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Decompilation on Steroids: Why AI Is Suddenly Cracking Open Old Software

FEATURE By Julio Franco, October 11, 2026, 6:05 AM TechSpot Software

Everything is being decompiled. GoldenEye, Halo, Photoshop, even bank mainframes: AI is prying open old code at record speed. The secret isn't just AI, it's an answer key to check its work.

The Web

This streamer is charging viewers $7.50 to spin her chair in bizarre money-making stunt

Viewers are paying to keep a livestreamer's chair spinning, and the internet sees Black Mirror

By Skye Jacobs, October 10, 2026, 10:24 AM 18 comments

Electronics The Web

A smart coffee maker uploaded 1TB of data in 10 days, and nobody knows why

Most of the data stayed inside the home's Wi-Fi network, and a reboot might have fixed it

By Daniel Sims, October 8, 2026, 5:46 PM 23 comments

Trivia The Web

Wi-Fi 7 is expected to bring all of these improvements over Wi-Fi 6, except...

Is it more channel bandwidth, max throughput, or newer bands?

By TechSpot Trivia, October 8, 2026, 12:29 PM

AI The Web

Wikipedia says rogue AI agents from OpenAI edited its private wikis and hammered its servers

The free encyclopedia was designed for humans, not unrestrained AI bots

By Alfonso Maruccia, October 8, 2026, 11:47 AM

AI The Web

Man who made $8 million using AI-generated songs and an army of streaming bots gets 18 months in prison

The massive fraud scheme involved hundreds of thousands of AI-generated tracks uploaded under fictitious artist names

By Rob Thubron, October 8, 2026, 11:05 AM 18 comments

Security The Web

Ransomware recovery firm claimed it could decrypt files, but may have just paid hackers and pocketed the difference

Prosecutors say MonsterCloud collected more than $19 million from victims while paying just over $8 million to ransomware gangs.

By Rob Thubron, October 8, 2026, 7:04 AM

The Web Industry

Paramount now owns Warner Bros, HBO, CBS, and CNN, and Netflix is out

New entity, Skydance, now controls Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Top Gun, and Star Trek, and plans to merge its streaming services

By Daniel Sims, October 7, 2026, 11:47 AM 45 comments

AI The Web

ChatGPT keeps signing fake New Yorker cartoons with real artists' names

When AI imitates an artist, the signature is the final step

By Kishalaya Kundu, October 7, 2026, 10:40 AM

Space The Web

FCC approves 15,000 SpaceX Starlink satellites that could compete directly with cellular carriers

The new constellation will support native calls, streaming, browsing, and other mobile services from orbit

By Rob Thubron, October 7, 2026, 9:13 AM

The Web Tech Deals

Google analyzed 5 years of Flights data, says buying on a specific weekday won't save you money

To save on holiday flights, book Thanksgiving about 34 days out and Christmas about 56 days out

By Rob Thubron, October 6, 2026, 6:15 AM

Security The Web

Judge calls warrantless Flock search unconstitutional mass surveillance, throws out drug evidence

The ruling found police violated the Fourth Amendment by searching a driver's historical location records without a warrant

By Rob Thubron, October 5, 2026, 8:34 AM

Gaming Software

Steam is on track to top $20 billion in revenue for the first time

Free-to-play games made Steam almost $168 million in September, without a single new release

Bottom line: Steam is on course to generate more than $20 billion in gross revenue in 2026, a first for the platform, after posting record results for September and the third quarter, according to estimates from Alinea Analytics. The gains came from a mix of new releases, established franchises and free-to-play games that keep drawing spending long after launch. With one quarter left, Valve's PC gaming platform needs roughly $3.5 billion to reach the milestone.

Full story By Skye Jacobs, October 4, 2026, 12:08 PM 13 comments

Car Tech The Web

Federal judge calls Flock search unconstitutional, as AOC and Bernie Sanders introduce bill to ban license plate readers

The judge's "indiscriminate mass surveillance" description breaks from how prior rulings have treated Flock's cameras

By Daniel Sims, October 3, 2026, 9:35 AM 26 comments

The Web Industry

Europe is building its own payment network to finally compete with Visa and Mastercard

ENP connects payment networks that already exist, covering 130 million users across 13 countries

By Alfonso Maruccia, October 2, 2026, 12:47 PM 50 comments

Hardware Industry

Buying an RTX 5090 from Micro Center now means signing a form promising it won't leave the US

Buyers are also being asked to provide photo ID and have their driver's license scanned

By Rob Thubron, October 2, 2026, 8:44 AM 19 comments

The Web Tech Culture

The Singapore government built its own dating app and is testing it with public officers

It's the latest government matchmaking effort as Singapore's birth rate keeps declining

By Skye Jacobs, October 2, 2026, 8:13 AM 20 comments

The Web Security

New York City's click-to-cancel rule takes effect, making subscription cancellations as easy as sign-ups

The regulation targets gyms, streaming services, subscription boxes, and other recurring payments

By Rob Thubron, October 2, 2026, 6:58 AM 12 comments

Security AI

OpenAI's rogue agent problem is bigger than Hugging Face, over 100 organizations and counting

Agents bypassed access controls, exposed credentials, and even repurposed websites to exchange information

By Rob Thubron, October 2, 2026, 5:19 AM

The Web AI

A court just ruled that training an AI on someone else's editorial work isn't fair use

The ruling found Ross Intelligence used Westlaw's headnotes to build a direct competitor

By Skye Jacobs, October 1, 2026, 12:26 PM 12 comments

QR Codes Explained: How They Work and Why They're Everywhere

FEATURE By Julio Franco and Mark Turner, October 1, 2026, 12:21 AM TechSpot Tech Culture

QR codes were built to track car parts, written off as a gimmick, then rescued by phone cameras. Now they're everywhere. Here's how they work, what's changed, and what to watch out for.