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There are isolated problems with current patches, but they are well-known and documented on this site. |
Mobile security: Apps to protect Android devices
Mobile security: Apps to protect Android devices
There are hundreds of free and paid security apps for Android phones and tablets. But many of those offerings are of uncertain quality.
Here’s a sampling of some of the best software for keeping Android devices free of malware, managing passwords, locking up your data, and more.
Android needs third-party security apps
If you have an Android phone or tablet, there’s good news and bad news.
The good news: You’ve picked the world’s best-selling mobile operating system. Something like 70 percent of all new phones and tablets run Google’s OS. That’s a strong incentive for software developers to build cool applications for the platform.
The bad news: Android’s open architecture and popularity have made it a favorite target for malicious hackers, thieves, and other criminals.
Android’s built-in security features have never been strong, and even the latest version (4.4.4, as I write this) offers only modest safeguards for your personal data and communications. For that reason, all Android devices need third-party security apps in order to be safe. (Virtually no operating system, by itself, is safe from malicious hacking.)
Fortunately, there are plenty of Android security tools to choose from. The Google Play Store has all manner of free and commercial apps. Note, however, that some are junk — amateurish software that could cause crashes, hangs, slowdowns, or other problems.
Other tools seem to work fine — until you look at them more closely. Take, for example, some “free” virtual private networking (VPN) apps, which provide some Web-browsing anonymity (especially on public Wi-Fi) by routing your data through the VPN provider’s servers. If the service is free, how does the provider pay the bills for running the servers and buying Internet bandwidth? How does the provider keep the lights lit? A cautious person might suspect that the company is mining user data.
That said, there are many reputable companies with excellent Android security products. Some are familiar and well-respected names you might recognize from the Windows world, while others are relative newcomers who develop products exclusively for mobile operating systems.
Below, I’ll provide summaries of well-regarded security apps — some paid, others free — in five essential categories:
- Antivirus/anti-malware suites
- Password management and encryption
- Lost or stolen device recovery
- VPNs
- Secure file-wiping (to delete personal data when you’re selling or trading in your device)
(Note: The following information applies equally to all portable Android-based devices, including tablets. But for brevity, I’ll use “phone” throughout the rest of the article.)
Security suites: The absolutely must-have apps
The cornerstone of Android safety is a good security suite from a reputable vendor. Even a single, well-designed security app can provide coverage against a wide range of attacks and dangers.
Lookout Security & Antivirus (Google Play page; publisher’s website) is a typical example of a reputable suite in the security category. It offers a comprehensive selection of tools (see Figure 1) — some free and others paid. (I’ll list other brands in a moment.)
Figure 1. Lookout Security & Antivirus offers basic security features for free; additional features are in its paid version.
Lookout’s free version provides:
- Anti-malware: It gives automatic, always-on protection from viruses, adware, spyware, and other types of malware.
-
Lost/stolen phone recovery tools: A map shows you the phone’s location (see Figure 2), viewable via a free, private account on the Lookout website.
The Scream option sounds a loud alarm, even if the sound was turned off. The alarm might scare a thief into abandoning the phone, but it can also help in more mundane situations such as when you simply misplace the phone at home or the office. The sound will lead you to the phone’s location.
Figure 2. Lookout can help you locate and recover a phone, whether it's been stolen or just lost in the sofa cushions.
- Signal flare: This option saves your phone’s location when the battery is about to run out. It might help you find the phone once it’s gone dead.
- Automatic backups: Your contacts are saved to your private account on the Lookout website. You can download the contacts to your PC or to a new or secondary device.
- Multiple device support: The free account is limited to two devices.
Lookout’s paid version adds:
-
Expanded Theft Alert features: You can have the phone send an email to your PC in the following circumstances:
1. The phone’s unlock passcode is incorrectly entered more than three times in a row.
2. The SIM card is removed.
3. Airplane mode is enabled or the device is turned off (two tricks thieves might try to avoid detection), or a thief tinkers with the phone’s Device Administrator mode.
Lookout’s notification email includes a map of the phone’s location when the Theft Alert was generated plus a theftie — a photo of the person holding the phone at the time the alert was triggered, taken automatically with the phone’s built-in camera. The same Theft Alert information is posted on your private account on the Lookout website.
- Privacy Advisor: This lets you manage the permissions and personal data that each app on the phone can access.
- Remote lock and wipe: In the event the phone is stolen and not recoverable, you can remotely lock it and erase your personal data.
- Safe Browsing: This option alerts you when you visit websites known to harbor malware or other security threats.
- Photo and call-history backups: Use this tool to automatically clone photos and call data to your private Lookout account.
- Multiple device support: This lets you manage up to three devices from a single Lookout account.
You can test-drive Lookout’s paid version for up to two weeks at no cost; after that, it’s a modest U.S. $3 per month or $30 per year.
Again, Lookout Security & Antivirus is just one example of a typical, comprehensive, Android security suite. There are other suites with similar features.
For example, Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus (Google Play page; publisher’s site) doesn’t take “thefties” of would-be phone thieves, but its paid version does offer Geo-Fencing — the phone performs a specified action (lock, siren, send location, and so forth) if it passes outside a perimeter you’ve established, such as a set distance from your table in a café. It also offers App Lock, which lets you passcode- or gesture-protect access to specified apps.
Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus is available in both free and paid versions; after a 30-day free trial, the premium edition costs $2 per month or $15 per year.
Bitdefender is another name that might be familiar to Windows users. Its Mobile Security & Antivirus (Google Play page; publisher’s site) is also available in free and paid versions. Its features are similar to Avast’s, but it tries to differentiate itself with aggressive pricing. After a two-week free trial, the paid version costs only $1 per month or $10 per year.
You can download Kaspersky Internet Security (Google Play page; publisher’s site) for free. You must register with Kaspersky for the paid edition’s 30-day free trial; it’s $15 per year to keep. Two advanced features are Call & Text Filter, which helps block unwanted calls and texts, and a theftie option similar to Lookout’s; it can automatically take a photo of a would-be thief.
Again, you can find many more security suites, apps, and options by visiting the Google Play Store and using the search string “security” or “security suite.”
Password management and data encryption
It’s likely you’ve already been affected by one or more of the recent and massive corporate hacking incidents such as the data thefts at Adobe, Target, eBay, and others.
One of the best ways to protect yourself against these increasingly common hacks is to use a unique password for every site. (See the Oct. 17, 2013, Top Story, “Protect yourself from the next big data breach.”)
Remembering potentially dozens of passwords sounds burdensome, especially on a phone or tablet where typing can be difficult. But password-management software makes it vastly easier. The software does the hard lifting for you, remembering all passwords and storing them in a securely encrypted database.
If you’re using password-management software on your PC, there’s a good chance you can find an Android equivalent. That can greatly simplify setup and use because the software will already be familiar. It might even be able to access and use the database of passwords on your PC, saving you from the chore of re-entering everything again.
For example, RoboForm (possibly the world’s most popular password manager) has a free Android version (Google Play page; publisher’s site) that connects with an existing desktop RoboForm Everywhere account ($10 per year). Android’s built-in browser (a version of Chrome) doesn’t work with third-party password apps, so RoboForm comes with its own mini-browser that you can use to sign in to password-protected sites. You can also use the RoboForm app with Android editions for Dolphin or Firefox.
Similarly, there are two free Android versions of the popular, open-source, desktop Keepass Password Safe. One is called Keepass2Android Password Safe (Google Play page; publisher’s site) and is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. As with other password managers, enter a site's password once and Keepass2Android will then remember it for you.
The other Android version of Keepass is called KeepassDroid (Google Play page; publisher’s site). Both versions operate much like the desktop version of KeePass, and they share the same database format.
If desktop commonality isn’t an issue for you, the free/donationware, open-source Universal Password Manager (Google Play page; publisher’s site) might be of interest.
You can find many similar apps by using the search terms “password manage” and “manage password” (though seemingly similar, the two searches yield slightly different results).
Apps for recovering lost or stolen phones
As already mentioned, many of the best Android security suites (Lookout, Avast, Bitdefender, Kaspersky, and so forth) come with robust tools that can help you find and recover a lost or stolen phone — typically by sending you a map of the phone’s location, letting you wipe or lock the phone, and even snapping a photo of the thief.
But most versions of Android also include basic, built-in features that can reconnect you with your phone — or wipe it clean. For example, Android 4.1 and higher includes the Device Manager app (see Figure 4) that can, when linked to your Google account, locate your phone on a map and let you remotely ring, lock, or erase it. The specific details are explained in the Android Device Manager support page.
Figure 4. Android's built-in Device Manager lets you locate, ring, lock, or erase a lost phone remotely from your Google account running on another device (shown above).
Older versions of Android — 2.2 and higher — allow for basic remote wiping, as explained on the Remote Wipe a Mobile Device support page.
Those tools are better than nothing, but third-party apps such as the following can do more — for example, take photos of a would-be thief. Visit the associated websites for full details.
- Where’s My Droid (Google Play page; publisher’s site) offers basic capabilities for free (see Figure 5) plus extended features — such as remote lock — for $4.
Figure 5. Where's My Droid offers good lost device–recovery features, including a GPS-based locator.
- AndroidLost (Google Play page; publisher’s site) is completely free, though the program’s author accepts voluntary donations.
- Locate My Droid (Google Play page; publisher’s site) also is free, with voluntary donations accepted.
Virtual private network apps for Android
A virtual private network (VPN) connection can let your phone operate securely, privately, and anonymously from any site — even from public hotspots in coffee shops, airports, restaurants, hotels, and so on.
A VPN uses encryption to establish a secure, private channel between your PC and the VPN provider’s server. That server, in turn, then connects to whatever website or other server you want to reach (see Wikipedia’s VPN article).
But you really want to trust the VPN provider, because it’ll potentially have access to your unencrypted data. Most legitimate VPN services recover their costs by charging a modest fee based on your data usage — or by displaying ads as you use their service. I think this is an important consideration, because a provider with a viable revenue stream should never feel tempted to mine your data stream for usernames, passwords, credit-card numbers, and so on.
Here are some of the better-regarded Android VPN services and their associated client software:
- VyprVPN for Android (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — three-day free trial; $7–$20 per month thereafter, depending on plan details
- ExpressVPN (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — one-day free trial; $8–$13 per month thereafter
- IPVanish (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — one-week, money-back guarantee; $5–$8 per month thereafter
- Hotspot Shield: VPN Proxy WiFi (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — free, ad-supported version; ad-free Elite version, $30 per year.
Apps for thoroughly sanitizing Android devices
No, this is not dipping your phone into a glass of Lysol. When it’s time to sell or trade in your phone, all recent-vintage Android-based models let you easily restore the original factory configuration. That makes it harder — but not impossible — for the next user to recover traces of your data left behind in the phone’s flash memory.
In fact, completely erasing flash memory is technically difficult and could require special tools and extra steps. (For more info, see the Sept. 13, 2012, Top Story, “Rethinking the process of hard-drive sanitizing.”)
If your phone uses a removable SD memory card, scrubbing it is relatively easy. The best bet is to remove the card, connect it to your PC, and use the tools described in the aforementioned Top Story. (Or, if you can, simply keep the SD card, possibly reusing it in some other device you own.)
But when the flash memory is built into the phone, it’s harder to get at — and harder to erase. These apps can help:
- SaniDroid (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — $1
Figure 6. Special-purpose apps such as Sanidroid can help remove lingering traces of personal data from a phone you're selling or trading in.
- iShredder 3 (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — free and Pro versions ($3.50); see site for details
- Secure Wipe (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — free
- SHREDroid (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — free (doesn’t work on Motorola devices)
- File Shredder (Google Play page; publisher’s site) — free (works only on a file-and-folder basis; reportedly, whole-phone erasure in a future paid-for version)
Security tools can help keep you safe
Mobile devices such as phones and tablets are wonderfully convenient, but they also pose huge security risks. Not only are these devices subject to the same kind of malware and hacking that your Windows PC must cope with, they’re also far more likely to be lost or stolen than your desktop or laptop system.
But with one good tool from each of the categories above, your portable Android device can be as safe and secure as current technology allows. None of these products will dent your pocketbook, so protect yourself!
Word 2003 toolbars lost and recovered
Lounge member Adela lost some Word functions and didn’t know how to restore them.
Luckily, other Lounge members in the Word Processing forum set her on the path to discovery — advising her not just how to repair those problems but also other potential troubles she hadn’t yet recognized. And the bonus gift? A list of keyboard shortcuts.
The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:
starred posts: particularly useful
If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.
If you’re already registered, you can jump right into today’s discussions in the Lounge.
New attacks on Windows' secondary components
July’s security updates target vulnerabilities in Windows Journal, DirectShow, On-Screen Keyboard and other supporting components.
But the bulk of July updates, once again, consists of nonsecurity fixes for all current versions of Office and their associated applications.
MS14-037 (2962872)
The ongoing battle to protect our browsers
July’s Internet Explorer patch fixes 24 newly disclosed vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s browser. Given the large number of new IE security flaws discovered each month, one has to wonder whether IE was really poorly written or there are more really talented hackers poking at the code. KB 2962872 is rated critical for all current workstation installations of IE (Version 6 and up).
All but one of the newly revealed vulnerabilities were privately reported, meaning they were most likely found by security researchers and reported to Microsoft — i.e., not already “in the wild.” The majority of the flaws could result in exploits using IE memory corruption, but one vulnerability might allow attackers to bypass IE’s Extended Validation Certificate security feature. As usual, the most severe exploits could allow attackers to take remote control of your PC.
Note: XP users won’t receive this update — once again illustrating that using IE with Windows XP is increasingly dangerous.
Another Patch Tuesday chore is adding the latest Adobe Flash Player update. For July, Adobe has released Flash 14.0.0.145 for Windows and Mac, and Version 11.2.202.394 for Linux, as noted in Adobe’s July 8 security bulletin. Flash Player is updated automatically in Chrome, IE 10, and IE 11.
As an aside to the regular update process, Google announced that unauthorized digital certificates for several Google domains had been issued by the National Informatics Centre of India, which is trusted by India CCA. As noted in the announcement, India CCA certificates are “included in the Microsoft Root Store [more info] and thus are trusted by the vast majority of programs running on Windows, including Internet Explorer and Chrome. Firefox is not affected because it uses its own root store that doesn’t include these certificates.”
Chrome browsers have been protected since July 3, and I anticipate that Microsoft will take similar action with their root certificates. Starting with Vista, the Windows root certification updating process is automatic; Redmond will most likely release an out-of-cycle fix, with no actions needed from users.
What to do: Install KB 2962872 (MS14-037) as soon as offered. And if you’re manually updating Flash Player, watch out for those potentially unwanted software offers included with the Flash installer.
Closing yet another door on Windows XP
Oracle announced that users installing Java 7 updates on XP do so at their own risk. There will be official Java 7 support for versions of Windows from Vista on. The cryptic announcement also notes that XP users will not be able to install Java 8.
This is just another nail in XP’s coffin. The list of software you can use safely on XP systems seems to be getting shorter by the day.
What to do: Once again, I strongly recommend that you not go online with any XP system that’s connected to a local network, contains files with personal information, or is used for email.
MS14-038 (2971850)
Windows Journal brings noteworthy attacks
Most Office users are probably familiar with OneNote, Microsoft’s excellent note-taking application. But how many of us have run across Windows Journal — the basic note-taking app included in nearly all current versions of Windows? (To open the app, enter “Journal” into the Start menu search box.)
KB 2971850 fixes a privately reported flaw in Windows Journal that could allow remote-control attacks using malicious .jnt files. The update is rated critical because a successful exploit could let an attacker gain full access to a computer.
Note that on some servers, the update applies only if Ink and Handwriting Services is enabled. Given that Windows Server 2003 is not vulnerable, it’s likely that Windows XP isn’t threatened, either.
What to do: Install KB 2971850 (MS14-038) when offered.
MS14-040 (2961072)
Kernel-driver flaw leads to elevated privileges
By itself, the vulnerability patched by KB 2961072 is not a significant threat. Although a successful exploit could let an attacker gain admin-level access to a system, the patch is rated merely important because the attacker must have valid sign-in credentials. However, this vulnerability can become more of a threat when combined with other exploits. Using phishing, drive-by browsing attacks, and other techniques, it’s not all that hard for hackers to gain a toehold on your system.
The patched flaw is in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver, a kernel-mode driver that supports Windows sockets applications and is part of the TCP/IP stack. Typically, I recommend holding off on kernel patches, but it’s possible this vulnerability will be exploited relatively soon.
What to do: Install KB 2961072 (MS14-040) when offered.
MS14-041 (2972280)
Elevation-of-privilege attacks with DirectShow
DirectShow and DirectX are used to display media on your computer. DirectShow in particular provides support for audio/video sourcing, manipulation, and rendering. A privately reported flaw in the way DirectShow handles memory could let an attacker gain elevated privileges on a PC. With many exploits, an attacker has the same privileges as the current user. That’s why I often recommend not running in administrator mode. But this type of vulnerability would allow the attacker to take full control with admin rights.
KB 2972280 is rated important for most versions of Windows and Windows Server. (Windows RT isn’t affected.) Because Windows Server 2003 isn’t vulnerable, there should be no impact on Windows XP.
What to do: Install KB 2972280 (MS14-041).
MS14-039 (2973201)
On-screen keyboard another avenue of attack
Windows has so many components, it’s small wonder there are many ways to attack the OS. For example, Windows includes an on-screen keyboard, even on desktop systems that don’t have a touchscreen. KB 2973201 patches a flaw somewhat related to the DirectShow vulnerability — one that would allow an attacker to launch the on-screen keyboard and load malicious code. The flaw would give the hacker elevated privileges on the system.
The update is rated important for all versions of Windows except Windows Server 2003 — and by extension, XP is probably also unaffected. As with the two updates mentioned immediately above, this exploit will probably be used in conjunction with others.
What to do: Install KB 2973201 (MS14-039).
MS14-042 (2972621)
MS Service Bus flaw could allow DoS attacks
The final July security update — a patch for Microsoft Service Bus for Windows Server — impacts only Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, and 2012 R2. Service Bus adds messaging features to Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure (more info). The vulnerability is a bit unusual; it doesn’t affect Azure systems directly, but it will impact them if a system administrator has downloaded and installed Service Bus.
The update signals that with more hybrid deployments, there will be a growing number of threats to cloud services. The update is rated moderate and is available only from the Microsoft download site.
What to do: Test KB 2972621 (MS14-042) thoroughly before deploying it on production services.
2975061
The issues with Win8.1 Update are far from over
Ever since Windows 8.1 Update was unleashed on Win8.1 users, Microsoft has released a series of updates to Update. KB 2975061 is a fix for Win8.1 Update users who run into “Error 0x80070005” when attempting to install KB 2919355 (Win8.1 Update) or other security updates such as KB 2920189 — a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) patch.
In the case of KB 2919355, a part of the installation process keeps a component-store file open so that it can’t be deleted or overwritten. For UEFI, the optional BitLocker component isn’t installed.
What to do: Whether or not you’ve run into either of the Win8.1 Update–related issues, install KB 2975061.
July’s heavy load of nonsecurity updates
The nonsecurity fixes dumped into Windows Update along with security updates is spread across all supported versions of Windows, Office, and other productivity products. Unless noted, the fixes are described by Microsoft simply as “stability and performance improvements.”
For more on July’s Office updates, see the Office Sustained Engineering post.
Windows 7
- 2952664 – Compatibility update for upgrading Win7
- 2966583 – System Update Readiness Tool enhancements
- 2973337 – Enable Transport Layer Security hash SHA-512
Windows 8/8.1
- 2967916 – Win8, Windows RT, and Server 2012; rollup update
- 2967917 – Win8.1, Win8.1 RT, Server 2012 R2; rollup update
- 2971203 – Win8.1 and Server 2012 R2; cumulative update for Windows Store
- 2972094 – Win8.1 and Win8.1 RT; string of Family Safety dialog box is not localized
Office 2003
Office 2007
- 2837608 – Excel
- 2837609 – Office
- 2837611 – Office
- 2837614 – Excel Viewer
- 2849965 – Office
- 2849969 – Office
- 2883030 – Outlook junk-mail filter
Office 2010
- 982726 – Outlook junk-mail filter
- 2837581 – Office
- 2837600 – Excel
- 2837606 – Office
- 2878252 – Office
- 2883004 – SharePoint Server
- 2881028 – Office; lexical improvements
Office 2013
- 2760587 – Outlook junk-mail filter
- 2880987 – Office; improve visuals
- 2881028 – Office; lexical improvements
- 2881074 – Office
- 2881075 – PowerPoint; copy/paste problem in empty placeholders
- 2881080 – Word; crashes when inserting indexes and tables
- 2881082 – OneNote; pen-click open issue
- 2881084 – Office; grammar error
- 2881085 – Excel; improve visuals
- 2881086 – Office; stability and performance
Other nonsecurity updates
- 2883018 – Office Online
- 2878285 – Office Online; lexical improvements
- 2863826 – SharePoint Server
- 2863837 – SharePoint Server
- 2849992 – SharePoint Foundation 2010; lexical improvements
- 2878282 – SharePoint Server 2010; lexical improvements
- 2880990 – Office Web Apps Server 2013; co-authoring issue
- 2880999 – Microsoft Publisher 2013; translation error
- 2881003 – SharePoint Server 2013; sort problem with large Excel files
- 2881077 – SharePoint Server 2013; problem editing Project site collection list
- 2881087 – OneDrive for Business; renaming problem when file upload is pending
What to do: Wait on these nonsecurity updates.
Regularly updated problem-patch chart
For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page. See our “Windows Secrets master Patch Watch chart” post for a more extensive list of recent updates.
| Patch | Released | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2871997 | 05-13 | Enhancements to Local Security Authority | Optional |
| 2952664 | 05-13 | Migration compatibility | Optional |
| 2926765 | 05-13 | Windows Shell; also KB 2962123 | Install |
| 2928120 | 05-13 | Group Policies preferences; for admins, also KB 2961899 | Install |
| 2933826 | 05-13 | Windows Server; also KB 2962073 | Install |
| 2952166 | 05-13 | SharePoint (for admins); see MS14-022 for complete list. | Install |
| 2953522 | 05-13 | Internet Explorer; also KB 2961851 | Install |
| 2958732 | 05-13 | .NET; see MS14-026 for complete list. | Install |
| 2961033 | 05-13 | Common controls; basic workstations; see MS14-024 for complete list. | Install |
| 2961037 | 05-13 | MS Office; KBs 2767772, 2878284, 2880463, 2878316; see MS014-023. | Install |
| 2939576 | 06-10 | XML Core Services; also KB 2966631 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
| 2957189 | 06-10 | TCP Protocol; also KB 2961858 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
| 2957689 | 06-10 | Internet Explorer; also KB 2963950 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
| 2965788 | 06-10 | Remote Desktop; also KB 2966034 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
| 2967487 | 06-10 | MS Graphic Component; see MS014-036 for full list. | Install |
| 2969258 | 06-10 | MS Lync; KBs 2969258, 2963288; see MS014-032. | Install |
| 2969261 | 06-10 | Word; KBs 2880513 and 2880515; see MS014-034. | Install |
| 2961072 | 07-08 | Windows AFD; also KB 2973408 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
| 2962872 | 07-08 | IE cumulative update; also KB 2963952 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
| 2971850 | 07-08 | Windows Journal; also KB 2974286 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | install |
| 2972280 | 07-08 | Windows DirectShow; also KB 2973932 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
| 2972621 | 07-08 | Microsoft Service Bus for Windows Server | Install |
| 2973201 | 07-08 | Windows on-screen keyboard; also KB 2973906 for Win8.1 (non-Update) | Install |
Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.
We can supply you with binder twine
 |
With the Grand Départ, the 2014 Tour de France was launched this past weekend — from Yorkshire England. In anticipation of the event, a Yorkshire man compiled some advice for the cyclists. The video explains to Tour de France riders proper costuming for the Yorkshire stages. Among the many admonitions: No bright colors! (They scare the sheep.) This friendly advisor also offers a preview of Yorkshire hospitality and a view of the county and its people. After viewing this video, we’re sure you’ll feel prepared for a visit — whether you ride your bike fast or slow. Click below or go to the original YouTube video. |
| Post your thoughts about this story in the WS Columns forum. |
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MS-DEFCON 4: As good as it gets
by 16 hours, 52 minutes ago
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RyTuneX optimize Windows 10/11 tool
by 4 days, 7 hours ago
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Can I just update from Win11 22H2 to 23H2?
by 2 days, 5 hours ago
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Limited account permission error related to Windows Update
by 4 days, 20 hours ago
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Another test post
by 4 days, 20 hours ago
Remembering Woody
