Computer News

Exploits Du Jour
SPEAR – Redirect to SMB
Operation RussianDoll: Adobe & Windows Zero-Day Exploits Likely Leveraged by Russia’s APT28 in Highly-Targeted Attack

Software
Expect Firefox 37.0.2 soon. I’ve already got it on openSUSE and Android.

Etc.
11 images that capture the incredible vastness of space

Ghacks
Martin over at Ghacks has posted a follow-up to his Ghacks is dying article:
2 Months later: Ghacks is still dying, but there is hope
His dilemma is one I share. The page rank, web hits, and ad revenue to TweakHound.com aren’t what it used to be. So…

***Please help TweakHound.com continue to help you!***
– Donate. Button over in right sidebar —–>>>>
– Buy a Tweak Guide.
– Spread the word. Tell your frienda and family about TweakHound.com.
– If you use an ad blocker, please white-list TweakHound.com

Adobe Flash Updated
Patch Tuesday usually means Flash updates too. Today is no exception:
APSB15-06 Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player
Flash for IE
Flash for other browsers
Main download page
Windows 8/8.1 users check Windows Update. As of this writing Microsoft hasn’t posted the update.

Google Chrome Updated
When Flash gets updated, Chrome does too.
Download or update from within the program.

The Chrome team is overjoyed to announce the promotion of Chrome 42 to the stable channel for Windows, Mac and Linux. Chrome 42.0.2311.90 contains a number of fixes and improvements, including:
– A number of new apps, extension and Web Platform APIs (including the Push API!)
– Lots of under the hood changes for stability and performance
– The answer to life, the universe and everything 😆

New Nvidia Drivers
GeForce 350.12 WHQL Game Ready Driver for Grand Theft Auto V
Release Notes

AMD Catalyst 15.4 Beta Driver
While Nvidia has been cranking out drivers at a record pace, AMD hasn’t had an official driver release in over 4 months. I feel like something is wacky over there. Admittedly, I’m out of the loop. Can someone school me on what’s happening with AMD as far as graphics cards / graphics drivers?
Download AMD Catalyst 15.4 Beta Driver

Samsung Magician 4.6
Someone, somewhere got hold of version 4.6 of Samsung Magician SSD software. I never saw it on the official site. If it ever was officially released it has been pulled. I did download and install it from unofficial channels. The only difference I noticed was I could no longer manually run trim from within the program. Uninstalled it (program is NOT needed for max performance).

Surface 3
In general, I don’t get the tablet movement. I guess if you wanna web surf /email from the couch it’s OK but beyond that I dunno. One tablet has me curious and that is the Surface 3 Pro, mainly because with a couple hundred dollars in add-ons you can basically use it as a laptop. As you may know Microsoft now has cheaper version the Surface 3. This one I REALLY don’t get. Neowin shows it predictably getting spanked by the Pro in early benchmarks.

Adobe Reader Dead
Got ya! It just got renamed to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Document Cloud).
Now featuring “touch-enabled interface and powerful companion mobile apps”. :rolleyes:
Download

Linux Laptop
The new Dell XPS 13 is now available with Ubuntu pre-installed. See: New XPS 13 Developer Edition​
Not having to pay the “Microsoft tax” looks to save you about $50.

Fail Defined:
When the headlines for your major OS announcement contains the words “Emoji Updates“.

Whose gonna catch those Duke boys now? 🙁

Intel 750 SSD
Remember the Intel countdown page that said, “The next revolution in solid-state drives is coming…”?
That page now redirects to their new 750 Series SSD
Prices:
400GB at Newegg & Amazon = $469.99
1.2TB at Newegg & Amazon = $1,199.99
Sooooo, I won’t be getting on of those!

GeForce Hotfix driver 350.05
Download & Info

This is a GeForce Hot Fix driver, version 350.05 that addresses the following issues:
– Battlefield Hardline – crash with Direct X error message on some systems
– Dragon Age: Inquisition – TDR crash

Looking For A Laptop Suggestions, Continued…
– Asus ROG
– Dell Precision M4800 Mobile Workstation
– “I don’t know if you are still looking around for a laptop but if you are check out this site: http://www.xoticpc.com/
My wife and I are avid pc gamers and I had purchased 2 laptops for us from this site. I found it to be really great because you can customize the type of laptop that you choose from them. I also found their customer service to be excellent.”

Original post and all suggestions here: Looking For A Laptop

Software
Firefox 37.0.1 – Download and Release Notes
EMDB 2.33 (Eric’s Movie DataBase) – Download & Info

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” (wiki)
There is so much Bravo Sierra floating around the internet in the never-ending OS and browser wars. This quite often takes the form of ill-informed “reporters” creating click-bait headlines. This past week, Secunia published a report called the Secunia Vulnerability Review 2015. Now look at the name again. Does it say “least secure”, “most insecure”, or “most vulnerable”? No, and no where in that report does it mention that either. Yet many hysterical sites proclaimed Chrome as the least secure browser based on their incorrect interpretation of that report. Most Geeks know there is a difference between reported vulnerabilities and the actual security of a product. Phil Muncaster at Infosecurity Magazine quotes Secunia’s director of research and security, Kasper Lindgaard:

Google Chrome came top of the ‘20 core products’ with the most vulnerabilities, with a whopping 504 discovered last year – ahead of Solaris (483), Gentoo Linux (350) and Internet Explorer (289).
However, this is not a direct reflection on how secure or insecure Chrome is, said Lindgaard.
“It is a reflection on how aware Google as a vendor is, regarding the security of Google Chrome,” he argued.
“A large part of vulnerabilities recorded in Google Chrome are discovered, fixed, and disclosed by Google themselves – they put in a lot of resources into identifying the vulnerabilities before hackers do.”

Anywho, take your grain of salt for the day. Or better yet, get it off the rim of a Margarita!

Speaking Of Stats…
Ed Bott fought his way through a mound of government stats to find Six surprising facts about who’s winning the operating system and browser wars in the U.S.
I dunno, Windows 7 and iPhones dominating aren’t surprising. The stats do backup the argument that the desktop is far from dead.

Audacity 2.1.0
Audacity got a nifty update including improved noise removal and real-time preview for effects.

Reader Emails

Q – Is that Winamp on your multi-media screen?
A – Yep, lots of Q’s on this. I will have a write-up this week.

Responses so far to looking for laptop post (summarized):
1 – There are several Lenovo’s that fit your specs.
2 – Check Costco, great warranties.
3 – I own and recommend the Alienware 15.
4 – Not quite to your specs but the Dell XPS 13 is nice.
5 – “Eric we really need to get you into a Mac.”
my response: :rotfl:

SSD Stuff
Intel says, “The next revolution in solid-state drives is coming…”
[H]ard|OCP has a new SSD guy and his first article is up: Where the SSD Market is Headed in 2015

Software
CCleaner 5.04

Etc.
Paul Thurrott asks, “Why Didn’t the FTC Charge Google with Antitrust Violations?”
I’ll give this one a shot. Try these 2 links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schmidt#President_Barack_Obama
http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/25/8287961/google-ftc-white-house-lobbying

Off Topic
Jordan’s Journey (warning, may be disturbing if you’re human)

Software Updates
Chrome 41.0.2272.101 – Download or update from within the program.
Firefox 36.0.3 – Download (Windows, EN-US) Download other languages and operating systems

Random
BEST Music Videos EVER!

Nvidia GeForce 347.88 WHQL Drivers
Download
Release Notes

Speaking of Nvidia…

The Newest $1000 Video Card Reviews Are Out
Anandtech
[H]ard|OCP
Legit Reviews

Software
VirtualBox 4.3.26

Windows 10 Reads
Windows 10 Launching This Summer in 190 Countries and 111 Languages
Way to narrow that date down :rolleyes:
How Windows 10 achieves its compact footprint

Interesting Reads
Naked HDD Activity Indicator
9 Quirky Linux Commands You Need to Know (And Will Love)
What Happens To Enforcers When Hockey Uses Them Up?

Software Updates
Google Chrome 41.0.2272.89 (source) – Download or update from within the program.
Eric’s Movie Database (EMDB) 2.28
Mp3tag v2.68

Interesting Stuff…
Space.com – Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Explained (Infographic)
Clinton’s Private Email System Gets a Security “F” Rating
5 specialized Linux distributions for computer repair