Elon Musk says he's uncovered the biggest level of fraud in history

Jak Connor | Business, Financial & Legal | Feb 12, 2025 6:52 AM CST

Elon Musk has taken to his personal X account to warn he has discovered the the level of fraudulent federal entitlements exceeds the combined sum of every private scam anyone has ever heard of.

Elon Musk says he's uncovered the biggest level of fraud in history

The post from Elon Musk has undoubtedly kicked off several alarm bells within the US government as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO continues to audit the US government books with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to Musk, he is "100% certain" that the magnitude of the fraudulent federal entitlements, which include services such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, and others, completely outweighs the combined sum "of every private scam you've ever heard by FAR."

The alarming post from Musk comes after the billionaire took to his X account on February 8 to share that he was informed there is currently more than $100 billion per year of entitlements distributed out to people with no Social Security Number or "even a temporary ID number." For those who don't know, individuals must have a Social Security Number in order to work, collect Social Security Benefits, and officially receive government assistance, according to the Social Security Administration website, per Newsweek.

Continue reading: Elon Musk says he's uncovered the biggest level of fraud in history (full post)

Microsoft warns some Windows 11 users they should downgrade to Windows 10 'immediately'

Darren Allan | Software & Apps | Feb 12, 2025 5:00 AM CST

We are, of course, very much used to Microsoft pushing folks to upgrade to Windows 11, but for certain users, some fresh advice from the company is the exact opposite - albeit there's a good reason for this.

Microsoft warns some Windows 11 users they should downgrade to Windows 10 'immediately'

The advice to downgrade to Windows 10 is being given (via a support document) to people who are running Windows 11 on an unsupported PC (that doesn't meet the hardware requirements of the OS).

The document in question is entitled 'Ways to install Windows 11' and is all about just that, but it previously contained some advice on implementing an installation on a PC that didn't meet the necessary system specs.

Continue reading: Microsoft warns some Windows 11 users they should downgrade to Windows 10 'immediately' (full post)

NASA officially increases probability of most-dangerous asteroid hitting Earth

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Feb 12, 2025 2:33 AM CST

NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) officials have issued an update on an asteroid that is officially considered the most significant threat to Earth.

NASA officially increases probability of most-dangerous asteroid hitting Earth

A NASA-operated telescope located in Chile detected a suspicious object on Christmas Day, and after human researchers conducted manual follow-up observations, the object was found to be an asteroid now referred to as 2024 YR4. Astronomers discovered the asteroid's orbit around the Sun is elongated, and it's currently traveling directly away from Earth, almost in a straight line.

Because of its position relative to Earth and its straight-line trajectory, researchers struggled to measure its characteristics and project its orbit into the future. Preliminary measurements stated that 2024 YR4 is anywhere between 130 and 300 feet in diameter and is traveling at a speed of 38,700 mph.

Continue reading: NASA officially increases probability of most-dangerous asteroid hitting Earth (full post)

Scientists create revolutionary light-based AI chip smaller than a speck of dust

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | Feb 12, 2025 2:03 AM CST

Engineers are attempting to discover new ways to leverage AI to make breakthroughs in various scientific fields, and one may have just happened that harnesses the power and speed of light.

Scientists create revolutionary light-based AI chip smaller than a speck of dust

Researchers have penned a new study published in Nature Photonics that builds upon an earlier concept initially unveiled in 2018, where researchers showcased the power of diffractive neural networks. For those who don't know, traditional computing is comprised of electronic circuit boards, and while extremely powerful in their own right, they do have limitations or concessions users must make. Electronic circuit boards have inherent latency as it takes time for the data to be moved. Additionally, this process can be extremely energy-demanding.

However, researchers have designed a new AI chip that manipulates light as it's capable of performing the calculation instantly versus a traditional computer that has to interpret light. As light travels through the new AI chip, it's directed, significantly speeding up the transmission process of data and also reducing the power needed for a calculation to be completed. While being a ground-breaking design that has many implications for numerous fields of computing, the new light-manipulating AI chip does face significant problems, and that is scaling it at the product.

Continue reading: Scientists create revolutionary light-based AI chip smaller than a speck of dust (full post)

Google and Apple officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, but there's a catch

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Feb 12, 2025 1:32 AM CST

Google and Apple have officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, following an executive order signed by President Trump.

Google and Apple officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, but there's a catch

Following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, tech companies in control of maps have begun changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, with Google announcing at the end of last month that it would adhere to the executive order and will apply the name change when official government sources have been updated.

Government resources have now been updated, and Google has rolled out the respective changes, with the company confirming in an update that anyone connecting to Google Maps from the US will see "Gulf of America," while the rest of the world will still see "Gulf of Mexico," but with "Gulf of America" in brackets.

Continue reading: Google and Apple officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, but there's a catch (full post)

Widespread VPN attack: 2.8 million IPs involved in brute-force campaign

Ille Smolanko | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 12, 2025 1:01 AM CST

An unidentified threat actor is conducting brute-force attacks targeting over 2.8 million VPN and network devices worldwide. Threat monitoring platform The Shadowserver Foundation posted the reports to X, highlighting a wave of intrusion attempts against networks using devices from Palo Alto, Ivanti, and SonicWall.

Widespread VPN attack: 2.8 million IPs involved in brute-force campaign

There's a specific concentration of attacks in Brazil, Turkey, Russia, and Argentina, with 1.1 million of the 2.8 million affected devices located in Brazil. The foundation also reports that the brute-force attacks are primarily targeting vulnerable edge (network) devices - particularly compromised routers from manufacturers such as MikroTik, Huawei, Cisco, Boa, and ZTE. Threat actors are leveraging a botnet or residential proxy network to disguise malicious traffic, making detection and mitigation more difficult.

The companies above often provide enterprise-level VPNs used for remote work and secure corporate access, making them targets for network infiltration. As reported by Techradar, the attack fits the profile of a conventional brute-force attack, during which threat actors submit large numbers of username and password combinations until breaking through. In that regard, devices with week or reused credentials are particularly vulnerable.

Continue reading: Widespread VPN attack: 2.8 million IPs involved in brute-force campaign (full post)

Nintendo Switch 2 price leak backs up Nintendo's recent official statements

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 12, 2025 12:31 AM CST

A Costco worker may have just leaked the price of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, and the leaked price has seemingly backed up recent statements from Nintendo.

Nintendo Switch 2 price leak backs up Nintendo's recent official statements

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa recently stated during a Q&A with investors that Nintendo will be taking into account the exchange rate environment shifting since the launch of the Nintendo Switch and how buyers expect Nintendo products to come with a degree of affordability. These statements from the Nintendo president quelled fears the Nintendo Switch 2 was going to be priced similarly to other competing consoles, and while that was never going to be a reality, it was good to hear it from Nintendo itself.

The official statements of the Nintendo Switch 2 being affordable have now been purportedly backed up by leaked pricing, as reported by NintendoWire. A Canadian Costco employee shared an internal product listing along with a sales floor sign that states the Nintendo Switch 2 will cost $499.99 CAD, which is about $350 USD. However, the Nintendo Switch OLED is currently priced at $450 CAD / $350 USD, which means the Nintendo Switch 2 will likely be priced at $399 USD.

Continue reading: Nintendo Switch 2 price leak backs up Nintendo's recent official statements (full post)

GeForce RTX 5090 power connector spotted at 150+ Celsius, prone to melting

Jak Connor | Video Cards & GPUs | Feb 12, 2025 12:02 AM CST

A Reddit user took to the r/NVIDIA subreddit to share an image of a melted 12VHPWR power cable that was plugged into a GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition.

GeForce RTX 5090 power connector spotted at 150+ Celsius, prone to melting

The Reddit user "ivan6953" posted photos of the melted 12VHPWR cable and explained that he recently upgraded from an RTX 4090 Founders Edition to an RTX 5090 Founders Edition. The Reddit user added that he is a PC enthusiast who's aware of the potential problems of not correctly seating the power cable.

As a result, he says he made sure the connector was secured tightly into the graphics card and the power supply. However, this didn't prevent the problems as the GPU's power socket had a single pin showing damage and evidence of melting, along with the corresponding pin on the PSU side showing evidence of melting.

Continue reading: GeForce RTX 5090 power connector spotted at 150+ Celsius, prone to melting (full post)

Feeling guilty about using WinRAR for free for decades? Buy the official WinRAR bag

Kosta Andreadis | Software & Apps | Feb 11, 2025 11:04 PM CST

There are only a few truly infinite things: the size of the universe, Elon Musk's inability to handle criticism, the number of times Bethesda has released or remastered The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and the length of WinRAR's "40-Day Trial." The popular and decades-old compression software is renowned for being that app you never have to pay for, even though it says that you do.

Feeling guilty about using WinRAR for free for decades? Buy the official WinRAR bag

This is part of WinRAR's business model, which allows users to continue using it indefinitely - even after the 40-day trial period ends. Although some users and businesses pay for WinRAR, not paying for it has become a meme that the company has fully embraced.

Case in point, one of the company's recent social media posts highlights an officially licensed WinRAR bag that you can purchase. It is fashioned in the style of the iconic books, wrapped in a leather belt with the WinRAR logo and app icon.

Continue reading: Feeling guilty about using WinRAR for free for decades? Buy the official WinRAR bag (full post)

Intel's Security Report for 2024 says its products are more secure than AMD's or NVIDIA's

Kosta Andreadis | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 11, 2025 10:02 PM CST

Intel has released its 2024 Intel Product Security Report, which includes several findings and statistics designed to showcase the company's "competitive edge in security assurance." Especially when compared to its main competition in the CPU space, AMD, and especially when it comes to Intel's proactive approach to discovering vulnerabilities.

Intel's Security Report for 2024 says its products are more secure than AMD's or NVIDIA's

According to a detailed slide in the report, "Intel's proactive product security assurance efforts resulted in the discovery and mitigation of 94% of platform firmware vulnerabilities" compared to just 57% on AMD's side. This is for vulnerabilities discovered within CPU firmware, which is a significant concern. One of the highest-profile security stories of 2024 was the 'Sinkclose' vulnerability affecting millions of Ryzen CPUs.

Intel also outlines how its GPU security stacks up against NVIDIA and AMD, where Team Blue had the "fewest number of GPU vulnerabilities in 2024 at 10, while AMD had 13 and NVIDIA posted 18." And of those 18 for NVIDIA, they are all 'high severity.'

Continue reading: Intel's Security Report for 2024 says its products are more secure than AMD's or NVIDIA's (full post)

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