Blogroll

When you think of Black Friday, there's a good chance your mind goes to waiting in long lines to grab doorbuster deals at your local Walmart store. While the shopping event has drastically transformed over the last decade, one thing still rings true in 2026: Walmart has one of the most anticipated Black Friday sales of the season.

Walmart is still where you go if you want to shop Black Friday deals in person and avoid shipping altogether. But the retailer also hosts a pretty epic online savings event each year. You'll find deals and discounts across practically every department in the lead-up to the holidays, with things coming to a head on Black Friday proper.

To help you get the details straight and gear up to shop at Walmart on Black Friday 2026, here's everything you need to know, including when stores open, what will be on sale, and how to get early access.

When exactly is Walmart's Black Friday sale?

Black Friday officially takes place on Friday, Nov. 27 in 2026. However, most retailers will kick off their Black Friday sales before that. Walmart has announced plans for three major holiday shopping events on its Black Friday 2026 calendar.

• Walmart Early Black Friday Sale: Nov. 12 to Nov. 15

• Walmart Black Friday Sale: Nov. 23 to Nov. 29 (online only Nov. 23 to Nov. 26)

• Walmart Cyber Monday Sale: Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 (online only)

Credit: Walmart Walmart Black Friday early access

Last year, Walmart+ members got five hours of early access to both Walmart's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales before the events kicked off for the public. This year, during both Black Friday events, select online-only deals will be reserved exclusively for Walmart+ members for the first 24 hours of the sale while supplies last.

A Walmart+ membership costs $98 per year or $12.95 per month for its base plan. You can also bundle it with Sam's Club Plus for $120 per year. A membership comes with tons of free perks, including free delivery, free next-day shipping, free access to either Paramount+ or Peacock, pharmacy delivery, gas savings, and more. You can kick off a 30-day trial for just $1.

Opens in a new window Credit: Walmart Walmart+ Membership 30-day trial for $1 Get Deal at Walmart What time do Walmart stores open on Black Friday?

Since Walmart's Black Friday sale takes place both in-store and online, its stores will be open as well. Walmart stores open at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday, Nov. 27. There may be exceptions to those hours, so it's best to check Walmart's store locator for the exact opening hours at your local store. Walmart stores are closed on Thanksgiving Day.

What will be on sale at Walmart for Black Friday?

In short: practically everything. Walmart is best known for its doorbuster deals on budget TVs, popular toys, gaming consoles, and small appliances. We expect those categories to be its strong suits once again, but there will be plenty of other categories worth shopping as well.

Last year, we saw pretty wild deals on the Oura Ring 4 and PS5 Disc Console, as well as $69 AirPods, an older generation MacBook Air for only $549, and a 75-inch Hisense QLED TV for only $378. Follow along with Mashable's Black Friday coverage for all the best deal drops from Walmart (and beyond).

We also saw Walmart+ memberships for 50% off during last Black Friday season, a deal we're hoping the retailer revives for 2026.

Best early Black Friday deals at Walmart

While Walmart isn't officially labeling anything as an early Black Friday deal yet, we've found a few noteworthy discounts well ahead of the sale. Here's a glimpse at a few of our favorite early deals so far.

Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 65-inch C6 OLED 4K TV $1,399.99 at Walmart
$2,699.99 Save $1,300.00   Get Deal at Walmart Opens in a new window Credit: onn. onn. 32-inch 720p HD TV $68 at Walmart
$88 Save $20   Get Deal at Walmart Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson V15 Detect Cordless Vacuum $649.99 at Walmart
$849.99 Save $200   Get Deal at Walmart Opens in a new window Credit: Dreame Dreame C30 Plus robot vacuum and mop combo $239.98 at Walmart
$329.99 Save $90.01   Get Deal at Walmart Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G55C Curved Gaming Monitor $179
$249 Save $70   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 $99 at Walmart
$129.99 Save $30.99   Get Deal at Walmart

The new Apple hardware lineup on Amazon: Apple iPad mini (OLED, A20 Pro) Starts at $699 Pre-Order Here Apple 24-inch iMac (M6) Starts at $1,499 Pre-Order Here Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Starts at $1,999 Pre-Order Here Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro/Max with PROLED Touchscreen Display) Starts at $2,899 Pre-Order Here Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro/Max with PROLED Touchscreen Display) Starts at $3,399 Pre-Order Here

It’s been a chaotic, hardware-heavy week in Cupertino. Following a surprise wave of drops, Apple capped off its private "Pro and Tell" event in Los Angeles by finally giving fans the holy grail: a touchscreen MacBook Pro equipped with a tandem OLED "PROLED" display.

If you followed our breakdown of everything Apple announced, you already know this wasn't just a one-laptop show. We also got a massively upgraded OLED iPad mini packed with an A20 Pro chip, along with M6 processor leaps for both the 24-inch iMac and the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Preorders went live on Apple's site right after the event, and now the new batch has surfaced on Amazon. You can lock in your order with Prime delivery perks ahead of the official Nov. 6 ship date.

From a fingerprint-friendly MacBook Pro to a waterproof OLED iPad mini, here is every new Apple device you can add to your cart right now.

Apple iPad mini Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad mini (OLED, A20 Pro) Starts at $699 Preorder at Amazon

The iPad mini has always been the tablet you actually toss in a backpack, but this refresh turns it into a pocket powerhouse. The main upgrade is the screen. Apple squeezed in a larger 8.5-inch OLED display by trimming the borders by 24%, so you get more screen space in the same compact build. It hits 1,200 nits of peak brightness with deep black levels that make movies, games, and comics look incredible.

If you work outside, the 256GB and 512GB models even offer a matte nano-texture glass option to kill glare.

It runs on the new A20 Pro processor, so heavy apps and on-device Siri AI features fly without stuttering. You also get an IP67 rating for real water and dust resistance, so a spilled drink or a rain shower won't ruin your day. Apple also finally shifted the 12MP front camera to the landscape edge, so you will no longer look off-center on video calls.

Apple 24-inch iMac (M6) Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple 24-inch iMac (M6) Starts at $1,499 Preorder at Amazon

The iMac is basically the antidote to ugly desk clutter. One power cord, three minutes of setup, and you have a sharp 24-inch 4.5K screen that looks great in any room, especially in colors like Green or Pink. The big change is inside: Apple skipped an entire generation and jumped straight to the M6 chip.

So apps open instantly, photo editing is buttery smooth, and graphics run twice as fast as the old M4. You also get WiFi 7, way faster storage speeds, and the ability to hook up two 6K external monitors if you need a multi-screen setup.

The base model starts at $1,499, but pay the $1,699 for the 12-core version if you can swing it. The extra $200 gets you four ports instead of two, a 2.5Gb Ethernet jack for fast wired internet, and a Touch ID keyboard so you never have to type your password again. Plus, if you work by a sunny window, this is the only tier that lets you add the matte nano-texture glass.

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Starts at $1,999 Preorder at Amazon

Not everyone wants a touchscreen laptop or wants to spend nearly three grand to get one. If you want a traditional, bulletproof pro machine, the entry 14-inch MacBook Pro with the base M6 chip is where the money goes. Apple packed in a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, giving it a huge boost for photo editing, code compiling, and local Siri AI workflows.

More importantly, Apple finally bumped the base storage to a generous 1TB, so you don't have to carry an external drive just to hold your basic files. Battery life also reaches an absurd 24 hours — the longest ever in a Mac — and it doesn't throttle power when unplugged. You get a super-bright 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR screen, three Thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and WiFi 7.

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (PROLED XDR Display) Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro/Max with PROLED Touchscreen Display) Starts at $2,899 Preorder at Amazon

After over a decade of Apple insisting touchscreens belong exclusively on iPads, it finally caved. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro brings touch directly to macOS, letting you tap, pinch, zoom, and scrub timelines right on the glass.

The screen itself is the real showstopper. Apple used tandem OLED tech (dubbed PROLED) that cranks out 2,000 nits of peak brightness for both HDR and SDR content, backed by a wild 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Color coverage hits both P3 and Adobe RGB, making it a dream for photo and video work. Apple also ported the iPhone’s Dynamic Island over to house Spotlight search, timers, and Live Activities at the top of your screen.

It runs on Apple's heavy-duty M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, paired with 24GB of memory and a 1TB SSD out of the gate. Even with the touch layer, it dropped by half a pound to an even 3 pounds, while maintaining up to 22 hours of battery life and three Thunderbolt 5 ports.

Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro (PROLED XDR Display) Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro (PROLED XDR Display) Starts at $3,399 Preorder at Amazon

If the 14-inch model is built for portability, the 16.3-inch version is basically a studio-grade monitor you can fold shut. You get the same double-stacked OLED panel and responsive touch glass, but with a massive canvas for editing timelines, grading color, and zooming into high-res photos.

It also runs on Apple's heavy-duty M5 Pro or M5 Max silicon, giving power users more than enough muscle to handle brutal creative workloads and heavy multitasking without breaking a sweat. Apple also shaved 0.7 pounds off the chassis — dropping it down to an even 4 pounds — and gave it upgraded speakers with noticeably punchier bass. You get up to 24 hours of battery life alongside three fast Thunderbolt 5 ports.

If your current tech is feeling a little dusty, head over to Amazon to grab the new releases right now.

At a glance

• Evaluating Microsoft Copilot at enterprise scale requires test data that captures the full complexity of real organizations, yet real enterprise data contains sensitive information that cannot be used for evaluation under any circumstances.
• To resolve this tension, we built Industry Evaluation Data Generation Platform: full-scale synthetic enterprise environments grounded in publicly available real-world data sources such as O*NET occupational data, online job postings, and SEC filings.
• The synthetic environments mimic real business workflows, helping Microsoft find issues that generic benchmarks would miss.
• Safety and privacy are built into the platform by design. Every environment is fully synthetic and automated content-safety checks keep the generated data free of harmful or personally identifiable material.

Every day, millions of knowledge workers around the world rely on Microsoft Copilot to draft documents, summarize meetings, surface relevant information, and accelerate productivity. Behind the scenes, this is powered by a network of AI systems, and ensuring they work as intended requires a thoughtful approach to evaluation. At Microsoft, we know that high performance doesn’t come from guesswork. It comes from testing, measuring, and iterating constantly.

Healthcare organizations are constantly synthesizing safety signals from across teams so that they can make faster, better decisions that directly influence patient outcomes and regulatory confidence.

They may ask Copilot to summarize a meeting and extract action items for their teams. Within seconds, Copilot delivers a structured summary citing specific discussion points from the transcript. But how do we ensure this response is accurate, complete, and properly grounded in the meeting content? This is where our evaluation system comes in.

We’ve developed a structured evaluation strategy called Industry Evaluation Data Generation Platform, which includes industry specific evaluation datasets designed to test AI systems against realistic enterprise scenarios, grounded in three core pillars:

• Synthetic enterprise environments: simulated Microsoft Copilot environments with realistic users, meetings, emails, documents, and organizational structures that replicate the complexity of real organizations without using any customer data
• Automated query generation pipelines for rapid, reproducible creation of evaluation datasets
• Structured quality frameworks to ensure synthetic data meets the bar for meaningful evaluation

Figure 1: Components of Industry Evaluation Data Generation Platform

Together, these pillars help us answer two fundamental questions: Is Microsoft Copilot actually doing what our users need it to do, and can we prove it without ever touching their data?

In this blog post, we’ll walk through our evaluation system and processes, from synthetic environment generation to automated query pipelines, and how it all comes together to establish the first standardized evaluation baseline for Microsoft Copilot.

Synthetic enterprise environments

Evaluating enterprise AI requires test data that captures the full complexity of real organizations: reporting structures, project histories, communication patterns, and domain specific workflows. But real enterprise data contains sensitive information that cannot be used for evaluation under any circumstances. This is the central tension we set out to resolve.

Rather than relying on small, manually curated test fixtures, we generate full scale synthetic environments: simulated enterprise workspaces, each with realistic organizational structures, communication histories, and work artifacts. In Microsoft terminology, each of these simulated workspaces is called a “tenant”. A tenant is an isolated organizational environment with its own users, data, and configurations. These environments are scalable baselines that teams and organizations can build off of however they want. They are designed to exhibit the same structural and behavioral properties that make enterprise AI evaluation meaningful.

Grounding in real world signals

To ensure our synthetic environments are realistic, we grounded them in publicly available real world data sources.

• O*NET data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s occupational database was used to make synthetic employee roles and responsibilities realistic, calibrate the mix and frequency of work activities assigned to different roles, and tailor industry specific workflows such as clinical trial reviews or portfolio updates.
• Online job postings provide realistic role titles, reporting hierarchies, and departmental compositions.
• SEC filings inform organizational scale, business unit structures, and financial contexts. All of these sources are publicly available and have been reviewed and approved by Microsoft’s legal and policy organization.

Figure 2: Real signals from public datasets that are used to ground the evaluation data generation

Importantly, these synthetic environments are not static snapshots. They simulate dynamic, time-evolving organizations with meeting histories, project timelines, email threads that develop over weeks, and organizational changes that unfold naturally. This temporal dimension is essential because a large class of Copilot queries are inherently time aware. Questions like “What did the team decide last Thursday?” or “What’s changed since the last quarterly review?” only produce meaningful evaluations if the underlying data has a genuine temporal structure.

Industry specific simulation

We generated three synthetic environments across multiple industries, each with distinct characteristics that mirror real world usage:

• A pharmaceutical environment that includes regulatory submission workflows, clinical trial discussions, and cross functional safety review meetings
• A capital markets environment featuring deal pipelines, compliance communications, and client portfolio reviews
• An IT/software company that simulates sprint planning, code review discussions, and product launch coordination

Figure 3: Industries targeted for industry evaluation data generation

This industry specificity ensures that our evaluation queries test Copilot against the kinds of questions real users in those domains actually ask, rather than relying on generic test cases that may not surface domain specific failure modes.

Automated query generation

While synthetic environments provide the substrate for evaluation, they face a key limitation: we still need realistic evaluation queries. These are the questions that test whether Copilot can surface the right information, synthesize it correctly, and present it helpfully. Manually writing thousands of grounded, industry specific queries is prohibitively expensive and slow. That’s where our automated pipeline comes in.

The six-stage pipeline Figure 4: Query customization pipeline that turns generic query templates into realistic, industry-specific queries

We built an automated pipeline that turns simple, generic query ideas into realistic, industry-specific questions for Copilot. It starts with a large library of common workplace tasks, narrows them down to what’s relevant for a given industry, and adapts them using domain-specific language and context. The system then uses AI to generate queries grounded in the synthetic environment’s data, rewrites them to sound more natural and human, and validates each one for accuracy and uniqueness. The result is a rich set of high-quality, lifelike queries that enable scalable and reliable evaluation of Copilot across real-world scenarios.

Validating synthetic quality

Of course, generating synthetic data is only part of the challenge. We also need to ensure the data is good enough to produce meaningful evaluations. We assess synthetic environment quality using our internal semantic evaluation framework which measures quality across three dimensions:

• Structural fidelity: Does the organizational structure reflect realistic reporting hierarchies, team sizes, and cross functional relationships?
• Contextual relevance: Are the queries and workflows representative of actual enterprise usage patterns?
• Behavioral realism: Do the simulated users exhibit human-like communication patterns and collaboration dynamics?
• Content safety: Is the generated content free of harmful, offensive, or personally identifiable material, and does it avoid impersonating real individuals?

End-to-end automation

While our synthetic environments and query pipelines provide the methodology, they face several practical limitations without proper automation, including:

• Reproducibility: Manual processes produce subtly different results each time, making it difficult to compare evaluations across releases.
• Scale: The number of industry verticals and configuration variants exceeds what any team can reasonably produce by hand.
• Iteration speed: Manual creation takes days, delaying essential feedback and slowing down development cycles.
• Cross-team consistency: Without standardized tooling, different teams produce evaluation datasets with incompatible formats and quality levels.

This automation reduced evaluation dataset creation from a multi-day manual process to automated runs. We estimate savings of approximately $100,000 per evaluation dataset and $300,000 in total project savings. But the more important outcome is that any team can now regenerate an evaluation dataset from the same configuration and get identical results.

Spotlight: Microsoft research newsletter

Microsoft Research Newsletter

Stay connected to the research community at Microsoft.

Subscribe today Opens in a new tab Privacy and safety by design

Enterprise grade evaluation demands more than good methodology. It requires a privacy posture that allows teams to move fast without compromising user trust. A non-negotiable design principle of our industry evaluation datasets is that no real customer data is used at any stage of the pipeline. Every element, from organizational structures to email content to meeting transcripts, is synthetically generated, with no customer data inputs. Because the data is both fully synthetic and safety-screened, teams can share and reuse it widely without introducing reputational, compliance, or Responsible AI risk.

Our safeguards include privacy preserving aggregation techniques where real-world statistical distributions are referenced, expert legal review and approval of all public data sources, and clear data provenance and lineage tracking throughout the pipeline.

This means teams across Microsoft can use these evaluation datasets freely for experimentation, benchmarking, and regression testing without privacy review overhead or data handling restrictions that would otherwise slow down iteration. The privacy design is not a constraint on the system. It is what makes broad adoption possible.

Results and impact

Since starting this project, we have observed significant improvements across multiple dimensions.

On synthetic data quality, our internal scoring system showed significant quality gains in the structural, contextual, and statistical fidelity of the generated data. Across our composite quality metric (which measures how closely synthetic data mirrors the complexity and patterns of real enterprise environments), scores improved 39% compared to our initial generation approach. Some industry-specific environments reached quality scores above 0.9 out of 1.0, demonstrating that domain focused generation produces highly realistic evaluation environments. The improvements were obtained in part by incorporating realistic, industry signals and in part by automating quality improvements via key composite quality metrics that help improve the structural integrity, contextual coherence and statistical diversity of our synthetic industry environments.

On scale and efficiency, each synthetic environment now contains hundreds of users with complete communication histories across three industry verticals. Evaluation dataset creation has gone from multi-day manual effort to automated pipeline runs.

On organizational adoption, our industry evaluation data generation platforms have been published to an internal shared catalog for cross-team reuse and established as the first standardized evaluation baseline for Microsoft Copilot. The difference wasn’t just incremental. It was a shift in how teams approach evaluation: from ad hoc, manual processes to standardized, reproducible infrastructure.

Conclusion

As we continue to expand what Microsoft Copilot can do, from single turn Q&A to agentic multi-step workflows, our commitment to evaluation remains at the heart of our approach. In enterprise AI, quality isn’t just about accuracy or speed. It’s about trust. Organizations need confidence that AI systems handle their information correctly, and that confidence can only come from thorough, repeatable evaluation. That trust rests on two commitments woven through everything we build: rigorous privacy protection and proactive content safety.

Looking ahead, Microsoft Copilot is tackling even more exciting evaluation challenges: How do we assess the quality of multi-turn agentic interactions? How do we extend synthetic environments to capture organizational dynamics evolving over months or years? How do we build evaluation frameworks for AI systems that take actions, not just generate text? These are the kinds of questions our team is working on next.

At Microsoft, we’re not just building AI. We’re building the infrastructure to ensure it works reliably for every enterprise, in every industry, at every scale.

Thanks to everyone who’s worked on Industry Evaluation Datasets!

Opens in a new tab

The post From synthetic enterprise data evaluations to real Microsoft Copilot AI confidence appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Icons in the status bar of your Samsung Galaxy device aren't always intuitive, and seeing a dot flash in the corner of your screen can be worrying if you don't know what it means. While a lot of us have gotten used to the green dot and what it signals, those who have recently upgraded to One UI 9 may have started to notice a blue dot as well.

There are quite a few ports that you probably won't find on a modern TV. RCA and RF were some of the first to go, though for a while some TVs kept analog inputs as an option through breakout cables.

Almost every Linux user will tell you that bloat is bad — you should go with something minimal so you can customize it to your liking. There’s also a popular belief that Linux beginners should stay clear of Arch and tiling window managers, which are reserved for more “advanced” users. Well, Omarchy is based on Arch, uses the Hyprland tiling window manager, and is one of the most bloated and opinionated distros out there. And here’s my argument for why, despite conventional wisdom, I think it’s perfect for Linux beginners.

Binance may have been hacked. The popular crypto exchange announced a "potential security issue" on Thursday, freezing withdrawals after an apparent hacker drained hot wallets of several billion dollars in cryptocurrency. As of 10:25 p.m ET / 7:25 p.m. PT, Binance states that the breach has impacted approximately $6.3 billion in funds.

The official Binance X account first acknowledged the issue at 5:15 p.m. ET / 2:15 p.m. PT. This came within minutes of reports that digital finance companies Tether and Circle Group had frozen significant amounts of their respective stablecoins in response to a potential hack — specifically about $971 million in Tether and $823 million in USD Coin.

Binance subsequently stated that a total of $2.54 billion had been frozen, warning that this number would potentially grow as assets were traced. By 8:52 p.m. ET / 5:52 p.m. PT, Binance approximately $3 billion had been verified as frozen.

"Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating," Binance wrote. "Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Few details about the hack were initially available. However, the ostensible hacker's wallet held $1.77 billion in Tether, $1.44 billion in Bitcoin, and $1.01 billion in Ethereum, as well as over a billion more spread across other currencies such as USD Coin, Tron, and Solana. 

These assets were reportedly drained from hot wallets: cryptocurrency wallets that are connected to the internet. Compared to offline cold wallets, they are significantly more practical for conducting transactions on exchanges such as Binance. However, they are also less secure.

Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao has stated that it "does look like a hack," but maintained a positive outlook on the situation.

"I don't manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered," Zhao wrote on X.

In an update at 6:33 p.m. ET / 3:33 p.m. PT., Binance stated that its team was conducting security checks, and attempted to reassure anxious users.

"Withdrawals will resume as soon as the security issue is fully resolved," it wrote. "User funds remain safe."

Binance later announced at 7:06 p.m. ET / 4:06 p.m. PT that it had suspended Binance Alpha trading, which would "resume once the security issue is resolved." Binance Alpha is a platform dedicated to highlighting early-stage crypto projects, which are not yet listed on the Binance exchange.

This freeze was extended to all transactions on Binance a little over an hour later, the exchange stating that it would "cover all losses."

"As a precaution, all deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended while our team conducts security checks, freezes funds, and works with law enforcement," Binance posted at 8:13 p.m. ET / 5:13 p.m. PT. "This is an industry-wide effort, and we are grateful to partners across the ecosystem who have moved quickly to help freeze affected assets."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Over five hours after Binance first acknowledged the incident, the exchange stated it may have found the source of the breach: a compromised laptop.

"Binance's initial investigation suggests that the security incident may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions," Binance posted at 10:25 p.m ET / 7:25 p.m. PT. "We have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak."

It further stated that it had revoked the authorisation of the potential hacker's crypto address, and elaborated on its commitment to cover any losses.

"Binance will cover all losses from the SAFU fund and the company’s funds. User funds are safe," Binance wrote in a blog post. "We will also publish an updated Proof of Reserves once the remediation is complete."

The SAFU (aka Secure Asset Fund for Users) is Binance's emergency reserve fund specifically for compensating impacted individuals in the event of severe breaches such as this. Held entirely in Bitcoin, SAFU's assets were valued at $1 billion earlier this month — a sixth of the amount impacted by Thursday's hack. Binance previously stated that it would replenish SAFU if it dropped below $800 million, "helping maintain the fund at a level intended to cover potential extreme-case scenarios."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Binance's operations continued to be disrupted through the night. On Friday, 12:36 a.m ET / Thursday, 9:36 p.m. PT, the exchange announced that users could now make deposits, but withdrawals remained paused while it conducted a "security revamp" of the service. Withdrawals are expected to resume within 48 hours of this update.

"The incident stems from multiple factors," wrote Binance, offering further information on the breach's origin. "Our security team is tracing the full attack path through the compromised computer which may be the entry point of the incident. A comprehensive report with the root cause will follow."

UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2026, 2:48 p.m. AEDT This article had been updated to add further developments.

UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2026, 4:08 p.m. AEDT This article had been updated to add further developments.

TL;DR: Watch Le Havre vs. PSG in Ligue 1 for free on CazéTV. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Ligue 1 is starting to take a familiar shape. PSG struggled in the early rounds, but after beating early leaders OL on Monday night, the defending champions are back at the top of the standings. It's going to be very tough for any other side to really compete, especially bottom side Le Havre. They're without a win this season and come into this clash as major underdogs.

If you're interested in watching Le Havre vs. PSG in Ligue 1 from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Le Havre vs. PSG?

Le Havre vs. PSG in Ligue 1 kicks off at 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 30. This fixture takes place at the Stade Océane.

How to watch Le Havre vs. PSG for free

Le Havre vs. PSG in Ligue 1 is available to live stream for free on CazéTV.

CazéTV is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Le Havre vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Le Havre vs. PSG for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

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

4. Visit CazéTV

5. Watch Le Havre vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Le Havre vs. PSG without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus Premier League action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Ligue 1?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Le Havre vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Are you tired of paying for tons of cloud subscriptions? What if I told you a sub-$100 homelab could pay for itself? Here’s what you need to get started with homelabbing and how canceling just three subscriptions can pay off your investment in around two months.

Chipotle’s most reliable annual food hack is back.

On Oct. 31, Chipotle is reviving its iconic Boorito promotion. Starting at 3 p.m. local time through closing, Chipotle Rewards members who show up at participating restaurants dressed in a Halloween costume can grab any regular entrée — burrito, bowl, salad, or order of tacos — for just $6. A scarily good deal.

To claim this limited-time promo, you need to follow these straightforward steps:

1. Wear a costume and head to your local Chipotle after 3 p.m. on Halloween

2. Open the free Chipotle app and have your digital Rewards member card scanned at the cash register before paying

3. Score a $6 entrée

"We love that Chipotle has become part of so many fans' Halloween traditions," said Stephanie Perdue, Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing. "The passion around Boorito inspires us to find new ways to celebrate and surprise our fans year after year."

What's important to note here is that this is strictly an in-restaurant promo. You cannot order ahead for mobile pickup via the app to bypass the dinner rush, and third-party delivery apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats won't honor the $6 price tag. The offer is also capped at one discounted entrée per costumed guest.

The first question that comes to mind after hearing that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked to the tune of $6.2 billion is: How the heck can this even happen?

The hack, which lasted several hours, saw the attacker drain Binance's wallets, with hundreds of millions of dollars in BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT, and other cryptocurrencies.

UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2026, 2:01 p.m. CET Crypto analysis firm TRM claims with "high confidence" that the hack has been done by North Korea's "elite hacking unit" called TraderTraitor. The same group was named responsible by the FBI for the $1.5 billion attack on crypto exchange Bybit back in 2025.

The total tally, according to Binance co-CEO Richard Tang, was $6.3 billion. Crypto sleuth Wazz put it at $6.17 billion by following crypto wallets, and Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao didn't share the actual number, but he did confirm the ballpark.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The first news from Binance about the nature of the hack revealed that the company's wallet private keys had not been leaked. Instead, it was a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop that the hacker used to "gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions."

If you're a Binance user, this doesn't sound comforting. If a single compromised laptop can result in billions being stolen, Binance had better rethink its security practices.

Now, however, Tang shared some additional details about the incident. While reiterating that customer funds are "safe," he said that the hack was a bit more involved than what the statement above implies.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

"Our initial investigation suggests this security incident may have started with a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop. That gave an attacker access to a service container, where they submitted unauthorized withdrawal transactions," wrote Tang.

"To be clear: the attacker did not simply use one engineer's permissions, and this was not a single 'one-click' action. It involved a more complex attack process. Our investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual. So far, we have found no evidence of any wallet private key leak," he wrote, adding that the company will share a "detailed technical post-mortem once the investigation is complete and every fact is verified - and publish an updated Proof of Reserves once remediation is complete."

Furthermore, according to the BBC, Binance has uncovered "additional points of breach," so it may not be just the one laptop that was compromised.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Fortunately for Binance and its users, a substantial portion of the stolen funds has been frozen by the issuers. In response to Elon Musk's snarky comments about the incident, CZ said that roughly $3 billion in funds has been frozen. The company also has a SAFU fund worth more than $1 billion, and CZ pointed out that the company holds more than $1 billion in SpaceX shares, in an obvious jab at Musk.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

SAVE $90: As of Oct. 30, the Nintendo Switch 2 Choose Your Game bundle is on sale for $459 at Woot. Use the code SAVETOBER at checkout to save.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Nintendo Switch 2 Choose Your Game Bundle $459 at Woot
$549 Save $90   Get Deal at Woot

If you've been considering upgrading your gaming setup, there's a new Nintendo deal at Woot that'll save you $90.

The retailer is currently offering the Nintendo Switch 2 Choose Your Game bundle not only at a sale price but also with an extra discount available at checkout. The bundle currently has a list price of $549, already reduced to $519, but entering the code SAVETOBER at checkout brings the total down to just $459. That's a $90 saving on the original price, including a console and your choice of one of three digital games.

The bundle includes the Nintendo Switch 2 console, alongside a digital download of either Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Pokémon Pokopia. Rather than buying your console and first game separately, you can get both together for less.

The Switch 2 has many upgrades over the previous model, including a larger 7.9-inch LCD touchscreen with HDR support and up to 120 fps. The updated dock also supports up to 4K resolution when paired with a compatible TV and game. Plus, it has a whopping 256GB of internal storage, with the option to expand it using a microSD Express card, so there is plenty of space for games and downloads.

Head to Woot to grab this deal before it's too late.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection Day (Espeon) and Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection Night (Umbreon) are available to preorder now on Walmart.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokemon Company Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection Day (Espeon) $495 at Walmart
  Shop Now at Walmart Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection Night (Umbreon) $509.99 at Walmart
  Shop Now at Walmart

Next week is going to be absolutely huge for Pokémon TCG collectors. We've had a wave of announcements in recent weeks, so it's hardly been quiet lately, but the Day and Night Ultra-Premium Collections and the Delta Reign Expansion are set to release on Nov. 6. Now that's big news.

With the launch day fast approaching, preorder offers are getting competitive. Amazon listings went live weeks ago but have since vanished. That has left Walmart offering the best rate on the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection Day (Espeon) and Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection Night (Umbreon).

Both high-end boxes are currently available to preorder at Walmart for way under market price. That's a rare deal that will sell quickly.

TCGplayer's market price for the Day Box is currently $531.48, compared to Walmart's $495. The market price for the Night Box is $567.59, compared with Walmart's $509.99.

Both Ultra-Premium Collections come packed with 29 30th Celebration booster packs, one Classic Collection booster pack, custom metal coins, deck boxes, card sleeves, and damage-counter dice. Of course, a lot of the hype comes from the exclusive promo cards.

The Day collection includes the exclusive Espeon ex promo card with a Daytime Pikachu ex promo card and an Espeon playmat. The Night box includes the exclusive Umbreon ex promo card with a Futuristic-rarity Pikachu ex promo card and an Umbreon playmat.

It's not easy finding real value for money in the trading card market, so scoring preorders for way under market value is pretty special. And that goes double for a collection like this.

Windows is Microsoft's operating system, but that doesn't mean Microsoft gets all the credit for shaping the PC experience. Over the years, independent developers created apps that changed how people browsed the web, listened to music, watched videos, played games, and even interacted with Windows itself. These five did more than add another program to your PC: they changed what Windows users came to expect from it.

What do modern Android phones and the classic "Weebles" toys from the '70s have in common? They wobble. It's an epidemic of chunky, off-center camera bumps, and I'm trying to fix it. My first attempt was pretty good, but I'm back with a new and improved solution.

SAVE $300.09: As of Oct. 30, the Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB is on sale for $799.90 at Amazon. That's a 27% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB $799.90 at Amazon
$1,099.99 Save $300.09   Get Deal at Amazon

Upgrading your PC's storage can make a noticeable difference to how it runs. No more sluggish performance or waiting forever for games, files, or downloads to load. Not to mention, it'll give you plenty of extra room for downloading more.

As of Oct. 30, one great internal storage option is on sale at Amazon: the Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB. Normally $1,099.99, it's currently on sale for $799.90. Of course, like pretty much every SSD, the base price for this product has soared in recent months, so this deal is a great way to beat the price hikes and upgrade your storage for a little less.

The 990 PRO is also available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, both of which are reduced at Amazon. The 1TB version is down from $319.99 to $259.99, and the 2TB model has fallen from $639.99 to $406.39.

The 4TB model is designed for seriously fast performance, delivering read speeds up to 7,450 MB/s and write speeds up to 6,900 MB/s. According to Samsung, random performance is improved by over 55% compared to the previous 980 PRO, alongside up to 50% greater performance per watt.

Head to Amazon to grab this deal now.

The best early Black Friday gaming monitor deals: best budget gaming monitor deal Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G5 QHD Monitor (G50F) $169.99 (save $110) Get Deal best LG gaming monitor deal LG 27-inch Ultragear OLED monitor (27GS93QE) $499.99 (save $400) Get Deal best ASUS gaming monitor deal ASUS 27-inch ROG Strix 4K Monitor (XG27UCG) $329 (save $120) Get Deal best Acer gaming monitor deal Acer 27-inch Nitro QD-OLED Monitor (VG277U) $269 (save $80.99) Get Deal best Samsung gaming monitor deal Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G6 OLED Monitor (G61SH) $399.99 (save $200) Get Deal

Gaming is an expensive hobby (especially in the age of RAMageddon), so any time you can save some money on hardware is a good day. If you're looking to boost your refresh rate or enhance your visual experience, Black Friday is the perfect opportunity to snag gaming monitors at steep discounts.

While we don't expect the absolute best discounts to arrive until closer to Black Friday, there are several live deals worth shouting out early. If you'd rather get some holiday shopping out of the way early or you want to upgrade your gaming setup before the official release of GTA 6, we've gathered the best gaming monitor deals worth adding to your cart.

If you don't quite see what you're looking for yet, stay tuned as we dive deeper into the Black Friday season. We'll be updating this list as things heat up.

Best early Black Friday gaming monitor deal Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 27-inch Ultragear OLED monitor (27GS93QE) $499.99 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $400   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

For those looking to switch to an OLED setup, the LG Ultragear 27GS93QE monitor is back at its record-low price at Amazon ahead of Black Friday. With a 27-inch QHD Wide 1440p OLED display that boasts an elevated color spectrum and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, you'll enjoy stunning on-screen visuals with rich colors and deep contrast. The 240Hz refresh rate, instantaneous 0.03ms response time, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro technology, and NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility equate to smoother scenes with less lag or ghosting and all-around seamless gameplay.

More early Black Friday gaming monitor deals

Classic gaming monitors

• Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G5 QHD Monitor (G50F) — $169.99 $279.99 (save $110)

• Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G5 QHD Monitor (G50F) — $209.99 $349.99 (save $140)

• ASUS 27-inch ROG Strix 4K Monitor (XG27UCG) — $329 $449 (save $120)

• LG 27-inch Ultragear evo GM9 5K Hyper Mini LED Monitor (27GM950B) — $888 $1,199.99 (save $311.99)

OLED gaming monitors

• Acer 27-inch Nitro QD-OLED Monitor (VG277U) — $269 $349.99 (save $80.99)

• Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G6 OLED Monitor (G61SH) — $399.99 $599.99 (save $200)

• Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G6 QD-OLED Monitor (G60SF) — $699.99 $999.99 (save $300)

• Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 OLED Curved Monitor (G91SD) — $849.99 $1,299.99 (save $450)

Ultra-wide and curved gaming monitor deals

• Samsung 34-inch Odyssey G5 Ultra-Wide Gaming Monitor (G55T) — $249.99 $399.99 (save $150)

• Alienware 34-inch QD-OLED Curved Gaming Monitor (AW3425DW) — $699.99 $799.99 (save $100)

Early Black Friday iPad deals: Best budget iPad deal Apple iPad (A16, WiFi, 128GB) $399 (save $50) Get Deal Best iPad mini deal Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 128GB) $545 (save $54) Get Deal Best iPad Air deal Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 128GB) $699 (save $50) Get Deal Best iPad Pro deal Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 512GB) $1,424.99 (save $74.01) Get Deal

Black Friday sales are dropping early this year, and shopping now comes with benefits. You're less likely to run into shipping delays, and the selection might be better if you're on board with shopping weeks before turkey dinner.

Since everything feels more expensive these days, shopping sales can help ease the pain. Apple products (including the iPad lineup) saw price increases this summer, in part thanks to RAMageddon, but some deals bring iPads back into a range we're used to seeing.

Comparing these early Black Friday deals to what we saw during October Prime Day helps us decide what's actually worth buying. We have the green light on the standard iPad with the A16 chip, which is sitting at the same sale price we saw during Prime Day. But if you're shopping for the iPad Air or iPad Pro, you might want to hold off.

We saw a $100 discount on the Air and a $200 price cut on the iPad Pro during Prime Day, and neither of those is showing up right now. It's possible waiting a few more weeks will see larger discounts, but nothing is promised with tech in 2026.

We'll keep this page updated if we see better price drops in iPads.

Best budget iPad deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad (A16, WiFi, 128GB) $399 at Amazon
$449 Save $50   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

Mashable's favorite iPad for budget shoppers is the iPad with an A16 chip, which is on sale for $399, matching the same discount we saw during October Prime Day. Mashable Senior Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino wrote, "It's great for someone who wants a portable screen for streaming, playing games, and reading." Given its lower price point, it's also a nice option for kids.

Best iPad mini deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 128GB) $545 at Amazon
$599 Save $54   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

Apple just announced the 8th Gen iPad mini with big upgrades, but if you're interested in an older (and less expensive) model, the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip is already on sale. The 7th Gen iPad mini is a great option if you're looking for a versatile tablet that's great for streaming shows and catching up on emails. It's also the best iPad if you're looking for a model that'll double as an e-reader, thanks to its compact size.

It's worth mentioning we saw this model drop to $499 during October Prime Day. But with tech price hikes, it's possible this is the lowest we'll see during the 2026 holidays.

TL;DR: The Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Gift Bundle is on sale for $93.99 at Amazon, down from its $109.86 typical price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Magic: The Gathering Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Gift Bundle $93.99 at Amazon
$109.86 Save $15.87 Get Deal at Amazon

It wasn't that long ago that Magic: The Gathering's The Hobbit Gift Bundle was struggling to drop below $150, but Amazon has now brought the Middle-earth collection under $100, the lowest price since the summer. 

As of Oct. 30, the Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Gift Bundle is available for just $93.99 at Amazon, cutting $15.87 off its typical $109.86 price. It has dropped considerably since the bundle dropped to $158 in September. This is not only $64 cheaper but also the lowest price seen for The Hobbit Gift Bundle since July (confirmed by the price tracker camelcamelcamel).

SEE ALSO: Magic: The Gathering's The Hobbit Play Booster Box is down to a new all-time low price — save nearly $70

Listings at TCGplayer are currently going as low as $91.68. That's under the bundle box’s $93.01 estimated market price. 

Magic’s Hobbit Gift Bundle gives you nine 14-card Play Boosters and one 15-card Collector Booster, the latter containing five Rare or higher trading cards and a small chance of pulling a Headliner Mythic.

Alongside those 10 boosters, there's an exclusive alternate-art Traditional Foil promo, four Surge Foil full-art Seasonal Hobbit lands, 10 full-art Middle-earth Journey lands, 20 basic lands, an oversized Spindown life counter, and a foil storage box.

TL;DR: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Oct. 26-30. Get Spooked, hosted by Indie Author Collective, offers thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, and horror books for Kindle and Kobo users.

Stuff Your Kindle Day provides an awesome opportunity for bookworms to add to their TBR list without any guilt.

We're blessed with a pretty busy Stuff Your Kindle Day schedule in 2026, including romance, thriller, and young adult giveaways. Now that it's officially spooky season, Get Spooked has launched with 100s of free thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, and horror books.

Get Spooked, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is aimed at Kindle and Kobo users. Everything you download is yours to keep forever, so you can go wild.

SEE ALSO: T-Mobile is giving away the 2026 Motorola Razr for free — how to qualify

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Get Spooked takes place from Oct. 26-30. This five-day giveaway doesn't carry the same stress as a 24-hour event. You can consider your options and take your time. You could dip into the selection today and come back later in the week.

Which books are free?

Get Spooked is offering a huge selection of thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, and horror books. The helpful hub page has filters for price, retailers, e-reader, representations, and genres. Play around with the filters and find exactly what you want to read. Chances are you'll find something for free.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep forever, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time, so what's holding you back?

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months) $149.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Why we like it

These popular e-readers let you take your entire library on the go, with weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase for a limited time.