04 Feb 2026

feedArs Technica

Microsoft releases urgent Office patch. Russian-state hackers pounce.

The window to patch vulnerabilities is shrinking rapidly.

04 Feb 2026 11:08pm GMT

feedHacker News

Litestream Writable VFS

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04 Feb 2026 11:03pm GMT

As Rocks May Think

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04 Feb 2026 10:50pm GMT

feedArs Technica

FBI stymied by Apple's Lockdown Mode after seizing journalist's iPhone

Post reporter was compelled to unlock MacBook Pro with fingerprint, however.

04 Feb 2026 10:41pm GMT

feedLinuxiac

System76 Lays Out Major COSMIC Desktop Changes Planned for Epoch 2 and 3

System76 Lays Out Major COSMIC Desktop Changes Planned for Epoch 2 and 3

System76 has published a detailed roadmap outlining planned features and priorities for COSMIC Epoch 2 and 3, covering performance, UI, and workflow changes.

04 Feb 2026 10:17pm GMT

Sudo’s Longtime Maintainer Appeals for Sponsorship to Sustain the Project

Sudo’s Longtime Maintainer Appeals for Sponsorship to Sustain the Project

After maintaining sudo for over three decades, Todd C. Miller is asking organizations and individuals to sponsor ongoing development efforts.

04 Feb 2026 9:38pm GMT

feedArs Technica

Should AI chatbots have ads? Anthropic says no.

ChatGPT competitor comes out swinging with Super Bowl ad mocking AI product pitches.

04 Feb 2026 9:15pm GMT

feedHacker News

A real-world benchmark for AI code review

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04 Feb 2026 9:13pm GMT

feedSlashdot

Russian Spy Satellites Have Intercepted EU Communications Satellites

European security officials believe two Russian space vehicles have intercepted the communications of at least a dozen key satellites over the continent. From a report: Officials believe that the likely interceptions, which have not previously been reported, risk not only compromising sensitive information transmitted by the satellites but could also allow Moscow to manipulate their trajectories or even crash them. Russian space vehicles have shadowed European satellites more intensively over the past three years, at a time of high tension between the Kremlin and the West following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For several years, military and civilian space authorities in the West have been tracking the activities of Luch-1 and Luch-2 -- two Russian objects that have carried out repeated suspicious maneuvers in orbit. Both vehicles have made risky close approaches to some of Europe's most important geostationary satellites, which operate high above the Earth and service the continent, including the UK, as well as large parts of Africa and the Middle East. According to orbital data and ground-based telescopic observations, they have lingered nearby for weeks at a time, particularly over the past three years. Since its launch in 2023, Luch-2 has approached 17 European satellites.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

04 Feb 2026 8:46pm GMT

feedLinuxiac

Linux Users, Do You Use Non-Free Software?

Linux Users, Do You Use Non-Free Software?

The virtual Richard M. Stallman (vrms) concept lives on, helping Linux users identify non-free software via license audits.

04 Feb 2026 7:42pm GMT

feedSlashdot

'Everyone is Stealing TV'

A sprawling informal economy of rogue streaming devices has taken hold across the U.S., as consumers fed up with rising TV subscription costs turn to cheap Android-based boxes that promise free access to thousands of live channels, sports events, and on-demand movies for a one-time $200 to $400 purchase. The two dominant players -- SuperBox and vSeeBox -- are manufactured by opaque Chinese companies and distributed through hundreds of American resellers at farmers markets, church festivals and Facebook groups, according to a report by The Verge. The hardware is generic and legal, but both devices guide users toward pirate streaming apps not available on any official app store. vSeeBox directs users to a service called "Heat"; SuperBox points to "Blue TV." One user estimated access to between 6,000 and 8,000 channels, including premium sports networks and hundreds of local affiliates. A 2025 Dish Network lawsuit against a SuperBox reseller alleged that some live channels on the device were being ripped directly from Dish's Sling TV service -- Sling's logo was still visible on certain feeds. Dish has pursued resellers aggressively, winning $1.25 million in damages from a vSeeBox seller in 2024 over 500 devices and $405,000 from another over 162 devices. None of this has meaningfully slowed adoption. The market has roots in earlier Chinese-made devices like TVPad that targeted Asian expat communities and reportedly sold 3 million units before being litigated out of existence. SuperBox and vSeeBox simply broadened the audience to mainstream America.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

04 Feb 2026 7:00pm GMT

As Software Stocks Slump, Investors Debate AI's Existential Threat

Investors were assessing on Wednesday whether a selloff in global software stocks this week had gone too far, as they weighed if businesses could survive an existential threat posed by AI. The answer: It's unclear and will lead to volatility. From a report: After a broad selloff on Tuesday that saw the S&P 500 software and services index fall nearly 4%, the sector slipped another 1% on Wednesday. While software stocks have been under pressure in recent months as AI has gone from being a tailwind for many of these companies to investors worrying about the disruption it will cause to some sectors, the latest selloff was triggered by a new legal tool from Anthropic's Claude large language model (LLM). The tool - a plug-in for Claude's agent for tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis - underscored the push by LLMs into the so-called "application layer," where these firms are increasingly muscling into lucrative enterprise businesses for revenue they need to fund massive investments. If successful, investors worry, it could wreak havoc across a range of industries, from finance to law and coding.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

04 Feb 2026 6:09pm GMT