IT General

My brother’s phone stopped working one morning, so I offered to lend him my Samsung phone for the day. He just needed it to make important calls, so I didn’t mind handing it over. I wasn’t worried about him stumbling across my personal photos, WhatsApp conversations, or work files either.

When you hear the name Ryobi, the first thing most people think about is power tools for DIY projects and homeowner repairs. And while that's certainly true, you don't have to be a DIYer to absolutely love several of Ryobi's most popular products. The company makes a little bit of everything, and there are several you'll probably want to own.

Welcome to Halloween weekend! There are plenty of horror movies and shows to stream this weekend. Only one of these shows fits the bill for spooky season, and it's our top pick of the weekend. It's the return of the serial killer who targets other criminals who have slipped through the cracks of the criminal justice system.

Spooky season is the perfect time to cozy up with Haunted Hotel. The Netflix animated series blends horror with an animated family sitcom format that makes for fresh fun, and an addictive rewatch binge. (And, really, we've been revisiting Season 1 over and over since last Halloween.)

Now, with Season 3 announced ahead of this Halloween, we're sharing a secret we've found hidden in the Undervale. Sure, each episode focuses on the misadventures of the Freeling family, be it ghost uncle Nathan (Will Forte), his sister Katherine (Eliza Coupe), her chipper son Ben (Skyler Gisondo) and mischievous daughter Esther (Natalie Palamides), or their resident demon trapped in a boy's body, Abaddon (Jimmi Simpson). But beneath the surface of Haunted Hotel, another drama lurks — specifically under its floorboards.

In the opening title sequence, between when Esther defeats a vampire and Ben is chased out of the library by gremlins, there's a smaller story playing out between the floors of the hotel. You have to freeze-frame to see it. And even on a desktop watch, that can be tricky to do! So, we've done the hard bit for you.

SEE ALSO: 'KPop Demon Hunters' and 'Haunted Hotel' collide in 'Your Idol' music video

After Season 1, some fans posted screenshots online, allowing others to dig into the curious war waged deep in the Undervale hotel. Now, with Season 2 out, Mashable has pulled together screenshots from Seasons 1 and 2 in chronological order, so you can make out the stories for yourself.

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 1: "Welcome to the Undervale"

Credit: Netflix/screenshot

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 2: "Unfinished Business"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 3: "Randy Slasher"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 4: "How to Train Your Demon"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 5: "Rollyfluffs"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 6: "Ghost Hunters!"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 7: "Seven Deadly Bens"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 8: "Aunt Rose"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 9: "The Esthercist"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 1, episode 10: "The Acolytes of Abaddon"

Credit: Netflix

Hey, bud. You okay? Sorry about that last one. I assure you, Season 2's has a happier ending. Here it is.

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 1: "Ooze"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 2: "Dinner Party"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 3: "The Witch"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 4: "Ghost Day Out"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 5: "Astral Esther"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 6: "Dante Crowe"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 7: "The Concierge"

Credit: Netflix

Haunted Hotel, Season 2, episode 8: "The Visit"

Credit: Netflix

What will Haunted House creator Matt Roller have in store for season 3 (above and below the floorboards)? We can't wait to find out.

Haunted Hotel is now streaming on Netflix.

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Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson, a Democrat, was the target of an outrageous video apparently fabricated by Russian operatives, according to the data analysis service NewsGuard.

In the video, which appears as a legitimate news report from Maine TV station WABI, an anchor alleges that Jackson threatened to kill "any insubordinate staffer" with an axe. Jackson is a fifth-generation logger challenging the Republican incumbent Susan Collins.

Several polls put Jackson ahead of Collins, and Republicans see her seat as crucial to maintaining control of the U.S. Senate.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI launching election 'war room'

Kim Petry, vice president of WABI, confirmed to NewsGuard that the video was fabricated and appears to use a synthetic voice. "It was not produced, aired, or authorized by WABI," Petry told NewsGuard.

The firm said Jackson's campaign didn't respond to two emails seeking comment on the video. Mashable also contacted Jackson's campaign via email but did not receive a reply as of publication.

NewsGuard said the video used dubbed audio combined with real footage that originally appeared on WABI's website in July 2026. In the original segment, Jackson was accused of having "angry outbursts" while serving as Maine Senate President between 2018 and 2024.

In July, CNN and the Washington Post reported that Jackson threw a water bottle during a 2021 meeting. One lawmaker said Jackson threw the bottle in her direction after she refused to vote for a bill he supported.

Jackson's campaign said he threw the bottle but wasn't targeting anyone. Though Jackson's temper was well-known in Maine political circles, he did not threaten to attack staffers with an axe.

Based on its format and how it spread on X, NewsGuard said the manipulated video appears to be the product of a Russian influence operation known as Storm-1516. The group "routinely fabricates articles and videos that impersonate legitimate media outlets," according to NewsGuard.

The firm said Storm-1516 is also apparently behind similar videos targeting James Talarico and Sherrod Brown, Democratic Senate candidates from Texas and Ohio, respectively. Both men were accused of sexual assault in the AI-altered videos and vehemently denied the allegations.

The Xbox Ally X may be a fantastic handheld, but its improvements weren't enough to convince me to upgrade from the ASUS ROG Ally X, my PC gaming handheld of choice for over two years. What about an Xbox Ally X Plus, though, delivering a handful of fresh upgrades on top of everything that makes the original great? In a nutshell, that's the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X20, a special edition handheld that does a lot more than celebrate 20 years of Republic of Gamers and 25 years of Xbox.

Our friends and coworkers at XDA just debuted XDB Builder, a super-streamlined tool for designing, optimizing, and buying the components for your next PC.

These three Bash features turn the terminal into something closer to a file browser, with saved locations, a quick way back, and a full history of where you’ve been. None of them need a plugin, an alias framework, or a new shell.

Google's latest earnings call has caused quite a kerfuffle on the stock market.

It turns out that Google's AI Mode, the AI summaries that help answer user search queries right on the search page instead of directing them to the most authoritative links, is eating into the company's ad revenue — an extremely predictable problem. There's even a term for the phenomenon — zero-click searches.

This is an obvious problem for Google Ads, a pay-per-click advertising service that generates billions of dollars in revenue each quarter. Google isn't going to backtrack on AI; the company has too much invested into the technology now. So, what's Google's fix?

More ads.

As Ars Technica points out, in Google's financial disclosure, the company shared plans to bring even more search ads into AI Mode.

Google currently shows contextual ads within AI Mode alongside the AI-generated responses to user queries. However, Google is planning to include even more ads by swapping out sponsored links throughout a user's session as they interact with the AI Mode chatbot. In addition, Google will soon be rolling out AI Mode ads in international markets as well.

The search giant did warn investors that this won't be a quick fix. Google currently earns less via AI Mode ads than from traditional search ads as there are fewer advertisers running ads in AI Mode. In addition, it will take some time, Google says, for advertisers to understand the benefits of running ads in AI Mode too.

Regardless, Google will go forward with its AI plans, even at the expense of a major revenue driver, Google Search ads. In the meantime, users will be seeing more ads.

For a long time, the way to access your notifications and quick settings on a Galaxy device was the same. You swipe down once for notifications and a second time for settings. It was intuitive and simple, and that was the way that just about everybody liked things to be. Then Samsung decided to change things.

Netflix has always had a strong documentary section. One of the more recent documentaries making headway is Instadocs: AI Gone Wild, a wild hacking story about a breach caused by autonomous agents created by OpenAI researchers. If you're fearful of AI, this documentary will amplify that anxiety.

While Linux’s app ecosystem isn’t as rich as that of Windows, especially when it comes to commercial and professional software, the open-source community has filled a lot of that gap with a bunch of well-made apps.

If you live in an area with limited high-speed internet options and use SpaceX's Starlink, then it's time to check your emails in case you get a notice about recent changes to your monthly bill. Starlink users have taken to Reddit to discuss upcoming increases to the cost of their service. The catch? Changes appear to be regional, and a lucky few have reported decreases. Here's what we know so far and what to look out for if Starlink is your current ISP. This is yet another blow to customers, as the company got rid of its cheapest plan earlier this year.

All-in-one desktop computers beat laptops for users who don't need mobility, offering higher performance and larger displays at lower prices. High-end desktops aren't cheap, but you don't have to pay full retail price when you can get a huge $1,000 discount on this powerful Dell All-in-One Desktop.

The original Benchy is a relic of the past, a benchmark print that no longer challenges modern printers. But Benchy occupies a special place within 3D printing lore as an unofficial mascot of sorts, an immediately-recognizable model that the community keeps coming back to.

Everyone seems to love Apple's MagSafe system. Sure, there was plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth when the company first discontinued it, but now MagSafe is back and as popular as ever.

Anthropic’s unreleased Claude AI model has uncovered a critical Linux kernel flaw. And it didn’t just stop at spotting it; it built an attack that could give someone root access, the highest level of control on Linux. The attacker can run commands, change settings, access files, and potentially take over the machine remotely. No clicks, file opening, or password needed. The flaw is tracked as CVE-2026-98432 and scores a critical 9.8 out of 10 in severity.

Amazon Fire tablets are primarily known for one thing: being cheap. Plenty of sacrifices have been made to hit the low price points, and performance is often where it's most noticeable. That's why the best way to repurpose one is to make it a unitasker.

Did you know that your SSD can fail even at 100% health? Cheerful, isn't it? HDDs are unpredictable too; a study shows that half of the ones that fail do so within their first year. Amazing.