The Category5.TV Newsroom

Here are the stories we're following for the week of Wednesday June 27, 2018

The Reserve Bank of India has given the country's banking sector a hard deadline to get Windows XP out of its ATMs.

The Reserve Bank of India has given the country's banking sector a hard deadline to get Windows XP out of its ATMs: June 2019.

That's more than five years beyond the May 2014 end of support for the OS.

In a notice to the nation's banks, issued last on June 21st, 2018, the Reserve Bank makes it clear that XP “and other unsupported operating systems” have been on its mind since at least April 2017, when it issued a circular outlining its concerns.

In spite of previous advisories instructing banks to put migration plans in place, things have not moved fast enough for the RBI.

The notice said, “The slow progress on the part of the banks in addressing these issues has been viewed seriously by the RBI,” adding that "the vulnerability arising from the banks’ ATMs operating on unsupported version of operating system and non-implementation of other security measures, could potentially affect the interests of the banks’ customers adversely." In other words, customer accounts could be affected in negative ways.

A timetable presented to the banks says they must reach 25 per cent deprecation by September of this year; 50 per cent by December; and 75 per cent by March next year.

The timetable also requires banks to implement anti-skimming technology, and to use whitelisting on ATMs so that only approved software can run on them.

Banks have been instructed to file their compliance plans by the end of July 2018.

Source: www.theregister.co.uk

Sent to us by: Roy W. Nash

After failing saftey tests, dozens of carbon monoxide alarms sold via Amazon and eBay have been taken offline.

Dozens of carbon monoxide alarms sold via Amazon and eBay have been taken offline after failing safety tests.

Consumer watchdog "Which?" said some of the alarms seemed identical to ones that had failed tests in 2016.

Three of the unbranded devices, made in China, repeatedly failed to sound when carbon monoxide was present.

The watchdog said there are flaws in the current product testing system. It advised anyone owning one of the alarms to replace it immediately.

Consumers should contact the company they bought it from and request a refund, it said. Most of the devices are unbranded with no model number but all resemble the picture shown.

Alex Neill, the managing director of home products and services at "Which?", said: "It's extremely concerning that these unsafe alarms were being sold by major retailers. When household names such as Amazon and eBay are selling products that could put consumers at risk, it is clear more must be done by businesses and the government to proactively identify potentially dangerous products and stop them from entering people's homes."

Amazon says, "All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don't will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. The products in question are no longer available."

Source: www.bbc.com

Sent to us by: Roy W. Nash

Tesla plans to downsize its solar production: The company will cut 9 percent of its workforce, close more than a dozen installation facilities, and end its partnership with Home Depot.

Tesla plans to downsize its solar production: The company will cut 9 percent of its workforce, close more than a dozen installation facilities, and end its partnership with Home Depot.

The Home Depot deal accounted for about 50 percent of Tesla’s solar sales.

The staff reduction raises questions on whether Tesla has a plan for its solar power division. The company says it expects solar and car battery production to remain on schedule.

In total, it looks like about 60 installation facilities will remain open, and Tesla has said that these cuts are part of a broader workforce reduction which is expected to reduce the company’s staff by about 4,100 people across the board.

There has been little in the way of good news lately for Tesla or those who depend on the company to make a living. Last month, Elon Musk ordered a review of the company’s contract workforce, which led to the majority of contractors being terminated unless they could find a Tesla employee willing to vouch for them. This recent round of cuts, which will affect both Tesla’s solar and car divisions, shows that not even company employees are safe.

While we do not know the exact reasoning behind Tesla’s decision to cut its workforce, it may have something to do with the delays plaguing the Model 3. The company is currently trying to produce 5,000 units of the electric car per week, but has fallen short of that number thanks to a combination of factors ranging from mismanagement, contractors, and over-reliance on robots. There are rumors that the company will have to go to Wall Street for a loan, but it would appear that Musk is trying to avoid that route, which may partially explain why the company is reducing its workforce.

Source: www.digitaltrends.com

Sent to us by: Jeff Weston

Pornographic images are appearing in Super Mario Odyssey.

Pornographic images have begun appearing in Super Mario Odyssey.

As far as Mario games go, Nintendo hit it out of the park again with Super Mario Odyssey. Having captured the essence of the game perfectly it is perhaps one of the most fun and accessible games currently out there or, at the very least, on the Nintendo Switch.

It seems, however, that some naughty material has been turning up in the game: Hackers have found a way to get pornography to appear in the game.

They've reportedly found a way to infiltrate the profile avatar system. With it, they have begun uploading adult images. The issue is all based on the mini-games offered within Mario Odyssey showing other players’ scores and, of course, their avatar with it.

Nintendo has advised that while they work on a fix for the problem, any young children should only play the game offline. By doing this, they won't be able to view any of the online scores submitted and as such will avoid the offensive material. The mini-game which has most specifically been affected by this is Luigi’s Balloon World, which was part of a free update added earlier this year.

The software used to exploit the issue can only be installed on “cracked” Nintendo Switches. It's believed that this might only be the tip of the iceberg as to what the hackers could be capable of.

Source: www.eteknix.com

Sent to us by: Robbie Ferguson