Newsletter Archives

• Anatomy of a malware

  Posted on May 10th, 2021 at 01:08 Ben Myers Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.17 • 2021-05-10

  SAFETY

  

  By Ben Myers

  Things are not always as they seem. What might appear to be a devastating, PC-destroying piece of malware can sometimes be a spoof.

  Recently, a client gave me his laptop, which displayed a frightening message as soon he logged in. This variety of malware is all too popular. Here is a step-by-step process to remove it, expecting that the antivirus software installed in the computer cannot do its job. Along the way, you will see where malware is often hidden.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.17.0 (2021-05-10).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.17.F (2021-05-10).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hardware, safety, security

• Should we trust our routers?

  Posted on May 7th, 2021 at 19:49 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Michael Horowitz has a story about how the Asus GT-AC2900 router had THREE password bypass flaws….

  The Asus GT-AC2900 router had 3 password bypass flaws. They were fixed. But . . . what about the many other Asus routers? Neither Asus nor the researcher addressed this. It is hard to trust *any* Asus router.
  https://t.co/pH6ALelv4d

  — Michael Horowitz (@defensivecomput) May 7, 2021

  Hardware Patch Lady Posts

• Touchscreen misregisters point-and-clicks

  Posted on April 5th, 2021 at 01:10 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.12 • 2021-04-05

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  Touchscreens are ubiquitous and usually reliable, but when one malfunctions, even simple pointing and clicking can become an exercise in extreme frustration.

  Here are the likely causes of touchscreen miscalibration, and several easy ways to get things working properly again.

  Plus: How to protect yourself from Windows’ dangerous, semi-secret back door!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.12.0 (2021-04-05).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.12.F (2021-04-05).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hardware, LangaList, Touch screen

• The best laptop docking stations and hubs for 2021

  Posted on April 5th, 2021 at 01:06 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  More and more of us have been spending part of our time working in a business office and part of our time in a home office (which may sometimes be called “the kitchen table”).

  Even if you work primarily at home, there are always times when you want to work on your laptop in a hotel room or maybe that beach house you like to retreat to on weekends.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.12.0 (2021-04-05).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Docks, hardware, Public Defender

• There are no USB cables any more

  Posted on March 8th, 2021 at 01:04 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  It used to be that you could run any old USB cable between just about any two USB ports, and the devices on each end would simply work. But that hasn’t been true for a long, long time.

  As more and more manufacturers wanted to bring different devices with different needs to market, the standard USB-A cable was lost in the shuffle. Instead, we got a gaggle of novel USB connectors named Mini-A, Mini-B, Micro-A, Micro-B, Apple’s similar-but-different Lightning, and more.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.9.0 (2021-03-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender, Thunderbolt, USB, USB standards

• Frys electronics is closing

  Posted on February 24th, 2021 at 00:08 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  (USA centric post)

  Well the news has it that Frys Electronics, a place that before Amazon came into our lives, was THE place where us geeks on the West Coast would go to check out computer equipment that we really didn’t need, but positively HAD to have. In my various geek conference travels, if there was a Frys in the close vicinity of where I was at, we’d organize a trip to the location. I’ve been to one in Las Vegas, several in the bay area, several in the Los Angeles area and one that was close to Redmond Washington. Yes, I was up in Redmond for a Microsoft conference and we just HAD to go to the local Frys. Imagine a group of geeks from around the world being let loose in what we all considered a near candy store. And unique about the locations, each one had a “theme”.

  The smell of the store as you walked in the doors had a…. it’s hard to explain it…… similar to how the Pep Boys had a distinctive rubber smell throughout the store, Frys had a smell of electronics and cardboard boxes.  You’d stop in the doorway and breathe in that geek computer smell.  The smell would make us geeks giddy.

  Rumor had it that the stores still listed itself in the Standard Industrial Classification code as a grocery store even though it long got out of the business of groceries. Reportedly that’s how it started out – as a grocery store. We’d always call the checkout line as running the “gauntlet” as there was all sorts of snacks, geek things you just had to have and all sorts of things to entice you as you checked out. And never go into the store wearing black slacks and a white shirt – shoppers would think you worked for the store. Many a fellow geek would talk about how they’d go into Fry’s and help their fellow shoppers out by advising them on what to buy.

  I’m positive there are still hard drives, memory chips, and old dvds I have around my house that came from Frys.

  Ah, good memories, good times.

  Hardware Patch Lady Posts

• Master your printer – not the other way around

  Posted on February 8th, 2021 at 01:40 Michael Lasky Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  HARDWARE

  Master your printer – not the other way around

  By Michael Lasky

  “I hate printers, but I love what they can do!”

  That’s the mantra recited by just about anyone who has a printer attached to their computer. Of all the peripherals that connect to our PCs, printers seem to be the number-one troublemaker.

  But it doesn’t have to be that way. Paper jams, overpriced ink, print spooler logjams, wasted paper – these are just a few of the hassles whose remedies are addressed here. If your love/hate relationship with your printer is more hate than love, read on — and maybe, just maybe, we can flip that around with these expert printer tips and tricks.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hardware, printers

• Will the chip shortage impact you?

  Posted on February 4th, 2021 at 23:00 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  How will 'chipageddon' affect you? https://t.co/tCsmSnvNK6

  — BBC News Technology (@BBCTech) February 5, 2021

  I’ve seen this in the news – a shortage in chips will impact cars and other technology. Earlier this year it was near impossible to find workstations, laptops and chromebooks.

  What are you seeing in your purchasing? Are key tech items starting to be backlogged?

  Hardware Patch Lady Posts

• Excess heat during laptop recharging?

  Posted on January 25th, 2021 at 01:30 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  Excess heat during laptop recharging?

  By Fred Langa

  A reader is concerned: His laptop’s CPU temperature rises during battery-charging sessions. Why would the CPU heat up?

  Relatedly, what are normal CPU temperatures, anyway? What’s a safe temperature rise?

  Plus: A tiny freeware app that prevents PC overheating!

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.3.0 (2021-01-25).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, LangaList hardware, LangaList

• Four GB of RAM vanishes … but then reappears

  Posted on January 18th, 2021 at 02:35 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  Four GB of RAM vanishes … but then reappears

  By Fred Langa

  A long-stable Win10 PC with 12GB of RAM suddenly crashes after losing track of a full third of its memory — only to have the missing RAM later reappear and work fine!

  The other symptoms seem to rule out simple RAM-chip failures or software-caused glitches. What the heck is going on here?

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.2.0 (2021-01-18).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, LangaList LangaList

• Tasks for the weekend – December 26, 2020

  Posted on December 26th, 2020 at 22:29 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Youtube video here

  Like Amy, I use the end of the year to take stock, clean up and possibly upgrade.  It’s that time of the year that I ask myself if my computer is running okay or if it needs a bit of help.  Does it need a bigger hard drive?  More ram memory?  CAN it be easily upgraded or if it’s a laptop, it’s so hard to pry it apart that they expect you to just by a new one.  You can typically search online for someone’s youtube video on how easy – or hard – it is to open up a laptop or desktop and change out parts.

  I typically go to www.crucial.com and see if I can upgrade a part that is easy to change out.  This allows me to review the pricing and see if it’s worth the cost.  If I can’t easily upgrade something I will spend the time reviewing software installed and if anything should be removed.  I’ll use something like treesize free to review what is the hard drive hog on my machine.

  So do you use this time to review your computer?

  (note that computer shortages are still being seen, so consider upgrading what you have)

  Hardware, Tech Help Patch Lady Posts

• Versatile gadget gifts for stuffing stockings large and small

  Posted on December 6th, 2020 at 21:00 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST HARDWARE

  By Michael Lasky

  Christmas stocking stuffers are usually thought of as small, whimsical, and not necessarily practical.

  But relatively inexpensive tech gadgets can be both useful and appealing to your favorite digital denizen. You might even secretly covet them for yourself.

  If your holiday list is still missing something, and you’re down to last-minute shopping, consider picking up one or more of the following devices.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.48.0 (2020-12-07).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Device chargers, Digital gifts, Earbuds, Fingerprint readers, Portable docks, Rechargeable batteries, USB-C
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