News

One of the games that really caught my eye during the Xbox Games Showcase at the beginning of June was The Blood of Dawnwalker, a dark fantasy action-RPG from Rebel Wolves, the studio co-founded by Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. First teased earlier this year, The Blood of Dawnwalker is a single-player open-world game set in a version of 14th-century Europe that's crawling with vampires.

The first two trailers gave us a bit of a glimpse at what the gameplay will be like, but the developer has now shared an in-depth look in a 21-minute video. It looks pretty sick — but keep in mind that this footage is from the "pre-beta" game, so there's still a lot of polishing to be done.

In The Blood of Dawnwalker, "You play as Coen, a young man turned into a Dawnwalker, forever treading the line between the world of day and the realm of night. Fight for your humanity or embrace the cursed powers to save your family." It's slated to hit PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-blood-of-dawnwalker-developers-share-a-look-at-gameplay-from-the-upcoming-vampire-fantasy-rpg-185720914.html?src=rss

Hackers are using invisible Unicode to trick Android into opening dangerous links from notificationsThe link looks normal, but Android secretly opens something else without warning or consentEven trusted apps like WhatsApp and Instagram are vulnerable to this hidden notification exploitA security flaw in Android’s notification system could allows malicious actors to deceive users into opening unintended links or triggering hidden app actions, experts have warned.Research from io-no claims the flaw lies in how Android parses certain Unicode characters within notifications.This creates a mismatch between what users see and what the system processes when the "Open Link" suggestion appears.What you see isn’t always what you getThe problem stems from the use of invisible or special Unicode characters embedded within URLs.When included in a message, these characters can cause Android to interpret the visible text and the actual actionable link differently.For instance, a notification might visibly display “amazon.com,” but the underlying code actually opens “zon.com,” with an inserted zero-width space character.The notification displays as "ama[]zon.com," including the hidden character. However, the suggestion engine interprets that hidden character as a separator, which results in it launching an entirely different site.In some cases, attackers can redirect users not just to websites but also to deep links that interact directly with apps.The report showed how a seemingly harmless shortened URL led to a WhatsApp call.To make attacks less detectable, malicious actors can use URL shorteners and embed links into trusted-looking text.The flaw becomes particularly dangerous when combined with app links or “deep links” that can silently trigger behaviors such as initiating messages, calls, or opening internal app views without user intent.Tests on devices including the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Samsung Galaxy S25, and older Android versions revealed that this misbehavior affects major apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Discord, and Slack.Custom apps were also used to bypass character filtering and validate the attack across multiple scenarios.Given the nature of this flaw, many standard defenses may fall short. Even the best antivirus solutions may miss these exploits, as they often don’t involve traditional malware downloads.Instead, attackers manipulate UI behavior and exploit app link configurations. Therefore, there is a need for endpoint protection tools, which offer broader detection based on behavioral anomalies.For users at risk of credential theft or app abuse, relying on identity theft protection services becomes critical to monitor unauthorized activity and secure exposed personal data.Until a formal fix is implemented, Android users should remain cautious with notifications and links, especially those from unfamiliar sources or URL shorteners.You might also likeThese are the best internet security suites availableI have witnessed firsthand the damage caused by fake employeesTake a look at our pick of the best VPNs with antivirus that you can use right now

Kali Linux 2025.2 brings powerful new tools for experienced penetration testersOffensive Security realigns Kali’s interface with MITRE ATT&CK - finally, structure meets hacking functionNew BloodHound tools hint at deeper Azure and Active Directory targeting than ever beforeThe newest update to Kali Linux, version 2025.2, introduces over a dozen new tools alongside enhancements to user experience and platform support.Offensive Security, the developers behind the Debian-based distribution, announced its general availability with a clear focus on aligning the system with the MITRE ATT&CK framework.The restructured Kali Menu is now tailored to make tool discovery more intuitive, but whether this structural change leads to meaningful workflow improvement remains to be seen.Thirteen new tools for advanced offensive capabilitiesIncluded in the new release are 13 additional tools, many of which are specialized for advanced offensive operations.Tools like azurehound for Azure directory data collection and bloodhound-ce-python, a Python ingestor for BloodHound CE, appear to target complex enterprise environments.Meanwhile, binwalk3 expands firmware analysis capabilities, and bopscrk enables custom wordlist creation based on intelligent algorithms.Some additions, such as crlfuzz, which is “a fast tool to scan CRLF vulnerability written in Go,” and donut-shellcode, which lets users “generate position-independent shellcode from memory and run it,” suggest the release continues to cater to skilled practitioners.Kali Linux 2025.2 also adds chisel-common-binaries and ligolo-ng-common-binaries, both of which offer prebuilt binaries aimed at tunneling and pivoting, activities common in red teaming.In terms of enumeration and lateral movement, tools like ldeep, described as “an in-depth LDAP enumeration utility,” and rubeus, focused on “raw Kerberos interaction and abuses,” contribute further.While these tools may appeal to ethical hackers, the level of expertise required to operate them effectively can act as a limiting factor for beginners.Among the most visible quality-of-life improvements is the integration of the new GNOME VPN IP extension, which allows direct viewing of the VPN IP address from the panel.Though this feature is convenient, it is not spectacular, and it best remains a fringe addition.This new update also supports GNOME 48 and KDE Plasma 6.3 desktop environments.Raspberry Pi users now have a new update that combines some Raspberry Pi OS images, eliminating the need for a separate image for the Raspberry Pi 5.This update also introduces Kali NetHunter CARsenal, a dedicated suite for automotive security analysis.While it remains one of the best Linux distros for ethical hacking, some users may still prefer Linux alternatives that lean more toward security or integrate more seamlessly with network monitoring tools.Via 9to5linuxYou might also likeDownloaded something dodgy? These are the best ransomware protection toolsNail the basics with the best firewalls available nowHere's the first test of the largest SSD, and an even bigger 246TB SSD may land by the end of 2025