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CCleaner Updated
They added an “opt out” option in the privacy menu. (Thanks Arthur!)
Download
***Warning – the free, installer version contains a Google Chrome and a Google toolbar installer. That is why I do not install CCleaner. I use the portable version that eventually shows up on their “Builds” page.

Video – Speculative Store Bypass in 3 minutes from Red Hat
Video
“Speculative Store Buffer Bypass is a security vulnerability that allows unauthorized users to steal sensitive information through websites. Similar to the Spectre and Meltdown threats in early 2018, it exploits speculative execution–a process most computers use to speed up routine tasks (to learn more about speculative execution, watch our previous video Spectre and Meltdown in 3 Minutes – https://youtu.be/syAdX44pokE). This 3 minute video shows you how Speculative Store Buffer Bypass is different and what’s being done about it.”

Off Topic

My Solo: A Star Wars Story “Review”
Solid movie. Great actors and cameos. Secrets of the past revealed.
Woody Harrelson is a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe. The Mother of Dragons is stunning in looks as well as character. Donald Glover is as smooth as Billy Dee. L3-37 is as annoying as it is funny. Surprised at the ending. Questions linger. Sequel!
8/10

You’ve Been Pouring Guinness All Wrong

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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Unreal Gold Free
If you want it better grab it quick.
https://www.gog.com/game/unreal_gold 48 Hours only
https://store.steampowered.com/app/13250/Unreal_Gold/ “limited time”
Unreal (1998 video game) at Wikipedia

Tired Of This
Another Spectre-like vulnerability. More patches coming with more performance hits.
INTEL-SA-00115 – Q2 2018 Speculative Execution Side Channel Update

Wireshark Updated
Version 2.6.1 brings a bunch of bugfixes.
Download | Release Notes

Off Topic

Amazon urged not to sell facial recognition tool to police
“People should be free to walk down the street without being watched by the government,” the groups wrote in a letter to Amazon on Tuesday. “Facial recognition in American communities threatens this freedom.”

This is America’s favorite burger brand
“Five Guys is America’s favorite burger chain, according to Harris Poll’s 30th annual EquiTrend study.
Harris surveyed a total of 77,031 people to determine the “brand equity” of 17 different burger chains — Jack in the Box, Hardee’s, White Castle, Carl’s Jr., Checkers/Rally’s, DQ Grill & Chill, Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, SONIC America’s Drive-In, Five Guys, In-N-Out Burger, Culver’s, Steak ‘n Shake, Whataburger, Shake Shack, Smashburger.”
NO. No to every single one of them. Agreed, some of these burgers will do in the absence of a non-chain alternative and almost any burger is better than a salad.
#1 burger. Grilled. Grilled on the back deck. Grilled over the fire at the campsite. Bonus points for bacon.

Tuesday Morning Random Stuff…

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The Future Of Cortana?
Microsoft bought an AI company. The only bright side to this is maybe in the future we can get our robot overlords to BSOD.

Speccy 1.32
Hardware info tool. Freeware.
Detection
Improved SSD detection for newer SSD devices
Improved SSD detection for laptops
Settings & Preferences
Added new Privacy menu
Download (I use the portable version)

VMware Workstation Player Updated
VMware Workstation 14 Player Version 14.1.2 is a free upgrade for all VMware Workstation 14 Player users.
Windows 10 2018 Spring Creators Update (Version 1803) as host and guest
Ubuntu 18.04 support as host and guest
VMware Workstation 14 Player Version 14.1.2 also contains bug fixes, security updates and performance improvements.
Download

Off Topic

Banned From Amazon: The Shoppers Who Make Too Many Returns

Monday Morning Random Stuff…

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Monopoly
“Oh, yes, of course Google’s a monopoly. In fact they’re a monopoly in several markets. They’re a monopoly in search. They’re a monopoly in search advertising…People tell their search engines things they wouldn’t even tell their wives. I mean, it’s a very powerful and yet very intimate technology. And that gives the company that controls it a mind-boggling degree of control over our entire society.”
Report on 60 Minutes
Video HERE. The section on Google starts at 2:09.

A bug in cell phone tracking firm’s website leaked millions of Americans’ real-time locations
“It represents a clear and present danger, not just to privacy but to the financial and personal security of every American family. Because they value profits above the privacy and safety of the Americans whose locations they traffic in, the wireless carriers and LocationSmart appear to have allowed nearly any hacker with a basic knowledge of websites to track the location of any American with a cell phone”

Secunia PSI Dead
“Thank you for your interest in PSI. PSI is Flexera’s free computer security solution that identifies missing security patches on user’s private PC, and automatically installs them when possible. This product has reached End-of-life on April 20, 2018, and therefore, no longer available. Existing installations of PSI will no longer function and should be uninstalled.”
Apparently this is old news. Thanks Mike.

***New poll up in the right sidebar: Google – Evil or Not Evil?

Off Topic

People who live in small towns and rural areas are happier than everyone else, researchers say
Not surprising. John Cougar would be proud.

Cheap Trick’s New Single “The Summer Looks Good On You”
Stream it here: https://cheaptrick.lnk.to/Summer
Video here: https://youtu.be/2DeSdkz4dmo

New Magnum P.I.
Not sure how I feel about this. Still like the old series. Tom Selleck was the man. The new “Higgy baby” is kinda hot.

Thursday Random Stuff…

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Start10 Updated
Start10 is a Windows 10 start menu alternative. It is $5 and is my preferred start menu replacement.
Start10 v1.60
– Updated for Windows 1803 to fix searching in start menu
– Added new blur option for Windows 1803 (on by default)
– Links to the Games and Homegroup folders on Windows 1803 will not work(Microsoft deprecated those locations)
Download | Changelog

Off Topic
‘Solo’ is the worst ‘Star Wars’ movie since ‘Attack of the Clones,’ according to critics
“You will find only what you bring in.” – Yoda

Thursday Morning Random Stuff…

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Firefox 60.0.1
Download:
en-US 64-bit
All Firefox Versions
Release Notes
***Please see comment from Dan below

CCleaner Updated
As of this writing, no release notes or announcement. Bugfixes? Previous build 5.42.140.6495. New build 5.42.148.6499.
Download (I use the portable version)

Net Neutrality
Dems passed a Net Neutrality bill. Don’t get too excited, it is expected to die in the House.

YouTube Music & YouTube Premium
WooHoo, another music subscription service.
As a teen I modified a TV antenna to pull in radio stations 101 WRIF out of Detroit and 105 WWCK out of Flint. It cost nothing.

Off Topic

Dog saves his buddy
Viral, feel-good video of the week.

Some calories more harmful than others
Short version – Soft drinks are bad for you. There was a time when I drank 2 liters of Coca-Cola a day. No exaggeration. I don’t remember the last time I had one.
On a side note. I find it amusing that we Americans call carbonated soft drinks by different names. I have found that.
– In the Great Lakes and mid-west areas it is called “pop”
– Most places in Northeast megalopolis call it “soda”
– Many place out west call it “soda pop”
– Down South, everything is “co-cola”

43% of milenials plan to leave their jobs within 2 years
“They don’t believe business shares their values, they don’t think business is doing enough to prepare them for the future, and they don’t feel business is sufficiently committed to improving society.”

Who is drinking the most? The drunkest (and driest) cities in America

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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Google Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 66.0.3359.181 for Windows, Mac, and Linux”
Download

Google One Replacing Google Drive
Includes changes, improvements, more plans, and lower prices.
source: Google Blog

Off Topic

14 Energy-Draining Everyday Habits To Avoid
Short article, good stuff. Bookmark it and pass it on.

10 toast-worthy craft breweries owned by veterans
There are a lot more than 10. I’m working on a list.

36%% Off! – Sandisk Ultra 64GB Micro SDXC UHS-I Card with Adapter
List Price: $24.99
Deal of the Day: ends today
You Save:$9.00 (36%)

I’ve got the 32GB & 64GB models. The 128GB model is on sale at 44% off, only 70 cents more than the 64 gig.
“anodized, aircraft-grade aluminum housing is waterproof to 200 meters, vibration-resistant, and shock-resistant.”
Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive
List Price: $61.99
Price: $34.99
You Save: $27.00 (44%)

Samsung’s newest, fastest SSDs are in stores.
Samsung 970 EVO 250GB – NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD $109.99 (My top pick)
Samsung 960 PRO Series – 512GB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD $309.45

Recommended Non-NVMe SSDs
Samsung 860 EVO 250GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD $79.99
Samsung 860 PRO 256GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD $124.99 (My top pick)

Monday Random Stuff…

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Adobe Updates
Bunch of vulnerabilities in both these products.
APSB18-17 Security updates available for Adobe Photoshop CC
To update open the app and go to Help > “Updates.”
APSB18-09 Security updates available for Adobe Acrobat and Reader
Download

Off Topic

15 Veteran-Owned Gear Brands You Should Know | HiConsumption

Boob Tube To YouTube
The NYT opines on Why Traditional TV Is in Trouble. They mean traditional broadcasters. Basically they say old farts are watching and youngsters aren’t.
My short list:
– Cable is expensive. The “TV packages” are made to make max money and make no sense.
– Low quality and irrelevant programming.
– Too many commercials. And, most of them range between bad and insulting.
– Binge watching is a far more enjoyable way to enjoy TV.

Single? Smile, But Don’t Be Happy
Some PhD says that smiling will get you la.. um…makes you more attractive. The advice for ladies is stop posing like a model. Not mentioned but I’ll just throw out, stop with the fish lips.
Dudes, apparently a prideful but not happy smile does the trick. All you single swipers out there, you’re welcome and you owe me bros.

Watch Harrison Ford Surprise Young Han Solo Alden Ehrenreich During ET Interview

Weekend Random Stuff…

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This site was down yesterday morning. Something went FUBAR at my webhost. All seems to be good now.

Google Grapples With ‘Horrifying’ Reaction to Uncanny AI Tech
Wednesday I commented at Google screwing with us. Seems I wasn’t the only one commenting.
“Outside the Google technology bubble, critics pounced. The company is placing robots in conversations with humans, without those people realizing”
“Horrifying,” Zeynep Tufekci, a professor and frequent tech company critic, wrote on Twitter about Duplex. “Silicon Valley is ethically lost, rudderless and has not learned a thing.”

Drinking The Koolaid
Microsoft Build was last week. Developers and the Microsoft press were there.
Premium Paul Thurrott said. “Microsoft, Back on Track” (pay-walled)
iVerge, “But mixed within all of that were some exciting announcements: new Windows features, improvements for voice assistants, and helpful new cloud services.”
Cnet, “It’s all about AI and the web now.”
I don’t like here Windows is headed. I don’t like where Microsoft is headed. I don’t like where AI is headed.

‘Bout Time
IBM is banning removable media use for most employees, most of the time. IMHO most companies and government agencies should have done this a decade or more ago.

Off Topic
Stuff I bookmarked the last few days.

Yes, Pluto is a planet (great comment at Slashdot)

What Sunscreen Numbers Mean? Top-Rated SPF Products For This Summer

Map: The States That Drink The Most Beer In America (2018). I’m very disappointed in my state.

George Dickel Tennessee Whisky Releases New TABASCO® Brand Barrel Finish – A Partnership Made In The South. 2 of my favs, bourbon and Tabasco. Not sure how I feel about te combo but I gotta try it once. Did you know Tabasco is aged in barrels just like bourbon?

Cap2Cap Bike Ride
I’ve mentioned this before but we are fortunate in Virginia to have several great bike trails. The best one nearest me is called the Virginia Capital Trail.

“The Virginia Capital Trail is the product of a successful public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation (VCTF).
The Virginia Capital Trail Foundation (VCTF) is a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) organization, with a mission to enhance, promote, and advocate for the continued development of the Virginia Capital Trail, a 52-mile dedicated multi-use trail connecting Richmond and Williamsburg along the beautiful and historic Route 5 corridor.“

Yesterday was the annual fundraiser Cap2Cap ride. Distances of 15, 25, 50, and 100 miles are options. I did the 25 miler. Granted it was only about my 6th ride of the year but I don’t know how you guys manage to do 100 miles. My hats off to you!