March '19
Site information and disclaimers
PLEASE - Do not give control of your computer to ANYONE unless you are absolutely certain who they are! For more information see our Self Help > Scams!
In this newsletter
- Windows 10 auto update
- Default save location
- Quickies
- Online password managers - don't be too comfortable
- Weather app dangers
- Apple iPhone infections
- USB cable danger
- Webcam watching you
- Windows 7 end of life
- Cisco router updates
- Using WinRar compression utility?
- Opinions
Windows 10 auto update
As you may know, you can not opt-out of Windows (10) updates. Generally, if you leave your computer running 24x7 and it does not hibernate or sleep, the updates will be applied overnight. If it does sleep, hibernate or is off overnight, the update will apply when you turn it on/wake it.
But inevitably updates occur at the most inopportune time.
You can (somewhat) control when updates occur. In settings > Windows Update there are a couple options.
Change active hours:
And under Advanced, turn on the show reminder option.
There are other options in advanced you may consider like pausing and delaying updates...
Default save location
Microsoft is really pushing their OneDrive cloud storage, to the extent that Office products will now set One Drive as the default save location even though you want your data on your computer.
- While an online backup like OneDrive is a great way to protect your data, it may not be practical if you have a lot of pictures and/or large files. If that's the case you'll need an Internet speed better than we have in the Annandale area.
In the various Office suites Options (Word, Excel, etc.) under the Save tab, uncheck the AutoSave OneDrive and check Save to Computer.
If you've lost documents, check the MRU (most recently
used) list for the
location of whatever document you may be missing. Once you see
the location, either close Word, go to that location and move the
file back to your documents or open the file then Save As, choosing
a new location (but that gives you a second version saved on your
computer).
Quickies
Using an Online password manager? Don't be too comfortable with them. See this ZDNet article.
Have an Alcatel phone OR the Weather Forecast-World Weather Accurate Radar app on your phone? (It may have been preinstalled.) See this ZDNet article.
Yes, Apple products can be infected. See this ZDNet article on how to protect your iPhone.
Don't buy/use just any USB cable. This article discusses how even a simple cable can be malicious. So even if twice the price of a bargain cable, stay with known name brands when purchasing. This warning applies to any USB device, refer to our July 2017 article on USB drives.
It's not just Santa that may be watching you! Webcam security.
Still running Windows 7? You have less than a year of Microsoft support and updates. Depending how old your computer is, you can consider just updating to Windows 10. See Download tool now in this Microsoft article on upgrading. But if the computer is more than a few years old, you're probably best off just replacing it.
You're not falling for stuff like this are you?
Messages or websites like this are simply rogue sites you were redirected to. "X" out of the browser and start over. If there is no "X" simply turn the computer off for a moment. And know, the phone number is NOT Microsoft's.
If you have a Cisco RV series router, you should log into it and from the Administrator tab, update the firmware!
Using WinRar compression utility? Read this PCMag article.
Opinions
Cannabis contributes to auto fatalities? Can't be! But this article indicates it's true.
Here we go again, politics in DC as usual. Rather than addressing overspending, the can has been kicked even further down the road with more continuing resolutions to fund the government. We feel sorry for our grandchildren.
A chicken in every pot...
In the FAQ – under a heading titled “How will you pay for it?” – Ocasio-Cortez’s team wrote: “The same way we paid for the New Deal, the 2008 bank bailout and extended quantitative easing programs. The same way we paid for World War II and all our current wars. The Federal Reserve can extend credit to power these projects and investments and new public banks can be created to extend credit.” One of many articles.
And promising a job to “all people of the United States” –
including those “unwilling to work.”
Another (of many) articles explaining just how insane these
people are.
Federal chairman Powell is concerned over the current national debt (let alone the future). The article.
Leaving you with
"If I had to live my life all over again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner." --Tallulah Bankhead
Remember...
Thanks for all the help over these years, Jeff...