Technology

• GoPro refreshes the Max 360-degree camera with modest hardware updates
• New 360 modes added to GoPro's Quik app, including object tracking
• A big price drop lowers the list price to $349.99 / £349.99 / AU$599.95

GoPro has announced a 360-degree camera, but it's not the Max 2 that we've been waiting years for. No, it's a refreshed Max with a couple of hardware tweaks – and a very welcome price drop.

The new camera has an upgraded mounting system for compatibility with all 1/4-20 tripod mounts, plus GoPro's latest Enduro battery for improved battery life – and that all that's new. However, the 'new' Max comes with a sizable price drop, with a new list price of $349.99 / £349.99 / AU$599.95.

It has the same image-making skills as the original Max, including 5.6K video from its twin lenses with complete 360-degree coverage. However, GoPro has improved its Quik app for the Max with new 360-degree features, including a neat-looking AI-powered object tracking that keeps your selected subject in the center of the action.

We haven't tried the new modes in the app yet, but 360-degree video edits can be a time sink, so any smart features that simplify the process are welcome.

Refreshing a five-year-old camera with minor hardware tweaks, amid the backdrop of a much delayed successor, feels like a puzzling decision on the part of GoPro. So what are we to make of the Max relaunch?

The original Max was launch in 2020 and is long overdue a successor if GoPro is to challenge new market leader Insta360. (Image credit: TechRadar) Will we ever see the GoPro Max 2?

The biggest news here is the price drop compared to the original Max – a drop of around a third. GoPro's hand was forced here, because its dated Max camera previously cost the same as the superior-in-every-way Insta360 X4 – the best 360-degree camera available with powerful features including 8K video.

We're keen to give the improved Quik app a spin – in addition to smart object tracking, it also offers keyframing to set precise views, CameraFX for cinematic camera movements, smooth auto transitions between clips, edits to single clips, and a frame-grab tool for exporting stills from your video clips. Combined, these new skills could provide an Insta360-beating editing experience.

However, refreshing the Max only serves to heighten the question – where is the Max 2? It's been delayed time and again, and we're wondering if it will ever materialize.

I'm still hoping that we'll see GoPro's all-new and improved 360-degree camera in 2025 – and at this point it will need to be a big upgrade, with 8K video and more in order to effectively rival Insta360's X4. The leading action camera maker typically saves its most exciting launches for September, so that could be a realistic scenario – we'll be sure to share any Max 2 updates as and when we get them.

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• GTA 5 is getting a free PC upgrade in March that adds previously released PS5 and Xbox Series X features
• The update will add GTA Online features, improved graphics, ray-tracing features, and more
• New minimum and recommended specifications have been shared ahead of its release

Rockstar Games has announced that a free PC upgrade for Grand Theft Auto 5 will be released next month that will add PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S features.

The studio shared the details in a new blog post confirming that the update will be available on March 4 and have features previously only available in the console versions of GTA Online.

These include the latest vehicles and performance upgrades at Hao's Special Works, animal encounters, GTA+ Membership access, as well as improved graphics, ray-tracing features, faster loading times, DualSense Wireless Controller support, and more.

The upgraded version of the game will also feature the most recent player improvements for GTA Online, which include kernel-based anti-cheat protection and proactive voice chat moderation.

Players who download the free upgrade will also be given the ability to migrate their Story Mode and Online progress.

With the addition of features like ambient occlusion, global illumination, ray-traced shadows and reflections, as well as Nvidia DLSS 3, AMD FSR1, and FSR3 support, the new and improved version of GTA 5 also means PC specifications are changing.

You can take a look at the minimum and recommended specs below to make sure your PC can handle the new upgrade.

Rockstar confirmed that support for the previous version of GTA 5 will continue for players whose hardware doesn't fulfill the minimum requirements.

However, for the original version of GTA Online, players who remain on that previous version will not be able to play in online sessions with those with the upgraded patch.

"PC Players who want to play with each other will need to ensure they’re playing the same version of the game," Rockstar said. "Both versions will be available to everyone who upgrades - and first-time purchasers will get access to both versions as well."

The upcoming patch comes as we eagerly await the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, which is scheduled to be released in Fall 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. Unfortunately, much like the GTA 5, a PC version will arrive later; reportedly in early 2026.

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• Dead Boy Detectives star Jayden Revri will reprise his role as Charles Rowland in The Sandman season 2.
• His appearance was confirmed in two now deleted social media posts.
• Dead Boy Detectives was canceled last year, with The Sandman also coming to an end after two seasons.

The Sandman season 2 is set to have a big reveal as a star from the canceled Netflix show Dead Boy Detectives will appear in the final season of the dark fantasy epic.

The hit supernatural series Dead Boy Detectives was canceled last year, which prompted fans to campaign to bring the show back from the dead. It developed a cult fanbase when it first aired on the best streaming service and a big viewership was promised since the show is based on the characters from the DC Comics. Despite this though, it wasn't enough to resurrect it for another season.

Netflix also pulled the plug on The Sandman and won't be back after its upcoming second season. The series is finishing because the story of Dream/Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) is coming to a natural end, with showrunner Allan Heinberg revealing that they only had enough story for one more season. However, the ongoing sexual misconduct accusations against The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman will be another contributing factor for its cancelation.

It's not all bad news for Dead Boy Detectives fans though as What's On Netflix has reported that Jayden Revri, who played Charles Rowland in the best Netflix show will feature in The Sandman season 2.

A dead detective is back, sort of

This news came from a post from The Sandman fan page Sandman News, which noticed that Revri’s agency, Revolution Talent confirmed his appearance in The Sandman series on Instagram. According to What’s On Netflix, the now deleted social media posts reportedly said: "Season 2 sees the conclusion of the supernatural-fantasy series, with Jayden’s series-lead role in Dead Boy Detectives making a special appearance. Expect love, loss, destiny and redemption!”

The Sandman spin-off Dead Boy Detectives is one of the nine canceled Netflix shows in 2024 that you should still watch and follows two teenage ghosts, Charles and Edwin (George Rexstrew), who work alongside a clairvoyant to solve mysteries for their supernatural clients.

This is the closest we'll get to a Dead Boy Detectives season 2, so now that Revri is reprising his beloved role, it's a good opportunity to say a final farewell to the character and fill the Dead Boy Detectives void in your life now that the paranormal series is no more.

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• Nvidia has supposedly run into performance issues with the chips for its RTX 5070 and 5060
• This has meant these GPUs have been theoretically delayed by a month
• As a result, initial stock levels of the RTX 5070 may be thin on the ground

We’re hearing more rumors about Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and 5060 GPUs being delayed and encountering hiccups with production, as well as suffering from possibly low stock levels at launch (once again).

VideoCardz noticed a post on X from analyst Dan Nystedt, who flagged up a report from the Commercial Times, a Taiwanese news outlet, making various claims about Nvidia running into trouble with the mentioned GPUs.

Nvidia’s latest RTX50 gaming graphics card series faces delays until mid-March at the earliest due to performance issues in the chips, RTX5070 and 5060, that needed to be debugged, media report, while wafer damage from the January 26 Taiwan earthquake is also a key factor in the…February 20, 2025

Apparently, the Blackwell chips used in the RTX 5060 and 5070 (known as GB205 in the latter case, and rumor has it, GB206 for the former) were suffering from performance issues which required last-minute addressing. And the need for that additional honing late in the day has “delayed the mass production schedule” (bear in mind that this is an article translated from Chinese).

Commercial Times further points out that the “Tainan earthquake disrupted TSMC’s wafer production” which is what Nvidia’s Blackwell chips are fashioned from, so this has compounded supply issues, we’re told.

The report asserts that the end result of all this is that the mass production of both the incoming RTX 5070 and 5060 (remember, the latter GPU isn’t officially confirmed by Nvidia yet) has been delayed by around four weeks.

The theory presented is that Nvidia previously had targets of mid-February for the RTX 5070 production lines to be running full tilt and mid-March for the RTX 5060, but that schedule has now been pushed back to mid-March and mid-April respectively.

(Image credit: ShutterStock) Analysis: A theoretical but depressingly believable scenario

What does all this mean in practice? Well, maybe nothing – it’s just a bunch of rumors after all – but the fact is that it does marry up with other speculation suggesting pretty much the same thing: a delay from February/March to March/April. (That came from one of the more reliable sources out there for hardware-related gossip, too).

On top of that, do know for sure that the RTX 5070 has been delayed – Nvidia originally announced that this GPU, and its Ti partner, would both go on sale in February. And while the RTX 5070 Ti is now out as planned, the RTX 5070 vanilla version has indeed been put back to an on-sale date of March 5. (It’s worth noting that the Ti uses a different Blackwell chip, GB203, as opposed to GB205 in the plain 5070 – and so the mentioned chip performance issues wouldn’t apply to the former, as that chip has already been put out there in the RTX 5080).

Furthermore, as you may have noticed, the RTX 5070 Ti has gone on sale today, but stock has vanished pretty much instantly. If you got a GPU, congrats, you were lucky (and if you’re still hunting, check out our guide on where to buy the 5070 Ti).

If production of the RTX 5070 is indeed running behind schedule as rumored – and Nvidia having pushed the GPU back does make things look shaky here – then we can fully expect a lean level of supply, and the same blink-and-it’s-gone stock scenario with the RTX 5070.

It’s all depressingly believable, too. Let me put it this way: do you think when the RTX 5070 becomes available to buy in early March, there’ll be plenty of stock kicking around? No, me neither, although I could, of course, be very wrong (and nothing would please me more, frankly, as I might want to buy one of these graphics cards).

As for the RTX 5060, we don’t know if this GPU is coming soon, as Nvidia hasn’t said anything officially, but the rumor mill reckons it’s due in the near future. If this speculation is correct, though, we’re now looking at mid-April, so the graphics card is still a couple of months away (in theory).

The more positive news brought forth with this report from the Commercial Times is that Nvidia is apparently ‘making every effort’ to speed up production for Blackwell GPUs and get everything back on track, and analysts believe that the lackluster supply will gradually improve going forward.

So hopefully, this won’t turn into a longer-term tale of skewed supply and demand, with seriously hiked pricing, as we’ve seen in the past.

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• Security researchers find high-severity flaw in popular WordPress plugin
• It allowed threat actors to run malicious code remotely
• A patch was released in late January 2025

Jupiter X Core, a popular WordPress plugin with more than 90,000 users worldwide, is vulnerable to a high-severity flaw that allows threat actors to run arbitrary files on the server, essentially giving them the ability to fully take over target websites, experts have warned.

WordPress security researchers Wordfence revealed it was found to be vulnerable to a “Local File Inclusion to Remote Code Execution” flaw, now tracked as CVE-2025-0366. It has a severity score of 8.8/10 (high) and affects all versions up to, and including 4.8.7.

Jupiter X Core is a companion plugin for the Jupiter X WordPress theme, developed by Artbees. It extends the functionality of the theme by adding advanced features, such as custom page-building elements, theme customizer options, and enhanced design controls. The plugin is primarily used by web designers, developers, and business owners.

SVG uploads as the problem

“This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to include and execute arbitrary files on the server, allowing the execution of any PHP code in those files,” Wordfence explained. “This can be used to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution.”

Describing how a theoretical attack might look, Wordfence said that an attacker could create a form that allows SVG uploads, upload the file with malicious content, and then include the SVG file in a post, to run the code. The process makes RCE “relatively easy”, it added.

The bug was first spotted in early January 2025, with Artbees coming back with a patch before the end of the month. That being said, if you’re using Jupiter X Core, you should make sure you’re running at least version 4.8.8.

At press time, the WordPress website shows 46.8% of users running the latest version, meaning that more than 47,000 websites are still vulnerable.

Via Infosecurity Magazine

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• The ES90 will be the first Volvo to use dual AGX Orin chips
• 'Superset stack' facilitates 508 trillion operations per second
• EX90 SUV will also be upgraded to new System-on-a-Chip

Volvo has announced that its upcoming ES90, a super-sleek electric sedan due to be full revealed on March 5, will be the most powerful car it has ever created in terms of core computing capacity.

Hot on the heels of the seven-seat EX90 SUV, which was the first all-electric Volvo to debut Nvidia’s Drive computing platform with Xavier and Orin System-on-a-Chip (SoC), the upcoming ES90 will pack a dual AGX Orin configuration – the bleeding edge of Nvidia’s automotive technology.

Slightly confusing names aside, Volvo says its Superset tech stack is now capable of performing 508 trillion operations per second (TOPS), as opposed to the 250 TOPS available in the EX90.

“This allows us to further raise the bar on safety and overall performance through data, software and AI,” Volvo says.

Put simply, this extra computing power will allow the Swedish company to further harness advanced levels of AI to assist in things like battery management and efficiency, as well as realize its lofty safety ambitions.

The Volvo EX90 was promised to be launched with the very latest in the automaker’s safety systems, which take feeds from cameras, ultrasonic sensors, radar and a state-of-the-art Luminar Lidar system to create a 360-degree view of the world, no matter the time of day.

Unfortunately, the system wasn’t ready at the time of launch and instead, Volvo’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) team decided it would be better to introduce the safety systems as an over-the-air update in due course. A lot of those features still haven’t materialized.

(Image credit: Nvidia)

However, Volvo has said that all of its upcoming electric vehicles will now use this Superset tech stack, which will allow the company to “boost the performance of each car in the lineup simultaneously”.

Reading between the lines, it appears that the ES90’s advanced levels of computing power will allow Volvo to introduce its aforementioned Safe Space Technology, which is designed to help avoid accidents and hazards on the road, much sooner and to more vehicles in one quick software update hit.

As a result, the Swedish firm has said that the dual Nvidia Drive AGX Orin configuration will be implemented on all EX90 cars and that existing customers will get the hardware upgrade free of charge.

A generous move on Volvo’s front or an admittance that its existing Nvidia set-up wasn’t actually powerful enough for it to achieve its vision for SAE Level 3 autonomous driving and the next generation of safety systems? You decide.

Analysis: Volvo’s next-gen safety system is the future of luxury

(Image credit: Volvo)

While we are still some way off SAE Level 4 or even fully autonomous driving, Volvo believes that ridiculous levels of computing power and the latest suite of sensing technology will separate its cars from the competition.

During a chat at the Volvo EX90 launch, senior function developer collision avoidance (AKA the ADAS man) at the brand, Martin Magnusson, told me that modern safety systems are so nannying, there is a real risk drivers turn them off.

Instead, he feels that by allowing AI to sift through the reams of data provided by cameras, sensors and radar, it will allow the car to genuinely have “an extra pair of eyes”, as he puts it.

With the new levels of core computing power, Volvo’s advanced safety suite can constantly scan there surroundings, keeping tabs on pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users and predicting what they will do next – rather than simply reacting at the last minute with intrusive emergency braking measures.

"We want to completely rule out ghost braking situations or those experiences where safety systems jump in for no reason," Magnusson told me.

It’s fascinating stuff and a completely new approach to safety, which has typically seen manufacturers pile on the technology in order to hit Euro NCAP and other safety standards, rather than sitting back and deciding whether it works, or adds value.

With the massive amount of computing power now offered by Nvidia, it appears that Volvo could finally make its vision of next-gen automotive safety a reality.

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• Apple Intelligence's iPhone 16-exclusive Visual Intelligence is coming to iPhone 15 Pro
• An Apple spokesperson confirmed the AI feature will be coming to iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in a future update
• Visual Intelligence allows you to get information on objects you point your camera towards

Earlier today I wrote about how the iPhone 16e getting Visual Intelligence was a sucker punch to iPhone 15 Pro owners who still didn't have access to one of Apple Intelligence's best tools. Well, it looks like iPhone 15 Pro owners are in luck, as it has now been confirmed that Visual Intelligence is coming to the 2023 smartphone.

An Apple spokesperson told John Gruber from Daring Fireball that "owners of the iPhone 15 Pro will soon be able to bind their Action Button to Visual Intelligence" and that this will come “in a future software update".

Not only will iPhone 15 Pro owners get Visual Intelligence via the Action Button but the Apple representatives also confirmed that the "Control Center button to launch Visual Intelligence is also coming to iPhone 15 Pro (and presumably iPhone 16 models, too)."

This is huge news for iPhone 15 Pro owners who have been on the fence about whether or not to upgrade to an iPhone 16, 16 Pro, or the new 16e just for Visual Intelligence. Personally, I don't think Visual Intelligence is enough to warrant an upgrade, although it was a major deciding factor for me when I purchased the 16 Pro back in September.

Had I known the 15 Pro would get Visual Intelligence, I may not have opted for a new device this year. That said, if you were holding out for an upgrade and are perfectly happy with the iPhone 15 Pro (which you should be, it's an excellent device) then you've now got a major new AI tool coming in a future update.

iPhone 15 Pro matches iPhone 16's Apple Intelligence capabilities

Camera Control on the iPhone 16 (Image credit: Future)

The biggest shift with this news is the fact that the iPhone 15 Pro now matches the latest flagship iPhones in terms of Apple Intelligence functionality.

In my testing of Apple AI across multiple devices, I've found the performance to be pretty equal across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. That means I fully expect iPhone 15 Pro users to get as good an experience as iPhone 16 owners when it comes to Visual Intelligence.

Visual Intelligence is an interesting Apple Intelligence feature – it allows users to point their camera at an object and get information directly from ChatGPT or Google Search. Visual Intelligence can identify plants, animals, and even add events to your Calendar.

I've found Visual Intelligence to be a useful tool thanks to its dedicated launch button in the form of Camera Control, you can quickly pull your iPhone from your pocket and aim at an object. While the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16e don't benefit from Camera Control, they're still getting an excellent new AI tool that might just come in handy when you least expect it.

Apple continues to improve Apple Intelligence

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple Intelligence is still in its infancy and while we're still waiting for future updates like Siri with on-screen awareness and personal context (expected in iOS 18.4), there are still plenty of useful AI tools baked into the iPhone.

It's worth noting that Apple Intelligence is still in beta according to Apple which means that the software experience is continuously improving with each update. Visual Intelligence has come on leaps and bounds since it first launched as part of iOS 18.2 in December, and now Apple is rolling the feature out to more devices I'm excited to see how it evolves moving forward.

If you own an iPhone 15 Pro, there's really no need to upgrade for Apple Intelligence, and that's a great thing. iPhone 15 owners, however, well... your one-year-old iPhone is already left in an AI-less past.

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• Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida has discussed Microsoft's multi-platform strategy
• Yoshida said Xbox games being released for PS5 is "a win for PlayStation owners"
• Yoshida also claimed it was his "nightmare" if PlayStation became a "minority platform"

Former Sony Interactive Entertainment executive Shuhei Yoshida has praised Microsoft's multi-platform push, calling it "a win" for PlayStation users.

This comes from a recent interview with Sacred Symbols + (via VGC), where Yoshida said the company's ongoing strategy to release more Xbox games for platforms like PS5 and Nintendo Switch allows players to experience titles they didn't have access to before.

"I think it’s a win for PlayStation owners, they didn’t have access [to those games] before," Yoshida said.

He continued, saying that PlayStation becoming "the minority platform" was his "nightmare" when he became the head of PlayStation first-party. He explained that it "would be impossible to maintain the first-party development because the best creators would leave."

"They are not just creatives, they are business people as well, they want their games to reach the biggest audience as well," he said. "It’s very natural if a platform is the minority and if I was able to release a game on the minority platform only, it’s unsustainable. That was the nightmare."

"Looking at the install base of Xbox hardware, it’s kind of natural to understand what they are doing, and it’s pretty straightforward," Yoshida added.

The company's multiplatform push kicked off early last year, which saw Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, and Grounded make their way to PS5, with the latter two also getting a Nintendo Switch release.

In November 2024, Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed that he wants to release more games on other platforms. Among the already-announced titles include the likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which first launched on December 9 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, and is expected to launch on PS5 in Spring 2025.

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• Amazon MGM Studios has announced that it's the new co-owner of the James Bond IP
• The e-commerce giant's entertainment division has also gained full creative control of the franchise
• 007 fans are fiercely debating the implications of this ground-breaking deal

Amazon MGM Studios has acquired full creative control of the James Bond franchise after becoming the official co-owner of the 007 brand.

In a move that's sending shockwaves through the entertainment industry, Amazon confirmed today (February 20) that it had formed a new joint venture with long-time franchise overseers Michael J. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The latter duo exclusively held the rights to everything Bond-related, but have now entered a full partnership with Amazon to create new movies and, potentially, small-screen projects set in the universe inhabited by the legendary British spy.

In a statement released as part of an Amazon press release on the matter, Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video chief Mike Hopkins said: "Since his theatrical introduction over 60 years ago, James Bond has been one of the most iconic characters in filmed entertainment."

It’s kinda sad to see the last family-owned movie franchise handed over to the suits, and I’m sure Amazon MGM is salivating, BUT…DON’T cinematic universe James Bond.It is one of our last, great theatrical events. Don’t dilute that with a plethora of streaming spin-offs. pic.twitter.com/1OZ4lHWv1VFebruary 20, 2025

"We are grateful to the late Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman for bringing James Bond to movie theatres around the world, and to Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for their unyielding dedication and their role in continuing the legacy of the franchise that is cherished by legions of fans worldwide," he continued. "We are honoured to continue this treasured heritage, and look forward to ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world."

Echoing Hopkins' comments, Wilson said: "With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects. Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future."

"My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli," Broccoli added (Wilson is the stepson of Cubby Broccoli, and half-brother to Barbara Broccoli). "I have had the honor of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects."

The deal marks a major turnaround in fortunes after Broccoli and Wilson allegedly accused Amazon of trying to ruin the franchise. Last December, an article posted in The Wall Street Journal carried quotes from Broccoli, who reportedly told friends that Amazon's chief creative team were "f*****g idiots" for their handling of the property. Less than two months after that piece went live, it seems Broccoli and Wilson's seemingly irreparable relationship with Amazon has indeed been mended.

What Amazon MGM Studios' acquisition of the James Bond franchise means for 007's future

We used to get a (generally) very good James Bond movie every few years, but that’s all out the window now.Get ready for Young Q and 00 Origins: Trevelyan and other unwatchable Amazon Prime slop going forward. https://t.co/HW7GQ4LCE8February 20, 2025

In the short term, not much. Ever since Daniel Craig bowed out with his fifth film, 2021's No Time to Die – you can find out where I rank that film in my Daniel Craig 007 movies ranked piece – there's been plenty of chatter about what the future holds for the Bond brand. Indeed, conversations have been dominated by which actor will play the iconic agent next, as well as when the next movie will even enter full production, let alone be released. For the time being, then, thoughts are expected to focus on getting the latest Bond reboot off the ground.

Now that Amazon MGM Studios has secured full creative control of the 007 franchise, though, there's no end to the number of potential projects they could greenlight. Indeed, not only do I expect them to move ahead with rebooting the film series for the umpteenth time, but I'd be shocked if Amazon's entertainment division didn't look to make TV shows for its Prime Video streaming platform, too. Just think of all of the spin-off shows we could get now on one of the world's best streaming services...

What do you make of Amazon's purchase of the entire Bond franchise? Do you think it opens the door for new takes on the character? Or has it sounded the death-knell one of the UK's most popular, money-spinning film series? Let me know in the comments! Alternatively, find out how to watch the James Bond movies in order.

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• Admins have been given a 60-day reminder about this driver deprecation
• WSUS itself has also been given a limited lifespan
• Microsoft is pushing for cloud-based alternatives

Microsoft has issued a 60-day reminder that Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) driver synchronization will be deprecated from April 18, 2025.

The two-month warning serves as a reminder for admins to transition to alternative solutions, but the reality is that they’ve had even longer than that to prepare – Microsoft first announced the change back in June 2024.

After deprecation, importing drivers into WSUS will no longer be possible, but on-prem drivers will still be available via the Microsoft Update Catalog, the company confirms.

WSUS driver synchronization will end in two months

“You’ll need to use any of the available alternative solutions, such as Device Driver Packages, or transition to cloud-based driver services for your organization, such as Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopatch," the company said.

Back in June 2024, when we were first made aware of the change, Microsoft Senior Program Manager Paul Reed confirmed only one in three (34%) used the tool to synchronize drivers, and most were already in the process of implementing alternative systems.

However, Reed said the company was committed to helping the remaining 8% who expressed concerns over the deprecation’s effects.

Reed wrote: “For on-premises contexts, drivers will be available on the Microsoft Update catalog, but you will not be able to import them into WSUS. You’ll need to use other means, such as Device Driver Packages, to distribute the drivers within your network,” adding that Microsoft was planning to enact deprecation on April 18 – a date it has stuck by.

More broadly, it was revealed in September 2024 that WSUS itself is set for depreciation (via The Register), with the company pushing cloud-based alternatives like Intune.

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Anyone who’s read the Jack Reacher novel Persuader remembers Paulie: the giant man mountain security guard who butts heads with Reacher multiple times throughout the story. So, there was much interest in who would play the colossal figure in one of the best Prime Video shows when it returns for season 3.

That person would need to tower above an already 6’ 3” Alan Ritchson in the lead role of Reacher season 3. Lee Child, the writer of the Jack Reacher novels and executive producer of the Reacher series, tells me in exclusive interview it wasn’t an easy task.

“Alan Ritchson is already pretty big. How do you find a person who makes him look small? And it was literally an international search for an actor who could make Reacher look small.”

The result of that search was Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters, who is a suitably imposing presence in the show. At almost a head taller than the main star and with a permanent scowl on his face, you wouldn’t be surprised if Reacher decided to placate Paulie to ensure the undercover operation at the center of season three runs smoothly. Not Reacher’s style, so says Child.

“I think it’s very indicative of Reacher's personality. This guy is bigger than Reacher; he's huge, he's scary. Is Reacher going to defer to him? Absolutely not. He's going to needle him as much as he can, simply because that's who Reacher is.

“I really enjoyed that, especially because given the dynamic of a thriller like that. We know those two are going to end up having a fight at some point. And I guess Reacher knows from the first minute. He knows he's going to have to fight his way through this guy. So he's softening him up, I think, by destabilizing him with the taunts and the insults.”

(Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)

These clashes between Reacher and Paulie, while tense, also offer a little light relief from the anxiety. They’ve had countless run-ins in the episodes I’ve seen so far, with one particular display of strength in an arm wrestle sure to raise a smirk from anyone who enjoys seeing a smug bully knocked down a peg.

The opportunity to have these smaller moments that establish and grow the characters further is something Child appreciates adapting Reacher as a TV series, as opposed to on film.

“That's one of the huge advantages of streaming. You have the time and the space to do that. If you're doing a feature film, you're compressed down to about an hour and a half of content. And maybe we would have got one line into it, but with the expansive running time, we can keep it going as a running thing.”

That builds on another point from my chat with Child, in which he discussed the possibility of redoing the stories from the Reacher films in the TV series. It’s “absolutely” a possibility, but “not as a matter of urgency”. And with Reacher season 4 already written and ready to shoot later this year, it might not be until season 5 or beyond when those stories come back again.

For now, watching Reacher stand up to Paulie in Reacher season 3 will do nicely.

The first three episodes of Reacher season 3 are available on Prime Video now.

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• FBI and CISA have warned about Ghost ransomware operators
• The threat actors are hitting critical infrastructure, government, and other organizations
• They are breaching networks through unpatched, vulnerable endpoints

Cybercriminal groups using the Ghost ransomware variant have so far successfully breached organizations in more than 70 countries around the world, experts have claimed.

A new joint security advisory, recently published by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) noted the groups are mostly targeting critical infrastructure organizations, but are also interested in healthcare, government, technology, manufacturing, and other verticals. The victim organizations can be both large enterprises and small- or medium-sized businesses (SMB).

"Beginning early 2021, Ghost actors began attacking victims whose internet-facing services ran outdated versions of software and firmware," the three agencies said in the report. "This indiscriminate targeting of networks containing vulnerabilities has led to the compromise of organizations across more than 70 countries, including organizations in China."

Different names

Since the groups use different names, different file extensions, different ransom notes, and more, attribution was relatively difficult, it was further explained. Apparently, they used multiple names, including Ghost, Cring, Crypt3r, Phantom, Strike, Hello, Wickrme, HsHarada, and Rapture. For encryptors, the researchers observed Cring.exe, Ghost.exe, ElysiumO.exe, and Locker.exe.

To compromise their victims, the groups went for unpatched endpoints. Most of the time, they were targeting Fortinet (CVE-2018-13379), ColdFusion (CVE-2010-2861, CVE-2009-3960), and Exchange (CVE-2021-34473, CVE-2021-34523, CVE-2021-31207) flaws.

The best way to defend against Ghost ransomware operators is to keep your software and hardware up to date. All of the vulnerabilities listed in the report have already been fixed by their respective vendors, so mitigating the risk is as easy as applying a patch.

Besides the above-mentioned flaws, state-sponsored hackers were also targeting CVE-2018-13379 to, among other things, breach internet-connected US election support systems. This bug was patched years ago, with Fortinet warning about its abuse on numerous occasions throughout 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Via BleepingComputer

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