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TechRadar Smart Home WeekThis article is part of TechRadar's Smart Home Week 2025. From lighting and switches to robot vacuums and smart thermostats, we're here to help you pick the right devices to make your life easier, and get the most out of them.If you're redecorating a room, you might be wondering whether it's worth investing in a set of smart blinds rather than a regular window covering, so you can control them with an app, voice commands, or as part of a larger smart home ecosystem. Imagine having blinds that open automatically when it's time to get up, for example, or ones that go down when you turn on your home entertainment system.I recently reviewed the SmartWings Motorized Smart Shades and loved them. I have traditional blinds around the rest of my home, and have used many different kinds of traditional blinds over the years. If you’re considering upgrading to smart blinds in your home, read on for a detailed comparison.(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)Benefits of smart blindsThe primary benefit of smart blinds is that you have so much more control over their opening and closing than you do with traditional blinds. You can set up a schedule on your smartphone so they open and close at certain times. For example, I have mine set up to open at sunrise and close at sunset. You could also set them to open and close at specific times. Perhaps set them to open a few minutes before your morning alarm for a gentle wakeup and have them close at the time you usually wind down for bed. You could also have them open and close in association with other events, such as having them close when you leave the house and open when you come home.Outside of scheduling your blinds to open and close, you can just control them with a tap on your smartphone. You can also control them with a voice command to your digital assistant of choice. I set mine up with my iPhone, and my HomePod mini is my home hub. In addition to the sunrise/sunset schedule I’ve set up, I can also control them with a tap in Control Center or by telling Siri to open or close them.You don’t even need to be home to open and close your smart blinds. As long as you have your smart blinds connected to your home hub, you can control them from the other side of the planet if you like.(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)Smart blinds generally come with a remote control too, so anyone can easily control them with a touch of a button. You’re not limited to smartphone usage. This is handy if some members of your household aren’t connected to the home hub, or if you have visitors that wish to control the blinds themselves.Because you’re not handling smart blinds manually, they might even be less likely to break over the years. This is just speculation, because I haven’t had smart blinds for years yet. But the manual ones in my home that I open and close most frequently by hand have developed issues. The cheaper blinds I have had with hanging strings invariably got tangled and bent. I replaced the cheap blinds with some pricier blinds where all the strings are on the inside, giving a more streamlined look. I do open and close these blinds daily, and somehow the interior strings have gotten messed up, rendering the blinds permanently askew. These manual blinds still function fine, but they don’t look so nice anymore.Drawbacks of smart blindsAlthough there is a wide variety of smart blinds available, there is still a far larger selection of traditional blinds on the market in terms of style and color. If you have a specific look you’re going for, you may have a hard time finding smart blinds that fit in perfectly with your decor. This is particularly true if you have extra large or unusually-shaped windows.Installing smart blinds isn’t really different from installing traditional ones, except of course that you do need to do the extra step of setting them up with your home hub and/or smartphone once they’re in place. That can be a little tricky, but once it’s done, it’s done.Keep in mind that unlike many traditional blinds, smart blinds do require a power source. This may mean dealing with unsightly power cords or periodically having to charge your smart blinds’ battery. My smart blinds have a rechargeable battery that can be charged via a wall charger or a solar charger that sticks to the window near the USB-C charging port.(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)When comparing blinds that are similar in size, function, and materials, it’s likely that smart blinds will be generally more expensive than traditional blinds. However, the difference in price may not be as much as you think, particularly when you’re talking about custom or designer blinds.ConclusionI love my smart blinds and plan to install more of them in my home as old ones need replacing. There are drawbacks, of course. Smart blinds do require a power source. They need to be set up initially with a smartphone, as well as a home hub if you want to be able to control them from outside the home. Generally, you will find less selection of smart blinds in terms of color, size, and style. And smart blinds do tend to be pricier. But all of this is outweighed by their ability to be controlled in such a sophisticated way. They can be scheduled for specific times or situations, you can just “set it and forget it.” You can control them with a tap on your smartphone or a couple of words to your digital assistant of choice. You don’t have to be at home, or even on the continent to control them. And yet you can still control them the “old-fashioned way,” via remote control. For anyone who wants that ability to control their blinds in so many ways, smart blinds are a completely worthwhile purchase.

Phishing has long been a staple of cybercrime, historically betrayed by clumsy spelling, suspicious URLs and poor formatting. Today, however, the rules have changed. What once required technical knowledge, time, and effort can now be executed with frightening ease by virtually anyone.Thanks to generative AI, automation, and easy access to malicious toolkits, the barrier to entry for cybercrime is fast collapsing. Phishing emails are now convincingly written, well branded, and often hyperpersonalized. Deepfake audio and video tools make it possible to impersonate trusted individuals in real time.Even entry level attackers can now deploy high quality campaigns that look and sound legitimate. Ironically, a spelling error might be the only clue that a message was created by a real human, rather than an AI.Meanwhile, across the business world the stakes for defenders are rising fast. As multichannel attacks grow in scale and sophistication, even experienced employees are falling victim. In this new landscape, the cost of inaction isn’t just a data breach- it’s operational disruption, financial loss, and lasting reputational damage. Let’s unpack how advancements in technologies such as AI expands the talent pool for threat actors.Social engineering made scalablePhishing may be evolving but it still hinges on the same psychological tricks: urgency, trust, and fear. But where scams were once generic and mass distributed, AI now allows attackers to tailor them at scale. The result? A surge in spearphishing - targeted messages crafted with context to deceive specific individuals.According to the OpenText 2025 Cybersecurity Threat Report, November 2024 saw the highest rate of spearphishing to date, making up 56.56% of all phishing activity. Attackers no longer have to choose between volume and precision- they can get the best of both worlds. And with users increasingly conditioned to trust branded platforms, phishing emails delivered via Google Docs or Amazon AWS (“living off the land” techniques) are slipping past defenses unchecked.This democratization of tools means that cybercrime no longer requires deep expertise- just access to the right AI tools and a few stolen credentials. That’s a worrying trend for businesses who rely on traditional training to build user awareness. Keeping pace means continuously updating training to reflect emerging tactics, particularly those that blend email, SMS, voice and video across channels.AI and automation, cybercrime’s force multiplierThe rise of generative AI has redefined the phishing threat. Not only are messages more convincing, but campaigns are faster to build, harder to detect, and significantly more dangerous. Deepfakes, once the domain of state actors, are now available to anyone with an internet connection.This sharp rise in attack sophistication is mirrored in infection trends. In 2024, malware infections on business PCs jumped yet again from 1.86% to 2.39%- the steepest increase since 2020. And it’s not just the first hit that hurts: 43% of affected business endpoints were reinfected within the year. For consumers, the number is even higher, at 56%.Attackers are increasingly using .zip files as a delivery mechanism, now the most popular format for malware laden attachments, making up 53% of the total. Their perceived legitimacy, combined with password protection (often provided in the email), creates a perfect storm of trust and risk.AI isn’t just raising the quality of phishing, it’s removing the learning curve. That’s what makes today’s threat environment fundamentally different from even two years ago.To counter this, organizations must fight fire with fire: deploy AI-enabled security tools that learn and adapt as quickly as attackers’ methods evolve.From inbox to checkoutPhishing is no longer confined to email inboxes. Attackers have expanded into ecommerce, financial platforms, and cryptocurrency ecosystems - anywhere users engage digitally and make decisions quickly.During busy shopping periods, scammers launch fake order confirmations and spoofed storefronts to steal payment details. Fraudulent investment schemes targeting decentralized finance and crypto wallets are also on the rise, often engineered with the same social engineering techniques seen in traditional phishing.The OpenText report notes that phishing attacks are becoming more opportunistic, with over 235 million malware emails quarantined in 2024. Zip attachments dominate due to their effectiveness in bypassing user skepticism, and their ability to mask malicious content under the guise of security. This shift underscores a critical point: phishing is no longer just about access - it’s about fraud, financial theft, and long-term compromise. The digital trust model that underpins modern commerce is being weaponized.Cybersecurity strategies must now span customer journeys, supply chains, and transaction flows, not just internal email systems.Going forwardPhishing has evolved into a democratized, AI powered weapon, used by threat actors of all skill levels to exploit human trust and unlock IT infrastructure. The tools are widely available, the learning curve is shrinking, and the consequences of even one successful attack are growing.This new era demands a new mindset. Defensive efforts must shift from reactive to proactive, combining real time threat detection with intelligent automation and continuous user education. Our data shows that companies using layered defenses, such as endpoint and DNS protection, experience 19.4% fewer infections than those relying on endpoint security alone.In short, cyber resilience is no longer a mere competitive advantage - it’s imperative for survival.Business leaders must act now. Audit your digital defenses, modernize your detection tools, and raise cyber awareness and response readiness at every level. Because when attackers can operate with minimal effort, organizations must respond with maximum intent.We list the best online cybersecurity course.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

AI is everywhere right now. It’s the centerpiece of board slides, investor pitches, and product updates. Fair enough, some of these tools do help people work smarter. Things move quicker. Teams get more done.But for all the talk about AI, the potential of this technology is often wasted because the output isn't useful and businesses fail to harness its power the right way. After the big plans and bold promises, it's all rather underwhelming.The problem of bad dataOne reason for this is because it's working with bad data. Disjointed data that's full of gaps. AI will only ever be as good as the data it ingests – it amplifies what it’s fed.And there's another common problem. Even if AI output is good, useful insights aren't reaching the right people in time. That's because you either need a PhD in data science to understand what it's telling you – or wait for a business intelligence specialist to build graphs and widgets, and present the data in a readable way. And by that time, it's too late.So, if you’re chasing genuine, sustainable transformation, don’t skip the groundwork. There are two things that you must do. First, get your data foundation in order. Then, create an AI layer that gives teams real-time, actionable insights in a language they understand – and allows them to talk back.Talking backWhat does this look like? Imagine a workplace where every member of the team—regardless of technical knowledge—can explore data-backed insights, make smarter decisions, and drive real impact. That’s what democratizing your data can achieve and here’s how you do it.Connected systemsYour data can’t live in isolation. Sales, marketing, finance, and operations feed into one another. You can't expect alignment if your teams don’t have access to the same information because you’re just managing silos and creating bottlenecks. Get everything to talk to everything else. That’s step one.Clean, reliable dataThis is the unglamorous part, but it’s critical. Data has to be accurate, up-to-date, and consistent. That doesn’t happen by accident. It takes ownership, good processes, and yes — the occasional painful cleanup project. But once your people start trusting the numbers, everything else moves faster.Accessible, understandable outputData should be a tool for teams – not a challenge. Static dashboards and delayed reports stand in the way of actionable insights. But interactive, natural language interfaces make data accessible to all. Teams must be able to ask questions and get instant answers with clear data visualizations. AI has the potential to reshape traditional data analytics by moving beyond static dashboards and delayed reports to real-time, intuitive dialogue.Scalable infrastructureYou’re not just solving for today. You’re building for next year, five years from now, ten. Your data stack needs to flex with your business. You should be able to plug in new tools, markets, and teams without tearing everything down.Less empty talk, more productive chatsOnce these fundamentals are in place, AI can do what it's meant to: lift, accelerate, unlock. That’s when the magic starts to feel real — when reporting evolves from a slow, siloed task into a dynamic, business-wide conversation.Experiment. Test tools. Move fast. That’s how innovation happens. But remember that it's what's under the surface that matters. AI is definitely a driver of transformation but, without a solid data foundation, it can only ever get you so far.But also bear in mind that good output will be wasted if it's opaque. It's vital that teams can understand and interrogate the insights that AI surfaces. Getting the most from data and AI requires a two-way conversation.Get this right and you will see the true potential of AI and the impact it can have on your business in building a data-driven culture.I tried 70+ best AI toolsThis 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

Monster Hunter Wilds' second free title update arrives on June 30Iconic monsters Lagiacrus and Seregios will be making their grand returnThe game will also have a collaboration event with guitar brand FenderThe June 26 Capcom Spotlight included a new Monster Hunter Showcase presentation, and we now know much more about the upcoming second free title update for Monster Hunter Wilds as a result.Arriving Monday, June 30, we already knew that the flagship monster for Free Title Update 2 is to be Lagiacrus, an aquatic 'Leviathan' type monster that fights both on land and underwater. Now, Capcom has confirmed that some underwater combat sections will be built into the Lagiacrus fight. Let's just hope it's not nearly as miserable as it was in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate favorite Seregios will also be making a surprise return in Monster Hunter Wilds. An incredibly nimble flying wyvern, Seregios hadn't been revealed until last night's showcase.As well as these two returning monsters, Free Title Update 2 will also bring a new Arch Tempered fight, this time with Wilds' gargantuan Uth Duna. Like with Rey Dau in the first update, players can expect to earn materials for an enhanced armor set should they manage to take down this ultra challenging monster.Later on in the update's roadmap, on August 27, Monster Hunter Wilds is set to launch a collaboration with legendary guitar maker Fender. During the event, players can take on a quest that lets them receive a gesture that has their hunter shredding with a limited-edition Rathalos Telecaster.As for miscellaneous and quality-of-life updates, Free Title Update 2 is bringing plenty of those. Chief among these is the new Layered Weapon system, which lets hunters change the appearance of their weapons to others they've unlocked - so long as they've completed that weapon's upgrade tree.We can also expect a new summer-themed festival, photo mode improvements, another wave of cosmetic downloadable content (DLC) and more. For more details, be sure to give the accompanying PlayStation Blog post a look.You might also like...I sure hope my PS5 doesn't die before GTA 6 - reports suggest hardware issues could damage consoles over timeMario Kart World patch notes - the latest balance updates and bug fixesDying Light's upcoming Retouched update won't be coming to the Nintendo Switch, as Techland confirms there are 'no plans' for a Switch 2 port