All posts tagged: Hacks

How ‘Hacks’ Finally Killed Its Central Feud

How ‘Hacks’ Finally Killed Its Central Feud

Published by Daniella Wilson

The funniest sequence in the latest episode of Hacks begins with a classic rug pull. Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), arriving fashionably — and characteristically — late to a meet-and-greet for her most obsessive fans, breezes into the room only to face a sea of dead-eyed weirdos who appear to have her in their crosshairs. The legendary comic, currently clawing her way back to the top, is in dire need of support as she attempts to land a career-defining solo gig at Madison Square Garden. But her fans, affectionately known as “The Little Debbies,” are livid over her recent absence. They’ve spent years watching from the sidelines while Deborah sparred with her Millennial writer, Ava (Hannah Einbinder). This season, Ava finally slides into the position the series has seemingly been grooming her for since the pilot — and in typical overachiever fashion, she’s arrived there ahead of schedule. The Little Debbies’ list of grievances for the Deborah they feel has “gone Hollywood” is as specific as it is absurd. The “Deborah’s Do’s and Don’ts” list hasn’t …

Houseplant hacks: can a fan help plants repel pests? | Houseplants

Houseplant hacks: can a fan help plants repel pests? | Houseplants

Published by Sam Flores

The problemMost plant advice focuses on light, water and soil. Air barely gets a mention, yet stagnant indoor air is one of the less discussed reasons houseplants struggle. Fungal spots, mould on the compost surface and pest infestations like mealybugs can all be traced back to a room with no airflow. We open windows in summer but rarely think about what happens in winter. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The hackRunning a small fan near your houseplants is said to improve stem strength, discourage mould and reduce pest pressure. In the wild, plants experience constant gentle movement; a fan replicates this indoors. The methodYou do not need to blast your plants. A small desk fan on its lowest setting, positioned to one side rather than aimed directly at the foliage, is enough. Run it for a few hours a day rather than continuously. But keep it away from plants already dealing with dry air from radiators. The testI added a small fan to my home office desk, …

The Dumbest Hack of the Year Exposed a Very Real Problem

The Dumbest Hack of the Year Exposed a Very Real Problem

Published by skeptic

In the wee hours of the night last April, someone stopped at roughly 20 street intersections across Silicon Valley and launched an unprecedented cyberattack that would eventually spread to multiple states, embarrassing local officials and prompting them to question their security practices. Authorities suspect the unknown culprit took advantage of weak and publicly available default passwords to wirelessly upload custom recordings that played whenever a pedestrian pressed a crosswalk button. Instead of the normal recordings telling people to either wait or cross the street, pedestrians heard the spoofed voices of billionaire tech CEOs. A fake Mark Zuckerberg said at one Menlo Park intersection that people would not be able to stop AI from “forcefully” being inserted “into every facet of your conscious experience.” At another, he celebrated “undermining democracy.” At a different intersection, an altered Elon Musk described President Donald Trump as “actually really sweet and tender and loving,” while on a nearby street his faked voice whined about being “so alone.” Government emails and text messages obtained by WIRED through public records requests show …

Emmys Preview: Will “The Pitt” and “Hacks” Dominate?

Emmys Preview: Will “The Pitt” and “Hacks” Dominate?

Published by Sam Flores

It’s a good time to be a fan of TV. We’re getting a flurry of new and returning shows in the coming weeks, so the Little Gold Men team felt it was time to take stock of the TV landscape as Emmy season kicks off, with nominations slated for July 8 (it’s not as far away as you might think!). Just this week, the fifth and final season of Hacks debuts, which is sure to be a front-runner for the comedy categories. The show, which stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, has won 12 Emmys, including four best-actress-in-a-comedy trophies for Smart. The final season sees the pair working together to get Deborah’s career and legacy on the right path. WIth The Studio filming its second season and not eligible this year, there are other returning comedies that feel competitive, like Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, and Shrinking. But we’re keeping an eye on The Comeback, which has never been nominated for the comedy-series award before. The third season, which follows Lisa Kudrow’s …

‘Hacks’ Season 5 Premiere Recap

‘Hacks’ Season 5 Premiere Recap

Published by Daniella Wilson

[This story contains spoilers from the season five premiere of Hacks.] In the opening moments of the fifth and final season of the HBO series Hacks, Jean Smart’s Debra Vance is dead — or so scream the headlines on newspaper clippings at a memorial erected outside the gates of her Las Vegas mansion. The famous — perhaps legendary — comic is horrified to see the shrine when she pulls up with Ava, her head writer, comic foil, and best frenemy. However, being the megalomaniac she is, Deb is even more horrified by what her obituary says about her life as a pioneering underdog in the man’s world of comedy. The set-up, which resolves season four’s cliffhanger that saw Debra and Ava far off in Singapore after her late-night show’s success imploded, works in the same manner the Emmy-winning series has since its 2021 debut. Guided by Smart’s sharp, undeniably charming performance — here conveying Deb’s vanity and pathos as she greets fans gathered at her memorial and then contemplates her legacy as it plays out …

Iran-Linked Hackers Are Sabotaging US Energy and Water Infrastructure

Iran-Linked Hackers Are Sabotaging US Energy and Water Infrastructure

Published by skeptic

As US President Donald Trump threatens wholesale demolition of Iran’s infrastructure in the midst of an escalating war, Iran now appears to have already reciprocated with its own form of infrastructure sabotage: A hacking campaign hitting industrial control systems across the United States, including energy and water utilities, that US agencies say has had disruptive and costly effects. In a joint advisory published Tuesday, a group of US agencies including the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that a group of hackers affiliated with the Iranian government has targeted industrial control devices used in a series of critical infrastructure targets including in the energy sector, water and wastewater utilities, and unspecified “government facilities.” According to the agencies, the hackers have targeted programmable logic controllers (PLCs)—a type of device designed to allow digital control of physical machinery—in those facilities, including those sold by industrial tech firm Rockwell Automation, with the apparent intention of sabotaging their systems. By compromising those PLCs, the advisory warns, the hackers …

Anthropic Teams Up With Its Rivals to Keep AI From Hacking Everything

Anthropic Teams Up With Its Rivals to Keep AI From Hacking Everything

Published by skeptic

Following leaked revelations at the end of March that Anthropic had developed a powerful new Claude model, the company formally announced Mythos Preview on Tuesday along with news of an industry consortium it has convened, known as Project Glasswing, to grapple with the cybersecurity implications of the new model and advancing capabilities more generally across the AI field. The group includes Microsoft, Apple, and Google as well as Amazon Web Services, the Linux Foundation, Cisco, Nvidia, Broadcom, and more than 40 other tech, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and financial organizations that will have private access to the model, which is not yet being generally released. The idea, in part, is simply to give the developers of the world’s foundational tech platforms time to turn Mythos Preview on their own systems so they can mitigate vulnerabilities and exploit chains that the model develops in simulated attacks. More broadly, Anthropic emphasizes that the purpose of convening the effort is to kickstart urgent exploration of how AI capabilities across the industry are on the precipice, the company says, of …

The Hack That Exposed Syria’s Sweeping Security Failures

The Hack That Exposed Syria’s Sweeping Security Failures

Published by skeptic

When a wave of unusual activity swept through Syrian government accounts on X in March, it first looked like pure chaos—trolling, parody names, and even explicit content. But beneath the noise lay something far more telling: a state still struggling with the most basic layer of its cybersecurity. In early March, several official Syrian government accounts on X—including those linked to the presidency’s General Secretariat, the Central Bank, and multiple ministries—were hacked. The compromised profiles posted “Glory to Israel,” retweeted explicit material, and briefly renamed themselves after Israeli leaders. Authorities moved to restore control within days, with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology announcing “urgent steps” to recover the accounts and prevent further breaches. Yet what remained unsettled was the deeper question: How secure is the state’s digital front door? In a government now dependent on commercial platforms for communication, losing a verified account doesn’t just disrupt messaging—it silences the state’s voice. When the State Stops Speaking for Itself At first glance, the breach appeared politically charged. Pro‑Israel messages circulating on verified government accounts …

4 Small Habits Experts Say Can Quietly Protect Your Brain From Dementia As You Age

4 Small Habits Experts Say Can Quietly Protect Your Brain From Dementia As You Age

Published by Jenni Sidey

Here are 4 small habits experts say can quietly protect your brain from dementia as you age: Small habit #1: Spacing Mumbling John’s name over and over again, the first time you hear it won’t help you remember. It’ll make your brain bored. Research shows your brain needs breaks to remember things.  Sending yourself a reminder with John’s name two days after you heard it the first time will be much more efficient. This is called the spacing effect. Small habit #2: Taking breaks Gadiel Lazcano / Unsplash Your brain tends to remind you of things you’ve left unfinished. This is called the Zeigarnik effect. In learning, this means while you’re taking a break after a 4-hour hardcore math session, your subconscious keeps processing the last problem you got stuck on, and the solution might come to you in the shower the next morning. So there’s a double benefit to taking breaks: the right input frequency will let the memory sink in deeper, and your brain automatically reminds you of the information at the right …

Apple Will Push Out Rare ‘Backported’ Patches to Protect iOS 18 Users From DarkSword Hacking Tool

Apple Will Push Out Rare ‘Backported’ Patches to Protect iOS 18 Users From DarkSword Hacking Tool

Published by skeptic

Last week, DarkSword was then posted to open source code repository GitHub, making it all the more accessible. Security firms Malfors and Proofpoint soon after warned that another Russian hacker group linked to the Kremlin’s FSB intelligence agency was sending out phishing emails that used the technique. Independent security researcher Johnny Franks tells WIRED that he found yet another new, active domain—a fake website written in English, capable of infecting US-based users—that was part of a DarkSword hacking campaign as late as Thursday of last week, a finding confirmed by mobile security firm iVerify. Despite DarkSword’s growing threat to iOS 18 users, many stubbornly refused to update to iOS 26. On Reddit channels related to cybersecurity and iOS, some self-identified iPhone owners discussing DarkSword argued that Apple seemed to be taking advantage of the DarkSword hacking campaigns to push them onto its latest OS version, which some have found to be slow or overly animated. “Apple is trying to force you onto the dumpster fire that is liquid glass,” one Reddit user wrote. “If this …