TweakHound

Computer stuff...

***This Is A TweakHound News Alert***

By

Sorry. I’m just having fun at the expense of every news outlet in the country. Everything is “breaking news” or a “news alert”.
Anyway, I thought the story below deserves it’s own post.
AP Exclusive: Google tracks your movements, like it or not

“An Associated Press investigation found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store your location data even if you’ve used privacy settings that say they will prevent it from doing so…Google’s support page on the subject states: “You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored.”…That isn’t true. Even with Location History paused, some Google apps automatically store time-stamped location data without asking…For example, Google stores a snapshot of where you are when you merely open its Maps app. Automatic daily weather updates on Android phones pinpoint roughly where you are. And some searches that have nothing to do with location, like “chocolate chip cookies,” or “kids science kits,” pinpoint your precise latitude and longitude — accurate to the square foot — and save it to your Google account.“

Lots more info there. Good read. Don’t be evil…

Weekend Random Stuff…

By

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

Intel Launches 9th Gen Core 8 Core and 6 Core CPUs on 1st October
No word on if Spectre and Meltdown are still an issue with these.

Here’s why you’re being kept in the dark about how your data is used
“In the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, people are more aware than ever of the tenuous nature of data collection, and more concerned about how securely tech and financial institutions catalog this data.And with good reason: according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were 1,579 data breaches in 2017, an alarming 44.7 percent uptick from the year before.”

Hydroelectric Dam Threatens to Wipe Out World’s Rarest Ape
“The world’s rarest great ape, discovered only in 2017, will not survive the building of a $1.6 billion hydroelectric power plant and dam in the middle of its remaining habitat in Sumatra, Indonesia, wildlife experts warn” The project ” is being financed and built by state-controlled Chinese companies under China’s Belt and Road.”
No cool.

Professors allow students to pick their own grade
Crap like this is one of the many reasons I’ve little respect for colleges or college degrees.

The ‘American Pickers’ Find the Aerosmith Van that Started It All
Kinda neat but they paid $25K for it?!

Woman killed by neighborhood dogs
Can you guess what breed of dog???

Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth ‘Star Trek 4’ Future In Doubt as Talks Fall Through
Looks like Paramount tried to renege on previous deals.

There is a Tiger on the prowl in St. Louis. I’m gonna go see how that ends…

Thursday Morning Random Stuff…

By

Firefox 61.0.2
– Adds support for automatically restoring your Firefox session after Windows restarts. Currently, this feature is not enabled by default for most users, but will be gradually enabled over the coming weeks.
*To enable this go to Options > General > Startup > Restore previous session
– Bugfixes
Download EN-US 64-bit | All Firefox Versions | Release Notes

Google Chrome
“The stable channel has been updated to 68.0.3440.106 for Windows, Mac, and Linux”
Bugfixes.
Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)

Autoruns v13.90
“Autoruns, a comprehensive Windows autostart entry point (ASEP) manager, now includes Runonce\*\Depend keys and GPO logon and logoff locations, as well as fixes a bug in WMI path parsing.”
Download

CCleaner 5.44
– Internet Explorer: Cookies are now cleaned from the INetCache folder in Windows 10
– Firefox: Fixed a cleaning compatibility issue with the Malwarebytes extension
Download ( I only use the portable version. The installed version will phone home.)

Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox 3.5.3
Download

Winaero Tweaker 0.11.2
– The “Show Menu Delay” option is now available again for Windows 10 version 1803+.
– HiDPI fixes for the toolbar, the status bar, and the license agreement window.
Download

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.8.1 Optional
Download | Release Notes

Wednesday Random Stuff…

By

Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 68.0.3440.84 for Windows, Mac, and Linux”
Bugfixes.
Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)

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

Facebook has detected a coordinated effort to influence US politics ahead of the 2018 midterm elections
“We’re still in the very early stages of our investigation and don’t have all the facts — including who may be behind this,” Facebook said in a blog post. “But we are sharing what we know today given the connection between these bad actors and protests that are planned in Washington next week.”
These are acts of war and need to start being treated as such.

Whistleblower reveals Google’s plans for censored search in China
“The search engine would filter sites like Wikipedia and information about topics like freedom of speech”
Remember that when Google tries to lecture anyone about anything.

Doug Grindstaff, ‘Star Trek’ Sound Effects Maestro, Dies at 87
“A five-Time Emmy winner, he came up with Tribble coos, communicator beeps and the whoosh of Enterprise bridge doors opening and closing.”
Remembering Douglas Grindstaff, 1931-2018 – StarTrek.com
“Over the course of more than half a century, Grindstaff amassed 50-plus film and television credits. Among them were Mission: Impossible, The Brady Bunch, Cross Creek, Max Headroom, Dallas, and Knot’s Landing. He also served in combat as an army sergeant in during the Korean Conflict.”
Thank you for your contributions to the wonderful world of Star Trek and thank you for your service. RIP

This Little Dude Showed Up This Morning

By

Once in a while I will put out some expired bread or crackers to see what shows up. Usually it is just a squirrel or opossum. This morning a fox showed up which was a tad odd because it was light out. It is a red fox.
https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/red-fox/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_fox
Click for “Read more” pic and video.
[Read more…] about This Little Dude Showed Up This Morning

Weekend Random Stuff…

By

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

Yes, Carrie Fisher will be in Star Wars: Episode 9. Here’s how
“Mark Hamill will also appear in the new episode, despite Luke Skywalker’s seeming death in Episode 8.”
Mark being it it I am cool with. Don’t know how I feel about Carrie though, kinda creepy…

Thieves targeting cars with keyless ignition
Don’t bother reading the article, it is lame and basically unsourced. Folks are breaking into to cars using a key fob amplifier which I had never heard of so I Googled it. It is an actual thing and they can break in many cars and even steal some of them.
“The attack uses the two devices to extend the effective range of the key fob,” says Jun Li, one of the researchers in the Qihoo group, who call themselves Team Unicorn. “You’re working in your office or shopping in the supermarket, and your car is parked outside. Someone slips near you and then someone else can open up and drive your car. It’s simple.”
Good grief.

After a Year, Equifax Remains Largely Unfazed by Historic Breach
“Despite a breach that exposed the personal data of more than 147 million Americans, the company has yet to face a government-imposed financial punishment.”
Depressing yet unsurprising. I’m sure Equifax is funding lots of political candidates on both sides of the aisle.

TSA is tracking regular travelers like terrorists in secret surveillance program
“Federal air marshals have begun following ordinary US citizens not suspected of a crime or on any terrorist watch list and collecting extensive information about their movements and behavior under a new domestic surveillance program that is drawing criticism from within the agency.”
I could tell you a story from about a dozen years ago when the TSA forced my mom to stand up out of her wheelchair after hip-replacement surgery, and how when I saw it happening my dad and wife had to physically stop me from intervening…

How Silicon Valley Became a Den of Spies
My first guess was because they are greedy, souless, self-important twits who aren’t near as smart as they think they are.
Anywho, the gist of the article is the Chicoms and Russians are stealing everything they can out of Silicon Valley and they are both great at playing they long game, expecially the Chicoms.
Bookmark it. It is a 10 minute read.

Buy One, Get One at P.F. Changs
“Enjoy a free entrée of your choice with purchase of any entrée. Valid for dine-in only through 8/5. One redemption per table.*”
My fav there is the Beef A La Sichuan and the Surf & Turf.
Take off your tinfoil hat, these last 2 articles are purely coincidental…

Happy National Chicken Wing Day! Here’s Where To Get FREE Wings!
I despise those things but I thought I would pass this along.

NASA Brought Hundreds of Kilograms of Moon Rocks to Earth. Scientists Have Not Touched Most of Them
Do you know how many Universities, Colleges, and High Schools would love to get their hands on this stuff? Get off your asses and hand these out to people who can benefit from these things.
Shame on you NASA.

Look Up This Weekend for Closest Mars Views Since 2003
“We are rapidly coming up on the pinnacle of the current Mars apparition, when it arrives at opposition to the sun and its closest point to the Earth. But will the weather cooperate for you to get a good look at Mars at its best?…So, you will have a stretch of five nights, from Friday through Tuesday, to get your very best views.”

This Map Shows What People Hate The Most In Each State
Apparently there is a dating app called Hater that matches people up on what they do not like. There are some weird people out there…

Jerry Jones: Cowboys will require players to stand for anthem, not remain in locker room
Because
Dallas Cowboys quarterback: Anthem protesting ‘takes away from the joy’ of football
“I’d never protest during the anthem, and I don’t think that’s the time or the venue to do so,” he added. “The game of football has always brought me such peace, and I think it does the same for a lot of people.”
Respect to you Dak. (I still hate the Cowboys.)