I have one…I hope you do as well. Don’t think, “It’ll never happen here”, because it will. The only question is when. The answer? When you least expect. So I’ve reading on this topic ever since frogboy started expressing his “prepper” phenotype. Today… this article article arrived. I figured, “It’s a sign”, so I’m recommending you read it and do it. You should have one at home and in your vehicle/s, your office…wherever you think it might help. ...
Not a great launch. Apparently some 33% of verified reviewers on Amazon are noting a pulsing blue light signifying a “BSOD” situation. There are no verified numbers of units affected. A rumor about possible sabotage by Foxconn interns has been making the rounds (it has been around on IGN forums then removed) has been verified as a genuine post, although he veracity of the claim has not. The sabotage (if it was that) was thought to be due to working conditions at Foxconn,...
A quickie… for those who might need it, Acronis True Image 2014 is available at BitsDuJour today at discount: Instead of $49.99, 29.99 (US). For those wodering…Acronis is the gold standard of backup software….and this is a good price. Remember: As always: 1. If you don’t need it, leave it. 2. Check out pro reviews before deciding. 3. Create a restore point before downloading and installing. Check...
It’s a good disk management tool. It has a really simple and straight forward interface. When you launch it, it does a disk status, there are tabs for disk scan, gain space and manage. You should probably start with gain space and get rid of temp files. MaxiDisk does a better cleanup than Windows native tool. You can do the scan and get rid of old backups, junk files and old restore points…I’d think on the restore points…not to delete them without an external backup (or just de...
That time again. Here’s what’s in the patch: There’s a fix for the latest ‘Zero Day’ vulnerability, which is already out there in the wild…so do make sure to get it. You can read more here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms13-nov if you’re so inclined. Happy patching, all!
MS removed Gadgets from W8 because of security concerns, supposedly. I suspect it was to promote the tiled apps thing more, though…but I could be wrong. If you love your gadgets, now there’s a way to get them back…and it’s free. “ Gadgets Revived ” adds “Gadgets” to the desktop right click context menu. It has full control panel integration with working links in the “Appearance and personalization” category. It also has full integration with Windows Search when “g...
Since I wrote about the CryptoLocker malware which encodes your data files and holds them for ransom, HitmanPro has come out with free software to protect you from this malware which arrives in emails as a zip or pdf file and when opened, proceeds to work its ‘magic’ on your valuable files. HitmanPro.Alert is now in 2.5 Beta, which contains two tools: The first detects browser intrusion, and the second detects suspicious file activity stops the malicious code and neutral...
IE 11, which is part of the W8.1 update for W8.1 from W8 has been released for Windows 7 as well. Interestingly, it hasn’t been released for Windows 8, and won’t be released for Windows Vista nor XP. I doubt it will be the reason to update to W8.1, by itself. If you don’t want it, there’s a tool to block the update from your network: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40722 However, when compared to IE 9 or 10, it is improved, notica...
I've written about Google Glass before...never figured California had the brains to enact a truly positive statute like this one. Well, that lady just received a citation in part for distracted driving.... She might just beat it: "California state law pertaining to the incident, V C Section 27602 Television, states that a person “shall not drive a motor vehicle if a television receiver, a video monitor, or a television or video screen, or any other similar means of ...
This is a bad one. Really bad. Once on your computer, it will encrypt all your files and supposedly send you a key to release them only after paying $380 US in Bitcoins or $300 in cash (there are other payment arrangements as well). The encryption is super strong – 2048 bit RSA, the key supposedly stored on a remote server accessible only after payment. If you don’t pay within 72 hrs, the key evaporates and you’re cooked…no access to your files forever. How does it ge...
IE 11 has proven remarkably unstable. Makes one wonder why it was issued in the first place. More questions about MS patch and software testing. IE 11 was supposedly able to load up to 100 tabs in side by side mode and a reading view tool. However, it could not render Google’s pages accurately, G+, nor Youtube Google apparently made some changes to its search engine which caused the pages to render incorrectly, according to MS. Unfortunately, IE 11 couldn’t render MS’...
Besides XKCD being pretty funny, it can come up with interesting ideas. Here’s one I found fascinating for its shaking everything we consider to be axiomatic. What I find to be truly thought provoking is: “Through 20 years of effort, we’ve successfully trained everyone to use passwords that are hard for humans to remember, but easy for computers to guess.” Certainly, it’s hard to argue with the math if the conversion from words to bits...
MS decided to put out 10 new themepacks to honor W8.1’s release. he themes have some truly beautiful photography and the subjects? Beaches , Sunny Shores , Small and Large Birds , Muscle Cars , Classic Sports Cars , Scenic Europe , Color Splashes and even Wild Animals for Dual Screens . Missed one: An Xbox One Game (World of Ryse) They’re really beautiful…well worth taking a look, and you can even inspect the walls before downloading. Not that I’m using W8...
You’re a commodity. Not just your data, you personally. Google’s coming out with a new twist to their targeted ads. If you’ve ever said anything good about a product or service, starting on November 11th, Google will make the ads you see (and no matter what you do, you’ll see ads), Google will make things really personal. It will do that by referencing your Google + username, profile photo and implied endorsements via comments and +1s. You can ...
I’m not referring to skinning. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good browser, and a fast one. The flaw is a serious one, though. While logon data (password and username) were stored in plaintext without any sort of protection, the use of a master password could have prevented possible breaches…but that could open the user’s computer to other attacks as well. Now, another flaw has come to light. Identity Finder has found this: “Last week, Identity Finder security research...