TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Patch Tuesday

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Windows Updates Available
You got Windows, you got updates. (Microsoft Security Update Summary for May 8, 2018) below)
May 8, 2018—KB4103721 (OS Build 17134.48)
*Until further notice my advice is to wait a week or so to see what the fallout is over the latest updates. It seems every single update breaks something anymore.

Of Course
What would Patch Tuesday be without Adobe patching another flaw in Flash Player?
APSB18-16 Security update available for Adobe Flash Player
Version 29.0.0.171 is out.
for Firefox, Opera
for Internet Explorer
Flash for Edge, IE 11, and Chrome update automatically with the browser.

Off Topic

Equifax confirms data breach included driver’s licenses and passports
Jail. Someone needs to go to jail.

The average American works more hours than a medieval peasant
I wonder if it is all worth it? Some synonyms for peasant: boor, bumpkin, hayseed, hick, oaf, peon, rube, serf.

[Read more…] about Patch Tuesday

Windows 10 Game Mode And Ultimate Performance Power Plan

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In prep for the upcoming revision of the Win10 Tweak Guide I have some thoughts about Game Mode and the Ultimate Performance Power Plan.
Lemme give you my conclusion right out of the box. IMHO, for performance Game Mode and the Ultimate Performance Power Plan are pure snake oil.
[Read more…] about Windows 10 Game Mode And Ultimate Performance Power Plan

Monday Random Stuff…

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You Can’t Opt Out Of Sharing Your Data, Even If You Didn’t Opt In
“So does that mean that, in addition to locking down our own privacy choices, we need to police the choices of our friends and family? No, said Cohen, Gillmor and Viljoen. In fact, the privacy of the commons means that, in some cases, your data is collected in ways you cannot reasonably prevent, no matter how carefully you or anyone you know behaves.”
Sad fact.

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Said
Lot’s of articles out there quoting (often wrongly) what he said at the MS Build Conference. So I went looking for the transcript.
You can download it here: Satya Nadella: Build 2018
“We ensure that when we use data, it is to benefit the user.”
Look, I don’t know much about the man but he really needs someone to look over his speeches. The “It’s for your own good” excuse is just lame and frankly a little insulting.
Then he said, “We ensure that the user is always in control of their data and its use.”
I’m…uh…hmmm…
I…um…that’s…man o man…

Windows Commands Reference
A PDF containing an overview and alphabetical listing of Windows commands.
Download

You Don’t Say…
A new report says the Chinese government is behind a decade of hacks on software companies.
Is there anyone that is even remotely surprised by this?

Personal privacy vs. public security: fight!
Good read on this topic. Recommended.

Off Topic

AT&T/Verizon lobby asks FCC to help raise prices on smaller ISPs

Android P will finally restrict apps from monitoring your network activity

How Robin Williams was being torn apart and couldn’t fight back
My name is Wil Wheaton. I live with chronic Depression, and I am not ashamed.

Lyme Disease Is On The Rise Again. Here’s How To Prevent It

TweakHound.com Is 16 Years Old

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Yep, I started this site 16 years ago. Whois says Creation Date: 2002-05-13T18:12:23Z but I think “May 2002” is close enough.
The average life span of a website is 2.7 years so this site is ancient by internet standards.
The purpose of this site was and is to inform and help in matters computer related. You know, “computer stuff…”
I hope I can still be doing this in another 16 years. I don’t know though. Will we still be using PC’s then?
There was a time when this site sometimes saw +35k unique hits a day. Today it is a fraction of that. I’ve have heard from every one of the world regions except maybe the 2 poles. You’ve no idea how humbling and special that is to me.
To the millions who have stopped by through the years, Thank You!
I hope I was able to help you in some small way.
About TweakHound.com | About Me
(original logo)
TweakHound's 1st Logo, circa 2002!
You can browse through this sites past at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/*/tweakhound.com
https://web.archive.org/web/20021127182517/http://www.tweakhound.com:80/
Years ago sites used “affiliates” to pass on their news. The use of affiliates was twofold: 1 to bring visitors directly to your site, and 2 to increase your Google page rank. AFAIK Google stopped using such things and sadly few website operators are friendly anymore.
At any rate, here is a list of affiliates from TweakHound.com’s past. Most of them are no longer around or have been bought out and changed:
3dXtreme
BlargOC
BlynkNet
DarksidePC
Dark][Tweaker
Flickerdown
Furioustech
HardCoreMods
[H]ardOCP
HardwareGeeks
OCIA
OverclockerCafe
PCeXtremist
PChardware UK
PCReviewSpot
PcTechTalk
SubZeroTech
TechSeekers
XtReMoDs
Warp2Search

Friday Random Stuff…

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GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 397.55
– After driver installation, Device Manager may report Code 43 error on a few GTX 1060 cards models.
– Netflix playback may occasionally stutter.
– Added support for Microsoft Surface Book notebooks.
– Windows 10: Driver may get removed after PC has been left idle for an extended period of time.
Download

Spectre Next Generation
“A total of eight new security flaws in Intel CPUs have already been reported to the manufacturer by several teams of researchers. For now, details on the flaws are being kept secret. All eight are essentially caused by the same design problem – you could say that they are Spectre Next Generation.”

[H] Victorious
Nvidia is canceling their GPP Program.
Chalk one up for the good guys!

Macrium Reflect v7.1.3196
“Incremental and Differential images created since 17th April using Macrium Reflect v7.1.3147, 3159 or 3169 could be corrupt if the Changed Block Tracker (CBT) driver was involved in the Image creation. This has been resolved.”
Download

LMAO OMG WTF SMH
If you think the H in IMHO stands for honest you should be banned from the internet and instant messaging for life.

Off Topic

GUNS N’ ROSES: Remastered And Expanded Edition Of ‘Appetite For Destruction’ Due In June

3 White Lions Cubs Born At Metro Richmond Zoo (pics and video, they are awesome)

Ron Howard Gets A New ‘Solo’ Trailer For May The 4th

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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***UPDATED – Windows 10 April Update Benchmark

Samsung NVMe Driver v3.0
“This driver supports Samsung NVMe SSD 970 PRO, 970 EVO, 960 PRO, 960 EVO and 950 PRO.”
Download | Alternative download at MajorGeeks

O&O Shutup10
Version 1.6.1396 – released May 2, 2018
-Adapted for the Windows 10 Spring Creators Update 1804 (Build 17134)
-Fixed issue with finding High Contrast mode on user-defined schemes
-User interface adapted
-Bug Fixes: Various small bug fixes
-Available in English, German, French, Italian and Russian
Download

Win10 April Update Freezing Chrome
Source: Neowin. It happened to me too.

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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Win10 Benchmark Continued
I’m no nearer figuring out why my benchmark scores are lower. I thought maybe my NVMe SSD had an even bigger performance hit but my AS SSD Benchmark and CrystalDiskMark scores are similar to the results I had before.

Features removed or planned for replacement starting with Windows 10, version 1803
Thanks JO!

7-Zip 18.05
Download | Release Announcment

Linux Releases
Kali Linux 2018.2
“This Kali release is the first to include the Linux 4.15 kernel, which includes the x86 and x64 fixes for the much-hyped Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities. It also includes much better support for AMD GPUs”
Download | Release Announcment
Fedora 28
“For the first time, we’re making it easy for users to enable certain third-party software sources, including proprietary Nvidia drivers.”
Has kernel 4.16.
Download | Release Announcement
Meanwhile at openSUSE…
At the end of May they will release openSUSE Leap 15 which follows version 42.3. Yes you read that right. Oh, and it will use kernel 4.12 that was released last July.