Windows 10 updates are about to get a lot smaller to download

Microsoft has been promising smaller updates to Windows 10, through various methods, for what feels like years. MS is now starting to test a new Unified Update Platform (UUP) that will make a big difference. "One of the biggest community and customer benefits of UUP is the reduction you'll see in download size on PCs," explains Bill Karagounis, a Windows program manager. They will be publishing systems to enable differential downloads for all devices built on the Mobile and PC OS.

Differential downloads only include the changes that have been pushed out since you last updated a Windows 10 PC. This new change will debut with the Windows 10 Creators Update that's expected to arrive in March. Microsoft will start rolling this out to PC builds later this year. The real benefit for Windows 10 users will be when they move from one major update to another, as Microsoft expects download sizes to decrease by around 35 percent.

This new technology could also help Microsoft roll out changes to Windows 10 machines a lot faster.


source: UUP blog The Verge

Free Up Disk Space on Your Windows 10 PC

Is your Windows 10 hard drive showing signs that it's close to empty? You barely have enough room for your current applications and files, let alone new ones. Sure, hard drives are cheap, so you can always clone your existing one. But let's say you want to first try to get more mileage out of your current drive. There are a few ways you can do this.

The first and most obvious task is to delete files you no longer use. Granted, this chore will likely take a while since you may bump into hundreds or thousands of files you no longer need. To do this, open File Explorer, jump to the folders that contain your documents and other personal files, sort your files by modified date with the oldest ones appearing first, and then simply scrap the old and unneeded ones.

Another method to put the kibosh on unneeded files in Windows 10. Click on the Start button and then select Settings > System > Storage. Click on your main hard drive at the top of the window. Windows 10 calculates the types of files on your drive and how much space they take up. Click on a particular file type such as Documents, Pictures, or Music.

Empty your Recycle Bin. By default, any file you delete remains on your hard drive via the Recycle Bin so you can recover it if necessary. But at some point, the bin will get big, so you'll want to prune it. You can double-click on the Recycle Bin to view and delete any individual files you no longer need, or you can right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and click on the Empty Recycle Bin command to purge all the files within.

 The Windows Disk Cleanup tool can get rid of a whole mess of files in one shot. Click on the Start button and scroll down the Apps list, open the Windows Administrative Tools folder, and then select Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup tool displays a series of file categories and determines how much space you can free up per category. Click on each category to view a description. In some cases, you can also view the files in that category. Click on the checkmarks next to the categories you feel comfortable deleting and then click the OK button.

Source & more info: PC Magazine

Barracuda's blacklist - keep out

Barracuda Spam Firewall is a popular spam filtering software. One of the ways it figures out whether an email is Spam or not is through the use of its "Intent Engine". The "Intent Engine" is a human run and maintained blacklist which is turned "On" by default with each new Barracuda installation.
To get blacklisted inside the "Intent Engine" you must first have had a complaint submitted to Barracuda by one of its customers. By default Barracuda assumes all mail is good mail, until that initial complaint is filed. Once a complaint is filed, a person will look at your email for three attributes to determine if it belongs on the blacklist.

1. "To:" line cannot be obfuscated. Anyone who uses blind carbon copy line (BCC line) to load up a list of recipients would fail this test.
2. The email must let the recipient know how they got on the email list inside the body of the message.
3. There must be a one-click unsubscribe link.

If the email fails in any of these areas, then the person analyzing the email will add URLs that are linked to in the email to the blacklist which means that future emails sent by that sender could be blocked. Once your URL gets on the blacklist, any Barracuda customer who has the "Intent Engine" turned on will likely not receive your messages.

We encourage our customers to add a quick one-line explanation to the body of their messages that explain how and where permission was gained from the customer to be on your list. This line can be in the header or the footer of the message. Not only would this help with deliverability, but it would also help make transparent your relationship with the end recipient which is always a good thing.

source: Campaigner
read more: Barracuda Lookup

Barracuda's blacklist - keep out

Barracuda Spam Firewall is a popular spam filtering software. One of the ways it figures out whether an email is Spam or not is through the use of its "Intent Engine". The "Intent Engine" is a human run and maintained blacklist which is turned "On" by default with each new Barracuda installation.
To get blacklisted inside the "Intent Engine" you must first have had a complaint submitted to Barracuda by one of its customers. By default Barracuda assumes all mail is good mail, until that initial complaint is filed. Once a complaint is filed, a person will look at your email for three attributes to determine if it belongs on the blacklist.

1. "To:" line cannot be obfuscated. Anyone who uses blind carbon copy line (BCC line) to load up a list of recipients would fail this test.
2. The email must let the recipient know how they got on the email list inside the body of the message.
3. There must be a one-click unsubscribe link.

If the email fails in any of these areas, then the person analyzing the email will add URLs that are linked to in the email to the blacklist which means that future emails sent by that sender could be blocked. Once your URL gets on the blacklist, any Barracuda customer who has the "Intent Engine" turned on will likely not receive your messages.

We encourage our customers to add a quick one-line explanation to the body of their messages that explain how and where permission was gained from the customer to be on your list. This line can be in the header or the footer of the message. Not only would this help with deliverability, but it would also help make transparent your relationship with the end recipient which is always a good thing.

source: Campaigner
read more: Barracuda Lookup

Barracuda's blacklist - keep out

Barracuda Spam Firewall is a popular spam filtering software. One of the ways it figures out whether an email is Spam or not is through the use of its "Intent Engine". The "Intent Engine" is a human run and maintained blacklist which is turned "On" by default with each new Barracuda installation.
To get blacklisted inside the "Intent Engine" you must first have had a complaint submitted to Barracuda by one of its customers. By default Barracuda assumes all mail is good mail, until that initial complaint is filed. Once a complaint is filed, a person will look at your email for three attributes to determine if it belongs on the blacklist.

1. "To:" line cannot be obfuscated. Anyone who uses blind carbon copy line (BCC line) to load up a list of recipients would fail this test.
2. The email must let the recipient know how they got on the email list inside the body of the message.
3. There must be a one-click unsubscribe link.

If the email fails in any of these areas, then the person analyzing the email will add URLs that are linked to in the email to the blacklist which means that future emails sent by that sender could be blocked. Once your URL gets on the blacklist, any Barracuda customer who has the "Intent Engine" turned on will likely not receive your messages.

We encourage our customers to add a quick one-line explanation to the body of their messages that explain how and where permission was gained from the customer to be on your list. This line can be in the header or the footer of the message. Not only would this help with deliverability, but it would also help make transparent your relationship with the end recipient which is always a good thing.

source: Campaigner
read more: Barracuda Lookup

Ammyy Admin Website Compromised

The website of the Ammyy Admin remote desktop management tool has been compromised to spread malware for the God-knows-what time in the past year.

Softpedia detected that something was wrong after we started receiving worrisome comments from readers on two articles detailing past infections of the Ammyy Admin website.

 Ammyy Admin website compromised for at least two days

The contaminated Ammyy Admin file MalwareHunterTeam managed to obtain had been uploaded on VirusTotal 20 times by 19 different people, between 2016-09-14 07:47:04 and 2016-09-15 06:50:39.

Some users have the habit of double-checking downloaded files by scanning them using VirusTotal. The period above is most likely the interval during which the website had been compromised, and some of its users had scanned the file.

A hybrid analysis of the file reveals a binary called "encrypted.exe" packed with the original AA_v3.exe, the legitimate installer. Every user running the installer would also run this file, which installs the Cerber ransomware.

Ammyy Admin website serving latest version of the Cerber ransomware

Cerber, which appeared at the start of the year, had several major branches, some of which were cracked and security researchers created a free decrypter to help victims recover their files.

The version distributed via the Ammyy Admin installer packs the latest v3 version that locks files via the .cerber3 extension. This version is uncrackable, at the time of writing.

Cerber 3 ransom note

MalwareHunterTeam also said that he didn't inform the website admin of the compromise and that it stopped on its own. Either the crooks realized they were exposed or they're just preparing another version of the Ammyy installer that would spread other types of malware.

Ammyy Admin website has spread at least six other types of malware

In the past, both ESET and Kaspersky have put out reports about how the site was used to spread all sorts of malware, such as the Ranbyus, Lurk and Buhtrap banking trojans, the CoreBot and Fareit infostealers, and the NetWire RAT.

ESET reported that the Ammyy Admin website spread malware in October and November 2015, while Kaspersky reported numerous similar incidents that took place between February to July 2016.

Softpedia has reached out to Ammyy Admin's team for additional comments. At the time of writing, even if Ammyy Admin downloads are clean, we can't vouch that they'll stay this way, taking into account the website's track record.

Read more: Softpedia,Google search

Keep your DATA PRIVATE - Encfs Manager in Ubuntu, Windows or Mac

Features of EncFSMP:

• Mounts EncFS folders on Windows and OS X

• Can create, edit, export and change the password of EncFS folders

• Is 100% compatible with EncFS 1.7.4 on Linux

• Completely free, no nags, no additional downloads like toolbars etc.

With EncFS MP, you can store your data in an encrypted folder (works for usb memory sticks as well). This is especially important if you store your sensitive data in a cloud service like Dropbox or Google Drive.Since EncFS exists on many platforms, you can access your data from a Windows PC, from an Apple computer, from Linux (using the built-in EncFS), or even from an Android device (using Cryptonite).Although EncFSMP is an open source project and its source code is released under the MIT license, it contains a closed-source component. The file system component that allows EncFSMP volumes to be mounted is called Pismo File Mount and is developed by Pismo Technic Inc.. Other than that, EncFSMP is 100% open source.

Windows or Mac

Download the (open source) software from Encfs official site

Ubuntu Linux

To add the official GNOME Encfs Manager PPA and install the application in Ubuntu, use the following commands in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gencfsm/ppasudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install gnome-encfs-manager

You Can Still Get Windows 10 for Free

The free Windows 10 upgrade offer may technically be over, but it isn’t 100% gone. Microsoft still provides a free Windows 10 upgrade to anyone who checks a box saying they use assistive technologies on their computer. This offer will end at some point, but Microsoft hasn’t announced when.

Microsoft has announced that it wants people who use assistive technologies to be able to upgrade to use the new accessibility features in Windows 10’s Anniversary Update.

This free upgrade works just like Windows 10’s previous upgrade offer. In fact, it seems to be the exact same upgrade tool. Upgrading gives your PC a “digital license” (formerly a “digital entitlement”) that allows you to install and use Windows 10 on that PC, even after the free upgrade offer ends for new upgraders.

How to Upgrade to Windows 10 from the Accessibility Page

The free upgrade offer is simple. To get Windows 10, you’ll just have to visit the “Windows 10 free upgrade for customers who use assistive technologies” page and download the upgrade tool. Like the previous free upgrade offer, this only works if your computer is currently running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. (If you’re using Windows 8, you can get a free upgrade to Windows 8.1 and then upgrade to Windows 10.)

Once the upgrade is complete, your PC will be running Windows 10 and will have a “digital license” that lets you reinstall Windows 10 at any point in the future.

This probably won’t last forever. However, Microsoft says it will issue a public announcement before the upgrade offer ends.

source and more information: howtogeek.com

Business Email Compromise - Protect yourself and your company

Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, also known as “whaling’ or “CEO fraud”, involve crafted emails sent to recipients by fraudsters pretending to be senior executives. These emails leverage social engineering and urgent requests to get employees to carry out large wire transfers or send over sensitive information such as W2 forms.

BEC is defined as a sophisticated scam targeting businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments. The scam is carried out by compromising legitimate business e-mail accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds.

Most victims report using wire transfers as a common method of transferring funds for business purposes; however, some victims report using checks as a common method of payment. The fraudsters will use the method most commonly associated with their victim’s normal business practices.

BEC emails are typically characterized by:

Impersonation of a high-level executive of your companyEmail domains similar to yours (Typosquatting)Prominent use of freeweb mail service providers (Gmail, Yahoo etc.)Emails that do not contain URLs, phone numbers, or attachments

CHARACTERISTICS OF BEC COMPLAINTS

• Businesses and associated personnel using open source e-mail accounts are predominantly targeted.

• Individuals responsible for handling wire transfers within a specific business are targeted.

• Spoofed e-mails very closely mimic a legitimate e-mail request.

• Hacked e-mails often occur with a personal e-mail account.

• Fraudulent e-mail requests for a wire transfer are well-worded, specific to the business being victimized, and do not raise suspicions to the legitimacy of the request.

• The phrases “code to admin expenses” or “urgent wire transfer” were reported by victims in some of the fraudulent e-mail requests.

• The amount of the fraudulent wire transfer request is business-specific; therefore, dollar amounts requested are similar to normal business transaction amounts so as to not raise doubt.

• Fraudulent e-mails received have coincided with business travel dates for executives whose e-mails were spoofed.

• Victims report that IP addresses frequently trace back to free domain registrars.

self protection strategies 

• Avoid free web-based e-mail accounts: Establish a company domain name and use it to establish company e-mail accounts in lieu of free, web-based accounts.

• Be careful what is posted to social media and company websites, especially job duties/descriptions, hierarchal information, and out of office details.

• Be suspicious of requests for secrecy or pressure to take action quickly.

• Consider additional IT and financial security procedures, including the implementation of a 2-step verification process.

• Establish other communication channels, such as telephone calls, to verify significant transactions. Arrange this second-factor authentication early in the relationship and outside the e-mail environment to avoid interception by a hacker.

• Digital Signatures: Both entities on each side of a transaction should utilize digital signatures. This will not work with web-based e-mail accounts. Additionally, some countries ban or limit the use of encryption.

• Delete Spam: Immediately report and delete unsolicited e-mail (spam) from unknown parties. DO NOT open spam e-mail, click on links in the e-mail, or open attachments. These often contain malware that will give subjects access to your computer system.

• Forward vs. Reply: Do not use the “Reply” option to respond to any business e-mails. Instead, use the “Forward” option and either type in the correct e-mail address or select it from the e-mail address book to ensure the intended recipient’s correct e-mail address is used.

• Consider implementing Two Factor Authentication (TFA) for corporate e-mail accounts. TFA mitigates the threat of a subject gaining access to an employee’s e-mail account through a compromised password by requiring two pieces of information to login: something you know (a password) and something you have (such as a dynamic PIN or code).

The victims of the BEC scam range from small businesses to large corporations. The victims continue to deal in a wide variety of goods and services, indicating a specific sector does not seem to be targeted.

It is largely unknown how victims are selected; however, the subjects monitor and study their selected victims using social engineering techniques prior to initiating the BEC scam. The subjects are able to accurately identify the individuals and protocols necessary to perform wire transfers within a specific business environment. Victims may also first receive “phishing” e-mails requesting additional details regarding the business or individual being targeted (name, travel dates, etc.).

source and further information: Internet Crime and Compliance Center (IC3)

Πόλεμος μεταξύ Ransomware εγκληματιών

Το Ransomware είναι ένα είδος malware που κλειδώνει κρυπτογραφικά τον σκληρό δίσκο του θύματος μέχρι αυτός να καταβάλει λύτρα.Είναι εξαιρετικά δημοφιλής μέθοδος μεταξύ των εγκληματιών του κυβερνοχώρου. Η τακτική αυτή έχει τόσο μεγάλη επιτυχία, που ορισμένοι κατασκευαστές ransomware έχουν αρχίσει να σαμποτάρουν τα ransomware των άλλων, στην προσπάθειά τους να αποτρέψουν τον ανταγωνισμό.

Στην αρχή αυτής της εβδομάδος διέρρευσαν στο διαδίκτυο 3.500 κλειδιά για ένα είδος ransomware γνωστό ως «Chimera» (Χίμαιρα), που υποτίθεται ότι επιτρέπει στα θύματα του Chimera να αποκρυπτογραφήσουν με ασφάλεια τα αρχεία τους, χωρίς να χρειαστεί να καταβάλουν λύτρα σε bitcoins. Τα κλειδιά αποκρυπτογράφησης προφανώς δημοσιεύτηκαν από τους κατασκευαστές του αντιπάλου πακέτου ransοmware που ονομάζεται «Petya & Mischa», οι οποίοι ισχυρίστηκαν ότι παραβίασαν το σύστημα ανάπτυξης της Χίμαιρας, υπόκλεψαν τα κλειδιά καθώς και κομμάτια του κώδικα.

source & more info: Iguru.gr

Windows 10 Anniversary Update on 2nd of August 2016: What's coming up...

Some of the best new features

Windows Ink

Windows Ink is without a doubt the best part of the Anniversary Update. The Surface Book, had ink support in Windows 10 so limited in the beginning. Windows Ink improves things a lot. It’s essentially a central location to find built-in or third-party apps that work with your stylus. You can use the new sticky notes to note down reminders, and they’ll even transform into true reminders as Cortana understands what you write.

Microsoft Edge extensions

If you’re a fan of Chrome extensions, then you’ll be glad to hear that they’re heading to Microsoft’s Edge browser. The Anniversary Update brings support for extensions, and it’s now up to third-party developers to fill the Windows Store with their add-ons. They’re very similar to Chrome extensions, and ones like AdBlock, 1Password, LastPass, and EverNote are already available.

Cortana improvements

Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, debuted on Windows 10 last year, and the software maker is bringing it to the lock screen with the Anniversary Update. You’ll be able to ask it to make a note, play music, set a reminder, and lots more without ever logging in. Cortana is also getting a little more intelligent, with the ability to schedule appointments in Outlook or options to send friends a document you were working on a week ago.

Dark theme and UI tweaks

Microsoft hadn’t fully completed the Windows 10 UI last year, but it’s starting to look a little more polished now. Most laptop displays and monitors have black bezels, and the continued use of a dark mode across the OS just bleeds naturally into the corners. You can switch on what I call even darker mode in settings, and it will switch built-in apps that typically use a white background over to black.

TABLET MODE LOOKS A LOT MORE LIKE WINDOWS 8 NOW

Elsewhere, if you’re a fan of tablet mode then you can now choose to automatically hide the task bar when you’re using a tablet. This lets apps take full advantage of the screen just like they used to in Windows 8, and Microsoft has also improved the all apps view on the Start screen so it’s full screen and easier to navigate.

Set your time zone automatically

Automatic time zone switching in OS X was always there, and astonished that Microsoft has never added a similar feature to Windows. With the Anniversary Update to Windows 10, it’s finally here. If you’re traveling abroad for vacation then you’ll never have to worry about manually adjusting your PC clock again. It sounds like the most minor feature, but more often than not it’s the small things that add up and make a difference. Microsoft hasn’t enabled the automatic time zone switching by default, so you’ll need to enable it from the settings app.

Project to PC

Microsoft is adding a new "project to PC" option in Windows 10 Anniversary Update. It’s similar to remote desktop, but it allows you to easily find a PC to project to from a phone or another PC. You’ll be able to project what you see on your own display onto another machine, and use its keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals. It seems like a feature that is more suited to the business environment, especially if you want to show a colleague a document but don’t necessarily want to share the contents directly with them.

New Skype app

It feels like Windows 10 has so many Skype apps it’s difficult to know which one to choose. While there’s a desktop app and integration into the Messaging app in Windows 10, Microsoft has created a new universal app that’s designed to be the future of Skype on Windows 10. It’s not totally feature complete yet, but for your basic Skype video and audio calls it works well. It launches instantly, and you’ll get notifications for calls and messages straight within Windows 10 whether you have it open or not.

Going by the reviews, it appears Windows 10 Anniversary Update is substantially more stable, and has interesting new features. You can read the first impressions of it on ZDNet, and review on PCWorld.

You can't turn off Cortana in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Microsoft made an interesting decision with Windows 10’s Anniversary Update, which is now in its final stages of development before it rolls out on August 2.

Cortana, the personal digital assistant that replaced Windows 10’s search function and taps into Bing’s servers to answer your queries with contextual awareness, no longer has an off switch in Windows 10 Home and Pro.

The impact on you at home: Similar to how Microsoft blocked Google compatibility with Cortana, the company is now cutting off the plain vanilla search option. That actually makes a certain of amount of sense. Unless you turned off all the various cloud-connected bits of Windows 10, there’s not a ton of difference between Cortana and the operating system's basic search capabilities.

In fact, the biggest functional difference is that Cortana is far more useful than plain search thanks to the digital assistant's handy voice commands, reminders, the ability to send text messages, and so on. That said, Microsoft’s move is probably less about the practical differences between Cortana and search, and more about pushing people to use Cortana.

But what if you still don’t want to use Cortana at all?

Refusing to download the Anniversary Update is not an option. You can delay it, but since Windows 10 updates are mandatory for home users, you’ll eventually receive the update. 

Microsoft removes policies from Windows 10 Pro

Professional editions of Windows 10 ship with the Group Policy Editor that enables users and administrators to make changes to the default configuration of the operating system.

Up until now, policy availability was more or less identical for all professional versions of Windows 10. Turns out, this is no longer the case when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is released.

Some policies contain a note stating that they only apply to certain editions of Windows 10, with Windows 10 Pro not being listed as one of them.

Note: This setting only applies to Enterprise, Education, and Server SKUs

Furthermore, the corresponding Registry keys are not working either anymore which means that Pro users have no option to make changes to features affected by the change.

Update official Microsoft source

Microsoft published a new article on Technet that confirms that policies related to "tips and tricks" and "store suggestions" cannot be disabled anymore on Windows 10 Pro.

sources: The Verge, Slashdot, PCWorld, GHacks

Mozilla blocks Flash in Firefox

From August, Mozilla will begin blocking some Flash content as part of its effort to wean the Firefox browser -- and the web -- off Adobe's Flash Player.

Similar to Google's efforts to demote Flash in Chrome while still supporting it, Mozilla said it will block "certain Flash content that is not essential to the user experience" from August.

Then, at some point in 2017, it will turn Flash off by default in Firefox and require users to click in order activate the plugin. It will also block invisible Flash content.

Websites that use Flash or Silverlight for video or games should plan for HTML technologies "as soon as possible", Mozilla said. These plugins are increasingly becoming redundant as more capabilities are brought by HTML5, including audio and video playback, streaming capabilities, 2D and 3D graphics, and access to components such as the microphone and camera.

Reminding that Google said Flash in Chrome would be disabled for all websites except the top 10 globally that still rely on Flash Player. That move doesn't affect video on sites such Facebook and YouTube, which have already moved to HTML5. Even Adobe, though committed to still developing Flash Player, is moving toward HTML5.

source and more info at ZDNet

DELL N5010 7 BEEPS error at startup

7 beep at startup

it is actually a "beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep" code, 7 beeps. no start screen nothing

seven beeps usually indicates a processor problem. It is very seldom that the processor actually fails, it is most likely a motherboard issue. We may get more specific if you let us know which Dell you have.

See if you can perform a Pre Boot System Assessment (PSA Diagnostic) by holding the “Fn” while rebooting the system. Keep holding "Fn” key until the diagnostic gets initiated. Here are the details on that

You can also try this.

1. Remove main battery.

2. The rear plate for the system is held on by 6 screws. Remove all 6 screws and remove the plate.

3. With the battery compartment nearest to you in the top left corner you will see the CMOS battery.

4. Using a minimal amount of force and a flat tool, pry the battery gently from its seat (it is held on by sticky substance).

5. Unplug the battery from the motherboard by disconnecting the white connector.

6. Wait for two to five minutes and then reattach the battery cable and reseat the battery.

7. Replace the rear plate and the retaining screws and reseat the main battery.

8. Attach the AC adapter and power on the system.

9. If a 5 beep code is heard, switch off the system and restart it.

10. When the system restarts and completes POST successfully, browse to the Drivers and Download page

11. Download and install the latest BIOS Version. from here

If none of that works, you may be looking at a new motherboard. Hope this helps, good luck. from here

source: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/177951/7+beep+at+startup

Ίδρυμα Ελπίδα - Τελετή αδελφοποίησης

Η Scicane Ltd. παρέχει τεχνική υποστήριξη στο Ίδρυμα Ελπίδα και ήταν παρόν στην τελετή αδελφοποίησης με τον Σύλλογο Φίλων Ελπίδα της Ελλάδος.

Linux letting go: 32-bit builds on the way out

Major Linux distributions are in agreement: it's time to stop developing new versions for 32-bit processors.

Simply: it's a waste of time, both to create the 32-bit port, and to keep 32-bit hardware around to test it on.

At the end of June, Ubuntu developer Dimitri Ledkov chipped into the debate with this mailing list post, saying bluntly that 32-bit ports are a waste of resources.

His proposal is that Ubuntu version 18.10 would be 64-bit-only, and if users desperately need to run 32-bit legacy applications, the'll have to do so in containers or virtual machines.

Even that timeline would mean 32-bit versions will go very gently into their good night: i386 would be sunsetted as the host architecture in April 2021, and legacy application security support would continue until April 2023.

for more information and source visit www.theregister.co.uk

Why Does Every Camera Put Photos in a DCIM Folder?

Every camera — whether it’s a dedicated digital camera or the Camera app on Android or iPhone — places the photos you take in a DCIM folder. DCIM stands for “Digital Camera Images.”

The DCIM folder and its layout come from DCF, a standard created back in 2003. DCF is so valuable because it provides a standard layout.

Meet DCF, or “Design rule for Camera File system”

DCF is a specification created by JEITA, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. It’s technically standard CP-3461, and you can dig up the arcane standards document and read it online. The first version of this standard was issued in 2003, and it was last updated in 2010.

The DCF specification lists many different requirements with a goal to guarantee interoperability. The file system of an appropriately formatted devics — for example, an SD card plugged into a digital camera — must be FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, or exFAT. Media with 2 GB or larger of space must be formatted with FAT32 or exFAT. The goal is for digital cameras and their memory cards to be compatible with each other.

Ultimately, just having a standard is important — whatever the standard is. That’s why the DCIM folder has followed us from point-and-shoot cameras to smartphone and even tablet camera apps. The Picture Transfer Protocol, or PTP, isn’t the same as the DCF standard, but it serves a similar purpose. It’s been superseded by MTP and other standards, but PTP is supported by Android devices and iPhones for communicating with photo-management applications that support this standard.

---

As usual, we’re all carrying an old-and-arcane standard forward because it’s better to be compatible with everything than design something new from scratch. That’s the same reason why email is still so popular!

for more information and analysis visit HowToGeek.com

Πρόγραμμα Ανάκλησης και Αντικατάστασης Ασφαλείας Μπαταρίας Φορητού Υπολογιστή HP

Στις 14 Ιουνίου 2016, η HP ανακοίνωσε ένα παγκόσμιο πρόγραμμα οικειοθελούς ανάκλησης και αντικατάστασης ασφαλείας σε συνεργασία με διάφορες δημόσιες ρυθμιστικές υπηρεσίες για ορισμένες μπαταρίες φορητού ηλεκτρονικού υπολογιστή. Οι σχετικές μπαταρίες απεστάλησαν με συγκεκριμένους Φορητούς Υπολογιστές HP, Compaq, HP ProBook, HP ENVY, Compaq Presario και HP Pavilion που πωλήθηκαν παγκοσμίως από τον Μάρτιο του 2013 μέχρι τον Αύγουστο του 2015 ή/και που πωλήθηκαν ως εξαρτήματα ή ανταλλακτικά ή που παρασχέθηκαν ως αντικατάσταση των παλαιών μέσω του τμήματος Υποστήριξης. Για τις μπαταρίες αυτές υπάρχει το ενδεχόμενο υπερθέρμανσης, γεγονός που εκθέτει τους πελάτες σε κίνδυνο πυρκαγιάς και εγκαύματος.

Επειδή αυτές οι μπαταρίες θέτουν κίνδυνο πυρκαγιάς και εγκαύματος, είναι εξαιρετικά σημαντικό να ελεγχθεί εάν η μπαταρία σας ανήκει στις ελαττωματικές και να σταματήσετε τη χρήση των ελαττωματικών μπαταριών αμέσως. Οι πελάτες μπορούν να συνεχίσουν να χρησιμοποιούν τον φορητό υπολογιστή τους χωρίς τη μπαταρία συνδέοντας τον φορητό υπολογιστή στην παροχή ρεύματος.

Σημείωση: Δεν είναι ελαττωματικές όλες οι μπαταρίες σε όλους τους Φορητούς Υπολογιστές HP, Compaq, HP ProBook, HP ENVY, Compaq Presario και HP Pavilion.

Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, διαβάστε εδώ

Για να ελέξετε τον υπολογιστή σας διαβάστε εδώ

FACEBOOK WILL TRACK WHAT PHYSICAL STORES YOU GO INTO

AND SHARE THE DATA WITH ADVERTISERS

Facebook is planning to track how many times a week you go to the grocery store, and every other store, and it will share that information with advertisers.

Using the location services on your phone, Facebook will keep a tally of who goes to what stores, and show the anonymized numbers to advertisers, as evidence that buying ads on Facebook is getting people to visit brick-and-mortar businesses.

It's a great thing for Facebook, which will now have excellent data to prove (or disprove) on a user-to-user basis what a store is getting for its advertising dollar. But it's a pretty frightening idea that a company will have information not unlike your credit card statement all from location services data.

Of course, turning off location services is fairly easy on most devices: something to think about.

Bluetooth 5.0 to Quadruple Range, Double Speed

The next generation of Bluetooth devices will have quadruple the range and double the speed of what is currently available thanks to Bluetooth 5.0, which was announced today by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and will be available to device manufacturers as early as this fall.

Instead of automatically requesting to pair with a device, Bluetooth 5.0 will be smart enough to analyze the type of connection required to transmit the information. Warehouse managers, for instance, will be able to pinpoint an item in their inventory just by walking through the stacks. Travelers will be able to find the nearest Starbucks in a foreign airport without a Wi-Fi or 4G connection.

More information can be found at PCMag.com

Microsoft Testing Tool to Wipe Windows 10 Bloatware

Microsoft announced a new tool that lets you start fresh with a clean installation of Windows.  Use this tool to install a clean copy of the most recent version of Windows, and remove apps that came pre-installed or that you installed on your PC. 

This tool is will only work on recent Windows 10 Insider Preview released builds (build 14342 or later) so far.

The tool will download to start installing Windows 10 automatically.

If you chose to Keep personal files only, and the build of Windows 10 currently installed is more recent than the build available through this tool, you will later be prompted to choose to keep Nothing, and can cancel if desired.

All steps are automated with buttons greyed out. You can close the tool to cancel the operation if needed.

You can reinstall your Windows Apps that are available in the Store using your Microsoft Account.

for more information visit Microsoft Community Forum

Text scams: The messages that allow criminals to break into your iPhone, and how to spot them

Mobile phones are increasingly becoming the most important part of people’s work and social lives – which means they’re more and more vulnerable to attack

The next text message you receive could ruin your life.

Increasingly, SMS messages are being used as a way of duping people into giving up their online accounts, and out of their identities and their money.

Many of those messages arrive looking perfectly innocent, and even useful. But they could be incredibly dangerous – and so it’s important to make sure to know how to spot them.

One of the major problems with such scams is that it is now relatively easy to pretend to be someone else, over text. The technology that powers texts allows people to put custom names in when they send messages – allowing people to easily pretend to be Google, Apple or anybody else.

iCloud scams

One of the more recent scourges coming over SMS are iCloud scams. They aim to trick people into giving up the password that they use to get into their Apple account – and, once hackers are into that, then they can easily get your bank account details, your location, and more scary stuff besides.

Most of these notifications just work like traditional phishing scams, where cyber criminals pretend to be a company so that users send them details. But because they are done through the very personal but notoriously sketchy technology of SMS, they can be easy to spot.

It isn’t clear why there has been such a huge amount of these in recent months, but reports of them definitely do seem to be surging. The advice is the same as traditional phishing: responsible companies will never ask you to reply to a message with your personal details, or tell you to click on a dodgy link, so make sure that you always only give your information to official websites and be careful that you are.

Two-factor authentication

Another more new development is tricks that try and get around the two-factor authentication that many products now have built in – and which, for the most part, serves as a big problem for people breaking into your account. That's why it's also become such a security risk.

Two-factor authentication works by attaching a phone number to a person’s account. When they try to log-in, it will send a unique code to that phone number, and that has to be typed into the site. It’s built to foil people who steal passwords and then use them to get into accounts, because it requires physical access to the phone; and that’s why people are now trying to get around it with scams.

One highlighted this weekend shows a message that claims to be from Google and tells people that their account may have been hacked. If they want to have it shut down, it says, they need to reply to the message with the 6-digit verification code that they are about to receive.

source: http://www.independent.co.uk/

Cloning of contactless cards device?

New Device Sold on the Dark Web Can Clone Up to 15 Contactless Cards per Second

A criminal group going under the name of The CC Buddies is selling a hi-tech device on the Dark Web that's capable of copying details from contactless debit cards if held as close as eight centimeters away from a victim's card.

CC Buddies claim that their device, named Contactless Infusion X5, can copy up to 15 bank cards per second, something that may come in handy if a crook is going through a crowd at a concert or through a jammed subway car.

X5 targets RFID-enabled contactless debit cards

X5 is designed to copy data from the radio chip embedded in modern RFID contactless bank cards. This data is stored on X5's internal storage system, and thieves can connect the device to their PC using USB cables and transfer it using special software, also supplied by CC Buddies.

The device can collect data such as the card's number and expiration date. If the debit card's RFID chip stores information such as the card holder’s name, home address, and a mini statement, X5 can steal it as well.

When it copies credit card numbers, X5 encrypts the data. The software provided by CC Buddies will allow the crooks to decrypt and download the stolen information from their X5 device to a Windows (XP or higher) PC, and start creating fake debit cards using blank plastic cards.

X5 costs around $800 and comes with blank plastic cards

Crooks can get their hands on an X5 device for only 1.2 Bitcoin (~$825). CC Buddies says they ship devices via mail, and each buyer will receive the X5 device, a USB cable for charging and data transfers, and 20 blank cards.

Read more: http://news.softpedia.com/news/new-device-sold-on-the-dark-web-can-clone-up-to-15-contactless-cards-per-second-505200.shtml#ixzz4BfxAdZ00

Suddenly your Desktop shortcuts vanish

Applies to mostly all Windows 7 versions

You find yourself losing shortcuts on the sudden from your desktop.

Obviously the 'Windows devil' did its job :-) There's a service called System Maintenance troubleshooter which when it 'thinks' or indeed finds that you have broken shortcuts.

Broken shortcuts are those which apparently point to nowhere or the file, folder or application pointing at was either deleted or moved.

The System Maintenance troubleshooter performs a weekly maintenance of the operating system. It tries to either fix problems or report them to the 'action centre'. If it finds more than 4 broken shortcuts then removes all of them (broken).

To solve the problem you can either:

You can do something with your shortcuts with broken links to be at least 4 or less on your desktop. You can move all the rest to a folder on the desktop. The troubleshooter will not go in there.

But although Microsoft recommends to do something with your shortcut like above, you can always just 'shut down' the System Maintenance troubleshooter.

To do so,

1. Click on Start and then on Control Panel

If System and Security is not displayed you will need to change how you are viewing Control Panel. To change your view, click the down arrow in View by and select Category. View by is located in the top right corner of the Control Panel.

2. Under System and Security, click Find and fix problems.



3. On the left navigation pane, click Change settings.

4.  Set Computer Maintenance to Off.

Wireless Signal Strength and Noise Levels

To make sure that all users in your environment receive a strong wireless signal, consider these guidelines when you install your AP devices.

Signal Strength

The signal strength is the wireless signal power level received by the wireless client.

• Strong signal strength results in more reliable connections and higher speeds.
• Signal strength is represented in -dBm format (0 to -100). This is the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power referenced to one milliwatt.
• The closer the value is to 0, the stronger the signal. For example, -41dBm is better signal strength than -61dBm.

Noise Level

The noise level indicates the amount of background noise in your environment.

• If the noise level is too high, it can result in degraded strength and performance for your wireless signal strength.
• Noise level is measured in -dBm format (0 to -100). This is the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power referenced to one milliwatt.
• The closer the value to 0, the greater the noise level.
• Negative values indicate less background noise. For example, -96dBm is a lower noise level than -20dBm.

Signal to Noise Ratio

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is the power ratio between the signal strength and the noise level.

• This value is represented as a +dBm value.
• In general, you should have a minimum of +25dBm signal-to-noise ratio. Lower values than +25dBm result in poor performance and speeds.

For example:

• If you have a -41dBm signal strength, and a -50dBm noise level, this results in a poor signal-to-noise ratio of +9dBm.
• If you have a -41dBm signal strength, and a -96dBm noise level, this results in an excellent signal-to-noise ratio of +55dBm.

(source: watchguard.com)