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I Found 29 Early Prime Day Deals That Are Worth Shopping Now (2026)

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The Typhur Dome 2 is the best air fryer you can buy. Sure, it looks like a flying saucer from a bad 1960s movie, but it will crisp your wings, bake your pizza, and gently golden brown your fries like no other. The griddle function is even capable of actual Maillard browning to chops and drumsticks. The catch is the high price, but this deal brings the cost down to earth.

Amazon Device Deals

The Echo Dot Max offers some of the best sound you’ll find in an Echo speaker. It’s impressively loud without getting muddled, especially considering its small size. Despite increasing competition, Alexa’s great compatibility and voice controls continue to rise above the rest, making this our top pick smart speaker.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

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Fire TV Stick 4K Select

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The second-generation Fire Stick 4K Select is a budget version of our top pick, the Fire Stick 4K Max. The Select only has 8 GB of memory (compared to 16 GB for the Max), and it lacks the live view picture-in-picture and Alexa Home Theater mode, but video quality and content options are the same. The picture-in-picture mode is handy sometimes, and we do expect the Max to be on sale once Prime Day starts, but if you don’t need it, this is a solid deal on a decent streaming stick. And don’t forget, sneering Roku fans, Fox is buying Roku—good luck with that.

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Scammers are selling fake RTX 4090 graphics cards with plastic GPU dies and missing memory

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WTF?! With the AI boom driving GPU prices to record highs, scammers are capitalizing by flooding the market with counterfeit graphics cards. A new report from China suggests that fraudsters are now gluing fake plastic GPU shells onto PCBs and selling them as genuine RTX 4090 graphics cards to unsuspecting buyers.

In a video posted on the Chinese social media platform Bilibili, well-known PC hardware dealer Brother Zhang claimed that he was recently scammed into buying a counterfeit second-hand RTX 4090 for 1,500 yuan (around $221). According to Zhang, the card appeared to be a normal RTX 4090 at first glance, with the die markings reading “AD102-300-A1,” which refers to the actual GPU used in the 4090.

However, upon further investigation, he found that other markings on the die were inconsistent with original RTX GPUs, such as the font style, which did not match Nvidia’s official design. The die also had “TW 3043E2” engraved on it, suggesting it was manufactured in 2030 – an error Nvidia and its official board partners are unlikely to make.

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Zhang immediately suspected that the card was not authentic, or at least that some components may have been swapped out before being sold. Once he disassembled the card for further inspection, his suspicions were confirmed: the GPU die was made of plastic rather than silicon. The memory dies were not real either.

Zhang compared the fake RTX 4090 die with photographs of an original RTX 4090 board, confirming his suspicion that nearly every part of the card was counterfeit and had been glued onto the PCB to fill empty space. Other discrepancies included misplaced capacitors and a missing QR code that would have been etched onto the die had it been authentic.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time reports have surfaced of fake graphics cards being sold to unsuspecting buyers. Earlier this year, a repair shop owner came across a “near-perfect” fake RTX 4090 with laser-etched VRAM and a fake GPU core. Last year, a technician in China found that three out of four RTX 4090 cards he received for repair were fitted with RTX 3090 or RTX 3080 dies.

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BMPS 2026 Grand Finals Standings After Day 1

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The first day of the BMPS Grand Finals here at the Jaipur Convention Center has just curtailed, and it was another exhilarating, action-packed scene we’ve all come to expect of BGMI action. Despite securing two chicken dinners, iQOO Reckoning Esports couldn’t hold on to the top spot, with Divine Gaming and Nebula Esports finishing first and second, respectively. Not every fan favorite had a day to remember. Teams like iQOO SouL and TAG barely managed to get going and now find themselves near the bottom of the standings. Here’s what the full standings looked like after day one of the BMPS Grand Finals.

BMPS 2026 Grand Finals Standings Day 1

Rank Team WWCD Finish Points Position Points Total Points
1 DIVINE 2 54 31 85
2 NBE 1 36 17 53
3 GENS 0 35 17 52
4 iQOOORGE 2 20 27 47
5 iQOO8BIT 0 29 11 40
6 iQOORNTX 0 29 10 39
7 VASISTA 0 26 12 38
8 iQOOxTT 0 24 13 37
9 7GODS 1 21 15 36
10 GDR 0 22 7 29
11 iQOOxOG 0 15 11 26
12 iQOOSOUL 0 20 5 25
13 MYTH 0 18 6 24
14 TAG 0 21 2 23
15 VS 0 15 7 22
16 GODL 0 19 1 20

Day 2 gets underway tomorrow, and if BMPS history is anything to go by, it’s often the day when teams begin mounting comebacks. We hope to see similar top-tier action and maybe a comeback from fan favorites like Soul. If you missed today’s games, check out our highlights of day 1.

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8849 Tank 5 Brings a Real Projector and Multi-Day Battery Life to Rugged Smartphones

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8849 Tank 5 Smartphone Launch
Few devices attempt to blend serious outdoor durability with features that feel borrowed from a living room setup. The 8849 Tank 5 does so without apology. This latest entry in the Tank series arrives as a thick, heavy slab of a phone that carries a built-in 2K DLP projector, a 17,600mAh battery, and flagship-grade internals while meeting strict IP68 and IP69K standards for dust and water resistance.



With a weight of 715 grams and a thickness of 33.8mm, the Tank 5 will immediately draw your notice as soon as it leaves your pocket or bag. It measures 33.8mm (1.39 in) thick, giving it a chunky feel, more like a compact portable radio than a typical smartphone. Two physical keys can be programmed to activate the flashlight at the touch of a button or provide rapid access to other essential features. The back features a 1200-lumen camping light with RGB warning functionality. It’s far brighter than a regular LED flash, making it ideal for signaling or lighting up your campground. On the side, a fingerprint sensor allows you to easily unlock the phone.

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When it comes to power delivery, you get a big 17600mAh battery to keep things going. Early testers have reported getting several days out of a single charge, which must be reassuring. Of course, if it does run low, you can plug it in and get back up to speed in approximately 90 minutes using 120W cable charging. The phone may also double as a power bank for smaller gadgets, including reverse wired charging at 25W. Of course, you can continue to use the projector, but excessive use will shorten the life of your battery.

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The MediaTek Dimensity 9400e, an octa-core chipset designed on a 4nm technology, delivers performance. It has a primary Cortex-X4 core running at 3.4GHz, as well as certain high-performance and efficiency cores and an Immortalis-G720 GPU. Early testing indicate that it can get AnTuTu scores of over 2.3 million, making it a flagship performer for gaming, multitasking, and demanding programs. Memory options include 18GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 internal memory, with the possibility to add up to 2TB of storage via microSD card. Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, dual Nano-SIM and eSIM support, as well as USB 3.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 for connected video to external screens, round out the connectivity options.

The phone’s front display is a 6.73-inch AMOLED with a resolution of 3200 by 1440, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a peak brightness of up to 3000 nits. That high brightness, paired with the AMOLED contrast, makes a significant difference when working or exploring outdoors in direct sunshine, and the punch-hole camera cutout keeps the screen area relatively clear. The Tank 5 stands out from other rugged phones due to its rear-mounted 2K DLP projector with a brightness of 220 lumens. With 2048 by 1080 resolution, laser autofocus, and automated keystone correction, you can see a good-sized image on a nearby wall or portable screen even in low-light or gloomy settings. Ideal for movie nights on a camping trip or quick presentations wherever they are required.


The rear camera setup consists of a 50 megapixel primary sensor, a 50 megapixel telephoto lens, and a 50 megapixel night vision camera equipped with infrared LEDs, allowing you to capture usable images even in complete darkness. In contrast, a 32 megapixel front camera easily handles video calls and selfies. Now, the inclusion of night vision and a telephoto lens opens up new options for users like hikers and security professionals, as well as anyone who needs to see things from a distance or in poor light.

Prices begin at $899 during the initial pre-order period and rise to the regular price of $999 shortly after. What you get is a single configuration option with 18GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, all in black, with no additional options available. By the way, pre-orders commenced in mid-June 2026, and shipping should begin in early July through official channels and the occasional warehouse.

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Nothing’s Budget Brand CMF Won’t Be Releasing A New Phone This Year

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The company’s co-founder says it’s because of increasing memory prices.

CMF, the budget brand owned by Nothing, will not be launching a follow-up to the Phone Pro 2 anytime soon. “A lot of you have been asking when the next CMF phone is coming and as always we’d rather be transparent,” Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis wrote in a post on X. He said that CMF was working on a successor to the Phone Pro 2, but because of current memory prices, the subsidiary can’t build a phone that “feels like a genuine step forward at a price that makes sense for CMF.” That’s why CMF decided not to launch a new phone this year.

RAM prices have skyrocketed over the past year due to supply shortages, caused by manufacturers redirecting their production to fulfill orders from massive AI buildouts. Both Apple and Samsung have already warned that price hikes are coming due to increasing RAM costs, while the IDC predicted that PC shipments could shrink by almost 10 percent this year due to higher prices.

Nothing’s CMF launched the Phone Pro 2 as it latest flagship device in April last year. It was the lightest and slimmest smartphone it has ever designed so far, and the brand suggested back then that the phone can last two days on a single charge. A few months after Phone Pro 2 was launched, Nothing spun off its CMF brand into an independent subsidiary headquartered in India, which is the company’s strongest market. 

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Even though it’s not going to release a new phone this year, Evangelidis says CMF will launch several new products, “as well as some entirely new categories.”

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16 Best Greens Powders (2026): Taste-Tested for Months

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Bloom Nutrition Superfood Greens Powder Compact packaging. Many flavors. Wide availability. Very sweet. Calories: 20. Carbohydrates: 4 g. Dietary fiber: 2 g. Iron: 0.5 mg. Sodium: 8 mg. Fiber blend: 1.606 g. Green Superfood Blend: 1.367 g. Pre and Probiotic Blend: 648 mg. Fruit and Vegetable Blend: 572 mg. Antioxidant Beauty Blend: 550 mg. Digestive Enzyme Blend: 150 mg. Adaptogenic Blend: 100 mg. (May vary slightly by flavor.) 10 30+ $1.33 Yes Plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free. Groove Greens Powder Delicious. Doesn’t taste like greens. Scoop is messy. Calories: 20. Carbohydrates: 5 g. Dietary Fiber: 2 g. Vitamin C: 90 mg. Vitamin D: 20 mcg. Vitamin B12: 10 mcg. Calcium: 30 mg. Iron: 1.6 mg. Sodium: 50 mg. Potassium: 110 mg. 3 21 $2 Yes No dyes, no artificial flavors, no artificial sweeteners. Live It Up Super Greens Neutral flavor. Vague instructions may not be ideal for some people. Calories: 30. Carbohydrates: 3 g. Dietary Fiber: 3 g. Protein: 2 g. Vitamin A: 135 mcg RAE. Vitamin K: 84 mcg. Thiamin: 0.05 mcg. Riboflavin: 0.078 mg. Niacin: 0.39 mg NE. Vitamin B6: 0.04 mg. Folate: 40 mcg DFE. Vitamin B12: 3.84 mcg. Calcium: 49 mg. Iron: 3.6 mg. Phosphorous: 25.76 mg. Iodine: 52.5 mcg. Magnesium: 17 mg. Selenium: 41.5 mcg. Copper: 0.04 mg. Manganese: 0.45 mg. Chromium: 28 mcg. Molybdenum: 3.6 mcg. Chloride: 46 mg. Sodium: 22 mg. 2 28 $1.33 Yes Sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free. Vegan. No preservatives, GMOs, artificial flavors, stevia, artificial sweeteners, or caffeine. Athletic Greens AG1 Tastes healthy in a good way. Upscale packaging. NSF Certified for Sport. High price tag. Calories: 40. Carbohydrates: 6 g. Dietary Fiber: 2 g. Protein: 2 g. Vitamin A: 550 mcg RAE. Vitamin C: 500 mg. Vitamin E: 20 mg. Thiamin: 3 mg. Riboflavin: 2 mg. Niacin: 16 mg NE. Vitamin B6: 5 mg. Folate: 680 mcg DFE. Vitamin B12: 400 mcg. Biotin: 330 mcg. Pantothenic acid: 4 mg. Choline: 25 mg. Calcium: 120 mg. Iron: 1 mg. Phosphorous: 130 mg. Magnesium: 30 mg. Zinc: 20 mg. Selenium: 22 mcg. Copper: 0.2 mg. Manganese: 0.4 mg. Chromium: 25 mcg. Molybdenum: 45 mcg. Sodium: 35 mg. Potassium: 250 mg. Vitamin K2: 90 mcg. Benfotiamine: 25 mg. Myo-Inositol: 100 mg. Boron: 500 mcg. Coenzyme Q10: 60 mg. Alpha-lipoic acid: 100 mg. 3 83 $3.30 Yes Vegan, paleo, keto. Halal. Free from GMOs, artificial sweeteners, gluten, dairy, lactose, eggs, and peanuts. Athletic Greens AG1 Flavors Healthy-tasting (in a good way). Upscale packaging. NSF Certified for Sport. High price tag. Calories: 40. Carbohydrates: 6 g. Dietary Fiber: 2 g. Protein: 2 g. Vitamin A: 550 mcg RAE. Vitamin C: 500 mg. Vitamin E: 20 mg. Thiamin: 3 mg. Riboflavin: 2 mg. Niacin: 16 mg NE. Vitamin B6: 5 mg. Folate: 680 mcg DFE. Vitamin B12: 400 mcg. Biotin: 330 mcg. Pantothenic acid: 4 mg. Choline: 25 mg. Calcium: 120 mg. Iron: 1 mg. Phosphorous: 130 mg. Magnesium: 30 mg. Zinc: 20 mg. Selenium: 22 mcg. Copper: 0.2 mg. Manganese: 0.4 mg. Chromium: 25 mcg. Molybdenum: 45 mcg. Sodium: 35 mg. Potassium: 250 mg. Vitamin K2: 90 mcg. Benfotiamine: 25 mg. Myo-Inositol: 100 mg. Boron: 500 mcg. Coenzyme Q10: 60 mg. Alpha-lipoic acid: 100 mg. 3 83 $3.30 Yes Vegan, paleo, keto. Halal. Free from GMOs, artificial sweeteners, gluten, dairy, lactose, eggs, and peanuts. Athletic Greens AG1 Pro Pleasant taste. Supports muscle and gut health. High price tag. Calories: 50. Carbohydrates: 8 g. Dietary Fiber: 2 g. Protein: 2 g. Vitamin A: 550 mcg RAE. Vitamin C: 500 mg. Vitamin E: 20 mg. Thiamin: 3 mg. Riboflavin: 2 mg. Niacin: 16 mg NE. Vitamin B6: 5 mg. Folate: 680 mcg DFE. Vitamin B12: 400 mcg. Biotin: 330 mcg. Pantothenic acid: 4 mg. Choline: 25 mg. Calcium: 240 mg. Iron: 2.5 mg. Phosphorous: 130 mg. Magnesium: 30 mg. Zinc: 20 mg. Selenium: 22 mcg. Copper: 0.2 mg. Manganese: 0.4 mg. Chromium: 25 mcg. Molybdenum: 45 mcg. Sodium: 40 mg. Potassium: 250 mg. Vitamin K2: 90 mcg. Benfotiamine: 25 mg. Myo-Inositol: 100 mg. Boron: 500 mcg. Coenzyme Q10: 60 mg. Alpha-lipoic acid: 70 mg. 1 86 $3.30 Yes Vegan, paleo, keto. Halal. Free from GMOs, artificial sweeteners, gluten, dairy, lactose, eggs, and peanuts. Primal Harvest Super Greens Powder Neutral flavor. Slow to dissolve. Calories: 35. Fat: 0.6 g. Carbohydrates: 6 g. Dietary Fiber: 2.5 g. Protein: 1.4 g. Vitamin C: 110 mg. Vitamin E: 10 mg. Vitamin B12: 25 mcg. Zinc: 7.5 mcg. Copper: 0.06 mg. 1 54 $1.66 Yes No added gluten, dairy, soy, or sugars. No eggs, gluten, or gelatin. Organifi Green Juice Powder Minty flavor is good (if a little weird). Pouch is hard to close. Calories: 30. Carbohydrates: 6 g. Dietary Fiber: 3 g. Protein: 1 g. Calcium: 31 mg. Iron: 2 mg. Sodium: 15 mg. 1 11 $2.66 Yes Gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, plant-based. Vegan, organic, non-GMO. Zena Nutrition Greens Organic Supergreens Fruits & Vegetables High fiber content. Grassy flavor. Calories: 20. Carbohydrates: 4 g. Dietary fiber: 3 g. Protein: 2 g. Calcium: 36 mg. Iron: 1 mg. Sodium: 6 mg. Potassium: 143 mg. 4 70+ $1.17 Yes Vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free. Non-GMO. BrickHouse Nutrition Field of Greens Several options to choose from. Pleasant taste. Chalky texture. Calories: 25. Sodium: 15 mg. Carbohydrates: 4 g. Dietary fiber: 2 g. Protein: 1 g. Vitamin D: 4 mcg. Calcium: 1 mg. Vitamin A: 233 mcg. Vitamin C: 19 mg. Vitamin E: 3 mg. Vitamin K: 26 mcg. Thiamin: 0.3 mg. Riboflavin: 0.3 mg. Niacin: 3 mg. Vitamin B6: 0.4 mg. Folate: 86 mcg DFE. Vitamin B12: 0.5 mcg. Biotin: 6 mcg. Pantothenic Acid: 1 mg. Iodine: 3 mcg. Magnesium: 9 mg. Selenium: 1.2 mcg. Chromium: 1 mcg. Molybdenum: 1 mcg. 10 38+ $3 Yes Gluten-free, lactose-free. Natural flavors. Sips Club Veggie Sips Very tasty. Stick format. Inclusion of prunes may be a blessing or a curse. Calories: 5. Carbohydrates: 3 g. Dietary fiber: 2 g. 4 21 $1.83 Yes Gluten-free. No added sugars or artificial dyes. Factor Form Daily Greens Bright, juicy taste. Packets are convenient. No excess vitamin content. Made me burp! Calories: 20. Carbohydrates: 4 g. Dietary fiber: 2 g. Protein: 1 g. Vitamin C: 90 mg. Vitamin D: 20 mcg. Thiamin: 1.2 mg. Riboflavin: 1.3 mg. Niacin: 16 mg NE. Vitamin B6: 1.7 mg. Folate: 400 mcg DFE. Vitamin B12: 2.4 mcg. Biotin: 30 mcg. Pantothenic Acid: 5 mg. Calcium: 20 mg. Iron: 0.5 mg. Zinc: 11 mg. Sodium: 20 mg. Potassium: 50 mg. 1 27+ $2.30 Yes No added sugars. Keto-friendly. Grüns Superfood Gummies All the goodness of greens powders in a palatable gummy. Easy to take on the go because no water is required. A great option for picky eaters. Not the best value for what it is. Website aggressively pushes subscriptions and upsells. Regular Grüns: Calories: 50. Carbohydrates: 15 g. Dietary fiber: 6 g. Sugars: 8 g. Vitamin A: 900 mcg RAE. Vitamin C: 93 mg. Vitamin D: 20 mcg. Vitamin E: 15 mg. Thiamin: 1.2 mg. Riboflavin: 1.3 mg. Niacin: 16 mg. Vitamin B6: 1.7 mg. Folate: 400 mcg DFE. Vitamin B12: 2.4 mcg. Biotin: 30 mcg. Pantothenic Acid: 5 mg. Iron: 4.5 mg. Iodine: 38 mcg. Zinc: 2.75 mg. Selenium: 14 mcg. Copper: 0.22 mg. Manganese: 0.57 mg. Chromium: 9 mcg. Molybdenum: 11 mcg. Vitamin K2: 120 mcg. 2 (with 2 sweetness options apiece) 60 $2.39 Yes Vegan. Low-sugar options. Quince Daily Superfood Greens Balanced taste. Pleasant texture. Affordable. Can be gritty. Calories: 30. Carbohydrates: 5 g. Dietary fiber: 1 g. Protein: 2 g. Sodium: 20 mg. Vitamin A: 550 mcg. Vitamin C: 429 mg. Vitamin D: 50 mcg. Vitamin E: 26.6 mg. Thiamin: 3.9 mg. Riboflavin: 2 mg. Niacin: 20 mg. Vitamin B6: 3.3 mg. Folate: 675 mcg. Vitamin B12: 22 mcg. Biotin: 330 mcg. Pantothenic Acid: 3.7 mg. Iron: 800 mcg. Phosphorus: 110 mg. Magnesium: 30 mg. Zinc: 15 mg. Selenium: 20 mcg. Copper: 194 mcg. Manganese: 400 mcg. Chromium: 25 mcg. Posassium: 230 mg. 1 78 $1.34 No Soy-free. Stevia-free. Free from preservatives, GMOs, fillers, artificial ingredients, and the top 12 major allergens. Vegan, paleo, keto. Daily Elements Microgreens Powder Simple ingredients. Taste is subtle. Stinky. Calories: 5 2 4 $2.50 Yes Vegan, paleo, keto. Halal. Free from pesticides, GMOs, artificial sweeteners, gluten, dairy, lactose, eggs, and peanuts. Nuzest Good Green Vitality Pleasant taste. Packed with vitamins and minerals. Clumps readily. Calories: 30 Carbohydrates: 3g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 1g Protein: 2g Vitamins: too many ingredients to list 1 75+ $3.17 Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO

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Telegram founder accuses Meta of sabotaging access in India with BGP hijacks

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Allegations of fake routes are fake news, says Indian telco Jio

The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has suggested Meta might be using its investment in Indian telco Jio to sabotage the messaging service.

 Durov dropped his theory on X, writing: “Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking.”

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Such attacks see miscreants publish inaccurate routing announcements that associate a service with the wrong IP address. Because routers share info with each other using the border gateway protocol (BGP), fake announcements can quickly propagate across the internet. When that happens, netizens can struggle to reach online services.

Durov alleged that Reliance’s mobile carrier, Jio, had used BGP hijacking to disrupt access to Telegram.

“The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports,” he wrote. “This may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partially owned by Meta – the company behind WhatsApp.”

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“The decision to ban Telegram in India looks more like a way to help WhatsApp protect its market share than a legitimate regulatory action that can fix anything,” he added in another Xeet.

Meta has indeed invested in Reliance, to the tune of $5.7 billion – and two weeks ago announced it will use a datacenter operated by the Indian company.

Jio has denied misconfiguring any routes. “Jio continues to operate its network in accordance with global internet routing best practices and the highest standards of reliability, security, and transparency,” the company said.

Durov offered no proof for his theory, but that didn’t stop him from suggesting a deeper conspiracy.

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“Such abuse of global internet routing is alarming. I wouldn’t be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India.”

That’s a reference to India’s decision to block Telegram for six days to prevent scams and other misconduct at the time of a medical studies entrance exam that over two million people will sit. The decision to implement the ban was taken by India’s IT ministry, at the urging of the National Testing Agency – an organization that oversees exams.

The founder is correct to say that some Indian entities have called for bans and/or tighter regulation of Telegram for reasons including its uncooperative response to requests for assistance from law enforcement, suspicions that the service facilitates content piracy, and its allowance of user anonymity. Indian telcos are also unhappy that services like Telegram – and WhatsApp – provide voice services but aren’t governed by the same laws as licensed carriers.

Durov’s suggestion that Indian authorities have singled out Telegram is therefore hard to sustain.

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Durov also criticized the exam-time Telegram ban. “This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India – not the insiders who leaked the exam materials.” he wrote, before observing that the scams and leaks that Indian authorities hoped to prevent would likely move to other apps. ®

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Splunk Enterprise flaw actively exploited, patch by Sunday

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Splunk

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has urged federal agencies to secure their systems by Sunday against a critical Splunk Enterprise vulnerability that is being exploited in attacks.

Tracked as CVE-2026-20253, this security flaw affects Splunk Enterprise (versions 10.2.0 to 10.2.3 and 10.0.0 to 10.0.6) and allows remote attackers without privileges to create or truncate arbitrary files on vulnerable devices via a PostgreSQL sidecar service endpoint.

“The vulnerability exists because the PostgreSQL sidecar service endpoint lacks authentication controls, allowing any network-reachable user to invoke file operations without credentials,” the Splunk security team said in a security advisory published last week.

image

On June 12, days after Splunk released security patches, WatchTowr published a technical write-up, shared proof-of-concept exploit code, and warned that the flaw can be abused for remote code execution attacks.

On Wednesday, June 18, Splunk updated its advisory, urging customers to patch their systems as soon as possible due to evidence of in-the-wild exploitation.

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“In June 2026, the Splunk Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) became aware of limited exploitation of this vulnerability. Splunk strongly recommends that customers upgrade to a fixed software release to remediate this vulnerability,” it said.

Internet security watchdog group Shadowserver tracks over 1,400 Internet-exposed Splunk instances, most of them from North America (952) and Europe (223). However, there is no information on how many of them are vulnerable to ongoing attacks targeting the CVE-2026-20253 flaw.

Splunk instances exposed online
Splunk instances exposed online (Shadowserver)

On Thursday, CISA confirmed that threat actors are now actively abusing the CVE-2026-20253 vulnerability in attacks and ordered Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to patch their Splunk instances by Sunday, as mandated by Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04.

Issued last week, CISA’s BOD 26-04 requires U.S. government agencies to prioritize patching based on each vulnerability’s risk of exploitation.

“This type of vulnerability is a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and poses significant risks to the federal enterprise,” the cybersecurity agency said yesterday. “Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset’s internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.”

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Splunk also shared mitigation measures for admins who can’t immediately patch vulnerable systems, advising them to disable the PostgreSQL sidecar service to remove the attack surface.

However, it also warned that disabling PostgreSQL would break Edge Processor, OpAmp, or SPL2 data pipelines on affected instances.


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The Repair Nightmare That Are Smart Rings

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In the quest to make every wearable device ‘smart’, a lot of electronics along have to be crammed in very small spaces, along with ways to make them resistant to environments that our bodies do not mind, like getting hit by a rainstorm or simply washing our hands. These two factors combined make especially devices like smart rings an interesting case study for repairability, with [iFixit] recently taking apart a modern Oura smart ring to assess its e-waste factor after the built-in battery dies.

The tiny 10.5 mAh Lipo cell in the Oura Ring 5. (Credit: iFixit)
The tiny 10.5 mAh Lipo cell in the Oura Ring 5. (Credit: iFixit)

The subject of the teardown video is the Oura Ring 5, a $400 smart ring that’s designed to track your vitals much like a wrist-worn fitness tracker — just in a much smaller package. This metal-and-epoxy sandwich can definitely survive a good rain shower and washing of hands, but to get to the internals rather forceful methods were needed, unlike previous Oura and Samsung smart rings where some applied heat was enough.

In the Ring 5’s case even more heat was needed to make the inner ring start to slide out, but by that point the Li-ion battery inside had already popped from the heat. The inner ring then got stuck and more violence was required to continue the disassembly and get to the super-tiny, 10.5 mAh battery. Of course, at this point the smart ring really won’t be getting back together, never mind still work or be waterproof, which is a central issue with these smart rings.

With the EU’s February 2027 deadline for user-replaceable batteries looming on the horizon, it’ll be interesting to see whether devices like this can squeeze into an exception category, or whether manufacturers will have to massively redesign or stop selling these devices to this rather large market. So far this particular regulation has already forced Nintendo to make a special Switch 2 console for the EU.

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Best Weekend Ever? Playing Pokemon Go With 717,000 Fans of the Game

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Over the course of three days, Jacob Crowe walked 26 miles across Chicago in super-humid heat and rainy mornings, engaging in hundreds of virtual battles. Alongside tens of thousands of other players, he sought the rarest Pokemon, particularly Shiny variants.

“It makes it better to do it as a group together,” Crowe said of the crowds that gathered to play the mobile game as part of Pokemon Go Fest.

I was there, too, among those thousands, draining my phone battery out in the sun while catching hundreds of virtual creatures in Grant Park and other parts of the city.

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During that mass gathering in early June, the game I’d been playing alone for the past year suddenly felt like a gigantic concert packed with fans as obsessed as I am. Or even more so. 

I hadn’t expected that. True, when Pokemon Go launched in 2016, it was a mobile gaming sensation. Phones in hand, players descended on parks and other public spaces to catch all those pocket monsters, in the form of augmented reality animations. For a while, it felt like everybody was playing Pokemon Go.

But then, as crazes do, Pokemon fever cooled down. People moved on. I stopped playing the game regularly not long after it debuted. 

Turns out the enthusiasm has been simmering all along, and it just takes something like Go Fest to bring things to a boil.

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The event had been expected to attract 40,000 people per day. But according to the enthusiast site GoNintendo, more than twice that many (90,000) tickets were sold for the Grant Park event (players entered and left at staggered times), and over 717,000 players in Chicago were recorded catching nearly 62 million Pokemon during citywide play. Six couples got engaged at the event, proving that Pokemon Go may be a stealth dating app.   

Pokemon Go Fest 2026 was special because it marked the 10th anniversary of the game and the ninth anniversary of the first Go Fest, which also took place in Chicago. And it coincided with a Pokemon Fossil Museum exhibit at Chicago’s Field Museum, which provides a spectacularly detailed history of Pokemon evolution, complete with gigantic skeletons, remains trapped in amber and a very robust gift shop.

The weekend also included a US Men’s National Soccer Team match and a half-marathon. So many fans attended the various events that gameplay was suspended in some areas, including at the Field Museum.

Welcome back to Pokemon Go

Last year, I picked the game back up with some family members. Those of us who’d abandoned it came back with fierce devotion.

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So much had been added to the game since I last played it — from trading with other players (even remotely) to user-generated routes to large-scale raids that sometimes require more than a dozen players. 

A player of Pokémon Go glances at a laminated set of character sheets showing Pokemon another player wants to trade. They are outside in Lincoln Park in Chicago during cloudy weather.

Players of Pokemon Go show off characters from the game they have to trade or are seeking out from others at Lincoln Park as part of an early-morning “Raid train.”

Omar Gallaga/CNET

At first, the changes were overwhelming, but the experienced group I joined gave helpful advice. At the same time, online videos, Wiki pages and some Google searching provided answers to the obstacles I encountered.

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The game became a daily habit for our group. We exchanged gifts, traded lucky Pokemon and did lots and lots of walking. Pokemon Go Fest provided a great excuse to meet up, eat lots of local food, and play a game together we’d all been enjoying separately.

We bought one-day passes for the Grant Park 10th anniversary event and secured tickets to the Fossil Museum exhibit. Upon arrival in Chicago, we saw Pokemon fans everywhere, some wearing Eevee hats or Gengar shirts, toting Pikachu backpacks or doing full-blown cosplay.

Age didn’t seem to matter. Boomers, Gen Z players, little kids, they all had their phones out, spinning PokéStops and waiting to capture some rare mega Pokemon characters.

Playing Pokemon Go with friends and strangers

When Niantic created Pokemon Go, it emphasized the game’s real-world aspects. Niantic’s founder, John Hanke, who also helped create Google Maps and Google Earth, told me last year when I covered its sale (Pokemon Go and other Niantic games were acquired by Scopely) that the game focused on encouraging players to venture outside and explore.

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Even playing Pokemon Go outside, however, can be isolating. You’re looking at your phone and dealing with virtual characters or remote players, not interacting with the people around you.

That wasn’t the case at Go Fest. 

With tens of thousands of locals and travelers all around us, we were suddenly in a very large club. Strangers who saw us playing at the coffee shop asked what we’d caught so far. Passersby yelled, “Great outfit!” to my sister-in-law, Linh Gallaga, for her Sylveon cosplay. Some pointed and smiled at the Excavator Pikachu keychain plushies we picked up at the Field Museum and wore out in public.  

Within our small group, meanwhile, we traded Pokemon, bought virtual supplies, strategized to maximize our game objectives and shared news updates. I spent about $30 on microtransactions, like premium raid passes and extra storage to hold more items and more captured Pokemon. Some in my group spent hundreds of dollars in preparation for Go Fest.

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The Chicago skyline is in the background as players of Pokemon Go gather under a blue themed tent (for Team Mystic) at Grant Park in Chicago. In the foreground is grass from the park.

Players gather in Chicago’s Grant Park as part of the 2026 Pokemon Go Fest event.

Omar Gallaga/CNET

In search of Mega Pokemon characters

Our group had two leaders: One was Linh, who kept us in the loop about social media posts. The other was Jacob Crowe, who toted up those 26 miles of walking that weekend (and who’s also an in-law of mine, a little more removed). He’s so dedicated to the game that he participated in 225 group raid battles to capture Mewtwo, one of the major Mega Pokemon characters at Go Fest.

The goal wasn’t just to catch Mewtwo, but to capture its rare variations, such as a perfect-stat one, called a Hundo. Capture one that’s both a Hundo and also a Shiny variant, and you’ve got yourself a coveted Shundo Mewtwo — and a lot of jealous fellow players. A version of Mewtwo featuring a Chicago backdrop was also highly sought after.

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Crowe and his wife, Maria, drove from Indianapolis, where they’d participated in local Pokemon raid events, but nothing like this.

“I knew it would be a lot of people, but I didn’t know it would be that many people,” he told me. 

He spent 18 hours each day playing Pokemon Go. He says he had a great time and wants to do it again. 

It was Crowe who led our group to a 5 a.m. “Raid Train” at Lincoln Park, ahead of the official Go Fest event at Grant Park we’d be participating in later. As soft rain started falling, we wandered the park, capturing all the Pokemon that we could and watching players trade and join raid battles. This wasn’t the main event. It was a social gathering and a preview of the big show to come later that day.

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“Hundo! I got a Hundo!”

I wasn’t expecting to experience cognitive dissonance when I arrived at Grant Park with my group, but it happened as soon as I saw a gigantic pink inflatable Jigglypuff near the large park fountain. In the game, I think of Jigglypuff as tiny; here, the Pokemon was easily 10 feet tall.

Throughout the park, team banners, lures and spinning Pokestops were blown up to huge proportions, dotting a vast expanse with colorful landmarks.

A screenshot of players preparing for a Pokémon Go raid battle. 802 trainers were playing.

A final challenge at Pokemon Go Fest was a giant group raid to capture Mewtwo.

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Omar Gallaga/CNET

We snapped photos and started preparing our virtual supplies. A cloudy morning quickly gave way to a hot day. Once gameplay began, we saw people walking around with tiny umbrellas attached to their phones, both to reduce glare on their screens and to keep their devices from overheating in the sun.

Challenges required moving from zone to zone and completing tasks such as capturing 20 different kinds of Pokemon in a single area. Raid battles to catch bigger, stronger Pokemon were constant.

Pokemon theme music blasted across the park. People walked, swiping their screens to toss Poké Balls as they went. One half of a couple near us shouted, “Hundo! I got a Hundo!” and the two embraced as if they’d just found out they were having a baby.

We walked and walked and caught and caught until the finale: a big group battle with hundreds of players together trying to defeat Mega versions of Mewtwo. 

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Everyone fighting did so as part of a “Unity Raid.” Part of the battle required players to raise their phones up into the air and then bring them swinging down. 

When the mega raid was over, the crowd let out a loud, “Wooooo!” It was over. We were each left to attempt to capture the prize with our allotted premiere Pokeballs. We all caught our Mewtwos.

A large T-rex shaped skeleton of a Pokemon character at the Field Museum in Chicago.

The Pokemon Fossil Museum exhibit at Chicago’s Field Museum is an alternate history of Pokemon evolution. 

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Omar Gallaga/CNET

Pokemon at the museum

We kept raiding and trading over the evening and the next day, but our next big event was a visit to the Fossil Museum.

Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History is a real museum, with exhibits of actual fossils, but for the event, curators set up fossil exhibits of the various Pokemon characters. And they took their job seriously.

Far from a simple one-room pop-up, the carefully arranged exhibit features detailed descriptions and full skeletons of Pokemon characters, plus other artifacts like fossilized (fake) poop and Pokemon insects trapped in amber.

I felt bad for the parents of little kids who had to straddle the line between telling them that this exhibit isn’t real and letting those kids enjoy an incredibly imaginative presentation.

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The exhibit was followed by a robust gift shop featuring only Pokemon merchandise and open exclusively to attendees. There was a five-item limit, and the hot item, limited to one per purchase, was an Excavator Pikachu plush

The exhibit runs through April 2027.

Two players pose with an inflatable pink Jigglypuff character outside at Grant Park in Chicago. In the background, another player poses with a Piplup character. Part of the Chicago skyline is in the background.

Pablo and Linh Gallaga visit with Jigglypuff at Pokemon Go Fest 2026 in Chicago. A ticketed event took place at Grant Park, attracting tens of thousands of Pokemon trainers.

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Omar Gallaga/CNET

Pokemon Go Fest players: “They’re all so friendly”

By the end of the weekend, we were all exhausted. We were mentally and physically drained, like our phone batteries, from staring at our screens and keeping track of all our Shiny acquisitions.

We were amateurs, though. David Barnwell, an attendee who owns a dog-boarding business near Akron, Ohio, has been to Go Fest events with his wife in cities including Seattle, Miami and New York. He’s always been a collector, and says Pokemon Go’s focus on acquisition appeals to him. And he loves meeting different people who are into the game.

“We’re always amazed at the different kinds of people that you would never expect to be playing Pokemon Go that show up, and they’re all so friendly,” Barnwell said. 

But he also feels things have changed since last year’s Pokemon Go acquisition.

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For one thing, Barnwell said, there aren’t any never-before-seen Pokemon released during the event anymore. And the event is more spread out, with citywide challenges that make it less centralized. 

“That’s really annoying. We liked it when it was all accessible by foot,” he said. “I appreciate you’re trying to get different people in different parts of the city or whatever it is you’re thinking you’re trying to do, but we don’t like that at all.”

His family’s attendance at future Go events will depend on whether the host city is one they want to visit. Tokyo, a return to Seattle and an event near the Grand Canyon are on their wish list.

As for our group, we’re already talking about hitting Go Fest next year, but it will also depend on everybody’s schedules and where the US event lands next. For the time being, we plan to keep playing and tending to our growing Pokemon collections. 

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June 2026 Windows updates break Recycle Bin prompts

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Microsoft has confirmed a confusing Windows bug that causes different filenames to appear in the confirmation dialog when deleting a file from the Recycle Bin.

“When permanently deleting a single item from the Recycle Bin, the confirmation dialog displays the internal Recycle Bin filename (for example, $Rxxxxx.ext) instead of the original filename,” the company explained in a Thursday update to the Windows release health dashboard.

“The Recycle Bin itself correctly displays the original filename, and restoring the item also restores it using the original filename.”

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While Microsoft didn’t share how widespread this known issue is, it said that it affects all supported Windows releases across both client and server platforms after installing the June 2026 security updates.

The complete list of affected Windows versions includes:

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  • ​Client: Windows 11, version 26H1; Windows 11, version 25H2; Windows 11, version 24H2; Windows 11, version 23H2; Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016,
  • ​Server: Windows Server 2025; Windows Server 2022; Windows Server 2019; Windows Server 2016; Windows Server 2012 R2; Windows Server 2012.

Microsoft said that its engineers are working on a fix for this bug, which will ship to affected systems in a future Windows update.

Recycle Bin bug
Recycle Bin bug (BleepingComputer)

However, while a fix is not yet generally available, Microsoft added that a temporary workaround is available for businesses that will reach out to its Business Support team.

“A workaround is available for affected devices. To apply this workaround in your organization and mitigate the issue, please contact Microsoft’s Support for business,” it noted.

Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed another issue that blocks third-party apps from launching Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and other Office applications (or from opening documents) on Windows systems after installing the June 2026 updates.

More recently, on Thursday, it also fixed a known issue that caused the June 2026 security updates to fail on Windows Server 2016 systems that didn’t have the May KB5087537 security update installed.


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