Replies

The free version is by definition a teaser to attract Plus subscribers. As far as I can tell, copying the url of the Plus version to send to a friend doesn’t work. Maybe my buddy didn’t scroll down to it, but I don’t think he could read past the RAM article to see the ChatAI article I wanted to share. I’m guessing the Plus version is somehow linked to my logging in and can’t be forwarded, which seems fair enough.

Anyway, the point is having an easy link available in the Plus version to send our (younger) friends and acquaintances.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Travasaurus

The article mentions passing the word about AskWoody to our younger friends, but it occurred to me that I don’t know how. For example, I have a former ESL student who moved to the States to work for a major tech company who might be interested but I’m not sure how to send him a sample free newsletter. It would obviously not be right to enter his email into the Get newsletter form, so what are my options?

Assuming many of us oldies have younger friends and relatives who might be interested enough to become paying subscribers, how about some instructions for spreading the good word and/or a permanent link to the free newsletter in each issue for sending via email or copying into Skype or WhatsApp or whatever else is usable.

3 users thanked author for this post.

rc primak, Travasaurus, Will Fastie

I suppose it would be an invasion of privacy or something like that, but it’s interesting how many of us are older folks who’ve enjoyed the full lifetime of Windows Secrets and AskWoody, so is there a way to design a forum survey to see what percentages of our membership fall into what age ranges? Maybe a section on self-rated skill level, use, or professional status as well.

I, for example, am late 78, use Brave, Skype, and email regularly but not much else beyond running CC Cleaner and Malwarebytes (both free versions) scans occasionally, and the Avira (free) firewall. Prior to retiring I made a decent living as a translator and copy editor or translations using Word and then WPS Writer when Word appeared to get more complicated and entered the cloud, which I never bothered to figure out how to do.

My main technical achievement in the last year was getting my first smart phone and I’m still enjoying the thrill of reading QR squares with my bank app to pay bills instead of the tedious web site form filling process (which got rather more complicated when a two-part password system was introduced) and using the camera to take an occasional photo to share to the Skype app before returning to the desktop version.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Fred

Please note that I took the lines quoted from Patch Watch December 19 to illustrate my question regarding which KB update numbers appear in the weekly Patch Watch column compared to the KB update number that gets installed when Defcon is raised at the end of the month.

My impression is that very few non-business/home/pro users had problems with the KB…170 update if they installed it. Glad you were among the lucky majority!

I took “Tentative” at the end of December to mean “Probably OK for most of you, go for it with fingers crossed” given the improved Defcon status so I did as described above in early January and all was well with my desktop and both laptops. I was again puzzled that the CU number ultimately installed didn’t match any of in-between patches previously discussed, but hey, all’s well that ends well.

Thank you for taking the time to respond (as always).

 

From Patch Watch December 19:

Microsoft has re-released KB5012170, the security update for Secure Boot DBX, so that it will be offered to PCs running Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 22H2. I do not recommend that consumers and home users install KB5012170; if BitLocker encryption is enabled, installing the fix may trigger the request for a BitLocker recovery key.

There have also been some reports (Reddit) of Blue Screens of Death in Windows 10 22H2. This may be related to KB5012170.

————–

However, on January 5, I resumed updates and installed KB5021233, an update number I don’t recall seeing before. Since I install updates according to the Defcon advice, it usually happens between the first of the month and the second Tuesday, after which I Pause Updates for five weeks. Unless you specifically tell us to install an emergency patch earlier, I would never consider installing one like the KB5012170 discussed on December 19.

Even when the final “Do it now!” advice has been given, I don’t recall seeing the installed KB number cited. Hence my puzzlement . . .

As a long-term reader at 78, I consistently delay updates until your all clear signal at the end of each month, and so far so good.

Thank you Susan, again, for taking over when you did and keeping it all going.

My only question is how come the KB number of the cumulative download in the basic sequence of Resume downloads, the download of CU and .Net and monthly anti-Malicious Crap files, and the installation never seems to appear in the Patch Lady articles? I assume that during the month many (most even?) readers do not download KB files or any of the individual updates normally described and like me may have no idea what to do with the information offered. Is it correct that the end-of-month CU allowed the Defcon 4 rating includes all the updates previously described?

Is KB~12170 an individual update or the monthly CU? I usually feel a bit thick when I read the defcon updates because they apparently list a whole bunch of single-repair downloads that I assume the IT experts install (or don’t install) to fix problems identified during the month.

I always wait until a week or so before the next early-month Update Tuesday before I hit Resume Updates on my PC and two laptops and let the CU, .net, and anti-malicious software downloads install themselves. Usually Susan is pretty clear in her post-23rd-of-the-month-or-thereabouts column, saying “Go for the CU now but take the usual backup precautions” but her statement today—“But if you are a normal user, with normal levels of paranoia to get you through the normal security risks of daily life, I’m not convinced that this update is mandatory“—is as clear as mud to me. Does “not mandatory” mean I should skip this month’s CU update? Or will there be another defcon notice later this week to say the issue is fixed or not dangerous or is now part of the complete CU package?

If the advice is to NOT install this month’s CU, instructions on how to reset the update delay date to early October without hitting Resume Updates first and starting the download would be very useful.

As a pre-boomer at 78, one main reason aside from the fact that I like it to keep using Pegasus is that I don’t want to lose (or lose access to) my stored emails. Do other programs or webmail systems—I use my ISP’s webmail site to get my NYT newsletter into my browser, but I don’t delete anything there that I want to save in Pegasus—allow the transfer into their storage systems of emails saved in standalone programs like Pegasus?

In truth, I don’t think I’ll quit Pegasus, but I’d still like to know what’s possible relative to my stored memorabilia emails.

https://www.pmail.com/gmail.htm

So glad to hear from another Pegasus fan! I haven’t used anything but since the mid-1990’s so I can’t comment on its relative user friendliness, but it’s always been straightforward and simple enough for me as far as adding folders or directing, moving, and copying emails to appropriate places for storage. A brief look shows I’ve got folders with emails back to 1998 at least, e.g., Windows Secrets, and a fair amount of stuff I could probably cull. I have the mail folders separately backed up by Macrium so I can install it on a new computer without losing anything.

Can I download this version of the games and replace the one that appeared with Windows 10 that runs a 30-second ad every six or seven games? I also have an old version saved somewhere but I haven’t figured out how to uninstall the new (connected?) version and replace it.

The article starts with an answer to my question above. Thanks!

Thanks for the video, and No, I haven’t done it either. I’m not sure I see any point in creating a hotspot since I can simply give out my router password to select friends. It seems like an unnecessary duplication that only adds an additional layer of electronic signaling that can go wonky. Also, I turn my PC off overnight but my laptops and guests still get their Wi-Fi connections from the router.

Under what circumstances is creating a hotspot better than a separate sign in and direct connection to a router? I understand making a cell phone into a pseudo-router or hotspot where there’s no actual physical online router but there’s a mobile phone connection to an ISP, but I was not aware that a laptop has a similar connection to a mobile signal. And if it does, where’s the need for a hotspot connection?

1 user thanked author for this post.

WCHS

I have an ISP-provided router connected to my desktop via ethernet cable and two laptops using Wi-Fi  for internet access in other parts of the house. Visiting family have connected a phone and an iPad via the Wi-Fi as well. All the connections are working well at the moment so I will wait until my son and his wife to leave on Sunday before I do the updates on my computers.

Where can I find the settings to see if my hotspot feature is on without making any changes? Is there any way to discover or list currently connected items? Getting to the Network box via the Notifications icon (bottom right of screen) shows the hotspot icon but I’m reluctant to click on it for fear of losing all the currently working Wi-Fi connections (including for my wife’s and a neighbour’s smartphones).

Basically, I have assumed the extra laptops and phones connect directly to the router since I’ve given out the router password for them to connect, and I don’t understand how the hotspot works or if it’s involved—or even if it’s on at this point. In fact, I suspect it’s not.

Any info or links to info regarding the use, non-use, or necessity of the hotspot function will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I found the Mobile hotspot Settings page and it’s set to off. My question then becomes what is a hotspot or how does it differ from providing my password to the laptops, iPad, and phones as I have. Would it be safe to assume I can do the updates on my PC and two laptops with no problem? I’ll probably wait until next Monday anyway . . .