TweakHound

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Windows 10

My O&O Shutup10 Settings

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IMHO the Win10 Fall Creators Update was/is a giant waste of time and effort. It delivered nothing useful for the end user and caused headaches for many. FCU could have been delivered as a standard roll-up instead of a full system reset. There will be no changes to the Tweaking Windows 10. There is only one change to Windows 10 Privacy Settings and that is the screenshot to my O&O Shutup10 settings:
(click on image for full size.)

What To Do After Installing Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

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1 – Run Windows Update (Yes, there are updates already.)
reboot
2 – Run O&O ShutUp10 (There are a few new sections.)
See this page of Windows 10 Privacy Settings for more info.
reboot
3 – Run Windows 10 Advanced Disk Cleanup
reboot
4 – Run other disk cleanup utilities. I use CCleaner portable & Wise Disk Cleaner portable.
See this page of the Win10 Tweak Guide for more info.
reboot
5 – Make a system image.
Done!

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Is Live

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My PC is downloading now.

Unlike some sites I do not feel the need to rewrite what is posted at the Windows Blog to act like I’m some sort of Super-Duper Windows Guru. Here are the official Microsoft links to all the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update you need.
All posts: https://blogs.windows.com/blog/tag/windows-10-fall-creators-update/

What’s new in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
IMHO this is a completely lame update. As far as new features, there is nothing there I care about.

How to get the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Check for updates
or
The recommended method is to utilize the Update Assistant. To do so, click the Update Now button on the Software Download Site.

Weekend Random Stuff…

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Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
This will be released next week. Of course I will install it, it’s what I do. IMHO you should not install this next week. If you want to take the risk, please back sure you have a disk image backup.

Block Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
You can easily stop this update.
Go to:
Action Center > All Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Advanced options > In the section Choose when updates are installed, defer feature updates for as many days as you like (up to 365)
or
Go to:
Action Center > All Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Advanced options > Pause Updates, turn On.
You can also switch Branches to Current Branch for Business.

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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Win10 Update BSOD
Neowin is reporting that yesterday’s Win10 update is crashing systems with “USB Type-C Connector System Software Interface (UCSI)“.
I have heard unconfirmed reports from unnamed sources that are quoting a friend of a friend who knows someone in Redmond that said he heard someone in a Starbucks line say, “Oops.”

Kapersky, “Oy vey”
Israel hacked the Russians who hacked Kaspersky.
“The Russian operation, described by multiple people who have been briefed on the matter, is known to have stolen classified documents from a National Security Agency employee who had improperly stored them on his home computer, on which Kaspersky’s antivirus software was installed. What additional American secrets the Russian hackers may have gleaned from multiple agencies, by turning the Kaspersky software into a sort of Google search for sensitive information, is not yet publicly known.”
I don’t see how Kaspersky Labs survives this.

It Keeps Getting Worse
Equifax Breach Fallout: Your Salary History
“In May, KrebsOnSecurity broke a story about lax security at a payroll division of big-three credit bureau Equifax that let identity thieves access personal and financial data on an unknown number of Americans. Incredibly, this same division makes it simple to access detailed salary and employment history on a large portion of Americans using little more than someone’s Social Security number and date of birth — both data elements that were stolen in the recent breach at Equifax.”
There are a number of people involved in this who should have all their assets seized and spend a long time in jail. We all know they won’t.

– – – OFF TOPIC – – –

Smokeless Fire Pit
There is a Kiskstarter project called BioLite FirePit. The BioLite FirePit is “a smokeless wood-burning device that cooks your meals and gives you a front-row seat to everything going on inside your fire.”
Looks pretty cool. What do y’all think?

I Want It
Outta my price range but hey, a man can dream!

Delicious Whiskey
I was at Repeal Bourbon & Burgers in Virginia Beach this weekend. I managed to get the last pour of A. Smith Bowman Limited Edition Gingerbread Cocoa Finished Bourbon. It is the spawn of two Virginia products, Bowman Bourbon obviously and 2 beers from Hardywood Brewery. The two beers are Gingerbread Stout and Foolery Imperial Milk Stout. Both these beers are fantastic. Hardywood’s Gingerbread has been called “Christmas in a bottle.” It held a 100% rating at Ratebeer for several years (99 now). It is one of my favorite beers (Foolery is up there too). The Hardywood Bourbon Barrel GBS variant is outstanding. Anyway, back to the aforementioned bourbon. I was excited and tried to find it. AFAIK the only bottles left are in private hands and they are going for well north of $100 for a 375ml bottle.. It is a shame because it was one of the most unique and tasty bourbons I have ever had.
Hardywood GBS variants and release dates 2017:

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.

Tweaking Windows 10, Creators Update Version

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After far too long the Creators Updated version of the Win10 Tweak Guide is here.
For a variety of reasons this version was a royal PITA to write and publish.
Last week Windows 10 Privacy Settings version 3.0 was released.
As always I would appreciate you spreading the word via email, social media, news postings, or whatever.

Important changes to purchasing.
Many of you noticed that the original Win10 tweak guide purchase page left out the “Once you purchase the guide you get updates of following versions for free” statement that was present in other guides.
This is because Windows 10 is supposedly the “Last version of Windows” and I’ve no intention of providing free books in perpetuity.
Windows 10 is now scheduled to receive 2 major updates per year. That means a whole lot of work for me.
There are now 3 options:
1 – $5 (U.S.) One time purchase
2 – $10 (U.S.) One year of updates (this should get you through 2 or three editions)
3 – $20 (U.S.) Lifetime updates

I will be giving out free updates to the following people (please forward your original email to me):
– Bought a guide in the last 6 months
– Used an option of more than $5 previously
– Donated to my Bike MS ride

Thank you,
Eric