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Opens in a new window Credit: BitMar BitMar Streaming Content-Finder: Lifetime Subscription AU$23
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What is BitMar?

BitMar isn't just another streaming service — it's a content aggregator powered by AI, similar to Bing's search engine. It scours the web to bring you millions of free, on-demand movies, TV shows, channels, videos, and songs from platforms like YouTube and TV networks. Whether you're in the mood for a classic film, the latest TV episode, or international content, BitMar has you covered.

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StackSocial prices subject to change.

George Clooney plays a suave movie star — a character he surely knows all too well — in Noah Baumbach's upcoming dramedy Jay Kelly.

The film, co-written by Baumbach (Marriage Story, White Noise) and Emily Mortimer in her feature film writing debut, introduces "hero of cinema" Jay Kelly (Clooney). He's a celebrated actor, yet he's become disillusioned with the industry. (He's also frequently criticized as only playing himself, a dig Clooney also knows all too well.)

SEE ALSO: The 10 best movies of 2025 (so far), and where to watch them

Jay Kelly follows Jay as he travels across Italy in order to accept an award at a film festival. The plot is fittingly meta, given that Jay Kelly will have its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, positioning it as a possible awards season contender.

Along his journey, Jay is accompanied by his long-time manager Ron (Adam Sandler), with whom he reminisces about his career and relationships. He also crosses paths with his harried publicist Liz (Laura Dern, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her previous collaboration with Baumbach in Marriage Story), as well as a former acting friend who never made it in the business (Billy Crudup).

But Clooney, Sandler, Dern, and Crudup aren't the only big names attached to Jay Kelly. Netflix's first teaser for the film highlights its stacked cast, which also includes Riley Keough, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, and Greta Gerwig.

The teaser also gives us a taste of Jay's ennui, along with several gorgeous shots of the Tuscan countryside. Escape into the world of Jay Kelly yourself above, but be forewarned: The words "Jay Kelly" are repeated so often, they'll stop having any meaning.

Jay Kelly premieres Aug. 28 at the Venice International Film Festival, and goes on to play at the New York Film Festival. It hits select theaters Nov. 14, and arrives on Netflix Dec. 5.

TL;DR: Get hands-on hacking lessons from the All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle on sale for A$54 for a limited time.

Opens in a new window Credit: Aleksa Tamburkovski The All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle AU$54
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Some tech skills you can learn on your own. Others, like ethical hacking, are a little harder to practice without a controlled environment. That's why it's nice when you find something like the All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle.

This set of 18 courses takes you from beginner to expert in everything from basic hacking to penetration testing, Burp Suite, and BitNinja, and it's on sale for A$54 (for now). 

Ethical hacking classes

A big part of what makes this bundle valuable is the range of practical hacking lessons. You won’t just read about ethical hacking concepts. You’ll get to actually practice them. The courses guide you through setting up your own hacking environment with tools like Virtual Box and Kali Linux, learning to identify vulnerabilities, and even building your own tools for penetration testing. This practical, project-based approach helps make sure you’re not just memorizing theories, but actively learning by doing.

You’ll also get a solid understanding of how to approach real-life scenarios, whether it’s using Python to build penetration testing tools, working with Burp Suite for advanced web testing, or diving into Metasploit to exploit vulnerabilities and practice post-exploitation techniques.

The bug bounty training also gives you the chance to learn how ethical hackers make money by legally identifying and reporting flaws to major companies like Facebook and Google. If you're looking for a solid side hustle, that's the way to go. 

For a limited time, you can get the All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle on sale for A$54.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

SAVE $129.01: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 (GPS + cellular, 49mm) is on sale in select colorways at Amazon for $649.99, down from the normal price of $779. That's a 17% discount and the lowest price we've even seen at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch Ultra 2 (GPS + cellular, 49mm) $649.99 at Amazon
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Not all Apple Watches are created equal. Sure, you're in good hands with any model, but Apple made one Watch stand out in terms of its durability and features for those who like to get out there and get moving. If that's you, check out this deal at Amazon.

As of Aug. 5, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (GPS + cellular, 49mm) is on sale at Amazon in select colorways at for $649.99. That's a 17% discount that takes $129.01 off the usual price of $779. It's also the lowest price we've even seen at Amazon.

Made with a titanium case, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is meant to head out on the trail with no fears of damage or corrosion. The trail loop that's included with this sale price is also great for activity-centric adventures. Plus, it's water-resistant up to 100 meters.

SEE ALSO: Save $100 on the Apple Watch Series 10 and stay on top of your fitness journey

Apple also went with a larger battery in the Apple Watch Ultra 2, so you're looking at about 36 hours of battery life on a single charge with normal use. Switch this to low-power mode, and you can get up to 72 hours of life.

Runners, hikers, and cyclists can benefit from the offline maps feature, and the compass app is a great navigational tool. Plus, it weighs just 61.4 grams, which works out to about two ounces or 0.125 pounds. Of course, it comes with all your favorite fitness tracker capabilities like tracking heart rate, sleep, and fitness goals.

While it's still at the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon of $649.99, score the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and know it's up for any and all adventures.

There's been a lot of Freaky Fridays, all born from the 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers. But just ahead of director Mark Waters and teen idol Lindsay Lohan's era-defining comedy Mean Girls, they teamed up for the Freaky Friday that still stands out from its playful predecessors.

2003's Freaky Friday was a kinetic and joyously chaotic mother-daughter comedy that managed to be cool. Its fashions were enviable. It’s comedy crackled, thanks to the odd couple chemistry between Lohan and her onscreen mom, Jamie Lee Curtis. Plus, the movie's fictional band Pink Slip laid down "Take Me Away," a a cover of a Lash song that rocked even outside the movie. What more could a sequel 22 years after this hit hope to bring? Well, double the bodyswap for starters.

SEE ALSO: The 10 best movies of 2025 (so far), and where to watch them

Directed by Nisha Ganatra, Freakier Friday sees its mother-daughter heroines bodyswap with a pair of bickering teens. Generations (Boomers, millennials, and Gen Z) clash in everything from clothes and eating habits to who should be marrying whom. Two times the bodyswappers means two times the life lessons, making for a plot line so stuffed with schtick and silly sequences that it can lag at just under two hours. Still, Freakier Friday is a good time, coasting on the charms from the previous film that still glow on (and on and on and on).

Freakier Friday is the anti-Parent Trap.  Credit: Glen Wilson / Disney Enterprises, Inc.

In that other Lindsay Lohan vehicle, two long-lost sisters pull twinsie shenanigans to get their divorced parents back together again. In Freakier Friday, surfer girl Harper (Julia Butters) and posh aspiring fashion designer Lily (Sophia Hammons) are high school nemeses, who are horrified when their single parents meet-cute over a disciplinary trip to the principal’s office.

Set roughly 30 years after Freaky Friday, Freakier Friday sees once rebellious teen Lohan's Anna Coleman all grown up, a 36-and-a-half-year-old single-mom working as a manager to insecure pop idol Ella (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). As for Curtis' Dr. Tess Coleman, she is bringing her skills as a therapist to her parenting podcast, self-help books, and to “co-grand parenting” Harper. But Anna’s fast-approaching wedding to Lily’s dad, hunky chef Eric (Manny Jacinto), has all four ladies losing their empathy for each other. Cue the manic multi-hyphenate fortune teller/life coach/barista (a winsomely flighty Vanessa Bayer) who performs a mystical bodyswap spell. 

SEE ALSO: 'Mean Girls' 2024 cast on what they borrowed from the original movie

Harper’s consciousness ends up in the body of her mom, Anna. Lily bodyswaps with her soon-to-be grandma Tess. And vice versa. Meaning Lohan and Curtis are playing teens again. While their younger co-stars mug sternly, make jokes about regaining a metabolism "the speed of light," and frolic on electric scooters, Freaky Friday’s dynamic duo fling themselves into silly sequences involving a frenzied photo shoot, catastrophic attempts at flirting, and the teen comedy cliché of driving a muscle car recklessly. All of this while Harper and Lily try to use their grown-up bodies to call off their parents' wedding, which they think is ruining their lives.

No one came for the plot.  Credit: Glen Wilson / Disney Enterprises, Inc.

And yet, there’s a lot of it. Too much even. Screenwriter Jordan Weiss (Dollface) sets up big stakes for Freakier Friday with the bodyswap occurring just three days before Anna and Eric's wedding. (On October 3rd! A Mean Girls reference!) It's a good ticking clock. But while Harper and Lily are hellbent on nuptial interruption, Anna and Tess get lost in a half-hearted plot about in-school suspension and tracking down the meddling mystic.

For Tess, Weiss wedges in an upcoming book tour and a pickleball tournament, a detail that must have been part of the SAG/AFTRA negotiations, as it seems a requirement to mention this sport in any comedy featuring a lead actor above the age of 50. Unfortunately, sequences about sports, scooters, and a dance class gone awry feel suffocated in the film's whirring drive to get the plot going. There's just so much here, and some sequences are so rushed that their jokes have no room to breathe, becoming just a barrage of comical mayhem without a satisfying punchline.

Still, it’s nice to see terrific comedic performers like Ramakrishnan, Bayer, June Diane Raphael, Sherry Cola, and Stephen Tobolowski pop-up for brief but amusing appearances. 

Freakier Friday is at its best when it leans on Lohan and Curtis. Credit: Glen Wilson / Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Lohan is solid as a frustrated straight man to Curtis' clown. And as she did in the first film, the latter, now an Academy Award winner courtesy of Everything Everywhere All At Once, goes hard for every joke. A sequence in a record store is particularly hilarious, as Curtis balances prop work, pratfalls, and ludicrous dialogue like "I have to find old people music...like Coldplay." (OK, it's not that she's wrong...)

Props to Chad Michael Murray, who reprises his Freaky Friday role of Jake, Anna's high school crush; his surprisingly sweet revival of the character gets a terrific payoff in the finale. But moreover, the chemistry between Murray and a flustered Curtis is hot enough that I wouldn’t be mad if somebody made a May-December rom-com with the two of them.

For her part, Lohan has a trickier role when it comes to romance. As Anna, she is the smitten love interest to Jacinto's swoon-worthy (albeit one-note) Eric. When she's Harper in Anna's body, she's playing a teen girl desperate to duck out of the strong arms of her soon-to-be stepdad (who does not know bodies have been swapped!). So a sequence wherein Jacinto replicates Patrick Swayze moves from Dirty Dancing will have women of several generations absolutely giddy. But for Lohan, it's a setup for a comical escape.

Credit: Glen Wilson / Disney Enterprises, Inc.

As with its predecessor, Freakier Friday is about family at its core. So, naturally the third act is where everyone needs to learn a lesson while keeping things fun. With four bodies swapped, this gets convoluted. But that's practically a requirement of a bodyswap movie. To Ganatra's credit, the climax is engaging and genuinely touching. And that's thanks in no small part to mindful callbacks and role reprisals from the first film. Let's just say, some tracks are still bangers.

In the end, Freakier Friday isn’t better than the original. But it is fun, entertaining, and funny. On top of the winning performances of Curtis and Lohan, there’s a meta joy to seeing a real-life wild child return to her roots for a victory lap. That she gets to rock out while doing it is all the better.

Freakier Friday opens in theaters Aug. 8.

Today, we are excited to introduce an autonomous AI agent that can analyze and classify software without assistance, a step forward in cybersecurity and malware detection. The prototype, Project Ire, automates what is considered the gold standard in malware classification: fully reverse engineering a software file without any clues about its origin or purpose. It uses decompilers and other tools, reviews their output, and determines whether the software is malicious or benign.

Project Ire emerged from a collaboration between Microsoft Research, Microsoft Defender Research, and Microsoft Discovery & Quantum, bringing together security expertise, operational knowledge, data from global malware telemetry, and AI research. It is built on the same collaborative and agentic foundation behind GraphRAG and Microsoft Discovery (opens in new tab). The system uses advanced language models and a suite of callable reverse engineering and binary analysis tools to drive investigation and adjudication.

As of this writing, Project Ire has achieved a precision (opens in new tab) of 0.98 and a recall (opens in new tab) of 0.83 using public datasets of Windows drivers. It was the first reverse engineer at Microsoft, human or machine, to author a conviction case—a detection strong enough to justify automatic blocking—for a specific advanced persistent threat (APT) malware sample, which has since been identified and blocked by Microsoft Defender. 

Malware classification at a global scale

Microsoft’s Defender platform scans more than one billion monthly (opens in new tab) active devices through the company’s Defender suite of products, which routinely require manual review of software by experts.

This kind of work is challenging. Analysts often face error and alert fatigue, and there’s no easy way to compare and standardize how different people review and classify threats over time. For both of these reasons, today’s overloaded experts are vulnerable to burnout, a well-documented issue in the field.

Unlike other AI applications in security, malware classification lacks a computable validator (opens in new tab). The AI must make judgment calls without definitive validation beyond expert review. Many behaviors found in software, like reverse engineering protections, don’t clearly indicate whether a sample is malicious or benign. 

This ambiguity requires analysts to investigate each sample incrementally, building enough evidence to determine whether it’s malicious or benign despite opposition from adaptive, active adversaries. This has long made it difficult to automate and scale what is inherently a complex and expensive process.

Technical foundation

Project Ire attempts to address these challenges by acting as an autonomous system that uses specialized tools to reverse engineer software. The system’s architecture allows for reasoning at multiple levels, from low-level binary analysis to control flow reconstruction and high-level interpretation of code behavior.

Its tool-use API enables the system to update its understanding of a file using a wide range of reverse engineering tools, including Microsoft memory analysis sandboxes based on Project Freta (opens in new tab), custom and open-source tools, documentation search, and multiple decompilers.  

Reaching a verdict 

The evaluation process begins with a triage, where automated reverse engineering tools identify the file type, its structure, and potential areas of interest. From there, the system reconstructs the software’s control flow graph using frameworks such as angr (opens in new tab) and Ghidra (opens in new tab), building a graph that forms the backbone of Project Ire’s memory model and guides the rest of the analysis.  

Through iterative function analysis, the LLM calls specialized tools through an API to identify and summarize key functions. Each result feeds into a “chain of evidence,” a detailed, auditable trail that shows how the system reached its conclusion. This traceable evidence log supports secondary review by security teams and helps refine the system in cases of misclassification.  

To verify its findings, Project Ire can invoke a validator tool that cross-checks claims in the report against the chain of evidence. This tool draws on expert statements from malware reverse engineers on the Project Ire team. Drawing on this evidence and its internal model, the system creates a final report and classifies the sample as malicious or benign.

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Watch on-demand Opens in a new tab Preliminary testing shows promise 

Two early evaluations tested Project Ire’s effectiveness as an autonomous malware classifier. In the first, we assessed Project Ire on a dataset of publicly accessible Windows drivers, some known to be malicious, others benign. Malicious samples came from the Living off the Land Drivers (opens in new tab) database, which includes a collection of Windows drivers used by attackers to bypass security controls, while known benign drivers were sourced from Windows Update. 

This classifier performed well, correctly identifying 90% of all files and flagging only 2% of benign files as threats. It achieved a precision of 0.98 and a recall of 0.83. This low false-positive rate suggests clear potential for deployment in security operations, alongside expert reverse engineering reviews. 

For each file it analyzes, Project Ire generates a report that includes an evidence section, summaries of all examined code functions, and other technical artifacts.  

Figures 1 and 2 present reports for two successful malware classification cases generated during testing. The first involves a kernel-level rootkit, Trojan:Win64/Rootkit.EH!MTB (opens in new tab). The system identified several key features, including jump-hooking, process termination, and web-based command and control. It then correctly flagged the sample as malicious.

Figure 1 Analysis body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background: #f8f8f8; } .code-block { background: #23272e; color: #e6e6e6; font-family: 'Fira Mono', 'Consolas', 'Monaco', monospace; font-size: 1em; padding: 24px 28px; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.10); border: 1px solid #444; margin: 40px auto; max-width: 900px; line-height: 1.7; word-break: break-word; } .code-block p { margin: 0 0 18px 0; text-indent: 0; }

The binary contains a function named ‘MonitorAndTerminateExplorerThread_16f64’ that runs an infinite loop waiting on synchronization objects and terminates system threads upon certain conditions. It queries system or process information, iterates over processes comparing their names case-insensitively to ‘Explorer.exe’, and manipulates registry values related to ‘Explorer.exe’. This function appears to monitor and potentially terminate or manipulate the ‘Explorer.exe’ process, a critical Windows shell process. Such behavior is suspicious and consistent with malware that aims to disrupt or control system processes.

Another function, ‘HttpGetRequestAndResponse_174a4’, performs HTTP GET requests by parsing URLs, resolving hostnames, opening sockets, sending requests, and reading responses. This network communication capability could be leveraged for command and control or data exfiltration, common in malware.

The binary also includes a function ‘PatchProcessEntryPointWithHook_12b5c’ that patches the entry point of a process by writing a hook or trampoline that redirects execution to a specified address. This technique is commonly used for process injection or hooking, allowing malware to alter process behavior or inject malicious code.

Other functions related to sending IOCTL requests to device drivers were identified, but their maliciousness could not be conclusively determined without additional context.

Overall, the binary exhibits multiple indicators of malicious behavior, including process manipulation, network communication, and code injection techniques, suggesting it is likely malware designed to interfere with system processes and communicate with remote servers.

Figure 1. Project Ire report, sample with SHA256: 86047bb1969d1db455493955fd450d18c62a3f36294d0a6c3732c88dfbcc4f62 (opens in new tab)

The second sample, HackTool:Win64/KillAV!MTB (opens in new tab), was designed to disable antivirus software. Project Ire correctly identified the code that locates and disables antivirus programs, providing evidence that the file was malicious.  

In one section of the code, however, the system misidentified a function as anti-debugging behavior. To maintain accuracy, the system used the validator tool to flag the claim as unsupported. The issue was later resolved by updating decompiler rules, but this example illustrates how Project Ire navigates uncertainty during analysis. Figure 2 shows the corresponding report. 

Figure 2 Analysis body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background: #f8f8f8; } .code-block { background: #23272e; color: #e6e6e6; font-family: 'Fira Mono', 'Consolas', 'Monaco', monospace; font-size: 1em; padding: 24px 28px; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.10); border: 1px solid #444; margin: 40px auto; max-width: 900px; line-height: 1.7; word-break: break-word; } .code-block p { margin: 0 0 18px 0; text-indent: 0; }

The binary contains several functions indicative of malicious intent. The function register_and_log_known_processes_140001000 logs and registers process names associated with antivirus and security software, such as ‘avp.exe’, ‘avpui.exe’, and ‘360Tray.exe’. It calls another function, TerminateProcessesByNameSubstring_1400010f4, which enumerates system processes and terminates those whose names contain specified substrings. This behavior is typical of malware attempting to disable or evade security software by killing their processes.

Another function, check_and_handle_special_state_14000502c, performs checks on a global variable and triggers software interrupts if certain conditions are not met. While the exact purpose of these interrupts (int 0x29 and int 0x3) is unclear, they could represent an anti-debug or anti-analysis mechanism to detect or interfere with debugging or tampering attempts. However, this assumption could not be fully validated against expert statements.

Other functions include initialization routines and simple logging wrappers, but the core malicious behavior centers on process termination targeting security software. This indicates the binary is designed to compromise system security by disabling protective processes, a hallmark of malware such as trojans or rootkits.

Figure 2. Project Ire report, sample with SHA256: b6cb163089f665c05d607a465f1b6272cdd5c949772ab9ce7227120cf61f971a (opens in new tab) Real-world evaluation with Microsoft Defender 

The more demanding test involved nearly 4,000 “hard-target” files not classified by automated systems and slated for manual review by expert reverse engineers.

In this real-world scenario, Project Ire operated fully autonomously on files created after the language models’ training cutoff, files that no other automated tools at Microsoft could classify at the time.

The system achieved a high precision score of 0.89, meaning nearly 9 out of 10 files flagged malicious were correctly identified as malicious. Recall was 0.26, indicating that under these challenging conditions, the system detected roughly a quarter of all actual malware.

The system correctly identified many of the malicious files, with few false alarms, just a 4% false positive rate. While overall performance was moderate, this combination of accuracy and a low error rate suggests real potential for future deployment.

Looking ahead 

Based on these early successes, the Project Ire prototype will be leveraged inside Microsoft’s Defender organization as Binary Analyzer for threat detection and software classification.

Our goal is to scale the system’s speed and accuracy so that it can correctly classify files from any source, even on first encounter. Ultimately, our vision is to detect novel malware directly in memory, at scale.

Acknowledgements 

Project Ire acknowledges the following additional developers that contributed to the results in this publication: Dayenne de Souza, Raghav Pande, Ryan Terry, Shauharda Khadka, and Bob Fleck for their independent review of the system.

The system incorporates multiple tools, including the angr framework developed by Emotion Labs (opens in new tab). Microsoft has collaborated extensively with Emotion Labs, a pioneer in cyber autonomy, throughout the development of Project Ire, and thanks them for the innovations and insights that contributed to the successes reported here. 

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The post Project Ire autonomously identifies malware at scale appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Watch VeriTrail Explainer

Many applications of language models (LMs) involve generating content based on source material, such as answering questions, summarizing information, and drafting documents. A critical challenge for these applications is that LMs may produce content that is not supported by the source text – a phenomenon known as “closed-domain hallucination.”1

Existing methods for detecting closed-domain hallucination typically compare a given LM output to the source text, implicitly assuming that there is only a single output to evaluate. However, applications of LMs increasingly involve processes with multiple generative steps: LMs generate intermediate outputs that serve as inputs to subsequent steps and culminate in a final output. Many agentic workflows follow this paradigm (e.g., each agent is responsible for a specific document or sub-task, and their outputs are synthesized into a final response).  

In our paper “VeriTrail: Closed-Domain Hallucination Detection with Traceability,” we argue that, given the complexity of processes with multiple generative steps, detecting hallucination in the final output is necessary but not sufficient. We also need traceability, which has two components: 

1. Provenance: if the final output is supported by the source text, we should be able to trace its path through the intermediate outputs to the source. 
2. Error Localization: if the final output is not supported by the source text, we should be able to trace where the error was likely introduced.

Our paper presents VeriTrail, the first closed-domain hallucination detection method designed to provide traceability for processes with any number of generative steps. We also demonstrate that VeriTrail outperforms baseline methods commonly used for hallucination detection. In this blog post, we provide an overview of VeriTrail’s design and performance.2

VeriTrail’s hallucination detection process

A key idea leveraged by VeriTrail is that a wide range of generative processes can be represented as a directed acyclic graph (DAG). Each node in the DAG represents a piece of text (i.e., source material, an intermediate output, or the final output) and each edge from node A to node B indicates that A was used as an input to produce B. Each node is assigned a unique ID, as well as a stage reflecting its position in the generative process.  

An example of a process with multiple generative steps is GraphRAG. A DAG representing a GraphRAG run is illustrated in Figure 1, where the boxes and arrows correspond to nodes and edges, respectively.3

Figure 1: GraphRAG splits the source text into chunks (Stage 1). For each chunk, an LM extracts entities and relationships (the latter are denoted by “⭤ “), along with short descriptions (Stage 2). If an entity or a relationship was extracted from multiple chunks, an LM summarizes the descriptions (Stage 3). A knowledge graph is constructed from the final set of entities and relationships, and a community detection algorithm, such as Leiden clustering, groups entities into communities. For each community, an LM generates a “community report” that summarizes the entities and relationships (Stage 4). To answer a user’s question, an LM generates “map-level answers” based on groups of community reports (Stage 5), then synthesizes them into a final answer (Stage 6).

VeriTrail takes as input a DAG representing a completed generative process and aims to determine whether the final output is fully supported by the source text. It begins by extracting claims (i.e., self-contained, verifiable statements) from the final output using Claimify. VeriTrail verifies claims in the reverse order of the generative process: it starts from the final output and moves toward the source text. Each claim is verified separately. Below, we include two case studies that illustrate how VeriTrail works, using the DAG from Figure 1. 

Case study 1: A “Fully Supported” claim Figure 2: Left: GraphRAG as a DAG. Right: VeriTrail’s hallucination detection process for a “Fully Supported” claim.

Figure 2 shows an example of a claim that VeriTrail determined was not hallucinated: 

• In Iteration 1, VeriTrail identified the nodes that were used as inputs for the final answer: Nodes 15 and 16. Each identified node was split into sentences, and each sentence was programmatically assigned a unique ID.
  • An LM then performed Evidence Selection, selecting all sentence IDs that strongly implied the truth or falsehood of the claim. The LM also generated a summary of the selected sentences (not shown in Figure 2). In this example, a sentence was selected from Node 15.
  • Next, an LM performed Verdict Generation. If no sentences had been selected in the Evidence Selection step, the claim would have been assigned a “Not Fully Supported” verdict. Instead, an LM was prompted to classify the claim as “Fully Supported,” “Not Fully Supported,” or “Inconclusive” based on the evidence. In this case, the verdict was “Fully Supported.”
• Since the verdict in Iteration 1 was “Fully Supported,” VeriTrail proceeded to Iteration 2. It considered the nodes from which at least one sentence was selected in the latest Evidence Selection step (Node 15) and identified their input nodes (Nodes 12 and 13). VeriTrail repeated Evidence Selection and Verdict Generation for the identified nodes. Once again, the verdict was “Fully Supported.” This process – identifying candidate nodes, performing Evidence Selection and Verdict Generation – was repeated in Iteration 3, where the verdict was still “Fully Supported,” and likewise in Iteration 4. 
• In Iteration 4, a single source text chunk was verified. Since the source text, by definition, does not have any inputs, verification terminated and the verdict was deemed final.

Case study 2: A “Not Fully Supported” claim Figure 3: Left: GraphRAG as a DAG. Right: VeriTrail’s hallucination detection process for a “Not Fully Supported” claim, where the maximum number of consecutive “Not Fully Supported” verdicts was set to 2.

Figure 3 provides an example of a claim where VeriTrail identified hallucination:

• In Iteration 1, VeriTrail identified the nodes used as inputs for the final answer: Nodes 15 and 16. After Evidence Selection and Verdict Generation, the verdict was “Not Fully Supported.” Users can configure the maximum number of consecutive “Not Fully Supported” verdicts permitted. If the maximum had been set to 1, verification would have terminated here, and the verdict would have been deemed final. Let’s assume the maximum was set to 2, meaning that VeriTrail had to perform at least one more iteration.
• Even though evidence was selected only from Node 15 in Iteration 1, VeriTrail checked the input nodes for both Node 15 and Node 16 (i.e., Nodes 12, 13, and 14) in Iteration 2. Recall that in Case Study 1 where the verdict was “Fully Supported,” VeriTrail only checked the input nodes for Node 15. Why was the “Not Fully Supported” claim handled differently? If the Evidence Selection step overlooked relevant evidence, the “Not Fully Supported” verdict might be incorrect. In this case, continuing verification based solely on the selected evidence (i.e., Node 15) would propagate the mistake, defeating the purpose of repeated verification.
• In Iteration 2, Evidence Selection and Verdict Generation were repeated for Nodes 12, 13, and 14. Once again, the verdict was “Not Fully Supported.” Since this was the second consecutive “Not Fully Supported” verdict, verification terminated and the verdict was deemed final.

PODCAST SERIES

The AI Revolution in Medicine, Revisited

Join Microsoft’s Peter Lee on a journey to discover how AI is impacting healthcare and what it means for the future of medicine.

Listen now Opens in a new tab Providing traceability

In addition to assigning a final “Fully Supported,” “Not Fully Supported,” or “Inconclusive” verdict to each claim, VeriTrail returns (a) all Verdict Generation results and (b) an evidence trail composed of all Evidence Selection results: the selected sentences, their corresponding node IDs, and the generated summaries. Collectively, these outputs provide traceability: 

1. Provenance: For “Fully Supported” and “Inconclusive” claims, the evidence trail traces a path from the source material to the final output, helping users understand how the output may have been derived. For example, in Case Study 1, the evidence trail consists of Sentence 8 from Node 15, Sentence 11 from Node 13, Sentence 26 from Node 4, and Sentence 79 from Node 1.
2. Error Localization: For “Not Fully Supported” claims, VeriTrail uses the Verdict Generation results to identify the stage(s) of the process where the unsupported content was likely introduced. For instance, in Case Study 2, where none of the verified intermediate outputs supported the claim, VeriTrail would indicate that the hallucination occurred in the final answer (Stage 6). Error stage identification helps users address hallucinations and understand where in the process they are most likely to occur. 

The evidence trail also helps users verify the verdict: instead of reading through all nodes – which may be infeasible for processes that generate large amounts of text – users can simply review the evidence sentences and summaries. 

Key design features

VeriTrail’s design prioritizes reliability, efficiency, scalability, and user agency. Notable features include: 

• During Evidence Selection (introduced in Case Study 1), the sentence IDs returned by the LM are checked against the programmatically assigned IDs. If a returned ID does not match an assigned ID, it is discarded; otherwise, it is mapped to its corresponding sentence. This approach guarantees that the sentences included in the evidence trail are not hallucinated.
• After a claim is assigned an interim “Fully Supported” or “Inconclusive” verdict (as in Case Study 1), VeriTrail verifies the input nodes of only the nodes from which evidence was previously selected – not all possible input nodes. By progressively narrowing the search space, VeriTrail limits the number of nodes the LM must evaluate. In particular, since VeriTrail starts from the final output and moves toward the source text, it tends to verify a smaller proportion of nodes as it approaches the source text. Nodes closer to the source text tend to be larger (e.g., a book chapter should be larger than its summary), so verifying fewer of them helps reduce computational cost.
• VeriTrail is designed to handle input graphs with any number of nodes, regardless of whether they fit in a single prompt. Users can specify an input size limit per prompt. For Evidence Selection, inputs that exceed the limit are split across multiple prompts. If the resulting evidence exceeds the input size limit for Verdict Generation, VeriTrail reruns Evidence Selection to compress the evidence further. Users can configure the maximum number of Evidence Selection reruns.  
• The configurable maximum number of consecutive “Not Fully Supported” verdicts (introduced in Case Study 2) allows the user to find their desired balance between computational cost and how conservative VeriTrail is in flagging hallucinations. A lower maximum reduces cost by limiting the number of checks. A higher maximum increases confidence that a flagged claim is truly hallucinated since it requires repeated confirmation of the “Not Fully Supported” verdict. 

Evaluating VeriTrail’s performance

We tested VeriTrail on two datasets covering distinct generative processes (hierarchical summarization4 and GraphRAG), tasks (summarization and question-answering), and types of source material (fiction novels and news articles). For the source material, we focused on long documents and large collections of documents (i.e., >100K tokens), where hallucination detection is especially challenging and processes with multiple generative steps are typically most valuable. The resulting DAGs were much more complex than the examples provided above (e.g., in one of the datasets, the average number of nodes was 114,368).

We compared VeriTrail to three types of baseline methods commonly used for closed-domain hallucination detection: Natural Language Inference models (AlignScore (opens in new tab) and INFUSE (opens in new tab)); Retrieval-Augmented Generation; and long-context models (Gemini 1.5 Pro and GPT-4.1 mini). Across both datasets and all language models tested, VeriTrail outperformed the baseline methods in detecting hallucination.5

Most importantly, VeriTrail traces claims through intermediate outputs – unlike the baseline methods, which directly compare the final output to the source material. As a result, it can identify where hallucinated content was likely introduced and how faithful content may have been derived from the source. By providing traceability, VeriTrail brings transparency to generative processes, helping users understand, verify, debug, and, ultimately, trust their outputs.  

For an in-depth discussion of VeriTrail, please see our paper “VeriTrail: Closed-Domain Hallucination Detection with Traceability.”

1 The term “closed-domain hallucination” was introduced by OpenAI in the GPT-4 Technical Report (opens in new tab).

2 VeriTrail is currently used for research purposes only and is not available commercially.

3 We focus on GraphRAG’s global search method.

4 In hierarchical summarization, an LM summarizes each source text chunk individually, then the resulting summaries are repeatedly grouped and summarized until a final summary is produced (Wu et al., 2021 (opens in new tab); Chang et al., 2023 (opens in new tab)).

5 The only exception was the mistral-large-2411 model, where VeriTrail had the highest balanced accuracy, but not the highest macro F1 score.

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The post VeriTrail: Detecting hallucination and tracing provenance in multi-step AI workflows appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Google may be delaying the expected release of some of its products this year.

According to a report from WinFuture, a German technology publication, the company won't be releasing all of its anticipated products this month due to supply chain issues.

Google's slate of new products will be announced during the next Made by Google event, taking place on August 20, 2025. Usually, the products are released near or around the time of Google's announcement. By that logic, phones within the Pixel 10 series – namely, the Pixel 10, the Pixel 10 Pro, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL – should be available in stores by August.

But the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the Pixel Watch 4, and the Pixel Buds 2a might not be available until October, according to WinFuture's reporting. The publication suggests that the delays are due to supply chain issues with new components that are part of these specific products.

SEE ALSO: All the Pixel 10 rumors and leaks to date: Pricing, colors, and specs reportedly leaked

It's worth noting that Google has not yet confirmed any release dates for its upcoming offerings. But, thanks to a ton of leaks and rumors, there's a lot we think we know about what Google has in store for the Pixel 10 series. In a few weeks, we'll know for sure.

SAVE $20.15: As of Aug. 5, get the Anker MagGo Power Bank for $59.84 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79.99. That's a discount of 25% and the lowest price we've seen.

Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Anker MagGo Power Bank $59.84 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $20.15 Get Deal

Spending a lot of time out and about while the warm weather is still here? You probably need a reliable way to make sure your phone stays charged while you're out. Don't let it languish in low battery land. A great way to keep it powered up while seeing the world is a portable power bank. This one is on sale for its lowest price yet.

As of Aug. 5, get the Anker MagGo Power Bank for $59.84 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79.99. That's $20.15 off and a discount of 25%. It's also the lowest price we've seen. This price applies to all colorways: black, green, pink, and white.

SEE ALSO: Anker just dropped 3 new Nano power banks and chargers

This 10,000mAh magnetic battery pack is ultra slim and portable, perfect for tossing in a bag and going, or even your pocket if it's large enough. It has a 15W max Qi wireless charging pad and 30W max USB-C port, so you can supply power to your phone and other devices on the go with no issue. It can charge an iPhone 15 Pro, for example, up to 1.8 times.

The bank itself is matte with a metal frame, with aerogel thermal insulation to keep it cool. It also comes in multiple colors, so you can choose which one matches your phone (or your personality). Just plug in to charge when it's depleted, then juice it up and take it with you on the regular so you never have to deal with dead electronics. If you're out often enough that you deal with a dead phone, best to scoop this charger up while you can.

SAVE $49.01: The DJI Mic with two transmitters, one receiver, a charging case, and extra accessories is on sale at Woot for $199.99, down from the list price of $249. That's a 20% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Mic (two transmitters, one receiver, a charging case, and extra accessories) $199.99 at Woot
$249 Save $49.01 Get Deal

DJI is really having quite the year. Every single content creator seems to be sporting the DJI mic. They're so popular that Amazon and other major retailers are having a hard time keeping them in stock. But have no fear, because we found them not only in stock but on sale.

As of Aug. 5, the DJI Mic with two transmitters, one receiver, a charging case, and extra accessories is on just $199.99 at Woot, marked down from the list price at DJI of $249. That's a 20% discount that takes $49.01 off the standard price.

DJI knows its way around content-creation gear, and the DJI Mic shines in terms of performance and user-friendliness. This bundle at Woot contains two DJI Mic transmitters, one receiver for both, a charging case, windscreens, clip magnets, and more. You'll be set to either start your content creation journey or kick it up a notch.

SEE ALSO: The DJI Mini 4K drone is selling out fast — here’s where to get yours

The DJI Mics get up to 15 hours of battery life thanks to the included charging case, and the transmitter has a range of 250 meters, or 820 feet. With 8GB of internal storage on each mic, they can record up to 14 hours of audio without compression.

DJI is not messing around this year with content-creator devices like the brand-new 8K camera and a portable power station to keep everything charged up. The DJI Mic has earned its spot on almost every creator's collar, and today you can join in the hype while also saving $49.01. Since Woot deals tend to sell out quickly, hop on this one today if you're interested.

SAVE 20%: As of August 5, most Owala water bottles are 20% off at Target, including Target-exclusive colors like Opal Dream.

Opens in a new window Credit: Owala Save 20% on select Owala btotles Shop Now

Whether it's their whimsical color palettes or their TikTok fans' undying loyalty, Owala's water bottles are impossible to miss.

As Mashable's favorite water bottle right now, we'd tell you to get one even at full price — but you may as well snag one for 20% off at Target while they're on sale.

This isn't the only place we're seeing a huge Owala sale right before school starts. Owala's website itself is also having a 20% off sitewide sale, which also includes tumblers and travel mugs. But if you already have a cart started with more of Target's back-to-school deals, you may as well take a peek at Target's Owala selection. Target has several more colors in stock for multiple iterations of the FreeSip than Owala's website does, including Target-exclusive colors like Opal Dream, Sandy Shores, and Very Very Dark.

SEE ALSO: Shop all the best back-to-school deals for college students

The FreeSip is the bottle that most people are swearing by, and it's all due to its sipping-to-chugging versatility. The FreeSip spout also has a built-in straw opening at the front, which is easier to clean. When not in use, the openings are covered by a hygienic locking lid. Mashable Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino says it's the best water bottle she has ever used, ensuring that the FreeSip is worth the hype. If you're traveling soon, consider opting for the FreeSip Twist for a more practical airplane companion.

SAVE $64.27: As of Aug. 5, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ (64GB, WiFI) is down to just $155.72 at Amazon. That's a savings of nearly 30%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ (64GB, WiFi) $155.72 at Amazon
$219.99 Save $64.27 Get Deal

If you want a tablet that checks all the right tablet boxes — nothing more and nothing less — you don't need to drop $1,000. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is a reliable and capable low-cost tablet that'll get the job done for under $200.

As of Aug. 5, the Galaxy Tab A9+ with 64GB and WiFi connectivity is down to only $155.72 at Amazon. That's a savings of nearly 30% from its usual $219.99 and just $15 more than its record-low price from Prime Day.

When you think of Galaxy devices, you probably think of Samsung's flagship S-series lineup. The A-series is designed to deliver many of the same core essentials as the S series, but with a few swaps that bring down the price to budget-friendly territory. According to Samsung, the A-series tablets are "perfect for everyday tasks like streaming the latest movies, browsing the Internet or keeping the kids entertained."

The A9+, in particular, features an 11-inch display with slim bezels, quad speakers powered by Dolby Atmos, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor, expandable storage up to 1TB, and just OK battery life (it's fine, but nothing that impressive). Our friends at PCMag (also owned by Mashable's publisher Ziff Davis) called it the "best low-cost Android tablet you can buy" last year, noting that it "proficiently handles advanced productivity tasks as well as entertainment such as streaming and gaming at a low price." It's no laptop competitor, but it's not meant to be at sub-$200.

SAVE $100: As of August 5, get the Apple Watch Series 10 for $299 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $399. That's a discount of 25%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Apple Watch Series 10 $299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100 Get Deal

Smartwatches make just about everything you need to do throughout the day a bit easier. They can help you stay on track with your fitness journey, remind you of important things you need to do, and they're there when you need to make a quick call or text someone. So why not get one that you know you can rely on? The Apple Watch lineup is particularly reliable, and the newest non-Apple Watch Ultra model is on sale right now at Amazon, which you shouldn't miss.

As of August 5, get the Apple Watch Series 10 for $299 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $399. That's $100 off and a discount of 25%.

SEE ALSO: The Apple Watch SE is $80 off at Best Buy — a steal for such an awesome smartwatch

We named the Apple Watch Series 10 one of our favorite fitness trackers. It has a larger display than the Series 10 model and it's a bit lighter on your wrist, so it's not as bulky if you're coming from an earlier iteration. It's also absolutely jam-packed with features, including heart rate, sleep, and respiratory rate tracking with advanced metrics that can compile data about different aspects of your body.

Of course, that's all in addition to its normal smartwatch features like calling and texting as well as fall and crash detection and Emergency SOS features to help if you find yourself in an accident. Even if you're in bad shape, your watch can help you to get out of it.

This is a good time to invest in the Apple Watch Series 10, so if you're thinking about grabbing one, this might be the time to finally do it, especially since $100 off is no small discount.

SAVE $50: The 11-inch Apple iPad (128GB, WiFi) is on sale at Amazon for $299, down from the normal price of $349. That's a 14% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad, 11-inch (11th gen, WiFi, 128GB) $299 at Amazon
$349 Save $50 Get Deal

A tablet is a terrific middle ground between a small smartphone screen and a full-on laptop. It's perfect for streaming your favorite shows or browsing the morning news. A tablet can also be awesome for students to take along to lectures and meetings. If you've been considering a tablet upgrade, Amazon is ready to help you out with your decision.

As of August 5, the 2025 11-inch Apple iPad (128GB, WiFi) is on sale for $299 at Amazon, marked down from the standard price of $349. That's a 14% discount that applies to the Pink, Yellow, Silver, and Blue colorway options.

On Mashable's list of the best iPads, the 11th generation Apple iPad earns the spot as the best budget option. That means it's great for students or those who simply want a larger screen to watch Netflix in bed compared to a phone.

SEE ALSO: The 41 best back-to-school laptop deals on MacBooks, Chromebooks, and more

The iPad is a great middle-of-the-road option for those who want a tablet but don't want to spend a fortune. It doesn't have the major specs that come from the Apple iPad Pro or the iPad Air, but it's also considerably less expensive. "The 2025 iPad model got a slight chip upgrade finally going from the A14 up to the A16. While that's not quite as impressive as the M-series of chips, it is quick and powerful," wrote Mashable Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino in her review of the best iPads.

This version comes with an 11-inch display, which means it's awesome for streaming movies, but it's not massive enough to be a packing problem. Max brightness tops out at 500 nits, and you get 4K video recording, which is great for chatting with friends or recording social media content. Plus, you get dual microphones for calls, and it'll also be helpful when recording video or audio.

Before we fall into the rush of back to school, snag the affordable Apple iPad while it's even more affordable. Under $300 gets you a great iPad with 128GB of storage for your shows, apps, and downloaded textbooks for next semester.

SAVE $200: As of Aug. 5, you can still grab the 13-inch M4 Apple MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and 512 GB SSD for just $999 instead of $1,199. That's 17% in savings.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $999 at Amazon
$1,199 Save $200 Get Deal

Back-to-school season remains one of the best times to shop for a laptop, after Black Friday and Prime Day, of course. If you haven't jumped on the deals yet, there's still time. For instance, the 13-inch MacBook Air is still down to its lowest price ever at Amazon.

As of Aug. 5, you can still grab the 13-inch MacBook Air with an M4 chip, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD for just $999 at Amazon. That's 17% or $200 off its usual cost of $1,199. This best-ever price has stuck around for a week, but we can't guarantee how much longer it will last. In other words, if you're eyeing a new MacBook, you might want to pull the trigger. FWIW, the model with 256GB of storage is also sitting at a best-ever price of $799 if you want to save a bit more cash.

Still debating which MacBook is right for you? We're huge fans of the M4 MacBook Air. In fact, it earned the title of our top pick for a MacBook overall on our best MacBooks guide and our best laptops guide. A Mashable Choice Award winner, it's also a great option for students looking for a laptop with longevity.

When asked if the M4 Air is worth buying, Mashable's reviewer Stan Schroeder writes, "Yes, absolutely," noting its powerful processor that runs silently, solid battery life, better webcam, and new low price. For under $1,000, it's a total steal.

Nobody can resist a good mystery.

Whether it's a whodunnit crime story, a tale of suspense that keeps you guessing, or a mind-bending psychological thriller, putting the pieces together sitting in front of your screen has long been a highly satisfying activity for amateur sleuths.

Often, the best mysteries span out over a whole series on Netflix, making the TV side of things pretty well populated — think The Fall of the House of Usher, The Sinner, Dark, Midnight Mass, Wednesday, The Haunting of Hill House/Bly Manor, The Watcher — but there are plenty of mystery movies on the streaming service for those who'd like a more comprehensive experience. Spanning its horror, thriller, and sci-fi genres, Netflix has a range of mystery films now streaming, each offering up an unexpected twist or reveal.

SEE ALSO: The 10 best movies of 2025 (so far), and where to watch them

What's inside the walls in Remi Weekes' His House? Why does the boarding house in Santiago Menghini's No One Gets Out Alive have so many locked doors? What's at the heart of the disturbing prison system in The Platform? What exactly, David Lynch asks, did Jack do? Is Adam Sandler's Murder Mystery actually worth watching? From creaking haunted houses to vengeful masked killers, here are the best mystery movies on Netflix.

1. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Credit: Netflix

Southern gentlemen detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back on the case in Glass Onion, Rian Johnson’s sequel to his modern, Agatha Christie-style mystery movie Knives Out. With an eye for the tiniest detail, Blanc again finds himself investigating a murder in a secluded location with a wealthy cast of suspects (and what a cast it is). This time it’s a private island owned by billionaire tech founder Elon Musk Miles Bron (Edward Norton) and his cohort of "disrupters." When someone winds up dead, only an intricate web of deception stands between Blanc and the truth.

Though less satisfying than the original Knives Out, Glass Onion is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery whose twists and turns will genuinely surprise you. Delivering some truly delightful character work, Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista star as Bron's guests, each with their own secrets. — Kristina Grosspietsch, Freelance Contributor

How to watch: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming on Netflix.

2. The Call Don't pick up the phone. Credit: Netflix

Not the 2013 Halle Berry film or the revenge-based horror film of the same name, but based on Matthew Parkhill's 2011 supernatural horror film The Caller, Lee Chung-hyun's The Call is a dark, chilling South Korean mystery that you can't hang up on.

SEE ALSO: 12 of the best suspense movies on Netflix to put you on edge

When Kim Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) visits her family home, she loses her phone, then starts getting weird, disturbing calls and finds a connection to a woman called Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo). Where this film twists and turns from here, you’ll never predict, so paying light attention is not an option. Strong performances, unnerving use of sound, stunning cinematography, and a well-woven structure make this one surreal and disturbing journey.* — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

How to watch: The Call is now streaming on Netflix.

3. His House There's something in the walls... Credit: Netflix

The best types of horror films are more than just a trickbox of scares. Some are character studies, others explore deeper themes or grapple complex social issues, and a few manage to move you in more ways than just a raising of the pulse. Writer-director Remi Weekes' debut His House does all of the above at once.

Following asylum-seekers Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) as they arrive in the UK from South Sudan only to be thrust into an unforgiving world of bureaucracy and racism, His House melds drama with a claustrophobic haunted house mystery. Noises echo in the walls, and Bol's fear and paranoia grows along with ours. But it's only as the movie progresses, and Jo Willems' creative cinematography starts hinting at what took place in the past, that the true horror of His House is revealed.* — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

How to watch: His House is now streaming on Netflix.

4. The Guilty Jake Gyllenhaal is on top form. Credit: Glen Wilson / Netflix

Following a cop with an anger problem during a 911 dispatch shift, The Guilty sees Jake Gyllenhaal at his vein-bursting best in this twisty thriller about a kidnapped woman.

"With the camera focused on him for almost the full 90 minutes in The Guilty, Gyllenhaal combines all [his] skills into one excruciatingly tense performance," I wrote in my review. "He throws himself into the role of detective-turned-911-dispatcher Joe Baylor with so much anger, pain, and sadness that you're forced to go through every single emotion with him."* — S.H.

How to watch: The Guilty is now streaming on Netlfix.

5–7. The Fear Street trilogy The "Fear Street" trilogy has a solid mystery at its bloody core. Credit: Netflix

What could have just been a kitschy homage to classic horror films of the '70s, '80s, and '90s actually has a really compelling core murder mystery, meaning it's on the list! The Fear Street trilogy, inspired by R.L. Stine's more grown-up novel series, centres around a cyclical curse that sees a string of murders plaguing the residents of Shadyside. Directed by Leigh Janiak, the three films (Part 1: 1994, Part 2: 1978, and Part 3: 1666) are set in different time periods, each linked by these happenings. A group of teenagers will have to delve into the past in order to figure it all out before the curse catches up with them. As far as horror mysteries go, Fear Street is the best thing since sliced bread (sorry). — S.C.

How to watch: The Fear Street trilogy is now streaming on Netflix.

8. I Am All Girls A masked killer is at the heart of the mystery in "I Am All Girls." Credit: Netflix

Fair warning: This one isn't an easy watch. Inspired by true events, the film begins with the interrogation of Gert van Rooyen, a South African sex offender who was suspected in the abductions of six young girls in the late '80s. Set in the present day, the movie uses van Rooyen's alleged crimes as a jumping-off point, with a detective working to uncover a child trafficking ring while also investigating a serial killer who seems to be exclusively targeting the criminals involved. Donovan Marsh's movie is a blend of mystery and thriller, a how-deep-does-this-go conspiracy that leads from dilapidated drug dens to the halls of government — uncovering a series of grim revelations with roots that go back 30 years. — S.H.

How to watch: I Am All Girls is now streaming on Netflix.

9. I Am Mother Friend...or foe? Credit: Netflix

The problem with robots is you can never tell what they're thinking. This is a lesson we've had drilled into us time and again in the sci-fi space, and Grant Sputore's futuristic mystery — about a girl being raised by a robot in a post-apocalyptic bunker — is of course no exception. Starring Hilary Swank, Clara Rugaard, and Rose Byrne, the suspense in this one comes hand-in-hand with the blank, impenetrable gaze of Mother (the robotic carer in question), before cranking into overdrive when a stranger's arrival casts suspicion on the metal guardian's real role.* — S.H.

How to watch: I Am Mother is now streaming on Netflix.

10. I'm Thinking of Ending Things All is not what it seems. Credit: Mary Cybulski / Netflix

Is this the most entertaining movie on this list? Almost certainly not. But is it the best mystery? Well, judging by how incredibly confused I was when I finished watching it, possibly. Writer/director Charlie Kaufman's story about a student travelling to meet her boyfriend’s parents for the first time is a head-scratching psychological nightmare that feels like watching a reality break for two straight hours. There's plenty of deep writing, philosophical musings, and reality-bending clues, all of which add up to a very Lynch-esque feeling that what we're watching isn't as it seems. But what are we watching? The answer might take some figuring out. — S.H.

How to watch: I’m Thinking of Ending Things is now streaming on Netflix.

11. Lost Girls Credit: Jessica Kourkounis / Netflix

Based on the real disappearance of Shannan Gilbert in 2010 and her mother Mari's attempts to find her, Lost Girls is a dark exploration of events surrounding the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings that places a focus on the families left behind. Liz Garbus directs with a sense of grim realism, while Amy Ryan is a picture of angry desperation as she goes up against a police force that seems apathetic at best, and incompetent at worst. — S.H.

How to watch: Lost Girls is now streaming on Netflix.

12. No One Gets Out Alive Cristina Rodlo stars in this claustrophobic nightmare. Credit: Teddy Cavendish / Netflix

More horror than mystery? Perhaps. But Santiago Menghini's claustrophobic haunted house tale, based on an Adam Nevill novel of the same name, still comes with plenty of questions. Questions like, why does the boarding house that Mexican immigrant Ambar (Cristina Rodlo) arrives at have so many locked doors? And what are the noises she keeps hearing at night, and the nightmares about a strange stone box that she keeps seeing when her eyes are closed? You’ll have a hard job guessing, but this tense and well-written thriller will have you trying until the end. — S.H.

How to watch: No One Gets Out Alive is now streaming on Netflix.

13. Oxygen Uh, how did we get here? And where's the exit? Credit: Netflix

A futuristic twist on the fear of being buried alive, Alexandre Aja's Oxygen is a claustrophobic nightmare about a woman who wakes up in a cryogenic box with no idea of who she is or how she got there. The good news? She's able to communicate with the outside world via a robotic medical unit called M.I.L.O. The bad news? Nobody she speaks to seems willing to come clean with her, and her oxygen reserves are quickly spiralling toward 0 percent. Mélanie Laurent perfectly captures the short-breathed dread of this role, and Christie LeBlanc's screenplay has enough twists and turns to keep the story racing along at a heart-pounding pace. Just tread carefully if you have a fear of tight spaces — this one won't be a fun watch for claustrophobics.* — S.H.

How to watch: Oxygen is now streaming on Netflix.

14. The Wonder Credit: Christopher Barr / Netflix

The Wonder is a wholly engrossing period mystery about a young girl from a small, 19th-century Irish town who claims to not have eaten for four months, surviving purely on holy "manna." Florence Pugh is fantastic as Lib Wright, the stoic, science-driven English nurse sent to investigate. Over the course of a few weeks, Lib is charged with watching Anna (Kíla Lord Cassidy) for 12 hours at a day, while a nun observes during the other 12, to determine if there’s a heavenly or earthbound explanation for the girl's miraculous months-long fast.

Based on Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name, The Wonder is a solemn, subtle, and captivating masterpiece exploring religious prejudice, cycles of abuse, and the boundaries of our own realities. It’s a satisfying watch with an unexpected ending that will stick in your bones like an Irish winter frost. — K.G.

How to watch: The Wonder is now streaming on Netflix.

15. Wicked Little Letters

It's 1920, and the small English town of Littlehampton hasn't seen anyone like Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) before. She's brash, she's reckless, and worse, she's Irish. Rose is the polar opposite of her neighbor, Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), the pious, shy spinster who still lives with her aging parents and is shocked by Rose's carefree employment of curse words. The two form a friendly acquaintance, until Edith receives a barrage of hateful, swear-laden anonymous letters. Rose is obviously to blame! Or is she?

This delightful poison-pen mystery is inspired by a very real scandal that consumed the minds and media of 1920s England. Starring a who's-who of British acting royalty (including Eileen Atkins, Timothy Spall, Anjana Vasan, and more), Wicked Little Letters is a darkly comedic puzzle full of top-notch characters. What more could any budding detective ask for? — K.G.

How to watch: Wicked Little Letters is now streaming on Netflix.

16. The Platform How far down does it go? Credit: Netflix

Prison cells are stacked one on top of the other, with holes in the floor and ceiling. Randomly assigned levels change each month. And a platform of food gets slowly lowered from the very top, getting sparser and sparser with each floor it descends. This is the concept at the centre of Spanish director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia's The Platform, a disturbing sci-fi thriller that wears its capitalist analogy plainly on its prison garb sleeve. It's one of those rare gems where the execution is as strong as the idea at its core, driven by an excellent screenplay from David Desola and Pedro Rivero that's dripping with horror and suspense. If you're a fan of movies like The Cube or Saw, this is well worth checking out.* — S.H.

How to watch: The Platform is now streaming on Netflix.

17. The Pale Blue Eye

Christian Bale is Augustus Landor, a grizzled retired detective and alcoholic who gets pulled into one last case, and it’s a whopper: A military academy student has been hanged and had his heart removed. To sniff out the gruesome murderer, Augustus recruits a student — none other than Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling) —  for insider knowledge of the school. 

Adapted from a Louis Bayard novel, The Pale Blue Eye is an atmospheric murder mystery with an excellent cast (shout out to Gillian Anderson!). And if Edgar Allan Poe is in the cast of characters, you know it’s gonna be a spooky one, y’all! — K.G.

How to watch: The Pale Blue Eye is now streaming on Netflix.

18. The Perfection Credit: Netflix

This isn’t the kind of movie you want to be watching while you eat. Richard Shepard's musical nightmare leans heavily into the body horror genre, with protégés Charlotte (Allison Williams) and Lizzie (Logan Browning) going on a truly hellish journey that starts with a bus ride through rural China and ends with them revisiting the prestigious music school where they both trained — and where all is clearly not as it seems. Tread carefully, because this story is really not for the faint-hearted — but it is full of surprises. — S.H.

How to watch: The Perfection is now streaming on Netflix.

19. What Did Jack Do? What did you do, huh? WHAT DID YOU DO? Credit: Netflix

For a truly baffling mystery, it's time for you to watch David Lynch asking a suited monkey if he's ever been a card-carrying member of the Communist party. It's a genuine thing that happens in David Lynch's What Did Jack Do?, a 17-minute film which sees the director interrogating a monkey called Jack in a train carriage.

Co-presented by Lynch's company Absurda and Parisian contemporary art museum Fondation Cartier, the film was written, directed, and edited by Lynch himself. Along with a small crew, he also did the sound editing, set design, and assisted with set construction.

We won't spoil what happens, but make sure you stick around for the catchy musical number toward the end. Yes, you read that right.* — S.H.

How to watch: What Did Jack Do? is now streaming on Netflix.

20.-21. Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 Credit: Alex Bailey / Netflix

If you want your mysteries more adventurous and bright than bleak and despairing, then Netflix’s Enola Holmes films will certainly fit the bill. Based on author Nancy Springer's The Enola Holmes Mysteries, the films star Millie Bobbie Brown, ebullient and charismatic as Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister. Raised alone by an eccentric mother (a perfectly cast Helena Bonham Carter) who rejects societal expectations for women, Enola is every bit the prodigy her brother is, and then some. But when her mother goes missing, she takes it upon herself to solve the mystery, uncovering a larger enigma in the process. 

Cheerful, charming, with a moderate sense of danger and a whole lot of fun, Enola Holmes and its sequel are pure delights with surprisingly sophisticated mysteries at their core. Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin round out the sparkling cast as Sherlock and Mycroft, Enola's more famous older brothers, both visibly enjoying themselves with the material. — K.G. 

How to watch: Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 are now streaming on Netflix.

22. Things Heard and Seen Credit: Anna Kooris / Netflix

Don’t let the low Rotten Tomatoes score put you off. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's Things Heard and Seen — based on the novel All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage — is one of those films that's sure to divide people. It hovers between multiple genres, splicing drama and thriller with horror and mystery in a balancing act that could easily be off-putting to some. The film follows a young couple – Catherine (Amanda Seyfried) and George (James Norton) – whose decision to move into a farmhouse in upstate New York leads to the discovery of some fairly unsettling secrets (both of the ghostly and the non-ghostly variety). Don't go into it expecting straight horror, though, or you’ll be disappointed. But if you like well-drawn characters and plenty of simmering dread, it’s worth checking out. — S.H.

How to watch: Things Heard and Seen is now streaming on Netflix.

23. Luther: The Fallen Sun Credit: John Wilson / Netflix

For five seasons, Neil Cross' highly addictive BBC series Luther followed Idris Elba in his iconic role as the hardened titular detective who plays by his own rules. The very first film of the TV franchise, Luther: The Fallen Sun, sees the brilliant and brash John Luther finally facing consequences for his years of flouting the law in the name of the greater good. He’s now in prison, just when an old case of his starts to heat up again. It’s a twisting and gripping thriller that will keep you guessing, and Andy Serkis' villain David Robey is truly chilling. While it may not be a wholly necessary addition to the Luther legacy, it’s certainly a welcome one. We’ll take any chance to see Elba’s reckless detective take on the world once more.* — K.G.

How to watch: Luther: The Fallen Sun is now streaming on Netflix.

24. Svaha: The Sixth Finger

Svaha: The Sixth Finger is a chilling, serpentine Korean mystery/thriller that explores unseen interpretations of Buddhism and probes the meaning of faith. Pastor Park (Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae), a man driven by his work exposing dangerous cults, looks into a remote religious sect called Deer Mountain or Dongbanggyo. Simultaneously, police begin investigating the murder of a girl found encased in concrete. Could the two be related? — K.G.

How to watch: Svaha: The Sixth Finger is now streaming on Netflix.

25. Murder Mystery Credit: Scott Yamano/Netflix

Sometimes you want your mysteries mindless and cheerful, and the fairly substance-less Murder Mystery Netflix franchise is just that. Adam Sandler is Nick, an NYPD cop, and his wife, Audrey (Jennifer Aniston), is a hairdresser and murder mystery book lover. On their first trip to Europe, their 15th anniversary celebrations are delayed when they board a luxury yacht, a murder occurs, and they're the number one suspects. Looks like these two amateur detectives will have to solve the case to clear their names. It’s a silly, lighthearted romp with a few solid jokes and an unchallenging plot. Murder Mystery (and Murder Mystery 2) make perfect background movies for cooking, cleaning, or scrolling on your phone, when nothing but fluff will hit the spot. — K.G.

How to watch: Murder Mystery is now streaming on Netflix.

26. It's What's Inside

A genre-bending 2024 hit, It's What’s Inside is "a deviously good time," according to Mashable film critic Siddhant Adlakha. At a pre-wedding party, a college friend group catches up and laughs about old scores. But when one of them arrives with a suitcase that allows them to switch bodies, mayhem ensues. Lingering resentments, unrequited loves, smoldering jealousies all rear their chaotic heads as the friends fight to get back into their own bodies… and wonder who really put them up to this in the first place. — K.G.

How to watch: It's What's Inside is now streaming on Netflix.

* denotes that this blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.

UPDATE: Aug. 5, 2025, 3:00 p.m. EDT This article was originally published on Nov. 7, 2021. It has been updated to reflect current Netflix offerings.

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The electric SUV space is loud—Tesla this, Rivian that, and a flood of EVs chasing attention with massive screens or futuristic designs. But not every standout needs to shout.

TL;DR: Live stream The Hundred 2025 for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

We've already been treated to a lot of entertaining cricket this summer, but we're not done just yet. The Hundred is here to make sure the season ends on an exhilarating note. Fancy watching some of the most exciting players in the world compete in a totally unique 100-ball cricket format? You can do exactly that without spending anything.

If you want to watch The Hundred 2025 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is The Hundred?

The Hundred is a professional cricket league in the UK. The tournament, organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board, is the only cricket league in the world that uses the 100-ball cricket format. The Hundred is comprised of eight teams, with seven based in England and one in Wales.

32 matches take place in the league stage of the tournament. Each team plays four matches at home and four matches away, including one match against every other side and then a second bonus match against their nearest regional rivals. The team that finishes top of the league progresses straight into the final. The teams finishing second and third compete for a place in the final in the Eliminator.

The defending champions are London Spirit (women) and Oval Invincibles (men).

When is The Hundred 2025?

The Hundred 2025 is the fifth edition of the tournament. This year's competition takes place from Aug. 5-31.

How to watch The Hundred 2025 for free

The Hundred 2025 is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer. 16 games will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer, including the opening Women's and Men's double header and both finals.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access these free live streams with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in the UK, meaning you can access free live streams of The Hundred 2025 from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of The Hundred 2025 by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Watch The Hundred 2025 for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch The Hundred 2025 before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.95 (including money-back guarantee).

Watch The Hundred 2025 for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

SAVE $80: Grab the Apple Watch SE (2nd gen) for just $199 (44mm) or $169 (40mm) at Best Buy — available in midnight, starlight, and silver.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch SE $199 at Best Buy
$279 Save $80 Get Deal

Eager Apple fans ready for a smartwatch upgrade should try out this hit deal at Best Buy. As of Aug. 5, Best Buy is offering the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) for just $199 for the 44mm size — that’s a cool $80 off its regular $279 price. If you prefer a smaller fit, the 40mm model is also down to $169 (from $249), with the same $80 discount applied.

This limited-time offer includes three classic finishes: midnight, starlight, and silver, all matched with a sleek colour-coordinated back case that’s part of Apple’s ongoing effort to reduce carbon emissions. The Apple Watch SE may be positioned as the more affordable option in Apple’s lineup, but don’t let that fool you. As far as its specs go, this smartwatch is packed with the essential features most people actually use day to day. 

SEE ALSO: Yes, the Oura Ring is the best smart ring, but it's not your only option

With watchOS 11, the SE gets smarter and more personal, offering health tools like heart rate alerts, Fall Detection, and even Crash Detection for added peace of mind. The new Check In feature is a nice bonus, automatically notifying friends or family when you arrive at your destination.

On the fitness side, the Workout app is as robust as ever, giving you detailed metrics to track your progress and performance. What’s more, it’s swimproof up to 50m, so laps in the pool are fair game. In our Apple Watch Series 9 vs SE comparison, we found that the SE is perfect for fitness fanatics.

The SE also promises to keep you effortlessly connected — having you able to answer calls, reply to texts, check notifications, and use Siri, all from your wrist. Plus, you’ll get three free months of Apple Fitness+, making this even more of a value-packed purchase.

For more tech upgrades, check out the best Apple deals available this week — including iPads and MacBooks. If you’re open to other brands, we’ve got a selection of the best smartwatches for every wrist, including Samsung, FitBit, and Garmin, as well as Apple. 

SAVE $130: Get the Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones for just $229 at Best Buy — now in six stylish colors.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones $229 at Best Buy
$359 Save $130 Get Deal

For any audiophiles who’ve been waiting for a price drop before investing in a big brand’s pair of noise-cancelling headphones, we’ve found the perfect Best Buy offer for you. As of Aug. 5, the Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones are marked down to $229 at Best Buy, saving you a hefty $130 off the regular $359 price tag. That’s a solid deal for headphones known for their legendary noise-cancelling tech and all-day comfort.

What’s even better is that you’ve got a good number of colour options to choose from: lilac, black, blue dusk, cypress green, sandstone, and white smoke are all included in the sale. Whether you’re into bold, soft, or sleek tones, there’s a pair that’ll match your vibe.

As for features, the QuietComforts live up to their name with plush ear cushions and a protein-leather-covered foam headband that’s built for marathon listening sessions. Bose’s Quiet and Aware Modes let you switch between full noise-cancellation and awareness of your surroundings, and you can even create your own custom settings.

SEE ALSO: We put the top 10 headphones of 2025 to the test

As for sound quality, these headphones boast high-fidelity audio with an Adjustable EQ that gives you full control over bass, treble, and mids. You can even fine-tune it all in the Bose Music app. And with Spotify Tap, you can jump back into your favourite playlists or discover new music with just a press of a button — so, there’s no need to dig out your phone.

Battery life is another highlight: up to 24 hours of wireless play time on a single charge, or get a 2.5-hour boost with just 15 minutes of USB-C charging. Plus, built-in mics make hands-free calls crystal clear.

At $229, these are a smart pick for anyone who wants premium headphones without the premium price. 

If you still want to shop around first, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 headphones we’ve tested in 2025. For those who want to focus purely on keeping external sound away, we’ve got a selection of the best noise-cancelling headphones we use and love, too.