Free VPN services aren't simply schemes to sell user data; some reputable providers offer limited free tiers hoping users will upgrade, while others monetize through ads or unclear data practices. A VPN encrypts traffic between your device and its server, hiding your destinations from your ISP, but it doesn't make you anonymous since sites can still track you via accounts and cookies. Choosing a free VPN means evaluating the provider's business model and privacy tradeoffs, not just the lack of a price tag.
A tech explainer clarifies the difference between a router's WAN port, which connects to a modem or ONT for internet access, and its LAN ports, which link wired devices like PCs, consoles, TVs and NAS units inside the home. It notes that combo router/modem units skip the WAN port entirely, while some routers use flexible WAN/LAN or auto-sensing ports instead of clearly labeled ones.
Comparing a 256GB SSD to a 1TB hard drive isn't a simple capacity contest, since SSDs retrieve data electronically from flash memory while HDDs rely on spinning platters and moving read/write heads, making SSDs significantly faster for booting and running programs. Whether 256GB is enough depends heavily on usage: it suits light users who rely on cloud storage, while heavy local file storage, creative work or gaming may require 512GB, 1TB or more.
College students are increasingly engineering workarounds to avoid AI-detection tools used by professors, according to a New York Magazine report. One NYU student built a bot with AI coding tools that completes his WebAssign calculus homework slowly, mimicking human typing speed to avoid raising suspicion from timestamp checks, and has since shared the tool with classmates.
IBM is running the technical backbone of the U.S. Open's digital platforms, feeding real-time data and AI analysis into the tournament's app and website. Features like the Serve Quality metric track 21 data points per player 50 times a second, producing over 1.2 billion data points across the tournament, while an AI chatbot answers fan questions about the sport. Engagement has surged, with 14 million unique devices and nearly 47 million visits in 2025, a 19% jump from the prior year.
The New Mexico Supreme Court found veteran defense attorney Stephen Aarons in direct contempt after he filed an appellate brief containing invented testimony from nonexistent witnesses, generated using ChatGPT. Aarons admitted he never verified the AI-produced content before submitting it in the appeal of client Oscar Renee Sandoval's murder conviction, nor did he tell his client about the errors. The case has been referred to a disciplinary board for further review.
A WIRED writer visited John Deere headquarters to try out the company's Operations Center Pro Service, a self-repair software system that works with most of its electronic-enabled machines. Company executives, including chief technology officer Jahmy Hindman, presented the tool as evidence that John Deere supports owner repairs, but many farmers and right-to-repair advocates remain unconvinced given the company's history of restricting independent repairs.
A Wall Street Journal report describes everyday investors connecting brokerage accounts on platforms like Robinhood, Webull and Public to AI agents built on Claude and Codex to automatically trade stocks. Users like Colin Edsman and Dean Ahrens say their AI-managed portfolios have outperformed their own manual trading, with Ahrens turning $3,000 into $8,000 and landing one trade with over 500% returns.
A homeschooled boy in the UK developed erythema ab igne, a lace-like reddish-brown skin rash, after resting his laptop directly on his stomach for up to eight hours a day, often while it charged. Doctors initially suspected bruising before he explained his study habits, leading to the diagnosis. The condition faded and eventually cleared once he stopped placing the device on his skin.
WIRED tested John Deere's Operations Center Pro Service, a self-repair tool built into the company's connected machines, and successfully used it to fix a tractor with guidance from company staff. Despite the demonstration, many farmers remain skeptical that Deere has genuinely opened up repair access, given the digital locks that still require dealer approval for many fixes.
Anthropic disclosed it banned several accounts after scientists in restricted countries tried to disguise research requests to bypass its safety controls. One case involved a scientist seeking help drafting a grant application to engineer more dangerous mutations of the chikungunya virus, seemingly for a military research institute.
UK physicians Mara Znagoveanu and Edward Artley documented a school-age boy who arrived at the emergency room with a wide, reddish-brown, net-like rash on his abdomen that nurses initially mistook for bruising. After ruling out trauma, illness and organ problems through exams, X-rays and a CT scan, the doctors traced the marks to prolonged, direct skin exposure to heat from a laptop the boy used daily, resulting in a condition known as erythema ab igne, or 'toasted skin syndrome.'
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