Hackers are stashing malware in a place that's largely out of the reach of most defenses--inside domain name system (DNS) records that map domain names to their corresponding numerical IP addresses. The practice allows malicious scripts and early-stage malware to fetch binary files without having to download them from suspicious sites or attach them to emails, where they frequently get quarantined by antivirus software. That's because traffic for DNS lookups often goes largely unmonitored by many security tools. Whereas web and email traffic is often closely scrutinized, DNS traffic largely represents a blind spot for such defenses. Researchers from DomainTools on Tuesday said they recently spotted the trick being used to host a malicious binary for Joke Screenmate, a strain of nuisance malware that interferes with normal and safe functions of a computer.

Roblox is a popular digital space for kids and teens to congregate while playing their favorite video game, or in the platform's parlance, experience. Now teens ages 13 to 17 who want to access a special feature designed to make those hangouts even more fun will have to verify their age via a video selfie. Roblox announced the new requirement Thursday as part of a slate of safety and privacy measures. Once Roblox estimates the user's age -- via the AI-powered age verification product Persona -- and assigns a qualifying age group to their account, it allows them to take advantage of the new feature, called "Trusted Connections." Teen users can add each other as Trusted Connections, which allows them to communicate via voice and chat without filters.

Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) was a little over a month ago -- meaning the iOS 26 public beta should be released any day now. Even though Apple has not yet launched the highly anticipated Siri upgrade -- the company said we will hear more about it in the coming year -- at WWDC, Apple unveiled a slew of AI features across its devices and operating systems, including iOS, MacOS, WatchOS, and iPadOS. Also: Apple's iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 public betas will release any minute now: What to expect While the features aren't the flashiest, many of them address issues that Apple users have long had with their devices or in their everyday workflows, while others are downright fun. I gathered the AI features announced and ranked them according to what I am most excited to use and what people on the web have been buzzing about. Apple introduced Visual Intelligence last year with the launch of the iPhone 16.

As young adults become more jaded by online dating, dating apps are trying to save themselves with AI features. Over the last few years, all the big players like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble have added AI-powered tools. Users can now pick profile photos, break the ice, and get prompt help with AI. But has it paid off? Gen Z reported higher levels of discomfort than millennials when it came to using AI for tasks like modifying photos, messaging matches, and crafting profile prompts.

We're a little over a month away from the expected launch date of the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Fold. Google makes some of the best Android phones on the market, so the latest Pixel launch is a very big deal. As per the norm, the rumor mill has been circulating, with leaks and rumors ramping up as the time draws near. Based on those rumors so far, the Pixel 10 series of phones won't be a massive departure from the Pixel 9. For the most part, it seems like some spec updates and feature shuffling are in order.

Feedback is New Scientist's popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com Feedback has been dimly aware for a while that there is a slew of AI-generated music swamping platforms like Spotify. Our awareness was limited, we confess, because we are so old that we still prefer to listen to CDs. Still, we weren't too surprised when New Scientist's Timothy Revell told us about an indie rock band called The Velvet Sundown that appears to be entirely AI-generated, from their songs, which sound like the beige love-children of Coldplay and the Eagles, to their uncanny-valley Instagram photos, which look like rejected concept art from Daisy Jones & the Six.

Amazon today published a blog post by Michelle Vaz, managing director, AWS Training and Certification, that contains some fascinating insights about how AI is changing the landscape for people early in their careers. To understand this dynamic, Amazon partnered with Draup, a "data intelligence firm specializing in workforce planning and talent analytics." Together, the two companies conducted a study entitled, "The Evolution of Early-Career Technical Roles in the AI Era." Amazon hasn't yet provided us with all the data from the study, so I'll make some inferences. Amazon uses the term "early-career professionals," so the AI-related observations are likely about knowledge workers, not all new entrants into the workforce. Also: Amazon's Andy Jassy says AI will take some jobs but make others more'interesting' The analysis raises the same concerns we've been discussing here on ZDNET about AI potentially replacing entry-level jobs.

The 42nd International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML2025) is currently taking place in Vancouver, Canada, running from 13-19 July. As well as five invited talks, the programme boasts oral and poster presentations, affinity events, tutorials, and workshops. Find out what participants have been getting up to during the first couple of days. On my way to #ICML2025 to present our algorithm that strongly scales with inference compute, in both performance and sample diversity! Reach out if you'd like to chat more!

Today's youngsters will never know the painstaking task of going to a library and searching for an article or a particular book. This tedious undertaking involved hours upon hours of trawling through drawers filled with index cards – typically sorted by author, title or subject. An explosion in research publications during the 1940s made it especially time-consuming to locate what you wanted, especially as this was before the invention of the internet. Now, an expert has lifted the lid on the man and the device that changed everything – and it could also be the key to surviving AI. Dr Martin Rudorfer, a lecturer in Computer Science at Aston University, said an American engineer called Vannevar Bush first came up with a solution, dubbed the'memex'.

Manila, Philippines – When former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March, Sheerah Escuerdo spoke to a local television station, welcoming the politician's detention on charges of murder linked to his war on drugs. Escuerdo, who lost her 18-year-old brother, Ephraim, to Duterte's war, clutched a portrait of her sibling during the interview with News 5 Everywhere as she demanded justice for his killing. Days later, she was shocked to find an AI-generated video of her slain brother circulating on Facebook, in which he said he was alive and accused his sister of lying. Are they paying you to do this?" the computer-generated image of Ephraim said. The video, posted online by a pro-Duterte influencer with 11,000 followers, immediately drew thousands of views on Facebook. One of the comments read, "Fake drug war victims". It was Escudero and her brother's image from her News 5 Everywhere interview that the influencer had used to ...