TweakHound

Computer stuff...

More Browser Stuff…

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Vivaldi – Developer is ex-Opera founder. Love the idea. Performance is sub-par, even tweaked.
Cent – Best as I can tell this is from some random dudes in China. No documentation on this at all. No thanks.

Opera – I want to like it but I cannot get over the China connection. I fired up some network tools and as near as I can tell it isn’t doing anything nefarious. One super annoying thing is that I watched it contact the Opera servers every single time it is launched. A far as I can see this seems to be their update servers. You should take this with a grain of salt because not only am I not a network monitor guru, I am very out of practice with what I do know. As for the VPN. I like it but IMHO it isn’t a VPN, it is a proxy (Google opera vpn). Ironically, VPNs are illegal in China.
The China connection…
Opera is owned by Chinese companies. I’m having a hard time with this. China, while not openly hostile to the U.S. certainly is covertly hostile. I am not very knowledgeable about China but I am under the impression that everything is under some form of control by the government. The “Chicoms” as they used to be called. Anyhow, I just can’t shake my wariness.
Any thoughts?

Texas Disaster Donations

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Warren Illsley pointed me to JJ Watt’s Houston Flood Relief Fund.
Along with being the best Defensive End I have ever seen, he seems to be a decent human being. He is local to the disaster and I will count on him to get the money where it is needed.
I have already donated.
Please donate if you can: https://www.youcaring.com/victimsofhurricaneharvey-915053
If you donate $25 or more and I will send you any or all the TweakGuides you desire for free. Just forward your donation receipt with which guide(s) you want.
Thanks,
Eric

Monday Random Stuff…

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Texas, we are thinking of you.
If anyone knows of a good, reputable charity that doesn’t pay their staff 6 figures please contact me directly. I want any donations to specifically and only go to the Texans who need it. I will research any suggestions.
Do not put links to charities in the comment section. I will delete them. Sorry but disasters bring out scum who look to capitalize on the misery of others.

And now, on to some interesting articles I’ve read over the last several days.

Let’s Talk Kaspersky
This is a sort of OpEd by Tim at Major Geeks. He makes some outstanding points.
No evidence has been shown yet that the Russian-based Kaspersky Labs is “nothing more than a front for Russian intelligence.”

White House Confirms – Kaspersky Tied to Russian Government (thanks Kelly)
There is a connection between Kaspersky and Russian intelligence, and I’m absolutely certain that Russian intelligence would want to use that connection to their advantage.
Fair warning. Article is at PCPitstop. They are a competitor of Kaspersky.

Swearing proves you are f****** brilliant: Intelligent people are more likely to be foul-mouthed and walk around naked at home, claims study
People with higher intellects were more likely to curse, eat spicy breakfasts and lounge around the house naked, while extroverts were more likely to drive cars faster that 75mph, gamble and go to the pub.

People Favor Highly-Reviewed Products, Even When They Shouldn’t
“We found that people were biased toward choosing to purchase more popular products and that this sometimes led them to make very poor decisions,”

Congress Quietly Passed A Bill Allowing Warrantless Searches of Homes – Only 1% Opposed It
The text gives the Commission the authority to enter property near the Metro Rail System “without limitation” and without a warrant, for the purpose of “making inspections, investigations, examinations, and testing.”
This clearly goes against the Fourth Amendment, which states that Americans’ rights “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.”

Browser Stuff…

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I’ve never been a browser Geek. I like Firefox with my extensions for browsing. I like Chrome for business and shopping use. I can’t stand Microsoft browsers. I posted that I was trying Opera yesterday. Someone mentioned who Opera was owned by and I found it a little unsettling. I’ve done a little digging and found some interesting info. Most info below comes from Wikipedia or Netmarketshare.com. It is the most recent info I could gather.
FWIW – I am now trying Vivaldi
About the info below. I’m aware you can argue the market share stats all day but this is what I am going with.

Computer Browsers
(Browser – Company – Country – Market share)
Chromium (and Chrome) – Google – U.S.A – Market share 58.91%.
Firefox – Mozilla Foundation – U.S.A. – Market share 11.91%
Internet Explorer – Microsoft – U.S.A. (Windows only) – Market share 18.91%
Microsoft Edge – Microsoft – U.S.A. (Windows only) – Market share 5.6%
Opera – Opera Software ASA – Headquarters in Norwary, owned by (“a consortium of Chinese investors”) – Market share 1.22%
Safari – Apple – U.S.A. (Mac only) – Market share 3.52%
Vivaldi – Vivaldi Technologies – Headquarters in U.S.A. – Market share 3.66%

Mobile Browsers
(Browser – Company – Country – Market share)
Chrome – Google – U.S.A. – Market share 54.45%
Dolphin – MoboTap – U.S.A. – – Market share unknown
Firefox – Mozilla Foundation – U.S.A. – Market share .56%
Internet Explorer – Microsoft – U.S.A. (Windows only) – Market share .94%
Opera (Mini and Mobile) – Opera Software ASA – Headquarters in Norwary, owned by (“a consortium of Chinese investors”) – Market share 4%
Safari – Apple – U.S.A. (iOS only) – Market share 32.45%
Samsung Internet for Android – Samsung – Korea – Market share unknown. Probably part of Chrome market share.

Weekend News

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Software Updates
Firefox 55.0.3
Mp3tag 2.84
Start10 1.56

Reason #4,857,354 To Get Off Of Social Media
Facebook Figured Out My Family Secrets, And It Won’t Tell Me How

Reason #4,857,355 To Get Off Of Social Media
New multi platform malware/adware spreading via Facebook Messenger
(article ironically brought to you by Kaspersky)

Reason #4,857,356 To Get Off Of Social Media
‘Data is the new oil’: Your personal information is now the world’s most valuable commodity

Thursday Random Stuff…

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Software Updates
AxCrypt 2.1.1534
Google Chrome 60.0.3112.113 Google Chrome Web 32-bit  or  Google Chrome 64-bit
Kodi 17.4

New Nvidia Drivers
Nvidia GeForce Game Ready Driver 385.41 WHQL
“Provides the optimal gaming experience for Destiny 2 PC Open Beta, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, ARK: Survival Evolved, F1 2017, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, and Quake Champions Early Access.”

FCC Refusing To Release Net Neutrality Complaints
Stop hiding 47,000 net neutrality complaints, advocates tell FCC chair
“The FCC has refused to release the text of most neutrality complaints despite a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request that asked for all complaints filed since June 2015. The FCC has provided 1,000 complaints to the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), which filed the public records request but said last month that it’s too “burdensome” to redact personally identifiable information from all 47,000.”

HaPpY BiRtHdAy WiNdOwS 95!
Apparently there are only 7 Windows 95 machines still connected to the internet.
Here is my Windows 95 virtual machine (network disabled).

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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From Russia With Love
Back in May I linked to an article where DHS and the FBI were questioning Kaspersky’s relationship to the Russian government. Now they are warning businesses that Kaspersky products are an “unacceptable threat to national security“.

The World Is Not Enough
A German site called Born’s Tech and Windows World is reporting that Microsoft “signed a waiver (cease and desist) not to download install files for a new operating system without user’s consensus. This was the consequence of Microsoft’s attempt, to force Windows 10 upgrades to Windows 7/8.1 systems from July 2015 up to July 2016.“.

Tomorrow Never Dies
Acronis True Image 2018 has been released. Bunch of new features I’m not interested in. I’ll be skipping this one.

Spectre
I had mentioned I wanted to see the movie Logan Lucky because it had both James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). This past weekend I did go see it. I thought it was hysterical. Both guys played parts that were absolutely nothing like their most popular characters. This may have been my favorite Daniel Craig performance.

Quantum of Solace
Good grief, not you too Firefox. Neowin is reporting that “Mozilla has announced that it would like to collect anonymous user data in order to “better understand how people use” Firefox. The proposed move is quite contentious for many users because Mozilla is making it opt-out; many users feel betrayed by the move given that Mozilla touts Firefox as a privacy-oriented browser.”

Skyfall
I generally don’t like to rain on person’s parade, at least publically, but…
I’m a Geek. I love space news, space movies, NASA, etc. But I just didn’t get the whole eclipse thing. Yes, I watched it for a few minutes. Yes, I had the glasses on. I didn’t go out of my way for it, I pulled into a parking lot. It was about as unexciting and uneventful as I expected.
One of my favorite reporters was equally unimpressed: