Latest News - Page 1328

If you thought your GPU was safe from malware then you'd be mistaken, according to a new report from Bleeding Computer, malware that can execute code from your GPU is now a reality.

It seems that a proof-of-concept (PoC) was up for sale on a hacker forum and allows hackers to keep malicious code stored in your GPU memory buffer, which stops malware code from being scanned by security software when it scans the system RAM.

The seller of the GPU-focused malware says that it only works on Windows systems with support for version 2.0 and above of the OpenCL framework. This is required for executing the malware on the GPU, with the hacker testing it on Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA GPUs.

NVIDIA has just released its new NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 471.96 WHQL drivers, which add the usual Game Ready performance tweaks to games but also include support for 6 new G-SYNC Compatible displays.

When it comes to GeForce Experience's one-click optimal settings, you can instantly configure game options for the specific hardware inside of your gaming PC. There are over 1000 games supported with GFE's one-click optimal settings feature, with 24 more games now added (I've got those listed below).

NVIDIA has also added support for 6 new G-SYNC Compatible displays, with the 48-inch Philips OLED806 TV and 77-inch Xiaomi 077M8-MAS TV being the latest BFGD (Big Format Gaming Displays) validated as G-SYNC Compatible. There's also support for EVE's new Spectrum ES07D03 which I just reviewed.

Microsoft has revealed its official release date for Windows 11, with the next-gen version of Windows being unleashed on October 5, 2021.

This means that new PCs and laptops with Windows 11 pre-installed will go on sale on October 5, while free upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 will begin. If you're impatient, all you'll have to do on your PC is going to Settings > Windows Update > Check For Updates.

Microsoft expects all eligible devices to be offered their free upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022, and you'll be notified of this when your time has come. As I said above, if you're impatient you can check manually whenever you want.

Warner Bros. DC Fandome celebration is coming back in 2021, promising a bunch of game reveals from titles like Gotham Knights and Rocksteady's new Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League game.

Today WB announced its DC Fandome event is coming back on October 16, complete with a bunch of game content in tow. According to a press release, DC Fandome will showcase new content from Warner Bros. Montreal's hugely ambitious four-player co-op Gotham Knights and Rocksteady Studios' new Suicide Squad adaptation.

"Warner Bros. Games will feature new reveals from the highly anticipated Gotham Knights, developed by Warner Bros. Games Montreal, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, developed by Rocksteady Studios,"the press release states.

Death Stranding star actor Norman Reedus pretty much confirms a sequel is in development at Kojima Productions.

The cat's out of the bag: Hideo Kojima wants to make Death Stranding 2 and the project is currently on the negotiation table (this makes sense with Death Stranding's 5 million sales). At a recent Walking Dead event, Death Stranding star Norman Reedus told attendees like Andoro Cinema: "I think we're doing a second Death Stranding . [The game] is in negotiations right now."

This isn't the first time Reedus mentioned a new project with Kojima. "We did Death Stranding, which was a huge hit, and we're in talks to do other stuff," Reedus told Wired in a March 2020 interview.

Halo 3 is getting a ton of new armor skins and variants based on Greek and Norse mythology, ancient Spartans, and a slew of rad medieval sets from the crusades era.

Rather than look to the future, 343i is taking inspiration from the past for MCC's new Mjolnir sets. Halo 3 will soon break the alternate reality barrier with new armor unlocks. MCC's season 8 armor has it all: Skulls, crusader helmets, Spartan armor straight out of ancient history (and the 300 movie), Greek mythological monsters like Gorgon (aka Medusa) with her viperous crest, and Norse-inspired gear that's very Skyrim in scope and design (there's even some Loki horns, too).

"We found that keeping the heavy armor and weapon shapes intact, we could convey the same power fantasy, but make it visually evocative and intellectually interesting in completely new ways-with just a little suspension of "canon" ideals-ultimately achieving that goal for greater player expression," 343i Art Director for the Halo Publishing Team Horia Dociu said in a recent update.

Microsoft's huge exclusivity/publishing deal for Rise of the Tomb Raider cost a whopping $100 million.

AAA games are pretty expensive to make. Publishers can easily spend tens of millions (or sometimes over $100 million) when tallying up marketing, distribution, and development costs. That's apparently the case with Rise of the Tomb Raider's production.

According to ex-Square Enix director Fabien Rossini, the Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusivity deal on Xbox was worth $100 million. "Building strategic partnerships with first parties (marketing and exclusivity deals). Negotiated multiple deals including the Tomb Raider exclusivity on Xbox worth $100M," Rossini writes.

Despite being more than 30 years old, the Hubble Space Telescope is still one of the leading telescopes in the world for the incredible images it can produce.

The European Space Agency (ESA) released a new image taken with Hubble's Wield Field Camera 3, and it shows what appears to look like a massive cosmic "sword" stabbing through a "heart". The image is actually showcasing two twin jets of ionized gas being propelled out in two separate jets from the poles of a newborn star. The star is named IRAS 05491+0247, and it's located 1,300 light-years from Earth within the constellation we refer to as Orion.

The ESA wrote on the post the following, "Herbig-Haro objects actually release a lot of light at optical wavelengths, but they are difficult to observe because their surrounding dust and gas absorb much of the visible light. Therefore, the WFC3's ability to observe at infrared wavelengths - where observations are not as affected by gas and dust - is crucial to observing [Herbig]-Haro objects successfully." Hubble will soon be replaced with the James Webb Space Telescope, the world's most powerful space telescope. To find out more about the James Webb Space Telescope, check out this link here.

A senior space official reported on August 30 that new cracks have been found on the Zarya module of the International Space Station.

The report comes from a Russian cosmonaut who said that the situation is "bad" and that the cracks could eventually spread and cause fissures over time. As for the history of the Zarya module, it was the first module of the International Space Station ever launched on November 20, 1998.

Vladimir Solovyov, a chief engineer of rocket and space corporation Energia, said, "Superficial fissures have been found in some places on the Zarya module." Adding, "This is bad and suggests that the fissures will begin to spread over time." Solovyov has previously said that the ISS is beginning to appear aged and that after 2025 he expects there will be an "avalanche" of broken equipment. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

A company has received the first-ever check from NASA to commence mining on the moon. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson presented the check to Lunar Outpost.

The company that has been awarded the check is Lunar Outpost, a Colorado-based space startup company were awarded the check under the space resource contract that was announced on August 23 during the 36th annual Space Symposium. Lunar Outpost CEO Justin Cyrus has presented the check by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Nelson explained why the check is so little, "We had contractual terms with them when they produce their first element. We would give them 10% of their contract award. I am happy to present a check for 10% of their bid. Justin, here's a check for 10 cents." While the amount that was awarded to the company is somewhat humorous, Cyrus explains, "This sets a legal and procedural framework that will be utilized for generations and decades to come for companies like ours and many others to go out and collect resources from the lunar surface from other planetary bodies and make them basically useful for humanity."

Sometimes science can be humorous, and a team of researchers from Australia, Canada, and the United States who were observing octopuses may have stumbled across one of those times.

In a new paper that has appeared on the bioRxiv preprint server, which means the paper is yet to be peer-reviewed, a team of researchers observed female octopuses engaged in object-throwing more times than previously anticipated. The researchers traveled to Jervis Bay, Sydney, Australia, and saw that female octopuses throw shells, silt, and other objects at males attempting to mate with them.

Not only do the female octopuses throw the material at the males, but they also hide the material under their body after they have gathered it, concealing it until the time is right to throw it. The researchers observed one female octopus throwing sea material at a male ten times. Additionally, researchers saw males attempt to duck the material and were recorded to be successful half of the time. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk has said that his company will be attempting to catch the largest flying object ever with robot chopsticks.

Musk has taken to his Twitter account to announce the news, and if you think that there is no chance that Musk or SpaceX can pull this off, it's not the first time the concept has been discussed. The idea was originally proposed by a startup company called Small Stars, who released a video to its YouTube channel that poses the question - Can SpaceX Really Catch Starships? The video can be found below if you wish to understand the concept in its entirety.

Back in April, Musk tweeted that "Starship booster, largest flying object ever designed, will be caught out of sky by launch tower. Big step forward, as reflight can be done in under an hour." Now, Musk has said that "SpaceX will try to catch largest ever flying object with robot chopsticks. Success is not guaranteed, but excitement is!" Musk followed up with a time frame by saying that the first catch will be attempted with Booster 5, Starships booster.

Ripple is no stranger to legal action by the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), as the regulatory agency has alleged the cryptocurrency is unregistered security.

According to James Filan, an attorney who is closely following the case between the SEC and Ripple said that Ripple is pushing for a motion that would reveal if SEC employees have been trading or are holding any of its token XRP. The motion was filed last Friday with names such as Ripple Labs, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Ripple executive chairman Chris Larsen attached to the document.

The motion's action asks the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to require the SEC to produce data to the court on its trading policies as well as anonymized documents that show "trading preclearance decisions" for XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. Additionally, the document states, "Defendants also seek certifications concerning SEC employees' XRP holdings - again, either with redactions of personal information or in aggregate form."

If you are interested in space, you are most likely interested in the International Space Station (ISS). So, how about you go on a tour?

European Space Agency (ESA) ISS astronaut Thomas Pesquet has decided to be your guide as the ESA has posted a video to its YouTube channel that details a new series that will take viewers on a tour through the floating laboratory with 360-degree cameras. The new series is appropriately named Space Station 360 and will allow the viewer to control the camera to look around in their desired location.

As for the video above, Pesquet details the Node 2 module, giving explanations for all of the features contained within it. Node 2 is described as a "connecting module" or "communication module", and is the "crossroads" of the ISS. The module is where cargo vehicles dock, tools are stored, sleeping stations, and more. If you are interested in more of this unique ISS tour, check out this link here.

The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is moving closer and closer to its launch. Introducing the James Webb Space Telescope, the world's most powerful space telescope.

Anyone who is interested in space and all of the subcategories that can be derived from the topic is excited about the launch of the James Webb Telescope, as the power the telescope brings to the table will allow for researchers to observe the universe like they never have before. NASA is currently preparing for the launch of the telescope.

Gregory Robinson, Webb's program director at NASA headquarters in Washington, said, "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has reached a major turning point on its path toward launch with the completion of final observatory integration and testing. We have a tremendously dedicated workforce who brought us to the finish line, and we are very excited to see that Webb is ready for launch and will soon be on that science journey."

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has fired off a shot at Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos after Amazon sent a letter to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Amazon sent a letter to the FCC asking the regulatory agency not to allow SpaceX to launch a new set of its Starlink satellites, and in response to the letter SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken to his Twitter account to poke some fun at former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Musk said that it "Turns out Besos retired in order to pursue a full-time job filing lawsuits against SpaceX ..."

This isn't the first time a company run by Bezos has pushed for regulation of SpaceXs' plans as Blue Origin earlier this month has moved to sue NASA over its decision to award SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to construct the next lunar lander. The decision to sue NASA and the previous arguments put forward by Blue Origin has resulted in numerous delays with the construction of the new lunar lander, which has now raised concern about the likelihood of NASA being able to put humans back on the moon in 2024.

We've been hearing more and more about AMD's highly-tweaked Radeon RX 6900 XTX graphics card -- with the Radeon RX 6900 XTX teased in a water-cooled variant... and here it is again.

The purported AMD Radeon RX 6900 XTX graphics card would have a higher-binned Navi 21 XTXH GPU, higher-clocked 18-18.5Gbps GDDR6 memory, and it would be faster than NVIDIA's flagship Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3090.

The new rumor is coming from CyberPunkCat on Twitter, with 3DCenter.org quick to reply by saying that the Radeon RX 6900 XTX and its 24.93 TFLOPs of compute performance points perfectly to the boost clock of the Radeon RX 6900 XT Liquid Cooling GPU. 3DCenter.org added: "The 24.93 TFLops points (perfectly) to the boost clock of 6900XT "Liquid Cooling". This card is sometimes reported as "18 Gbps" instead of the real 18.5 Gbps. So, maybe just an old slide - back in the days, when AMD was unsure for how to release this LC card?"

It's not like it wasn't expected, where nearly 6 months ago I was writing news about up to 25% increases in chip prices by TSMC -- and now we have The Wall Street Journal all but confirming it.

According to sources of The Wall Street Journal (with the article dated June 21... yet it seems everyone is reporting on it like it's new), TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) will be increasing chip production costs by up to 10-20%. For the more advanced chips that the likes of Apple, AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and others have TSMC make for them -- costs could increase up to 10%.

Meanwhile, less advanced chips fabbed by TSMC will increase by up to 20% according to The Wall Street Journal's sources. TSMC is the only player in the game able to do what it does right now, so they can do, and charge whatever the hell they want and get away with it. It's not like AMD, Apple, Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm can go get their chips fabbed at this level, in this quantity, anywhere else on the planet -- and that's why China has its targets set on Taiwan.

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 3 smartphone is one of the most interesting, and looks to be the most awesome foldable smartphone yet -- costs $999, but is already discounted to just $699-$749.

The new Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G 128GB is discounted down to $699 at Newegg and locked to T-Mobile, a discount of $300 from its $999 MSRP. If you want an unlocked Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable smartphone to use on any carrier, then that has $250 off which drops the price of the unlocked foldable to $749.

Samsung itself is giving consumers a $50 introductory discount on the new Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable, and even more discount if you have a Galaxy smartphone to trade-in. Samsung is offering up to $600 credit for some of the highest online instant trade-in values.

New Yorkers were stuck underground for 5 hours yesterday, with a power surge shutting down half of the New York City subway system, with power restored early Monday.

The power outage started after energy utility company Con Edison, which powers the NYC subway system, reported a downed power line. This caused a voltage dip throughout New York City, with the chain of events causing the NYC subway system to shut down for 5 hours, becoming one of the largest emergency power system breakdowns in many years.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) described the event as "an unprecedented system breakdown" for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Hochul said: "Last night was unacceptable. If you're one of those riders or people relying on safe transport, the system failed you. The MTA is the lifeblood of the city, and a disruption of this magnitude can be catastrophic".