TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Wednesday News

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Up to 30% off Logitech Stuff – Today Only
I just ordered the Logitech MX Master Wireless Mouse, High-precision Sensor – $57.50
All Logitech deals HERE.

Win10 Updated
September 25, 2017—KB4040724 (OS Build 15063.632). Not much to it.

VMware Workstation 14
Out today, downloaded, installed, launched my openSUSE VM, error – would not launch. Uninstalled and reinstalled old version.
Pfft!

Good Reads
Additional information regarding the recent CCleaner APT security incident
“It is worth noting that, despite there being a large number of tech / telco companies in China, Russia and India, there are no companies from these countries on the list of companies targeted by this attack.”

No Mercy / No Malice: The Worm Has Turned
“Curing, rocketing, leaning in — no more. The worm has turned against big tech, and it’s overdue. The tipping point was the recent revelation that Mark Zuckerberg had unwittingly become Vladimir Putin’s b***h. However, each firm has its own links to the dark side and is about to face the same scrutiny and standards the rest of business endures.”

– – – – –
Etc.

Star Trek: Discovery, Online Only
It launched the 1st and 2nd episodes. Didn’t see them. Not paying for the totally lame CBS All Access.

Goodbye Acronis True Image

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I’m switching to Macrium Reflect Free and Clonezilla (free too).
Ditching Acronis has been coming for a while. Over the last couple of years I have increasingly heard from users where Acronis True Image has failed them. Over the last year I’ve encountered issues on numerous occasions. The only thing saving me is I have dozens of full backups. Problems have included freezing during restore and multiple USB device issues.
*note – I only backup and restore offline using bootable media, old habits…
Although I will be using both Macrium Reflect Free and Clonezilla I will be recommending Macrium Reflect Free to the masses. Macrium Reflect Free is fast and easy to use. It provides a way to easily make a Windows PE based bootable CD or USB drive customized to your machine. It contains everything the majority of users could want.
Clonezilla is slower than Macrium but will image any and everything. Having no GUI, non-Geeks my be intimidated. Having said that, if you just follow the on screen instructions you should be fine.
Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition is available. As of this writing I know the linked page says “coming soon” but you end up downloading v7.0.2199.

New Nvidia Drivers

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Nvidia GeForce Game Ready Driver 385.69 WHQL
Provides the optimal gaming experience for Project Cars 2, Call of Duty: WWII open beta, Total War: WARHAMMER II, Forza Motorsport 7, EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone, FIFA 18, Raiders of the Broken Planet, and Star Wars Battlefront 2 open beta
Download
Release Notes

CCleaner 5.35

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Version History
v5.35.6210 (20 Sep 2017)
– All builds signed with new Digital Signatures

Download
I use the portable version and that link isn’t live as of this writing.

If you want a version of CCleaner before it was bought by Avast it would be v5.32.6129 (11 Jul 2017) or older.
Get it now. I don’t know how long these will be live.
http://download.piriform.com/ccsetup532.exe
http://download.piriform.com/ccsetup532.zip

Tuesday News

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Protest To Protect Net Neutrality
Sept 26-27: The Internet descends on Washington
“On September 26-27 Internet users from across the country will converge on Washington, DC to meet directly with their members of Congress, which is by far the most effective way to influence their positions and counter the power of telecom lobbyists and campaign contributions. First you can attend a training hosted by Public Knowledge who will share years of experience on how to be effective in these meetings. Participants will be paired with a guide to show you where to go on Capitol Hill to participate in meetings with key lawmakers.”

Chrome Vs. Edge and IE
This “Browser Security White Paper” that “has been sponsored by Google” claims Google Chrome is more secure than Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer.

Screw You Guys I’m Going Home
The EFF doesn’t like the W3C supporting DRM so they quit. Well played guys!

CCleaner
Nothing new to report.

Off Topic
Forget getting rich – sex and sleep are the real keys to happiness (and beer, they forgot beer!)

CCleaner Compromised

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“For a period of time, the legitimate signed version of CCleaner 5.33 being distributed by Avast also contained a multi-stage malware payload that rode on top of the installation of CCleaner… During the installation of CCleaner 5.33, the 32-bit CCleaner binary that was included also contained a malicious payload that featured a Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) as well as hardcoded Command and Control (C2) functionality. We confirmed that this malicious version of CCleaner was being hosted directly on CCleaner’s download server as recently as September 11, 2017.”
[Read more…] about CCleaner Compromised