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23 Dec 2024

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Are these the worst wellness trends of the year?
Did you spend the year counting your macros and considering whether the carnivore diet would solve all your problems? Let's look back at some of the wildest wellness trends of 2024.

Musician 'absolutely devastated' by guitar theft
Tom A Smith says he was travelling to London when the band's van was targeted by thieves.

White Ferns need change of fortunes in third ODI against Australia
A first win over Australia in 14 meetings is potentially needed for New Zealand to avoid a last-chance tournament in 2025.

Heading for a swim? Keep an eye on kids – and mates too
Lifeguard Ashleigh Hurring loves the beach and says part of taking care of other swimmers is “knowing how to raise the alarm for them”.

I asked people who had cancer about government tobacco policies - here’s what they said
OPINION: Luxon, Peters and Seymour signed up to scrap the smokefree law - what do people who’ve had cancer think about it?

Former Strictly star Giovanni wins Italian dance show
Giovanni Pernice wins Ballando Con Le Stelle after the BBC partly upheld complaints by Amanda Abbington.

Treating your innovation as a trade secret may be the best IP move
IP has a serious perception problem, says Callaghan Innovation Beyond IP manager Ayshen Koyu.

Katie Wesney: The cost of complacency with your money
Opinion: No one should be asleep at the wheel of their finances; it can cost you immeasurably.

Location, location, location: the ups and downs of business in this central Wellington area
Stuff spoke with three businesses in and around Cuba Street to find out how 2024 has been for them

Facebook inflicted 'lifelong trauma' on Kenyan content moderators, campaigners say
The job is leaving "almost everyone" who does it with post-traumatic stress disorder, a campaigner says.

How to know if a USB cable is hiding malicious hacker hardware
We expect USB-C cables to perform a specific task: transferring either data or files between devices. We give little more thought to the matter, but malicious USB-C cables can do much more than what we expect. These cables hide malicious hardware that can intercept data, eavesdrop on phone calls and messages, or, in the worst cases, take complete control of your PC or cellphone. The first of these appeared in 2008, but back then they were very rare and expensive — which meant the average user was largely safeguarded. Since then, their availability has increased 100-fold and now with both specialist spy retailers selling them as “spy cables” as well as unscrupulous sellers passing them off as legitimate products, it’s all too easy to buy one by accident and get hacked. So, how do you know if your USB-C cable is malicious? Further reading: We tested 43 old USB-C to USB-A cables. 1 was great. 10 were dangerous Identifying malicious USB-C cables Identifying malicious USB-C cables is no easy task since they are designed to look just like regular cables. Scanning techniques have been largely thought of as the best way to sort the wheat from the chaff, which is what industrial scanning company, Lumafield of the Lumafield Neptune industrial scanner fame, recently set out to show. The company employed both 2D and 3D scanning techniques on the O.MG USB-C cable — a well-known hacked cable built for covert field-use and research. It hides an embedded Wi-Fi server and a keylogger in its USB connector. PCWorld Executive Editor Gordon Ung covered it back in 2021, and it sounds scary as hell. What Lumafield discovered is interesting to say the least. A 2D X-ray image could identify the cable’s antenna and microcontroller, but only the 3D CT scan could reveal another band of wires connected to a die stacked on top of the cable’s microcontroller. You can explore a 3D model of the scan yourself on Lumafield’s website. The malicious hardware was visible with a 3D CT scan. Lumafield It confirms the worst — that you can only unequivocally confirm that a USB-C cable harbors malicious hardware with a 3D CT scanner, which unless you’re a medical radiographer or 3D industrial scientist is going to be impossible for you to do. That being so, here are some tips to avoid and identify suspicious USB-C cables without high-tech gear: Buy from a reputable seller: If you don’t know and trust the brand, simply don’t buy. Manufacturers like Anker, Apple, Belkin, and Ugreen have rigorous quality-control processes that prevent malicious hardware parts from making it into cables. Of course, the other reason is simply that you’ll get a better product — 3D scans have similarly revealed how less reputable brands can lack normal USB-C componentry, which can result in substandard performance. If you’re in the market for a new cable right now, see our top picks for USB-C cables. Look for the warning signs: Look for brand names or logos that don’t look right. Strange markings, cords that are inconsistent lengths or widths, and USB-C connectors with heat emanating from them when not plugged in can all be giveaways that a USB-C cable is malicious. Use the O.MG malicious cable detector: This detector by O.MG claims to detect all malicious USB cables. Use data blockers: If you’re just charging and not transferring data, a blocker will ensure no data is extracted. Apart from detecting malicious USB-C cables, the O.MG malicious cable detector functions as such a data blocker. Use a detection service: If you’re dealing with extremely sensitive data for a business or governmental organization, you might want to employ the services of a company like Lumafield to detect malicious cables with 100 percent accuracy. Any such service will come with a fee, but it could be a small price to pay for security and peace of mind. If this article has been an eye-opener about the dodgy tactics hackers employ to steal your data, you’re not alone. Malicious USB-C cables are still not widely known about. That being so, be sure to share the tips above with your family and friends. The more people that take time to safeguard their data, the safer we will all be in the long run. Further reading: Buying a USB-C cable? 6 gotchas to watch out for

Z Energy renames stations with 'correct' kupu
"This is not about ticking a box per se, this is about a bigger sort of commitment that we have to te reo Maori."

The Kiwi EPL player you’ve probably never heard of
While Chris Wood has been flying the flag for New Zealand, there’s another Kiwi who could be stopping his shots in the not too distant future.

I travelled NZ in a campervan: Here are the spots you can’t miss
From camping in national parks to swimming in crystal-clear lakes, here’s how to have an unforgettable summer.

Restaurant owner accuses police of ‘racism’ after he’s handcuffed following car crash
A Christchurch restaurant owner says he’s been “publicly humiliated” by police officers after he tried to help a friend involved in a car crash.

The 2025 political calendar
Here’s when to expect fireworks and big decisions.

Economist predicts new Cook Strait ferries will cost at least $1.7 billion
“It is very likely that the decisions taken to date will have a much higher cost,” says the Council of Trade Unions economist.

Richardson ready for the festive bounce of holiday season cricket
The Black Cap-turned-TVNZ commentator reveals why he loves matches at this time of the year and how he thinks NZ can turn their recent woes around.

Samsung’s gigantic 8TB portable SSD just dropped to its best price
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted the 8TB Samsung T5 EVO portable SSD for just $400 right now because that’s, by far, the best discount I’ve ever seen for it. (Before that, its best price was $430, so it’s quite the drop ahead of the holidays.) We reviewed the Samsung T5 EVO some time ago and gave it a 4-star rating for its small and rugged body plus its decently fast performance. “The T5 EVO is 5Gbps (Gen 1) USB 3.2, meaning that no matter what’s inside, it’s basically capped at 550MB/s.” Basically, while it may not be rocket-fast, it’s one of the few reliable portable SSDs to come in an enormous 8TB version. That’s an absolute ton of space! If you need a large portable drive to store your photos, videos, and games, you may never need another drive again if you get this one. (That’s over 800,000 regular-sized photos!) The Samsung T5 EVO uses a USB-C connection and it’s widely compatible with everything from PCs to Macs to gaming consoles and more. While the 8TB’s sale price is especially delicious, the other capacities are also on sale (in case you don’t need this much space): Samsung T5 Evo, 2TB, now $137.11 (40% off, was $229.99) Samsung T5 Evo, 4TB, now $199.99 (9% off, was $219.99) Don’t miss out on this chance to get a whopping 8TB of portable SSD storage for $400! In fact, if you hurry up, you can still get this one delivered before Christmas. Save nearly $100 on Samsung's 8TB portable SSDBuy now at Amazon