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With iOS 26, Apple made it easier for users to reduce spam and overall clutter in their Messages inbox. Your iPhone will detect and hide spam messages, and with the Screen Unknown Senders feature, you can filter out texts from anyone you don't know. You can also disable push notifications for these conversations to reduce how often you're alerted for messages you don't need to see.

Note that this feature works only on iOS, so if you have Messages synced on your Mac, you'll see everything and receive notifications for all messages unless you mute specific conversations.

How to reduce clutter in Messages on iOS

To send messages from numbers you don't know to a separate folder, go to Settings > Apps > Messages and toggle on Screen Unknown Senders. You can also get here through the Messages app on your iPhone by tapping the three horizontal menu lines in the top-right corner and selecting Manage Filtering. Enabling Screen Unknown Senders will hide notifications and move messages to your Unknown Senders list. If you want to allow (or disallow) certain types of notifications, tap Allow Notifications and toggle categories on or off:

  • Time Sensitive includes alerts, verification codes, and urgent requests.

  • Personal includes messages identified as not sent by a business or organization.

  • Transactions include order updates, receipts, and confirmations.

  • Promotions include general offers and updates sent to multiple recipients.

Most users will want to enable time-sensitive notifications to receive messages that include time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs) and other urgent alerts. You may also want to allow personal notifications so you don't miss messages directed to you individually from real people who aren't saved in your contacts.

When you allow notifications, texts identified in those categories will appear in your Messages list for only 12 hours before being moved to Unknown Senders—a behavior that keeps your primary inbox streamlined. If you want to make an unknown sender a known sender to prevent future messages from being filtered out, open the conversation and tap Mark as Known at the bottom or add the number to your contacts. A known sender is anyone you've added to your Contacts, sent a message to, or marked as known in the conversation.

Finally, if you enable Filter Spam under the same menu in your device settings, Apple will send messages identified as spam to a separate Spam list and hide notifications. You can view these and conversations from unknown senders at any time via Messages > Menu.


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The Blink Mini 2K+ (2-pack) is currently down to $44.99 on Amazon, half off its usual $89.99 price and the lowest it has ever been, according to price-trackers. That makes it one of the cheapest ways right now to add basic indoor security with sharper video than the older 1080p models. Blink, which is owned by Amazon, has always leaned toward simple and affordable cameras, and this one follows that formula closely. It records in 2K resolution, so faces and fine details come through more clearly than on earlier Minis. It also adds a built-in spotlight, which allows for color night footage instead of grainy black-and-white clips when motion is detected.

This is a wired camera, so it needs to live close to a power outlet. The upside is size. The Mini 2K+ is tiny at roughly two inches wide and about three inches tall with the stand attached. It is light enough to move around easily if you want to keep an eye on different rooms at different times. Set-up is straightforward through the Blink app. That said, it only works on a 2.4GHz network, which is worth noting if your home is set up around 5GHz. Video quality is solid for the price, and two-way audio is clearer than before thanks to better noise filtering.

There is also a built-in siren and support for Amazon Alexa, letting you view the camera feed on Fire TV devices or get alerts on Echo speakers. As for its storage and smart features, live viewing is free, but recorded clips, smart alerts like person detection, and cloud storage require a Blink subscription. That starts at $4 per month for one device or $12 per month for unlimited devices. You can avoid cloud storage by adding the Blink Sync Module 2 ($49.99) and a USB drive, but that is another piece of hardware to buy and manage. And while the Mini 2K+ is meant for indoor use, you can place it outdoors with a weather-resistant power adapter ($9.99), which is also sold separately.

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SmarterTools, the company behind the popular Microsoft Exchange alternative SmarterMail, has been breached by a ransomware-wielding group that leveraged a recently fixed vulnerability in that solution.

SmarterTools breach

How did the SmarterTools breach happen?

Derek Curtis, the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, said that the breach happened on January 29, 2026.

“Prior to the breach, we had approximately 30 servers/VMs with SmarterMail installed throughout our network. Unfortunately, we were unaware of one VM, set up by an employee, that was not being updated. As a result, that mail server was compromised, which led to the breach,” he shared last week.

The attack ended up affecting the company’s office network and a network at a datacenter hosting labs for quality control work.

“At the data center, we hosted our Portal as well as our Hosted SmarterTrack network, which was connected via Active Directory. We didn’t see much affected there and, out of an abundance of caution, we restored some of those servers from the most recent backup, which was six hours old,” he added.

“Because we are primarily a Linux company now, only about 12 Windows servers looked to be compromised and on those servers, our virus scanners blocked most efforts. None of the Linux servers were affected. None of our business applications or account data were affected or compromised.”

In the aftermath of the attack, the company eliminated Windows from their networks, stopped using Active Directory services, and have changed passwords throughout their network.

The attackers’ TTPs

Curtis did not share which vulnerability was exploited by the attackers, but CVE-2026-24423 seems like a likely candidate: the flaw was added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on February 5, 2026, and marked as “Exploited in ransomware attacks“.

(Two other SmarterMail vulnerabilities were added to the same catalog in late January, but those are not known to be leveraged in ransomware attacks.)

What he did share is that the group behind the “hit” is the Warlock group (aka Gold Salem, aka Storm-2603), which has been targeting a wide variety of organizations, mostly in North America, Europe, and South America.

The group uses the Warlock ransomware and double extortion tactics.

“Once these bad actors gain access, they typically install files and wait approximately 6–7 days before taking further action. This explains why some customers experienced a compromise even after updating—the initial breach occurred prior to the update, but malicious activity was triggered later,” Curtis explained.

“They often attempt to take control of the Active Directory server and create new users. From there, they distribute files across Windows machines and attempt to execute files that encrypt data.”

Curtis shared other tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by the group: common file names and folders, and common programs leveraged (e.g., Velociraptor, SimpleHelp, WinRAR, etc.)

“It is also important to note that CVEs are being discovered across many different products. Some groups install legitimate-looking applications on servers and later exploit. For example, the Warlock Group frequently targets CVE’s in SharePoint and Veeam and has now targeted SmarterMail. Recent Notepad++ update vulnerabilities are another example of how trusted applications can be leveraged to further exploit systems, servers, and desktops,” he added.

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Getting a little bit of extra juice into your phone before you leave your house in the morning could make the difference between the device still having power at the end of the day or not. But there are multiple factors that affect charging rate, and you might not be aware of all of them.

Run through the tips here, however, and you can be sure your phone is always charging up as quickly as possible.

Use a wired power source

To begin with, you're going to get your phone charged a lot faster if you plug it directly into a power source rather than putting it on a wireless charger. Wireless charging offers a lot of convenience, and is gradually getting faster and faster as far as charging rates go, but wired charging is still a long way ahead.

Take the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, for example: You get a maximum charging rate of 45W with a wired connection, and 15W with a wireless connection over Qi2. That means the handset is going to take around three times longer to charge its battery via wireless charging. The figures for other handsets are similar.

Google Pixelsnap
Wireless charging: convenient but not that fast. Credit: Google

Not only is wireless charging slower, it's typically less efficient as well, with more of the power being supplied to the phone lost as heat (due to the way the electricity is converted to a magnetic field and back again). With a cable and a plug, charging is faster, and it's healthier for your battery as well.

Wired is the way to go if at all possible, and what you plug your phone into makes a difference as well. Wall sockets are very good for charging rates, while anything else is less good—options like laptop USB ports, USB hubs, and sockets you might find on other gadgets such as monitors won't supply as much power.

Use the right cable and charger

A lot of phones don't come with a charger and cable in the box these days, but they will have a fast-charging standard and a max charging rate associated with them if you check the specs. You then need to find a charger that matches that charging rate, together with a cable that's not going to slow anything down.

If you look at the iPhone chargers made by Apple and on sale from its store, there are 20W, 35W, and 60W options—and the latter is going to juice up your handset the fastest. You should also look out for a mention of USB Power Delivery (PD), though this is included on pretty much every charger you'll find at this stage.

Apple charger
Not all charging blocks are created equal. Credit: Apple

We've written in-depth before about USB-C cables and charging blocks, and these will again list a charging rate along with them (or at least they should). You need to make sure every link in the chain is delivering power at the maximum rate your phone can handle if you want to fully recharge as quickly as possible.

You can use cables and chargers you have lying around for laptops, tablets, and other gadgets with your phone safely enough—the handset will have built-in safety features to prevent it from drawing too much power—but for the best results you'll generally want to stick with what comes in the box or the officially approved option.

Don't use your phone while it's charging

There are a few other tricks you can try if you want to max out charging speed. Think about the amount of power your smartphone is using while it's actually being charged: If you're constantly scrolling through social media feeds, watching videos, and playing games, then you're using precious battery life while recharging.

If you can, put your phone down and leave it alone while it's charging—you might want to turn off the always-on display to help things a little bit more. For even better results, put your phone into airplane or low power mode, or turn it off entirely while it's charging (those notifications can wait).

iOS Airplane mode
Airplane mode can help charging speeds along. Credit: Lifehacker

Watch your phone's temperature

Due to battery chemistry and the safeguards built into modern handsets, charging speeds slow down if your phone gets too hot or too cold. Keep your phone away from sunny window ledges or freezing bathrooms while it's being charged to maximize charging speed.

It's a good idea to remove any case around your phone while you're charging it, to reduce the chances of the battery temperature rising an extra notch, and it's also worth checking the USB-C charging port on your phone to make sure it's dust- and lint-free—even a slightly imperfect connection can affect charging speeds.

Monitor charging speed

However you're charging your phone, both Android and iOS let you keep an eye on how fast the battery is being replenished. If you've got a Pixel or Galaxy phone, keep an eye on the charging message at the bottom of the lock screen: This tells you how quickly your phone is being charged, and how long it will be until you reach a full charge.

For most Android devices, you can get more information by opening up the Battery page in Settings, though the details you get here will differ among devices: You should see whether or not fast charging is enabled, and maybe an estimate for how long a full recharge will take, but you won't typically get an actual wattage reading.

Pixel charging
The charging notification on a Pixel. Credit: Lifehacker

With iPhones, you can visit Battery in Settings to get information about how the battery recharge is going. While there's not a whole lot of information here, you can get an estimate of how long a charge will take, and you will see a "slow charger" message if your iPhone can support a charging rate faster than that offered by the connected charger.

There are several Android apps that measure charging rate. Ampere is one of the best: It's free, with extra features (such as widgets and notifications) available for a fee. Note that you need to multiply current x voltage then divide by 1,000 to get the wattage. There isn't really anything comparable on iOS, unfortunately—what few apps there are appear to be out of date and/or unreliable.


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If you receive an event invitation via email, verify it's legit before you RSVP, as you may not actually be invited to anything. Malwarebytes Labs has identified a new scam in which threat actors are using party invites to trick users into installing a remote access tool (RAT) that gives them full control over infected devices. (This specific campaign seems to be limited to the UK, but similar tactics could easily spread.)

These malicious invites contain a ScreenConnect installer

The scam starts with an innocuous-looking email invitation with an informal "Save the Date" vibe that may appear to come from a friend or acquaintance. The message contains a link to "View Invitation" for event details. If you click through, you'll end up on a landing page with a bold "You're Invited" header and a button to download your invitation, but you don't actually need to take any further action—your browser automatically triggers the download of a .msi file, which is not actually a party invitation or RSVP form but an installer.

The MSI silently installs ScreenConnect Client, a legitimate IT support tool that allows remote access into the user's machine. Once this connection is established, attackers have the ability to see your screen, control your mouse and keyboard, and upload or download files—even if you restart your computer. All of this happens in the background with no obvious indicators that a remote access tool has been installed and is now running, so victims are unlikely to have cause for concern.

You should know these remote access red flags

As Malwarebytes points out, this scheme is successful because it relies on normal human behavior around a seemingly low-risk situation: opening an event invitation. What's unusual is that there's little pressure or urgency in the initial message. Instead, the landing page has language like "a friend has sent you an invitation" and "I opened mine and it was so easy," which is a form of social proof that guides users to take the desired action.

You should always be alert to unsolicited invites sent via regular email with a link to an external site as well as any communication that prompts you to download or install software. These days, invitations are commonly delivered through apps and digital services like Partiful, Paperless Post, Evite, or Apple Invites, which are generally more trustworthy than random emails with hyperlinked text. If you're unsure whether the invite is real, verify with the sender through another channel before clicking or downloading anything.

As mentioned, victims of this scam may not immediately notice that a RAT has been installed on their device. But there are some red flags, such as unexplained cursor movement or windows opening or closing on their own. You can check your machine for a file named "RSVPPartyInvitationCard.msi" or a service called ScreenConnect Client with additional random characters in the title.

If you've already downloaded ScreenConnect from a malicious invite, Malwarebytes recommends disconnecting from the internet and uninstalling the program immediately. Run a security scan to check your device for malware, and change important passwords from a separate device.


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This is amazing:

Opus 4.6 is notably better at finding high-severity vulnerabilities than previous models and a sign of how quickly things are moving. Security teams have been automating vulnerability discovery for years, investing heavily in fuzzing infrastructure and custom harnesses to find bugs at scale. But what stood out in early testing is how quickly Opus 4.6 found vulnerabilities out of the box without task-specific tooling, custom scaffolding, or specialized prompting. Even more interesting is how it found them. Fuzzers work by throwing massive amounts of random inputs at code to see what breaks. Opus 4.6 reads and reasons about code the way a human researcher would­—looking at past fixes to find similar bugs that weren’t addressed, spotting patterns that tend to cause problems, or understanding a piece of logic well enough to know exactly what input would break it. When we pointed Opus 4.6 at some of the most well-tested codebases (projects that have had fuzzers running against them for years, accumulating millions of hours of CPU time), Opus 4.6 found high-severity vulnerabilities, some that had gone undetected for decades.

The details of how Claude Opus 4.6 found these zero-days is the interesting part—read the whole blog post.

News article.


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Security and governance approaches to autonomous AI agents rely on static credentials, inconsistent controls, and limited visibility. Securing these agents requires the same rigor and traceability applied to human users, according to Cloud Security Alliance’s Securing Autonomous AI Agents report.

securing AI agents rules

Agents scale faster than governance frameworks

Autonomous AI agents act on behalf of humans, accessing data and making decisions with business impact. Organizations are deploying them across production environments, pilots, tests, and broader AI or automation initiatives. As a result, agents operate across multiple environments, expanding the agentic workforce without corresponding governance and IAM controls.

“The agentic workforce is scaling faster than identity and security frameworks can adapt. Success in the agentic era will hinge on treating agent identity with the same rigor historically reserved for human users, enabling secure autonomy at enterprise scale,” said Hillary Baron, AVP of Research, Cloud Security Alliance.

Confidence in existing IAM tools to manage agent identity remains low, showing that identity architectures optimized for humans are not ready to govern autonomous agents.

Responsibility for managing agent identities is also undefined. Security, IT, DevOps, IAM, GRC, and emerging AI security teams often share accountability, creating gaps in oversight and inconsistent policy enforcement.

Respondents also express uncertainty about their ability to pass compliance audits related to AI agent activity and access controls. Governance frequently relies on informal practices rather than defined frameworks. As a result, enterprises risk deploying capable agents into environments where rules for identity, accountability, and authorization are still undefined.

Outdated credentials and fragmented access controls

Despite integrating AI agents into production, many organizations continue to rely on credentialing and access patterns not designed for autonomous systems. API keys, usernames and passwords, and shared service accounts remain common, while approaches such as OIDC, OAuth PKCE, or SPIFFE/SVID workload identities are less widely adopted. This reflects uncertainty over whether AI agents should be treated as machine identities, human equivalents, or something in between.

Fragmentation is further reinforced by authorization models built for human users and application access rather than continuously operating agents. Runtime access controls are inconsistent, guardrail adoption remains limited, and secrets management, session recording, and audit logging are far from universal.

These gaps leave organizations without continuous control over agent behavior once credentials are issued. Static credentials and periodic policy checks cannot support the continuous authentication and context-aware authorization required for autonomous agents, making it difficult to determine which agent acted, under what conditions, and on whose behalf.

Limited visibility and weak traceability

Even as AI agent usage expands, most organizations lack the visibility required to manage them safely. Agent registries are fragmented across identity providers, custom databases, internal service registries, and third-party platforms. Rather than deploying purpose-built systems for agent discovery and governance, organizations are retrofitting existing tools, resulting in partial, delayed, and siloed visibility.

Traceability and monitoring are similarly inconsistent. Companies often cannot determine what agents did, what they accessed, under which authorization, or on whose request.

Respondents indicated that actions such as accessing sensitive data, making system changes, approving financial transactions, and granting permissions still require human oversight. This reflects limited trust in agents operating autonomously in high-stakes scenarios and that agent governance has yet to reach continuous, auditable maturity.

Rising awareness and investment in agent identity

Security and governance gaps are becoming more visible, prompting enterprises to increase identity and security budgets to accommodate AI agents. Agent identity is beginning to emerge as a distinct, funded component of enterprise security architectures.

When asked about their top concerns, respondents cited sensitive data exposure, unauthorized or unintended actions, limited expertise, credential misuse or over-provisioning, lack of agent identity standards, difficulty discovering or registering agents, integration challenges with legacy systems or APIs, and insufficient awareness or training.


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