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24 Jan 2020 - Podcast #677 - (19:09)
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Spelling checkers are so common that few applications omit them these days and grammar checkers are becoming more common. Given the amount of trouble we have with auto-correct, which I often refer to as "auto-corrupt", how much can these tools help?
Microsoft Word has built-in spelling and grammar checkers and other applications such as Grammarly, Hemingway, and ProWritingAid are available. All of those have free online options, but serious users will want to license an application that runs on the computer. Hemingway costs $20, a one-time fee; Grammarly costs $140 per year; and ProWritingAid costs $70 per year (or $240 for an unlimited license). Full-time writers and editors might justify the cost, but most people probably can’t. Because all three have free versions, you can test drive them — usually with a limited feature set — to see if you want to spend money on a grammar checker.
*That’s “spelling checker”, not “spell checker”. Writers and editors need spelling checkers. Witches need spell checkers.
The problem I see with any of these tools is that the user can’t just blindly accept recommendations. The same is true for a spelling checker* because the suggested replacement word is frequently the wrong word. I’ve been writing for a living since the 1960s — first on a manual typewriter, then an electric typewriter, and on a computer since the 1980s. Although I use spelling checkers and grammar checkers, I’ve never been confident to allow the automation to take over.
I value these automated applications, but only because they call my attention to potential problems. To benefit from automated spelling and grammar applications, it’s important to know spelling and grammar so you can ignore invalid suggestions.
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Consider, for example, what Hemingway thought of the 10 January article about Linux. It didn’t like “nearly” in this sentence: Currently nearly 91,000 ‘packages’ are available for Linux Mint. Hemingway said that “nearly” should be omitted or that I should use a forceful verb. I avoid adverbs when possible. Stephen King, a writer of some repute, said this about adverbs: “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one in your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day... fifty the day after that... and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s — GASP!! — too late.”
Sometimes adverbs are essential, though. Omitting “nearly” from the sentence in question would change the meaning. Linux Mint doesn’t have exactly 91,000 packages; without the word “nearly”, precision that isn’t valid is implied. The actual number of packages is less than 91,000, so the description is more accurate when the qualifier is included. Users of these applications need to understand grammar well enough to know when the automated system is just wrong and to be able to ignore its advice.
I tried my Linux article with each of the grammar checkers to see what each application might recommend.
Hemingway does not require that the user set up an account. Just go to the site and paste your text into the panel while Writing mode is active. Then click the button to activate Edit mode.
Of the three applications, Hemingway provides the least amount of information. That’s not a criticism because sometimes less is better. You’ll see that some sentences and words are highlighted.
Hemingway gives each document a readability score. When writing for adults, aim for an 8th-grade score because most people are comfortable with text written at that level. Hemingway will also estimate the reading time for the article and enumerate the letters, characters, words, sentences, and paragraphs.
This application doesn’t color code sentences; instead, it marks words and phrases with underlines: Red indicates a perceived error, blue marks something that could be clarified, green rates “engagement” and suggests ways that the article might be made more compelling (premium only), and purple recommends changes in formality (premium only). It also displays the number of additional problems that the premium version would report.
Instead of a grade level, Grammarly indicates an overall score using the Flesch easy-reading test on a scale of 0 to 100 where higher numbers are better. There are also options to send the document to human proofreaders (premium) and to check the document for plagiarism (premium).
Lots of features are available only to those who will pay $140 per year for the service. Oddly, Grammarly says the article contains 1616 words and Hemingway’s count is 1626 words, Microsoft Word and the UnltraEdit Studio text editor both say the count is 1622, and ProWritingAid reports 1682 words.
This tool appears to provide an astonishing amount of detail ranging from overall score and grammar ratings to most-used words and unique words, readability rates by paragraph, overused words, a section on sentence structure and length, and much more.
The sentence structure and length section will be useful for most people who want to improve their writing because it addresses a common problem — boring structure.
Good writers vary the lengths of sentences and paragraphs. ProWritingAid use a bar graph to illustrate the first 100 sentences and recommends that the user “look for areas where all your sentences are around the same length. These areas will benefit from more variety to maintain the reader’s interest.”
Icons across the top of the ProWritingAid screen provide access to the lengthy summary report and then allow the user to drill down to specific issues: Style, grammar, thesaurus, overused, repeated words, structure, length, transitions, readability, and a variety of additional specialized reports.
Each of those tests considers only the first 500 words of the document, which is a not-so-subtle hint that the developers would like you to pay $70 per year for the premium version. View the long report page by downloading the large (1337x7659 pixel) screenshot.
If you’re looking for a tool that makes recommendations for tightening your writing, Hemingway looks like the best choice. Grammarly, which was developed nearly 11 years ago, has a strong following. ProWritingAid will be four years old in April and seems stronger than Grammarly both in features and in price. Those who are willing to buy the $240 perpetual license instead of paying $70 per year, should be able to find 20% discount coupons by searching the web.
The caution that needs to be taken seriously is that no grammar checker or spelling checker will be right all the time and sometimes a recommended improvement will actually weaken the writing. That's why it's important to understand how spelling, language, and grammar work before breaking out an automated tool.
When the US National Security Agency found a serious flaw in Windows 10 recently, the agency did something unusual: It told Microsoft. That's what should happen, of course, but it seems to be a new procedure for the NSA.
Sometime between 2000 and 2005, the NSA discovered a flaw in Windows and, instead of reporting it, used it to build tools called Eternal Blue that were later deployed to damage the nuclear program in Iran. Concern that the government's malware might become public was expressed within the NSA, but the code remained more or less secret until 2017. The NSA found that its malware exploit had been discovered and decided only then to notify Microsoft.
A gang of Russian hackers known as Shadow Brokers released the code that was then used to launch many destructive attacks on computers. Microsoft quickly patched the flaw, but many users delayed installing the patch and thus leaving their computers vulnerable.
Fast forward to 2020. The NSA discovered a new, serious flaw in Windows 10 and the server operating systems based on Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and Server 2019. Instead of weaponizing the flaw, the NSA acted to protect Americans and the computing public around the world by telling Microsoft what it had found. Microsoft updated the code to fix the flaw and pushed the update out on 14 January as part of the regularly scheduled monthly patch series.
So if you allowed the patch to be installed, you're safe. If not, obtain the update and install it now. By "now" I mean stop reading this article, install the patch, and then meet me back here.
Why the rush? There's no indication that crooks had discovered and exploited the flaw, but it's a sure thing that they're working now to identify the bug and develop ways to take advantage of it. Even though Microsoft has released a fix for the problem, users need to install the update to eliminate the danger. Unpatched systems fell victim to Russian and North Korean hackers long after Microsoft issued patches for Eternal Blue because users chose not to install the patches.
The flaw is located in Crypt32.dll that Windows 10 uses to verify digital signatures and it could allow malware to hide behind a legitimate installer. Using such an exploit, crooks could install malware that would provide access to the entire system.
The earlier flaw was used by criminals to create the WannaCry and NotPetya malware systems. The current flaw isn't as severe as Eternal Blue because it affects only Windows 10. Eternal Blue could be deployed against any version of Windows. Windows 10 is a huge target because corporate users are replacing Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines. The NSA's advisory says "sophisticated cyber actors will understand the underlying flaw very quickly." That's because it's relatively easy for crooks to reverse engineer the flaw based on the code used to patch the system.
Windows 10 supports Microsoft accounts and local accounts. If you've used Windows for a while and always set up a local account, you may wonder why you should change the process now.
Starting with Windows XP, users could link a local user account with a Microsoft account so that the user would be logged in automatically to the Microsoft account after logging in to Windows. Starting with Windows Server 2012, users have been able to directly authenticate into their PCs using their Microsoft account rather than using local or domain user credentials.
When setting up a new computer, users are given two options:
Despite being cloud based, creating a Microsoft account is both more secure and more convenient, especially if you have more than one computer. For example, my primary computer, a notebook computer, and a Surface Pro tablet all share the same credentials and automatically synchronize certain settings.
Another important feature is the ability to recover data from a drive that's protected with BitLocker. The encrypted drive has a password and forgetting the password locks you out of the drive. If you have a local account and you neglected to store a copy of the BitLocker recovery key, you're out of luck. Those who use login credentials associated with a Microsoft account can connect to Microsoft's BitLocker key recovery service, copy the key associated with the account, and recover the data.
If you want to use Microsoft Hello to sign on to a computer with a fingerprint or face recognition, you'll also need to use a Microsoft account instead of a local account.
A local account can be useful, though. Besides the Microsoft account that I use most of the time, I have enabled the "Administrator" account for those times when I need to use the computer as the Administrator, not just as an administrator.
Malwarebytes Labs made that startling claim recently and seems to back the claim with facts.
Assurance Wireless by Virgin Mobile sells low-cost phones through the federal government's "Lifeline Assistance" program, but the phones come with two "nefarious applications" according to Malwarebytes. The UMX U683CL phone costs just $35 under the government-funded program.
Malwarebytes says that the company's support center had received several complaints from users about pre-installed apps that were malicious. Malwarebytes purchased a UMX U683CL to investigate. "We informed Assurance Wireless of our findings and asked them point blank why a US-funded mobile carrier is selling a mobile device infected with pre-installed malware? After giving them adequate time to respond, we unfortunately never heard back."
The first questionable app is Wireless Update. The app is used to update the phone, but "it is also capable of auto-installing apps without user consent." The second is the mobile device’s own Settings app functions and "because the app serves as the dashboard from which settings are changed, removing it would leave the device unusable."
The phones are made in China and the Wireless Update module is "a variant of Adups, a China-based company caught collecting user data, creating backdoors for mobile devices and, yes, developing auto-installers."
If you'd like to read the full report, complete with an explanation of how the pre-installed malware works, see the Malwarebytes Labs blog.
Apparently feeling the pinch from companies that provide user-installed home security systems, ADT has launched a competing brand, Blue by ADT.
ADT focused on professional monitoring, but the new systems can be installed and monitored by users. That's what companies like Amazon, Nest, and SimpliSafe offer. These systems also eliminate long-term contracts. A "Safety & Security Alarms" report by Freedonia examines the effect changes are having on the $4.5 billion US market for safety and security alarms.
The report says that ADT has been trying to deal with the evolving home security market. In 2017, the company introduced ADT Canopy. This service could add monitoring to user-installed devices for a monthly fee. The latest changes push ADT into the DIY security equipment market.
Freedonia says Blue by ADT makes it possible for the company to continue leveraging its reputation in monitoring services while attracting new customers, many of whom may be price sensitive and searching for lower cost, entry-level DIY products.
The inaugural equipment includes a video doorbell, an indoor camera (which can also detect sounds from smoke and carbon monoxide alarms), and an outdoor camera.
In 2000, Transmeta was sneaking up on an idea that promised longer battery life and cooler operation for notebook computers. The company also promised that users could download and install CPU updates.
Even back then the trend to replace desktop systems with notebook computers was beginning to emerge. I wasn't too impressed by longer battery life when I wrote: [L]ess power means less heat. That's a good thing for anyone who's had to sit for a while with a 300MHz or faster laptop. "Lap-hot" might be a more appropriate term. Eliminating heat could eliminate fans that are increasingly included in laptops.
The ability to update the CPU also seemed questionable: While that seems like a good idea, it would open the door to having rogue code installed in the CPU.
It didn't work out quite the way Transmeta expected. After going public in late 2000, the company launched new products in 2003 but laid off employees in 2007. In January 2009, Novafora acquired Transmeta, but Novafora ceased operations a few months later. Eventually Intel purchased rights to some of the technology.