South Korean telecom network SK Telecom is providing free SIM card replacements to all 25 million mobile subscribers following an April 19 security breach where malware compromised Universal Subscriber Identity Module data.

Despite the company’s announcement, only 6 million replacement cards will be available through May 2025. The stolen data potentially includes IMSI numbers, authentication keys, and network usage information, though customer names, identification details, and financial information remain secure. The primary risk is unauthorized SIM swapping attacks, where threat actors could clone SIM cards.

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If you’ve received an innocent-sounding text from a number you don’t recognize, it’s not actually innocent. It’s likely the start of a “wrong phone number” scam, which is increasingly being used to steal money and information from victims. I personally have been sent variations on this theme: “Hello! I hope you had a good day.” “Are you able to work?” and just “Hello.”

Research from security firm McAfee reported by CNBC indicates that around 25% of Americans have received wrong number texts. But this isn’t the only widespread text message scam currently circulating. The unpaid tolls and unpaid parking fee schemes are phishing attempts that may seem legitimate at first glance but ultimately lead you to hand your credit card information over to thieves. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lost $470 million to text message scams in 2024, a five-fold increase over 2020.

How the wrong number scam works

The wrong number text scam starts with a random and seemingly harmless text from an unfamiliar number, the first objective of which is to prompt a response and confirm that your phone number is active.

After that, scammers try to build a relationship (often romantic) and gain your trust over days and months by preying on loneliness and a desire for connection. This can turn into a so-called “pig butchering” scam, with fraudsters soliciting investments or convincing you to hand over retirement savings, a long con that potentially comes with a big payday. But even if victims don’t end up sending money, any information they provide (even if innocuous) can be used or sold on the dark web.

AI has enabled this scam in several ways: It can help tailor more believable texts by area code, as well as cull social media profiles to identify potential targets and locate their phone numbers, making it more efficient for scammers. It may also collect enough information for fraudsters to gain access to social media accounts, lock them down, and demand a ransom.

What to do if you receive a random text

If you receive a text from a number you don’t know, don’t respond, as doing so validates your phone number. Even if you don’t engage in this exchange any further, you may be targeted again in the future (and by different unfamiliar numbers). You also don’t need to try to find out who they are or whether you know them—if someone actually needs to reach you, they are likely to follow up with multiple messages or calls beyond a single “Hey, how are you?” And as with any scam, be wary of communication that provokes an emotional response or a sense of urgency.

You should mark wrong number messages as spam in your messaging app. In Messages on iOS, tap the Report Junk link that appears at the bottom of messages from unknown senders, then hit Delete > Report Junk. If you haven’t opened the message yet, you can also swipe left and tap the Trash icon > Delete and Report Junk. (Note that you can’t report a message if you’ve replied to it, which is another reason not to do so.)

On Android, you can block and report conversations in Google Messages: tap and hold, then tap Block > Report spam > OK. If you’ve already opened the conversation, hit More options > Details > Block & report spam > OK.

You can also forward spam messages to 7726, which helps wireless companies identify and block scams.

Carbon removal technologies, potentially a $250 billion market, are failing to gain traction as buyers remain scarce. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects a need for 10 billion metric tons of carbon removals annually by 2050, yet only 175 million tons have been sold to date — less than 2% of requirements.

Microsoft dominates the market, accounting for 35% of all purchases and 76% of engineered removal solutions specifically. The market suffers from significant barriers: unproven technologies, vast price disparities ($80 per ton for forest projects versus $1,000 for direct air capture), and lack of standardization. Industry experts at a recent London gathering concluded that without more buyers willing to accept early adoption risks, the market cannot meaningfully grow.

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This morning, Punchbowl News reported that Amazon was considering listing the cost of tariffs as a separate line item on its site, citing “a person familiar with the plan.” Amazon later acknowledged that there had been internal discussions to that effect but only for its import-focused Amazon Haul sub-store and that the company didn’t plan to actually list tariff prices for any items.

“This was never approved and is not going to happen,” reads Amazon’s two-sentence statement.

Amazon issued such a specific and forceful on-the-record denial in part because it had drawn the ire of the Trump administration. In a press briefing early this morning, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked a question about the report, which the administration responded to as though Amazon had made a formal announcement about the policy.

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Though it started life on computers and mobile, YouTube is also among the most-used apps on TVs and gaming consoles. People use the service to watch gaming livestreams, video walkthroughs, and even YouTube Shorts on their much bigger screens—and the experience is about to get better. As part of its Q2 2025 update, Google has added a bunch of new features to YouTube for TVs, which should appear once you update the app.

New features in YouTube’s app for smart TVs

In keeping with its push for more YouTube Shorts everywhere, Google is now making short-form videos more prominent on TVs as well. The company has added a new row for Shorts in your “Watch Next” feed, and on the “Shorts Shelf” in the subscriptions tab. This gives Shorts greater prominence and has the added advantage of separating these videos from long-form content.

Meanwhile, YouTube for TVs now lets you loop any video. This option has been added to playback settings. Previously, you could only loop playlists via the mobile app. There’s also a new tab for podcasts, which lets you find and play those videos a lot quicker. 

Sort by “shelves”

In this update, a big part of Google’s focus has been to create shelves that make it easier to locate different types of videos. This includes “Continue your search,” which lets you see your top three searches and find the video you were after. (This feature could also be useful to find creators you watch often, but don’t want to subscribe to just yet.) Another shelf is called “From your top channels,” and shows videos from the creators you watch the most. 

There are a couple of new shelves dedicated to music, including “Listen again,” for music you frequently play, and “Live performances, remixes, and covers,” that helps you find alternative versions of your favorite music. The last new shelf is called “Primetime Channels,” steering you toward content from the channels you’ve purchased on YouTube.

The video streaming service said it has also completed rolling out Immersive Channel Previews, which allow creators to add a personal touch to their channels by putting up fullscreen background previews in their channel headers. Creators will also be able to see TVs as a device type in channel analytics, allowing them to more effectively track where people are watching their videos.

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy, and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

In the wake of a high-profile court decision that upended the state of Montana’s climate policy, Republican lawmakers in the state are pushing a suite of bills that could gut the state’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The full-court legislative press targets the state’s environmental analysis, air quality regulation, and judicial system. It stems from the Held v. Montana case in which 16 young people sued the state over its contributions to climate change, claiming its fossil fuel-centric approach to energy violated the state constitution’s guarantee of a “clean and healthful environment.” The plaintiffs won, and in December 2024, the Montana Supreme Court upheld their victory.

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The Nintendo Switch 2 won’t be in our hands for over a month yet (sigh), but a speedrunner has already reached the credits of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

As reported by VGC, the Japanese speedrunner known as Ikaboze posted a video of his handiwork on his YouTube channel after attending a Switch 2 preview event in Tokyo. Attendees were able to play a 10-minute demo of the souped-up original Switch launch game, but Ikaboze only needed seven minutes of the allotted time to dispose of Ganon in the game’s epic final battle.

To be clear, this was not an any% run of the entire game, where the current top times all clock in around 23 minutes. The speedrunner loaded an autosave that spawned him outside Hyrule Castle, where he immediately dropped all of Link’s equipment and made a beeline for his longtime nemesis. Ikaboze was able to take down Ganon before the demo’s time was up, to the delight of a crowd of onlookers, who applauded as the credits started to roll. The speedrunner was reportedly told by Nintendo staff at the event that they were the first person to have completed the Breath of the Wild demo.

The updated versions of both Breath of the Wild and its 2023 sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, will be available to play on Switch 2 on launch day, which remains June 5 worldwide despite the pre-order holdup in the US. According to Nintendo, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games improve performance and resolution, as well as adding HDR support. There’s also a new Zelda companion app that will let you track down missing Koroks and shrines on your save file.

Those who already own the base game can upgrade for $10, and if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack member you’ll be able to play the Switch 2 versions of both BotW and TotK as part of your subscription. Good luck trying to beat Ikaboze, though.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/speedrunner-reaches-breath-of-the-wild-credits-on-switch-2-a-console-which-isnt-even-out-yet-173004158.html?src=rss

By default, Google Photos now uses Gemini AI to search through your photo library. This is thanks to a new feature called Ask Photos that rolled out late last year. While this feature is great for locating specific photos, it’s not as fast as the older search option, so it’s not ideal for every search, especially more general ones. If you’re tired of using Gemini’s slower search in Google Photos for Android, there’s a shortcut that helps you return to the classic search functionality.

As spotted by 9to5Google, you can long-press the search button (which is labelled Ask and is located in the bottom-right corner) to use the classic, faster and AI-free search method instead. Alternatively, you can double-tap the Ask button to do the same thing. And don’t worry about having to change how your format your search—the old method also supports natural language search terms. You can ask it to show “forest photos from 2023” or similar queries, and it will still generally return accurate results.

Until Google improves the speed and accuracy of AI search results, the older version of search may be better for most people. There’s also the question of how much energy AI tools use, which can be alarmingly high for relatively simple tasks. Google has been experimenting with the UI for Ask Photos, as some people have spotted an updated UI that reduces the screen space dedicated to AI search. However, most people in the US are still seeing a full-screen AI search page, with a small button that lets you switch to classic search being the most noticeable way to avoid it, so being aware of the shortcut to use the AI-free search is a lifesaver.

That said, there are instances where Ask Photos can still be useful, such as when you’re looking at old Halloween photos and need to find one where someone is wearing a Fall Guys costume. Luckily, it’s easy to choose which tool to use on a case-by-case basis. Tapping the Ask button once lets you use AI search, but long-pressing or double-tapping the button will take you to the faster, AI-free alternative. Presently, this shortcut is exclusive to the Android version of Google Photos.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed India’s government to block Switzerland-based email service Proton Mail, citing national security concerns and law enforcement challenges. Justice M Nagaprasanna ordered authorities to initiate proceedings under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act to ban the service, while mandating immediate blocking of “offending URLs” until final decisions are made.

The ruling followed a petition from M Moser Design Associates India, which claimed its female employees were targeted with obscene emails containing “AI-generated deepfake images” sent via Proton Mail. Petitioners argued Proton Mail operates servers outside India, making it inaccessible to law enforcement. The court noted several bomb threats to Indian schools were sent using the service, which has already been banned in Russia and Saudi Arabia. Additional Solicitor General Aravind Kamath, representing the government, said authorities would comply with the court’s direction.

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