Newsletter Archives

• The Star Trek universal translator is here today

  Posted on June 19, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  PARISOT, FRANCE — I’m working this month in Europe. During this time, I’ve found that handheld language translators have become truly useful in speaking with people when you don’t understand their native tongue.

  My knowledge of French is fairly nonexistent. I can manage to say “oui,” “non,” and “un grand café noir, s’il vous plaît” (a large black coffee, please). So you can imagine my fear when I learned — as I’ll explain later— that I’d be spending 30 days in the land of le Louvre, which I can’t even pronounce correctly.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.25.0, 2023-06-19).

  Public Defender Handhelds, Language, Newsletters, Smart Devices, Translation

• Watch out for fake ‘Windows Defender’ scare

  Posted on June 5, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  My readers are reporting a new wave of fraudulent “security warnings” that freeze the screen, threaten to auto-delete users’ files, exhort victims to call what is supposedly a Microsoft phone number, and demand a fee for useless “virus removal.”

  Bogus messages from “Microsoft,” “Google,” and every other famous name in the tech industry are as old as the Internet, of course. But the frauds seem to be getting more intense and, unfortunately, more convincing all the time.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.23.0, 2023-06-05).

  Public Defender antivirus, Newsletters, scams, Tech Support Scams, Web Browsers, Windows Defender

• Beware of Google’s .ZIP domain and password-embedded URLs

  Posted on May 29, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.22 • 2023-05-29

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The security community is up in arms, because Google this month started selling domain names with deceptive endings such as .zip and .mov.

  Even worse, some browsers are allowing usernames and passwords to be embedded into URLs. This means following a link can expose users to viruses without any explicit action (such as clicking “OK”).

  Internet-standards bodies years ago prohibited usernames and passwords in URLs — but hackers still do it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Domain names, Google, Internet, Newsletters, security

• No NumLock key? Problem solved! Here’s the fix.

  Posted on May 22, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Most laptop makers are now leaving the NumLock key out of their smaller notebooks.

  That’s a disaster for people who’ve been getting symbols that aren’t on their keyboard by entering Alt+number — for instance, typing Alt+0169 on the numeric keypad to get the copyright sign (©).

  Some laptops have a function key for a “hidden” numeric keypad. But I’ll show you much easier ways. Read this today, and you’ll be writing documents faster — mañana!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.21.0, 2023-05-22).

  Public Defender Keyboard remapping, Keyboards, Newsletters, NumLock, TenKeyLess, Windows

• Want a faster, quieter PC? Cool it in water.

  Posted on May 8, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  I’m not actually suggesting that you soak your computer in a bathtub. But keeping a high-powered CPU from frying — without the earsplitting hum of roaring fans — means a liquid cooler could be just the thing your PC needs.

  It’s well known that water and some nonconductive oils are much more efficient than air at removing heat from electronic components. Many tower and desktop PCs have enough space for a built-in or add-on liquid chilling system. This can enable you to push a CPU to the max without burning it out.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.19.0, 2023-05-08).

  Public Defender CPU cooling, Energy, Newsletters

• Windows 11 screws up Print Screen — here’s how to fix it

  Posted on April 24, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The behavior of the reliable old Print Screen button on your keyboard, affectionately known as PrtScr or PrtScn, has been radically changed in a preview build of Windows 11, which is almost certain to become the version we will all eventually have to live with.

  Microsoft released to members of its Windows Insider program this month a new version of the OS. At this writing, it’s known as Preview Build 22624.1546 of Windows 11 22H2.

  If and when this is rolled out to all users in the world as an update, the Print Screen key by default will no longer place a copy of your screen onto the Clipboard. Instead, the key will launch a version of Redmond’s Snipping Tool, which has several new controls to learn.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.17.0, 2023-04-24).

  Public Defender Newsletters, Print Screen, PrtScn, Snipping Tool, Windows 11

• Windows 11 erases Windows 10 digital-signature fix

  Posted on April 17, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.16 • 2023-04-17

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  A Registry tweak recommended by Microsoft to guard against malware in digitally signed files is wiped out in Windows 10 if you upgrade to Windows 11. As if that weren’t bad enough, at least one major software company has distributed to 600,000 customers worldwide a Trojan horse hidden in an executable file that’s certified by Microsoft’s very own digital signature.

  The fact that malware can be inserted into an executable file — without invalidating the file’s digital signature — casts doubt on the whole idea that you can trust digitally signed files.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.16.0, 2023-04-17).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Digital signatures, Newsletters, Trojan, Windows 10, Windows 11

• How to get the most out of Google Bard and Bing Chat

  Posted on April 3, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Whether you like it or not, generative artificial intelligence — gen AI — is making its way into Google’s search engine, Gmail, and Docs. Its Redmond competitor is building OpenAI’s GPT-4 into Microsoft 365, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.

  Other tech companies don’t want to go down the tubes like buggy whips, slide rules, and Silicon Valley Bank. So they’re all racing against the two software giants to bolt gen AI into their apps and gadgets. Who knows, you might get AI-driven responses from holographic humanoids in Facebook’s failed virtual metaverse.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.14.0, 2023-04-03).

  Public Defender Artificial intelligence, Bing AI, ChatGPT, Generative AI, Google Bard, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, OpenAI

• You’re fired if you don’t know how to use GPT-4

  Posted on March 27, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.13 • 2023-03-27

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Mainstream media outlets are ablaze with news about GPT-4, OpenAI’s enormously powerful artificial-intelligence engine that will soon be shoehorned into every nook and cranny of Microsoft 365. Suddenly, knowing how to “prompt” (program) a generative AI app has become an essential requirement for your job or your life. God help us.

  We’ve all been instantly transported into the 25th-century world of Star Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard. You may think we’re still in the year 2023. But now — by entering just a few words — you can propel your personal starship through the galaxy at Warp 9. Or you can remain stuck in place and be assimilated by the Borg. Resistance is futile.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.13.0, 2023-03-27).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Artificial intelligence, Bing AI, ChatGPT, Generative AI, Newsletters

• TPM 2.0, required by Windows 11, is hackable. Upgrade now?

  Posted on March 20, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Researchers have discovered flaws in TPM 2.0, a security microcontroller that Microsoft requires on a device (with exceptions) before Windows 11 will install. If your computer is affected, a hacker could bypass TPM’s security to read some of your data or overwrite cryptographic keys that the microcontroller is expected to contain safely.

  The news isn’t all bad. There are many ways you and your devices may be immune.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.12.0, 2023-03-20).

  Public Defender Newsletters, security, TPM, TPM 2.0, Trusted Platform Module, Vulnerability

• Can chatbots write code? Yes, but should you use it?

  Posted on March 6, 2023 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  You’ve heard a lot about “chatbots” that can answer search queries and write essays that sound like some human had written them. But did you know that artificial-intelligence agents, if you ask nicely, can also write working computer code?

  Bots that can code include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which Microsoft has tried — with great frustration — to integrate into its Bing search engine. (See my February 27, 2023, column on the freakouts Redmond’s AI has subjected users to.)

  Automated tools like ChatGPT have spawned a lot of hysterical commentary, such as “The sky is falling and human programmers are doomed.” But don’t quit your day job just yet.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.10.0, 2023-03-06).

  Public Defender Artificial intelligence, chatbots, ChatGPT, Newsletters, Programming

• How to jailbreak ChatGPT and Bing AI — to see their evil twins

  Posted on February 27, 2023 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The world has gone gaga for chatbots: text-based artificial intelligence apps like Open AI’s ChatGPT — which Microsoft is using for its new, gabby Bing AI.

  The power of these bots, which converse in a frighteningly human-like way, may be the greatest technology breakthrough since Gutenberg invented movable type, eliminating the tedious hand-copying of manuscripts.

  However, that’s like saying the invention of the electric chair was a great advance for criminal justice over the older guillotine technology.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.09.0, 2023-02-27).

  Public Defender Artificial intelligence, Bing AI, ChatGPT, Newsletters, OpenAI
• « Older Entries

  Newer Entries »