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One of the bugs is critical and allows crooks to drop malware, Palo Alto admits.

Palo Alto Networks releases patch for two serious flaws impacting its firewallsThe flaws were being abused in the wild to drop malwareCISA added them to its KEV catalog

Palo Alto Networks has revealed it fixed two major vulnerabilities plaguing its firewalls.

The bugs are an authentication bypass in the PAN-OS management web interface (CVE-2024-0012), and a privilege escalation flaw in PAN-OS (CVE-2024-9474). The former has a severity score of 9.3 (critical), and grants crooks the ability to gain admin privileges on the target endpoint, and the latter has a lower score, 6.9 (medium), but helps run commands on the firewall.

Cybercriminals were chaining the flaws to gain admin privileges and run commands on exposed endpoints, it confirmed. Therefore, users are advised to apply the patches as soon as possible.

Added to CISA’s KEV

Palo Alto said it was looking into ongoing attacks in which the two bugs were chained to strike “a limited number of device management web interfaces” with malware and arbitrary commands.

“This original activity reported on Nov. 18, 2024 primarily originated from IP addresses known to proxy/tunnel traffic for anonymous VPN services,” the company said in an advisory. “At this time, Unit 42 assesses with moderate to high confidence that a functional exploit chaining CVE-2024-0012 and CVE-2024-9474 is publicly available, which will enable broader threat activity.”

Both vulnerabilities have since been added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, confirming in-the-wild abuse. Federal agencies have until December 9 to patch the bugs, or stop using the affected firewalls altogether.

Palo Alto said that only a “very small number” of firewalls is being targeted. However, citing data from the threat monitoring platform Shadowserver, BleepingComputer reported that there are more than 2,700 vulnerable PAN-OS instances.

Since a working exploit is already available, and evidence of abuse exists, Palo Alto “strongly” advises its customers to patch up, and restrict access to trusted accounts only.

“Risk of these issues are greatly reduced if you secure access to the management web interface by restricting access to only trusted internal IP addresses according to our recommended best practice deployment guidelines,” the company said.

Via BleepingComputer

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We’re now hearing chatter from the grapevine about another possible next-gen GPU from Nvidia – could we see the RTX 5070 Ti as soon as CES 2025?

Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti has joined the roster of leaked Blackwell GPUsIt will purportedly use the GB203 chip that’s in the RTX 5080Obviously it would be a cut-down GB203, possibly with 8,960 CUDA cores

Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs are supposedly arriving at CES 2025, and we’ve just caught a fresh rumor about a new model – a purported RTX 5070 Ti.

So far, the rumor mill has been sharing details about the RTX 5090, 5080, and 5070, so the 5070 Ti is a fresh leak, coming from one of the more regular providers of GPU-related rumors on X, Kopite7kimi.

In this case, Kopite7kimi hasn’t posted any details on X, but instead shared some info directly with VideoCardz.

We’re told that the RTX 5070 Ti is going to have 8,960 CUDA cores, which would mean 70 SMs (Streaming Multiprocessors), and indicates that the graphics card will use a cut-down take on the GB203 chip from Blackwell.

That’s the same chip as the RTX 5080 is rumored to run with (with the GB202 being the flagship GPU for the RTX 5090 alone).

Kopite7kimi also claims power usage will be pitched at 300W for the RTX 5070 Ti, but it isn’t clear what metric the mentioned figure might be (TGP or TDP). At any rate, this is only speculation, so season it liberally.

There’s no info provided about clock speeds at this point, or the crucial video memory loadout. The RTX 5070 has been rumored to run with 12GB of VRAM in the past, worryingly, but other gossip has suggested that a higher-tier variant – like a 5070 Ti or Super – could run with more (to the tune of 18GB).

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Analysis: The ever-swirling rumors around Blackwell

It’s certainly interesting to see the RTX 5070 Ti popping up in leaks now.

It remains unclear if, as per original rumors, Nvidia might just launch a pair of Blackwell GPUs at CES 2025, the RTX 5090 and 5080 – or whether Team Green might just squeeze in another model, such as the RTX 5070, as is already rumored. Or perhaps this RTX 5070 Ti is a possibility? We doubt it, on balance, and Kopite7kimi couldn’t be drawn to comment on that speculation (VideoCardz did pose the question).

If the core count mentioned is correct, it’d be a 16% uplift on the RTX 4070 Ti (as was before Nvidia discontinued that model). Previous leaks around the RTX 5070 have suggested its core count could be relatively low – a 6,400 CUDA core count has been mentioned in the past, for example – and so that looks a bit shakier in light of this latest leak.

It’d be a pretty hefty jump from the 5070 to 5070 Ti if that was the case, a more pronounced leap than with their predecessor graphics cards – although that could be Nvidia’s plan. Either that, or the previous RTX 5070 speculation is off the mark.

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It seems more and more likely we’re going to get a rival to the tri-fold Huawei Mate XT that launched in September.

A Galaxy tri-fold is coming in 2025, according to a South Korean tipsterCould launch alongside Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7Tri-fold will apparently fold inwards to rival Huawei Mate XT

We’ve already heard murmurs that a Samsung Galaxy tri-fold phone – a foldable with three screens and two hinges – is being prepared for a 2025 launch, and now another well-placed source has added more credibility to the claims.

South Korean tipster Yeux1122 (via Android Authority) reckons that a Galaxy tri-fold is indeed in the pipeline, ready to launch alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 – so presumably around July 2025.

And… that’s all the information we’ve got from this particular leak. We don’t get any more details in terms of specs or design, just another piece of evidence in the case for Samsung releasing a competitor to the Huawei Mate XT.

The Huawei Mate XT, which was unveiled to the world in September, is the first tri-fold phone to be made available to consumers (well, consumers in China at least). It’s unlikely to be the last though, as other manufacturers will want to copy the form factor.

More foldables

We can expect a successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 next year too (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Back in October we heard that Samsung had plans for a tri-fold foldable in 2025, which would apparently be launching alongside a budget version of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 (see our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review for details of this year’s model).

While none of these rumors are confirmed just yet, it seems as though Samsung is ready to mix up its foldables strategy in order to get more market share – extra hinges, cheaper prices, and whatever else it can try to tempt more people to make the switch to a foldable.

Google’s latest effort in this category has been pretty well received – see our Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review for details – and it seems inevitable that we’ll eventually see a foldable iPhone (or iPad), even if it takes Apple a few years to catch up.

That means Samsung, which has been something of a pioneer as far as foldables go, will have to keep upping its game. We can expect to hear more rumors about this tri-fold – which is apparently going to fold inwards – between now and its launch.

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Security researchers discovered 300,000 private emails leaked for months from popular online gift shop.

300,000 emails from EnamelPin, owner of gs-jj.com, exposed onlineMany originate from .gov or .mil sources, which are used by military or government workersThe leak exposed the sites links to China

Researchers at Cybernews recently discovered over 300,000 emails from EnamelPin customers were exposed for months thanks to an open Elasticsearch instance.

EnamelPin Inc is the owner of popular gift site gs-jj.com, which sells medals, lapel pins, emblems, and more.

The leaked emails contained personal information such as full names and email addresses, around 2,500 were from .gov and .mil domains. The site is unsurprisingly popular amongst US government officials and military officers, who had ordered products such as coins, patches, and medals.

National Security Concerns

“The emails and attachments exposed sensitive information about high-ranking military officials. They could be used to determine their position in certain Army units, phone numbers, email addresses, and shipping addresses,” Cybernews researchers said.

Other security issues were discovered on the site, such as the exposure of hidden git repository configuration, folder, and file structure of the website.

The data was left exposed for months, according to researchers. The information was publicly accessible from April 22 until December 5, which left many customers at risk, particularly of identity theft.

Whilst EnamelPin Inc is registered in California and aimed at civilians, the leak exposed previous unknown links to China. Researchers found a publicly accessible Git configuration file which revealed the website’s source code repository is hosted on a Chinese server.

The company also has an ‘complete expert team in China’, long delivery times suggest overseas fulfilment, and the customer support team communicate in broken English.

“Due to the Chinese government’s broad powers to access data, it may be risky for US Government and Military officials to use Chinese services, especially in the official settings,” Cybernews added.

“This leak raises OPSEC concerns, as ordering patches, emblems, and other items can inadvertently expose ranks, divisions, and personal information.”

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UK data centers get permission to grow.

A study by data center specialists Onnec has revealed that local authorities in the UK’s 20 largest cities have overwhelmingly approved data center projects, with 89% of applications receiving planning permission over the past five years. Of the 88 applications reviewed, only three were rejected, five were withdrawn, and one remained undecided.

Onnec looked at 44 local councils and their planning applications for the report. The researchers found that data centers are generally approved, which shows local support for digital infrastructure. To provide computing power and data storage for AI deployment makes that support crucial. Only three applications in Sheffield were rejected. Local authorities looked into possible issues around the design and impact of the centers, along with whether they would fit the character of the surroundings or damage the Green Belt.

Data Center Spread

Notably, the British government has made data centers critical national infrastructure to emphasize their report. That said, the report urges a holistic approach to planning and a nationwide approach to achieve the best outcomes. The UK has pledged £6.3 billion in data center investment as part of its work to make the UK a hub for AI. The UK’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) is trying to reduce the friction in building data centers. It has looked into rejected projects to see where there is room for improvement.

“Data centers are critical for driving AI growth, and with the race for AI supremacy in full swing, the UK has recognized that to get ahead, the right infrastructure must be in place,” Matt Salter, Data Centre Director at Onnec. “Data centers can become the new oil for regions and cities, but only if they are planned holistically – this means considering every aspect of the data center instead of focusing solely on factors such as power and cooling. For example, thinking about the importance of cabling in providing the bandwidth needed to get the most from data center hardware.

London is the largest data center market in Europe, but the report suggests trying to up the availability of data centers elsewhere in the country. Relying solely on London means there is limited power availability along with problems around sustainability. Spreading data centers to other regions would also mean spreading the benefits to the people there. That means improved job opportunities not only for the data centers but for anywhere that the digital skills required for data centers are useful.

“Failing to take a holistic approach will result in sites that aren’t fit for purpose, don’t deliver on the UK’s needs, and degrade over time – poor planning could mean a new data center can feel five years old after the first year of operation, and in need of an expensive retrofit,” Salter said. “The UK risks losing ground in the race for AI supremacy if data centers aren’t built to last.”

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New update for Windows 11 24H2 adds polish to the taskbar, Start menu, File Explorer and more besides.

Windows 11 24H2 just got a new optional update (still in testing)It makes useful tweaks to the taskbar, Start menu, File Explorer and moreMicrosoft also provides fixes for a range of bugs in this preview release

Windows 11 24H2 has just received an optional update which comes with some useful tweaks to the interface.

This is patch KB5046740 and it’s in preview – so as ever, you might come across glitches if you install it – and the main changes on the desktop are applied to the taskbar and Start menu.

Beginning with the taskbar, Microsoft has streamlined the system tray – on the far right of the bar – with the date and time being displayed in a more compact fashion. The year is no longer shown (as, let’s face it, that’s pretty much redundant anyway), so you only see the day and month for the date, allowing for the time and date to be shown in a small square (instead of the longer rectangle needed to also fit the year in).

The overall effect is a more neatly-sized system tray, especially when you consider that Microsoft has also made it so that when ‘Do not disturb’ mode is on, the bell icon (for notifications) no longer appears in the tray. Again, that saves space and you can still open the notifications center by clicking on the date and time area.

On top of that, a taskbar bug has been fixed whereby if you have the bar set to ‘automatically hide,’ the search box turns into an icon.

As Windows Latest, which spotted all these changes, also points out, Microsoft has tinkered with the Start menu so that you can right click on pinned apps to produce a jump list.

If you’re not familiar with the jump list, it offers quick access to common functions used with the app in question, or files that’ve been recently opened by the app – it’s basically a handy bank of shortcuts.

Elsewhere, KB5046740 adds a fresh bit of functionality to File Explorer’s context menu, so when you right click on a file, there’s a new Phone link option – selecting this shares the file in question to your smartphone. Also with File Explorer, Microsoft has fixed a bug which caused some weirdness with too much spacing between the icons in the left panel.

In fact, a collection of bug fixes is applied here, including the cure for a Windows Update fail, and the resolution of a problem where the Windows clipboard history got deleted, leaving it blank.

(Image credit: Future)

Analysis: An option you should probably pass on

It’s worth noting that with those tweaks to the system tray in the taskbar, if you don’t like the new space-saving measures, you can turn them off and revert to normal (displaying the full date, with year) if you wish.

This update represents a solid polish of the Windows 11 interface, and also applies a raft of bug fixes which are handy, too. Speaking of bugs, however, we should remind you that this is a preview update, and as such, still in testing – so it could have glitches of its own (or said bug fixes may not work, or they could have unintended side effects).

For this reason, we generally recommend steering clear of preview updates, unless you’re really desperate to get the functionality therein. Just think of them as a glimpse of what you’re going to get soon, anyway, because this update will become the December patch for Windows 11 next month (in just over two weeks, on December 10, in fact).

If you follow Microsoft’s update schedule closely, like us, then you’ll likely recall that in December, the company takes a break for the holidays, so while there’s a main cumulative update issued (on December 10, as noted), there’s no preview or optional update for Windows 11 coming later in December. The next release will be the finished patch for January, which will likely be a minor affair.

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Arcane season 2 is almost over, but the award-winning Netflix show’s creators “can’t say” what they’re working on next – and it’s the internet’s fault.

Arcane‘s showrunners have suggested it’ll be a long time before their next project is releasedMultiple League of Legends (LoL) movies and TV shows are in development, but none are in full productionThe award-winning Netflix animated show’s creators will only make something they’re “really passionate about”

Arcane‘s creators have implied it’ll be a long time before their next League of Legends (LoL) movie or TV adaptation is released into the wild.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar before Arcane season 2 made its initial Netflix debut on November 9, Christian Linke and Alex Yee warned fans not to expect another LoL project, animated or live-action, in the near future. Indeed, while multiple projects were in development, the pair were keen to stress that “we’re not in production on any of those”.

The disappointing update comes five months after it was announced that Arcane‘s second season would also be its last. Speaking on a pre-recorded video posted on Arcane‘s various social media accounts, though, Linke tempered fans’ sadness – mine included – by confirming more LoL adaptations were in the works. Even better, one of the best Netflix shows‘ co-creators said he hoped to have more news to share before the end of 2024.

With Arcane season 2’s final three episodes set to arrive tomorrow (November 23), viewers may be hoping for a reveal of some sort – either as a post-credits scene or a new project announcement on social media – before 2024 is over. The latter is certainly possible but, considering what Linke and Yee told me when I asked for a status update on what’s coming next, I wouldn’t bank on the former.

“That’s the fun part for us right now,” Linke replied when I asked which part of LoL champions and/or regions of Runeterra we’d see in Arcane‘s follow-up. “Really, we’re just focusing on what’s next.

“Look, we’ve played the game [League of Legends] forever and there are a lot of characters we’re passionate about,” Linke continued. “The way we’re exploring this is: ‘what are we really passionate about?’ and ‘what do we have that’ll be a great story that our audience will also be passionate about?’. We’re not in production on any of those yet. We’re really just developing stories and scripts right now, so I can’t say anything yet, unfortunately. I wish I could. I wish there was this maturity on the internet where everyone goes ‘it’s okay if it doesn’t work out’. Anything we say to you [Tom] is considered to be a hard commitment that’ll ends our lives if it doesn’t happen!”

“I think that if we were to say, at any point in Arcane‘s development, that we definitely knew what the end result of this show would be, we would’ve lied many times,” Yee added. “So yeah, I guess it’s good that we did the right thing [not say anything] and continue in that manner as we develop these things.

“A lot of the stories that’ll excite [LoL] players and Arcane fans are the same ones that excite us. So, the big message from us is, rest assured, we still have the hunger to tell these stories.”

I wish there was this maturity on the internet where everyone goes ‘it’s okay if it doesn’t work out’

Christian Linke, Arcane co-creator

Considering it took six years to make Arcane‘s first season and then over three years to make its sequel, it sounds like we’re all in for a long wait for another LoL adaptation to launch on Netflix, aka the world’s best streaming service. As I said, we won’t have another nine-episode installment of Arcane to tide us over in the interim, either, even though there were rumors that Arcane was initially supposed to last for five seasons. Despite reports to the contrary, Linke and Yee told me it was “never the plan” for Arcane to last more than two seasons. In short: while we wait for an official unveiling on its sequel show, you and I will just have to watch Arcane re-runs for many months and years to come.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much. Season 2’s third and final act will be with us imminently, so remind yourself what happened in the previous three chapters by reading my Arcane season 2 act 2 ending explained piece. Alternatively, check out Arcane season 2’s final trailer to see what it teases ahead of act 3’s release.

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How the combination of XR and AI will continue to unlock new possibilities, driving innovation across a variety of industries.

Many popular technologies today are the product of several technological and economic factors converging at the right time. A recent example is the rise of generative AI, which rapidly transitioned from an emerging technology to mainstream phenomenon, sparking revolutionary changes across various industries and societies.

Similarly, extended reality (XR), which includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), has long been touted to transform immersive experiences on devices. While adoption among consumers is steadily increasing, the true impact of XR to date has been seen across a variety of business use cases, including training, manufacturing, communication, content creation and retail.

According to the PWC “Seeing is Believing Report”, the growing adoption of XR technologies across businesses could boost global GDP by US$1.5 trillion, which is nearly 2 percent of overall GDP. Through integrating XR into their processes, businesses will see significant productivity and efficiency improvements, along with substantial time and cost savings.

While challenges around wider XR adoption still exist, the tech industry is making great strides to address them, paving the way for XR to become a more mainstream technology, not just for businesses but for consumers too.

The XR challenges and how the industry is addressing them

One of the primary computing challenges with XR has always been meeting the power efficiency requirements of small wearable devices that need to be always-on. Some early XR wearable devices suffered from short battery life while untethered, limiting their practicality for extended use. The industry has responded by investing in advanced battery technologies and power management systems, leading to more efficient, longer-lasting XR wearables.

Early XR wearable devices also faced security and privacy challenges. Initially, businesses were hesitant to adopt the devices due to potential vulnerabilities in data handling and encryption. However, with the integration of enhanced encryption protocols and secure data management practices, XR devices are now far safer and more secure. The security improvements allow companies to integrate XR technologies into their operations with greater confidence, knowing that sensitive information is well-protected.

The final challenge was the lack of ecosystem support for XR technologies. Developing quality applications that met business expectations was both expensive and complex, hindering widespread adoption. Today, the industry is addressing this by creating more accessible development tools and platforms. These simplify the process of developing and deploying XR applications, enabling businesses to create tailored solutions that meet their specific needs.

Ongoing technological breakthroughs in XR

Beyond these challenges, companies are investing heavily in research and development to improve XR wearable devices and elevate the user experience. Hardware advancements, including touch screens and camera miniaturization, as well as software improvements in applications and operating systems, have created significant opportunities for XR wearable devices to become more mainstream.

AR smart glasses are one device type where there has been plenty of interesting technology innovation during the past year. For instance, Snap’s fifth-generation Spectacles, Meta’s next-generation Ray-Ban smart glasses, and Meta’s Orion smart glasses are all examples of how XR wearables are evolving to meet business and consumer needs, with features like advanced AR displays and real-time AI video processing. More specifically, Meta’s Orion glasses now offer lightweight, immersive hands-free AR, with future versions expected to add social awareness features.

Wider innovations in lightweight materials and better batteries are making XR wearable devices easier to use and wear. New AR smart glasses entering the market are now adopting ultra-thin silicon carbide waveguide technologies that not only enable high-definition displays, but also dramatically reducing the thickness and weight of the devices. This marks a significant breakthrough in AR technology. AI features are also enhancing the XR wearable device experience, making them more personalized and context aware.

How AI will transform XR Technology

In fact, new compact language models are becoming highly influential across XR wearable technologies. These models, designed to run efficiently on smaller devices, enable real-time natural language processing and interaction, allowing users to interact with XR applications using real-time voice commands. For example, in manufacturing, workers can use a voice command to get information about assembly instructions or safety protocols without taking off their XR headsets.

Compact language models are also transforming XR experiences for consumers, businesses and healthcare, making them more immersive and interactive. For consumers, this is enabling them to create and consume new types of content via XR wearables. Meanwhile for businesses, XR wearable devices are providing employees with highly interactive real-time feedback and guidance during training. This feedback helps improve training outcomes and reduce errors, especially in manufacturing and medical sectors, leading to higher levels of efficiency and safety. Finally, in healthcare, clinicians can use XR to augment different treatments during medical procedures, reviews and training, leading to improved patient outcomes.

The next wave of digital transformation

Looking ahead, the combination of XR and AI will continue to unlock new possibilities, driving innovation across a variety of industries. With ongoing improvements in power efficiency, security and software support, and advancing technology capabilities, XR wearable devices are likely to see rising adoption among businesses and consumers. While we have yet to hit the XR tipping point, the journey ahead appears to be promising, as more consumers and businesses embark on the next wave of digital transformation.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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Bluesky is the latest social media platform that cannot be used in Pakistan without a VPN. Yet, VPN usage is also a target.

Bluesky was just added to the list of blocked social media platforms in Pakistan as people worldwide flock to the X alternative.

The internet watchdog NetBlocks reported the outage on Thursday, November 20, 2024 (see tweet below).

X has been restricted since February, while Meta’s Facebook and Instagram were restricted in July 2024 and May 2023, respectively, according to Surfshark’s Internet Tracker.

The block comes at the same time that virtual private network (VPN) tools, the software you need to bypass this type of restriction, are also being targeted. Authorities set November 30 as the deadline for businesses and freelancers to register their VPNs and avoid further service disruptions.

It isn’t clear yet if commercial VPNs will be blocked, too. Last week, however, Pakistan’s religious chief said that using a VPN is against Islamic law and called for a ban. The Ministry of Interior also called to block all “illegal” VPNs, claiming that terrorists use these tools “to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan.”

While it’s still difficult to determine exactly how the new VPN rules will impact people in Pakistan, Gytis Malinauskas, Head of Legal at Surfshark, one of the best VPN providers on the market, told TechRadar: “This further contributes to a worrying trend of internet censorship and limitation of people’s digital rights in Pakistan.”

How to unblock Bluesky

Whether you live in Pakistan or are heading to the country soon, you’re probably looking for a way to bypass internet restrictions and access all your favorite social media apps as usual.

At the time of writing, a VPN – security software that both encrypts your internet connection and spoofs your real IP address location to grant access to blocked content – seems to still be a viable option to keep accessing Bluesky within the country.

At the beginning of the month, residents lamented issues accessing their VPN apps throughout the day in what looked like the beginning of the crackdown on “unregistered” VPNs. Authorities later confirmed this to be a “brief technical glitch” and normal service quickly resumed.

Malinauskas said that also Surfshark experienced service disruptions at that time. “Currently, our services are functioning without interruptions in the country but we are closely monitoring the situation,” he added.

Yet, this may change in a week as the registration deadline expires. I suggest checking out our best free VPN page to get all the most secure freebies out there without paying for them all. This will allow you to hop from one service to another in case of throttling.

Tools like the Tor Browser are also handy. Completely free to use and open-source, Tor is generally considered even safer than VPNs as it encrypts your data into at least three levels of encryption while spoofing your IP.

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Plex is set for a complete revamp, which should create a more seamless user experience.

Starting life as a humble personal media streamer, Plex has taken big strides in to the streaming game, attempting to firmly establish itself as one of the best free streaming services out there.

While recent changes have skewed toward promoting the wealth of free content available on the platform, it can be somewhat tricky to navigate. That’s about to change though as Plex has announced that it is testing a new interface that will eventually roll out to all users in early 2025, which should bring everything together into one seamless user experience. 

What is Plex?

Most digital library fans will be familiar with Plex Media Server, a free piece of software that allows users to create a client-server to stream all their personal media libraries locally and, on the premium tiers, remotely and with other users, with apps across all major platforms. In 2019, amid concerns of making piracy easier, Plex pivoted away from solely personal media, introducing ad-supported free streaming of 1000s of movies and TV shows plus free-to-stream live TV channels. 

In 2022, Plex added the ‘Discovery’ feature, informing users when content was available on other streaming platforms and in 2024 introduced a movie rental service. All the while, the OG Plex Media Server became increasingly difficult to navigate to from the app, with the other offerings front and centre. But now, Plex say, that’s set to change, with a streamlined overhaul making the app equally user friendly to all. You can take a look at the new UI being tested here:

So what’s new?

To put it simply, a lot. Plex say “this overhaul is more than a facelift. We made the significant decision to rewrite our apps from the ground up and unify our codebase, creating a streamlined, consistent experience across platforms”. And it sounds like this isn’t just hyperbole either. The streamer has spent over two years working on this redesign, and from the preview you can see above, it shows. 

The navigation of the app has had a complete overhaul, with its three key features – ‘Libraries’, ‘Live TV’ and ‘On Demand’ – now given equal billing front and centre on dedicated tabs. That will be music to the ears of veteran Plex Media Server users who have, in recent years, found themselves trudging through menus to find their personal media content, something Plex seem sympathetic to, stating: “We’ve brought our core features to the forefront, saying goodbye to the days of hidden hamburger menus and making it easier to explore with one hand on your phone.” 

But for newcomers or those that don’t have their own libraries, the new design looks just as useful, making it a breeze to navigate to all the free movies and shows Plex offers, whether that’s live TV or on-demand. The new app also expands the use of artwork, making pages easier to navigate and adding “visual richness and greater depth to your experience”. All in all, this could well be the update Plex users have been waiting for.

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