Computer stuff...
IMHO it’s been a boring week tech news wise.
No Windows 7 On OEM PC’s After Nov. 1
Ed Bott reminds us that You have one month left to buy a Windows 7 PC.
Not too big a deal as you do have downgrade rights on a Win 10 PC. There’s always ebay for Windows 7 discs for the folks like me who DIY.
Win10 Tweak Tips
Last call for things you think should be in the Win10 Tweak Guide.
[Read more…] about Wednesday Random Stuff…
Must Read: Online Trackers Follow Our Digital Shadow By ‘Fingerprinting’ Browsers, Devices
Not kidding. This is a must read. Read it twice, pass it along.
FYI – I use Privacy Badger as mentioned in the article.
Google Chrome 53.0.2785.143
“The stable channel has been updated to 53.0.2785.143 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This will roll out over the coming days/weeks… This update includes 3 security fixes.”
Download
7-Zip 16.03
7-Zip is a free file archiver with a high compression ratio.
What’s new after 7-Zip 16.02:
– Installer and SFX modules now use some protection against DLL preloading attack.
– Some bugs were fixed in 7z, NSIS, SquashFS and RAR5 code.
Download and info (be sure to download the right one x86/x64)
[Read more…] about Thursday Random Stuff…
Subscribe To Websites
I’ve never subscribed to a website before. But, I recognize the sites I go to have to pay the bills. With that in mind I just subscribed to Thurrott Premium.
Anyone else out there subscribe to a website? Worth it or no?
iVerge
I’ve called The Verge “iVerge” for some time. I’ve always felt that many people over there had a bias favoring Apple, so have many other people. Although iVerge continues to deny that any bias exists I find this article interesting
iVerge – A note from the editor-in-chief about Chris Ziegler
“Chris began working for Apple in July, but didn’t tell anyone at The Verge that he’d taken a new job until we discovered and verified his dual-employment in early September…Obviously having an Apple employee on The Verge staff is a conflict of interest.”
No one seems to know anything: Daring Fireball – “No word on what Ziegler is (or was? — several little birdies have told me Ziegler is not listed in the company directory) doing at Apple. And Ziegler’s Twitter account has been silent since August 8.”
Software Updates
Firefox 49.0.1
MediaMonkey 4.1.14.1811
MP3Tag 2.79
Off Topic – Looking for bike suggestions.
I like to ride my mountain bike. A few years back I had an Achilles tendon rupture. Well “rupture” was the official description. It was actually much worse (long story). So because of that and other injuries, these days I beat on my body much less. There is much less trail riding and jumping and far more roads and gravel trails with and occasional light trail thrown in. Because of this I am looking at “hybrid” bikes. I don’t want to spend a bunch of money. I was considering something like a Diamondback Trace. Does anyone out there have any experience with these things? Any recommendations or tips?
The patent, “QUERY FORMULATION VIA TASK CONTINUUM”, published yesterday (22/9/2016)…
In short, Clippy on steroids.
The main concern with such a system is of course personal data leaking despite Microsoft’s supposed privacy safeguards or reading the user’s context wrong leading to more frustration (another Clippy problem).
They Just Keep Getting Faster And More Affordable
Anandtech – Samsung Announces 960 PRO And 960 EVO M.2 PCIe SSDs
Ars Technica – Samsung unveils crazy-fast 960 Pro and 960 Evo M.2 NVMe SSDs
Out in October. The only M2 slot I have is on my laptop. For me, I don’t know if is worth the upgrade from my 850 EVO as far as real world use. But it is tempting…
Wise Disk Cleaner Updated
Version 9.29 is out:
– Fixed the issue of unable to run properly in limited account.
– Updated various translations. Minor GUI improvements.
Download
EMDB 2.57
Eric’s Movie Database has been updated (not this Eric). Several fixes.
“EMDB is an application to keep track of your movie and TV Series collection.”
Download & Info
Tails 2.6
“Tails is a live operating system, that you can start on almost any computer from a DVD, USB stick, or SD card. It aims at preserving your privacy and anonymity”
Download & Info
“I think you have to be 8 different kinds of stupid to put your house or car on a network.” – TweakHound
Ransomware’s next target: Your car and your home
“The concept of today’s ransomware is to lock your data to ransom. But what we’re showing here is that the data is almost irrelevant — it’s the device we’re locking up: connected medical devices, home routers, cars; it’s the device,”
*edit 1728hrs – Rich G. provided a link to this article: Don’t Connect Your Phone To Rental Cars
“The researchers bought an infotainment system on eBay and hacked it to discover that MirrorLink’s two security methods could be overcome since (a) bypassing information was already published online and (b) passwords were stored in unencrypted plaintext. The result was that hackers could “eavesdrop on and inject” malware into the vehicle’s brain, the Controller Area Network, which could pose both a privacy risk as well as a personal safety risk.”
Ultimate Windows Tweaker 4.2.1 for Windows 10
“We’ve released version 4.2.1 to fix this bug related to privacy settings.”
Download
I use this for minor tweaks. Stay away from the Performance tab. Most of you TweakHound regulars already know this.
Speaking of which…
OMG
In the last week or so few Geek type sites have reviewed and approved of some tweaking software that claims to speed up or optimize your PC (different sites, different software).
No…
Just…
No.
Tor Browser Critical Update
A critical vulnerability was patched. This vulnerability still exists in Firefox proper and will be patched tomorrow.
Download Tor Browser
Firefox 49 is actually up on the mirrors but has not been officially released.
Download 32-bit(en-US)
Download 64-bit(en-US)
Download other systems and languages (copy/paste the appropriate link, substitute “49.0” for “48.0.2”)
Release Notes
Chrome Updated…Again
“The stable channel has been updated to 53.0.2785.116 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This will roll out over the coming days/weeks.”
I dig the first comment!
Download
One More Reason To Switch uBlock
iVerge – Adblock Plus now sells ads.
Yeah, I know sites need ads to make money. I have ads on this site to try and break even. Last I checked 40% of you were blocking ads. Many of you have contributed through buying a Tweak Guide or donating. I use an ad blocker. uBlock Origin in Firefox (both phone and desktop) and the Samsung Browser on my phone. Ironically enough the Samsung Browser uses Adblock. And yes, I whitelist sites.
Download and info for uBlock Origin.
[Read more…] about Random Thursday Stuff…
It’s a busy Patch Tuesday so
[Read more…] about Patch Tuesday
The NFL is back baby!
#HTTR
FYI, BBC America has a Star Trek marathon going this weekend. I’m watching “The Changeling” as I type this. http://www.bbcamerica.com/schedule
USB Killer
“a seemingly innocuous USB stick that fries nearly any device it’s inserted into with a bolt of electricity.”
https://www.usbkill.com/usb-killer/8-usb-killer.html
Backordered. I did the combo deal. It is $64 U.S. shipped.
[Read more…] about Random Weekend Stuff…
This is why I don’t like Apple, never have liked Apple, never will like Apple:
iVerge: Apple says it took ‘courage’ to remove the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. Yes, really
Apple is removing the headphone jack from the iPhone. When rationalizing it Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing chief said,
“The reason to move on: courage. The courage to move on and do something new that betters all of us,”
Bro, even iVerge is calling you out.
[Read more…] about Sour Apple
