though, were the adventures of a world-weary viking called Hägar.

    Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, September 16, game #927)

    • JAZZY
    • VIVID
    • BRIGHT
    • FLASHY
    • STRIKING
    • VIBRANT
    • SPANGRAM: EYECATCHING

    What is NYT Strands?

    Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

    I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/nyt-strands-today-answers-hints-17-september-2026 aSv9YfdL2Gba5t443yG5r4 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 23:00:00 +0000 false false false
    Looking for a different day?

    A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, September 16 (game #927).

    Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

    Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

    SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #1 - today's theme

    What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

    • Today's NYT Strands theme is… A little comic relief

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #2 - clue words

    Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

    • MUST
    • TUNE
    • NECK
    • STICK
    • PUPPY
    • BLOCK

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #3 - spangram letters

    How many letters are in today's spangram?

    • Spangram has 13 letters

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - hint #4 - spangram position

    What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

    • First side: top, 1st column

    • Last side: bottom, 6th column

    Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

    NYT Strands today (game #928) - the answers

    NYT Strands answers for game 928 on a blue background

    (Image credit: New York Times)

    The answers to today's Strands, game #928, are…

    • PEANUTS
    • ZIPPY
    • MUTTS
    • PICKLES
    • ZITS
    • BLONDIE
    • SPANGRAM: THEFUNNYPAGES
    • My rating: Hard
    • My score: 3 hints

    After missing out on getting an easy Spangram-first yesterday I was on a mission to spot it today and it ended up being far easier than I thought.

    I was unsure exactly what the theme meant, but seeing the word 'funny' in the middle of the board and then the word 'the' in the top-left-hand corner helped me connect THEFUNNYPAGES.

    This, though, was where my good fortune ended, as I needed three hints to find all of the comic strip names, being familiar with only Peanuts.

    Comic strips were less of a big deal in the UK, where I grew up, although the cartoon strips on the back page along with the TV listings section were the only parts of the newspaper I read as a kid. Ours, though, were the adventures of a world-weary viking called Hägar.

    Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, September 16, game #927)

    • JAZZY
    • VIVID
    • BRIGHT
    • FLASHY
    • STRIKING
    • VIBRANT
    • SPANGRAM: EYECATCHING

    What is NYT Strands?

    Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

    I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ AMD could be working on an Nvidia DLSS 5 rival, but it'll be for next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs — and I've a feeling that may be too late ]]>
  • AMD is rumored to be working on its own version of DLSS 5
  • A leaker says that the neural rendering tech will be launched with next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs
  • That means we could be waiting until late 2027 or 2028 to see this debut, which might leave AMD lagging behind Nvidia considerably

    • AMD could be working on its own take on Nvidia's DLSS 5, and apparently this alternative attempt at neural rendering will be for its next-gen RDNA 5 graphics cards.

    VideoCardz spotted that a known leaker in the GPU field, Kepler L2, posted on the Anandtech forum in a discussion around RDNA 5 speculation to say that: "AMD will have their own version of 'Neural Lighting' like DLSS5 next-gen."

    Kepler then clarified that he didn't mean a version of Ray Reconstruction, but a take on DLSS 5 (neural rendering), and that next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs would be required because "this stuff is pretty heavy" (as in resource-intensive).

    In a further post, Kepler elaborated: "There's a lot of issues with Nvidia's approach [with DLSS 5], but it's possible to have a version of this with minimal hallucinations and 'AI slop' look."

    He then suggests a way that AMD could work its version to improve on DLSS 5, including giving the AI "direct access to 3D game data such as geometry, ray data, depth buffers, materials, etc so it doesn't have to guess and can accurately know how each object in a scene should interact with light."

    Kepler's outline of a proposed alternative for AMD would have a separate model (AI) for lighting improvements, and another different model solely for the shading of complex surfaces. DLSS 5 bundles these together with its neural rendering system, and adds color-grading on top — to adopt what the AI judges as more natural colors — which Kepler advises that AMD should dispense with entirely.

    Analysis: a race against time – or a chance to get it right?

    GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 GRE GPU

    (Image credit: Gigabyte)

    I won't pretend to be able to critique what Kepler is suggesting as an alternative for AMD and the technical nuances therein, except to say that the idea is clearly to achieve a result that looks less like it's been 'messed' about with by AI and minimizes any 'slopification' therein — preserving more of the original artistic intent.

    And that seems a laudable goal, of course, and it also brings up how AMD is in an interesting position here in lagging behind Nvidia with its graphics tech (which has, of course, been the case from the start, with FSR following DLSS — version 2.0 of Nvidia's upscaling tech was already in play, in fact, when FSR 1.0 arrived). Team Red can sit back for now and see how DLSS 5 plays out, as more games emerge that use it, and gauge the reaction of gamers, and forge its own neural rendering tech to tackle any perceived weaknesses.

    The performance hit will be an obvious area to target, and if AMD can bring that down — it's substantial with DLSS 5 as it is now — that will obviously be a big win. That said, I'd expect Nvidia will be working with some haste to make DLSS 5 more performant, and as with DLSS 1, the tech will be improved considerably by the time Team Red has its own version out.

    This is the other side of the equation here, where Nvidia could win out. With RDNA 5 GPUs not expected to arrive for at least a year, and quite possibly longer (the RAM crisis isn't helping), there's quite a lengthy timeframe on any AMD rival to DLSS 5. By the time it arrives, DLSS 5.5 may be in town with considerable improvements in tow. There's already been a notable turnaround in the perception of DLSS 5 with its official launch (compared to Nvidia's sneak preview earlier this year).

    This is, of course, assuming AMD is indeed working on its own neural rendering technology, but I'd be surprised if this wasn't the case. For now, though, the word of a single leaker needs to be thoroughly seasoned, as ever, even though it's believable enough that Team Red would be aiming to use this on RDNA 5 graphics cards.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/computing/gpu/amd-could-be-working-on-an-nvidia-dlss-5-rival-but-itll-be-for-next-gen-rdna-5-gpus-and-ive-a-feeling-that-may-be-too-late EdsqMtTZMrYLKxLbT7VSy9 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 19:00:00 +0000 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 22:55:38 +0000 false false false
    • AMD is rumored to be working on its own version of DLSS 5
    • A leaker says that the neural rendering tech will be launched with next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs
    • That means we could be waiting until late 2027 or 2028 to see this debut, which might leave AMD lagging behind Nvidia considerably

    AMD could be working on its own take on Nvidia's DLSS 5, and apparently this alternative attempt at neural rendering will be for its next-gen RDNA 5 graphics cards.

    VideoCardz spotted that a known leaker in the GPU field, Kepler L2, posted on the Anandtech forum in a discussion around RDNA 5 speculation to say that: "AMD will have their own version of 'Neural Lighting' like DLSS5 next-gen."

    Kepler then clarified that he didn't mean a version of Ray Reconstruction, but a take on DLSS 5 (neural rendering), and that next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs would be required because "this stuff is pretty heavy" (as in resource-intensive).

    In a further post, Kepler elaborated: "There's a lot of issues with Nvidia's approach [with DLSS 5], but it's possible to have a version of this with minimal hallucinations and 'AI slop' look."

    He then suggests a way that AMD could work its version to improve on DLSS 5, including giving the AI "direct access to 3D game data such as geometry, ray data, depth buffers, materials, etc so it doesn't have to guess and can accurately know how each object in a scene should interact with light."

    Kepler's outline of a proposed alternative for AMD would have a separate model (AI) for lighting improvements, and another different model solely for the shading of complex surfaces. DLSS 5 bundles these together with its neural rendering system, and adds color-grading on top — to adopt what the AI judges as more natural colors — which Kepler advises that AMD should dispense with entirely.

    Analysis: a race against time – or a chance to get it right?

    GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 GRE GPU

    (Image credit: Gigabyte)

    I won't pretend to be able to critique what Kepler is suggesting as an alternative for AMD and the technical nuances therein, except to say that the idea is clearly to achieve a result that looks less like it's been 'messed' about with by AI and minimizes any 'slopification' therein — preserving more of the original artistic intent.

    And that seems a laudable goal, of course, and it also brings up how AMD is in an interesting position here in lagging behind Nvidia with its graphics tech (which has, of course, been the case from the start, with FSR following DLSS — version 2.0 of Nvidia's upscaling tech was already in play, in fact, when FSR 1.0 arrived). Team Red can sit back for now and see how DLSS 5 plays out, as more games emerge that use it, and gauge the reaction of gamers, and forge its own neural rendering tech to tackle any perceived weaknesses.

    The performance hit will be an obvious area to target, and if AMD can bring that down — it's substantial with DLSS 5 as it is now — that will obviously be a big win. That said, I'd expect Nvidia will be working with some haste to make DLSS 5 more performant, and as with DLSS 1, the tech will be improved considerably by the time Team Red has its own version out.

    This is the other side of the equation here, where Nvidia could win out. With RDNA 5 GPUs not expected to arrive for at least a year, and quite possibly longer (the RAM crisis isn't helping), there's quite a lengthy timeframe on any AMD rival to DLSS 5. By the time it arrives, DLSS 5.5 may be in town with considerable improvements in tow. There's already been a notable turnaround in the perception of DLSS 5 with its official launch (compared to Nvidia's sneak preview earlier this year).

    This is, of course, assuming AMD is indeed working on its own neural rendering technology, but I'd be surprised if this wasn't the case. For now, though, the word of a single leaker needs to be thoroughly seasoned, as ever, even though it's believable enough that Team Red would be aiming to use this on RDNA 5 graphics cards.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Iran snoops on enemies of the state with Chosen Brick malware controlled using messaging apps ]]>
  • UK NCSC, FBI, and Dutch AIVD warn Iran is using Chosen Brick malware against dissidents and journalists
  • Malware steals files, captures audio, grabs WhatsApp/Telegram data, and can wipe systems entirely
  • Operatives rely on social engineering; agencies urge awareness, MFA, updates, and endpoint monitoring

    • Iranian hackers are targeting “enemies of the state”, both local and foreign, with advanced malware capable of spying on the victims and stealing their sensitive files, experts have warned.

    This is according to a new security advisory, published jointly by the UK National Cyber Security Centre, the FBI, and the Netherlands’ General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), which noted how Iranian operatives would first do extensive research into their victims - dissidents, activists, and journalists - deemed a risk to the regime.

    After learning as much about their targets as possible, they reach out via social media, either as someone the victims know, or as technical support for the platform they’re currently using, engaging in extended conversation until the victim lowers their guard. At one point, the attackers will try to share a piece of malware with the victims, tracked as Chosen Brick.

    A thousand victims

    This malware, designed primarily for the Windows platform, has a long list of capabilities, including enumerating running processes and system information, capturing screen content, enabling the microphone to capture audio content, capturing a copy of Telegram and WhatsApp data from web browsers, downloading additional files and malware, deleting files, stealing email content, and ultimately - wiping the entire computer system. The operatives communicate with the malware using Telegram, it was said.

    “Iran almost certainly uses cyber activity to support the repression of individuals who are seen as a threat to the regime, such as dissidents, activists and journalists,” the three agencies said in the report. “In some cases, the Iranian intelligence services have plotted to kidnap or conduct lethal operations against individuals internationally, who they perceive as enemies of the regime.”

    In the advisory, the three agencies said the best defense is to simply be more aware of social engineering. However, there are also a few technical mitigations that can help, including following NCSC advice on staying safe online, keeping all devices up-to-date (ideally through automatic updates), using antivirus software, and not disabling smart screen warnings on file downloads.

    Finally, it would be wise to enable phishing-resistant MFA, make sure devices are managed with appropriate controls, turn on email scanning, deploy endpoint and network monitoring, and conduct a search for the IoCs.

    Via The Register

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/iran-snoops-on-enemies-of-the-state-with-chosen-brick-malware-controlled-using-messaging-apps o45CPJpTUrhMHqD6fqY9Kd Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:25:00 +0000 false false false
    • UK NCSC, FBI, and Dutch AIVD warn Iran is using Chosen Brick malware against dissidents and journalists
    • Malware steals files, captures audio, grabs WhatsApp/Telegram data, and can wipe systems entirely
    • Operatives rely on social engineering; agencies urge awareness, MFA, updates, and endpoint monitoring

    Iranian hackers are targeting “enemies of the state”, both local and foreign, with advanced malware capable of spying on the victims and stealing their sensitive files, experts have warned.

    This is according to a new security advisory, published jointly by the UK National Cyber Security Centre, the FBI, and the Netherlands’ General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), which noted how Iranian operatives would first do extensive research into their victims - dissidents, activists, and journalists - deemed a risk to the regime.

    After learning as much about their targets as possible, they reach out via social media, either as someone the victims know, or as technical support for the platform they’re currently using, engaging in extended conversation until the victim lowers their guard. At one point, the attackers will try to share a piece of malware with the victims, tracked as Chosen Brick.

    A thousand victims

    This malware, designed primarily for the Windows platform, has a long list of capabilities, including enumerating running processes and system information, capturing screen content, enabling the microphone to capture audio content, capturing a copy of Telegram and WhatsApp data from web browsers, downloading additional files and malware, deleting files, stealing email content, and ultimately - wiping the entire computer system. The operatives communicate with the malware using Telegram, it was said.

    “Iran almost certainly uses cyber activity to support the repression of individuals who are seen as a threat to the regime, such as dissidents, activists and journalists,” the three agencies said in the report. “In some cases, the Iranian intelligence services have plotted to kidnap or conduct lethal operations against individuals internationally, who they perceive as enemies of the regime.”

    In the advisory, the three agencies said the best defense is to simply be more aware of social engineering. However, there are also a few technical mitigations that can help, including following NCSC advice on staying safe online, keeping all devices up-to-date (ideally through automatic updates), using antivirus software, and not disabling smart screen warnings on file downloads.

    Finally, it would be wise to enable phishing-resistant MFA, make sure devices are managed with appropriate controls, turn on email scanning, deploy endpoint and network monitoring, and conduct a search for the IoCs.

    Via The Register

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ CenterPoint Energy confirms hackers compromised networks and stole data, and the hackers claim theft of 7.5 million files ]]>
  • CenterPoint Energy confirmed a cyberattack via exposed API, with customer data stolen
  • Threat actor claims 7.49M files including IDs, SSNs, billing data, and transaction records
  • Operations unaffected; investigation ongoing, regulators notified, customers to be informed

    • CenterPoint Energy has confirmed suffering a cyberattack and data theft, days after a criminal advertised the stolen files on an underground hacking forum.

    CenterPoint Energy is a large US energy utility company that delivers electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses. It employs roughly 8,800 people and operates around $48.3 billion in assets, as of June 2026.

    Recently, a threat actor posted a new thread on a dark web forum, saying they stole 7.49 million CenterPoint files from a poorly secured API, The Register reports. They said that the data included customer names and contact details, billing data, move-in dates, driver’s license information, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers (SSN).

    Incurring expenses

    No independent investigators have confirmed these claims just yet, and the company said it was investigating the matter. In a new 8-K document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 14, the company said that it “became aware of an online post by a third party claiming to have obtained a data set containing certain of the company’s customer information.”

    It activated its incident response protocols and kicked off an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts.

    “While the investigation remains ongoing, the company has determined that an unauthorized third party obtained personal information relating to a portion of the company’s customers through one of the company’s external facing systems,” the filing reads. “The company is continuing to work with third-party experts to determine the scope of customers and personal information affected by the incident and intends to notify affected customers and regulatory authorities as required by applicable law.” The police and regulatory agencies have been notified.

    While the attack did not impact CenterPoint’s operations, which continue as usual, it did incur certain expenses, the company concluded. It stressed that it will likely incur even more expenses as the investigation continues.

    Via The Register

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/centerpoint-energy-confirms-hackers-compromised-networks-and-stole-data-and-the-hackers-claim-theft-of-7-5-million-files xEpVSN8WhytqSBqzC8zV8T Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:10:00 +0000 false false false
    • CenterPoint Energy confirmed a cyberattack via exposed API, with customer data stolen
    • Threat actor claims 7.49M files including IDs, SSNs, billing data, and transaction records
    • Operations unaffected; investigation ongoing, regulators notified, customers to be informed

    CenterPoint Energy has confirmed suffering a cyberattack and data theft, days after a criminal advertised the stolen files on an underground hacking forum.

    CenterPoint Energy is a large US energy utility company that delivers electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses. It employs roughly 8,800 people and operates around $48.3 billion in assets, as of June 2026.

    Recently, a threat actor posted a new thread on a dark web forum, saying they stole 7.49 million CenterPoint files from a poorly secured API, The Register reports. They said that the data included customer names and contact details, billing data, move-in dates, driver’s license information, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers (SSN).

    Incurring expenses

    No independent investigators have confirmed these claims just yet, and the company said it was investigating the matter. In a new 8-K document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 14, the company said that it “became aware of an online post by a third party claiming to have obtained a data set containing certain of the company’s customer information.”

    It activated its incident response protocols and kicked off an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts.

    “While the investigation remains ongoing, the company has determined that an unauthorized third party obtained personal information relating to a portion of the company’s customers through one of the company’s external facing systems,” the filing reads. “The company is continuing to work with third-party experts to determine the scope of customers and personal information affected by the incident and intends to notify affected customers and regulatory authorities as required by applicable law.” The police and regulatory agencies have been notified.

    While the attack did not impact CenterPoint’s operations, which continue as usual, it did incur certain expenses, the company concluded. It stressed that it will likely incur even more expenses as the investigation continues.

    Via The Register

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Vote now in the TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 — Computing & Gaming categories! ]]> It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

    The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, but we know that not everyone is interested in voting in every one, so on this page you can vote in just our Computing and Gaming categories.

    These include laptops, PC gaming peripherals, console accessories, monitors, gaming services and more. You can vote in the survey just below — or follow the links to see other specific categories, or to vote on the full list instead.

    The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

    Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

    We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

    How many products will do the double? We'll be curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/tech/techradar-readers-choice-awards-2026-computing-and-gaming-categories ztCi46RAdhDuV7qJnCZn7W Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:29:47 +0000 false false false

    It's time for TechRadar's annual tech awards, and this year we're doing it differently. For the first time, we have a complete set of categories where the winners are chosen 100% by you, the TechRadar readers.

    The TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 comprises nearly 100 categories, but we know that not everyone is interested in voting in every one, so on this page you can vote in just our Computing and Gaming categories.

    These include laptops, PC gaming peripherals, console accessories, monitors, gaming services and more. You can vote in the survey just below — or follow the links to see other specific categories, or to vote on the full list instead.

    The shortlists were chosen by TechRadar's editors based on the best products we've tested or the most popular products of the year. You'll need to vote before 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026 for it to be counted.

    Once the deadline has passed at 00:01am PST / 03:01am EST / 08:01am BST on Wednesday October 7th 2026, we'll tally your votes to find the winners in each category.

    We'll announce the winners in our big TechRadar Awards 2026 Week, starting Monday October 19th. We'll reveal the winners of the Reader's Choice Awards, as well as the winners of our TechRadar Product of the Year Awards, which are chosen solely by our expert judges.

    How many products will do the double? We'll be curious to see — but right now, all you can do is vote for what you think should win, so vote away!

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Watch out — TP-Link Tapo Camera vulnerabilities could let hackers spy inside homes, so patch now ]]>
  • Opswat found two flaws in TP‑Link Tapo C200 cameras: auth bypass (CVE‑2026‑15315) and DoS (CVE‑2026‑15316)
  • Bugs let attackers hijack admin sessions or crash devices; millions of users potentially exposed
  • TP‑Link patched with firmware V5_1.4.6 on Aug 18, 2026; users urged to update immediately

    • Security researchers found a pair of vulnerabilities in popular smart cameras, which could allow threat actors to peep into people’s homes and businesses.

    Earlier this week, Opswat disclosed finding two bugs in the TP-Link Tapo C200 smart security camera - an authentication bypass flaw, and a denial-of-service vulnerability. The former is tracked as CVE-2026-15315 and was given a severity score of 8.7/10 (high). Opswat says the bug allows unauthenticated attackers to obtain valid admin sessions without having a password, which would allow them to manage the device and even watch the stream.

    The latter is tracked as CVE-2026-15316. With a severity score of 7.1/10 (high), this bug allows threat actors to send oversized crypted ciphertext values that may trigger exception handling failures and cause the affected device to crash or restart. “Successful exploitation may temporarily disrupt HTTPS management and monitoring functionality, resulting in a denial-of-service (DoS) condition until the service recovers,” according to the NVD.

    Patching the bugs

    The C200 is a mass-market product, advertised as a security camera, a baby monitor, or a pet camera, with motion detection, 1080p video, 2-way audio, night vision, cloud & SD card storage, and integrations with both Alexa and Google Home.

    Opswat disclosed their findings to TP-Link in mid-April this year, which started working on a fix in early July this year. On August 18, 2026, TP-Link released firmware version V5_1.4.6, which addressed both flaws. Users are advised to install the fix as soon as possible.

    The researchers did not discuss if the flaws were being abused in the wild, or to what extent. We do know that TP-Link Tapo cameras are rather popular, with the C200 model being relatively widely sold. According to TP-Link, the Tapo app has more than 13 million users, while the Google Play Store shows 10+ million downloads.

    On Amazon, the C200 specifically is listed as the #1 top rated product in its category, with more than 3,000 purchases this month alone.

    "Camera bugs always get attention because of the "spy factor," but they usually sound cooler and scarier than they actually are," said Dahvid Schloss, OSCP, Chief Operating Officer at Suzu Labs. "The main reason not to "worry" about this one is that running this exploit requires local network access, so a threat actor has to be on your Wi-Fi or already own a device that is.

    "If someone's made it that far into your network, they're not after the baby monitor. Now, if the camera was port-forwarded to the internet, that's a bigger design issue and probably should be a concern, but not a common setup for the everyday home user. Either way, I'd still patch the camera, but it's pretty low on the totem pole of what a cybercriminal wants."

    "I'm quite curious about the undisclosed vulnerability that reportedly allows full compromise and a foothold to pivot from," Schloss added. "Based on what was reported, I would guess the exploit would be a command injection or a memory-safety bug in the same management service, chained behind that auth bypass to get code execution as root, where they then dropped a static binary to return a shell on the device whose firmware ships with almost no tooling. That attack chain isn't uncommon on cheap, older consumer IoT devices where security wasn't top of mind, but if that's the case here, seeing it hold up on a modern TP-Link device would be a bit of a blast from the past.

    ]]>     https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/watch-out-tp-link-tapo-camera-vulnerabilities-could-let-hackers-spy-inside-homes-so-patch-now SPjnLABuVNPrn2TwBAhreF Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:35:00 +0000 false false false
    • Opswat found two flaws in TP‑Link Tapo C200 cameras: auth bypass (CVE‑2026‑15315) and DoS (CVE‑2026‑15316)
    • Bugs let attackers hijack admin sessions or crash devices; millions of users potentially exposed
    • TP‑Link patched with firmware V5_1.4.6 on Aug 18, 2026; users urged to update immediately

    Security researchers found a pair of vulnerabilities in popular smart cameras, which could allow threat actors to peep into people’s homes and businesses.

    Earlier this week, Opswat disclosed finding two bugs in the TP-Link Tapo C200 smart security camera - an authentication bypass flaw, and a denial-of-service vulnerability. The former is tracked as CVE-2026-15315 and was given a severity score of 8.7/10 (high). Opswat says the bug allows unauthenticated attackers to obtain valid admin sessions without having a password, which would allow them to manage the device and even watch the stream.

    The latter is tracked as CVE-2026-15316. With a severity score of 7.1/10 (high), this bug allows threat actors to send oversized crypted ciphertext values that may trigger exception handling failures and cause the affected device to crash or restart. “Successful exploitation may temporarily disrupt HTTPS management and monitoring functionality, resulting in a denial-of-service (DoS) condition until the service recovers,” according to the NVD.

    Patching the bugs

    The C200 is a mass-market product, advertised as a security camera, a baby monitor, or a pet camera, with motion detection, 1080p video, 2-way audio, night vision, cloud & SD card storage, and integrations with both Alexa and Google Home.

    Opswat disclosed their findings to TP-Link in mid-April this year, which started working on a fix in early July this year. On August 18, 2026, TP-Link released firmware version V5_1.4.6, which addressed both flaws. Users are advised to install the fix as soon as possible.

    The researchers did not discuss if the flaws were being abused in the wild, or to what extent. We do know that TP-Link Tapo cameras are rather popular, with the C200 model being relatively widely sold. According to TP-Link, the Tapo app has more than 13 million users, while the Google Play Store shows 10+ million downloads.

    On Amazon, the C200 specifically is listed as the #1 top rated product in its category, with more than 3,000 purchases this month alone.

    "Camera bugs always get attention because of the "spy factor," but they usually sound cooler and scarier than they actually are," said Dahvid Schloss, OSCP, Chief Operating Officer at Suzu Labs. "The main reason not to "worry" about this one is that running this exploit requires local network access, so a threat actor has to be on your Wi-Fi or already own a device that is.

    "If someone's made it that far into your network, they're not after the baby monitor. Now, if the camera was port-forwarded to the internet, that's a bigger design issue and probably should be a concern, but not a common setup for the everyday home user. Either way, I'd still patch the camera, but it's pretty low on the totem pole of what a cybercriminal wants."

    "I'm quite curious about the undisclosed vulnerability that reportedly allows full compromise and a foothold to pivot from," Schloss added. "Based on what was reported, I would guess the exploit would be a command injection or a memory-safety bug in the same management service, chained behind that auth bypass to get code execution as root, where they then dropped a static binary to return a shell on the device whose firmware ships with almost no tooling. That attack chain isn't uncommon on cheap, older consumer IoT devices where security wasn't top of mind, but if that's the case here, seeing it hold up on a modern TP-Link device would be a bit of a blast from the past.

    ]]>