We'll be back on 6 January 2019 with a new look.
Security Challenges Coming in 2019: It never gets any easier! Those who deal with data security are constantly facing new challenges. That's one of the primary reasons I look forward to Cybereason's on-line conferences that are intended mainly for chief security officers at large organizations. Earlier this week Cybereason's chief security officer, Sam Curry, took a look at 2019 and it's not pretty.
Short Circuits: Maybe You'll Have the Windows 10 October Update Before January: Microsoft has resumed the process of rolling out Windows 10 version 1809, also known as the October update. Also known as the update that deleted files and folders. If it's not yet on your computer, version 1809 might be there before the end of the year. Or maybe not. If you want it now, you can get it; otherwise, wait for Microsoft to deliver it.
Coming Trends in Communication: Adobe has released a report called Seeing 2019: The Visual Trend Forecast from Adobe Stock and, although its aim is primarily visual communication, it offers some insights into overarching trends we'll see next year. As I read the report, I kept thinking of the mid 1980s, a time of "ransom-note publishing". Some of those same trends are being repeated now.
See You Next Year! This is the final program/podcast/blog for 2018. Next week, I'll be doing a bit of site remodeling and you'll be able to see all the changes on January 6, 2019.
Spare Parts (only on the website): This year's Darwin Awards (as they relate to passwords) have been released and the White House is no longer the top winner, but a visitor to the Oval Office did take the #1 slot. • Renting a car in China is difficult: Foreigners also need to hire a driver and National Car Rental sees an opportunity there.
InDesign 2019 Gains Some Magic Features: Movable type was a revolutionary change in communication and hot lead type was still being used for many major publications as late as the 1980s. PageMaker and Ventura Publisher put typesetting in reach of anyone who owned a computer in the 1980s. Both of those programs were discontinued years ago and InDesign is almost the only game in town. Despite that, Adobe continues to innovate as if it was just a challenger.
Short Circuits: Give Your Computer a New Name: Manufacturers give computers name so that they can be identified on a network, but you don't have to keep the name. Let's consider a couple of ways to rename the machine.
Phishing Schemers are Getting Smarter and So Should We: Spotting basic phishing emails isn't particularly difficult. The ones created by crooks who aren't much smarter than pet rocks (remember those?) make so many mistakes that the fraudulent intent is obvious. Those who create spear phishing campaigns, though, are much smarter.
End-of-Year Updates for Adobe's Photography Apps: If Adobe made automobiles, you would rent the car and every month an Adobe technician would come to the car and make subtle changes and once a year the company would take back the automobile and leave a new one in its place. But Adobe makes software, not automobiles and the December updates for the Photography suite are both subtle and profound.
Spare Parts (only on the website): This is the time of the year for phony shipping messages. • If you're looking for cheap air fares, one on-line service says the key to success is flexibility. • A new service aims to make log-ins from mobile devices easier and thereby to improve financial performance for companies.
Acronis Saves Your Computer's Operating System: Backup is probably the most important task you can perform to ensure the safety and security of data that's stored on your computer. I know a person who through every fault of his own lost his all of his wife's recipes. This was not the highlight of his day, or hers. It's not that hard to avoid this kind of problem and TrueImage from Acronis is one of the better ways to sidestep data disasters.
Short Circuits: Microsoft Gives Up on Trident: Website developers have detested Internet Explorer from the beginning because they had to include extra code to make their pages work properly in IE. Then, three years ago, Microsoft introduced Edge, which was still based on the Trident display engine. Edge is better than IE, but it hasn't been able to develop much market share. Now Microsoft will try Chromium.
While I'm Grumbling about Microsoft ... In September, I wrote about OneNote, which I called "Microsoft's Hidden Gem". This week I discovered that OneNote has been discontinued as a desktop application and converted to a substandard Windows 10 app. Fortunately, the Office 2016 version of OneNote is still available and I'll explain how you can get it if you're stuck with what I now call the Despicable Windows 10 OneNote App.
Is Nothing Safe? Perhaps that would be better phrased as a statement: Nothing is safe. Marriott waited 71 days to let people know that hackers had gained access to a huge number of names, addresses, passport numbers and lots more. Earlier Facebook announced that 50 million of its users had their personal data compromised. Now a question-and-answer site, Quora, says it lost control of information from 100 million users.
Spare Parts (only on the website): With no action likely from the government to provide high-speed internet access in rural areas, Microsoft is expanding its program to do what the government should be doing. • Thousands of video programs from the British Broadcasting Corporation's educational titles will be made available to participating libraries by ProQuest. • A free application is intended to help children who have math-averse parents and research by the University of Chicago suggests that it's working.
Adobe Gives Illustrator Users Something to Cheer About: Adobe Illustrator's improvements in the 2019 version are impressive. Although Illustrator has never been my favorite application, the new version may change that.
Short Circuits: Check the Safety of that Link: When somebody sends you a link, what do you do? Maybe you examine it it see if it looks suspicious. Google's Transparency Report can help. It's easy to use and fast.
Adding a NAS Drive to Your System: Those who have more than one computer at home often need a way to transfer files between systems. It's easy enough to set up a shared drive on one computer or the other, but then both computers need to be powered on when you need to get a file that's on the other computer. Adding network attached storage is a better way.
Did You Download Any of These Bad Apps? Half a million Android users have downloaded malware-laced apps from the Google Play store. Maybe you're wondering how apps that contain malware pop up in the Play store so often. We'll take a look at the bad apps and show how it's possible to avoid similar malware.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Dictionary.com has named "misinformation" as the word of the year, but I wonder if "disinformation" might not have been a better choice. • Electric cars aren't meeting sales projections and research suggests that there are a couple of valid reasons for that. • If you're thinking of buying a new car, Edmunds now offers a "Best Cars" section on their website to help with the decision.
DxO's PhotoLab 2 Adds Game Changing Features: Adobe, Alien Skin, On1, and DxO have all released new versions of their photo editing applications in the past month or so. They all have features that will appeal to some photographers, but not to others. I've already reviewed the new features in Lightroom Classic, Exposure X4, and Photo Raw. Now it's time for PhotoLab 2 and what it brings to the table may surprise you.
Short Circuits: MacOS Mojave's New Features: I still miss the big cat names Apple once used for its operating system versions even though the last big cat was 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and the just-released Mojave is version 10.14. So the last of the cats expired 5 years ago. Mojave adds some features that will be popular, so we'll take a look at some of them.
Your Library Probably Knows Libby: Libraries do far more than lend books these days. Many offer access to educational sites such as Lynda.com and provide on-line access from your home to reference and research services. Patrons can also read ebooks, listen to audio books, and read magazines on-line using Libby, a new service from Overdrive. With few exceptions, Libby is available from most public libraries worldwide.
No, Windows Pro Users Don't Want to Downgrade to Windows Home: Some Windows 10 users have reported receiving a faulty message from Microsoft that tells them they must downgrade from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Home. The key term in that sentence is "faulty message".
Spare Parts (only on the website): As the holiday season approaches, on-line scams proliferate. • Crooks have figured out how to use a US Postal Service mail preview feature for identity theft. • Admittedly flu shots are not high tech, but why are so many people not having their children vaccinated? A survey offers some clues.
On1 Prepares to Release Photo Raw 2019: On1 Photo Raw is a standalone photo editing application that can also be used as a plug-in within Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom applications. I've been working with a late beta version of the application, which will be released this month. We'll take a look at the new features.
Short Circuits: Internet Privacy is Not an Oxymoron: The Mozilla Organization is a strong proponent of internet security and privacy. The company's blog has a post that describes 7 apps and services that are equally committed to being reliable sources of privacy and security for their consumers. The list includes search engine DuckDuckGo, Proton Mail, the Tor Project, and others. Maybe one of these will exactly meet your needs.
Smaller Windows Updates for Enterprise Users — Why Not Everyone? Starting in September, Microsoft began offering enterprise users a 64-bit-only update that's about half the size of the combined 32-bit and 64-bit updates that have been offered until now. Instead of a nearly 5GB download for x64 and x86 systems, administrators can obtain a 2.6GB update for 64-bit systems. This applies only to enterprise clients, though.
Websites Continue to be Attacked Almost Continuously: On average, websites are probed for vulnerabilities nearly 60 times a day. That's an increase of 16% from last year. The probes are attempts by criminals to locate ways of hijacking the sites. The numbers are in a report by SiteLock, a company that provides protective monitoring for websites.
Spare Parts (only on the website): A new version of True Image, the backup application by Acronis, will add the ability to back up cloud-based data files. • USB devices are being pegged as the most significant threat to industrial process control networks, the ones that run the electric grid, refineries, and other essential systems. • Some advertisements on the internet are just 6 seconds long and advertisers are learning how hard it is to communicate a meaningful message in such a brief period.
SnagIt Adds Four Attention Getting Features: TechSmith's SnagIt is the screen capture program that has had a lock on that classification of applications since the early 1990s. The 2019 version of SnagIt includes four primary new features that won't appeal to all users. They will, however, become immediately essential for some users.
Short Circuits: Adobe's Dreamweaver Gets Powerful Developer Features: Dreamweaver is Adobe's website development tool and the 2019 Creative Cloud edition adds some features that are intended for experienced developers, including an option to assist with code refactoring in HTML, PHP, and JavaScript.
When Microsoft Breaks Something (Again): By default, Windows allows external USB drives to be powered down when they're not in use. This "feature" causes more problems than it solves most of the time and Microsoft doesn't have a solution. A third-party developer, however, does.
Scratching Below the Surface: Microsoft released its original Surface tablet six years ago. I thought it was interesting. Then came the Surface Pro 2, which was more interesting, and the Surface Pro 3, which I liked almost enough to buy one. I came on board with the Surface Pro 4. Now the Surface Pro 6 has arrived.
Cyber Security Awareness All Year: The 15th annual Cyber Security Awareness Month ended on October 31st, but the importance of maintaining security and being aware of threats never ends and it's important to be cautious, if not paranoid, about using connected devices.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Apple's big annual event was in Brooklyn this year and the latest Ipad might outshine new Macbooks and Mac Minis. • Girl Scouts of the USA are using on-line video and social media as a recruitment tool. • Several consumer groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission to examine sneaky practices used by some developers of apps for children.
The Newest Photoshop Magic from Adobe: Last week, we took a quick peek at the annual Adobe Max conference that was held in Los Angeles this year. I promised a closer look at some of the new or improved applications and the first of those will be Photoshop 2019 CC on the desktop. Artificial intelligence, which Adobe calls "Sensei" has enabled features such as content-aware fill and content-aware move. This year, content-aware fill has received what can only be called a massive update, but that's not all, so we'll also examine some big changes that might look small.
Short Circuits: Let's Take Out the Trash: Windows computers can accumulate a lot of electronic trash over time. Non-essential files can be less apparent if you have a desktop computer with a gargantuan hard drive or several drives, but the clutter can cause problems for those who have notebook computers. Finding and removing the junk is easy.
A Sound You Don't Want to Hear: Shortly before noon a week ago Friday, the normally quiet 4-bay disk enclosure that connects disk drives to my primary computer (a notebook) began rumbling. Within a few minutes it had progressed from being slightly noisy to sounding like a 1943 International Harvester stake truck. This is not a welcome sound, but the story comes with a reasonably happy ending.
And Then ... Last Sunday, after I reported "problem solved" in Spare Parts, I found that the display port monitors on my primary computer weren't being detected, following a power-off reboot. I couldn't go on-line to download files needed to fix the problem because high winds had knocked internet service out. From there, it became even stranger.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Outvote has released a nonpartaisan version of its app that's aimed at getting voters registered and out to vote. • We're right at the end of Cyber Security Awareness Month, but keeping security in mind should be a task for everyone all year. • Lots of changes are coming for connectivity and research suggests that within just a few years, we'll have more than 40 billion connected devices on the internet.
Alien Skin Exposure X4 Complements and Competes: Alien Skin is both a collaborator and a competitor with Adobe. Its flagship applicaion, Exposure X4, operates as a plug-in with both Lightroom and Photoshop, but it also runs as a standalone application that can manage photographs and perform basic edits. Unlike the Adobe applications, Exposure X4 comes with a perpetual license so there are no annual fees.
Short Circuits: Adobe to the Max: Adobe's annual Max conference was held in Los Angeles this week and there were so many additions and improvements that Monday's two-hour keynote couldn't cover them all. You'll hear about some of the changes, enhancements, and additions in coming weeks, but a few deserve to get some attention right now. We'll take a quick look at Photoshop, Premiere, Rush, Lightroom, and InDesign.
Hacking the Vote: A presentation by serurity firm Cybereason this week is more than a little disturbing. Hacking the Vote pitted hackers versus police as they tried to distrupt a hypothetical without breaking in to election systems or voting machines. It's a disturbing scenario.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Anyone with a hardware or software support problem that seems insoluble should check with Older Geeks because there's a good chance the problem can be solved. • FlightAware is now able to track airliners and business flights when they're on the ground and when they're in locations not visible to terrestrial tracking systems.
Elements Brings Power to the People: Adobe's Elements applications (Photoshop and Premiere) have always been targeted at those who want to improve their photos and videos but at a lower cost than the pro versions and without the need to master the more complex applications. The 2019 versions of the applications bring even more power. This week we'll take a look at Photoshop Elements.
Short Circuits: No, You Still Haven't Been Hacked: PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ALL YOUR CONTACTS! Any message that includes those words is probably meaningless and may be a scam. Instead of blindly following the instructions, it would be better to do a little research first. Very few Facebook accounts are ever hacked, but some are cloned. There's no reason to panic.
Can Facebook Account Cloning Be Prevented? In a word, no, but you can make it more difficult. Let's start by understanding why somebody would want to clone your account and then what you can do to make your account a little less attractive to crooks.
Goodbye Google+: Google+ is dead because of a security breach that affected only a "few" people. About half a million. By current standards that's small, but Google decided to shut down its Facebook wanna be. It was never really a contender and Google will shut it down over the next 10 months.
Spare Parts (only on the website): If you purchased audio equalization software I recommended in September, I'll explain why I now consider it unacceptable and how you can get a refund. • Phishing emails continue to be a serious problem for organizations and now there are companies that will send fake phishing campaigns to employees so that they can learn how to identify these messages. • Fans of Doctor Who are being tricked into signing up for what looks like a free service but with an annual cost of nearly $1100. • During the next 2 weeks, NASA TV will offer video from a couple of spacewalks outside the International Space Station.
Making an Older Computer Faster: Does your computer seem slow? Hardware doesn’t degrade over time in a way that makes it slower. Components do age and sometimes fail, but this isn’t what causes a computer to seem slower than when it was new. Several relatively easy tasks can accelerate an older computer that seems to have slowed down.
Short Circuits: Here's Looking at You: Those who spend a lot of time working with a computer should make an effort to set up the work space for comfort. Ergonomics is about more than just the chair; monitor position is one of the more important considerations because a badly positioned monitor can result in neck and back pain.
Mozilla Offers Email Monitoring: Firefox and Thunderbird developer, Mozilla, has a new offering. The service, called Monitor, promises to let you know if your account information has been compromised in a data breach or exposed to hackers in some other way. It's free and easy to use.
California Tries to Save Net Neutrality: Hours after California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law to protect California internet users from blocking or throttling content by service providers, the federal government sued. Several states are trying maintain net neutrality after the FCC killed the protections.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Google plans to make changes over the next year to reduce the amount of malware distributed through the Play store. • Nearly all of our medical information is computerized now. That's convenient, but it's also another rich resource for crooks. • JLab Audio has announced new Bluetooth earbuds with a claim that they'll run for more than 12 hours on a single charge, but there's a catch.
Security and Open Source Software: Open source software is secure and it isn't secure. There's no one-size-fits-all statement about security. Both open source and proprietary applications are like Schrödinger's cat, simultaneously secure and not. Let's visit a recent conference by the Linux Foundation and learn more about security.
Short Circuits: Maybe Some Relief from Fraudulent Robocalls: The Federal Communications Commission wants to levy a $37.5 million fine against an Arizona company that the commission says used false phone numbers to make more than 2 million telemarking calls, but don't expect a lot of change.
Ganging Up on the Password: Passwords are supposed to protect your data, but too many problems exist for them to succeed. People create weak passwords, reuse passwords, and accidentally give passwords to crooks. Three organizations are starting what might be the final assault on passwords.
Network Problems? PowerShell Might Have the Answer: When a network problem crops up, you may use command line functions such as ping and tracert to research the issue, but PowerShell has more powerful tools. We'll look at a few.
Spare Parts (only on the website): This week (39 years ago) CompuServe introduced email to the general public and they even trademarked the name "Email". • Hardware insurance company SquareTrade says the latest phones from Apple do survive being dropped into a vat of beer, but not being dropped onto the floor.
Anthropics Smart Photo Editor's Unusual Approach: New users of Smart Photo Editor Studio from Anthropics could be forgiven for wondering how to use the program because the interface is unlike any other photo editing application. The underlying application is also an unusual combination of presets and adjustments. Once you've sorted that out, it's an application that has a lot of promise. We'll take a look at two images I edited in Smart Photo Editor.
Short Circuits: IOS 12 on Apple Phones and Tablets: Updates to Apple's mobile operating system, IOS, are often yawn inducing, so I was pleasantly surprised by the update to IOS 12. Several useful features are included in the latest version.
Where Did OneDrive Go? Most Windows users have OneDrive accounts with 5GB of storage. If you have an Office 365 account, that increases to 1 terabyte or up to 5 terabytes for Office 365 Home accounts with 5 users. Access is always present in the Windows file explorer and in the notification area. Except when it isn't. It seems to be a common problem with an easy fix.
Traveler, Beware! Those who travel a lot might wonder which airports are the the most hazardous places for Wi-Fi users. The simple, easy answer is all of them, but maybe you'd like a bit more nuanced approach. We'll consider the 5 worst and the 5 best.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Two-factor authentication is more secure than just a user name and password, but the weak link is still the human. • If you're going to spend $1000 or more on a new Iphone, there are ways to save and WalletHub has the details.
Fixing Bad Audio Should Be Easy and Almost Is: About the time audio perfection was within reach of everyone, compressed formats came along and most people valued the ability to listen to mediocre sound everywhere instead of exceptional sound in a good audio environment. Now it's possible to add an application that adds audio equalization to computer audio systems.
Short Circuits: Double-Checking Your Computer's Antivirus Program: Few people are sufficiently courageous or sufficiently uninformed (or both) to run a computer without protective applications, but sometimes its a good idea to get a second opinion. Microsoft offers an option that's free and easy to use.
How to Turn Off Annoying Keys: You may have read articles here or elsewhere that explain how to turn off keys that you cause problems using a Registry edit. If that makes you nervous, there's another day to do it, but it'll cost a few dollars.
Fix Microsoft's Stupidest Mistake: A new feature was included with Windows XP, which was released 17 years ago, in 2001: "Hide extensions of known types" was turned on by default. It's still the default setting and it's still causing problems. If Microsoft won't fix it, then we need to. It's remarkably easy.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Adobe will soon release a Photoshop update that includes some remarkable improvements for content-aware fill. • August set a new all-time record high for robo calls and nearly half of them are scams. • Maybe you'd like a Star Wars stormtrooper that obeys your every command. One can be yours for $230.
Microsoft's Hidden Gem: OneNote: OneNote has been a Microsoft offering for a long time. I first wrote extensively about it in 2010, but it's been around for a lot longer. Announced in 2002, it was available generally in 2003, but wasn't included in the Office suite and had to be purchased separately. After using this application for a day or two, you might find it indispensable.
Short Circuits: Annoyed by User Access Control Pop-Ups? Windows 10 tries to protect users by displaying a warning when it determines that a program is being installed or a setting is being changed. The desktop dims and then the warning pops up. How quickly the warning appear depends on the speed of the computer and that annoys some people. It's possible to change the behavior, but the underlying question is Should I change the behavior?
Beware of This Phony Security Call: I received a call the other day that told me someone way "trying to hijack my computer" to steal my personal information. The call used a speech synthesizer and it was clearly a fraudulent call. Listening to it reveals the obvious fraud, but listening isn't necessary to see how phony it is.
Say Goodbye to Office 365 Limitations: Microsoft charges $100 per year for Office 365, which includes computer-based applications for Windows and MacOS, on-line apps, and mobile apps for IOS and Android devices. Currently there's an installation limit, but that will disappear in October.
Spare Parts (only on the website): If you want to announce a security breach in a way that few will notice, the best time is Saturday evening in the middle of a 4-day weekend. • Companies that use email marketing perform a lot of research to find out what works best. Hidden persuaders can be powerful.
Lynda.com and Other Hidden Treasures at Your Library: When LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com, those with $30/month premium memberships were granted free access. Those who don't need the benefits of a LinkedIn premium account (or who don't want any LinkedIn account) are locked out of Lynda.com. Or are they? Quick answer: You probably have access to Lynda.com and a lot more at no cost.
Short Circuits: Are You Ready for Windows 95?: Windows 95 was the first (and so far, only) revolutionary version of Windows. Windows 3.11 was the last of the DOS-based windowing environments that sat atop the old OS. Lines of people queued up on August 24, 1995, the release date to buy Windows 95. Now you can download a Windows 10 app that emulates Windows 95.
Teach Your Children (Even the Adult Ones): Virtual private network provider Nord recently released a useful article for parents about how to teach your children to be safe on the internet. It's a worthwhile read because it may remind you to be more cautious yourself and may offer reminders of things you've forgotten.
Spare Parts (only on the website): A new version of the Chrome browser will be released next week and it all but kills Flash. • There was a big US Army cyber-warfare exercise in Indiana this week. • Adobe has made the first grants from its $10 million Experience Design development fund.
The Advantages and Frustrations of Using a VPN: Virtual private network. It's a way to keep communications between your computer and internet services private, but you may be wondering if it's necessary and how many problems a VPN might cause. This week we'll consider why you might want to use one and when.
Short Circuits: Controlling What Starts with Windows: When Windows starts, it examines several locations to determine what additional applications and services should also be started. Sometimes malware is designed to auto-start, but the primary reason for reviewing what starts with Windows is to eliminate needless applications that consume system resources and slow the start-up process. Two free applications can help.
New Computers from Apple this Fall: Apple's sales are off this year and the company is probably hoping for a boost from new MacBook Air and Mac Mini models that will begin shipping in October.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Disinformation is increasingly a problem for on-line services and Facebook this week took down more than 600 phony sites being operated from Russia and Iran. • It's beginning to look a lot like 2000 and I keep wondering if another dot-com crash like the one in 2002 is in our future. • Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 that I mentioned last week seem to be skewing toward the higher-priced model.
Help! My Facebook Account has been Hacked! (Or Not): Maybe you've received a friend request from someone who's already a friend on Facebook or someone who's your friend asks why you sent a new friend request. The immediate assumption is that an account has been hacked. That's not what happened and fixing the problem is easy.
Short Circuits: Fabulous Phone. Fabulous Price. If you're interested in paying more than $1300 for a phone, Samsung has the Galaxy Note 9 for you. The selling price is $1250, but there's tax on top of that. Let's take a look.
OnOne Offers Free Photo Training: The creators of On1 Photo Raw have created some on-line resources that can be helpful even if you don't use their software. The training videos illustrate their software when showing how to process images, but some of the videos on their blog address processes that occur before photos are taken or during the shoot.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Blockchain is disrupting how business is conducted and it's also having a disrupting effect on accounting and finance functions. • The US legal system already says that corporations are people, so maybe you're wondering what legal challenges devices that use artificial intelligence bring to the law.
GoodSync, the Swiss Army Knife of Backup Applications: Before going too far with the Swiss Army Knife analogy, I need to point out that there are two tasks GoodSync can't accomplish: You won't be able to use it to make an image copy of a disk or back up the operating system. Given the application's other capabilities, those shortcomings don't matter. GoodSync backs up data files locally, to a network drive, to another computer, or to an on-line service and that's what makes it so useful.
Short Circuits: A Monthly Fee for Windows? If you've been wondering when Microsoft would start charging a monthly fee for Windows, this might be the answer, but it's somewhat inconclusive. We'll examine the clues.
The Most Efficient Ebook Reader: So if you're just getting started with ebooks, you'll find a lot of readers and it's a good idea to try several of them to determine which one works the best for you. I'll explain why one is right for me.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Anyone who still wears a watch might be interested in a new one from Casio. • The company that acquired the Rand McNally name makes GPS devices and recently added a line of headphones "for professional drivers".
Taking Control of Your Audio Library: Organizing a music library seems like it should be easy, but complications keep getting in the way. I've found some uncomplicators. We'll consider the process of extracting music from CDs, organizing files, and deleting duplicates.
Short Circuits: Tiny Computers Could Be a Big Deal: Tiny computers aren't new. Apple, Microsoft, and all of the Windows PC makers have created small, lightweight computers that are primarily intended for mobile use, but an IndieGoGo project seems to promise the smallest near-full-function Windows machine.
Ray-Ban Sunglasses for $20? It's a Scam. Ray-Ban sunglasses are expensive. Maybe they're worth the price; maybe not. Maybe you've seen messages promising Ray-Ban sunglasses for $20 posted on Facebook. Don't click the link because, unsurprisingly, it's a scam.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Canon is about to release a $400 camera with a spectacular zoom range and some significant shortcomings. • In addition to renting you an overpriced cable modem, your ISP may soon ask you to rent an overpriced mesh system. • A survey by a bank seems to suggest that users of bank apps place convenience ahead of security, and that's troubling.
Checking Your Internet Connection Speed: You're probably paying a lot for your internet service. Prices in the United States are higher than those in most developed countries the speeds are generally lower, so you should at least get what you're paying for. With the Federal Communications Commission's destruction of net neutrality, a more hands-on approach may be needed. We'll take a look at some of the tools you can use for testing.
Short Circuits: The Kind of App HR and CEOs Will Hate: What if somebody created an app that allowed employees to share information freely and anonymously? To ask questions about pay and morale? To ask about planned layoffs or restructuring. These are the kinds of things most business managers and human resources departments don't want employees to discuss. Such an app now exists and it has a lot of users.
No, You Didn't Win the Facebook Lottery: What should you do if you receive a Facebook Messenger message or an email from Mark Zuckerberg that says you've won the Facebook lottery? That's easy: Report it (if you wish) and then delete it. It's a scam.
The Appeal of Buying Groceries On-Line: It seems that every grocery chain now offers the ability to order food on-line, have someone pull the order, and then pick up the order at the store. Is this something people want? So far, the number of on-line grocery shoppers is small, but the market segment is growing.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Popular health information site WebMD will soon be available in China. • Virtual reality is being tested as a way to help younger people understand the problems of aging. • Peripheral maker Kensington thinks you should use a base to raise your monitor and, while you're at it, place a fan under the monitor stand.
Evaluating Office Suites: Microsoft has essentially locked up the office suite market, but is it the right choice for you? After all, there are other options and some of them are free. Is there a good reason to keep paying Microsoft for a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, page layout application, and database manager? Let's start with a bit of historical perspective and then consider what's out there today.
Short Circuits: How Not to Install a Virus: It's easy to assume that an antivirus program is sufficient to protect the computer from malware. Although protective measures are easy and necessary, they're not sufficient. Trust nothing is a good philosophy, so let's consider how to implement it.
Malware Makers Don't Omit Linux: As we learned last week, MacOS computers aren't as secure as some users would like to think they are. That's true for Linux computers, too. Linux has robust protective systems, though, because the vast majority of Linux systems run the vast majority of the internet. But if you're using a Linux-based operating system for your desktop computer, you're not protected simply because it's Linux.
Spare Parts (only on the website): It's all too easy to give away our private information and companies that want that information make it even easier. • An email arrives with 3 attached purchase orders. Would you be curious enough to open them? • Not all virtual private networks are secure according to a report from TechPro Research. • Doubtless you already hold robocallers in low esteem and now there's another good reason to dislike them.
Macs: Possible Weak Spot in Your Organization or Home: Most computer users, even those who use Windows exclusively, often think that Macs are more secure. Although once there was some validity to that point of view, it hasn't been accurate for quite some time and those who write malware are increasingly developing attacks that are aimed at Macs. Data security firm Cybereason says that's particularly risky in a business environment.
Short Circuits: Speaking of MacOS Computers ... We'll also consider the introduction, 20 years ago, of the IMac, a computer that was so different that Apple users were dismayed. The IMac was the launch pad for Apple's current success.
Aero Admin Might Be the Support Tool for Everyone: Anyone who has tried to help a distant friend solve a computer problem probably knows the frustration of trying to explain how to accomplish a task without being able to see the other person's screen. A free version of Aero Admin offers a surprising array of features.
Spare Parts (only on the website): The monthly Microsoft patches that were released this week correct 50 flaws, of which 17 are critical. • Malwarebytes has just released a version of their protective application for IOS devices.
The Puzzle of On-Screen Pixels and Monitor Sizes: When one of the monitors on my primary computer showed signs of failing, it was time to replace both monitors. Two (or maybe three) questions needed answers. I'll run through the process I used to make a decision and when it's time for you to replace a monitor, you can decide to use my method because it's unquestionably brilliant or discard it because it's obviously idiotic.
Short Circuits: Shouldn't These Folks Be Using Stronger Security? A company that police and prison agencies depend on to track information about phone calls to or from prisoners in many jails and prisons has been hacked and, according to Motherboard, it was largely their own fault.
TechByter is 600: That means the podcast has been running for 12 years. Prior to starting the podcast, it was Technology Corner on WTVN radio for about 15 years. Some people commit murder, are convicted, sent to prison, and released on parole in less than 27 years and yet here we are. It might be fun to listen to a few minutes of some of the earlier, primitive efforts.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Virtual private network technology is used to secure communications via a Wi-Fi hotspot, but there are other uses -- including the ability to make geographically blocked content available. • Travel industry sites are increasingly under attack and the torrent is increasing.
Camtasia Continues to Perfect Video Documentation: TechSmith's SnagIt application is essential for anyone who needs to document on-screen processes on websites or in any kind of on-line or print publication. Although SnagIt has limited video capture capabilities, advanced video documentation is best done with TechSmith's other primary application, Camtasia, and the 2018 version should please users.
Short Circuits: Browser Security Is No Longer an Afterthought: Browsers developers have been concentrating on security for severals years. Microsoft touts Edge as being more secure than the competition. Google makes similar claims about Chrome. And Mozilla is testing a new security tool called Firefox Monitor that's intended to alert users if their accounts have been compromised.
The Art of Selfies for Non-Millennials: A bit tongue-in-cheek perhaps, One Travel took advantage of National Selfie Day (June 21) to explain the art of taking a good selfie. "If you're not a millennial," the company's news release said, "the art of the selfie might seem a little intimidating." If you find that you're even more intimidated when you want to look great and also show off all the activities you're doing on your getaway, they have some suggestions and I have some suggestions about their suggestions.
Look What's Back: Fake Non-Delivery Notifications: It's been a long time since I received one of those fake delivery notifications, the ones that try to convince the recipient to open a poisoned file or follow a poisoned link. These scams had nearly dropped off the face of the internet, but apparently the crooks are still able to trick some people, so let's look at the latest variant.
Spare Parts (only on the website): A company that offers one-hour delivery of beer, wine, and spirits has expanded to 100 markets. • Mobile payment systems continue to gain acceptance, but some of the big players are dealing with declines.
Backup Means Never Having to Say @# [redacted] %! Last week I mentioned backup in passing, as part of an examination of the need to update router firmware. A properly configured router offers some protections, but any system, no matter how good, can be breached. When that happens, backup is the final safeguard for your data. I haven't mentioned backup in any serious way for more than a year, so now it's time again because backup is the ultimate safeguard for your files.
Short Circuits: TechSmith's Camtasia Update: A new version of Camtasia, TechSmith's video capture and editing tool, was released this week. A full review will follow, but users of version 9 or earlier might want to check it out now. Although TechSmith's screen capture program, SnagIt, can also capture screen video and allows limited editing, anyone who depends on video to document a computer process needs Camtasia. We'll take a quick first look.
Fortnite for Android? Not Yet. Fortnite is a popular video game. It will be available for Android devices later this summer, but it's not ready yet. However, if you search for the terms "android" and "fortnight", you might find a link that promises to help you install the game on an Android device. Follow that link and you won't get Fornight, but the crooks who posted the link will make a profit from you. It's yet another con.
Adobe's in a Rush to Simplify Video: Adobe announced yet another video application this week, one that's aimed at enabling easier video editing on portable devices and faster results to get videos on the web sooner. Currently it's called Project Rush, it's in beta, and users have to sign up for it.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Inventors are examining ways to allow highways to create the electricity needed for nearby devices. • Workers say that they're generally optimistic about artificial intelligence, but feel that the technology needs to be controlled by law. • Three-D printing has been around for a while and now the latest thing is 3D scanning.
Keeping Your Information Yours: There is no perfect security system. If somebody wants your data badly enough, they'll get it. A recent attack, apparently sourced in Russia, attempts to take over routers commonly used in homes and small offices. Most router manufacturers have issued firmware updates to secure the router, but users need to install it.
Short Circuits: Farewell Net Neutrality? Despite the fact that a strong majority of US citizens believe that Net Neutrality is in their best interests and the fact that the US Senate voted to overrule the FCC's plan that cripples Net Neutrality, the US House has not acted on the proposal. So this week Net Neutrality ceased to exist. Be prepared to pay more for worse service.
A New Adobe Flash Zero-Day Exploit Has Been Patched: By the end of 2020, Adobe will stop supporting Flash. The technology has been round for 2 decades and has long been the target of malware. It continues to be a target for malware and Adobe responds quickly by patching threats. It's up to users, though, to install the updates and this week there's a new patch.
Apple Plans to Improve MacOS Security: The next update to the MacOS will be out by the end of the year. The current version (10.13 High Sierra) will be replaced by version 10.14, Mojave. Security will play a big role in Mojave and protections will be added affect how apps can access your data.
Honda and GM Form Partnership for Next Gen Batteries: Batteries play an increasingly important role in our daily lives. They're essential for hand-held computing and communications devices and their role in transportation is growing fast. Now General Motors and Honda will be working together to develop advanced chemistry battery components to accelerate work both companies are doing on all-electric vehicles.
Spare Parts (only on the website): This month's patches from Microsoft correct 11 critical flaws and another 49 that are rated as "important". • Acronis plans to establish a technology park. • Starting this week, you'll see some changes if you use Office.com or Office 365.
The Case for Non-Visual HTML Editors: There's little question that creating and maintaining a website should usually be done with a visual editor such as Adobe's Dreamweaver, but that doesn't mean that Dreamweaver is right for every person all the time. Sometimes using a non-visual editor makes a lot of sense. We'll look at an open-source code editor called Bluefish this week.
Short Circuits: Something New to Worry (Not Much) About: Researchers at the University of Michigan and Zhejiang University say that certain kinds of computers can be physically damaged by sound waves played by the computer itself. That sounds dangerous and maybe even scary, but it sounds worse than it is.
Technology Aims to Reduce Needless Hospital Admissions: Once upon a time, doctors made house calls. Few do now and that hasn't been common for decades, but sometimes home health care can save money and insurers are looking at technology that can limit what are considered to be unnecessary hospital admissions by alerting home healthcare providers before a worsening situation becomes an emergency.
More (Minimally) Worrisome Browser Issues: A browser flaw, initially described as something that's aimed at Facebook users could actually be used on any website. Although the researchers said that they found vulnerabilities in both Chrome and Firefox, they said that Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Safari appeared not to be affected. Before you decide to scrap Firefox and Chrome, though, let's consider the rest of the story.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Poor customer experience seems to be the norm on federal websites and, according to Forrester Research, conditions aren't improving. • Most Americans say the internet has made their lives better, but has worsened society overall and they're worried that tech companies don't consider the impact of their products and services.
Choosing a Camera with the Right Sensor Size: For digital cameras, quality is about more than just megapixels. Digital sensors are complex devices, but camera manufacturers learned long ago that camera buyers equate more pixels with better quality. To some extent, that's true, but mostly it's not. So let's take a look at another important consideration.
Short Circuits: Have You Rebooted Your Router? You've probably already seen recommendations to reboot your router and to update it to the most recent firmware to eliminate a security issue. More than a dozen routers are known to be vulnerable, but there are questions about whether the list includes all routers with vulnerabilities. As a result, the safe course would be to reboot your router whether its on the list of vulnterable routers or not.
Automated Driverless Deliveries -- Seriously? Leafing through news releases this week, I spotted one that described an agreement between a couple of companies to "establish a project and implementation plan to provide an autonomous vehicle platform for [one of the companies], focused on [a delivery system] with driverless cars." Has anyone thought this through?
Yes, We Have On-Line Sports Betting: The US Supreme Court ruled recently that a federal ban on state-sanctioned sports betting is unconstitutional. The 6-3 ruling eliminated federal ban on sports betting so now any state can permit it.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Read the FBI's full statement on router security. • Alien Skin, the creator of many plug-ins for Photoshop, has been around for 25 years and is offering some attractive sale prices, but only for a few days. • Automation eliminates some jobs and may create others.
Making the Most of Your Windows|MacOS Computer: Maybe you own a Mac. Maybe you own a Windows computer. There's about a 98% chance that you use one or the other if you own a computer and no matter how discoverable or user friendly the developers make their operating systems, it's still a good idea to see what features you might have missed. So this week we'll look at both operating systems.
Short Circuits: Beware Fraudulent Web Host Messages: We have to give crooks credit for devising new techniques to fool people. One that I've seen quite a bit recently uses publicly available information from domain registrars in an attempt to convince website owners that there's a problem with their site. It's really just a scam that tries to obtain your login credentials.
The Most Dangerous Application on Your Computer: The current edition of The Atlantic includes an article by Quinn Norton about the persistent and worsening dangers of email. Email is the most common vector for malware and has been for years. Until recently, we thought that email could be safe if certain kinds of safeguards were in place, but the article recounts a discovery by researchers in Europe that reveals how two security and encryption protocols we depend can be defeated.
Spare Parts (only on the website): A new botnet can control some 5000 websites, more than half of them on servers operated by GoDaddy according to security firm Proofpoint. • Serious gamers need to shell out a lot of money for their computers, but the specifications for these machines are astounding. • If you're not ready yet for a self-driving car, you're in the majority. • New European Union privacy rules went into effect on 25 May and they affect the operation of websites outside of Europe.
The Cost of Your Photography Hobby: It it excessive to spend $10 a month on your photo hobby? Adobe's photographic plan costs $10 per month and that's something that distresses some photographers. I can't afford that, they say. But let's consider this through a lens of of historical perspective and then let's look at how you can improve photographs so that they look more like what you remember seeing before you raised the camera to your eye.
Short Circuits: Is Photography Dead? While I was working on this week's lead article, I started thinking about professional photographers. For professional photographers, this is a terrible time to be in business -- unless it isn't. Long ago, in what seems like a distant galaxy, I was a professional photographer. I'm not now and haven't been for about 30 years for a variety of reasons, but today's photographers can do -- in just a few minutes -- what it would have taken hours to accomplish in a darkroom (had it been possible).
Adobe's XD Starter Plan is Now Free: Adobe announced Project Comet in 2015 and released it as Experience Design (XD) a year later to provide a way for designers to create a framework for websites, mobile apps, and documents. Now they've released a free version.
How Widespread are Connected Home Devices? A survey by a company that offers services for providers of internet of things (IoT) devices says that 90% of consumers already have such a device. That may seem high -- it did to me -- but it depends on how the terms are defined.
The Most Important Gift: The past year has been, shall we say, “interesting” as we learned more than we ever wanted to know about how the liver works, how it fails, and organ transplants. As a result, I'd like to ask you to consider signing up as an organ donor.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Two more data security incidents serve as reminders of how easy it is for crooks to get their hands on information. • School vacation time is about here and it's time to think about summer reading programs for the kids -- and for adults, too. • NASA TV plans to broadcast much of the resupply mission to the International Space Station starting with Sunday's (20 May) launch.
Windows 10 New Features & Removed Features: Last week, after nearly a month's delay, Microsoft launched Windows 10 version 1803 (the spring Creators update). This version has new features, but some old features are gone. Let's look, starting with the most important new features.
Short Circuits: Texture is a Delight for Magazine Readers: These are challenging days for magazine publishers. Besides being expensive to produce, the cost of paper, printing, and postage make them expensive to deliver. For subscribers, there's the cost of the subscription itself and the environmental concern about what to do with old magazines. A service called Texture will change some of that.
Bad Bot! Bots can be useful, but many are used to cause trouble. We're all familiar with the bots from Russia that continue to cause problems on social media sites, but bat bots are widespread and affect far more than social media sites. Most of the commercial bad bots are homegrown.
Spare Parts (only on the website): A company that provides tools used by the people who repossess vehicles with past due payments has proposed a new use for the technology. • The National Aeronautics and Space Agency has awarded grants to 3 groups that will be looking for life beyond our solar system. • Testing has been established to ensure that high-performance video displays live up to their promises.
Audacious Audio Editing: The TechByter Worldwide podcast is created with Adobe Audition. Audition, descended from Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro, isn't the only audio editor available, so this week we'll take a look at Audacity. Unlike Audition, which runs only on Windows and MacOS, Audacity is a free audio editor for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Depending on your needs for audio editing, Audition might be just what you need.
Short Circuits: Windows 10 Spring Update Arrives — Finally. The Windows 10 spring Creators Update for April arrived on May second, almost a month late but a week early according to Microsoft's second-Tuesday-of-the-month patch schedule. The good news is that the update was entirely painless. The updater warned that the process might take longer than usual, but it completed in about half an hour. During the process, my external monitors blanked for long enough that I began to wonder what was going on.
Still Using Windows 7? Why Risk it? Webroot says that Windows 7 computers are far more at risk from malware attacks. Given that home users have migrated more quickly, the largest risk is with businesses.
“I’m from Windows Support and...” [>> Click!!! <<] No matter how many times it's said or how many people say it, the message seems not to get through: Microsoft technicians do not call Windows users unless the user has explicitly requested a call and has scheduled it in advance. But still people fall for the scam and hand over credentials or allow an unknown "technician" to install malware on their computers. Why?
Spare Parts (only on the website): It's all artificial intelligence all the time this week: • First, how AI can improve on-time performance for metropolitan transit system buses. • Then, a new use for AI in identifying and tracking cognitive changes as people age. • And finally, a Canadian firm says it can provide wastebaskets that, when full, leave the room to empty themselves while replacement wastebaskets roll in to take their place.
Adjust Facial Geometry with PortraitPro Studio Max: Portrait photography is tricky whether you're a professional or an amateur. Professionals get most things right in the camera -- lighting, posing, and exposure -- but they still have to deal with blemishes and other small changes that might improve the image. We'll take a look at PortraitPro Studio Max 17 by Anthropics, a program that can improve portraits with subtle changes.
Short Circuits: Adding Another Layer of Security to Your Browser: Many websites connect to other on-line sources for a variety of reasons: Some may be advertising related while others may provide content. If you'd like to eliminate some or all of the advertising links and tracking links, you probably need two browser add-ins -- the second is a blocking application for trackers.
Three Cheers for Sound Effects from the BBC: Foley is what makes motion pictures, television programs, and radio reports real. Named for Jack Foley, its the addition of everyday sounds during post production. The BBC has just released tens of thousands of foley effects you can use in your home videos.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Laptop Magazine's annual review of the top 10 laptop manufacturers puts Lenovo in first place, but drops Apple to 7th place. • Maybe we can blame Millennials for poor customer service. A survey says they consider good support to be less important than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers do. • That package that's coming from Amazon might be in your trunk, but only if you have the right kind of car and live in the right city.
Digitizing Old Slides and Negatives at Home: Few people use film these days. But many of us still have old negatives and color slides around the house. Maybe you've looked in to having the images digitized, but didn't like the price or the quality. Or both. This week, let's explore how you can do the work at home.
Short Circuits: Oops #1: Microsoft Delays Windows 10 Spring Update:
Last week about this time, I was writing about the Windows 10 Spring Creators Update -- how to get it if you wanted it sooner and how to delay it if you didn't. But now, after a lot of drum beating by Microsoft, the update is missing in action.
Oops #2: IRS Website Appears to be Operated by Cats: Cats are great alarm clocks, but they have no talent at all when it comes to calendars. Cats also, when they've done something dumb tend to glare at humans with an expression that says I meant to do that! How does this apply to the Internal Revenue Service's website? I'll explain.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Russian hackers want control of your router and manufacturers make it all too easy for them to succeed. • Crooks also want your Iphone and they have a trick that might convince you to give them access to it. • If you need something else to worry about, botnets are still going strong. • IBM says (surprise!) most of us are concerned about data security.
You Probably Need at Least Two Monitors: Here's a prediction: If you ever work with a computer that has two monitors, you'll never willingly go back to using just one. Even those who are adamant that a second monitor will just get in their way are usually sold on the idea after just a few minutes. Fortunately, decent monitors are less expensive than they used to be and setting them up is easy. Let's consider why and then how.
Short Circuits: Shotcut -- A Free Video Editor: Shotcut is a free, open-source video editor with impressive capabilities and it runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
Windows 10 Spring Creators Update Coming Soon: Microsoft has started pushing the Windows 10 spring update (version 1803) out and you have several options: Just sit back and relax. If you do that, you'll get what you get when you get it. End of story. Or maybe you'd like to get it as soon as it's available and you know that not all users will receive the update on the first day. Or maybe you want to delay the update. Let's consider the options.
Working for Scale: New notebook and tablet computers often come with astonishingly high resolution screens. My notebook system has a 15.6-inch screen (relatively large for a laptop, but small when compared to external monitors) and the resolution is 1920x1080. Text is far too small to read, but there are ways to fix it.
Spare Parts (only on the website): A survey says that a little more than half of us are comfortable with the use of artificial intelligence in medical settings. • Crime scene investigators carry increasingly sophisticated gear into the field. • Robocalls, spam, and scams continue to increase and that probably comes as news to approximately nobody.
Video Player VLC Does a Lot More than Just Play Videos: VLC isn't new. It's been around since 1996 and if you like to watch video files or video discs on a computer or mobile device, VLC has been one of the most popular choices for two decades. Now there's a new version and two new features will make you want it. Fortunately, it's free.
Short Circuits: Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC Diverge and Converge: Adobe offers four applications with the term "Photoshop" in the name. Photoshop Lightroom CC, Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC, Photoshop CC, and Photoshop Elements. Elements is a stand-alone program, but the others are all included in Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan. One might realistically wonder which application should be used when and for what. We'll sort that out and look at the new features, too.
Technology is Changing How We Travel: Sabre, the company that provides much of the technology for the travel industry, says that several new technologies will soon have a significant effect on the industry. These include automation, authenticity, and blockchain and a report by the company explains what they will mean for travelers.
A California Company Buys an IOS Application: Lots of people develop applications for Android and IOS mobile devices. Sometimes companies notice these applications and purchase them from the developer. It's a perfectly normal, ordinary, mundane, unremarkable business transaction. Is this news? Wait for the rest of the story.
Your Invitation to Crack the Defense Department's Travel System: The US Department of Defense would like you to break in to the Defense Travel System (DTS). That system has been added to the department's bug bounty system that's intended to identify security flaws. The DTS manages travel itineraries, booking, and reimbursements for Defense Department employees and the bounty program is operated in conjunction with HackerOne.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Wasabi has a new cloud storage app for Mac and Windows. It's not a data backup system, but would be a good choice for safely storing essential documents. • Intelligent assistants and chatbots are likely to be used in about 40% of large organizations by this time next year and most IT professionals aren't worried about job security.
Perhaps It's Time to Re-evaluate Your Privacy: Today's program is dated April Fools Day, but this is no joke. Does it seem strange to you that people who post huge amounts of personal information on services such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and others are suddenly now aware that others might be able to see this information? Let's take a look at some of the actions you can take to protect your data when using Facebook, Google, and other on-line services.
Short Circuits: Adobe Will End Support for Muse: After May 20, 2019, Adobe will have only a single devoted website development tool, Dreamweaver. Muse, which had been created to appeal to designers who didn't want to learn the complexities of HTML5 and CSS3 was a worthy effort, but it never seemed to quite catch on. Current users will have several options and one includes continuing to use Muse.
Firefox versus Facebook: Mozilla is the developer of the Firefox browser, which millions of people use to connect to Facebook. Mozilla has also been a Facebook advertiser, but the advertising is currently turned off. Mozilla may return as an advertiser, but it's also taken an action that it says will make it "much harder" for Facebook to track you when you're visiting other sites. You'll have to activate the feature, though.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Android phones are more customizable than Apple phones, which means there are more ways for crooks to get your data. Malwarebytes has some suggestions. • PureVPN has made free versions of its plug-ins for Firefox and Chrome; the paid version is better, but the plug-ins are great for those with limited needs. • Microsoft has released patched patches to fix Intel's hardware flaw. Patches pushed out in January and February made the problem worse on 32-bit Windows 7 systems.
Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable from Magic: There's no small amount of controversy between those who feel that artificial intelligence is an essential part of the future and those who say that artificial intelligence will kill us all. Let's consider those divergent points of view and how they fit in with British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke's three laws.
Short Circuits: The Disaster Known as Facebook: It's not uncommon to hear people say that they would drop Facebook immediately if a viable alternative existed, but one doesn't. Perhaps the latest news about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica will at least convince people to use Facebook more safely. The Cambridge Analytica chapter is only the latest chapter in a long story.
Ohio is More Innovative than Alaska, but Just Barely: Businesses and government agencies in the US will spend $553 billion this year on research and development. Innovation is one of the indicators that Amazon is considering in its search for a second headquarters location. Research that ranks the states based on innovation has some surprises. Innovation is one of the data points Amazon is using to pick its second headquarters location.
Coming to Your Next Windows Update ... The Slow ring computer on my desk received an update to Windows version 17115 this week and it previews what users will see in a few weeks when Microsoft issues the Spring update for Windows 10. The coming update will include changes to the setup experience for privacy settings in a way that Microsoft hopes will allow users to make better decisions about computer privacy.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Most people seem not to be worried that companies know a lot about us and want the companies to use that information to personalize their shopping experiences. • A company is offering the ability to book an overnight stay in the Empire State Building, but good luck in figuring out how to apply.
Ninite Keeps Your Computer Up to Date: Security experts tell us that a computer with an up-to-date operating system and up-to-date applications is safer to use because updates often include security patches. Keeping everything updated can be a problem, though. A free utility called Ninite simplifies the process and you might want to consider the paid version at $12 per year.
Short Circuits: Problem Solving Step One is Don't Make it Worse: When something goes wrong with a computer, a lot of people have a knee-jerk response and frequently that response worsens the problem. The Windows Event Viewer might tempt you to make a bad choice, so it's important to analyze the situation first.
Broadcom Terminates Offer for Qualcomm: Claiming national security implications, the US Treasury Department has blocked the acquisition of Qualcomm by Broadcom, which is in the process of moving its headquarters from Singapore to the United States. Broadcom says it will comply with the order.
Speaking of 5G: In the past, phone manufacturers released new phones before the infrastructure was present to support them. With 5G, that process might finally be reversed. AT&T and Verizon are promising to have 5G mobile hot-spots in place before 5G smart phones are shipped.
Intel & Microsoft Cooperate to Fix Intel's Problem: Finally! Microsoft will work with Intel to provide microcode updates to Windows users to deal with Spectre 2 attacks that take advantage of Intel's poorly designed chips and initial botched fixes that made the problem worse. Updates will now be available in Microsoft's catalog.
In Spare Parts (only on the website): More women are graduating with computer science degrees, but they're still not getting top programming positions. • An open-source development group wants its application to infect your network and has some convincing arguments for why you might want to encourage it.
Considering Gimp as a Photoshop Replacement: Occasionally I hear from people who are looking for an alternative to Adobe's photography applications -- Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, Bridge, and Photoshop. The conversation usually comes around to Gimp, a free and open-source image editor. It's been around for a long time and can be enhanced with plug-ins, but is it a viable alternative? In some cases, the answer is yes, but more often it seems to be no.
Short Circuits: Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Grow: At the end of February, the software development hosting website GitHub was hit by a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. "Massive" as in "nobody has ever seen an attack this large before." That's not a good sign for the future and the underlying cause is enormous.
Robots Aren't Just for Homes Any More: There's been quite a bit of talk about robots in our homes, recently, but some stories about robots are a little far out. About 250 miles out, in fact. On the International Space Station. "CIMON", from IBM and Airbus, will visit the ISS for about 4 months starting in June.
In Spare Parts (only on the website): A study suggests that an artificial intelligence system does a better job than lawyers do in reviewing some kinds of contracts • Equifax says that it will be notifying another 2.4 million US consumers that last year's data breach exposed some of their information. • If you have a clever idea, you might want to enter it in the annual Create the Future contest. Top prize is $20,000.
Is Your Computer Being Used to Mine Cryptocurrency? In addition to malware and ransomware, a new kind of unwanted application might find its way onto your computer. Starting last year, computer security company ESET began warning about websites that use visitors' computers to mine Bitcoin. In some cases, this can be legal and ethical, but most of the time it's done without your permission or knowledge.
Short Circuits: Last Call for Net Neutrality: Net Neutrality isn't a new topic, but it's an urgent topic. I've said before that an effort exists to cast Net Neutrality in a political light, but it seems that most people, regardless of their political affiliation, reject that and prefer to have the protections offered by Net Neutrality remain in place. Congress can reverse the rule, but has less than 2 months to do so.
A New Face for Code 42 Crash Plan: Late last year Code 42 announced that they were discontinuing the on-line backup service for home computers. Priced at $60 per year per computer, the plan was popular and many users were unhappy to see that their backup costs would double to $10 per month. Code 42 offered a 75% discount for the first year, and promised system improvements. Overall, they seem to be succeeding. Let's take a look at the updated interface.
Extend Your Browser: A short note from the Mozilla Foundation reminded me of the need to review extensions and add-ons for Firefox, but the suggestion is also worthwhile if your preferred browser is Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, Maxthon, Vivaldi, or one of the others. Maybe now's a good time to see what's available.
Spare Parts (only on the website): If you're in the business of renting to millennials or young families, you'd better be sure that you have high-speed internet access and offer the ability to make rental payments on-line. • Among the predictions made at this week's Mobile World Congress in Taiwan is one that suggests we'll soon see humanoid robots in our homes. Some, in fact, already exist.
LibreOffice Challenges Microsoft Office: Open source office suites such as OpenOffice and LibreOffice have a lot of advantages. First, there's the price (free) and the fact that the open source applications can sometimes open files that cause Microsoft applications to crash. But there are disadvantages, too, and they need to be considered. Not least among the potential challenges are differences between LibreOffice and Microsoft Office. Those who are averse to change may be distressed.
Short Circuits: Scammers Want Your Tax Refund: If you have an income tax refund coming, make sure it comes to you instead of going to a scammer. Crooks, sometimes posing as IRS agents try to obtain sufficient information to file for the victim's refund. The IRS warns about this every year, but the threat seems to be worse than normal. The crooks may even file for a refund if you're not due one.
Windows 10 Finally Pulls Ahead of Windows 7 Worldwide: From Microsoft's perspective, it's been a long 3 years, but Windows 10 is finally being used on more computers worldwide than Windows 7. As of January, StatCounter says about 43% of Windows computers worldwide were using Windows 10 and just under 42% had Windows 7 installed. In the United States, Windows 10 has been ahead of Windows 7 for a year.
Spare Parts (only on the website): The IRS and the Free File Alliance are once again providing free on-line tax filing resources for those with basic tax situations. • Intel has released a new update for some of its CPUs to fix a security flaw. The new code is for only a subset of chips and you'll need to wait for the computer manufacturer to provide it. • The next generation of consumers seems to prefer on-line talking robots to websites or trips to stores.
Finding the Right Ebook Readers: Finding the right book reader application for your tablet or smart phone can be the difference between having an enjoyable reading experience and one that's not so enjoyable. The choice becomes complicated for those who have both Android and IOS devices (and maybe Windows tablets). You'll also probably need more than one, so we'll look at the options.
Short Circuits: You Need a True Password Manager. Really! Browsers have never offered a secure way to store passwords and the situation became a bit more dicey recently when the developers of a password recovery tool added some new features. Users should stop storing passwords in browsers and use a password manager such as LastPass, 1Password, Dashlane, and others.
Selecting the Right Wi-Fi Channel: The 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band has 12 channels, but should really have only 3. There's a common and, unfortunately, intuitive belief that Wi-Fi channels are like the old TV channels: A signal on channel 7 would interfere only minimally with a signal on channel 8. That is not the case with Wi-Fi.
Spare Parts (only on the website): This month's updates by Adobe further expand the cloud-based Lightroom CC and add features to Lightroom Classic and Adobe XD. • Dealing with false positive security alerts is causing legitimate alerts to be missed. • If you spend too much time trying to find an on-line video sequence that you enjoyed and want to see again or share, a new utility might be able to help.
ThumbsPlus: Image Manager with Editing Capabilities: Cerious Software's ThumbsPlus application has been around since 1992. It's more of an image management system than an image editor, but some of its key features make it the right application for some tasks. Nearly every photo editing application has a method by which one or more images can be modified and this is where ThumbsPlus is outstanding. These processes are called "sets" in ThumbsPlus and both the creation of sets and their operation is faster and easier than in most other completing application.
Short Circuits: GPS for Buildings: GPS used to be a luxury that required an expensive add-on from the manufacturer of your automobile or a single-purpose and expensive GPS device. Now every smart phone has GPS and you can choose a service to use and even a voice. Now the technology is being expanded to include buildings and campuses.
Personalize Your Windows Theme: We humans like to individualize things. When we buy a new car, we select colors and options. When buying a house or renting an apartment, we choose paint colors and furnishings. Possibly you've changed the colors your computer uses or the background image. These are part of the system's theme. Let's see what can be changed and how you can roll back the changes if you want to.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Blockchain, the technology that makes bitcoin possible, is being expanded to other payment systems and some of the world's largest banks and payment processors are investigating how to incorporate it. • What's the largest security threat to most businesses? The answer may surprise you because -- if you're an employee -- it's you!
Google's Challenge to All Other Office Suites: In the early days of word processing, dozens of applications vied for the top position. WordStar was the first big winner, replaced by Wordperfect and then by Microsoft Word. Today Microsoft has most of the office suite market, followed by Corel's Wordperfect Office Suite, Open Office, and Libre Office. But there's also an on-line challenger -- Google Docs. Could Google be the winner? Let's take a look.
Short Circuits: Another Emergency Patch from Microsoft, But You May Not Need It: Because of the Intel hardware flaw that makes data stored in a computer's memory vulnerable, a botched firmware update, and the initial disastrous patch issued by Microsoft, the company has now issued a second out-of-band security update. It's not being distributed automatically and there's a good reason not to install it unless your computer is spontaneously rebooting.
Eliminating a Minor Frustration: Probably your keyboard has 3 keys that control the computer's speaker volume: Mute, volume up, and volume down. There's also the speaker icon in the Notification area. Sometimes none of them respond. There's a quick and easy way to fix this problem.
What Data Does Your Computer Send to Microsoft: Windows 10 computers send data back to Microsoft and the European Union has expressed concern about what information is sent. As a result, the company pushed a diagnostic tool out to some Windows Insider program participants. Eventually it will be made more widely available. I have a preview.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Artificial intelligence continues to expand. The current hot spot is customer relations, but internal management functions are next. • GoDaddy is acquiring a company that will provide branding assistance for the company's 17 million users. • The internet now has 4 billion users worldwide and about 80% use some type of social media.
Looking Behind the Digital Curtain: I've been looking at an open-source imaging program that's modeled somewhat after Adobe Photoshop Lightroom except that it exposes a lot more of digital photography's operations. This seemed like a good time to talk about some of the unique features that can frustrate people who use digital cameras, so we'll do that this week. It's a long and somewhat complex topic, but it's for anyone who has a digital camera -- not just professionals.
Short Circuits: Adobe Photoshop Version 19.1 Improves Masking: Adobe's monthly update for Photoshop adds a blockbuster feature that was shown in a sneak peek a few months ago. Select Subject creates a starting point for selection of the main subject in an image with just a single click. It uses Adobe Sensei, the artificial intelligence system Adobe has been working on for a while.
Reports of the PC's Demise are Premature: Worldwide, 260 million computers were sold in 2017. That's a decline of 2 tenths of a percent from 2016 sales. That could be further proof that desktop, notebook, and tablet computers are doomed to be replaced by phones. But consider the final quarter of 2017. Sales were up. Not up by a lot, but up for the first time in more than 5 years.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Burger King has weighed in on Net Neutrality with a demonstration that includes fast burgers and slow burgers. • There's a growing need for what's called out-of-band authentication. • Cryptocurrencies are hot and now even Kodak is getting into the game.
Begone, Vile Telephone Spam and Scams! “Hi! This is Dave from the fulfillment department!” You probably receive calls like that every day – calls that are nothing more than scams. The problem seems to be worsening, but there’s some hope for mobile phones and most voice-over-IP systems. Spam fighters are needed because the federal Do Not Call list isn't working.
Short Circuits: Beware Fake Patches for Spectre and Meltdown: Online crooks are nothing if not inventive. By now your operating system (MacOS, Linux, or Windows) has probably been updated to reduce hardware dangers associated with attacks called Spectre and Meltdown, but now there's another threat: Fake updates that install malware.
The Terrible Terrifying Cookie: You've doubtless noticed that many sites now display a message that says the site uses cookies. These have become increasingly prevalent in the last year or so, mainly as the result of a law in the European Union. In fact, the EU has been driving most advances in privacy and security matters as the United States continues to fall behind. Cookies can be helpful, but it's not a bad idea to block some types of cookies.
Spare Parts (only on the website): The Banking and Securities Department in Pennsylvania has released an electronic booklet that has some useful tips to avoid being scammed on-line and it's available no matter where you live. • New docking stations that have been designed and built by companies that don't make computers have a worthwhile feature that computer manufacturers don't include in their docks: They work with both Windows and MacOS computers.
Net Neutrality: Political or Not? An effort exists to cast Net Neutrality in a political light, but it seems that most people, regardless of their political affiliation, reject that and prefer to have the protections offered by Net Neutrality remain in place. Although the Federal Communications Commission has voted to terminate Net Neutrality, one option remains, but the timer is running.
Short Circuits: Spectre and Meltdown Flaws and Fixes (and More Flaws): Spectre and Meltdown are hardware design flaws that expose millions of PCs, phones, tablets, and servers to attack. By allowing attackers to get around system protections and read information from memory, the flaws could reveal passwords and other sensitive data. Some of the fixes that have been put in place are creating their own problems.
Windows Update Removes Word's Equation Editor & Fixes Bugs: The equation editor that has been included with Word for nearly 20 years is being eliminated by this month's Windows patch. The equation editor will not return and Microsoft recommends that those who need to edit or create equations in Word use MathType instead. The releases that were pushed out on Tuesday correct nearly 60 bugs. Not all of the bugs are security related, but most are.
Planning to Buy a New Router this Year? Maybe a new router is in your plans for 2018. If so, you might want to wait for a few months because some significant changes are coming. Most of the routers you'll find now comply with the 802.11ac standard, but a few have already been released with 802.11ax. For devices that support the new standard, data transmission should be considerably faster.
Spare Parts (only on the website): Toyota showed off its Mobility Ecosystem that's designed to make vehicles for specific uses at this week's Consumer Electronics show. • Electric cars can be dangerous if batteries aren't monitored and controlled precisely. One company says that it has an inexpensive part that can make batteries safer.
Your Computer or Network Needs a Robust Defense: The final program of 2017 looked back at some of the primary security challenges of 2017. Now it's time to take a look at what we might reasonably expect in 2018. Sam Curry, the chief security officer at Cybereason, says that he hopes this will be the year of defense. In an hour-long conference call, he explained and today's program will cover the main points.
Short Circuits: Your Computer Probably Has a Security Flaw: If your computer has an Intel CPU and runs Windows, it probably has a security flaw. If your computer has an Intel CPU and runs the MacOS, it probably has a security flaw. If your computer has an Intel CPU and runs some version of Linux, it probably has a security flaw. Perhaps you've noticed a pattern here. Be sure to obtain the latest security updates for your operating system.
Are Light Bulbs High Tech? Incandescent light bulbs are on the way to extinction. If you're still hanging on to bulbs that get hot, burn out all too often, and increase your electric bill, there are better options. Light emitting diodes are being used in bulbs now and these bulbs could significantly lower your electric bill.
Spare Parts (only on the website): The music streaming service Spotify plans to go public in the first half of 2018 and will use an unusual method for its IPO. • If you have a teenager, how many social media accounts does he or she have? There's a good chance you don't know about all of them. • We'll reveal the second half of Dashlane's top 10 worst password offenders for 2017 and explore the 3 things we can do to avoid being password bunglers.
