Technology

From new Android phones from top Chinese phone makers to the latest breakthroughs in AI, this year's Mobile World Congress is set to be packed with thrilling new tech.

• 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.

You might also like

• We’ve listed the best endpoint protection software
• Check out our roundup of the best small business servers
• Windows Server 2025 is now generally available, promising security and performance for businesses of all sizes

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.

You might also like

• Prime Video releases action-packed trailer for Reacher season 3
• Can't wait for Reacher season 3 on Prime Video? Here are 6 more thrillers
• Reacher season 3 will take the man-mountain hero out of his comfort zone

• 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

You might also like

• Ransomware attacks surged in 2024 as hackers looked to strike faster than ever
• We've rounded up the best password managers
• Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app

Coming into force at the end of 2024, NIS2 is a far cry from its predecessor. Not only does it bring a wider array of businesses under its remit, but it carries severe financial repercussions for those who fail to comply. How can we best prepare? Cyber Fusion might have the answer.

At the heart of the NIS2 directive is cross-industry security information sharing. Whereas the previous NIS directive targeted essential services and digital service providers, version 2 expands to include all critical entities, ranging from public administration to transportation services to key research institutions.

The NIS2 directive also brings with it severe repercussions, with financial penalties for those who fail to comply, or maintain compliance. This broader industry inclusion and implementation of penalties demonstrates the EU’s commitment to improving cybersecurity, not just on the continent, but globally. It is key to note that the NIS2 regulations are not just placed on organizations within the EU, but on their global supply chains as well. So how can we make these commitments easier to meet?

Getting NIS2 ready

NIS2 is the EU’s toughest cybersecurity directive so far so there is a deal of work to complete to become compliant. Several organizations have promoted a six-step process, focusing on understanding the scope; connecting with your relevant authority; performing a gap analysis; creating new and updated policies; training the right employees; and monitoring progress. This will enable businesses to track their supply chain for threats and vulnerabilities and remain on top of all risk management strategies.

There is also a heavy onus on reporting vulnerabilities and sharing key information on where threats arise and how they are handled. These changes aim to increase security across industries, better protect individual businesses, and ensure cybercriminals are unable to exploit the same vulnerability more than once.

The importance of collaboration

It is essential that businesses are not solely focused on their own, individual security: the security of an organization's supply chain is just as important. Just one weak link in the chain can result in severe consequences for all if untreated vulnerabilities are exploited.

Sharing information on attacks and how they are managed within the supply chain also works both ways - if an organization in the supply chain discovers and remediates a threat, all businesses up and down the supply chain benefit. In the same way, sharing crucial information with competitors and other organizations in the same industry ensures all businesses can take a proactive approach to their cyber defenses against cybercriminals. Together, businesses can strengthen their industry through information sharing practices, while maintaining their competitive advantage.

Introducing Cyber Fusion

About three decades ago, military intelligence agencies introduced the concept of Cyber Fusion. Cyber Fusion is an approach that unifies all security functions such as threat intelligence, security automation, threat response, security orchestration, incident response, and others into a single connected unit. This unified approach ensures an information-rich environment for detecting, managing, and responding to a potential threat in an integrated and collaborative manner. The military leveraged this concept to collaborate with various intelligence communities and obtain an in-depth understanding of the threat landscape.

In the context of today’s corporate landscape, a Cyber Fusion approach unites a business’ individually siloed security teams, bridging the gap between the same teams referenced above. This integrated approach allows teams to work collaboratively, sharing information and tackling cyber threats much more effectively. At the same time, companies must look beyond their own estate and begin to share cross-industry, even with competitors in some cases.

Collaborating across entire industries and organizations is a complex undertaking. To comply effectively with the new NIS2 directive, organizations must employ models such as Cyber Fusion to better facilitate cooperation between businesses. A Cyber Fusion model on this scale would see security teams across businesses working together to share real time threat information and pool resources to remediate and secure vulnerabilities as efficiently as possible.

Ultimately, Cyber Fusion brings together different security tools and technologies, such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), and threat intelligence platforms, into a single, unified system. This integration allows for better visibility and control over security operations, enabling automated threat detection; comprehensive risk management; improved incident reporting; and continuous compliance monitoring.

By integrating these capabilities, Cyber Fusion can significantly enhance an organization's ability to meet NIS2 compliance requirements, ensuring robust cybersecurity and resilience against cyber threats. This collective defense approach is the stance organizations must take industry wide, putting Cyber Fusion into practice on a larger scale to not only comply with new regulations, but to ensure the industry is defended from any and all cyber threats. By bringing every relevant stakeholder together beneath a shared banner of purpose, companies can use Cyber Fusion to become safer, more secure and NIS2 ready.

We've featured the best online collaboration tool.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has confirmed the popular historical drama won't come to an end after its upcoming movie.
• Knight appeared on BBC Breakfast and teased that "the world of Peaky will continue".
• The movie will be a follow-up to the series, which ended in 2022.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has revealed that the popular Netflix crime drama will continue beyond its long-awaited movie.

Peaky Blinders follows the Shelby family gang as they rose to prominence in the violent streets of post-First World War I Birmingham. The award-winning series ran for six seasons until 2022 and it was revealed two years later that one of the best Netflix shows was getting the movie treatment.

Netflix officially announced the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie back in May 2024, where it was also confirmed that Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy would be reprising his role as fearsome gangster Tommy Shelby. Now, showrunner Knight has teased that this isn't the final chapter of the Peaky Blinders story.

Steven Knight isn't finished with the Peaky Blinders

Now that production has come to an end on the new Netflix movie, Knight told BBC Breakfast: "We're putting it together now. I would say this, wouldn't I? But it's fantastic. We've got, I think, the best British actors all in one place, including Stephen [Graham]."

He also added that the movie will prove to be "a very fitting way to end this part of the Peaky story," which sparked questions from the presenters if there will be any future projects. Well, there's a glimmer of hope as Knight reassured fans that the Peaky Blinders story isn't over. He teased: "It's not over, let's just put it like that. I'm not allowed to announce it... but I'm just saying that the world of Peaky will continue."

The Peaky Blinders movie is a continuation of the TV series and is said to be "full on Peaky Blinders at war" according to Knight in an interview with Radio Times. A star-studded ensemble is set to feature with Rebecca Ferguson, Barry Keoghan and Tim Roth among the new cast members.

Knight has recently taken a break from 1920s Birmingham gang warfare and turned his attention to the criminal underbelly of 1880s London in his new Disney+ period drama A Thousand Blows. The historical epic is about the ruthless bare-knuckle boxing world of the Victorian East End during the reign of the legendary all-female crime syndicate, the Forty Elephants.

You might also like

• From Peaky Blinders to Rocky, the movies and shows that the cast of A Thousand Blows watched ahead of the new Disney+ drama’s release
• I went to the set of Disney+'s A Thousand Blows series and this epic new drama has revived Victorian East End London
• ‘Fact is more interesting than fiction’: What inspired Steven Knight to make the new Disney+ historical drama A Thousand Blows

• Invincible season 3 episode 5 is out now on Prime Video
• It includes an incredibly cute scene between Rex Splode and Shrinking Rae
• Now I'm fearing the worst for one or both characters' fates after the heart-warming moment

The fifth episode of Invincible season 3 is out now on Prime Video – and, amid everything that happens in this chapter, there's one specific moment that's got me fearing the worst for Rex Splode and Shrinking Rae.

The hit adult animated series' latest entry, titled 'This Was Supposed to be Easy', is unsurprisingly packed with moments ripped right out of the pages of Invincible's source material. However, it's a wholly original scene focusing on Rex and Rae that's not only warmed my heart, but also makes me worried about what could happen to the pair in Amazon's adaptation.

Full spoilers immediately follow for Invincible's newest episode.

Rae and Rex's relationships is one of the stand outs of this season (Image credit: Prime Video)

Invincible season 3 hasn't held back in its suggestion that something of a romantic nature is developing between Rex and Rae. Indeed, the duo have spent much of this season bonding over their shared trauma of that Lizard League attack that almost cost them their lives in Invincible season 2 part 1. They've also grown closer following events that transpired in season 3's second entry, which I tentatively covered in my Invincible season 3 review. Indeed, Rex and Rae – among some other members of the Guardians of the Globe – side with the titular hero after the near-complete breakdown of the latter's working relationship with Global Defence Agency chief Cecil Stedman.

In the two episodes that follow, Rex, Rae, and company establish their own base of operations in the secret location that originally housed the Teen Team. In some ways, the pair become the de-factor leaders and parental figures of the Guardians' breakaway group – and, like any good parent, they decide to go food shopping. Hey, they're no longer bank-rolled by the GDA, so they have to shop and pay for their own groceries.

D'aww, look at Rex trying his best to be a better guy! (Image credit: Prime Video)

But I'm getting off-track. Their grocery store trip is cut short by the appearance of a supervillain that they have to deal with. Before they do so, however, Rae spends much of the excursion lamenting that she longs to cook home-made meals, be an ordinary person, etc etc. It's a conversation that strikes a chord with Rex who, as my fellow fans will know, has undergone the biggest and best character transformation in one of the best Prime Video shows.

That brings us to episode 5, which sees Rex post a colorful drawing under Rae's door that basically asks her to join him for dinner. Confused, she heads to the Teen Team hideout's kitchen, where she finds Rex rustling up a home-cooked meal for them both. The resulting dinner winds up being the first date and, after the truly awful events they've had to contend with since their introductions in Invincible season 1, it's about time that these fan-favorite characters enjoyed some happiness.

Why I'm worried about Rex and Rae's fates in Invincible season 3

Invincible doesn't give us nice things like this unless it's going to emotionally devastate us in the future... (Image credit: Prime Video)

Full spoilers immediately follow for Invincible's comic book series.

Invincible devotees know as well as I do, though, that moments of joy for any character is almost always followed by emotionally devastating ones.

It's for this very reason why I'm so concerned about Rex and Rae in season 3's final few episodes – and it's all down to the forthcoming cataclysmic event known as The Invincible War. You can learn more about it in this piece where I discussed how Invincible season 3's new title sequence is laying the groundwork for one of the graphic novels' bloodiest battles. It's a certainty that Rex and/or Rae will be involved in this near-world-ending, multi-day fight. After all, Earth will need every superhero to help defend it from the aforementioned onslaught.

The problem is that, as superpowered individuals, Rex and Rae are ill-equipped to deal with a battalion of multiversal Invincible variants. If they're forced to go toe-to-toe with one of these Viltrumites in a one-on-one situation, they're simply not going to survive.

Rex Splode's days may be numbered in Prime Video's adaptation, if Invincible's comic book series is anything to go by (Image credit: Image Comics)

There's precedence for this happening in the comics, too. At this point in Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley's literary works, Rae is actually dead. The character perished in the fight with the Lizard League but, considering she defied death in Amazon's TV adaptation, I'm scared that her demise has been delayed to give her a more heroic sacrifice in the show's take on The Invincible War.

But it's Rex that I'm even more afraid for because he dies while fighting one of Mark Grayson/Invincible's multiversal variants in the graphic novels. In a 'Hail Mary' movie, he uses his own skeleton when he runs out of objects to imbue with his kinetic energy powers. He manages to kill his foe in the resulting blast but, unsurprisingly, he also dies as, well, he blows himself up to save his allies.

Prime Video's adaptation has altered and/or improved certain storylines and characters from the comics. There's every chance, then, that beloved characters like Rex and Rae may live to fight another day. However, I can't shake the feeling that one or both of them won't make it past season 3 episode 7, which is when I expect The Invincible War to take place.

You might also like

• Invincible season 3 changes Oliver Grayson's shocking coming-of-age moment from the comics for the better – and for the worse
• The Last of Us season 2's release date has been set for mid-April, and I'm certain that I know when its next trailer will arrive
• Wicked conjures up a March streaming release date on Peacock, and I'm sad that I won't be able to watch it before the 2025 Oscars

• Dune Awakening is coming to Steam on May 20, 2025
• Players can now download the character creator and Benchmark Mode ahead of the game's release
• Players who download both will receive an exclusive skin that can be redeemed in the game at launch

Funcom has announced that Dune Awakening will officially launch on May 20, 2025, for PC via Steam.

The open-world multiplayer survival game, inspired by Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel Dune, and the hit movies from Legendary Entertainment, will also be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. However, a console release date has not been revealed at this time.

Ahead of the game's PC launch, Funcom has now released the official Benchmark Mode, which will allow Steam users to test their hardware performance and system compatibility.

This mode will also feature some scenes from the game to preview, "including soaring with an ornithopter and a dramatic encounter with a colossal sandworm."

Players can now also download the game's character creator and once a character is made, they can be saved and later imported into the game at launch.

You'll be able to "fine-tune every aspect of your looks", Funcom confirmed, and then select your home planet, caste, as well as mentor, be it Swordmaster, Bene Gesserit, Mentat, or Trooper.

"The final choice determines your starting abilities, but you will gain access to every School eventually, and can even mix and match abilities from any of them," Funcom said.

Players who download Dune Awakening's full character creator and Benchmark Mode today will receive a code for the exclusive Frameblade knife skin that can be redeemed in the game at launch.

The base game will cost $49.99 / €49.99, with preorders starting soon. We don't have a date just yet, but players who preorder will receive the Terrarium of Muad’Dib, an in-base decoration that houses the iconic desert mouse featured in the book and movie.

You might also like...

• Upcoming games 2025 for console and PC
• Xbox boss Phil Spencer wants to be 'transparent' during Xbox showcases, will continue putting PlayStation and Nintendo logos in its trailers
• Fortnite: Lawless gets first trailer highlighting the new season's battle pass roster and the chaos of Crime City

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, February 20 (game #1123).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1124) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1124) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1124) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1124) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1124) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• P

• S

• D

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1124) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1124, are…

• STIFF
• PRIZE
• SCOWL
• DONUT

Today’s puzzle could not have gone better as I breezed through without any wrong guesses.

Key to my success was three start words that used 15 letters and helped minimize the options, even though at first glance it looked as if I’d only scored a couple of hits.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1124) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1124, are…

• GUSTY
• LOGIC
• SLUSH
• CAROL

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1123, Thursday 20 February: HASTY, DRAPE, FICUS, CRAZE
• Quordle #1122, Wednesday 19 February: ABATE, TROVE, VENUE, DRAPE
• Quordle #1121, Tuesday 18 February: TAMER, SCRUB, BRICK, DRIFT
• Quordle #1120, Monday 17 February: SADLY, WAFER, LITHE, IDIOM
• Quordle #1119, Sunday 16 February: GHOUL, AFIRE, COVEN, FIERY
• Quordle #1118, Saturday 15 February: CREEP, CONDO, GRILL, FANCY
• Quordle #1117, Friday 14 February: MEDIA, ELUDE, THUMB, WIDOW
• Quordle #1116, Thursday 13 February: SCALP, DWELL, AMPLE, TRUNK
• Quordle #1115, Wednesday 12 February: SHOOK, GRADE, POLAR, SEEDY
• Quordle #1114, Tuesday 11 February: HEAVY, CIRCA, PESKY, SCION
• Quordle #1113, Monday 10 February: TWIXT, FRESH, GUISE, TABBY
• Quordle #1112, Sunday 9 February: TAPIR, SHAKE, TOKEN, SEVEN
• Quordle #1111, Saturday 8 February: AFOOT, ALIKE, HUMUS, TOWEL
• Quordle #1110, Friday 7 February: PETAL, ABASE, AMONG, CORER
• Quordle #1109, Thursday 6 February: MADAM, SCAMP, FAUNA, TRACK
• Quordle #1108, Wednesday 5 February: SIXTH, VERVE, BLURB, CACTI
• Quordle #1107, Tuesday 4 February: BIRTH, DRAWN, MILKY, JOIST
• Quordle #1106, Monday 3 February: SLEET, TENSE, SEIZE, SCAMP
• Quordle #1105, Sunday 2 February: LOUSY, PENNE, CHUMP, SALVE
• Quordle #1104, Saturday 1 February: FACET, BLISS, FLUFF, FRANK

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, February 20 (game #354).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #355) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… "To infinity and beyond!"

NYT Strands today (game #355) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SELL
• LINE
• HEED
• YELLOW
• BLUE
• ZEST

NYT Strands today (game #355) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Starring Buzz Lightyear

NYT Strands today (game #355) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 6th row

Last side: right, 3rd row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #355) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #355, are…

• WHEEZY
• SLINKY
• TWITCH
• BUZZ
• WOODY
• ALIEN
• BULLSEYE
• SPANGRAM: TOY STORY

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

A collector’s item for me today, as I got the Spangram first, something I can’t remember doing before. Then again, the theme clue featuring Buzz Lightyear’s singular catchphrase made it obvious what we were looking for.

I am sure there are some people who have never seen a Toy Story movie, for whom today’s puzzle was a test. But for most of us it was as relaxing as a tea party with Mrs Nesbitt – my favorite scene in the entire franchise, possibly because it reminds me of all the times I drank cold tea from a teeny-tiny plastic cup in my role as gullible parent of two daughters.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, 20 February, game #354)

• DIAMOND
• GOLD
• FIRST
• PAPER
• FIFTIETH
• SIXTIETH
• SPANGRAM: ANNIVERSARY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, February 20 (game #620).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #621) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• GUITAR
• PICK
• EYEDROPPER
• SOLUTION
• HARVEST
• FIX
• CAN OPENER
• ERASER
• BASEBALL
• GLOVE
• MAGIC WAND
• ANSWER
• REAP
• GATHER
• GOLF CLUB
• LASSO
• REMEDY

NYT Connections today (game #621) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Working it out
• GREEN: Ways to bring in the crops  
• BLUE: Image editing icons
• PURPLE: For lefties too

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #621) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: WAY OF SOLVING A PROBLEM 
• GREEN: COLLECT, AS FROM AN ORCHARD 
• BLUE: PHOTOSHOP TOOLS 
• PURPLE: OBJECTS THAT MAY BE RIGHT- OR LEFT-HANDED 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #621) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #621, are…

• YELLOW: WAY OF SOLVING A PROBLEM ANSWER, FIX, REMEDY, SOLUTION
• GREEN: COLLECT, AS FROM AN ORCHARD GATHER, HARVEST, PICK, REAP
• BLUE: PHOTOSHOP TOOLS ERASER, EYEDROPPER, LASSO, MAGIC WAND
• PURPLE: OBJECTS THAT MAY BE RIGHT- OR LEFT-HANDED BASEBALL GLOVE, CAN OPENER, GOLF CLUB, GUITAR

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 3 mistakes

I used up three Mistakes today trying to wrangle PHOTOSHOP TOOLS (I convinced myself PICK was one of them) and getting that muddled up with a vague idea of “making things vanish” (ERASER, MAGIC WAND, FIX, REMEDY – it sort of made sense).

Seeing as I’ve only used Photoshop a couple of times, I’m pretty pleased to have eventually solved it, but that said all these tools can be found in Paint as well.

Had OBJECTS THAT MAY BE RIGHT- OR LEFT-HANDED also included scissors, I may have got there, but I could have stared at the four items forever without knowing their cunning connection. Congrats if you got it.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, 20 February, game #620)

• YELLOW: ALERT ALARM, FLARE, SIGNAL, SOS
• GREEN: SPEND THE NIGHT (AT) BUNK, CRASH, SLEEP, STAY
• BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY MORNING DEW, ROOSTER, SUNRISE, WORM
• PURPLE: COOKIE CUTTER SHAPES IN "SQUID GAME" CIRCLE, STAR, TRIANGLE, UMBRELLA

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

The likelihood of 2024 YR4 colliding with the our planet in 2032 have ticked up to over 3 percent. Is it time to start worrying?

The data management landscape is undergoing a serious transformation. While traditional relational databases have been the “go-to” data storage tool for some time, their limitations in handling complex, interconnected data have become clear. As the volume and complexity of data continues to increase, organizations are looking for more efficient and agile solutions to extract meaningful insights.

This is where graph databases and NoSQL come into play. Unlike relational databases, which work particularly well with structured data, graph databases are designed to model and store data as interconnected nodes and relationships. Graph databases focus on the relationships within the data and, more importantly, can reveal relationships you might not have known existed. NoSQL also works to think outside the traditional “data box” and enables the storage and querying of data outside the traditional structure found in relational databases. Compared to traditional solutions, these fundamentally different approaches offer significant advantages when dealing with complex queries that span multiple data domains.

Solving complex queries

While relational databases work effectively with simple tables of rows and columns, performance can struggle with more complicated questions that involve combining many different data pieces across several tables. For example, if an organization wants to know the answers to seemingly straightforward questions such as, “Who are all our customers in London? How much did they spend in October, and how did their spending change when the weather was warm?”, multiple tables would need to be joined, leading to lengthy query times and exponential costs.

In contrast, graph databases are designed to handle complex, interconnected questions more efficiently. They can traverse the data and relationships between customers, purchase history, location and weather data, delivering faster and more cost-effective results.

The differences between traditional relational databases become even more evident as the number of tables involved in a query increases. Each additional table deepens the complexity of the relational database query, impacting performance. Graph databases, on the other hand, have a more linear relationship between query complexity and performance, increasing and improving speed.

While newer cloud relational database providers have attempted to mitigate query speed issues by scaling resources to handle tasks, this can lead to high costs. Moving to graph database methods for these complex, multi-table queries is a more cost-effective option in many cases, saving time and money over simply scaling the resources.

Organizations looking to reduce costs will need to weigh the price of having new technology in their portfolio versus significantly reduced query times that reduce operational costs and change the user experience. In many cases, penny-wise, organizations will look to reduce costs by not adding the technology and instead will forgo the order of magnitude operational cost savings in reduced compute.

Supporting AI applications

The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) among organizations is placing more pressure on data management systems. Large language models (LLMs) and generative AI (genAI) require vast amounts of interconnected information and data to function effectively. Knowledge graphs – which organize data sources into domains and forge relationships between the different entities – are becoming essential for training and powering these AI models.

The use of knowledge graphs stored as graph databases provides the ideal platform for building and maintaining these knowledge graphs as data complexity continues to grow.

The significant performance improvements to AI applications by graph and NoSQL databases in queries involving multiple levels of relationships make them the better option compared to cloud-based relational databases. This is especially true for organizations with complex data structures and large datasets. For example, e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Walmart can use this process to analyze the interactions of customers with technology and social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Meta to quickly extract behavioral insights from this interconnected data. This information is critical for understanding customer experiences and what action to take to improve them. These companies have all realized the potential of graph databases and currently leverage them for highly performant queries.

Unlocking data potential

As data complexity continues to grow and the demand for real-time insights increases, the move away from traditional relational databases and towards the adoption of graph databases will become vital. By embracing graph databases, organizations can unlock the full potential of their data, reduce costs and time, become more efficient and gain a competitive advantage.

We've featured the best cloud database.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

France's human rights NGO, Ligue des droits de l'Homme, has accused Apple of violations of privacy, unlawful processing of personal data, and deceptive commercial practice, as first reported by Radio France and Le Monde.

The privacy complaint is based on information provided by a former employee who has supposedly shared proof of the massive collection and processing of Siri's voice recordings without user consent.

The French complaint – filed with the Paris prosecutor on Thursday, February 13, 2025 – comes only weeks after the Big Tech giant agreed to pay $95 million in settlements for a similar lawsuit in California, despite not admitting wrongdoing.

Invasion of privacy and GDPR violations

Frenchman Thomas Le Bonniec began working for Globe Technical Services (GTS) in Cork, Ireland, in the spring of 2019. He was part of a team tasked to improve Siri's multilingual chatbot response by listening, transcribing, and tagging the recordings triggered by Apple's vocal assistant.

"On the very first day, we were told we were going to work on recordings of people talking to their assistant Siri or on recordings captured without their knowledge when the machine was triggered by mistake," Le Bonniec told Radio France.

His job mainly involved checking Siri's transcriptions for accuracy and determining whether they were accidental recordings. During his time at GTS, Le Bonniec said he and his colleagues listened to a considerable number of very private conversations triggered by mistake.

Some in the team, Le Bonniec explained, were also tasked with labeling duties. "They had to compare the keywords spoken during a recording and relate them to the data stored in the devices to which we had access such as contacts, geolocation, music, films, brands, etc. They tagged this personal data with keywords," he added.

As consulted by Radio France's investigation unit, the LDH's complaint accuses Apple's practices of going against GDPR rules on data protection and informed consent.

La @LDH_Fr dépose plainte contre Apple et son assistant vocal "Siri" pour violation de la vie privée, traitement illicite des données personnelles et pratique commerciale trompeuse. Pour lire l'enquête de Stéphane Pair à lire dans son intégralité ⬇️ https://t.co/GFQGaF5oBe pic.twitter.com/3MqY9b5P00February 14, 2025

Talking to a French TV channel, LDH president Nathalie Tehio said the complaint focuses on two main offenses: the invasion of privacy through recordings made without individuals’ consent, and the violation of EU personal data protection law.

"It's not just spied on, it's recorded. There is listening, recording, and even sending," said Tehio. "There is recording without people's knowledge. This is an infraction. On the other hand, there is a violation of the GDPR, that is to say, the fact that we have not given our informed consent for this aspiration of personal data. These are two crimes."

Contacted by TechRadar, an Apple spokesperson pointed out how the French case is only a privacy complaint at the time of writing and no investigation has been opened yet.

Apple also explains it made some changes in 2019 to ensure Siri's compliance with the company's privacy commitment. These include no longer retaining audio recordings of Siri interactions. Users can also opt in or opt out of allowing Siri to improve by learning from the audio samples of their requests.

As per Apple's statement published in January 2025, "Apple has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles, never made it available for advertising, and never sold it to anyone for any purpose. We are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private, and will continue to do so."

What's next?

Whether the LDH complaint will open up a wider investigation into Apple's data handling practices is too early to know for certain.

As mentioned earlier, however, Apple is currently dealing with similar issues back home. The California class action lawsuit, Lopez et al v. Apple Inc, accuses Siri of disclosing private conversations to advertisers.

Despite not confirming such allegations, Apple decided to settle for $95 million "to avoid additional litigation so we can move forward from concerns about third-party grading that we already addressed in 2019," a company spokesperson told TechRadar at the time.

Considering that, as research from one of the best VPN providers Proton VPN shows, Big Tech needed less than three weeks this year to pay off over $8 billion in 2024 fines, the California lawsuit's settlement seems to be set to pile up among the costs of doing business rather than having a real impact.

• Palo Alto Networks is warning of an ongoing attack against its firewalls
• The threat actors are chaining multiple flaws together
• The goal is to download configuration files

Palo Alto Networks has warned its users of an ongoing attack that chains multiple vulnerabilities together to download configuration files and other sensitive information.

The cybersecurity company warned its users about CVE-2025-0111, a 7.1/10 (high-severity) file read vulnerability plaguing PAN-OS firewalls. This bug allows an authenticated attacker with network access to access the management web interface and read files usually readable by the “nobody” user.

The bug was fixed on February 12, 2025, when Palo Alto released a fix and urged users to apply it.

Diversion

On the same day, the company addressed a separate vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-0108. This one is an authentication bypass in PAN-OS that enables an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the web interface to bypass the authentication otherwise required by the PAN-OS interface, and invoke certain PHP scripts.

Finally, in mid-November 2024, Palo Alto fixed a privilege escalation bug tracked as CVE-20204-9474. Now, researchers are saying that these three are being chained together in ongoing attacks.

"Palo Alto Networks has observed exploit attempts chaining CVE-2025-0108 with CVE-2024-9474 and CVE-2025-0111 on unpatched and unsecured PAN-OS web management interfaces," it was said in the security advisory.

The company did not discuss the details of the attack, but BleepingComputer found that they are being used to download configuration files and other sensitive information.

So far, at least 25 different IP addresses were observed targeting CVE-2025-0108, up from just two a week ago. The top sources of the attacks seem to be the US, Germany, and the Netherlands, although this doesn’t necessarily mean the threat actors are located there.

While the community rushes to apply the patch and mitigate potential risks, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added CVE-2025-0108 to its 'Known Exploited Vulnerabilities' (KEV) catalog, giving users until March 11 to patch up.

You might also like

• United Healthcare data breach may have affected 190 million Americans
• We've rounded up the best password managers
• Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app

Hours of screen time lead to stiffness, pain, and brain fog. I tested the Chirp Wheel to see if it could help—and the results were surprising.

• Microsoft has announced new AI project called Muse in partnership with Xbox Game Studios’ Ninja Theory
• The generative AI model has a "detailed understanding of the 3D game world" that could help game developers
• Muse could also preserve classic games for future generation

Microsoft has unveiled its new generative AI project called Muse which it says will be used to help studios create gameplay and preserve classic titles.

In partnership with Xbox Game Studios’ Ninja Theory and Microsoft Research, Muse was trained on the developer's multiplayer battle arena game, Bleeding Edge, and is said to have a "detailed understanding of the 3D game world" that is aware of game physics and players' controller actions.

"This allows the model to create consistent and diverse gameplay rendered by AI, demonstrating a major step toward generative AI models that can empower game creators," Microsoft said in its announcement post.

The company is already using Muse to develop a real-time playable AI model that is being trained on other first-party games and provided footage showing the model's capabilities in the blog post.

Microsoft also believes it can one day benefit players and developers and even preserve classic games.

"Today, countless classic games tied to aging hardware are no longer playable by most people," it said. "Thanks to this breakthrough, we are exploring the potential for Muse to take older back catalog games from our studios and optimize them for any device.

"We believe this could radically change how we preserve and experience classic games in the future and make them accessible to more players."

Xbox boss Phil Spencer expanded on what this means in the attached announcement video, saying that Muse has the potential to "learn about older games" from older hardware.

"...I think about an opportunity to have models learn about older games, games that were maybe tied to unique pieces of hardware where that engine on that hardware..." Spencer said. "Time will erode the amount of hardware that's out there that can actually play a game.

Spencer also suggested that AI could make older games "portable to any platform where these models could run."

"...We've talked about game preservation as an activity for us, and these models and their ability to learn completely how a game plays, without the necessity of the original engine running on the original hardware, I think opens up a ton of opportunity."

It's still early days, according to Microsoft, but more information about Muse is expected at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2025.

You might also like...

• Best Xbox Series X games 2025: smash hits for Microsoft's top console
• Xbox boss Phil Spencer wants to be 'transparent' during Xbox showcases, will continue putting PlayStation and Nintendo logos in its trailers
• The Last of Us Online 'was great', says former PlayStation boss, but Naughty Dog canceled it because otherwise it wouldn't have been able to make Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

Apple has arguably delivered a lot of artificial intelligence in the roughly 8 months since it unveiled Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, but it's also failed to deliver the most promising aspect of its AI strategy: a smarter, more useful, and far more aware Siri.

Siri hasn't been entirely left out. It's more conversational but the limits of its capabilities are still painfully apparent. Virtually all difficult questions are handed off to ChatGPT, OpenAI's far more powerful generative chatbot. And it's not even a particularly smooth or fast handover.

When I was on vacation, I started taking pictures of the stars with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. At one point I realized I couldn't easily identify some of the star clusters and constellations. I captured a screenshot and asked Siri to identify the stars in the image I shared. There was a pause and then Siri told me, "To answer that, I'll need to send this photo to ChatGPT. Should I go ahead?"

While I guess I'm glad Apple has a way to answer these questions, I still can't get over the fact that Apple hasn't figured out how to natively support them. I get that Apple is not a generative, large language model leader like OpenAI or Google (Gemini support has been promised but has yet to arrive), but this feels like it's not even trying.

Okay, perhaps I can get over the fact that Apple Intelligence will never produce one-stop shopping for all my generative AI needs, but my disappointment goes further than that.

(Image credit: Future) The long wait

Apple promised that by this year we'd have all of Apple Intelligence's features including the ones I've been waiting for: Siri's situational awareness (using what it knows about you from the phone) and its ability to see what's going on on your screen, understand it, and act on your behalf based on that knowledge.

Some believed we might see the full realization of this promise with iOS 18.4 but that update appears delayed. No one knows why and Apple certainly isn't talking about it but I'm concerned that this is another by-product of Apple's overly cautious approach.

Yes, I get that Apple is the most privacy-aware and secure consumer platform and ecosystem. A portion of their AI strategy revolves around Private Cloud Compute. But what is that locked-down vapor actually doing for us? I worry that Apple is so afraid of breaking this ironclad security promise that it's falling way behind the AI competition, which happily runs roughshod over most of these privacy and data concerns, and usually does mop-up after the fact when someone cries foul. It is the "move fast and break things" style of development that Facebook (now Meta) once ascribed to and eventually left behind when the company grew up. But that was then and this is now – and by now, I mean the AI revolution. The only way to stay ahead of it is to move as fast as it's developing around you.

AI Time

Apple appears locked in an old model of long-term software upgrade cycles. I won't claim that Apple is working on the old 18-month model, but the promises for Apple Intelligence stretched out over almost a year. It's as if Apple doesn't fully comprehend the AI development pace.

OpenAI and its competitors are not working on 12-, 9-, or 6-month cycles. We're getting significant model updates every three months, and sometimes in bunches. It feels like a free-for-all because it is. I think everyone in this space understands this as a race and it's only Apple that appears stuck near the starting line.

You might argue that Apple has delivered a lot of Apple intelligence since June. There are features like Genmojis, Image Playground, and Writing Tools that vary on the scale of utility. Most are not very useful at all. Why do I need to spend time creating silly images of me or my friends, or whimsical Genmojis featuring animals that I can share in messages? I'd honestly prefer Apple get to work on generative image creation that produces more usable images. Even writing Tools is not something I tap into very often (if at all). and don't get me started on summaries, most of which are word salads of important information, slamming together disparate ideas in a way that makes them more confusing than actionable.

Meanwhile, Siri remains the disappointment it's long been, trailing so far behind Gemini and ChatGPT that it's clear they're not in the same class.

It's time for Apple to stop being so cautious and officially join the fight. I think Siri is still a massive opportunity for on-device intelligence, instant information, and automation. Now it's time for Apple to let go, hurry up, and do its thing.

You might also like

• iPhone 16e has Apple Intelligence’s best AI tool, but you don’t use Camera Control to activate it – 15 Pro owners should be ma
• I’ve got two fresh iPhone 17 rumors for you, but one of them stinks
• How to use Apple Intelligence: Get started with Apple AI

Peacock is going to be popular next month.

• UK healthcare organization HCRG reportedly hit by ransomware attack
• Over 2.5TB of data offered for sale by Medusa ransomware gang
• Latest in a series of ransomware attacks targeting healthcare orgs

A private health and social services provider, the HCRG Care Group, has reportedly suffered a cyberattack at the hands of the Medusa ransomware gang.

The Register reported the gang is threatening to leak the information, which it claims to be stolen internal records. It seems the data was not encrypted by the gang, so the healthcare organization is still operational.

The Medusa gang’s dark web site claims the group has stolen 2.275TB of data, and the information is for sale for £1.6 million ($2 million), or offering to delete data for the same amount. They then threatened to leak the information online if the ransom isn’t paid by February 27.

Ongoing negotiation

Samples of the stolen data have been leaked, and of the 35 pages posted, the information seems to be passport and driving license scans, birth certificates, background checks, and staff rotas. These could put those affected at risk of identity theft, fraud, or social engineering scams.

"We can confirm that we are currently investigating an IT security incident and have recently identified a post on the dark web by a group claiming responsibility," a spokesperson for HCRG told The Register.

"Our team has not observed any suspicious activity since the implementation of immediate containment measures, and we are working with external forensic specialists to investigate the incident. Our services are continuing to operate and safely see patients, and those with appointments or who need to access our services should continue to do so."

Medusa has also offered to delay the release of the information for a fee of £8,000 per day to keep negotiations open.

Healthcare organizations are increasingly the target of cyberattacks, particularly ransomware - and are forced to pay millions in recovery, with the average successful attack costing over $2.5 million to resolve.

You might also like

• Check out our list of the best firewall software around today
• Top IVF firm says hackers accessed private data during cyber incident
• We've also rounded up the best malware removal software on offer right now