Newsletter Archives

• Terabyte update 2021

  Posted on June 14th, 2021 at 02:45 Will Fastie Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.22 • 2021-06-14

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  The price of storage is in flux for a variety of reasons, making predictions extremely difficult.

  In my previous article on this subject about a year ago (AskWoody 17.21.0), I wrote an expanded version of an article I have been writing on my personal site for a number of years. The article attempted to illustrate the difference in price between hard disk drives (HDD, rotating magnetic discs) and solid-state drives (SSD, flash memory). The goal was to establish that HDD had a significant price advantage over SSD; over the period of time covered, SSDs were small, very expensive, and primarily used as small boot drives in PCs needing high performance.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.22.0 (2021-06-14).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.22.F (2021-06-14).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hardware, HDD, SSD, storage, Storage Prices

• Readers speak: How-tos, tips, and troubles with OneDrive

  Posted on June 14th, 2021 at 02:44 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  An outpouring of reader mail turned what was planned as a one-off item into a multi-issue conversation!

  In today’s column, readers share their experiences in working around some of the worst omissions in Microsoft’s thin OneDrive documentation.

  Topics include overcoming a too-full C: drive, more detail on the use and removal of symlinks, and unexpected delays in syncing files to the cloud.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.22.0 (2021-06-14).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList, OneDrive

• Amazon quietly halts arbitrations — consumers can now sue

  Posted on June 14th, 2021 at 02:43 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  With no announcement, Amazon.com has changed its terms of service, which previously compelled aggrieved consumers to submit their claims to mandatory arbitration. But last month, the retail giant eliminated arbitration as a requirement and now allows customers to join in class-action lawsuits.

  This may make a big difference for you — and for anyone who’s ever used any of Amazon’s products and services — because you may someday be eligible for large, court-ordered refunds.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.22.0 (2021-06-14).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender Amazon, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender

• Targeted zero-day vulnerabilities; will more attacks be seen soon?

  Posted on June 14th, 2021 at 02:42 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Solutions for six exploited vulnerabilities are included in this month’s patch releases.

  Months like these always leave me in a quandary. Sometimes fixes appear before anyone in the wild has been affected, but sometimes there are users who have been impacted. Should I urge everyone to immediately patch without testing? Or should I keep with my tried-and-true recommendations — don’t panic, and wait to ensure there are no side effects with these updates.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.22.0 (2021-06-14).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, Windows

• Buying crypto? Watch out for these 100 problems

  Posted on June 7th, 2021 at 02:45 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.21 • 2021-06-07

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  People in the tech industry tend to find cryptocurrency very attractive as a concept. After all, crypto coins are totally digital — there are no paper bills or metallic coins to handle — and you can transfer these “digicoins” to anyone in the world, instantly (in theory).

  The reality is that digital money is prey to all kinds of hacks and cons. Many people have lost their life savings because they converted their hard currency into crypto and got hacked. Bad actors used one security flaw or another to transfer the victims’ funds to themselves.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.21.F (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Cryptocurrency, Public Defender

• The Next Windows

  Posted on June 7th, 2021 at 02:44 Will Fastie Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  What is it? We don’t really know.

  By now, the news is out that Microsoft will host a livestream event on Thursday, June 24, 2021, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The event does not have a title; the livestream page on Microsoft’s site just says, “Join us to see what’s next for Windows.”

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.21.F (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft News, Windows News AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft, Microsoft News, Windows

• OneDrive’s two Documents folders; missing menu items

  Posted on June 7th, 2021 at 02:43 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  One of the most confusing aspects of OneDrive’s operation is its creation of a second Documents folder.

  Most Microsoft (and many third-party) apps automatically accept OneDrive’s Documents folder as their new default save-to location, but some apps may still continue to use the original Documents folder.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList, OneDrive

• Who is Susan Bradley?

  Posted on June 7th, 2021 at 02:42 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PROFILES

  

  By Chris Husted

  In a fast-changing world where new apps and devices are released by the month and updates by the week, all driven by a vigorous dose of planned obsolescence, it comes as a blessing to meet someone who keeps the big picture in mind while making sure the day-to-day essentials are looked after.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Profiles, Susan Bradley

• Freeware Spotlight — ShellBag AnalyZer + Cleaner

  Posted on June 7th, 2021 at 02:41 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  I don’t want to know why you need to clean your computer-usage tracks, but if you thought you were cleaning all of them … you weren’t.

  What are shellbags, and why should you care about them? Shellbags, a new feature starting with Windows 7, have been in every version of Windows since.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight

• BSODs point to driver issues with feature releases

  Posted on June 7th, 2021 at 02:40 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Sometimes a BSOD is trying to tell you something

  AskWoody subscriber BD reported that every time he upgraded to 20H2 on two of his three computers, the process did not end well. Instead, he was rewarded with a blue screen of death (BSOD). No matter what he tried, the process always ended in failure and rollback.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Blue screens of death, Patch Lady Posts

• Securing sensitive files in OneDrive’s cloud

  Posted on May 31st, 2021 at 01:04 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.20 • 2021-05-31

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  Does it feel like rolling the security dice when you save your files to a cloud-based service? When the files move out of your control and protection and into who-knows-what security measures the cloud-provider is using? You feelin’ lucky?

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.20.0 (2021-05-31).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.20.F (2021-05-31).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList, OneDrive

• Don’t click those pop-ups that say you’ve been infected!

  Posted on May 31st, 2021 at 01:03 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  It’s been said before, but it bears repeating — when you see a pop-up window on your desktop, laptop, or smartphone screen that says you’ve been infected with a virus and must act immediately, don’t click it!

  These frightening warnings are invariably “bad ads” that use advertising networks to insert these pop-ups into websites and phone networks. Their goal is to get you to click a link and download malware, whether it’s a fake “antivirus program,” a malicious “virtual private network,” or some other backdoor into your personal life.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.20.0 (2021-05-31).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, phishing, Public Defender, security
• « Older Entries