A growing number of off-brand Android TV boxes promise unlimited ad-free streaming for a one-time fee, but there's a catch. Security experts have found that these devices are being used for botnets and other cyber-crimes. As spotted by KrebsOnSecurity and documented by Google, these "bad boxes" do often work as advertised, but also perform

Black Friday 2025 is upon us, and you know what that means—hot deals on HOT Hardware all throughout the week, before and after Thanksgiving fills your stomach. We're tracking all the best deals around the web for cutting-edge PCs, PC components, gaming consoles, and other great tech gear to help you save money and move into the holiday season

Well, it's the end of 2025, and the AI crunch is making hardware prices cruise for the stratosphere. At least, SSDs are rising and RAM is through the roof. However, one category that isn't affected at all yet are gaming GPUs. They're not useful for AI aside from the top-end GeForce RTX 4090 and 5090 cards (which are utterly unobtainium as

Amazon has doubled down on its promise of premium audio accessibility by unveiling not only a new lineup of Echo smart speakers but also a major expansion of the Alexa Home Theater feature that turns Amazon Echo speakers into all-in-one surround sound setups. For some, this may be the ideal solution to creating a home theater over more expensive

Do you know what time it is? You would if you owned a smartwatch, but to answer the question for you, it's time to shop Black Friday deals! And to that end, there are plenty of bargains afoot on smartwatches from the major players, including Apple, Google, and Samsung. The toughest part is deciding which ecosystem you want to jump into. Apple

Minisforum has carved out a niche in the mini PC market and its latest offering, the AtomMan G1 Pro, is another enticing compact system aimed at gamers. The svelte system pairs an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX processor with a "desktop grade" GeForce RTX 5060 (145W) GPU, plus a handful of other goodies, in a sleek 3.8-liter chassis. "Bridging the

After nearly a century of experts theorizing and searching for the universe’s most elusive component, a Japanese astronomer believes he has finally captured the first direct glimpse of dark matter, a discovery that, if confirmed, could obviously reshape the entire field of physics. According to Tomonori Totani, a professor at the University

Those up-to-date with the best gaming CPUs know that AMD has stolen the crown from Intel with Ryzen X3D chips wielding massively increasing cache allotments. However, Intel's upcoming Nova Lake-S CPUs are rumored to have a massive cache configurations of their own. According to leakers on Twitter, unlocked Intel Nova Lake-S CPUs will feature

In a move that could in equal parts redefine external mobile audio or annoy the heck out of people, Poco's F8 Ultra debuts a Bose-branded triple speaker setup featuring a dedicated "tablet-level" subwoofer mounted high, next to the rear cameras. Not settling in being a one-trick pony, the phone packs a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 6,500 mAh battery

Following up on the launch of its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 system-on-chip (SoC) in September, Qualcomm has now unveiled a non-Elite variant that aims to deliver nearly the same level of performance and features in a more affordable package. While the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 doesn't bear an 'Elite' designation, in a vacuum, this could be considered

Microsoft isn’t the only company eyeing an AI native operating system, even if some users are pushing back on the concept. Google has its own grand plans to release a more robust version of Android that will eventually supplant ChromeOS, according to a recent job posting. The company was on the hunt for a Senior Product Manager for Android,

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptops: As tested, $3349 (16) and $4099 These new Area-51 laptops aren't a mild refresh, but a whole new design philosophy, delivering top-shelf performance and show-stopping aesthetics. Gorgeous Exterior Aesthetics Top-Tier Gaming Performance Impressive Expansion Options Restrained Noise, Solid Thermals Excellent...

Memory prices have skyrocketed recently and brick-and-mortar retailers are converting to "spot pricing" or "market pricing" for RAM kits, which means pricing is determined at the point of sale based on current market conditions. The most egregious example we've seen is from u/CassTexas showing blocked-out DDR5 price tags at MicroCenter with

We reported last week on some leaked details for Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh processors. As a refresh, these new chips don't seem to do much to differentiate themselves from the extant Core Ultra 200S family, but one small upgrade mentioned in that leak was a move to DDR5-7200 memory as standard. Now, we have confirmation on that direct

Skyrocketing memory prices are threatening the PC gaming landscape, as building a new rig from the ground up is suddenly a bigger challenge than it had been. The timing is especially frustrating because we've finally the market for modern generation graphics settle down. The solution? Either wait it out and hope that things improve, or consider

In 2026, Voyager 1, humanity's farthest reaching Energizer Bunny of a probe, will travel toward an almost comprehensible benchmark: being a full light-day away from Earth. According to NASA's data, the milestone is projected to occur around November 15 next year. To call the distance vast is an understatement; one light-day translates to

Early whispers are suggesting that Apple’s first foldable iPhone could debut at a cost that will either push the loyalty of Apple fans or turn the phone into a sales dud. Currently referred to as the iPhone Fold, the phone will effectively sit in the luxury side of the mobile world, costing around $2,400, which is $500 more than a Galaxy Z

If you're not feeling a pair of Xbox-themed Crocs this holiday season, then what about a new Android phone? Don't worry about asking for Santa to come through because with a bunch of Black Friday discounts on Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices in play, you're better off buying your own phone and asking for something bigger from the holiday

Microsoft is once again collaborating with Crocs on a custom themed pair of clogs (just as Nintendo did earlier this year), with the latest abomination creation taking inspiration from the Xbox brand. It's as if an Xbox controller and a pair of Crocs made a baby in what can only be described as an unholy union. Unless, of course, you're a

It's an interesting time in the retro gaming world. Thanks to ongoing decompilation efforts, games formerly exclusive to a given platform are being made available on competing, rival platforms, including some that feature signature characters. Super Mario 64 and Spyro The Dragon, for example, are now playable on opposing platforms. That's

Apple has made some significant hardware and software updates this year, with the debut of the ultra-thin iPhone Air and overhauled user interface of its operating systems with the Liquid Glass design language. The company will be focusing on stability and performance for the next version of iOS, however, while attempting to bolster its AI

If you feel like Windows 11 has been trending less and less stable over the last few months, you're not imagining things. Microsoft has confirmed a nasty bug in Windows 11 version 24H2 (stemming from cumulative updates starting in July 2025) that's knocking out critical system components. According to support article KB5072911, several core

The latest Windows Insider build for Windows 11 features numerous performance fixes and additions, especially for File Explorer. One of the fixes, pictured below, is a reorganized right-click context menu in File Explorer. Perhaps the most interesting change is that Microsoft is considering pre-loading File Explorer in an effort to improve

Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal, two U.S. senators, have asked the FTC and SEC to probe Meta over an estimated $16 billion in scam ad revenue in 2024. A letter from the two to the agencies stated, "The FTC and SEC should immediately open investigations and, if the reporting is accurate, pursue vigorous enforcement action where appropriate,"