Focus pocus

August 17, 2025

Focus pocus: Have any Axis security cameras? A security researcher hacked the cameras (professional-grade systems used by governments, hospitals and Fortune 500 companies) plus their servers, giving him control of live feeds across thousands of organizations. Axis fixed it, but only if you get the firmware update. Otherwise? Someone else could be watching you watch them.

Tags: cameras, companies, firmware, security, update

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AI meets true crime

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In late November 1987, Nashville police got a call about a revolting stench on Charlotte Avenue. What they found under a dirt-floor crawl space shocked even the most hardened crime scene veterans: two decomposing bodies, buried and forgotten beneath a broken-down home.

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The new scams that know you by name

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Ever get a text that feels … a little too real? You know the ones: “Your account has been locked. Click here to verify.” Most of us roll our eyes and delete them.

But the new generation of scams? They’re scarier and a whole lot smarter.

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17.75

The average turbulence score on America’s bumpiest flight. The eddy dissipation rate (EDR) is basically a nerdy way to measure how violently the air’s shaking you around. Albuquerque to Denver nails it, turning a short hop over the Rockies into a midair mechanical bull ride. Expect seat belt signs, coffee spills and a nervous chuckle from the flight attendant.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Be a hot-spot hero and always place your Wi-Fi router out in the open and high up for the best connection. Thick walls and nearby electrical appliances are major Wi-Fi signal killers.

Your phone is tracking you even when you think it’s not

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You know that little GPS icon that pops up when an app is using your location? That’s the polite part. The tip of the iceberg. The warm handshake before your phone whispers your every movement to Big Tech behind your back.

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🍿 Delete Netflix history: You can remove shows and movies from your watch history to improve recommendations (or hide guilty pleasures 🤭). On PC, go to Your Profile > Viewing activity and click Hide from viewing history next to the title. Also handy if you’re trying to remember something you watched months ago.

💬 75 minutes

That’s how long the average Character.AI user chats with a bot every day. More time than most people spend talking to their actual friends. But hey, Sherlock Holmes never zones out mid-convo to scroll Instagram, right? Turns out, you can put a price on friendship (paywall link): $10 a month, to be exact.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Your TV’s USB ports can charge your phone, tablet and other mobile gadgets. If a pop-up asks to access the device, just ignore it. It’ll keep charging anyway. Genius.

$40 billion

That’s how much market value Do Kwon vaporized in his crypto collapse. He hyped TerraUSD as a stablecoin, then secretly used a trading firm to fake its stability. He could face up to 25 years, but the feds will settle for 12. That’s about one year for every $3.3 billion in lost value.

$7.7 billion

That’s how much Paramount paid for the rights to the UFC. That’s more than the GDP of Fiji. Seven years, 43 events a year and zero pay-per-view fees, just all-you-can-binge brawling for your $12.99 Paramount+ subscription. ESPN’s old $500M-a-year deal looks like pocket change.