Total Leo (Audio)

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday blunder triggers emergency fixes, surprise layoffs ripple through Amazon, and the crew debates whether rapid AI advances spell the end of traditional apps. Also, password managers do a lot more than manage passwords, so there's one thing everyone needs to get right.

Windows 11

Dev splits from Beta, tests what will surely be 26H1 - After last week's show, Microsoft did issue that same Beta build in the Dev channel for some reason

Dev and Beta get same fixes in different builds, but no new features

24H2 and 25H2 Release Preview update(s) are a peek at the next Patch Tuesday, lots of changes

January Patch Tuesday update was so terrible it required two emergency fixes, the second of which went out late Sunday

Earnings/industry

Intel falls flat in Q4, full year 2025 despite U.S. "investment"

Amazon lays off 16,000 employees

Microsoft, Apple, earnings this week, Alphabet, Amazon are next week

AI

Microsoft announces Maia 200 AI datacenter processor

Like Baldric in Black Adder, Apple has a cunning plan for an AI Siri

With AI costs soaring, cheaper new AI plans appear somehow

OpenAI was last week with big expansion of ChatGPT Go

Google does the same this week with AI Plus plan

OpenAI, Anthropic (this week), others are adding "apps" to their chatbots

Microsoft is exposing app features as AI Actions in Windows 11

Paul opined that this semantic/programmatic capability was the end of apps

But we can now essentially vibe-code our own custom apps - this is vaguely reminiscent of the home computer/DIY era, but without the technical knowledge requirements

The age of native apps is over, at least on desktop. Will mobile fall next?

Dev

Microsoft introduces the Windows App Development (winapp) CLI. For some reason

Xbox and gaming

Microsoft refreshes the Xbox Cloud Gaming web experience — bigger changes coming?

Fable is coming to Xbox, PC, PS5 in late 2026

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Choose a single password manager, make your life easier

App pick of the week: Proton Pass

RunAs Radio this week: Business Process Automation in 2026 with Ian Cooper

Brown liquor pick of the week: Tullibardine 18



Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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Can AI stay open, ethical, and for the people? Mozilla's president joins the show to reveal their game plan—and $650 million war chest—for taking on Big Tech's monoculture with a "Rebel Alliance" approach to AI.

State of Mozilla 2025/26

Codeless: From idea to software - Anil Dash

Clawdbot is the new AI techies are buzzing about — and it's renewing interest in the Mac Mini

Qwen3-TTS Demo - a Hugging Face Space by Qwen

I Let AI Analyze My Davos Reporting Trip. Here's What It Missed

Dario Amodei — The Adolescence of Technology

Proof of Corn

Trump admin reportedly plans to use AI to write federal regulations

Wikipedia volunteers spent years cataloging AI tells. Now there's a plugin to avoid them.

China Lagging in AI Is a 'Fairy Tale,' Mistral CEO Says

How Playing Pokémon Became the Ultimate Test of AI's Intelligence

Sir Demis Hassabis becomes the latest to say that ChatGPT is a dead-end and that we must turn our focus to world models

Claude's new constitution

"Infinite Jest" Has Turned Thirty. Have We Forgotten How to Read It?

Sony's TV business is being taken over by TCL

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau

Guest: Mark Surman

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Can AI really write malware better than hackers ever could? This episode exposes the first real-world case of advanced, fully AI-generated malware and why it signals a seismic shift in cybersecurity risk.

CISA's uncertain future remains quite worrisome.

Worrisome is Ireland's new "lawful" interception law.

The EU's Digital Rights organization pushes back.

Microsoft acknowledges it turns over user encryption keys.

Alex Neihaus on AI enterprise usage dangers.

Gavin confesses he put a database on the Internet.

Worries about a massive podcast rewinding backlog.

What does the emergence of AI-generated malware portend?

Show Note - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1062-Notes.pdf

Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte

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You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page.

For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6.

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Apple launches the next generation of its AirTags. Is Apple developing its own take on an AI wearable pin? Apple is holding an event in LA for creators: could this coincide with an announcement of the next MacBook Pro? And Apple snags a Best Picture nomination for 'F1: The Movie'.

Apple launches AirTag 2 with improved range, louder speaker, more.

Incremental iOS 26.2.1, iPadOS 26.2.1, watchOS 26.2.1 updates support the new AirTag.

Apple developing AI wearable pin.

Apple hosting LA event for creators on January 27-29 that could coincide with MacBook Pro announcement.

Apple reportedly aiming to upgrade the MacBook Pro twice this year.

Tim Cook slammed for attending 'Melania' screening on night of Alex Pretti killing.

Apple TV earns Best Picture nomination for 'F1: The Movie' in 2026 Oscars.

I let ChatGPT analyze a decade of my Apple Watch data. Then I called my doctor.

Ongoing RAM supply and cost crisis isn't an issue for Apple's iPhone — right now.

Picks of the Week

Dave's Pick: Anker Prime Foldable Wireless Charging Station (Feb 2026)

Andy's Pick: Mermaid

Jason's Pick: ChapterPod

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, and Jason Snell

Guest: Dave Hamilton

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Microsoft quietly hands over BitLocker keys to the government, TikTok's new privacy terms spark a user panic, and Europe's secret tech backups reveal anxious prep for digital fallout. Plus, how gambling platforms are changing the future of news and sports.

You can bet on how much snow will fall in New York City this weekend

Europe Prepares for a Nightmare Scenario: The U.S. Blocking Access to Tech

China, US sign off on TikTok US spinoff

TikTok users freak out over app's 'immigration status' collection -- here's what it means

Elon Musk's Grok A.I. Chatbot Made Millions of Sexualized Images, New Estimates Show

Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw - Forbes

House of Lords votes to ban social media for Brits under 16

Overrun with AI slop, cURL scraps bug bounties to ensure "intact mental health"

Route leak incident on January 22, 2026

149 Million Usernames and Passwords Exposed by Unsecured Database

Millions of people imperiled through sign-in links sent by SMS

Anthropic revises Claude's 'Constitution,' and hints at chatbot consciousness

The new Siri chatbot may run on Google servers, not Apple's

A Wikipedia Group Made a Guide to Detect AI Writing. Now a Plug-In Uses It to 'Humanize' Chatbots

GitHub - anthropics/original_performance_takehome: Anthropic's original performance take-home, now open for you to try!

Telly's "free" ad-based TVs make notable revenue—when they're actually delivered - Ars Technica

Toilet Maker Toto's Shares Get Unlikely Boost From AI Rush - Slashdot

Dr. Gladys West, whose mathematical models inspired GPS, dies at 95

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Alex Stamos, Doc Rock, and Patrick Beja

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