“Free antispy tool for Windows 10”
Version 1.6.1399 – released October 4, 2018
Download | Changelog
Software
Wednesday Random Stuff…
I’ve got Win10 1809 running on 3 machines. Although I have a few minor errors in the logs I’ve no issues yet.
Firefox 62.0.3
Download (all) | Download 32-bit EN-US | Download 64-bit EN-US
Release Notes
Thanks Scott!
Winaero Tweaker for Windows 10 version 1809
A few fixes and several new features
Download & Info
Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 10
Version: 25.20.100.6323 Date: 10/1/2018
Highlights
Windows 10 October 2018 Update Launch Driver
HDR for embedded laptop panels Launch Driver
Download
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Negative Buzz Amplified by Russian Trolls, Study Finds
“finds evidence of deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments…Overall, 50.9% of those tweeting negatively [about the movie] was likely politically motivated or not even human”
How Likely Are You To Have a Deer Collision?
“West Virginia continues to top the list of states where an individual driver is most likely to run into a deer. Some good news for West Virginian’s though, this year while West Virginia continues to be No. 1 on the top 10 list, the likelihood of having an insurance claim involving a deer was 1 in 46 — down three points from last year.
Montana (one in 57 chance of a crash), Pennsylvania (one in 63 chance of a crash), and Wisconsin also remain at the top of list. Rounding out the top 10 states where drivers are most likely to collide with large animals like deer, elk, moose or caribou are Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Wyoming, and Mississippi. The months drivers are most likely to collide with a large animal in the U.S. are (in order) November, October, and December.”
Interactive map there too.
1-in-3 pass ‘US Citizenship test,’ just 19% for Americans 45 and younger
“Among the embarrassing errors uncovered in the survey of questions taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test and conducted by Lincoln Park Stragtegies:
72 percent of respondents either incorrectly identified or were unsure of which states were part of the 13 original states.
24 percent could correctly identify one thing Benjamin Franklin was famous for, with 37 percent believing he invented the lightbulb.
12 percent incorrectly thought WWII General Dwight Eisenhower led troops in the Civil War.
2 percent said the Cold War was caused by climate change.”
Perhaps it is time to require you pass this test before being allowed to vote?
Try for yourself. Took me less than 2 minutes.
USCIS – Civics Practice Test
Washington Times – US Citizenship Test – Could You Pass?
CNN – Can YOU pass the U.S. citizenship test? Take this quiz
Monday Random Stuff…
Win10 1809/October 2018 Update
“They” say it is coming out tomorrow.
“They” said 1803 would release on April 10, 2018. It was released on the 30th as I recall.
At any rate, you should to a full system image backup today.
I would also consider delaying the update. Every tech site out there has posted a how to. TweakGuide readers already have my advice.
IMHO the update is another “meh” update as the reward is negligible and the risk medium/high.
The only changes I see worth anything are a better Dark Theme and Windows HD Color settings adjustments.
Storage sense (which I don’t use) now has the option to do a disk cleanup. That reminds me…
As the above link stated, “The Disk Cleanup experience (“cleanmgr.exe”) is being deprecated.” Some sites took that and acted like the sky was falling. Either they have no command of the English language or they stopped reading right there. The very next sentence reads, “We’re retaining the Disk Cleanup tool for compatibility reasons.”
Relax, Disk Cleanup isn’t going anywhere.
Audacity 2.3.0
Audacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
Download | Release Announcement
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
NASA At 60: A Driving Force For Materials Science And Technology Innovation
“Today, NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a federal agency of the United States of America) celebrates its 60th birthday. Founded on 29th July 1958, NASA first started operating on 1st October in the same year. Sixty years ago, the United States and what was then the Soviet Union were locked in a so-called ‘Space Race’; the competition between these two nations to become the first to escape Earth’s gravitational pull and prove the strength of their technology and innovation.”
Happy 60th NASA!
That sign telling you how fast you’re driving may be spying on you
“The next time you drive past one of those road signs with a digital readout showing how fast you’re going, don’t simply assume it’s there to remind you not to speed. It may actually be capturing your license plate data.”
I guarantee they have pics of me using a universal hand signal toward the camera. I also went by one going downhill my bicycle. Challenge accepted. 32 in a 25.
Jury Verdict Thrown Out in Led Zeppelin ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Lawsuit
“The ruling reopens the battle over whether Led Zeppelin borrowed from the 1968 song “Taurus” when it composed the classic rock anthem that appears on the 1971 release “Led Zeppelin IV.
Michael Skidmore, the trustee of the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust, sued the band in 2014, arguing that “Stairway to Heaven” ripped off elements of Wolfe’s composition. Wolfe, Spirit’s frontman, died in 1997. A jury ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin in 2016, finding that the two songs were not substantially similar.”
Google “taurus stairway to heaven comparison” if you want to compare. Lots of good videos out there.
Justin Verlander
Saturday we drove up to Baltimore to watch my homeboy Justin Verlander (aka “Kate’s husband“) pitch.
It is supposed to be a 3 hour drive but it was closer to 4. As anyone familiar with Northern Virginia & DC area knows, I95 is a freaking mess. Somehow I always seem to be headed opposite the open E-ZPass lanes.
We stopped at Faidley’s Seafood in Baltimore as we do whenever we are in B’more. Best crabcakes you’ll ever have.
The game was a success as JV pitched 6 scoreless innings and had 10 K’s. Opinion of the Houston sports press is he will pitch game 1 of the ALDS vs the Indians.
This was my first time seeing him in person in a uniform other than the Tigers. I still can’t get used to it.
(click on pic for full size)
Thursday Morning Random Stuff…
FYI, I’m running Windows 10 October 2018 Update / 1809. So far everything seems to be OK. As with every other major update I had to reinstall SoundBlaster drivers.
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition Optional 18.9.3
Support for Assassin’s Creed and Forza Horizon 4.
Download | Release Notes
Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox 3.5.5
Download | Release Notes
LibreOffice 6.1.2
Download | Release Notes
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Product updates based on your feedback
“We’ve heard—and appreciate—your feedback. We’re going to make a few updates in the next release of Chrome (Version 70, released mid-October) to better communicate our changes and offer more control over the experience…While we think sign-in consistency will help many of our users, we’re adding a control that allows users to turn off linking web-based sign-in with browser-based sign-in—that way users have more control over their experience. For users that disable this feature, signing into a Google website will not sign them into Chrome.”
Condensed version, you’ll bee able to disable the universal sign in.
Almost Every Major Free VPN Service is a Glorified Data Farm
“While many VPN service providers would want you to believe that they have charitable aims in offering VPN access for free, the reality is that most free VPN services are glorified data farms. I will know because I specialize in testing and reviewing VPNs. In a recent study my organization conducted, analyzing the most popular free VPN services, we discovered that pretty much every popular free VPN service is a glorified data farm or abuse access to user’s data and resources in some form. Hotspot Shield, in particular, is a major culprit.”
I use TorGuard. Use coupon code TweakHound for 50% Off for Life.
Hurricane Florence
Has anyone found a charity like the one JJ Watt set up for Houston?
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Friday Random Stuff…
Firefox 62.0.2
Download (all) | Download 32-bit EN-US | Download 64-bit EN-US
Release Notes
Wise Disk Cleaner 9.7.9.696
Improved Google Chrome cleaning.
Minor bug fixes.
Download | Download Portable (what I use) | Release Notes
Other Software Updates
FileZilla 3.37.1
Mp3tag v2.90a
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Former Google CEO predicts the internet will split in two by 2028 — and one part will be led by China
“I think the most likely scenario now is not a splintering, but rather a bifurcation into a Chinese-led internet and a non-Chinese internet led by America…There’s a real danger that along with those products and services comes a different leadership regime from government, with censorship, controls, etc.”
The way I see this unfolding is:
– Google sets up in China.
– China steals their tech and algorithms.
– China sets up their own heavily censored internet. All made possible by a greedy Google.
Use DuckDuckGo
Email Reveals Google Exec’s Effort to Help Hillary Clinton in 2016
“email…shows that a senior Google employee deployed the company’s resources to increase voter turnout in ways that she thought would help the Clinton campaign.”
Use DuckDuckGo
Google Workers Discussed Tweaking Search Function to Counter Travel Ban
“The email traffic, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, shows that employees proposed ways to “leverage” search functions and take steps to counter what they considered to be “islamophobic, algorithmically biased results from search terms ‘Islam’, ‘Muslim’, ‘Iran’, etc.” and “prejudiced, algorithmically biased search results from search terms ‘Mexico’, ‘Hispanic’, ‘Latino’, etc.”
Use DuckDuckGo
Why college students don’t vote absentee? They don’t know where to buy a postage stamp
Good news is these people didn’t vote!
Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ Hits Historic 500th Week on Billboard 200 Chart
“Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album (often referred to as The Black Album, due to its stark, black album cover) scores its 500th nonconsecutive week on the Billboard 200 chart. It is now one of only four albums with 500 weeks or more on the tally…Among all albums — since the chart began publishing on a regular weekly basis in 1956 — Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon holds the record for the most weeks on the chart: 937. It’s followed by Bob Marley and The Wailers’ Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers (539), Journey’s Greatest Hits (539) and Metallica’s Metallica (500).
Metallica’s self-titled album marked the rock band’s first No. 1 on the Billboard 200, when it debuted atop the list dated Aug. 31, 1991. The set spent four weeks on top, and marked the first of so far six chart-toppers for the group.
The album continues to hold the record as the biggest selling album in Nielsen Music history, with 16.83 million copies sold in the U.S. (since Nielsen began tracking data in 1991).”
Metallica – Metallica (“The Black Album”)
Thursday Random Stuff…
Nvidia Geforce Game Ready 411.63 WHQL Drivers
“Provides the optimal gaming experience for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Forza Horizon 4, and FIFA 19”
Download | Release Notes
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition Optional 18.9.2
“faster performance” in F1, Fortnight, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Star Control: Origins.
Download | Release Notes
CCleaner v5.47.6716
As mentioned the last few days, CCleaner 5.47.6701 was pulled because of a bug. A company rep said, “The bug relates to a user preference not correctly saving. It does not affect cleaning in any way.”
Difference in changlog between the 2 versions is this:
“Calling the Windows ‘ping’ function is now done explicitly from the /system32/ directory (fixes a potential vulnerability)”
Download (I use the portable version) | Release Announcement
Other Software Updates
EMDB 3.22
Tor Browser 8.0.1
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Google Says It Continues to Allow Apps to Scan Data From Gmail Accounts
“Google Inc. told lawmakers it continues to allow other companies to scan and share data from Gmail accounts, responding to questions raised on Capitol Hill about privacy and potential misuse of the information contained in users’ emails.”
Nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide
Apple gives you a TRUST rating – and it’s based on your phone call and email habits
“To help identify and prevent fraud, information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you send and receive, will be used to compute a device trust score when you attempt a purchase,” Apple explained…The revelation comes exactly one month after the Washington Post revealed Facebook was also giving users trust ratings.”
A public relations nightmare’: Ticketmaster recruits pros for secret scalper program
“Box-office giant Ticketmaster is recruiting professional scalpers who cheat its own system to expand its resale business and squeeze more money out of fans, a CBC News/Toronto Star investigation reveals.”
I don’t think any non-criminal person anywhere likes anything about Ticketmaster.
Credit freezes are now free. Here’s why you might want one
“Many experts agree that freezing your credit report is the strongest way to protect against identity theft.
Starting Friday, you’ll be able to do it free of charge.
In the wake of a massive data breach last year at Equifax that exposed personal information for about 148 million Americans, Congress amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require reporting agencies to freeze reports for no charge. Equifax is one of the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States.”
Thanks to Dan S. for the heads up!
KISS End Of The Road World Tour
“After an epic and storied 45 year career that launched an era of rock n roll legends, KISS announced exclusively on NBC’s America’s Got Talent tonight that they are hanging up their 9-inch tall touring boots. The news was delivered in trademark larger-than-life KISS style with a blistering performance of “Detroit Rock City”, proving why the band is known as one of the most iconic live performances that simply can’t be missed. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers who have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide have toured to nearly every city on the planet and played every venue imaginable. Having played for Kings & Queens, for U.S. veterans, and for millions of devoted KISS Army fans, they will play their final shows as part of the multi-year END OF THE ROAD WORLD TOUR. Dates have yet to be announced but KISSonline.com will have all the updates in the weeks to come.”
Kiss Announce Final ‘End of the Road’ World Tour
“All that we have built and all that we have conquered over the past four decades could never have happened without the millions of people worldwide who’ve filled clubs, arenas and stadiums over those years,” Kiss said in a statement. “This will be the ultimate celebration for those who’ve seen us and a last chance for those who haven’t. KISS Army, we’re saying goodbye on our final tour with our biggest show yet and we’ll go out the same way we came in… Unapologetic and Unstoppable.”
Kelly, this one goes out to you brother.
Photo from KISS Richmond, Virginia. September 9th, 2016
Tuesday Morning News
Win10 Updated
Only builds 1709, 1803 have updates as of this writing.
1709 & 1803 Fixes
This update includes quality improvements. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update. Key changes include:
Addresses a Microsoft Intune issue that occurs after installing any of the updates released between July 24, 2018 and September 11, 2018. Windows no longer recognizes the Personal Information exchange (PFX) certificate that’s used for authenticating to a Wi-Fi or VPN connection. As a result, Microsoft Intune takes a long time to deliver user profiles because it doesn’t recognize that the required certificate is on the device.
1709 Fixes
Addresses an issue that may prevent a VPN connection from establishing for some users that are using VPN with IKEv2. The connection fails with the error, “Remote Access Error 809.”
Win10 1803 – September 17, 2018—KB4464218 (OS Build 17134.286)
Win10 1709 – September 17, 2018—KB4464217 (OS Build 16299.666)
Google Chrome Updated
Version 69.0.3497.100 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android released.
Desktop version contains 1 security fix.
Android version contains “bug fixes and improvements.”
Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)
Download Google Chrome for Android
CCleaner 5.47
Download (I use the portable version) | Release Announcement
I keep getting questions so…
Yes, I still use CCleaner. Yes, I still recommend CCleaner. But, though many seem not to listen, I keep telling folks NOT TO INSTALL IT. It doesn’t need to be installed and all the issues that have come up have been from the installed versions.
This version has been pulled for some reason. I downloaded 5.47.6701 portable so we will see what happens.
Thanks to James P. for the heads up!
Monday Morning Random Stuff…
Winamp 5.8
This weekend multiple sites posted excitedly about a new beta leak from Winamp. One problem, it is from 2016.
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Patch Tuesday
Sorry I’m a day late with this, yesterday was a long day at work.
Windows Update
Windows 7 and 8.1 get a few security updates.
Windows 10, “This update includes quality improvements. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update.”
Win10 1803 – September 11, 2018—KB4457128 (OS Build 17134.285)
Win10 1709 – September 11, 2018—KB4457142 (OS Build 16299.665)
Win10 1703 – September 11, 2018—KB4457138 (OS Build 15063.1324)
Win10 1607 – September 11, 2018—KB4457131 (OS Build 14393.2485)
Google Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 69.0.3497.92 for Windows, Mac, and Linux…This update includes 2 security fixes.”
Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)
Android too:
“Chrome 69 (69.0.3497.91) for Android has been released and will be available on Google Play over the course of the next few weeks. This release contains bug fixes and improvements.”
Download
Win10 Insider
Installed Win10 Insider Preview on my dual-boot Win7/Win10 machine. Here is what it did to my Win7 install:
Thursday Random Stuff…
Tor Browser and Tails Updated
Download Tor Browser
Download Tails
Paint.net 4.1
“This update converts some effects to use the GPU for rendering, resulting in huge performance gains. Copy/Paste can now be performed on selections, Bicubic resampling is now available for the Move Selected Pixels tool, and there are lots of little quality-of-life improvements and general bug fixes.”
Download
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Windows 10 support extended again: September releases now get 30 months
The headline is clickbait. Only Windows 10 Enterprise and Education versions will see this. IMHO this only reinforces the notion that home users are thought of as beta testers for businesses.
This Microsoft blog post explains it:
“All currently supported feature updates of Windows 10 Enterprise and Education editions (versions 1607, 1703, 1709, and 1803) will be supported for 30 months from their original release date…All feature releases of Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, and Office 365 ProPlus will continue to be supported for 18 months (this applies to feature updates targeting both March and September).”
Americans are changing their relationship with Facebook
“Just over half of Facebook users ages 18 and older (54%) say they have adjusted their privacy settings in the past 12 months, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Around four-in-ten (42%) say they have taken a break from checking the platform for a period of several weeks or more, while around a quarter (26%) say they have deleted the Facebook app from their cellphone. All told, some 74% of Facebook users say they have taken at least one of these three actions in the past year.”
Senate Committee Vents About Hijacking Of Big Tech For Information War
“The leaders of the Senate intelligence committee vented Wednesday morning about what they called the shortcomings of major tech firms, which they argue have led Americans to become vulnerable to foreign disinformation campaigns.
“What is under attack is the idea that business as usual is good enough. The information your platforms disseminate changes minds, hardens opinions, helps people make sense of the world. … That’s how serious this is,” said Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C.”
Twitter and Facebook CEO’s showed up. Google thinks they are to good to answer when called.
17 countries where teachers can earn the highest starting salary
“While the US is, according to World Bank data, the nation that pays high school teachers the sixth highest, according to the Learning Police Institute they’re actually paying teachers less and less — to the point where the country is experiencing a teacher shortage.
Data gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics actually suggests many states in the US have seen an average of a 4.6% salary reduction since the 2009-10 school year, which could be part of the reason the country is having to outsource teachers from overseas.”
The U.S. is ranked #6, ironically just above Mexico?!
Airport security trays carry more germs than toilets, study reveals
Just another reason I’ve no desire to fly.
There Are Whales Alive Today Who Were Born Before Moby Dick Was Written
“Bowheads seem to be recovering from the harvest of Yankee commercial whaling from 1848 to 1915, which wiped out all but 1,000 or so animals. Because the creatures can live longer than 200 years — a fact George discovered when he found an old stone harpoon point in a whale — some of the bowheads alive today may have themselves dodged the barbed steel points of the Yankee whalers.”
Man erects electrified fence to keep bus stop kids off his lawn
“The man — whose name is Bryan — said he was sick of students who cursed, fought, and littered at the bus stop.
“They don’t respect other peoples’ land,” Bryan said. “I pick up trash every day.”
Parents are ticked off. Perhaps they could teach their children to respect others property?
Applebees $2 Samuel Adams OctoberFest For All Of September
That’ll go nice with a Bourbon Street Steak!
Sources: Fox Sports Detroit’s Mario Impemba and Rod Allen involved in physical altercation
I haven’t watched many games this year because the Tigers suck. Not a surprise these 2 don’t like each other and the result shows in the booth. The broadcasting is sub-par. The only bright spot is the former Tiger great Kirk Gibson who is in the booth sparingly as he has Parkinson’s disease.
Burt Reynolds, Screen Legend and Sex Symbol, Dies at 82
One of my favorite actors. RIP brother.
Burt Reynolds Wikipedia
Burt Reynolds IMDB
