A few months ago, Anthropic published a report detailing how its Claude AI model had been weaponized in a "vibe hacking" extortion scheme. The company has continued to monitor how the agentic AI is being used to coordinate cyberattacks, and now claims that a state-backed group of hackers in China utilized Claude in an attempted infiltration of 30 corporate and political targets around the world, with some success.
In what it labeled "the first documented case of a large-scale cyberattack executed without substantial human intervention," Anthropic said that the hackers first chose their targets, which included unnamed tech companies, financial institutions and government agencies. They then used Claude Code to develop an automated attack framework, after successfully bypassing the model’s training to avoid harmful behavior. This was achieved by breaking the planned attack into smaller tasks that didn’t obviously reveal their wider malicious intent, and telling Claude that it was a cybersecurity firm using the AI for defensive training purposes.
After writing its own exploit code, Anthropic said Claude was then able to steal usernames and passwords that allowed it to extract "a large amount of private data" through backdoors it had created. The obedient AI reportedly even went to the trouble of documenting the attacks and storing the stolen data in separate files.
The hackers used AI for 80-90 percent of its operation, only occasionally intervening, and Claude was able to orchestrate an attack in far less time than humans could have done. It wasn’t flawless, with some of the information it obtained turning out to be publicly available, but Anthropic said that attacks like this will likely become more sophisticated and effective over time.
You might be wondering why an AI company would want to publicize the dangerous potential of its own technology, but Anthropic says its investigation also acts as evidence of why the assistant is "crucial" for cyber defense. It said Claude was successfully used to analyze the threat level of the data it collected, and ultimately sees it as a tool that can assist cybersecurity professionals when future attacks happen.
Claude is by no means the only AI that has benefited cybercriminals. Last year, OpenAI said that its generative AI tools were being used by hacker groups with ties to China and North Korea. They reportedly used GAI to assist with code debugging, researching potential targets and drafting phishing emails. OpenAI said at the time that it had blocked the groups' access to its systems.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropics-ai-was-used-by-chinese-hackers-to-run-a-cyberattack-142313551.html?src=rss
Valve’s second attempt at a console-like gaming PC for your living room is hopefully going to be a triumph worthy of plenty of cake, with or without fun accessories. But if you really want to make the Steam Machine feel extra special when it arrives in early 2026, you’re going to want to dress it up in Dbrand’s Companion Cube skin.
A tribute to the iconic Weighted Companion Cube from Valve’s beloved Portal series, it’s such a fitting design that I sort of wonder if the company is kicking itself for not making something similar for its cube-shaped compact PC. Of course, putting your Steam Machine inside this will ensure it stands out from the other consoles occupying your TV unit, which is the opposite effect that the standard design is going to have. While it does have a customizable front plate and an LED light strip, the default all-black colorway could hardly be less attention-grabbing.
In case you missed yesterday's announcement, the Steam Machine is a Linux-based mini PC that runs SteamOS and is designed to be plugged into your TV, like a console. Valve says it’s roughly six times more powerful than a Steam Deck and is capable of supporting 4K/60fps gaming with FSR. You can also use it to stream VR games to the new Stream Frame headset, while the Steam Controller, with its distinctive trackpads, allows you to play your Steam games wirelessly.
Given that we don’t yet have a release date or price for the Steam Machine, Dbrand’s accessory doesn't have either of those yet either, but it is coming in 2026. And I’m fairly confident that isn’t a lie…
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/dbrands-companion-cube-is-the-perfect-partner-for-your-future-steam-machine-161634417.html?src=rss
In case you missed it, Valve announced a load of new hardware this week, including a second stab at the Steam Machine, a Steam controller, and a long-rumored new VR headset called the Steam Frame. But in with the new often means out with the old, and perhaps inevitably, the company has confirmed that its previous headset, the Valve Index, is no more.
Valve’s Lawrence Yang told The Vergethat it’s "no longer manufacturing" the Index, which we called "the best desktop VR yet" when it launched in 2019. The Index arrived around the same time as the Oculus Quest and its promise of an affordable all-in-one future for VR. By contrast, the Valve Index was very much still a high-end tethered device for the hardcore enthusiasts, with a price tag that reflected that.
We don’t know how much the Steam Frame will cost yet, but it definitely sounds like Valve is making a play for the more casual VR crowd here too, as well as those who want to play demanding 3D titles. You can stream flatscreen and VR games from your PC or Steam Machine using a wireless adapter, but the Steam Frame is also a standalone device like the Meta Quest 3, backed by a built-in Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and 16GB of RAM. Valve is supporting Android games too, seemingly a move to entice VR developers to bring their Quest games over to Steam.
In order to track your movements in virtual space, the Valve Index relied on external lighthouse base stations, which meant you had to go through a more than a little laborious setup process to play roomscale VR games. Consumer VR has moved towards built-in sensors since then, and it sounds like Valve wants to leave its lighthouses in the past too, with the company confirming to The Verge that they won’t be supported on the Steam Frame. The new headset instead has four high-res monochrome cameras for inside-out tracking, as well as infrared LEDs on the outside that help with tracking in darker environments.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/valve-confirms-that-it-has-stopped-making-the-index-vr-headset-150324456.html?src=rss
DoorDash is bringing its robot delivery service to Miami, following an initial rollout in Los Angeles and Chicago earlier this year with over 600 participating merchants. The company continues to work with Coco Robotics as part of its push towards a "muliti-modal system" that allows it to make human, robot and drone deliveries at scale.
As well as adding a third city to the initiative, DoorDash also now takes orders from DashMart, its delivery-only convenience store chain for groceries and household items. This means customers will receive robot deliveries from national grocers and retailers as well as restaurants.
DoorDash has a dedicated robotics and automation division called DoorDash Labs, which is focused on forging new partnerships that allow it to meet increased demand with more environmentally friendly methods of delivery. Earlier this year it began operating drone deliveries in Charlotte with Wing, and as well as using Coco’s self-driving robots, DoorDash recently introduced its own in-house developed delivery robot called Dot.
Decidedly cuter than its Coco colleague, Dot is designed for quick neighborhood trips and is able to navigate roads, as well as bike lanes and sidewalks. Dot is currently being piloted in Arizona, and when rolled out more widely is expected to fulfill cheaper deliveries, with DoorDash ensuring its human staff that the robot will complement, rather than replace them.
With fully autonomous technology still in its infancy, lower-risk hyper-local deliveries are being explored by a number of food delivery companies that have traditionally relied on gig workers to fulfill orders. At the beginning of this year, GrubHub partnered with the autonomous robot delivery company Avride to scale up the latter’s existing robot delivery offering on college campuses including the Ohio State University.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/doordash-customers-in-miami-can-now-receive-their-food-orders-from-robots-140017928.html?src=rss
Valve made a triumphant return to the hardware market with the Steam Deck and its OLED-toting counterpart, and now it’s having another crack at virtual reality with the Steam Frame. The Steam Frame is the long-rumored headset from Valve that had previously been codenamed "Deckard."
The company also announced a new Steam controller and PC called the Steam Machine. All three devices are coming in early 2026. Valve is holding off on announcing pricing and exact availability of the new hardware. There are Steam Frame dev kits available for developers.
Valve says the Steam Frame is a wireless, "streaming-first" headset and you can hop into your games as soon as you pop it on. It supports both VR and flatscreen games. The company made a plug-and-play 6GHz wireless adapter that you slot into your PC (or Steam Machine). It has a dual-radio setup to help minimize interference, with one radio dedicated to streaming audio and visuals to the headset, and the other for Wi-Fi.
A standalone VR headset
But you don't need a PC to play games on the Steam Frame. As with Meta Quest headsets, it can run games as a standalone device.
The headset has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of built-in UFS storage. There's a microSD card slot, along with support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3. Of course, the headset is powered by SteamOS. As with the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, there'll be a Steam Frame verified program, so you can see at a glance which games will run on the Steam Frame in standalone mode.
What's more, the Steam Frame will support Android games. It seems Valve is hoping that developers who made games and VR experiences for Android-based headsets (such as the Meta Quest lineup) will bring them to Steam.
The Steam Frame runs on a rechargeable 21.6Wh Li-ion battery. There's one USB-C 2.0 port at the back that you'll use for both charging and data transfers. You can recharge the battery at a rate of up to 45W. It's unclear how long the Steam Frame's battery will run on a charge.
The battery is positioned on the rear of the headstrap. So you won't necessarily need to have an external battery pack that's attached to the system by an annoying cable. It'll be possible to swap the standard headstrap (into which the audio drivers are integrated) for a different option, perhaps one with a larger battery.
Even with the battery built into the headstrap, Valve says the Steam Frame weighs just under a pound at 440 grams. The core module — the front part — is 185 grams (6.5oz) and the headstrap weighs 245 grams (8.6 ounces).
Image optimization tech
The Steam Frame has an optimization feature called Foveated Streaming. Valve says this uses low-latency eye-tracking (powered by two internal cameras) to optimize the detail in the image wherever your eyes are looking. The company claims it can offer a "10x improvement in image quality and effective bandwidth." Foveated Streaming is said to work for every game in your Steam library.
The headset has dual 2160 x 2160 LCD panels with refresh rates of up to 144Hz, a field of view of up to 110 degrees and an IPD target range of 60mm to 70mm. Valve added that "thin and light custom pancake lenses provide edge-to-edge sharpness and a large eye box." The company says the maximum width for eye glasses is 140mm.
As for audio, the Steam Frame has dual stereo speakers on each side with support for high-fidelity audio. Valve says the speakers on each side are "oriented in opposite directions to cancel out vibrations," which can impact the tracking system.
Speaking of which, the headset has four high-res monochrome cameras for controller and headset tracking — the Steam Frame uses inside-out tracking. Valve says there are infrared LEDs on the outside of the device that can help support tracking in dark environments. There's monochrome passthrough support too.
Valve
Steam Frame controllers
Naturally, you'll need a way to play all of the games, so the headset comes with a pair of Steam Frame controllers. The headset tracks the positions of the controllers for VR games, with full 6-DOF tracking and IMU support. They have a split gamepad format with a D-pad, thumbsticks, ABXY buttons, triggers and bumpers. They're designed to work with your entire Steam library, and they certainly look a bit more intuitive than the PlayStation VR2 controllers.
Rather than going down the Hall effect route, Valve opted for magnetic thumbsticks, which support capacitive finger tracking. Each controller is said to run for around 40 hours before you'll have to swap out the AA battery that powers it. If you'd rather play games on the Steam Frame with the new Steam Controller, you'll absolutely be able to do that.
The Steam Frame is far from Valve's first VR headset. It released the Valve Index in 2019, and previously worked with HTC on its Vive headsets, which were initially consumer VR products before HTC shifted its focus to business and enterprise.
While none of Valve’s previous PC-focused headsets had the mainstream impact of Meta’s Quest lineup or arguably even PlayStation VR (which by all accounts is still an active platform, not that Sony’s release calendar backs it up), the company is responsible for what is probably the medium’s greatest-ever game in Half-Life: Alyx. And with SteamOS on the Steam Deck being such a hit that other companies are practically begging Valve to let them put it in their own rival handhelds, it’s easy to imagine the Steam Frame becoming a serious rival to the Meta Quest.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/valves-steam-frame-vr-headset-is-finally-official-and-its-coming-in-2026-181909387.html?src=rss
Black Friday might still be a few days away, but there’s no need to wait if you’re in the market for a new air fryer, as one of our longtime favorite models is currently $100 off. The Ninja DZ401 is $130 right now, which is a saving of 43 percent on its usual price.
And the DZ401 is the perfect air fryer for the holiday season, owing to its trademark dual baskets, which allow you to cook up two completely different foods simultaneously. It takes up a fair amount of space, but it’s worth it if you have a lot of hungry mouths to feed.
This 10-quart fryer includes a smart cook thermometer and six cooking modes, including air broil, roast and dehydrate alongside the default air fry mode. The spacious baskets are quick and easy to clean, and you’re safe to throw the plates into the dishwasher if they’re particularly messy after cooking up chicken wings or some brownies for dessert.
The Ninja DZ401 has had the title of best dual-zone air fryer in our buying guide for a long time for a reason. An air fryer like this isn’t for everyone, especially those with smaller kitchens, but for a Thanksgiving dinner you’ll struggle to find better.
A number of other Ninja devices are on sale for Black Friday right now. If you don't need quite as big of a machine, the Ninja Crispi glass air fryer/multicooker could be a better option. It's down to $160 right now.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-ninja-air-fryers-is-down-to-130-for-black-friday-170959662.html?src=rss
The Alien franchise has been decidedly hit and miss since the near-universally beloved first two movies, but it’s in a very good place at the moment. 2024’s Alien: Romulus was a magnificent return to form, and this year that good run of form continued in the series’ first TV show, Alien: Earth, which has been renewed for a second season.
The first season wrapped up in September and ended on a pretty dramatic cliffhanger, so while it seemed pretty obvious that more episodes would be coming, it’s good to have it confirmed. Noah Hawley is once again heading up the project, and according to The Hollywood Reporterthe Fargo creator has signed a multi-year deal with Disney that will see him work on the ever-expanding entertainment empire's other channels and services, including ABC and Hulu Originals, as well as continuing to produce shows for FX.
Variety reports that season two of Alien: Earth will start production in London in 2026, a pretty significant change from the debut season, which was shot in Thailand. Presumably that means we’ll be heading to some new locations in the show too, but we’ll have to wait for a trailer to find that out.
Set two years before the original Alien, Alien: Earth sees a retro-futuristic shipping vessel carrying some ominously familiar-looking extra-terrestrial cargo crash-land on Earth, where we meet a terminally ill girl who becomes the first human-synthetic hybrid. The season one cast includes Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, David Rysdahl, Adrian Edmondson, Adarsh Gourav, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diem Camille, and Moe Bar-El.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/alien-earth-has-been-renewed-for-a-second-season-144124743.html?src=rss
Fitbit is mostly associated with tracking your steps, workouts and sleep, but also among its arsenal of overall health features is the ability to track your food intake. You can use it to see how many calories you’ve consumed versus how many you’ve burned, and even scan the barcode of pre-made food items to add them to your daily log. But the food log feature in the Fitbit app currently appears to be broken, or at least not working as it’s supposed to.
As spotted by 9to5Google, various problems have been reported during the last 24 hours, and while the page still loads as it should, adding items is proving difficult. Attempting to search for a meal or food pulls up a blank page, while the barcode scanner seems to be completely broken, returning a maintenance error message when you try to use it.
A number of Fitbit users are reporting similar issues, with only the custom food creation function working properly. Some have also said that they tried updating the app to fix it, but with no success. One user who deleted and re-installed the Fitbit app said that didn’t work either, while another said they “really rely on the calorie count feature,” which obviously won’t be accurate if you can’t log every meal you eat.
Google, Fitbit's parent company, has not officially commented on the matter at the time of writing, and we’ll update this article if it responds to our request for one.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/fitbit-appears-to-be-experiencing-a-partial-outage-174249152.html?src=rss
Back in 2019, Form made — and you’re going to have to forgive me for the most inevitable pun in history — a big splash with its first smart swimming goggles. The company has released several upgrades since, and it just announced the latest version of its HeadCoach software, which is designed to deliver personalized swim coaching using AI.
Available through Form Premium, HeadCoach 2.0 effectively functions like a virtual coach, analyzing each swim and providing immediate feedback in the Form app. It’ll highlight both your strengths and areas of improvement, reminding you what to focus on via the goggles’ augmented reality display.
HeadCoach 2.0 analyzes metrics like distance per stroke (DPS), stroke rate, pace and heart rate, as well as your personal Form Score and existing app data. Insights can be tailored to an objective you set, such as improving your technique or preparing for a race, with HeadCoach zoning in on what you should be trying to achieve in your next session to achieve your goals.
HeadCoach 2.0’s insights are based on data from millions of swims, with input from professional coaches and Olympic swimmers. The idea appears to be data-led virtual guidance informed by humans, so you can trust the feedback you get in the app.
HeadCoach 2.0 is available now to all Form Premium subscribers, which costs $10 per month after a free one-month trial.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/form-brings-better-ai-enabled-swim-coaching-to-its-smart-goggles-140655591.html?src=rss
The world is gearing up for the long-awaited (to put it lightly) arrival of Stranger Things’ fifth and final season, but Netflix isn’t ready to sunset one of its defining franchises just yet. Several years after it was first teased, a new animated spin-off series is officially coming in 2026.
Announced to coincide with Stranger Things Day today (November 6, 1983, is the day Will Byers originally got kidnapped, in case you’re scratching your head), Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 takes place between seasons 2 and 3 of the live-action show, during the winter of 1985. It stars what looks like the majority of the original characters — albeit not voiced by the actors who play them in the main show — as they face off against new monsters and a (yet another) "paranormal mystery terrorizing their town." Hope you didn’t think that Hawkins was about to catch a break.
Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 stars Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha "EJ" Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will and Brett Gipson as Hopper. It’s coming to Netflix next year, exact release date currently unspecified.
As for Stranger Things proper, that’s coming in just a few weeks time, with the first batch of episodes landing on November 26. More arrive on Christmas Day, with the finale hitting Netflix on December 31. We got a juicy trailer last week, in which poor old Will appears to be in the wars again.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-first-trailer-for-the-animated-stranger-things-spin-off-is-here-172128527.html?src=rss