Ramblings of an old Doc
DrJBHL's Articles » Page 25
July 21, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Some time back, WebGizmos posted about the real time Norse cyber attack map, which looks like something out of Missile Command. There are more cool time wasters for you! 1. Norse: http://map.norsecorp.com/ 2. Google and Arbor Networks DDoS map: http://www.digitalattackmap.com/#anim=1&color=0&country=ALL&list=0&time=16636&view=map 3. Kaspersky Cyberthreat Real-Time Map: http://cybermap.kaspersky.com/ 4. FireEye Cyber Threat Map (not real-time): ...
July 20, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Look for and make sure you update your Windows when you get this emergency patch to an exploit allowing remote code execution. The flaw was discovered when a horde of emails leaked after a breach of an Italian surveillance vendor Hacking Team…which is less than above board: “The Milan-based vendor sells surveillance software to governments and corporations, and markets zero-day vulnerabilities that its clients can use to silently infect targets with the firm's softw...
July 19, 2015 by DrJBHL
  If you remember, I brought this subject up when it was just rumors regarding different update channels for W10 users, and the ability to delay updating only being allowed for premium and business users. If you take the time to review the EULA for W10 build 10240, you’ll find: “The Software periodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them for you. You may obtain updates only from Microsoft or authorized sources, and Microsoft may nee...
July 18, 2015 by DrJBHL
  We are social animals. We interact with devices and anthropormorphize them…after all, it’s not a big step since we name birds, cats and dogs and act towards them as if in some way they can understand and converse us. I suppose it all stems from the same need not to be alone. Anyway, clever people note this and devise the Siris, Cortanas and now, Alexa. Yes, you have the choice of addressing the ‘Echo’ as 'Alexa' or 'Amazon'. 'Hal' or ...
July 16, 2015 by DrJBHL
    If you’re interested in the scheduling of the W10 updating/upgrading…whatever, Gregg Kizer explains this in an article here: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2949110/microsoft-windows/the-when-of-windows-10-microsofts-update-and-upgrade-schedule-explained.html MS and its new way of doing things should prove “interesting” for software and app designers…
July 16, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Martin Brinkmann ran tested more browsers than MS did, and more than just JavaScript benchmarks. “Microsoft stated that Edge was beating Chrome on Sunspider by 112%, on Google Octane by 11%, and on Apple JetStream by 37%. No mentioning of other browsers such as Firefox by the company…” – gHacks Needless to say, all were tested in their baseline configurations, on the same machine: Microsoft Edge (part of Windows 10, not available standalone) ...
July 15, 2015 by DrJBHL
    According to the Verge and Neowin, W10 RTM has been signed off on and released to select partners to begin testing. Next, it (build 10240) will be released to “Insiders”, and “updates” will be coming. You can read more here: http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10-has-been-released-to-manufacturing
July 14, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Looks like Mozilla has finally said enough to Adobe, and this might just trigger a cascade of similar actions in other browsers, as well. Because of the exploit kits available and the recent security vulnerabilities discovered in Adobe Flash, Mozilla therefore has added the current version of Adobe Flash and all previous versions to the browser's blocklist to protect its users ( https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/blocked/p946 ) The Flash vulnerability affects all versions ...
July 12, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Turns out Adobe has a known abuot a remote code execution security hole for seven months and not patched it (see ZDNet – not the only site running the story). They blame MS…see Gregg Kizer’s blog . I personally don’t give a rat’s toochis who’s guilty…I want it patched (should be out Tuesday, I think)…but that’s not the question. Should the consumers be exerting pressure on MS and Adobe for this Swiss cheese coding? Should we be dumping Adobe Flash Player? What ...
July 12, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Because the upgrade from W8.1 to W10 will be free for many, I wondered about how MS would make money. After all, it has pretty much given up on the phone part of the mobile market… So, I figured ‘renting’ like in the Adobe model might happen. Wrong. Turns out it will be ‘device specific’. You can get to see it here (a .pptx file). WHile it’s all worth a look, the bare bones is the slide which states: "Revenue allocated is deferred and recognized on a straigh...
July 11, 2015 by DrJBHL
  It’s free (at least for now), and it’s easy. It has a cool interface (doesn’t look like Windows 3.1). Your receivers don’t even have to have it installed. Just email the file, or the download url. Even more interesting: No limit to file size, and no limit to file type… mp3, mp4, doc, psd, psb…you name it…no problemo. You can also preview it without committing to downloading it…so, you can see whether it’s worth the download or not. It’s so polite it even has an auto-resume…...
July 4, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Microsoft is simply incapable of “getting it right”. “Terry Myerson, Microsoft's Windows honcho, says the plebs have to wait in line, behind 5 million "insiders." And volume-license availability won't be until next month, either.” – Richi Jennings So now this, on top of just who is entitled to a free upgrade to this gem, W10. “Starting on July 29, MS will start rolling out Windows 10 to our Windows Insiders. From there, we will start notifying r...
June 29, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Dennis Faas over at Infopackets wrote a really good article and a step by step “how to” about sfc /scannow failures. You should probably bookmark this and print it out. I remember this issue coming up here at WC. Well…here’s the link: https://www.infopackets.com/news/9620/how-fix-sfc-scannow-fails-wont-complete Hope you never need it…but if you do, it’s really handy since he covers XP –> W8.
June 28, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Just to let everyone know this exists. If you use IE (on W8/8.1) or Chrome, you should have received it automatically. Emergency Patch for Adobe Flash Zero-Day Adobe Systems Inc. today released an emergency update to fix a dangerous security hole in its widely-installed Flash Player browser plugin. The company warned that the vulnerability is already being exploited in targeted attacks, and urged users to update the program as quickly as possible. In an advisory issued Tues...
June 27, 2015 by DrJBHL
  Well, I suppose we should be grateful. After all, MS is servicing THEIR Windows XP computers with security updates, etc. for your tax dollars…much like the benefits you don’t see in the pricing of prescription drugs your tax dollars helped finance. We should be grateful the government even cares enough to keep their outmoded computers and XP updated with security patches, etc. So, the Navy has joined the “yeah, we’re paying $9.1 million dollars this year to MS for upkeep ...