Sci-Tech news

• User refused to change her password because everyone already knew it

  16-10-2026 09:28 via theregister.com
  
  Change is constant, but The Register likes to keep some things the same – such as using Friday mornings to bring you a new installment of On Call, the reader-contributed column that shares your tech support stories. This week, meet a reader we'll Regomize as "Daniel" who told us that in 2020 he was hired to replace a two-person IT department at a UK school. "The IT manager had left amid some 'accounting irregularities,' mainly involving high-end gaming PCs being purchased using school fund
  
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• Ubuntu Stonking Stingray swims into spotlight with pre-release kernel

  16-10-2026 18:27 via theregister.com
  
  The latest interim release of Ubuntu is here, complete with kernel 7.3 – even though it isn't officially out yet. It also includes a new speech-to-text system that is intriguing but not fully useful. Ubuntu 26.10 "Stonking Stingray" arrived on time. This is just a couple of weeks after the beta version that we looked at earlier this month, suggesting that the team didn’t encounter any show-stopper bugs. The faster kernel release cycle that Canonical adopted in 2024 has slightly bitte
  
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• New online tool will check lawyers' sloppy AI-written briefs since they can't seem to be bothered

  16-10-2026 18:08 via theregister.com
  
  For lawyers who love to use AI to write legal briefs, there's just one problem: bots hallucinate and make things up. Fortunately, a new tool, CiteProof, promises to crawl over briefs and filings for fabricated case citations and misquoted court opinions before they result in sanctions, fines, or just plain embarrassing dressing downs from a judge. This is hardly a new problem, with lawyers relying on AI to do their work for several years with predictably horrible results. Even if GPT-4 was capab
  
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• BlackRock’s Record Asset Holdings Are Half The Size Of US Economy

  16-10-2026 17:34 via technocracy.news
  
  BlackRock is headed by Larry Fink, a prominent member of the TRILATERAL COMMISSION and co-CEO of the World Economic Forum. He has autocratic control over $15.49 trillion in assets, almost half of the US economy. Fink says “we are at the beginning of the tokenization of all assets” and on a single blockchain. As an Arch-Technocrat, he makes Elon Musk look like a financial midget. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.BlackRock ended the third quarter with $15.49 trillion in assets under m
  
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• Networking problems after the October 2026 Windows update? NTLM might be to blame

  16-10-2026 17:30 via theregister.com
  
  The October 2026 Windows security update may break networking for some customers who are still clinging to long-deprecated NTLMv1 security. A seemingly minor change in the update could have major implications for administrators and enterprises that haven't fully moved away from the legacy technology. Before the October 2026 update, Windows permitted NTLMv1-derived credentials for Single Sign-On and generated warning events. After the update, requests to use NTLMv1-derived credentials are blocked
  
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• Mount St Helens triggers aviation warnings after winds whip up old volcanic ash into the skies

  16-10-2026 17:27 via dailymail.com
  
  Urgent warnings were issued after hazardous volcanic ash was detected billowing from Mount St Helens, deemed America's deadliest volcano.
  
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• Arctic blast triggers freeze warning for millions as first snow arrives in several US states today

  16-10-2026 17:14 via dailymail.com
  
  Tens of millions in the US are bracing for the coldest days of the season this weekend, and many could see snow fall for the first time.
  
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• Could you survive being swallowed by a whale? As Whalefall hits screens, experts reveal what would really happen in the nightmare scenario

  16-10-2026 17:05 via dailymail.com
  
  The film Whalefall has revived the enduring fear of being swallowed whole by a whale. But could you survive this in real life?
  
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• NTT Global Data Centers weighs the price tag of not building fast enough

  16-10-2026 17:00 via theregister.com
  
  The next 200-megawatt data center permitted in your county probably won't look like the buildings you remember from a decade ago. It will occupy the footprint of two or three football fields and draw more power than most nearby industrial parks combined. It will also likely trigger a town hall meeting before the first pad is poured. That collision between AI-driven demand and physical reality is what NTT Global Data Centers set out to quantify in its new AI Stress Test Report. The report models
  
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• Mount St Helens triggers aviation warnings after winds whip up old volcanic ash 12,000 feet into the skies

  16-10-2026 16:32 via dailymail.com
  
  Urgent warnings were issued after hazardous volcanic ash was detected billowing from Mount St Helens, deemed America's deadliest volcano.
  
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• Uncle Scam Wants You … to cough up your cash and personal data, FBI warns ahead of midterms

  16-10-2026 16:30 via theregister.com
  
  The FBI is once again warning US citizens to be on the lookout for the scams that are so often rife around election season. With November’s midterms fast approaching, the FBI said scammers are known to use the names, imagery, and slogans of high-profile candidates for a range of frauds. These are often related to making donations and selling merchandise, but can also be geared toward stealing personal data for use in follow-on scams. And of course, more recently, fraudsters’ efforts
  
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• US senators call for investigation into Ukraine's Starlink restrictions

  16-10-2026 16:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ukraine says temporary speed limits to the Starlink internet network disrupted its battlefield missions.
  
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• Attack on BAE-managed system disrupts US bankruptcy courts

  16-10-2026 15:29 via theregister.com
  
  The US' bankruptcy courts are currently down owing to what officials are calling a “cybersecurity incident.” The Administrative Office of the US Courts said the websites and systems that support the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC), which manages electronic comms related to bankruptcy cases, were pulled offline while the vendor investigates. UK-based BAE Systems runs the affected systems and websites on behalf of the Federal Judiciary, and is “working to restore operations,&rdq
  
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• The healthiest meals in your supermarket's freezer aisle - from Sainsbury's to M&S, the short-cut dinners that are even better than the fresh version

  16-10-2026 15:07 via dailymail.com
  
  Researchers have identified a simple way to save over £100 a month on your food bills. Don't buy fresh, buy frozen.
  
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• Would YOU eat chicken-fed salmon? Fish raised on poultry bones and brains could soon be sold in British supermarkets - but sceptics call the idea 'unnatural and disgusting'

  16-10-2026 14:54 via dailymail.com
  
  Salmon fed on chicken byproducts could soon be sold in British supermarkets, as producers scramble to find cheaper feed.
  
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• British watchdog seeks tougher terms around Microsoft's dominance of business software

  16-10-2026 14:44 via theregister.com
  
  The UK's competition watchdog wants to designate Microsoft with strategic market status (SMS) in business software, allowing the regulator it to intervene to level the playing field, and says it is considering other areas for investigation. Regulators around the world are watching to see what the UK decides in this case, with bodies such as the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission mulling similar actions. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is opening a consultat
  
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• Watch: Did Tesla really just unveil a flying car?

  16-10-2026 14:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Tesla CEO Elon Musk showcased the vehicle at a facility owned by his SpaceX company, which helped develop the model.
  
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• Want your AI chats to stay private? Brave TEEs up end-to-end encryption

  16-10-2026 14:15 via theregister.com
  
  Brave Software has set up a secure space so those using its browser can converse with the company's AI assistant in private. At a time when AI agents like Meta's Muse ask for extensive access to personal information, and AI companies repurpose conversations for training, this amounts to swimming against the tide. Following up on an experiment launched last November to implement a confidential channel for LLM conversations with the help of NEAR AI's trusted execution environment (TEE), the browse
  
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• Capita set to miss legal deadline on 93,000 civil servants' pension fixes, claims union

  16-10-2026 13:51 via theregister.com
  
  Capita is set to leave 93,000 pension cases waiting for legally required corrections after its disastrous takeover of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), according to the UK’s largest civil service union. The outsourcing biz took over the scheme in December 2025, offering its 1.7 million members a glitchy online portal and a service that has buckled under demand. Thousands have since had trouble receiving payments and or getting their details updated. In a statement, the PCS union - w
  
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• 'This is a prank, right?' Social media is baffled by Tesla's flying car stunt - as one jokes 'car insurance companies are going to s*** themselves'

  16-10-2026 12:56 via dailymail.com
  
  Elon Musk has shocked the world by unveiling a spectacular demonstration of a new Tesla flying car. However, on social media, tech fans have been left baffled by the outlandish stunt.
  
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• Anyone for seabass and chips? Scientists urge Brits to replace classic cod, haddock and hake with more sustainable alternatives

  16-10-2026 12:54 via dailymail.com
  
  The Marine Conservation Society has released its latest Good Fish Guide, revealing the fish you should, and shouldn't be eating.
  
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• Microsoft bringing Defender to Linux desktops. Repeat: Microsoft bringing Defender to Linux desktops

  16-10-2026 12:43 via theregister.com
  
  It might not be the Year of the Linux Desktop yet, but it could be the Year of Corporate Compliance on the Linux Desktop as Microsoft releases Defender for Linux Workstations. The product is an extension of Microsoft's existing Defender for Endpoint. According to the Windows behemoth, it brings "enterprise-grade protection, detection, vulnerability management and response capabilities to Linux workstations." Linux desktop users will get services including Defender's anti-virus functionality. The
  
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• What is behind the success of dark skies festival?

  16-10-2026 12:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Stargazers are preparing to enjoy an annual festival that celebrates the beauty of the night sky.
  
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• Postgres 19 delayed after AI reviewers find more bugs than humans can fix

  16-10-2026 12:00 via theregister.com
  
  The PostgreSQL Global Development Group has delayed the release of PostgreSQL 19, the latest iteration of the popular open source database, and held back an unusual number of features. Once slated for release in late September or early October, PostgreSQL 19 is now expected to be generally available around November 19. Developers have also dropped between eight and 10 significant features. Explaining the number of reverts — features whose rollouts have now been postponed to next year's rel
  
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• Thief snatches school snapper's SD cards in smash & grab

  16-10-2026 11:15 via theregister.com
  
  An old-fashioned smash-and-grab job on a photographer’s vehicle threatens the security of pupils’ data as a UK secondary school says it faces a potential data protection pickle. Jon Curtis-Brignell, headteacher at Priory School in Lewes, said in an email this week that a company the school hired to take pupils’ annual school photos has alerted it to a data theft case after a vehicle was broken into. “Pret-a-Portrait has informed us that, overnight between 6 and 7 October,
  
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• Super El Niño has grown a second ARM: Ominous map reveals how the stretch of warm water in the Pacific Ocean has expanded

  16-10-2026 11:13 via dailymail.com
  
  Super El Niño has developed an extra arm, an ominous map reveals - indicating that the patch of warm water in the Pacific Ocean has significantly expanded.
  
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• Elon Musk unveils flying car: Crowd screams as new Tesla with rocket thrusters takes off and flips mid-air

  16-10-2026 11:12 via dailymail.com
  
  Elon Musk appeared to unveil his first flying car last night, as he launched the new Tesla Roadster with a spectacular demonstration of its apparent flying abilities.
  
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• Army sniper claims US troops killed 'reptilian beings' in battle near Area 51

  16-10-2026 10:55 via dailymail.com
  
  A former Army sniper has revealed the incredible events which allegedly left a US soldier dead as the military hunted alien invaders in the Nevada desert.
  
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• Open source sovereignty gets down to the boring business of making it work

  16-10-2026 10:30 via theregister.com
  
  AI and digital sovereignty dominated this year's Open Source Summit Europe. But beyond the AI noise, the sovereignty discussions offered something useful: practical plans for putting open source to work. The recurring theme of digital sovereignty started right from the first day's keynotes, with Geopolitics, Sovereignty, and the Fight to Stay Open, by the Linux Foundation's Nithya Ruff and Johan Linaker from Research Institutes of Sweden, whose name is considerably longer than its URL: ri.se. Th
  
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• Living with a stink? Technology might help

  16-10-2026 01:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Smells from rubbish dumps and industrial facilities are being more carefully monitored.
  
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