I wrote about CryptoLocker and the fix for it ( here , here and here ), and CryptoDefender . Well, I’m here to really make your (Labor) day. After CryptoDefender came Cryptowall for Mac (so you Apple guys wouldn’t feel left out of the joy), and CryptoWall (the baddy on about 600K computers. Oh…and now “TorrentLocker”. TorrentLocker is a truly deadly piece of malware infecting folks using BitTorrent. While there are ways of getting rid of the others, this one combines Cr...
I’d hazard a guess and say most everyday memories aren’t really linked to strong emotions…it’s hard to get really excited about the location of a pen or some such. Other memories are not quite so benign. I’m referring to those with strong emotion linked to them. Those can be good or destructive. Well, at MIT, neuroscientists have found (in mice) the neuronal circuit that is critical to linking memory with emotion. Furthermore, the researchers found that they could reverse the em...
The LS-15 can overheat and cause fires. So HP has issued a voluntary worldwide recall on 6 million of these power cords used on HP and Compaq computers (you can see the number on the female end of the cord) from 9/2010 – 6/2012. Not all HP and Compaq notebook and mini notebook PCs were sold with the LS-15. “There were 29 reports of cords overheating, melting and charring causing 2 claims of minor burns and 13 claims of minor property damage.” – c|net HP’s anno...
We all know that Microsoft no longer supports the XP OS (except for the IRS). So, patches for vulnerabilities aren’t coming and those with the OS are under rather severe risk of spyware, malware and other OS exploits when running the OS. It’s also true that running virtualizing software is the best protection of a computer on the net, and off it (when checking out new software). FastStone has created VirtualXP (1.0): “to convert XP system to a Microsoft virtual disk, w...
This article isn’t in chronological sequence. I wrote it more like a proof in Geometry if you will, so that the skeleton is built on to bring you to the final step (which hasn’t happened just yet). A 12 year old had a malignant bone tumor in his neck removed…and replaced with a stronger piece of plastic in a 5 hour highly complex procedure in a Beijing hospital last week (he also had his Carotid arteries and trachea replaced). He was the first to have a 3D printed vertebra repla...
Pretty much the sum total of human knowledge is on the internet, but no one promised you’d be able to find what you really want. So, I look for folks who collect useful links…for photographers, this is useful: 23 free and great books about photography…and the follow up with 23 more…total? Forty six free ebooks. There’s got to be something you can profit from here: http://www.lightstalking.com/23-free-photography-e-books http://www.lightstalking.com/23-more-eboo...
To tell the truth, I shuddered when I read this article. Why? Because correlation doesn’t determine dependency nor causality. Correlation can suggest a possible causal relationship, but great care must be exercised in the sampling, and in clear definitions. For some reason, ACT became synonymous with intelligence to the people who published these findings. ACT scores indicate memory, and the ability to take tests…but not purely intelligence. While it’s true tha...
It isn’t exactly as fully optioned as the original MS Office, but for most folks is just as good… There are some solid reasons to use it: It’s free, like LibreOffice or Google Docs. You can access your documents from anywhere. They’re all on OneDrive. You can save them to your machine too. Collaborate and share documents in real-time…just invite them. It even beats Office 365 this way. Easy cross platform compatibility…with anything that runs a b...
They’ve done it again. This time from Community Health Systems, Inc. What was stolen? Personal data including Social Security numbers and other personal data like weight and height. The health records are supposed to be safe. This appears to be the work of the same group which has stolen info from several major industries. The FBI is said to be investigating. So how could this affect you? Well, the loss of the Social Security number isn’t good. However, from the Healthcare indus...
The defective patches was at first just KB2982791 part of the MS14-045 Security Bulletin ( HERE ). You can read the known issues there. Then it turned out there were 3 more defective patches: Including KB 2970228 -- a non-security update applied to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 systems. The other two problem patches, KB 2975719 and KB 2975331 were both applied to Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. So far, MS is recommending uninstalling the problem patches. The “Here’s how...
Was tardy with Po’s birthday wishes…not with yours, Mr. JcRabbit. Jorge, after seeing your car, I understand why the women of Europe all clamor for you! Then there’s the plus of knowing how to code…until they discover it’s just crappy handwriting. Wishing you the best of health and happiness between now and next birthday…then repeat, yearly. So have a good one and enjoy your special day!
One of the most annoying things tied into computer usage is the USB plug and socket…and trying to figure out which way is up. Some plugs have the USB symbol which helps, but now there’s a faster and “indifferent” plug and cable. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has finalized the USB Type-C specs which will define the next generation of USB connectors which is tailored to fit mobile device product designs, yet robust enough for laptops and tablets. “Int...
Just seen on Neowin.net… “Microsoft has said that the following updates will be included for Windows 8.1 users: Precision touchpad improvements – three new end-user settings have been added: Leave touch pad on when a mouse is connected; allow right-clicks on the touchpad; double-tap and drag. Miracast Receive – exposes a set of Wi-Fi direct APIs for Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) drivers or OEM drivers to develop Windows 32-bit applications that run ...
Robin Williams…the funniest comedian and fine actor is gone. He died this morning. Lately he’d gone into rehab to help him deal with Depression. I’m sure we all have great memories of him in his routines, in Mork and Mindy…Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting… I’ll never forget what he did for Christopher Reeves and his family. Anyway, a true great is gone. I’m having a really hard time wrapping my head around this one. Rest in Peace, Robin. Thank you for the in...
I think a review for the paid varieties will be coming in the future, but this review on gHacks goes into a good/reasonable amount of detail and summarizes the test findings in a tabular form which was quite welcome. The first good sign was that the comparison criteria were clearly stated at the onset, as well as definitions of the various types of backup schemes. Brinkmann also made clear which software was being tested and which wasn’t. For these reasons, I really recomm...