Garlic up, Tech Insiders.

Rumors of GPT-5.3 are wafting through AI Alley while phishers and fee fights stink up the joint.

Grab a breath mint; we're digging into today's cloves of news.

Here's what you need to know today:

Rumor Mill: OpenAI's GPT-5.3 Leak Spices Up AI Race

Garlic may not kill vampires, but it could scare Google.

Leakers from X threads say OpenAI's next act is GPT-5.3, the true "Garlic" release (insiders now claim December's GPT-5.2 was merely an early "checkpoint").

The chatter is loud but remains speculation; Sam Altman's only public nod—a Jan. 19 post on X asking what users want in 5.3—didn't confirm a timeline.

Born from an internal "Code Red," Garlic reportedly ditches "bigger is better" in favor of enhanced pre-training efficiency to prune redundant data, packing more reasoning punch into a smaller, cheaper model.

Spec sheets allege a speculated 94.2% mark on HumanEval+ and wishful-thinking "perfect recall" within its existing 400K-token context window retained from 5.2. Interface crumbs hint at inline code editing, a "Salute" project manager for tracking multifile workflows, and secure Model Context Protocol tunnels.

Sources peg a preview launch for ChatGPT Pro as soon as this week, with a wider API rollout eyed for early February. But until the API drops, consider this one extremely fragrant rumor.

Why it matters: If true, devs could snag Claude-class code quality with far fewer hallucinations, while power users gain book-length workflows in one shot. Just remember that garlic's aroma can overpromise its bite.

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Pulse Check

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Insider Intel

ChatGPT Tests Ads to Fund Free AI Chats

Even your trusty chatbot is passing the hat, so expect a polite, well-labeled shake for spare change at the bottom of future answers.

OpenAI says targeted ads will start appearing "in the coming weeks" for US users on ChatGPT's Free and (surprisingly) its new $8-a-month Go tier. Sponsored boxes will sit beneath the AI's response, clearly tagged and visually separate, so the model's wording stays untouched while the ad copy does the talking.

The company swears the usual bogeymen are locked out: conversations won't be shared or sold, and sensitive topics such as health or politics are off limits.

While adults can turn off personalization, the only sure way to dodge ads entirely is by upgrading to Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Edu. Under-18 accounts are spared by default, at least during the test.

Why the pivot? Running giant language models isn't cheap, and only about 10% of ChatGPT's 800 million weekly users pay.

Early pitch decks peg pricing around a hefty $60 CPM, according to AdAge; analysts reckon the format could spin up a $25 billion business by 2030. Just don't expect news publishers to see a dime of that. Reports say OpenAI isn't sharing ad revenue with the sites fueling its answers, even those with partnership deals.

Competitors are watching. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says Gemini has "no plans" for ads, hinting that trust could erode if assistants feel like billboards.

At least now, when ChatGPT tells you how to fix your dishwasher, it might also offer a coupon on new gaskets. Capitalism, meet cognition.

Flash Bytes

Five Shifts That Will Shape Your Security Team in 2026

AI adoption is everywhere… but the impact isn't. Many still struggle with rising workloads, unclear governance, and growing pressure on already stretched teams. But why?

On Jan. 28, join Tines and Stratascale live to learn the five shifts that will define how teams succeed with AI in 2026.

Security Alerts

LastPass Backup Scam Swipes Master Keys

Phishers are pummeling LastPass users with slick "maintenance" emails (often from sketchy sender addresses) urging a 24-hour vault backup for an "Infrastructure Update."

The link hops to a lookalike portal built to harvest master passwords and, by extension, every saved credential.

LastPass stresses—as it did during October's fake "death" requests—that it never asks for your master key or imposes tight deadlines and is lobbying hosts to nuke the rogue domains.

Got one? Forward it to abuse@lastpass.com, then delete it. If you actually typed your password, rotate it immediately. Otherwise, simply add an MFA hardware key or authenticator app to stay safe.

Pro tip: If an email panics, you probably shouldn't.

LinkedIn RAT Phish Hides in DLL Sideload

ReliaQuest reports attackers are DMing execs on LinkedIn with WinRAR self-extracting archives (SFXs) disguised as project plans.

Opening the lure drops a legit PDF reader, a decoy RAR file, a portable Python interpreter, and a fake DLL (a shared code library).

When victims launch the "reader," Windows sideloads the DLL, executing the hidden Python code in memory. The payload locks in reboot persistence via a sneaky Run key edit and runs a remote access Trojan (RAT).

Defend by blocking SFX launches in user folders, restricting unauthorized Python, and alerting when trusted apps load unexpected DLLs. Treat DMs like email.

If a "business partner" sends an EXE, ghost them immediately.

Industry Shakeups

Setapp Mobile Bows Out Amid Apple's Fee Tangle

Setapp Mobile, one of the EU's first subscription-based iOS marketplaces, will switch off on Feb. 16, just 17 months after its September 2024 public debut.

Creator MacPaw says Apple's ever-shifting "complex business terms" make the store impossible to sustain, leaving EU users just weeks to export their data before every app vanishes. The desktop version of Setapp continues unchanged; the iOS marketplace, however, is dead in the water.

Apple's post-DMA fee jungle is the culprit. Alternative stores must juggle a "Core Technology Fee" of €0.50 ($0.58) for every first annual install beyond the initial million each year, on top of a "Store Services" cut that hits 5% for external payments or 13% if they stick with Apple's checkout. The resulting overlap can cost devs nearly as much as staying in the official App Store—minus its billion-user reach.

While niche rivals like AltStore PAL and the Epic Games Store survive on smaller, dedicated audiences, Setapp's broad-catalog model couldn't absorb the unpredictable charges.

MacPaw says it will pivot resources to macOS projects and an AI assistant called Eney instead of fighting Cupertino's calculator. EU regulators, meanwhile, must decide whether Apple's compliance dance meets the DMA's spirit or just its footnotes.

Looks like the app-store buffet still has plates—just don't expect the all-you-can-eat option anymore.

Meet Our Author

Justin Meyers

Writer at TechnologyAdvice

Justin Meyers is an investigative writer and editor who draws on over a decade of meticulous hands-on research to deliver the full, trustworthy story behind consumer and enterprise tech, including cybersecurity.

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