A new phishing campaign identified by Malwarebytes Labs targets AT&T customers with text messages about expiring rewards points. Users are urged to claim their rewards ASAP by clicking the included link, which is actually designed to harvest sensitive personal information.

AT&T rewards scam phishes personal information

Targets for this scam have received texts containing a “Rewards Expiration Notice” urging them to redeem points in their AT&T account before they are scheduled to expire. The message includes a specific points balance and expiration date along with two “recommended redemption methods”:

• AT&T Rewards Center: [shorturl link]

• AT&T Mobile App: Rewards section

As Malwarebytes discovered, the short link sends users to a https://att.hgfxp[.]cc/pay/, a spoofed website with AT&T branding, headers, menus, and links out to the real AT&T domain. Users are directed to enter their phone number to verify their account, which leads to a screen warning that their points are set to expire. Further down, you can see redemption options, including an Apple Watch Series 9, Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones, and Amazon gift cards.

In order to claim a reward and arrange delivery, victims are then prompted to enter more personal information—which is transmitted directly to the scammers. Malwarebytes notes that the forms have real-time validation and error highlighting so users are less likely to suspect the fraud.

Rewards scam red flags

This scam relies on social engineering tactics—like a sense of urgency and the fear of missing out—to trick targets into engaging. And while it does have a somewhat believable look and feel as well as a multi-step approach to build user trust, it also has some clear red flags. The text originates from a regular phone number rather than a short code, which is often used for automated messages, and the sender doesn’t appear as a recognized AT&T contact. The thread also includes multiple recipients and a generic greeting. (A legitimate message from AT&T will be sent directly to you.)

Then there’s the shortened URL that leads to a website not owned by AT&T. While the page has some realistic branding and working links, it also has a number of typos and grammatical and formatting errors. Malwarebytes found that if you click the link on different days, the expiration date on the site changes.

As always, don’t click links in unsolicited texts. AT&T does have a rewards program, but you should go directly to that portal via the web or app to manage your rewards.

ClickOnThis writes: NASA has delayed the Artemis II launch to March of this year, after a wet dress-rehearsal uncovered a hydrogen leak. From the NASA article: During tanking, engineers spent several hours troubleshooting a liquid hydrogen leak in an interface used to route the cryogenic propellant into the rocket’s core stage, putting them behind in the countdown. Attempts to resolve the issue involved stopping the flow of liquid hydrogen into the core stage, allowing the interface to warm up for the seals to reseat, and adjusting the flow of the propellant.

Teams successfully filled all tanks in both the core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage before a team of five was sent to the launch pad to finish Orion closeout operations. Engineers conducted a first run at terminal countdown operations during the test, counting down to approximately 5 minutes left in the countdown, before the ground launch sequencer automatically stopped the countdown due to a spike in the liquid hydrogen leak rate.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple has just released Xcode 26.3, and it’s a big step forward in terms of the company’s support of coding agents. The new release expands on the AI features the company introduced with Xcode 26 at WWDC 2025 to give systems like Claude and ChatGPT more robust access to its in-house IDE. 

With the update, Apple says Claude and OpenAI’s Codex “can search documentation, explore file structures, update project settings, and verify their work visually by capturing Xcode Previews and iterating through builds and fixes.” This is in contrast to earlier releases of Xcode 26 where those same agents were limited in what they could see of a developer’s Xcode environment, restricting their utility. According to Apple, the change will give users tools they can use to streamline their processes and work more efficiently than before.

Developers can add Claude and Codex to their Xcode terminal from the Intelligence section of the app’s setting menu. Once a provider is selected, the interface allows users to also pick their preferred model. So if you like the outputs of say GPT 5.1 over GPT 5.2, you can use the older system. 

The tighter integration with Claude and Codex was made possible by Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers Apple has deployed. MCP is a technology Anthropic debuted in fall 2024 to make it easier for large language models like Claude to share data with third-party tools and systems. Since its introduction, MCP has become an industry standard — with OpenAI, for instance, adopting the protocol last year to facilitate its own set of connections. 

Apple says it worked directly with Anthropic and OpenAI to optimize token usage through Xcode, but the company’s adoption of MCP means developers will be able to add any coding agent that supports the protocol to their terminal in the future. Xcode 26.3 is available to download for all members of the Apple Developer Program starting today, with the Mac Store availability “coming soon.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-just-made-xcode-better-for-vibe-coding-195653049.html?src=rss

Since their initial launch in 2016, Apple has released nine iteration of the AirPods, from the now iconic white earbuds, to the upgraded AirPods Pro, to the the AirPods Max, Apple’s pricey take on over-the-ear headphones. Whatever the model, however, these things are meant to be simple: You open the case, tap a prompt on your iPhone, and presto, your AirPods are ready to go.

Despite their ease of use, however, AirPods are packed with features and settings you can adjust to your liking. Here are 10 hacks you should know if you own a pair Apple’s headphones, whether standard, Pro, or Max. (A note: Whenever I refer to “AirPods settings” in this article, I am generally referring to the options that appear in the first page of the Settings app on iOS and iPadOS, or the System Settings on macOS, when you’re wearing your AirPods.)

You should turn on “Off” mode on your AirPods

I’ve had a few AirPods in my day, and every time I set up a new pair, I turn on “Off” mode. That might read strange, but it’s a real thing. Depending on your AirPods model, you might have the option to use Noise Cancellation, which, of course, blocks outside noise; Transparency, which pumps in the sounds around you; or Off, which activates neither. This last choice ends up being great for times you want some noise blockage, but want to preserve the battery of your AirPods. Though I can’t speak to AirPods 4 With Noise Cancellation, the Pros and the Max do a good job with this without active noise cancellation.

While this option is always present when switching noise modes from Control Center, by default, Apple doesn’t include it from switching modes from the stem (or the noise control button on the AirPods Max). If you try to switch, you’ll only move between Noise Cancellation and Transparency. To include “Off” in this list, you’ll need to dig into your AirPods’ settings. Scroll down to “Press and Hold AirPods,” then choose either “Left” or “Right,” depending on which AirPods you want to adjust. Here, make sure “Off” is selected to add it to the noise control rotation.

You can use Find My to locate your lost AirPods

Like any other tiny tech, your AirPods will go missing eventually. Mine slip out of my pockets all the time, and usually end up on the floor or under couch cushions. In such cases, you can waste your time retracing your steps and calculating the physics of where your AirPods would have landed, or you could use Find My to find them much faster.

Find My has a few ways to locate your missing AirPods. The first is the most obvious: When you open the app and choose the “Devices” tab, you’ll see your AirPods last-known location on the map. If you left them behind at, say, someone’s house, you’ll likely see that here, and know to stop looking under your own furniture. But if you’re already in the location Find My says your AirPods are, you have two more tools to pinpoint their whereabouts.

First, you can use “Find” to get step-by-step instructions on where your AirPods are. If you have AirPods Pro 2 or 3, you’ll even have an arrow pointing you in their direction. If you still can’t find them, you can tap “Play Sound” to play a sound out of any loose AirPod. If you have AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3, you can play a sound on the case itself.

You can pair your AirPods with non-Apple devices

AirPods work best with Apple devices, but that doesn’t mean they’re exclusive. You can connect your AirPods to any device that supports Bluetooth, which gives the headphones some added flexibility. I primarily use mine with my iPhone, Mac, and Apple TV, but I also connect them directly to the TV itself to use them with my PS5. (Sony’s console doesn’t support Bluetooth audio, for some reason.)

The thing is, there’s no obvious way to connect your AirPods to non-Apple devices. You’d only know if you looked up how to put your particular AirPods model into “pairing mode.” This bypasses Apple’s usual pairing system, and opens up your AirPods to any available Bluetooth source. Here’s how to kick your AirPods into pairing mode:

• AirPods 1, 2, or 3, or AirPods Pro 1 or 2: Place your AirPods in the case, open the lid, then press and hold the button on the back for five seconds, or until the light starts flashing white.

• AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro 3: Place your AirPods in their case, hold the case next to the Bluetooth device, then double-tap the front of the case. The light should start flashing white.

• AirPods Max; Press and hold the noise control button (the longer button) for about five seconds, until the light starts flashing white.

Set up your AirPods for Live Translation

It’s easy to be numb to the current state of technology, but the fact your AirPods can translate conversations on the fly is possibly the best encapsulation of “we’re living in the future” of any consumer product right now. AirPods aren’t the only earbuds that can do this, but if you have AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, you have the power to have a full conversation with someone who doesn’t speak the same language you do.

You can’t just find yourself in a situation where you need Live Translation and use it right away, however. Before you can use the feature, you need to download the target language to your iPhone. To start, go to your AirPods’ settings, then scroll down to “Translation (Beta)” and choose “Languages.” Here, you can tap any of the available languages to download them to your iPhone, which currently include Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified), Chinese (Mandarin, Traditional), English (UK), English (US), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain).

Now, when you need it, you can press the stems of your AirPods at once to launch Live Translate. Alternatively, you can open the Translate app, then choose “Live,” then choose the language of the other speaker, as well as your own language. As they speak, you’ll hear the translation in your AirPods, and see the text of the translation on your iPhone’s display.

You can use your AirPods as hearing aids

For well over a year now, AirPods have been cleared by the FDA as clinical-grade hearing aids. It might take other people some time to catch up to the look, but if you need them, the AirPods you already own can be as valid a choice as dedicated (and expensive) hearing aids—assuming your have AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3.

In order to take advantage of this perk, you’ll either need to take a hearing test through your iPhone, or upload an audiogram you performed with an audiologist. You’ll find these options in your AirPods’ settings under “Hearing Assistance.”

You can customize your AirPods’ Adaptive Audio levels

Adaptive Audio is one of my favorite things about modern AirPods. If you have AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio will either boost or cap external sounds, depending on how loud or soft those sounds are, while still letting you hear everything that’s going on around you.

But if you’ve been using Adaptive Mode, and don’t care for Apple’s default sound levels here, you can adjust them to either let in more or less sound. You’ll find the option in your AirPods settings under “Adaptive Audio.” Here, slide the slider left to block more sound, or right to let in more noise. After a moment, you’ll hear the changes take effect, so you can test which setting sounds best to you.

You can use your AirPods as a camera remote

Back in the day, when you actually had to buy a dedicated camera for photography or videography, that device usually came with a remote so you could snap a picture or start recording while the camera was set up on a tripod. While the selfie has largely killed that practice, there are still plenty of times when you’d benefit from a camera remote for your iPhone, especially if you’re trying to capture a group shot with no extra photographer, or you want to record a video without physically touching your phone.

If you have AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3, you can use your earbuds as remote for your iPhone’s camera. To set it up, open your AirPods’ settings, scroll down, then tap “Camera Remote.” You can either choose “Press Once” to have a quick press act as a remote button press, or “Press and Hold” to have a long-press achieve the same. Note that this will affect how your AirPods respond in other circumstances: If you choose “Press Once,” you can’t use the stem to control media playback; if you choose Press and Hold, you can’t use the stem to activate Siri.

You can stop your AirPods from automatically adjusting their volume

“Smart” tech tries to solve problems, but, often, only makes them worse. AirPods’ “Personalized Volume” is one such example. The problem: When your environment is too noisy, you can’t hear your music; and when things suddenly get quiet, your music might be too loud. So, this feature “intelligently” adjusts the volume based on how quiet or loud your surroundings are. In theory, that’s great; in execution, it’s a nightmare. Since I picked up a pair of AirPods Pro 3, I’ve wondered why my music suddenly gets quiet, or suddenly starts getting louder, without me doing anything to control the volume. If the feature works for you, you can keep it on, but if you’re like me, you’ll want this off.

To disable it, head to AirPods settings, scroll down to “Audio,” then turn off the toggle next to “Personalized Volume.”

Master your AirPods’ stem controls for calls

Your AirPods are basically fancy Bluetooth headsets. If you’re wearing them, and you get an incoming call, you don’t need to pull out your iPhone. Instead, you can answer that call by pressing an AirPod stem once. But you might not also know you have the ability to customize other stem controls while on the call. By default, pressing the stem once during a call acts as a mute and unmute switch, while pressing twice ends the call. But you can swap these controls if you want to. You’ll find them in your AirPods’ settings under “Call Controls.”

Enable head gestures to control your AirPods

You can use the stem of your AirPods to do things like accept incoming calls or dismiss notifications. However, if your hands are full, you can also use your head to do the same. AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 3 support Head Gestures, which lets you nod your head or shake it from side to side to either accept or decline a call, or reply to (or dismiss) a text.

You’ll need to have Announce Calls and Announce Notifications enabled for this feature to work. You’ll find those settings in your iPhone’s “Siri” or “Apple Intelligence & Siri” setting pages. Once enabled, you can go to your AirPods’ settings, scroll down to “Head Gestures,” then enable the toggle to turn on the feature. From here, you can assign the “Accept, Reply” and “Decline, Dismiss” actions to either a head nod, or a head shake.

Developer Obsidian recently announced that it currently has no plans to make The Outer Worlds 3, according to a report by Bloomberg. Company head Fergus Urquhart didn’t give a reason as to why Obsidian won’t be working on a sequel, but he did note that the performance of The Outer Worlds 2 was “disappointing” and that it needs to “think a lot about how much we put into the games, how much we spend on them and how long they take.”

Urquhart also said that Avowed was something of a miss for the company, but that it remains committed to the franchise. Obsidian plans to “keep making games in the Avowed universe,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean a legitimate sequel. Avowed is, after all, set in the same world as Pillars of Eternity.

Obsidian is still working on DLC for The Outer Worlds 2, so fans have that to look forward to. Urquhart also confirmed the company is making some DLC for Grounded 2, which was actually a hit. It released three games last year, which Urquhart said was a bad move for support teams.

“Spacing those releases helps the company manage its resources and not burn everybody out. It’s not good to release three games in the same year. It’s the result of things going wrong,” he said.

The developer is also making some entirely new games, of which we know nothing about. As for Avowed, it’s coming to PS5 on February 17. All versions are getting an anniversary update that includes a New Game Plus mode, new races, new weapon types and more. It’s a good game and well worth the time of PlayStation fans, especially those who have dabbled with The Elder Scrolls franchise.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/obsidian-has-no-plans-to-make-the-outer-worlds-3-likely-due-to-poor-sales-192756351.html?src=rss

Four economists across Central European University, Bielefeld University and the Kiel Institute have built a general equilibrium model of the open-source software ecosystem and concluded that vibe coding — the increasingly common practice of letting AI agents select, assemble and modify packages on a developer’s behalf — erodes the very funding mechanism that keeps open-source projects alive.

The core problem is a decoupling of usage from engagement. Tailwind CSS’s npm downloads have climbed steadily, but its creator says documentation traffic is down about 40% since early 2023 and revenue has dropped close to 80%. Stack Overflow activity fell roughly 25% within six months of ChatGPT’s launch. Open-source maintainers monetize through documentation visits, bug reports, and community interaction. AI agents skip all of that.

The model finds that feedback loops once responsible for open source’s explosive growth now run in reverse. Fewer maintainers can justify sharing code, variety shrinks, and average quality falls — even as total usage rises. One proposed fix is a “Spotify for open source” model where AI platforms redistribute subscription revenue to maintainers based on package usage. Vibe-coded users need to contribute at least 84% of what direct users generate, or roughly 84% of all revenue must come from sources independent of how users access the software.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Planning to express your love with flowers this Valentine’s Day? While the gesture is timeless, the pricing certainly isn’t: While you might think flowers are something you have to get fresh that day, waiting until Feb. 14 to buy that perfect bouquet means fewer options and higher prices.

Here’s the case for ordering your Valentine’s flowers as soon as possible.

Why you should order Valentine’s Day flowers right now

The sooner you order, the less likely you are to pay the top-dollar prices the last-minute shoppers will shoulder. As the big date approaches and inventory dwindles, prices skyrocket. A dozen roses that might cost $50 a week before Valentine’s Day could easily jump to $90 or more come Feb. 14.

Especially if you’re planning to have flowers delivered, early ordering is a must. Florists are absolutely slammed on Valentine’s Day, and delivery slots fill up fast. Last-minute orders often can’t be guaranteed for same-day delivery, meaning your romantic gesture might arrive a day late—which rather defeats the purpose.

When you order early, you can schedule delivery for exactly when you want them to arrive, whether that’s first thing in the morning to start your partner’s day off right, or perfectly timed during the workday to make all their jealous coworkers. In short, Valentine’s Day is about showing someone you care, and nothing shows you care like putting real thought and planning into your gesture.

How to keep Valentine’s Day flowers healthy until Valentine’s Day

The good news: When properly cared for, roses can stay healthy for five to seven days after purchase. And for even more value and longevity, consider alternatives to traditional roses. Carnations and orchids are beautiful and tasteful while lasting up to two weeks. Not only will you be choosing something more economical, but also, you’ll be showing your valentine that they’re more special and unique than a boring old rose. (At least, you should be prepared with a little speech in case your lover actually really wanted roses.)

To maximize the lifespan of your roses (and most bouquets):

• Keep them in clean water.

• Trim the stems at an angle every few days.

• Remove any leaves below the waterline.

• Store them away from direct sunlight and heat sources.

• Add flower food to the water.

Remember, Valentine’s Day is about expressing your feelings, not emptying your wallet. When you plan ahead, you have time to think about what your partner would really love. You can browse different options, read reviews, compare florists, and make a thoughtful choice rather than panic-buying whatever’s available. (And if you’re looking for gift ideas that aren’t a bouquet, check out my alternative Valentine’s Day gift ideas.)

Sony’s wireless WH-1000XM6 headphones are on sale for $398 via Amazon. This is a record-low price, as it drops $62 from the price tag. The sale applies to all three colorways.

These easily topped our list of the best wireless headphones. They are, in a word, fantastic. The headphones are packed with premium features, like advanced ANC. There are a whopping 12 ANC microphones throughout and a brand-new chip to power the feature. The end result? It successfully blocks background noise at medium and high frequencies, including the human voice.

The sound quality is extremely pleasing to the ears, thanks to new audio drivers and a team of mastering engineers that assisted with tuning. There are perforations in the driver’s voice coil, which extends high frequency reproduction.

The design has been upgraded from the previous iteration and we found them extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time, which is important with headphones. The battery gets around 30 hours, which is a fairly standard metric for this type of thing. 

The only real major nitpick here is the original asking price. It’s tough to recommend any pair of headphones for $460, but a bit easier at under $400.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/sonys-wh-1000xm6-headphones-are-down-to-a-record-low-price-175038776.html?src=rss