Month: October 2026

Google Pixel 10 hacked three times at Pwn2Own Ireland 2026: $560,000 in rewards

Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 is over, and the hacking contest turned up 98 zero-days while paying out more than $1.2 million, according to its published results. The bugs showed up across smartphones, printers, smart speakers, smart-home hubs, coding tools, cloud databases, and even a connected wellness device.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Download

Google’s Pixel 10 drew the most attention. Contest results show three successful attacks against it, worth more than $560,000 combined.

Ikotas Labs took home $300,000 for a remote exploit chain. Tim Becker and Yves Bieri earned $150,000 for a separate chain, though that payout was cut because part of it relied on a known bug. Dimitrios Valsamaras and Ken Gannon collected $112,500 for a third chain that mixed a zero-day with a known flaw, which is how Pwn2Own reduces rewards when researchers don’t bring a fully original set of bugs.

The rest of the board was busy too. The published results list a Samsung Galaxy S26 hack for about $30,000, a Home Assistant Green compromise for roughly the same amount, a Sonos Era 300 hit for $50,000, Lexmark and Brother printer hacks at $20,000 each, a Garmin Index BPM breach at $20,000, and coding and cloud database targets in the $40,000 range.

If you use any of those products, pay attention. Vendors now get the exploit details privately under the usual 90-day patch window. One other detail from the published results stands out: nobody took a shot at the $300,000 Apple iPhone 17 or WhatsApp targets.

Avast Free Antivirus Download

Haunted Hotel is back on Netflix for Season 2

Haunted Hotel comes back to Netflix on October 9, 2026. Matt Roller created the animated horror-comedy, Dan Harmon is back as executive producer, and Season 2 looks sharper right away: eight tighter 30-minute episodes that lean even harder into the show’s mix of horror, comedy, and family drama.

Netflix Download

The setup is still the same, which is part of the appeal. You’re back with a single mother, her two kids, and the ghosts haunting the Undervale hotel, Nathan included, the family’s dead brother. Early reviews make it sound like this cult favorite could end up being one of Netflix’s strongest fall returns.

Katherine comes across as more self-assured now that she’s basically running the hotel. Nathan gets more emotional weight. Ben and his ghost girlfriend Annabelle actually move forward, and Esther has a darker magical edge this time around.

Some of the Season 1 mysteries finally get cleared up. The show still knows how to juggle supernatural chaos, gross-out gore, and the kind of wild joke that gives you something like a cursed soup sending both a child and a witch to the hospital.

If you liked Season 1, there’s a good chance this one lands even better. And if you’re looking for a horror sitcom that’s funny without losing its heart, this is still a rare one. The comedy stays loud, weird, and messy in the best way, but the sweeter and sadder moments hit harder too.

You can stream Season 2 on Netflix, with Eliza Coupe, Will Forte, Skyler Gisondo, Natalie Palamides, Jimmi Simpson, and Riki Lindhome all returning.

JustWatch Download

Marvel’s Wolverine sold 756,000 boxed copies in a month: physical still matters

Marvel’s Wolverine had a huge first month. Sony says it sold 2.16 million copies, brought in $130 million, and 35% of those sales, about 756,000 units, came from boxed copies. That’s a pretty blunt reminder that physical PlayStation 5 game sales still matter, even as Sony and the rest of the industry keep pushing harder toward digital.

That also helps explain the reaction to Sony’s earlier comments about discs. The company said PlayStation games released after January 2028 would drop them, then later walked that back after backlash, saying it would scale down manufacturing instead and allow reorders. Wolverine shows why that matters: Sony says the game sold 1.9 million copies in three days, and 35% of buyers still chose a physical copy.

PlayStation App Download

The regional breakdown is telling. Sony’s numbers show Europe coming in stronger at 51% physical, with France at more than two-thirds physical and the UK going the other direction at about two-thirds digital. Other recent games point the same way, even if the split isn’t quite as sharp: Silent Hill: Townfall reached 45.4% physical, The Blood of the Dawnwalker hit 36%, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword landed between 30% and 31%.

If you care about ownership, this isn’t some side issue. Digital purchases are licenses tied to platform agreements. Sony has already removed hundreds of movies people bought through the PlayStation Store after licensing deals expired. Collectors have been saying for years that this is where things can go, and former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has made the same point. The industry may be moving faster than some buyers want to.

Digital is ahead, and US market-tracking data shows physical spending is still below its 2008 peak. Even so, players spent $1.5 billion on physical games in 2025, and most of the reporting still focuses on North America and Europe, not Japan, South Korea, Latin America, Australia, or Africa. Marvel’s Wolverine is available now as a PlayStation 5 exclusive.

PS Remote Play Download

Xbox names Maria Angelidou-Smith as Mojang CEO amid Minecraft franchise push

Xbox has named Maria Angelidou-Smith as Mojang’s new CEO. She replaces Kayleen Walters, a change Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced as Microsoft reworks its games business. It comes as Microsoft pushes Minecraft harder as a franchise.

Minecraft Download

Sharma announced the move during a broader games restructuring that has included 3,200 layoffs and a series of leadership changes. Angelidou-Smith’s background makes the choice easy to read. She spent 2014 to 2022 at Meta, working across monetization, Facebook Groups, and Facebook Dating, then moved to Reddit as chief product officer in November 2024. Communities, technology, creators, and monetization at scale: that lines up neatly with Microsoft’s current priorities.

Walters, meanwhile, is taking over the XP division, where she’ll lead film, TV, licensing, merchandise, and adaptations. That fits too, given her Lucasfilm background, her move to Mojang in February 2025, the growth to 250 licensees, and her producer credit on A Minecraft Movie.

If you follow Minecraft, this shift is worth watching. A Minecraft Movie has already brought in more than $550 million, and a sequel is planned for 2027. Minecraft World is set to open at Chessington in 2027. Moonlight Trail opened in Buenos Aires in May 2026. Xbox is also expanding its slate of game-based series after Fallout, with Diablo and Call of Duty projects reportedly in the works. The bigger question is what all of this means for players, creators, developers, and for Mojang’s identity in Stockholm.

You can play Minecraft on Xbox, PC, mobile, and consoles.

Xbox Download

Tesla FSD moves closer in Europe: Germany backs it, but the name must change

Germany has now thrown its support behind Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which is a Level 2 driver-assistance system, for use in Europe, but only if Tesla stops calling it “Full Self-Driving.” The bigger European Union vote still hasn’t happened.

Tesla Download

What that means in practice is pretty simple: Germany wants steering, braking, and acceleration assistance on the market soon, but it also thinks the current name says more than the software actually delivers. Tesla has reportedly floated “Tesla Assisted Driving” in Germany, and possibly in other markets too, because the person behind the wheel still has to stay alert and be ready to take over at any moment.

The main fight inside the European Union comes down to speed. Germany is fine with the system allowing up to 10% above posted limits. France and Sweden aren’t sold on that buffer, and they’ve also raised questions about driver attention in city traffic, with Sweden reportedly pushing for rejection unless the speeding function is stripped out.

If you keep an eye on driver-assistance tech, this one matters. Eight countries have already signed off, with the Netherlands going first. A wider European Union rollout is still expected in 2027, and the bloc-wide vote that had been penciled in for October has now slipped to at least December. So Germany’s backing helps, sure, but a qualified majority is still what decides it.

You still can’t get this anywhere in the European Union. The argument over the name is really part of a larger safety dispute, with the American Automobile Association (AAA) and SAE International both pushing for labels that say more clearly what these systems can and can’t do. At the same time, U.S. crash investigations tied to Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, along with court cases, keep the pressure on Tesla, even as supporters argue the technology reduces fatigue and makes driving easier.

Waze Download

Extraction 3 is now filming: Chris Hemsworth shares training update

Netflix started rolling on Extraction 3 in July, and the third movie in the Chris Hemsworth action franchise is now filming in Thailand and Australia.

Netflix Download

Sam Hargrave is back directing. And with the production returning to Thailand, the series is circling back to the first Extraction after Extraction 2 swapped that setting for the colder backdrop of the Czech Republic and Austria.

Hemsworth’s latest Instagram posts give a pretty good sense of where things are headed. He’s in Thailand, working pads with trainer Jack Boonsanong, running through punching combinations and kicking drills. That lines up with what these movies have leaned on from the start: practical stunt work, punishing fight choreography, and those long-take action sequences that try to make every hit feel close and ugly.

Netflix still hasn’t said much about the story. Even so, Extraction 3 looks set to continue from where things left off, with Tyler and Nik ending up in prison and Idris Elba’s character setting a new mission in motion. Elba is back, Golshifteh Farahani is returning too, and the newcomers this time include Pierce Brosnan, Don Lee, Joe Taslim, Chi Lewis-Parry, and Siena Agudong.

If Extraction has always felt like Netflix’s rougher, grittier answer to John Wick, there’s plenty of reason to keep an eye on the third one. The first Extraction reached 99 million households in four weeks, according to Netflix. Extraction 2 also made Netflix’s top 10 originals. The brand is growing beyond the films too, with Tygo and Mercenary on the way, while the New South Wales shoot is expected to bring 127 million to the local economy and create 450 jobs.

You can stream Extraction and Extraction 2 on Netflix now. Extraction 3 still doesn’t have a release date.

Instagram Download

Anthropic updates Claude rules: tougher limits on abuse, elections and weapons

Anthropic updated Claude’s usage policy in October 2026. The revised rules add a new ban on “sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior” toward the assistant, along with broader restrictions covering elections, weapons, surveillance, health, and financial services, as laid out in the company’s updated policy.

Claude Download

The changes were announced in October 2026 and take effect on November 12, 2026. Under the new rules, Claude may end a conversation if the abuse is extreme and repeated, Anthropic says. Ordinary frustration is still allowed. So are dark creative work, legitimate testing, and research.

The policy also spells out several bans more clearly than before. Anthropic now explicitly prohibits hiding who is behind messages, fake-account amplification, and fabricated posts made to look authentic. It also bars voter deception, false claims about candidates or voting, impersonation of candidates or election officials, and turnout suppression. On the weapons side, the rules ban guidance or control software, including software used to arm drones and autonomous vehicles. The update also prohibits tracking people without consent, recommending who should be investigated, arrested, or charged, and building surveillance tools. Anthropic says the changes respond to newer misuse attempts, including reported cases tied to identifying political dissidents.

For people who use Claude at work, or who keep an eye on AI policy, this matters. The company is tightening its safeguards, but it’s also stepping into a larger argument about social norms. Supporters see the change as a push toward healthier behavior. Critics see it differently and question whether welfare-style rules make sense for systems that aren’t sentient.

You can read the updated policy on Anthropic’s site. It now applies to Claude.

ChatGPT Download

Apple’s ‘Welcome Home’ event is reportedly next week: 3 smart home devices expected

Multiple reports say Apple is set to show off three smart home devices next week, on October 13, in an online event that’s reportedly carrying the tagline “Welcome Home.”

Google Home Download

The rumored lineup includes a refreshed Apple TV 4K, a new HomePod mini, and what sounds like the main attraction: a “HomePad” hub meant to take on the Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub. Reports describe it as having a 6-inch square display mounted on a metal arm, with a half-dome base underneath.

From what’s been reported, the HomePad would mix elements of tvOS with iPhone widgets, StandBy, and Apple Watch-style screens for calendars, messages, lights, accessories, Apple Music, Podcasts, and FaceTime. A front-facing camera that could recognize who’s in front of it and switch over to that person’s preferred settings is also being discussed. The Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini, meanwhile, are expected to get newer chips to improve Siri and personalization.

If you already use Apple’s Home app, this looks like one to keep an eye on. Apple has seemed a step behind Amazon and Google on smart home hardware, even with the original HomePod’s strong sound and the HomePod mini’s lower-price appeal. Now it looks like the company may finally be ready to build out a wider system around a central display hub.

The same reports also mention Apple accessories made by LG: a doorbell, security cameras, an outdoor floodlight cam, a smart lock, and a thermostat. Matter support is said to be part of the plan too, along with possible production in Vietnam.

If that’s how this rolls out, you’ll probably be watching the announcement on the web, not during a full Apple Park keynote.

Amazon Alexa Download

Arc Raiders gets Frozen Trail 2.0 now: open the map while downed

Embark Studios has rolled out Frozen Trail 2.0 for Arc Raiders, and it’s live now. The studio calls it the biggest patch the game has had since launch. It adds Pendola Pass, Flash Freeze events, a massive downed Emperor ARC you can explore, three new enemies called the Bully, Skulker, and Hydra, plus new gear: the Bantam revolver, Stiletto rifle, Grappling Hook, and Tether Launcher.

Steam Download

There’s more on the progression side, too. Embark has added 16 new skills, exclusive choice nodes in the skill tree, and Amplified Weapons as a branching endgame upgrade path. The update also brings 22 new quests and a customizable Outpost built around research and crafting. A few smaller changes will matter just as much once you’re actually playing: you can now open the map while downed, your stash cap goes up to 328 even without Expedition bonuses, and there are new map and inventory animations along with proximity-chat mouth movement.

Some balance changes are in here as well. Embark says higher-tier loot from the Queen and Matriarch now drops from their actual leg pieces rather than leg armor, which should make quick armor-stripping a lot less effective. The Anvil hand cannon has also been pushed to blue rarity after performing too well against weapons that sat at, or above, its old tier.

If you play Arc Raiders often, this is the kind of update you’ll want to download right away. It also lands as Embark moves toward bigger patches with more time between them, while running a free-to-play weekend and an eight-day PvE matchmaking test. The studio says those shifts come directly from community feedback after launch.

You can download Frozen Trail 2.0 in Arc Raiders now.

Epic Games Launcher Download

Dexter: Resurrection season 2 is official: Eric Stonestreet’s Rapunzel returns

Showtime used its New York Comic Con panel to confirm Dexter: Resurrection season 2, and one detail jumped out right away: Eric Stonestreet is coming back as Rapunzel. He was the only serial killer from Dexter: Resurrection season 1 to make it out of Dexter Morgan’s kill room alive, so his return strongly suggests that escape won’t be left hanging. The story stays in New York, where Dexter is dealing with mounting threats, a mid-life crisis, and the fallout from the moment he and Harrison escaped billionaire Leon Prater’s vault trap and lost Angel Batista. The official synopsis says Dexter will be stuck between two killers, one already notorious and another currently terrorizing New York, while Harrison keeps pushing ahead with his own version of justice in what Showtime is calling the darkest chapter yet.

Showtime also says season 2 brings in Brian Cox as Don Framt, the New York Ripper, Dan Stevens as Owen Stark, the Five Borough Killer, and Gabriel Luna as Ray Ballard, the Sleepy-Eyed Stranger. Michael C. Hall, Jack Alcott, Uma Thurman, Bokeem Woodbine, Nona Parker Johnson, and Krysten Ritter are returning or joining as Dexter, Harrison, Charley, Captain Mixon, Fiona, and Mia, also known as Lady Vengeance. Her comeback is the kind of detail that leaves you wondering exactly how, exactly, she’ll make her way back into the story.

Paramount+ Download

If you’ve stayed with Dexter this far, this one looks worth your time. Showtime has Dexter: Resurrection set to premiere on October 30, 2026.

JustWatch Download