Newsletter Archives
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Beware of Google’s .ZIP domain and password-embedded URLs
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. -
Longstanding feature requests, and their status
ONENOTE
By Mary Branscombe
We’ve been waiting a long time for the OneNote features promised in 2019.
I asked Microsoft to tell us what’s coming when.
The very first time I heard about OneNote, at a press briefing for Office 2003, I saw how useful it would be — but there were also some things that I thought wouldn’t work. I went over to talk to Microsoft’s Chris Pratley and spent the next 20 minutes trapping him in a corner between the wall and the lunch table, making suggestions and asking for changes, before a PR person tactfully extracted him.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).
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Three typing tutors — no more “hunt and peck”
FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT
By Deanna McElveen
Let’s face it, life is too short to be taking 30 minutes to type out an email or a witty Facebook rebuttal.
Today, I’m going to show you three best-of-the-best — and absolutely free — typing tutors. Each one is a bit different, and each one has some pretty nifty features. So sorry, Mavis Beacon. You’ve always been a nice lady, but you are getting expensive! There is always a free alternative.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).
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Is online banking secure?
ON SECURITY
By Susan Bradley
Over the past few years, banks have been increasing their online footprint.
From mobile banking with cell phones to remote depositing with check scanners, banking has drastically changed. Some of the changes are forced on us due to the changing hours of operation at our local banks, but some of the changes enhance our ability to get our funds where we want them to be.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).
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Getting started with winget
ISSUE 20.21 • 2023-05-22 WINDOWS
By Simon Bisson
If you’ve used Linux, you’ll be familiar with package managers such as Debian’s apt and Red Hat’s yum.
They keep track of what’s installed on your computer — downloading updates and installing new software, managing dependencies so you always have the right libraries for your code. Drop into your command line, type a few keystrokes, and you’re automatically up to date.
Windows hasn’t really had the same design philosophy.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.21.0, 2023-05-22).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter. -
No NumLock key? Problem solved! Here’s the fix.
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).
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Windows Storage Spaces
HARDWARE DIY
By Will Fastie
I decided to try Storage Spaces on Opal, just to see what it would be like.
It’s a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s less technically challenging than the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) solution that lives partly in UEFI and partly in a Windows driver. On the other hand, it’s a work in progress, with some confusing configuration steps.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.21.0, 2023-05-22).
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Is Secure Boot important for security?
ON SECURITY
By Susan Bradley
During the last few months, some chinks have appeared in Secure Boot’s armor as the result of various attacks and vulnerabilities.
Let’s go back in history and understand how we got here.
When a computer boots up, and before the operating system is launched, other code runs. For many years, that was the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) pioneered by IBM in the original IBM PC. Unfortunately, inventive attackers found ways to permanently install malicious code as part of this launch sequence.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.21.0, 2023-05-22).
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All in on AI
ISSUE 20.20 • 2023-05-15 MICROSOFT NEWS
By Will Fastie
On May 4, Microsoft announced the “next wave of AI innovation.”
Well, we’ll see about that.
There was no parade, nor any hoopla associated with this announcement. The entirety of the presentation was in a single blog post, which might have gone unnoticed had I not received an email from a Microsoft spokesperson telling me about it. That was unusual.
But that’s not the news.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.20.0, 2023-05-15).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter. -
Browser security and privacy — with the right extensions
INTERNET
By Lance Whitney
Each browser offers its own settings for security and privacy, but you can often control these options better via third-party extensions.
Managing your online privacy and security is always a challenge, especially as you browse different websites where you shop, bank, invest, and sign in to accounts personal or professional.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.20.0, 2023-05-15).
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Upscayl — Killer robots are good at other things
FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT
By Deanna McElveen
All you hear about these days is the lightning-fast advancements of artificial intelligence. It’s as if no one had watched a single science-fiction movie in the past 30 years.
Luckily, until our toasters take us out in our sleep, AI can be pretty useful. When you lack the skills to complete a necessary task, many free software programs that use AI are ready to help.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.20.0, 2023-05-15).
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May’s messy updates
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
Although the May releases for both Windows and Apple have not introduced side effects or hiccups so far, they haven’t been as problem-free as they should have been.
Apple released the first of its “rapid response” updates, announced last June and supposedly allowing the company to deploy important security-only software updates without demanding a reboot.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.20.0, 2023-05-15).