We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies.
Customize Consent Preferences
We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.
The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ...
Always Active
Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.
No cookies to display.
Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.
No cookies to display.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
No cookies to display.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
No cookies to display.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.
Microtransactions account for 58% of total revenue for game companies, with a 1.4% increase in 2024, contributing .4 billion to overall PC gaming sales of .3 billion. Downloadable content (DLC) generated .8 billion in revenue last year, while microtransactions represent 32% of console revenue, amounting to .9 billion out of .8 billion in console sales. Subscription services have risen by 14.1%. PC gaming sales grew by 0.1%, but console gaming revenue declined by 3.9%. Major franchises like Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty exemplify the popularity of microtransactions. The report also notes the trend of "recursive nostalgia," where established franchises reintroduce vintage content to engage players.
A recent study has revealed a method that bypasses Microsoft’s Windows Defender antivirus by using direct system calls and XOR encryption techniques, exposing vulnerabilities in the security solution. The technique targets the user mode and kernel mode operations of Windows, allowing attackers to execute harmful code without detection. Researchers demonstrated that by directly invoking syscall instructions, they could evade security monitoring that typically occurs at the user mode level. They utilized XOR encryption to obfuscate malicious shellcodes, making them unrecognizable and undetectable by signature-based systems. Tests showed that a Meterpreter reverse shell payload, encrypted with XOR and executed via direct syscalls, successfully bypassed Windows Defender protections without leaving traces on the disk. This method has been effective since at least 2022 and continues to work against recent updates of Windows Defender. The researchers recommend that Microsoft enhance defenses with kernel-level monitoring of syscalls and advise organizations to implement additional security measures beyond Windows Defender.
According to a report by market research firm Newzoo, 58% of games played by Steam users in 2024 were noncompetitive, player-versus-environment (PvE) titles, an increase from 47% in 2021. In contrast, only 42% and 41% of games played on PlayStation and Xbox, respectively, fell into the PvE category. The report analyzed gameplay data from over one million players and noted that players who engage with more games are more likely to prefer PvE experiences. Additionally, the trend indicates that once Steam users play more than one game in a year, their interest in PvE titles increases significantly.
The Minecraft movie has become a cultural sensation following its record-breaking opening weekend, leading to the emergence of the "Chicken Jockey Trend." In Minecraft, a Chicken Jockey is a rare mob combination of a Baby Zombie riding a Chicken, known for its rarity, aggression, speed, and unique behaviors such as not taking fall damage. The likelihood of encountering a Chicken Jockey is approximately 5% in areas with both chickens and baby zombies. The trend has led audiences to create their own Chicken Jockeys during screenings, resulting in chaotic but enthusiastic interactions. Movie theaters are facing challenges managing the excitement, including cleanup issues and safety concerns, while also benefiting from increased ticket sales.
Apple is the leading smartphone manufacturer in the U.S., while 60% of corporate-owned devices are powered by Android, according to a survey by Stratix. Google announced Gemini in Android Studio for businesses at the Google Cloud Next 2025 conference, a subscription-based service aimed at enhancing the Android ecosystem for enterprise app developers. Gemini focuses on secure, privacy-oriented AI solutions, with a strict data governance policy ensuring confidentiality and ownership of company code. It includes enterprise-grade management features and extends Google's generative AI indemnification policy to protect against copyright infringement claims related to AI-generated code. The enterprise edition allows customization using internal repositories, improving code acceptance rates by 70%. Gemini is compliant with various industry certifications, including SOC 1, 2, and 3, and ISO/IEC 27001, among others. A free version of Gemini remains available for independent developers, while organizations can acquire a Code Assist Enterprise license through the Google Cloud Console.
Microsoft has addressed a zero-day vulnerability, CVE-2025-29824, exploited by the group Storm-2460, affecting the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS). This vulnerability has been linked to ransomware attacks on organizations in the U.S., Venezuela, Spain, and Saudi Arabia. Storm-2460 has targeted firms in the IT and real estate sectors in the U.S., a financial institution in Venezuela, a software company in Spain, and a retail business in Saudi Arabia. The exploitation allows attackers to escalate privileges from standard user accounts, facilitated by the PipeMagic malware, which has a CVSS score of 7.8. Microsoft has patched 32 CLFS vulnerabilities since 2022, with six exploited in the wild. This month's security update is Microsoft's fourth addressing over 100 vulnerabilities in the past year, with 18 affecting Microsoft Office products classified as high-severity.
The PC games market generated .3 billion in revenue in 2024, with a forecasted increase to .4 billion by 2027, reflecting a growth of 2.6 percent. Microtransactions accounted for 58 percent of total spending, totaling .4 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 1.4 percent. Premium purchases contributed .7 billion, representing 28 percent of the market, but saw a decline of 2.6 percent. Downloadable content (DLC) generated .3 billion, accounting for 14 percent of overall revenue, with a slight increase of 0.8 percent. Gamers' playtime decreased by 1 percent in 2024 after a 12 percent increase the previous year.
The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) and Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) identified a zero-day elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS), designated as CVE-2025-29824. This vulnerability has been exploited by the PipeMagic malware, attributed to the group Storm-2460, affecting organizations in various sectors across the U.S., Venezuela, Spain, and Saudi Arabia. Microsoft released security updates on April 8, 2025, to address this vulnerability.
The exploit allows attackers with standard user privileges to escalate their access, and it was executed from a dllhost.exe process. The exploit utilizes memory corruption techniques and the RtlSetAllBits API to gain all privileges and inject processes into SYSTEM processes. Post-exploitation, the attackers injected a payload into winlogon.exe, leading to ransomware activity characterized by file encryption and the creation of ransom notes.
Indicators of compromise include the creation of a CLFS BLF file at C:ProgramDataSkyPDFPDUDrv.blf, command lines associated with ransomware activities, and specific domains linked to PipeMagic. Microsoft advises applying security updates promptly and recommends strategies for mitigating ransomware threats, including enabling cloud-delivered protection and utilizing device discovery.
April 2025 Patch Tuesday introduced fixes for over 120 vulnerabilities, including a critical zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-29824) that is actively exploited. CVE-2025-29824 is a user-after-free vulnerability in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS), allowing privilege escalation to SYSTEM on compromised Windows machines. Microsoft has patched 32 CLFS vulnerabilities since 2022, with six exploited in the wild. Updates for Windows 10 are not yet available. Other notable vulnerabilities include CVE-2025-26663 and CVE-2025-26670, both unauthenticated user-after-free vulnerabilities in Windows LDAP, and CVE-2025-27480 and CVE-2025-27482 in Windows Remote Desktop Services. None of these vulnerabilities have been patched for Windows 10 systems, but updates are forthcoming. Microsoft reversed its decision to discontinue driver update synchronization to WSUS servers, confirming that WSUS will continue to synchronize driver updates.
