Your most-used work apps could be getting a whole new look soon thanks to a design refresh coming to Google Workspace.
The office software platform, which includes everyday services such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Google Drive, is receiving a makeover as the company looks to keep pace with competitors such as Microsoft 365.
Inspired by Google’s Material Design 3, the company says the refresh provides some of its most popular tools with a modern look that will deliver “a simpler, more streamlined UI” that helps users, “work more efficiently in the tools you know and love.”
Google Workspace makeover
The new look Google Workspace will be rolling out over the next few weeks, with users certain to spot changes immediately.
This includes the launch of “smart chips”, which display search results as a user types into the search box, across third party applications, making it even easier to connect people, files and events to Google Workspace files.
Among the list of initial partner services are the likes of AODocs, Atassian, Asana, Figma, Miro and Tableau, whose users can expect integration with smart canvas imminently.
Google is also working towards making Workspace an intuitive and interconnected suite of applications, rather than distinct pieces of software.
One such feature launching imminently is custom building blocks in Google Docs, which will enable users to build their own reusable components that can be easily accessed with the @ menu.
Elsewhere, new smart chip data extraction will let users quickly populate Google Sheets spreadsheets with important information from chips they use across Workspace.
Also coming very soon is Variables in Google Docs, which allows users to define common data elements such as a client name or contract number in their documents, and then update it across the document by changing the value in one place.
It was only a matter of time before hackers started leveraging the immense popularity of ChatGPT to push malware (opens in new tab) and steal sensitive personal data – and several security companies have now spotted this happening.
For the uninitiated, OpenAI’s ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot whose popularity has skyrocketed in recent months.
The novelty of its output, plus Microsoft’s eagerness to invest in the technology, made it the most sought-after technology online, hitting more than 100 million users in just two months (November 2022 to January 2023), according to BleepingComputer (opens in new tab).
Infostealers galore
The demand, inevitably, led to the service’s monetization. Those who want uninterrupted access to the platform can get it for $20 a month.
Per BleepingComputer, cybersecurity pros have found different hacker campaigns promising free access. These are, obviously, cases of “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” and you should be wary of them.
In one such example, threat actors were pushing Redline, a known infostealer capable of grabbing passwords and credit card data stored in web browsers, taking screenshots, exfiltrating files, and more.
To deliver the malware, they created a fake website promoting uninterrupted access to ChatGPT, and even created a Facebook page to promote the website. Other hackers tried to distribute the Aurora stealer.
There are also fake ChatGPT apps being distributed via Google Play and other third-party Android app stores. It goes without saying that users wouldn’t be getting access to the chatbot, only unknown forms of malware. So far, there are dozens of such apps: researchers from Cyble found more than 50.
For the avoidance of doubt, the only way to access ChatGPT is via the official website – https://chat.openai.com/ – and OpenAI’s APIs. All other “alternatives” aren’t credible, and could impact your smartphone’s security and your privacy.
Alan Wake 2 is a third-person survival-horror game and comes as a long-awaited sequel to Remedy Entertainment’s 2010 cult classic: Alan Wake.
Alan Wake 2 will be released for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, as well as for PC via the Epic Game store. Though Remedy has been tight-lipped when it comes to solid details about the game, what we know so far suggests a return to the thrilling horror fundamentals that made Alan Wake so iconic when it first came out.
The Alan Wake games follow the life and times of an author by the same name, who becomes embroiled in the dark machinations of a supernatural force. The original Alan Wake channels Twin Peaks vibes in a big way, offering rustic horror steeped in Americana. The disquieting thrills of Alan Wake have a compelling psychological element, too, drawing players into the dark and foreboding horror of its world. For the sequel, it looks like Remedy is doubling down on the horror at the heart of the series. Want to know more? Read on for everything we know about Alan Wake 2 so far.
Spoilers for Alan Wake ahead.
Alan Wake 2: cut to the chase
What is it? The sequel to psychological thriller Alan Wake
When can I play it? TBC 2023
What can I play it on? PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Epic Game Store)
Alan Wake 2 release date and platforms
(Image credit: Epic Games)
Remedy Entertainment has confirmed that Alan Wake 2 will release in 2023, though an exact date hasn’t been confirmed.
The developer has also confirmed that Alan Wake 2 will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC (via Epic Game Store).
Alan Wake 2 trailers
Latest trailer
Alan Wake 2 was officially announced at The Game Awards 2021 with an announcement trailer lasting just under one minute. The CGI is as dark and ominous as you’d expect, showing a crime scene with a bloody body on an altar before cutting to Alan standing on a road in ever-changing locations amid torrential rain. “This story is about a monster,” Alan says. “And monsters wear many faces.”
This certainly seems to be a shift into a more survival horror genre and we can’t wait to see how it develops. Check out the trailer below:
More trailers
Though there’s only been one Alan Wake 2 trailer so far, Remedy Entertainment has its own YouTube channel (opens in new tab) which is worth keeping an eye on if you want to know what’s going on with their latest title.
The channel also boasts an anniversary update which, though not a trailer per se, is full of exciting tidbits about the design decisions behind the game.
Alan Wake 2 story and setting
(Image credit: Remedy Entertainment)
Though little has been confirmed about the specifics of Alan Wake 2‘s story, the finale of the first game, as well as the subsequent DLC have written some pretty big cheques, story-wise.
At the end of the first game, Alan found himself trapped in the “Dark Place”, the Lovecraftian parallel dimension from which the darkness that hunted him seemed to originate. In DLC episodes entitled “The Signal” and “The Writer”, Alan was able to free himself by confronting a twisted, mirror version of himself.
It seems likely that Remedy will seek to develop these themes in Alan Wake 2 – it’s certainly what we want to see in the sequel.
Alan Wake 2 gameplay
(Image credit: Remedy)
Though Remedy has offered little concrete information as to what we might expect from gameplay in Alan Wake 2, there are a few nuggets of information floating about that can help us piece together what exactly to expect.
In a special 12th Anniversary blog post (opens in new tab) Remedy announced that Alan Wake 2 would be the developer’s “first survival horror game”. The implication, here, is that we will see more survival elements in the sequel than we saw in the original Alan Wake, which focused more on psychological horror.
That said, it seems likely that the ponderous and immersive third-person action of the original will be alive and well in the sequel in some form.
Alan Wake 2 news
Alan Wake 2 now has build that can be played from start to finish In February 2023, Remedy’s CEO Tero Virtala announced that “Alan Wake 2 is in full production… and it is playable from start to finish” (via Video Games Chronicle (opens in new tab)). Virtala went on to say that the studio “will then move on to polishing the experience”, affirming that “Alan Wake is a unique brand that holds high value for the company today.”
It’ll remain third-person with original voice actors returning Sam Lake has confirmed on Twitter (opens in new tab) that Alan Wake 2 will be third-person, like the first game, and that voice actors from the original game (Ilkka Villi and Matthew Porretta) will return for the sequel.
A new malware has been discovered hijacking people’s social media accounts, stealing their saved login credentials, and using their devices to mine cryptocurrencies, experts have warned.
Researchers from Bitdefender’s Advanced Threat Control Team (ATC) found a new strain they named S1deload Stealer that tries to avoid being detected by antivirus programs through heavy use of DLL sideloading.
In the second half of last year, the hackers behind the campaign managed to infect hundreds of endpoints (opens in new tab) with this new infostealer:
Hundreds of infected devices
“Between July and December 2022, Bitdefender products detected more than 600 unique users infected with this malware,” Bitdefender researcher Dávid Ács noted.
To infect the devices, the victims need to download and run the malware themselves. The attackers created multiple archives (.zip files) allegedly holding adult content. Those that download and run that content won’t get what they came for, but will instead get the infostealer, capable of doing a couple of things:
First, it can download and run a headless Chrome browser that runs in the background and opens different YouTube videos and Facebook posts to rake up views. It can download and run an infostealer that decrypts and exfiltrates login credentials saved in browsers, as well as session cookies.
If it stumbles upon a Facebook account, it will try and analyze it, to see if it administrates any Facebook pages or groups, if it pays for ads on the platform, or if it’s linked to a business manager account. Obviously, all these things would make that account more valuable.
Finally, it can download, install, and run, a cryptocurrency miner, mining the BEAM cryptocurrency for the attackers. BEAM describes itself as a “confidential cryptocurrency and DeFi platform.”
“The stealer component we observed in the wild steals the saved credentials from the victim’s browser, exfiltrating them to the malware author’s server,” Ács said. “The malware author uses the newly obtained credentials to spam on social media and infect more machines, creating a feedback loop.”
Eighty-three American law firms, employing more than 50,000 attorneys, have filed an official protest backing some of their peers working on an SEC lawsuit.
In the brief, the complainants urged the court to reign in the SEC, claiming its current demands put their associates at law firm Covington & Burling in a lose-lose situation and set a dangerous precedent for the future.
The case concerns a mjaor cybercrime incidient which occured in late 2022 where Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as Hafnium exploited multiple zero-day vulnerabilities found in Microsoft Exchange servers to compromise countless emails and steal data from US-based defense contractors, law firms, and scientists. Among the victims was Covington & Burling, which resulted in the threat actors accessing sensitive data (opens in new tab) on its clients, including firms regulated by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Deeply troubled
When the SEC found out, it issued a subpoena, demanding the law firm share the names of SEC-regulated firms whose data was “viewed, copied, modified or exfiltrated during the attack”. It also asked for all communications between those firms and their lawyers. When the law firm said no, as the move would breach client-attorney confidentiality, the SEC sued the firm.
Now, 83 law firms have said they are “deeply troubled” by the lawsuit.
Not only is the SEC demanding the law firm to breach confidentiality (which could result in disbarment) but it’s also doing so, the filing reads, out of pure curiosity.
“Not only would the SEC breach well-established principles of confidentiality in the service of this fishing expedition, it would turn attorneys into witnesses against their own clients, while offering no guarantees that it will not disseminate the information to other parts of the government, the press, and the public,” the filing said.
The group asked the court to deny the SEC’s application.
“This violation of confidentiality is especially troubling given that it re-victimizes the targets of a foreign nation’s cyberattack — an increasingly common feature of modern life that even the most diligent businesses and governments cannot prevent,” the filing reads.
What’s more, should the law firm be forced to comply, that would “fundamentally change the calculus when law firms consider how to respond to a cyberattack. They can either “fulfill their ethical obligations to their clients” and suffer legal sanctions, or comply and risk disbarment.
“Either outcome imposes a significant and unfair burden on attorneys,” they concluded.
Top payment processor Stripeis bringing Tap to Pay, a near-field communication (NFC) powered payment initiative, to Android devices, albeit in a roundabout way.
Apple Tap to Pay, first revealed in February 2022, turns an iOS device into a point-of-sale (POS) device alongside partner-enabled iOS apps, without the need for an intermediary app, such as Google Pay.
But now (via TechCrunch (opens in new tab)), Stripe is set to become the first payment platform to offer the same experience on Android, by allowing businesses who already use Stripe Terminal, the company’s physical card reader, to carry out Tap to Pay transactions on NFC-equipped Android devices.
For it’s part, Stripe, alongside the usual payment providers such as Google Pay, American Express, Mastercard and Visa, will support smaller third-party merchants aimed at specific industries, like Oddle (aimed at restaurants and catering), Squire (barbershops), Fareharbor (tours, fares, and activities), and GiveTap (donations).
“Stripe’s launch of Tap to Pay on Android puts contactless payments hardware into the pockets of millions of businesses around the world. Now any business can set up in-person checkout in minutes,” said John Affaki, Terminal business lead at Stripe, in a statement.
Stripe’s Tap to Pay support is currently live in six territories – the US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore – with no clue yet as to when more might arrive.
Domain registrar and web hosting (opens in new tab) company GoDaddy has launched a new system that allows business owners to register a new domain and start accepting payments from customers instantly.
Payable Domains are branded pay links that create a checkout page, shareable via a link, that lets US-based domain name customers begin accepting payments shortly after they purchase a newly registered domain.
Available now, Payable Domains functions without the need for a website or ecommerce store, and can be customized with company logos, product images, cost of products or services, or other branded content.
Pay through domains
Similar to Monzo’s share payment link service, GoDaddy’s new offering includes features such as the ability to share Payable Domains with customers through text, social media or a QR code, with the transaction fees of 2.3% + $0.30 per online transaction.
Business owners that use the domain registrar (opens in new tab) to purchase any domain can access the payable domain service via GoDaddy’s back-end dashboard.
“While there’s been innovation around add-on products for domain names, such as Domain Privacy and Ownership Protection services, not much has been done to enhance the capability of domain names themselves,” said GoDaddy President of Domains Paul Nicks.
“Domains have largely been used as a digital identity for businesses, but with this new commerce capability we view the domain name taking on a far more versatile role for up-and-coming small businesses. The Payable Domain ultimately serves as an innovative and cost-effective tool for entrepreneurs to accept online payments before even setting up a website.”
GoDaddy customers that register the domain of their name or business will then receive the corresponding Payable Domain to accept payments. Domain owners will, then, be able to link a bank account to their GoDaddy Payment account once the first payment is received.
An example of the Payable Domains tool creating a link with the option to share on social media, via text or a QR code (Image credit: GoDaddy)
Currently, GoDaddy Payments is integrated in a host of GoDaddy commerce products, including its website builder, managed WordPress and managed WooCommerce store plans.
“We’re intensely focused on building connected commerce solutions that make growing a business easier, whether you’ve just named your business or are in the process of expanding its sales across the country,” said GoDaddy President of Commerce Osama Bedier. “With Payable Domains, it’s never been easier to start selling online.”
GoDaddy says that users will need to complete the verification process before they can receive payouts for transactions.
Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon, the next installment in FromSoftware’s long-running mech-based action series, is due to release in 2023.
FromSoftware’s Armored Core 6 is a mech-based vehicular combat game that’ll see players return to the destroyed planet of Rubicon 3 to fight as a mercenary for money and resources. It’s been 10 years since the last installment in this 15-game series, so we can’t wait to see how this latest entry will utilize the power of PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Want to know more about these giant mechs? Read on for everything we know about Armored Core 6 so far.
Armored Core 6: cut to the chase
What is it? The next entry in FromSoftware’s mech-based fighting series
When can I play it? TBC 2023
What can I play it on? PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Armored Core 6 release date and platforms
(Image credit: FromSoftware Inc.)
Armored Core 6 will release sometime in 2023 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
This short trailer depicts the themes of war and the new graphic style of Armored Core 6 while letting us gaze upon the ashen and desolate titular planet of Rubicon 3. We also see various mechs battle it out in what looked like a free-for-all fight to the death with blazing machine guns and EMPs.
More trailer
No other trailers for Armored Core 6 have been released yet but, when they are, you’ll find them all on publisher Bandai Namco’s official YouTube channel (opens in new tab).
Armored Core 6 story and setting
(Image credit: FromSoftware )
The Armored Core series is set in an apocalyptic future where corporations hire mercenaries to pilot giant mechanized robots that fight tooth and nail for bounties and resources.
Armored Core 6 carries on this mech-filled apocalypse. According to Bandai Namco’s website (opens in new tab), the narrative focus on this upcoming title will surround a new mysterious substance found on the planet Rubicon 3. Initially seen as a brilliant energy source, this substance became unstable and engulfed the planets and surrounding stars in flames.
Almost half a century later, this same substance has resurfaced on the contaminated planet and piqued numerous big corporations’ interest. You will be sent to Rubicon 3 as a mercenary to capture this source of power and fight off anyone who gets in your way.
Armored Core 6 gameplay
(Image credit: FromSoftware Inc.)
Armored Core 6 is a “3D combat mecha action game” that will see players “freely run around the three-dimensional stage with slow and steady three-dimensional maneuvers”, according to FromSoftware’s official website (opens in new tab).
Mechs have always been a big part of the Armored Core series. Like the original games, players will have enormous control over mech customization. You can create original mechs by swapping out pieces that can be purchased with money earned from mercenary missions.
There will also be a multiplayer mode “where you’ll be able to customize your mech and take that fully customized mech into battle with others”, the director of Armored Core 6, Masaru Yamamura, said in an interview with IGN (opens in new tab).
Armored Core 6 news
(Image credit: FromSoftware )
The Soulsborne games were “the only obstacle” preventing Armored Core 6 It’s been 10 years since the release of the last Armored Core game and, in an interview with BNE Fun Live (opens in new tab), producer Yasutaka Ogura explained why (opens in new tab) FromSoftware hasn’t released a new series entry sooner.
“There was never any intention to leave this large a gap [between Armored Core games],” Ogura said. “The only real obstacle […] was that our company always had so many different titles on the go.” So thanks to all those pesky critically acclaimed Soulsborne games, we’ve had to wait a decade for Armored Core 6.
It seems that the apparent health benefits of standing desks are the primary reasons for those looking to make the switch, our survey finds.
We worked with OnePulse to ask a thousand people if they own a standing desk, and over a fifth said they didn’t but were looking to buy one this year. When we probed further and asked them why, most cited the improvements to their psychical wellbeing as their main concern.
We also asked them what features were most important in making their purchasing decision – a question we also put to the 15% who already owned a standing desk.
Straight up
When asked why those without a standing desk were looking to purchase one, the most popular answers chosen were to improve posture (64%) and health (51%). 30% also cited the need for a new desk in general.
Several respondents also specifically commented on the desire to relieve back pain, and a few others said that it would help them to focus and wanted to move around more throughout the day, which is possible with a convertible standing desk – one that can be easily adjusted to sitting and standing heights.
When it came to the features they most desired in a standing desk, price (28%) and durability (23%) were the most important. The size, extra features such as a cup holder, and conversion speed were all fairly equally desired, with around 12%-15% of respondents choosing these options. The noise of the desk was of the least concern, with only 6% citing it as an important factor.
For those who already own a standing desk, price and durability were again the most important, although the order of importance was reversed (26% for price and 32% for durability this time). Size was more of a concern for this group too, with 20% considering it important.
Due to the financial hardships faced by many in today’s economic climate, it’s perhaps not much of a surprise that price is more of a concern for those looking to purchase a standing desk now than those who bought one in the past.
Standing desks are by no means cheap, but their increased popularity makes for more competition among manufacturers, which in turn means that there are more high-quality affordable options out there than ever before, and more variety in terms of design and available features.
For a rundown of all the different kinds of desks out there, see our guide to the best office desks
Google’s quantum department reckons it’s found a way to significantly reduce the number of errors made by quantum computers as it prepares for the future of computation.
Quantum computing is valued for its ability to make calculations that traditional computers wouldn’t typically be able to make, resulting in incredibly powerful machines. The trade-off, though, is a high rate of errors that renders many calculations unreliable.
Google says that the error rate of the quantum bits in its third-generation Sycamore processor typically sits between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 100.
Google’s quantum computing breakthrough
According to VP of Engineering Hartmut Neven and Director of Quantum Hardware Julian Kelly, the industry will need rates in the range of 1 in 10,000,000,000 to 1 in 10,000,000 to run quantum circuits that can solve industrially relevant problems.
The blog (opens in new tab) post explains: “Under the right conditions, the more physical qubits used to build a logical qubit, the better that logical qubit becomes.” This is only true if the benefits of quantum error correction outweigh the added errors from each additional physical qubit.
The Google Quantum AI Team managed a first-ever for any quantum computing platform and produced an error-correcting code called a surface code.
The process involves repetition so that any errors that occur, such as flipped bits, can be ruled out by what the researchers describe as a majority vote.
This is just part of the company’s projected pathway that involves six steps, finally culminating in error-corrected quantum computing. The company has recently entered the second stage of its roadmap to produce a logical qubit prototype and hopes to make a long-lived logical qubit beyond 2025.
Despite what the company sees as a huge breakthrough, we’re likely several years (or even decades) away from error-free quantum computing, and it’s clear that there’s a long journey ahead.
