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19 Nov 2021 - Podcast #770 - (18:07)
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If you own a computer that's not eligible for Windows 11 and you've wondered if you could install it anyway, the answer is yes. Probably you can. The more important question is Should you install Windows 11 on an incompatible system.
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It's not hard to find instructions for doing the deed, and Microsoft isn't actively doing anything to block the process — at least not now. It won't work for every computer. Even if it works, the results might not be acceptable.
Give it a try if and only if ...
To confirm that your computer supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Secure Boot functionality, run msinfo32 (aka "System Information") and examine the BIOS Mode line. If you see "legacy", it may be possible to enable UEFI in the system's BIOS. Check the documentation that came with your computer to see if UEFI is available on the motherboard and how to modify BIOS settings.
To check for Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security, use the Device Manager and view the Security Devices key. If the Device Manager has no Security Devices key or if TPM is present but less than version 2.0, Microsoft will tell you that Windows 11 cannot be installed. In fact, it can be manually installed if TPM 1.2 is installed. For additional details, see this July 2021 TechByter Worldwide post.
So if you've placed check marks by each of those conditions, let's see what's involved.
There's a huge list of unapproved CPUs and perhaps you're wondering why that's the case. In my case, the CPU is an Intel Xeon E3-1505M v5 that runs at 2.80GHz and has 4 cores that appear to applications as 8 cores. I paid extra for this powerful CPU in August 2016, so the computer is a bit more than five years old. In a corporate setting, this computer would have been replaced in 2020 and possibly in 2019, but it has a lot of RAM, a fast solid-state boot drive, and everything else Windows 11 needs. Everything but the CPU.
The CPU in my computer and a lot of "older" CPUs lack subsystems necessary to run virtualization-based security (VBS) protocols. Because of this, my computer and others that don't fully support VBS will run slowly unless VBS and core isolation are disabled. That would bypass some of the security measures built in to Windows 11. See: Dilemma, on the horns of a.
You can regain speed lost to the update on unsupported hardware by disabling VBS. For the latest on that topic, use DuckDuckGo or Google to search for "disabling vbs protocols". Currently, one of the better explanations is from TechRepublic.
The installation process is easy, but there are many steps and it's essential to get them all right and to do them in the right order.
Download the Microsoft ISO file for Windows 10 to the computer you want to upgrade. This requires downloading the Media Creation Tool and using it to download and store the Windows 10 ISO file. There are ways to get around this requirement, but the process is more cumbersome than just using the standard process.Go slowly and read every message. You'll find an advanced options link during the process. Be sure to click that then then specify that you want to run the process without online assistance or updates. You don't want Windows 10 updates; you want Windows 11 to install and, once that has been done, you can deal with updates.
Have I done this with my primary computer? No. I do have another computer that's even older than the primary computer, and I thought about trying this process there. That computer has Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Secure Boot functionality, but no Trusted Platform module. So it looks like the only computer I have that will run Windows 11 is a Surface tablet.
Should you do this with your computer? It's your choice, of course, and I presume you've worked your way though the cautions on the way to a decision that works for you. It's likely that I'll wait for Windows 11 on my primary computer until I buy a new computer even though I really like the way Windows 11 works on my tablet computer.
How important is it to you to have Windows 11 on your computer? Windows 11 is more secure than Windows 10. It also has some attractive features. But is there any compelling reason that you must have Windows 11 right now? Windows 10 will be supported for several more years and maybe waiting would be the better choice if it's likely that you'll replace the computer before Windows 10 support ends. This does not apply to computers that can be upgraded to Windows 11. If your computer can be upgraded, it should be upgraded. You may want to wait six months, but do accept the update.
What have you decided? Please let me know.
Facebook plans to discontinue facial recognition, primarily because the process has generated a lot of complaints about privacy violations.
It's a feature that some users love and others despise. The company has facial recognition templates for approximately one billion people and plans to delete that data. But is anything ever deleted, really? The templates will persist on backups for a while at least and may continue to persist indefinitely on archived backups, presuming Facebook archives backups.
Deleting the templates from the active system means that Facebook will no longer automatically recognize faces in uploaded photos and videos. Facebook promoted facial recognition as an advantage to help users tag people in the files they uploaded. It certainly did that, but it also gave Facebook a gigantic library of facial recognition data.
The company says its move is one of the largest shifts in facial recognition since the technology was developed. Facebook says facial recognition technology could still be used to help people gain access to their accounts if they get locked out, and noted that blind and visually-impaired users need the technology. That sounds like it's going away, but not really. The company will continue to develop facial recognition technology for use inside Facebook and hasn't ruled out trying to find ways to use it in the future.
But for now the system that automatically generates image descriptions, and all other public uses of the technology, will be shut off.
Antivirus expiring? If you've received an email that says your antivirus protection is about to expire (or has expired) and you must act right away if you want to be safe, that might be true. But probably it's not.
That seems to be the new scam of the day, and most people are sufficiently aware so that they don't fall for the scam, particularly if the message is from a antivirus provider they don't use. I've received these messages from Norton, McAfee, and Avast, but I don't use any of them. So the scammers have developed a new ploy.
What would you do if you received a message from Norton, McAfee, Avast, Kaspersky, AVG, Bitdefender, ESET, or one of the other publishers that said your account has been renewed and the price shown is some absurd amount — hundreds of dollars — for a multi-year, multi-computer license? The first thing to do is closely examine the message. You'll probably see an invoice number or an account number. You'll see a price and a payment method that implies a credit card without identifying it. You'll see an order date — probably today's date. And you'll see a message that offers a way to cancel the subscription if you contact the billing department immediately.
What you probably won't see is your name. Instead, the message will begin with "Dear Customer", "Greetings Customer", or something similar. If you look closely, you'll probably also see odd capitalization, strange punctuation, and maybe a misspelling or two.
If you receive a message such as this from an antivirus provider you use and you're not sure about it's legitimacy, start by clicking nothing in the message itself. Instead, visit the publisher's website and log in to your account. You'll be able to check the status of your subscription there. Or find the option on the provider's website to contact customer service and ask them to check your account.
The crooks are hoping the recipients call to protest the charge. The "customer service" rep will ask for the credit card number, name on the card, expiration date, billing postal code, and security code because that information will be "needed to cancel the charge". In fact, that's all the information the scammer needs to buy things with your credit card.
If you've ever had a problem finding the mouse cursor, maybe you're enabled the function that help you find it when you tap the Control key. A small circle surrounds the cursor for a moment, but it's not always easy to find. The problem is worse if your computer has multiple monitors. There's now a better way.
I mentioned the new version of Power Toys in the Short Circuits section of the 13 Aug TechByter issue. The utility is still in beta and you can download it from Microsoft's Github account. A recent addition is a big improvement to the cursor finder function, but the old method still works.
Instead of placing a circle around the mouse cursor for a tiny fraction of a second, the new function, the new mouse finder dims the screen on all monitors and then places illumunation on the mouse cursor. And, instead of disappearing in a fraction of a second, the highlight remains until you move the cursor or touch the keyboard. The old method is triggered by tapping the Control key, and the new method is triggered by tapping the Control key twice.
To enable the new function, make sure that you have the latest version (0.49.0 or later) and that it's set to start with Windows. Open settings and scroll down to the Mouse Utilities tab. Turn Enable Find My Mouse and, if you play a lot of games, you may want to also activate the option not to enable the function when Game Mode is active.
Now if you need to find the mouse cursor, a quick double-tap on the left Control key will reveal its location. Currently the old method works with both the left and right Control keys, but the new method works only with the left Control key.
Maybe getting there isn't half the fun. Tesla has recalled about 12 thousand self-driving cars after a software update introduced a bug that can cause the car to detect an imminent collision with an object that doesn't exist and then initiate emergency braking.
The problem affects Models S, X, and 3 vehicles built between 2017 and 2021 and also Model Y vehicles built in 2020 and 2021 if they have firmware release 2021.36.5.2. That version of firmware was pushed out to drivers who are enrolled in the beta testing program. After receiving reports about unexpected braking, Tesla halted deployment of the update and issued a corrected update two days later.
The recall was virtual with corrected software being delivered electronically, but Tesla took the unusual step of notifying the National Transportation Safety Board about the problem. The NTSB has criticized Telsla for failing to report previous problems.
Amazon is a lot larger and more important than it was 20 years ago. NBC may be smaller and is certainly less important. In 2001, they were testing a cooperative project. The television network offered links to books and CDs related to programs. The links went to www.amazon.com/nbc/.
I wrote: The site features books, music, and videos related to programs that recently aired. Neither NBC nor Amazon wants to talk about the financial terms of the deal. The operation went live earlier this week. Suffice to say that NBC will receive a percentage of sales from the site.
It's not a permanent feature yet. NBC and Amazon are testing it through the end of the year. During the test period, spots will air on various programs featured on NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. Amazon says it won't provide NBC with specific personal information about customers, but will release general sales figures and demographics. That will give NBC some insight into what kinds of customers purchase which products.
If it ever became a "permanent" feature, it has been discontinued.