Computer stuff...
http://software-download.microsoft.com/download/pr/MediaCreationTool1809.exe
This tool is now live.
Guide on how this works. Ignore the first two lines and Download button:
https://www.tweakhound.com/2015/11/12/download-windows-10-th2-iso-and-create-media/
Pastebin: Windows 10 October 2018 Update, Version 1809 ESD
Download links to 1809 ESD files.
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!
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:
Last week Microsoft announced extended support for “Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise customers in Volume Licensing” through January 2023. “Volume Licensing” means businesses, not home users. Home users will be EOLed on January 14, 2020.
This will leave users with either Windows 8.1 that nearly nobody wants, or Windows 10 that many people don’t want. I’m not all that sure anyone wanted either one to begin with. A Windows 7 Service Pack 2 would have done nicely. Never the less, here we are.
Windows 7 support for home users will end over 10 years after it was released. We whined when they stopped supporting XP, an operating system that they supported for nearly 13 years. But, to be fair to Microsoft lets look at some other operating systems:
(Dates are best I could find, if you have a correction please post it.)
Apple
macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) Oldest supported Mac OS, Released in 2015
iOS – oldest supported phone (iPhone 5S – September 20, 2013) = approx 5 years old
Linux
Linux varies wildly by vendor but here is my best estimate:
Kernel 3.X EOL 2015-16, 3.5 to 4 years after initial release
Kernel 4.X initial release was 12 April 2015 and is current.
There is a kernel branch called LTS that differs from the above. These “”longterm maintenance” releases have varying expiration dates.
Individual vendors set there own schedules and can often range up to 6 years. The latest Linux Mint LTS release is 19/Tara was released June, 2018 and is supported until April 2023, just shy of 5 years.
Android
Android support is an unmitigated disaster. There seem to be no rules at all. As far as I can tell most phones stop getting updates about 3 years in.
Conclusion
You can see that Microsoft supports their operating systems a long time. Longer than anyone else. Still, for us Windows 7 lovers, end of support will truly suck. From Microsoft’s viewpoint maintaining 3 desktop operating systems is difficult, I get that. But the thing is, they are going to keep maintaining it for businesses anyway. Leaving home users out of the loop seems to be a cold blooded money grab. It is, IMHO, a big middle finger to everyone at home using Windows 7.
*notes
Windows lifecycle fact sheet (Applies to: Windows 10 Windows 7 Windows 8.1)
A whole lot of bugfixes.
Win10 1803 – August 30, 2018—KB4346783 (OS Build 17134.254)
Win10 1709 – August 30, 2018—KB4343893 (OS Build 16299.637)
Win10 1703 – August 30, 2018—KB4343889 (OS Build 15063.1292)
Win10 1607 – August 30, 2018—KB4343884 (OS Build 14393.2457)
All supported Windows and Office versions have patches.
Windows 10 update history (not updated as of this writing)
Windows 7 and 8 have a few bugfixes and more Spectre/Meldown fixes.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4343900/windows-7-update-kb4343900
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4343898/windows-81-update-kb4343898
See below for full breakdown.
Adobe Reader Updated
Download (EN-US)
All Downloads
APSB18-29 Security updates available for Adobe Acrobat and Reader
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
In post-massacre Vegas, security policies clash with privacy values
&
Caesars Palace not-so-Praetorian guards intimidate DEF CON goers with searches [Updated]
“For safety and security, hotel team members will enter rooms and perform a standard wellness check, even if you have opted out of housekeeping services, posted a sign on your door, or otherwise refused team member entry. You may be asked to leave the hotel, if you do not comply with this company policy,”
Blog Post from Marc Rogers “who leads DEF CON’s security team”.
“I do not support or endorse these room searches or how they are executed. I sympathize with the challenge these hotels are facing but believe they need to take a harder look at the efficiency, impact and long term cost of this strategy.
We MUST NOT let our hotels become like our airports. If we do, then the terrorists win.”
Everything you do outside your room is filmed in Vegas, I get that. But inside your room should be another story. I had money stolen out of my hotel room by the maid 20 plus years ago. I haven’t allowed housekeeping in my room since. You come in my room unannounced and we are going at it.
Blue light from phone screens accelerates blindness, study finds
“Scientists say they have found how blue light from smartphones, laptops and other digital devices damages vision and can speed up blindness. Research by the University of Toledo in the US has revealed that prolonged exposure to blue light triggers poisonous molecules to be generated in the eye’s light-sensitive cells that can cause macular degeneration – an incurable condition that affects the middle part of vision.”
My S7 has a blue light filter and I am experimenting with it. Apple calls their blue light filter Night Shift.
2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Driven: Longer, Lighter, More Fuel Efficient, and Extremely Refined
Base price, I repeat BASE PRICE is $30,000, for a fracking Work Truck.
“The crew cab Silverados I drove — a $50,995 LT Trail Boss and top of the line $62,535 High Country”
Back on the shelves: Samuel Adams OctoberFest
My favorite American Oktoberfest.
Win10 Updated
IMHO this looks to be a bunch patches for the last borked update. Most of the release notes start with, “Addresses an issue”.
Win10 1803 – July 24, 2018—KB4340917 (OS Build 17134.191)
Win10 1709 – July 24, 2018—KB4338817 (OS Build 16299.579)
Win10 1703 – July 24, 2018—KB4338827 (OS Build 15063.1235)
Win10 1607 – July 24, 2018—KB4338822 (OS Build 14393.2395)
CCleaner 5.45
“Improved”, “Fixed”
“CCleaner now sends a heartbeat every 12 hours which reports up-to-date usage statistics to allow for faster delivery of bug fixes and product improvements”
AFAIK this is only the installed version not the portable version. I watched the portable with Wireshark and it never attempted an network/internet connection.
Download (I use the portable version)
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Russian hackers breached U.S. electric-utility control rooms, feds say
“Hackers working for Russia claimed “hundreds of victims” last year in a giant and long-running campaign that put them inside the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities where they could have caused blackouts, federal officials said. They said the campaign likely is continuing”
Here is a question and I mean this seriously. Why are things like our electric grid accessible from the outside in the first place?
Graphene and the atomic crystals that could see next big breakthrough in tech
“While Van der Waals heterostructures are still in their infancy, impressive new physics and capabilities are already emerging. These include smaller, lighter, more flexible and more efficient versions of solar cells, LEDs, transistors and magnetic memory.”
Interesting stuff.
If a tick bites you, this is what you need to do
Continuing the info I posted Sunday about ticks. Great article.
Waitress body-slams groping customer: ‘No one has the right to put their hands on you’
With video. You go girl!
22% of US population does not speak English at home
“Some 13.5 percent of the U.S. population — 44 million — is foreign born, the highest level ever, and many are not proficient in English, choosing to speak Spanish at home instead.”
Jimmie Tramel: 20 things to know on 40th anniversary of ‘Animal House’
One of my all-time favs.
Some great lines:
Bluto: What? Over? Did you say “over”? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Babs: That boy is a P-I-G pig.
Bluto: See if you can guess what I am now. [puts a scoop of mashed potatoes in his mouth and slams his cheeks with his fists and spits it out] I’m a zit! Get it?? [he smiles]
Bluto: They took the bar! The whole f***ing bar!
Dean Wormer: Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
Anything “Larry’s evil conscience” said.
Neidermeyer: You’re all worthless and weak! Now drop and give me twenty!
Babs: Greg, honey, is it supposed to be this soft?
Flounder: You guys playing cards?
Americans have 15 “Perfect” Days a Year
Article goes on to list things that put people in a good mood.
TOP 40 MOOD BOOSTERS
Finding money in your pocket you didn’t know you had 58%
Being able to sleep in with no alarm set 55%
Lying in bed listening to rain fall outside 51%
A small gesture of kindness from somebody in your life 49%
Petting a dog 48%
Performing a small gesture of kindness for somebody in your life 47%
Realizing it’s a beautiful, sunny day 46%
Long, hot shower 44%
A meaningful, long hug from somebody you love 42%
Seeing a friend you haven’t seen in a long time 42%
The first sip of coffee of the day 41%
Plopping down on your bed after a long, tiring day 40%
Walking into an air-conditioned building on a hot day 40%
Baked treats (i.e. fresh blueberry pie) 40%
Listening to your favorite album 37%
Watching the sunset or sunrise 37%
Holding hands with someone you love 36%
Getting new clothes 35%
Cuddling your partner before getting up to start your day 34%
Cuddling with your pet after a long day 33%
Waking up to birds chirping 33%
Petting a cat 33%
Cooking your favorite meal 31%
Happening across a smell you enjoy, from cookies to the smell of rain 31%
Exchanging a genuine smile with a stranger 31%
Sunlight on your skin 31%
Getting a new haircut 30%
Finding a good new book to read 29%
Having a pleasant conversation with a total stranger 28%
Meeting a new person you genuinely like 28%
Eating a healthy food that makes you feel good about yourself 28%
Long soak in the tub 27%
Going to the movies 27%
Receiving a bouquet of flowers from someone you care about 25%
Going for a walk alone 25%
A lazy drive to nowhere in particular 25%
Having a nice, long stretch after sitting for awhile 24%
Ordering delivery 24%
Nice glass of beer or wine after a long day 24%
Realizing you’re going to have a good hair day 23%
I currently don’t have a pet, birds chirping first thing in the morning is why BB guns were invented, my idea of healthy food is a bacon cheese burger with onion straws and jalapenos (they count as veggies), cooking…ROTFL, flowers…hops are flowers!, and since I’ve shaved my head I never have a bad hair day.
And, there is something glaringly obvious missing from the list…
TOP 10 MOOD BOOSTING MUSICAL ACTS
The Beatles 32%
The Eagles 26%
Michael Jackson 25%
Queen 23%
Fleetwood Mac 23%
Bruno Mars 22%
Elton John 20%
Elvis Presley 20%
Adele 20%
Whitney Houston 19%
Agree: The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac.
Meh: The Beatles, Elvis
Hell no: everyone else
THE PERFECT DAY, ACCORDING TO RESPONDENTS
Wake up at 8:15 a.m.
The weather is clear skies with a temperature of 74 degrees fahrenheit
Two friends seen
Three hours spent socializing
Two hours spent eating
One hour exercising
Two hours spent reading
Three hours spent watching TV
Four hours spent with family
Three hours spent outside
Four hours of relaxation
Three hours listening to music
In bed at 10:50 p.m.
ENDS
My perfect average day
Wake up at 8:15 a.m.
The weather is clear skies with a temperature of 74 degrees fahrenheit
Eat leftover pizza.
One hour exercising
Lobster roll for lunch.
Three hours spent socializing (to include a beer or two)
Possibly dinner with friends. Seafood or Italian.
Netflix and chill.
In bed at 10:50 p.m.
ENDS
How ’bout you?
As I mentioned a few weeks back, it is apparent folks are taking much of the summer off. News worthy tech stories are few and far between. That’s probably a good thing.
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Classic Shell Reborn
Looks like someone has taken over the project.
Microsoft dives down a bizarre non-cumulative rabbit hole with July patches
Woody goes off as only he can.
Microsoft: The Kremlin’s hackers are already sniffing, probing around America’s 2018 elections
“Microsoft says it has already uncovered evidence of Russian government-backed hacking gangs attempting to interfere in the 2018 US mid-term elections.”
[H]ardOCP – How Intel Feels about PC Users
“Have you felt like Intel did not give a damn about the enthusiasts PC users for the last five or six years? From lagging IPC to toothpaste TIMs, I think we are seeing a lot expressed here in a single photograph from its 50th anniversary party that is happening as I type this.”
Ticks that carry Lyme disease are spreading fast
“Think you live in a place that’s free from disease-carrying ticks? Don’t be so sure.
Citizen scientists found ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses in dozens of places across the United States where the pests had never previously been recorded, a new study reports.
All told, disease-carrying ticks were detected in 83 counties where they’d never been found before across 24 states.”
Insect Repellent:
Picaridin:
Use this on people: Sawyer Products Premium Insect Repellent with 20% Picaridin Consumer Reports says the spray is more effective.
Use this on clothing and gear. NOT people.: Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent
*note: If You Spray Your Clothes With Permethrin, Be Careful Around The Cat
Deet:
Ben’s 30% Deet Tick and Insect Repellent best deal is a 3 pack.
The Most Effective Tick Repellents for Humans (and Dogs), According to Science
Consumer Reports – Best Insect Repellent Buying Guide
CDC: Preventing tick bites
Feds want reimbursement for Gwinnett sheriff’s $70K muscle car
“In a recent letter to Conway, the DOJ characterized the sheriff’s purchase of a Dodge Charger Hellcat — a 707-horsepower muscle car that some have called the fastest sedan ever built — as “extravagant.”
But doggone it. How they supposed to catch that Bandit when he comes roaring past Atlanta again?
Here are some of the movie and TV trailers to come out of San Diego Comic-Con 2018
Right now the only one I’m really interested in is, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, even if much of the cast can’t keep their yaps shut.
Omega-3 no protection against heart attack or strokes, say scientists
Don’t worry, there will be a study soon that claims Omega-3 cures everything.
Doctors Give Patients 11 Seconds To Explain Reason For Visit Before Interrupting
Unfortunately I have had a lot of doctors through the years. I have had the good fortune to have some fantastic doctors. I have also had some that were the most arrogant, condescending people I have ever dealt with. Not surprisingly they were also the least competent.
Health Insurers Are Vacuuming Up Details About You — And It Could Raise Your Rates
“The companies are tracking your race, education level, TV habits, marital status, net worth. They’re collecting what you post on social media, whether you’re behind on your bills, what you order online. Then they feed this information into complicated computer algorithms that spit out predictions about how much your health care could cost them.”
Millennials Most Likely To Post Deceptive Vacation Photos To Make Social Media Followers Jealous
“More than one third (36 percent) of Millennials (ages 18-34) have aimed to deceive their followers by posting social media vacation images that make trips look better than they are, according to the 10th annual 2018 Vacation Confidence Index*, released by Allianz Global Assistance. The study found that 15 percent of Gen X’ers (ages 35 – 54) and five percent of Baby Boomers (ages 55+) have done the same.”
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!
Francesco Molinari wins The Open after holding off Tiger Woods, Justin Rose & Rory McIlroy
It was a great final round to watch. Good to see Tiger do so well. Rory had a heck of a charge going until the last 3 holes. Congrats to the winner, Francesco Molinari. He is the first Italian to win a major.
UNC Football Coach Larry Fedora Says An Emphasis On Player Safety Will Be The Downfall Of America
I first started reading the article because Red Hat Software (Fedora Linux) is like 1/2 hour away from UNC, which I found hysterical. Then I read good ol’ Larry’s statements:
“I believe the game is under attack right now. I really do. And if we’re not careful, we’re going to lose what the game is all about… I fear that the game will get pushed so far to one extreme that you won’t recognize the game 10 years from now. That’s what I worry about. And I do believe if it gets to that point, that our country goes down, too.”
and
“I don’t think it’s been proven that the game of football causes CTE, but that’s been put out there. We don’t really know yet.”
From wikipedia: “The Tar Heels finished the 2017 season 3–9, 1–7 in ACC play to finish in last place in the Coastal Division.”
You Heels fans need to get a new coach.
China is waging a ‘quiet kind of cold war’ against US, top CIA expert says
“Beijing doesn’t want to go to war, a top CIA expert on Asia said, but the current communist government, under President Xi Jinping, is subtly working on multiple fronts to undermine the U.S. in ways that are different than the more well-publicized activities being employed by Russia.
“I would argue … that what they’re waging against us is fundamentally a cold war — a cold war not like we saw during THE Cold War (between the U.S. and the Soviet Union) but a cold war by definition,” Michael Collins, deputy assistant director of the CIA’s East Asia mission center, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.”
Windows Updates
Updates available for all supported operating systems. Windows 7 & 8 have bugfixes and security fixes.
Windows 10 Release History
Win10 1803 – July 10, 2018—KB4338819 (OS Build 17134.165)
Win10 1709 – July 10, 2018—KB4338825 (OS Build 16299.547)
Win10 1703 – July 10, 2018—KB4338826 (OS Build 15063.1206)
Win10 1607 – July 10, 2018—KB4338814 (OS Build 14393.2363)
Adobe Reader Updated
APSB18-21 Security updates available for Adobe Acrobat and Reader
Download | Home
Mp3tag v2.89
“Mp3tag is a powerful and easy-to-use tool to edit metadata of audio files.”
Download | Release Info
White Water Rafting Advice
I’ve been rafting twice in West Virginia and I’m look for someplace new. Class 4 & 5 preferred. I’ve been looking at maybe the Youghiogheny River and the Wilderness Voyageurs company.
If you have some input on Eastern U.S. white water rafting please reply to this post or contact me.
Windows 10 Updated
Win10 April Update (v1803) has an update. Bunch of fixes:
June 26, 2018—KB4284848 (OS Build 17134.137)
FYI, I went back to build 1709. Too many issues with 1803.
Browser Updates
Chrome 67.0.3396.99 Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)
Firefox 61 – Download EN-US 64-bit | All Firefox Versions | Release Notes
Other Software Updates
CCleaner 5.44.6575
Tails 3.8
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Guess Which Place Is The Psychopath Capital of The US, According to Science
1. District of Columbia
2. Connecticut
3. California
4. New Jersey
5 (tie). New York
5 (tie). Wyoming
Creepy Patents Show Facebook’s Relentless Drive to Track Every Detail of Users’ Lives
#DeleteFacebook. It’s not like Zuckerberg needs the money.
