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At long last, Squid Game Season 2 is almost upon us. If you're struggling to wait, though, Player 456 himself (Lee Jung-jae) has appeared on The Tonight Show to give us a few last-minute clues.

In the clip above he's presented with two buzzers — one for "yes", and one for "no" — and asked a series of questions about the new season.

The most interesting one? "Do you become the new Front Man?", which prompts Jung-jae to press both buttons at once.

Squid Game Season 2 arrives Dec. 26 on Netflix.

The Daily Mini Crossword is one of the many popular daily word games available on Mashable. Powered by Arkadium, the mini crossword offers a speed round of puzzle fun with clues that are sure to challenge experienced crossword enthusiasts.

But there's no need to let the challenge get in the way of your enjoyment! If moments are turning to minutes after getting stuck on a clue, find the answers you need to progress right here.

And when you're done, check out the many other word games you can play on Mashable, including a full-size crossword.

Also, if you get stuck on any other daily word games, such as Wordle, Connections, or Strands — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for December 18 SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to Daily Mini Crossword for Wednesday, December 18, 2024:

Across"Spy vs Spy" magazine

• The answer is Mad.

Painfully slow

• The answer is Glacial.

Family tree

• The answer is Lineage.

Boolean logic operator

• The answer is And.

Called the shots

• The answer is Led.

Wheeling and _____

• The answer is Dealing.

Informal alliance

• The answer is Entente.

Baby carrier?

• The answer is Egg.

DownWhat a landslide political victory confers

• The answer is Mandate.

High card

• The answer is Ace.

Ringing up, old-style

• The answer is Dialing.

S.C. Johnson spray

• The answer is Glade.

Flax fabric

• The answer is Linen.

Deal maker

• The answer is Agent.

Pigeon's perch

• The answer is Ledge.

Turkey part

• The answer is Leg.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

A critical jousting tool.

SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for December 18 Hurdle Word 1 answer

LANCE

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Sometimes depicted wearing a halo.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 18 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

ANGEL

Hurdle Word 3 hint

To swear.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 18 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 18, 2024 Hurdle Word 3 answer

CURSE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A sustained period of activity involving a specific act or task.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for December 18 Hurdle Word 4 answer

SPREE

Final Hurdle hint

To measure how heavy something is.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

WEIGH

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

SAVE $60: As of Dec. 18, the Apple AirPods Pro 2 are on sale at Best Buy for $189.99. This is $60 off their original price of $249.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Pro 2 $189.99 at Best Buy
$249.99 Save $60.00 Get Deal

When it comes to travel, I always keep my AirPods Pro 2 earbuds with me. They're an absolute must to keep me busy with audiobooks, music, and podcasts while I'm on the move. And with the holidays coming up, I've already got them charged up and ready to go for a long flight home. If you've been hoping to pick up these earbuds for your own long travel days ahead, the good news is they're still on sale at Best Buy.

Right now you can scoop up the Apple AirPods Pro 2 for $189.99, $60 off their original price of $249.99. While they're not as low as they were during Cyber Monday, they're still absolutely worth picking up at this price. As a bonus, they also come with up to three months of Apple Music for free and three months of Apple Fitness+ for free.

SEE ALSO: Should AirPods be white? Hollywood heavyweight Franklin Leonard on the earbuds' hearing feature

The AirPods Pro 2 really shine with their noise canceling features. There are three modes to choose from: Active Noise Cancelation, Adaptive Audio, and Transparency mode. With ANC, you can tune out from the world around you and just stay focused on what you're listening to. This is a personal favorite for me so I can zone in on work or block out loud noises.

Transparency mode does the opposite, allowing you to hear your surroundings while listening, and Adaptive Audio combines both features to automatically adjust noise control depending on what's going on around you. On top of these, the AirPods Pro 2 just offer excellent sound in general thanks to Apple's H2 chip, so your ears are in for a real treat once you put them in.

This deal may not stick around for long, though. Pick up the Apple AirPods Pro 2 for $189.99 before this deal disappears.

There's plenty more still on sale at Best Buy that you can check out in its Last Minute Savings event. Alongside the AirPods Pro 2, you can also save on laptops, speakers, gaming consoles, and so much more. Stock up and save some cash ahead of the holidays.

There's all kinds of erotic fan fiction out there on the internet, and you'd better believe some of that fiction features Conan O'Brien proudly at its centre.

In the podcast clip above from Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, O'Brien's co-host Matt Gourley reads some of this creative work out loud while co-host Sona Movsesian tells him to, "Stop, now."

O'Brien's reaction? "I'm glad someone is finally seeing me as a sexual being, because I've been ignored too long."

SAVE $50: As of Dec. 18, the 1TB Xbox Series X all-digital console is on sale for $399.99 at Best Buy. This is $50 off its original price of $449.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Xbox Xbox Series X All-Digital Console (1TB) $399.99 at Best Buy
$449.99 Save $50.00 Get Deal

Even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, it's still not too late to save on gaming items ahead of the holidays. Right now, Best Buy's offering up a nice little discount on the robot white Xbox Series X that's well worth jumping on if you've had a new console on your list this year.

The 1TB Xbox Series X all-digital console is currently $50 off its list price of $449.99, dropping it to $399.99. This is a great price for a console with so much space in it and even matches its Cyber Monday price. What better time to grab it?

SEE ALSO: The Xbox Elite Series 2 controller is $50 off for a limited time

And with an all-digital design, you can stock up on several games right away from the online store. The Countdown Sale is even going on right now so you can save a little extra on big games like Star Wars Outlaws, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and so many more. Or, if you've got Xbox Game Pass, you can stock up with plenty of games from that library as well.

This deal likely won't stick around for long, so save $50 on the 1TB Xbox Series X all-digital console before the discount disappears.

Best Buy's offering even more as part of its Last Minute Savings event. This includes deals on everything from speakers to home goods, so you can stock up on items you need ahead of the holidays without breaking the bank.

OpenAI is making major moves as it sets the table for 2025.

To the casual observer, OpenAI has spent the past week flooding the tech world with announcements and rollouts — not all of which gel into any sort of clear product agenda.

It's all part of a holiday-timed event called "12 Days of OpenAI," a plan to ship a product or feature every day for 12 days marketed by the AI giant as bold and ambitious, even though some of the announcements, like a folder system for organizing your ChatGPT conversations, might seem like filler.

But if you step back and look at the sum of its parts, you can see that OpenAI is deliberately laying a roadmap for ChatGPT to become the next "everything app."

The term comes from Elon Musk when talking about transforming X, into "a single application that encompasses everything," as he told employees in a leaked 2023 all-hands meeting. "You can do payments, messages, video, calling, whatever you’d like, from one single, convenient place." 

Tweet may have been deleted

Musk's plans to build X into an everything app have yet to come to fruition. But it's still a useful description for the strategy of embedding a technology so deeply into users' lives that they use it for all of their technological needs. 

OpenAI seems to be doing something similar with ChatGPT by launching user-friendly tools oriented around never having to leave the app. There's ChatGPT Search, its Google search engine competitor for accessing the web, Canvas, a kind of digital notepad for iterating on writing and code, Projects, a tool for creating and customizing projects that works with ChatGPT Search and Canvas, and Advanced Voice Mode, a vision and voice modalities tool that can see your screen and walk you through tasks.

Beside you the whole time is ChatGPT, underpinned by GPT-4o, that can generate responses with text, audio, voice, and images. ChatGPT is on your iPhone now too, thanks to a partnership with Apple, the original lifestyle embedders.  

Despite persistent shortcomings, ChatGPT's roadmap is clear

In the near future, OpenAI will take one step closer toward its goal of "achieving AGI" by putting all these tools together in an agent that can perform multi-step tasks on the user's behalf. 

This isn't just speculation. CEO Sam Altman said at OpenAI DevDay that "2025 is when agents will work," and CPO Kevin Weil reinforced this in a Reddit AMA, saying ChatGPT being able to perform tasks on its own will be "a big theme in 2025." Indeed, reports from Bloomberg and The Information say OpenAI's agentic tool, codenamed "Operator," will be able to book flights, write code, and generally browse the web.

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Meanwhile, AI model development might be running out of high quality training data and experiencing diminishing returns. And generative AI has a persistent hallucination problem that might not ever be fully resolved, which leads to the proliferation of AI slop, and also harmful misinformation, defamation, and potential copyright infringement. But despite genAI's proven unreliability for certain things and AI-weary public sentiment, OpenAI is doing its damndest to make the case for ChatGPT as the everything app with billion dollar stakes.

ChatGPT already has the parts, now it's time to assemble it

Imagine you or your partner is pregnant for the first time and you have no idea what to do. You frantically use ChatGPT Search to research baby books, pregnancy diets and workouts, the best prenatal vitamins, birthing classes, why doctors hate doulas, baby gear, etc. You create a ChatGPT Project called "Baby Deliverables," and upload all of your research and notes, asking ChatGPT to help you plan a timeline of tasks before the baby's arrival and a budget for all the new expenses. 

Tweet may have been deleted

As the pregnancy progresses, you use Advanced Voice Mode with vision to ask ChatGPT if the amount of swelling in you or your partner's feet is normal. You might even find yourself confiding in Advanced Voice Mode about the difficult hormonal changes or sharing ultrasound photos with the warm and friendly disembodied voice who's never busy, unlike family and friends. 

Soon, you might even be able to compile a list of gifts and automatically populate a baby shower registry, or ask ChatGPT to research the best strollers and buy the best-rated one within your price range. 

All of this is already or likely soon to be possible within ChatGPT. And that's exactly what OpenAI wants — particularly since this scenario seeps beyond the 9-to-5 work productivity use case and into everyday companionship.

The everything app concept has Apple origins

The everything app concept isn't something Musk came up with. In fact, he was referencing apps in China like WeChat, a messaging, calling, social media, news, and payment app all rolled into one. 

Tweet may have been deleted

But it was really Apple that championed the concept with the "walled garden" ecosystem. Apple is famous for slick, beautifully-designed products that seamlessly integrate with other Apple devices, while being incompatible with non-Apple products. Apple sells its users on the promise of realizing their untapped potential, or as Mashable's Chris Taylor calls it, "aspirational creativity," thus locking them into a neverending product cycle. 

With its reality distortion field, Apple's best trick is to simultaneously make consumers feel like they need Apple devices to be the most productive and creative versions of themselves while defending its anti-competitive business practices. As Cory Doctorow puts it in his description of the cult of mac, "Apple’s most valuable intangible asset isn’t its patents or copyrights — it’s an army of people who believe that using products from a $2.89 trillion multinational makes them members of an oppressed religious minority whose identity is coterminal with the interests of Apple’s shareholders."

When you look at OpenAI's recent launches, it seems like Sam Altman has taken a leaf out of the Steve Jobs playbook.

"We really want to make ChatGPT as frictionless and easy to use everywhere," said Altman in a meta moment announcing the ChatGPT and iOS integration. "We love Apple devices and so this integration is one that we're very very proud of."

ChatGPT's new features and updates seem to be carefully designed with the consumer in mind: paying special attention to the needs of a user's workflow or overall online behavior. In other words, the promise of enhanced productivity and creative fulfillment is just a monthly payment away.

Tweet may have been deleted

ChatGPT subscriptions are a critical part of OpenAI's revenue model. According to financial documents reviewed by the New York Times, around 10 million users pay $20 for a ChatGPT Plus subscription and OpenAI plans to raise the price to $44 a month over the next five years.

And that was reported before OpenAI announced ChatGPT Pro for $200 a month. Combine that with OpenAI's revenue projections of $100 billion by 2029 and you can start to see the company's plan from novelty chatbot to everything app unfold.

That all hinges on making ChatGPT more valuable to its users. ChatGPT has already started to move away from the restricted chatbot experience. In a few short years, it's evolved to support image, audio, and video in addition to text and will soon have more autonomous abilities.

Speaking at Stanford University last spring, Altman called GPT-4 "the dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again," and described the forthcoming GPT-5 as a "significant leap forward" during an interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival. That's assuming the much-hyped GPT-5 is still part of the plan. In the meantime, OpenAI is rounding out ChatGPT with updates and features that emphasize its everyday usefulness. 

But just as OpenAI's allegedly altruistic mission "to ensure that AGI… benefits all of humanity," merits new scrutiny in the company's attempt to become for-profit, so does the intention behind its flurry of product announcements. OpenAI is a business and the goal of any business is to sell you stuff. Some of the new features may seem minor, but it's all part of a broader plan to hit that revenue projection. And maybe achieve AGI along the way. 

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Wednesday, December 18, 2024:

AcrossOnly instrument in a typical orchestra that reads the alto clef

• The answer is Viola.

Irk

• The answer is Annoy.

Kind of cold brew coffee with foamy bubbles

• The answer is Nitro.

Affirmative head gesture

• The answer is Nod.

One of 88 on a piano

• The answer is Key.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 18, 2024 DownVehicle with a sliding door

• The answer is Van.

With a pen, as one's signature

• The answer is InInk.

How a ballerina often dances

• The answer is OnToe.

"___, ___, look who's 40!" (rhyming line on a birthday card)

• The answer is Lordy.

___ Edebiri, Emmy-winning actress on "The Bear"

• The answer is Ayo.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.

SAVE $200: As of Dec. 18, the Lenovo Legion Go gaming handheld (1TB SSD, AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme) is on sale for $549.99. That's $200 off its original price of $749.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lenovo Lenovo Legion Go 8.8-inch 144Hz WQXGA Gaming Handheld $549.99 at Best Buy
$749.99 Save $200.00 Get Deal

Who says Cyber Monday is the last day for deals? Best Buy is spreading a little extra holiday cheer through its 12 Days of Gaming sale event. Each day has had a nice little discount for shoppers, and today's deal on the Lenovo Legion Go is a fantastic pick for those looking to get into handheld gaming.

The Lenovo Legion Go (1TB SSD, AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme) is currently enjoying a $200 discount, dropping its price from $749.99 to $549.99. This is absolutely worth taking advantage of if you've been wanting to pick up a gaming handheld, but it's worth knowing that this deal only lasts for today as part of 12 Days of Gaming. So act fast to scoop it up before it's all gone.

SEE ALSO: You can still save on the PS5 'Fortnite Cobalt Star' bundle and get it ahead of Christmas

Alongside the 1TB SSD and AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, the Lenovo Legion Go also offers an 8.8-inch WQXGA (2560x1600) 144Hz display so your favorite games will really shine while on the go. In our review, writer Alex Perry said, "it’s easily one of the better entryways into PC gaming you can get right now." It even came out on top in our comparison of Steam Deck vs. Lenovo Legion Go, with Perry saying, "Steam Deck is a fantastic device, no doubt, but Legion Go is better in all the ways that matter if you're really serious about PC gaming."

As mentioned earlier, this deal only lasts for one day. Act fast to save $200 on the Lenovo Legion Go at Best Buy before this discount disappears.

There's even more to explore right now at Best Buy, if you're still doing some last-minute shopping ahead of the holidays. The retailer is currently holding a Last Minute Savings event that features a variety of excellent discounts on everything from tech to home goods, so you can stock up before the holidays.

SAVE $600: As of Dec. 18, the HP OmniBook Ultra 14-inch 2.2K Copilot+ laptop is on sale for $899.99 at Best Buy. That’s a $600 discount from its regular price of $1,499.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: HP HP OmniBook Ultra 14-inch 2.2K Copilot+ Laptop $899.99 at Best Buy
$1,499.99 Save $600.00 Get Deal

If you’ve been on the hunt for a laptop that’s equal parts powerful and future-ready, look no further than the HP OmniBook Ultra Copilot+ PC. This 14-inch AI-powered beauty is packed with high-performance features, and right now, it’s a total steal at Best Buy for $899.99 — a massive $600 off its original price of $1,499.99.

This isn’t just a laptop — it’s a tool built to elevate your productivity, creativity, and even gaming sessions. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 processor delivers lightning-fast performance, with 50 TOPS of NPU power. Translation? Your laptop learns and adapts to your habits, optimizing everything from workflows to gaming for a smarter, smoother experience.

SEE ALSO: How 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' adapts two pages of Tolkien lore into a whole movie

The 2.2K IPS touchscreen display is a visual delight, offering a stunning 2240 x 1400 resolution and a wide 100% RGB color gamut for breathtaking detail and lifelike colors. The 16:10 aspect ratio makes binge-watching shows, editing photos, or diving into a creative project fair game. The AMD FreeSync technology also ensures buttery-smooth visuals without stutters or tears during gaming.

The OmniBook Ultra isn’t just about performance — it’s packed with thoughtful features to make your life easier. The 9MP AI-enabled camera adapts to lighting conditions for crystal-clear video calls while presence-sensing technology locks your screen when you step away for added security. The Windows Copilot Key provides instant access to AI assistance. HP Fast Charge powers the battery to 50% in just 45 minutes.

When it comes to sound, Poly Studio Audio and HP Audio Boost deliver loud, clear, and immersive soundscapes. Paired with the 86% screen-to-body ratio for a slim-bezel viewing experience, you’ve got a laptop that’s as much about style as it is substance.

Durability is another big win here. The Corning Gorilla Glass NBT touchscreen shrugs off daily wear and tear while HP Wolf Security and Microsoft Pluton tech work together to safeguard your data. There’s a camera shutter for privacy and a fingerprint reader on the power button for quick and secure access.

At $899.99, the HP OmniBook Ultra offers premium features at a fraction of the cost. Whether working, gaming, or just catching up on your Netflix queue, this laptop is ready to handle everything.

SAVE $52: As of Dec. 18, Anker Prime 20,000mAh portable charger is available for $77.99 at Amazon. That's a 40% discount off its list price of $129.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Anker Prime Portable Charger $77.99 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $52.00 Get Deal

Portable power has never been more essential. Every road warrior and frequent flyer forgets to charge their phone overnight. Anker Prime 20,000mAh Power Bank is your ultimate lifeline, and right now, it’s on sale at Amazon for $77.99, down from $129.99. That’s 40% off, making this deal too good to pass up.

Let’s start with the specs that make this power bank a game-changer. With a 200W total output, it boasts two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, meaning you can charge two laptops at 100W each simultaneously. Yes, you read that right — this little dynamo can power two laptops at once. Add your phone, earbuds, or tablet into the mix, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

SEE ALSO: How 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' adapts two pages of Tolkien lore into a whole movie

Speaking of speed, the 100W rapid recharge capability means you can fully juice up the power bank itself in just 1 hour and 15 minutes—faster than most coffee runs. The smart digital display adds a nice touch, keeping you informed about remaining battery life, power input, and output — so there’s no guesswork involved.

At 4.9 x 2.1 x 1.9 inches, this compact power bank fits neatly in your bag, making it perfect for travel or everyday use. It’s the ultimate “just in case” gadget for road trips, long flights, or power outages. And its 20,000mAh capacity is nothing to scoff at — expect multiple charges for your phone or a couple of full charges for your laptop.

What sets the Anker Prime apart, though, is its thoughtful extras. It comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable, a travel pouch, and a 24-month warranty, so you’re covered if anything goes awry. Plus, the build quality and sleek design (available in black or gold) are everything you’d expect from the trusted Anker brand.

At 40% off, this is one of the best deals on a high-capacity power bank this season. Whether you’re looking to power through your workday or keep your devices alive on a Netflix binge, Anker Prime has you covered. But don’t wait — this limited-time deal might not last long. Consider this your sign to stay charged and stay winning.

A movement by some Democratic voters to investigate the results of the 2024 presidential election mirrors a push by Republicans in 2020. But it’s struggling.

For the past two years, a NASA spacecraft has sat lifeless on the surface of Mars, its solar panels caked with dirt. 

From a vantage point in space, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recently caught a glimpse of the dormant InSight lander. The new images are not only a last goodbye to the lander but capture the incredibly turbulent nature of dust storms on the Red Planet. 

Despite the fact that InSight retired in December 2022, engineers quietly hoped that the robot, unable to communicate through a deep coma, might still wake up. They believed there was a small chance wind could sweep some dust off the panels, allowing the spacecraft to once again collect sunshine and recharge its batteries. 

Alas, they haven't heard a peep. As 2024 comes to a close, engineers will stop listening for radio signals from InSight, according to NASA.  

“It feels a little bittersweet to look at InSight now. It was a successful mission that produced lots of great science," said Ingrid Daubar, a Brown University planetary scientist, in a statement. "Of course, it would have been nice if it kept going forever, but we knew that wouldn’t happen."

SEE ALSO: NASA's Mars rovers had a gangbusters summer of rocks The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of a 12-mile-high dust devil on Mars in 2012. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona

Scientists have long known the hazards of dust devils churning up Martian dirt, though dust devils can also blow accumulating dirt off of solar panels. About 12 years ago, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter caught sight of an extraordinary one with a plume stretching 12 miles into the sky.

Dust devils on Mars form similarly to those on Earth, despite the fact that Mars' atmosphere is much thinner. They tend to happen on dry days when the ground gets hotter than the surrounding area. Typically smaller than tornadoes, dust devils are whirlwinds that make a funnel-like chimney, channeling warmer air up and around.

The rotating wind accelerates the way ice skaters spin faster as they bring their arms closer to their bodies. On Mars, this phenomenon leaves tracks — straight lines, curves, and curlicues — where it has traveled. The color is a result of picking up the light dust coating virtually all of the Red Planet, exposing layers of dark volcanic rocks.

Tweet may have been deleted

Between 2018 and 2022, InSight studied upward of 1,000 marsquakes and collected daily weather reports. It detected the planet's large liquid core and helped map Mars' inner geology. NASA expected that the spacecraft would eventually be so covered in dust, it would no longer be able to generate power. 

Despite the fact that it didn't wake up, scientists have continued to monitor the dust on the lander. They are learning about how much of it gets blown away by gusts and dust devils. And knowing how long it takes for dust to cover craters will help scientists date the collisions that caused them. 

The information also is important as the space agency prepares future missions to Mars.

"Even though we’re no longer hearing from InSight, it’s still teaching us about Mars," Daubar said.

Hari Ravichadran, founder and CEO of the online safety product Aura, recently got a front-row seat to a sophisticated scam designed to turn him into a victim of fraud.

He and his team are regularly targeted by scammers, but this scheme was so well-conducted that it gave the normally skeptical Ravichadran pause.

The play went like this: A scammer seemingly stole someone's identity and used it to share a heart-wrenching story. The pretend victim claimed that the bank mistakenly wired Ravichadran her alleged family's down payment for their new home. They urgently wanted Ravichadran to wire back the money he supposedly received.

The would-be thief contacted not just Ravichadran, but also multiple company executives. The scammer communicated through what looked like a legitimate email address and social media profiles, and had accurate information for Ravichadran. They even invited him and his legal counsel to meet on Zoom with a bank employee in order to sort things out.

SEE ALSO: 5 holiday scams that could wreck your season

Ravichadran knew better than to reflexively trust what he'd been told. But, like most people, he also worried what might happen to the woman if she was telling the truth.

Of course, things quickly fell apart when his lawyer joined a Zoom call with the purported bank employee. The individual appeared on camera for a split second and the conversation eventually became nonsensical. The lawyer suspected they were speaking to an AI-powered deepfake.

Ravichadran says the attempt demonstrates just how savvy scammers have become. Unlike past generic efforts, schemes are now often very personal. That's because scammers may have access to information from data breaches as well as details available on social media or other public platforms, including where you work and the identity of your friends.

Scammers are also leveraging technology to reach people faster and more efficiently. They can now use auto-dialling software connected to an AI chatbot, complete with local or regional accent, to call your phone number.

In general, Ravichadran advises consumers to assume they're not being told the truth when assessing inquiries like the one he received.

"I think you go to it from a place of distrust," Ravichadran says. "If you go from a place of, 'Hey, this is probably true, let me see how to make it work,' you're going to get taken."

Ravichadran says technological advancements will be one of the defining features of how people are scammed in 2025. But bad actors have focused on certain types of fraud that are likely to become even more prevalent next year.

Here's what you need to know:

Cryptocurrency scams

If there's a way to steal people's money through a cryptocurrency scheme, thieves will find it. That's increasingly true as crypto becomes more mainstream and hits milestones, like Bitcoin passing the $100,000 mark, Nick Biasini, head of outreach for Cisco Talos Intelligence Group, says.

One well-established con is so-called "pig butchering," in which a scammer grooms someone digitally over a period of time and then asks them for crypto. (Interpol recently recommended abandoning that term and instead adopting the phrase "romance baiting," which carries less stigma.)

The scammers' alleged purposes vary from helping the victim invest in crypto to helping the scammer pay for fictitious costs, like medical care. These bad actors are typically looking to score a windfall over time or all at once; average losses are hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Less well-known crypto scams revolve around confusion about the currency, says Biasini.

Newcomers to buying or investing in crypto might fall for a scam that starts on social media, when that individual asks for help learning more. Scammers are waiting for posts just like these and will reply with friendly offers that end in financial losses.

Bad actors also take advantage of people who've lost their money by posing as experts who can help them get it back. Their end game, though, is just the same: make off with more of the victim's cash.

Celebrity-backed crypto can be a dangerous investment, too. The recent Hawk Tuah memecoin pump-and-dump scheme demonstrated what happens when a famous person encourages their followers to purchase their memecoin. Insiders close to the celebrity, who bought the memecoin privately for less, sell it as soon as its price spikes, ultimately crashing the value.

Since crypto is rife with scam risk, Biasini recommends exploring the currency with the help of a certified professional who can help you safely invest in it. In general, it's best to stick with well-known exchanges, and avoid social media discussions about crypto in which you share any personal information or data.

Multifactor authentication scams

Multifactor authentication is a security measure designed to provide consumers with greater protection for their personal accounts. But Cisco Talos' Security Intelligence & Research team has noted more attempts to fraudulently bypass that security step.

Some criminals are attempting to do that by stealing cookies, or data sent by a website to your computer, that contain their login credentials and allow them to access a victim's email, according to a recent warning from the FBI Atlanta division.

Once the thieves are able to view the email account, they can try logging into that victim's various other online services, including bank and shopping accounts. When the services send the multifactor authentication code via email, the criminal will be able to use it.

The FBI Atlanta division encourages people to regularly clear their Internet browser cookies, consider the risks of checking "remember me" when logging into a website, and only visiting sites with a secure connection in order to prevent your data from being intercepted.

Criminals use other methods, including phishing, to relay mutlifactor authentication codes to themselves in order to access victims' financial and consumer accounts. Beware of digital messages and phone calls that ask you to provide critical login information that you would otherwise enter yourself.

Business phishing scams

Scams that target workplaces are on the rise, according to both Ravichadran and Biasini. Typically these efforts focus on higher-level employees, like the CEO or CFO. Much like Ravichadran experienced, the fraudulent requests involve urgently wiring money into the bad actor's account.

Biasini says that the emergence of large language models (LLMs), like the kind that power OpenAI's ChatGPT, have made it easier for scammers to create prompts that sound very convincing.

Ravichadran notes that these scams often leverage multiple channels of communication, like email and social media messaging. They may use stolen accounts, so that the bad actor appears to be legitimate. They've also typically collected enough information about their target that they're able to demonstrate some level of familiarity — and credibility.

These tactics are becoming widespread, which means employees have to be on guard for suspicious messages, and quickly report them to their information security teams.

AI-powered scams

LLMs and deepfake technology have given scammers frighteningly powerful tools.

With access to software that can essentially write scam scripts in seconds or minutes, and then can conduct a conversation as a chatbot with a victim in real-time, bad actors can rapidly scale their schemes to reach far more people than they could in the past.

Ravichadran says scammers can even program a chatbot to use a regional accent, a detail that could likely persuade a potential victim into handing over their personal data.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI's Sora is officially here

Bad actors can also use deepfake technology to create a vocal or visual clone of someone. If you think you're speaking to someone you know, or could look up online, it might be very difficult to remain skeptical of a scammer's story or their requests.

As this technology becomes more widely available, and easier to use, it'll make scams that much easier to execute.

How to protect yourself from scams

In addition to routinely approaching interactions involving your money and data with skepticism, Ravichadran recommends protecting yourself with basic steps, like changing your password if you know it's been breached, and taking advantage of a password manager in order to use complex phrases that you don't need to remember.

Ravichadran also suggests more sophisticated strategies, including using services that monitor your financial accounts and credit for signs of fraud and identity theft.

He adds that anyone can become a scam victim, despite the perception that bad actors typically target certain people, like seniors. Ravichadran has spoken to people with advanced degrees who are shocked that they were duped by a scammer.

Though many victims feel embarrassed and ashamed, he encourages people to share their experiences with others, and certainly report them to authorities so that investigators can pursue the criminals.

The FBI recommends reporting scams to law enforcement and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. If you think you've been scammed by a registered business, you can also report suspected fraud to your state attorney general, the state in which the company is listed, and to the Federal Trade Commission.

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Opens in a new window Credit: Retail King Microsoft Visio Professional 2024: Lifetime License for Windows $79.97
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SAVE $1,100: As of Dec. 18, Sony 75-inch BRAVIA XR X93L 4K Mini LED Smart TV is on sale for $1,398 at Walmart. That’s $1,100 off its usual price of $2,498.

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SEE ALSO: How 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' adapts two pages of Tolkien lore into a whole movie

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SAVE $300: As of Dec. 18, the Acer Swift 16 AI-powered laptop is available for $899.99 at Best Buy. That’s $300 off its regular price of $1,199.99.

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AI-powered productivity has a new name: the Acer Swift 16 AI laptop. And as of Dec. 18, you can snag this sleek powerhouse for just $899.99 at Best Buy, saving you a cool $300. At this price, it’s hard to resist the temptation of bringing some cutting-edge tech into your life.

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SEE ALSO: How 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' adapts two pages of Tolkien lore into a whole movie

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