TweakHound

Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox
Version: 3.5.10 (Latest) Date: 3/18/2019
Download & Info

Windows 7 Nagware Update
KB4493132 showed up on my lappy running Windows 7 Ultimate. Apparently it will not show up on Pro and Enterprise editions. Hide it and be done with it. IMHO this issue isn’t a big deal.

Reader Emails (may be edited for brevity or clarity)

Q – You stated earlier that you rip your cds to FLAC. What program do you use for this and what music player do you use to play them on for Windows 10?
A – You won’t believe me…Winamp
edit: Ripping done with dBpoweramp Music Converter

Q – I added the Ultimate Power scheme as directed since my pc has only one power plan listed, the balanced plan. If you would be so gracious to provide it, I am looking for the codes to add the high performance power plan since I don’t really need to go all out ultimate.
A – Try https://winaero.com/blog/restore-default-power-plans-windows-10/

Q – When support ends, are you going to upgrade your Windows 7 computers to Windows 10?
A – I have 6 boxes that run Windows 7 full time. 2 of those boxes dual-boot with Win10 for testing purposes. The 4 boxes that only have Windows 7 will not be upgraded. I will unplug them from the internet before I do that (well, maybe Linux on one). The other 2 (one of which is my laptop) will be upgraded only when the use of Windows 7 on those boxes becomes untenable. When that is remains to be seen.

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

FEMA shared 2.3 million disaster survivors’ personal information with contractor
Millions of hurricane and wildfire survivors are learning that they’re at “increased risk of identity theft and fraud” because the Federal Emergency Management Agency shared their banking and other private information.
The Department of Homeland Security inspector general said Friday that FEMA had unlawfully disclosed the private data of 2.3 million survivors with a federal contractor that was helping them find temporary housing.
The 2.3 million people include survivors of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the 2017 California wildfires.
The data includes “20 unnecessary data fields” such as electronic funds transfer number, bank transit number, and address.
Question. Has anyone ever heard of any individual, public or private, being held accountable for this stuff?

This Spyware Data Leak Is So Bad We Can’t Even Tell You About It
A consumer spyware vendor left a lot of incredibly sensitive and private data, including intimate pictures and private call recordings, for all to see on a server freely accessible over the internet. And it still hasn’t taken the data down…This story is part of When Spies Come Home, a Motherboard series about powerful surveillance software ordinary people use to spy on their loved ones…The spyware app that’s leaking this data allows its customers to monitor pretty much everything on the cellphone where it’s installed. The spyware lets its operator read the target’s phone contacts, text messages, listen to calls, record ambient sound by turning on the microphone, and much more.
At first I said, “yeah well, karma.” But, the “intimate pictures and private call recordings” are of the people being spied on.

I Deleted Facebook Last Year. Here’s What Changed (and What Didn’t).
Our personal tech columnist didn’t lose touch with his true friends — but strange things did occur, including Instagram thinking he was a woman.
#DeleteFacebook

Firefox 66.0.1
Download (all) | Download 32-bit EN-US | Download 64-bit EN-US | Release Notes

Intel Graphics – Windows 10 DCH Drivers with Intel Graphics Command Center
Windows 10 64-bit only
Download & Info

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Microsoft Says the FCC ‘Overstates’ Broadband Availability in the US
You can’t fix a problem you don’t understand, and America has no idea just how bad its broadband coverage gaps are.
“We all need to move faster,” Microsoft said at the time. “It took 50 years to electrify the nation. The millions of Americans waiting for broadband don’t have the luxury of time.”
Yup

Tech Experts: What You Post Online Could Be Directly Impacting Your Insurance Coverage
&
Facebook acknowledges concerns over Cambridge Analytica emerged earlier than reported
&
Facebook Stored Millions Of User Passwords In Plain, Readable Text
#DeleteFacebook

Weekend listening: Miranda Lambert – White Liar (Official Music Video)

Google Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 73.0.3683.86 for Windows, Mac, and Linux”
Download

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.3.3 Optional
Download | Release Notes

Nvidia Creator Ready Driver 419.67
Creator Ready Driver releases are timed to key creative application updates, ensuring the best compatibility and performance for those who depend on PCs for their creative work.
Download (choose Download Type: Creator Ready Driver) | Release Notes

Goodbye HardOCP – Hello Intel
We have some big changes happening here at HardOCP. Kyle Bennett will be taking on new challenges very soon with Intel working as its Director of Enthusiast Engagement.
Stunning but not surprising. Although he says “financial motivations” were not behind it, it had to be a factor. [H] is the granddaddy of enthusiasts sites, most of which have changed hands or gone by the wayside. Computing has changed and sites like his (and mine) are not as popular or as profitable as they once were. Best of luck to you Kyle and thanks for all you’ve done for the enthusiast community.

My Bracket

BleachBit 2.2
Home | Download for Windows (I use portable) | Changes

Intel Graphics Driver for Windows
Version: 15.40.42.5063 Date: 3/19/2019
This release contains security fixes.
Supports Intel(R) Iris(R) graphics, Intel(R) Iris(R) Pro graphics and Intel(R) HD graphics on:
4th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) Processor Platform (codename Haswell)
5th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) Processor Platform (codename Broadwell)
Braswell Processor Family
CherryTrail Processor Family
Download & Info
This will not install on my laptop: “This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software.”
Except, it does.

Software Releases
Tails 3.13
Tor Browser 8.0.7

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Windows 7 SP1 support notification
After 10 years of servicing, January 14, 2020, is the last day Microsoft will offer security updates for computers running Windows 7 SP1. This update enables reminders about Windows 7 end of support.
This is the nagware I mentioned last week. Apparently KB4493132 will show up soon. Some reports indicate it is released but I’ve got several Windows 7 boxes and it hasn’t appeared. Anyway, when it does appear in Windows Update > Right-click > Hide update .

Social Media Giants Duck for Cover as Washington Gets ‘Fed Up’
“There is a sea change politically on Capitol Hill,” said Jonathan Tepper, the author of the “The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition.” “The left and right are completely fed up.”

Google bans VPN ads in China
“It is currently Google Ads policy to disallow promoting VPN services in China, due to local legal restrictions,” Google said in an email today.
Google, define kowtow
kow·tow /ˌkouˈtou/
verb
1.
act in an excessively subservient manner.
“she didn’t have to kowtow to a boss”
synonyms: grovel, behave obsequiously, be obsequious, be servile, be sycophantic, fawn on, bow and scrape, toady, truckle, abase oneself, humble oneself, prostrate oneself; More
curry favor with, flatter, court, woo, dance attendance on, make up to, play up to, ingratiate oneself with;
crawl, creep, suck up to, brown-nose, butter up, be all over, fall all over, lick someone’s boots;
2.
historical
kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in worship or submission as part of Chinese custom.
synonyms: prostrate oneself, bow, bow down before, genuflect, do/make obeisance, fall on one’s knees before, get down on one’s knees before, kneel before;
salaam, throw oneself at someone’s feet, fall down before someone, curtsy, bow and scrape;
pay homage, show reverence, show deference, humble oneself before someone, worship
“they kowtow to her in awe and reverence”

Stranger Things: Season 3 | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Windows 10 Updated
All supported versions of Win10 updated except 1809. 20 some odd “Addresses an issue” and a few other fixes.
1803 – March 19, 2019—KB4489894 (OS Build 17134.677)
1709 – 1709 – March 19, 2019—KB4489890 (OS Build 16299.1059)
1703 – March 19, 2019—KB4489888 (OS Build 15063.1716)

Firefox 66
Download (all) | Download 32-bit EN-US | Download 64-bit EN-US | Release Notes

If You Thought College Admission Scandal Was Bad, This Woman’s Post About Rich People Buying Her Writing Services Will Show It’s Worse
Writer Jaimie Leigh has done us all a service recently, by penning an eye-opening piece that further exposes the festering injustice that runs deep through American society. The post, which has already been shared over 30k times, details her experience working for wealthy clients, writing papers and doctoring resumes to ensure that lazy, entitled rich kids get the right ‘personal brand’ for Ivy league universities. Because once you have the right credentials, parentage and connections, your actual talents and work ethic cease to matter.

Wise Disk Cleaner 10.1.7
Download (I use portable) | Release Info

Winaero Tweaker 0.14
Bugfixes, improvements, new features.
Download | Release Announcement
IMHO there is no reason to install this program. The author provides switches to extract the program.
In the example below I downloaded and extracted the zip file then ran this command from an elevated command prompt from within that folder:
WinaeroTweaker-0.14.0.0-setup.exe /SP- /VERYSILENT /PORTABLE /DIR=”G:\Downloads\winaerotweaker\wt_portable”

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Google knows where you live, work and your ‘secret interests’, new ‘Shadow Profile’ report says
Google has been accused of spying on millions of Australians by building profiles containing “intimate lifestyle details” such as home and work addresses — plus “secret interests”.
Technology company Oracle also alleged Google may have broken the law by misleading consumers about true motives for snooping — to target and sell ads — and the control they have over their own data.
“Surprise, surprise, surprise”, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.

Microsoft proves the critics right: We’re heading toward a Chrome-only Web
One of the greatest fears when Microsoft announced that it was ditching its EdgeHTML rendering engine and switching to Chromium—the open source engine that powers Google’s Chrome, along with a range of others such as Vivaldi, Brave, and Opera—is that Web developers would increasingly take the easy way out and limit their support and testing to Chrome. That would leave Mozilla’s Firefox, Apple’s Safari, and any other browsers, present or future, out of the fun.
A one browser web is bad for you and the entire internet.

Is Huawei a security threat? Seven experts weigh in
Most of them say it is.

More than two thirds of all Android antivirus apps are ineffective and many don’t even do anything at all
In a survey of 250 Android so-called antivirus apps, only 80 were found to block more than 30% of malware samples. Some of the apps tested didn’t even have any antivirus functionality at all.
You don’t need anti-virus on Android.

Jamie Dimon says we’ve split the US economy, leaving the poor behind
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said that the U.S. economy has essentially been split into those benefiting from thriving corporations and those who are left behind.
“I don’t want to be a tone deaf CEO; while the company is doing fine, it is absolutely obvious that a big chunk of [people] have been left behind,” Dimon said. “Forty percent of Americans make less than $15 an hour. Forty percent of Americans can’t afford a $400 bill, whether it’s medical or fixing their car. Fifteen percent of Americans make minimum wages, 70,000 die from opioids” annually.
Preach

NCAA MARCH MADNESS – Time for brackets.
I’ve done a few this year: ESPN, CBS, NCAA. Will post when live.
My post from last year with FAQ’s and links: https://www.tweakhound.com/2018/03/13/ncaa-march-madness-bracket/
Last year I did terrible. In 2017 I did really well, top 1%: https://www.tweakhound.com/2017/04/04/unc-tarheels-2017-ncaa-mens-basketball-champions/
Who did I pick? A clue…
– Ain’t no royalty here

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.3.2
Support for Division 2, Civ 6: Gathering Storm, DX 12 on Windows 7.
Download | Release Notes

VMware Workstation 15.0.3
“This release contains bug fixes and security updates.”
Download | Release Notes

Top US general says Google ‘is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military’
“We watch with great concern when industry partners work in China knowing that there is that indirect benefit and frankly indirect may be not a full characterization of the way it really is, it’s more of a direct benefit to the Chinese military,” Dunford added.
Dunford has long questioned why US-based tech firms have resisted working with the Department of Defense while simultaneously doing business with geopolitical competitors like China.
It is easy to say the reason is greed but that doesn’t explain away the hypocrisy.

Weekend Listening: PHANTOM, ROCKER & SLICK – Men Without Shame
One of my favs. Absolutely wicked guitar work. You’ve got to crank this all the way up!
You can get the CD or just the MP3 at Amazon.
Wikipedia – Phantom, Rocker & Slick

(if someone finds a better quality video please let me know)

Servicing stack update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: March 12, 2019
Readers Tim and Doug reminded me of the newest Servicing Stack Update for Windows 7.
The servicing stack is what installs Windows updates. Whether intentional or through incompetence, Microsoft has made updating Windows (especially Windows 7) somewhere between difficult and impossible. IMHO their servicing stack updates are meant to fix the problem they created. So if you have an issue with Windows Update, a servicing stack update is the place to start.
To download the latest servicing stack you look in the Microsoft Update Catalog. Search for servicing stack.
Windows 7: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=Servicing%20Stack%20Update%20for%20Windows%207
Windows 10: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=Servicing%20Stack%20Update%20for%20Windows%2010
Last month I had linked to an article outlining this. The newest servicing stack update for Windows 7 will be required by July 16. This should have been installed automatically with Windows Update this month. If not, manually check Windows Update or see the above links.

Google Chrome 73
For the desktop, Chrome has several “Fixes and improvements” and 60 security fixes.
Chrome for Android has 2 new features as well as “stability and performance improvements”.
Download for desktop
Download for Android

Firefox Send
https://send.firefox.com/
Introducing Firefox Send, Providing Free File Transfers while Keeping your Personal Information Private
Send is a free encrypted file transfer service that allows users to safely and simply share files from any browser. Additionally, Send will also be available as an Android app in beta later this week.

Navy, Industry Partners Are ‘Under Cyber Siege’ by Chinese Hackers, Review Asserts
The assessment, delivered to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer last week and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, depicts a branch of the armed forces under relentless cyberattack by foreign adversaries and struggling in its response to the scale and sophistication of the problem.
Relentless is the word. Most of the internet seems to be under constant attack from the Chinese. This site is just a tiny little site at the edge of the internet yet:

Updates available for all currently supported versions of Windows.

Windows 10
1809 – March 12, 2019—KB4489899 (OS Build 17763.379)
1803 – March 12, 2019—KB4489868 (OS Build 17134.648)
1709 – March 12, 2019—KB4489886 (OS Build 16299.1029)
Several “Addresses an issue” +
Security updates to Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows Shell, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers, Windows Server, Windows Linux, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Datacenter Networking, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Wireless Networking, the Microsoft JET Database Engine, Windows Kernel, Windows, and Windows Fundamentals.

Windows 8.1
March 12, 2019—KB4489881 (Monthly Rollup)
March 12, 2019—KB4489883 (Security-only update)
Several “Addresses an issue” +
Security updates to Internet Explorer, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Kernel, Windows Server, Windows MSXML, and the Microsoft JET Database Engine .

Windows 7
March 12, 2019—KB4489878 (Monthly Rollup)
March 12, 2019—KB4489885 (Security-only update)
Several “Addresses an issue” +
Security updates to Internet Explorer, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Cryptography, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Server, Windows Kernel, Windows MSXML, and the Microsoft JET Database Engine .

Windows 7 To Become Nagware, Again
After 10 years, support for Windows 7 is coming to an end on January 14, 2020, with Office 2010 following shortly thereafter. We are here to help you with recommendations for what to do next and answer questions that you may have about end of support. Beginning next month, if you are a Windows 7 customer, you can expect to see a notification appear on your Windows 7 PC. This is a courtesy reminder that you can expect to see a handful of times in 2019.

CCleaner v5.55
Bunch of stuff for people using the pay for version. Yeah, I don’t know why you would pay for this either.
Also a fix for the Chinese owned Opera browser.
I would skip this one.
Download (I use portable) | Release Info
See also: Blocking A Programs Internet Access Via The Windows Firewall

Audacity 2.3.1
Free, open source, cross-platform audio software
Audacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
Download | Release Info

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Nvidia’s study linking hardware to competitiveness is peak PC gamer elitism
Using a series of graphs to display data sourced anonymously through its GeForce Experience app, Nvidia posits that, unless you’re using one of its latest GeForce RTX graphics cards and a 144Hz Nvidia G-Sync monitor, you’re playing these games at a disadvantage.
So much so, in fact, that Nvidia directly links higher kill-death ratios – a figure measuring how many times you kill players versus how many times you’re killed – to more powerful (and considerably more expensive) gaming hardware.
What’s the worst thing about this? Nvidia’s claims are grounded in reality.
Welcome to life.

Ahead of Thursday Hearing, Portman, Carper Unveil Bipartisan Report Detailing Equifax’s Repeated Failures to Protect Sensitive Information of More Than 145 Million Americans
Fair warning, if you read this you’ll get angry.
Oh, and Brian Krebs comes up with this: MyEquifax.com Bypasses Credit Freeze PIN

‘Bikini barista’ coffee shop in California has license revoked after city council deems outfits too revealing
At a meeting on Tuesday, city council members in American Canyon voted unanimously to revoke a license granted to Bottoms Up Espresso, after critics argued that the “bikini barista” coffee shop was operating more like an adult business than a café.
Prudes

Y’all Heard? An Argument For The Great Southern Pronoun
Listen up, y’all: Perhaps even Yankees should start saying “y’all.”
Davies points out that early forms of English had pronouns for both the singular second person (thou or thee) and the plural second person (ye or you). Over time, “thou,” “thee” and “ye” all fell away. In contemporary English, we now use “you” to directly address both individuals and groups of people.
The Southern contraction “y’all” (“you” + “all”) brings back that plural pronoun, much like other regionalisms: “youse,” “you guys,” “you’uns” or “yinz.”
I had an friendly argument in high school with a teacher over the use of “y’all”. Millions of people use the contraction. That makes it proper language. What isn’t proper is to use “y’all” when addressing a single person, ever.

Town by town, local journalism is dying in plain sight
Blame revenue siphoned by online competition, cost-cutting ownership, a death spiral in quality, sheer disinterest among readers or reasons peculiar to given locales for that development.
Goings on around here are pretty much ignored by the regional paper (which sucks). The only “local” news we have around here is a blog.

Two congressmen just debated whether Nickelback is good on the House floor
The debate flared up after Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) cited the statistic that only four people out of 77,000 wanted to keep a particular voting rights provision that was being debated by the body. He described the ratio as “probably about the percent of people who think Nickelback is their favorite band in this country.”