Apple Released Air Pods firmware updates

 As of March 25, 2026, Apple’s latest AirPods firmware is version 8B39 — but it depends on which AirPods model you have.

✅ Latest firmware by model

• AirPods Pro (3rd generation): 8B39 [macrumors.com], [iclarified.com]
• AirPods Pro (2nd generation, USB‑C or Lightning): 8B39 [macrumors.com], [iclarified.com]
• AirPods (4th generation, with or without ANC): 8B39 [macrumors.com], [iclarified.com]

Other models (unchanged in this release):

• AirPods Pro (1st gen): 6F21 [support.apple.com]
• AirPods (3rd gen): 6F21 [support.apple.com]
• AirPods (2nd gen): 6F21 [support.apple.com]
• AirPods Max (USB‑C): 7E108 [support.apple.com]
• AirPods Max (Lightning): 6F25 [support.apple.com]

ℹ️ Notes

• Apple released firmware 8B39 on March 24, 2026, primarily listing bug fixes and performance improvements. [macrumors.com]
• AirPods firmware updates install automatically when your AirPods are in their case, charging, near an iPhone/iPad/Mac connected to Wi‑Fi. [macrumors.com]

Texas sues TV manufacturers over Automated Content Recognition (ACR) technology and Wins

 These quotes from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton:
“When families buy a television, they don’t expect it to spy on them. They don’t expect their viewing habits to be packaged and auctioned to advertisers. Yet Samsung deceptively guides consumers to activate ACR and buries any explanation of what that means in dense legal jargon that few will read or understand"
“Texans must be fully informed about whether their data is collected and be in full control of how it’s used. The changes outlined in this agreement help accomplish both of those aims and are an important step forward in reforming smart TV manufacturers’ data collection practices,”  

The suits were filed against Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense, and TCL Technology Group. Samsung has reached a settlement.

Automated Content Recognition:
This software can capture screenshots of a user’s television display every 500 milliseconds, monitor viewing activity in real time, and transmit that information back to the company without the user’s knowledge or consent. The companies then sell that consumer information to target ads across platforms for a profit.

Conduent Data Breach - 25 million and counting

 According to Malwarebytes, the Conduent data breach may be the
biggest third-party breach in history.
 You may have never heard of Conduent.
 Estimates of Texas residents affected recently jumped from 4 million to 15.4 million. Current estimated number of Texas residents: 31 million.
 What does Conduent do? Services for a major portion of US public services and corporate back-office work.
 State benefit programs such as Medicaid, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and other government payment disbursements in more than 30 states.
 Mailroom, printing, and payment processing for state benefit offices and healthcare programs, including large health insurers like Blue Cross plans.
 Corporate services for major employers, including at least one large automotive manufacturer; nearly 17,000 Volvo Group employees are confirmed among those whose data was exposed.

 What was stolen: 
Full legal names, postal addresses, and dates of birth
Social Security numbers and other government identifiers
Medical Information, health insurance details, and related claims data

Conduent is a service provider of service providers, so you many not recognize the name. Thus notifications of this breach may not trigger your alerts, notifications, or filings.