Computer News

Wise Disk Cleaner 10.2.2
“Improved the function of Common Cleaner, Updated various translations, GUI and usability improvements, Minor bug fixes.”
Download (I use portable) | Release Notes

Update Your Firefox Browser, Hackers Are Abusing a Serious Bug
“Firefox users need to patch their browsers. Hackers have been exploiting a serious bug in the software, which can be used to take over the entire computer…Mozilla has patched the flaw with Firefox 67.0.3”
Thanks to reader Allen for the heads up.

Samsung SSD 970 PRO 512GB – NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD
List Price: $199.99
Price: $140.97
You Save: $59.02 (30%)
This is the SSD that runs Win10 on my main rig.

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.6.2 Optional
Download | Release Notes

Firefox 67.0.3
Download | Release Notes

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

BANG FOR YOUR ZUCK? Facebook unveils ‘its most invasive and dangerous form of surveillance yet’ with launch of Libra cryptocurrency
“If you’re concerned with Facebook knowing too much or having too much access to your private data or social graph, the GlobalCoin will give Facebook even more direct access to your financial information,” he told The Sun. “It’s not just access to the information of your transactions, it’s direct access to your wealth and capital”

New law enforcement hacking tool can unlock most iPhone, Android handsets
“Israeli forensics firm Cellebrite is responsible for creating such a tool – the Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED), and the security company now claims it can unlock almost of all of the latest Apple and Android smart devices thanks to its latest update.”
There is absolutely nothing on my phone anyone would want to see.

Woman knocked down while on phone wins payout from cyclist
“Judge Shanti Mauger, at Central London county court, said the cyclist was “a calm and reasonable road user” and that Brushett was looking at her phone when she walked into the road in front of him.
However, she ruled that Hazeldean was liable to pay damages, saying: “Cyclists must be prepared at all times for people to behave in unexpected ways.”
I see some judges in the U.K. are as moronic as some of ours.

Does Whiskey Age In The Bottle? Here’s Why You Might Want To Drink It Sooner Rather Than Later
“If you’re looking for a simple answer to the question that brought you here: no, whiskey doesn’t age in the bottle and you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you hold onto one longer than you need to, so if you’re looking for an excuse to have a dram or two, you just found one.”
Hmmm… dunno. Lemme Google it…
Damn. The Scotch Whisky Association backs that up,
“Unlike wine, whisky does not mature in the bottle. So even if you keep a 12 year old bottle for 100 years, it will always remain a 12 year old whisky. As long as the bottle is kept out of direct sunlight, the Scotch Whisky will not deteriorate, even if it is opened.”
That sucks. I’ve got 2 special edition bottles of 2008 Jack Daniel’s signed by the master distiller. What do you think, drink it or save it?

Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 75.0.3770.90 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, which will roll out over the coming days/weeks.”
Download: 32-bit | 64-bit

Sysinternals Freeware Updates
Process Explorer and Sysmon have updates.
Download & Info

Amazon’s new Echo Dot Kids Edition comes in blue or rainbow colors
If you allow Amazon to use this or any device track your kid in any way then you’re not a good parent.

Windows Updates
Windows 7
June 11, 2019—KB4503269 (Security-only update)
June 11, 2019—KB4503292 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 8.1
June 11, 2019—KB4503290 (Security-only update)
June 11, 2019—KB4503276 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 10
1903 – June 11, 2019—KB4503293 (OS Build 18362.175)
1809 – June 11, 2019—KB4503327 (OS Build 17763.557)
1803 – June 11, 2019—KB4503286 (OS Build 17134.829)
Reminder: March 12 and April 9 will be the last two Delta updates for Windows 10, version 1803. Security and quality updates will continue to be available via the express and full cumulative update packages.

Firefox 67.0.2
Download | Release Notes

Start10
“Fixes incompatibilities with Cortana while running Windows newly released version 1903”
Download

Sysinternals Freeware Updates
Autoruns, Sysmon, and VMMap have new versions.
Download & Info

VLC 3.0.7.1
32-bit | 64-bit | Release Notes

Patch Tueday is tomorrow.
As I’ve said before I’m currently running Win10 1903 on my main rig. Everything is OK with the exception that networking on my VMs doesn’t work sometimes. The only fix is to reboot. 1903 certainly hasn’t made my computing experience any better.

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.6.1 Optional
Download | Release Notes

Macrium Reflect v7.2.4325
Download | Release Notes

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Fewer kids are riding and buying bicycles, and the industry is worried
“The number of children ages 6 to 17 who rode bicycles regularly — more than 25 times a year — decreased by more than a million from 2014 to 2018, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. That includes both casual rides around the neighborhood and more serious cycling for fitness or competition…Youth fitness activists and sporting goods market analysts are in agreement about what’s been keeping kids off bikes. The primary culprit, they say, is screen time, whether on phones, televisions or video games. A 2018 study from the American Heart Association found kids and teens ages 8 to 18 averaged more than seven hours a day looking at screens.”
One thing I really noticed down at the beach few weeks ago. Too many Americans of all ages are fat. I don’t mean a couple of pounds. I mean dozens to hundreds of pounds. Sad.

A TV meteorologist who objected on air to management’s ‘code red’ orders might be out of a job
“The reason? Crain criticized Sinclair Broadcast Group’s initiative to implement mandatory “code red” days in their affiliates’ forecasts. Meteorologists at local stations under Sinclair’s auspices are encouraged – or at times, forced – into declaring code red days, the decision often made by management. And during Wednesday morning’s broadcast, Crain had had enough.”
I’m tired of that crap. The most popular station around here is NBC12 and they have “First Alert Weather Days” all the fracking time. You twatwaffeles in the weather biz are crying wolf too much and you’re gonna get someone killed.

Please rise… 🇺🇸#NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/oF4obcg4V1

— Metallica (@Metallica) June 6, 2019

Windows 10 News
Current status as of June 6, 2019:
Windows 10, version 1903 is available for any user who manually selects “Check for updates” via Windows Update. The recommended servicing status is Semi-Annual Channel.

Software Updates
CCleaner v5.58.7209
EMDB V3.43
PCMark 10 2.0.2115
VLC 3.0.7: 32-bit | 64-bit

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

What’s Up: June 2019 Skywatching Tips from NASA
“Jupiter is at its biggest and brightest this month, rising at dusk and remaining visible all night. The solar system’s largest planet is a brilliant jewel to the naked eye, but looks fantastic through binoculars or a small telescope, which will allow you to spot the four largest moons, and maybe even glimpse a hint of the banded clouds that encircle the planet.”

Here’s a scientific explanation for why rich people think they’re better than everyone
“The researchers found that those with more education, higher income, and a higher perceived social class had “an exaggerated belief that they would perform better than others, compared with their lower-class counterparts,” the press release said.
“Individuals with relatively high social class were more overconfident, which in turn was associated with being perceived as more competent and ultimately more hirable, even though, on average, they were no better at the trivia test than their lower-class counterparts,”
“Advantages beget advantages,” Belmi said. “Those who are born in upper-class echelons are likely to remain in the upper class, and high-earning entrepreneurs disproportionately originate from highly educated, well-to-do families.”
“In something of a dark irony, the respondents of higher socioeconomic status rated themselves as more empathic — a ‘better-than-average effect’ that Varnum followed up on in a separate study — when in reality the opposite was true,” Baer wrote. The study actually found that the upper-class participants had lower neural responses to others’ pain.“

Firefox 67.0.1
Download
See: Firefox blocks third-party cookies by default, new Facebook Container extension now available (instructions)

Chrome 75.0.3770.80
“contains a number of fixes and improvements…This update includes 42 security fixes.”
Download | Release Info

Wise Disk Cleaner 10.2.1
“Updated various translations, GUI and usability improvements, Minor bug fixes.”
Download (I use portable) | Release Notes
Meh. Skip if you aren’t having issues.

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Facebook lawyer says users ‘have no expectation of privacy’
According to Law360, Facebook attorney Orin Snyder made the comment while defending the company against a class-action lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
“There is no invasion of privacy at all, because there is no privacy,” Snyder said.
In an attempt to have the lawsuit thrown out, Snyder further claimed that Facebook was nothing more than a “digital town square” where users voluntarily give up their private information.
Sorry, hard to argue with that. Everyone knows this to be true.
Don’t like it then #DeleteFacebook .

Facebook, Google and other tech giants to face antitrust investigation by House lawmakers
The probe, announced Monday by Rep. David Cicilline (R.I.), the leader of the House’s top anti-trust subcommittee, is expected to be far reaching and comes at a moment when Democrats and Republicans find themselves in rare alignment on the idea that the tech industry has been too unregulated for too long. The sentiment spurred a sharp sell-off in tech stocks to start the week.
Cicilline said the investigation won’t target one specific tech company, but rather focus on the broad belief that the “Internet is broken,” he told reporters. In doing so, he pointed out problematic practices at tech giants such as Google, which has faced sanctions in Europe for prioritizing its own services in search returns over those of its rivals, and Facebook, which Cicilline criticized for acquiring competitors or copying their services to ensure its continued dominance in social networking.
Amazon and Apple also could figure into the committee’s early plans, he said, cautioning the goal is a broader look at the industry.
Not holding my breath on anything meaningful to come of this.

How to Stop Your Butt from Burning after Eating Spicy Foods
That means your poop is laced with spicy particles. “And since the last part of your anal region—your rectum and anus—is lined by cells similar to those in your mouth, spicy foods can burn just as much on the way out as on the way in,” says Dr. Basso. Ouch.
Posted for the headline. We already know that. I started frequenting a bar called the Texas-Wisconsin Border Cafe when I was 17. They had the Texas Widowmaker Chili. You could get it hot, mild, or half-and-half. By the time I hit about 30 years old I was down to eating the half-and-half and wasn’t because of the heat going in.

Google Just Gave 2 Billion Chrome Users A Reason To Switch To Firefox
“Google is planning to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users only, according to 9to5Google. This is despite a backlash to an announcement by Google in January proposing changes that will stop current ad blockers from working efficiently.
And the software giant is not backing down: It says the only people who can use ad blockers following the change will be Google’s enterprise users.”

You can now order Alexa to purge the voice recordings it’s made
Or, just not let it record you…

A white-collar sweatshop’: Google Assistant contractors allege wage theft
“Google does not directly employ the workers who collect or create the data required for much of its technology, be they the drivers who capture photos for Google Maps’ Street View, the content moderators training YouTube’s filters to catch prohibited material, or the scanners flipping pages to upload the contents of libraries into Google Books.
Having these two tiers of workers – highly paid full-time Googlers and often low-wage and precarious workers contracted through staffing firms – is “corrosive”, “highly problematic”, and “permissive of exploitation”, the employees said.”

To My Wife
See these beautiful hot dogs? Not one has ketchup on it.
Ketchup on hot dogs is an abomination.

Thanks for the reminder Lee!

Win10 1903 Updated
May 29, 2019—KB4497935 (OS Build 18362.145)
Several “addresses an issue” plus this one:
Addresses an issue that may cause an external USB device or SD memory card to be reassigned to an incorrect drive during installation. For more information, see “This PC can’t be upgraded to Windows 10” error on a computer that has a USB device or SD card attached.
Related: Windows 10 1903 Release History page is finally up.

New Intel Graphics Windows 10 DCH Drivers
Version: 26.20.100.6890 Date: 5/29/2019

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Apple’s privacy schtick is just an act, say folks suing the iGiant: iTunes ‘purchase histories sold’ to highest bidders
“Apple has been hit with a class-action complaint in the US accusing the iGiant of playing fast and loose with the privacy of its customers.”
Related: Washington Post finds 5,400 app trackers sending data from an iPhone

Why You Should Never Charge Your Phone At The Airport
“Those USB power charging stations at the airport can be hacked so that they steal data from phones using it to charge. In a tech theft called “juice jacking,” cybercriminals can reportedly use the USB plugs to download your data and install malware without you knowing.”
Old news but worth a reminder or a pass along.

Fertility paradox in male beauty quest
“Taking steroids to get a buff physique or anti-baldness pills to keep a full head of hair can damage fertility.
It has been named the Mossman-Pacey paradox after the scientists who first described it…They are trying to look really big, to look like the pinnacles of evolution. “But they are making themselves very unfit in an evolutionary sense, because without exception they had no sperm in their ejaculation at all.”…The researchers say there is a similar theme in men using medication to prevent male pattern baldness. The drug finasteride changes the way testosterone is metabolised in the body and can limit hair loss, but side effects can include erectile dysfunction and a hit to fertility.”
Never understood dudes taking ‘roids. Ditto with the hair pills. Be a man and own it. I knew my hair was thinning. Then I saw a pic of me from the rear and saw my bald spot getting bad. I said “hell no” and used clippers to shave my head the next day. I use this now: Wahl Professional 5-Star Balding Clipper

I would like to thank Firebirds Wood Fired Grill for treating my Dad and I to dinner. They had a buy-one-get-one offer for Vets yesterday. There were 3 of us (2 Vets) and they bought me and my Dad’s meals without us asking (which I wouldn’t have).

Nvidia Geforce Game Ready WHQL Driver 430.86
“Provides the optimal gaming experience for Quake II RTX and Assetto Corsa Competizione”
Download | Release Notes

PCMark 10 Updated
“This is a major update that adds new benchmark tests and features. Benchmark scores are not affected.”
Download | Release Notes

Save up to 60% on Casio Watches : Amazon.com
Great deals! I own this one: Casio Men’s GG-1000-1A3CR Mudmaster G-SHOCK Quartz Casual Watch, Green