TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

More On Win10 Privacy

By

win10_logon_logoAs I sat for 2 and 1/2 hours waiting for the local tire guys to put 2 new fracking tires on my wife’s car, reader Dave sent me the link to:
Ed Bott: When it comes to Windows 10 privacy, don’t trust amateur analysts
The article discusses the article I linked to Sunday. Some random dude took a stab at trying to figure out who/what Win10 was connecting to. Apparently that post has been deleted. I didn’t talk too much about it except to say I had made a similar attempt last September. I was hoping my readers would see that my results were almost totally opposite from his. I don’t know if anyone saw it or not.
Anyway, Ed completely dismantles this guys test and takes folks who were doing “I told you so’s” to task. I think Ed may have been a tad hard on the guy in the original post. He was just making an attempt at some Geekery. He didn’t ask for half the tech world to read it. The reporters sourcing the story deserve the blame for sensationalizing it. Ed does give it to them with both barrels.
Agree with him or not, it is a must read.

***UPDATE, 14:15hrs
The guy that Ed takes to task above has learned from Microsoft that:

Contacting me again a Microsoft spokesperson explained the company now wanted to speak about the issue. In short: Microsoft is taking action. It has decided to release updates “later this year” which will enable users to fully control all background telemetry and data tracking and, if desired, disable it completely. Microsoft also asked me to stress that disabling these background operations is something it would “strongly recommend against”.

My takeaway is that our incessant bitching to and about Microsoft on this issue has produced the second caving in by Microsoft in the last week. One button to shut it all down is what we asked for and it looks like we will get it.
Congrats to us!
and
Congrats to Microsoft!
beer_smiley_clink

Windows 10 Now Has Updates Release Notes

By

win10_logoHoly cow! We bitched and Microsoft has caved. Win10 will now have release notes for updates.
“In response to this feedback, we’re providing more details about the Windows 10 updates we deliver through Windows Update. You’ll see a summary of important product developments included in each update, with links to more details. This page will be regularly refreshed, as new updates are released.”
Mary Jo Foley – Microsoft starts providing release notes for Windows 10 updates
Windows 10 update history

Patch Tuesday

By

windows securityTime To Run Windows Update
Updates available for all supported operating systems and MS Office versions.
Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for February 2016

Flash Updated
APSB16-04 Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player
“These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.”
Main Download Page
Flash for IE
Flash for Firefox
Windows 8/8.1/10 users check Windows Update. Microsoft will get around to updating it…eventually.
Google Chrome users, ditto.

*update 14:58hrs

Google Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 48.0.2564.109 for Windows, Mac, and Linux.”
Download or update from within the program.

Monday Musings

By

firefox_2013Firefox 44.0.1
Download 32-bit (en-US)
Download 64-bit (en-US)
Download other systems and languages
Release Notes

Super Bowl
Were anyone’s predictions worse than mine?!
IMHO he big game was just OK. The D’s played well. The QB’s didn’t deliver. I didn’t watch the 1/2 time show because I’m not remotely interested in any of the acts.
Lady Gaga did a FANTASTIC National Anthem.
Most of the commercials fell somewhere between lame and horrible. The commercials I liked:
Doritos -Ultrasound
Heinz – Wiener Stampede
Favorite: Kevin Hart – First Date / Hyundai

Sunday Random Stuff…

By

nfl2Killing time before the Super Bowl edition.

Win10…
As I had done in September, someone fired up Wireshark and watched in horror as Win10 blasted out his private info to the free world.
Well, OK, maybe not in “horror”, and maybe not “blasted”, but the results are interesting. Slashdot even picked it up.

Adblock Plus Preparing To Sell Us Out?
Adblock is “reaching out to its adversaries to find an “acceptable” level and form of advertising on the net.”
Good grief.

Did You Pack Your Makeup?
Apparently Astronaut Sally Ride had to put up with some sexist B.S. from reporters back around 1983. Hopefully we have all grown up a little since then.
For those who don’t know, Sally Ride was the first U.S. woman in space. The first woman in space was Russian Valentina Tereshkova 20 years earlier.
It is my belief that mankind’s future is out there somewhere. I also believe that time is of the essence. All of the Astronauts and members of the various space programs around the world are heroes to me. To all the folks toiling in the backrooms of NASA, Roscosmos, and all the other space agencies, I salute you.

Backup
Reader Ed wrote to let me know his backup scheme and I like it!

Recently I performed a Clone that many of your followers might be interested in doing: I did with W10.
The participants: Samsung SSD……one an 840, the other an 850 (My current C:\)………both 120GB (I never use My Documents on these because I have a large, conventional, internal back up hard drive that I save to…….beyond that is an external that the internal back up is backed up to, and stored in a locked shed, away from the house!). With that said, I rarely exceed 50% on the 120’s.
Cleaned the 850 with all the cleaners you have recommended and ran Spyware/Malware programs as well.
My internal DVD burner is also SATA III………thus the same connectors as the SSD.
Disconnected the DVD connectors and plugged them into the 840.
Formatted the 840, then, using Macrium Reflect, I cloned the 850 to the 840. (then a sticky note attached with the date, so I’ll know when, in a year or so, to Clone again)
When finished I put the 840 back in the box it came in and it too is stored in the shed.
NOW: ANYTHING GO BAD WITH MY C:\ (rare with Samsung SSD)…….I simply unplug the 850 and plug in the 840 and I am back in business.

Upgrade To Win10 And Keep Previous Windows Version

By

thI’m going to show you how I upgraded to Windows 10 and kept my Windows 7 install. I alluded to this method earlier. Although not tested this should work for Windows 8.1 too.
I searched the Windows 10 EULA and I can find nothing that restricts this but I’m not a lawyer either.
[Read more…] about Upgrade To Win10 And Keep Previous Windows Version

Clonezilla Updated

By

clonezillaClonezilla live (2.4.5-20) released.
*This release of Clonezilla live (2.4.5-20) includes major enhancements and bug fixes.*
“Clonezilla is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program similar to True Image® or Norton Ghost®. It helps you to do system deployment, bare metal backup and recovery.”
Download
Someone really needs to hook them up with a new logo.